t shirt time

As become a custom at Marscon, there is a shirt with the music performers in cartoon form based on the convention theme. This years theme is rocking the apocalypse and here is a pic of the design that was created by it:



FYI: The music guest of honor, the Consortium of Genius, are the ones operating the machine causing the apocalypse as their schtick is that are evil geniuses bent on overtaking the world or destroying it if they can't. Also the creature carrying death while drinking a can of Shasta is Superhorse, the member of the comedy group Cirque du So What which was created when the group was ret conned. (You would have to hear the track to completely understand.)

Style over substance

This week, the Marscon 2012 musical lineup was announced. I have noticed there are acts whose ideal and concept are greater than their performance (or how I would imagine it) but first my letter grade ratings and preference of artists of how I would want to see them at Marscon 2012.



A+:

Seamonkey - It has been over 3 years since I saw him perform and I was very happy to hear he will be there. Having the late night Friday spot is ideal for him as his material is for mature audiences only.

Devo Spice - His act is a perfect combination of intelligent lyrics, sound music and complimentary video and I know he has changed his setup to prevent it from getting damaged like last year. No one I know has traveled more miles to Marscon without being a guest of honor. Hopefully that will soon change since he is as deserving as Worm Quartet was in 2011.

A:

Worm Quartet - Last year's GOH put on a show worthy of that title and I know it will be awesome in 2012.

Possible Oscar - Though they have done shows without the full band, it is different in their home MSP area. Hopefully Nathan will be there but it will be great even if he doesn't go.

Circue Du So What? - Sketch comedy quartet will no doubt be performing material from their CD which will be released at Marscon 2012 along with the sketch (and song) which will be repeated many times by fans as they travel up and down within the hotel.

B:

The Great Luke Ski - Why a B? First of all, I get to see him perform multiple times a year so the Marscon show is not as special to me as others (especially the Gencon non masquerade show). Since he runs the event from the music point of view, participates in the opening ceremonies sketch and Dementia Wrestling Smackdown along with many other things, it can take away from his ability to do his best show. Having his concert on Sunday could also be an issue since Marscon weekend can put a strain on people and their voices.

Power Salad - Always produces a good performance. Glad he is returning to the stage after being unable to go in 2011.

Dino Mike - Was a pleasent surprise when I saw his act a few years ago.

C:

The Gothsicles - Their first Marscon performance was amazing and I cannot imagine a Marscon without hearing the Konami Code played. However, for me, except last year when I was experiencing the drunk adrenaline filled feeling of invincibility, the song does not produce the same reaction as it did in the past. It will be the first time seeing the group without DJ EYG.

Now those whose style seem to overshadow their performance:

C:

TV's Kyle - He is a very funny and talented person and I am glad he will be returning to Marscon as he fits in very well in support of other acts. However, when he was the main one on stage last year, his inexperience showed. No doubt, he will be more comfortable in 2012.

The Consortium of Genius - The 2012 music guest of honor also known as the COG (COG!) was an act I wanted to see since I first saw them advertised in Luke's DVD. The idea of a group of evil geniuses as a musical act was something I wanted to see and was filled with anticipation when I saw them take the stage at Dragon*Con in 2006. Twenty minutes later, I walked away confused wondering if I was the only one who found them bad.

The following day while manning Luke's table, I had a chance to speak with the person who plays the part of their leader Milo T. Pinkerton III and he stated that he felt bad about how they stunk it up on stage since Hurricane Katrina prevented them from getting the rehearsal they were hoping to get.

With that knowledge and after hearing the songs they have released on the FuMP, I am going to give them a fresh chance to impress. I enjoy hearing from them via Facebook, You Tube, and on the Funny Music Podcast and am hoping they live up to the GOH status.

DD:

the Boobles - First of all, I really like the idea of the Boobles. Parodies of the greatest rock and roll band in history (the Beatles), songs about breasts (duh), and appreciate the idea of their profits going for breast cancer research. Their website www.theboobles.com also takes the idea to the next level with pictures, logos, and even their CD called the Pink album. Thay have raised close to $3,000 since their project started.

Why the unfavorable rating? When I got my CD, I played the first song and heard a Beatles parody about boobs. Then I heard another Beatles parody about boobs, then another... I am not sure how that will transfer to a 30 minute show and if it will go over well on a Saturday afternoon with a potential all-ages audience.

I do admit that I am not a fan of the early Beatles and that most of the Boobles songs are parodies of early Beatles work which for me can get real repeatative.

If someone who was interested in purchasing 5 CDs from table 27 (the Marscon music performer table) at Marscon and was asking me what to get, I would definitely recommend getting the Pink album among them.

I Can't Go For That

I have never liked the group Hall & Oates. To me it signifies the worst of the 80's style of music. In spite of that I still married the woman I did even though it is her favorite group. I have learned taht you fall in love with people and not ideals.

Anyway, they played in a concert in downtown Chicago in 2002 and since she did not want to pay for parking I took my kid to my mom's house and picked my wife up at the theatre after. This is what I saw leaving the theatre:



She has seen the group play at many places nearly as much as I have seen Weird AL.

Last month, Harmonix announced that the group was coming to Rock Band in 2012 along with announcing 2112 by Rush was coming. Every Friday, I wait to see what new songs become available for Rock Band and today the announcement was made and after reading one comment talking about how gay the music is and another 12 telling that person off, I decided to post a comment on Facebook which I usually do.



I also failed to mention that if my wife now shows more interest in the game, she might decide to look back over the past 18 months or so and ask me to download some songs I would rather not play let alone pay for.

An hour after my reply I checked Facebook, saw this, and reacted:



Hopefully by posting this I can get their songs out of my head. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

bad rapport

My friends Luke and Carrie do an audio podcast called Bad Rapport where I am a semi regular person in their segment "Let's Call Ken."

In April 2010, they recorded their first video podcast with puppets where a puppet of me makes an appearence:


I spent 3 days last week recording the second one which was posted today:



Thanks to my computer, I am not sure if the video works on decent computers. When I get to one I will see if it works correctly and change it if necessary.

Three and out

In 1996, I was playing blackjack on the second floor non smoking section of Harrah's Northern Star casino riverboat cruise. Though it was not like the time I lost 12 hands in a row I was not ahead.

As with what was happening that evening, I was dealt an 18 but the dealer had a 10 which means I would win only 1 out of 3 times. The last player before the dealer had a 13 and instead of taking a card which is considered mandatory by all blackjack instruction manuals, decided to stand being afraid of going over 21 which will lose 5 out of 6 times while drawing will win about 40% of the time. (Yes, I figured out those odds when I started playing blackjack in casinos in 1993)

The dealer uncovered a 4 and then drew a 6 making 20 taking most of the money off the table. I was so upset about what that player did, as the dealer was about to pass out the first card of the next hand, I looked at him and while pointing to where the first card was going to be placed in the same voice I now use when I want to get a point across to my daughter sounded "TEN!".

The smugness of being correct wore off while the hand was being played and I thought to myself, "What the fuck am I doing?" It was not the first time another player, including one who split 5s two times in 10 minutes, aggrivated me at a blackjack table. I knew I had enough and after winning that hand collected what chips I had left and walked away realizing that watching others playing blackjack with me irritates me so much that it is no longer worth the effort to play and I have never played regular blackjack at a casino since. (note: I have played embellished versions of the game but not one hand regular blackjack)

I hit the point of "TEN!" in fantasy football in October 2007. Though the competition was never "fun" I have played the game increasingly angry over the past 4+ years most notably when I spent the evening of opening weekend this season in the ER due to chest pains or when I sent multiple emails complaining about 2 extra points from a blocked kick that was only deflected being given to my opponent in a week where I won by 35. My anger over fantasy football has even materialized when hearing about other leagues and their formats and decisions people make in those leagues. Things got to the point where I want to know what is happening during every game ASAP especially during the 7 out of 13 Sunday afternoons this season I was not home watching the games.

Last weekend, my fantasy team, the Misfit Demons (named after the Mutant League Football representation of the 1972 Miami Dolphins) clinched their third straight division title having their best season ever. I was unhappy with how the draft went since I missed out on a number of players I wanted and ended up limiting myself due to making a mistake in the third round. However drafting the best scoring RB in the second round and the second highest scoring WR in the 6th round along with the top one in the first more than made up for that:



In spite of my dominance this season, I was nervous about winning the division until late Sunday afternoon when I clinched this week's victory which gave me the division title and the #1 playoff seed. Since I put in the effort that others don't, I have gotten to the point where victory is the only acceptable option and anything short of a division title would be a complete failure.

The obvious question is "Why does it matter how other people play?" People making mistakes in blackjack allows casinos to have rules that provide a smaller house edge against me. Needing to take off my shoes to count the number of times one of the other teams in my league has an injured or bye week player in their lineup increases my chance of winning over a 14 week span even if it might determine who I face in the playoffs. My fantasy team this year benefitted from other teams releasing players who I had in starting lineups and discovering the 49ers defense was good before others. I also know that if everyone else in the league puts the same committment into fantasy football that I do then my chances of winning would be based on luck and timing which is the exact reason I quit playing Scrabble. To be honest, I really don't know why it matters; I just know it does.

Eight weeks ago when my team was 5-0 and I was upset about the league, I realized it is time to cash in and walk away like I did 15 years ago. The money I can win from playing fantasy football does not compensate me for the time, energy and effort I put into everything especially considering that I need to send a $100 copay to the hospital for the ER visit last September.

On Sunday, I told my daughter I am not going to play fantasy football anymore after this year and she asked me why. I told her it gets me too upset. She said it makes sense.

more movie time

The cable company as a sign of thanks to its customers (or as a way to try to get more business) last weekend had all the movie channels free along with other channels I usually don't get. Just like last time this allowed me to see some movies I have not in a while and to see some I have not seen before. Along with going to a theatre on Saturday and monthly cool movie night, this is what I saw over the previous 5 days:

Pulp Fiction: Have seen it many times before. Did not realize that the people who played Mr Orange and Mr Pink from Reservior Dogs were in it until I saw the credits.

Men in Black: It is too bad they felt necessary for a sequel.

Ocean's 11 (2001): Still get Brad Pitt and Matt Damon confused.

Megamind and Dispicable Me: Megamind was the movie Dispicable Me tried to be.

Toy Story 3: Never seen it before. Understand why it was nominated for best picture.

Harry Potter Hallows (part 1): Knowing what was going to happen, I was not enthusiastic about the movie but still enjoyed it. I was surprised that people were discussing before the movie came out where they would split the book as the point it ended seemed perfect.

Tron (2010): After an unimpressive half hour I was waiting for Olivia Wilde. After 10 minutes, I changed the channel knowing I wasted 40 minutes of my life.

The Muppets: Saw @ theatre. Though I enjoyed the Muppet Show, I never cared for the movies. Though the movie was ok, it was nothing special.

Plains, Trains and Automobiles: I had never seen it before. It was weird seeing Steve Martin as the straight man most of the time and it worked. Though I knew what was going to happen, it still was funny.

Madman on the road

Over the weekend at Con on the Cob in Hudson, OH, I needed to drive comedy musician Insane Ian among others from the restaurant back to the hotel so everyone could get ready for an event. On the way back I stated he was the 10th musician I have driven.

Actually he was #12. I figured it out and came out with a map to show which state I drove which person.



Some of them I drove once or twice only a short distance from either a restaurant or store to a hotel or from an airport to a hotel and others I have driven over 400 miles to a con.