tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218596842023-11-16T04:44:48.311-06:00Derek Brink - Maybe this will be something else some day, but now it's just an archive.Check out the podcast without all the text at https://soundcloud.com/emptychecking!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-72256767261712873882017-11-01T22:29:00.005-05:002017-11-01T22:29:38.128-05:00We've moved!In order to get everything under the same name and whatnot, this blog has moved to a new address. You can find the Empty Checking podcast at the following address from now on:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://emptychecking.blogspot.com/">http://emptychecking.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Everything that's on this blog has been transported over there. The complete archive is at that link, so please update your bookmarks without fear of losing track of the backlog!<br />
<br />
See you there!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-38892456775922930972017-10-26T00:41:00.000-05:002017-10-26T00:41:07.510-05:00Episode 11 - Rewriting the Rules of EnglishOn this episode, I talk about a great concert from Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets. Then I talk about the WWE. Then I quickly review some music from Tori Amos and Godspeed You Black Emperor and recommend some TV, in particular Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. I also bid brief RIPs to Robert Guillaume and Fats Domino. All that, plus I sing the praises of Delmar Hall and Mission Taco, and play the guitar a little!<br />
<br />
Here's the player:<br />
<br /><iframe width="80%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/348642387&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false"></iframe>
<br />
Index of Subjects Discussed:<br />
<ul>
<li>0:00 - Intro Stuff, including RIPs to Robert Guillaume and Fats Domino</li>
<li>4:20 - Review of Nick Lowe and Los Straightjackets, including reviews of the venue (Delmar Hall), Mission Taco, and the evening in general.</li>
<li>31:11 - This week in WWE Wrestling.</li>
<li>41:57 - Batting Cleanup - Tori Amos, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Dirk Gently, and more!</li>
<li>51:05 - Outro Music</li>
</ul>
And here are some photos!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC4UktGeJCxufO5SluPdE9lMALrpBzZXEQqS3b-8rH-MOwrqQgEJ3WJ6AG79xAyB9ri0IHHkaJ_wtMWJmvgQeXWI3nUh3qveKnuovKtMb-UEIIWXq1Qv-ZiZsXQeIaL_MbAiC5g/s1600/dbnlcover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="975" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC4UktGeJCxufO5SluPdE9lMALrpBzZXEQqS3b-8rH-MOwrqQgEJ3WJ6AG79xAyB9ri0IHHkaJ_wtMWJmvgQeXWI3nUh3qveKnuovKtMb-UEIIWXq1Qv-ZiZsXQeIaL_MbAiC5g/s320/dbnlcover.png" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bigger version of the thumbnail, basically so I can post it on Facebook.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysp_RRS4QOPiGf6JrgeBlDpMFoLj84hd6gpbyOlzVVaPoczcQL_2AU5gJN9lDg9hK7j8tzhOlFgF3QF8WjMb5oTjK1CuwRdyXuJEV1hFdeyIWjHvXdG5_-dcWanf1ZkGQcm_pbg/s1600/jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysp_RRS4QOPiGf6JrgeBlDpMFoLj84hd6gpbyOlzVVaPoczcQL_2AU5gJN9lDg9hK7j8tzhOlFgF3QF8WjMb5oTjK1CuwRdyXuJEV1hFdeyIWjHvXdG5_-dcWanf1ZkGQcm_pbg/s320/jesus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick Lowe's "Jesus of Cool"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14O6rQC_WP_Oz-C-AImVB1krWc3sgMggGDED4IVUjDWSIRpTZpYFRXi-EnhyjSHLFzYrIKkYTQaI_BC1IP4NDsG09E9TkJ7lTDSpB55WFO5icS6Q6AEgaWnWWW66biBhKLhKDjw/s1600/los.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14O6rQC_WP_Oz-C-AImVB1krWc3sgMggGDED4IVUjDWSIRpTZpYFRXi-EnhyjSHLFzYrIKkYTQaI_BC1IP4NDsG09E9TkJ7lTDSpB55WFO5icS6Q6AEgaWnWWW66biBhKLhKDjw/s320/los.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Los Straitjackets' "What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Los Straitjackets"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ-ChQk_64x_S_JvXNkyoSic_vzKjAOJJTJ_zm3_slbYPPh8nfyUSse9O1OWg_qTX5V0WmwI82o75Nqy8GgKl6tTN6UET8_u-S-7FsqoexZdncFk69HciDCpLgN3DXuUAKH_qKA/s1600/shirt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="322" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ-ChQk_64x_S_JvXNkyoSic_vzKjAOJJTJ_zm3_slbYPPh8nfyUSse9O1OWg_qTX5V0WmwI82o75Nqy8GgKl6tTN6UET8_u-S-7FsqoexZdncFk69HciDCpLgN3DXuUAKH_qKA/s320/shirt.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shirt!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicduG3YoOfzdwYT2T5phdrLMx3mjhaGljJfdZZs1OGj6D470fRawgbsQI9EkT0O_EZlHgfFYpu1tyyl5GWeJLmoUHyuKO0rMR1BAzs4jnko1VA_CNaOVVyNHdSO1dpmhkUeTaaXg/s1600/pins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicduG3YoOfzdwYT2T5phdrLMx3mjhaGljJfdZZs1OGj6D470fRawgbsQI9EkT0O_EZlHgfFYpu1tyyl5GWeJLmoUHyuKO0rMR1BAzs4jnko1VA_CNaOVVyNHdSO1dpmhkUeTaaXg/s320/pins.png" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pins!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRF7br7PoN8zMtVdaTwqe6tK18p4uIJrwyA8N3wEnfhI_66ekWdTzaJ-4NTWZt1N3-D95OMZ95fPNSFZ1coi1EQ3QMhNiOj-WT2Q72izl_TY01Fy2wZsG1Jd_fr_7WP7wO2E23w/s1600/tacos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="558" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRF7br7PoN8zMtVdaTwqe6tK18p4uIJrwyA8N3wEnfhI_66ekWdTzaJ-4NTWZt1N3-D95OMZ95fPNSFZ1coi1EQ3QMhNiOj-WT2Q72izl_TY01Fy2wZsG1Jd_fr_7WP7wO2E23w/s320/tacos.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tacos!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJKI1n25rRTMWMZ3nCEbqRyb2BCHI-k6MiG-bhE5SjijCpJGT8ZCjB_d9M6KB5_sya5Gr-Hs_kiZtPY_XREkLxyw8WMSXQiEJSFArEVf-d768YxB0UTY3II1zggAf1tRWtrdzRw/s1600/DirkGently_KA_UK-600x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJKI1n25rRTMWMZ3nCEbqRyb2BCHI-k6MiG-bhE5SjijCpJGT8ZCjB_d9M6KB5_sya5Gr-Hs_kiZtPY_XREkLxyw8WMSXQiEJSFArEVf-d768YxB0UTY3II1zggAf1tRWtrdzRw/s320/DirkGently_KA_UK-600x900.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite shows airing right now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M-CqqB9wb5OW9bmDaqEfTohSJMMBqT-Dh84gNIjkg1WFIS89_rmQRyrxBuV2_4Ib2r0XI8WcJyR-cPeoQ-yQ_SixuZeOSmnQiO4X-jaov3Dpm6KOhzy0vHJ6KszEDNBsOtgZyg/s1600/tori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M-CqqB9wb5OW9bmDaqEfTohSJMMBqT-Dh84gNIjkg1WFIS89_rmQRyrxBuV2_4Ib2r0XI8WcJyR-cPeoQ-yQ_SixuZeOSmnQiO4X-jaov3Dpm6KOhzy0vHJ6KszEDNBsOtgZyg/s320/tori.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tori Amos - "Native Invader"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxoBRSFhRiMQlo4i0Xi7GlYkpru9nuRgSYklU9yMs0XZfVuIgad8saDEKGlWaoDXOVZ7Mnqp4kduCxUgAIFym7HH7hjxzY6AOJxpR2XFLdTC9H8HtdhH0agcQyLQooNwVJl10zA/s1600/gybe-lucifer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="806" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxoBRSFhRiMQlo4i0Xi7GlYkpru9nuRgSYklU9yMs0XZfVuIgad8saDEKGlWaoDXOVZ7Mnqp4kduCxUgAIFym7HH7hjxzY6AOJxpR2XFLdTC9H8HtdhH0agcQyLQooNwVJl10zA/s320/gybe-lucifer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Godspeed You ! Black Emperor - "Luciferian Towers"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-72140908795179165422017-10-19T00:46:00.000-05:002017-10-19T00:46:51.029-05:00Episode 10 - Bummer SandwichThis is a pretty serious episode. Please be forewarned that I openly discuss the subject of sexual assault/rape in regards to the Harvey Weinstein story. I do not describe anything in detail, but if the subject is a triggering event from you, you may wish to skip ahead. I also discuss pro-wrestling, because I have no idea how to smoothly transition between subjects. Then I close out the show bidding an emotional farewell to Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip. And more, including me playing a little guitar here and there.<br />
<br />
Here's the player:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/347580751&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
Didn't do any photos on this one, other than the cover photo, which I'll use to close out the post. Sorry. Just not a lot of stuff to take pictures of this week.<br />
<br />
Time-stamps:<br />
Introduction - 0:00<br />
Discussion of Harvey Weinstein/Sexual Assault - 3:08<br />
WWE Talk - 18:50<br />
RIP Gord Downie - 33:00<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3LrcJuXeYXBdkHlJG-E9gEscd3hs7jx3rnkYl-1lYxwwq4KpBPb5RHGiCUu2m9rjH3Ha9gUxhyjG8iripCAORus9ngWCAWoh-F5YpXUH_bFN4sf_YGonmnxKmmODQY88uEiATg/s1600/Hip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="597" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3LrcJuXeYXBdkHlJG-E9gEscd3hs7jx3rnkYl-1lYxwwq4KpBPb5RHGiCUu2m9rjH3Ha9gUxhyjG8iripCAORus9ngWCAWoh-F5YpXUH_bFN4sf_YGonmnxKmmODQY88uEiATg/s320/Hip.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-62214965747361199792017-10-12T00:15:00.001-05:002017-10-12T00:21:23.882-05:00Episode 9 - Punk Rock and Pro WrestlingThis week we're back to normal. We're talking about a great concert I went to featuring the Descendents, the Get Up Kids, and Braddock. Then I talk about pro wrestling. That's pretty much it!<br />
<br />
Here's the player:<br />
<br />
<br /><iframe width="80%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/346513831&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
And here are some photos of the stuff I talk about...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvPgJkPI5jWGCirp9-WSNMhYVeWKlps5Ef_UjYwFaMxzwG3rj8qTge8pLGh-9Oa4L28EkF8aUs3j630JylFIoDElbIJT1T3qRAOaM0dB9y1rtzY4zvjdgMl5yky2F5Cy2eJDsYw/s1600/GUKcover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvPgJkPI5jWGCirp9-WSNMhYVeWKlps5Ef_UjYwFaMxzwG3rj8qTge8pLGh-9Oa4L28EkF8aUs3j630JylFIoDElbIJT1T3qRAOaM0dB9y1rtzY4zvjdgMl5yky2F5Cy2eJDsYw/s320/GUKcover.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First the cover photo, so I can post it on Facebook a little better.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaTrJxpigb05PP9M3YfzVLtdoHe-ItPNCcxW0KNeikskHaUdN9YvOdw5vG3XpLJM3p_0nqvaHUIecKTS7pV92vkfj4tfktPbp4JEuFx01F-onRB2c6saVp2iUYvwz3RZlI01FyQ/s1600/hoodieback.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaTrJxpigb05PP9M3YfzVLtdoHe-ItPNCcxW0KNeikskHaUdN9YvOdw5vG3XpLJM3p_0nqvaHUIecKTS7pV92vkfj4tfktPbp4JEuFx01F-onRB2c6saVp2iUYvwz3RZlI01FyQ/s320/hoodieback.png" style="cursor: move;" width="136" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr84CPCriv3THbTXdKA22KHBFwqOSq-dqrAlI1xtl6vEvse-TQvPq4klVds36X6xafAIuYaF8q9YYIJHZuFUyRsUzETfaRoJDhf6ifOvGyF-bLzhWiEqJShdDjfUMLGJupNqXBBg/s1600/hoodiefront.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr84CPCriv3THbTXdKA22KHBFwqOSq-dqrAlI1xtl6vEvse-TQvPq4klVds36X6xafAIuYaF8q9YYIJHZuFUyRsUzETfaRoJDhf6ifOvGyF-bLzhWiEqJShdDjfUMLGJupNqXBBg/s320/hoodiefront.png" width="159" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxcmVN8XAHFocXRoMjQDwIJLAed6QuAxEvE7YHXI8cotp3LxGa1MjUj1vFtSfG5f7qP9yL4hEwz707F27-CC90SV_hoStdNa0s3qY-Kq6ANY7-pQrNLRvInZBCWXDJSiX6JGw_w/s1600/dentsshirt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxcmVN8XAHFocXRoMjQDwIJLAed6QuAxEvE7YHXI8cotp3LxGa1MjUj1vFtSfG5f7qP9yL4hEwz707F27-CC90SV_hoStdNa0s3qY-Kq6ANY7-pQrNLRvInZBCWXDJSiX6JGw_w/s320/dentsshirt.png" width="261" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUhP9D-66h8pALnS7cTXYsY1L5YNCPwgk5Xi1GCAJfhgxPxOV-IASqR4sSgeTCaZxwzRkjE27hG0XychwQ2HYVxun2TiKHW5BxVpr4tztmEdNKahBqyTqD98LOOwNJO4rqp74bg/s1600/milo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="262" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUhP9D-66h8pALnS7cTXYsY1L5YNCPwgk5Xi1GCAJfhgxPxOV-IASqR4sSgeTCaZxwzRkjE27hG0XychwQ2HYVxun2TiKHW5BxVpr4tztmEdNKahBqyTqD98LOOwNJO4rqp74bg/s320/milo.png" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wanted to post a video of it bobbling, but I couldn't get it to work right with the blog. Use your imagination, I guess.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4xXeVdm9FP82cI6QNwMxsOY8T2qdGCnZvei-___tYmrMUmzyQcevf2guY11-ukDaKoZFBNuktzSEuFrk1j2V0XNy4DWFcrhUlckWrhhpvfnw84VOwBn4FrFJ2Bw4uyBY0xqTHQ/s1600/GetUpsShirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1188" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4xXeVdm9FP82cI6QNwMxsOY8T2qdGCnZvei-___tYmrMUmzyQcevf2guY11-ukDaKoZFBNuktzSEuFrk1j2V0XNy4DWFcrhUlckWrhhpvfnw84VOwBn4FrFJ2Bw4uyBY0xqTHQ/s320/GetUpsShirt.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same as the "cover" photo, but without the logo so you can see the shirt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLqR_CMgaTLWu70F3MqE7GSQSBEPEUVnH4wrrzYvkJWECHipd7ILe_XoMCIQosZj0ZQ9yAXIK_cC1UIU523J8hRYhKvvZS83b49iB8zXayIaAWxVmRb_Mf8eUoXRd0uEvlltfew/s1600/nakamura.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="603" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLqR_CMgaTLWu70F3MqE7GSQSBEPEUVnH4wrrzYvkJWECHipd7ILe_XoMCIQosZj0ZQ9yAXIK_cC1UIU523J8hRYhKvvZS83b49iB8zXayIaAWxVmRb_Mf8eUoXRd0uEvlltfew/s320/nakamura.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-56411592824259795892017-10-03T00:13:00.002-05:002017-10-03T00:13:24.688-05:00Episode 8 - Processing Las VegasThis is a pretty low-key episode. I talk through my thoughts on the Las Vegas shooting. It's a more raw listen than usual. I talk about a couple of albums that helped me today; Aimee Mann's "Mental Illness" (which I realized during the upload I've already talked about on the show, but whatever) and the new album by Lowercase Noises, "The Swiss Illness." Mostly, I just needed to talk. Thought it might help me/others.<br />
<br />
Here's the player:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/345111579&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe><br />
<br />
And a larger photo of the cover, mostly so it'll show up on Facebook...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAqd30q-lNAlJRa8SbngHdKlYh5lMN9wnjE5zXHrUrKKJIbGhj3_8-ysHWc0BTSUW7WAhNIMqJtaaBfpE1DJLO9wvaFCfoas5d4W9P-d3RlbP1hOvGjMo8hxSvEEL4KYm6LVyiw/s1600/EC+Cover+Vegas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="881" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAqd30q-lNAlJRa8SbngHdKlYh5lMN9wnjE5zXHrUrKKJIbGhj3_8-ysHWc0BTSUW7WAhNIMqJtaaBfpE1DJLO9wvaFCfoas5d4W9P-d3RlbP1hOvGjMo8hxSvEEL4KYm6LVyiw/s320/EC+Cover+Vegas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
We'll get back to having fun next week (assuming I can talk after seeing the dentist, as explained in the show).Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-66170989588338028162017-09-27T22:50:00.002-05:002017-09-27T22:50:54.394-05:00No New Episode This WeekI've got some health problems. Tooth issues are giving me regular migraines. (By "regular" I meant at least weekly.) I was hit with one tonight, which was my only opportunity to record this week. I won't be able to post an episode this week as a result. Sorry about that, but I'll be back next week with fun stuff, assuming my dentist leaves me with enough teeth to do it. :)<br />
<br />
Thanks for your support. Sorry to let you down this week. I'll try not to let it happen again any time soon!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-62736213843595245372017-09-21T00:06:00.003-05:002017-09-21T00:06:56.155-05:00Episode 7 - FEATURING DAVE BRINK! - I Have No Idea Why I Thought Tim Curry Was in Spy KidsThis week's episode was a lot of fun for me. I'm downright giggly throughout. It's about an hour and twenty minutes of a conversation between myself and my brother Dave. <a href="http://davidbrink.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">(Please check out Dave's music at this link.)</a> We talk about all kinds of music, movies, and so on. Here's the player!<br />
<br />
<div>
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/343339786&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<br />
Index of main topics discussed:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>00:01 - Intro/Music</li>
<li>01:30 - Meeting Dave and Intro Stuff</li>
<li>03:50 - Review/Discussion of Living Colour's "Shade"</li>
<li>14:24 - A Text from Dad turns into a Tribute to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan</li>
<li>18:06 - Dave Tells Me About the Movie "IT"</li>
<li>27:06 - A Concert Review: Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, and Edgar Winter (we also end up talking about Saxon)</li>
<li>43:09 - Review/Discussion of the Foo Fighters' "Concrete and Gold"</li>
<li>50:24 - I Tell Dave About Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real's New Self-Titled Album</li>
<li>52:52 - Dave Tells Me About Steve Earle's New Album</li>
<li>54:09 - A Farewell to Jessi Zazu of Those Darlins</li>
<li>01:04:16 - Random Questions With Dave About Stuff He Likes (Favorite Albums, TV, Pro-Wrestling Memories, etc.)</li>
</ul>
<div>
No extra photos this week because it was so all-over-the-place. And also I was too tired to mess with photos when I was getting ready to post this. So there. Hope you have fun! Comment and stuff!</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPBnonVnjM4bGUURbdWBZXbCkxUhVldBIETbLtldL2LA22CXjbl9B0CtgP1bmvBd7DUBWyLdnLpENY3VJhYN45fdhIQziBz1wnuInadIPzhruoy23r6Gb8hgTiqk2AaVWeGZfWw/s1600/db+and+db+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="911" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPBnonVnjM4bGUURbdWBZXbCkxUhVldBIETbLtldL2LA22CXjbl9B0CtgP1bmvBd7DUBWyLdnLpENY3VJhYN45fdhIQziBz1wnuInadIPzhruoy23r6Gb8hgTiqk2AaVWeGZfWw/s320/db+and+db+cover.png" width="282" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-74522182908831590872017-09-14T00:46:00.000-05:002017-09-14T00:46:58.281-05:00Episode 6 - In Which I Become Tom WaitsThis week, I recorded early, so I could be sure I could do it at all. At the time of recording/writing, I'm struggling against a cold that seems to want to take my voice away from me. I'm raspy and don't sound normal at all. So that got me thinking about Tom Waits. And this podcast is pretty much just me giving you my picks for the top 5 Tom Waits albums, then talking about Neil Young and giving a personal message at the end. Clocking in at right around 20 minutes, this is the shortest episode so far! Enjoy!<br />
<br />
(Next week, a conversation with my brother Dave. As a fun-fact, I also uploaded this on 9/11/17, although it's not getting posted until Thursday. By the time the upload was complete around 10pm, my temperature was 100-degrees.)<br />
<br />
Here's the player:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/341965423%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-Z6cDV&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
and here are a couple photos...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADb3K43aD9KhJhptV7-zs_gnXRPgNO8xEQEL9bzU-tjjCVk509BnhaXN8vAtPHXFdm4uZZtNlZdyT0otmveGYgOyRUrfPsILhnL_LemTTjOoDKb22-p6al7KX-V-z0M2ltLjQ7g/s1600/Waits+Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1099" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADb3K43aD9KhJhptV7-zs_gnXRPgNO8xEQEL9bzU-tjjCVk509BnhaXN8vAtPHXFdm4uZZtNlZdyT0otmveGYgOyRUrfPsILhnL_LemTTjOoDKb22-p6al7KX-V-z0M2ltLjQ7g/s320/Waits+Cover.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's the thumbnail...only bigger!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYC2ae8wlvFTRgn57S8k45ChdYO1y39mc6TG9FBb6w1PY5NIDikxnQf0oFuwGroMQ_7Xd1o-RDeHhoEuXNK-bE3udQjwkjxNjZdiVE9QL1qQ2MBJcfxgPGBnTEpefpJcm9xRaYrw/s1600/Neil.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="581" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYC2ae8wlvFTRgn57S8k45ChdYO1y39mc6TG9FBb6w1PY5NIDikxnQf0oFuwGroMQ_7Xd1o-RDeHhoEuXNK-bE3udQjwkjxNjZdiVE9QL1qQ2MBJcfxgPGBnTEpefpJcm9xRaYrw/s320/Neil.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buy it buy it buy it buy it buy it. Buy it buy it buy it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-70772464557996927042017-09-07T00:18:00.000-05:002017-09-07T00:25:34.762-05:00Episode 5: Yelling, Crying, and a Pick of the WeekIn this week's episode I yell about not saying things in arguments that you can't back up, I come very close to crying while talking about something that happened in pro-wrestling, and I give my first and possibly only ever "pick of the week" to Ray Davies' super new album "Americana." Plus a whole bunch of other stuff. Check it out at the player below, with an outline and photos following!<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/341270684%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-4sc7M&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Stuff I discussed:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Music:</li>
<ul>
<li>A brief "RIP" to Walter Becker of Steely Dan.</li>
<li>Deep Purple's "InFinite"</li>
<li>(Briefly) Alice Cooper's "Paranormal"</li>
<li>Roger Waters' "Is This the Life We Really Want?"</li>
<li>Ray Davies' "Americana"</li>
<li>Steven Wilson's "To the Bone"</li>
</ul>
<li>TV:</li>
<ul>
<li>Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency</li>
<li>Brief rant about being called a sexist and being told the phrase "batshit crazy" is a sexist thing to say.</li>
<li>30 Rock</li>
<li>MASH</li>
</ul>
<li>Pro Wrestling</li>
<ul>
<li>RAW</li>
<ul>
<li>Strowman/Big Show</li>
<li>Balor/Wyatt</li>
<li>Women's Division</li>
</ul>
<li>SmackDown:</li>
<ul>
<li>Mahal</li>
<li>Shane/Owens</li>
<li>Orton/Nakamura</li>
</ul>
<li>And Connor's Cure damn near makes me cry.</li>
</ul>
<li>Print Media:</li>
<ul>
<li>Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy"</li>
<li><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1347926387/the-dead-palace/description" target="_blank">My friend Jim Ousley's awesome comic book/kickstarter campaign for "The Dead Palace." Click this link to check out the Kickstarter!</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
Here are some pictures. Going to have a guest on the podcast next week, I think! So look forward to that!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDz1MCsLa8JHbo0Uxv5Xgh0jCBII7-CT-pqDQ-4EGPZx0QaXxAFDI2b45VH6CB0wzZ9sLp5iwCusuOjdGBNNbWfTBdWM2A4agkVT2TMuyTQtzq26nZKxFl3h_Q8BJ_dRjncgCiw/s1600/connorscure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDz1MCsLa8JHbo0Uxv5Xgh0jCBII7-CT-pqDQ-4EGPZx0QaXxAFDI2b45VH6CB0wzZ9sLp5iwCusuOjdGBNNbWfTBdWM2A4agkVT2TMuyTQtzq26nZKxFl3h_Q8BJ_dRjncgCiw/s320/connorscure.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connor's Cure represents the human side of the WWE and it's by far the best thing they've ever done as a company. I'm proud to be a contributor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ2f8mKOZnPR-nCkYTA8NDqupHzlY5HqVfbXykdfWxXQZR1_z4BzW9SasXPfGSFvspgt_V5HQGIl9FMxRvfDKcsPd2r_vgmi2-7yWtH1ru_XdOGNykU4QafmvlPgtA_tjWzk10w/s1600/dead+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ2f8mKOZnPR-nCkYTA8NDqupHzlY5HqVfbXykdfWxXQZR1_z4BzW9SasXPfGSFvspgt_V5HQGIl9FMxRvfDKcsPd2r_vgmi2-7yWtH1ru_XdOGNykU4QafmvlPgtA_tjWzk10w/s320/dead+palace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Ousley's a good friend, a good guy, and an incredibly talented musician and author. Please check out his Kickstarter. The new comic book promises to be spooky-scary and fun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FN4z0zmlPa7WsZp859Vt8TyMEZ4tqBwkJHIRTcRMUGl45pd-GbDkMRY9-OXTId-y-hRLDQtXUCuI0eo3yybFH1mal0W-LzEv3T4D0X-jApUfc2tS6VN8WTUJEi6fqjvZdCP-Fw/s1600/9-6music.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FN4z0zmlPa7WsZp859Vt8TyMEZ4tqBwkJHIRTcRMUGl45pd-GbDkMRY9-OXTId-y-hRLDQtXUCuI0eo3yybFH1mal0W-LzEv3T4D0X-jApUfc2tS6VN8WTUJEi6fqjvZdCP-Fw/s320/9-6music.png" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of music to listen to this week!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbrsNqQfpfrIGk-AAWH2LRNWnvwyXR1-nFkKnfwqLzkckFySCMSKJ9gEqvKnWN_B2gtQBeHY4e5_OH9oUTj39h-7p3vnl4hdeDS9-cu6Ia73mG9gICKpku7LrWHa5BAKR5Ji1gA/s1600/dirk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="605" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbrsNqQfpfrIGk-AAWH2LRNWnvwyXR1-nFkKnfwqLzkckFySCMSKJ9gEqvKnWN_B2gtQBeHY4e5_OH9oUTj39h-7p3vnl4hdeDS9-cu6Ia73mG9gICKpku7LrWHa5BAKR5Ji1gA/s320/dirk.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batshit crazy show. You heard me. BAT. SHIT.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5As8NzSoQKLwlC0G2-v812WBYLBlrUhmgps8O0bQNkvyDpqg288RLhhrFkDKSPbl4so_ktnn5g1XcXmU_2donHsY_UQ_LnPphMq2wdvfdhCp_ZUSW_WjRuBHOKf6g_z4RjmVhA/s1600/NewYorkTrilogy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="605" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5As8NzSoQKLwlC0G2-v812WBYLBlrUhmgps8O0bQNkvyDpqg288RLhhrFkDKSPbl4so_ktnn5g1XcXmU_2donHsY_UQ_LnPphMq2wdvfdhCp_ZUSW_WjRuBHOKf6g_z4RjmVhA/s320/NewYorkTrilogy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm like three chapters in and I love it. Paul Auster's great.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-18856939220444510822017-09-01T01:08:00.000-05:002017-09-01T01:08:29.504-05:00Episode 4: I Was Very Tired When I Recorded, So I Stuttered More Than UsualOn this week's episode we start with an appeal to donate to the Red Cross to help out victims of Hurricane Harvey. So I wanted to start this post that way too. Here's the Red Cross' logo and a link:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowmTbjWiuFUErikeGdrHQKhKTfnX9iT2UXQjhNYAGk7HLLTkbrNlp8Hxh_nJbKYIAjtZNoVT8vVztvLS-mB09xyEd7DH-7jGaZkpFz6qJ0hbjwEwcX9GM6OaMNsfL9HqJoYYoTg/s1600/red+cross.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1600" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowmTbjWiuFUErikeGdrHQKhKTfnX9iT2UXQjhNYAGk7HLLTkbrNlp8Hxh_nJbKYIAjtZNoVT8vVztvLS-mB09xyEd7DH-7jGaZkpFz6qJ0hbjwEwcX9GM6OaMNsfL9HqJoYYoTg/s320/red+cross.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please note that the Red Cross in no way sponsors or endorses this blog or podcast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.redcross.org/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.redcross.org</span></a></div>
<br />
Or, as of the date of publishing, you can text the word "HARVEY" to 90999 to donate $10, straight from your phone bill. Or if you are led to give to a smaller organization with less overhead, please do that and don't look back. Give give give to the group you think will help the most. I gave to the Red Cross because they're a trusted name and a good place to start. I have a personal friend in Houston who has a non-profit organization at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="origin" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthe25group.org%2Fharvey%2F&h=ATMNQuEZrYohjAILv3ApgMQL51RyxxLh956DdruYr8ej2sIR8nmiSAZWDtO-t8BkvdkdWdnRe8ik1W9XYofDZQBYiyWqFmxpntRPWq2HQ3UGOLKDydKidcA5JAlwbyt_B1cQ2UbmN_OHv-OFsZYkNglHPeOwGEuZWY7gK6jroFtxi1ctYgS5EGJr1i57jU8T4gLwVdjBoTL3Tjo_UzuHMy740JTZV81csKUlXmi2CW8EjJF1S6qMaxDdEKwH9r9d5d3y1SX3Kb1A7vOggHWEfo0" href="http://the25group.org/harvey/" target="_blank">http://the25group.org/harvey/</a> and they do good work, too. Please consider donating to them, if you're looking for a smaller, locally based group whom I personally know and trust.<br />
<br />
Now...here's the podcast!<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/340417800&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
In this week's episode, you'll hear me talk about the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>My fondness for the band <a href="http://www.yofishboy.com/">Fishboy</a> and my excitement at receiving their new album in the mail today!</li>
<li>Other new music:</li>
<ul>
<li>Japandroids - Near to the Wild Heart of Life</li>
<li>Jason Isbell - The Nashville Sound</li>
<li>Jade Jackson - Gilded</li>
<li>Aimee Mann - Mental Illness</li>
<li>Big Star's Third - Thank You Friends</li>
</ul>
<li>Books:</li>
<ul>
<li>Tana French - The Trespasser</li>
<li>George Saunders - The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil</li>
</ul>
<li>Stuff I Dig on "New Media:"</li>
<ul>
<li>YouTube:</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SteveAndLarson">Steve & Larson's Going in Raw</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjCDlbCvET6a6K53TV9ZhZA" target="_blank">Wrestling With Wregret</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GameGrumps" target="_blank">Game Grumps</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DMJared" target="_blank">ProJared</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/jacksepticeye" target="_blank">JackSepticEye</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Cracked" target="_blank">Cracked</a></li>
</ul>
<li>Podcasts:</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.mlwradio.com/jim-cornette-experience.html" target="_blank">Jim Cornette Experience</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mlwradio.com/what-happened-when-.html" target="_blank">What Happened When with Tony Schiavone</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mlwradio.com/something-to-wrestle-with-bruce-prichard.html" target="_blank">Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wtfpod.com/" target="_blank">WTF with Marc Maron</a></li>
<li><a href="http://podbay.fm/show/542228532" target="_blank">Harmontown</a></li>
<li>And I also talked about Wil Wheaton's podcast that got me into doing this in the first place, but I can't find a link to it.</li>
</ul>
<li>Netflix:</li>
<ul>
<li>A brief summary of old shows I like...</li>
<li>Kimmy Schmidt</li>
<li>Glow</li>
<li>MST3K</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
And I'm sure I said some other stuff. Lots of links to click above! And here are a few photos below...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSj8_DhAwlPaWzfAHTBRYDlPjSn1fyyy_YvaOX1J7vy3BOBATxhVr7vd-V42rradhvr4I4jiMWpIpFD0xim_PWDK5ovE0GAi7H3RC3nKzAGe6kIXs4GnGBhe8qAeSa_LYm3KOarQ/s1600/fishboy+note.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSj8_DhAwlPaWzfAHTBRYDlPjSn1fyyy_YvaOX1J7vy3BOBATxhVr7vd-V42rradhvr4I4jiMWpIpFD0xim_PWDK5ovE0GAi7H3RC3nKzAGe6kIXs4GnGBhe8qAeSa_LYm3KOarQ/s320/fishboy+note.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool handwritten, personalized note from Fishboy! Yo! Fishboy!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UGYa7qjjjQr2mgN9i2CfDs4sT7pG7UxWZ5XdOkMhHXg-C5icDuIOgIUi3tunMdDdgSBsP7KCIYGHhznNTjIxHdq5B5xQI_-0g0aHGdq-1zVjEXPlbWIQ6GuFD4wILkx4Z90Dqg/s1600/fishboy+records.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="528" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UGYa7qjjjQr2mgN9i2CfDs4sT7pG7UxWZ5XdOkMhHXg-C5icDuIOgIUi3tunMdDdgSBsP7KCIYGHhznNTjIxHdq5B5xQI_-0g0aHGdq-1zVjEXPlbWIQ6GuFD4wILkx4Z90Dqg/s320/fishboy+records.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Fishboy collection (so far).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRpcmJgIJLKOXS0u1v9IIvBoFkwICe_ekVg8kYlZf1177q76vdn2Gjhch1jY4yNyjR5ijUzwOMuachx9W59p19zaz-7geP8Cp8WaaHYjK_8bt3vzl8XVlkMqgrNjn77trpWOhIg/s1600/assorted+music.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="571" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRpcmJgIJLKOXS0u1v9IIvBoFkwICe_ekVg8kYlZf1177q76vdn2Gjhch1jY4yNyjR5ijUzwOMuachx9W59p19zaz-7geP8Cp8WaaHYjK_8bt3vzl8XVlkMqgrNjn77trpWOhIg/s320/assorted+music.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other music I discussed: Japandroids, Jason Isbell, Jade Jackson, Aimee Mann, Big Star's Third.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGtBXQBtn6SCAp-q74jHKKVZsarrn9DbH7dfPDqtNfSkZ-KUQXOfPLQgoCp8LfvF8ApH9ma0QMiKWXii0NhyE79sHWzYtf_cphQS6ByWf4N7fnGGnwU3nAu5eKSVtizQsnP1kvQ/s1600/books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="605" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGtBXQBtn6SCAp-q74jHKKVZsarrn9DbH7dfPDqtNfSkZ-KUQXOfPLQgoCp8LfvF8ApH9ma0QMiKWXii0NhyE79sHWzYtf_cphQS6ByWf4N7fnGGnwU3nAu5eKSVtizQsnP1kvQ/s320/books.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I liked both of these books!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDuGfJoBs4hvNaWrCuhDVfephO2yhpEELXEZyS_J3ikDJne5yT-TfH0GPLvUiS8D5bCk_famqykQiLp8q33PTwwS91jP7q-rl5JanfP10unz3KSxrWfotAxLjWHDkHAoWDwa9dQ/s1600/MeTube.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="718" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDuGfJoBs4hvNaWrCuhDVfephO2yhpEELXEZyS_J3ikDJne5yT-TfH0GPLvUiS8D5bCk_famqykQiLp8q33PTwwS91jP7q-rl5JanfP10unz3KSxrWfotAxLjWHDkHAoWDwa9dQ/s320/MeTube.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I talked a lot about YouTube...so here's me on YouTube. I'm at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dereklbrink">http://www.youtube.com/user/dereklbrink</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Long one this week! Going to shoot for shorter next week...but I hope you had fun!</div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-91318155398913986622017-08-24T12:08:00.000-05:002017-08-24T12:08:03.795-05:00Episode 3: A Tribute to Jerry Lewis and More. Also I Said "Steven Webber" Instead of "Steven Wright" at One Point. I'm Aware of It.This week's episode is special to me because I talked for about a half-hour about a comedy hero of mine who passed away this week. This one's in memory of the great Jerry Lewis. And I also talk about a few other things. And yes, as the post title suggests, I'm aware that at one point I say "Steven Weber" when I mean "Steven Wright." Enjoy that with my compliments. Here's the player:<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/339317787&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
And here's the outline:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A tribute to Jerry Lewis</li>
<li>Discussion of the Broadchurch series finale (CONTAINS SPOILERS between minutes 29-32)</li>
<li>WWE, including Summerslam, SmackDown, and RAW</li>
<li>A few recommendations from Glen Campbell's back catalogue</li>
<li>The new Guided by Voices albums</li>
<li>Brand New's "Science Fiction"</li>
</ul>
<div>
...all that an another attempt to find a catchphrase! Do it up!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are some photos...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCDbhc-OelHFnIVNPrdf7i1e1fsQ3O3jaUOHvT_zlaPUdgoAwnvkWIWulqaAYx3zZuagbG7ujmcS6eic1UUB7kbYcjd7ydaSzC5IakSlxCuhy98qTi_9SoavJ7sc76TnvtU7pLQ/s1600/der+and+Jer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCDbhc-OelHFnIVNPrdf7i1e1fsQ3O3jaUOHvT_zlaPUdgoAwnvkWIWulqaAYx3zZuagbG7ujmcS6eic1UUB7kbYcjd7ydaSzC5IakSlxCuhy98qTi_9SoavJ7sc76TnvtU7pLQ/s320/der+and+Jer.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just thought this was fun to do. I think this counts as parody, so no one should try to sue me for it or anything.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_AoiR-FkEkPdxWe9Fy41-QNQvvWzz0oeeino1cvZx8IzLheH0MYkM9n66Z5x04PRcisczoJv2_sFXjHYSOsOaj-lcTlLoUUpb1MW8GQGsjm3wsj5L6lQZlyE_A-YnM7vBaGIDg/s1600/Lesnar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="519" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_AoiR-FkEkPdxWe9Fy41-QNQvvWzz0oeeino1cvZx8IzLheH0MYkM9n66Z5x04PRcisczoJv2_sFXjHYSOsOaj-lcTlLoUUpb1MW8GQGsjm3wsj5L6lQZlyE_A-YnM7vBaGIDg/s320/Lesnar.png" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know what images to use for WWE stuff. The WWE is litigious, so I don't want to use screenshots or anything.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3l9s9joBVPJ2YUATJleI88mqXjpt66fBRoXdVb3Ugzxkn-UrHy4sbVA29HnMxAptxzjkjAqXQbdJTCoQKeZoJ5GJiuOLqXGs-rXELWnvlW7xVNSRe6vaXf4lAgIkGCbA3hDvfCA/s1600/music.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3l9s9joBVPJ2YUATJleI88mqXjpt66fBRoXdVb3Ugzxkn-UrHy4sbVA29HnMxAptxzjkjAqXQbdJTCoQKeZoJ5GJiuOLqXGs-rXELWnvlW7xVNSRe6vaXf4lAgIkGCbA3hDvfCA/s320/music.png" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the music I discussed...the bottom right isn't the current Brand New record, but it'll do for the photo...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-74102091369666007012017-08-17T14:14:00.000-05:002017-08-17T19:33:31.815-05:00Episode 2: This Time All the Swear Words are on PurposeEpisode two is up! From this point forward, you can pretty much expect an upload every Thursday. Thanks for listening! Here's the embedded player, with a preview and some photos to follow...<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/338248806&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
In this week's episode, I talk about the following subjects:<br />
<ul>
<li>Paul Auster's "4321"</li>
<li>Denis Johnson's "Jesus' Son" and "Train Dreams"</li>
<li>Manchester Orchestra's "A Black Mile to the Surface"</li>
<li>Father John Misty's "Pure Comedy"</li>
<li>Big Star (in general)</li>
<li>WWE Wrestling</li>
<li>Broadchurch</li>
<li><a href="http://www.rainn.org/" target="_blank">And a personal appeal for contributions to RAINN</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
Here are some photos.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxFc0GVFhpyamTldVXxMBNRZgpVAI6Y5ekGPwAZvYuaJTQZ8pC5mQvAAwycp9Ba0-nvXu8PcXcNV25vVvTQ-v2crbArenfr0CY8Mlfcdu9i8DQQfQcz-Ogz62M0D4gnzHX52Muw/s1600/Auster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="628" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxFc0GVFhpyamTldVXxMBNRZgpVAI6Y5ekGPwAZvYuaJTQZ8pC5mQvAAwycp9Ba0-nvXu8PcXcNV25vVvTQ-v2crbArenfr0CY8Mlfcdu9i8DQQfQcz-Ogz62M0D4gnzHX52Muw/s320/Auster.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Auster's "4321" Or a handful of words from it, anyway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgF81GO9r_phltafMhtyn7ToIagp47LgeK1IsU-31PqqFx3n6_5aHbMP2qav9CbrnurE9_Dj0Y9BCeeD-bbMqkD70edXKNu6WVB4-u-Pm2e-k8-8Ya1L5D9AD1Teo1QbVWAH0pg/s1600/johnson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="608" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgF81GO9r_phltafMhtyn7ToIagp47LgeK1IsU-31PqqFx3n6_5aHbMP2qav9CbrnurE9_Dj0Y9BCeeD-bbMqkD70edXKNu6WVB4-u-Pm2e-k8-8Ya1L5D9AD1Teo1QbVWAH0pg/s320/johnson.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen for scale.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VTTU9oPfRftztr86WnUTrSvyzuflCUsuUm0Y4XxuJvhlg0FCdVwGwQFabBsT5mVSw3HSZkx7Hty_BgM0YRjgHCbOMQxL5F-UP2PY5y9yHWa5Nc89jv_VG0ShY-iuW96kLrkDcg/s1600/manchester.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VTTU9oPfRftztr86WnUTrSvyzuflCUsuUm0Y4XxuJvhlg0FCdVwGwQFabBsT5mVSw3HSZkx7Hty_BgM0YRjgHCbOMQxL5F-UP2PY5y9yHWa5Nc89jv_VG0ShY-iuW96kLrkDcg/s320/manchester.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manchester Orchestra's "A Black Mile to the Surface." The surface of what is unclear.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceiwWVGyPY87hrnw-FcLqvWrglptTMIc7txAWmluG2ugCExPsfy_QOlOwpkb2UpEkmJellOkGhqUmPco1fuRC-grq0VBLo3iSsEZnX3cXo-pjNSlWc79bmlWfDIAbQrPGQdj0Vw/s1600/misty.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="586" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceiwWVGyPY87hrnw-FcLqvWrglptTMIc7txAWmluG2ugCExPsfy_QOlOwpkb2UpEkmJellOkGhqUmPco1fuRC-grq0VBLo3iSsEZnX3cXo-pjNSlWc79bmlWfDIAbQrPGQdj0Vw/s320/misty.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Father John Misty's "Pure Comedy" - The cover comes in a variety of colors. I like red.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQImOvcZ4A2t79Edyu09zeOtsE6Y0lcizM7oVuPVeFUSrcyOC1lQr8gvUdMReq_v_A_aV1a_cEjQFVk3uqXEnuctLdbtMW-4JfqoW5msRWEahZX2PwkhnZyMT3OBUjTC56BJ2BQQ/s1600/bigstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQImOvcZ4A2t79Edyu09zeOtsE6Y0lcizM7oVuPVeFUSrcyOC1lQr8gvUdMReq_v_A_aV1a_cEjQFVk3uqXEnuctLdbtMW-4JfqoW5msRWEahZX2PwkhnZyMT3OBUjTC56BJ2BQQ/s320/bigstar.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of my Big Star collection on my desk. And a small look into some of what I use to record the show!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJqZ2SaeP9n1N0-N5YACMmzoXlkFcFbqowYiGIrq4YMjDIdmTB_B_Ig-nlhzZW8vKw1KSGsUu1Sac7jFLWFG2tNDdeGazRb00Nz5FeMiiWRCE0TUPCZIlEi_07Jx8nWoPWUHCbQ/s1600/broadchurch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="761" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJqZ2SaeP9n1N0-N5YACMmzoXlkFcFbqowYiGIrq4YMjDIdmTB_B_Ig-nlhzZW8vKw1KSGsUu1Sac7jFLWFG2tNDdeGazRb00Nz5FeMiiWRCE0TUPCZIlEi_07Jx8nWoPWUHCbQ/s320/broadchurch.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broadchurch and a cameo by myself in the mirror. I like this picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9ltbRq1-aszBlkDHHbIZJ2d50Z_6FfUovvrw2H1MlT0eJbVNntcH9wTedoQa4nQsWbKCwx45T5iwswco6SPRThZ1bzKozV3KzzuYBwtxSfeSmPz8PgCCqmlSdWf1CIjNgeOFjg/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1366" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9ltbRq1-aszBlkDHHbIZJ2d50Z_6FfUovvrw2H1MlT0eJbVNntcH9wTedoQa4nQsWbKCwx45T5iwswco6SPRThZ1bzKozV3KzzuYBwtxSfeSmPz8PgCCqmlSdWf1CIjNgeOFjg/s320/logo.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My present charity of choice. Please visit http://www.rainn.org for more info. (To be clear, RAINN in no way sponsors this show or blog.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-8866993916911863022017-08-12T02:56:00.000-05:002017-08-12T13:36:21.697-05:00RELAUNCH! - Episode One: Vision Casting, Past Postings, and Bad CatchphrasesI'm so happy to be doing this again! This is the official RETURN of "Empty Checking!" You know how when Doctor Who came back with Doctor #9 they'd been off the air for a long time and instead of calling it series #40 or whatever, they called it "Season 1, Episode 1?" Well that's pretty much what I'm doing here. Empty Checking was gone for six years and now it's back...and I'm calling this "Episode One" and numbering it sequentially from there. The past is gone...and this is NOW.<br />
<br />
I'll let the podcast speak for itself, because I talk about where I'm going with it at length...so let's get to it! (Side note, I only used one swear word in the whole of the 30 minutes. I hope you have fun looking for it.)<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><i>EDIT (8/12): It turns out I actually use TWO swear words, because I left in an "ah, fuck" at the end of the podcast where I did a retake and failed to edit it out! Wasn't aware of it until today. Enjoy! Fewer mistakes in the next episode!</i></span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/337550400&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
For those who absolutely NEED a preview, here's what's going on in the episode:<br />
<br />
I'm talking about why I stopped in 2011 and why I'm restarting now. I'm talking about what to expect in the upcoming weeks, I'm barreling through the list from my last post in 2011, where I more or less promised to talk about a dozen or more items--it took 6 years, but I did it today! And then I'm going into detail on the following subjects:<br />
<ul>
<li>Doctor Who and my thoughts on the first female Doctor.</li>
<li>The death, music, and final album of Glen Campbell.</li>
<li>George Saunders' book "Lincoln in the Bardo."</li>
<li>ProWrestling Loot</li>
<li>Dinosaur Jr and J Mascis</li>
</ul>
<div>
As stated in the audio, I'm looking for guests to join me on the show from time to time. If you'd be interested in joining me and talking about something, hit me up in the comments!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's so good to be back! Here's some photos of the stuff from today!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nTJ3BT6yUNAVvOZwgugFbf8uRz9t73Gvqh3Kt2PRVfQWdyJhVeTsCBYTZIdBrwjAnGRywCqYheCkoNt8GitDR_0-j5vSKvX0C8t3rTDzBTRq_AZBlYN-u1nHzdiQFS8STpXN8Q/s1600/Adios.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="864" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nTJ3BT6yUNAVvOZwgugFbf8uRz9t73Gvqh3Kt2PRVfQWdyJhVeTsCBYTZIdBrwjAnGRywCqYheCkoNt8GitDR_0-j5vSKvX0C8t3rTDzBTRq_AZBlYN-u1nHzdiQFS8STpXN8Q/s320/Adios.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glen Campbell passed away this week and it was my sad pleasure to sing his praises on this episode.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_t3emHTgnUI-TsHVfy3qo1_BjU08q_ldNioRm0gmWnMtHLwzig8cK7Qs2rcnboFxRvK-8vostYlg3n15hj8bbXFJ6upvtjEbGC3ZYOjc2xSuPJ5jLZ5cLp9yDJSjupdFuOTlIA/s1600/bardo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_t3emHTgnUI-TsHVfy3qo1_BjU08q_ldNioRm0gmWnMtHLwzig8cK7Qs2rcnboFxRvK-8vostYlg3n15hj8bbXFJ6upvtjEbGC3ZYOjc2xSuPJ5jLZ5cLp9yDJSjupdFuOTlIA/s320/bardo.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Lincoln in the Bardo" is one of the best books I've read in 10 years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0uzXCFR5kuuM3oYW-92Fb05QsWwrg_qC-nML4P0RFNKjS4GLlzevX9XLYwlbixEXoUgYM2m4Fs_zNwZNCH5y-QfcLuxfyIfKr_Nyl3c9hKO-eZ9xK22jcCAS4DPcjGBxpijYeQ/s1600/Dino.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="895" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0uzXCFR5kuuM3oYW-92Fb05QsWwrg_qC-nML4P0RFNKjS4GLlzevX9XLYwlbixEXoUgYM2m4Fs_zNwZNCH5y-QfcLuxfyIfKr_Nyl3c9hKO-eZ9xK22jcCAS4DPcjGBxpijYeQ/s320/Dino.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've learned that I love Dinosaur Jr. Who knew?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yTRNT7oRkgG8hjz09mxnh-lahcHdKnn1BeLJOJTHmrahb2tCaXRLdRM7hQ6gvkLv3Jq2vt6fCLwn8mmX0aPzr3Pklp2ekMm-SXv_aYIon-s-KXeYdeQERwIEmoGbT_HM0m31_g/s1600/DoctorWho.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="907" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yTRNT7oRkgG8hjz09mxnh-lahcHdKnn1BeLJOJTHmrahb2tCaXRLdRM7hQ6gvkLv3Jq2vt6fCLwn8mmX0aPzr3Pklp2ekMm-SXv_aYIon-s-KXeYdeQERwIEmoGbT_HM0m31_g/s320/DoctorWho.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Listen to the talky-thingy to hear my thoughts on the first female Doctor!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeOmpCVF70T8Q2i-rRN-DNsPeSf0wDsyAit8RF51g4D5aPsEKmcdMKYeIi7egYTIj-QBplTFXk5zoq1cgIayq93jGXyXhw9Z_Uw0NjEphC-aQZwcZ2ajqHDHu5meouz57uSu_bw/s1600/Loot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeOmpCVF70T8Q2i-rRN-DNsPeSf0wDsyAit8RF51g4D5aPsEKmcdMKYeIi7egYTIj-QBplTFXk5zoq1cgIayq93jGXyXhw9Z_Uw0NjEphC-aQZwcZ2ajqHDHu5meouz57uSu_bw/s320/Loot.png" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Santo and Goldberg. The team no one asked for.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-88300253323721903172017-08-10T23:45:00.000-05:002017-08-11T02:12:54.669-05:00RETURNING SOONThis podcast went silent almost six years ago. That's a long time.<br />
<br />
But in a short time, it will be returning and it'll be better than ever. Stay tuned!<br />
<br />
As a spoiler, here's the song that's going to be the new intro/outro music on the relaunch. And it's on the service I'll be using for hosting, too!<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/337253301&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="80%"></iframe>
<br />
I bet absolutely NO ONE is reading this post at the time of writing!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-75935839567111610152011-10-03T00:33:00.001-05:002011-10-03T00:33:36.771-05:00Sorry Sorry Sorry!What can I say? The weekends are just so damned SHORT. I'll record a new one for you next weekend. I've got plenty to talk about. Here's a list of stuff I've bought that you can expect me to at least mention...<br />
<br />
<ol><li>How I Met Your Mother - Season 6</li>
<li>Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events</li>
<li>Wilco - The Whole Love</li>
<li>Comic Books:</li>
<ul><li>iZombie</li>
<li>Brilliant</li>
<li>Batman</li>
<li>Deadman</li>
<li>Superman</li>
<li>The Unwritten</li>
</ul><li>Beers:</li>
<ul><li>Unibroue Terrible</li>
<li>Guinness Foreign Extra Stout</li>
<li>Guinness Black Lager</li>
<li>Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale</li>
<li>Schlafly Imperial Stout</li>
<li>Stone Pale Ale</li>
<li>Wexford Irish Cream Ale</li>
<li>Murphy's Irish Stout</li>
</ul><li>(New) TV Watched</li>
<ul><li>How I Met Your Mother</li>
<li>Big Bang Theory</li>
<li>Person of Interest</li>
<li>How to be a Gentleman</li>
<li>Doctor Who</li>
</ul><li>Concert attended: Foo Fighters; St. Louis, MO</li>
</ol>...I'll probably touch on most of that. Should be a fun one!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-64360479926313100252011-09-09T23:30:00.001-05:002011-09-09T23:30:26.751-05:00Probably not this week...I'm unlikely to record a podcast this week. I have a toothache that is causing my gums to swell and talking isn't much fun right now. So I'll do some write-ups over the next couple of days, and barring any further oral disturbances, I'll record one NEXT week.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your understanding.<br />
<br />
Until I can do the full write-ups, here's a list of comic books I bought this week...<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Morning Glories - Issue #12</li>
<li>Justice League International #1</li>
<li>Detective Comics #1</li>
<li>iZombie - "uVampire" trade</li>
<li>Brightest Day hardcover</li>
</ul>...expensive week!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-31877518970621703362011-09-05T02:05:00.000-05:002011-09-05T02:05:59.820-05:00Empty Checking Season Two: The Quickening - Episode 1Welcome back to the world of me saying shit into a microphone! Click the player below to listen in the window, or download at the download link. Sorry I don't have any pics...batteries are dead in my camera. Mostly it's just good to be back!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/DerekBrinkDerekBrink-EmptyChecking9_4_11/Empty_Checking_9411.mp3"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD</span></a></div><br />
Or press play to listen in your browser.<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="26" width="340"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"/><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"/><param value="high" name="quality"/><param value="true" name="cachebusting"/><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"/><param name="movie" value="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" /><param value="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Empty_Checking_9411.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/DerekBrinkDerekBrink-EmptyChecking9_4_11/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}" name="flashvars"/><embed src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="26" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" cachebusting="true" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" flashvars="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Empty_Checking_9411.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/DerekBrinkDerekBrink-EmptyChecking9_4_11/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}"> </embed></object><br />
<br />
Incomplete list of topics discussed...<br />
<br />
Music<br />
<ul><li>Imelda May</li>
<li>CAKE</li>
<li>Centro-Matic</li>
<li>Old 97s</li>
<li>Flogging Molly</li>
<li>Dropkick Murphys</li>
<li>Foo Fighters</li>
<li>...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead</li>
<li>Iron & Wine</li>
<li>Drive-By Truckers</li>
<li>My Morning Jacket</li>
<li>Hayes Carll</li>
<li>Wanda Jackson</li>
<li>Over the Rhine</li>
<li>Get Up Kids</li>
</ul>Book - Nichole Krauss - "Great House"<br />
<br />
TV<br />
<ul><li>Doctor Who</li>
<li>Deadliest Catch</li>
</ul>Comic Books<br />
<ul><li>Flashpoint</li>
<li>Fear Itself</li>
<li>Batman</li>
<li>Justice League</li>
<li>DC Reboot</li>
</ul><div>Other</div><ul><li>U2 Concert</li>
</ul>...and probably some other stuff. It went about 50 minutes. I can't remember all that! :)Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-79576430361433698972011-09-03T22:55:00.002-05:002011-09-03T22:55:12.888-05:00Returning shortly!The podcast will be returning sometime within the next 24-36 hours! I'm recording it tomorrow afternoon, and it'll go online sometime Sunday night/Monday morning, as time (and possibly a little nap) permits. Yay!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-40831208890799662702011-08-31T15:45:00.001-05:002011-08-31T15:45:59.964-05:00Recent Purchases<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><strong><em><u>THE PODCAST RETURNS THIS WEEKEND.</u></em></strong></span></div><br />
Here's a list of some stuff I've recently purchased (and by "recently," I mean, "since June"). Some of this stuff may make the podcast this weekend...some of it definitely won't...but here's a big-assed list of stuff I spent money on.<br />
<br />
Music:<br />
<ul><li>Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson - Storytellers</li>
<li>Solomon Burke - The Very Best of Solomon Burke</li>
<li>Centro-matic - Candidate Waltz</li>
<li>U2 - No Line on the Horizon</li>
<li>Old 97s - Grand Theatre, Vol. 2</li>
<li>...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead</li>
<li>Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding</li>
<li>Drive-By Truckers - Go Go Boots (Don't think I've reviewed this here yet)</li>
<li>Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness</li>
<li>Foo Fighters - Wasting Light</li>
<li>Grace Basement - New Sense</li>
<li>Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO</li>
<li>My Morning Jacket - Circuital</li>
<li>Steve Martin - Rare Bird Alert</li>
<li>Tom Waits - Bad As Me (Pre-order, comes out in October)</li>
</ul>Books:<br />
<ul><li>Nicole Krauss - Great House</li>
<li>Kurt Vonnegut - While Mortals Sleep</li>
</ul>Comic Books: (Not comprehensive, but a few of the things I've been keeping up with)<br />
<ul><li>Flashpoint -- Main title, and several side-titles</li>
<li>Fear Itself - Main title only</li>
<li>Batman Detective Comics</li>
<li>X-Men: Schism</li>
<li>Morning Glories</li>
<li>The Unwritten</li>
<li>Justice League</li>
<li>Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom</li>
<li>Finally catching up on Brightest Day</li>
<li>Gladstone's School for World Conquerors</li>
</ul>Food:<br />
<ul><li>Five Guy's Hamburgers</li>
<li>Blueberry Hill Burgers</li>
<li>A lot of Pabst Blue Ribbon, for some reason</li>
<li>A really great dish of Kung Pao Shrimp from a Chinese place by my brother's house. (Seriously...you don't even fucking KNOW!)</li>
<li>Free Quarter Pounder from McDonald's. :)</li>
</ul>TV I've been keeping up with...<br />
<ul><li>House</li>
<li>How I Met Your Mother</li>
<li>Doctor Who</li>
<li>Deadliest Catch</li>
<li>Monday Night Raw (With some shame...)</li>
<li>Futurama</li>
<li>Simpsons</li>
<li>Family Guy</li>
<li>American Dad</li>
</ul>Other Stuff:<br />
<ul><li>I'm in the middle of a kitchen remodel that's moving kinda slowly (but for good reasons).</li>
<li>Speaker stands.</li>
<li>A bunch of Moleskine journals.</li>
</ul>Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-62002090210298580492011-08-31T15:12:00.000-05:002011-08-31T15:12:15.262-05:00New Beginnings...First things first...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><strong><em><u>THE PODCAST RETURNS THIS WEEKEND.</u></em></strong></span></div><br />
Okay...now that that's out of the way...<br />
<br />
I'm going to be doing a hybrid of the two formats I've been using up to this point, moving forward. I'm going to randomly post lists of things I've bought and maybe some in-progress thoughts in written form...but I'll also be recording podcasts again to talk about the stuff I'm ready and/or excited to talk about. The podcast may happen weekly, every other week, or just when ever I feel like it. I am presently thinking of the re-launch of the podcasting part as "Empty Checking: Season Two--The Quickening." But you can call it whatever you like. <br />
<br />
Either way... Looking forward to it. Hope you are too.<br />
<br />
Sorry I disappeared for a couple of months. I'll try not to let that happen again.Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-61483550223750930012011-06-01T00:37:00.000-05:002011-06-01T00:37:56.956-05:00Quick Updates...Sorry I went away (again). I've got three posts semi-finished that may be put off a little longer. I was writing up a Doctor Who post...but with the halfway point in the season soon coming up (along with its infuriating, accompanying hiatus), I think I'll just wait for the break and do a "season so far" thing.<br />
<br />
Got a comic book post coming soon. Realized I didn't even list what I bought last week. Oops... I'll cover it in a big post later this week, since new comics day is tomorrow anyway.<br />
<br />
Also been catching up on some new music thanks to my birthday last week. Got the new Foo Fighters, the new Mr. Big, Steve Martin's bluegrass record, Queen's remastered "A Night at the Opera," and the Pearl Jam remasters of Vitalogy and Vs. Big week for music listening!<br />
<br />
So...recaps/reviews coming soon. Sorry for the delay. I started writing stuff and got distracted. My intentions were good...my timing just sucks. If you want to see something I update daily, <a href="http://derekbrink.tumblr.com/">check out my Tumblr page</a>. It's hopping right now!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-57932882824774874412011-05-19T01:52:00.002-05:002011-05-19T10:16:46.661-05:00Deadliest Catch and the Captains (a long overdue, long post)<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you somehow missed it, Deadliest Catch is one of my favorite things <strike>on television</strike> in life. It's as close to a "reality show" as I get. (And I maintain that there is a BIG difference between "reality shows" and documentary shows, in that the documentaries are not being done with the promise of any prize or contest-winner and are also ACTUALLY real, as opposed to the scripted "reality" forced on us by the networks.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The fishermen on the Bering Strait have easily one of the top five most dangerous jobs in the world. (Or at least top five that aren't related to the military in some way.) I don't even try to pretend I could do what they do for five minutes. I'd be too scared to get near the water and too sick to step on the boat. But I love this show, and the personalities on it. (Well...I really can't stand ONE of the personalities, most of the time...but we'll get to that.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This post happens in two parts from here on out... First part deals with the show this season. Second part deals with the Captains Tour, which I went to see with my dad last week.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part One: The Show</span></strong></div><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's a lot to dig into on a show like this...but in the wake of the death of F/V Cornelia Marie Captain Phil Harris, one of the main things people started tuning in for this year was to see how his sons (now part owners of the boat) and Capt Derrick (his replacement) are getting along. The answer? Not well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Captain Derrick decided to go after blue crab this season. In the entire run of the show, I'm not sure I've ever seen ANYONE have a strong blue crab season, and it seems like going after them is a fool's gamble and NOT the way to start your first run on a new vessel. The numbers have been laughably bad and disputes between the Captain and the Harris Brothers have been deeply personal and mean. Last week's episode ended with both Harris brothers turning their backs and walking away from Derrick and him thinking they're full of shit crybabies who need to grow up. Looking at the show's Facebook page, it seems like most people are siding with the Harris Brothers. Me? I'm not sure.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't get me wrong. Captain Derrick is proving to be a little bit of a jerk. Every other word out of his mouth seems to be "Phil's dead" like the boys need to be reminded of it, and he comes off as a know-it-all who knows everything except where the blue crab are. That last part isn't necessarily his fault, and I agree with his assessment stated in the last show that they shouldn't have given up on the hunt after only 8 days...but the guy could have been a little bit softer with the crew coming in.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, he's in a no-win situation. He's not going to be loved as much as Phil by the audience or the crew, and he knows it. He knew it from the moment Steve (the engineer, and a little bit of a dickbag) came onto the boat screaming at him and pushing his way past him (after being 2 hours late, no less). Even if he were the nicest guy in the world and he were hitting on GOLDEN numbers, he still wouldn't be Phil. He's still be the crew's re-bound Captain and he'd be gone in a season (or perhaps less, as last night's episode would seem to indicate).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And it's not like the Harris Boys are the Golden Gods of Crab Fishing. Neither of them is fit to be a Captain. They're both great deckhands, and I like both guys (I'm even coming around on Jake), but they're short-tempered and they don't even know the boat very well. At the Captains Tour show I went to, Sig even pointed that out to the audience. He noted that even the best deckhand, if he doesn't know the engine room, can't ever be a Captain and shouldn't think he knows much about how to run a boat, and he noted that they boys to NO fault of their own, just never were shown the engine room. Yet they come into the wheel-house (a MAJOR trespass on any other boat) and constantly have screaming matches with the Captain of the boat. Maybe that's why deckhands shouldn't be owners...I don't know... It seemed like even Freddy (sp?), a long time Cornelia Marie deckhand and close friend to Phil, was trying to settle the boys down only to be told that they have pretty much already made their decisions. It's just not a good situation working for them, but also trying to be their boss.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So there are a couple of sides to that story...and in the end, I guess it boils down to the fact that I LIKE the boys better, but I think they're too dismissive of Captain Derrick's years in the wheelhouse.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey...at least he's not as big a dick as Captain Keith, right?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Keith is my least favorite Captain on the show. He screams at people for no reason and wants respect while showing little to anyone else. His practices on the ocean are questionable, or even sleazy sometimes. We've seen on the show that he frequently sets his strings very close (sometimes right NEXT) to the strings of fellow Captains. He's tried to steal deckhands from other crews. He accuses other members of the fleet of nepotism, yet employs his own brother (on boat) and wife (off-boat). (Not to mention that he doesn't take into consideration that though the Hillstrand Brothers are the sons of a crab fisherman, they also did not speak to their father for a decade, had to pay for the boat themselves, and risk their lives just as often as he does.) He's just generally not my type of guy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">...but he's slowly growing on me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm starting to wonder if maybe the death of Phil Harris did something to Keith. When Phil died, he and Keith were not the best of friends. Keith was the only one of the main Captains shown on screen visibly and audibly in tears over Phil's death. He followed it by dumping a FULL crab pot (the pot itself being probably a $1000 cost, and the crab inside worth more than that) over the side in Phil's memory and letting it sink to the bottom so that Phil would "always have a full one to come home to." And this year he's been somehow more human than in previous seasons.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the last episode, we saw Keith wake up crew member Lynn, who had fallen asleep in the Captain's chair while steering the boat as the rest of the crew slept. I was expecting a MAJOR explosion from Keith, but he mostly just told Lynn to go to bed then calmly explained to the cameraman how bad that could have been. Later in the episode Lynn came into the wheelhouse to apologize (and it was evident that this was not just a move to protect his career, but that he really felt horrible about putting LIVES at risk). I again expected Keith the berate and humiliate the guy...but he was almost encouraging. I may eat my words on this, but it seems like Keith is trying to become a better person...maybe he doesn't want anyone else to die without knowing he made the effort to be good to them. I don't know... It pisses me off a little bit that I'm cooling off about him...but he's become not only tolerable, but almost--shudder--likable this year.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Keith's main rivals on the ocean (in word and deed) have been The Hillstrands, co-captains of the F/V Time Bandit. I like the Hillstrands a lot, and that's probably for the best because if you don't, there's at least a small chance that they might shoot you. (Seriously...they carry AK-47s on board.) They haven't been as present on the show this season, but when they have been, it's been fun. Whether shooting at a "cursed" buoy (seriously) or mocking one another for their low numbers (which turned around in the last episode or two), they show the signs of two guys who like working together, like working with their crew, and like their job. And that's about as much as I have to say about them in this section.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The show has two new boats in The Seabrooke and The Ramblin' Rose this year. (The Ramblin Rose is BRAND new--entirely new, unseasoned crew and Captain.) So far, I think the guy on the Rose tries too hard, but means well...and I like the Seabrooke a lot, except I think the old guy on the boat's a dick and needs to take it easy on the younger crowd. He could try helping them become better rather than just telling them that they're terrible. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We've seen a lot less of Wild Bill and Sig this year than I'd like--though both have had explosive, fascinating moments on the last two shows, so I shouldn't complain...and I've seen a lot of Sig elsewhere lately...so let's just move on and talk about...</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part Two: The Captains</span></strong></div><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I heard (via Facebook) that the Captains Tour featuring the Hillstrand Brothers and Sig Hansen was coming to St. Louis and thought, "That'd be fun...but I don't think I'll make it..." I mentioned it to my dad (also a fan of the show) and he thought it sounded like fun too. So the short version is he wanted to go and I wanted to go, so we went.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The show was a lot of fun. They sat in chairs being interviewed by one of the guys from a St. Louis bullshit country radio station. (We don't have a GOOD country station in St. Louis.) The venue didn't allow you to bring drinks into the room unless you were one of the people who paid for the $100+ tickets--which is BULLSHIT since they have a full bar in the lobby right outside of the entry doors...but otherwise, it was a nice venue for the show and it was pretty damn close to full.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Captains were incredibly entertaining, despite Captain Johnathan being very obviously sick. At one point, he even took some cold medicine while on stage...and I think it made him a little delirious. Toward the end of the night, he stopped caring what questions he was being asked and just started telling whatever story he wanted to, and never mind if anyone knew what he was talking about! It was pretty funny, but I also felt bad for the guy. Sucks to have to perform when you're sick...but it's probably better than crab fishing while you're sick, I guess.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my (and everyone else's) favorite parts of the night was that we got a sneak preview of Captain Sig's big-screen premier as the F/V "Crabby" in the upcoming "Cars 2." I have absolutely no desire to see this movie...so I'm glad they showed Sig's scene. I've now seen the only part of the movie worth seeing. :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">...but if they make this into a toy, I have to buy it:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXwKvz_uswT_idXnI10M1csjjkCBlYOIRSkpEg86c2IZXE7yzzm1csJ2dCYoBSrQhN4BQg8ue8VypZqbeVzBFIQDuFbkKH8n-b5iRQhlzz-soJX36395at6EPhtlKfvrpmVKWRg/s1600/crabby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="196" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXwKvz_uswT_idXnI10M1csjjkCBlYOIRSkpEg86c2IZXE7yzzm1csJ2dCYoBSrQhN4BQg8ue8VypZqbeVzBFIQDuFbkKH8n-b5iRQhlzz-soJX36395at6EPhtlKfvrpmVKWRg/s320/crabby.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The show followed a basic question and answer format for a lot of it. There was lots of Keith bashing (seems like NO ONE likes that guy!) They discussed everyone's favorite curse word, including a very hilarious, yet difficult to recount in text story from Sig about using a semi-offensive-to-gay-guys word all season long, only to find out that the cameraman who'd been filming him all year is gay. There were plenty of stories about the guys' most dangerous moments at sea, and some footage to go with it of Rogue Waves. (Rogues are basically waves that come out of nowhere and blindside you...and they tend to be about 100+ feet tall.) The largest any of them reported seeing was about a 120 foot wave. By way of comparison the Statue of Liberty (minus base/pedestal) is 151 feet tall...and usually it's not rushing at you at 10-knots.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There was a touching moment when Andy (Hillstrand) plugged in his guitar and played a song he wrote in tribute to Phil Harris. The other guys left the stage with Sig commenting, "I don't like to watch this part." It was a nice little moment, and I'm glad I heard his acoustic version before I listened to the full track online. It was better coming from just Andy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and of course, I bought the obligatory t-shirt, which I'll hopefully post a picture of sometime...but I don't have one on file and it's too wrinkled from being cast into the laundry bin to take one now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So the Captains Tour is a good time...and everyone should go see it if it comes to your town.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I'm going to stop now. This is a really long post, and God bless you if you're still reading! In summary, if you're not already watching Deadliest Catch, you really should. It's one of the best hours on television.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Up next: A review of Doctor Who...but that'll take me a couple of days, probably. :)</span>Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-53210273534166434052011-05-18T23:35:00.000-05:002011-05-18T23:35:49.923-05:00Comic Books Purchased May 18, 2011 (or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Remember When Batman was Good")Big day on the comic stands today! Lots of stuff came out and I'm really excited about some of it.<br />
<br />
I even took a picture! Look! Picture!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGrptAVcFUP0aW3H37GvSBwDn4cPI3lvGdF6Y3KKagg6tAOonwqJTD2byxKvtdBgiJsxscILXHbjFGzn6zknkxv0GBZ0oB8fdes-tiqwgqolsGzWvKbojkIWyTTXZg9f647TUJw/s1600/comics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGrptAVcFUP0aW3H37GvSBwDn4cPI3lvGdF6Y3KKagg6tAOonwqJTD2byxKvtdBgiJsxscILXHbjFGzn6zknkxv0GBZ0oB8fdes-tiqwgqolsGzWvKbojkIWyTTXZg9f647TUJw/s320/comics.png" width="313" /></a></div><br />
In case you can't make it out and clicking the picture somehow doesn't make it bigger for you...here's the list...<br />
<ol><li>Darkwing Duck -- Issue #12</li>
<li>Sigil -- Issue #3</li>
<li>X-Men: Prelude to Schism -- Issue #2 of 4</li>
<li>Generation Hope -- Issue #7</li>
<li>Gates of Gotham -- Issue #1 of 5</li>
<li>Rocketeer Adventures -- Issue #1</li>
<li>Batman -- 100-Page Spectacular: Dark Knight, Dark City</li>
</ol>I haven't done any reading yet (with one exception)...but my anticipation level is high. DW's always good. Sigil is growing on me. Prelude to Schism was really good in the first issue, and I have good hopes for the series. Generation Hope is my favorite X-Men title possibly EVER. Gates of Gotham, though a modern day Bat title is supposed to be really good and isn't helmed by Morrison, so I'm giving it a shot. Rocketeer was kind of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, as Mike at the store assured me that "we all just discovered that this is awesome" and Shelby immediately echoed him...and I kind of liked The Rocketeer, so I'm giving it a chance. And then there's the 100 pager...<br />
<br />
100 Page issues are typically older stories from issues gone by. Usually they're ten years old or so, or are from a series that was under appreciated (or sometimes EXTREMELY appreciated), but not lengthy enough to warrant a full Trade. (This, by the way, is something I only recently figured out...because I'm an idiot.) The Dark Night, Dark City story is a three part story (and they supplemented it with another story from a different issue to fill the pages). It's spooky and weird, and it's one I remember from a long while ago.<br />
<br />
The original issues came out in 1990. (Holy shit...make that <em>20</em> <em>years</em> ago!) I remember getting the first issue and reading it in my Grandma's house. My family's air conditioner had broken down and we were staying with her for a few days. I got to the end of the issue and was a little creeped out and wanted to know the end of the story. It was the first time I'd ever read a comic that was that DARK and spooky. It centers heavily around the occult and demonic ritual, delving deep into Gotham's history, and the history of the nation itself. There's blood, gore, death, Satanic evil...and at one point Batman even slits the throat of a fucking BABY! (Okay...it's revealed that it's a tracheotomy because it was choking...but still!)<br />
<br />
Then I had to wait a MONTH for the next issue...and when I bought it, I was in Arkansas, visiting my mom's half of the family. So I read that one in Goobertown (real place!) and had to wait ANOTHER month to read the ending at home, in my basement.<br />
<br />
I remember it vividly. This is the story that made me love Batman. (And not the Tim Burton Batman of the same era...but the Batman that actually existed IN THE COMICS.) This is the story that made me realize what comics CAN be--they can be dark, scary, gripping, and moving. This was the issue that forever made the goddamn RIDDLER my all-time favorite Batman villain. (That's right. Riddler...not Joker.)<br />
<br />
A few years ago, when I started getting back into comics, I tracked down the issues on E-Bay. They were just as good as I remembered. And now that I have them in one bound issue that'll outlast even my carelessness, I'm very much looking forward to putting my feet up and remembering a time when Batman was awesome, the world was young, and the Gulf War was an interesting headline and not just something we'd accepted as a part of every day life.<br />
<br />
And then I remember than Grant Morrison's name is appearing on the title now, and its turned into something I no longer recognize or even understand. And I sometimes can't believe how little all of that seems to matter to the present franchise.<br />
<br />
Oh well...comics are awesome and even Batman could be salvaged if they do it soon. It's a good week to be a fanboy. I won't let the failures of one series ruin it for me. I'll just stick to the good stuff.<br />
<br />
Reviews coming shortly.Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-67903921519543582632011-05-17T01:23:00.001-05:002011-05-18T19:04:44.083-05:00Two Weeks of Comic Book ReviewsOkay. Now that we're back up and running, let's talk about the last two weeks in comics. Or at least the comics I bought anyway...<br />
<br />
Ratings are from 1 to 5 stars. Five stars = Awesome as that scene in "Last Temptation of Christ" where Jesus shows up and is like, "I used to believe in peace, but now I believe in this" and he has a fucking axe! One star = Worse than that scene in "Dark Angel" where Dolph Lundgren almost robotically describes the space-alien/villain as "Some asshole from outerspace."<br />
<br />
<br />
Comics Purchased 5/4/11: <br />
<br />
<ul><li>Fear Itself -- Book Two<br />
Good Lord is Marvel WINNING with this one! I have my reservations about any Marvel "summer event" ever since Civil War blew so blowfully, so I was hesitant going into Fear Itself. Particularly adding to my hesitation was that it's based mostly on Thor, and I've always kept a working knowledge of Thor, but never read the book religiously. So I wasn't sure I'd grasp this one...but they're doing a great job sucking in even the most reluctant fan. They're delivering on making the vibe creepy and dangerous. They're drawing lines in the sand and making the reader choose sides in a way that is MUCH more effective than what they did with Civil War. Book Two was a little bit less fulfilling than Book One, mostly because this issue mainly just deal with people finding their respective hammers to gain their God-like powers...but it's a necessary part of the story. (Thankfully, they're splitting some of the hammer quests out and dealing with them in side issues rather than making those of us who deal with only the main title deal with all of it.) It was a slow down, but not in a bad way. Book One was so good Book Two would have to be a soft-ball just to keep us reading. From peak to valley, and all that...but even the valley is a fun, exciting, "oh no, don't let it end there!" place to be.<br />
Rating: ****</li>
<li>Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth -- Issue #3 of 3<br />
Axe Cop is some of the most fun on stands. Written by a six year old. Drawn by his 30 year old brother. It makes absolutely no sense and is insane, and I don't know why they don't let MORE six year olds write comics! This was the final issue of this title, and it just kept getting weirder and weirder. At one point, Dinosaur Soldier started getting splattered with the blood of (and/or <em>eating</em>) other characters and taking on their attributes. My personal favorite incarnation of the character was when he became President Zombie Bear Cop (complete with Roosevelt's mustache). If you are confused and don't know what the hell I'm talking about--neither do I. And that's why I loved it.<br />
Rating: *****</li>
<li>X-Men: Prelude to Schism -- Issue #1 of 4<br />
I'm going into Schism almost as reluctantly as I did Fear Itself, and I'm hoping it'll be just as good a payoff. I've lost track of the X-Men. I barely recognize the franchise anymore. It's gotten so muddy and overflowing with characters (some of whom are laughably poorly developed) that for someone who has been away since House of M, it's almost impossible to get back into it, unless you start at an "issue one" of a new series (like Generation Hope--and even for that, you needed background info from the main title). However, Schism sounds like it might be kind of good. In this issue, Cyclops is pretty much staring off into the distance, preparing for war, and he receives consultation, mentoring, and understanding from Professor Xavier (who they have just pretty much made look exactly like Patrick Stewart now--not a bad thing). The main thing I appreciated about the way they did this issue is that it gives people like me a little bit of the back-story leading up to Schism and serves as a good reorientation into the universe. Hopefully the "Prelude" will continue on that route and get me primed for Schism to the point that I'm raving about it. But for now, I just consider this a "well played" moment. Marvel seems to know what they're doing on this one.<br />
Rating: *** -- with a bullet.</li>
<li>Batman Beyond -- Issue #5<br />
I'm struggling a little bit to remember what happened in this issue...something with Terry's girlfriend...and they broke up...and Wayne Industries workers are rioting...and the guy who went radioactive (Powers) in the animated show shows up again to be a bad guy for an issue or two moving forward. It's foggy, but I enjoyed it at the time. My only real issue with this one is that you need to have a working knowledge of the cartoon show to understand the villain. I have that knowledge, so I'm cool with it...but a lot of people might not, and that's a major disadvantage. The fact that I can't remember all of it is probably largely my own fault...but it doesn't necessarily say much for the writing either, I guess. Still, I like this title best of the current mess they're calling "Batman." At least it's not TOO wrapped up in this "Incorporated" nonsense (though they have referenced it). I mean...the present "Incorporated" mystery is "Who is <strong><u>Emoticon Man</u></strong>?" Ugh... Here's an emoticon for you... :( But I digress...at least "Beyond" is basically recognizable, and I appreciate that since we long-time Bat-fans are presently wandering in the desert.<br />
Rating: Either **.5 or ***, I guess...</li>
<li>Gladstone's School for World Conquerors <br />
This was fun. I wish we'd spent more time with the title character before he was just turned into a statue on the lawn, but that'll probably pay off down the road, and it served their purpose nicely. If you haven't read it, basically it chronicles the day-to-day work of a school for super villains. It's sort of like the goofy version of Morning Glories or something (though not near than layered and amazing). I could see really liking this one over time...but as it is now, this was a first issue. It was a good one, but I don't want to get too excited about it. Yet.<br />
Rating: ***</li>
</ul>Comics Purchased 5/11:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The Flash - Issue #12 <br />
This is the final issue in the current Flash series (at least up until the end of Flashpoint). It worked fine as a final issue...despite the weaknesses in the last couple of issues. The intervention in issue #11 was stupid. The sudden, unexplained resolution between Flash and Kid Flash in this issue was JUST as stupid. The sexual tension in the issue was unnecessary and even if it HAD been a good idea, they pretty much abandoned it as soon as they started it. It seems like the last couple of issues were written just before they found out they were cancelling the series and starting up Flashpoint, and the writers decided to just deal with everything they WOULD'VE taken a few issues to work out if they'd had the time. So it was kind of crappy and slapped together...but it still kind of worked too, because y'know...fuck you, it's the FLASH! The MAIN story was still strong, and while not essential for Flashpoint, I did feel like it led into it well, mainly in reintroducing us to Reverse Flash who will no doubt be a MAJOR factor in Flashpoint.<br />
Rating: ***</li>
<li>Flashpoint - Issue #1 of 5 <br />
I've been looking forward to Flashpoint since I hear about it, and issue #1 did NOT disappoint. We're in an alternate timeline. Barry Allen is somehow NOT the Flash, and he doesn't know why. It's like he's living in one of those nightmares we all have where everything about the universe is wrong, and we're the only ones who know it. Of course, in Barry's world, it's actuall happening that way and it's all the Reverse Flash's fault. Barry seeks help from an old friend and shows up at the Batcave, hoping to enlist Batman to his effort. The Batman of this universe is, as we've seen throughout the issue, a more violent, disturbed, dark person than the Batman we've always known. He's more anti-hero than ever--and it may be going too far to call him a hero at all. He's basically just a bully who runs a casino by day and kicks asses by night (even KILLING the bad guys!). At the end of the issue, Barry confronts Batman, calling him by the name he's always known him, "Bruce." Then we get a super-damn-cool reveal as Batman informs Barry that Bruce Wayne is dead, "I watched him die." And Barry puts the pieces together, telling us--holy shit!--"You're THOMAS WAYNE!" Mind = Blown. Some of the best writing I've seen out of DC in a long, long time.<br />
Rating: *****</li>
<li>The Flash - 100-Page Spectacular (One-Shot) <br />
I'll keep it short...the 100-page issues are old issues presented in bound editions that are nicer than the comics you bought 10 years ago. The concept should work better than it does---and I LOVE the Batman 100-pagers every time...but leaves me feeling flat. It's not bad, but it isn't awesome either...but maybe I should've just read it before I read Flashpoint...oh well...can't win 'em all.<br />
Rating: **</li>
<li>Black Panther - Issue #516-518<br />
I looked through my archive and FOUND issue #516, so now I'm all caught up. Yay! Panther's great. I love the Vlad character--one of the few fully developed bad guys in a long while. However, I felt like they went a little too far in making him ultimately the kind of guy who'll murder his own son to advance his own goals...but I guess I should've seen that coming. The reveals throughout the series have been well done, and they're doing a great job of building Panther to be a Batman-ish/Daredevil-ish character that is not super-powered, but is still doing the right thing because he HAS to. It's a great series, and this was a great arc. I hope we see a lot more of Vlad as time goes by, and I KNOW I'll be seeing a lot more of the Panther.<br />
Rating (overall): ****</li>
<li>The Unwritten - Issue #25 <br />
Tom Taylor reenters the world! He's been stuck in novel-hell for a few issues, but is back in real life, and real life's insane. The group is trying to steal some of the journals of Wilson Taylor (Tom's dad) that might just explain everything that's going on in their lives. The books are on auction, what with Wilson being dead and all, and they're sneaking in to the auction house, which is (of course) extremely tightly secured. I don't know how to explain some of what went on without giving you 25 issues worth of back-story...but suffice to say it's getting REALLY interesting as we're getting closer and closer to discovering Tom's true nature. I love this book and I can't wait for #26!<br />
Rating: *****</li>
</ul>And that's it for the comics. It's later at night than I wanted it to be when I started writing...so I'm stopping for now. I'll post some TV reviews and a review of the Captains Tour tomorrow.Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21859684.post-90656517642567642042011-05-16T00:29:00.000-05:002011-05-16T00:29:55.715-05:00Hey Cool...It's Working!Sorry I haven't posted reviews yet. For the past few days, I've had trouble getting into my Blogger account. Don't know if it was on their end or mine, but at least it's working now, so that's cool.<br />
<br />
I'll post some new reviews tomorrow. I probably should've written them up and saved them so I could just copy/paste...but hindsight is 20/20. Thanks for waiting!Derek Brinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920349017837420761noreply@blogger.com0