Backporch Beer

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Thank You!

New Backporch Beer

We’re moving! The new home is still in need of some revovation, but as part of a New Year’s Resolution to post/write more — spreading my opinion like a retro-virus — I am reinvigorating Backporch Beer with a new blogtool (Wordpress) and hopefully a facelift and easier comment system. In a few days I will change this site to point to the new stuff, and until then you can check it out while I’m knocking down a few walls and putting on a fresh coat of paint.

http://www.rollerfeet.com/bpb2/

Casual Gaming Gains On Console

Let’s face facts. I am getting old and cranky — even when it comes to video games. I don’t have the time/energy these days to learn your fancy intricate control systems or memorize your belabored backstory. I want to start the game (without a drawn-out installation or configuration) and immediately enjoy it, then quit when I get distracted a few minutes later.

JayIsGames.com is a regular in my RSS feed so I can keep up with new casual games. I was a devoted fan of room escape games until the redundancy wore me out. I have three accounts on different Travian servers (although a workplace firewall ban may reduce my dedication.) I played tower defense games and even was active with The Casual Collective (until they started using ports that were blocked by my workplace).

Now, casual gaming has hit the consoles with original content. I played LocoRoco Cocoreccho! and flOw (based on the flash/web game) and even wasted some holiday time with the appropriately titled Pain — where you launch your avatar from a large slingshot into an urban landscape earning points for injuries and damage. I hadn’t even thought about how much I love the tower defense genre until I saw a video at IGN for PixelJunk Monsters and it makes me confident I’ll be using my PS3 a lot more…it may even be the app that kills my thirst for stars.

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I’m not one to usually post about trailers of a movie I haven’t seen yet, but…c’mon…Kristen Bell in bikini…in a Judd Apatow movie with that guy from “How I Met Your Mother” and that other guy from Superbad and Bill Heder from SNL…it’s got something for everyone!

The Abominable Charles Christopher

The only bad thing about The Abominable Charles Christopher is the waiting for new strips to be released.

Southland Tales Explained, Sortof

John and I caught Southland Tales at this year’s Fantastic Fest. There was so much going on in this movie that honestly most of it just went in one eye ball and out the other, but I’ve been meaning to go back and watch it after reading the accompanying graphic novels.

Anywho, Salon has an article today that does a decent job explaining this long, trippy, fabulous mess of a film.

The Fantastic Fest crowd, in my opinion, is one of the best audiences a director can hope for - a bunch of smart, geeky folks with a huge mass of film knowledge. But my impression was that we all left the theatre going “wwaaah?” and I remember wondering what hope the film possibly has if our audience didn’t get it. But I have to admit is was a fun ride (once I gave up trying to make sense of things) and there’s a Justin Timberlake scene that makes the whole thing beyond worth it. Curious to hear people’s thoughts if you’ve seen it.

Sacrilicious

I was thinking about making my own version of this super cute Smores Nativity Scene, but I’m afraid that at some point I would want to torch and eat the holy family. Happy Holidays, ya’ll.

2007 Music

Another good year for music. Best of what I got to follow …

]]> The National Boxer – Man do I love “Mistaken for Strangers.” A song to make one pine for old Psychedelic Furs records and a bunch of other tunes as moody supporting material.

Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Took a few listens to settle in, but solidly won me over. The pure nostalgic pleasure of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” will put you on cloud nine.

LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver – I never really got into the bulk of their previous effort, but this one does it for me. Sophisticated disco and electronica.

Ted Leo Living With The Living – A mixed bag. At times, the songs are capable of evoking the best parts of early Police, Clash and Joe Jackson. Then he’ll follow with a goofy, whining song about the war or beer or something. Trim the gristle and pare it down to 7 of the 15 tunes and you have yourself a damn fine album.

Feist The Reminder – Could probably duke it out with Spoon for best of the year. Excellent pop sensibilities, great songwriting. “My Moon My Man” is the proverbial breath of fresh air. Well done, lady!

Jose Gonzalez In Our Nature – Folk that mingles with Nick Drake and early Shins is carried by this dude’s vocals, which have a unique, ethereal quality.

Ryan Adams Easy Tiger / Follow The Lights – Everyone’s favorite target wisely returns to Heartbreaker and Gold for inspiration and mostly succeeds. The FTL EP is included here because other than the dopey cover of Down In a Hole (WTF Ryan OMG), the new tunes are solid and the re-worked ones just might replace the originals in my mind.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Baby 81 – A return to what they do best, aping the Jesus & Mary Chain, which is totally fine by me.

Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are Your The Destroyer? - Weird, dark … disco-influenced electronica for the most part. Strangely addictive.

Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha – A guy who deserves much more recognition than he gets. A nice companion to The National’s disc, though more complicated and upbeat.

Tegan + Sara The Con – These gals want to assume the best parts of Blondie and Missing Persons and we should let them.

Radiohead In Rainbows – Well done, gents.

Honorable Mentions: Wilco, Shins, Springsteen & Debbie Harry discs. Not bad, just not too interesting.

Ye-Gads: Apples in Stereo. Can’t remember the name of the disc, but it was uniformly shitty.

Happy holidays and joy to all your worlds.

BNAT 2007 Schwag Bag

I’m working on a full post to discuss all the films we saw with reviews and stories about the event. For now, you can occupy yourself with this Flickr set of the things Becky and I found in our bag o’ schwag. Not pictured is the HD-DVD player that we also received. (Now, I know you’re dying for more stories!)

The Return of Juno (Ad)

I’m not sure if it is intentional or dynamically appropriate, but this article about the rise in teenage pregnancy came with an ad for Juno.

Sidenote #1: I saw Juno again on Tuesday night and it is still wonderful. (I would still leave my wife in a highly inappropriate manner for Ellen Page.) I took the time to focus on Jennifer Garner during this viewing. The first few seasons of Alias had me falling madly for Garner as she kicked so much ass. The last season or two (or was it three?) bundled with her successive film roles dulled that emotion, and the tabloid Bennifer 2 explosion left me with the opposite feeling — I kinda hated to even see her — but she has redeemed herself with Juno and I believe she may be looking at a Best Supporting Actress nom.

Sidenote #2: It’s a good thing all those abstinence classes are having such a strong impact on America’s youth. /snark

Enchanted

I just returned from the Enchanted screening and I wanted to thank Tim (of the Alamo Drafthouse) and Harry (of AintItCool.com) for bringing it in for us. It was a true return of all the things that come to heart when I hear the word Disney.

Do you remember when your spirit compelled you to sing Bare Necessities? the twinkle in your eye when you got to use the line “Zoot-allors! I have meeesed one!”? laughing your way through Toy Story? wishing the spontaneity of Mary Poppins would hit your school/workplace and everyone would start singing and dancing? Do you remember sitting through a movie that was not bitter, self-indulgent, or mean-spirited…and enjoying the h-e-double-bendy-straws out of it?

Instead of telling you what was great in the movie, these are the things I hope you can remember that you enjoyed and cherished and would like to feel again. This confessed scrooge thinks Enchanted is a great way to kick off the holiday season.

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God bless us…every one.

Black Friday

Amazon is really putting the shill together for Black Friday. They have sent simple easy-to-follow instructions for their Associates program (of which I am a member) on providing links to their Black Friday Sales — see how easy that was! :-)

Also, the new sidebar widget on the left over there ( <—- ) will supposedly push their hourly Black Friday specials.

What will I be doing on Black Friday? I mean, besides raking in mad cash from all the click-thrus at Backporch Beer. Hopefully playing Rock Band Special Edition all day. (Go ahead…hover your mouse over that link. Is that sell-out cool at it’s froodiness or what?)

This Guy Gets My Vote

Juno

Last year the Academy missed out on the real best actress but they get another chance with Jason Reitman’s Juno. Reitman, the director of Thank You For Smoking, could’ve probably slept his way through this movie with solid performances from Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janey , J.K. Simmons (J Jonah Jameson from the Spidey movies), and a surprisingly fresh and clever script from first-timer Diablo Cody. What made this really easy for Reitman, though, is Ellen Page pulling off another stunning role as a pregnant teenager figuring out what to do with her unborn child. The movie is not perfect. Early on you get the idea that Rob Gordon provided the soundtrack, and you will wonder if everyone in Juno’s world is as verbally clever as a Gilmore Girl but it doesn’t take too long for Reitman’s pacing to hit it’s full stride and sweep you away. I am probably not the first nor the last to say it: this is this year’s Little Miss Sunshine.

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Bonus! Here’s one of the wonderful Kimya Dawson (of the Moldy Peaches) songs from the movie.

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Stop Waving The 9/11 Flag

Are there any Bush supporters still out there? How about after the possibility that his denigration of civil liberties started before the 9/11 attacks.

From an article at MarketWatch:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., is pressing the Bush administration on allegations by former Qwest Communications’ Chief Executive Joseph Nacchio that the administration began its warrantless wiretapping program long before Sept. 11, 2001.