Month: August 2007

Hey, remember that game show I tried out for? You know, the one that accepted me into their contestant pool and then never called for a year? Well, they called. They called at the beginning of July, in fact. I was too nervous to tell anyone because I didn’t want to jinx myself. Lame? Of course. But you guys aren’t the ones who have to worry about jinxes!

So I’m not going to apologize for going AWOL from posting the last week and a half (as that would be even more lame), but I am offering this up for people who didn’t know as an explanation of why I haven’t exactly been myself lately. The impending doom humiliation great opportunity has preoccupied my mind for almost two months now. It’s amazing that I can even tie my shoes let alone operate heavy machinery…

Last week was the worst, as Thursday was to be my taping. I managed not to throw up in ABC’s studios, but I also managed not to get on TV… yet. I was one of the last contestants called down at the end of the day – which was right before they went on a 2 week break. So now I have a small reprieve to study more, and then I’ll get my chance to blow a question like “What planet do we live on?” or “What’s your middle name?” in front of a national audience. W00T!

If you hadn’t already heard this news, don’t feel bad. Aside from my family and a few potential phone-a-friend candidates, very few people knew. And since the episode probably won’t air until January, I won’t be giving you any updates on what actually happened until then. But when it does air, there shall be a celebration never before seen at our household. One involving an assortment of soda and/or pie. You sure don’t want to miss that…

Welcome to a new feature of THOMnottom.com – The Sunday Photo. Considering the tens of thousands of photos I’ve taken over the years, I have not posted nearly enough – and you’ve all let me know that. So, as I work on full galleries to put up, I’m going to start posting at least one photo a week – starting with a little experimentation from tonight:

I’ve wanted to start playing around with long exposure times, and this was a simple and fun experiment to try. The Woman and I took several shots, but this last one was the coolest. Now I just have to come up with better inspiration than smiley faces…

So, you know that caption at the top? You mean you’ve never bothered to look? I’m so disappointed in you. Then again, it sucks. “Back in black… and white”? What the hell does that mean? I started using it way back when I disappeared for most of a month and somehow never came up with something better. But now I’m really sick of it, and the occasional improvement to this site is made (What? You haven’t noticed anything? Check out my cool archives page. Pretty bitchin’, eh?), the really lame remnants of such carefree days need to go.

So, any ideas? So far the only one I can come up with is inspired by this fantastic photo The Woman took of me – apparently in mid-snack:

What do you think? THOMnottom.com: Eater of Babies. Or maybe THOMnottom.com: Read my blog or I’ll eat this baby…

File under “music The Woman will absolutely hate me becoming obsessed with”. I was already starting to get into Battles – what can I say, the concept of math rock sets off every geek sensor in my body. But nothing prepared me for their first single off their new album:

And the awesomeness continues – that’s an edited version as the album track breaks 7 minutes. No, this isn’t for everybody, but give it a chance. And, for the love of all that is holy, don’t complain about not being able to understand the vocals – sometimes the human voice is just another instrument.

A few years back I was having a musical discussion with one of my old bar mates, as I was wont to do. The above-named Police song was playing in the background. I just paused and said something to the effect of, “These lyrics are so simple and nonsensical, and yet they have more feeling behind them than most of the crap on the radio today.” I wasn’t trying to be a snob about it (as much fun as that can be), but it was like something clicked in my head that made me realize what an awesome band The Police had been. My only mistake at that point was continuing to rely upon a greatest hits compilation rather than picking up all of their albums.

Why am I prattling on about this? Because last night I got to totally rock out at Giants Stadium for one of The Police’s reunion shows. And dammit if they weren’t absolutely stellar. They put together a great setlist featuring pretty much every classic track I could think of (except “Canary in a Coalmine” and “Spirits in the Material World”) and a number of great album tracks mixed in. But this was no ordinary re-hashing of their heyday – Sting, Copeland and Summers are all back in top form and pumped an unbelievable energy back into their music. I can’t wait for a bootleg to pop up at my usual sources, because I can’t even think clearly enough to name all of the highlights (“So Lonely”, “Roxanne”, “King of Pain” and “When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around” come to mind).

I was pretty amazed that being in such a large venue as Giants Stadium did not detract from the show at all. The light and video displays were great, and the band’s chemistry was evident even from up in the thin atmosphere. I hope this tour is a harbinger of more good things.

So here’s a big shout out to Chris for acquiring the tickets when the rest of us failed miserably. He scored back some of the cool points he lost after the Peter Criss post.

I made yet another rare appearance at an honest-to-god movie theater along with The Woman and a couple of friends. What film could possibly drag me into such overpriced entertainment again? Why The Simpsons Movie, of course. And the verdict? Holy crap, they pulled it off. I laughed almost nonstop for most of the movie. It had the feel of a great episode from the late nineties, rather than the crap we’re used to these days. But beyond that, it had the feel of a real movie – not just a couple episodes crammed together. If there was anything to be disappointed by, it would be not enough screen time for some of the supporting characters – at least they were all there.

And while I don’t agree with Dave Winer’s take on the movie, I have to agree with his sentiment on the movie going experience overall. Once I can afford to setup a true HD home theater system, how likely am I to bother with paying for a substandard movie theater experience? Last night wasn’t too bad, but the emptiness of the showing helped a great deal. I’ve had too many experiences with obnoxious audiences to fall for the idea that seeing it with a large crowd was a positive.

Seriously, it’s sublime…