Review: Paranormal Activity
on Oct 24, 2009 in Horror Movies • It's the Blair Witch of the 2000s, and almost as good.Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah SloatDirector: Oren PeliRating (out of 5): &&&1/2Run time: 1 hr 39 minsParanormal Activity, the shoestring-budget movie riding a crest of Blair Witc...

I love the '80s … 1880s!
on Oct 17, 2009 in Music 1980s Simpy the most hilarious thing I have seen in a while:Give them a marketing award STAT. The CD is currently on offer for free — yes, FREE — at Amazon MP3.

Don't know much about Erik Hassle …
on Oct 12, 2009 in Music 1980s Electronic and synthpop … but I know that he has big hair and I really, really dig his synthy song "Don't Bring Flowers," which sounds very 1986 but also very now, which works for me in a way that Nickelback and Taylor Swift would never understand. Even better, I nicked t...

Snow Leopard: How many gigs did you gain?
on Oct 12, 2009 in Other stuff I've just done the update to the latest version of the Mac OS, 10.6, or Snow Leopard. This svelte update promises to not only be sexier (as always) but to take up less space on your hard drive. The literature says to expect the installation to free u...

A night out with the (Pet Shop) boys
on Sep 14, 2009 in Music Electronic and synthpop It was a fantastic show Saturday night at the Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta … really happy that we weren't left "wondering why we traveled so far."We got to meet them in the pre-show meet and greet. As we approached and the previous group w...

I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing
on Jul 5, 2009 in Music 1980s Electronic and synthpop I've never been a big concertgoer — not many good shows come within easy reach of me here in the relative boonies — but I've managed to see a few interesting ones. In September, though, I will add what for me is the ultimate live performance to t...

Remembering Michael Jackson
on Jun 26, 2009 in Music 1980s Michael Jackson's Bad was one of the first CDs that I owned, alongside Actually by the Pet Shop Boys and Jody Watley's self-titled solo debut. As a 14-year-old drawn to the embarrassment of riches of electronic pop filling the airwaves, I wasn't impr...

BMG Music Service calls it quits
on Mar 9, 2009 in Music Another sign that the world is moving on arrived in my e-mail box today: A note from BMG Music Service informing me that the music club is folding as of June 30. I guess this time they really mean it when they say the offer for that stack of CDs come...

Belatedly, 2008's top tunes
on Mar 9, 2009 in Music Is it too late for a retrospective post on 2008? Hope not, because this is the first of two or three. According to the statmeisters of last.fm, the following songs are my 20 most-played of 2008:20 Road to Somewhere – GoldfrappIt was very much the...

Love Etc.
on Mar 8, 2009 in Music Electronic and synthpop On the first couple of listens to "Love Etc.," the Xenomania-produced lead single from Yes, the forthcoming Pet Shop Boys album, I was shaking my head "no." I wasn't feeling it. With a couple more listens, it started to make sense, and it had firmly...