The blog is dead, long live the blog!

This isn't the blog you're looking for. Move along. (I'm not interesting enough to have a blog. Go read someone who is!)

Happy days

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy HAPPPY!!!!

As I hoped, JoCo has announced a London date. Friday the 13th of November. Tickets have been secured already. Can't wait!

Get yourself along!

The geek shall inherit the earth!

Jonathan Coulton is playing in Manchester in November. This is epic news. If you don't know who JoCo is, then you clearly don't have any kind of standing in the geek community (a dagger to the heart there, I'm sure!) and have either stumbled across this blog by accident or are only visiting because you know me and take pity on my attempts to maintain any kind of pertinence or value in this here page of witterings.

Jonathan Coulton is something of a geek icon. A singer/songwriter who ruminates on topics as steeped in geekdom as zombies, animated demonic dolls, evil geniuses and slave-driving robot overlords. His songs tend to resonate with the gamer geek niche. Here's a couple of unofficial videos to get a taste of what JoCo is all about.





Still reading? Well that's something... JoCo has become quite the internet phenomenon and is in many ways a trailblazer for the way new media is powering the consumption of content. The concept of mainstream now is one that is becoming less and less relevant. The huge pie that is culture is a lot more evenly sliced now than it ever was. Every imaginable sub-culture has its own heroes, its own icons and unlike before, an easily accessible mechanism to deliver the content by those producers right into their *insert potential computer location here*.

While it's quite cool these days to be a geek (right!?), the geek fraternity don't want to listen to what the cool kids listen to (and vice versa). In steps Mr Coulton and his ilk (another example being nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot) who, to quote the great Noam Chomsky, have "tapped the zetigeist". The times, they are a'changing ladies and gentlemen, and I for one am quite happily moving along with them.

As I said, he's coming to Manchester in November and am really considering the not inconsiderable amount it will cost to go up there for an overnight to see him live. Better yet, I hope there's a repeat of last year and more dates are added in more convenient locations. (He played shows in London and Oxford at the tail end of the year).

So, anyone out there brave enough to open their minds a little and let in a little geekdom?

The cost of Rocking

So I sat down and had a think about how much Rock Band/Guitar Hero has cost me so far and it all got a little out of hand...

Xbox 360 Elite: £240
GuitarHero WT Band box: £100
Beatles Rock band: £40
Guitar Hero Greatest Hits: £30
AC/DC Rock band: £30
John Lennon Rickenbacker guitar: £90
HD TV to play it all on: £450
Mic stand and extra mic: £50

Total so far (not counting DLC): £1030

Ho hum!

Get back... get back... get back to where you once belonged.

Sooooo, it's been altogether far too long. Or not long enough, depending on your viewpoint. The last four months have been eventful, that's for sure. Two holidays, a new xbox, a summer with no football, a new season of fantasy football and much much more has transpired since the last post in April. I'll be back blogging regularly again so do stay tuned for my usual mix of random thoughts on stuff what does interest me.

First up. Scotland vs Holland tonight at Hampden in World Cup Qualifying. A win is almost certainly required if we are to secure a play-off spot. The country is buzzing again after a decent second-half display against a not bad Macedonia side and whilst victory over the Dutch might be somewhat far-fetched given that they are ranked 3rd in the world at the moment but stranger things have happened in football and especially to the Scottish national team so we shall see. It's a huge blow not to have the talismanic McFadden available after the yellow card debacle just before half time on Saturday and one does wonder who amidst the side can cause problems for the Dutch defence. We shall see... 'Mon the Scotland!

In other news, today sees the release of Beatles Rock Band and I have to say I am wetting my pants in anticipation. Plastic instrument-based karaoke has never been so good! :) I expect to spend a lot of my free time with this for the foreseeable...