Welcome back!

Hi all…

Who knew it was possible to sing cheerfully about heartache? James Maddock has certainly had his share. He had a taste of stardom in 2000 and then hit bottom as he adjusted to life in the States, saw his marriage fail, and had his record label decide to drop him and not release his follow-up album to Songs from Stamford Hill with his band Wood. After that round of bad luck, Maddock disappeared from the limelight. But he didn’t give up during the last 10 years.

In 2009, Maddock came back and is telling stories through the tracks of Sunrise on Avenue C. Each of the twelve songs tells a bit of the story about a relationship beginning, waning, and possibly ending. It’s a rare thing to find an album crafted to be listened to beginning to end. But when you find such an album, I feel you should enjoy it the way it was meant to be heard instead of picking and choosing individual songs.

These songs have a little of everything – strings, guitar, piano – and beautifully constructed melodies and lyrics. It’s obvious he took his time getting this effort “just right” before releasing it to the public.

Among my favorites is the title song “Sunrise on Avenue C” which expresses the doubts in all relationships and the little restarts we go through now and then to keep love alive. Maddock’s breathless voice sings… “We came to make this place our home / you say you’ve had enough you’re movin’ on / … / you say nothing’s quite the way it seems / forget the past, we’ll start our lives again / don’t shake your head ’cause baby I know we can…” I think all lasting relationships have those moments and the rise and fall of the song captures those rises and falls in relationships nicely.

“When You Go Quiet” is another of my favorites. “There’s one thing that you do when you’re not ok / you don’t bang on the walls / you don’t return my calls / when you go quiet… it’s when I know you need to talk… ” Again, Maddock’s captured one of those universal truths in most relationships – those little things we keep an eye out for that indicate something’s not right. And it’s then we need to listen and find out what’s wrong. Tough to pass up a little relationship advice in a song.

All through the album, the music is consistently excellent. From the upbeat piano of “Chance” to the amazing guitar and strings rhythms of “Hollow Love” and the rock/blues guitar of “Straight Lines,” Maddock has put together a relationship album weaving together a tapestry of stories and tunes from beginning to end.

So if you’ve been wondering what happened James Maddock since he hit the airwaves in 2000 and toured with the likes of Paula Cole and Train, look no further… James Maddock is back and in rare form with Sunrise on Avenue C.

Be sure to check out his website for album and tour details at JamesMaddock.net.

–Fitz

Hi there…

Zombies. Even if you don’t like thinking about them, you’ve probably encountered them somewhere in the media. Perhaps you’ve seen one of the many different films from George A. Romero, something like I Am Legend or 28 Days Later, or even the dancing mob of undead in Michael Jackson‘s Thriller? There’s even a new television series coming to AMC in October 2010 called The Walking Dead. And then there’s the hordes of undead that can be found in comic books, short stories, and novels.

These days there even seems to be a new wave of zombies invading the fiction racks at local bookstores. From the almost plausible zombie terrorist plot of Jonathan Maberry‘s Patient Zero, to the Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z from Max Brooks, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth grahame-Smith, and the upcoming books FEED by Mira Grant and Zombie Britannica byThomas Emson… It’s a veritable zombie invasion! And I for one am extremely pleased.

Yes, I like zombies. There, I’ve said it. So when I saw that Max Brooks, Jonathan Maberry, Tad Williams, and other big authors had stories in the new short story collection – The New Dead, I knew I had to check it out. What I found was an uneven mix of stories… some of which I couldn’t read more than a few pages and some that touched an emotional place I didn’t realize zombie fiction could even come close to. Is it worth checking out? I think so, but be aware that there are some very odd stories in these pages along with some great work.

First, I’m going to focus on a story I found repulsive, but couldn’t stop reading for some reason. “What Maisie Knew” by David Liss is extremely well constructed, with a beginning, middle, and end that bring things to a satisfying ending that could also be the beginning to a new story. But along the way, you encounter the concept of zombie strip clubs, people who pay to have sex with zombies, and a protagonist who really deserves the karmic revenge he gets served. The story is unbelievably disturbing, and yet I felt like a rubber necker on the highway slowing down to see if I could spot any blood or guts in an accident. So if you’re squeamish about such things, I’d skip it.

A few stories later in the book, you find “Family Business” by Jonathan Maberry. Yes, I’m a Maberry fan. He has a tight, powerful style of writing that grabs me and won’t let me go. This story is about the Imura brothers – Benny and Tom – living in a world where people have constructed fortress towns to keep out the walking dead who plague the world. Tom is a zombie killer – someone who’s been trained and given permission to go outside the walls to take care of certain tasks. Benny is young and doesn’t understand what his brother actually does, so he’s forced to try and find work in another profession. He doesn’t have much luck or skill and eventually turns to Tom to join the “family business…”

I’m not ashamed to say this story moved me to tears by the end, and other than Mira Grant’s FEED due out in May 2010, I’ve never read a story about zombies that ever moved me emotionally in that way. Maberry has a gift. And I’m happy to say the first novel in his new Benny Imura series – Rot & RUIN – will be released in hardback from Simon & Schuster on October 5, 2010. And I’m already reserving my copy.

A couple of other stories grabbed me with their unique spin – “Weaponized” by David Wellington, and Joe Hill’s “Twittering from the Circus of the Dead”. Wellington poses a question – what if the military found a way to reuse dead soldiers? And Joe Hill’s series of “tweets” from the perspective of a high school girl who finds herself in a horrific situation far from civilization was simply inspired storytelling.

Does everything in the anthology work for me? Heck no, but that’s the beauty of anthologies. You get exposed to a variety of tales from authors you may not have read anything from before and you might just find something you like along the way. If you like zombies, check out The New Dead on bookstore shelves now. It’s definitely worth a read.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this book and others below!

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Hey all…

Don’t forget about the Expedition Africa Prize Pack contest! I’ll pick a winner from the entries on June 12 — nine days from now. All kinds of cool stuff for exploring the world or your own back yard!

Check out the contest here…

And don’t forget to watch Expedition Africa on Sundays on the HISTORY Channel!

–Fitz

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Hi there…

I thought this was interesting today… It’s been announced that what was to be the final book of Robert Jordan‘s Wheel of Time series, completed by Brandon Sanderson, has instead turned into a final three books. A Memory of Light is being broken into three volumes, the first of which will be released on November 3, 2009 as The Gathering Storm.

Now… This to me is starting to resemble a series by L. Ron Hubbard back in the mid-1980s called Mission Earth. And, like with Jordan’s series, it started strong and became convoluted and dragged out at the end. Though I’ve owned book 10 of Mission Earth for close to 15 years, I still haven’t read it. The last two of Jordan’s books are the same way… I have Knife of Dreams and New Spring on my shelf where they’ve been for the last few years. And I just can’t get back into it.

Perhaps Sanderson will breathe some new life into it. But the fact that they’ve chosen to split up Jordan’s final book into three doesn’t bode well for me. Will I purchase the books? Maybe.

How do you feel about this news? Any comments?

–Fitz

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Hey all…

Sorry, but I’m having some issues with my site following my WordPress 2.7.1 upgrade yesterday. Please bear with me as I work out the kinks.

Thanks!
–Fitz

Hey all…

This morning I got an e-mail from the blog of Tim Ferris (author of the 4-Hour Workweek) pointing me to a new site he’s helping a friend with called The Laugh Button. (Though I’d love to do more with the 4-hour workweek concept, it hasn’t happened for me quite yet — I’m working on it. )

The post talks about tonight’s special on PBS honoring George Carlin at the Mark Twain Prize presentation, and how some of Carlin’s quotes are almost indistinguishable from Mark Twain’s… Separated at birth and a 100+ years? Maybe! (Here’s the post from Ferris — it’s worth reading. All of Ferris’ posts are thought provoking, and that’s great first thing in the morning to get the juices flowing.)

Anyway… I digress! The really cool bit is that this site, The Laugh Button, is kind of like a Pandora for stand-up comedians. We all need more funny in our lives. This is a perfect way to introduce a smile into your day. I will be checking out this site regularly!

So check out The Laugh Button today and watch the Mark Twain Prize tonight on PBS to honor one of the great comedians of our time – George Carlin – with some of the other great comedians of our time (Jon Stewart, Garry Shandling, Margaret Cho, Denis Leary, and one of our favorite crazy people – Lewis Black).

You know you want to listen.

–Fitz

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Hi all…

So Columbia Pictures is remaking The Karate Kid, and it’s going to star Jaden Smith as the kid and Jackie Chan as the “Mr. Miagi”-like role. (Announced last night at Variety.)

Why do we continue to see remakes for movies that don’t really need to be remade? Because it’ll make money of course. Will Smith‘s son plus Jackie Chan = $$$$ in the eyes of producers I guess.

But I have to wonder what they’re going to do. It’s the same story as before. A kid is bullied by kids at school and learns to fight his own battles (physically and philosophically) with the help of an eccentric older mentor.

What kills me in this one is that Jerry Weintraub, who launched the original 1984 movie (dang I feel old), is producing the new one. The 1984 version starred a young Ralph Macchio (who’s not looking great in his older years – he’s appearing in the weird movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead set to come out later this year and time has not been kind) and Pat Morita (a classy older asian dude who unfortunately passed away in 2005). Why Weintraub sees the need to trash the 1984 version (which in my demented mind was a great movie as seen by me at age 14) by redoing it is beyond me.

But the remake bandwagon rolls on… This isn’t one I’ll be lining up to see.

–Fitz

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Hey all!

Ain’t It Cool News just posted an amazingly detailed list of shows that are starting up again in 2009. (You can see the full list here.) I just thought I’d provide a list of the shows I’m excited about or have been watching (a subset of the full list).

• 

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  Scrubs (ABC) Jan. 6

• Flashpoint (CBS) Jan. 9
• American Idol (Fox) Jan. 13
• Supernatural (CW) Jan. 15
• Battlestar Galactica (SciFi) Jan. 16
• Fringe (Fox) Jan. 20
• Lie To Me (Fox) Jan. 21
• Burn Notice (USA) Jan. 22
• Last Templar (NBC) Jan. 25
• Heroes (NBC) Feb. 2
• Chuck (NBC) Feb. 2
• Life (NBC) Feb. 4
• Dollhouse (Fox) Feb. 13
• Reaper (CW) March 17

We’ve been watching Scrubs for a few seasons now and I have to admit we’re hooked on the upbeat sarcasm. I’ll be curious to see if moving it to ABC changes the show’s vibe.

Flashpoint was a surprise when it aired in late summer or early fall. Though it’s a bit formulaic, it’s the characters that will make me tune back in to see what happens to this SWAT team in Canada.

American Idol you ask… Yes, we’re Idol fans. Not rabid, dial every week a million times kind of fans, but still fans. We’ll see if this year is as good as last.

Supernatural is another show that we’ve been watching since the beginning. Sam and Dean are now trying to stop the Apocalypse. Who could ask for more?

Battlestar Galactica enters its last season in January. We’ve been waiting for far too long and dare to dream that it will end in fantastic fashion.

Fringe hooked us this fall and hasn’t let go yet. Each episode we enjoy the banter between Walter and his son and look for new clues to the Pattern along with everyone else.

Lie to Me looks like it might be Fox’s answer to the Mentalist. I’m a big fan of Tim Roth (ever since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one of my favorite movies) and can’t wait to see what he has cooked up for this character.

Burn Notice continually teaches me new ways to look cool and act like an ex-spy.

And the Last Templar looks like a bit of Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones or the Da Vinci Code. We’ll see if it keeps my interest.

The Heroes/Chuck tandem has worked well on Mondays for quite a while and I’m hopeful that Heroes gets back on track. We’re about 6 episodes behind at the moment (thank you Tivo), so hopefully we’ll be caught up!

Life is another show who’s quirky characters and interesting story lines keep us coming back.

Dollhouse has Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku once again matched up for a show (hasn’t happened since Buffy and Angel). We’ll see if Whedon has better luck with dolls than with westerns in space.

And Reaper is just plain fun. Sam as the Devil’s inept bounty hunter with his friends (Sock is our favorite — his brand of sarcasm and wit always makes us smile).

Of course… This could all just be a pipe dream if the SAG goes on strike in January. But who knows? Happy thoughts… Happy thoughts…

What shows are you excited to see return to television in the new year? Let me know!

–Fitz

Hi all…

I saw this article on TechCrunch this week and it made me pause and scratch my head. Why would Dell pre-load their computers with movies?

Your typical high definition digital movie file takes up a large amount of space, somewhere between 1 Gigabyte and 4 Gigabytes (assuming some degree of compression) of storage would be required on a hard drive. If you have a 300 gig drive, which is about average these days, that would be a maximum of less than 1.5 percent of your hard drive.

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Apparently Paramount and Dell inked a deal for Dell to sell Iron Man on new machines for $20. This includes the digital movie, plus the DVD extras, right on the hard drive. And you can burn it to DVD. But only once.

I’m guessing that we’ll see more movie studios go this route with hard disk space as cheap as it is (and getting cheaper every day), but I have to wonder why. What’s the benefit of having it on the hard drive? I only see one — no DVD to haul around and lose. But that’s the only benefit I can see.

Am I just missing the point?

–Fitz

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Hi all…

I’ve now stumbled upon this site a total of three times and have finally had a chance to write about it. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a movie called 2081, which appears to be set in a very Orwellian dystopia.

The site is here. And there’s a bit of information about it on IMDB here. It appears to be in post-production currently.

But the trailer is eerie and hits far too close to home. In a world where no one rises above any other, where individuality is frowned upon and the norm must be adhered to blindly, a revolution is brewing.

Based on a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, the movie appears to be about breaking away from what is expected and doing the extraordinary. I won’t take it on face value, however it’s certainly enough to peak my interest.

There doesn’t seem to be a release date yet. But I hope it eventually makes it to DVD or the big screen.

Because it’s time for a revolution.

–Fitz

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