My Day Will Come

NBC’s Revolution Might Be Good

Andy Yen — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:04:13 +0000

Jon Favreau, JJ Abrams, and Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring from “Breaking Bad”) involved in a new show about a apocalyptic post-electronics world? Sign me up!

The trailer actually looks pretty good. Maybe this will be the Great Sci-Fi Show on network TV we’ve all been searching for in the post-Lost era.

Update: Jon Favreau reveals more about his involvement in “Revolution” to The Hollywood Reporter

via The Trailer for NBC’s ‘Revolution’ is Epic.

Consequence of Sound Reviews Garbage – Not Your Kind of People

Andy Yen — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:07:36 +0000

Adam Kivel for Consequence of Sound:

That said, the whole album sounds like an anomaly. This isn’t the kind of music that garners a lot of radio-play the way it did ten years ago. It’s not the type of music that gets the indie kids going, either. The appeal then, lies largely for Garbage fans (who have been salivating over this new release for a long while), those that haven’t left the ’90s behind, those for whom grungy arena pop is the genre that never dies.

I had the same thoughts when I listened to the new Garbage album. It’s not a disappointing album, nor does it blow me away. It’s just kinda… ok.

via Album Review: Garbage – Not Your Kind of People « Consequence of Sound.

I Saw Bruce Springsteen Chug A Beer In Front Of Me And Stage Dive

Andy Yen — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:00:20 +0000

Not bad for a 65 year old.

Both videos are from his 4/26/2012 show at the LA Sports Arena. Overall, I was really impressed by the breadth of music that The Boss and The E Street Band played. Songs touched upon almost every genre including soul, folk, rock, rap, and big band. It’s a shame Bruce didn’t convince the band to do some dubstep songs, though I imagine the older crowd would have found it in poor taste.

Tom Morello was a guest on three songs, content with playing in the background until he was featured front and center for an amazing rendition of “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” It ranked among my top 5 live guest appearances, musically speaking. More raw and impassioned than Bruce’s album cut, yet not as abrasive as the Rage Against the Machine cover, the performance created a version of song that stood above the sum of its parts.

The following video is a clip of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” which closed the encore set. It includes a great tribute to Clarence Clemons.

Steve Ballmer Sells Windows1.0

Andy Yen — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:37:45 +0000

Presented without comment.

Working At Marvel Is Apparently Shitty

Andy Yen — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:00:43 +0000

From The Beat:

It gets downright messy. Marvel’s new offices have only one restroom for each gender. In a company of hundreds of people. The post-lunch hour piddle line is said to be especially long and people actually stagger their lunches so as not to wait in it. There’s a human resources staff of one for the whole company. Review copies? You’ve got to be kidding. Editors have to purchase copies of the books they worked on.

God, that’s depressing to read. It’s just sad to see a place called the “House of Ideas” to be such morale deflating misery factory. Makes one wonder how many great ideas are being stifled by penny pinching.

Warren Ellis had a great tweet about this last week given the success of “The Avengers” movie:

Hell, the AVENGERS movie has made so much money that Disney might even let Marvel Comics buy a second toilet for their offices.

— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) May 6, 2012

via Marvel layoffs: The cheapskate is coming from inside the House of Ideas! | The Beat.

The Raid: Redemption As Told With Claymation Cats

Andy Yen — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:58:30 +0000

If you like action movies and you haven’t seen “The Raid: Redemption” yet, drop what you’re doing and go see it. Either way, you can enjoy claymation cats killing each other without fear for movie spoilers.

via Lee Hardcastle

One In A Million

Andy Yen — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:46:50 +0000

Imagine that you are one of the top World of Warcraft players in the world. You’re in a guild that is made up of people just like you, passionate about beating the hardest raid bosses in the game before anyone else in the world. You’re really proud of your accomplishments and stature in the game’s hardcore community, but what do you think your chances are of being able to brag about this stuff on a first date?

Now you have an idea of how lucky this dude on BBC reality show “World Series of Dating” was:

New Apple iOS Maps App Is Something You Will Want

Andy Yen — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:25:50 +0000

Sources describe the new Maps app as a forthcoming tentpole feature of iOS that will, in the words of one, “blow your head off.” I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies. C3 did use missile-targeting technology to develop its gorgeous 3-D models of major cities, so …

“Missile-targeting technology”? Well, it’s a good thing Google’s not the company with that tech. With all of the personal data they’re collecting on us, “blow your head off” might have a more literal meaning. *rimshot*

But seriously, the Maps iOS app is something that needs to be overhauled, given that no truly significant functionality has been added to it since the launch of the original iPhone. I’m not sure 3D mapping is something that’ll be practically useful on a day to day basis, but I would love some more turn-by-turn navigation and localized search capabilities at the very least.

via AllThingsD.

Joss Whedon Thanks His Fans

Andy Yen — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:14:36 +0000

I can think of few other directors today who engender a similar amount of fan passion that Mr. Whedon does. The fact that he took the time to write a sincerely grateful, yet humorously self-deprecating post to his biggest fans after the biggest domestic movie opening weekend of all time speaks volumes to why he’s so beloved.

Joss Whedon interviewing himself:

RDA: What do you feel is the greatest achievement of “the Avoiders”?

JW: Getting “mewling quim” out there to the masses. Also, Hulk.

For the record, I had to look up what “mewling quim” means and when I did I could do nothing but smile and give Joss a mental high five.

Well played, sir. Well played.

via Whedonesque.com.

Review: The Walking Dead Game Episode One: A New Day

Andy Yen — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:22:23 +0000

Think you had enough The Walking Dead after that mess of a season two ended on AMC? As much as you might be, try to carve out a couple hours to at least try the first episode of Telltale’s new five-part “adventure” game on PC/Mac, PS3, and Xbox 360. I wrote a full review for Comics Alliance that you can peruse at your leisure if you feel so inclined, but suffice to say, I dug the characters in this game way more than the A-holes on the AMC series. I mean seriously, could those people be any less likable? (If you’ve seen Season Two, I know you’re with me)

Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly if you aren’t a fan of the TV series), the new characters introduced in “A New Day” are more likable than their television brethren. Lee’s a complicated guy with a past shrouded in mystery. He’s not necessarily the natural “leader” that Rick is and that allows for a more interesting dynamic when you encounter characters in the game. Clementine, the little girl you meet early on in the game, is everything that Carl isn’t on the show. She’s vulnerable and innocent, yet strong and resourceful when called upon to be. Playing through the game, I actually began to care for her and wanted to go out of my way to protect her. That’s something that I can’t say the same for any character on the show.

The game as a whole isn’t too bad, either. It’s more of an “interactive story” than a traditional Sierra adventure game, but that’s OK, because I was always terrible at those and usually needed help with them anyway. At $5 ($4 if you get a season pass on the PS3), it’s not a bad price for a couple hours of good episodic writing. Telltale is ambitiously setting up the choices you make in this game to really differentiate the story that you get from each play through. Kinda like Mass Effect with less shooting, if you will. Let’s just hope the ending doesn’t piss off as many people as that game did.

Read my full review on Comics Alliance.