Fan Off: The Blog

Four Years of Alter Ego Comic Cast!

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:11:06 -0700

For years, Alter Ego Comic Cast has been the second best part of Wednesdays for thousands of comic book fans across the Internet. Now, the podcast that began as a guide for the patrons of one of the comic book store-owning hosts celebrates an impressive anniversary.

Over 122 hours of content, 164 episodes and a tried-and-true format have all lead to the landmark four-year anniversary of one of FanOff.com's most subscribed podcasts. Recorded at Alter Ego Comics in cozy Muncie, Indiana, Alter Ego Comic Cast is currently hosted by Austin Wilson, David Hopkins and store owner Jason Pierce.

Top 5 '90s Video Game Commercials

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:44:35 -0700

Ah, the '90s. It was a mighty different time for commercials. A time when Big Red gave your breath long lasting freshness, the one and only Cheerios had one gram of sugar a bowl, and Mentos was the fresh maker. Video games were an entirely different beast though. Back before the days of Gears of War, Final Fantasy XIII, and Mass Effect, simply showing off gorgeous in-game graphics wasn't nearly enough to sell people on a brand new game... mostly because gorgeous in-game graphics didn't exist at the time.

This setback only forced game companies to get more creative though. They hired actors, they wrote jingles, and they used their 30 seconds of television time to tell stories. This edition of The Top 5 looks at some of my favorite commercials from the decade that was the '90s.

The Top 5: Disney Afternoon Shows

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:06:53 -0700

It's week 2 of my five week series on 90s cartoons. If you were listening to RBR this week, you may have noticed that this list was supposed to be the top 5 Nicktoons. But while I was able to narrow down my list to five, I am having a real issue putting them in order, so that will be saved for next week. This week we look at The Disney Afternoon. Originally a 2 hour block on UPN for 9 years, the shows used on The Disney Afternoon ran on both Disney Channel and Toon Disney for years afterward.

As with pretty much all these lists, I am aware of some pretty big omissions such as "Goof Troop" and "Ducktales" as well as movie based shows like "Aladdin" and "Timon & Pumba". Also, like last time, I must stress what this list is about. I am focusing only on shows aired during the Disney Afternoon 2-hour block. NO regular Disney Channel shows. So let's kick things off!

March Music Madness (+)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:42:25 -0700

I admit, I am not usually one to pay attention to album release dates. In fact, when it comes to music, I rarely get full albums, since I tend to pick and choose certain songs I like. But I happened upon a CD release website looking for info on Gnarls Barkley, and I was shocked. See, CDs and albums get released on Tuesdays. And it's never just one or two, but a whole bunch. But of course, every week there is only one or two that stand out.

But this Tuesday, March 9th, might be the most loaded and amazing album release line-up I have seen in a really long time.

The Top 5: Kids WB Cartoons

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:34:01 -0700

So I quickly noticed that one of my more popular subjects in The Blog was actually my first. Cartoons from the 1990s. So it's only natural that I do a Top 5 on my favorite cartoons from the 1990s. One problem though. There is just too many good shows. So instead, over the next 5 weeks I will be doing multiple Top 5 lists on various types of cartoons from the 1990s.

To kick things off, this week we will be looking at Warner Bros cartoons. The Weekday Afternoon/Saturday Morning Kids WB block was home to many great shows. Now, this will be all Warner Bros Animation Studio cartoons. So no Hanna-Barbera toons like "Captain Planet" or anime imports like "Pokemon". As with all these lists, there are more cartoons from the studio worth checking out not on this list, from "The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries" to "Superman". So let's kick things off!

Still Catching Them All

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:55:48 -0700

Remember this?

We all played Pokemon growing up. We all had to catch them all. And then we stopped because only kids played it. So why is Pokemon still running strong? And why do people in their 20s still play it?

The Top 5: Things I'll miss about Emo Music

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:28:51 -0700

Before I kick this things off, let me get one thing straight. The genre deserves the slow painful death it is currently going through. It seemed like near the end of 2008, any band with a whiny voice and hair covering a side of their faces got some kind of following. So while I won't miss the terrible whining, off-pitch guitars, and 14 year old girls I keep bumping into at Warped Tour, I must admit, there is a bit of me that is sad to see the emo genre of music go away. And here is exactly why.

Batman 3 Rumors

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:20:52 -0700

After finally being confirmed that Christopher Nolan will return to helm a 3rd Batman, not to mention the big news that he'll "mentor" the next Superman movie, fresh new rumors has sprouted up regarding the Dark Knight's next movie exploits. The Shaman shares his thoughts regarding the news.

Disclaimer From Your Shaman

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:11:12 -0700

After being informed of events on tonight's (2/15/10) show, The Shaman felt the need to release a disclaimer about things said on Now Playing Now!

Many Shades of White

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:32:33 -0700

I was reading the latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine today. The topic was on the best musicians, songs, and albums of the 2000s. And while many names were named, one kept showing up over and over. Jack White. Coincidentally while listening to my Ipod, "The Denial Twist" by The White Stripes was playing.

A lot has been said about the Detroit Native. Some say he is the modern day blues-man and the best guitarist of our generation. I've also heard he is a whiny pretentious guy who thinks everything he does is art. To be honest, while I enjoy everything Jack has done as a musician, I never put much thought into the man himself. So let's take a peak into the mind of Jack White and those around him.