Chris North, former member of The Points North , has a disposition somewhat akin to his music. This Jamaica Plain resident is a humble guy, while simultaneously being a no-bullshit and a very straight-to-the-point individual. His music resembles his earnestness, which he’s been writing and performing for several years now, dating back to his solo and collaborative efforts under the moniker of Saint Joe Hazelwood . North’s music has ranged from quite Appalachian folk to experimenting with static and industrial-esque soundscapes. Consistently honing and altering his [...]
Pass The Popcorn: How to Fund a Time Machine
Jay Cheel, director of “ Beauty Day ,” wants your money. Why should you fork over your hard-earned money to help this relatively unknown Canadian filmmaker fund a documentary based off an allegedly elaborate hoax about time travel? Well, if that intriguing rhetorical question didn’t do anything for you, take a quick gander at this Doc Ignite trailer for “How to Build a Time Machine“… Crowd funding is an interesting concept. It’s been all the rage as of late, with Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions raising over 600K in under 24 hours via KickStarter [...]
Pass The Popcorn: The Found Footage Debate
“ Chronicle ” made 22 million last weekend in the U.S. domestic box office. That’s not bad considering it’s a film cast with relatively unknown actors and for a film released in the dead season of February. This is far more impressive when considering it cost only 12 million to produce the film. How did such a film get away with such a small budget and still bring in a large audience on its opening weekend? The answer can most likely [...]
From the Diamond to Developer: The Story of Curt Schilling’s Passion for Gaming
The man with the blood-soaked “red sock,” Curt Schilling , is a hero to many a Boston sports fan. Under the mentoring and friendship of Terry Francona, Schilling went on to set records and helped to win two World Series championships within his four years with the team. What most people don’t know about Curt, however, is that he’s an avid gamer. While he was on the road, he would constantly obsess over a 1980′s board game entitled Advanced Squad Leader . He also became [...]
The Singles Bar: I Come To Shanghai’s “In Your Own Way”
Nostalgia is in. With bands like M83 and The Radio Dept. dusting off many a drum machine and synthesizer, it’s fair to say that a reverence for the past is common building block for most modern bands. Music, in a way, is like your favorite cocktail. You stick with what you know, but it’s the twist that sets itself apart. That’s not to say that this Athens, Georgia-based duo sounds anachronistic by any standards. Conversely, I Come To Shanghai has the penchant for implementing the “blips” and [...]
À la carte: How to Stop Paying Expensive Monthly Bills & Get the Content You Want
Satellite and cable television subscriptions are expensive. You’re paying for a lot of content you will never see, nor ever have the desire to. In this article, I will illustrate the cheaper (and more sensible) alternatives to getting your couch potato fix. Mind you, these television substitutes vary largely on your location, proximity to heavily populated areas, and access to a high-speed internet connection. If you’re reading this via a 56k modem, just stop reading now (and/or watching the photo [...]
Pass The Popcorn: Oscar Nominations (Pomp & Predictability)
It’s Oscar nomination time. Blake sizes up the choices, some of which are surprising, many of which are predictable.
Shell Shock: The 5 Stages of Playing an Online Competitive First Person Shooter
First person shooters (FPS) video games are extremely popular. The Call of Duty games have had record breaking world-wide releases, surpassing any blockbuster film opening before it. With Modern Warfare 3 making over 1 billion dollars in sales in just under 16 days , it’s safe to say that people like shooting other people in the face via an internet connection. Competitive shooters are varied (from the fast paced arcade shooting of Call of Duty games, to the slower paced and more tactical shooting of the Battlefield series, to the ultra cartoon violence of Team Fortress 2 ), there’s something [...]
Pass The Popcorn: Base Humor & the Decline of the R-Rated Comedy
2011 was not a good year for comedy. Arguably the best comedy of the year, “ Bridesmaids ” was, at its best, an adequate The Hangover -esque comedy for women and, at its worst, an unnecessarily long and meandering plot with a funny diarrhea scene somewhere in the middle (fecal-spoiler). The R-Rated comedy has had a checkered past, but now that the Judd Apatow-Renaissance is upon us (“ The 40 Year Old Virgin ,” “ Knocked Up “), the theater audience has been treated with some good and often great [...]
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