Happy Shanksgiving!

Hope all guys had a great Thanksgiving and plan on having a good Christmas too.  Not a lot has happened since my last post that I haven't really talked about already but I figured I was a bit overdue for an update.

Err'y Day I'm Pig Destroyin'

I think I have a problem.  I've been pumping myself for Pig Destoyer's new album "Book Burner" which comes out on 10/23 so I've pretty much been listening to nothing but "Prowler In The Yard" and "Terrifyer" for the past few weeks.  And I'll probably pull out "Phantom Limb" for the remaining weeks.

How I'm Spending My Summer

I figured I'd keep some of you updated as to what I've been doing lately.  Nothing major, mostly because it's too damn hot out.  I've basically barricaded myself in my bedroom in front of a fan because Summer is horrible. 

Music I'm Listening To Right Now

This entry is going to be a bit of a bonus, one I want to crank out really quickly.  Not because I'm lazy (which I am) but because I want to get some exposure for what I'm listening to out there and I suck at writing music reviews (See my April Music Haul entry).  I've been spending some of my free time and spare change at the local used record/music/game store and grabbed a few CDs because I'm still one of those losers that buys physical media.  So here's what I've been cranking in my car for the past couple of weeks:

Blockbuster Closing Haul 2012 + Some Podcast News

As I mentioned in my last post, the last Blockbuster store in Toledo closed down in May.  As I've done before, I decided to get my hands on whatever I could.  Unfortunately, that didn't really turn out to be a lot, at least not compared to the previous times that local stores have closed.  I think maybe a part of it has to do with my upgrade to Blu-Ray, since I probably won't buy something on DVD unless there's no chance of it being on Blu-Ray.  But I did get a decent sized and varied haul nevertheless.

The April Music Haul

Alright, so this entry might be a bit short as it'll only be focusing on the music I bought during April.  The closing Blockbuster Video store is still open for a few more weeks so I'll wait until then for a final tally before I write about that.  But I surprisingly bought quite a bit of CDs for a good price (yes, people actually purchase physical media still) so here's a look at the stuff I've been listening to as of late.

The Random Ass-Haul For March 2012

I think the magic YouTube fairies were trying to tell me to stop doing these "Haul" videos when had to record the video for March twice and both times screwed up.  The first time, I had issues with my microphone and it was adding scrambled sounds in the middle of it.  Then the second time, which I didn't get a chance to record until about two weeks later, the battery in my camera died halfway into filming.  I really didn't want to do the whole process for a third time, hence my main reasoning behind bringing back Sarcasmatron by writing these up instead.

First of all comes my ordeal with Wherehouse.com.  If you watched my February haul video, you heard me talk about a site called Wherehouse.com where I decided to trade in a bunch of DVDs that I had recently upgraded to Blu-Ray.  The trade-in values were roughly double that anyone else was offering but unlike most other sites, I had to pay for my own shipping to send them my package, which ended up being about $9.  Anyways, I ended up with about $25-$30 of credit and here's what I got with it.

Dear Diarrhea...

Whelp, I'm back...I guess.  I know I haven't posted anything in about six months, let alone anything all that substantial in longer than that.  But after an ill-fated experiment on YouTube, I figured I'd resurrect Sarcasmatron, though whether or not it'll be full-time remains to be seen.

Basically, I tried to do video reviews or "haul" videos of whatever movies or games I got that particular month.  I keep seeing all these girls going "Tee hee, look at all these clothes and makeup I got!" and thought to myself "I'm sure someone would want to know my point of view on movies and such".  So I tried it out for a few months and found out it's really not for me, at least not in this point in time.  Mostly, I wait to record the videos when my roommates are out of the apartment so I can go all out and not get embarrassed.  But since I record them in my room, it gets hot and stuffy in there really quick.  Then I'll edit them since my YouTube account still doesn't allow for videos longer than 10 minutes for whatever reason but usually I'm lazy so I don't get around to editing for at least a week after filming.  So really, it's at least a couple of weeks to do one video.  If I had more time or, mostly, more motivation I'd be able to crank these videos out faster but I don't.  So I plan on bringing those "hauls" back in written form here on Sarcasmatron, amongst other things.

The Final Borders Haul

So as you probably know by now, Borders has finally closed, or at least is almost closed, by now.  My local store's last day was last Thursday and I decided to pop my head in one last time on Wednesday.  Pretty much everything else was wiped out but a few hundred books, and quite a few mangas surprisingly enough.  DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs and graphic novels were completely gone.  I was quite shocked how quickly everything was gone because I had gone a week or so before and they still had quite a few Blu-Rays.  Then when I went back for my second-to-last trip, they were down to about 15, 20 tops.  By then, the only movie I was interested in getting was Die Hard.  There were still a few DVDs here and there at that time, and I just about snagged the recent 10th Anniversary Edition of Audition for pretty cheap but held off, since I already own the previous release and if I were to upgrade it would be to Blu-Ray.  But for the last visit, nothing of importance was left.  Though, by that point they were getting rid of books by making them a $1 each so I managed to snag a few things of slight interest and one thing I was super-psyched at finding...though now I'm getting ahead of myself.  I know I already posted a list last time but it kinda got buried under all that stuff so here's the final list:

Podcast. Also, why no podcasts?

So, yeah, I realized I haven't updated this in about a month...because I'm lazy.  Well, really I'm not, I just don't have much to show for it.  For one, I've been focusing more on my comedy, but still just doing Open Mics (for now, more on that later).  Also, I've kinda dropped the ball on my writing for the Freakin' Awesome Network.  Though I have started a monthly feature called This Month In Metal, I've dropped the ball lately on my normal weekly feature Wrestling With Extra Sleaze.  Even though I've only done it for about a month or two, I feel like I'm already burnt out on the subject matter, kinda like my friend who decided to write her college thesis on Nazi propaganda films and didn't quite realize "Hey, I'm going to be doing nothing but research on the worst people that ever lived for the next few years."  Only with me, it was like "Hey, I'm going to be nothing but watching the worst wrestling that's ever wrestled...even though I've been doing that already, but now I have to write about it!"  Obviously, I haven't been able to update this here blog and therefore I decided to shut down (or at least un-publish) the Facebook page for it so, if you haven't already, "Like" my Writing/Comedy page if you want to continue getting updates.  Also, my chances to go to GenCon this year and become an extra for The Avengers movie fell through, so there's that.

Sarcasmatron Audio Time Go! #4 - Birthday Bad Movie Blowout Bonanza

Wa-hey!  I have a podcast!  I believe it's the longest one I've done thus far (on my own, at least) but really it's just me talking about what movies I've acquired recently.  Most of them suck.  But I also got my own Blu-Ray player so I talk a bit about how that's only going to make my movie buying habits even worse.  Also, I checked out Captain America: The First Avenger and gave it a mini-review.

Content Free July?

Sorry about the lack of podcasts recently...or anything really.  That is unless you've frequented the Freakin' Awesome Network where I've been continuing my Wrestling With Extra Sleaze column.  But other than that, I haven't done a damn thing, and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better for the rest of this month here at Sarcasmatron.  Last week, I didn't feel like doing much at all.  No podcasts, no stand-up comedy, no nothing.  And now it seems like what free time I have to write or do whatever (namely the weekends) is being taken up by other things.  For instance, this weekend, I'm not even doing anything for the July 4th holiday. However, I will be house/dogsitting for friends and I don't really feel comfortable writing on other people's equipment.  Hell, I barely get motivated to do it on my own equipment.  Then next weekend, not only will it be my birthday but I'll also be attending the Glass City Con here in Toledo, which I may be covering for FAN as well.  Then the weekend after that, I'll be heading to Cleveland with a few members of the V1kM crew as they'll be filming scenes for The Avengers there.  They're actually having a casting call too so we may end up in the movie, even if it just as random extras for a crowd scene.  Still, either way it should be fun.  But after that, things should be settled down and hopefully I'll have some podcasts ready to go at least.  That's it for now, gotta go watch a dog.

PS - RIP Random Hero

A Podcast That Isn't Mine But I'm On It So There

Sorry about the lack of podcasts lately.  Usually the only chance I have to record are weekends and though I could have recorded one, I was having a depression pity-party and didn't feel like doing much of anything.  And this weekend I probably won't have a chance to record a podcast since I will be away visiting family at home.  But (un)luckily for you, you won't remain podcast-less tonight as I made a guest appearance on the Steve Wherry Comedy Podcast, which was recorded last night.

Here ya go, bastids.

So...that's it.  I'm lazy.

Sarcasmatron Audio Time Go #3 - Skanxxx

Podcastamania is runnin' wild!  Whatchu gonna do?!?  Umm...how about listen to them, maybe?  Just a suggestion.  Anyway, it's been a little crazy with the podcasts lately.  Not only have I recorded two within a week but I also made a guest appearance on another one.  First of all, here's the topics of discussion for Episizzode Number Three:

Sarcasmatron Audio Time Go! Episode #2 - Almighty Thorgasmatron

'Sup?  Episode #2 of the podcast all up in the hizzy...or something.  I still sound like crap, but now I sound even worse because I recorded this while not feeling well.  I tried to cut this down a bit more to prevent rambling but that didn't quite work.  I still rambled and it's only maybe like 5 minutes shorter.  I talk about a lot less this time.  My topics this time have been reduced to:

Sarcasmatron Audio Time Go Episode #1 - The Macho Man Appreciation Station

Well, it took a little while but here it is: my first podcast.  I probably could have had this up a few days ago but I procrastinated a bit.  All I really had to do was edit in some music and upload it, a process that should only take about a few hours, but I stretched it out over the course of a few days.  Yeah, I'm lazy.  As you'll figure out pretty quickly, I've never really done this on my own before so PLEASE leave some sort of feedback as to how I can make this better.  I realize it's kinda all over the place and I do stumble on my words quite a bit so I need to know what I can do to not suck.  Anyway, the topics for my first episode:

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.

It's been about a year and a half (give or take a few months) since I've started this blog.  And though I haven't exactly tried my hardest (especially late), I've still been kinda disappointed in my efforts of becoming a T-List semi-star Internet critics.  I mean, I figured I'd at least be invited to one of The Cinema Snob's coke parties or an orgy at TGWTG's headquarters.  Just kidding.  But seriously, I started this blog to get noticed and to have a voice.  I know there's an audience out there that thinks this sort of inane rambling about nerdy shit is funny, but I still haven't found it.  I've gotten a decent amount of hits but as far as I know, they're all from people I tell to read my stuff, which I don't like doing.  Considering a good 90% of the feedback I've gotten from people have either come from a friend who is currently in Basic Training and a friend who is traveling across the UK, it's hard to tell if I'm doing anything right, wrong or even remotely interesting and readable.  So I've been thinking a bit about what to do to help rejuvenate my interest in writing my own damn blog and getting my name out in the world.  As a great man once said "Enough is enough, and it's time for a change."  And if you'll read on, it looks like I have plenty.

The Wrestlemania Podcast Experiment Plus Some Wrestling News

As I mentioned before, Wrestlemania 27 was two weeks ago and I decided, with a bunch of the V1kM crew, that we would watch it and riff on it in podcast-form.  This was nothing more than a hair-brained experiment, mostly because I don't really know if there's an audience that would want to listen to a bunch of nerds (some well-versed in wrestling, some not so much) talk about a 4-hour show they're watching that the people listening to can't even see.  But hey, I guess it was worth a shot.  To make it easier on you, the listener, I broke up the almost 4 hour recording into 5 easier-to-digest chunks, ranging from about 30-50 minutes each.  But the recording itself isn't perfect.  Far from it, actually.  For starters, our buddy Will had the recording equipment but his tire unfortunately blew out on the way, so he didn't really make it until an hour and a half in.  Luckily, he brought our stand-up comedian friend Jake with him, plus when Wrestlemania ended, there was a replay afterward so we just watched what they missed out on.  So the podcast as a whole is kinda out of order.  And as par for the course when it comes to V1kM podcasts, we get severely off track most of the time.  In all honestly, Wrestlemania was just OK.  I'd consider myself the biggest professional wrestling fan out of the group and I repeatedly lost interest throughout the show.

Great sex, a perfect nap, or an amazing cup of coffee? Which 1 would you choose to have every day for the rest of your life?

I sleep too much as it is and I don't really like coffee, so...

Ask me anything. No, seriously, anything.

My Blockbuster Closing Haul and the Insane Videogame Backlog

I haven't had the chance to write about it lately but, for any long time followers of the blog, I love me some video store closings...as sad as that may sound when you factor in the people losing their jobs.  It's been over a year since the Blockbuster near my apartment closed down, and since then, there's been a few other store closings.  A few days ago, I was alerted that not one, but two, Blockbusters were closing down, leaving just one brick-and-mortar store (as far as I know) in the great city of Toledo.  So I've made a few stops in between the two and here's what I managed to snag.