Current Addictions

A) Electric Wizard
Quiet possibly the heaviest damn band on the planet? Yes. I've only been listening to "Dopethrone" but I'd say it's enough for them to take the crown. This band, and the Black Breath's Southern Lord debut "Heavy Breathing" have single handily reignited the meandering metal fire in my heart.

B) Fringe
This generations X-Files? Not quite, but Fox's Sci-Fi equivalent of CSI is a blast to watch. While ultimately it's very clear that the show runners can't make up their mind as to whether or not they want to make the show a completely serialized mystery, or just stick to the monster of the week format; oddly enough they've found a happy medium to satisfy fans of both. When the mythology kicks in it kicks your face in. The episode "Peter" may be the finest hour of television I've watched all year.

C) Half-Life 2
I've always considered myself a gamer, but a casual and picky one at that. I find my niche games, and I stick to them. You will see my collection lined soley with Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Silent Hilll, and Soul Calibur titles. I love these series and will replay the hell out of all of them. A whole 6 years after its release the Half-Life 2 universe has blown its way into that echelon for me recently. It's combination of out of control physics, rousing gameplay and intriguing storytelling put it above any FPS ever made, IMO. Games like MW2, are too much for me to handle, I'm right at home with a title like this.

D) Dr. Dog
If the Beatles ever did actually have a musical marriage with super fan Jeff Lynne (ELO), Dr. Dog is pretty damn close to what I think they would of sounded like. The pop of Dr. Dog is endearing. It's retrospective, and humbling, a kind of sound that the bands they are influenced by would be caught looking down at their shuffling feet with a "ah-shucks" sort of embarrassment. These kids got range, they have some rockin' numbers, but really know how to smooth things down as well. New album Shame, Shame isn't as strong as previous outing "Fate" but, honestly their whole catalog is worth a hefty listen. Current favorite track by um: My Friend.

 E) Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Slightly embarrassing, yes, but god damn that Joss Whedon actually is a pretty damn funny fellow. I have had a slight curiosity in checking out this series for a while now for a variety of reasons; a) I've always heard the writing is great, and a lot of the shows writers went on to be writers for "Lost," B) I absolutely love Whedon's "Firefly" universe and C) The cult following of this show is just too damn hard to ignore. Netflix Instant has bestowed every season to me, and I have accepted the offering. Half way through season one, its kind of a blast to watch, I'm glad they go well beyond vamps too. Sunnydale is a "Hell Mouth" which bestows us with all sorts of hilariously over the top creatures and situations (see: My Substitute Teacher is Actually a Praying Mantis Episode.) Overall, I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy this outing when it's all said and done, and finally maybe get all that academic literature about Buffy I stumbled across in my upper division English electives. Did I mention Sarah Michelle Gellar has a endless supply of the shortest television legal skirts?