Even with the many innovations in television over the past five years -  H.D., streaming, interactivity- an upcoming and bizarre invention known as Dog TV may be the most out-of-the-box development for the tube yet. Dog TV boasts that it will be the first cable network made exclusively (and scientifically) for man’s best friend.

Originally launched in February on local networks in San Diego, Dog TV was pushed mostly as a cure for canines with separation anxiety. With the backing of certified veterinarians and canine experts, Dog TV uses a series of techniques to make mentally and emotionally stimulating programs for dogs to watch while their masters are away.

“For years, pet owners have been leaving a television or radio on when they go out so their pets have company,” said Dr. Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at TuftsUniversity. “However, with analog television, dogs could only see a flickering screen. Dog TV uses HD screens in order to allow dogs to see the picture more clearly.”

Alterations have also made to color and sound of the programs to make them more accessible to dogs. “Dogs can see blue and yellow, but not red or green,” Dobman said, “so colors are altered for Dog TV, too. Also, because high frequency sounds can be very irritating to dogs, they’ve been removed, and music is written and tailored for their hearing.”

According to Dog TV’s website and press releases, the channel’s programs will be divided into three categories: Relaxation will reduce stress levels with calming music, sounds, and visuals; Stimulation will use footage of other animals and fast moving objects in order to stave off lethargic behavior; and Exposure “uses special sounds and visuals to help habituate the dog and make them more comfortable in their environment, by exposing them to different day-to-day stimuli.”

While the channel’s backer, P.T.V. Media, boasts the testimonials of several veterinary experts stating that Dog TV will help improve the lives of dogs across the country, some skeptics remain.

“I think a lot of this is to make us feel better as opposed to making the pet happier,” said Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, a veterinarian currently practicing in Manhattan. “Your pet needs adequate exercise and an interesting environment. You cannot just put on the TV and hope your dog is going to get better.”

Despite these objections, the projections for the channel’s success remain positive. After launching an online version in early April, the creators hope to start an add-free, paid cable channel internationally come late 2012 or early 2013.

As the Daily Mail stated, “If you figure more than 46 million U.S. households have dogs and 97% of U.S. homes have televisions, the future looks promising.”

The terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center, damaged The Pentagon, and downed U.A. Flight 93 in Shanksville, Penn. are unique in several ways. They were arguably the turning point in American Warfare, turning our defensive procedures to a larger, more focused scale for our Homeland Security measures. It turned our full attention offensively to the Middle East, which has occupied our military efforts over the last decade. They have also had the distinction of being the first major U.S. tragedy to hit during the information age, making it one of the better documented historical events in our country’s existence. Using much of the video footage, audio recordings, and transcribed conversations between the individuals involved with the tragedy, The Discovery Channel has put together a new documentary tentatively called The 9/11 Tapes: Chaos in the Sky, a minute to minute recount of the morning of September 11 2001 through the eyes of the military and air traffic control units that dealt with the hijackings first hand.

The majority of Chaos in the Sky is told through the eyes of the soldiers stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod as well as air traffic controllers in New York City and Boston. The documentary is done in a minute to minute basis, covering the beginning of the morning at both Otis and JFK airport in Boston. When the initial hijack occurs, the recorded conversations in both Otis and JFK reveal the general feeling on all fronts was that they had a hostage situation on their hands and no high amounts of alarm were scene, being that there was a procedure in place for such things. This of course changes when the hijackers crashed American Airlines 11 into the World Trade Center’s North Tower. From there the documentary becomes a chaotic and somewhat frightening look at the nature of our vulnerability to such an attack and the actions that were taken by the officials who were in charge of handling it.

Though several specials about the attacks have been made in the last year (marking the ten year anniversary of the attack), Chaos in the Sky does have a very unique angle to it. This is mainly stems from how calculated and official the tone of the documentary is and the use of the official recordings from Otis. While most of the pieces put out about the attacks last year where focused on the civilian and public service aspects, this special focuses almost completely on the air traffic controllers and military pretense during the attack. This gives the documentary a very war-like tone, with much of the dialog becoming aerodynamic jargon and military code. There is also a difference in message from most specials about 9/11, with a large portion of the time spent pointing out the shortcomings of the official bodies involved, including the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) to inform North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) of the hijacked plane’s initial redirection in a standard amount of time, NORAD’s failure to scramble jets immediately, and the unorganized fashion the jets were eventually scrambled in that prevented them from arriving on the scene sooner.

It is the job of historians to record the events of the past in as accurate and unbiased way possible. Now, a decade after what is arguably one the first major world changing event for Generation Y, we can begin to look at not only what was done to our country, but also what could have been done in order to control it at the time. Chaos in the Sky is a great look at the events of the morning at 9/11 not just for it’s preciseness, but for its new view on the subject and is a must see for history and military buffs.

The special premieres TONIGHT, February 12 at 9 p.m.

We tend to go out to drink in order to unwind from the stress of the work week. Once in a while, however, people decide to use drinking as an added challenge in life, a sort of sudden sharp focus consisting of pain and punishment to ones taste buds in the name of pride and story (and occasionally a t-shirt.)

So it is with Poe’s Kitchen’s devil mix known as the Ghost Chili Margarita, an infamous drink with the claim that it is so hot, it cannot be finished without the use of heat-dulling aids. I, thoroughly representing Blast Magazine, took this challenge this Friday to see if the drink had the kick to back up the claim.

Before tasting begins, a waiver must be signed in to alleviate Poe’s Kitchen from responsibility of you harming yourself in the consumption of the drink. Once the proper signatures have been put on the proper lines, the drink is prepared. It looks almost childlike, a sort of cherry red mixture served up with a lime. There are warning signs though, including the bottle of tequila filled to the brim with sinister looking peppers used to mix the Margarita. There is also an unmarked red bottle, which squirts a thin red liquid that burns to smell, and a thin line of chili and habanero powder put on the rim in under the traditional salt.

But it’s a challenge for a reason. I said what nearly were my last words (“I’ve always loved my mother and Big Bang Theory isn’t funny!”) and took a drink.

There’s a certain state of mind that believes that if you are to complete this challenge, you must take it the entire drink in a single moment, in order to not allow the more cautious parts of your brain to tell you how suicidal that really is. So I sucked it through the straw in a single breath and then sit back proud of my accomplishment.

I looked at the bartenders and patrons and think you see faces of awe and excitement. Then it sunk in that these are faces of terror and alarm. Then it hit me.

The pain was something out of Dante; it was freezing cold and burning hot all at once, with just a hint of being stabbed for good measure.

I headed for the bathroom instinctively, and while it felt like the world was falling out from under me, enough focus eventually got me to the stall. From there, primal functions of my body’s self-preservation systems kicked in and everything that had gone in from the last 48 hours came out of any place with an opening. Luckily it went black after a while, and sweet, sweet unconsciousness kicked in.

I came to, stumbled out of the bathroom, paid my bill, and had a friend take me home before the ambulance likely showed up, and I would have had to explain to nice EMTs why they had to ride out to Boylston Street.

The challenge complete, I walked away under my own power with a story to tell and a possible ulcer to deal with.

As a drink goes, Poe’s Kitchen’s Ghost Chili Margarita packs a bit of a kick. If your insides happen to be replaced with the engine of a diesel truck, then it might be something to try out. If you want to enjoy what precious little time you have with your stomach lining however, you may want to try the Sam Brick Red.

On Sunday, Iranian news network Fars News Agency announced that an Iranian electronic warfare unit had downed and captured a American RQ-170 Sentinel, an unmanned aerial drone manufactured by American defense and aeronautics company Lockheed Martin.

According to a statement from the Iranian government, the drone was in violation of Iran airspace and was brought down after the Iranian unit hijacked the controls from the American. This was later changed to the Iranian’s having shot the drone down.

The U.S Military confirmed that the remains of a RQ-170 were captured by the Iranian army, though they claimed it was flying a mission over western Afghanistan when they lost contact due to a mechanical error.

On Wednesday, an Iranian TV station aired of what appears to be the RQ-170 in perfect condition being examined by Iranian military officials. The Central Intelligence Agency has neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of the plane that was broadcast.

The RQ-170 is used as a stealth Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (U.A.V.) and has been assumed to be an information gathering device by many aviation experts. Though very little has been released to the public about the design and specific dimensions of the drone, it is guessed to be much larger than many of the other information gathering drones used by the Air Force and C.I.A. in operations in the Middle East. It was first noticed by the public when a low resolution photo was snapped of it at Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan, gaining the nickname “The Beast of Kandahar” for its large size.

The Iranian government claims that the drone’s presence in their airspace confirms America’s hostile intentions due to recent conflicts over Iran’s nuclear development program. The official stance of the American military meanwhile says that the plane malfunctioned while flying a mission in Afghanistan and was not intended to cross the border.

Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News agency reported on Thursday night that Russian and Chinese officials have asked for permission to inspect the captured drone.

Carving their niche out as the “Business Model” of smart phones, the Blackberry brand has been a constant in the market since their premier in 2003. Famously becoming the first “Presidential Smart Phone” through President Obama’s constant endorsements, the brand has recently come under some major criticism due to a worldwide blackout of servers last October and the pressure of the leaps and bounds made by rival companies such as Google and Apple. Blackberry however is looking to show that they can still compete in the market with a new line of 4G phones, including the new Blackberry Torch 9810 (the 9800’s successor). Blast was recently able to test out the 9810 before its November 9 T-Mobile release date and see what the new model has to offer.

Hardware

Boasting a great deal more power and storage space than its predecessor, the 9810 comes with a 1.2 GHz processor chip (compared to the 624 MHz of the 9800) with 768 MB internal Ram (512 MB internal RAM  on the 9800). The memory has also doubled from 4 GB to 8, with cards allowing for up to to 32.

While the still image camera remains the same 5 Megapixels resolution as the 9800, the video camera has been upgraded from 420p to 702p making it the first Blackberry phone to record in HD. The display screen has also upgraded its resolution from the earlier model’s 480x360px to 640x480px.

The battery is extremely resilient; lasting around 28 hours under heavy strain (phone calls, texts, music, social apps, ect.) with a posted 6.8 hours of talk time. The phone however will begin to lock out functions as the battery dies, which can lead to some frustration near the end of the charge.

Layout/Application use

An extremely streamlined layout, the 9810 divides its apps from the main screen into five different categories.  All: a general view of the app; Favorites: a personalized section for users to save their favorite apps; Media: the music, pictures, and videos of the  phone as well as the camera and video camera; Downloads: the extra apps from the initially installed ones; and Frequent: where your most used apps are placed for easy access.

The media applications are extremely simplified, with the music system a carbon I-Tunes copy and the picture system divided into camera and downloaded pictures. Attached to the phone from the start is AT&T music, Live T.V., Slacker’s Radio, and Youtube for access to online media.

It should be mentioned as a negative point that the web browser does not run a Flash Player and the web browser tends to be all together nonfunctional compared to the competition. Anything that is made especially for the phone however (Twitter, Facebook, Okcupid, etc.) work very well.

The notification system is thinned out into a single section, with updates on your email, text messages, and social sites all condensed into a drop down menu from the main screen. There is also a Social Feeds app that comes standard with the phone that condenses all your social network feeds into one screen (organized by the time they were posted) allowing a quick look at all your social media updates.

There are still flaws within the social network apps. The Blackberry Facebook app for example lacks a way to check your events list. There is also the standing problem of Blackberry phones not including a free GPS app as most of their competition do.

Verdict

The Black Berry Torch 9810 is a great improvement on the 9800 in many ways. It is a straight forward 4G phone with the same simple features that Blackberry fans enjoy. However, many of the complaints that are made about Blackberry phones are still present and it is the least powerful of the newest line from the major distributors, with both new Droid Bionic and iPhone 4S having significantly better resolution, higher quality cameras, free GPS, and more comparable Internet browsers. It does however come in at almost one hundred dollars cheaper with activation than the other two on average, making the power difference less of a hit.

Anyone who is a fan of Blackberry would be well off upgrading to the Torch 9810. Also anyone looking to make a leap to a 4G phone without paying the Droid and I-Phone prices may also find The Torch 9810 worth checking out.

The Blackberry Torch 9810 is available November 9.

With the 2012 election season approaching fast and the majority of election news covering the GOP hopefuls, a major blow was struck to Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann’s nomination hopes as her entire New Hampshire staff resigned today.

According to the Global Post, the five-person team, including right wing radio personality Jeff Chidester who had called himself a “longtime friend” of Bachmann, all resigned at once in protest of the lack of attention New Hampshire was receiving from the campaign.

While there has been no official statement made by the team, it has been reported that Southern New Hampshire field director Caroline Gilger will be joining Texas Governor Rick Perry’s effort.

With the New Hampshire primary election poised to happen on January 24, this is the most recent hit to Bachmann’s bid for the nomination, which began strong with the winning of the Iowa Straw poll in August, but has dwindled down to a fourth place standing ever since.

AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has become one of the biggest phenomenons in the last 10 years of television. Equal parts cruel and funny, the story of the Walter White (Brian Cranston) turning from struggling chemistry teacher to methamphetamine producer/kingpin has taken its audience on a trip to view the corruption of pure intentions and the violent eruptions caused by a man who is facing insurmountable odds. Now, four years after Walter White and his junkie turned right hand man Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) first began to cook, “Breaking Bad” ended its fourth season with a literally explosive conclusion.

“Breaking Bad” has gone through a large metamorphosis since the show’s first two seasons. The original attitude of the show’s story was a deliberate slow burn, with the majority of the humor coming from the mismatched team up of White and Pinkman and much of the drama forming around White becoming acclimated with the criminal world. The looming threats of the show were also largely mundane, focusing around the birth of Walter’s baby girl, the severity of his cancer diagnosis, and the constant danger of his D.E.A. agent brother in law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) discovering his operation. Come midway through the third season however, the show took a sharp turn into high speed escalation, with the introduction of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), a major meth distributor posing as a restaurant owner becoming a main stay of the show. With Gus as the new source of money for White and Pinkman and a new focus of much of their conflict, the severity of the situations began to rise along with the magnitude of the resolves. While this seems like a natural progression for a show to take, much of what made the first seasons of the show so unique in the current climate of heavy drama based television seemed to become slightly lost in the transition. This was probably never more apparent than in the season four finale.

The entire last season of the show has been a plot line that would have to end completely and abruptly for the show to be able to begin any other sort of story. Gus, while a fantastic character and brilliantly played by Esposito, was a sort of multi part threat that dominated the show’s direction for a season and a half worth of episodes. So when it came to the last three episodes of season four, some leaps had to be made to clean the slate to make way for the show’s final season, many of which seemed a bit patched together. Every member of the Mexican Cartel and Gus’s crew is dead (except for the x factor Mike (Jonathan Banks) who was moved out of the story line after the Mexico incident.), the multimillion dollar meth lab is burned to the ground which simultaneously ends both Hank’s investigation into Gus’s operation as well as the operation itself, and Skylar White’s ex-boss/lover Ted (Christopher Cousins) seems to have died after tripping and breaking his neck. This seems to indicate that the story had gotten to a point where no real resolve could be had other than a complete purging of everything that had come since the introduction of Gus as a major player.

While much of the story elements seemed to be put in place to move the story back to square one, it must be said about the season finale that it put to bed any ideas that Walter has become anything short of a terrible person. The reveal that it had been Walter who poisoned Brock Rios (Ian Posada) and his use of his neighbor to flush out any waiting threats at his house showed that the moral gray area that the character had existed in within the first part of the show had completely given away to a ruthless pure survival outlook on life. This is a major development in Walt’s character, and also leaves the viewers with an entire season of following a completely tragic and corrupted protagonist who will need to be in one way or another justified, unless he is to be made into someone who no empathy can be felt for.

In the end, the season finale of “Breaking Bad” Season 4 did the only thing is could do. It ended every plot thread that the season had set up from the introduction of Gus on and got the show back to its origin point from the high amounts of escalation that had been occurring for the last year and a half. It unfortunately also showed where the show had gotten off course and what extreme leaps had to be made to get it back to its original charm. All in all it showed that “Breaking Bad” is at a point that now has to start over from the beginning while simultaneously ending the entire series. Fans of Season 4’s feel will be a fan of the high energy pacing of the episode and the complete wrap up of all loose ends. Others though, may find it to be a culmination of the over the top attitude that the show has taken and a purging fire that was needed to get it back to being the character driven story of a man and the decisions he makes in a world where the cruelest people are often the most successful.

The launch of the iPhone 4 in June 2010 hit a bit of a rough patch for Apple, when several customers complained about loss of signal strength and dropped calls while touching the lower left edge of the phone.

Soon after the complaints began, Apple made a controversial statement, claiming that while they understood the issue, many of their competitor’s phones had the same problem and initially offered no other resolve for the problem. Once a lawsuit was threatened against the company and their partners at AT&T for fraud, Apple released a five dollar quick patch, a cleverly shaped band-aid with the catch phrase “Apple made a boo-boo.” Later, they released a free bumper casing for iPhone 4 owners in order to put an end to the complaints.

The technical issue and following actions taken by Apple were named by some online tech-bloggers as “Antennagate” and became a black mark on Apple’s mostly stellar cell phone record.

It seems now though; a permanent change has been made to this flaw, as the newly announced iPhone 4S will feature a pair of antennas that should eliminate concerns about a loss of single and dropped calls presented by its predecessor. The announcement of the new tech was made this passed Tuesday, at the unveiling of the iPhone 4S.

Apple says that the two antennas outside the case intelligently switch back and forth between each other to maximize the phone’s ability to transmit and receive data. This system should also minimize the loss of calls caused by the former problem. The antennas are also placed on the top and bottom sections of the phone, so as to minimize them both being covered by its I Phone users while gripping the phone.

This addition has been heralded by some as the long awaited permanent response to the iPhone 4’s issues, though it was said that by some that holding the phone horizontally with both hands to text or type may result in a similar “Death Grip” situation.

Whatever the result of the change, the major issue of calls being dropped due to hand position seems to be a thing of the past for iPhone users.

Steve Jobs is remembered outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on October 5 in New York City. (WireImage)

On Wednesday October 5, 2011, the world lost on of its strongest cultural and technological icons when Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple Computers and definer of this generation’s entertainment media, died at age 56.

Jobs had stepped down as CEO of Apple in August and died a day after Apple had its first major tech demo without him.

Born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955, Jobs began his professional path in an extremely unconventional manner. A college dropout, Jobs attended classes as an audit student at Reed College in Portland, Ore., staying in friends’ dorm rooms and getting free meals at local Krishna temples. After a short time at the college he began working for the pioneering video game company Atari and attended spiritual sessions for the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba in India. He also became interested in the LSD movement that was popular at the time in San Francisco, an event in his life that he rated as an extremely crucial part of his development.

In 1976, along with partners Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, Jobs founded Apple Computers and gave the world a product called the Personal Computer.

Throughout the years, the company assembled and sold computers on an ever rising scale, with Jobs constantly pushing for new and creative people to help make the company more profitable. In 1984, the first national introduction to the company was given in the form of a now-famous Super Bowl commercial inspired by George Orwell’s 1984. The commercial was used to hype the release of the Macintosh Computer, the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface and arguably the launching point of the American home computer revolution.

The years after the Macintosh was introduced would be a strenuous time for Apple, a time earmarked by Jobs’ controversial forced removal from the company.

Not to be kept down, Jobs purchased the video wing of George Lucas’ Lucasfilm in 1986 and created Pixar Animation Studios

The company’s first project 1995′s, “Toy Story,” would go on to gross $361 million and become etched in our popular culture forever. “Toy Story 3,” released last year, grossed more than $1 billion.

“Toy Story” was the first feature-length animated movie created 100 percent by computers. Jobs had, for the first time, given the world a commercially successful mix of computers and pop culture that would go on to define both him and Apple in the years to come.

In 1996, Jobs returned to Apple and began overseeing what would become the revolutionary Mac Operating System and iMac computer. The combination of these two products would pull Apple from a failing computer company to the second highest distributor in the world.

Next came iPod, which revolutionized the way people carried and listened to their music. Portable music played existed before the iPod, but it was Apple’s mix of cutting-edge technology with an intuitive interface that would drive it.

Jobs next tackled the smartphone. Rivals Microsoft and Research in Motion had been creating smartphones for years before Apple would release its iPhone, but it was the iPhone that ushered in the smartphone revolution. Perhaps never before has so much power and so many features been so fun and easy to use before. It was Jobs who made the iPhone an integral part of Generation Y’s lifestyle.

We hardly need to mention what came next: the iPad. Again, tablet computers were around long before the iPad, but it was the iPad that made tablet computing mainstream and sent every hardware competitor rushing to copy it.

Besides being an acclaimed businessman and ambassador for his company, Jobs was also a notable technician, being listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in 338 US patents or patent applications. He was famous for his hands-on approach to Apple’s management, being personally involved with many of the company’s most successful products.

A statement issued from his family said that he had died “peacefully, surrounded by his family.” Jobs’ announced he developed pancreatic cancer in 2004 and had received a liver transplant in 2009. An official cause of death has not been announced.

Nearly as impressive as his life, the reaction to Jobs’ death has been a worldwide headline. In a time where the Occupy Wall Street movement is in full effect and the recent scandals of major companies have left many corporate personalities painted as villains, Jobs has received unprecedented admiration for his actions as CEO and a large online mourning has been going on since his passing. A massive twitter movement tagged #RIP #SteveJobs has everyone from celebrities to elected officials tweeting their well wishes to Jobs’ family and their thoughts on Jobs’ as an inventor and public persona. Possibly the most notable of these memorial statements is President Barrack Obama observing how many people discovered Jobs’ death through their iPhones: “There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

There is a three month period, between when the air is too thick to breathe and the apocalyptic snow fall, that New England becomes arguably the most beautiful places in the world. The fall season of September through November, a time when 70-degree weather reigns and the foliage paints a natural landscape, is the reward for living for in the area and a true call for celebration.

And as every true New Englander knows, no celebration is complete without the correct beer.

The Northeast is privy to some of the better brewers in the country and has its share of standards. But as you belly up to your favorite bars and shop through your regular package stores, why not take advantage of fall 2011 and give a new beer a try.

Here’s Blast Magazines list of the top 5 best unknown beers, locally brewed and just waiting to become your new favorites.

5. Wachusett Octoberfest

The Wachusett Brewing Company, the Westmister-based brewer which is mainly known for its economically priced blueberry flavored beer, also releases an Octoberfest seasonal. A thicker brew that comes off slightly bitter, the beer has a slightly less warm temperament than most of the autumn releases. But any fan of the Blueberry brew will enjoy this seasonal offering.

4. Hex

Magic Hat, South Burlington VT’s own pride and joy for strange brews, has come out with the Halloween theme seasoned Hex Octoberfest. Holding up Magic Hat’s reputation for strong taste and thick constancy, Hex is not something that can be sipped in a relaxed manner. Fans of hops will not be disappointed.

3. Pumpkin Works

Locally brewed in Boston Beer Works, this pumpkin beer is a fine example of something original in the way of autumn beer. An odd combination of smooth taste and strong spice, the beer goes down quicker than some of the more bitter seasonals, but let it be said it will get on top of you quick. (Only available at Boston Beer Works)

2. The Great Pumpkin Ale

Straight from the best kept secret in The People’s Republic comes The Great Pumpkin Ale. A specialty brew from the Cambridge Brewing Company, this fantastic offering marks the first time the company has actually bottled its beer. The Great Pumpkin has a great taste and good consistency, with its only real flaw being that it’s a rare find in most stores.

It is an unfiltered ale, and the company is promising better availability this year “cuz we’re making a LOT of it.”

1. Smashed Pumpkin Ale

Those who have been around the area may have noticed Shipyard Pumpkin beer making its mark on several large chains and bars around the area. But what you may not know is that the Portland Maine company makes another brew known as Smashed Pumpkin. It is only available at a limited amount of liquor stores (and only in pint sized bottles) but this beer is worth the looking. Amazing flavor, good consistency, and 9 percent by volume make this the best $10 you spend all fall.

So there you have it. Blast Magazine’s top five under the radar New England brewed beers for the fall seasons. Go out and enjoy the weather and ale while you can, because we’ll be walking through six to twelve inches of snow before you know it.

Where were you when your mom showed up on Facebook? How did you feel? Did the walls start to close in and a sharp panic run up your spine as you frantically began deleting every picture of yourself toasting a cup of whatever mix drink you preferred at the age of 19? The opening of the social network Facebook from strictly college students to the general public seems like the first time the format became a chore, but it wouldn’t be the last.

Within the last three years, Facebook has drastically changed its layouts, features, and privacy settings four times, each being met with a large amount of criticism and disdain. The latest update, that went live Wednesday, has been met with everything from misspelled jeering to mass threats of defection to the recently public released Google +. What are the new changes to our beloved streaming social life, and are they all as bad as they are made out to be by the hating masses? Here’s the Blast Magazine breakdown.

New News Feed

What is it? The New Feed that once showed you a list of chronological events in one tab and a list of “Most Popular” in a second has been replaced by a single feed that will show you both. The order in which these will appear will depend on the last time you visited Facebook, with “Top Stories” appearing first if you haven’t visited for an extended period of time and “Recent Stories” appearing if you recently checked.

What’s it supposed to do? Facebook’s official blog claims ““When you visit Facebook, you should see the things you’re most interested in…”. This new feed will attempt to prioritize your stories in order of what you are most likely interested in seeing.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — Both Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury warned us of a time when computers would tell us what we should care about and how that would bring an end to human culture as we know it. But outside of the doomsday literary references, more often than not the algorithm used to determine what you want will misunderstand you completely, making a hassle out of something that was once effortless.

The Ticker

What is it? A sort of “Inception” Facebook within a Facebook, The Ticker acts as a second, smaller Newsfeed at the top right of the main screen that displays real time updates.

What’s it supposed to do? While the new main News Feed will update you with your “Top News Stories” based on a new algorithm the company has developed, The Ticker will update in real time the newest occurrences on Facebook for those who wish to see events chronologically.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — This happens from time to time in social networks where the powers that be take what you used to have in a previous version and kind of shrink it down so they can eventually completely cut it out. Its slow death and it’s never fun to watch.

The Subscribe Button

What is it ? A new option in the way of what you see from individuals on your feed, choosing to “Subscribe” to a person rather than simply “Friend” them allows you to filter the content that you are made aware of.

What is it supposed to do? Allows users to filter out some of the excess posting that some of their friends tend to put up. Also allows you to completely filter out people’s posts without having to unfriend them.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — Facebook’s take on what Google + introduced with the “Circles” concept, it’s always good to have the option to take the coward’s way out when you don’t want to hear from certain people.

The New Friend Button with Smart Lists

What is it? A more detailed way to categorize the people on your friends list between “Close Friend” or “Acquaintance”. Also added is a section of “Smart Lists” allowing users to quickly categorize their friends into different listings such as school mates or family.

What is it supposed to do? Along with the subscribe option, this feature is another way to filter some unwanted posts from showing on your feed by disavowing minor posts put on by people marked as acquaintances. Also the smart lists are used to remind you where you know some of your friends from.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — Really we should be taking steps as a culture towards talking to people who post to many useless things on the feed and getting used to saying “We can still be friends, just not on Facebook.” But since the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, another option to skirt around people is nice.

The Smart List seems a bit useless, but it is a skipable step to friending someone so it won’t be held against the judgment.

Bigger Photos on the Feed

What is it? Photos now appear larger on the feed.

What’s it supposed to do? Make pictures bigger on the feed.

Like or Dislike? LIKE — The pictures are bigger! Bigger and on the feed! Isn’t that great?!?!!

New Top Right Corner

What is it? The original top right corner of the Facebook page has been changed from including “Home,” “Profile” and “Account” to two quick links between your profile page and the main news feed. A drop down menu has been included to allow users to change to using Facebook as their “Page” if they have one.

What’s it supposed to do  Allow for a simpler interface and make it clearer when a user is logged onto their “Page” and when they are logged in as their personal profile.

Like or Dislike? DISLIKE — The biggest problem that occurs when a website changes interface is the time it takes to get used to the muscle memory motions that have come with using the site so long. Going from three options to two is a bit of a superfluous change and users will find themselves taking that extra few seconds to get it right for a while.

Those are the major changes made to the site, here’s a quick list of minor changes:

• You no longer need 25 likes on a business page in order to grab a custom URL. LIKE
• There is now a “Friend Activity” feed on business pages so that people can see how their friends interact with your page. LIKE
• Facebook will now email you a daily summary of the “less important” notifications instead of individual ones. DISLIKE — I have never understood why people would need Facebook items emailed to them
• Posts or comments in another language prompt the appearance of a “translate” button. LIKE
• You can now post birthday wishes to peoples’ walls without leaving your homepage by clicking the birthday’s link in the upper right corner. DISLIKE — Nothing says “I don’t care” like not bothering to go to someones profile in order to write the classic “Happy Birthday dudeeeeee”

Final verdict

The small changes are OK, the big changes are a pain, and all the changes are unnecessary.

Our complaints about the New Facebook are the same as most people’s. That being no one had any real problem with what Facebook was. It was quick, free, and has been a standard in most people’s life for the last half decade.But the company has the Myspace train of thought, which reads “any new threat to our social network supremacy must be outdone ten fold” with the results being an overblown web of useless features smothering the original format that got us into the network in the first place.

The death penalty has always been a contested issue in this country. Does any body of power, elected or otherwise, have the right to take the life of someone that they find guilty of a harsh enough crime? Is there too much human error involved in the investigation process to properly say that a defendant is defiantly guilty? Is there any other fitting penalty besides death for the cold blooded murder of another human being? These are the many complicated moral and social comments to be made on this issue, but this being opinion piece we will voice our opinion.

We are for the death penalty in very few select instances, but not in the case of Troy Davis.

In August of 1989, Davis was convicted of the murder of Officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Ga., based on the testimony of witnesses who claimed to have seen Davis shoot the on-duty officer and ballistics evidence. We was sentenced to death in 1991. After a series of appeals and retrials, the sentence was kept in 2010 with the execution scheduled being tonight at 7 p.,. It was delayed after the Supreme Court stepped in, but the High Court has now declined to stop the execution.

The main controversy over the decision comes from the fact that many of the non-police witnesses recanted their testimony through written affidavits, and many named a man named Sylvester Coles as the actual shooter.

The defense of Davis against the death penalty has been taken up by such figures as former President Jimmy Carter, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Pope Benedict XVI. But despite these notable figures along with thousands of supporters running under the N.A.A.C.P and Amnesty International banners, all appeals for a stay of execution have been denied.

There were failures on both sides of this case. On the side of Davis’ supporters there are a great many accusations of racism against the Georgia court system (Davis is black). Whether or not this is true, it’s a play that weakens the defense of Davis by turning the case from “Has he been falsely accused” to the much more radical and hard to prove question of “He was found guilty because he is black.” This ignores the very real possibility (and we argue probability) that Davis is actually innocent and should not be executed.

An officer was killed in the line of duty, and Davis was simply the most likely suspect. The more-than-reasonable doubt cast by witnesses recanting their testimony is more than enough to stay the execution.

The second effect of the racism argument is it leaves the side that is pushing for his execution fighting against a split defense, with their side only having to defend “Is there enough evidence to find him guilty” and able to ignore the racial bias implications.

Meanwhile, the side that wants Davis put to death has failed in the way the capital punishment enthusiasts usually fail. They have taken the death penalty as an absolute answer and not as absolute last resort.

The evidence against Davis was strong, strong enough to prove his guilt in court and put him in prison for the rest of his life. But the evidence is not definite and certainly not strong enough to stake his life on it.

Signed affidavits, a second suspect, and lack of murder weapon open enough holes in the case where the death penalty seems too definitive of an action to take.

This action cannot be undone.

Barring any last minute and unexpected change of events, Troy Davis will be put to death by lethal injection at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison. In the hours prior, his supporters will make several attempts to save the man’s life and most likely will fail to do so. After his death, Troy Davis will become a name used in many future cases, both for and against suspects facing his fate.

But make no mistake: what really happened here is that a cry for revenge for the murder of a police officer in the south has outweighed a cry for reason in the face of doubt.

Whether Troy Davis actually killed MacPhail or not, the guarantee in the nation that any reasonable doubt must be removed has been betrayed by this outcome.

One of the stranger come-from-behind stories in television history, Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy” went from a failed, three season, “Simpsons-esque” animated sitcom to being a resurrected phenomenon, winning three Emmys, three Daytime Emmys, and being one of the highest rated shows on two major networks simultaneously (Fox and Cartoon Network).

It has also become one of the more contested shows in the last decade, blasted by many critics for containing nothing but referential humor and cheap pop culture cracks and being sued on three separate occasions for copyright infringement. But, love it or hate it, Family Guy sees its tenth season premiere on September 26th, an event that very few series (especially Fox series) get to celebrate.

Blast Magazine attended a pre-screening of season ten’s first episode “Powerball Fever”, along with showings of the “History of the World” season 9 DVD extra and the fan picked episode “Road to the Multiverse”

The “History of the World” feature was a collection of clips from the show’s ten year span, arranged to show existence from the Big Bang, through Biblical times, and onto the founding and Civil War periods of America. Most of the clips are the made up of the many appearance of Jesus Christ and Hitler (two semi-regular guest stars on the show.)

“The Road to the Multiverse” episode from season 9 is one of the show’s many parodies of the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby “Road to…” movies. It consists of Brian and Stewie traveling between different universes, most of which are the Family Guy world taking on the appearance of other animated creations such as Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken, The Flinstones, and a Disney universe with animation mostly resembling Snow White.

The premier of season ten entitled “Powerball” consists of the Griffin’s winning the lottery and the shenanigans that ensue with their new found wealth. The show’s animation has not changed in the new season (except for an HD remake of the opening titles) and the humor stays with what the show has become famous for. Complete with musical numbers, fart jokes, and the constant reminder that we are not supposed to like Meg.

Family Guy’s model of success seems to be they have found a way to remove all the baggage of writing a sitcom. Instead they opt to use the 22 minutes to make rapid fire one liners put to animation. No one can ever say that they’ve ever lost their heart or integrity, mostly due to the fact that they gave themselves neither from day one. If episode one is any indication, there’s nothing that will change anyone’s mind on how they feel about Family Guy in season 10. Stewie’s gay, Peter’s an idiot, the dog talks, and the world still rotates on an axis. I suppose it’s comforting in a way.

In 2007, “Spider-Man 3″ topped the box office charts with a $336,530,303 intake. “The Dark Knight” followed last year, grossing an amazing $533,316,061, with Iron Man coming in second with a $318,298,180 total. Meanwhile the entire comic book industry, the original creators of these cash cows, made just under $500 million last year during the Hollywood comics boom.

This lack of financial recognition of one of the most original forms of American entertainment has caused film veteran and Newbury native Miguel Cima to create “Dig Comics” a 15 minute call to arms to comic fans to bring the ink and paper to the masses and have the general populace embrace the medium.

The documentary is one part history lesson about the American comic book and one part ideology speech. Cima begins by explaining the rise of comic book popularity in World War Two era America, when everyone from service men to housewives could openly enjoy any number of comic genres from monster stories to fluff romances. From there Cima dips into the McCarthy era of the Cold War, when a juvenile deliquesce scare caused Senate hearings to examine the comic book industry more closely. From that point onward, poor distribution, lack of invitation to the populace and stagnation of genres are put up as the main cause of the comic book industry’s shortfalls.

Featuring the opinions of comic greats like Jehb Loeb, Scott Shaw and Dame Darcy, the movie goes on to explore the possibility of the comic culture becoming a dominating feature of the American entertainment industry once again. Sighting the popularity and recognition of comic properties from their movie adaptations, the 9 billion dollar manga industry of Japan, and the varying styles and genres of the comic industry that can appeal to most if not all tastes, Cima ideal is straight and to the point.

The short documentary will be next made into a full length documentary by Olmos Productions, in the coming months. More information on Dig Comics can be found at digcomics.com.

Tune to Blast in the coming days for an interview with Cima.

It could be said that the hip world of the undead has moved from the zombie horde fad that populated the last few years back to the blood sucking, easily sexed-up vampire scene. With the “Twilight” movies and books being the new midnight release craze, “True Blood” getting the green light for season two, and the popularity of the “Underworld” series, blood suckers are in when it comes to creatures of the night.

Coming out in the middle of the vampire chic craze is the live action adaptation of the manga/animated series “Blood: The Last Vampire,” the story of a half vampire, half human girl named Saya and her quest to hunt down the demon known as Onigen, an ancient evil that is responsible for killing her father.

In order to do this, she teams with an organization simply known as “The Council,” a group of black tie spooks led by the rough voiced veteran known as Michal. Noticing a large vampire/demon infestation in Japan, the council has Saya go undercover at an American Air Force base in Tokyo where she befriends repressed military brat Alice McKee.

Despite the generic plot of the movie and the not so pristine run of anime-turned-live-action flicks, “Blood” is a surprisingly entertaining time. This is mostly because of how much the film embraces its style over its substance. The entire movie used a manga-like pacing and framing to get the effect of the crossover to work. The lighting is never natural; instead it’s either pitch dark, electric red, or perpetual twilight in order to fully push the current scene’s mood.

The story’s backdrop also allows for multiple visual options. Being that the main location for the story is an American military base, based in Japan, in the early Vietnam era, all these cues show up. The soundtrack rings with old rock and roll of Buddy Holly and The Surfaries. The military grunts are all eerily similar looking to give the sense that something is very wrong with the setting while the hippy youth gives a good comparison with their flared looks. Saya dawns the classic skirted Japanese school girl look throughout the movie while the setting moves to the mountain forests of Japan to give it a classic Samurai vengeance theme.

The acting in the movie varies. Gianna Jun, who stars as Saya, trips over a few of her more clichƒ©d lines, but isn’t anything hard to watch. Alison Miler plays a decent sidekick in the Alice role, though the character herself is slightly useless to moving the plot along. The main baddie demon is played by the long legged Japanese model turned actress Koyuki, who moves cold and smooth through all her scenes, fitting her “devil with class” role.

The spooks of The Council take the movie, especially Liam Cunningham portraying the veteran Michal. Cunningham spits out every line in an unnatural scripted way, which would be a deterrent if he wasn’t supposed to be a faceless black tie agent bent on killing demons and keeping quiet about it. His robotic, gravelly voice fits his role like a glove and he may be one of the best black-tie agents seen in the theaters in quite sometime.

“Blood” suffers from its budget more than anything. The graphics are mostly cheap, Sci-Fi Channel original movie level, the fight scenes are mostly quick cuts and cheap tricks with light rather than anything impressive, and the poor blood effects are covered by the one line fix, “demon blood is different than human blood.” The demon forms of the vampires are terrible computer graphics which could have been left out without the film suffering at all.

All in all, “Blood: The Last Vampire” is a cool movie. Following in the steps of “Dick Tracey,” “Sin City” and “Watchmen,” it is a style-over-substance comic interpretation which may not change your view on life, but will get a few good wide eyed moments out of you.

It was once said by a great philosopher and guitar player that “The future is unwritten,” an idea pushing that whatever was done before can be forgotten and what is to come is a blank slate.

But this is an idea that comes with the new age of American culture. Back in 1939, the future was put on display in New York City at the World’s Fair. The spectacle presented a future of perfect metropolises, flying cars and robot maids all intended to bring about a new age of comfort and peace to the world. It wasn’t until later, with the development of the nuclear science and the cold war between the U.S.A and U.S.S.R, that the future became a vague idea.

This change of ideas is well documented and mused upon by Eisner Award winning author and cartoonist Brian Fies in his new graphic novel “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?” a story of an unnamed boy and his “Pop” on their journey from the 1939s World’s Fair through the 1975 link up between the US and Soviet space probes.

Blast was able to talk to Brian Fies about his new book and the experience of living many of the experiences that make up the books events.

“I was born in 1960 and very much consider myself a space age baby,” said Fies. “I remember seeing Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and following the space program very closely from the 60s through the 70s.”

Fies first found success in the world of comics with his multi-award winning web-comic series “Mom’s Cancer,” a first-hand account of living with a family member with incurable cancer. Though “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?” is his first straight-to-print work, Fies work process remained very much the same.

“Physically writing the book was the same process as writing ‘Mom’s Cancer’,” said Fies. “The fact that this new book is in full color is the biggest difference between the two.”

The story of “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?” is interspliced with a sub story, following the son’s favorite comic book “Space Age Adventures with Commander Cap Crater and his young aide Cosmic Kid.” As the father and son see the actual world change, Cap and the Cosmic Kid go through their own metamorphosis. From carefree defenders of the city of tomorrow to Commie-bashing patriots to socially concerned sci-fi characters, the comic within the comic sees the effects of the changing attitude of the world almost as much as the father and son do.

“The Cap Crater sections of the book serve two functions within the story,” said Fies. “It is in one way a Greek chorus used to comment on the other happenings in the book and in another way is used to show pop-cultures effect on the real world and visa-versa.”

“Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?” is a rare book about the future in the way that it does not foresee a completely bleak outcome. With the success of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” the continuation of the “Terminator” series and any number of post-apocalyptic video game premises, this book offers an idea that the promised better tomorrow isn’t gone, just changed. As the book itself states in its own jacket: “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? People believed in it for a long time. Then they gave up on it for a long time. And the, gradually, without even necessarily meaning to”¦they built it.”

“There is a slight sense of disappointment from my generation and anyone who hoped for the promise of the space age,” said Fies. “But there is also a many new ideas, both actual and hypothetical, that seem to be taking the world into a better tomorrow. I want this book to show that it’s a good thing to hope and think that tomorrow might actually be better than today.”

Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow is available in stores across the country on June 13. For more information on Brian Fies and his work visit http://brianfies.blogspot.com.

“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ starts with John Travolta standing on a New York street corner with an “I’m going to shoot some people” look on his face, a “Live to Die” tattoo on his neck, strutting to a new-metal remix of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” The movie gets better, but not by a whole lot.

“Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ is a remake of the 1974 Walter Matthau drama about a group of armed men, led by the smooth talking Ryder (Travolta) who holds the passengers of a New York City subway car hostage and demands $10 million for their release. The responsibility of conversing with Ryder falls upon the organizational guru of the New York Transit Authority Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), who attempts to negotiate with Ryder without falling into any traps that he may be holding.

The plot progresses: Garber’s got a secret to hide, turns out that the money demands are just the tip of the iceberg for the scheme, the incompetent mayor (James Gandolfini) drops the ball more than once with some bloody results. It’s a clear cut crime drama with a straight-as-an-arrow plot and a by-the-numbers stand off between good and evil.

The movie isn’t bad, it’s mostly just insubstantial. The taking of the train happens during the opening credits, Garber is introduced to Ryder within the first fifteen minutes, and there’s never much of a break in between. The whole movie falls on Travolta and Washington’s dialogue to carry it, which most of the time it does. There are times when Travolta can’t quite pull of the tough guy lines (“Tell him to come down here and lick my bunghole”) but when the two hit their stride they can go from funny to intense with seamless effort. The other stars in the movie such as Gandolfini, John Turturro and Luis Guzman play such bit parts that they can’t be called good or bad.

The movie’s real suffering comes with the lack of side character development. Through out the movie we are introduced to some side characters mostly made up of the train hostages. There’s the young man who has his girlfriend on the phone when he is taken hostage, the son and mother duo, the ex-marine, and some others that have their one or two lines of development. The problem with these characters is they make no difference to the story. They seem to be there to fill in an extra 10 minutes and then stay out of the plot for the rest of the time. This is a real problem for a move that is mainly based around a hostage situation, when we don’t know or care all that much about the people who are in danger.

“Pelham 1 2 3″ is a bare bones kind of movie. It runs an hour and 46 minutes, and there’s not a lot of breathing room to get bored though there’ aren’t many scenes that will knock you out. I would suggest it if you are a fan of such one on one acting flicks like “Collateral” and “Training Day” because all that is good in the movie comes from Travolta and Washington bouncing off each other. Other than that, you could wait for the DVD and not be all that disappointed you didn’t spend the cash to see it in theaters.

The world of martial arts entertainment lost one of its most important and influential stars today as David Carradine was found dead in a hotel room in Thailand on June 4 at the age of 72. He was in Thailand shooting his new movie “Stretch” when he was found in his room dead of an apparent suicide.

Carridine was most know for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the genre-breaking Kung Fu/Western television show “Kung Fu.” It was there that the term “Grasshopper” became synonymous with the martial arts and Carradine’s career was forged.

From there Carradine led a very successful acting career, becoming a four time Golden Globe nominee. Though known best for his roles as kung fu masters, Carradine was a multi-talented man, working with such greats as director Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman. He also became famous for portraying such great American icons as Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie “Bound for Glory.”

Carradine was also not above playing humorous roles. From the self parodies of his famous Kwai Chang role appearing in everything from Lipton Iced Tea commercials to Jonas Brothers’ music videos, to his voice acting in several cartoons, including Nickelodeon’s “Danny Phantom” and “King of the Hill,” Carradine was noted for his sense of humor as well as his action star fame.

In his final years, Carradine never stopped making movies. In fact, he seemed to average almost a dozen a year since the turn of the century. Most famously he appeared as Bill, the ladies man leader of the Deadly Viper Assassin Squad, in the Quentin Tarantino classics “Kill Bill Volumes I and II.” He also appeared as the host of the TV series “Wild West Tech” on the History Channel, a show that went over everything about old west technology from faster six shooters to failed cures for dysentery.

Carradine was a known supporter of small budget films, appearing in many direct to DVD action titles. He was once quoted as saying, “Independent movies are just loaded with an enthusiasm that you usually don’t find in a big feature.” In 2005 he was honored for his list of over 200 roles when he was awarded the Action on Film International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.

The last movie released featuring Carradine was titled “Break,” an assassin thriller in which Carradine appeared along side his long time acting partner and friend Michel Madsen. Madsen, who had appeared with Carradine previously in both “Kill Bill” and “Money to Burn,” was known to be extremely close to Carradine, so much so that Carradine’s marriage to his wife occurred on Madsen’s Malibu estate.

What is lost in the death of David Carradine is not just an icon of the kung fu genre. What is lost is a truly enjoyable man to see in any form of media. He may not have been considered an A-lister by the standard definition, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who in the very least didn’t recognize his face and smile when he came on screen. He was a pioneer of his genre, a man of good humor, and will certainly be missed by all who knew his work.

It may be said, when the ink dries on the history books of comicdom, that the last few years have seen the superhero genre at the height of its popularity. With the premiere of at least four blockbuster cape movies a year, comic sales rising in the midst of an economic recession and the numerous animated shows and direct-to-DVD titles coming from both the heavy hitters of Marvel and DC, comic book culture is seeing a boom like it has never seen before. This was possibly made most obvious by the NBC prime-time sensation “Heroes.”

When the series first premiered in September 2006 it found an instant fan base in comic book fans everywhere. Soon, however, the show would cross over that border and become NBC’s highest rated drama premiere in five years, averaging 14.3 million viewers in the United States alone. Graphic novels, webisodes and action figures were added to the show’s arsenal as everyone watched to find why saving a cheerleader would save the world and who was to become the bomb that would destroy New York City.

One of the most popular characters of the show is the time-traveling comic book nerd Hiro Nakamura, and from episode one Hiro has been accompanied by his partner in both justice and shenanigans, Ando Masahashi.

Blast Magazine got a chance to interview James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando on the show, about what has been happening to his character so far and what is to come in the future.

“It’s a very interesting show to work on” said Lee. “It is a show that truly crosses several genres of story telling. There’s drama, comedy, action, and of course classic American superhero ideals mixed in with some Japanese anime humor and style.”

When Ando was first introduced to the show, he was one of the few non-powered constant characters. As Hiro’s sidekick, he acted as a comic relief in the quest to “save the cheerleader and save the world.” From scamming after the show’s blonde bombshell Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) to convincing Hiro to freeze time in order to cheat a high stakes poker game and earn the funds for their trip to New York City, Ando had been Hiro’s constant companion in both good times and bad.

“I’ve always felt that Ando acts as the viewer’s guide to what is going on in the show” said Lee. “He acted as the view point of someone who didn’t have any powers and was experiencing these fantastic events anyway.”

But even as early as the end of season one, Ando became a more serious force in the show. From going solo in an attempt to assassinate villain Sylar to reassuring Hiro of his place as a truly righteous warrior, Ando seemed to strip his strictly joking role to become a source of conscience and courage for his friend and partner.

“Ando is potentially the character who has gone through the most changes throughout the seasons of ‘Heroes’” said Lee. “He’s gone from the sidekick and moral conscience of Hiro to the one who has to take the leading role of the duo.”

Currently on “Heroes” SPOILER ALERT Ando has gained the power to shoot a red energy from his body and amplify the powers of others. Meanwhile, the once time-traveling Hiro has lost his time and space bending powers and has taken to more of a sidekick role. Throughout the changes in roles however, Lee sees the twosome’s relationship the same as ever. SPOILER END

“They have always had a sort of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn kind of friendship” said Lee. “When they are together they get into these big adventures that they need the others’ help to get out of. When they are apart however they still develop as characters, possibly even more so than when they are together.”

Lee also reflected on his experience on working on a show the caliber of “Heroes” and what he thought was its effect on popular culture.

“I had no idea it was going to be as big as it turned out to be” said Lee. “When I saw the first script I knew that it was a new and ambitious type of show and I really wasn’t sure if you could pull it off.”

Lee talked briefly about the upcoming season of “Heroes.” Though the first script was not released at the time of the interview, it is known that the season will be called “Redemption” and that the writers had reported new characters and more involved story lines for both Hiro and Ando.

“The writers are very excited about the upcoming season” Lee said. “There has been a lot of talk about getting the show back to its roots and focusing more on the idea that these are true human stories outside of fantastic aspects of their lives.”

While on the set of “Heroes” Lee was able to meet with some legends of acting such as “Star Trek”s George Takei and “A Clockwork Orange’s” Malcolm McDowell. A true comic fan however, Lee’s greatest thrill of the show was to meet the legendary comic writer Stan Lee, who made a guest appearance in season one as a bus driver.

“I am a huge fan of the old Spider Man comics” said Lee. “I was very excited to meet Stan and I thought it was great that a legend like him was willing to come on our show.”

Outside of the show, James Lee has also done his share of voice acting, including playing the villain Shang Shun in the recent “Mortal Kombat vs. DC” game. He is also going to be starring in the upcoming Sci Fi Channel original special “Star Runners” and upcoming sex comedy “How to Make Love to a Woman.”

Heroes season three will be released on DVD and Blu-ray September 1 2009. For more info on James Kyson Lee and the rest of the cast visit www.nbc.com/Heroes/

WORCESTER — When it comes to heavy, aggressive, hardcore/metal music, the Boston/Worcester area is sacred ground for the head bang, screamed lyrics, head walking crowds. Such hardcore havens as the Worcester Palladium, Fitchburg Compound, and Boston’s Church house the bands that make this cacophony and the rabid fans that enjoy it. The scene of heavy music in the area has bred everything from original 1980s hardcore legends such as SS Decontrol and Freeze to the new breed of hardcore champions including Unearthed and All That Remains.

Aside from breeding the new and old voices of hardcore, the area has provided a place for touring out-of-state hardcore bands to find a welcoming scene and a new crowd of fans. Most recently the scene saw Canadian-based Protest the Hero on their first headlining tour of the States. The band’s combination of screaming lyrics, high intensity speed and wailing tap solos was received well by the Worcester Palladium crowd on May 9 and made the band feel right at home.

Blast was able to catch up with the band’s bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi on the last leg of the band’s tour.

“We’ve come to Worcester a few times when we were opening for other bands” said Mirabdolbaghi. “We have a lot of friends and fans in the area. You can really feel the legacy of aggressive music in the crowds and venues.”

Protest the Hero began their musical carrier in the small suburban town of Whitby, Ontario in 1999. It was there that lead singer Rody Walker, guitarists Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin, drummer Moe Carlson and Mirabdolbaghi started playing together at the age of 13.

“We where really just some bored suburban kids when we started” said Mirabdolbaghi. “We had no real intentions to tour the U.S, or anywhere else for that matter.”

The band stuck it out however through the next five years, touring Canada and recording independently. Their efforts paid off in 2006 when they were picked up by Vagrant Records, with whom they made their first full length record “Keiza.” From there they went on several supporting tours with other major names in the hardcore music scene such as All That Remains, Bullet for my Valentine and heavy metal stars Dragon Force.

“What’s good about us is that we fit into a lot of different tours in a lot of different ways” said Mirabdolbaghi. “We’ve been the heaviest band on a tour and then we’ve been the pussiest.”

Most recently the band has put out their second full length album “Fortress” which is the focus of the newest tour. They have also gained some exposure through electronic media being features in “Guitar Hero II” and the soundtrack of “NHL ’09.” Once they are finished with the current leg of their U.S tour, the band plans to head back north to their homeland in order to rest up after the stresses of the new album and tour.

“We’re at the end of the album’s cycle now” said Mirabdolbaghi. “We’re going to go home and write some new material and possibly do some recording.”

Through out all the bands touring and recording, their goal is not to break into the mainstream lexicon, but rather show people who are interested in aggressive music what they bring to the table.

“We’re living in the days of iPod shuffle culture” said Mirabdolbaghi. “People today have more access to different types of music than anyone in history of music has ever had. Yet people seem to be more closed-minded than ever before. We want to people to give us a try; even if they don’t think that they’ll like us we at least want people to give it a chance.”

For more information on Protest the Hero go to www.myspace.com/protestthehero.

Few books have made as big of an impact on popular culture in the last decade as Dan Brown’s 2003 murder/conspiracy hit “The Da Vinci Code.” The book’s transfer to screen, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks as hero symbologist Robert Langdon, hit just as big in the box office in the summer of 2006 with a total world wide grossing of over $700 million. It is no surprise that this summer’s string of blockbusters sees Brown’s prequel to “The Da Vinci Code,” “Angels and Demons,” coming to the big screen.

The new movie will focus on a secret organization known as the Illuminati and their grudge against the Vatican for their denial of great scientific discoveries. Langdon will be called to action in order to stop a plot to destroy Vatician city with an experimental substance known as anti-matter.

Once again, Tom Hanks stars as protagonist Robert Langdon, along with Ayelet Zurer as love interest Vittoria Vetra, Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, and up-and-coming Italian actor Victor Alfieri as Lieutenant Chartrand.

Blast Magazine recently talked to Alfieri about his experience on the set of the movie and what it was like to work with film legends such as Ron Howard and Tom Hanks.

“My character works for the Roman police force,” explained Alfieri. “He is first there to assist with the original case, but then is convinced by Robert Langdon to investigate the matter of the Illuminati conspiracy personally.”

Almost born for the role, Alfieri is native to Rome and served on the police force for almost five years before moving to LA in the mid nineties to begin his acting career. He mused with Blast about the coincidence of his closeness with Chartrand’s character.

“Ron Howard didn’t believe me when I told him that I used to be a cop,” said Alfieri. “It was like winning the lottery to find a role that I fit into so perfectly. I was especially excited to be shooting back home.”

Lt. Chartrand’s part in the movie will remain as important as it was in the book. As fans of the book will remember, SPOILER ALERT Chartrand is pivotal in the death of C.E.R.N. director Maximilian Kohler, the accidental killing of fellow officer Captain Rocher and the end of the story when he delivers Langdon the Illuminati brand. END SPOILER.

Alfieri was able to catch the final cut of the movie in a premiere last week in Rome. He assures fans of the novel that the movie will stay very close to the source material.

“I am a big fan of both of Brown’s books,” said Alfieri. “There are a few changes made in the new movie, but it mainly takes the story directly from the book.”

Alfieri is far from an amateur in the acting business, having worked alongside such stars as Lindsay Price, Milo Ventimiglia, and Harvey Keitel, plus his extensive soap opera history. He commented that he was honored and humbled to work with a legend such as Tom Hanks. Though a proven master of both comedy and drama, Alfieri says that the most impressive thing about Hanks is not his acting ability, but his personality.

“Tom was a great guy,” Alfieri said. “He acts because he loves it and for no other reason. He would always come out and greet fans who were around the set and was all around a very genuine person.”

After “Angels and Demons,” Alfieri will be starring in the upcoming summer movie “My Father’s Will” and the Fox series “Persons Unknown.”

“I truly can’t wait for the new (Fox) series to premiere,” said Alfieri. “It is a unique show that is shot all around the world and is very stunning to look at.”

“Angels and Demons” premieres May 15th in theaters nationwide.