REVERE — Comedy came instinctively to Jennifer Zigrino when she was a kid.

“I was the overweight chubby girl. My only defense was to make people laugh,” she said. “People tend not to pick on you if you can make them laugh.”

The now 25-year-old recently won a Community Auditions comedy competition and a chance to perform at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York.

“It’s great. I’m really excited about it,” she said about her win.

Zigrino started performing comedy when she was a teenager and started to take it seriously when she was in her early 20s.

“I always like making people laugh so it was sort of a natural progression for me,” she said.

She took a comedy class when she was a teenager and her first performance was the at the completion of the class and her teacher made her the headliner.

“I guess my teacher really liked me,” she said modestly.

Her first performance was certainly a memorable one.

“It went great. However, my dad’s friend’s wife got really drunk and started heckling everyone else. She eventually got kicked out,” she joked.

The young comedian described her comedy as “observational story telling.”

“I tell stories about my life and the funny things that happen to me,” she said.

While a date hasn’t been set yet for her Gotham Comedy Club debut, she is still excited about the opportunity.

“It’s a great comedy. There have been so many famous people that have performed there,” she said.

She also feels this is the right step for her comedy career.

“I think this is the right direction for breaking into New York. All you need is for one person to see you and everything can change,” she said.

Zigrino would eventually like to move to Los Angeles and be doing sketch comedy as well as starring in some independent films.

“Saturday Night Live is the ultimate dream,” she said.

When she is not performing, she works as Boston Freedom Trail tour guide and sells her own line of jewelry.

“I do a little bit of everything,” she said.

Zigrino moved to Revere after her parents divorce and credits the city for being an inspiration.

“Revere gives me endless material,” she joked.

Raphael Sbarge, an accomplished actor of over four decades, sat down with Blast to talk "Once Upon A Time."

Raphael Sbarge, who plays Dr. Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket on ABC’s “Once Upon A Time,” recently took the time to answer of my questions. He delved into his character, reflected on the season, and spoke about the show’s improbable success in its first year.

BLAST: First, your career spans many recognizable titles in TV and film. You had a role on The Guardian as well as several parts on notable shows like Dexter, Heroes, 24, Prison Break, and the list goes on. No doubt you’ve had a prolific career and have been sought after for many parts. What in particular drew you to the role of Dr. Archie Hopper a.k.a Jiminy Cricket?

RS: Thank you for your kinds words.  Yes, I have been blessed with a career that had many wonderful opportunities.  Needless to say, there are hills and valleys in any actor’s journey, and one never knows what is coming next, and so you learn, as a matter of survival, to finesse the twists and turns that are inevitable. As far as Once Upon a Time is concerned, my feeling from the moment I read the script was that it was something special.  My concern (on the page) was that it was wildly ambitious, and could never be pulled off.  I mean, how on earth could they create two distinct worlds— and one a fantasy world, in a regular 8 day shooting schedule (the standard amount of time for a network show?)  Clearly they have exceeded expectations on all counts.  I shudder to think how this idea would have been done in lesser hands.

BLAST: Now, funny enough, I started reviewing Once Upon A Time for Blast a few episodes into the season and the first review I did was of your spotlight episode, “That Still Small Voice.” Tell me what it was like to delve into this fresh back-story for the Jiminy Cricket character and what may have surprised or intrigued about the somewhat dark direction the show took with his beginnings and transformation from man to cricket.

RS: When I first heard that it was “coming”( from our creators, Eddie Kitsis, and Adam Horowitz)  I got very excited.  When I finally got to read it, I was really moved by the story they had created— it made me weep, actually.  Jiminy’s story is not a happy one.  His “conscience” was born out of some terrible stuff, which, in my humble opinion, gives it some depth (and doesn’t make him a “know-it-all.”)   Once I got past the teary stage, then I got to the “Holy-Cow!” stage, meaning, this is a big bite, and one that will make a lasting impression.  There are moments, and this was one of them, when the “Hey, I’m portraying an icon and I hope I’m up to the challenge” gave me more than a few sleepless nights.   I was very happy with how it turned out, and been greeted with folks saying, “Wow!  I didn’t know that was Jiminy Cricket’s back story.”  Of course they made it up, but I consider this a huge compliment to their ingenuity.

BLAST: A follow-up to my last question about “That Still Small Voice,” your real-world arc in that episode surrounds Archie’s relationship with Henry. Will that doctor-patient relationship play a role as Emma seeks custody of her son?

RS: As I write this, I believe that you will have seen a scene with Emma and I that addresses that, yes [In last week's "An Apple Red As Blood].   There is clearly a struggle, a battle for Henry and for who knows best.  Adam and Eddie have set up a huge power play between two powerful women— both seemingly with Henry’s well being in mind, but with different methods, it seems.  Henry too, has emerging ideas about who he wants to spend time with.  Clearly we have not seen the end of this.  Archie, as the man in the middle, will have a lot to discuss.  Won’t it be interesting if the Mayor comes to the therapy room, too?

BLAST: A couple weeks ago in “The Return,” Dr. Hopper had his first pivotal scene since Jiminy Cricket’s “fairyback” (my term for the fairy tale flashbacks) where Archie has a mini-therapy session with Mr. Gold. This exchange fascinated me and a lot of fans because it gave Gold a vulnerability we hadn’t yet seen. How did you approach that scene and do you think Gold will return to Dr. Hopper for further therapy?

RS: I love that term, “fairyback!”  You may have coined something!  Ha!  Yes!  We got tremendous response to that scene— I LOVE Robert Carlyle, and was a huge fan of his even before I got to be on a show with him( and now that I get to watch him every week, my appreciation has only grown!)    We had a blast together, and I do hope we have many more opportunities to explore some of the themes that got initiated in that episode.

BLAST: ”The Stranger” was one of my favorite episodes of the season, and you as the voice of Jiminy Cricket played a significant role. Can you tell our readers a little more about how you feel your character played a vital part in Geppetto and Pinocchio’s story (on the show)?

RS: I loved this episode too (but I have so many favorites now, its hard to pick one out, personally).  Tony Amendola who plays Gepetto, quite by coincidence, is an old friend of mine.  We have known each other for 25 years, and done more plays together than I can count.  He is such a wonderful actor, and I was incredibly proud of him.  I loved too, the last moment in the episode when August/ Pinocchio says to his father, “I want to fix things.” Killed me.   I was there doing off camera Jiminy work for the scene at the enchanted tree, when Gepetto and Jiminy have a tiff— and was so pleased that we got to revisit the painful past between these two.  There is a lot to mine, in that relationship I think.  And, needless to say, the episode was just wonderful!

BLAST: Can you speculate at all about how Archie/Jiminy Cricket will factor in next season? If you can’t speculate, what would you like to see for Archie/Jiminy in successive seasons?

RS: Well, I am in the dark as much as you are, frankly ( the story lines to future episodes are a very closely guarded secret, especially for next year).  But that said, I will be interested to see if we get a chance to explore Archie’s love life and or his life in the town outside of his time in the office.  As well, I would love to see more time with Mr. Gold, or Emma, or the Mayor in the therapy room.  Based on the finale, I would say there is a lot of job security ahead for a therapist in Storybrooke.

BLAST: Do you approach your character as separate entities (Archie Hopper AND Jiminy Cricket) that you play differently (distinct voices, personalities, demeanors), or do consider them as one person at two places in time that happens embody a human and cricket form?

RS: This is a very interesting question.  They are, I believe, as you suggest, the same person, in two places at once.  One has a broader view of things, and one is locked in time.  And there is indeed a different voice that Jiminy has.  But, they are both bound by a conscience, born of some hard knocks, and a desire to help others find their way.

BLAST: Obviously, doing the voice of a CGI cricket is a lot different from playing a human therapist. What can you tell us about filming the Jiminy scenes and how involved you are in the process?

RS: It is a fascinating experience.  Completely different from any other I have ever had on a set.  I mean, to be an actor in the scene, playing it full out, but to always be off camera is very unusual.  The actors in the scene, ON camera have been very thankful that I am there to do it (and not a script supervisor, reading lines from way off set, as is the norm).  It has given me, as well, a chance to find him amidst the action, and not just on a dark sound stage by myself.  I have done a lot of voice over work in other mediums (in video games, and commercial work), and it is a particular skill.  But, this is unique in my four decades as an actor.

BLAST: As a Lost fan, I have great respect for Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. I often talk in my reviews about the similarities the shows share. Kitsis and Horowitz use flashbacks in both to add depth to characters, and I talk about the theme of faith vs. reason—a continuous thread in Lost and something Emma is struggling with mightily on Once Upon A Time. What is it like to work with those two (Kitsis and Horowitz) and what elements of Lost do you think they’ve carried over to this show?)

RS: Wow. Big question.  You elucidate the theme quite beautifully. I would say simply, that it is a marvel to work with them. They have created a very, very complex world, with distinct rules, and clear structure (very hard to do).  I don’t know if I can speak to how Lost themes or elements have carried over, but I can say that I am constantly surprised how they are able to surprise me.  I mean, I watch television.  I work in television.  More often then not, I can anticipate where the story is headed, who the killer is, or where it might be headed.  With this show, I never know where they are going next, and this seems to be one of the things that fans are so excited about (amongst others, of course).  What they have done is create a world of characters that are both good and evil, but complex, and multidimensional.With the Evil Queen or Rumplestilskin, we see evil deeds, with devastating consequences, but we also get to see the cost, the pain, the horror of their interior life, that gives us compassion for them, even as we love to hate them.
This is no easy task— and to do it week after week, I am as I say, slack jawed at how they can balance so many stories at once. I feel at times like a squealing fan, and when people tell me ( as they often do), “I’m totally addicted to your show.”  I say, “I know!  Me, too!”

BLAST: To be honest, it seemed improbable this series would last. It’s such a high-concept show that asks a lot of its audience in terms of patience and trust that it will all become clear soon. Though it helps that the source material includes familiar and timeless tales like Snow White and Pinocchio. But against formidable odds, it has a huge following and is the most watched new drama. Are you surprised at all by the show’s success?

RS:  I am 100 percent surprised by the success.  Not as any disparagement to any of us.  But, just because the odds of any new show finding its audience is slim to none— let alone to be dubbed the “most watched new drama.”  Just as I was writing these answers to you,  I just got an email from Adam and Eddie saying it was official, we are picked up for next year (thrilling to hear!).   Based on the honor of Most Watched, we all felt pretty confident, but needless to say, after years of doing this job, it makes you very humble and grateful for those rare moments when something comes together and works.  This is one of those rare moments.

BLAST: here’s some incredible acting on this show (yourself included, obviously ha-ha). Who have you most enjoyed working with?

RS: I feel like I am on an All-Star team, and every time I come to the set, the level of  commitment and pride that we all share is very evident.  In fact, it is shared by every department— camera, props, costumes— even the guy who watches our cars in the parking lot told me how proud he was to be on this crew!   We all feel like we are on something very special.

BLAST: Overall, what have you considered most rewarding about working on Once Upon A Time and playing Archie/Jiminy?

RS: As actors, we are innately story tellers.  We are, of course, completely reliant on the world that is created by the writers, and the elements that they craft for us.  What is most rewarding?  The absolutely breathtaking stories that we get to tell, every week.  I am so incredibly grateful.

BLAST: For our readers, what should fans know before going into the finale? Will their minds be blown? Can fans look forward to more answers (like the many provided in “The Stranger”) or will more questions arise?

RS: I can’t tell you. But, even if I could, wouldn’t you rather find out yourself?  So much more fun to unwrap you own Christmas present, isn’t it?  :)  What I will say is this, prepare for a big finish!

BLAST: Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Sbarge. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to speak with you and I wish you (and Archie/Jiminy) all the best. I hope I get to speak with you in the future regarding Once Upon A Time and possibly any other roles you take on.

RS: And, thank you for these great questions!

Mara Marini guest starred as Brandi Maxxxx on this season's episode, "The Debate," on NBC's "Parks and Recreation"

Mara Marini may be from Canada originally, but her face and ambition say Hollywood. Even in a phone interview she exudes an infectious sweetness that you’d imagine would have to carry over on the small or big screen.

And while she would tell you she’s blessed and appreciative of all that her time in Los Angeles has afforded her, it almost doesn’t seem fair that it’s taken this long for her star to shine.

“I literally told my parents since I was four years old, ‘I’m gonna move to L.A. as soon as I graduate…I knew I wanted to be here, I just didn’t know how I was going to get here,” Marini recalls.

Her ticket was acceptance to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA). After attending York University in Toronto, Marini auditioned for the prestigious school that has trained many noteworthy names, including Adam Scott, Marini’s co-star on the hit NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation.”

Coincidentally,  Adam Scott spoke at her graduation- and fellow “Parks” guest star Paul Rudd spoke at Adam Scott’s graduation, creating what Marini calls a “trifecta” of AADA alums on “Parks and Recreation.”

Regarding the idea of “making it,” Marini “never really had any grandiose ideas about being a star,” she says. “I just knew I wanted to act and I never wanted to do anything else.”

She had gained theatre experience in Canada and continued on that track in L.A. She also “did a lot of indie films, anything I could get my hands on.”

Only recently did she hire an agent that she really likes. Before that, she was self-made – a scrappy, door-to-door saleswoman of sorts, pitching herself at meetings. Amazingly, her problem was that she was just another blonde beauty with personality. “We have someone just like you” was an oft-heard soft blow sort of rejection she’d receive. Then there would be the vulgar male agents looking to capitalize on her sexuality: “We need you to come back in a bikini.”

After graudation, she faced many of the anxieties most young professionals face. “It was a lot of hustle…I knew I’d have to find my niche, so I tried a bunch of different things. I did stand-up [comedy] for a while,” she recalls. Though that foray only lasted about a year, like anything it was a learning experience.

“The problem for me was, to get into comedy,  you really have to make that a career. You start off as either a ‘bringer’ or a ‘ringer’. So unless you’re a ‘bringer’ , which is like the star, you have to bring a certain amount of people per show or they’ll take speech time. So the first few times were great, but I didn’t want to be asking my friends to  come every week, so it was a catch-22.”

Marini learned that it takes full devotion to make it as a comedian. Her friend, comedian Colin Kane, has taught her by example. ” … 24/7 he’s on it, promoting himself, him and his manager just going at it,” she says.  ”It really has to be your love and your career. And acting is where my passion lies.”

Of course, nothing in her acting career has come close to “Parks and Recreation,” which she describes as “the best time of my life.” The gig to end all gigs came about when Dorian Frankel, the casting director on the show, was holding a workshop. “Most of the time it isn’t super fruitful, I feel. But this time, I saw a breakdown for this Brandi Maxxxx character and submitted myself,” she recalls. “I felt like, ‘I have this, I have this. This is totally me.’”

Despite being disappointed with her audition, Marini landed the part. “That’s why you never know,” she says simply.

She’s had instances where casting directors have said “‘you will definitely hear back from us,’  then nothing. Or you will walk out feeling really bad about yourself, and you end up booking it. You just never know.”

The struggles to please industry professionals don’t stop there, however. The casting director for a now cancelled ABC  show, The Whole Truth,” had brought Marini to try out several parts, and was not blind to her talents – but there was one aspect of her that he took issue with.

“He called my agent— a totally unsolicited call, which is nice—and said ‘Pilot season is coming up and we love Mara, we think she’s really talented, but you know—her hair is just so blonde. Maybe you should tone it down. Maybe she’s a bit too sexy,” Marini recalls with a laugh.Still, she admits that she did concede, dying her hair dark brown.

As fate would have it, though, she got the call from “Parks and Recreation” in January to appear for a second time as Brandi Maxxxx. Her first appearance was on April 28, 2011 in last season’s “Jerry’s Painting,” (seen at right) in which Brandi Maxxx publicly defends a painting that Jerry (Jim O’Heir) made depicting a topless Greek goddess that bears a striking resemblance to Leslie (Amy Poehler). The dark-haired look didn’t work for the buxom adult film star’s image, and Marini went back to blonde.

“Being yourself” is a challenge Hollywood, and something that Marini has struggled with since leaving the halls of the AADA. “You’ll be typecast as the tough guy or the nerdy guy, but that could be your ‘in’,” she says. “I could go out for more things and tone it down, but that wouldn’t be me.”

It isn’t only her brand of femininity that presents obstacles. Being a woman in the hypersexualized atmosphere of acting still has its pitfalls. “I feel that … there’s still a little bit of an old boys’ club,” she says. Even when she came across female agents, she felt the same discrimination. “I chopped [my hair] to just above my chin, [and dyed it] brown, and she didn’t even get me one audition. And that’s when I was like, ‘No, I’m not listening to anyone else but me’,” she recalls. “She would tell me you’re to pretty to go in for young moms and stuff, but you’re not pretty enough to play a supermodel.”

Hell is about to break loose yet again as the action RPG, Diablo 3, brings evil back  when it launches May 15. Need the lowdown on this game? We’ve got veterans and newbies covered — here’s a rundown of what’s new, what’s still the same, and why the threequel is well worth the $60  price.

What’s New

• Online Required. Yes, you need to be connected to the Internet to play the game, even for single- player campaigns. If you have a slow or intermittent connection, then it might be time to consider an upgrade before running Diablo 3.
• Five distinct classes. You can choose between the Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor or Wizard. To sum up their playstyles — the Barbarian and Monk are close combat specialists, the Demon Hunter is a marksman and trap expert, while the Witch Doctor and Wizard are squishy but devastating
  casters. Each class uses a different resource (no longer Mana for everyone), wears three class-specific equipment, and has a distinct storyline.
• More convenient loot runs. Diablo 3 is an addictive item collection game. Hundreds of hours are spent killing demons to collect rare weapons and equipment, but this time Blizzard has made hauling back loot easier and more convenient.
• Bye Deckard Cain, hello Leah. You’ve seen the trailers. Deckard Cain is presumed dead when a falling star crashes into his home. Her niece Leah takes up his mantle as your trusty lore guide. So what will happen to our unidentified items? This function has been integrated into the inventory system, so no
  need to worry on how the Last Horadrim’s exit will affect your gameplay.
• Crafting. Aside from item looting, Diablo 3 now allows full-blown item crafting. Basically, the junk items you loot can be salvaged and used to make new items via special artisan NPCs — the blacksmith for weapons, armor and accessories; and the jeweler for gem sockets and upgrades.
• Auction house. Diablo 2 players know how rampant third-party buying for gear and runes became in the game. Time-starved players simply didn’t have time to farm the best items, so they instead bought them via the shady gray market. Blizzard changes all that with a new legit auction house system
  that allows players to buy and sell loot between each other. Of course, Blizzard takes a small cut in all transactions.
• Inferno difficulty. For the truly hardcore, Inferno offers a difficulty mode like no other. It’s the ultimate challenge after Normal, Nightmare and Hell modes, with mobs and bosses set at a higher level than you.

What’s Still the Same

• Hack-and-slash grind. Diablo 3 is setting up to be the same — if not more — of a time sink than its predecessors. If you’re looking for a game that can be completed in a weekend, or something that offers a variety of gameplay, then move on because Diablo 3 is anything but those.
• Dark, mature setting. No watered down kiddy themes here. Diablo 3 continues with the twisted and often blood-spattered premise of a world besieged by demons. The situation in Sanctuary grows even more dire and desperate, with your hero only one of the few standing between humanity’s survival and its annihilation.

Why It’s Worth It

• Campaign longevity and re-play value. Diablo 3 will keep you entertained for years to come. Its content is single-player campaigns are sprawling and easily take up 100 hours per class, and that’s not even scratching the higher difficulty modes, team play and PvP arena play.
• Bigger, badder bosses. Screen-wide behemoths will appear more often, making fights feel and look more epic.
• Explore the greater Sanctuary. The first two Diablo games only showed us a sliver of Sanctuary, and restricted us to a handful of locales. Diablo 3 opens up the world to the lands only hinted at before, from the wizard homeland of Xiansai to the lost city of Ureh.
• Star-studded heaven and hell cast. Call us fanboys, but the confirmation that Archangel Imperius and Diablo will both appear in-game has us pumped. Developers also said that plenty of new characters will be introduced, obviously to address criticism that only a handful of characters really stand out in the franchise (as compared to other Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft and StarCraft).

We hope this overview gives you a rough idea of what to expect in Diablo 3. Do you have anything to add? Chime in at the comments. Our Diablo 3 review will be coming out very soon, and we won’t be pulling any punches.

We are no stranger to the concept of making a video game based on a popular movie. Usually these are shoddy attempts to cash in on a film’s popularity and most of the time designers are under a deadline to produce the game while the movie is still relevant.  Some movies just weren’t meant for this. Here are 10 popular movies that could never work as video games.

10. Air Bud

You're like Wally Pipp, but it's a dog and not Lou Gehrig

This seems like a pretty standard basketball game, except you play as the kid who gets benched so the dog can play. The first level is training so you learn the controls and hone your player’s shooting percentage. However, when the season starts you are replaced by the dog. You never see any playing time again. The subsequent levels consist of making sure the dog has enough water at halftime, helping bury a dead hooker found in the Dog’s hotel room, and not killing yourself. (Spoiler Alert: You end up killing yourself.)

9. The Human Centipede

Interactive gaming for kids

Well, yeah…you get it.

8. Arrested Development

Paneer Napaneer: Game Engineer

This game has a lot of hype. But no one knows when it’s coming out. The best designers are rumored to have been hired for it. The gameplay is supposed to be incredible. Every now and then rumors float around the message board that the release will be any day now. But no preview or concept art has ever been seen. You and your friends talk about how awesome it will be when it does come out. Some of you are waiting in line at Gamestop right now.

7. Pearl Harbor

If only you could play as Cuba Gooding Jr.

You can play as either Ben Affleck’s or Josh Hartnett’s character. Either way, you will do nothing. You play most of the game through flashback. Even though a great military travesty takes place, you were too busy trying to beat the “Have sex with my presumed-dead- best- friend’s girlfriend” level. If you opted for Ben Affleck’s character, then you get the alternate, “Be absent for the middle of the movie,” level. Most of the effort in this game’s design went into being able to customize your character’s outfits with different Hawaiian shirts.

6. Mrs. Doubtfire

Flammable breasts included, Matthew Lawrence sold separately

This was an ambitious project and Sega Dreamcast’s last attempt at mainstream success. The player MUST wear every part of Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire costume that he wore in the movie. Each piece– teeth, boobs, and face– is wired into the console. The overall concept of the game is to convince children to love you through deception. This is why it was voted NAMBLA’s number one game in existence. Recalls went out immediately after several people collapsed from heat exhaustion and the sheer weight of the controls…two people were found dead. Because it’s a Sega Dreamcast the console runs on gasoline and you have to start it like a lawnmower.

5. Passion of the Christ

From the makers of "L. Ron Hubbard: The Seclusion Years"

This game has an imaginative back story. You are the son of god. You are THE ONE. Here are the controls; pressing A allows you to “turn the other cheek” and pressing B “gently pats someone on the head.” These are your only defense when the army comes looking for you. You get the shit kicked out of you for 40 minutes and don’t have any access to the controls at this point. At the end you die. A group of people think a sequel to this game will be made, however it is quite obvious that is not happening…ever. So you know, just stop, okay?

4. The King’s Speech

At least you get to scream "fuck" once

It’s like the American Idol game. It’s played in real time and over the course of 8 years. You try to mumble into the microphone to match the stutter notes on the screen. It is excruciatingly difficult. A lot of early game testers actually developed a stammer from playing it too much. Geoffrey Rush pops on screen now and again to verbally abuse you. When you are not stammering, you sit very still. The game has no save option so it must be finished it one sitting.

3. The Artist

Stop smirking, Frenchy.

This is like “Dance-Dance Revolution,” except there is no sound. All you can hear are your own fat feet slamming down on the mat.

2. Inception

Hold "LT" and press "B" to access your dreidel

This game starts out awesome. You have a gun. You have Joseph Gordon-Levitt by your side ready to throw down for you. HE’S READY FOR ANYTHING BRAH. HE’D DIE FOR YOU. You’re close to completing a challenge and, boom, your ex-wife shows up and fucks it all up. Then you wake up…or do you? You’ve had a wet dream. You try to explain it to everyone else. Juno is grossed out. The Indian guy won’t make eye contact with you. No one will, except JGL. “GIVE HIM A BREAK YOU FUCKS! IT HAPPENS.” He slaps Juno. You can never finish the game because this series of events keeps happening over and over again.

1. Titanic

Seriously Rose, how do you live with yourself?

It’s set up as a first person shooter from Jack’s point of view, except there are no guns, knives or weapons of any kind. Using the controls you navigate through the gross,  poor citizens of the ship. Ewww Irish people! Sometimes you are presented with the quest of drawing someone before they recognize your creepy behavior. Then you must dash back below deck to the mole people (the Irish.) You eat dinner,  then dance on a table. The main boss in this game is Billy Zane’s eyebrow. It is perfectly sculpted and maintained so that, had any poets survived on the Titanic, they would have written about it for years to come. It’s very exciting for 30 seconds and the very END of the game, but you can never win because your partner allows you to drown instead of moving over on what appeared to be a very spacious piece of wood.

With The Avengers opening this week with its epic case of superheroes, we felt it was the right time to break down the best ever. So here, without further delay, is our list of the top 10 Avengers.

10. Wonder Man

A risky pick for number 10 on the list given his alternate statuses as a villain, a hero, an actor, and many times just not around. But his run during Kurt Busiek and George Perez late 90s relaunch solidified his role as a great, and important, member of the Avengers.

9. Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff is slightly controversial. Daughter of Magneto, she, like her brother Quicksilver, were originally villains before being given a second chance, along with Hawkeye a few issues into the original Avengers run. For much of the series history, she was alternately an extra, and a central character with her love stories between the Vision and Wonder Man. It wasn’t until Kurt Busiek’s run in the late 90s/early 2000s that her character and her powers were fleshed out, that Wanda’s role in the Avengers was cemented and made important. While her role was later reverted to unwilling villain/mutant killer/eradicator status by Brian Michael Bendis, we’ll choose to overlook that.

8. Warbird/Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Binary

Poor Ms. Marvel. She’s always trying to prove she belongs. A member of the air force, she was a soldier bound by duty, before an accident with Kree technology gave her incredible super powers. As she sought the limelight and credit the being a hero brought, she found herself felled by none other than Rogue of the X-Men, who took a great deal of her powers from Ms. Marvel

7. Vision

A robot created by Ultron, Vision is somewhat of a grandchild of Hank Pym, and was designed to combat against the Avengers. He later rebelled against his creator and joined the team he was built to destroy. For much of his time in the Avengers, he has struggled with his robot exterior and his semi-human emotions, trying to find his true purpose in the world. For a time, he was married to the Scarlett Witch and even fathered two (magically created, thus not real) children. He’s been a mainstay in the Avengers for much of its history, and is somewhat the Martian Manhunter of the crew.

6. Ant-Man/Giant Man/Yellow Jacket

One of the founding members of the Avengers, Hank Pym has had a difficult run. His true north is Janet Pym, the Wasp, and he’s lost her and found her multiple times. Pym has suffered from multiple personality disorder, which has led to multiple identities and multiple superheroes, none worse for his psyche than the Yellowjacket character, who ultimately abused Janet Pym and ended their marriage. He also created Ultron, a robot that has tormented the Avengers for several decades. Still, Pym is dedicated to fighting his inner demons and righting his wrongs, and his genius status has helped thwart more than a fair share of near world-ending events.

5. The Wasp

Janet Pym may be small, and relatively powerless, but you have to give her credit: She named the Avengers! It was her idea at the end of Avengers #1 to call the group that, and she, like her husband, has been part of the group for most of its history. As the series moved past its beginnings, writers sought to move past her flighty personality and dedication to fashion, giving her some dark moments, and proving that she could emerge as a fighter. For many times, she’s even been the leader of the Avengers, and looked to for valuable leadership qualities in times of crisis.

4. Hawkeye

Hawkeye is very poorly fleshed out in the film, despite being pretty badass. His film counterpart is more of a depiction of the Ultimates Hawkeye than the original comic book title, where Hawkeye was once a thief given a chance at redemption first by Iron Man, then by Captain America with a chance to join the Avengers. Since then, he’s been a mainstay in the group for most of its history, often time providing either comic relief, or being an antagonist to the rest of the group. Driven by a strict moral code, he’s willing to go to blows when he feels the Avengers have lost sight of what’s best.

3. Thor

Thor, like Captain America, may have consistently had their own titles, but their true roles in Marvel Comics were to participate in the Avengers. Thor is the Superman of the bunch, but this time he also adds some depth in his observation of the human race that Superman never does. He’s foreign, he’s a little old fashioned. He’s a warrior, one sometimes prone to fulfilling base desires, but his character is vital to the dynamic of the Avengers. His presence in the series has been sorely missed in the last decade.

2. Iron Man

He may be the most fleshed out of the Avengers in the film series, but in the comic books, he goes no higher than #2. But it’s close. Tony Stark funds the Avengers, provides the mansion and later tower they work out of, and is one of the resident geniuses to hep solve the threats, be it technological, alien, supernatural or other. He is unquestionably a member of the Marvel equivalent to DC’s big 3.

1. Captain America

How can you not say that Captain America is the greatest Avenger? It’s a common misconception that Cap was a founding member of the Avengers, but he instead joined the crew in the series fourth issue, replacing the outgoing Hulk. Since then, he’s been the leader, the hero, and potentially the heart of the gang. He’s the virtue of the group, and has helped to anchor it through tough times, such as the Civil War storyline.

Tyler Balliet, co-founder of Second Glass.

Are you a would-be oenophile who sticks to beer or vodka tonics in an attempt to avoid the snobbery so often served up with sauvignon? Second Glass is here to bring you around to the bottle. Founded by former Bostonians Morgan First and Tyler Balliet, Second Glass aims to make wine accessible via Wine Riots, events that the company defines as two parts education and one part revolution.

After attending the Wine Riot at the Boston Park Plaza Castle earlier this month and speaking to Balliet, I can now answer the following questions with ease: “Can you get good wine from a box?” Yep; “Can great wine come from Massachusetts?” Surprisingly, yes; “Is there such a thing as a wine event that is devoid of old boys in tweed waxing poetic about a wine’s nose and legs?” Yes. Thank you, Second Glass. Yes.

Balliet is a former wine writer who noticed a hole in the market. While wine was alive and well with older folks, younger people just weren’t drinking it. Balliet knew that his peers were interested in learning, they just didn’t have the resources to do so. Sure, they could read about it, but who wants to read when tasting is more rewarding (not to mention more fun)? In the summer of 2008, Balliet partnered with First and turned this realization into what is now Second Glass. Their goal? To present people with the opportunity to experience wine in an educational setting while allowing them to connect with people who were just as curious as they were.

The idea that wine should be about fun and curiosity isn’t as revolutionary as the reigning wine culture makes it seem. Balliet notes that he has never encountered pretension among wine makers and others that work closely with the product. Even in France, where he lived for a few years, wine was regarded as something to be enjoyed and explored. That wine should fill the glasses of erudite socialists is a strictly American idea that can be traced back to Prohibition. Rather than making us a more upright society, the ban on booze spurred a cocktail culture. As many of us know from our wayward teenage years, a handle of vodka is easier to smuggle than a case of wine. By the time wine reappeared on the American market, it was bolstered by a group of people who appreciated the fact that it could be debated and discussed as well as imbibed. Slowly but surely, wine became one of the only products whose technical language became its marketing language.

I can’t vouch for makers themselves, but there was certainly no pretension among the  distributor representatives I encountered at Wine Riot. And while I’m sure they possessed a wealth of knowledge and technical jargon I couldn’t even begin to appreciate, they mercifully refrained from using it, and instead discussed their products with an enthusiasm and ease that was not only easy to understand, but easy to get excited about. After tasting the wines being offered at Mouton Noir, the rep asked if I was ready to try the “big boy wine.” It wasn’t the kind of language one would encounter in The Wine Advocate, but it definitely made me want to drink up.

Wonderfully, this fantastic wine fell within the price range of everything Mounton Noir was offering up that night (between $17 and $24). Balliet noted during our interview that “price and quality are not directly related.” Barring those wines he’s purchased as gifts, the co-founder of Second Glass reports that he rarely spends beyond $40 to $50 on a bottle. It seems wine and fashion have something in common: You buy a $150 bottle of wine for the same reason you buy a pair of Gucci sunglasses. True, you’re getting a superior level of craftsmanship, but ultimately, you’re paying for the label. And just as that dude in designer jeans, shades and (seriously?) t-shirt may prove to have less than a sparkling personality, you can’t judge a wine by its bottle.

Guests at the event used their smart phones to rate wines.

As it turns out, good wine can also come from a box. In fact, a box lined with medical-grade plastic prevents air from getting inside and turning your yummy red wine into vinegar. Unlike bottles, which will keep wine fresh for about 48 hours, a box can be opened and then left on your counter for a month without altering the product. The reason everyone’s not doing it lies in the price. Compared to bottling, putting wine into a box is extremely expensive for producers.

Balliet also emphasized that in the same way wine isn’t bound to a bottle, it’s also not bound to traditional wine producing regions. Though he admits that the wine that got him into wine hails from France’s Loire Valley, he admits to finding delicious offerings from all sorts of unlikely places since then. He is a huge advocate of local wine and insists great wine can be made in all 50 states. Sure, terrible wine can be made in all 50 states, but France can turn out some crappy wine, too. It’s important to remember, Balliet notes, that 25 years ago, everyone thought the guys trying to grow grapes out in California were crazy.

So what’s the image of a satisfied wine rioter? Someone who leaves knowing more about both wine and themselves. “I want people to come and leave with knowledge they can apply to wine buying. My goal is to make wine buying easier and more enjoyable,” Balliet said. Given the crowd at Wine Riot and Second Glass’ ingenious integration of technology (want to give your wine two thumbs up and take a note or two? There was an app for that) it seems more and more 20-somethings will find themselves thinking outside of the beer aisle.

NEW YORK – For most people I know, 8:30 on a Tuesday morning is either time to go to class or time for nothing at all; why wake up before noon if you don’t have to?

For me, however, once every six months, it means something totally different. It means I’ve made the journey to South Station and am about to catch a Greyhound to one of my favorite places in the world: New York City.

And, despite what my past behavior would seem to predict, this isn’t for a concert or a music festival or anything of the sort. No, this is my biannual trek to the sacred ground of 513 E. 54^th Street – “The Colbert Report.”

First in "line"

On this particular occasion in late April, I couldn’t have asked for better weather to stand, iced coffee in hand and with two of my friends in tow, on the streets of Manhattan for a few hours. The instructions on the ticket confirmation e-mail instructed us to show up no later than 6 p.m., so my friends and I naturally showed up to “get in line” around 2:30. To our surprise (yes, surprise – the anxiety of losing a good spot in line is not exclusive to concert-going life), we were first. Even security seemed taken aback seeing us there, asking us outright if we were actually there, so early, to get in line for the taping.

The hours passed easily until we proudly received our blue, laminated tickets that designated the order in which we would at long last enter the studio: 1, 2, and 3.

Of course, if my previous experiences in the concert world have taught me anything, it’s that a place in line is never guaranteed – and that even if it was, that place doesn’t guarantee much within itself.

Does this mean we're tourists?

Let me explain. After you’ve lined up for a while (in our case three and a half hours, but probably less for most) the Report’s interns lead you into a holding room that might also function as an elaborate shrine to Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert DFA. A poster from 2010’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” and various incarnations of the iconic portrait that hangs over the studio’s “fireplace” adorn the walls, as well as a not-quite-life-size sticker of the man himself, posed for a photo.

As more and more fans trickle in from the outside and go through the metal detector, a highlight reel that was probably compiled in 2007 (and not altered a bit since) plays on a television in the corner of the room. You can’t exactly call anything that Stephen does “outdated”, though, and soon the entire room is laughing at some of Stephen’s best “Better Know a District” interviews to date, the introduction of the word “truthiness”, and his light saber fight with George Lucas.

Throwback poster on the walls of the holding room (Credit Rory McDonald)

Time is just starting to drag after about an hour or so when the excited interns brief everyone on conduct policy, beg the audience to laugh and clap as loud as humanly possible (something I still don’t quite understand – why would anyone need to be told to laugh at this show?) and tell everyone to keep it clean during the pre-show Q&A: “If your question has anything to do with some below the belt, above the knees action, keep it to yourself,” they’ll tell you. Then, finally, they start to let everyone inside the studio itself.

…and that’s when it happens. Out of nowhere, people emerge with tickets completely different from your own, and those people are instructed to go in first. Granted, on this particular venture I learned that some of those lucky not-so-few are military families, which the Report makes a point of ushering to the front of the line. Even two hours into our wait, I couldn’t help but feel admiration, not bitterness, when this policy was quietly announced.

After the military families, though, comes VIPs. Red tickets in hand, they are led in, and the lowly mortals who have stood in line outside can wait still a few more minutes to find their seats.

On my first visit to the Report in October, I remember finding this particularly disenchanting. For years (about six, to be precise) I’d watched the show religiously and dreamt of the day that I, too, would stand in the front row and high-five Stephen as he ran by. I remember distinctly watching the show in middle school and hoping against hope that the show would not be canceled before I turned 18, lest I lose my chance forever.  In my mind, back then, all I had to do was show up early (of course) and I was home free.

This time I remarked to one of my friends how nice it was that at least we didn’t have the expectation of getting the front row anymore. This time we could go in without a shred of disappointment and hope that wherever they stuck the three of us (they always keep parties together, to their credit) was worth those few extra hours in line. We also had the advantage of knowing that there was no such thing as a bad seat at the Report – but, I mean, can you blame us for wanting to be as close to the desk, and the man himself, as possible?

Still, when we were led in and looked up into the stands, we couldn’t help but feel a little deflated. There were unquestionably many more VIPs at this show than at the one we’d been to before: the first several rows back, in each section, were already full. We’d just said as much to one another when the security guard who’d met us before and joked about our dedication “Usually only tourists show up this early!”-  said that we seemed just crazy enough to warrant a spot in the front row.

Before we knew what was happening, my friends and I found ourselves sitting in the only three free spots in the front row, the farthest to the left in the studio. All Stephen had to do was look to his right and there we were. It was unbelievable.

I’ll digress here to talk about the studio itself for a moment, because it really does deserve a mention. The first thing of notice when attending any taping, I’ve found, is that the studio seems a lot smaller than the show would indicate. The audience itself, the only part of the studio that you don’t readily see on screen for more than a few seconds, is relatively small, too (there’s a reason my friends and I show up early.)

The inside of the studio, for those who have somehow forgotten

Stephen may run from his desk to the interview table every week, for example, but he really only needs to take three steps at most. I myself, in the front row, could’ve taken as many steps and touched the infamous desk.

All of the decorations and nods to running gags on set are permanent fixtures, stacked on the shelves behind the desk. The lights and video screens embedded in the walls and on the desk are all actually in place, none of them that I could see inserted after the fact. It was in a lot of ways like stepping directly through the TV screen and finding yourself in the middle of any given episode. As a fan, in my mind, you can’t really ask for better than that.

From that point on, everything else seemed to go unbelievably smoothly. Some kind of playlist, containing everything from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Placebo to U2, blasted through the speakers as the audience was let in, picking up throughout the taping whenever the cameras stopped rolling. The warm-up comic, brought out some 30 minutes before the show started, alternated between picking on audience members and himself, taking particular pleasure in tormenting a self-described “analyst” who was unquestionably the best-dressed man in the audience with his suit and tie. It was also his somewhat enviable duty to get us on our feet and bring out the man of the hour with a yell into his handheld microphone: “Stephen Colbert!”

As promised, my friends and I stuck out our hands as Stephen came bounding out from backstage, making the rounds of the front row to the sound of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me”. Pausing in the center of the floor to our continuing applause, he laughed and caught his breath, smiling good-naturedly into the crowd. When he finally convinced everyone to quiet down, he broke the ice by revealing that today he had been completely unprepared for his introduction, bolting out in an instant when he heard the comic yell his name.

Still, he looked as ready and willing as ever, and started the Q&A portion that comes before every show: “Do you have any questions to humanize me in your eyes before I say these terrible things?”

I’ll admit something here: with each taping of my favorite shows that I’ve attended (two for The Daily Show and one Colbert before this occasion), I’ve always stood outside in line contemplating what brilliant, witty question I would ask either faux-pundit if given the chance. Unfortunately for yours truly, that resolve has each time evaporated once the man in question was standing mere feet in front of me, looking expectantly into the crowd. I’ll put it this way: I didn’t even try. This time, though, I knew I’d written it off for long enough, and up my hand went.

Stephen first called on a man a few rows back, who asked what was the most ridiculous or “questionably legal” thing that Stephen had done with his Super PAC funding (collected, as many of you may know, from donations from the faithful Colbert Nation). Stephen went on to recount for a few minutes the process of offering to solve the South Carolina Republicans’ financial woes by buying the naming rights to the Republican Primary there for $500,000, dubbing it the Stephen Colbert South Carolina Republican Primary.

Before all of us he began to lose himself in the tale, taking on the personages of the various characters by putting on a thick southern drawl or lazily scratching his stomach as necessary. In the end, he said, the financial struggles of the party concerned were alleviated by the government – but they didn’t write him off, either. “They didn’t need my money,” Stephen recalled, earning a disappointed groan from the audience, “…but they still wanted it!” he finished, with a mischievous grin. In the end, he said, he had all of the records of the exchange, enough to tantalize any self-respecting investigative journalist, but he wasn’t about to turn them over. He liked the guy, he said simply, with a shrug.

If anything, this seemed to answer the ever-looming, unasked question if Stephen Colbert can truly charm his way into getting anything he wants through the Report. The answer is clearly yes. Yes, he can. And he does.

Realizing this question segued perfectly into my own, my hand shot up in the air. To my surprise, Stephen pointed at me. “Yes, young lady?”, he said.

“You’ve clearly done so much crazy stuff with this show,” I said.  “Has anyone ever told you no?”

He opened his mouth for a moment, closed it again, and answered with a smile: “A lot of girls have.” And the Q&A rolled on.

Asked if he’d ever forgotten who he is, Stephen cut off the asker with an abrupt “No,” and a laugh. He had only gone home in character once, he said, after he had spent his ride home after a taping writing up notes and dialogue for the next show. He walked in the house and his wife recognized the shift immediately and told him to “get the fuck out of my house,” he recalled with a laugh. “She said ‘Why would I want to be married to this?’”

After a few more questions, the soundtrack was cranked all the way back up and Stephen was quickly prepped behind his desk. His makeup was touched up, his hair was combed back (Stephen jokingly stroked the stylist’s hair as she worked), and the cameras were rolled into place.

He grabbed a handful of his signature red WristStrong bracelets and stretched them back, shooting them into the crowd. Never one to miss out on a gag, though, after about five bracelets were sent out and the audiences’ hands remained outstretched he held up an impressive-looking dagger, poised to throw. He grinned, somewhat dangerously, before putting it away, pulling out his notes for the first segment.

The stage manager twirled a script in her hand, our signal to go nuts, and we obliged as the intro to the show started up on screens around the studio and the theme played through the building.

This episode saw the return of a long-lost segment, “Thought for Food”, as in-character-Stephen bemoaned the presence of ground-up insects in Starbucks’ Strawberry and Crème Frappuccino. He broke character a few times, collapsing in laughter onto his desk and saying “Just keep going, just keep going!”

The rest of the taping went off without a hitch, covering everything from Mitt Romney’s interview with Diane Sawyer to the much-maligned exorbitant government conference in Las Vegas that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was a typical balance of skewering the political topics of the day and mocking some bizarre news story of the day – just what a fan would expect and look forward to.

Still, at every break, where commercials would normally be placed on the air, the soundtrack would come back up again and Stephen would, more often than not, start goofing off. He sang along (as did I) to the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl” and danced in his chair to a Spanish rap song that I’d never heard in my life. Like someone out of a silent slapstick movie, he pretended to scold a production team member when they seemed to have run out of things to talk about, comically wagging his finger and narrowing his eyes. The security guard was pretty much the only person in the building who did not outwardly appear to be having a good time, and even then that was probably because he’s paid to look that way.

The interview portion, featuring author Jonah Lehrer, saw Stephen in his element: a give-and-take situation, feeding off of whatever someone else gives him and spitting something back.

Seeing this particular segment live, before editing, provides the advantage of watching him work. Every pause, later edited out for time, isn’t an awkward silence but rather a few seconds during which you can really watch the man think. In the silence, one gets the impression that if your hearing was just a bit better you could hear the gears in his head turning, the ideas forming, before he produces an insightful follow-up question or a perfectly witty retort. This was no exception, producing a number of quotable off-the-cuff lines that were later quoted back to me by friends or various social media sites. As per usual, four days a week.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end  – all too quickly, it seems. In almost no time at all Stephen was back behind his desk, gave a signature bellow of “That’s it for the Report – goodnight!” and it was all over.

Still, despite its apparent brevity, I couldn’t have asked for a better “Colbert Report” experience. Even the somewhat miserable ride back to Boston on the 12:15 a.m. Greyhound couldn’t dampen my spirits, and I see no reason not to keep my resolve to see a Report taping every six months for as long as the show exists. I can dream, right?

Those interested can watch this particular episode on Colbertnation.com here. 

Blast writer Katy Dycus at the steps of the Vivekananda Memorial.

NAGERCOIL, India — At the southern tip of peninsular India, the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet. Rather than facing off at a sharp point, the meeting spot curves around a lush landscape, where slender wooden fishing boats punctuate the multihued sands texturing the shoreline. True sculptural design lies in the way wind and sand mold flexible contours of land and sea. This is India’s Kanyakumari district, the geographical end of the subcontinent. It was also the point that marked a new beginning for me.

Last summer, I spent two months living in south India. Primarily based in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, I lived among a people who valued their state’s language, Tamil, over the national one, Hindi. I worked with pharmacists in the Dr. Jeyasekharan Hospital for nearly eight weeks. I heard my co-workers speaking Tamil to one another, but the artistic gravity of written Tamil did not take hold of me until one Saturday when I ventured out to Kanyakumari with my friend Gitu, with whom I was staying in Nagercoil. It is one thing to hear a language, and it is an entirely new thing to see it.

Before boarding the boat that would take us out to an island where many make their pilgrammage every year, Gitu and I fitted each other for neon orange life jackets. Mine hung about me loosely, a physical reminder of just how much weight I had lost in the previous 10 days. The severity of my “traveler’s sickness” heralded from a combination of things—new spicy foods, jet lag, lack of sleep and the joyful yet exhausting experience of extreme excitement. But thankfully, I was living with a gastroenterologist who encouraged all of us in the house to openly discuss bowel movements, constipation, diarrhea. Frankly, or maybe ironically, I found this openness quite refreshing. Where else could I speak so honestly about the body?

That morning in Kanyakumari, I let the sultry air whip my hair into a frenzy while the boat rocked against waves tossed by the wind. It felt good to be outdoors. Heck, it felt good to be somewhere other than the bathroom. As the noisy boat carried us off shore to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, I let anticipation build up inside me. Competing with the sound of the boat’s engine, Gitu explained that the memorial commemorated the life of Swami Vivekananda, a wandering monk who practiced austerity on this island we were entering. My mind instantly conjured up an image of a barefooted man meditating in solitary confinement (cross-legged, of course), humming some dull chant over and over. I began to feel sleepy.

In my two months in India, I had seen, heard, and smelled more bare feet than ever before—enough to make feet my least favorite body part. As I stated before, the body and the way it functions or malfunctions had never presented to me a real occasion for disgust. You would know this if you were to overhear some of the comfortable conversations between the gastroenterologist and I. However, India was giving me a reason to develop a distaste for feet.

Gitu at Thiruvalluvur's feet.

I should have known that at the entrance of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, I would have to remove my sandals, or “Jesus sandals,” as my co-workers called them. This familiar ritual characterized my experience of the Mysore Palace, cathedrals in Chennai, a rustic summer palace outside Nagercoil. In India, shoes, and to a lesser degree, feet, have unclean associations. I’ve noticed Indians on the train making a simple gesture of apology if they accidentally touch someone with their feet. Shoes must be removed for places of worship or commemoration, when visiting people’s homes and sometimes even in some shops and businesses. Even though I learned about these cultural practices before coming to the subcontinent, I approached the removal act with resistance every time. I became hypersensitized to the sweat, dust and grime beneath my toenails.

At first, as I walked around the memorial barefoot, I crept along on my tip-toes. Then, when that becoming tiring, I walked gingerly on the sides of my feet. I probably looked like a lost, lame duck. As long as only a fraction of my feet were touching the ground, I decided, there was a lesser chance of contracting a deadly foot fungus. Was it an irrational fear? Everyone’s feet shuffled along silently and inobtrusively, so why did I build the fear up in my mind to be larger and louder than it was? I felt a momentary pang of guilt for elevating my fears above the virtuous ground upon which this memorial was established. It was in the waters surrounding this island, during the month of December 1892, that Swami Vivekananda swam daily. On this rock he meditated about India’s past, present and future conditions, struggling with thought as his muscles braved the strong seas. It was here that enlightenment came. Gitu pulled me aside for a photograph before I could reach temporary enlightenment.

“Stand over here, Katy. I’ll get the Thiruvalluvar Statue in the background,” said Gitu.

Gitu snapped the photo seconds after I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, useless because of the way the wind blew strands of hair into my mouth and into my line of vision.

Before boarding the next boat, which would take us from the Vivekananda Memorial to the Thiruvalluvar Statue, Gitu and I put our shoes back on. I made a silent apology to my shoes, which now had to wrap themselves around my disgustingly filthy feet. One thing was for sure: in India, people have the misfortune, or, as some would see it, the luxury, of shared experience in their ability to “trod” common ground. As we neared the next island, the Thiruvalluvar Statue grew into eminence until it pierced the sky. Moments later, the boat inched closer, farther from the Vivekananda Rock and closer to Shripada Parai—the statue’s island. It is an island where the remembered life of India’s most celebrated and recited poets shades into the poetic verse he created.

Aphorisms at the entrance to the Thiruvalluvar Statue.

The curly, eloquent script of the Tamil language adorns the walls marking the entrance to the Thiruvalluvar Statue, which stands at 133 feet, denoting the 133 chapters the Tamil poet authored in the “Thirukkural.” On Jan. 1, 2000, the monument was officially erected, bringing in the new year, a new millenium. Gitu told me that part of her school training was memorizing these classic couplets or aphorisms contained in the “Thirukkural.” These words were meant to inspire wisdom in India’s young, hoping that one day they would rise up to be a generation characterized by virtue and not corruption.

The foot of the monument literally depicts Thiruvalluvar’s larger-than-life feet, large enough for visitors to wrap their arms around a toe and still not reach all the way around. The 38-foot -tall pedestal represents the 38 chapters of “Virtue” contained in the “Thirukkural,” where the 95-foot-tall statue atop the pedestal represents “Pleasures” and “Wealth.” The construction itself contains the idea that wealth and love can only be obtained or laid upon a solid foundation of virtue. The idea was novel to me, as one who considers Biblical love and Christ-centered truth to form the foundation upon which virtue can hold any real meaning. The feet of Thiruvalluvar constructs a foundation of virtue then, while the feet of Christ-followers inspires virtue, as “beautiful feet” represent one who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good tidings, who proclaims salvation (Isaiah 52:7).

Either way, I determined, feet don’t have to be a negative thing. Never before had I made such an honest connection between feet and beauty, or truth, or virtue. Architecturally and conceptually, the Thiruvalluvar Statue offers up ideas to visitors about not only a life, but a way of life. The “virtuous” feet at the base of the statue gave me a reason to reevaluate my fears and misgivings and to put them beside a discussion of faith. Given my disgust of feet and the conspicuousness of feet in India, I was hesitant to consider possible merits. But the Thiruvalluvar Statue demanded just that. It forced me to consider the things that we lay foundationally—to any situation, idea or life. “What foundation am I laying?” I asked myself.

***

Blast writer Katy Dycus at Thiruvalluvur's feet.

Ptolemy, an ancient Greek-Roman citizen and scholar of Egypt, designated the Kanyakumari region as a center for pearl fishery.  After visiting the Vivekananda Memorial and the Thiruvalluvar Statue, the boat returned us to the subcontinent. Gitu and I were weary from our little journey and were hungering for fresh fish and parotta, a layered flatbread. It took me a couple minutes before I realized Gitu wasn’t walking beside me; she had stopped at a small jewelry stand by the roadside, which looked so small compared to the pink Ghandi memorial behind it. I remained where I was, allowing the gentle breeze to ruffle my kurta.

When Gitu finally caught up with me, I barely noticed the tiny pearl necklace she placed in the palm of my hand. It was so delicate.

“You’re spoiling me,” I told her, pretending to return the gift.

“No, I’m not giving you enough,” she remarked, which was just so “Indian” of her.

The rope of pearls glued to my skin with the humidity, and the grimey sand felt like part of the necklace itself. When Gitu clasped the pearls at the back of my neck, it felt stickier still. Maybe this was just one more example of how something so ideally lovely and rare can also feel uncomfortable. Like feet, I thought. Formed in the dark of mollusk shells, pearls glow with an inner radiance. There is nothing radiant about feet, except when feet represent a commitment to virtue, as in Thiruvalluvar’s case, or in mine—to the proclaiming of good news as a result of an inner conviction; one so alive that it glows.

Kanyakumari is a place where one can witness the sun rise from the sea in the morning and set into the sea come evening. The movement produces a brilliance of color at this convergence. The point where three waters meet, where sun meets water, where water meets land, where Swami Vivekananda met peace, where Thiruvalluvar caused love and wealth to meet virtue. It is also the topographical end of a colorful land, a point where land is no more and where feet cannot tread. The place where waves brush up against more waves as far as the eye can see.

Spring is in full force — with 80 degree days tempered by torrential rain tempered further by dry spells and brush fires here in New England. Gotta love the weather.

Spring cleaning is a chance to throw out the old and bring in the new. It is a chance to declutter and demessify your domicile. As a lover of gadgets and cleanliness (not extremely good at the latter) I decided to put out this little guide to gadgets that will not only help you be cleaner, they might axe some of the clutter on your desk and allow you to throw out a few monthly bills in the process. It’s spring, start anew!

IQAir HealthPro Plus

All the hundreds and thousands of dollars that people spend on devices and chemicals designed to eliminate allergens and make their homes smell better — it’s a waste. You need one product to improve the air quality in your home, and it’s the same device that hospitals use to purify air in some operating rooms. It’s the same company that’s been in business for 45 years. It’s not available in the Sharper Image catalog.

The Swiss-made IQAir HealthPro Plus is simply the best air purifier on the market today or ever.

Around 100x more powerful than a traditional HEPA filter, the HealthPro Plus eliminates particles down to 0.003 microns. It strips viruses, pet dander, dust mites, air pollution and harmful cigarette smoke. It allows you to live with a dog or cat despite your allergies.

It’s good for asthma, too.

Depending on where you live, an air purifier is a must-own device. Save yourself money, trouble, and failure. At under $1,000, this is an investment in your health. I’ve used the IQAir HealthPro Plus for months, and it’s the best air purifier you can own.

Altec Lansing inMotion Air — $179

This six-pound, battery or AC powered modern boom box lets you stream any audio wirelessly, up to 300 feet away via Bluetooth or any Apple device via the Apple Remote App.

You can take your iPhone, iPad, or other smartphone and Bluetooth devices and play your music in crystal clear, CD quality excitement with the Altec Lansing inMotion Air.

I’m a big fan of all things Altec Lansing. I’ve been reviewing their products since 1996, and I haven’t found anything to dislike. This is a great way to do spring cleaning, because it can replace a bulky bookshelf unit and all the wires that it brings. You also save energy by blasting you music without having to power up your home theater or PC equipment.

netTALK Duo WiFi

For $60, you get a year of phone service.

The tiny size and free Enhanced 911, 411, visual voicemail, call waiting, conference calling, and fax service make the netTALK Duo WiFi a great way to remove a monthly bill from your stack and ditch your phone company. You clean up by removing outdated equipment from your house and you REALLY clean up with the money you’ll save.

Honeywell with Febreze Freshness Cool & Refresh Fan

Fabreze is all the rage right now, and it’s no surprise that a fan maker finally caught on and incorporated “Fabreze Freshness” into a room fan. Honeywell’s Cool & Refresh Fan does both of what it says — it cools you off and makes a room smell better. It’s not a replacement for the IQAir HealthPro Plus, but if you have a room that the pets tend to stay in or a bedroom that needs a freshness boost, Honeywell has made a very affordable winner for only an astounding $30.

While we’re talking about fans, Honeywell would like to point out that 65 percent of Americans say that they get a better night’s sleep with a fan, while 73 percent use one at night for white noise. I had a fan in my bedroom — it was old, dirty, and didn’t look right in the room. Honeywell cleaned the room up and styled it up at the same time.

iHome iDM11B Wireless Speaker

There are wireless “sound bricks” you can get for your iPad or smartphone in the $99 and $150 range. This one does it for about $70 and sounds amazing. We know the iHome brand. We’ve been reviewing these guys since 2007. We like the quality and love the price.

The iDM11B is a Bluetooth speaker system with a rechargeable battery. No wires. No mess. Sounds great. Clean looking.

The speaker works with tablets, media players, smartphones, laptops, and anything else that works with Bluetooth. Great bass and crisp highs make this one a good value and a good way to clean up your desk.

Swingline Stack-and-Shred 60X

Talk about the ultimate cleaning device for any home, or office, or home office. You need a heavy duty shredder, and the Stack-and-Shred is the one. You can feed a few sheets up top, or you can open it up and toss in up to 60 pieces of paper for mega-massive destruction. It also takes out credit cards.

Everyone needs a reliable shredder in this day and age. The Swingline not only shreds documents but destroys them with cross-cutting blades. Try putting that back together again.

CBTL Americano single cup coffee maker

OK, I’ll say it, if you already have a Keurig coffeemaker, you can skip this section. But if you still have an old, 2006ish Tassimo single-cup coffeemaker, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s CBTL single serve beverage system is a great upgrade and a very interesting alternative to the Keurig.

I first encountered this system in an upscale hotel, and was pleasantly surprised. It makes a fantastic espresso and makes everything from tea to various shades and flavors of traditional coffee. It costs a little more than an entry-level Keurig, and New Englanders won’t be too moved by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand, which is much bigger on the West Coast. But if you still have a Tassimo, toss it and upgrade.

The past few months have been awfully busy for indie-folk trio The Lumineers.

They released their debut album at the beginning of April, shot their first official music video and performed on national television for the first time on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”. They performed at South by Southwest last month and are currently selling out shows around the country.

All the while they’ve received critical praise, finding themselves compared to popular indie bands like Mumford and Sons.

While it seems that The Lumineers have come out of nowhere to great success, the truth is that they have been working hard for a long time to earn it.

“I’ve been at this for a while, and I know what it’s like to not have success, so it feels really good,” says lead singer and guitarist Wes Schulz. “But I’m definitely taking it in stride, because it’s been a slow climb,” he adds with a laugh.

Like many musical acts before them, The Lumineers were brought together by tragedy. Schultz and his friend Jeremiah Fraites started the group back in 2002 after Fraites’s brother – who was also Schultz’s good friend – died of an overdose. They began writing and performing to cope with their grief.

Eventually Schultz became frustrated; he was working long hours to pay the rent and felt that he had less and less time to devote to music. “I got to the point where I saw I either had to move somewhere where I could afford this or just stop,” he says.

Ultimately they chose the former, deciding to move to Denver with friends who could who could offer them practice space and a place to stay. They packed up their things and headed for an adventure out west.

Denver turned out to be the perfect place for the band, as the music scene there welcomed them with open arms. Schultz and Fraites found contacts, received advice from fellow musicians and even found another band member. They placed an ad on Craigslist for a cellist, and, soon enough, classically trained Neyla Pekarek joined the group.

“It’s a community that prides itself on helping each other out, as opposed to the constant competitive dog-eat-dog mentality of New York,” Schultz says

The group really started gaining momentum in December when their single, “Ho Hey,” was featured in an episode of the CW Network’s “Hart of Dixie”. The band and crew expected the song to just play in the background, and looked at it as a way to get some money for a new van.

Instead, the song was featured rather extensively at the end of an episode. A quick Tumblr search after the episode found a slew of fans of the show’s star, Rachel Bilson, demanding more information about the song. “It kind of all took off from there,” says Schulz. “We just shook our heads in disbelief.”

Two months later, the band members themselves could not believe their growing popularity; their Facebook page added 7,000 fans between December and February. This newfound fan base did not have long to wait for new material. The self-titled debut album three years in the making finally dropped in April, to Schultz’s relief.

“It just feels really good, because we were really waiting and anticipating for that album to come out for a long time,” he says. “It’s like a secret you want to tell everyone. You want to have everyone listen to it, but you can’t have everyone listen to it, and you just wait and wring your hands in anticipation.”

The band wrote something like 50 songs, but settled on the 11 that they thought would work best for their live shows. “There might be some that are good for driving, but they’re not good to watch,” Schultz explained.

In fact, the band’s live show is receiving as much praise as the album. It’s obvious even from a simple YouTube clip that the group easily breaks down the wall between the performers and audience, persuading fans to sing and dance along.

“We spent years trying to write complicated stuff, and put our heads down, and powered through a gig,” Schulz recalls.  “And [we] played the best we could, and thought that would be what people wanted. Neither us nor the audience really enjoyed that much.”

They experimented with several different styles before they found  the stomping, rollicking sound heard on the album. “We liken it to a bunch of sailors on a ship, arm-in-arm. It’s very primal,” says Schulz.

Right now, Schultz is just glad to have bigger crowds to perform to. “That’s really exciting, because there have been a lot of empty rooms too,” he says. “If you have too much show and not good music, then that’s just a schtick. When you have just good music, that’s not going to be very engaging. So we’re just trying to marry the two.”

In the end, Schultz and his band mates are just thankful to see their hard work starting to pay off at last. “It’s all very, very surreal,” he says. “Bob Dylan said ‘There’s no success like failure and that failure’s no success at all.’ That’s what I’m thinking right now.”

Given its April 6th debut, there’s a good chance most diehard “American Pie” fans have already seen “American Reunion” by now. If this latest slice left you craving second helpings, never fear. Screenwriter David H. Steinberg recently penned a novel. “Last Stop This Town” follows high school seniors Dylan, Noah, Pike and Walker as they spend their days drag racing down residential suburban streets, bribing homeless guys to buy them beer, and signing yearbooks at pathetic house parties. When Dylan suggests they live up their last weekend of high school at an underground rave in New York, the guys are ready to go crazy and make memories for the ages. Chock full of Steinberg’s signature humor, “Last Stop This Town” should be enough to tide you over between now and the premiere of “American Midlife Crisis.” Here, the writer talks process, poop humor, and why your story won’t go anywhere if you can’t develop characters that make people care.

BLAST: What draws you to coming of age stories? Did you have a particularly interesting coming of age yourself?

DAVID H. STEINBERG: I actually left high school after my junior year to go to college and I’m sure a psychologist would say that writing in the teen genre is my way of filling in the gap in my teenage experience. But I think there’s something more to it than that. It’s just a magical time. Those high school years are the time in everyone’s life when the flood of emotions and surging hormones makes everything seem so important and dramatic and you go through a million highs and lows every day. It’s a time when you really feel alive, and that’s something really cool and unique. Of course, there’s something to be said for those feelings subsiding as an adult and living without the daily drama, but for me, I actually loved that feeling of being invincible, that everything was possible, and that my whole life was still ahead of me. That youthful optimism (and maybe a bit of naiveté) is really what “Last Stop” is all about, as the four friends are about to graduate and go off into the unknown. But it’s also a book about homeless dudes throwing poop at you, so don’t let me pretend this is “Catcher in the Rye.”

BLAST: Which came first: the characters or the plot?

DS: It’s really all about the characters. Once you breathe life into them and know them intimately, then the plot unfolds because that’s what these guys would do. It’s like your vacation pictures. No one cares about the shots of buildings—they only want to see the ones with you in front of the fountain–because people care about people. So I start with high school archetypes—the player, the monogamous guy, the guy who can’t get laid, and the stoner—and then try to build on this to create three dimensional characters. If I’ve done my job well, they become real and unique. Pike starts out as “the stoner” but winds up being a completely new and different take on the original archetype. Look at Spicolli from “Fast Time at Ridgemont High”—same archetype, totally different character.

BLAST: How long has this novel been in the works?

DS: I originally wrote it as a screenplay, then adapted it into a novel because I fell in love with my guys. Overall, the process took four years–not very fast considering it’s under 200 pages. But I have a day job writing and directing movies, so cut me some slack.

BLAST: Which character from your “American Pie” series would you most like to hang out with?

DS: Nadia, duh.

BLAST: Which to do you prefer to write: fiction or screenplays?

DS: It’s hard to choose. Writing for film is a pretty amazing gig. Watching a movie in a crowded theater, seeing your name flash on the screen, and hearing them laugh at your jokes—there’s really nothing that can compare to that. On the other hand, screenplays are like sonnets—the structure and formatting is very restrictive. Plus, when you’re done, other writers re-write you, the director puts his stamp on it, actors improvise, editors move things around—it’s a hugely collaborative medium. Sometimes that’s awesome when talented people “plus” the script and make the movie great. Sometimes it’s not so awesome. Novels are liberating stylistically. I can write what characters are thinking and feeling, and screenplays obviously can only contain moments that can be seen or heard onscreen. But really, it’s about flying solo. If you love or hate my movie, I’m not sure how to take it—I only wrote the screenplay. But the book is all on me.

BLAST: How does your process for writing fiction differ from writing screenplays?

DS: You want to know the biggest brain adjustment? Writing in the past tense! Screenplays are all present tense because it’s technically stage direction. (“Dylan picks up the yearbook,” not “picked up the yearbook.”) But on a less mundane level, it’s really all the same. Create the characters and outline. Months and months of outlining. Write a draft really quickly, then months and months of re-writing.

BLAST: You’ve gotten a lot of praise for penning raunchy scenes that are also somehow sweet. How do you manage to walk this line?

DS: I have to own the raunchy humor, but the truth is I’m all about the drama and emotion of teenagers going through this traumatic time in their lives. Look at the “American Pie” movie posters. “American Pie 2″ was literally just a picture of the ten characters standing there, doing nothing, because the marketing department knew that audiences care about characters, not the specifics of the raunchy humor. I think movies that try to “out-gross” each other without giving us characters to root for ultimately fail because they’re hollow experiences. Look at “Project X.” Sure, it’s funny and crazy, but the characters are unlikeable and no one goes through any sort of relatable life moment. So at the end of the day, who cares?

Now I know there are definitely critical people out there who will think this sounds pretentious and self-aggrandizing because really, I’m a guy who wrote this book where a homeless guy throws poop at people. But for me, it’s about four high school kids going to desperate measures to get beer for a party. Without the characters and the universally relatable situation and emotion, the poop joke isn’t funny. So ultimately, yes, I’m writing some very lowbrow material here, but I’m always also trying to say something worthwhile about the experience of being a teenager.

By now you’ve probably heard all about Kinect Star Wars. You’ve heard about the delays, the Rancor..the dancing. You’ve probably also heard about how nearly everyone who’s played it has been worried that it’s going to disappoint anyone with a love for one of the world’s most beloved franchises. It can’t be that bad can it?

Yes. Yes it can

The sad news is that Kinect Star Wars is just as unimpressive as you feared it would be; in fact, it’s pretty bad. There are some wonderfully entertaining moments here, but they’re far outnumbered by frustrating control issues, terrible gameplay choices and uninspiring campaign moments. Star Wars and Kinect seem made for each other, but sadly it just plain doesn’t work.

I’ll admit that when I first popped in Kinect Star Wars, I was hopeful, Terminal Reality and Lucas Arts appeared to have found a comfortable place to tell a new story, while still fitting in with the franchise’s cannon. The game opens with C-3PO and R2D2 telling the player that Luke Skywalker has charged them with reorganizing the Jedi Library, and they find the lost story of a young Jedi master and her padawan trainees. For what it’s worth, the game does a fairly decent job leading you through the tutorial levels and into the main story.

The problem though is that the game does little to create an identity of its own and relies on new versions of your favorite (and not so favorite) Star Wars moments to fill its content and presents them as its own. Like the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi? It’s here…sort of. Same thing goes for the second death star attack and a few other key Star Wars moments.With all of this, you’d think Star Wars Kinect was aimed at Star Wars fans who grew up with the original trilogy, but the game is clearly made for the Clone Wars generation; awkward sounding CGI looking Yoda and all.

None of this matters though if Kinect Star Wars did what we all hoped it would, make us feel like a Jedi. You know, let us swing a lightsaber or two, force choke a few guys and perform a Jedi mind trick along the way. Instead, we get the frustration of feeling like Star Wars kid.  The vehicle sections perform well enough, but it’s the on foot sections that cause the majority of the problems. Your lightsaber is mapped to your right hand, while force powers are mapped to your right. Sounds simple enough right? Somehow Kinect Star Wars still manages to screw up your inputs all too often. Want to jump? Be prepared to dodge — right into that ditch. You may have wanted to swing your lightsaber at your opponent’s head, but the game knows that you really wanted to swing low…right where they’re blocking. Worse yet, none of the force powers feel even close to as rewarding as they should be.

What you’ll likely find most annoying about Kinect Star Wars is just how much it takes control away from the player. We’ve seen Kinect games like the Gunstringer handle on rails sections brilliantly, but Lucas Arts and Terminal Reality are insistent on not just showing the players how the game works — but taking their hand and almost walking them through it at every step. You’ll clear one section..then go through a mini movie..repeat ad nauseum and you have what the majority of the game feels like.

From a presentation standpoint, Kinect Star Wars feels incredibly unfinished more often than not. There are times when the game looks great…but there’s even more times when the characters animate funky, the frame rate drops and pieces of art just plain old disappear. We know that Kinect Star Wars was delayed more than once for polish..why didn’t they finish it?

So, let’s talk about those dancing scenes, shall we? For those who aren’t aware, the game not only features several dancing scenes, but also allows you to control some of your favorite characters, like Han Solo and Boba Fett to dance as well. Now I was ready to start out this review by completely going off about it — but you know what, they’re some of the game’s most fun moments. Yes, it’s weird to see these badass characters that I love dancing, but if you can get past that and let things go..it’s not all that bad.

The Blast Factor: It’s gotten to the point in recent years that it’s tough to take Star Wars seriously, and that actually helps Kinect Star Wars, as it’s similarly hard to take the game seriously. Yes, there are some enjoyable moments here — but they’re far outnumbered by the under-performing mechanics, shoddy presentation and missed opportunities. For all of you who have been waiting to feel like a Jedi — keep dreaming.

Doc J in the studio (Credit: themusebox.net)

Hip-Hop artist Doc J — or, as he’s known to his patients, Dr. Lewis Jassey – has been balancing two successful careers for over two decades. He performs his own music for crowds of up to 50,000 and runs a pediatrics practice on Long Island.  His self-titled EP will be released on April 3.

Even with his love for music, since grade school Doc J had been fascinated with the thought of becoming a doctor. He had to find a way to make both ambitions a reality.

“I try not to jam the whole doctor thing down peoples’ throats,” said Doc J.  “I want them to look at me as a musician when I’m behind the mic.  I’m very proud of being a doctor, but I have found a way to blend both of my loves.”

He first began to take his music ambitions seriously in college, after a spring break trip to Acapulco, Mexico.  On a dare, Doc J went up on stage one night to perform and brought the house down.

A man in the music industry approached him after his performance to ask what record label he had signed with, and Doc J explained that he had never performed before. “He told me that if I [went] home and [didn’t] do anything about my talent to entertain a crowd, it would be a waste,” said Doc J.

When he returned from Acapulco, Doc J contacted his friends that were also musicians and formed a rock group, recording the type of music that bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park perform today. He then went on to form Philosophic Hardcore Dimension (PHD) with artist MC-AWAL.  Eventually both artists would go off into solo careers.

Doc J grew up learning to play instruments, including the guitar and even the accordion.  He listened to rock bands like Van Halen and Bon Jovi at first, and then began exploring hip-hop through artists like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.  All of these factors play into how he creates his music today.

“My music has a lot of substance to it. Rappers, more than any other musicians, need to exploit the power of word.  We rely less on melody, and it’s important for a good MC to exploit that,” said Doc J.

He has recorded and catalogued over 250 songs, featuring various artists like Nyche, Jason BlackRose and Jae Tips, R&B singer Samantha Alexandra, and even 2011 American Idol contestant Alessandra Guereil.

“Music is all about chemistry,” he said.  If you have good chemistry popping off in a room, you go with it.  If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.  I’ve been fortunate that with just about everyone I’ve worked with, we have had great chemistry.”

Chemistry is also important when pursuing both of your lifelong dreams at full throttle – but Doc J doesn’t believe that he has to separate his life as a doctor from his life as a musician.

He first found a way to combine his talents while treating children in inner city Brooklyn hospitals.  “I would go into rooms with really angry inner city kids who didn’t want to be examined,” Doc J recalls.  “I would tell them I would battle them, and if I won the rap battle I could examine them.”

The patients would agree, and Doc J played his part, pretending to have no prior experience.  He would let his patient go first, and, when it was his turn, he would start off slow, letting the patient think they had won. Then, suddenly, Doc J would blow them away with an unbelievable sound.  After that, the kids could relate to him and would let him examine them without hesitation.

“I’m cognizant of the fact that kids look for role models. It would be a travesty to not dig deep and move people [with my music],” said Doc J. His own music focuses on sending a positive message that is both relatable and meaningful, in his own unique style – so when you hear it, you know it’s part of the “Doc J Movement.”

It is not just for his patients’ wellbeing that Doc J performs – he loves being on stage.  “It’s one of the most comfortable places that I can be in the world,” he said. “My adrenaline isn’t driven by anxiety; it’s the desire to connect with my audience.”

He has played for countless charity events, benefitting causes like Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Autism research, and headlined a benefit in Central Park for the American Cancer Society. When an earthquake devastated eastern Japan in March of 2011, he teamed up again with Alessandra Guereil to release a new track, with money going to aid those affected.

“You are always [made] most effective as an artist by things that fuel your fire. … when you bury your dad, or you have a patient who gets a diagnosis that could potentially affect their life forever from cancer, something clicks inside you, and makes you want to move people,” Doc J said.

The bottom line about Doc J is that he stays true to who he is. “There are a lot of different dimensions to me as a person,” he said.  “There are a lot of things inside of me that I want to share with people.”

If you have yet to register for Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East or are having second thoughts about going to the biggest gaming expo on the east coast, you better make up your mind fast as Friday and Sunday passes for this weekend’s event are quickly disappearing.

“Only a few hundred Friday passes left. Probably sell out in a 2-3 days at this rate,” announced the official Twitter account for PAX, the three-day event that had sold out its three day passes a couple of months ago.

PAX East and its west coast cousin PAX Prime are one of the only occasions fans can play some big-name games before they are released. Here’s a quick list of some of the games, demos, and previews the big developers and publishers will be showcasing this weekend.

Square Enix (Booth 850)

Sleeping Dogs, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Quantum Conundrum, Heroes of Ruin, Wafku, Risen 2: Dark Waters

Microsoft (Booth 524)

Crimson Dragon, Deadlight, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Trials Evolution, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, Fable: Heroes, Kinect Sports: Season  Two, Kinect Star Wars, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor

Nintendo (Booth 412)

Mario Power Tennis Open, Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Kart 7, Resident Evil Revelations, Ketzal’s Corridors, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, Pushmo, Dillon’s Rolling Western

2K Games (Booths 924, 936, 1036)

Borderlands 2, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Civilization V: Gods & Kings

Rockstar (Booth 912)

Max Payne 3

Sega (Booths 448, 548)

Hell Yeah, Sonic 4 Episode 2, Jet Set Radio, Virtua Fighter 5: Showdown, Virtua Tennis Challenge, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, House of the Dead 4, Aliens Colonial Marines

Ubisoft (Booth 824, 836)

Assassin’s Creed III (footage,) Far Cry 3, Mad Riders, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online, I Am Alive, Babel Rising, Monster Burner, MotoHeroz, Prince of Persia Classic HD

Reverb Publishing (Booth 808)

Girl Fight, Wheels of Destruction, Black Knight Sword, Bang Bang Racing, JAM Live Music Arcade, Primal Carnage (booth 1167,) Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat, Shoot Many Robots (booth 612,) Dungeon Defenders, Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad, Country Dance All Stars,

Paradox Interactive (Booth 368)

War of the Roses, The Showdown Effect

Perfect World (Booth 736)

Neverwinter, Blacklight: Retribution, RaiderZ

Don’t forget too that aside from these studios, other, lesser known, developers will be there as well, so be sure to check them out. You never know what indie game will be the next Journey!

At 10 minutes to show time, almost every band on the bill was present and accounted for. The doorman was still missing, but he was probably just running late. Outside, a patch of lousy smarch weather dampened the dirty sidewalk.

The circumstances at O’Brien’s Pub last weekend, through no fault of the venue, were not exactly conducive to a rowdy rock and roll show. It was Sunday, too, and barely the afternoon. Allston seemed busy nursing its hangover.

The crowd inside could accurately be called a crowd: 40 or so people, more than half of O’Brien’s room capacity. They were well into their first Sunday beers. No coffee or brunch on this menu. The video golf machine in the corner? Dead, unplugged. Al the sound guy had the Descendents on the PA. He untangled cables and tried to reach the doorman on his cell phone. There was change to make, and a lot of hands to mark. No answer.

Enter Ryan Agate. Oh, he’ll take the door for now, no problem. After all, Ryan The Terrible—as he’s known on flyers—booked this show, the fourth in a weekly series of Sunday matinees that he’s aptly named “Day-Drunk Pop-Punk”.

Ryan Agate (Credit Christina Atturio)

“This [series] has been surprisingly successful,” he says, sipping a Miller High Life kept cool by a koozie brought from home. “We usually get 30 or 40 people. It helps I made a catchy name.”

Along with his ability to alliterate, um, alluringly, Agate is a rock promoter who can juggle the duties of talent buyer, graphic designer, band mother, ringleader, heckler, and, yes, even doorman. He’s almost too cheery to be drinking this early. His upbeat attitude can seem a little at odds with that of the “older, jaded punk rock bands” he tends to support, but someone has to keep the show on schedule – even if its theme is three-chord tunes and, well, drinking early.

Agate is only one of many Boston promoters trying to do one thing: set up the kinds of shows they wish they could attend. It’s not always easy, especially for younger bands who try to do it themselves. The city has a reputation for being an absolute haven for new music, and boy, is it ever. Yet very few Boston-bred artists get more than a dollop of national attention before they fizzle out, or relocate to New York to fizzle out.

Chalk it up to a problem of logistics. That’s where promoters come in. Will Mayo, who organizes noise, psych, and other self-proclaimed “weird” shows, understands that the prime directive of any artist is to find a place to showcase their work.

“The hardest part [about Boston] is the lack of venues and the city’s lack of support for the non-commercial elements of the art and music scenes” Mayo says. “That issue is compounded by the fact that people tend to leave Boston shortly after they’re done with school.”

Those very kids make up much of the target demographic for small club shows, and so they remain small, as if by design. This is far from a destructive force, but it does have a crowding effect. In a city full of smart, creative folks, there is an awful lot of good music to take in, on a variety of scales. It can be daunting to a fan and unforgiving to an artist.

Wolfie Burns plays Day-Drunk Pop-Punk (Credit Jonathan Meyer)

A vast network of bands, movements, scenes, collectives, venues, clubs, and promoters all compete for attention. And they change rapidly about every four years. The hyper-specificity of Agate’s Sunday shows isn’t just a cute gimmick; it’s a rallying cry to the music’s base.

“One of the things that I try to do is to be the voice for those smaller bands,” Agate says. “Get them into a real venue so they can play for people they wouldn’t normally play for. And it’s worked out really well for some of those bands.”

Boston has a wealth of those “smaller bands,” and they find places to play even if the corporate-owned venues on Lansdowne Street aren’t offering opener slots (national booking agents generally pick those). Throughout the week, dozens of houses and basements around town operate under the radar.

Spaces like the Democracy Center and Lorem Ipsum Books also open their doors for all-ages shows. Neighborhood bars like P.A.’s Lounge and the Midway Cafe give way to mid-sized clubs like the Middle East and Great Scott.Agate and Mayo have booked pretty much all of them at one time or another, and they’ve been at it for nearly a decade, first in service to artists they like.

A principled approach like this begs for red tape. Most music venues, even non-profit spaces and event halls, require room costs. Some bars will have to make a certain amount of money in drink sales before the bands can see any of it. Most promoters are no strangers to having to pay their bands out of pocket at times. The age restrictions at bars pose an even weightier issue: why book a band at a place many of its fans aren’t allowed to enter?

The Democracy Center in Harvard Square solves this problem with three rules: shows must admit all ages, be booze-free, and end by 11. Kimberly Jane, who works part-time at the non-profit, also books hardcore shows in its ballroom. They’ve caused a few broken windows here and there, but have done well enough lately for Jane to start a fund for such incidental repairs.

“It’s really important to me that everybody who wants to see a show can,” she says. “When people are shut out because of age, it’s very clearly a nod to alcohol sales. I go to shows because I want to hear the music. If you want to drink, there are bars around, and there’s a river you can walk to and drink at. Just because a space is alcohol-free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to shows there.”

The Democracy Center challenges more than a lack of all-ages shows. The venue hosted part of last weekend’s Smash It Dead Fest, a three-day event featuring more than 25 bands benefiting the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Jane was part of a collective that raised more than $4,000 for the center.

Kimberly Jane (bottom left) and the Smash It Dead Collective (Credit Rachel Atcheson)

But big charitable festivals simply can’t happen every weekend. Smash It Dead required months of planning, and went smoothly thanks to lessons learned from the previous year’s effort, when a slew of last-minute venue changes nearly derailed the event.

Agate has had some time to learn tricks of the trade, too, if on a smaller scale: work with people and places you like, book shows in all sorts of spaces, see what works for what kind of gig, avoid shows in January.

He says the hardest part about booking shows in Boston is trying to make the bands happy. He’s a guy who knows his audience because he is his audience, often no more or less than a friend of the band. For his purposes, all-ages shows aren’t a necessity.

“Of course there are disadvantages to doing shows in bars,” Agate says. “Certain people won’t attend age-restricted shows, even if they’re of age, on principle, and that’s a valid point. But it makes my job easy to have a sound guy and a bartender at a place like O’Brien’s. If I can make 10 people come through the door, I can pay the bands.”

Three blocks from O’Brien’s, though, starts a spread of lofts and basements that take care of their bands in a different way: they’re usually absolutely bonkers. “I mainly appreciate working with bars for the simple fact that they’re reliable,” admits Will Mayo. “Of course, the wild energy of the basement is hard to capture elsewhere.”

One such Allston space sprouted up last year thanks to the efforts of Nate Richardson and Ben Henry. They’re nothing more than two brazen knuckleheads who “sling food poorly” for work and strive to put on good shows for their friends’ bands. Though they admit to “stealing the business model” from Somerville’s famed studio/space Starlab, “they’re way better than us,” says Henry. “They drink less during shows, book better shows, and are much nicer guys.”

“Yeah,” says Richardson. “They probably use a calendar.”

These two dudes pay for their room themselves, though. Even if the show doesn’t go so well (i.e.: graffiti, fireworks, windows kicked out, people thrown down stairs), the band on tour is usually compensated, and the local acts will get to play for their friends and maybe make some new ones.

“You can’t always get the band more money at a bar,” says Richardson. “Sometimes you can’t get the band any money. A bar is going to be pretty strict on their room cost. We try to be strict on ours, but if the band’s not getting paid, we’d rather pay the band than take the room fee.”

Nate Richardson (left) and Ben Henry (Credit Jonathan Meyer)

Richardson’s option to forgo his own room fee is not one afforded to legitimate venues. Unlisted, donation-driven shows, where the floor is as shaky as the legality, are asking to be shut down. For all the righteousness, a nagging struggle over money remains. Touring bands are likely to be assertive about how the money at a gig gets handled. Booking agents are more likely to make unreasonable demands far before the date is ever set. Both The Terrible Agate and the Democracy Center’s Jane admit to simply crossing off much of a band’s tour rider. It’s never out of spite – again, it’s a problem of logistics.

“Apparently there’s a lot of money in show-booking that I don’t know about,” says Agate, who prefers to pay out with a divided percentage of the door. “I know what the bands make. I know what the shows make. I don’t make anything. A lot of bands and venues don’t make anything. Where’s the money in this? A lot of people wrongfully assume that bars are making hundreds of thousands of dollars. A perfect example is a Monday night at Charlie’s [Kitchen in Cambridge]: if we make 300 bucks at the bar we’re doing all right.”

For the moment at least, so is Boston’s music scene. Its promoters are its unsung heroes, sacrificing time, money and windows. Bands and venues will come and go. Trends will sparkle and fade. Students will graduate and move back home. Yet against all odds, there’s still always something going on, if you know where to look.

SELFOSS, Iceland — The two rock walls on either side of me towered up toward the sky. My Arizona roots have made me very familiar with mountains and rock walls, but these felt different. And, apparently, they were different.

“These walls are the edges of the American and the European continental plates,” Inga said, as she, her sister Bryndis and I walked between them. “It’s the only place in the world that isn’t under the ocean where you can stand between plates.”  I stopped in my tracks, feeling like someone punched me in the gut. Inga and Bryndis didn’t notice and kept walking.

Inga and I met while going to school in Scotland three years before, when we both were newly living in Glasgow and didn’t know a soul in the whole country. We were lucky enough to have been placed in the same flat, and we met my third day in the country. We have been best friends ever since.

I stared at Inga’s grey windbreaker and Bryndis’ blue one, becoming temporarily mesmerized with the colors. I lifted my arm, which was covered in a blue windbreaker matching Bryndis’, to push the hair out of my face. It was June, but it felt like an unseasonably cold winter day in Arizona.

Inga and Bryndis were way ahead of me, as I was stopping every few feet to snap another picture of the wall. I knew they thought it was cool, but they had been coming to this place since they were little. I wondered if the novelty had worn off for them.

For me, though, it felt like a magical place. To my right was the edge of the American plate; to my left, the European. I took a few deep breaths and looked to my left. Then to the right. And back to the left again. From my spot directly in between America and Europe I had a sinking realization that that spot—that exact area—was a more perfect metaphor for my life than I could ever make up on my own.

I expect to feel at home in Scotland. After the year of living there and the next two spent wishing I lived there, I know that I can always go and still feel like I belong. I never expected to feel so at home in Iceland, though. Even through the moments when I felt completely American–like having to shower in front of a locker room full of naked Icelandic women before going into the Blue Lagoon–I still felt strangely comfortable. Emphasis on strangely.

In my one week stay in the country, we traveled through some of the most amazing sights of natural beauty I have ever seen. Glacial waterfalls, leftover ash from the volcano, and hot springs are just a few of the natural wonders of this amazing country. Once, while driving up a two-lane highway (pretty much every highway in Iceland is only two lanes), we rode alongside a herd of horses running on the edge of the road. Grays blended into whites, which gave way to reds, and came back around to blacks. I made eye contact with a particularly beautiful silver-coated steed and I could have sworn he smiled at me. I had my camera in my hand, trying to capture the moment visually, while at the same time knowing that it wasn’t possible. The real beauty could only be experienced in person.

On my last night in the country, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I unknowingly exhaled loudly.

“What is it?” Inga asked.

“I just don’t want to go back,” I said.

In the past three years, we’ve had this conversation many times, but the leaving never gets any easier. That’s what happens when you meet your best friend while studying in a country that is foreign to you both. When neither one of you stays in said country, even though you both want nothing else. When the only time you get to spend together is when one, or both, of you throws down a lot of money in order to meet up in another country.

“We just have to make a plan for the next time we’ll see each other,” she said quietly. I could tell by the tone of her voice that her eyes were also open.

“Yeah,” I agreed, half-heartedly. I thought back to the day when we stood between the continental plates. America and Europe. Right or left. Either or.

I turned onto my right side, facing the wall.  I knew that the sun was still shining behind the curtains, even though it was the middle of the night.

“We’ll make a plan,” I said.

The Lincoln Memorial

WASHINGTON — A travel bug recently nestled itself into my consciousness with a specific appetite for affordable, easy-to-get-to weekend trips to destinations on the Eastern seaboard. I’d indulged that little guy a few weeks ago with a jaunt up to Boston, land of my college existence and my first “big girl” job out of school. But this is the story about one place and one place only, one of this nation’s best-kept vacation secrets, Washington, D.C.

I’d heard the perfunctory, “It’s a great city” from friends and family and wanted to see for myself what this metropolis had to offer a long-weekend visitor. And what better time to head down to the resident city of all of the country’s political leaders than President’s Day weekend?

My first step was figuring out the logistics of my transportation. I wanted to travel quickly and, I hoped, as inexpensively as possible. I’d been a sporadic Bolt Bus rider for a little less than a year and began checking the website regularly for tickets. This was no more than a month before my departure, but the following notification loaded after searching for itineraries leaving on the Thursday before President’s Day weekend: “Bolt Bus schedules for the date you have selected are not available at this time on our system. We try to keep 4 to 6 weeks of schedules available at all times.”

But that was an empty promise. So I bided my time, strived for a bit of patience, and when the dates finally were available I immediately booked for one reason and one reason only: I had managed to secure the highly coveted, ultra elusive, $1 Bolt Bus fare. All was forgiven.

We arrived no more than 10 minutes past the estimated time and I was plopped in the middle of Union Station. And then I realized I’d never traveled to this city alone and didn’t know anything about the public transportation system. Poor planning on my part. Or was it?

The Library of Congress atrium

A Metro system of a different color

At 25 years old and with fairly extensive foreign travel experience, I think I have a strong navigational grasp. But this was a true test of “am I an autonomous fly-by-the-seat of my pants gal who could wing it and stay calm and alert before broadcasting that I might be a pickpocket’s dream target?” Gumption kicked in and I wandered around the low-ceilinged but clean and friendly Union Station, D.C.’s equivalent to New York’s Penn Station, only it was a fraction of the size and no one seemed to be in that much of a rush.

After finding the Metro station and getting some cryptic instructions from the friend I’d be staying with about taking the red line toward Glenmont but getting off at Silver Spring, I faced a piece of machinery that I don’t think Steve Jobs could’ve figured out how to use. Bewildered by what seemed like an archaic piece of equipment, I stared blank-faced and completely stumped on how to obtain a ticket for the train or what the cost of a ride might be. Ha, joke was on me because as it turns out you pay by distance and not per ride. This was a bizarre system for a New Yorker who’d only ever lived in Boston, where we ride for $2.50 and $1.75 a trip, respectively.

A kind soul took pity on me, and in the gentlest way possible got me a ticket for what she believed to be the approximate amount of money for my stop. I thanked her and headed through the gate, scanning my paper ticket. Safely on the platform, I tried to decode the digital updates, which made no sense. Time of arrival I understood, but the number of cars on each train? I still can’t figure out why that’s relevant. For anyone. As I tried not to stare and advertise the fact that I was indeed a tourist, the same sweet stranger who had helped me purchase my ticket caught up with me to “make sure I got on the right train.” Hello, kindness! So good to see you crop up in the least expected of situations. This gorgeous woman must’ve taken pity on my ragged appearance (I was sporting a red Jansport that I used to rock in high school, embracing the whole “traveler” style of luggage and all). Right then and there, I dubbed this a friendly and helpful city.

But I was out of my element. The people and the whole vibe in the metro station were “off.” The metro felt futuristic but in an old school way, similar to the subterranean train systems in Brussels or Prague. There was carpeting in the train cars and the seats were made of fabric. I couldn’t help but let the thought of bed bugs and unsanitary and unsavory thingamabobs fill my mind as I counted the stations rush past as the train barreled toward Maryland.

At the Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Piece of cake, or pizza

Finally reunited with my college friend after a day of traveling, a low-key night was in order. The New Yorker in me was craving pizza for some odd reason since I’d just left the land of all that is holy when it came to the Italian street food. We ordered a delicious wonderment of woodsy goodness, appropriately called the Edge of the Woods pizza from Pete’s Apizza. While overpriced at $24.95 for a large, the combination of sauteed savoy spinach, caramelized onions, Ricotta cheese and fried Italian eggplant was divine. And lasted for at least three to four meals/snacks between the two of us that weekend. Craving = satiated.

Animals, for free!

The next day we ventured out in the early afternoon to the zoo, but this is not just any zoo. It’s the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, the official zoo of this fine country. And shock of all shocks, it’s free. That’s right, no entrance fee. No gates, even. You just walk right in and can walk right out at your leisure. It’s really a marvel coming from a six-year stint in the land of cover fees to go to even the lamest bars (I’m talking to you Boston) and the city that never sleeps, where the rents are high and the groceries even higher. The weather was mild, in the low 50s and partially sunny. It was a pleasant, short walk from the Mount Pleasant neighborhood to the zoo, and every staff member was knowledgable, answering questions even when we didn’t ask. They even let their elephant go on independent walks on a serene, enclosed path uphill through the woods, I kid you not. I don’t know who was more enthralled by this slow-moving spectacle, my friend Alyson St. Amand and I well into our 20s or the toddlers at the zoo that day.

Fairly empty for a random Friday in February, the zoo was a playground for silly picture taking and getting the best views of the pandas, monkeys, and scary creepy crawly creatures in the reptile house. Worth a visit if you’re in the D.C. area.

Labneh dip appetizer at Tryst

Heading to Tryst for a late lunch was the perfect way to end a day outdoors. Everything about this Adams Morgan neighborhood food destination was pretty amazing. It had a low-key vibe and lots of telecommuters typing away on their laptops, sipping their coffee like it was an IV filled with creativity.  Tapping in to my Arab roots, we ordered the Lebneh dip as an appetizer. The Tryst menu describes it pretty well, “A Lebanese tangy yogurt served with za’atar—a blend of oregano and thyme—olives and lavash.” This strained yogurt is thick like cream cheese, but has a more savory taste profile. It tasted truly authentic, like having Sunday morning breakfast with my parents.

I ordered the Rodney sandwich, overflowing with flavorful and tangy curried chicken salad, lettuce and tomato on toasted multigrain bread slices that were dotted with sunflower seeds on the edges. Toasty and comforting only begins to capture the essence of the sandwich, and the textures and flavors were all delivering the perfect lunch experience. I paired my meal with a cocktail they call a “Peach and a 1/2,” made with Tito’s organic vodka, Dolin Blanc, fresh orange and peach bitters. I was satiated and relaxed thanks to the coffeehouse-style decor of cluttered mismatched tables, chairs and couches in a long room with a pastry and coffee counter on one side of the large dining area.

Not being able to resist dessert despite my jeans trying to resist staying closed, I indulged in the strawberries with warm Nutella for dipping. I’ve been a sucker for that hazelnutty chocolate goodness since my summers living in Frankfurt, Germany. With an iced latte to go, Tryst sent me off in delicious style.

At the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden

Hike it off

In the true spirit of shaking things up, I jumped at the chance to go hiking. Not too many good trails in Manhattan. Plus, after that indulgent meal at Tryst, what better way to burn calories than in the gorgeous, albeit brisk, D.C. outdoors? We headed out in the early Saturday morning hours to Rock Creek Park, a lengthy forest-like expanse for hiking, biking, and in some parts, horseback riding. During two hours of aimless meandering up and down the trails, we barely saw any fellow mountaineers. But we did stumble upon the creek and the horse stable, where they let us pet a gorgeous brown-haired mare. Channeling my inner five-year-old I embraced the moment, jumping up and down like a pre-teen being told she was literally getting a pony for her birthday.

To the hill, Capitol Hill

Next up on the agenda was a visit to the world’s largest library with more than 151.8 million “literary items” on about 838 miles of bookshelves. Sigh. A writing and reading maven’s dream come true. The free iconic landmark I needed to visit was, of course, the Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. Ornamented with stained glass windows and gold-trimmed crown molding, the central foyer was a feast for the senses. Colors of light swam fancy-free throughout the building and the Roman-serifed typeface of infamous literary quotes dotted the walls. One of the highlights of the visit was standing in the middle of an exact recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s actual library, a circular glass encasement of leather-bound classics organized in the most intriguing way.

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

Right across the street is The Capitol, one of many great photo opps on the National Mall. The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial stands sentient over a large pool of water, facing west toward the Washington Monument, and well past that, the Lincoln Memorial. Fun fact: it’s the second-largest equestrian statue in the United States. Who knew?

The National Mall is a veritable treasure trove for anyone seeking art and culture, flanked on either side by countless national museums and galleries. Being late in the afternoon on a Saturday, many of the museums were getting ready to close (all free with the exception of the Newseum, which I’m dying to visit). Luckily, thanks to the outdoor Hirshorn Sculpture Garden outside of the Hirshorn Museum, I got to indulge my art craving without concern for closing times.

A little Spain in my mouth

Never one to turn down an invitation for tapas, we headed to Churreria Madrid in Adams Morgan, a restaurant, bar and tapas hole-in-the-wall. It legitimately looked like a rundown building that formerly housed a mediocre deli, but like Aladdin it was a true diamond in the rough. Authentic and completely unpretentious, this Spanish restaurant was inviting and warm–literally and figuratively. Upon walking in I was greeted in Spanish, which didn’t cease the entire night. I don’t know what it is about me that makes people think I’m fluent in Spanish. Luckily, I am, so I faked it throughout the entire meal. With the TV blasting “Sabado Gigante,” the classic Saturday evening Spanish-language variety show on Univision, and only one other couple dining when we first entered, the atmosphere was classic “townie.” I felt that the waiter was my lifelong friend and the subsequent couple and small family that entered after us were members of my extended family.

Churros con chocolate from Churreria Madrid

I know, I know, what about the food you ask? We put in an order for an appetizer platter, Entremes 4×4, which included four croquetas (chicken fried croquets), four empandillas (mini meat empanadas otherwise known as meat pies), four pieces of tortilla espanola (potato and egg omelet typically served at room temperature) and marinated aceitunas (that’s olives). As if that weren’t enough, we also sprang for a starter order of the platanos fritos con crema (fried/sauteed plaintain bananas served with sour cream in the madura style and not tostones, so they were served slightly crispy on the outside and as soft as mash on the inside). And patatas bravas. What? Too much for two people you say? It wasn’t. Plus, I’m a sucker for patatas bravas.

The real standouts of the meal were the platanos, which were exquisite in their simplistic, but perfect, execution. The croquetas also satisfied, although I would’ve like a more layered flavor experience. It was too one-note for my liking, lacking seasoning and depth. I was hoping for a kick of saffron, or paprika, or a hit of garlic. Anything, really. But still, fried goodness that was creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Like Bourdain says, a sneaker would taste good deep-fried.

We split an entree of pescado frito, fried red snapper with a side of arroz amarillo  (saffron rice) and patatas guisadas (roasted potatoes sauteed in a light, lemony and garlicky oil-based sauce). The fish, fried in its entirety, head and all, was light and flaky and full of simple but classic flavors. The skin was crisped and delicious, and despite being riddled with bones, the fish meat was sumptuous. Definitely worth the extra effort of avoiding fish bones to indulge in what I like to call real food–unprocessed and free of overdone embellishments.

The tapas spread from Churreria Madrid

The sangria was weak but refreshing and chock full of diced apple and peach. For dessert, por supuesto, we ordered the churros con chocolate. They aren’t kidding around with the servings here; one order of churros includes a dozen of the doughy, lengthy, pipe dream of a donut coated in sugary sweetness and served with thick, bittersweet hot chocolate dipping sauce.

I’m already dreaming of the pescado frito and platanos, contemplating a return trip.

Brunch of champions

Sunday, in my book, is the day where I pay my respects to one thing I solidly believe in: the practice of brunch. After settling into the literary and artistic haven that is the original Busboys and Poets on 14th and U, I made a ballsy brunch move choosing to combine the Neptune and

Florentine specials (essentially a crab cake Benedict and a spinach Benedict) into what can only be described as food porn (thanks again Bourdain). For now we’ll just call it Dinah’s Benedict. It was freaking delicious; the chefs here certainly know their way around a poached egg. For an accompaniment there was a choice of home fries or grits. Being in the mid-Atlantic I felt warranted a close enough proximity to the South and I went straight for the grits. Best decision of the day. With a creamy consistency that was heavy enough to stand on its own but fluffy enough to deceive my mouth into thinking it was eating clouds, they were well prepared and cheesy (yes, I asked for cheese, give me a break I was on vacation and the calories and cholesterol don’t count).

Another upside, the Bloody Marys and mimosas are $5 with brunch on the weekends, and hell, that’s a steal in NYC. These were not your typical tomato-juice based, spicy morning beverages. They were dense, not like some watery versions that are a dime a dozen. They serve them with a celery, olives and some kind of crazy pepper that I’ve never encountered before. But the best part had to be the Old Bay seasoning enveloping the rim with a sinfully spicy kick. Good morning, Maryland!

Settling in with our laptops for some writing and reflecting downtime, I caved and ordered a Thin Mint Latte, a coffee made with organic mint syrup, chocolate, steamed milk and two shots of espresso. This place is more than just simple yet elegantly cooked food and unique twists on classic drinks, but they have a bookstore and embrace a cultural and racial openness through their artwork, poetry slams and other events for the literati.

An elephant at the zoo

Packing centuries’ worth of history into one day

On my last day, fittingly President’s Day, we took in the standard D.C. sites: the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the National Mall. All free, all doused in here-and-there slivers of February sunlight, and not at all too packed with tourists. A city intricately steeped in this baby of a country’s history, Washington, D.C. seems to have an endless array of sightseeing spots. It’s similar to New York City in that way, but this widespread urban area isn’t part of any actual state (remember that third grade geography) but touches on Virginia and Maryland in an interesting mix of cultures and neighborhoods. I don’t think you could spend a lifetime here and visit every bar, restaurant, museum and gallery or walk down every street. Exactly what I love, that je ne sais quoi that keeps you intrigued and craving more of everything, the food, the people, the sights.

My departing Bolt Bus ended up leaving a whopping 20 minutes late to my, and every other passengers’, dismay. After such a great, relaxing and exploratory weekend, I felt a little disillusioned complaining. But then again, this leg of my ride was costing me $20 and not $1.

She has acted on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and plays a main character on Showtime’s “Shameless.” Aside from acting alongside Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy, she has also received acclaim over her filmmaking. Emma Kenney plays the complex character Debbie Gallagher on “Shameless.”

And she is only 12 years old.

Raised in New Jersey, Emma recently got an apartment in Los Angeles as a place to stay when shooting for the show.  “My Dad quit his job at the New York Post so he could let me film ‘Shameless,’” said Emma, “my parents are making tons of sacrifices for me.” Emma’s Dad now works at Fox Sports LA, while Emma goes back and forth between coasts.

Blast Magazine had the opportunity to talk to Emma about her life and career:

BLAST: When did you start acting?

EMMA KENNEY: I started acting when I was about five. And I just did improv classes. I didn’t actually do it to be an actor, I just did it for fun. When I got into acting, my manager came to one of the improv showcases and talked to my mom and said, ‘you know, I would like to represent your daughter’ and then my mom asked me and I said, ‘why not, I will give it a try.’ I didn’t think much of it. But then I got into the swing of things and started to like it.

BLAST: Do you still do improv?

EK: I love improv. Definitely, yes. My acting teacher is Diane Hardin. I have an improv class with her and it is so much fun. We do this game, it’s my favorite, called ‘emotional family,’ where four people – a mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter – are all at a dining room table, and we have to pretend that we are eating food. Then someone from the audience will randomly call out an emotion or a scene that the family is. So maybe they will call out ‘criminal’ and then we all act like we’re criminals. So then maybe we will be on the floor or something. And then someone else in the audience calls ‘freeze’ and we ‘freeze’ and go back to a normal family and have to be like ‘wow, I wonder why I am on the floor? Oh, I am on the floor because I dropped this batch of pancakes.’ So it is really, really fun.

BLAST: Has it helped you with acting for “Shameless”?

EK: Definitely because everything in the whole show is not one thousand percent scripted. They don’t, for like a breakfast scene for the show, say, ‘Debbie takes a bite of pancake, now. Debbie puts pancakes back.’ We all work with the director beforehand before we do the scene. In the rehearsals, the director will say, ‘okay, I want you to come up here and put the pancakes down and then come back, take a seat, and grab your orange juice.’ Technically it is improv because it is not written in the script.

BLAST: As well as being an actor, you are also a filmmaker?

EK: I am! I directed this movie called ‘The New Girl in Town” and I entered it into a few film festivals. I became a finalist in the New Jersey International Film Festival. But I have made a bunch of other movies too.

BLAST: Do you prefer acting or directing?

EK: Probably acting just because I have been doing it for longer and I am kind of better at the craft than I am at directing. But I like both. But if I had to choose, I would probably pick acting.

BLAST: What’s your favorite television show?

EK: “Pretty Little Liars.” I am obsessed with that show. I read all of the books that are out and it is such a good show. It’s amazing.

BLAST: What do you like to do in your free time?

EK: I like to ski and play tennis and I am starting field hockey this spring, but I don’t do a lot of sports. I am not very athletic. I like to write. I love to read. I like to hang out with my friends. And also on my flip video camera whenever I am with friends, we will always make a movie, whether it is comedy, or drama, or suspense.

BLAST: In ten years, where would you like to be?

EK: I will hopefully still be acting. Hopefully be in a movie. If I was not acting, I would love to be a detective. I love murder mysteries and all that type of stuff. I would definitely want to be a detective.

BLAST: What’s you favorite murder mystery?

EK: This sounds kind of crazy, but I just love Alfred Hitchcock movies. I have only seen a few of them, but I love them. I just saw ‘Psycho’ two weeks ago and it’s really scary. I love scary movies though. I saw ‘Rope.’ I think I’ve seen one more, but I don’t remember.

BLAST: Let’s talk about “Shameless.” Describe Debbie

EK: Debbie is the middle child in the Gallagher family. She’s smart. She is sweet, innocent. Kind of more little girlish, I guess. But this season, she is totally different. She is grown up more, growing up way too fast. She is getting into boys and makeup and clothing. I don’t want to think she is going down the wrong path, because I know she’s not. She has a lot of common sense, but she is trying to be something that is not best for her to be doing. But she thinks, ‘why if everyone else gets to grow up, why can’t I?’ She is also more cynical and frustrated and angry and mad at the world that she’s in. She doesn’t care about Frank or Ian or really anybody other than herself this season.

BLAST: Is there any overlap in character between Emma and Debbie?

EK: Really no. Other than we’re both really good in school. Nothing, I am completely different from Debbie.

BLAST: What’s you favorite subject in school?

EK: Writing. I love to write. I really like to write short stories and scripts. I have written tons and tons of movie scripts on my laptop. I have written short length movies and full length movies and action movies and scary movies and everything.

BLAST: What’s it like working with William H. Macy?

EK: It’s so fun. Bill is such a great guy. I learn so much from him every day, not just verbally teaching me, but more just watching him. Like there was this scene, an emotional one for him. And I remember thinking, ‘how do you get in that type of a situation and then two seconds later when they call cut, you’re back to your old Bill.’ I just remember thinking, ‘Whoa, how is that even possible?’ But he also does verbally teach you stuff too. Like I have the tendency to talk very, very fast. Bill will be like, ‘slow down’ and I will be like, ‘thank you.’ Because if I didn’t slow down, I would have one line the whole scene and it would all be mushed together.

BLAST: What’s it like working with Emmy Rossum and the rest of the cast?

EK: We are all really close, like a big family. Other than being close, they all do teach me stuff. They don’t teach me stuff just to be nagging, but they also teach me how to be a good person and how to be nice and how to treat people with respect. We’re all a really big family and we are all close.

BLAST: What is your favorite part of acting on ‘Shameless’?

EK: The cast is my second family, so I guess it is a part of that. But it’s also just that I am having such a learning experience. It’s weird that I have had my first job since I was ten years old. But it’s also cool because I have been acting forever – well, not forever – but it’s cool because I finally booked something. It’s also fun to be in Hollywood and getting to meet all these veterans and working with such amazing people and I am learning so much at this age. I’m having such a blast and I am really grateful.

BLAST: What’s next for you?

EK: Nothing at the time. But hopefully, I really want to do a movie. My dream movie is to do an action movie. Where I am being chased down the streets and doing back flips and doing all this really crazy action stuff.

BLAST: Why not a detective film?

EK: That’s a cool type of movie to do too! I think that is a good idea. I definitely want to do that too now.

If you close your eyes, you just might recognize them. The Beelzebubs, Tufts University’s all-male a cappella group, are the real voices behind the Dalton Warbles on Fox’s hit television show, “Glee.” But they do not fly to LA every week to sing, you can actually find them a few blocks from Tufts in a recording studio in Somerville, MA.

In 2010, when the group, nicknamed “The Bubs,” recorded a cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” their first song for “Glee,” they could not have imagined that it would be so successful. Now, with about a dozen songs recorded for the show, it doesn’t look like the “dream” is going to end anytime soon.

“Teenage Dream” was recorded in a studio in New York, but once additional songs were requested, the Bubs began recording in Somerville. During the season, the group was only given a day or two advance notice for a new song, so each person went to the studio in between classes to record his portion, according to Michael Grant, Bubs member and business manager.

The group sound that you hear on the show is the result of music recording software. “We all record[ed] separately,” says Grant. “The finished product, we often didn’t hear until we saw it with everyone else online or on TV, which is surreal.”

Typically ranging between 11 and 15 members, this year’s group is composed of 14 singers, with half of them being first-year students. “That presents a lot of opportunities and challenges,” says Grant, who has been with the group two years. “[But] what’s great is that the common thread [of the group] is maintained throughout, which has been really cool to see.”

Founded in 1962, the Bubs are still very relevant today. They have recorded 30 albums and were even runners up on the popular NBC show “The Sing-Off” in 2009. Their most recent album “Battle” was released in 2011 and includes covers of R. Kelly’s “Bump N Grind,” Cee Lo Green’s “Closet Freak” and U2’s “Running to Stand Still.

The Bubs will be performing a variety of songs from their repertoire at the First Parish Church in Norwell, MA this Saturday. Songs range from a Will Smith mashup to a hit by Florence and the Machine.

The sold-out event, presented by the James Library and Center for the Arts, is one of the many performances that the Bubs have locally and globally. The group typically has three or four main shows at Tufts during the course of the year, but 70 to 80 percent of their performances are elsewhere, according to Grant.

They have traveled all over New England and even abroad to perform in places like Thailand, Argentina and France. “Performing for a foreign audience is very exciting in different ways,” says Grant. “But, I would say, with the recent traveling, it’s been even more important for us to come home and perform for our root audience.”

But whether you hear them at a concert, on television or on one of their albums, you will definitely notice that the Bubs’ energy is contagious. Fifty years after the group was founded, they are still having a good time and upholding their motto: Fun through Song.

You can have this.

Blast Magazine is teaming up with USA Network’s “Psych” to give away one of these sweet Pysch Arcade cabinets for your iPad, to one lucky Blast reader.

Perfect for playing your favorite old Atari games and other Apps, the cabinet is pretty easy to win. All you’ve got to do is head over to the USA site and play the Squirrel Assassin Game, then follow us @BlastMagazine and follow @Psych_USA and Tweet us both with a twitpic of your high score. Top score gets the prize (iPad not included), five runners up will get Psych prize packs.

Contest ends Tuesday. Get to it!

Developed by: Bioware
Published by: EA
Genre: Action/Roleplaying
Platform: Pc, Xbox 360, PS3
Play it if: You have a heartbeat
Skip it if: Don’t
4 out of 4 stars

There was a point early on in my play through of Mass Effect 3 — it couldn’t be more than an hour and a half in — that took my breath away. When it was over, I set the controller down, turned off the system and walked away. I needed time to come to grips with what just happened. That’s the first time I’ve ever been that emotionally moved by a game, and that’s when I knew that Mass Effect 3 would be even more special than I thought.

Bioware’s finale for Commander Sheppard is, in a word – -stunning. In even more words, it’s gripping, engaging, emotionally charged and painstakingly well done. The entire Mass Effect series has felt like a symphony leading up to this, the crashing crescendo that outdoes everything before it. Most importantly, Mass Effect 3 is a fitting tribute to a universe we’ve spent the last half decade caring about and will leave you thinking about it long after you’ve finished it.

Mass Effect 3 tells the final chapter in the story of Earth’s struggle for survival against the menacing Reapers — an ancient robot species that looks to eradicate all life from it’s chosen target planet. At the end of Mass Effect 2, Commander Sheppard learned of the impending invasion and thus tried to warn everyone, only to be brushed off like the town crazy. Guess what happened? ME3 opens with an amazing scene featuring the entire Alliance attempting to mobilize against the Reapers, only to fail tragically.

I’ll admit that at this point I was a bit worried — the story seems awfully familiar. The only man who warns the people of their impending doom is locked away just before it happens — it’s the plot of nearly every 50s sci-fi movie. Luckily though, Mass Effect 3’s story only gets better from there. You’re of course quickly released, and it’s off to rally any allies you can find in a frantic effort to save mankind. (note: be sure to read our interview with Mass Effect 3′s lead writer Mac Walters)

Much like earlier installments of the franchise, Mass Effect 3 is a game that believes that getting there is half the fun, and while you’ll still have the epic Buck Rodgers style planet hopping moments that the series is known for, but the real attraction here is the amount of choice you’ll have over just how you battle for the fate of the universe.  The story of ME3 is dotted with poignant, touching and sometimes even heartbreaking moments that define how strong a relationship with a series of video game characters can be. This is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest storied ever told.

Player choice in Mass Effect 3 spreads beyond the game’s narrative, and into very structure of how the game plays, which will open up the series to a an incredibly large new audience (believe it or not, there are still people who don’t play Mass Effect). At the beginning of each game, you’ll have the choice of just what type of game you want you want, between action, which gets you straight to the robot shootin’ without any of the conversational mechanic, story; which does the exact opposite and role playing — which is a mix of the two, much like your traditional Mass Effect game.

Regardless of what you choose, Mass Effect 3 features brilliant pacing that not only pulls you through the game, but always leaves you wondering what’s going to happen next. I’ll confess that in the two previous games, there were sections, specifically some of the combat sections that seemed to go on forever, but thankfully I never felt that way throughout my time with Mass Effect 3.  The game is filled with thrilling set pieces and locations like Mars in a sandstorm that you’re going to want to explore again and again. It all culminates in a fiery conclusion that puts the entire trilogy in perspective.

What truly impressed me about these set pieces are the scale of some of the battles. I’m an admitted scale-whore, I love sections of games where I’m up against enemies that dwarf me in size, the feeling is incredibly rewarding, and it often takes a bit more strategy to bring these enemies down, and Mass Effect brings that in droves. One battle towards the later half of the game comes to mind especially, and without giving much away, it was easily one of my favorite moments in the entire series.

The truth is that the combat and AI have been greatly improved from Mass Effect 2 to 3.  Battles don’t have that ongoing feeling, and you’re going to need to have adaptable strategies to get past some of the enemies, especially at the later stages. Enemies will flank you, they’ll use grenades to get you out of cover and they’ll do pretty much anything in their power to stop you. Luckily, your squad’s AI has also been beefed up, and you rarely feel like you have to completely carry the load in a battle. In fact, there were a few times when my squadmates quickly killed off enemies I was carefully targeting with my sniper riffle.

There’s a fairly more robust strategy element to Mass Effect 3 than there were in the previous games. Leveling your character and your weapons (one of the coolest features in the game is the ability to customize every weapon in the game) up is now much more RPG-centric in a manner similar to that of the original Mass Effect. There’s also a new mode that tracks how ready you are to fight the reapers, and adds an interesting mix to just how you go about completing the game’s tasks as you’ll have to plot your course using the game’s map to see where you’re needed against the Reapers.

Mass Effect 3 marks the first time multiplayer has been introduced into the series, and it’s a surprisingly welcome addition. Galaxy at War is a Horde-esque survival type mode where you’ll start as a human character (other races open up as you play) and attempt to get through wave after wave of enemies to improve your military readiness rating. I’ll admit that I was worried that the multiplayer modes would feel tacked on, but the compliment the main campaign very well.

The Blast Factor: When you’re in the gaming industry for a bit you realize one thing very quickly; don’t believe the hype. Mass effect 3 is the exception to that rule as it doesn’t only meet it’s expectations — it blows them away. It’s an emotionally charged, and often touching tale that doesn’t skip out on the action one bit. Most importantly, it’s a fitting ending to a world and characters we’ve spent the last five years getting attached to.

This review is based on a PS3 retail copy of Mass Effect 3 provided by the publisher.

Mac Walters is a busy man. Though he prides himself as being an avid gamer, the Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada native has a stack of more than fourteen of last year’s biggest titles including Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, all sitting on his desk, unopened. Oh don’t worry; Walters has a good reason — he’s been hard at work as the lead writer of one of this year’s most anticipated titles, Bioware’s epic sci-fi trilogy bookend, Mass effect 3.

Releasing this Tuesday, March 6, Mass Effect 3 tales the tale of the grand finale of Commander Sheppard’s battle to save Earth from the Reapers — but this is no ordinary game. Almost everything in the Mass Effect series plays out as the result of player choices — think of it as an interactive choose your own adventure book…with robots. Choice plays a role in plenty of games, but the Mass Effect series is defined by it. In Mass Effect, missions can be failed, resources can be lost and even major characters can die, as in for good.  What’s more, players can take their saved files from the first two Mass Effect games and use them as a starting point for the third game. With all of the possible options this creates, Walters tells Blast of the massive amounts of prep work that needed to be done.

Mass Effect 3's lead writer Mac Walters

“For Mass Effect 3, there was a lot of choice that we were dealing with from Mass Effect 1 and 2. Different options that people could play, plus they could come in as a new player — we had to look how that was going to work out,” said Walters.  ”As a writing team, we spent close to six months just working out the logistics of how this game was going to work — what kind of paths we could take, what kind of story we wanted. I had worked out what I like to call sort of a backbone with series producer Casey Hudson so we had something to go on, and then of course you have to flesh out the details, which is really just pages and pages about the emotional beats of the game. Then we start getting into the nitty gritty of it. You know, how does this choice impact this or how does that choice impact that one? It’s a lot of planning but it’s also willingness to be flexible; I can tell you that even after those six months, when we thought we had a plan, it continued to change throughout the project. We ran into a situations where we found that things don’t work like we thought or we’d come up with a better way to tie two events together or something like that.”

Walters points to a single mission in Mass Effect 2, as an example of how those player choices can make writing a continuation all the more difficult, but again gives the credit to his team and their planning as to how they got past it.

“All of the choices add complications to the process for sure. I often kind of laugh because I think we knew what it was going to do, but we sort of put blinders on with Mass effect 2 and the concept of a suicide mission with twelve of your favorite characters. It was one of those moments where we were really like ‘Oh, this is going to cost us,” Walters told Blast. “It all goes back to that planning and decision making. For Mass Effect 3 we said ‘Well, how are we going to handle this? Are we going to try to bring those people back and then we realized that these are major characters, in fact they’re now beloved characters and we have to find a way to weave them back into the story. That was one of the bigger hurdles, it was a major challenge.”

A major challenge that Walters, and his team were ready for. Waters praised the team first aspect of Bioware, and how hands on series producer Casey Hudson was with the project.

“We’re really lucky to have the management team and leadership structure that we have on Mass Effect. Casey has a very keen understanding and eye for narrative so I pretty much trust his instincts. I also like the fact that we sort of compliment each other very well so often only get uncomfortable when we both like an idea. It’s like ‘Wait, if we’re both agreeing on this, that worries me, there’s got to be some push back. So it’s one of those things where I’ll bring something to him and he’ll make some points on it — it goes back and forth until it’s sort of honed.”

In Mass Effect everything from your player's gender to the fate of your squadmates is determined by your actions

Even with all of that work, Walters tells of the sacrifices needed to develop and finish a game as massive as Mass Effect 3. “The first game was about 26,000 lines, but I’d wager a guess that we wrote about 40,000 — and that’s a lot that was cut, but you know that’s part of the process, some of it doesn’t make it or doesn’t fit. There were whole planets that got cut from the first game, and some of that comes down to it not fitting the story or the simple fact that we know we’ll never finish it if we don’t cut something. The key is quality here, and more often than not, cutting something to make sure that everything is better is the choice we’ll make. It’s a hard lesson to learn as a young designer, but after while you get better about it and you realize that you are actually making a better game because of it.” Interestingly enough, Walters says that Mass effect 3 features over 40,000 lines of recorded dialogue (including squad banter).

So just what does Walters hope that players get from this massive project? His answer was surprisingly simple. “You know, someone asked me the other day what the best stories in gaming history were, and I realized that to me, a lot of what I think about when I think about a story that truly stands out was just how memorable the experience was and there are a lot of factors that go into that. Playing through Mass Effect 3 myself, and some seeing the repercussions of the choices I made and they always revolve around the characters, and that’s the key — even these galaxy wide decisions, we find a way to make them personal.  We really hope that people are going to remember those moments in five years, ten years..maybe even longer. They’ll remember playing this game and the impact that it had. It’s interesting because though we are very story based; we’re interactive as well. You’re making these decisions and I think it feels differently when you’re playing it rather than watching it, when you’re experiencing it first hand. I hope it has that resonance, that people remember it fondly.”

So what’s next for Walters? Though he admits that after seven plus years of working on the Mass Effect franchise, he is “fairly tired and has to fit in some vacation time, he’s already looking for his next project. Walters commented that he’s looking for some time to really drill down what a story is, and what it can mean in the interactive medium. “I’m really looking for some ideation time; where I can play games, read books, watch TV and just focus on what the future of story in games is all about. I really think that’s where we’re headed next, not just what’s the next story, but just how can we tell it?”

Look for Blast’s review of Mass Effect 3 this Tuesday.

I’m staring out the helicopter’s door, the wind is whistling and the snow blisters my face. The pilot gives me the heads up and I push off, free-falling in whirlwind. before I can even collect myself, my board hits the ground,as other racers begin to whizz past me and it’s on again.

This is the world of SSX, and it’s a fun world to be in. By passionately retooling a much loved franchise, EA Canada has been able to tow the line between arcade and sim, between deep and accessible and between fanboy fodder and new experience. It may have been originally announced as SSX: Deadly Descents, but it will come to be known as the SSX experience.

In the new game, Team SSX is uniting to try to take down the nine deadly descents,or the nine largest mountain ranges in the world. Then your ex-team member and all around douche bag Griff tells the world that he’ll be the first one to do it and thus your job — of course,  is to beat him to it.It’s a simple plot device (SSX never really needed a major story anyways), but it serves it’s purpose of getting you to the mountains, and that’s where SSX begins to shine.

In a word, your first few runs will be exhilarating. You’re hurtling down these gigantic courses and there’s so many obstacles and things to trick off of that you’re unlikely to even remember that more often than not you’re in a race. You’ll often wipeout, but half the fun is turning these failures into amazing tricks, like landing on your head after a huge jump, somersaulting down a bit of the slope and then somehow turning it into a sick grind on a downed tree-trunk. The best part? The game moves so fast that it’s tough to memorize each of the different paths on each course, so you’ll have a ton of fun replaying different sections of the game.

The trick system is undoubtedly at the heart of the new SSX, and it’s surprisingly deep. On consoles, you have the choice to use the traditional button layout controls of previous SSX games or the cool thumbstick controls reminiscent of EA’s own NHL series which finds you flicking each thumbstick in certain directions to pull of specific tricks. Your best bet is using a combination of the two as it’s the easiest way to string together long combos and get the most points. Get enough air on a jump and SSX even allows you to trick off the helicopter you jumped out of — and no, it never gets old.

If there was one complaint about the game’s trick system, it would be just how light your character feels at all times. The game does a decent job at straddling the line between sim and arcade, but when you’re mid-run, your character almost feels wieghtless and bouncy sometimes, causing you to mis-judge some of your distances and biff more than your fair share or jumps. Admittedly though, this is a problem that pops it’s head up mostly in the beginning of the game, and once you get the hang of each level’s pacing, you rarely run into it.

As you play through SSX, you’ll unlock new equipment, from the badass wingsuit that allows you to glide down big jumps ala batman to the less cool items like headlamps and different colored suits. The best items will help you in one of the franchise’s newest and coolest modes — the Survive it maps. Here, you’ll have a number of new obstacles, like the amount of breathable air around you and truly epic events like avalanches to block your path.

Though SSX features no real dedicated traditional multiplayer component, the game does feature Ridernet, a mode that will be familiar to anyone who has used the Autolog features of the latest Need for Speed games that lets you keep track of everything your friends are doing in the game at any given time. It’s also the center for events held by EA, which are open to the entire world — or you can set it up to be just you and your pals, so you’ll get the traditional experience anyways.
The Blast Factor: SSX being so well done is a testament the old school design choices, to not having to put out a game every year to keep an audience satisfy. Deceptively deep, yet incredibly accessible, this isn’t just a welcome back for the franchise — it’s a complete reboot of it. Grab your board and go, the slopes are waiting.

True story, two years ago at E3, I was seconds away from buying a PSP. I had been watching friends play Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker all week, and we even went as far as to take a trip to a Hollywood Target. When we got there though, something stopped me — the thought that someday, something better was coming.

That day is February 22, when Sony launches it’s next handheld gaming system — the PlayStation Vita. Packed with features and a stellar launch lineup, The Vita aims to challenge the world’s notion of just what portable gaming can be, but should you jump in right away, or wait and let Sony work out the kinks?

The Hardware

There’s no debating that upon first look, The Vita looks an awful lot like the PSP, but looking closer, it’s a completely different handheld all together.

Featuring a 5′ multi-touch enabled OLED screen, two thumbsticks, two cameras (you know the drill, one front facing and one rear), a touch sensitive back panel and augmented reality capabilities, the Vita is not short of bells and whistles, but at this early stage, you’re really only going to use some of them.

The true standout of The Vita is the gorgeous OLED screen. Sony’s choice of using the OLED over the LCD works incredibly well, as it causes colors to pop and shadows to look incredibly deep. We booted up Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 when we first got our Vita, and the flashy attacks work incredibly well.

With the screens impressive size though, comes one of the devices major flaws — it’s really not all that portable. Portable gaming means something very different than it did when the PSP launched; everyone has an iPhone or tablet with them at all times, which are easy to pack with you wherever You go, the Vita seems a bit too big for that. Sure, you could make the point that the Vita can easily be stuffed into a hoodie pocket or briefcase or work bag for the morning commute, but you can’t help but feel like a good portion of potential users will want something a bit more portable.

The Vita comes with two camera, one facing the front and one facing the rear and they’re a bit underwhelming. Both cameras are capable of both stills and videos, and they’re about on par with the quality of your average smart phone, but fail in comparison to more top of the line phones, and fail even worse when compared to full fledged cameras. For example, we took two identical pictures of my desk, one with the Vita and the other with an iPhone 4. the iPhone did a great job reproducing the colors and came out pretty clear, while the Vita picture had a noticeable amount of noise and blurred edges.

So what about that trackpad like back portion of the Vita? For what it’s worth, it performs well, but it often seems like the developers squeezed the functionality into their games at the last second. One of the best examples of this is how in Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the back track pad is used to climb up ropes, it just doesn’t feel as smooth and natural as using the thumb sticks and face buttons. This as opposed to a game like Modnation Racers, which allows you to use the back trackpad to level terrain in track creation, and works extremely well.

My favorite feature of the Vita though is being able to keep up to seven screens open at a time regardless of what game card is in the system. Think about it, say you’re running to catch a flight and you’re in the middle of a game in Marvel Vs Capcom, about to win right before you have to turn it off. Since you can’t save mid fight, just minimize the screen and come back to it when you’re able to. With that though, there’s a downfall — it’ll kill your battery.

So, about that battery. It’ll last mostly between 3-4 hours of continuous playtime, which isn’t all that great, but it’s not terrible either. I can see it being a problem on long flights, but other than that, you shouldn’t have much of a problem if you just remember to charge it when you get wherever you’re going. More often than not, people are going to be using the Vita on trains, busses and in cabs in the middle of their busy commute, and the battery life of the Vita feels perfect for it.

The Games
Editor’s Note: This is section is a generalization of how the Vita works as gaming device. Watch for specific reviews throughout the week

By far though, the Vita’s biggest improvement over its predecessor is that it includes two thumb sticks, rather than the one found on the PSP. It may not seem like a major thing, but most games, especially those of major franchises are built around using both of the thumb sticks, and having a system that relies only on the one requires developers to create entire control schemes that don’t fit as well as the original, as well as requiring players to relearn almost everything they know about playing games in the modern day.

The Vita does a great job doing away with all that, and even the company’s biggest franchises feel like they should — to an extent. Uncharted Golden Abyss feels an awful lot like Uncharted, just on a smaller scale, but it’s damn impressive that they made a portable game feel like Uncharted at all.

On paper, the Vita’s launch lineup of games feels like the strongest ever, but whether it is or not is debatable. The system seller will easily be Uncharted, but there’s some strong titles that you should consider when you’re picking up your new handheld. Lumines: Electronic Symphony, the puzzle game from Q Entertainment is tough to put down, and games like Modnation Racers, Touch My Katamari and Little Deviants are fun to pick up and play with little investment.

Like most launches with new tech, a lot of the games often feel like mere tech demos. Escape Plan for instance feels like a way to show off the quality of the screen, while Little Deviants feels like a how-to for the suite of new features and Uncharted feels like Sony trying to prove that this new tech can work with its established franchises. Does it? Mostly yes, but there’s are definite kinks to work out in the process.

The Verdict: Should you buy a Vita?

It’s always risky to buy anything when it first releases as there’s bound to be issues, price drops, or in the long run, new and improved models. During my two weeks with the PlayStation Vita, I can tell you this, I haven’t used my 3DS, iPad or phone for gaming, it’s been all Sony’s new machine. The screen is amazing, the additional thumbstick does wonders for the Vita’s credibility as a gaming system and though it’s not as portable as it could be, The Vita is a great way to take your games with you.

Are there issues to work out? Of course, but like any other launch, they’ll be fixed with time as developers learn how to better harness the potential of the new hardware. If you’re a commuter or at all in need of a portable gaming system, Blast highly recommends the Vita.

The PlayStation Vita is available February 22 and comes in two different models, one with Wifi for $249.99, and another that runs on AT&T’s 3G network for $299, This review was based on a 3G model, provided by the Publisher, along with the launch lineup.

Here’s the one thing you need to know about computer and audio/video cables: They’re cheap.

“NO!” you exclaim, perturbed by my obvious and odious lie and my use of purple prose in this paragraph.

“But I spent $75 at Best Buy on an HDMI cable, and…”

Yeah, you’re an idiot. Though it’s not your fault. You, like many before you, have been duped by the markup gods and the big box retail game.

The truth is, depending on your technological needs, you can get away with paying little to nothing for cables and wires. Here’s what I mean:

Case #1: I have a new HD flatscreen television with a cable box. I do not have surround sound or an A/V receiver to hook up

You need: One HDMI cable. It will handle audio and video.

You could get away with: One component video cable (Red/Green/Blue plugs) and a Red/White RCA audio cable.

You should spend: $0. Comcast will give you either cable for free. Ask for the HDMI cable. It’s one wire that does everything instead of five wires. HDMI also supports 1080p, whereas component video only goes to 720.

What the stores have tried to sell me: An $89 — yes $89 — Monster HDMI cable. Again, you should spend ZERO dollars for the same quality.

Case #1a: I also have a Blu-ray player.

You need: To buy an HDMI cable, because it most likely did not come with your $30 Blu-ray player.

You could get away with: Asking your cable company nicely for a second HDMI cable. They literally have piles of these things.

You should spend: No more than $5. Don’t believe me? Click here.

The stores have tried to sell me: The $89 — yes $89 — Monster HDMI cable and a $35 optical audio cable. You don’t need an optical audio cable when you’re using HDMI. Ever.

Case 2: I have a flat-screen television, a brand new A/V surround sound receiver, a cable box, and a Blu-ray player.

You need: Speaker wire, a subwoofer cable, possibly a subwoofer Y-adapter, and three HDMI cables. You run one HDMI cable from the television to the receiver and one each from the receiver to the cable box and Blu-ray player. Same with a PlayStation 3. No audio cables needed. You run speaker wire from each speaker to its corresponding port on the receiver. DO NOT buy banana plugs or any other kind of accessory for the speaker wire. It’s simply another point of potential failure. Just use the bare wire.

You can get away with: Do not use component video cables. You’ll have to buy a separate coaxial or optical audio cable for surround sound (Dolby Digital/DTS) audio. Just use HDMI.

You should spend: $5 or less per HDMI cable and no more than about $15 for the speaker wire.

The stores have tried to sell me: The $89 — yes $89 — Monster HDMI cables, $35 optical audio cables, $40 Monster speaker cable and $10 speaker cable attachments.

Case 3: I have several home networking devices, including a NAS device, home theater PC, video game consoles, and a network printer

You need: Cat 6 cables and a gigabit router with Wireless N. You can use Wi-Fi for things like Wii, room monitors/security cameras, a smart thermostat, etc. For an Xbox 360/PS3, a computer, a NAS, and anything that is storing photos, videos, or music, you should make sure it is plugged into the network directly. Just my advice. Some will say Wi-Fi is there, but I say plug it in.

You can get away with: Cat 5e cables and a gigabit router with Wireless N.

You should spend: About $100 on the router (see this story) and $2-20 on each network wire.

The stores have tried to sell me: Extremely marked up routers and $20-40 cables. Think twice.

It must be difficult for anyone making a career decision to move to another country, let alone to make the decision when you’re thirteen. Cody Simpson — a cute blonde Australian boy — posted a couple videos of himself singing and playing guitar on youtube at the tender age of 13. Before he knew it, he was contacted by record producer Shawn Campbell and moved from Australia to Los Angeles to make an album with Atlantic Records.

His accomplishments seem boundless since: he has received over 110 million youtube views and well over 2 million facebook likes. His single, “On My Mind,” off of his second e.p. “Coast to Coast” reached #1 on Radio Disney and he has been on a myriad of television shows from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” to “Live! With Regis and Kelly.” He is quickly becoming the next digital generation phenomenon.

Now at the age of 15, Cody is continuing to work hard in order to maintain his success.

When asked if there was a girl in his life – as his music mainly discusses relationships and love – Cody replied, “No, there isn’t at the moment. If the girl you’re talking about is named ‘Music’ then sure, I’m dating her. But really I am just focusing on my career at the moment. I’m a pretty focused kid and I am definitely very self motivated. And I think once I get everything established to where I want to be, than there is time for all that.  I got a while. I love to hang out with girls, but relationships are real hard for me at the moment. I have a lot of good friends, but nothing too serious.”

Cody is mature for his age. As a rising star, he is often compared to Justin Bieber. When asked what he thinks of being compared to Justin, Cody said, “I think a lot of people like to put things in boxes and say, ‘okay, he was discovered on YouTube and he sings and he is a teenager, so that means he is a new Justin Bieber.’ What? Like hold on a second…”

But despite the comparisons, Cody revealed, “Justin and I were just in the studio, like yesterday working together. Obviously I’m still at the more beginning stages of my career. But its cool to work with Justin and people like him. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music and the creation of that. He is working on his next album and I am working on my debut. I think that this generation is definitely doing it big.”

On being a young artist, Cody said, “I think there are many disadvantages of being young and being a teenager. There are only certain things you can say musically and certain things you can do. I’m never really going to say anything risky or explicit in my songs. I definitely am more mature for my age. But I think as my fans grew up and as I grew up with my fans, we had to just create the music for them. A lot of people definitely expect a certain thing from a teen artist. But I think with my album, with the single, and the video, and this tour that I’m doing, I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I am really excited for the coming year. And I will see how it goes. I am definitely doing things that no one is expecting.”

A great example of Cody’s artistic and unexpected side is his cover of Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” — a song about drunk texting lost romances. But since the song is widely inappropriate for younger audiences, Cody decided to “re-imagine” it.

“I’m a big Drake fan in general. I love that song and I wanted to re-imagine it and create a version of the song I think my fans could listen to and they could relate to,” he said. “JoJo did the female side of things of that story, and then I wanted to create a story for my younger fans.”

So what is Cody doing when he is not recording, going on tour, or making music videos?

“I go to school in the morning usually. My tutor travels with me when I’m on the road. I think it’s important to stay in school,” he said.

But what about during his time off?

“I love to go surfing. I love to play golf. Golf is always relaxing when you have a day off. I love just being out in the ocean and I love just being out on the golf course.”

Now living in Los Angeles, golf and surf is easily available to him, though the surf is better “back home in Australia,” according to Cody. When asked about his life before fame, Cody misses “that time to chill with friends. I have friends back home that I am very close to that I still talk to every single day. We don’t really get to hang out too much. I miss them and my family and my lifestyle a little bit. I love writing music and [Los Angeles] is where you have to be for that.”

The future is promising. “I am creating my own album right now,” Cody said. “My single is coming out in the next few weeks. For right now, I am focusing on the tour.”

When asked where he would like to be in five years from now, he said, “I’ll be 20 years old, hopefully still making music as a respected artist and someone that has inspired a lot of people and has made some great music. That is all I really want to do.  I want to inspire my fans. I want to do work for charity in the next five years, definitely.  There is a lot of stuff happening to me and I want to make sure I am giving back to my fans and people less fortunate than me.”

Cody is currently touring the country. His tour dates can be seen here.

The nominees for the 2012, 84th Annual Academy Awards have been released and the film industry is already buzzing with speculation on who will take home the Oscar on February 26th. Here’s my two cents about the nominees, who got snubbed, and an early (tentative and subject to change!) prediction about who could take home the gold. I only reviewed the nine most-talked about categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Cinematography, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. I will include every category in my official prediction post, which will come when the Oscars get closer.

Could "The Artist" be another "Slumdog Millionaire"-esque Oscar-sweeper?

Contenders: “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” “The Help,” “Hugo,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life,” “War Horse”

Didn’t Make the Cut: “Drive”, “The Ides of March”, “Young Adult”, “Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “My Week with Marilyn”, “Bridesmaids”

Thoughts: No surprises here. Five of the films tote big-name directors: “The Descendants” (George Clooney), “Hugo” (Martin Scorsese), “Midnight in Paris” (Woody Allen), “Tree of Life” (slightly lesser known Terrence Malick), and “War Horse” (Steven Spielberg). Three films were based on best-selling books: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” “Moneyball,” and “The Help”. And the remaining film, “The Artist”, has always been seen as an awards contender ever since it’s release. The Academy remained predictable as ever this year for the Best Picture noms.

Every movie fan is bound to have at least a few films that they’re annoyed didn’t get picked, and this year mine were “Drive” and “The Ides of March.” “Drive”featured excellent cinematography, a catchy soundtrack, a unique story and a killer performance by Ryan Gosling (also ignored by the Academy this year, we’ll get to that later). “The Ides of March,” was easily my favorite film of the year. It was an edge-of-your-seat thriller that kept you guessing and featured another great Ryan Gosling performance, as well as excellent writing and supporting appearances by George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Early Prediction: I think Best Picture will come down to a fight between “The Artist” and “The Descendants.” “The Descendants” took home two Golden Globes (Best Picture and Best Actor – Drama) a few weeks ago, but “The Artist “boasts a whopping ten Oscar nominations to “The Descendants”‘ five. In the end, I see “The Artist” eventually going home with the gold. I’ve yet to see it, but the film is a classic case of the artsy, indie film that voters just love to throw awards at.

George Clooney in "The Descendants"

Contenders: Demián Bichir (“A Better Life”), George Clooney (“The Descendants”), Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), Gary Oldman (“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”), Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”)

Didn’t Make the Cut: Ryan Gosling (“Drive “or “The Ides of March”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“J. Edgar”), Michael Fassbender (“Shame”), Michael Shannon (“Take Shelter”)

Thoughts: The only real surprise amongst the five nominees is Demián Bichir for his role in “A Better Life”. I vaguely remember seeing the trailer for this film, but that was the last time I had heard or thought about it until Bichir got this nomination. The performance must be a doozy for him to knock out the likes of DiCaprio and Fassbender. After leaving Ryan Gosling out of the race for the second year in a row (he wasn’t nominated for “Blue Valentine “last year, though Michelle Williams was), I’m beginning to wonder what the Academy has against the guy. As “The Hollywood Reporter” points out in it’s Oscar snubs article, it was a great year for Gosling, who had three really good films – “Drive, The Ides of March, “and “Crazy Stupid Love.” “THR” goes on to speculate that his lack of a nomination might have to do with him not making the rounds and doing the awards circuit to promote himself and lobby for a nomination. Which makes me mad, because the Academy should be voting on an actor’s performance, not the number of appearances he makes or parties he attends.

Early Prediction: Clooney and Pitt both gave the best performances of their careers this year, but again I think this category comes down to “The Descendants “vs. “The Artist. ” I’ve yet to see “The Artist “so I can’t say who I think deserves it, but at this point I’ll call Jean Dujardin the winner. We may have another “Slumdog Millionaire -”style Oscar-sweeper on our hands with “The Artist”, and it doesn’t help that Clooney already has an Academy Award under his belt (a Best Supporting Actor for 2005′s “Syriana”).

Side Note: How is this Gary Oldman’s first Oscar nomination, ever? That just seem so wrong…

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier in "My Week with Marilyn"

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Contenders: Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn”), Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”), Nick Nolte (“Warrior”), Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”), Max von Sydow (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”)

Didn’t Make the Cut: Albert Brooks (“Drive”), Armie Hammer (“J. Edgar”), Andy Serkis (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), Patton Oswalt (“Young Adult”)

Thoughts: Who would’ve thought the pudgy kid from “Superbad “would be an Oscar contender? I certainly didn’t, and I’m still not sure he belongs up there with the likes of Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Plummer. Sure, Hill did a decent job in “Moneyball,” but I certainly didn’t leave the theater thinking it was an Oscar-nomination-worthy performance.

I actually would’ve preferred it if Andy Serkis had gotten the nom over Hill. This could have been the Oscars in which motion-capture performances were finally given their due. Say what you will about the goofy “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, but if you see the work that goes into Serkis’ role as Caesar the ape it’s really impressive. This was a chance to right the wrong of Serkis never receiving a nomination for his landmark performance as Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings “trilogy.

Early Prediction: I’d say this category boils down to a Plummer vs. Branagh match-up. This is Plummer’s 2nd nomination and Branagh’s 5th, and neither has yet to win an Oscar. Plummer was good in “Beginners,” but Branagh was exceptional as Sir Laurence Olivier in “My Week with Marilyn.” Gold goes to Branagh.

Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Contenders: Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs”), Viola Davis (“The Help”), Rooney Mara (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”), Michelle Williams (“My Week with Marilyn”)

Didn’t Make the Cut: Shailene Woodley (“The Descendents”), Charlize Theron (“Young Adult”), Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”), Kirsten Dunst (“Melancholia”), Elizabeth Olson (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”)

Thoughts: Tilda Swinton’s absence from the list of nominees seems to be on the list of everybody’s top “Oscar snubs” this year. This category could be a tight one, with all very transformational roles in the running – Streep portraying Margaret Thatcher, Williams playing the iconic Marilyn Monroe, Rooney Mara almost unrecognizable as hacker Lisbeth Salander, Davis as maid/nanny Aibileen Clark, and Glenn Close as woman pretending to be a man.

Early Prediction: This one should be Glenn Close‘s – this is her sixth Oscar nomination and she’s yet to win. Meryl Streep has been nominated a whopping 17 times but she’s also already won twice. This is Michelle William’s third nomination (no wins yet) and Viola Davis’ second (no wins yet either). Close seems overdue for a win, and her role seems to be the most challenging since she’s essentially playing a man. Plus, Williams and Davis are younger and have more of their careers ahead of them.

Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson in "The Help"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Contenders: Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”), Jessica Chastain (“The Help”), Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”), Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”), Octavia Spencer (“The Help”)

Didn’t Make the Cut: Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”), Cary Mulligan (“Shame “or “Drive”), Marion Cotillard (“Midnight in Paris”), Melanie Laurent (“Beginners”)

Thoughts: What’s that, a surprising Oscar nomination?! I didn’t think such a thing existed. But wouldn’t you know, the Academy catches us napping and actually nominates Melissa McCarthy for “Bridesmaids.” I still haven’t seen the movie, but regardless of what I end up thinking of it, I still love this nomination.

First off, it’s a nomination for a woman in “a comedy film”. That’s almost unheard of at the Oscars, and to see a comedy get two nominations (“Bridesmaids “also got a nom for Best Original Screenplay) is really refreshing. Even if the movie loses both categories, I still hope that their inclusion marks a new era in which comedies will be given more credit and eventually, maybe even a few awards. I’m not saying that “The Hangover “should have been up for Oscars, I’m just saying that I feel there are some really exceptional comedies of late that it wouldn’t hurt to recognize with a few nominations.

Secondly, Melissa McCarthy has been nominated for being a “funny” woman. I’m not sure when the last time was that a Supporting Actress nominee came from a comedy film (if it ever has happened, that is). This nomination carries on the message that “Bridesmaids “has carried from the start: that women can be just as funny as men and just as successful in the comedy genre.

Early Prediction: It was big enough for the Academy to nominate Melissa McCarthy in the first place, so I don’t see her then taking home the Oscar as well (as cool as that would be). Due to the recent “Artist “blitz this awards season, I think Bérénice Bejo might have this one in the bag. Plus, critics weren’t big fans of “The Help “or “Albert Nobbs” (which scored 62/100 and 55/100, respectively, on Metacritic).

Woody Allen directs Owen Wilson and Carla Bruni on the set of "Midnight in Paris"

BEST DIRECTOR

Contenders: Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”), Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Alexander Payne (“The Descendants”), Woody Allen (“Midnight in Paris”), Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”)

Didn’t Make the Cut: Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”), George Clooney (“The Ides of March”), David Fincher (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”), Clint Eastwood (“J. Edgar”), Steve McQueen (“Shame”), Jason Reitman (“Young Adult”)

Thoughts: God I hope Terrence Malick doesn’t win. Much to the anger of pretentious/artsy-film-lovers everywhere, I heartily disliked “The Tree of Life”. To be honest, I’m pretty disappointed with the nominees this year. Looking at the rather long list of directors who missed out, I’d prefer most of them over those who have been nominated. Again, it’s a damn tragedy that Winding Refn and Clooney were left out. But it’s no use crying over spilled milk, so if I have to pull for one of the nominees, it would be Alexander Payne. “The Descendants “is the best film that received nominations this year (besides “Ides of March”), so I’d like to see Payne take home the statue.

Early Prediction: Besides “The Artist “having a recent hot-streak and touting the 2nd-most nominations this year with 10 (just behind “Hugo”‘s 11), I think the Academy might vote for the newcomer this year and go with Hazanavicius. Payne already has an Oscar, which he won for the last film he was nominated for – 2004′s “Sideways”. Scorsese is in the same boat, with an Oscar for “The Departed”, and Malick has been nominated twice before. So at this point, I’m calling this another victory for “The Artist”.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Contenders: “The Artist,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Hugo,” “The Tree of Life,” “War Horse”

Thoughts: To be honest, I’ve only seen one of these nominees – “Tree of Life. “As much as I disliked the film, the one thing I appreciated was that it truly was beautifully shot. It’s not an exaggeration at all to say that you could pause the film at any point, and the frame you froze on could hold its own as an incredible still photo hung on the wall of a photography exhibit somewhere. I’d have to see the other movies to be sure, but my guess is that “The Tree of Life “has this year’s best cinematography.

Early Prediction: A fight between “The Artist” and “The Tree of Life,” with “The Artist” winning out. A more informed prediction is still-to-come.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Contenders: “The Descendants,” “Hugo,” “The Ides of March,” “Moneyball,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Thoughts: I’d love “The Ides of March” to win the one category it’s up for, particularly because I think it is the most worthy amongst the fellow nominees. But it’s doubtful that’s going to happen, so if “Ides “can’t win, I’m rooting for “The Descendants”. It was an excellent script, and it would be really awesome to see one of the co-writers, Jim Rash, to win an Oscar. Some people may be more familiar with Rash as the character Dean Pelton on NBC’s “Community”, which is my favorite current TV show.

Early Prediction: With the film sitting well on it’s other four Oscar nominations, I think “The Descendants” is the one to beat in this category. “Tinker” could give it a run for it’s money though.

Could "Bridesmaids" be an Oscar winner?

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Contenders: “The Artist,” “Bridesmaids,” “Margin Call,” “Midnight in Paris,” “A Separation”

Thoughts: Go “Bridesmaids!” It feels odd to be cheering for a film that I’ve yet to see and could possibly even dislike once I see it. But in rooting for “Bridesmaids,” I’m rooting for the comedy genre in general, which I think is an important cause. Plus, wouldn’t it be refreshing to see an upset (gasp!) at the Oscars this year? Down with predictability!

Early Prediction: Like Melissa McCarthy’s nomination for her performance in “Bridesmaids”, I have a feeling a nomination is as far as this film is going to go. “The Artist” is certainly the talk of the town right now and far more prominent than “Midnight in Paris” and the indies “Margin Call” and “A Separation”. I’m chalking this one up to another one for “The Artist.”

In almost every article or interview of Jack’s Mannequin, two details about Andrew McMahon — Jack’s front man — are always mentioned: (1) he was in Something Corporate and (2) he has lymphoblastic leukemia. But with Jack’s Mannequin now on their third full length album and his leukemia in remission for the past six years, it is safe to say Andrew McMahon is now in a different headspace.

“People and Things” — an all-encompassing title — is Jack’s Mannequin’s third album, which was released back in October of 2011.  It debuted at number one on Billboard’s alternative rock album chart and has received warm reviews from critics. The songs on the album range from the radio-friendly “My Racing Thoughts” to the anthemic “Release Me” to the piano ballad “Platform Fire.” Andrew has stated that the album in many ways is about love, relationships, and his marriage: his goal to write songs that offered less flowery language exposing the more honest underbelly of relationships. The song, “Television,” exemplifies this idea about Andrew’s literal inability to fall asleep without a television on; but the idea is extended to explain the intimate state of uneasiness in his relationship. Jack’s Mannequin is currently on tour in support of “People and Things.”

BLAST: How is the tour going so far?

ANDREW MCMAHON:The tour has been excellent. We’re on our fifth or six show. All the shows have been, truthfully, better than I expected. It has been a fun run. I’m in Chicago tonight actually, just pacing around the House of Blues.

BLAST: How is it there?

AM: It’s great. I love Chicago. I actually spent a little bit of time growing up here when I was a kid. I certainly feel at home when I make my way out here.

BLAST: You moved around a lot as a kid?

AM: Yeah. I actually lived outside of Boston too. (Andrew chuckles)

BLAST: Are you excited to return? Do you ever feel nostalgic for the east coast?

AM: I do. A lot of my nostalgia probably comes from my early travels with Something Corporate just because I was so young when I lived out there. I was in Massachusetts for my first few years of life and then Jersey for the following three. So I don’t have tons of memories from the east coast. But I think there is a sort of feeling of home when you go to places that you’re from and have lived. I definitely feel a kinship to the east coast. No doubt.

BLAST: Are you still doing yoga on tour?

AM: Oh yes, yeah, it is a big part of my life on and off the road now. When I’m on the road, I get a good three or four days of yoga per week. But it got a little tricky with all the show days and the record coming out and doing press and things like that. So I do it every other day, including my days off. It keeps me feeling pretty good.

BLAST: What else do you do to fill your time on the road?

AM: There is not a ton of free time on the road when you’re promoting a record. A lot of it will be sneaking around to radio stations or doing phone interviews. When I do have time, I try and read. And when I am on the bus, I try and put on a good movie and get myself to sleep. But I’m pretty busy out here.

BLAST: You have said before that you are a fan of Billy Joel, so does your song “Television” have any relationship to Joel’s “Sleeping with the Television On”?

AM: It’s so funny that you should say that because truthfully there was no relationship to it. Actually, as I was finishing that song, I was going through a bunch of old vinyl and I came across the Joel album. I forgot what record it was on. So I saw on the back of it and I was like, ‘Oh my God are you kidding me?’ So it is hard to say whether or not it had any subconscious influence on me. As a kid, I don’t remember ever listening to the song. I remember listening to his Greatest Hits volume one, while I was growing up as a Joel fan.  But yeah, I was definitely surprised to see the song title when I came across it.

BLAST: What television show do you usually fall asleep to?

AM: Truthfully for me, it is usually movies. I try to put in movies that I’ve seen like a million times, so that I can kind of zone out. It is usually The Big Lebowski, Super Troopers, usually a funny movie. But that tends to be my prescription before bed.

BLAST: Jack’s Mannequin’s bio by Warner Brothers Records says that People and Things “delves into the joys and conflicts of the first years of marriage” and you have stated that the album is about love and relationships. What does your significant other think of the album?

AM: (He chuckles) I think she likes it.  Yeah I hope so. I don’t think she would tell me otherwise. But I think in a lot of ways it’s kind of our album as well. I think it’s tricky for anybody in my life who ends up being the subject of the songs that I write. In my wife’s case, we’ve been together for the better part of ten years and [she] knows that it kind of comes with the territory. But as far as I understand, this is her favorite of the Jack’s records. I think I did alright by her.

BLAST: What music do you listen to that you wouldn’t normally tell anyone about? What’s your guilty pleasure music?

AM: I don’t know. I don’t normally subscribe to like the guilty pleasures thing. I like lots of different types of music and I tend to be pretty okay with that. I can’t really think of the type of example that I wouldn’t be so proud to share. You got me stumped on that one.

BLAST: That’s okay. You have said before that you love to explore other mediums of art. What kind of other art are you working on?

AM: Personally, in a hobby sort of way, I have been taking a lot of pictures. I got a new camera over the summer that I have been experimenting with and have a lot of fun with that. I used to do that a lot with my Polaroid, but it is a little bit more difficult to get the kind of film that I need for my old camera. I also do quite a bit of writing on the side, none of which has really come out, other than in the forms of blogs.

BLAST: How many tattoos do you have? Do you have a favorite?

AM: Let me count here: one, two, three, four, five. Five! So five. You know, I am pretty close to all of them. The cool thing about my tattoos is that they all represent a different time in my life. There’s the Starry Night on my left arm, which I am very close to. So I will go with that for now.

BLAST: Who would your perfect collaboration project be with?

AM: I’ve definitely been digging Danger Mouse. I like a lot of what he has been up to, something in that vein. I like the thing he did with Broken Bells; I thought that was really cool. There is certainly a lot of great stuff that he has been attached to.

BLAST: What’s the Dear Jack Foundation?

AM: It’s something that I started after my own experience with cancer. We do our best to raise money for organizations that are fighting leukemia and young adult cancer. It’s what we have been up to for the better part of six years. We help raise money for research. We try things with initiatives for young adults like sending kids to camp who are sick.

BLAST: Anything else you want to tell the Blast Magazine readers?

AM: Thanks for listening. And I hope to see you at one of the shows in the next few weeks.

Jack’s Mannequin will be in Boston on February 3 at House of Blues. The list of tour dates can be seen here.

More than anything, Chaske Spencer just wants to keep it real.

This may seem strange coming from the man who just wrapped up a multi-film stint in the massively successful fantasy-laden Twilight series, but a brief conversation with him makes this all too clear.

Take, for example, his perspective on his Twilight character, werewolf pack leader Sam Uley. While he appreciates many things about his animalistic alter-ego, not the least of which are his CGI antics played out on the big screen – “I never thought I would see myself jump off a cliff. I mean it was amazing!” he says – what he most hopes fans will take away from the most recent installments is that which makes the character most relatable – most human.

“What I got from talking to the kids, the fans of Twilight, is that a lot of them just hated Sam. A lot of them did not like Sam,” he recalls with a laugh. “So what I want to do is make him more human, more a character that you can relate to. In the Breaking Dawn film you get this sense that, in the script, he’s out to just kill Renesmee and he hates Bella, but that’s not the case. It’s just that it’s a job that he has to do.”

Similarly, Spencer notes, it’s the human element of filmmaking that has been the most rewarding through his work on the Twilight series and beyond. His bonds with cast and crew from the Twilight films have stayed strong, he assures: his fellow wolves are “like my brothers now,” he says, “and then you have Julia [Jones] and Tinsel [Korey, both costars] who are like my sisters.” It’s like “joining the circus,” he explains. “That’s basically what a film crew is. You join the circus, you all get tight, you’re like a family for a month or two, and then – boom. Maybe you’ll stay in touch, maybe you’ll see them again, maybe you won’t, you know?”

He emphasizes that this is one aspect of filmmaking that continues to draw him in – “Not just working on a character or just being an actor but the stuff behind the scenes.” It’s an affinity for the world behind the camera, bolstered by his recent experience in independent films Winter in the Blood and Desert Cathedral, that has clearly shaped his philosophy on his work and his art. An independent film, he says, is “where the artist comes into work”.

To hear him explain it, it’s answering a call to artistic integrity. He easily ticks off the names of examples and influences, a list that crosses genres and all levels of celebrity. “I grew up watching Johnny Depp,” he recalls, “and like a lot of young actors, I wanted to be Johnny Depp – and we can’t. But he inspires us to stick to artistic credit.” Depp, he notes, had a penchant for turning down big-budget roles in favor of independents, “and he got massive street cred for it.”

He’s quick to cite famous crossover acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam as well. “I always like bands who stretch, who go further,” he says. “You could be working a 9 to 5 job, but you’re trying to find the easiest way to make a living doing what you love, and of course you’re not going to say no to those paychecks.” But, he says, these bands were able to avoid earning the dreaded “sellout” label. Of Pearl Jam, he notes, “They used the tools that they had, and they just gave themselves some self-respect, and they stuck to their guns, and, obviously, they’re a huge group. They turned down Ticketmaster, and fought the good fight, and they’re still rockin’ and rollin’, they’re still touring.”

So what does this mean for Chaske Spencer, an actor moving into 2012 with a slew of major-budget films under his belt and many of these treasured independent efforts in the works? “I enjoy work on a franchise too,” he stresses. “[You] get a good paycheck, work on a big budget. But then you go back and do an independent movie and you can make up for I guess, ah, whoring yourself out,” he laughs.

Make no mistake: he’s grateful for the opportunities that Twilight’s success has given him – especially the freedom to gravitate toward those projects that allow him to emulate those he so admires. “You’ll never hear me talk bad about ‘Twilight!’”, he assures with a laugh. “Yeah, it’s given me a life.”

Amory Sivertson — a piano playing folksy pop singer-songwriter reminiscent of Sara Bareilles and Feist – recently released her third album titled “Human.” The song of the same name begins with the line, “sometimes I do things that could either win me a medal or land me in jail.” Amory stated that investing in making music is her favorite high stakes activity that could fit this dichotomy. “I think it is what could make me the happiest in life and support me. But it is also the thing that could lead me to invest a lot of money in a project that may not come to fruition, could bankrupt me, could lead me to the poor house. That fills that kind of binary, I suppose.”

Her goal is to become “a self-sustaining musician. That music is how I feed myself and clothe myself and buy Christmas presents for the people I love,” Sivertson said.

This goal is deeply entrenched within the songwriter. Her father is a drummer and music teacher. Playing music has always been a part of her upbringing. As a child, Amory’s father “would make little dorky songs on the spot all the time like when he was doing dishes.” Once Amory began playing piano, music theory became a form of communication between her and her father. “We could converse in that way, in a new shared language,” said Amory.

She continues to speak this language. “The end goal was always to be a professional musician,” said Amory. But after realizing that she didn’t have the Hollywood connections to make it into the Mickey Mouse Club, her path changed. She began playing open-mics, going on tour, and pushing beyond her comfort zone. She believed that “if you want to be a rock-star, you can’t go to college.”

So after entering Emerson College, her idea of attaining success changed again. Being around other creative types and becoming entrenched in a new audience, only “fueled the fire” for Amory. Her belief switched to getting discovered and dropping out. But now as a recent graduate, “I have had to redefine the road to getting there,” once again.

“How do I pay the loans and not completely bankrupt myself and still keep moving forward with music?” asked Amory.

The idea of financial priority makes its way into her music as well. On “Human,” the song, “Put It in the Bank,” is an upbeat romp reflecting on the value of money with a catchy hook featuring the staccato syllabic line, “p-p-p-put it in the bank,” as the title suggests. In regards to the song, Amory stated, “I hope that people know that the bank isn’t necessarily your own personal bank account. It’s putting your money where you think it can do the most good. And if that’s your bank account, than sure put it in your bank account… [But] we should become more conscious of where we are putting our dollar because the dollar you drop could earn you a medal or land you in jail.”

“We created money and we created the problems that go with the money. So we have to know what were doing with it,” according to Amory. Her ideas that run throughout the album are complex and meditative, yet succinct.

“I think the essence of Human that runs through the material is flaws and uncertainty. Learning the balance between… the tremendous potential we have as a species with our brain power and whatnot, and our very primal instincts… It’s the balance between the wonderful things we are capable of and the terrible things we are capable of. And the great potential we supposedly have and the very primal instincts that we have to just eat, sleep, have sex. That’s it.” She chuckled after deducing the human experience to three things.

The cover of Human features a collage of patterned textiles in the shape of an anatomical heart. When asked about the theme of humanity, Amory responded, “any album ever could be called human as that what art supposedly is… Trying to share with people a piece of what it means to be alive. Whether song, painting, poem, sculpture, autobiographical or whether its completely made up, it is all supposed to be sharing a piece of this human connection and human experience. So really any work of art can be titled human, because that is the way it is supposed to make us feel.”

“The Tour Song” represents just that. Amory stated, “the song really tells the story of Mike and I on the road. The story of two people finding happiness in what they are doing together… two people together for 40 days, 24 hours a day…enjoying each other’s company.”

The song was written before the summer tour that Mike and Amory went on together. But after closing every concert with the song, it became titled the “Tour Song.” It is loosely inspired by “Away We Go” – a film about the misadventure of a couple (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) travelling to different cities in search of a new home. The song expresses “the idea of settling down and being satisfied as just being two people together. And then becomes what if we can’t do what we want to do together,” said Amory.

Mike is Amory’s boyfriend. A large part of the album was recorded at the Office, a recording studio in North Andover that Mike runs. “Ever since Mike and I have been together, we have been making music together,” said Amory. Their relationship is beautifully on display from the first song, “Wrap My Arms,” to the last song on Human, “The Tour Song.”

Amory’s album can be heard and purchased here.

What is it about sweat that turns us on? (Media credit/Yay Micro)

I’ve long been fascinated by the subject of pheromones, specifically in the context of sexual attraction. For those of you not familiar with the term: A pheromone, according to Wikipedia, is “a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species.” Much has been written about the role pheromones play in mating and attraction, including the infamous sweaty T-shirt study. In layman’s terms, though: Ever notice how you’re either attracted to or repulsed by a romantic interest’s natural scent? Well, there’s more to that than you may think.

I was excited to contact Eric Holzle for this article about his groundbreaking company Scientific Match (tagline: “The Science of Love”), which I discovered a few months ago but was founded in 2007. Holzle predicted his company would revolutionize the dating services industry by matching people based on non-matching DNA samples taken from their cheeks. He claimed that well-matched couples would enjoy each others’ natural scents, have more fun in bed, and bear healthier children than those who are genetically similar. Maybe so, but the company’s mating strategy never seemed to gain mainstream traction, its premise titillating but perhaps too far-fetched and impersonal for the romantically inclined (not to mention the service was probably pricey). I agree about the unromantic idea of it all – who wants to be matched with cells from a cheek swab? – but still remain fascinated by the role pheromones play in helping us, consciously and unconsciously, to select a suitable genetic match and curious about other, less clinical ways to harness the power of pheromones. (As an aside: If you really want your mind blown, consider the research that has found the birth control pill may be responsible for reversing a women’s natural sense of smell: That is, women on the Pill like more the smells (i.e. pheromones) that remind them of home and kin and thus are attracted to men with whom they’re genetically incompatible.)

Sadly, though, as I began to write this piece, I discovered Holzle had recently passed away. Shortly after my discovery, serendipitously perhaps, along came a representative from Love Scent who wrote to me via Twitter about the company. Here’s the even funnier part: More than two years ago, I had written about Love Scent on my old blog, in an entry entitled “The Nose Knows.” Essentially, the company’s concept is to sell sex pheromones in a bottle to help men and women attract that special someone. I don’t understand the science of it all but human pheromones can, apparently, be recreated in a laboratory. Love Scent then bottles those synthetically-created pheromones and sells them to the masses at various prices, depending on which product is desired.

There are several other companies that sell pheromones for the purpose of attracting mates, but Love Scent seems to be leading the pack. I don’t doubt their authenticity, so I asked them to send me some samples. A couple weeks later, I received several products, including The Edge towelettes (for women and men), Perception, Scent of Eros Unscented (unisex), Scent of Eros (for her), Chikara, Alter Ego (for him), and The Edge (for him). As the instructional sheet explained, their products range from pheromone colognes and scented concentrates to additive formulas and essential oils. They also sell unrated pheromone colognes – pheromone-containing colognes on which they have no clear data. Their “Fab Four” kit is only for seasoned “phero-gurus” – in other words, “if you have to ask, it’s not for you.”

It would have been nice to experiment with the samples during my single days (the product seems to be best suited for singles, anyway), but I figured I could wear one of them around my boyfriend to see if it was particularly … ahem, arousing. According to the Psychology Today article linked above, “since it’s known that women can detect genetic compatibility by smell – it’s not that men can’t but that so far no one knows – the onus is on females to sniff out a suitable squire,” but because Love Scent markets their products to both men and women, I enlisted the help of one my boyfriend’s male friends who was coming to town with his girlfriend. We asked Joe to smear on some of The Edge (for him) without his gal’s knowledge before going out to the bars.

After he applied the moist towelette, my apartment, quite frankly, smelled like a gigolo, or at least how I imagine a gigolo would smell. Unfortunately, Joe never had a chance to read the instructions: “Watch out for over-application,” which is especially true for The Edge because it is highly concentrated. Don’t get me wrong: It smelled good, but it was so overpowering that it practically consumed the place. Eventually, Joe confessed to his girlfriend, but I’m not sure it would have made any difference if she hadn’t known. I also used one of the samples – Scent of Eros – dabbing it on my various pulse points as instructed. Love Scent says that women have reported additional success when applying to ankles and thighs, but I stuck to wrists and behind the ears. It smelled lovely, like any number of musky perfumes I might buy at a department store, but again there’s no way to know if our significant others were friskier than usual because of the pheromones. Plus, both Joe and I are in fairly new relationships in which we can’t keep our hands off our significant others, anyway. I didn’t expect my boyfriend to attack me like a ravenous lion looking for prey, but I did wonder if I’d be able to detect more subtle behavior changes that would indicate the product was working its magic. I can’t say that I witnessed anything different in him.

Perhaps these products would be good for people in, say, stale relationships, so as to rev up a decaying sex life; in a fairly new relationship if you’re sex life has already decayed, well, then you may have more problems than a topical product (that Richard Gere in American Gigolo might wear) could ever solve. Although, a testimonial from “Julia” on Love Scent’s site makes it seem that their products have the power to unite couples in trouble: “My boyfriend had decided that he wanted to break up. We agreed to go to lunch on his birthday. I wore some of your magic oil and he went crazy…..We are back together. I also put some on a handkerchief and then under the seat of his car…..He keeps commenting on how his car smells like me.” I’m not sure how much stock to put on testimonials but Love Scent’s site does have a ton of them.

It should also be mentioned that Love Scent pheromones may be worth a try if only for the placebo effect. It’s long been documented that the placebo effect has enormous impact on people’s ability to heal. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a piece about this effect entitled Why Placebos Work Wonders. If someone applies one of Love Scent’s products with the idea in mind that they have a secret, extra edge, they may exude more confidence because they believe themselves to now be more attractive to potential mates. Dating and attraction is often about confidence – it’s all in the head (no, not that head), as they say. So any suggestions or ideas that can inspire confidence when it comes to your dating life is a usually a good bet, unless of course, the idea is to wear a hat like this.

Another thought I had about using these kinds of pheromones is that once you run out of the product your natural scent will be exposed, and whomever you’ve managed to woo with your pre-made pheromonal concoction will now quite possibly be repulsed by you and have no idea why. Don’t worry, though, Love Scent accepts orders in bulk.

My dad loves football, but he finds football video games too complicated. I can’t really blame him either; I’ve tried to get him into Madden, but when you really break the 800 LB gorilla of a gaming franchise down, it’s tough to explain; even if it is second nature when playing. That’s exactly why NFL Blitz works so well — it’s America’s favorite game (Yeah, that’s right, I said it baseball) boiled down to its most basic elements.

Now, after years of being absent, the arcade style footballer returns; in all of its glory — well, sort of. It’s still just as frantic and fun as you remember, but it also comes during a turbulent time in the NFL, once that changes the very landscape and identity of what NFL Blitz is. Still, if you have even the slightest love for NFL Football, Blitz is a blast, especially played with friends.

If you’ve never played NFL Blitz, it’s basically a suped up version of Madden. The players are bigger and ripped with muscles and the plays more explosive. The game nixes strategy and philosophy for over-the-top action and adrenaline. In Blitz, there are no penalties, teams can catch on fire and it takes 30 yards for a first down rather than the standard ten yards.

The action in Blitz is fast, fun and in-your-face. It’s not uncommon to have score upwards of 30 points in the first quarter, and you’re bound to jump off your feet at least a few times. This is where Blitz excels, there’s never really a dull moment, and it gets even better when you’re playing against friends. This is the type of game that friendships are tested on, as it’s extremely fun to play against your friends in Blitz. Think throwing the game winning hail mary in Madden is fun? Imagine the thrill of doing it in Blitz, complete with players on fire and jumping clean over their opponents.

The most impressive aspect of Blitz is how much it retains the original arcade feel. Games are quick and easy for anyone to jump in and pick up and play. Perhaps more impressive, they’re also just as easy for anyone to win. It’s this accessibility that seems to be missing from most other current gen sports games. Blitz even features the old school Midway style codes to be entered at the versus screen for effects like different stadiums, characters and effects.

This isn’t however, the NFL Blitz of old, not completely anyways. The NFL is a much different league than we saw when the last entry in the series was released and that’s something that Blitz both falls victim to and benefits from at the same time. This season, the NFL has been tougher on late hits, and as a result, you won’t be able to stop your opponent’s touchdown celebration with a late, bone jarring hit. Sure, the hits in Blitz are ferocious enough, (come on, I delivered a piledriver to a Quarterback during a sack) but the late hits were a big part of the original games.

Aside from the Play Now option, you’re bound to get the majority of playtime from the game’s Blitz Gauntlet mode. Similar to modes found in games like NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat, you’ll face off with teams in a ladder format, with bosses mixed in. These bosses range from fictional characters (zombies) to team inspired creations (my Packers for instance had to face off with guys in overalls, Packer Jerseys and cheeseheads). These boss battles also feature powerups spread throughout the field, which makes them feel different than your standard games. There’s also a trading card game similar to that found in Madden, but I didn’t like it there and I don’t here either.

Tim Kitzrow from the original Blitz and NBA Jam games makes his return, and is just as entertaining as ever. Him and his announcing partner openly mock pop culture, including games, which includes Blitz. My favorite was when the two said that next year they’re going to audition for Madden because it pays more. Visually, NFL Blitz is on par with what you’d expect, though I was a bit disappointed at the lack of detail in some of the player’s faces. Sure, sometimes Aaron Rodgers looks like himself in the game, but others he just looks like another nameless, faceless NFL Quarterback.

The Blast Factor:NFL Blitz proves that arcade style sports gaming still has a place in modern gaming. It’s a blast to play, especially with other human players, and its accessibility makes it easy for just about anyone to jump in and play. . If you’ve got even the most slightest affinity for the sport or multiplayer gaming — you owe it to yourself to check out this modern day revival.

Susan Baxter, 32, founded Hire a Boston Wingwoman in 2010.

Susan Baxter, 32, has the solution for single Boston guys looking for love: Wingwomen. Sure, you’ve got your Bud Light-guzzling, cleavage-ogling, popped collar-wearing wingman already, but isn’t the same old “you distract the less attractive friend while I talk to the hot one” routine getting a little stale? Baxter’s wingwomen get straight to the point with confidence, class, and a well-worth-it fee: the girl you’re going after.

For clients of Baxter’s company, Hire a Boston Wingwoman, it works like this: You and a wingwoman go to a bar or a lounge, or wherever you want to go to meet chicks. You scan the room, zoom in on your potential love interest, and your wingwoman goes in for the kill. It might begin with a compliment (“I love those shoes!”) or a question (“What’s your favorite drink here?”). Then, she might say something like, “This is my friend Joe; we’re looking for a bar to go after this. Do you know of anywhere good?”

“She kind of hangs around in the background once the introduction is made,” says Baxter. “If it doesn’t work out, then the client tries another woman. And if it doesn’t seem like the woman is interested, the wingwoman can pretend to be the client’s girlfriend.”

Wingwomen are better sidekicks than wingmen, Baxter says, because “Women tend to have their guards up when they go out; maybe it’s a girl’s night and they are just out for some cocktails with their friends and aren’t looking to talk to guys. Women feel less intruded upon if a woman comes up to them. They have their guards up when a man goes up and says, ‘Hey, I’m Joe, how are you ladies this evening?’ It’s old, and it’s lame, and she’s like, ‘Oh, here we go again.’”

Even better, adds Baxter, “It’s a boost of confidence to walk in to a place with a beautiful woman by your side. Girls like competition, so if they see you with an attractive woman, they’ll think you’ve got something to offer.”

So what makes a successful wingwoman? Generally, says Baxter, they are outgoing, and unafraid to approach and strike up conversation with that intimidating, hot girl you’ve got your eye on.

“You’ve gotta play the part,” she says. “You can’t go to that trendy, upscale bar if you look like you just got out of a Red Sox game; it’s gotta be realistic. But each wingwoman has a different personality. Some are bubbly and are good for clubs, and some are more intelligent and would be good for a social networking-type party. They’re attractive, outgoing, social, and willing to go up to a woman and say, ‘Hey, where’d you get your hair done? I’m looking for a new salon in the area.’”

Baxter, who has a master’s degree in applied sociology from the University of Massachusetts, started her business in September of 2010 with the knowledge that “a lot of people are shy and are intimidated to go up to people at a bar,” she says. “People tend to just stand there at the end of the bar and wait to be approached.” Plus, she was already being a wingwoman for her guy (and girl) friends, so why not make it a business?

“My ‘aha’ moment was when I was watching an episode of the ‘Tyra Banks Show,’ and a woman was on there who was a wingwoman for her friends,” says Baxter. “And I was like, ‘Wait, that’s what I do!’ The idea had spread to New York City and to Las Vegas, and I thought, why not Boston?”

Now, Hire a Boston Wingwoman employs nearly 40 wingwomen (and counting–she’s hiring!) in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The business works with about 10 clients a weekend, with many repeat clients. Fall is the busiest time of year for the company, which Baxter attributes to several factors: “In the fall, people are coming back from their vacation or their summer fling, and are looking for something more serious. The holidays are coming and they don’t want to be alone; it’s time to settle down. Plus, fall weather is cozy.”

Hiring a wingwoman costs $65 an hour, with a two hour minimum, and is $30 for every half-hour thereafter. Several testimonials on the company’s website attest that it’s worth the price: “My wingwoman focused on making connections and harnessing intuition,” says client Scott Alden. ”The method was to hang out with her, be myself and seize the moment when it was right. Women who saw that I was with her felt more comfortable around me, and I didn’t have to work as hard. I felt comfortable, too.” Michael, a client from Cambridge, writes, “I felt really comfortable after meeting the wingwoman, who introduced me to a couple of very attractive ladies.  I have already re-hired her because she was great company and made me very confident.”

There’s no guarantee that a wingwoman will help you find your future wife, of course, but who can argue with at least giving it a try? Besides, you get to be seen with a hot, confident woman by your side instead of your cologne-drenched, awkward-pick-up-line-using best friend.

JAMESTOWN, Calif. — “I’m not perfect by any means, and nobody is, but I’m ten times a better man than I was before this camp term,” inmate firefighter Philip Kirkpatrick, an eager camp inmate in his late twenties recounts of his experiences at Baseline Conservation Camp, one of the 19 prison fire camps conveniently placed throughout the state of California to fight wildfires, “I feel like my life has purpose to it now, and that’s something that I’ve honestly never had before. I’m ready to take on the world.”

Every prison institution in California has a general product that they specialize in producing—some put out soap, others ironworks, Folsom State Prison puts out license plates while Correction Training Facility produces shoes and clothing. Sierra Conservation Center (SCC)—a minimum to medium custody state prison—yields human capital.

Qualifying inmates are taught the ins and outs of one of the most well-respected and treasured occupations in American culture: the firefighter.

Particularly in our post-9/11 society, firefighters are looked up to as American heroes, selfless defenders of the people; to be one means to be willing to put your ass on the line for a community of people that you may not know and may never meet. You take on the responsibilities associated with preventing floods, fighting fires, and sandbagging mudslides that would otherwise ruin peoples’ houses and the surrounding environment. The program ends up turning social outcasts into individuals capable of heroic deeds.

As inmates initially cross that daunting threshold into the cold world of incarceration they can harbor feelings of social alienation, depression, anger, and rejection. Yet when given the opportunity to progress in an institutional program that goes beyond merely being assigned monotonous tasks that constantly remind the inmates of their poor behaviors, the opportunity to significantly diminish the recidivism rate and gain a sense of personal merit arises.

Naturally, the ultimate goal of the SCC’s firefighter program is to equip inmates with not only vocational skills and firefighting certificates, but, more importantly, with a sturdy work ethic and an internal sense of self-respect.

“We are in a partnership with CAL FIRE, the California Fire Department, and what we do here at Sierra is we get the low custody inmates, we screen them to make sure they have the right custody level, and once they pass that we go ahead and start a series of training programs,” SCC Warden Frank Chavez explained.

At the Sierra Conservation Center, CAL FIRE teaches prisoners how to safely and effectively fight fires by taking two consecutive training courses; the Physical Fitness Training (PFT) and the Firefighter Training (FFT) programs. Once they finish both the PFT and the FFT, inmates are put on a waiting list to get admitted into one of the 19 fire camps that are “strategically located in all of the dry woodlands so that they can be easily deployed to those areas most susceptible to wildfires,” Warden Chavez noted.

“Once they complete [PFT] and pass into the [FFT] facet of the program, we turn them over to CAL FIRE captains who actually take them out and train them to fight wildfires. That’s where they actually learn how to cut fire lines, fire behavior, fire safety, how to use hand tools, how to put their safety gear on—helmets, packs, bunker gear—they learn about keeping themselves hydrated, acclimating themselves to the fire ground and heat, dealing with safety hazards like snags, working with power lines, getting on and off the fire bus, etc…It’s a lot of information to learn, but our main focus is on safety.”

The warden and countless correctional officers have testified to the spectrum of change they’ve seen in a sizable chunk of inmates, especially ones who truly immerse themselves in the program. On day one they’re scared to death, they don’t know what to expect, but just a few days into it they gain a sense of self-respect and confidence that the staff and fire captains hope will carry through to the outside world as inmates make that difficult shift back into the society. At that point, they are ready for camp.

These fire camps are the final step for inmates admitted into the SCC, with the closest camp—the Baselines camp—being just three miles down a dusty road that winds around the parched land surrounding the SCC facility. “It’s beautiful out here,” one easygoing guard said, whimsically surveying the jagged, chalky rocks and arid vegetation scattered throughout the sun-drenched dustbowl.

The camp is a mini-village of sorts that looks more like a Christian summer camp or a wilderness retreat than labor headquarters for incarcerated criminals. With its lack of walls and well-landscaped central lawn, around which six cottage-like dormitories, a cafeteria, an inmate-run trading post and a central building for faculty, counseling and general activities, it even feels like a retreat.

Although the firefighter system—both the SCC’s training programs and the fire camps—is a major benefit to the actual rehabilitation of inmates, it is by no means foolproof. One prisoner in the bustling SCC jail yard, Paul, a former camp inmate who fell back into his drug habits after being paroled a couple years ago, has been working on getting back to one of the fire camps, this time with a more determined frame of mind bent on building that crucial solid foundation.

“The reason I feel that I didn’t succeed the first time is I didn’t have any credentials, I didn’t have anything under my belt to help me out there in society,” Paul explained, “This time I got my GED, I got my masonry certificate, then after that I actually had a friend in the PFT introduce me to the coach. Ever since I’ve been doing everything the prison will give me to get me ready to go back out there and excel.”

Likewise, Philip Kirkpatrick is serving his second term, this time making sure to take advantage of what the fire camp has to offer, since an inmate can only truly be rehabilitated if they strive to do so by participating in programs such as the PFT, FFT and fire camps. “I’m going to exhaust all my avenues. Last time I had a plan but it was just Plan A, and when Plan A failed [prison] is where I came back to, so I know now that I have to have a Plan A, a Plan B, I’ve got to go through the whole damn alphabet and backwards again. I’ve got to be prepare for everything, because I got two strikes and I know that the way that I used to think I’m not completely perfect and its easy for people in my situation to just revert back to their old behavior, so, I’ve just got to be patient and humble—it is what it is, you know?”

One noticeable difference in these inmate firefighters is that they have a tremendous deal of respect for what they’re doing; the job gives them a sense that they’re accomplishing something, not only for themselves, but for their families and the society in general.

Whether they are doing military-style calisthenics in the prison yard for their PFT or gearing-up in their bunker gear (typical firefighter suits) for a field day in the FFT—the second program inmates must complete before being sent to one of those 19 fire camps strewn across the state—the inmates looked and acted more hopeful and enthusiastic about themselves, what they are doing and what they plan to do when they get out.

“It’s very positive, it’s like having a family to count on,” Paul says of the firefighting experience. “The model for PFT is start together and finish together, so we try not to leave anyone behind. I’ve done PFT, and I’ve been a firefighter before. It’s a good program, the PFT, the FFT and especially the fire camps.”

“A giant tree was on the verge of falling and there were a lot of homes where it was leaning towards, and seeing as the redwood firefighters there were kind of busy, our crew had some saws and cut it down,” Paul said while chronicling his most memorable experience as a firefighter thus far with a satisfied grin inching across his face, “Some people were asking whether we were going to be able to handle the tree, us being inmates and all, and our captain answered him saying that these are the best saw men I got, which was a real compliment. My buddy was the first saw and I was the second saw, we took the largest saw we had and they told us it had to drop it a certain way or else it would collapse the neighboring roofs, but we put it where he wanted it and all the people started clapping and thanking us and offering to bring us food—I’ve never felt that before, it felt good. Yah, I’ll never forget that one.”

While the fire fighting skills do prove worthwhile in terms of providing inmates with a concrete set of skills meant to establish a practical gateway to a multitude of occupations and career paths, it seems to be the gradual improvement and reinforcement of the inmates’ behavior that can lead to a greater disposition towards a sound state of mental and emotional health that truly attests to the program’s benefit. Inmates like Paul and Patrick are living examples of the programs potential to completely revamp an inmate’s attitude in a positive and constructive direction. Without this program, there would be no foundation of enthusiasm, dedication, solidarity and purpose for inmates.

Though there have been cases where former inmates have gotten jobs with CAL FIRE, becoming a full-time, salaried firefighter is hard work and not everyone who is involved in the SCC training successfully lands a job once they are released—it is an incredibly competitive field. But even if they don’t become firefighters, giving them the chance to get out there and have the structure of a normal workday, just as they would out in the real world, plays a huge part in the process. A lot of these guys have struggled to or have never held consistent job; they have never had that structure and sense of contribution to society. The program is not a novelty to them as they try to effectively become individuals who contribute to society in a positive manner.

Philip has been the lead clerk manning the trade post for a significant portion of his term in fire camp. Recalling his past, Philip said, “I’ve been down a little over 5 years now, I’ve got 2 left. I started living my term in a cell in general population for roughly 3 years, working hard to get to fire camp since I knew that was the best shot that I had at actually recovering, because if I confine myself to a box for the 7 years that I’m incarcerated, I’m not going to know how to be around people, I’m not going to know how to interact, not going to know how to function within society. Whereas now, I’ve been here 13 months and 11 months of it I’ve been a clerk. I have a job that is extremely rewarding, and it’s a job—I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven day a week, no days off, I have a lot of responsibilities.”

For Philip, and many of the other inmates, those responsibilities mean all the difference as they prepare for reintegration.

“I’m not used to having responsibilities, I’m used to just going and taking something from somebody and doing what I do, you now what I mean; so it’s very rewarding,” Philip commented. “Having this clerk job and being in this whole program, it’s helped me sharpen my skills with other people and gain patience, because I have to go out there into society and actually contribute in a positive way. To a certain extent, I feel like I’m almost free,” he blithely declared.

Every prison in the state has a product that is put out as a means of creating profitable revenue, with the Sierra Conservation Center’s main product being firefighters. The whole idea of a general product is to make use of the cheap labor that inmates provide so that the prisons’ can maintain the institution while they serve time; yet while producing an abundance of slacks and undershirts may prove profitable for the state and the prison, that task is menial and provides little to no sense of fulfillment and purpose—feelings that are central to successful rehabilitation.

The SCC training facility and the various fire camps that turn criminals into empathetic heroes work to achieve both means, renewing the inmates sense of worth and value in society while providing cheap labor to prevent costly and potentially life threatening wildfires, all at a fraction of the standard market value of such labor.

This program is a two-for-one, benefiting both the taxpayers and prison inmates; it provides structure for the inmates and financial benefits for taxpayers. You can have 20 outside guys working for CAL FIRE that are getting paid big money for fighting fires and other natural disasters, or you can get an inmate fire crew at almost the exact same cost as just one of those non-inmate firefighters. Taking this into account, inmates can give back to the community financially while simultaneously building their self-confidence and determination. Whether or not inmates make use of the chances they are offered for uplifting personal change and education doesn’t determine whether this program is advantageous for taxpayers; if done properly, SCC inmates all have the opportunity to better themselves and the society they’ve caused harm upon, but whether or not they truly follow through with what they’ve learned as they immerse themselves back into the real world is up to them. The massive support provided by these inmates alone supplies some taxpayers with community support while giving California the environmental aid it so desperately needs.

Prisoners in fire camps also get to escape the exasperating jail yard drama and prison politics. The number one complaint among inmates outside the fire programs is unanimously the prison politics. The term ‘prison politics’ is basically an umbrella term that stands for everything vile and wrong about the traditional prison set-up: racism and anticipated segregation, gang affairs, confrontations and feuds, drab surroundings, highly-strict guards, drug temptations, lack of positive communication and unsettling living spaces, among other things.

Baseline camp is void of these politics, especially the race factor; some of the racial elements inside prison involve the expectation for prisoners to segregate themselves by race or gang affiliation. When you get out to the fire line you don’t see that—the group consists purely of firefighters, partners who all depend on each other to survive some of the dangerous situations they face. That sense of camaraderie is often the driving force behind a prisoner’s rehabilitation; without that group bond, prisoners can become isolated and cut-off from reality, quite possibly the antithesis of correctional rehabilitation.

“Once you get to camp you’ve find yourself looking beyond the hassles of prison politics because you are out there on the fires, and you’ve got to look out for each other,” Paul stated, “I really enjoyed the crew that I was on because we were all brothers. We worked together, we ate together, we slept together, you know what I mean? It was very positive. You get the sense of being a part of something, rather than just being locked up in a cell all by yourself.”

Philip harbors a similar outlook, though he carries his efforts into the classroom; in fact, he’s part of a group of camp inmates who really enjoy doing what is called the juvenile diversion program, in which a few inmates who have served multiple terms go out to continuation schools and elementary schools during red ribbon week (drug awareness week) to talk about the poor choices that they made in their life. Some of them, like Philip, have expressed interest in possibly taking up a career in youth counseling as a way of veering troubled kids back in the right direction. The campers who are part of the diversion program are all success stories just waiting to jump back into society with a level-head on their shoulders; they have come to terms with the revolving door of crime and punishment they got caught up in, realized what they’ve done and want to try to make a difference by stopping kids from running down the same decrepit path they and are paying their debts for.

“It’s so rewarding being a part of the community betterment and diversion programs, going to classrooms and talking to kids, it feels good to finally be able to give back to the community because the community that we go to is where I caught my cases, where I’ve hurt so many people, and so it feels really good to finally be able to give back. Even though I have a group of roughly 8 to 10 kids, just getting to one of them and having a positive impact on one of those kids, that’s all I care about,” says Philip.

Another camper heavily involved in the diversion program, Resnick is a calm and contented man of 48 years who has been in the penal system since he hit adulthood at age 18. He resides at the Baseline camp and acts as one of the key facilitators who goes out and talks to 8th graders and high school students about the choices one makes in life, specifically about how he made his mistakes, using those negative experiences to influence these kids not to make the same mistakes that he made.

Probably the most powerful aspect of the camps here is the genuine sense that everyone who works in the camps has a sense of purpose, whether it is the guy in the laundry room washing the fire gear when they have a big training event and all of the inmate fire crews come in and camp out there—it’s like a little city in itself. The guy in the laundry, the guy making the meals, the mechanics, it’s amazing to see what a vast production these camps put on and, moreover, how everyone is so willing to jump in and help.

That communication and teamwork, alongside the boost in self-assurance that manifests from their philanthropic contributions, has the power to turn even the most downtrodden and apathetic of inmates into American heroes. Programs such as these should be developed into a staple for American prisons, providing inmates with a means of gaining the inner strength and balance necessary for making that treacherous progression back into society.

In the music video, “Till the DJs Gone,” Boston native Juma – a mysterious figure oft shaded by dark sunglasses who at first acts as a pensive observer – navigates a contemporary milieu under the spell of a corporate subconscious controller. Men and women stare at ipads and cell phones, brainwashed by the messages of greed and consumerism propagated by the digital screens set before them. Juma breaks the communication by hacking into the mass system that disseminates the pervasive messages in order to send out his own message. The song and video transform into a commentary on the state of commercial music as Juma states, “We’re being force fed radio/transmitting garbage/the corporate media monsters.” He ultimately asks us, the listener, to take control and reshape the face of music. Juma creates a meta-narrative of the independent artist rallying against a commercialized cultural system through his music.

The purpose of the song is “to heighten awareness and to help people to start thinking twice and three times about why certain things are valued,” according to Juma.

He jokingly calls himself a “conspiracy theorist.” Juma is a rather upbeat and humorous person, but he holds fast to his beliefs. “The lyrics of the song are talking about mass media and using radio as a point object. What I wanted to visually get across with the video was, the core of the song, the story of awakening. So it’s really about making people aware of agenda setting, which is a communication theory that posits that news media and media systems may not be able to tell us what to think, but certainly what to think about,” says Juma, who makes sure to fleck his statements with academic language.

“We are all being bombarded with these messages that effect who we are. And the intent of these things is to trigger a particular consumer behavior. I tend to feel like there are capitalistic forces at work in the world,” he continues. “The prospect to monetize human existence – in a sense is kind of crazy – is antithetical to why we’re here. It totally devalues who we are as human beings.”

The single, “Till the DJs Gone,” is off his upcoming sophomore album, Fall of the Giants, which is set to be released on January 31st. The title track of the forthcoming album, “Giants Fall,” had a video release during the summer of 2010. But unlike his most recent video, the “Giants Fall” full-length music video has a run time just under eight minutes. The video follows a struggling alcoholic, played by Juma, who grapples with deep seeded issues of witnessing his mother being abused by his father as a child.

“Domestic violence is the backdrop to this guys present day…. He is really in dire straits psychologically,” says Juma. The character creates an imaginary psychologist to help him sort out his twisted memories as he spirals deeper into a suicidal depression. A force emanates from a bible in the house – of which the character is reaching for – which transports him into a spirit world, “where he fights his giants in the form of these demonic smoke projectiles.”

This David and Goliath theme runs not only through the two singles, but the entirety of the album. “The whole album is about winning, overcoming, its about freedom, fear, and limitation. Whether its personal fear that holds people back from being the best that they can be. Whether it be societal limitations that keep people from coming together or keep people from excelling in society,” states Juma. His strength in his music stems from his ability to take a macro-perspective. “It speaks to overcoming any and all forms of obstacles, may it be emotional, spiritual, intellectual, societal. It speaks to the celebration of those giants falling.”

“I am a man of many giants,” states Juma. His album, though having political and cultural meanings, is rooted in a personal narrative. “What inspired me to come up with an album was my own personal giants in my own life. And that change to victory made me want to share it.”

His ideas work as thematic motifs and ubiquitous narrative arcs. The political bent on the album can also be applied to the music industry, something that Juma has a strong opinion about. “In celebrating the fall of giants, it absolutely connects to the deconstruction of the old model, institutions, and the old music industry… an institution that we now realize was in need of deconstruction, and now reconstruction.” Juma is a completely independent artist who often produces his work on his own. Furthermore, Fall of the Giants – like his first album – will be released on his own record label, Inniss Entertainment.

Juma’s opinions on the music industry are steeped in experience, as he is no newcomer to the rap game. His debut album, Blast Music, features the song “Pray 4 U” with guest vocals from Grammy winner John Legend. Juma befriended Legend back in 2001 when they were both working at a Boston management consultant firm. This was a time when Legend was still relatively unknown, slowly gaining popularity. After trading mixtapes, Legend and Juma decided to collaborate, creating a song about having faith in the face of adversity.

“Music has always been a part of my life,” explains Juma. He has opened for Fat Joe, Amanda Diva, The X-ecutioners, Kirk Franklin, and many others. When asked about why he makes music, Juma jokes, “the heavens didn’t open up, and a voice didn’t come down and say ‘Juma, do an album,’” the omniscient voice stated with a deep rumble. For him, music is just a given; it is a piece of his life.

With his upcoming release, the sister single of “Till the DJs Gone, “We Don’t Really Care,” is available as a free download on his soundcloud page. And further information about Juma can be found at facebook.com/JumaMusic.

So what’s next for Juma? After watching a TV show on the apocalyptic Mayan predictions for 2012, Juma jokingly mentioned that he is “reshaping [his] plans for the year.” But it is more likely that his future parallels his opinion on the music industry; we are moving back to “where it should be, back into the hands of the curators. With the digital age and the ability to record and release music at no cost has empowered artists.” And Juma is doing just that – exactly what his own music suggests – which is to defy the corporate music giants.

By Kevin DeStefano at Emmanuel College

Your favorite smart-phone can do everything that your laptop, cellphone and digital camera can do. Big whoop. We get it. Yes, your iPhone or shiny new tablet is nothing short of science fiction.

Finally, scientists have created devices that meet all of the expectations of your eleven year old self (aside from light-sabers). You thought that now all there was to look forward to was living on other planets and fighting robots that transformed into cars. You were wrong.

Here’s a list of crazy inventions that most people haven’t even heard of yet.

5. SixthSense

No, not the M. Night Shyamalan movie. SixthSense is the name given to the next step in wearable interactive technology. Invented by Pranav Mistry, a student at MIT who wanted to make the technology open source and affordable to mass produce. Essentially, it’s a camera attached to a projector, attached to a computer that you can wear anywhere.

Say you need to know if your next flight is delayed due to weather. Instead of taking out your smart-phone and bringing up an app, the camera on SixthSense reads your flight ticket and projects delay and delay times on the same ticket that you are currently reading. By using hand gestures, similar to Microsoft’s Kinect, the user has the ability to access all of the knowledge of the web without ever touching a keyboard.

4. Synthetic Meat

Where’s the beef? “In-vitro” meat is exactly as disturbing as it sounds. Not processed in a plant or factory, but “born” in a lab. Synthetic meat is chemically identical to tissue from a dead animal because it came from the same animal. The only difference is how the meal is prepared.

Synthetic meat is grown from culturing cells from animal tissue, so it’s completely organic – but it sure ain’t natural. Currently, it costs millions to produce small amounts of synthetic meat. In the near future, however, synthetic meat will be cheaper to produce than livestock.

Why is this such a cool invention? Because, in theory, it only takes one living cow to produce one million times its weight in meat.

Ethics aside, this same process could be used to create human tissue, possibly human organs for spare parts. Maybe immortality isn’t as far away as we think.

3.  3D Printing

Now the concept sounds simple, instead of printing a two dimensional sheet, printers can now create three dimensional models by using one machine. Why is this so incredible? Because instead of ink, these printers create objects; usually multiple materials at once. Steel, plastic, carbon fiber, copper, wood. You name it, they can print it.

The concept even goes as far as producing organic materials such as cells and tissues using the same technique of three dimensional layerings using computer generated mapping and accuracy.

Imagine one machine, loaded up with giant cartridges of raw materials, building  multiple houses complete with plumping and electrical wiring. The invention is so intuitive that as it improves, 3D printing could advance to creating complex machinery such as cars and planes and other objects with moving parts.

2. Wireless Electricity

Yes, that is correct. We said wireless electricity.

While technically not a new concept as it was first envisioned by historical genius Nikola Tesla, wireless electricity has finally been patented. Wireless power, or wireless energy transfer, is carried out by principles of induction and magnetism.

Magnets are placed on surfaces such as walls, floors, ceilings and directly connected to the power grid. Corresponding magnets are placed on electronic devices such as phones, televisions, or laptops and relay back and forth to create an electrical current supplying all of the devices.

Imagine owning an electric car and being able to park it in a location with a charging mat. Or, walking into a room and suddenly your mobile device starts charging. Wireless is the new revolution, and it is only a matter of time until wireless electricity is everywhere.

Photo Cred: Sciencenews.org

1.Graphene

Imagine waking up and walking to your front porch stoop to retrieve your morning newspaper when instead you lift a touch screen. The same weight, size and flexibility as a newspaper only with a fully interactive display that you can take to work or read on the morning commute to work.

Behold, the holy grail of modern technology and modern science. A carbon based material that is currently both the thinnest and strongest material known to man, graphene is also a great conductor of electricity as well as flexible. Samsung as well as many other developers have released prototypes of paper thin, flexible touch screens that implement graphene.

As far as abundance, graphene is as common as the graphite from pencils and is set to replace silicon as a semiconductor in computer chips. Graphene is sure to replace all display monitors, televisions, tablets and smart phones. Because it is such a new material, researchers haven’t even scratched the surface as to all of its applications. For that reason alone, it is number one on our list.

We Blasters tend to raise our electrical bills in November and December as we test out the holiday season’s gifts, games and gadgets. This year is no exception, economy or no economy. But what did surprise us this year were the extraordinarily low prices of some of the gifts — many of which are under $100 this year.

Without further ado:

OCZ Technology 240 GB Vertex 3 Solid State Drive – $400

If you have someone on your gift list that needs a computer upgrade, the odds are this is it. Solid state hard drives are the best thing going right now, the the OCZ Vertex 3 is a great one.

With a transfer rates averaging over 190 MB/sec on HD Tune, it is much faster than a traditional hard drive. Windows 7 is optimized for solid state drives, and they zoom. PC’s aren’t dead yet, so keep upgrading!

First Act Soulo iPad Microphone and Karaoke App – $69-$99

Of all the things your iPad can do, I bet you never thought to add “karaoke machine” to the list. Well keep on thinking, because you haven’t yet found something that your iPad can’t do.

The Soulo iPad Microphone and Karaoke App does both things. It has a full-size mic to jam away, and a functional app that displays lyrics from the songs in your iTunes library. It also has audio effects to improve pitch and make yourself sound halfway decent when you belt out your favs.

It even has a function to record music videos with the iPad 2′s camera.

The Soulo is $69 for a wired mic or $99 for wireless.

Callet Case, Cover and Wallet for iPhone 4 – $19.99

The Callet is just an example of smart thinking. It’s a simple piece of silicone that fits over your iPhone 4 and has slots on the back for your license, credit cards, etc. In the months before app-based payment takes over at every retail store, this looks like a happy medium.

The case is durable and comfortable both to store in your pocket and hold in your hand. It doesn’t obstruct any of the buttons, either.

If you’re looking for an affordable iPhone accessory that they’ll actually use, look here. Comes in pink and black.

Kensington AbsolutePower – $89.99

The Kensington AbsolutePower Laptop, Phone, Tablet Charger is the authority on device charging. Finally, there’s a device with enough juice and enough plugs to charge your laptop and two USB devices (phone, GPS, bluetooth, etc.) AT THE SAME TIME. Plug the AbsolutePower into one outlet, and it does the rest.

The device works with just about all laptops on the market. It has a power plug with a variety of adapters and two built-in USB ports with 2.1 amps of charging power, good enough for tablets and cell phones alike. This is a great dad gift, too.

Ecobee Smart Internet Thermostat – $400 plus installation

This is one of the most expensive items on the list, and it’s not a give-and-go present. The Ecobee Smart Thermostat requires about two hours of professional wiring and installation by an HVAC contractor, so be prepared for a $600 investment between the device and installation. You also need a WIFI network.

That said, this thing is awesome. The Ecobee is the best Internet-enabled home thermostat on the market, and the pros agree. You get a programmable, touchscreen-based thermostat that’s easy to use on the wall. But the reason you buy the Ecobee is that it’s also entirely app-enabled.

Download the free app for your smartphone (or iPad) and you’re good to go. You can access your thermostat from anywhere in the world, including any computer. You can program complex schedules or just turn on your A/C when you’re on the way home from work, so you arrive to a cool house in the afternoon.

The Cdock – $55, $65, $70

The Cdock is a simple as it gets. An iPhone dock, it uses the phone’s display to create a retro-looking clock while charging your iPhone/iPod touch in style. You use whatever clock/alarm app you want, and the Cdock makes it look good on the outside.

It’s a dock-only. No speakers or anything, but the Cdock plugs in via USB or regular electrical outlet to charge your phone.

The reason we’re drawn to the Cdock is simple: style. You can buy it in glossy black, brushed aluminum or natural walnut. This lets you actually match your iPhone dock to your furniture decor, without some black plastic dock standing out in the crowd.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 – $39.99 to $95.99

This is the year of the voice.

With Siri getting things done for iPhone 4S users, this should be the year you finally give your wrists a rest with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. You can have the home edition for under $40 or the premium package for under $100.

Most importantly, the software works. You talk. It types. It’s accurate right out of the box or can be trained with your own style or accent. This makes a great student gift or a present for someone with a small office. Of course, if you’re buying for a doctor or lawyer, they may already have the software, so ask.

AeroPress Coffee Maker — $30

If you have a friend who’s a huge coffee nut, they probably already know about this device, but many still haven’t given it a try yet because they’re hopelessly dependent on a Keurig or even possibly a traditional coffee maker.

But the AeroPress really works. I have it and love it. Special thanks to Useful Things for providing me with one to test out. The video below, by former Maximum PC editor Will Smith, was my first experience seeing the AeroPress in action. Take a look.

Dazzle DVD Recorder HD — $50

For some reason, Avid did not put their brand name on the Dazzle DVD Recorder. That was a dumb move, because Avid is a symbol of video quality. It’s the software used by TV stations to edit news footage.

So for $50, the Dazzle DVD Recorder is a good bet. You can take any video from your old camcorders, new camcorders, digital cameras, smartphones, DVDs, and even your gaming consoles, and put it on your computer, YouTube, etc.

It’s a really poorly named product. It should be called Avid Dazzle HD. It can record DVDs, but that’s not
what your recipient will use it for.

playGo Wireless Media Streamer — $450

This is another one on the expensive list, but if you have someone in your family who loves music and gadgets, the playGo is a great gift.

It works with all computers (PC and Mac) and allows you to send any music or audio wirelessly to anywhere else in your house, including your kickass home theater receiver/surround sound.

The playGo is a way for people to play their home music library on their “good” speakers without needing to put it on an iPod/iPhone and without having to buy a second computer or a home-theater PC. It works great, and sends high-quality, distortion-free sound up to 75 feet away.

Remote Control Helicopter — $40

No matter what, you’re going to end up at T.J. Maxx and/or Marshalls at some point during your gift-buying frenzy.

In doing some research, I found a couple products that I’d be happy with. The first one is their Remote Control Helicopter. It’s a toy. Not much to it. You use the remote; it flies. It’s a great way to break stuff indoors, and I’m sure we could all figure out interesting ways to break IT outside.

More to come in the next few days, right up until Christmas!

The traditional music business is hemorrhaging cash, so record labels are increasingly finding themselves turning to an old money-making stalwart: the box set. The latter half of 2011 saw a seemingly never-ending parade of “Special,” “Deluxe,” “Super Deluxe,” and other superlative-laden collections from a variety of artists, often including re-recordings, never-before-heard songs, behind-the-scenes supplements, and of course, vinyl. You know, the kind of features that leave diehard fans salivating as they gaze longingly through the window of a record store (remember those?!?). Here, we break down some of the best offerings for the music fan on your Christmas list*.

AC/DC — Backtracks Collectors Box Set ($189)

This updated version of the band’s 2009 box set wins the award for coolest design, hands down. Why? Its contents (including three CDs, two DVDs, one LP and a hardcover photo book) are housed in A WORKING GUITAR AMPLIFIER. No joke. The recordings capture live and/or rare versions of AC/DC’s signature hits, and the DVDs include music videos and live performances up through 2009. But let’s face it — nothing can top flipping through concert photos from the band’s earliest tour dates while you plug in and jam out to “Highway to Hell,” no assembly required.

Beach Boys — The Smile Sessions Box Set ($140)

This treasure chest of the Beach Boys’ Album That Never Was contains five CDs, two LPs, two 7″ singles, dozens of unreleased photos, a 60-page book with input from the original band members as well as members of their entourage, and more. The CDs document the recording sessions in 1966 and 1967 for Smile, the follow-up album to Pet Sounds which was never released. (Vocalist Brian Wilson put out solo versions of the songs on his 2004 record of the same name.) Though it’s available in a significantly cheaper two-disc format, the “Good Vibrations” disc alone makes the expansive box set worth the extra dough: nearly 90 minutes documenting the piece-by-piece assemblage of the band’s classic single, with Wilson’s perfectionist genius on full display.

Also Available: 2-CD Deluxe Edition ($24); 2-LP Vinyl Edition ($26)

Elvis Presley — Young Man with the Big Beat ($104)

The five discs in this collector’s must-have are loaded with live versions and alternate takes of classics like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog,” plus interviews with Presley and two discs of digitally remastered original recordings. An 80-page book highlights rare photos and documents, and the set even includes replicas of ’50s and ’60s memorabilia such as ticket stubs and promotional posters. It’s a box set fit for a King.

Nirvana — Nevermind Super Deluxe Edition (Price varies)

Good luck with this one. In their infinite wisdom, the marketing team at Geffen Records decided to release only 10,000 copies of the “Super Deluxe Edition” (containing four CDs, a DVD and a 90-page book) in the U.S. in October, and 30,000 for the rest of the world. So, fans who didn’t jump on it right away are out of luck (although, private sellers are currently advertising the set through Amazon for as little as $115). Those who opt for the cheaper 2-CD “Deluxe Edition” of Nevermind ($18) will get the original album, enhanced by B-sides, live versions and rehearsal takes. Vinyl enthusiasts who are willing to shell out $71 for the 4-LP “Deluxe Edition (Vinyl)” will be treated to the original album, plus alternate recordings. A word to the wise though: so far, buyer consensus on the vinyl version is that the remastered versions are less than stellar.

Pearl Jam

Not a box set per se, but grunge fans can put together their own Pearl Jam bundle in celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary. In 2011 alone, the Seattle rockers put out a coffee table book ($40), a DVD ($18) and a soundtrack ($19) to accompany the illuminating Cameron Crowe-directed documentary Pearl Jam: Twenty. In addition, completists will want to pick up the new live album Live on Ten Legs ($15), as well as a three-CD package containing deluxe editions of the band’s second and third albums, vs. and Vitalogy, as well as a live recording at Boston’s Orpheum Theater ($29).

Pink Floyd — Discovery Box Set: The Complete Studio Recordings ($180); Dark Side of the Moon: Immersion Box Set ($120); Wish You Were Here: Immersion Box Set ($120)

Zone out in your bedroom and fire up a … ahem, blacklight, as these sweet psychedelic sounds take you back to the 1960s and ’70s. The comprehensive Discovery collection includes a whopping 16 discs of remastered versions of the group’s 14 albums, complete with new packaging and lyric booklets for each. The set also includes a 60-page book of artwork. Floyd is also rolling out “Immersion Box Sets” of its most beloved albums (probably a better bet for more casual fans), which feature the original recordings, plus remixed and remastered versions, demos and live recordings. Both the Dark Side and Wish You Were Here special editions also include memorabilia such as coasters, a scarf and ticket/backstage pass replicas from the original tours. But be sure to save some money as you shop — the Immersion Box Set of The Wall is due out in February.

The Smiths – The Smiths Complete ($64); The Smiths Complete (vinyl) ($245)

The limited-edition (only 3,000 copies!) Super Deluxe box set is more or less off the market (selling for upwards of $650 by private sellers), and there’s no wonder it got snapped up so quickly. A wet dream for any diehard Morrissey/Marr fan, the set included CD and vinyl versions of all eight Smiths albums, plus 25 7″ singles, a poster, prints of the original album sleeves, and a DVD of the band’s music videos. Procrastinators will have to settle for one of two still-available but less cool versions. The $64 CD set (a steal) includes digitally remastered versions of all eight albums, while the pricier vinyl set contains the digital remasters in CD and vinyl form, as well as a booklet and poster.

U2 — Achtung Baby: Super Deluxe Edition ($140); Achtung Baby: Uber Deluxe Edition ($439)

This 10-disc (six CDs, four DVDs) set is essentially two box sets for the price of one — fans get remastered versions of the Irish quartet’s 1991 album Achtung Baby, as well as the follow-up, 1993′s Zooropa, plus B-sides and remixes. But the best inclusion is the “Kindergarten” disc, which features “baby” versions (aw) of the tracks on Achtung Baby. (“One” is a standout). The DVDs include music videos, live performances and bonus footage. The set also comes with a hardback book and 16 art prints. Uber fans may opt for the … well, “Uber Deluxe” limited edition (whose job is it to name these things?), which includes all of the above, plus five 7″ singles, badges, stickers and — wait for it — a pair of Bono’s “The Fly” sunglasses. Housed in a magnetic tile box, it’ll set you back a mere $440.

Also available: 2-CD “Deluxe Edition” ($30); Achtung Baby Vinyl Box ($132)