Beautiful Boston Narrated By Randall

Hello Youtubes! Randall, you are wicked awesome! Honey Badger Narrates: This...is the Beautiful Boston (and Boston Terrier) Randall's Honey Badger

Thanks for all the 3's Ray!

Hmmm... let's see... NO GOD! PLEASE NO!!! NOOOOOOOOOO Petechet Ok, now that is out of the way... to say the least, I was hoping Ray Allen would retire with the Celtics. Of all the teams to sign with, he had to go to the Miami Heat. I guess there is finally a player on the Heat whom I don't mind watching. Good luck Ray and thanks for all the 3's! Here's the Boston.com article: Allen chooses to sign with Miami Heat

Street Fighter IV Tournament at Game On! (2012)

Back in my day, I took a 30 min bus ride to Captain Nemo's at Kenmore to challenge people at Street Fighter II. We didn't have 32bit systems back then. We didn't have Xboxes or PS3's... We didn't have the internet or online gaming back in my day. We challenged our opponents face to face. Usually one machine per venue, two men (or women, I'd seen girls playing Street Fighter II) insert coin, one man gets KO'ed! By machine I mean arcade cabinet just in case you youngsters don't know what I'm talking about. If the machine was already occupied by 2 players, I'd place my quarter on the nook at the bottom of the screen to show that I'm going next. Sometimes real fights would break out when people go out of queue order or if they felt like they'd been defeated in a cheap way (the jab and throw technique was considered cheap). Back in my day, neither rain, snow nor sleet I'd make my trek out to Kenmore to challenge people at Street Fighter II. On Saturday, June 30, 2012 Replay'd is bringing that experience back in the form of Street Fighter IV. For me, I'm geeting a whiff of nostalgic pizza while "shoryuken!" and "sonic boom!" is ringing in my head. This time I won't be challenging anyone though. My time has passed, it's a whole new world now. I'm not as good as I was during the Street Fighter II days. This time the game is more well known, the venue is bigger and the stakes are higher. The Tournament will be at: Game On (Fenway) 1pm Saturday June 30, 2012 Game on is literally right next to Fenway Park. And I think the prize is money or something like that. Back in my day, my only reward was to crush my enemies and see them driven before me! Also, I'd be happy if I had enough bus fair by the end of my Street Fighting day. Below are links to information for the Replayd SFAE Tournament in Boston at Game On. Game Underground of Framingham, MA will be there but, correct me if I'm wrong, I think the sponsor is Replayd of Allston, MA. I'm not sure how to register tournament. Maybe give Game Underground or Replayd can help with that? Game Underground Calender Replay'd Game On! In the mean time check out this pretty good web series about a former Street Fighter player getting back into the game. Kind of reminds me of Rocky: The Street Fighter : Episode 1 TheGameStation

PAX East 2012

PAX East was my first convention for 2012. It was also my first time at PAX East and I was totally overwhelmed. Knowing the MA area well, I thought I was smart enough to be able to get to the Boston Event and Convention Center (BECC) with no problem but I got stuck in traffic at South Station and my car crawled all the way from the Turnpike off ramp to the BECC's alternate parking garage. The alternate garage wasn't too far away from the convention center. It was a 10-15min walk (which was a lot faster than driving in traffic). There were shuttle buses but, being a nice crisp, chilly New England day my group and I decided to walk instead. It was sunny, some wind, a bit nippy... spring was in the air...

Mercy Roulette

Hello Youtubes! Photo Credit: Kevin Cool On this edition of Hello Youtubes! I like to talk about a brilliant local artist. The marvelous Mercy Roulette is a talented vocalist in the Boston, MA area. Mercy is a great example that talent and quality exists on youtube and that Boston is not just about bad traffic and crazy sports fans. Well, not all crazy sports fans are bad.Go Celtics! Anyway, I first met Mercy at Boston ComicCon when she cosplayed as Ms. Marvel. At the time, I didn't know she's the lead singer of the local band, Evince Ethos. I am honored to have met such a cool and talented artist. In the embedded video you can see how talented Mercy is as she covers Evanescence's "My Immortal". Not only can she sing, she can also play the keyboard... awesomely well! Mercy Roulette Covers "My Immortal" by Evanescence OnyxRoses My favorite Mercy Roulette piece is her cover of Beowulf's (Robert Zemickis)"A Hero Comes Home". Not only did she cover a tough song, she did it a capella and made it her own as she skillfully and beautifully mixes both Idina Menzel's and Robin Wright Penn's versions. Mercy Roulette, you are my hero! Mercy Roulette's Links: Mercy on Fandalism Madame Mercy on Facebook Madame Mercy on Twitter Evince Ethos Links: Evince Ethos on Facebook Evince Ethos on Twitter

Cheer Up Sleepy Jean

"Our good times starts and ends... without dollar one to spend..." -Davy Jones R.I.P. Davy Jones: Monkees Singer Davy Jones Dies He'd want us to cheer up: Daydream Believer: Literal Video Version dascottjr November 20th Sheraton Hotel Framingham, MA USA Super Megafest I walk up to Peter Tork timidly (mind you, I'm a grown man but, when I see a member of the Monkees I'm 8 years old): "Peter, may I have your autograph?" Peter: "Sure!" I hand him my "Monkees Greatest Hits" cd cover: "I also like to buy your album. Great performance last night!" Peter: "Tell you what, I'll also sign that for you free of charge." Me: "Thanks! I can't believe that I actually get to meet you! I met Mickey a couple of years ago!" Peter: "I know." Me (dork): "How?" Peter (duh): "You got his autograph here on the cover." Me: "Oh... I still can't believe it though! I used to watch you guys every day after school when I was kid." Peter: "Really? You don't look that old." Me: "Oh, it was back in the 80's. They showed the Monkees on a local station. I knew of the Monkees even before I learned about the Beatles." Peter: "Haha! I can't compare us to the Beatles." Me: "Yeah, I know... 'The Beatles!' They didn't even play their own instruments!" Peter: "HAHA! Where did you watch us?" Me: "WLVI Channel 56 Boston." Peter: "I mean where are you from?" Me: "Oh, Massachusetts... Boston..." Peter (smiles): "Oh... Well, enjoy the cd and make sure you let the ink dry before you put it back in the case." Me: "Thanks! Thank you so much Peter! It's a pleasure!" Peter: "No, Thank you John! It's nice to meet you!" WLVI Monkees Bumper-ADA-Kotter Bumper-Dairy Council cattman2 As I walk away a bolt of embarrassing realization ran down my spine. DOH! Peter Tork was asking "Where" I had watched the Monkees because I'm Asian. I could have told him that my mother had watched them in Vietnam back in the late 60's on one of the US Armed Forces Station. The station also broadcasted shows like I Love Lucy and The Ed Sullivan Show. That would have been a far more interesting story than, "duh, I'd watched you guys here in Boston, duh..." At least I didn't creep Peter Tork out the way I creeped out Felicia Day. At least Felicia Day didn't mind taking a picture with me I guess. Peter Tork performed at the concert on the first night of Super Megafest. Not only did he play songs from his current band, Shoes Suede Blues, he also performed a very jazzy/bluesy version of "Last Train to Clarksville" also, live versions of "I'm a Believer" and "Daydream Believer." My mother was sitting next to me and told me, "I had a crush on Davy Jones when I was a teenager." I replied, "Yeah, sure mom! You and Marcia Brady and a ton of other girls in the 60's." Despite my snarky comment, I enjoyed the cover of "Daydream Believer" done by Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues. In fact, "Daydream Believer" is one of my favorite songs. It was one of the songs that I learned to follow the beat, sing on key and not shame myself. In fact sing it very well at karaoke. I bet I can charm girls from 60's with it. You can take that as good thing or a sad thing. I'll go with good! Super Megafest 2011 - Peter Tork - Daydream Believer grog1138 In any case, Davy Jones is one of my favorites. It was the intro to "Daydream Believer" that got me to relate to him: Chip Douglas: "7A." (referring to the take of the song) Davy Jones: "What number is this, Chip?" Chip Douglas and others in unison (annoyed): "7A!" Davy Jones: "Okay. Know what I mean, like don't get excited, man. It's 'cause I'm short, I know.." I was also a short kid but, knowing Davy Jones accepts his physical stature... that he's ok with it... and also Marcia Brady having a crush on him even though he's the shortest of the Monkees, all of a sudden it was ok to be who I am. Just have confidence like Davy Jones. That's what I got out of it. Thank you Davy Jones. Thanks for all the laughs and the great the music. Your story and the story of the Monkees is always inspirational. Starting off as a joke band, a parody to The Beatles. As time went on the Monkees became legitimate musicians and had a huge impact in Pop Culture. Monkee business commercial 1969 skiatl R.I.P. Davy Jones. I'm sad that I'll never be able to meet you (I'm so jealous of Marcia Brady right now) and get your autograph on the cover my "Monkees Greatest Hits" but, in the spirit of the Monkees: I will continue to be optimistic and goof off because, somewhere out there a Sleepy Jean needs some cheering up. - a fellow Daydream Believer Monkees - Daydream Believer - Music Video From TV - Clear kisszac Oh I could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings The six o'clock alarm would never ring But it rings and I rise, wipe the sleep out of my eyes My shaving razor's cold and it stings Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen? You once thought of me as a white knight on his steed Now you know how happy I can be Oh, and our good time starts and ends With a dollar one to spend But how much baby do we really need? Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen? Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen? Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen? Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?

Congrats Paul Pierce!

THE TRUTH! With a three pointer during the beginning of the third quarter against the Charlotte Bobcats at the TD Bank Garden, Paul Pierce surpassed Larry Bird on the Boston Celtics stats as the second all-time leading scorer. I can't find the final all-time score for Paul Pierce yet but, with some quick math... his career points before tonight's game was 21,782. Pierce scored 15 points tonight (02/06/12). So, if my information and math is correct, that totals up to 21,797 career points surpassing Larry Bird's 21,791. In order to make it to the number one spot Pierce would need to beat John Havlicek's 26,395 points. It's not impossible... Oh yeah, the Celtics did play on after Paul Pierce's milestone and were able to win against the Bobcats by 10 points, 94-84. Here's a link to WEEI's article on tonight's game: Green Street » Fast Break: Pierce, Celtics take down Bird, Bobcats Paul Pierce Mix - Lose Yourself KidFromChicago

The Celtics Are Back!

The NBA is back! Actually, it was back on Christmas Day but, my home team, the Boston Celtics lost against the New York Knicks during the season opener. So, I didn't feel like writing about it. Then 2 days later they lost against the Miami Heat. Then a few days ago they lost against the New Orleans Hornets... A very bad start. Local sports writers are saying that the last time the Boston Celtics started with 0-3 was back in the 90's which, is a very very bad sign. BUT tonight! They finally won! At the home opener! 96-85 against the Detroit Pistons! Despite some of the problems with the bench near the end of the game, I'd still take that victory. A win is a win! And I can finally use this video: Guile Theme goes with everything (Boston Celtics Gino) grog1138 (ME! )

Keith Apicary Underground (Again)

Hello Youtubes! Keith couldn't get enough of Framingham, MA during his Apicarnage Tour. So, he'll be at Game Underground again on Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 8pm. I believe the charge for the Keith Apicary's Merry Keithmas Show is $10. It'll be one of the funnest 10 bucks you'll spend. Here's the link to the Game Underground Website: GameUnderground Check out the Game Underground December Events Calender for more info (be sure to click on the 18th): Game Underground December Calender Apicarnage 9/18/11: A montage of the Apicarnage U.S. tour. That's us at Game Underground chanting "Keith" at 2:55. You can catch me and RFBlues in the video if you look close enough. Keith Apicary - Classic Gaming Wiz (Blue Hedgehog Remix) TalkingClassics Don't know who Keith Apicary is? Don't worry! This video will help with your Keithducation: Ultimate Keith Apicary Reel nathanjbarnatt Links: Game Underground's Website: game-underground.com Talking Classics's Youtube Channel: TalkingClassics Talking Classics on Screwattack.com: talking-classics

Come Back Home

歸來吧 At the height of Priscilla Chan's (陳慧嫻) career, she disappeared from the Hong Kong pop industry and there were much controversy about her leave of absence. She ended up attending Boston University and, according to Priscilla she was fulfilling her promise to her parents of furthering her education. You can check out a bit of the story in my post over at Groggy Robot: Retrospective: Thousand Songs of the Setting Sun When she returned to CantoPop in March of 1992 with the release of her album 歸來吧 (Come Back Home), she was welcomed back with open arms. There were a couple of chart toppers in the album. As with the album title, 歸來吧 (Come Back Home) being an analog of her return to Hong Kong, the songs themselves are quite different from what people were used to coming form Priscilla. The lyrics and melodies are much more mature than her previous albums which, also reflects a "grown up" Priscilla and... did her voice change as well? It's more weathered? Definitely not deteriorated but rather, having a much more "seasoned" and "richer" timbre? The title song 歸來吧 (Come Back Home) was also a karaoke hit. Here in the states, we were just being introduced to karaoke and 歸來吧 (Come Back Home) made for a pretty impressive and challenging introduction. For some reason, I keep thinking that the album came out around December and not March. So, to share my false release date of the song 歸來吧 (Come Back Home), I invite you to have a listen with me. 陳慧嫻 - 歸來吧 namezzyzx The beginning of the song seemed to have been cut in this upload. The lip sync seems to be off. I don't remember if the video was originally like this or not. 金曲重溫: 陳慧嫻 歸 來 吧 1992 MrMusical1980 This is the first time I'd seen this video. 作詞：鄭國江    作曲：陳小霞    編曲：趙增熹 月亮下　想到他 默默地　珠淚下 記起多少舊情話 每段往事升起沉下 看流雲　不說話 寂寞吧　苦悶吧 想起當天　月明下 兩人含笑道傻話 * 心裡的他　快歸來吧 這裡才是快樂老家 轉載來自 魔鏡歌詞網 幾番離合再相敘 成功　挫敗　懶管它 悲哀因有他　快樂為有他 跟他受苦也罷 * 他知道否　我在想他 Repeat * 他呀他　那日歸家 心裡的他　快歸來吧 這裡才是快樂老家 Ga Le Ung Ah　Ga Le Ung Ah　這裡才是快樂老家 Ga Le Ung Ah　Ga Le Ung Ah　這裡才是快樂老家 咖 哩 牛 腩 飯 (Curried Beef Brisket on Rice)!

Super Megafest 2011

Super Megafun! Super Megafest 2011 happened last weekend on November 19th and 20th at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, MA. With Thanksgiving happening in the U.S. on November 24th, 4 days after the convention, I had a very busy week and some bad allergies so, I didn't get a chance to talk about Super Megafest 2011 until now. Super Megafest is a smaller convention compared to the ones I attended in the past year. But as a wise Jedi once said, "Size matters not." As Super Megafest had a great guest list which included Patrick Stewart who made an appearance on Saturday. I didn't get to meet Captain Picard but for the lucky people who did meet him, they assured me that he's awesome and nice. Maybe I'll get to meet him at future conventions. I did get to meet Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee of Lord of the Rings) again. I first met him at the Museum of Science of Boston a while back. He autographed his book There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale and Rudy for me all those years ago. This time, I finally got my copy of The Goonies and the insert of Return of the King signed. I also chatted with him for a bit and was able to sneak in for a photo op. He's super nice and down to earth. It might not seem like much reading my testaments here about how nice the celebrities are but, once you get to meet a snarky and jaded celebrity you'll be more appreciative with the nice ones. I also met the man who donned the Sauron armor in Lord of the Rings, Sala Baker. We got to talking about how he wanted to play professional basketball but ended up being an actor. He was excited to be in Boston and wish he had more time to explore. He especially wanted to go to the Museum of Science. Alright MoS, my former employer, I'd plugged you a few times at the convention and on this blog. Where's my commission? At least send me some free stuff. I also got to shake hands with Jeremy Bulloch, the badass bounty hunter Boba Fett from Star Wars. Moments later, I realized I forgot to bring my Boba Fett Star Wars trading card for him to sign! WTF?! Ugh! EPIC FAIL! If I never get to see him again, this will haunt me for the rest of my life. I got Mickey's and Peter's autograph so far Peter Tork of the Monkees was there as well. He still has his humor and was very nice to his fans. He also played in the Saturday night concert with his current band, the Shoe Suede Blues. I'm not going to lie, my expectations for the Saturday night concert was very low and I was very wrong to expect that. I thought I'd made a mistake while waiting in line to get into the concert. For the most part, Super Megafest was well coordinated but, there were some hiccups and waiting for the concert was one of them. As I was waiting in line, I saw my cosplayer friends pile into the hotel bar and I was wondering if I should skip the concert. I heard a lot of yelling and laughing coming from the bar and was losing my patience with the wait to get into a concert that I didn't have high expectations for. I could be in the bar sharing silly shenanigans with my cosplayer friends! I was glad I waited though. Once the concert started it was fantastic from beginning to the end. My mind was blown as to how awesome it was. Yet, I still wanted to spend time at the bar though. Only if there were two of me. If only... More about the concert and Super Megafest after the "JUMP!"

Super Megafest 2011: Videos

Hello Youtubes! In this very special edition of "Hello Youtubes" I'm doing a shameless plug for myself! Hello and welcome to grog1138's channel. I went to Super Megafest during the weekend of November 19th - 20th in Framingham, MA. It was an awesome time and the cosplayers who attended raised that awesomeness to the nth power! Here's a few videos I captured of: The Costume Contest's early line up   Captain Jack Sparrows and the revolving door   R2D2, Kid Anakin, Kid Leia and the New Hampshire Ghostbusters.   The videos after the "JUMP" are of the Super Megafest concert on Saturday night. Peter Tork of the Monkees and his band Shoe Suede Blues were there that night performing their original blues and some of the Monkees' music. Sorry about the extra shaky cam. I'm new to video recording. Super Megafest 2011 - Costume Contest grog1138 Hulk won the contest. I wanted Blaster to win because he's a working boombox! Check out Two Face's coin flip. He never dropped the coin once. Super Megafest 2011 - Jack Sparrows Needs a Doc grog1138 Super Megafest 2011 - R2D2 with Kid Anakin and Kid Leia grog1138 Super Megafest 2011 - Power of the Force Ghostbusters grog1138 Super Megafest concert videos after the "JUMP!"

Hurricane Nostalgia

Hello Youtubes! As I watch the weather reports, I noticed that Hurricane Irene has a very similar path to Hurricane Gloria's back in 1985: Hurricane Gloria's Path Hurricane Irene on weather.com Strangely, this takes me back in time. Is this what they mean by seeing my life flash before my eyes? Hurricane Irene doesn't seem too bad (yet) in my area. Then again it blew the roof off my shed and my neighbor's power lines are down because of a huge falling branch. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my memories with you via youtube. Here are some old commercials I found that aired in the New England area: Whalom Park Robolar Click on the "JUMP!" link below for more nostalgic videos:

Zombie March New England

Hello Youtubes! This time on "Hello Youtubes!" I want to talk about a local Boston, MA event. There is an event that has been happening in the past 7 years in my city that I did not know about! The Zombie March has been happening for 7 years! 7 years! Being a huge zombie fan, I have no idea how I missed this the last 6 years. It's not like it's a small event. I'm talking about a huge horde of zombies. Miles of zombies and it disrupts (not complaining) the city of Boston for an entire day. I'm not talking about just one section of Boston. The march route starts from South Station. It goes through Downtown Crossing, Boston Commons, the Public Garden, Newbury St and to the Prudential. From there it goes through the Prudential Mall, back to Boston Commons and congregates at Government Center for a huge battle between the undead and the living. Miles of zombies! It's an amazing sight and loads of fun. There's no agenda or political subtext, it's just plain fun. The living dead were not the only ones marching. There were zombie hunters (Umbrella), survivors, Ghostbusters, super heroes and even Mr. T. Here's info on: Zombie March Boston VIII (2012) Be sure to click on "JUMP!" for more Undead goodness:

Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling - Episode 1: Arrival

The Prisoner As some of you might know, I'm still migrating certain posts from my Livejournal site, Groggy Robot. This is one of those posts that I must migrate and has to be mentioned more than once. Local Boston Band, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling's video for their song, EPISODE 1: ARRIVAL, pays homage to the 1960's U.K. show, the Prisoner. The video is an amazing shot-for-shot remake of the show's opening filmed by Michael J. Epstein (bass) and his crew. What makes this video extra awesome for me is that all the settings are filmed locally, here in the Boston area. It's pretty uncanny how the Boston shots are similar to the original U.K. setting. The star of the video is the vocalist and drummer of the band, Sophia Cacciola. Which today happens to be her birthday! So, feel free to pop onto the Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling's Facebook page and wish Sophia a "Happy Birthday!" You can wish Michael J. Epstein a "Happy Birthday" too if you want. Facebook: Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling Youtube: TheMotionSick Website: donotforsake.com And if you are in the Boston area tonight (8/19/11), Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling is playing at T.T. the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Central Sq, Cambridge: T.T. the Bear's Place Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling - Comparison of Arrival Music Video