It’s been Beatle week at the homestead…
Green Lantern #1 - It can make a grown man cry
Some notes for those tuning in late, or wondering if I ever do update on a regular basis (hint – I think about it quite often. Thinking and having time to do are often two separate things). The birthday happened last month and it was really one of the best on record. A new grill (Which has changed my outlook on life in general. Grills = yum), a fistfull of games, a keyboard and mouse for my Sega Dreamcast, and then some friends kicked in to help pay off my Green Lantern #1, which wasn’t cheap. I’ll admit to nearly tearing up there a bit when I opened the box with it. Thank you everybody!
This of course puts me well within targeting distance to completing my run of Green Lantern – all of it. Well, not the Golden Age Green Lantern. That will never happen. But the only issue left that’s going to possibly put the hurt on is #59 – the first appearance of fan favorite, Guy Gardner. We’ll keep plugging away slowly and eventually I’ll have the complete run from Showcase #22 to today. Fortunately I started this crazy idea nearly 20 years ago when back issues were to be had for cheap. If I woke up, say last Saturday and the idea popped into my head I would have had to dismiss it immediately due to the incredible impracticality of such an endeavor.
The greatest movie ever made...
I also decided to finally get this little gem of a poster framed and put on the wall. Lest you think this is some mere reprint bought at Comic Con and thrown into a frame bought at Walmart, this is the real deal – an original Wrath of Kahn movie poster. A very much real and original poster right down to the notice at the bottom that the poster is to be returned or destroyed at the end of the theatrical engagement. I believe the kids these days say “woot” with respect to this. I love this movie, I have always loved this movie, and will always love this movie. I love everything about it.
Well…except the end. But that’s another discussion.
But it is in perfect condition, it was never displayed or used and there were no pin holes, creases or folds in it, and there never will be.
All you need is love...
Finally, we come to this week’s big event – the re-release of the Beatles official music catalog on remastered CDs and the release of the Beatles Rock Band on 09-09-09 (don’t forget that the same day was the 10th anniversary of my beloved Dreamcast too!). It was a no-brainer on getting the CD collection. Rock Band on the other hand I went back and forth on a couple times before deciding to take the plunge. Before I put my money down I decided to try one of these music rhythm games to see what the fuss was about and would I even want to have such a thing in my home.
Answer: yes.
I played a PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s (where I got a 97% on We Got the Beat – which upon hearing, Jane was very proud of me for accomplishing that). No, you’re not really playing an instrument (except when drumming – apparently you are hitting the appropriate drum heads in these games so you could come out of this a drummer if you put your mind to it), but you’re having fun. It’s not brain surgery after all. Not to say that musicians don’t work very, very hard when on stage or in the studio, but for those of us who just want to kick back and let their rock and roll fantasies live and breathe a bit – well, it’s fun.
Side note – this week also saw something of a flap over Guitar Hero 5 and Kurt Cobain and some choice comments from Courtney Love. While I really don’t care for Nirvana’s music, and I suspect that she did sign all the appropriate paperwork giving Activision permission to use Kurt as a playable character when Nirvana songs are played, and when other songs are played, she may not have realized the details of the plans. That’s not an excuse for either side. It’s also the same thing with, say, Johnny Cash in the game. You can have Johnny Cash as your avatar when playing “Hungry Like the Wolf” if you want. Same with Cobain. That doesn’t make it right, and I do understand that maybe she wouldn’t want Kurt’s image on screen performing a rap song and she probably was under the impression that it would be Kurt performing Nirvana songs only within the game. I guess look over things a bit closer next time? There’s sympathy…but just a tiny little bit…
Moving on…
Wednesday I went to pick up my game and the CD box set. I figure this would be easy. I pre-ordered the game at GameStop to get the three extra free songs, and then before running over there at lunch to get it, I’d stop at Best Buy to get the box set. Easy. It’s the Beatles – they’ll have a bunch of box sets, this will be a snap. Wrong…and remember, I’m at lunch, the clock is ticking to get back. Best Buy had all the individual CDs, but not the box set. I wanted the box set. So I went to Borders – they had one box set left and that was on hold for someone. Maybe I should have pre-ordered. The lesson was being learned (but it’s the freaking BEATLES – they should have ordered plenty of them!).
So, on my way to GameStop at the mall, I swung finally by Barnes and Noble – they had two in stock, soon to be one. The price admittedly was a little rich for my blood, but remember the clock was ticking, I love the Beatles, and by that point common sense and rationality had given me a warm hug, kissed me on the cheek, wished me luck in whatever it was I needed to do and left me to my own devices. Oh, and I signed up for their discount card while I was at it. I was one of the lost by this point. But I had my box set. After that, going into GameStop to get my game was a non-event. Go in, think quietly to yourself how much the place has really changed, say nothing about that to the people who work there now, hand them the money, take the game and leave. Fortunately, I got back to work in time (barely) after this little adventure.
Oh, and I still haven’t played the game because I can’t get my guitar to sync to my Playstation 3 wirelessly. But the opening into is AMAZING!
