Steve Carlson--Stripped Down

Steve Carlson's new album, Stripped Down, is still listed as "Coming Soon," but you can now listen to the full album in streaming audio at his website. It features old and new songs in, well, stripped down acoustic versions, including two new songs, "Where my River Flows," and "Love you or Leave You," co-written with none other than Jensen Ackles. Check it out at his website. It'll be available at CD Baby and iTunes when it's officially released. Can't seem to find a date though, but I'll post an update when I see one. This one is going to be well worth the money.

UPDATE: Looks like the official release date is May 6th. \o/

My Boys are Back!!

Thursday night marked the return of Supernatural, after a loooong and painful hiatus. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode, "Ghostfacers." Though there's been some complaint that, with Dean's contract coming due and much angst to be had, a comic episode was not a good launch back into the series, I thought it made a great palate cleanser from the hiatus. If they'd showed some angst and then the comedy ep, it would have detracted from the main arc, so showing this one first was a fun way to get back in stride with the show.

Next week--yeah, baby, bring on that angst!!

Knitting Tiny Peoples

I've recently become obsessed with this pattern, which meandered its way across one of my knitting groups a couple of weeks ago. It's a pattern for itty bitty people, about 3-4 inches high or so. I modified it a bit when I used it--changed the arms and legs to icords because juggling four needles on something that small was making me insane--but it's an adorable little pattern and a great way to get rid of bits and pieces of yarn you have lying about the house. I've been making tiny celebrities. They don't take very long to knit up, and with an imaginative application of accessories, clothes and colors, you can make them look like just about anybody you want. Want to carry Sam and Dean around in your pocket? Well, now you can!

I'll share some pictures when I have a few more done.

Bones: Player Under Pressure

While I enjoyed Bones tonight, it was a bit odd seeing an episode I knew was from last year. They didn't make very many concessions to canon changes, either--Angela's relationship with Hodgins got bumped back to, well, the status it had when this episode was originally scheduled to air. I hope they include the deleted proposal scene on the DVD set when it comes out.

But all that aside, I did enjoy it. Poor Cam and her blender, though. And wow, they just keep coming up with new and different ways to gross us all out with the dead bodies, don't they? Cause Squashed-in-Bleachers-Guy? Eww.

Make a Difference While You Search

This has been all over the Internet, but I wanted to mention it here because I think it's a great idea. Ethicle offers a search engine (powered by Google) with a nice twist. With every search you make, a penny is donated to a charity of your choice. There are several available to choose from, including Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Federation. If you do as many searches as I do on a daily basis, it won't take long to rack up a couple of bucks' worth of donations for your charity of choice. The site offers easy ways to add the search site to your toolbars, so there's no effort involved at all to help Save the World. Check it out!

Bones--The Man in the Mud--Short Comments

Monday night's Bones was a blast. I'd almost forgotten how much I missed that show. I was going to complain about Sweets, especially the fact that he's in the beginning credits now, but the interaction with him, Booth and Brennan was the highlight of the show for me. I like him when he's doing his psychiatrist thing--not so much when they involve him in the actual cases. Plus? I have theories about him... We'll see if they pan out.

Bones is Back!!

I'm very excited! Bones comes back tonight for a six-episode run. \o/ It seems like ages since David Boreanaz and his Incredibly Wide Shoulders adorned my screen--it has been ages!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the return of one of my favorite shows, and I'll try to squeeze in some commentary.

Neat Firefox Add-On

For those who use Firefox (and if you're not, then how come?), here's a neat add-on. Retail-Me-Not is a site that collects coupons to use for online purchases, and the Firefox addon will pop up a toolbar to let you know if there are coupons available for a specific site when you navigate to it. I've saved some money using this, with coupons to sites you wouldn't even think to use coupons for, plus more obvious ones like amazon.com and others. The selection of coupons is pretty wide, and you get a chance to rate the coupons when you use them. Check it out!

The New Comic Books Are Here!

In addition to new music at the beginning of the month, I get my new comic book shipment. I get my stuff from mailordercomics.com, which has really good prices--the only disadvantage is that if you opt for once a month shipping, you're always a month behind everybody else, so there's risk of spoilers. I've run into issues with this on many ocasions, especially this month with the big plot twist from Buffy number 12. Which kind of annoyed me, but what can you do.

Anyway, I'm following quite a few comics right now. I started with just the media tie-in books, but I've branched out. So this month I got:


Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. I've been following this since issue one, and I've been enjoying it quite a lot. Joss' first arc was great, but I think the Faith ark from Brian K. Vaughan was just as good if not better, and Drew Goddard's new sequence is definitely living up to the high standards set so far by this comic. (Dark Horse)

Angel: After the Fall. I was an even bigger fan of Angel than I was of Buffy, so I was excited when I heard Angel's story would also continue in comic book form. Something about this comic really bugs me, though, and I can't even peg down waht it is. It just seems...dour, I guess. I suppose I'd hoped for a happier scenario for Angel and the gang. I should have known better, given how Joss left the TV series hanging. There's been interesting twists, though, and I remain intrigued and wondering where things are going to go. (IDW)

Serenity: Better Days. To round out the Joss Whedon trifecta. This series has just gotten underway, and I'm enjoying the ride so far. I'll probably have more to say about it later. (Dark Horse)

Doctor Who. These are the Ten/Martha comics, on issue two. These are also fun. The first issue seemed a bit shallow, but it was a standalone. Issue two is leading into a longer story, which I hope will have more depth. Oddly, this book has considerably more typos in it than any of the others. Weird. (IDW)

The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home. Another tie-in. I'm liking this much more than Gunslinger Born, which I ended up not really reading when I discovered it was just a rewrite of a chunk of Wizard and Glass. This comic is telling a new story, though, that's not in the books, and so I'm considerably more interested. (Marvel)

Rogue Angel: Teller of Tales. I'm not familiar with the background of this book--apparently it's a comic version of a novel? Something like that. Anyway, I wasn't familiar with the story, but I saw an ad in the previews catalog and decided to give it a shot. I very much enjoyed the first issue--the premise hooked me--but the second issue left me a little flat. I think I'm just really prejudiced against flashbacks, and issue two was all flashback. (IDW)

Echo. Another one that looked interesting in the Preview catalog, mostly because of the stunning cover art from Terry Moore, also the author. Another intriguing premise with a female lead, much like Rogue Angel, but a very different kind of story. If this one continues in the vein of issue one, I'll be there. (Abstract Studio)

Knowledge is Power. This one just finished up the first story arc, and I think I might have actually gotten that issue last month, but only got around to reading it this month. I wouldn't swear to that, though. Anyway, this one's about vampires and ancient apocalyptic literature, so I'm totally there. Unfortunately, the first issue didn't hook me as strongly as the others, so now I'm not sure if I'm subscribed for issues beyond number four. Since I'm pretty into the story now after four issues, I'll have to look into that. (803 Studios)

Afterburn. Again, picked out of the Previews catalog because it looked interesting. In this story, the Eastern Hemisphere has been destroyed by a solar flare, so there are many post-apocalyptic goings-on. This one's entertaining me but not as much as some of the others. I'm hanging in there, though, and will give it at least one full arc before I decide if I want to continue. (Red 5 Comics)

Music!

It's the beginning of the month, so that means new music for me! I belong to eMusic, so at the beggining of the month I get my new monthly downloads with my membership. This month I got Dashboard Confessional, Dusk and Summer, Whiskey on a Sunday by Flogging Molly, Two EPs from TV on the Radio called New Health Rock and Young Liars, and two singles--"Strangers in the Night" from Cake, and "Black Star" from Gillian Welch. So far I've listened to Dashboard Confessional, Flogging Molly and the Cake single, and have very much enjoyed both. eMusic is a great value for the money, by the way--30 downloads a month for $9.99, all DRM-free MP3's. I highly recommend it.