Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
T3 Music Review: The Smashing Pumpkins "Gish" & "Siamese Dream" Remastered Box Sets
As many know… My favorite band in the world is The Smashing Pumpkins.
After years of their creative property being held legally by their former label, The Smashing Pumpkins have finally regained legal rights to everything and anything Pumpkins.
This has allowed the band the ability to alter/distribute their music as they see fit. They can sell it on their own or give it away for free. The result of this has spawned “The Smashing Pumpkins Record Club" or SPRC which has so far given away five free tracks. These consist of demos, unreleased, and alternate versions of previously recorded material. Even the most hardcore bootlegger may not have some of these tracks, and even if you do, the quality of these “official” releases are way better.
The Pumpkins were also able to get their hands on the original recording session tapes that all of their hit albums were recorded on, updated and remastered all of them. They will all be released spaced out over the next couple of years.
Today was the release of their first 2 albums, “Gish” and “Siamese Dream”.
As someone who has heard both of these albums a billion times over I could tell immediately the difference in quality. I feel like they have a cleaner sound, they’re louder, the drums were brought up more in the mix and rightfully so.
Each album box set was $25 which I think is a steal when you consider what you get for it.
Each album comes with 3 discs.
DISC 1: The original album remastered
DISC 2: Remastered B-sides, unreleased tracks, and demos from the era
DISC 3: A live DVD from The Metro in Chicago from the album’s respective era.
It comes with a lyric book featuring liner notes from Billy Corgan for each song. It also comes with a multitude of cards featuring photos/artwork from that era. All in a CD size cardboard box with a shiny top featuring an alternate color album cover.
They do sell just the remastered album on it’s own for $12 or so, but why not spend $10 more for the rest of it?
If you’re a hardcore fan this is a must have without question. If you’re just starting to get into the Pumpkins the remastered recordings are a great place to start.
There was a lot of hype coming into this release, and I feel the product lived up to it. Next up will be my favorite Pumpkins album “Melon Collie & The Infinite Sadness” and I can’t fuckin’ wait! Unfortunately I’m going to have to as it is not slated to come out till Fall of 12’.
T3 Rating: 5/5... Duh!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I hosted my first Thanksgiving this year, and even managed to cook an edible turkey!!!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
T3's Video Game Review: "Sonic Generations"
It’s been a long time since I’ve bought a video game.
I saw this in the store and was drawn in to the 2D side scroller aspect of the game. I was never a fan of any of the 3D Sonic games. This game is a 50/50 hybrid of the classic 2D Sonic The Hedgehog style, and the 3D Sonic.
Each stage can be played 1 of 2 ways. ACT I which is the 2D version of the level, and ACT II which is the 3D Sonic version. Even having not been a fan of the 3D Sonic games I felt that this game took the best aspects of those games and used them to put together the best possible 3D Sonic experience.
The 2D versions of the levels are great, and in my opinion could be an entire game on it’s own. My personal favorite is The Chemical Plant Zone. So much so, that I love playing both the 2D and 3D versions of it.
Sega did release “Sonic The Hedgehog 4” which was an HD 2D side scroller which was fine, but the side scroller model in Sonic Generations is more refined, and is more of what I’d expect from a 2D side scroller.
The story is simple and not too involved, which given the nature of the game is just fine. I just want to play Sonic and really don’t need an elaborate storyline to go along with it.
You can customize your Sonic in the same way you might customize a car in a racing game. You get to purchase different skills with points you earn in levels and develop “skill sets”.
Speed increases, extra lives, various shields, and other abilities become options for you to equip your Sonic with.
There are tons of side missions and challenges that can open up more of the game to you, and offers plenty of replay value.
Like I said, it’s been a long time since I bought a video game and this was definitely a worthwhile purchase.
T3 Rating: 4/5
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
T3's Book Review: "Toxic Parents" - Dr. Susan Forward
Aside from autobiographies I enjoy reading books on psychology as well. I suppose it’s an attempt to try to understand myself, and who I am. I also feel like it allows me to better understand the clients I train. Understanding other people’s mindsets and perspectives is an overlooked area of my line of work. To really be able to help someone I feel you need to try to put yourself in their shoes the best you can.
Toxic Parents was a book that was recommended to me by someone who is familiar with the circumstances of my relationships with both of my parents respectively.
I found it not only insightful as someone who feels they are the product of “toxic parents”, but I also felt it offers some great ideas and principles on parenting; things that I’d be more aware of should I get to be a parent myself someday.
The term “Toxic Parents” as used in this book encompasses parents who are neglectful, overbearing, physically/sexually/mentally abusive, alcoholics/drug users, and more.
The author Dr. Susan Forward talks about how parents’ behavior shapes you as a person, and how to find your own identity in spite of their influence. Confronting parents, coping with the loss of parents with whom you may have unresolved issues with, and learning to let go if need be.
I found this book to be very well written, enlightening, and can honestly say that I have without regret utilized lessons learned from this book in my own life.
T3 Rating 5/5
Monday, November 21, 2011
T3's Book Review: "Absolute Mayhem" - Monica Mayhem
I really enjoy autobiographies. As I’m currently in the midst of releasing my own they are very inspiring to me. While generally I read a lot of pro wrestler autobiographies I decided to go a different route this time, and read one about a porn star who performs under the name of Monica Mayhem.
Monica is (in this man’s opinion) is a very attractive Welsh girl who was raised in Australia by an abusive alcoholic mother.
I know… this sounds like the beginning of every porn star’s story. The abused child, messed up, and got into porn.
I found her story to be more than that. While that type of scenario is definitely stereo-typical for girls in the porn industry; hearing the details and steps that took her from a neglectful and lonely upbringing to a full blown American porn star is much more fascinating than you might think. I actually found that I could relate to her very well. Though I've had much different experiences in my own life, their effects on me and my outlook of the world are very much in line with Monica's. I think relating to her as much as I did drew me into the book all the more.
Monica tells the story of how she went from being very successful in the world of high finance working for Smith-Barney to filming 3 ways, featured strip shows, a role in the “Sex In The City” movie, and inevitably writing this book.
Monica writes about the monthly anxieties of awaiting her monthly STD test results, dating fellow co-stars, the effect of her profession on her personal relationships, her practice of the Wiccan religion, her dreams of being a rock star, and her future in mainstream acting roles.
I found it to be an interesting insight into the life of someone who made pornography her career, the business itself, it’s inner workings, and all of the social/physical/psychological trials and tribulations that come along with porn stardom.
T3 RATING: 4/5
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Evolution Of The T3 Universe
So the T3-TV Facebook page has officially become The T3 Universe Facebook page. Between my T3-TV video antics, the SAVE_US.T3 LIVE show, T3-RADIO, and everything else that I’m involved in it’s near impossible for me to have facebook pages for all of them.
So I’ve officially housed them all under the umbrella of The T3 Universe. This blog is the center of said universe, but all of it’s facebook action was taking place on the T3-TV FB which is really only one piece of it all. So if you’ve noticed that you had LIKED T3-TV and now suddenly LIKE The T3 Universe… that’s why.
The Twitter account has also been changed to the new name as well. I’m pretty sure this will be the final format change to this ongoing experiment. Anything I do from here on in will fall under the umbrella of The T3 Universe.
Links to both the Facebook and Twitter accounts are available at the top of this blog.
I have no life… So I had to create my own Universe.
Welcome…
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friends Of The T3 Universe
You may have noticed if you’ve scrolled all the way to the bottom of this page on the lower right hand side is a list of links to other pages. These are all friends of the T3 Universe. I thought I’d take a moment to call your attention to them and give you some FRESH SHIT to check out!
PROFESSOR KLIQ
Professor Kliq (AKA Mike Else) is my extremely musically talented brother. He is by my best description an electronic composer. His resume of accomplishments is more than I could ever attempt to do justice to. He has composed several original albums, remixes, scores for television documentaries as well as commercials, and has played a significant role in creating various music programs at Columbia College. All of his music is available for FREE DOWNLOAD! So, by all means do go check it out!
My brother was good enough to be my guest on SAVE_US.T3 LIVE, and tells us about how he makes music, as well as how he distributes it in this age of the internet. Check out the episode to meet the kid in the headphones!
FILE UNDER HORRIBLE
File Under Horrible is a site run by two fine gentlemen who go by the names of Bill & Jim. The site is dedicated to the good, the bad, and the horrible in pop culture, entertainment, and tech. The cornerstone of the site is their weekly podcast appropriately titled the FUHCast! Every Monday morning a new episode is unleashed upon the world wide web. As of this post their show is currently nominated in the Annual Podcast Awards for “Best Comedic Podcast”.
I’ve never been much of a podcast or talk radio person myself, but the topics they explore from movies, video games, comic books, the internet, and the latest tech keeps me up to speed on all the things I love but have so little time to indulge in. We’re from the same generation and so I relate greatly to their perspective on all these topics. And oh yeah… they’re pretty funny too. I highly recommend checking out an episode. Their show is available just about anywhere you can find a podcast as well as their site.
I was fortunate enough to get the boys from the FUHCast to join me on SAVE_US.T3 LIVE, so if you’d like to get to meet the men behind the podcast and learn more about it check out their episode!
THE Q REPORT
My boy Quinn Alexander Bayola writes a column called “The Q Report” where he shares his thoughts and commentary on movies, the internet, and pop culture in general. I consider Quinn to be a very intelligent individual. His reports are straight forward, to the point, and pretty goddamned funny too! The Q report is relatively new, but long overdue in my opinion. I’m very glad that he’s taken this up and am looking forward to all the future Q Reports to come!!!
Quinn has been my welcome guest on SAVE_US.T3 LIVE twice! So if you’d like to get to know Q even more check out this episode!
KUNG FU JONNY
Kung Fu Jonny is an internet web series that has in been in the making for over 2 years now, and filming is officially completed! Starring the talented actor/martial artist Jon Rodriquez it will be available for free to check out as soon as it releases. On a side note my aforementioned brother PROFESSOR KLIQ is scoring the entire series. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to take part in the series myself playing an evil thug named George. I’ll keep the T3 Universe posted as to release dates and such once this epic endeavor officially hits the internet. In the meantime you can check out the trailer for the series on their site at:
You can also learn more about the project, and meet the star in this episode of SAVE_US.T3 LIVE!
FOR THE LOVE OF BEER
Don Thompson has what some may call… a LOVE of beer. For years he’s kept a blog chronicling various brews he’s gathered from around the world and shares his reviews of them. It’s rare that I ever see anyone keep up a blog so consistently for so long so it truly has become a veritable catalog of beer. If you love beer half as much as Don does, or may even be looking for a review of a specific brew there’s a pretty good chance he’s covered it so check it out!
Meet Don and learn more about his love for beer on this episode of SAVE_US.T3 LIVE!
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