"And Now, For the MAIN EVENT ...!"

And so it begins ...

It's time to get on east coast standard time, because it's going to be all early mornings from here on in.

Why?

Finally - tommorow, I begin my assignment at NBC.

Now things have the potential to get a little crazy. The previous holder of this assignment is going to be away, and won't be able to train me in the ways of phone conferencing, script filing, and fedex delivering. So I'm gonna have to self-teach or die as I get welcomed into the jungle that is the primetime development department. So it's time to get the game face on. No more goofing off, no more being late in the morning, no more late weekday nights. It's on. For the next few months I am going to be in the zone. Or at least, that's what I'm going to tell myself for now. Because the truth is I am walking into Parts Unknown (so to speak), and it's going to be a LONG week ahead - a LOT to take in in a short amount of time, probably without much guidance. Already, my short training session Friday evening had my head spinning with things to remember which I have likely already forgotten.

But hey, these West Coasters don't know what the New England puritanical work ethic is all about. This stuff is cake, right? Answering phones? Filing? Faxing? Bring it on. Or, as one of my fellow pages might say ... IN YA FYCE!

So to my loyal readers (all 3 of you ...), you can probably expect less frequent blog entries in the near future, as my days will mostly be spent working from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm, with barely enough time to come home, have dinner, and check out a quality TV show or two before it's time to hit the hay and prepare for another day. Which is why I may need to like pre-plan every hour of my life from now on. Or not.

Tommorow it's on like donkey kong, beeyotch.

ELSEWHERE:

This weekend saw the long-awaited PAGE-O-WEEN party at la casa del Scott y Sean, and it was pretty much a scarily succesful evening. The pages were out in full force, and all manner of strange costumes were on display. My own Clark Kent / Superman getup went pretty well, and if you check out my facebook or myspace sites there's a few funny pics of me with jedi knights, cowgirls, bunny rabbits, construction workers, French maids, glam rockers, and Willy Wonka himself. And yes, certain ghouls and ghosts were in attendance as well. Let's just say that Spi Der, Cof Fin, and Drake U Lah may have popped in for a visit. Hahaha, sorry - NBC page humor. Anyways, I have to say, it's been fun being around a bunch of fellow Halloween nerds who love all this stuff. This October has been one giant celebration of Halloween, between Page-O-Ween, Knotts Sacry Farm, etc., and it's been great. I can't believe we still have a whole week to go before the actual day itself.

Also, I should say another Chag Sameach to everyone as us in the J-Crew celebrate Succot. If only I could be back at BU to eat under the succah at hillel - always a memorable time with Aksel and the rest.

OTHER STUFF:

MOVIE REVIEW -- DOOM

- So I caught a free screening of DOOM at the Universal Studios lot this weekend, and of course there was no way I was gonna pass this one up - it's a videogame movie and it stars The Rock - meaning that it was a must-see. Haha, okay for many people those two factors are not exactly encouraging, but come on, where's yer sense of fun? Basically, Doom is a pretty bad movie. It's a B movie with a ridiculous script, one-dimensional characters, and almost no plot. But it is also fun as hell to watch if you go in with the right attitude. Go in ready to laugh, to mock, to not take things too seriously, and to see some stuff blown up real good, and you'll enjoy the movie as I did. And really, this is a problem that many people have. Because many people STILL somehow don't understand the differences between videogames and movies. Most videogames, with only a few exceptions, use plot and story only as a means of providing context to the actions of the player. These things are only secondary to the most important thing - gameplay. Since movies don't have interactivity, the only way they can really approximate the gaming experience is to at least try to recapture the visceral thrill of playing a game, where every moment is do or die and kill or be killed. In this way, Doom does a pretty bang up job. This movie earns its R rating with tons of ultra-violence, and some nicely done encounters between man and monster. With its pounding soundtrack and kinetic energy, Doom captures a part of the game, and I mean really, what else do you want? Also, the movie has a first-person perspective sequence that is simply kickass, looking like something right out of the game, and moving with an intensity and amazing level of choreographed violence that is pretty sweet to watch. In the end, this is really a poor mans' version of action classics in the commando squad vs. unstoppable beast genre, like Aliens or Predator. But for what it is, it's a fun little movie that just begs to be seen with a group of guys who can kick back, enjoy, make fun, and revel in the pure thrill of seeing The Rock wielding the BFG against some badass mutants. My grade: B -

TV QUICK REVIEWS:

LOST - continues to frustrate me, though I do enjoy the Jin / Sun flashbacks as they have that cool foreign film feel to them. But come on, all this mysterious talk about The Others and whatnot is getting infuriating. My grade: B -

VERONICA MARS - Great stuff this week, again, as the mysteries continue to pile on. I hope they don't go end up making Veronica TOO unlikable though, as they are treading that line of her being a paranoid smartass where at times you take the position of her father and just want someone to put her in her place. Still, TV right now doesn't get much better. My grade: A-

SMALLVILLE - The attempt to being in Aquaman (as a green and orange-clad surder-dude no less) was kind of cheesy (kind of inevitable, I guess), but there was some good stuff here including EVIL Lex and some nice interaction between Clark and Lois. And ya gotta love the little in-jokes, like the reference to the JLA (the Junior Lifeguards Association, hahaha). So far this season is progressing well, but I am still hoping that it's only uphill from here. My grade: B

RANDOM STUFF:

Well as I try to get pumped up for my assignment tommorow, I am reminded of the importance of a good pump-up song to get you out of bed and ready to kick ass in the morning. So what are my ... TOP 10 PUMP UP SONGS OF ALL TIME?!?!

1.) Thunderstruck - AC/DC
2.) Princes of the Universe - Queen
3.) Party Hard - Andrew WK
4.) For Whom The Bell Tolls - Metallica
5.) All Around The World - ATC
6.) Astrocreep - Rob Zombie
7.) Kick Some Ass - Stroke 9
8.) Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses
9.) The Kids Aren't Alright - The Offspring
10.) Higher Power - Boston

Okay, that is just a small list, there's plenty more I could probably add (Andrew WK's entire first album alone is basically one long pump up song, and just about anything by AC DC is up there). But never underestimate the importance of hearing the right song in the AM to shake off the cobwebs and get the adrenaline a-flowing. And if all else fails, just blast Real American (Hulk Hogan's patriotic theme song), rip your shirt, and begin flexing for all the Hulkamaniacs, brother.

Alright, little dudes. Big day tommorow, so I've got to pull it back a notch, if ya know what I mean. But hey, if you talk to me in the next few weeks and I begin acting like an uptight corporate stooge and not like my usual self, I give you permission to slap me and say "Come off it, man!" Even if I'm working for 'em, ya still gotta fight the man.