The Bluetones: You Will Be Missed

The news has started circling around that one of my favourite bands, The Bluetones, are splitting up at the end of the year. It's a strange thing to know that a band which is such a big part of my life won't be around any more. No band is forever and music seems to be a constant rollercoaster of love for musicians but of all the bands I've loved and lost, this will forever be the most significant.

But how did we get here? Why are they so important to me and why are they hanging up their boots? Well, to tell that tale I have to go back to the 90s and the first cassette tape I ever bought for myself.

HANDS DOWN #23 - He Who Laughs Last

Hands Down returns and the fallout from Brian and Charnita's lip-lock continues. Now Colin finds out what happened and his reaction WILL CHANGE THE UNIVERSE FOREVER*

So click his face to find out what's going on!

CLICK ME TO READ!

*not really.

Mars Needs Podcasts 101 - Captain Americast

CLICK ME TO LISTEN!

I'm going to let JJ explain this week's one himself as he does so in such delectable style.

JJ and his amazing friends Elizabeth and Aaron (Amazing Friends, Assemble!) decide to record after they have all just woken up. Does this destroy our hero’s podcasting abilities? Fear not true believer! The Triumphant Triumvirate of Tantalizing Talk Trudge Through The Trials of Torpor To Teach Tidbits of Their Tribes…or they talk of their families. Plus, attention is paid to a personal favorite hero of both Aaron and JJ, Captain America! Will our heroes get to the bottom of why the character is so great, well you have to listen to find out!

Also, special thanks to Jazzy Jason Wood for the new logo! The Merry Mars Needs Marching Society owes him big time.

Excelsior!

HANDS DOWN Is Expanding!

Greetings, Starfighters!

We're looking for someone to join our creative team with a further artist/colourist. Are you able to work for invisible peanuts for Doom's second most popular comic strip?

If so, get in touch and send us some work examples to handsdown@thewebsiteofdoom.com!

EDIT: Updated with the correct address this time!

Tease Me, Baby! Captain America (Full Length Trailer)

The WWII superhero film has finally gotten it's full trailer after weeks of only having the 30-second TV advert to drool over.

Check out the two and a half minutes of footage and read some of my thoughts by clicking the cowering man with the trash can lid.

DON'T CLICK ME IN THE FACE!

Tease Me, Baby! - Pirates Of The Caribbean 4

Back on again for another trip on the merry-go-round we follow Captain Jack Sparrow once more unto the breach but this time without friends Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.

And once again I review the trailer with all the professionalism and gusto of a hyperactive child who has tied the babysitter to a chair and found out where the chocolate is hidden.

... and stuff.

Click scruffy Jack below to both see the new trailer and read my thoughts/rantings.

CLICK ME, JIM-LAD!

First Impressions: The Strokes - Angles

Once again I attempt to review an album purely in the time it takes to listen to it once. It's a good way to gage how you feel from your first time listening but also a handy dandy way to write a review when you're lazy and don't have too much free time.

I decided to try out The Strokes' new album Angles. I was pleasantly surprised. Check out my full thoughts by clicking the happy-go-lucky chaps, below.

CLICK ME!

Mars Needs Podcasts 100 - With A Little Help From My Friends

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Retroactive post! I totally forgot to put this up at the time.

Mars Needs Podcasts reached it's 100th and I was lucky enough to be called in to participate. Not only myself but also Mars Needs stalwart Jason Wood and my old Cabin Fever cohort Brian Fitzpatrick!

It's a plethora of podcasters. Click the big alien to listen.

From The Vaults: Cabin Fever Guide To Ireland

More old shenanigans for St. Patrick's Day. This video was made in 2010 and probably should remain there. Enjoy the sight seeing tour we provide around the "beautiful" city of Dublin.

From The Vaults: It's Not Easy Being Green

NOTE: I wrote this in 2009 for NeedCoffee.com. It was part-article part-angry-rant. I hope it gives you some insight into St. Patrick's day...

We have hit the international holiday of "Lets get people to wear a silly green hat" and I'm not exactly feeling very festive.

It's not that I don't enjoy a good celebration, it's just that I'm not entirely sure what we're celebrating.

St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland. One of three, by the way. The other two being Brigid and Columba. I'm not sure if their seemingly lower status as Patron Saints has anything to do with women so I'll let you decide that yourselves. All I do know is that when it's Paddy's day... you have to celebrate.

Sometimes I feel disillusioned with what it means to be Irish and I think it can be understandable. St. Patrick himself wasn't even Irish. He was a young Welsh boy called Maewyn Succat (apparently St. Maewyn just didn't have the right ring to it) who, during his teens, was kidnapped by Irish raiders and forced to be a slave for around six years before he made his escape back home to his family across the water. Once he became he priest, it was only due to his peers--deciding that he must spend his time converting some of the heathens back on that feckin' island--that he happened to set foot once again on our land. I wonder how many times he cursed his luck when he got that letter.
Most of the legends about the man aren't true either. It's scientific fact that there were no snakes in Ireland post-glacier times. Of course you can take most pious legends with a large pinch of salt and see it as a metaphorical explanation of his conversion of the pagan natives and his casting out of their demons, etc.--but most metaphors in life don't culminate in tourists walking around your streets with blow-up snake figures and telling us how lucky we are that Pat got rid of them because they can be an awful pain when they bite you.

Tease Me, Baby! - Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

I take a look at another trailer of a summer comic book adaptation. That's my fourth so far, for those counting. To add to the geekiness, this one stars ex-Superman, Brandon Routh!

To read my thoughts on the trailer and to watch it for yourself, click the heaving man bosoms below!

CLICK ME, BABY!

Pencil Vs. Camera - Art Battle

I came across a rather cool art project by Ben Heine that I decided to share with you all. It combines pencil sketched pictures with photography. Go check out what I'm talking about by clicking the example below, it will take you to my article on it over at DOOM.

CLICK ME!

R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

CLICK ME, KITTEN!

I am a massive R.E.M. fan and as such quite excited to hear their new album Collapse Into Now. I wanted to write a review but I decided to do it slightly differently. I would record my impressions of the songs as I listened to them for the first time.

Would it work as an article? Could I really gauge the worth of a song on the first listen? Well read my review and see if you agree with my first impressions.

Click the bald head of Michael Stipe to see the article over on The Website Of Doom!

Tease Me, Baby! - Super

The trailer for the Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page film Super was released last week and I've dissected it over at The Website of Doom. So you can see both the trailer and my opinions by clicking the Crimson Bolt below.

CLICK ME, CRIME!

Cabin Fever #101 - The one without me

So I don't host the thing anymore, but after a 6 month hiatus Cabin Fever has returned with a new line up. I thought I should commemorate this momentous occasion of Cabin Fever: The Next Generation by posting about it.

I wish Brian the best of luck with his new cast and hope they have just as much success as we did when we did it together (but not more).

CLICK ME TO LISTEN!

If you're a patient puppy there is a special surprise at the very end of the show, too.

HANDS DOWN #23 - The Morning After

We're a week late and in black & white but we're still better than your average web-comic. And hey, Pokemon are getting away with this sort of thing so why shouldn't we?

CLICK ME!

From The Vaults: What Man?

I never really took part in the FAIL storm that swept the internet but when I saw this super-hero in a shop window, I figured it would be perfect for that genre. Can you spot what is wrong with this picture?

I Heart Graffiti: Antlers

This was actually done by a company. You can check them out at www.inputout.com

Despite it being so commercial, I like it. Another piece hanging around The Bernard Shaw in Dublin.

Poole's Polls: March 2011



CLICK ME! HARDER!

Round round get around I get around. Get around (wooooo-oooo-oooo) I get around!

It's March, my name is Aaron Poole. Sure enough, Poole's Poll for March 2011 has been released.

This month I've decided to gauge your interest in some female comic book heroes of my choosing.

Click the ever increasing breasts of Power Girl to find out who I've picked and vote!