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Monday, August 31, 2015

New Killer Track By Slayer! Full Album Is Coming.


Rock on!!
Slayer just posted a new track, from their upcoming album Repentless...! Check it out.....

There's also this advance music video of the main track, Repentless.
I've already placed my pre-order for the vinyl record. How about you?

Farewell, Wes Craven. You will be missed.





Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Cassettes are making a comeback! Yes, cassettes!

Vinyls sales are steadily going up since 2007, they are even getting more and more popular. Sales should reach some 10 million albums in 2015 and that ain’t bad, considering some folks declared vinyls dead when digital format took over the market.

But I was surprised last week, when a friend of mine running an electronics shop told me he had lots of requests for tape decks, and the demand keeps going up since nearly two years! That sounded strange. I sure can understand how people would prefer vinyls over digital, but tapes...? I asked him if shoppers were mainly asking decks for transferring their old cassettes to digital, but my friend told me it apparently wasn’t the case. They were just people looking for "a good deck to play cassettes."


And why not? After all, cassettes are cool as hell. And just like vinyl records, they have something that no digital format will ever be able to offer: something to hold in your hands. For music producers and recording artists, they’re also a great, cheap solution to release their albums.

Buying tapes and vinyl, you really own something. It’s there, in your hands.It exists. And you feel attached to what you own. Do you have any kind of sentiment for the digital album your purchased on iTunes? Do you have any feelings for a digital file on your mobile? Probably not. And that’s why music on vinyl and tape are claiming back their throne.



I guess I will need to go back to my friend’s shop, and find a replacement unit for my broken Sony deck. Because, like everybody else, I never got rid of my tapes.


"Dust off the boombox, cassettes are having a comeback | The Sacramento Bee"
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article22245705.html

“Cassettes tapes making a comeback | CBC News”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/cassette-tapes-making-a-comeback-1.2503619


***
UPDATED - SEPTEMBER 1ST
Great article on Mashable regarding the immortal cassettes!
http://mashable.com/2015/09/01/cassette-tapes-profitable

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

R.I.P. Yvonne Craig (Batman, In Like Flint, Mars Needs Women...)


So sad to hear Yvonne Craig passed away on August 17th... I must say she’s been one of my first crush, when I saw her in the 60’s Batman series, in the role of Bat Woman. Yvonne also starred in numerous movies such as cult classic In Like Flint (1966) with James Coburn, or Mars Needs Women (1967).

She had numerous TV appearances too, in shows like Man From The U.N.C.L.E., Wild Wild West, Six Million Dollar Man and Star Trek.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The 'Cord-Cutting Apocalypse' is Just Around The Corner!

I haven't heard this term before, but it seems cable TV business folks are using the 'apocalypse' term more and more often...!

Yes, viewers are flocking away from cable TV, to turn to streaming options. Cable TV is damn expensive. Interestingly, the first time I heard that cable TV would collapse was in the mid 80s. To live, TV needs to reach a massive audience, millions of viewers, and then relies on advertising. Cable TV do just the opposite, it segments the market, offer numerous channels options and by doing so, advertising prices go dramatically down. Airwave TV was free, and broadcasters were still making lots of money. Cable TV is expensive, and lose billions in advertising opportunities. To compensate, cable TV subscription fees skyrocketed.

Now, these high prices are forcing viewers to migrate to streaming.

The sad part – for us viewers – is that we won't save money for a while. Cable TV distributors also own the internet service providers. If they lose subscribers to their TV channels, we must expect to see our internet connection bills to skyrocket. Streaming is expensive for the provider. And for the viewer, the need to subscribe to the desired streaming TV channel will still be there.

(Airwave TV is still available, if you're curious about getting free TV!)


The "Cord-Cutting Apocalypse" on Business Insider:
http://www.businessinsider.com/cable-tv-subscribers-plunging-2015-8

Universal leads the 2015 box office - without a single comic book movie!

Universal stands in a class of its own when it comes to box office figures, even though they had their share of chaotic moments these past few years.

Now, while other studios focus on the ‘taste of the day’ which consists in releasing super heros and comic book-based movies, Universal wins the market by filling the gap with other exciting stuff. Part nostalgia, part franchise films, titles like Jurassic Park, Furious 7, Minions and Fifty Shades Of Grey (among many others) brought billions to the company. And unlike super heros movies, they don’t have licensing fees on an array of copyrighted characters.

Don’t get me wrong – I love super heros movies. But I don’t want to see an entire industry flooded with only super heros. Goes like, I love peanut butter, but I wouldn’t eat it three times a day, seven days a week!

More on the indieWire blog here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/how-universal-won-the-summer-box-office-without-a-single-comic-book-movie-20150817

Monday, August 17, 2015

Elvira Returns As Animated Series!

This made my day!
Cassandra Petersen announced at Boston Comiccon that she’s currently developing an animated TV series starring her character Elvira!
Also in the works is a biography of Cassandra. Looking good looking GOOD!

More information on Mass Live Boston Comiccon report:
http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2015/08/boston_comic_con_2015_elvira_a.html

No more DC Comics spinoffs at The CW...

The CW big boss Mark Pedowitz draws the line there. After Legends Of Tomorrow, there are no plans on doing any more DC comics spinoffs. Let's hope ratings will be high so the show gets a second season.

More: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=124108

This watercolor by Cosmo Sarson is just too hilarious!

I absolutely love it!
Every church needs a print of this...