Can't We All Just Stop with the Spoilers, Please?

I was standing in a comic book shop in the summer of 2005 when I watched as a customer smugly spoiled the ending of the newest Harry Potter book to his friends. His justification was that they would enjoy it anyways and who really cared about a dumb kiddie book. What he didn't see was the 7 year-old behind a rack of books who was crying into his mother's thigh. He looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.

I can't stand spoilers. I believe all people dislike spoilers in some way or another and the personal attachment to the subject being spoiled definitely factors in. For me, I like to be surprised by everything. An action scene that some may find exciting in a trailer just tells me what I can expect at some point in the movie and that can have an effect on my enjoyment of earlier scenes. Maybe this is a little extreme. I think most people probably fall into a looser category.

4 Bands That Should Dip Their Toes in a New Medium

With The Aquabats' show premiering, and the mc chris cartoon on its way, it seems like musicians are stepping out of their normal routine and dabbling in new forms of media. That might not work for every band, but there are plenty who could benefit from trying out some new ways to entertain. Here are four bands that I'd love to see put out something other than music.

GWAR -- TV Show or Video Game

You knew they'd be on my list. GWAR has quite a storied history of sometimes completely nonsensical mythology behind them. Whether it be from their live shows, countless DVDs, or actual music, they're always telling wacky tales that beg to be made into an equally goofy, adult-oriented cartoon. Just look at the popularity of Metalocalypse for proof that this show could work.

I'd love to tune in weekly to see who GWAR was doing battle with next. Maybe they're feeding the human filth to The World Maggot; Maybe they've gone to space in search of Cardinal Syn; Or perhaps they'd just be sitting around their Antarctican fortress snorting crack. No matter what, it'd have to be entertaining.

If that doesn't work, make it a video game. Brutal Legend is your example there, just, leave out the RTS elements. Apparently people don't like that stuff.

Book Review: The Indie Cred Test

We are a generation of people trying to be cooler than those around us. This trend goes hand in hand with the excess we live in, so sometimes we get a little out of hand with our, coolness. It can happen to the best of us, we get carried away and start thinking we’re the epitome of cool, the essence of style. All it takes is one moment to show our awesomeness and just one line to display our supreme wittiness. We seek these opportunities to let others know just how cool we are. Yet the ability to poke fun at ourselves also determines our level of cool. And yes, if you can’t laugh at yourself then, who can you laugh at? But at what point does wittiness turn to self-deprecation? I believe The Indie Cred Test is exactly that point.

A New Edition to the Schedule: Weekly Article Features

Cerebral Pop was envisioned as an outlet entirely devoid of news and reviews -- Primarily focused on opinion pieces, editorials, and other forms of original content. Eventually we introduced reviews and a series of weekly columns to help convey our opinions on newly released content, and to help pad out the rest of the site with more regular and entertaining posts.

You may have noticed that our reviews and weekly posts have come to somewhat dominate the entirety of our output in the last several months. So, now we're looking to change that. Every Tuesday we are going to have a non-serialized, original, opinion piece, editorial, or some other form of article hit the site. It will go up in our newly added Features bar under the heading of "This Week" and move down the line with each new Tuesday feature posted.

In this way we hope to show that we're focused on having quality thought-provoking, interesting, clever, or funny articles, even if we can only do one a week right now. They will be right up front on the site for three weeks after posting, so you'll always know what the last three Tuesday Article Feature posts were.

We hope you'll enjoy having even more content from us on a weekly basis, and will help open a discussion about the topics we write either in the comments or over on the forums. Thanks for reading our stuff! Here's to even more of it.

2010: The Year with the Dragon Tattoo

It wasn't until October of last year -- when I gave a copy of the series' first book to my mother as a birthday present -- that I became familiar with Stieg Larsson's 'Millenium' trilogy.

After she told me about "some Swedish crime writer" who had become a phenomenon in Europe -- and whose books were just starting to gain great success in our country, Mexico -- a quick Google search on the topic led me to an interesting article on The Washington Post's website. Reading it left me with no doubt regarding which book I had to get her. Listening to her talk about the book afterwards left me with no doubt about getting a copy for myself.

Book Ruminations: Catching Up On The Classics (Part One)

During my adolescent years, I regarded books as something that "got in the way of video games." As I matured, I realized my folly and began devouring as many books as possible. This is not a review, but merely my thoughts and musings about books in general.

The wonderful thing about books: Just because you missed a book when it was new doesn't mean it isn't still enjoyable today. I have to have this mindset because, like that little blurb up there states, I missed out on so many great stories.

Two of my recent acquisitions were devoured very rapidly, and with great delight. The first, 1984, sits in stark contrast to the second, Catch-22. While both books were written around the same time -- 1984 by George Orwell was first published in 1949; and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller was published in 1955 -- it's eerie how accurately they both depict modern society.

Insufficient Funds: Scott Sigler

Insufficient Funds is a regular post in which we feature a free, or very close to it, piece of media that you can enjoy without overdrafting your bank account. So if you're low on funds, stay tuned to Cerebral Pop every Friday morning.

With new technology comes new forms of distribution and ways to get your name out there. We've seen this a lot in the musical field with everything from smaller bands trying to get attention to big name acts like Radiohead just experimenting. But author Scott Sigler's model might be the first I've heard of this sort of experimentation with tech when it comes to literature.

When I started delivering newspapers, I quickly became invested in audiobooks as a means for keeping my sanity when my music collection got boring. Have you ever looked at the price tag on an audiobook lately? I mean, I guess $20 to $30, or even more, is an understandable price when you think of the hours of audio you're getting, but when you think about the actual book cost it doesn't make much sense to punish those with limited time that would like to listen instead.

Book Ruminations: How Do You View The Author?

During my adolescent years, I regarded books as something that "got in the way of video games." As I matured, I realized my folly and began devouring as many books as I possibly could. This is not a review, but merely my thoughts and musings whilst reading books in general.

In case you skipped over, or just barely skimmed my blurb (it's not very long!), I haven't been an avid reader for very long. I'm discovering new authors all the time, and am very open to suggestions of any type of book you'd like to recommend I read.

But I do have one caveat: is the author alive or dead?

One of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, pictured above, is no longer amongst the living. But I didn't know that until I had read two of his books. So, what's the big deal, you're probably asking yourself.

For some reason, if I know an author has already passed, I view their work in a different way. When I began reading Vonnegut, which happens to be within the last couple of months, I wholeheartedly believed that he was alive and well, if a bit matured and elderly. Still, after reading the first book I ever read by him, Cat's Cradle (which I plan to discuss at length in a future post), I was enchanted with his writing style and brilliant, sarcastic voice.

And after reading a second book by him, TimeQuake, I felt like I'd grown to know him much better as a human being, and since I felt all chummy with my new author friend, sincerely wanted to drop him a line, asking him a few questions.

Imagine my surprise when a quick internet search turned up "Kurt Vonnegut passed away in April 2007." I was heartbroken. All of my questions, if he would've taken the time to answer them, mattered very little, if at all.

Then I began pondering his work in a different way. Now that I had the information that Vonnegut was no longer with us, I viewed certain parts of his book differently. Almost sadly.

Perhaps I should've realized that sooner, but again, it matters very little now. I guess all I'm saying is, if I know an author is dead, I read his work, thinking, Oh, this poor guy is dead.

I know, it's weird, but I can't help it.

In the famous words of Vonnegut: So it goes.

Book Ruminations: The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (Part Two)

During my adolescent years, I regarded books as something that "got in the way of video games." As I matured, I realized my folly and began devouring as many books as I possibly could. This is not a review, but merely my thoughts and musings whilst reading The Dharma Bums.

Previously I wrote about Kerouac's writing style, called "spontaneous prose," as if I knew what I was talking about.

I was very wrong.

I've just begun reading Desolation Angels by Kerouac, a book that begins towards the end of The Dharma Bums, and then continues after the events of The Dharma Bums, if that makes sense. Desolation Angels is spontaneous prose. It's basically one long, run-on sentence. It's beginning to make me feel crazy, which is what seems to have happened to Kerouac.

During the course of The Dharma Bums, there are glimpses of insanity in his writing. He doesn't mind that he's showing the reader this side of his self, and in fact it appears this is a way that sort of relieves his mind, helps him cope with...whatever it is that's going on upstairs.

So what is The Dharma Bums? Dharma, as it relates to Buddhism (Kerouac was Buddhist, at least during this portion of his life), is essentially the character of a Buddhist. When you marry that meaning with "bum," you have a pretty good idea of Kerouac. He was a bum, no questions about it. But he also thought of spiritual things, and viewed the world as one great, big void. That is, nothing is really happening. Everything is just a perception of the mind.

The book begins with Kerouac hopping trains, sleeping under the stars, and buying and drinking booze. But he writes about these sort of things as if he is living a life of grandeur, that he is better off because of his bum lifestyle. And you don't realize it at first, at least not until Kerouac meets up with his friend, Japhy, that Kerouac never writes about or views himself as the main character. He's more like a side-character, and Japhy, at least for this book, is easily the main character.

Again, it's something that you don't notice right away, but after a bit you begin to see it.

Before I forget, Japhy isn't really his friend's name. It's Gary Snyder. But Kerouac changes his name, along with own name (Ray Smith, he calls himself), in The Dharma Bums. I'm not sure why, but I can speculate: It gives the book more of a novel feel. Instead of reading about real people, you're reading about real people in some sort of show, always pretending to be someone else. But they're not. They are themselves, but with a different name. Confused?

Back to the grand, bum lifestyle. Without giving the entire book away, Kerouac does several "major" things during the course of the book. Most of the book is a hike that Smith (Kerouac) and Japhy take, right up Matterhorn Mountain. It's quite humorous, but Smith is very near the top and decides to stop. He's tired and he's afraid of falling off the mountain. Japhy of course continues to the top, lets out a shout, and then comes barreling back down the mountain, right past Smith.

At this point Smith has a revelation: You can't fall off mountains!

Smith, following Japhy's lead, begins running down the mountain, feeling ever so foolish for even entertaining the thought of falling off.

I don't want to talk too much more about the book, as I feel that would be giving it away, as it were, but as far as recommendations go, if you're looking for something a bit autobiographical, but with a novel-like feel, pick this book up. Just go with the flow of the prose, and don't worry about the lack of punctuation.

Just don't become a bum yourself. It's not as glamorous as the book makes it seem.

Book Ruminations: The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac

During my adolescent years, I regarded books as something that "got in the way of video games." As I matured, and as adulthood approached, I realized my folly and began devouring as many books as I possibly could. This is not a review, but merely my thoughts and musings whilst reading The Dharma Bums.

I've traveled up and down the west coast many times in my life, which is important to note, I think, because The Dharma Bums chronicles the real life adventures of Jack Kerouac; someone who also traveled to many different places, most of which happen to take place on the west coast (at least in this book).

It helped the book become relatable, as I either knew of or had been to the places Kerouac wrote about. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons I enjoyed Kerouac's book. Or perhaps Kerouac just led an interesting life, I'm not quite sure.

What I find intriguing about Kerouac's work is he wrote in a very unique style. He coined it "spontaneous prose," a term that speaks for itself. Imagine reading a book filled with run-on sentences, combined words, and a general disregard for the rules of grammar, and you'll have a pretty good idea of how Kerouac wrote.

Still, this doesn't make it a poorly written book; on the contrary, I believe this style helped capture my attention, forced me to change the way I read a book. It has a certain rythm to the way you read it, and if you try to read Kerouac's work like any other book, you'll be sorely disappointed. Go with the flow, follow the leads, and just read. Once you have the rythm in your head, it's hard to shake it.

I was ill a few weeks ago, and whilst reading this book at 2 a.m., I felt as if my mind was traveling faster then the rest of my body. I could hardly sleep. When I did sleep, my mind was constantly on the story of The Dharma Bums, imagining myself there with the characters.

It wasn't a pleasant experience; although now reflecting on it, I wish I were back there, indulging Kerouac's work for the first time. Such are the reflections upon many great authors, I suppose.

I hope I haven't bored any of you too much, as I plan on going more in-depth next time when we continue discussing The Dharma Bums.

Help Wanted

I am well aware of the fact that nothing has been posted on the site since Friday, and it bothers me. I'd love to be able to provide daily content to you, the reader, but it was hurting my writing.

Truth is, I've been working on several articles that I am really excited about, but I don't want to rush them out there until I know they are as good as they can be. So, in the interest of keeping a regular amount (hopefully daily) of content on the site, I've been hunting for new writers.

You may have noticed one new addition to the contributors list, but we need more. If you are interested in volunteering your writing (i.e. we can't pay you... yet), then please contact us at the email in the right hand column. Provide some writing samples if possible, and I will contact you if we're interested.

I would prefer people that will write about forms of media other then video games, but we'll play it by ear. One day I would love to have a team of people who primarily write about their favorite form of media.

We look forward to hearing from you! Sorry, that was cheesy.

An Explanation of Our Rating System

Review scores are often a hotly debated topic. There's a vast array of different models for rating systems, be it the 5 point, 10 point, or even 100 point scale, the school-like letter grades, or the thumbs. And with every different model, there's a different argument for why it's terrible.

When we started this site, I wasn't really intending to even dive into this whole mess of an area, so if I wrote about something I usually just left a rating off of it even while other members did more traditional types of reviews. But recently we've been offered review copies, and honestly I might as well start getting myself used to doing reviews if my end goal is to get into a press/journalist type gig, whatever type of media it may be in. So, this is an explanation of the review scale that we have all settled on.

We've decided to use a strictly 5 point scale, meaning 1-5 and nothing in between. It seems to have the most positive aspects to it. With bigger scales, reviews sometimes fall into the top half of the scale. Soon it sparks outrage when something gets a 5, even though that should be a perfectly run of the mill rating. The thumb system however, just isn't enough. The human being doesn't have enough thumbs to accurately express a score for something.

We might switch from numbers to some sort of symbol if we end up changing the overall theme of the site and that fits it better. Until now though, it is a 1 through 5 scale.

1=Terrible
2=Bad
3=Average
4=Good
5=Excellent

That's it, no .5 or .75. Just 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. So with that said, keep in mind that when we review things, a 3 means it is a perfectly fine thing but doesn't have much extra to pull it into a good or excellent range.

Now, keep an eye out for upcoming reviews. We'll be prepared for the fury that you unleash upon us when you disagree with our score. Just be gentle please.

Doing Whatever They Can to Survive

We all know that the print industry is hurting, countless magazines have gone under in the last year or two. I'm beginning to worry about my Paste subscription as it seems to be getting smaller all the time. So how should they stay afloat? I've heard a lot of suggestions by former EGM staff while reflecting on the death of their magazine. Stuff like making it more premium, increasing the quality of paper its printed on and putting more work into making a nice thick superior product that people will want to pay for. What are they doing to stay afloat? Pestering the hell out of their customers.

It first started with my subscription to the previously mentioned EGM. It was set to expire with the December issue and since I didn't have much expendable income around that time do to the holidays I had resolved to let it expire and perhaps resubscribe later. Soon I got a letter saying that my subscription was automatically renewed, and that I should now send them the money I owe them. That was weird since I had recieved it as a gift more then 2 years ago and the giver had paid with a check so automatic renewal wouldn't have been much of an option. So I thought nothing of it, I figured it must have been a ploy to dupe people into just resubscribing without thought and that if I ignored it then they'd get the hint that I wasn't going to.

Upon showing up to my parents house (where my subscription was still being sent) one day however I went to grab my mail and realized there was a small pile of letters from EGM (or whoever handles their subscriptions, I forget who now). The last of these letters claimed that this was their final warning to me and if I didn't pay that more drastic measures would be taken. I was pissed off at this point and responded as such in email form. Only then did they apologize and say that any extra issues sent to me were my gift. Of course there were no more issues of EGM as news broke of their shutting down soon after this whole ordeal, so I'm not sure if it would have been solved differently had EGM been healthy and successful still.

Within the last month though, I got dealt another annoyance in this manner. We were repeatedly getting calls from Conde Nast, Wireds parent company, at least every other day. Eventually I answered so I could end them. The woman on the other end of the phone relayed to me their excellent offer if I were to resubscribe to Wired right then. My subscription wasn't even close to expiring, and I had no interest in giving her my credit card number so that I'd get a charge at some random time after I had already forgotten about it. Now I love my Wired magazine, I read it almost front to back every month. I have every intention to resubscribe, but I want to send in a payment myself when I'm sure I have the money, not be charged whenever they decide to renew it.

I explained to the woman that I didn't want to resubscribe right then and I would send in one of the cards when I wanted to. The response was a repeating of their offer, and that she would go ahead and do that now. I was kind of peeved at this point and told her no I did not want their offer, and I in no way wanted any sort of automatic renewal. Instead of backing down to this she tried to force me into it again! At this point I told her that she was talking her way out of my resubscription and I wasn't interested in any offer they had, and hung up.

I write this rant now though, because I am going through this yet another time. My wife has received issues of a magazine she has never even heard of, along with letters claiming she owes them money. So this is a third company, using the same shady tactics to try to trick people into just handing over money. I completely understand that they are in a tough spot right now, and I sympathize. Working for the newspaper industry means I've seen my pay cut several times, I've seen my routes dissolved into nothing and been forced to scramble to take new ones that might be available, and I've seen my list of customers grow shorter and shorter everyday. I know how it feels to be working in a slowly dying industry, but I would sympathize more if they were taking different approaches to finding a solution. Approaches that weren't deceiving their very own customers.

At this point I almost welcome their demise, because they've pissed me off one too many times. Fortunately I know better than to blame the people behind the magazines I read, it's not their fault that their parent companies are doing this to their customers. Unfortunately a lot of people might not realize this, and might get annoyed enough to just outright cancel their subscriptions. The companies that own these magazines see this scenario as a loss on their annual reports, but the people who work their asses off everyday to put these magazines out see it as no more job to go to everyday. So who's really losing here?