December 2013

Computer Chess is a paradox. It appears to be a (successful) attempt to be as dry and impenetrably arcane as its subject can be, even for people who might be interested in that subject. In theory, it’s a compelling experiment, but its very definition requires that it offer no rewards, and for the most part, it meets that requirement.

Lest 2013 be the year I actually gave up video games, here is a nifty app that is basically an iTunes for ROMs: openemu.org

Any film that sets out to play a bunch of Big Star music and talk to people in the know about how it was made and why it’s great can’t really go wrong, and this one doesn’t. But while the early acts offer engaging coverage of the birth of Memphis’s legendary Ardent Studios, Big Star’s formation, and the great records that followed, what comes after is a bit murky. There is much hypothesizing about why… See more →

🎧My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Low (12), Slayer (8) & Jesu (8) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

This year’s holiday card from the super is even better than last year’s.

This was good for a few chuckles, but I expected more from the collective comedic pedigree involved. There are plenty of gags reminiscent of other John Landis classics like The Blues Brothers and Three Amigos, but Trading Places just doesn’t have the same heart. That said, as a Philadelphia area native, I did appreciate the many location shots as a great snapshot of the city in 1983.

McConaughey is excellent, but the redemption story is pretty by-the-numbers, and is ultimately overpowered by a rather shrill anti-FDA polemic.

The Future and the (Christmas) Present

The Future and the (Christmas) Present flic.kr/p/izMWwM

One day, SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, we will be alone together. And everyone who knows you will forgive what I do.

Somehow I never noticed the US foreign policy allegory happening here.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Wussy Duo (34), Tortoise (13) & Baroness (13) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

Turning off social media and RSS for the rest of the year. Happy holidays, everyone.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Mastodon (22), Ghost (18) & Ministry (9) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

A family is discussing the finer points of “he who smelt it dealt it,” thus validating my decision to sit at the other end of the train car.

Am I the only person to whom it has ever occurred that one can continue walking even after they’ve stepped onto the escalator?

Nice to see you, San Francisco. It’s been awhile.

Waiting for Godot

My parents never told me I would one day be the guy choreographing an air band stage show in a spreadsheet, but I think they always knew it.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Speedealer (16), Tim Hecker (12) & Chelsea Wolfe (11) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

Finished Breaking Bad. Your spoilers can’t hurt me anymore. Also, holy moly, what a series.

The differences between the films Slumber Party Massacre and Sorority House Massacre are négligéeble.

The first Christmas card of the year has arrived, and it’s a keeper.

And now Sugar Mom’s is gone. Philly doesn’t seem to want me to come back. glamorosi.blogspot.com/2013/12/777-Le…

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Vince Guaraldi Trio (19), Tool (15) & Therapy? (14) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…