Buy This! | "DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!"

Sometimes, delays are a good thing, provided you’re taking the glass half full approach. To wit: Best Buy notified me that my order would be delayed until the 18th, but no biggie. That gives me more time to practice playing a few games on that really fine PS2 collection from a few years back. After all these years I’m still absolutely, completely terrible at Magician Lord (and probably will still be), so I’m going to be spending a few hours trying not to die so much or jump up and down on a controller after losing that final life.

For newbies, let me very safely state that NeoGeo games aren’t for rage-quitters at all. Nope, if you get all Hulky and throw that big ol’ heavy arcade stick down, you’ll probably break a toe (and need to go spend a small fortune replacing it. Er, the controller, not your toe). The X’s replicated arcade stick seems to be of similar quality (and not inexpensive either), but I’m definitely NOT going to be tossing it around when I lose. Now you know why they call throw pillows THROW pillows. Just aim for something non-breakable (and not the family pet, lest you get that toe you didn’t break earlier chewed on while you sleep)…

To date, the best documentary on the “punk” music scene has been (and probably always will be) Penelope Spheeris’ The Decline of Western Civilization. Although long out of print on VHS and not available on a commercially released DVD or Blu-Ray, those fortunate enough to have seen it in theaters, on cable back when it had a brief run there or via other means can probably point out moments and performances that were raw and amazing as they captured the urgency and sometimes distressing lives of the bands and fans while examining how media and the authorities dealt with a scene they couldn’t understand. One of the few bans to survive this tumultuous time and make it into the 90’s and beyond was Circle Jerks, and director David Markey (“1991: The Year Punk Broke”, “The Slog Movie”) chronicles the band’s history in an excellent new documentary, Circle Jerks: My Career As A Jerk., available on September 25 from MVD Entertainment Group. It’s a must-see for anyone at all interested in rock history as it evolved and morphed into new forms of music during the 80’s and 90’s.