John D. Head aka "Starfish"

Dream Theater Studio Update - Can you handle it?

John Head — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Mike Portnoy, drummer of Dream Theater, just posted this tidbit on the recording of their new album:

Well, normally I wont share any studio info for fear of over speculation and analyzation (yes, there's another thread in the Forum with 21 pages of people talking about mine and JP's hair based on Jordan's studio diary!)....

But I felt the need to share this excitement with y'all:

Today I finished my drum tracks for the new Dream Theater album!

And as I normally never give away song descriptions, titles, lengths, etc....I will say just this:

Imagine a DT album with A Change Of Seasons, Octavarium, Learning To Live, Pull Me Under and The Glass Prison....all on one album....

COULD YOU HANDLE IT???????

Excited?
I sure am!!!!

Happy Turkey Day Everybody,
MP

To answer Mike's question .. no I could not :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

John Head — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:07:19 -0500

I have decided to take the non-holiday days this week off to day with a cold and some personal stuff, so everyone (in the states) have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and chat with you all in December! ...

New Media Tuesday - 11/25/2008

John Head — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

24: Redemption (#29 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Beverly Hills 90210: Season #6
Big Easy, The: Season #2
Bottle Rocket: The Criterion Collection
Chungking Express: The Criterion Collection
Dead Of Winter
Doris Day Show, The: The Complete Series
Family Affair: The Complete Series
Fred Claus
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.: The Complete Series
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.: The Final Season
Hancock: Unrated: SE
Mod Squad, The: Season #2: Volume 1
Pink Panther Ultimate Collection
Ron Howard Spotlight Collection
Sasami: Season #2
Slap Shot 3: The Junior League
Space Chimps
Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The: The Criterion Collection
Superman Doomsday: SE

Computer Games

Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit ( Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Nintendo Wii)
Sonic Unleashed ( Xbox 360)
NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 ( Xbox 360)
Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge ( Xbox 360)
Rock Band 2 Triple Cymbal Expansion Kit ( Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Nintendo Wii)
Playstation 3 InCharge Dual Charge Station ( PLAYSTATION 3)
A Vampyre Story ( Windows XP / Vista)
Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena ( Windows Vista / XP)
Neopets Puzzle Adventure ( Windows XP / Vista)
Mumbojumbo 6 Pack ( Windows 2000 / XP / Vista)
Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force ( Nintendo DS)
Chrono Trigger ( Nintendo DS)
Personal Trainer: Cooking ( Nintendo DS)
All Star Cheer Squad ( Nintendo DS)

Music

The Greatest Songs Of The Eighties ~ Barry Manilow
Electric Arguments ~ The Fireman and Youth Paul McCartney
Something About Airplanes - Deluxe Edition ~ Death Cab for Cutie
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today ~ David Byrne and Brian Eno
Daryl Hall & John Oates-Live at the Troubadour(CD/DVD) ~ Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates: Live at the Troubadour [Blu-ray] ~ Hall & Oates, Conor McAnally
13 ~ Jason Robert Brown
Daryl Hall & John Oates- Live at the Troubadour ~ Hall & Oates, Conor McAnally
The Complete Christmas Collection ~ Doris Day
Gears of War 2 The Soundtrack ~ Steve Jablonsky
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Not a lot coming out this week ... seems the big Black Friday stuff is already out the door. If you have never played it, definitly pick up Chrono Trigger for the DS - one of the best games ever to come out of Japan

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

New Media Tuesday - 11/18/2008

John Head — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

Bones: Season #3: Totally Decomposed Edition
Burke's Law: Season #1: Volume 2
Charmed: The Complete Series
Columbia Best Pictures Collection
Daniel Boone: Season #6
Doctor Who (2005): Series #4 (#28 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Fanfan La Tulipe: The Criterion Collection
Ghost Hunt: Season #1: Part 2
Hannah Montana: Season #1
Hawaii Five-O: Season #5
Heathers: Limited Edition Locker Set
High School Musical: DVD Game
Last Emperor, The: The Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray)
Man Who Fell to Earth, The: The Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray)
McHale's Navy: Season #4
Night Gallery: Season #2
Odd Couple, The: The Complete Series
Odd Couple, The: The Final Season
Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 (Widescreen)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Season #5: Volume 2
Star Trek: The Original Series: Season #3
Third Man, The: The Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray)
Tougher In Alaska: Season #1
Tropic Thunder (Blu-Ray) (#36 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Tropic Thunder: Unrated Director's Cut
WALL-E (2-Disc) (Blu-Ray) (#12 in the DVDPS Top 40)
WALL-E (3-Disc) (Blu-Ray) (#2 in the DVDPS Top 40)
WALL-E: 3-Disc SE (#3 in the DVDPS Top 40)
WALL-E (#4 in the DVDPS Top 40)

Computer Games

Left 4 Dead ( Xbox 360)
The Last Remnant ( Xbox 360)
Need for Speed: Undercover ( Xbox 360)
Tomb Raider: Underworld ( Xbox 360)
Tomb Raider: Underworld ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Need for Speed: Undercover ( PLAYSTATION 3)
NCAA Basketball 09 ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Karaoke Revolution: Presents American Idol Encore 2 w/Microphone ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Left 4 Dead ( Windows XP / Vista / 2000)
Everquest II The Shadow Odyssey w/ Pewter Bear ( Windows Vista / XP / 2000)
World Wide Soccer Manager 2009 ( Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X)
The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff ( Windows Vista / XP)
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Gift With Purchase) ( Nintendo DS)
Luminous Arc 2 ( Nintendo DS)
Disney's Bolt ( Nintendo DS)
Cradle of Rome ( Nintendo DS)

Music

David Cook ~ David Cook
The Promise ~ Robert White [bagpipes], Steve Pearce, et al.
Dark Horse ~ Nickelback
Safe Trip Home ~ Dido
Day & Age ~ The Killers
The Promise (Deluxe Edition) ~ Il Divo
I Am...Sasha Fierce (Deluxe Edition) ~ Beyoncé
808s & Heartbreak ~ Kanye West
The Who At Kilburn: 1977 ~ The Who
The Priests ~ The Priests
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

You can tell we are getting closer to the Xmas season .. WALL-E, Star Trek Season 3 Remastered, Left 4 Dead, and the David Cook cd will all get attention over here

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

Lotusphere 2009 Approved!

John Head — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:59:37 -0500

I am a bit late to the blogging about these, but I had three Lotusphere 2009 session abstracts approved!

First, we have the Jumpstart that Alex and I have given the past couple years Introduction to integration of Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino with Microsoft Office, .NET, and Lotus Symphony. The session has been completely revamped with all new demos and new technology demos including the integration of Google Docs with Notes and Domino applications and some intro samples around creating OOXML and ODF documents. This session has been popular in the past with a back to back repeat pre-scheduled. That is 4 hours of integration demos Sunday afternoon in Orlando to kick off the week. If we do that again this year and you see my Sunday night at the party or eating Ed's sushi at Kimono's after, you will understand why I am punchy :-)

Second, I will be giving Lotus Symphony and You - A Developer's Perspective, which is a revamped version of my Irish Lotus User's Group session with less Executive and User info but quite a bit about the upcoming LotusScript support for Lotus Symphony.

Last, I have a session entitled The Document Format Dance which will cover ODF and OOXML (and PDF as well) in the world of Lotus software. Not only will I go thru some hard core examples on how to generate these document formats WITHOUT using a desktop application, but the session will also give an impartial look at each format ... and try to help you answer the question on which one to use.

It is again my pleasure to speak at Lotusphere. This is the premier conference in our space and I am always honored to have my sessions selected. Look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando in January!

Are you a Lotus Professional in the Chicagoland Area? If so, join the new LinkedIn Group

John Head — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:54:43 -0500

If you are a Lotus Professional in the greater Chicagoland area, please join the new LinkedIn group created just for us! Administrator, Developer, User, IBMer ... everyone is invited to join! Special thanks to Nathan Freeman for the cool graphic

If anyone sees me with a World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Litch King box ...

John Head — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:33:30 -0500

... would you please tell me to put it down and walk away. I can not let myself go back to WoW. Not buying the new expansion will be the final blow to my previous WoW addiction. As friends, co-workers, comrades in the fight, whatever .. please, help a guy out!

:-)

New Media Tuesday - 11/11/2008

John Head — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

Band Of Brothers (Blu-Ray) (#10 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Black Blood Brothers: The Complete Series
Chuck: Season #1 (Blu-Ray)
Fast Track: Season #1
Father Knows Best: Season #2
Firefly: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray) (#9 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Harry Potter: Years 1-5 (Widescreen)
Hellboy II: Golden Army (Blu-Ray) (#3 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Hellboy II: Golden Army: SE (#6 in the DVDPS Top 40)
I Dream Of Jeannie: The Complete Series
JFK: Ultimate Collector's Edition
Kung Fu Panda (Blu-Ray) (#22 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Kung Fu Panda (Widescreen) (#14 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Little House On The Prairie: The Complete Series
Lyrical Nanoha: The Complete Series
M Squad: The Complete Series
Mind Of Mencia: Season #4 Uncensored
Mysterious Island: Season #1
Scrubs: Season #7
Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa!
Smash Lab: Season #1
Sopranos, The: The Complete Series
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: SE
Streets Of San Francisco, The: Season #2: Volume 2
Three Sheets: Season #3
Tracey Ullmans State Of The Union: Season #1
Ultimate Fighting Championship: 5-8
Walt Disney Treasures: Annette (The Mickey Mouse Club: 1957-1958)
Walt Disney Treasures: Chronological Donald, The: Volume 4 (1951-1961)
Walt Disney Treasures: Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh (1964) (#7 in the DVDPS Top 40)

Computer Games

Call of Duty: World at War ( Xbox 360)
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts ( Xbox 360)
Call of Duty World at War Collector's Edition ( Xbox 360)
Mirror's Edge ( Xbox 360)
Call of Duty: World at War ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Pro Evolution Soccer 09 ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Mirror's Edge ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe ( PLAYSTATION 3)
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack ( Windows Vista / XP, Macintosh)
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition ( Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X)
Call of Duty: World at War ( Windows Vista / XP)
Call of Duty World at War Collector's Edition ( Windows Vista / XP)
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia ( Nintendo DS)
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance ( Nintendo DS)
Guitar Hero on Tour Decades Bundle ( Nintendo DS)
Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins ( Nintendo DS)

Music

And Winter Came ~ Enya
Fearless ~ Taylor Swift
David Archuleta ~ David Archuleta
Hit Man: David Foster And Friends ~ Various Artists
Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Vol. 4 - 1951-1961 (Collector's Tin) ~ Disney Treasures
Soul ~ Seal
Genesis Box Set 3 (1970-1975)[12 Disc Set] ~ Genesis
Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection ~ John Williams
Our Bright Future ~ Tracy Chapman
NOW That's What I Call Music 29 ~ Various Artists
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Another big week .. Hellboy 2, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Sopranos: Complete Series, Firefly on BluRay, Mirror's Edge, Call of Duty 5, and Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Oh, and one final comment: I WILL NOT BUY WOW:WOTWK .. I will not .. I will not ...

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

New Media Tuesday - 11/04/2008

John Head — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

Barbie In A Christmas Carol
Batman: The Complete Animated Series (#25 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Budd Boetticher Box Set
Christmas Story, A: Ultimate Collector's Edition
Cooks Country: Season #1
E2: Desing: Season #3
Familiar Of Zero, The: The Complete Series
Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series
Futurama: Bender's Game
Get Smart (2008): SE
Gregory Peck Film Collection, The
Guyver: The Complete Series
Henry Poole Is Here
Holiday Fire
I Dream Of Jeannie: The Complete Series
JAG: Season #7
Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, The: The Criterion Collection
Little House On The Prairie: The Complete Series
Madagascar: Holiday Edition (Widescreen)
Munsters, The: The Complete Series
Planet Of The Apes (40th Anniversary Collection) (Blu-Ray) (#31 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Primeval: The Complete Series 1 & 2
Project Runway: Season #4
Reaper: Season #1 (#38 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Route 66: Season #2
Shrek The Halls
Spin City: Season #1
Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season
Waterworld: Extended Edition
Wild Wild West, The: The Complete Series

Computer Games

Gears of War 2 ( Xbox 360)
Gears of War 2 Limited Edition ( Xbox 360)
Gears of War 2 Amazon.com Exclusive Lancer ( Xbox 360)
Tom Clancy's EndWar ( Xbox 360)
Resistance 2 ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Valkyria Chronicles ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Resistance 2 Collector's Edition ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Naruto Ultimate Ninja: Storm ( PLAYSTATION 3)
NBA 2K9 ( Windows Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 / 95)
Luxor 4 ( Windows Vista / XP)
James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace ( Windows Vista / XP)
Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa ( Windows Vista / XP)
KORG DS-10 Synthesizer ( Nintendo DS)
Goosebumps HorrorLand ( Nintendo DS)
Imagine Wedding Designer ( Nintendo DS)
My Baby Girl ( Nintendo DS)

Music

Twilight Soundtrack ~ Original Soundtrack
A Winter Symphony ~ Sarah Brightman
Don't Come Home for Christmas ~ Jeff Dunham
Incanto ~ Andrea Bocelli
Play ~ Brad Paisley
What A Night! A Christmas Album ~ Harry Connick Jr.
Incanto: The Deluxe Edition (Limited CD & DVD) ~ Andrea Bocelli
Take It to the Limit ~ Hinder
Souled Out ~ Pastor Hezekiah Walker
Classic Albums: Rio ~ Duran Duran
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Everyone should check out Futurama: Bender's Game because it is going to rock, and Gears 2 is a total must have. I will wait on Resistance 2 ...

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

Every American should vote today

John Head — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 07:00:00 -0500

No matter what your politics are, today is the day to get out an vote. Every American has the duty to vote today. Too many citizens have died to protect the freedoms every citizen has, including the right to vote. Even if you go, take your ballet, and don't punch anything ... you still have exercised your right to vote. I spent last evening researching the local races, including judges, to make sure I know every name on the ballet today.

Anyone else ready for this election to be over? I am .. the media coverage is totally out of control and I really am looking forward for at least 12 months of an election coverage reprieve :-)