So it is that I find two months have past since my last update here.  Apparently, this blog has not been a priority for me.  Perhaps it is because I've been too focused on getting Shots in the Dark launched.  Or perhaps it is because I've been focused on getting a new full-time job.  Or, the more then likely candidate, I wasn't sure if it would be in my best interest to post something here that I would regret later. 

In the past two months, I've ridden the roller coaster of human emotion to its very summit and down to its wretched bottom.  Along the way, I've encountered persons possessing the most compassionate of spirits and persons whose very lives seem dedicated to the beratement of others.  I have to say, I'm much happier to have met the former.

Its probably best for everyone involved that I not divulge too many of the sordid details of my recent history, but I will summarize:

• Late February 2007: Resigned from Fearless Radio/Open Road Productions.  Remained on as a host of Play or Die.
• Mid-March 2007: Resigned from Play or Die.  Apparently shot the Sheriff, the deputy and the Sheriff's girlfriend.  Recieved many shots back, some of which in the groin.  Fortunately, I was wearing a steel-plated jockstrap.
• Still Mid-March 2007: Denied an employment opportunity at Electronic Arts Chicago.  Struggled to retain optimistic life view.
• Later March 2007: Donned full-body spandex and performed the speaking role of Spider Man at a Wal-Mart in NW Indiana.  Entertained many children and a few adults.
• Even Later March 2007: Auditioned and offered a chance to join the cast of The Awesome 80's Prom.  Respectfully declined invitation, deciding to refocus life energy on other pursuits.  
• Early April 2007: Contacted the deputy shot in March and realized, quite happily, I didn't kill him.  For this I was very glad.
• Still Early April 2007: Started working at Whole Foods Market, bagging groceries.  And honestly, it was fun while it lasted. 
• Early April 2007: Launched Shots in the Dark, the official podcast of ShotgunReviews.com.
• Very Recently (This Morning): Offered a position at iCrossing, a digital marketing and advertising agency, which I gladly accepted!
• Incredibly Recently (A few hours ago): Resigned from Whole Foods Market.  Realized that the manager of customer service there is in the running for one of the best human beings on the planet.  Frank, you rock!

So there you have it, the past two months in a nutshell.  If you'd like further detail, I encourage you to email me at vinceinthedark "at" gmail.com or vince.scalabrino "at" gmail.com.

Shameless Self-Promotion
Have you downloaded episode one of Shots in the Dark yet?  If so, what did you think?  If not...what the hell are you waiting for?!  Go get it now, before our web server collapses from the massive traffic that we may or may not be experiencing! 

Its that time of year and I just wanted to post a quickie to tell anyone who's reading this, thanks for thinking of me. Feel free to drop me a line anytime at my Fearless account: vince "at" fearlessradio.com.

I'm also very thankful that Toys for Bob are considering pitching a REAL sequel to Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters to Activision. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here.

And if you're so inclined, add to the petition telling Fred, Paul and all at Toys for Bob how much you'd like to see a deserved sequel to what is, IMHO, one of the greatest games ever made.

To Whom it May Concern,

And if you're reading this, then you're concerned.  That's good.  Because I'm concerned too.  Concerned that one of the greatest (and this is no mere hyperbole) games of ALL TIME will never be given a sequel that does it justice.  Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters is a game that stands on its own for me.  As of this writing, I'm a 28-year-old gamer who hosts his own live Internet radio show 3 nights a week that just so happens to be about, you guessed it, video games.  Perhaps just having been a gamer since the days of monochromatic green and black text adventures on an Apple IIe doesn't make me an expert, it does make me a pretty decent judge of what is good and what is not.  At least, I'd like to think so.

What makes a good game, you ask?  There are many components. An engaging story, a fantastic interface, immersability and lastly, but most importantly, cohesiveness.  Many games today have great interfaces, but lack a story that is worth hearing five minutes of (ahem...the new Sid Meier's Pirates).  Conversely, there are a few games that have a great story but don't really have an interface that is intuitive (The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogies Revenge). 

Fred and Paul created a universe with The Ur-Quan Masters that was immersive and fantastic, yet speckled with their own brand of humor that makes it indelibly unique and all that much more enjoyable.  The interface is still, to this day, one of the most intuitive I've ever encountered.  And the dialogue...its just priceless.

Please consider entertaining Fred and Paul's concept for a sequel to the greatest video game ever made.  I for one, will buy it.  And I will make sure that all of the listeners of my show (over 3000/month) hear all about it too.

Thank you for your time,
"Vicious" Vince Scalabrino
Producer and Co-Host of Play or Die
www.fearlessradio.com
www.myspace.com/playordieshow

Now go out and have a kick-ass Thanksgiving!
V

Well, here we are.  Its been two months now that I've been at Fearless.  Patrick mentioned when I started that it would take me something on the order of four weeks "just to find the bathroom".  Its been eight weeks now and I must say that the past two weeks have eclipsed the previous collection in their entiriety.  I'll cite just a few examples:

-Last Friday, I had a conversation with MC Chris.  And I talked quite a bit with his most hilarious manager, Paul Shull.  MC is cool, his music is tight and he is like royalty to geek culture.  I can't wait to see him live next week and meet him face to face.  This will be great publiciy for MC and our show next week, as he will be our featured artist.  I can't wait!

-Yesterday morning at 9 AM, just coming off a relaxing weekend with S, I spoke with Zach Braff. He was quite polite, given the time of day and the long list of press calls that I'm sure he had ahead of him.  At any rate, it was an interesting way to kick start the week.

-We found out today that we have EXCALIBUR nightclub reserved for Luxuria on October 20!  It is going to be a most spectacular event, the first one we've organized since I took on my new role at Fearless.  We've got the goods this year to throw an even more excellent Luxuria this time around, especially considering the venue and the players we will be bringing to the table.  It will be a most excellent adventure.

-I caught up with my old friend Anand Bhatt.  I've always thought that one's soul, by its nature, draws like souls to it.  I feel like Anand and I have known each other for many more years then I've been known as Vince Scalabrino.  It was great talking to him and hopefully, his record label and the station will be able to do mutually profitable business together soon.

-I finally finished Kingdom Hearts. Yeah, its embarassing how long it took me to finally get around to it. It was a whole lot of fun, especially coming on the heels of my Disney World trip in June with S.

Overall, I can definitely say that its been a good week. 

Damn, I almost went three months without update.  Well, things have been a bit busy. 

The past two weeks passed with a breath.  Between E3, moving out of my house and beginning to execute my departure from Motorola, time has been scarce.  At least now, two of the three big events have passed.  But yet to come is the most critical and time-consuming phase: the follow-up!  My house has emptied its bowels into the front room and garage of my parent's place and I've got a stack of business cards from E3 that I need to continue to follow up with.  At least now I get to do it all with a big smile on my face. 

Second City decided not to let me proceed to Level 2 of the conservatory.  It was a real wake-up call for me.  As much as I enjoyed classes, I must not have enjoyed them as much as I could have, since I'm not planning to retake 1A and audition AGAIN.  Instead, I'm going to finally take that VO class at The Acting Studio.  And I'm headed to the "Breaking into the Business" seminar on June 11.  It will be good to get this handsome and humble mug in front of some folks that could get me some commercial/industrial gigs.  Anything to offset the coming bleed!

Here at Moto, folks have been super-kind regarding my departure.  I've been quite thankful for that.  This week, the PMO staff will be having a send-off lunch for me @ Benihana (yum!).  And next week will be the big send off with many of the work folks that I've known and worked with over the years.  Looks like Finn McCool's is the target for that, with The Curragh being closed.

The clock is ticking now, ever faster.  Only 9 days left here in the office!  Then comes my month of R&R before starting at Fearless Radio full time as Director of Operations. 

OK, now I'm targeting one update a month.  Y'all don't have the time to read more then that anyway.  As it is, I barely got this one in for February.

Today at MAMAMOTO, two power circuits that feed one of our primary data centers went down.  This had a ripple effect that ended up not just halting nearly ALL email communcation within the company, but brought down financial systems, order processing and you-name-it system.  Almost all of them went down.

Fortunately, 'Net access was unaffected.  Which is why I was able to write this update.

This whole experience to me has been at first frustrating, but now amusing.  It became apparent that myself and all of those around me are little more then cogs in an enormous Motorola robot machine.  When the communication mechanisms that connect us fail, we lose our ability to function as a whole.  The robot slows down or stops working almost entirely.  Now what if the very fuel that keeps the robots functioning (ironically, we humans have become dependent on this same fuel supply), electricity, suddenly was gone?  When we run out of fossil fuel, it will happen not long thereafter.  Did you know that we have yet to create an "alternate" source of energy that doesn't require fossil fuel at some point or another to actually produce power??! 

Scary stuff, eh?

Best not to think about it.  That's what we're taught to do.  Its what our ever more demanding jobs, television, video games, movies, theatre, art galleries and sports are for.  They keep us so incredibly focused on living day-to-day, most of us have lost sight of the big picture.  Perhaps I should take some solace in this, given that I'm about to launch into an incredibly successful career in entertainment.  But for some reason, I'm left with a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

Although I feel that leaving the Motorola Robot behind is the best choice for me in the long run, my intuition is telling me that I will be making ever more audacious career/life moves in the future.  So stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Vince's Life!  Only on the Planet Earth Network.

In terms of my current career plans, things are going along swimmingly!  I've enlisted the services of my good friend Daria to create my brand identity and website for VJS Entertainment.  Expect a nice update on that once it goes live.  I've got two DJ gigs already lined up for April, with a few more potentials in flight as well.  Its looking like I can actually make some decent money doing this DJ thing!  I can't tell you how grateful I am to all of you who have kept me in your thoughts when you talk to your friends and neighbors.  I will not be able to succeed in my crazy endeavor without your support. 

Speaking of support, many special thanks to Samantha, my wonderful girlfriend.  Your support and grounding as I embark on this journey continues to be invaluable.  Thank you, my love.  It is so incredibly appreciated.

Well, I suppose I should get my cogs back in motion.  The robot's gears groan in anticipation.  And Head Automatica is providing me with the perfect inspiration to kick the robot's ass...

I'll leave you with the immortal words of Ferris Buehler:
"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Wow.  So much going on as of late, I've been slacking on my updates.  Got a meeting with Big City Bride this Friday.  Say a prayer/send some good vibes my way, please.  That would be a great relationship to get my DJ business off the ground.  Also working on the DJ business web site this week.  Look for a link to that in a future update, once its online.  In other news, I had a great 2005 performance review with my manager @ Moto last week.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was making exit plans.  Ah well. 

Now enough about me. 

Since my last update was religious, I figured it was appropriate that I continue in my controversial vein and move into the political arena.

I got an email today from the American Cancer Society, as I do from time to time.  What I like is that they often times will setup cool little interfaces which make it easy to communicate with your congressional representatives, governors or other legislative entities.  This one was set to go straight to G Dub himself, in lieu of his upcoming State of the Union address.

They intended people like me to use the interface to ask for more support of cancer research.  I did that.  But I also mentioned something else that has begun to irk me as of late.  I recently started reading a book from Thom Harmann called "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight".  In its first 25 pages, my eyes are beginning to open to the incredibly precarious state that not just our nation, but our entire planet exists in.  Whether or not you believe it to be true, we are consuming far more energy each year then the Earth and our Sun can produce for us.  We have resorted to using fossil fuel (ancient, stored energy) to provide us with what we need to support our bloated infrastructure.  But, like a savings account that is only withdrawn from and not deposited into, this stored energy is bound to run eventually.  And then what?  At our current rate of population growth, the world will exceed 10 BILLION people by 2050.  What's so special about 2050?  That's the year that our oil supply, at our current rate of consumption, will probably run out.  That's not even factoring in the expected increase in consumption due to increased population.  

Holy shit, people!

I want to know what G Dub and his possee are planning to do about this?  Are we going to make any attempt to ween ourselves off of fossil fuel?  Moreover, what are we doing to slow population growth and decrease consumption patterns?  I'm going to sound nasty saying this, but maybe cancer is just nature's/God's/fate's/Earth's way of getting things back into balance.  Without a doubt, our population was never intended to get so incredibly large that we humans consume over 50% of the Earth's fresh water supply!  It's nuts!  So anyway, here's the letter that sent to G Dub.  Enjoy.  And feel free to let me know what you think.  I'm curious.

Mr. Bush,

In the coming week, you will be communicating to the entire nation your State of the Union address.  At this time, you are undoubtedly engaged in extensive planning sessions with your staff.  As you organize your legislative priorities for 2006, I hope that you consider two threats to this country that are poised to do more damage then any terrrorist organization in the world could ever do.

Cancer.  1500 Americans die EACH DAY from cancer-related causes.  1 in 4 deaths in America are caused by cancer.  Cancer-related treatment costs totalled $189 BILLION in 2004.  Two weeks ago, yet another of my friends succombed to this horrible disease.  John was a relatively healthy man who didn't smoke and rarely, if ever drank.  John was a man of unfailing kindness and generosity.  Yet in just two weeks, he went from seemingly perfect health to death. 

If the threat of terrorism is great enough to demand hundreds of our young men and women's lives and biliions in taxpayers dollars, what of cancer?  Does it not deserve that same attention?  By including your Administration's goal to eliminate death and suffering from cancer by 2015 in your State of the Union address and proposing a budget that adequately funds cancer research and programs, you'll give hope to millions of Americans touched by cancer. 

The second threat to our country is even more powerful then cancer.  It is a threat so incredibly insideous that few people today even recognize it.  But you need only look into the mirror to see it. 

The second threat is none other then ourselves.

We humans, especially in America, consume massive amounts of energy.  Far more then we need to.  Just look around at the obesity epidemic that's sweeping the nation and you can see it.  We eat too much.  We drink too much.  We breathe too much.  We procreate too much.  At our current rate of growth, we are on track to have 11 BILLION people on this Earth by 2050.  What will we do then to feed ourselves, when our fossil fuel suddenly runs out?  Food will run scarce and suddenly, only the rich will survive.  In less then a decade, we could witness over 7 billion people worldwide STARVE.  This is a fate that is inevitable, should we not begin to take action immediately. 

In closing, I would like for you to at least consider the threats I have mentioned here.  When the next bill passes your desk to permit another $10 billion in spending for this "war" we are engaged in overseas, I ask that you also consider the war we wage each day on our own shores- with ourselves.  Inevitably, should our focus remain outward, we will for certain lose the war within.

I am committed to spending the rest of my physical life on this Earth assisting in efforts to fight the combatants above.  It is my hope that you will stand by my side and join in this "war".  For in the end, the "winners" receive the greatest gift of all - LIFE.

Most sincerely,
Vince Scalabrino

"Policitcally" in the entry below should read "politically".  Not that that makes much more sense, but at least its spelled correctly.

I returned to the office today after over a week off. It was quite an odd experience, putting my "Project Manager" head back on. I kind of felt like I had just walked through one of those tunnels they have at haunted houses. You know the ones - the walls are curved and spin around you while a strobe pulses and trance music blasts into your eardrums. Imagine just getting out of one of those and then being told you need to generate a 30 page thesis on the nature of God, humanity and the nature of reality...within the next 8 hours.

Yeah, it kind of sucked.

That's OK though. It only further fueled my desire to cut the umbilical cord that still yokes me to MAMAMOTO.  Ah well.  May will be here soon enough.

I should mention that I'm not going to hold myself to that whole "four updates a week" thing.  That was a just a touch unrealistic.  I'm shooting for half that for now. 

On an unrelated note, I got a reply from UPS to the note that I sent to their customer service department (see below). Unfortunately, the response is policitcally well-worded and completely ignores my biting sarcasm. Still, I'll paste it below for your enjoyment.  And its nice to know that I could get a refund on shipping from Amazon.  But is my time worth the $8 shipping charge?  I'd like to think its worth far more then that! 

Its high time that I get to work on some Play or Die promotion.  So without further ado...here's the UPS note.

Dear Vince:

Thank you for your inquiry.  I apologize for the delayed delivery of your
package.  Our tracking system indicates that this package was shipped on
12/22/05 and was delayed due to being left at a UPS facility.  This
package has been rescheduled for delivery on 12/27/05 by the end of day. 
Please note that Monday 12/26/05 is a UPS holiday and packages are not
being picked up or delivered. 

Unfortunately, your package is still in transit, and I am unable to
process a Guaranteed Service Refund.  Refunds will be issued to the
shipper.  Once the package is delivered, please contact the shipper to
request the refund.  Refund requests must be received from the shipper
within (15) calendar days from the scheduled delivery date. 

For further information, you may refer to our Terms and Conditions of
Service at the following URL:

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/service/terms/service.html

Again, I apologize for the difficulties experienced with this shipment.

Please contact us if you need any additional assistance.

Zeb Dahl
UPS Customer Service