Frank Ramblings

Well, I can’t believe it, but it’s finally here. Tomorrow night (well, technically tonight), I board a plane to North Carolina. I’m meeting up with friends and driving down to Atlanta for Dragon*Con! I bought my pass way back in November, and already it’s time to head South and enjoy a weekend of fun and geekiness!

Dragon*Con is one of the biggest sci-fi/fantasy/pop culture conventions on the East Coast, featuring novelists, comic book creators, TV and film actors in panel discussions, signing autographs, and just hanging out with their fans. I’ve already been to New York Comic Con and Big Apple Con, but from what I hear, this is supposed to be a very different experience. I can’t wait!

I’m looking forward to getting to know my friends Faith and Ky a little better, as well as meeting my friends Chris and Louis in real life for the first time. It’s going to be great to hang out with these people who I know from Twitter.

But of course, it wouldn’t be Dragon*Con without some good geekery! I’ve loaded up on comics to read while I’m in line for panels and autographs (10 trades and about 30 single issues on my iPod Touch), and I’ve got a mental list of people I need to meet before the weekend is out: Summer Glau, Kevin J. Anderson, Timothy Zahn, Veronica Belmont, Tom Merritt, Brian Brushwood, Jeff Lewis, Sandeep Parikh, and a few others. Also, I’m excited about getting to sit in on some panels and enjoy some great parties. If all goes well, it should be a great weekend.

If things go right, I’ll be checking in here each night during the convention and throwing up a quick post filled with the latest from that day. Can’t wait!

Lately my passion for the Beatles has been flaring up again in a big way. Rather than blog about it to no end here and tweet about it on my main Twitter account, I decided it made more sense to create a new outlet to channel my thoughts on all things Beatlish. The result is @BeatleRamblings paired with beatleramblings.tumblr.com. I’ll be giving my spur-of-the-moment thoughts, comments, and reactions on the Twitter account, and blogging and sharing links, pictures, and other media on the Tumblr page. I’m also looking into starting a Beatles podcast. More on that at a later date. For now, please follow, friend, and comment. Thanks!

It’s finally here! Friend of the show Shannon joins Frank for this public service episode of FMF. We hope you will learn much from this totally serious and not at all tongue-in-cheek episode. If you like Tornados, Muppets, Terminators, Texas, or One Tree Hill, then this is the podcast for you!

Listen and Subscribe in iTunes!

Twice in the last three weeks, I’ve guest-hosted Castlecast, a podcast about ABC’s Castle (starring Nathan Fillion). I’ve been listening to the podcast since it started this summer, and I’ve really been enjoying it. John and Heidi do a great job recapping and discussing new episodes, delivering Castle-related news, and talking about spoilers for upcoming episodes. Heidi hasn’t been able to host the show lately (feel better, Heidi!), so John’s been asking his fellow podcasters to step in. I was on the podcast two weeks ago for Episode 9: Fool Me Once and again this week for Episode 11: Vampire Weekend. The most recent episode was a panel discussion featuring John, Crystal, Larissa, Nathaniel, and myself. I had a great time on Castlecast and I hope to be on it again some time. Thanks John and Heidi!

The Life Of Joe Chaminade by Bro. Robert Lahey, S. M.
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The Life of Joe Chaminade.mp3 (2912 KB)

I saw Phantom for the first time a few months ago, and I enjoyed the film quite a bit, but there’s nothing quite like live organ accompaniment. It was a unique experience indeed. I’ve been to a number of other NYTOS events, but this was by far the best. I was transported back to 1925. The music kept me totally in the moment. If you ever have a chance to experience a theater organ, absolutely do it. The wide array of available sounds makes a theater organ a one-man orchestra.

Even without the benefit of a film, a theater organ can tell a story in sound. Don’t believe me? Listen to the mp3 embedded in this post . I recorded it at my high school during a demonstration a few years back. I love it because it really shows how you can get the feel for a story from the music alone. Imagine adding a silent film into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a pretty awesome afternoon of entertainment!

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Norweigan Wood (This Bird Has Flown) by Frank  
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10 Norweigan Wood (This Bird Has Flo.mp3 (3906 KB)

Apparently my Across the Universe was met with something other than disgust, so upon request, I'll post some other covers I've done as well.

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Across The Universe by Frank  
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02 Across the Universe.mp3 (4786 KB)

Inspired by the brand new Beatle remasters, here's a recording of Across the Universe that I did about 4 or 5 years ago.

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