As discussed in massive civil detail, everybody who follows the Robot Panic scene in or near Michigan is invited to party with us in Novi, MI. Thanks to SimpleNate for coordination skills and me stealing all his wonderful images.

We’ll spend a majority of our time planning a mutiny of our Minnesota subsidiaries, discuss flanking tactics, drinking, gaming, drinking, gaming, reference bowling, comment on how classy we are because we’re meeting at a place with a dress code, make fun of that “M-BAR-GO” sign, and solve the mystery of why that picture above is real and located in Brighton using a talking dog and a bunch of hippies.

When: Saturday, April 4th at 7pm
Where: Lucky Strike in the Fountain Walk mall in Novi, MI
Who: Anybody that is into games and wants to drive to Novi
Why: Because we can
How: Look for a table with a Robot Panic logo

With any luck, you will get to party with our very own Gypsy Scott Mosier mascot.

We all know that Fry’s kicks major ass here at Robot Panic. We’ve pined over their selection of electronic geek fodder for years and have lamented time and time again that we don’t have them where we live. Well, here’s another reason why this store kicks so much ass. While visiting my brother in Los Angles this week, he mentioned this particular location and I just had to see it. Here are some pics from the Burbank, CA Fry’s location, which features a B-Movie theme. From the initial entrance that has a giant crashed UFO to the snack area laid out like a Sci-Fi Drive-In with real cars, this Fry’s is like no other big box retailer I’ve ever been in. And what was already my favorite electronics store has now taken on a whole new dimension of awesomeness with this B-Movie love.

Now why the hell can’t we get one of these in Minnesota?
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There are few things more exhilarating than being introduced to hidden gems and wonderful treasures located throughout our city. At the same time, being introduced to these things can make one wonder aloud, “How the hell did I not know about this?” Such is the case with the Heights Theater, located in Columbia Heights, a northern suburb of Minneapolis. Moe introduced me to this theater last week after he attended a screening of Casablanca, a film that resides in my list of top ten all-time favorites. He called me the next day, raving about this vintage theater, restored to look just like it did back in the silent era, and to tell me that I simply had to go check it out. Further enticing me was the news that they are holding a seven movie film festival celebrating some of the great noir films from Universal Pictures. Sold!

So a bit about the theater. From their site:

The theatre was originally constructed in 1926 by Gluek Brewery heir Arthur Gluek as a prohibition real estate venture.

Built in the Beaux Arts style of the last century, the Heights Theatre building was a simple neighborhood movie house showcasing local talent in stage plays and “High Class Amateur Vaudeville Acts.” The Heights has survived at least three fires, one bombing and “The Big Blow of 1949″ when a Fridley tornado twisted the tower sign.

Owner Tom Letness specializes in first-run family films, classics, foreign releases, live entertainment and organ concerts Friday and Saturday nights.

Letness and Dave Holmgren bought the Heights Theatre in November 1998, and restored the original glory. At first sight, the interior was a shiny turquoise box. Today, a scarlet motorized grande drape and second-act drape cover the 16 x 26 foot proscenium stage. Gilded grills conceal the pipework for the mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ.

Antique chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling restored with 2600 Egyptian lead crystals. Hand-painted reproduction Edison Mazda bulbs in four colors on separate circuits allow a multitude of effects from 152 lights above four hundred seats. The orchestra pit, 8-feet X 26-feet, was discovered under the floor where the organ now rises for Friday and Saturday night concerts.

Yes, that’s right, an organ. About twenty minutes before Monday night’s show, a gentleman walked to the front of the theater, climbed down into the pit, and moments later he arose from the pit riding a vintage movie organ and proceeded to play classic movie tunes for the next thirty minutes. It was spectacular!

On to the movie…

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I sold the idea of this movie to Hilden and Moe by saying, “Hey, you wanna go see a Swedish vampire flick?” Of course they said yes. But by the time we came out of the Riverview (best theater in town, by the way), we realized that Let the Right One In is more than merely a Swedish vampire flick, it’s a surprisingly deep and compelling story about a bullied kid named Oskar and the relationship he develops with the mysterious new girl in his apartment building. Most vampire movies tend to be blood-fests consisting of gory kills and dramatic plot points about the high cost of immortality. And while LTROI does contain those themes, the way in which they are presented, and the performances of the brilliant child actors brings this movie to the top of the genre.

As mentioned, the story centers on a twelve year-old kid named Oskar who must face a bully named Conny, and his cohorts, each day at school. And each night, Oskar fantasizes about exacting revenge upon his aggressors, but knows that he lacks the courage to act. A girl named Eli moves next door to Oskar in his apartment building, and he slowly, over the course of several evenings, develops a relationship with her until the ultimate realization that she is a vampire. It’s the development of this relationship, its effect on Oskar and his confidence, and Oskar’s coping with the fact that Eli must murder to survive that makes this movie so special. Lina Leandersson is simply brilliant in the role of Eli, a being who is much older than her twelve year-old body suggests. But if great acting doesn’t do it for you and you just like your vampire movies bloody, there are some great kills here as well.

In a year that’s seen an odd resurgence of vampires (True Blood, Twilight, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), it’s a shame that Let the Right One In will probably be the most overlooked. It’s easily the most original take on the genre in years and the movie most worthy of your cash. If it’s not playing near you, the DVD and BluRay releases are right around the corner on March 10th, and I really can’t recommend this movie enough.

If you need more convincing, a great review of this film was posted at Ain’t it Cool News here. Give it a read.

We all spend hours lamenting the death of proper arcades in the United States. The dark, quarter-munching game halls have mostly been boarded up and forgotten or replaced by giant bowling alley/redemption machine/food and drink establishments like Dave & Busters, GameWorks, and now Brunswick Zone. Brunswick Zones have been around for a while, operating mainly as large, fancy bowling alleys. Occassionally they’d throw in a bar and maybe a few arcade machines and pool tables. But that was before Brunswick Zone…XL!

So Brunswick Zone XL takes the old model and turns it into a ginormous family fun center, which sounds like hell on earth to me. Complete with restaurants, bowling, video games, laser tag, private rooms, and party rooms, XL is the place to go if you want to fight through hoards of screaming children so you can earn some tickets on a neon-lit redemption machine. There’s a new one that just opened down the road from my place, so while driving past I decided to pop in and check it out.
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Living in the Russian Federation – Ninja Power! 24/10/2008

It’s been a fun time at work, the change of environment from working wih and supporting 3,000 people down to around 10 has been a welcome change of pace and attitiude. Finally I’m in a position to really start looking at best practices, preventative measures and most of all I’m laying down the groundwork for all the IT stuff to come down the line. There’s a real buzz about being a part of a ‘first team’ and doing the things that we’re doing. Next week is going to be insanely cool as I get to start travelling Moscow to various IT vendors and retailers to start negotiating prices, kit and support which should be a lot of fun. It’ll also be a great place to really get to see some more of Moscow which sadly I’ve not seen anywhere near enough of so far

Being an office of only a few people (and never having everyone there at the same time…) things could easily get boring, however we actually manage to have a great time especially when things like this happen. So to set the scene, the office is silent, we’ve all got our heads down working on various things then out of nowhere this dude appears at out 19th floor window swinging around like a mother fucker with a squeegy. Ron chirps up straight away “ya know, I can see he’s breaking at least 6 separate safety procedures already” then starts reeming them off. Deividos then chirps up “and people die making these buildings all the time like that, this place is made from the blood and bones of the fallen just like the Pyramids!”.

This proves that there is nothing like a dude swinging around outside your 19th floor window to brighten up the day (and clean the view!)

Today was also monumental as I visited the shared vending machine for the first time and discovered two gems… take a look!

Ninja Drinks are awesome and you can check out their website at Ninja Drinks!!!

Tomorrow it’s my first day off so I’m going to do some touristy things….

Philthy

Living In The Russian Federation – Mafia, Tetris and Vodka 19/10/2008

So it turns out that I need to travel to Russia. Apparently I’m needed over there for a while to set up a whole load of new IT kit and work with a deluge of new people that will be starting in my company’s fledgling Russian office in Moscow. I don’t speak Russian (yet) and I’ll be literally living there. Apartment, grocery shopping, doing my own washing and of course catching the underground to work each day.

What this means is that I’ll be able to write about the wonderful, different, crazy and extreme things that I see whilst living there. I’ll be searching for Robots, checking out the local food, seeing the sites and being my usual British self so please look forward to some interesting blog updates in the near future.

‘How near?’ I hear you asking… well I fly out in just a few hours and I’ll be getting straight to the day-job as soon as I get there. As soon as I have an established internet connection however, I’ll be posting like a Vodka inspired Tetrimo trying to make a 4-line Tetris.

So my friends, I bid you farewell for now! Please feel free to start up some bets on how fast I get met by the Mafia.

Philthy

Look at that guy. So smug. You just want to punch him, don’t you? Holding that spatula like he’s the bambino. What, is he going to bat a cheeseburger out of the park?

I don’t really hate Bobby Flay, but I can see why some people do. He comes off as a bit arrogant, self-important, and is a little too sure of himself sometimes. Remember when he was on the original Iron Chef and pulled the “I’m an egotistical American” routine? So yeah, I get it. But I actually like the guy despite his attitude and despite the fact that he seems to be the Food Network’s favorite son. Seriously, that guy is on every show on that station. He’s on Iron Chef America, Throwdown!, The Next Food Network Star, and a whole host of others. Ok…I watch too much Food Network.

On our last day in Vegas, my wife and I were trying to decide where we wanted to eat when we remembered that Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay’s restaurant, was located next door in Caesar’s Palace. Now, I mentioned that I’m not a Bobby Flay hater. The guy obviously knows his shit, and his shows are generally entertaining. My wife, on the other hand, loathes the guy. She even has a nickname for him that I can’t mention on this website…it’s that vulgar. Nevertheless, when I suggested eating at his restaurant she expressed curiosity and relented. How could she not be curious when he’s on television nearly twenty-four hours a day? And by the end of our lunch, she changed her tune and was full of nothing but praise. She even resolved to retire the nickname, the food was that good.

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[This one's for Torgo.]

My biggest regret of moving to the suburbs is the complete lack of any sort of history. 99% of everything out here was built less than fifteen years ago. There isn’t a good bar in Burnsville, there isn’t a single “mom n’ pop” shop in Burnsville, and the restaurants are almost exclusively of the corporate chain variety. It’s for this reason that I head over to Northeast Minneapolis, or “Nordeast” as it’s referred to by locals. This neighborhood is brimming with local history and is home to some of the best neighborhood bars and restaurants in the entire Twin Cities metro area. And among the best of the best is Mayslack’s.

It’s a place I go back to as often as possible, wanting to escape from the mundane strip-mall-covered suburbs to something real; something with history.

Originally opened in 1955 by former pro-wrestler Stan Mayslack, Mayslack’s is the epitome of Northeast Minneapolis corner bars. The floor tiles are cracked, the bar is dimly lit, the booths are creaky and private, and the jukebox has an incredibly varied selection. But what made Mayslack’s legendary is its incredible roast beef sandwiches. These massive sandwiches are covered in garlic, banana peppers, onions, and au jus and served on a giant rye bun. When you go to Mayslack’s, don’t bother with the rest of the menu (which is good); stick with “The Original”.
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