This Month At Dontmindme.com — June 2003

Video of the Month: The other day I happened to be watching RetroRequest on MuchMoreMusic (yeah, yeah, I know, don't even ask) and someone requested "A Criminal Mind" by Gowan. I had never actually seen the video before, and well, it's a messed up little video. If you ever wanted to see Larry Gowan as a comic book character and being covered in some sort of strange goo, this is your chance.

Album of the Month: The other day I went to change the CD in my car and I noticed that The Joshua Tree was in my CD holder. Not having listened to it in a while I popped it in. This is of course the album that made U2 into huge superstars, which is odd when you listen to it, since it basically rides on the first three songs (three songs that were massive hits, mind you, but only three of eleven songs) and the general tone is dark, even for U2. That said, it's still highly recommended.

Urban Legend of the Month: You may have heard it said that glass isn't actually a solid, but rather a supercooled liquid. This is not true. Glass does have some properties of a liquid, in that it does not have the regular crystalline molecular structure of a typical solid. Glass does not flow, however, at least not at room temperature. Much antique glass is thicker at the bottom than at the top, but that is a result of imprecision in manufacturing techniques. If someone tries to tell you that glass isn't a solid, feel free to point out that this is a misconception and not actually true. It's a good way to start a discussion.

Fun Fact of the Month: The flavour of Juicy Fruit gum is completely synthetic and does not exist in nature. Now, most gum uses synthetic flavours, but these flavours are supposed to imitate real flavours. Juicy Fruit doesn't. Next time you chew some Juicy Fruit think about this, and decide for yourself if this is disturbing.

TV Show of the Month: Some years ago there was a writer and producer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine named Robert Hewitt Wolfe. He left the show and didn't really do too much for a few years, but then he teamed up with Majel Barrett-Roddenberry to make yet another show based on one of her late husband's ideas. This show was Andromeda. While it may star Kevin Sorbo, who was better known as Hercules, and is more more action oriented than any reasonable sci-fi should be, and while the most recent Roddenberry show was the terrible Earth: Final Conflict, Andromeda turned out to be good.

Rerun of the Month: A year ago I did a rant about Being A Night Person. It's surprising how things have changed. Well, okay, I'm still a night person, but I'm not as much of a night person as I was a year ago. That said, I'm still a long way from being a morning person.

Bizarre Website of the Month: Sometimes when you hear a song do you think it's missing something? That it needs a bit of a kick to put it over the top? You know what the song needs? It needs some cowbell. Don't want to believe me? Deep down you know I speak the truth. If you continue to doubt, then you need to visit The Cowbell Project.

Word of the Month: Copacetic. While it may sound vaguely medical, what it means is acceptable or very satisfactory. If something is copacetic, it's all good. It's a fun word.

Game of the Month: You may have noticed that Stuff of the Month has been a bit, well, absent as of late. There are several reasons, one of which (although far from the best reason) is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It's one of the most controversial video games in history, but it's also one of the best. It's an unbelievable amount of fun. Yes, the levels of violence, language, and general mayhem are high, but it's remarkable how quickly one becomes acclimated to casually running over pedestrians. Now, that's not to say that this is a necessarily a good thing, but the people claiming that this game will ruin the youth of today should realize that GTA: VC isn't the problem, it's a symptom. It's also a lot of fun.

DVD of the Month: Okay, so I haven't seen the movie yet, but the DVD is being released today, and Die Another Day looks pretty cool. Plus, it's a two disc set, which is always cool. I plan on watching it ASAP.