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Black Friday 2023

Read More Black Friday With Black Friday coming up this Friday (November 25), we are already starting to see some really good deals on Bluray/UHD discs. Some of my favorite A24 films are on sale, including X, Everything Everywhere All At Once …

The annual shopping holiday, Black Friday, is this week, November 24, 2023. However, if you have been paying attention, Black Friday sales actually started as early as November 1st.

The best deal I’ve seen for the Xbox Series X is this Target with a $75 Gift Card and $110 off for the Diablo IV bundle. That’s about $200 off, making the cost roughly $360 for the whole thing. If you already own an X, like I do, I’ll have to pass on this… but man, it’s a good deal since I paid full price of $500 with no free games.

LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570 (Black Friday 2022)

I’m also in the market for an OLED screen. Like last year, the cheapest OLED Television is from Best Buy, who is selling their LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $550, twenty dollars cheaper than last year’s Black Friday Deals. I do want the television… but last year I spent my entire time looking at my computer’s monitor, so I’m more interested in an OLED Monitor.

Unfortunately, despite sales, the cheapest OLED monitors are still around $800 to $1,200 (and that’s the sale prices). The main reason for wanting OLED on a monitor is that the response time on these monitors is less than .3 millisecond, have higher refresh rates, and they have NVIDIA or AMD video card support (meaning fast response and no screen tearing).

Alienware AW3423DW 34" 2K WQHD Curved OLED Gaming Monitor (Dell)

I think I have my heart set on the Alienware AW3423DW 34" 2K WQHD Curved OLED Gaming Monitor. It is an ultrawide curved 2K screen (3440 x 1440), and has support for NVIDIA G-Synch at 175Hz with less than 0.1 ms response time. The best part is that it’s QD-OLED, which stands for quantum dot organic light-emitting diode. It’s basically a better version of OLED, as the Quatum Dots widens the color palette even further: brighter lights, better saturations.

There are some concerns with burn-in that is common with OLED displays… but I’m not that worried about this since you need to have the same images in the same spot for long hours. The other concern is that it’s an ultrawide. I’ve been using a standard 4k monitor and have gotten used to the large resolution. Downgrading to 2k might be tough, but with that said, with the curve display, with HDR-support, and gaming might be improved (running at a lower resolution), it might be a good tradeoff.

In the past, I have complained that some games do not support UltraWide, so in those cases, the games have large black borders on the left and right of the screen. It’s very annoying, but I can’t fault the monitor for not being a 16:9… but I blame the game developers for not taking into account people’s displays (or more like they don’t care).

Most movies are shot on Widescreen (16:9), so you’ll get black bars on the sides. However, since I do enjoy Shaw Brothers films, they use “Shaw Scope”, which is basically UltraWide… so you can maximize Shaw Brothers films on these monitors.

Anyway, the Alienware monitor is normally $1,299.99, but it’s currently on sale for $900 at MicroCenter… which I may actually have to pick up this Black Friday. Also, I did notice that there were two returns, so you can get an open box for $650. I’m not sure if there are missing items, but if I can save even more, I will ask about it.

Update: It appears that MicroCenter has dropped the Alienware monitor to $800, making it a little more desirable than going with an open-box. Also worth checking out is the LG’s 48 inch OLED 4K Gaming Monitor is $700. That’s $800 off and seems like such a good deal. I think my problem is that 48 inches might be a little too large for a computer desk. I don’t know how close I want to sit next to the monitor... but at that size, it would make for a really good television. Of course, you have to factor in buying a speaker system to pair with the monitor. Still, that is something doable, since I do have audio solutions (or can look into buying a good soundbar).

I will be at MicroCenter this Black Friday to make my OLED monitor purchase. At the moment, I am leaning heavily towards the Alienware, but if I walk out with the LG Monitor, no one can blame me for going with a larger display for a cheaper price...

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

Read more Weekend Gamer and Technology.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer: PC Handhelds 2023

Read More Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

Steam Deck OLED
steampowered.com

Faced with competitions from Asus ROG Ally and the recently-released Lenovo Legion Go, Valve announced the new Steam Deck OLED.

The Steam Deck OLED addressed most of the complaints of their first version of the Steam Deck… mainly a better display and a better battery life.

While I’ve had the original Steam Deck since August 2022, I didn’t immediately notice how bad the screen was until I had the ROG Ally to compare it to. Looking at a side-by-side image, you can clearly see the clarity of the ROG Ally display vs the original Steam Deck.

Since Valve decided to keep its original 800p display, I don’t believe it will compare to a native 1080p or better resolution. However, looking at 800p on an OLED display will probably look fantastic.

Almost everything inside the Steam Deck have been upgraded, including larger cooling fan and maximum storage to 1TB (previous Steam Deck maxed out at 512GB).

Unfortunately, the processor is still relatively the same speed… which means the ROG Ally and Legion Go still have a speed advantage over the Steam Deck. The other unfortunately thing is that the Steam Deck still uses SteamOS, which is based on Linux… meaning that some Windows-based games (like all the anticheat software) will not run on the Steam Deck.

As a handheld gaming enthusiast, I am very interested in playing around with the Steam Deck OLED… but as someone who owns the original Steam Deck (and with a gaming budget), this is probably a pass for me.

NOTE: There’ll be a limited-edition version of the Steam Deck OLED which has a transparent case. It looks great, but I would imagine that it will be priced above $700. For that price, I would rather get the Legion Go.

Read More Lenovo I am very excited about this, because I am currently rocking a Lenovo Legion Gaming PC since Nov 2022, and it’s a pretty solid desktop PC. It comes with an NVIDIA 3060 card that can run any modern games. …

Legion Go
lenovo.com

You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now.

In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game. And as much as I am interested in testing out the Legion Go, I already own the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, so I don’t really need yet another handheld in my life.

The pricing is the same as the ROG Ally, but for $50 more you can upgrade the storage to 1TB. However, for $100 more, MicroCenter will upgrade the storage to 2TB for you… making the total price $800.

If you don’t own a PC handheld gaming device, all the devices offer something different. Steam Deck is Linux and user-friendly, ROG Ally is Windows, and now the Legion Go offers the largest display (8.8 inches) and detachable controllers. The two standout features of the Legion Go might tip gamers in their direction, but unfortunately the size and weight doesn’t exactly make it portable. If you’re looking for a large display and controllers (including first person mode), the Legion Go sounds like it’s for you.

For me, I’m all in the ROG Ally world, because the 1080p/120hz display is so good, and it’s small and portable. It’s smaller than the Steam Deck, which is a monster (it’s larger than you think).

I say all this, but if I have the extra cash and I see it in stores, I might bite and do an impulse buy.

Read More ROG Ally Now enter the ROG Ally from Asus. The ROG Ally will address all the things that I wanted in my Steam Deck: Windows, faster chip, better screen, higher resolution, pleasing looks, and the ability to dock in their enhance graphics …

ROG Ally
asus.com

I’m more interested in seeing the upcoming Switch 2 or “Super Switch”… even though I probably won’t buy it. The original Switch processor is very slow and any current modern games won’t even run on the Switch. The last game I bought, it suffered from horrible stutter, I realized it’s not a great gaming device. I’m hoping the Switch 2 will be much faster.

If Switch 2 games are not compatible with the original Switch, then I definitely will not be buying the Switch 2. I don’t want to re-buy all my games… no one does.

I hope there’s a Steam Deck 2 (unlikely since they just announced the Steam Deck OLED) in the works… and I’m hoping for a new ROG Ally 2. What I would like to see in a future ROG Ally is the ability to use any eGPU, two USB-C, official dock, better battery life, better grip/design… maybe take a cue from Valve and put in a great OLED screen.

While we wait for the ROG Ally 2, Asus released the inferior (but cheaper) version of the ROG Ally. The cheaper version uses the Z1 chip (vs the faster Z1 Extreme chip) and costs $599. Personally speaking, I suggest spending the extra cash and getting the Z1 Extreme chip, which is currently selling for $620 because of the upcoming Black Friday Deals.

If you really want to save, the Z1 version is currently on sale for $500 because of Black Friday, and it’s a fantastic price.

Right now, my handheld gaming device of choice is the ROG Ally. When I’m not gaming on the go, I have it docked with the ROG Azoth Keyboard and a 32 inch monitor, for a desktop experience. The device is powerful enough to run all my Windows software and I can use it as a secondary productivity device.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

Read more Weekend Gamer and Technology.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Humble Bundle

Read More Humble Bundle Game On: Humble Bundle I already own at least five of these games (on discs and digital), but I couldn't resist paying the average price to get these games again. When I donated, they gave me a breakdown of how ....

I’m currently a Humble Bundle subscriber since September 2022 when I got my Steam Deck. I previously joined for one year, starting April 2019 to April 2020, because it was a great way to building up your Steam library without paying too much. The only downside is that you don’t actually know what you’re going to get.

It’s a good deal, but unfortunately, because you don’t know what games you’re going to get - you may end up getting duplicate copies (if you previously own these games).

Anyway, there are some great charity Humble Bundle going on this month.

The Essential Content Creator Bundle

First, I wanted to spotlight the The Essential Content Creator Bundle, from Magix. You get six software (one of the software ProDAD mercalli v5 is only good for two years), but the clear stand-out product is the video editor VEGAS Pro 18 Edit. This is a $250 software that you can get for $25. For $25, it’s worth it just for Vegas alone.

Just a little background, but I used to use Vegas when it was own by Sony, it was one of the best video editor that rivals Adobe’s Premiere. Sometime in 2016, Sony sold it to Magix.

I own Vegas Pro 14 and I recently tried to install it on my new Lenovo Legion PC and it wouldn’t register unless I de-activate previous installations. Keep that in mind if you intend on installing the software on various computers.

When I installed it on the new computer, last month, I contemplated on actually paying $150 to upgrade to Vegas 18… but I decided against it because it’s just too expensive. I’m glad I waited, because now I can upgrade to Vegas 18 for $25.

The other amazing deal is the Black Friday Encore: Lone Wolf & Cub and More by Koike from Dark Horse. If you missed the Black Friday deal (like I did!), here’s your second chance. For $18.00 you are getting over 7,000 pages of Lone Wolf and Cub. That, by itself, is an amazing deal. You also get Kazuo Koike’s other works like Crying Freeman and Samurai Executioner. I’ve own most of Koike’s works, so was happy to see they’ve included some books I’ve never read before.

I started reading Color of Rage, and it’s a hoot. It’s about two prisoners who escaped from a slave ship. One of them is a ronin and the other is a black man. The two travel throughout Japan helping people and trying to survive. It’s about racism, it’s about a stranger in a strange land... it would make for a great television show.

I’ve been reading the manga on my iPad Pro 12.8, and although it looks fine… the battery life is terrible and reading for an extended period time on a glossy LED screen is not recommended. I’ve been giving a lot of thought on buying the new Kindle Scribe (10.2 inch) or the Boox Nova Air Color (7.8 inches) to read comic books. They’re both e-ink, but the Boox having the ability to display in e-ink color (which is what I need if I want to read digital color comics).

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Read more Technology.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Upgrade your Steam Deck to 1TB!

Read More Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

Since I bought my Steam Deck in September 2022, I’ve been looking to upgrade my internal storage for the Deck.

I bought the cheapest model, which comes with only 64GB eMMC storage. That’s a joke, as the size is only big enough to contain the system software and various shaders. I installed all my games on a 1TB MicroSD card, and have run out of space.

So, yeah, I wanted and needed to upgrade my tiny eMMC storage…. but the main reason why I hadn’t done it by now, is because I wasn’t sure which NVME m.2 2230 cards to buy. I’ve read that some overheated and destroyed someone’s Steam Deck. I’ve read that some won’t fit flush in the system (since some are double-sided). I honestly didn’t know which drive to buy.

Inland Advertisement

Recently, during my Black Friday shopping spree, I came across the Inland TN436 1TB 3D TLC NAND PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe M.2 2230 Internal SSD on MicroCenter’s website. It is advertised as compatible with the Surface Pro and Steam Deck!

In fact, the Inland marketing on Amazon is specifically targeted to the Steam Deck user base with photos of the Steam Deck and its SSD.

The other important thing in their marketing is that this chip has “Lower Power Consumption” with supports Power Management APST, ASPM and L1.2. No idea what any of that means, but generally lower power consumption would result in better battery life and less prone to overheating (since less power is required).

Reading the comments on MicroCenter’s website, it appears to be working for Steam Deck users… so I’m pretty confident that this Inland 1TB SSD will work with the Steam Deck.

So, tomorrow, I’ll probably be driving to my local MicroCenter to buy this SSD. Once I get it, I will have to open my Steam Deck and replace the eMMC with this 1TB SSD.

Here is the full instructions on how to install Steam OS on the Steam Deck (which I will be referencing tomorrow):

Steam Deck Recovery Instructions

1. Download the recovery image here (click).
2. Prepare a USB key (8GB minimum) with the recovery image:
   • On Windows we recommend using the Rufus utility. Select the recovery file and write it to your USB drive (this will format the contents of your USB drive). When it's done, select 'Close' and eject the drive.
   • On MacOS you can use Balena Etcher to write the recovery file to your USB drive.
   • On Linux you can also use Balena Etcher to write the recovery file to your USB drive - or if you prefer you can do this directly from the command line:
     bzcat steamdeck-recovery-4.img.bz2 | dd if=/dev/stdin of=/dev/sdX oflag=sync status=progress bs=128M (set /dev/sdX to the USB device you inserted)
3. Use a USB-C adapter or hub to plug the boot disk in.
4. Shut down your Steam Deck if it isn't already off. Hold 'Volume Down' and click the Power Button - when you hear the chime, let go of the Volume Down button, and you'll be booted into the Boot Manager.
5. In the Boot Manager, boot from the 'EFI USB Device' (your USB key)
6. The screen will go dark while it's booting - give it a minute.
7. Once booted you will be in a desktop environment, you can navigate using the trackpad and trigger.

Recovery options

In the recovery environment, there are four different options to choose from.

• Re-image Steam Deck - This performs a full factory reset - all user info, installed games, applications, or operating systems will be wiped and replaced with stock SteamOS.
• Clear local user data - This reformats the home partitions on your Steam Deck, which will remove downloaded games and all personal content stored on this Deck, including system configuration.
• Reinstall Steam OS - This will reinstall SteamOS on the Steam Deck, while attempting to preserve your games and personal content.
• Recovery tools - This opens a prompt with the ability to make changes to the Steam Deck boot partition.

Instructions seems fairly simple enough. I have all the necessary tools to do this, so hopefully, it’ll all go well tomorrow.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Read more Technology.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Vestron Video: Earth Girls Are Easy

Read More Vestron Video Here is a Bluray series that I love: Vestron Video Collector's Series. When they first came out in 2016, the retail prices were very, very expensive. Normal prices were $40 (and that didn’t even include digital copies!), so I …

One of the Bluray that I recently purchased during my Black Friday purchases was Earth Girls Are Easy, number 27 in the latest Vestron Video Collection.

I remember actually seeing this film in the theaters, thinking how strange it was to see stars Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum together again after seeing them in David Cronenberg’s The Fly remake. What I didn’t know then, and what I found out listening to the commentary of this film, was that the Davis and Goldblum were actually dating at this time.

The other funny thing was that Earth Girls Are Easy was supposed to star writer/creator Julie Brown (based on her music EP Goddess in Progress). The studio executives thought it would be better if they had a “real” star in the film to draw in a crowd. Better yet, since Davis and Goldblum were a two-for-one deal, they could double their star power, so they gave the lead role to Davis.

They did give the role of Davis’ best friend to Julie Brown, who had originally written the role as a gay man.

Not much of a story that you can base on a few songs… but it was a fun little weird comedy about aliens picking up on Earth girls.

As with all first-run Vestron Videos, they come with a nice slip case and the price is decent ($13), and it comes with a digital code. I highly recommend picking this up if you’re a Vestron fan or just a fan of those late 80s comedy.

The next Vestron release will be a Silent Night, Deadly Night collection. It’s number 3, 4, and 5, which means that Vestron didn’t distribute or released the first two Silent Night, Deadly Night films. I’ll also be picking this up when it comes out. Thankfully, you can find them at Walmart or Best Buy easily… but there’s always Amazon if you don’t live by either retailers.

VESTRON VIDEO COLLECTION

	01 Chopping Mall (1986) Concorde Pictures September 27, 2016		02 Blood Diner (1987) Lightning Pictures September 27, 2016
	03 Waxwork (1988) Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) Vestron Pictures/ Electric Pictures September 27, 2016		04 Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) Trimark Pictures November 22, 2016
	05 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989) Vestron Pictures November 22, 2016		06 The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017
	07 Parents (1989) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017		08 The Gate (1987) New Century Vista Film February 28, 2017
	09 Wishmaster (1997) Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999) Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001) Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002) LIVE Entertainment Artisan Entertainment March 28, 2017		10 The Unholy (1988) Vestron Pictures June 27, 2017
	11 Warlock (1991) Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999 ) New World Pictures / Trimark Pictures / Tapestry Films July 25, 2017		12 Slaughter High (1986) Vestron Pictures October 31, 2017
	13 Gothic (1987) Vestron Pictures January 30, 2018		14 Class of 1999 (1990) Lightning Pictures January 30, 2018
	15 Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018		16 Dagon (2001) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018
	17 Maximum Overdrive (1986) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group October 23, 2018		18 Shivers (1975) Cinepix September 15, 2020
	19 Little Monsters (1989) Vestron Pictures September 15, 2020		20 The Wraith (1986) New Century Vista Film July 20, 2021
	21 Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991) Vestron Pictures August 17, 2021		22 Dementia 13 (1963) American International Pictures September 21, 2021
	23 Steel Dawn (1987) Vestron Pictures October 26, 2021		24 Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999) Artisan Entertainment January 18, 2022
	25 Dream a Little Dream (1989) Vestron Pictures March 15, 2022		26 Extreme Prejudice (1987) Carolco Pictures May 17, 2022
	27 Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) Vestron Pictures November 8, 2022		28 Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) International Video LIVE Entertainment December 13, 2022

Read more Movies and Television.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Black Friday 2022

Read More Black Friday Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases). …

With Black Friday coming up this Friday (November 25), we are already starting to see some really good deals on Bluray/UHD discs. Some of my favorite A24 films are on sale, including X, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Green Knight. I bought a ton of discs this week. Most UHD discs are $10 and Bluray are either $5 or $8. It’s really the only time that I make mass Bluray purchases.

Over at Target, the best deal I’ve seen is $200 for the Xbox Series S. That’s $50 off and a $50 Target Gift card (which is as good as cash). I’m very tempted to try and buy it, even though I already own the Xbox Series X (the superior version). But the price is so good that I’m really thinking about it. If you are going to buy an Xbox this year, you might as well get Elden Ring for $40. This is the lowest price I’ve seen for this amazing game. Honestly, Elden Ring is my Game of the Year.

Walmart has the best deals on 4K TV. They have a 50 inch ONN 4K LED for $150. Onn is Walmart’s brand, and for that low bottom prices, I’m not sure if it’ll have the quality. On the bright side, the TV has Roku built into the television. If you want to upgrade, Walmart also sells a TCL 65” 4k TV for $228 (also with Roku).

If you’re looking for a Macbook, Best Buy is selling the M1 MacBook Air 13.3” for $800 (a $200 savings). If you want this year’s MacBook Air, with the M2 chip, you can get it for $1,050… but from what I’ve read, it’s not worth the upgrade.

LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570

Also, the best OLED TV prices I’ve ever seen is for the LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570. This is a $730 savings, and I’m definitely looking at this very closely. I think the biggest problem is that I rarely watch TV. I spend all my time sitting at my computer and watch YouTube videos or movies I’ve ripped from my Bluray…

So maybe the better money might go to another 4k monitor? My current favorite monitor is on sale for $230. I bought the monitor for $320 in Apr 2022 and absolutely love the “Picture in Picture” feature: “There is another feature that they highlight, and I found it really useful. The monitor has the ability to do Picture in Picture (or as Samsung lists it PBP). What this means is that the monitor can display two simultaneous sources on the monitor at the same time. You have some options, side-by-side or a small popup screen (which you can position in four areas and with varying sizes). The P-i-P is the best thing about this monitor.”

If you’re looking for a new PC or laptop, I would recommend looking at MicroCenter’s Black Friday sale. They have my Lenovo Legion PC for the same amazing price of $850. I’ve said it before, the video card (3060) costs $400 by itself(!), so to have it come with your computer, it’s a steal.

MicroCenter also sells really cheap Wyze cameras. Their v3 camera with color night vision is $30. I currently own two Wyze cameras that I use for my security cameras.

This year, I’ve already started my Black Friday shopping last week. Most retailers already started their sale last week. I’ll be looking at bigger purchases sometime this week, since some retailers won’t unveil their biggest deals until closer to Friday.

Read more Black Friday, Movies and Television.

Vu’s Early Black Friday Bluray/UHD purchases

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Minneapolis: This Week (11/27/2022)

Here are some shows, this week, in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. A couple of cancellations this week: Rose City Band and Rosali show at Turf Club (11/22) and Mac DeMarco at Palace Theatre (11/23) are both cancelled.

Thursday, November 24, is Thanksgiving, so nothing is really going on. Unlike previous years, stores are closed for “Black Thursday”, so you’ll have to wait until the next day for Black Friday.

Read more Minneapolis Music Guide

11/25 Raffaella with Hank and Ryann at 7th St Entry Read More Raffaella New York’s Raffaella (with live backing band bassist Charlie and drummer Alonso) opened up the show with a very brief 30-min set. This was the singer/songwriter’s first time in Minneapolis, and she started her set with her first single, “Bruce Willis” …

11/25/2022 Friday

Raffaella
with Hank and Ryann
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

Recently Raffaella released her new single/video for “Grown Up”, directed by Nathan Castiel.

Raffaella (30 Sep 2019)

We saw Raffaella in Sep 2019 and wrote, “New York’s Raffaella (with live backing band bassist Charlie and drummer Alonso) opened up the show with a very brief 30-min set. This was the singer/songwriter’s first time in Minneapolis, and she started her set with her first single, “Bruce Willis” (which she jokingly called it “yippee ki-yay motherf***er”). Although she’s still very new to the music scene (with only one EP called Ballerina released in August 2019 via Mom+Pop), you can tell that she’s been performing for a while now. It probably won’t be long until she’s back in town, and with a strong audience support, given that she’s won over quite a few fans in the audience.”

Although it was her first time in Minneapolis in 2019, she quickly adopted the city as one of her “two hometowns”, as mentioned below. Minneapolis must have been very good to the singer.

Hank (aka Sara L’Abriola) and Ryann to open. Ryann is the moniker for New York-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Victoria Ryann Zaro, who is also in the band Peach Fuzz.

Raffaella writes:

:)my first two headline shows in my two hometowns lucky to have my wickedly talented friends Hank, Ryann & Nick Cianci joining whatta dream !! TIX on SALE this FriDaY

tickets at https://raff.world.

11/26 Trampled by Turtles with Charlie Parr at Armory Read More Trampled by Turtles Of course, we love Trampled by Turtles as well, the Northern Minnesota band’s short-lived Palomino Festival(here) was one of our annual favorites to cover. Future Islands, Liberty Hall Lawrence. $26-$30 ...

11/26/2022 Saturday

Trampled by Turtles
with Charlie Parr
at Armory
first-avenue.com

Minnesota’s best kept secret, Trampled By Turtles will headline the very massive The Armory venue on November 26th, in support of their upcoming album, Alpenglow (Thirty Tigers).

The new album is the first in four years and was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

Duluth’s Charlie Parr will open the show.

Tour Dates

Nov 3 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE ##
Nov 4 – Washington, DC – The Anthem ##
Nov 5 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore ##
Nov 6 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground ##
Nov 10 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Nov 11 – Boston, MA – House of Blues ##
Nov 12 – Portland, ME – State Theatre ##
Nov 26 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory @@
Dec 1 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
Dec 2 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat
Dec 3 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J. Brad Music Center &&
Dec 7 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^^
Dec 8 – Fayetteville, AR – JJ’s Live ^^
Dec 9 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant ^^
Dec 10 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater ^^
Jan 19 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore **
Jan 20 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour **
Jan 21 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park **

Support:
## Amigo The Devil
@@ Charlie Parr
^^ Sumbuck (featuring Taylor Meier from Caamp)
** Tejon Street Corner Thieves
&& Pokey LaFarge

11/27 Jockstrap with ernest rareberrg at 7th St Entry Read More BBC On the face of it, the Save 6 Music campaign is about preserving a radio station. On the face of it, 6 Music’s fate is not that consequential one way or another to most people. As we all know, though ...

11/27/2022 Sunday

Jockstrap
with ernest rareberrg
at 7th St Entry
first-avenue.com

London-based duo Jockstrap (Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye) is touring the USA in support of their debut album I Love You Jennifer B (Rough Trade Records). Their North America runs through November and December, and will stop by the 7th Street Entry on November 27th.

Jockstrap’s singles ‘Glasgow', ‘50/50’ and ‘Concrete Over Water’ from I Love You Jennifer B were all playlisted by BBC Radio 6 Music, and caught the attention of cultural icons like Chanel and Stella McCartney.

ernest rareberrg to open.

Tour dates:

Nov 4 | Club 2 Club Festival, Turin
Nov 17 | DC9, Washington, DC
Nov 18 | Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia, PA
Nov 19 | The Sultan Room, Brooklyn, NY
Nov 20| The Sultan Room, Brooklyn, NY
Nov 24 | Bar le Ritz PDB, Montreal, QC
Nov 25 | Drake Underground, Toronto, ON
Nov 26 | Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL
Nov 27 | 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN
Dec 1 | Fox Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
Dec 2 | Madame Lou’s, Seattle, WA
Dec 3 | Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
Dec 6 | Starline Social Club, Oakland, CA
Dec 7 | Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA

If your band is coming to the Minneapolis/St Paul area, please email details to [email protected] with a good lead time. Thank you.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Target Super Clearance Day

Read More Target I just bought the Razer’s Kishi Controllers (for the iPhone) on clearance from Target for $15. This is a massive saving, considering when it was originally released, it was $50 or more. …

You know, just the other day, I was complaining about the lack of good deals on Amazon Prime Day. Forget Amazon Prime Day, it’s all about the Target Super Clearance Day for me. I’ve never seen so many 70% off yellow clearance tags. Of course, limited to stock on hand, but I did find some really amazing deals.

Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases).

I don’t know how long the sale will last, but I am assuming it’s only for a few days, if that. I know that several Targets in my area are doing renovations, so I think they just want to clear out inventory.

Some things I bought for 70% off:

Target Exclusive 4k Discs for $11 (normally $36)

Some 12” vinyl for $9 (normally $30)

Mego Action Figures for $5 (normally $20)

Various Cable Guy Phone Holder for $8 (normally $30)

Various McFarlane Action Figures for $5 (normally $20)

Various Headphones for $15 (normally $50)

Razer Keyboards and Accessories for as low as $8 (normally $30)

Some gaming controllers for $5 (normally $20)

There were more 70% off products (like all the phone cases), but I had no interests in them. Tomorrow, I will visit another Target store to see if I can find more deals.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Target Clearance

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer: Prime Day

Read More Video Games I take that back, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is on sale, and it’s a game (three games actually) that I’m interested in checking out the new “remaster”. It’s currently on sale for $35 on Amazon, …

Every year Amazon Prime Day comes and go, and every year, there’s never anything good! This year, the two-day event is taking place July 12 to 13, and promises “epic deals on top brands and small businesses.”

Having scrolled through countless items, the sales and discounts are just not enough for me to want to buy something. Most of the sales are 10% off, to me, that’s not enough for a product I don’t need now. Some items that never goes on sale, such as Apple products are slightly discounted - for example the new Apple Watch 7 is $309 (normally $420) and Airtags 4-Pack are $85 (normally $100).

Undoubtedly, the biggest deals are on Amazon’s own products: the Echo Show (not the new models) and their Fire Tablets.

If you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, Amazon is giving away some free digital games, including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Originally when this re-mastered game came out in 2021 for a full $60… but since then the game is heavily discounted (as low as $20 on Xbox), and, if you have Xbox Game Pass, the game is “free”. Many gamers interested in the game, including myself, have already bought it. Still, getting another free copy from Amazon Prime is a nice bonus.

There are a few catches in redeeming the Amazon Prime free games. Some games requires you to have an account with a third party, for example, Legacy Games or Origin account. Personally speaking, if I don’t already have an account, I just won’t redeem them… but there are others that might sign up, just to get some free games.

The other catch is that Amazon is promoting their streaming game service, Luna, so some of their “free” games requires you to sign up for their gaming service (which I won’t do).

So, even though I poo-poo the “sales” of Amazon Prime Day, I have to admit that it is good for everyone. That is because Amazon’s competitors, such as Best Buy, are also reacting to Prime Day, with their own sales, which they are calling Black Friday in July.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Apple Watch SE

Read More Apple The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack ....

I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple introduced their “budget” Apple Watch, the SE, which strips out some features.

What’s missing from the SE is a faster/latest processor, no ECG and blood oximiter sensors, no always-on display, and lacking UWB or 5GHz Wi-Fi communication capabilities. If you absolutely have to one of those things, then you need to buy the new Series 7.

My biggest complaint is that you must have an iPhone to use with the Apple Watch. I believe you can only have one active watch at one time, so if you own multiple Apple Watches, it only works with just one.

The other complaint is that battery life is absolutely bad. You need to charge it every day. To be fair, most smart watches requires you to charge once a day. My Amazfit GTR 2 advertised battery life of 7 days, but in reality, it’s really only two or three days. So battery life just sucks all across the board.

My last complaint is there aren’t many watch faces officially available from Apple. I’m assuming that it will get better over time. There are many third party watch face makers, but none of them are very good. The really good one costs subscription fees, which I would rather not pay for. If they sell individual face for, say $1, I wouldn’t mind paying for one or two… but unfortunately, there’s not many choices.

Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the new watch. I feel it’s “fast enough” for my needs, and it has all the health tracking abilities in other smart watches. My two health focus is sleep tracking and heart beats… but obviously, you can use it to track various other things, like standing up or walking/running.

One of the coolest thing going from my Amazfit watch to the Apple Watch is that Apple has some applications built for WatchOS… which Amazfit some some Android Watches don’t have. For example, I used the calculator on my watch (for tipping) and showed up the compass on the watch to my brother.

Another perk in the Apple brand that you may not be aware of, is all the many, many, many accessories you can get for the Apple Watch. Need a new wrist band ? There are a million bands out there. Don’t want to pay $100 for Apple’s Milanese Loop ? There are knock-offs you can get for $15 (which is exactly what I did for a similar Milanese Loop at Walmart).

So, if you’re keeping track, I’m officially 100% into the Apple Echosystem, owning the new iPhone 13, iPad Pro 12.9 (2021), Apple TV (HD), and, now, the Apple Watch SE (2021).

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com