Based on the request from my boy, Efren Belizario, TPM and our friends over at The (Pennsylvania) Beer Snobs will be highlighting what to drink and what not to drink this Summer. Good brew is essential to a good Summer.

Cheers!

Over this weekend, I intend to repost some reviews I did for other websites some time ago. This way, it looks like I’m actually reviewing stuff over the weekend rather than watching Dr. Seuss DVDs with my son and priming the basement we finished last weekend!

I watched The Sneetches twice this morning. I start singing “Holiday in Cambodia” by DK.

After relaunching my occasional feature 10 in 10, I had a cool idea… or at least I thought so. A contest… an interactive 10 in 10, so here’s how it going to work.

1. Listen to an album by a band or artist… any genre, any artist.
2. Come up with a review that is 10 words or less.
3. Rate it from 1 to 10 stars, half stars are allowed.
4. Email your review and rating to justincharlesharlan@gmail.com
5. Enter the subject line “10 in 10”.
6. Sit back and reap the benefits.

All submissions must be in by Tuesday, April 13th. Ten will be chosen as the 10 in 10 post for Friday, April 16th. All 10 reviewers chosen will receive a CD from the TPM demo box. My absolute favorite one will also win a bonus, yet to be determined by thepaintedman himself…

Ready? Then, get to it… looking forward to your wit and opinions. New albums, old albums, anything that you want to review in the 10 in 10 style.

On your mark, get set, go!

I love this performance. So should you.

Also… sorry for the lack of content lately, busy busy am I. However, expect a beer blog and a contest this weekend, as well as a few reviews early next week.

Last week, on the monthly mixtape for March, TPM introduced many of our readers to Andrew and Kiki’s Toast. Today, we share with you a second track from It’s Raining, It’s Roaring: Click here to download “Back to the Past” now.

Also, while you are enjoying another great track from this talented indie act, here’s what to expect from TPM in the upcoming week or two… LOTS of reviews! I have a pile of music sitting around and am hoping to have a little more time to listen to it all this week. Stay tuned to read about some new and interesting music, some that you’ve heard of and a lot that you haven’t!

Expect a review of Gina Morresi and the Bella Coola Sound tomorrow. After that, you’re guess is as good as mine, though I am planning to organize everything today to figure out what’s to come.

If any aspiring writers or music loving bloggers would like to help me get through the pile of music I have, email me at justincharlesharlan@gmail.com and we’ll put together a guest review or two here on TPM. Thanks!

Enjoy the music and keep your head up on this gloomy Monday.

…While We’re Making Plans”

This is one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite bands… Piebald. It’s from a song entitled “Fear and Loathing on Cape Cod” off of the album We Are the Only Friends We Have.

Anyway… suffice it to say, I’ve been a bit busy, so my plans of having a picture essay and two review up by this time today has been flushed away.

Instead, I decided to just throw out a quick update.

First, I did my first poll/survey on the site last week, the results are as follows…

27% of TPM readers will watch the Winter olympics.
36% won’t.
Another 36% may watch a bit (myself included, though I haven’t yet).

18% of readers think curling is the coolest sport in the winter games.
27% think it’s all about hockey.
Snowboarding, figure skating, and other all come in tied at 18%.
And, poor downhill skiing has no love from TPM.

Hmmm, okay, so what’s coming for the rest of the week? Hopefully… a review of the new Cook & UNO release, a review of The Glass Gentlemen, a 10 in 10 complete with a contest, and maybe that picture essay I wanted to get up this week.

PS. I am actually gonna get off my butt and send prizes I owe people this week, thanks for waiting patiently.

PPS. Another winner, by the way… Facebook fan #100, Becca Sutherland, wins free music!

So, what’s coming in the world of TPM? Here’s what:

FIRST: The remainder of this week will bring to you a few reviews, notably of Mainsail and Debtor, and a Question of the Week.

SECOND: Next week is HORROR WEEK. It will be jam packed full of fun stuff. There will be a themed Question of the Week, a review of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, a list of the top 10 horror flicks of the past decade, a review of Mob Zombie’s Join the Mob and spotlights on Philadelphia horror punk acts Mercury Radio Theater and The Young Werewolves.

THIRD: Entries for the ReverseRemixThis! contest with Map’s awesome instrumental track, “Issues and Subscriptions“, are due by Wednesday, February 3rd.

FINALLY: If you don’t want to participate, but do want to submit a track for the next monthly mixtape, get at me by Friday, February 5th.

As you can see, my home icon in the top right of the page has been replaced by a Haitian flag and the words “Support Craft Hope”.

I’d just like to ask that all my readers go check out this awesome shop on Etsy and consider purchasing something cool and handmade. 100% of the proceeds go to Haitian relief. My wife, Brooke donated a bag and it sold in less than 10 minutes. Many other awesome crafters are donating cool, original stuff that you can use and enjoy, so please check it out.

On this day of service, maybe the way you can give is to exercise your capitalistic desires… just this once, or twice, or as many times as you can.

This morning I gave myself a Christmas present. I registered two new domains to begin working on two new websites for the brookiellen designs network. Currently, brookiellen.com and thepaintedman.com are the two sites that comprise this network, but two more are on the way.

The first is albakiller.com, the fan site for Travis Albanesius, defensive lineman for the AIFA Champion Reading Express. Updates on the progress of this site will be posted here in the coming months. Expect it to be live by the time Express camp opens in late February.

The second is a venture I’ve been excited about for some time, pennbeersnobs.com. The site will be called “The (Pennsylvania) Beer Snobs” and will have a staff of approximately five writers that will focus their efforts on discussing, reviewing, and promoting good beer, highlighting especially the great breweries of the Keystone State.

Very excited for both of these new efforts, but I do need some help. While I have some people in mind, I am looking for fellow beer snobs from PA to join my staff. Email me if you are interested.