Goal for tomorrow: DMan's last session

Tomorrow is my last RB session and, to be bluntly honest, I would rather not spend the night sitting in a hot leather chair humming songs that I don't know.

So instead, I say let's all go out to our favorite pub (Pub Italia?), have a drink or two and reminisce of the good times we've had with both RB 1 and 2. We could all meet up at Phoenix's house around 8ish (sorry for volunteering your house man, but its the usual gathering point) and take a car from there down to the pub.

Let me know what you guys think. :D

Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition - Las Vegas, Nevada

I was in Las Vegas, Nevada over the past week, and had the chance to take a look at this US-wide RockBand Competition (I say US-wide because the competition only has one stop in Canada, which kind of sucks donkey parts...) Prizes for the competition included cash amounts (going all the way up to $10,000 USD) and the opportunity to be the opening act for the B-52s.

So with such awesome prizes, what did I think of the competition?

Well, I don't know...

You see, contest information states that the competition will be held between 8pm and 12am at the Harrah's in Las Vegas. So we made our way to the Harrah's for 8h20pm, hoping to drop in, have a look at the competition, and then go play some slots. When we arrived at the bar where the competition was being held, we learned it would only start at 9pm.

Dissapointed and with 40 minutes to wait, we decided to head back to our hotel (which wasn't far from the Harrah's) with the intent of coming back later in the night. While we waited, we began to play penny slots, and took advantage of the free drinks offered by the casino. After losing 5$ and drinking ±7 drinks, we drunkenly found out it was midnight and that we'd missed the competition.

So, I'm guessing that the competition went well and wish to congratulate whoever won and will be representing Las Vegas in the final rounds. Hopefully you guys win and get the chance to open for the B-52s!

As for me, the experience of getting drunk off free beers and rum was enough to make for one hell of a memorable night!

Dman... (aka the drunken Reject)

Fanmail #5 - You Sir, are a Twit!

From: Phil D.
Sent: Monday, March 30th, 2009
Subject: What's next?!

Though you didn't get first place, congratz on the competition guys! What's next, will you be in that amped thing dman suggested? It'd be cool if you could win $100,000!

You guys should post on your blog more often so we know what's going on.

Phil

Phil, dude, thanks for the email and the congratulations.

As for your comment about more frequent blog updates, you have to understand that it takes a lot of time and energy to create even a mildly entertaining blog post. I mean, you have to take the time to figure out a subject, write about it, proofread it (in my case, several times), and then delete it and start writting again because its just too cheesy (if you don't do this, you end up with posts like this).

Now, if only there was an easy way of posting blog entries without having to write whole paragraphs, like some kind of microblogging tool... We could keep all our fans up-to-date by only writing small short 140 character entries... It would be little bits of information, kind of like a bird's single tweet...

Wait a minute...!

Ah no, that won't work...

No wait, maybe...

Nah...

But what if...!

Yes!

DMAN is now a Twit! ... um, I mean a Twitter!

That's right, want to know what the Reject does with his time? Want up to the minute 3MaaR news? Then subscribe to http://twitter.com/dman3021 today!

You'll know everything the reject is doing, from entries like "Out walking the dog..." to "Watching a good ol' fashion X-Files..." and "Currently picking the belly button lint from between my toes..." There will also be some Rock Band related stuff, like session results and contest updates!

So don't delay, follow me today!

DMan... (aka the Reject)

PS -> I can not be held responsible of how entertaining my twitter entries will be. Heck, even I wouldn't read them given the choice!

PPS -> Thanks to everyone who sent in fanmail. We read every single one of them, so keep em coming!

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Have Fanmail you want to send us? Then open up your email and write to: "rejected.fans@live.com"!

Fanmail #4 - Help a Maca in Need

From: Julie P.
Sent: Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
Subject: RE: The Macas are now Rejects

Hey Guys,

Just read the bad news on your blog and was wondering if there is any way we could help out. Its never fun when this recession stuff hits close to home, but if people can come together and support each other, it helps make things a little easier.

Jewls

Thanks for the email Julie.

I'll admit that, at first, I had mixed feelings about Bongoo, Phoenix and Raikan being laid off. Losing one's job is something that I would never wish on anyone (well, except for a certain past boss), and although I was a little happy to no longer be the only Reject, I was greatly frustrated at what happened to them, and how they were pretty much victims of circumstance.

That being said, if anybody out there wants to help the three Macas (I figure its once a Maca, always a Maca) then there are two ways you can help:

Make a Donation using PayPal or a credit card

If you've been using the Rock Band Score Reader, I would invite you to take a second and donate a dollar or two for the development and testing efforts of both Bongoo and Phoenix. Both have worked many tireless hours developing and testing this very useful tool, and it is now used by players and bands from all around the world.

Purchase from our Online Shop!

If you want something to show for your donation, then you can browse the 3 Macas and a Reject Online Shop. The shop, which is still in its infancy, contains many interesting products that you can purchase for a fair price.

New to the shop this month!
They're Buttons You Know!!! Mens T-Shirts
Price - $21.99 USD

They're Buttons You Know!!! Womens T-Shirts
Price - $21.99 USD

Both shirts contain the following design on their front:


So there you go, a couple of easy ways to help our friends. Thanks for sending us your email!

DMan... (aka the Reject)

PS -> All proceeds from shop sales will go to help the 3 Macas in this time of need.

PPS -> Phoenix, stop fooling around with the drum pads! ya newb...

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Have Fanmail you want to send us? Then open up your email and write to: "rejected.fans@live.com"!

The Macas are now Rejects!

We'll keep the name for historical reasons but "3 Macas and a Reject" are now "4 Rejects"... Due to Nortel filing for bankruptcy and Macadamian's exposure to that situation, the company had to let go of a good portion of its employees.

To our fans: fear not as we will continue our climb in the "All Songs" Leaderboards! Watch out "Happy People Playing ROCK BAND" (our old rivals and friends), we now have more time to practice! ;)

P.S. If said amazing Boston company (starts with H...) has any open positions for a web developer, a usability researcher or a quality assurance specialist, send us a message at "bongoo11@gmail.com"! :) EDIT: Just learned of the layoffs at Harmonix, good luck to all that were affected.

Top Vocalist - A Jagged Gorgeous Winter

Yesterday, while attempting to up my overall vocalist score (something that has become tedious, seeing as how most of my spreads are below 20k), something wonderful happened:



That's right! The Reject has the top vocalist score for the worst named song in Rock Band 2!

Woot!

Fanmail #3 - Christmas Shopping!

Today's Fanmail comes from Steve:

From: Steve in a Panic!
Sent: Thursday, December 18th, 2009
Subject: Present Ideas

Hello Macas,

I was wondering if you had any ideas for presents during this year's holiday season. I tried to go shopping yesterday, but couldn't find anything for my wife.

Any suggestions would help!

Thanks - Stevo

Ok, first off, the name of the band is 3 Macas and a Reject!

Second, this sounds like the perfect opportunity to launch the New Online Store foreshadowed in Fanmail #1!

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Are you currently at home sitting in front of the computer? Are you surfing the web in your underwear, searching for last minute gift ideas, all the while eating a lukewarm burrito you could have probably left in the microwave a couple of minutes longer?

If so, please seak professional help...

Otherwise, visit the 3 Macas and a Reject Online Shop! where you'll find everything you'll need to please the family this holiday season!

Need something for the kids? Check out our "I Heart 3 MaaR" buttons! Great for children of all shapes and sizes, your toddlers will choke on their small sizes, while your emo teenager will take advantage of the sharp pin to cut himself! Buy one for your son or daughter today! Have many kids? Then Buy our 10 pack and Save!

Have a bratty teenager that won't shut up about how uncool they are? Get them the Ginormous 3 Macas and a Reject Poster. Its actual size of 35" x 23", along with some badass poses from each of the 3MaaR members (and fake autographs!!), will make your teen the coolest kid in school! Don't have big enough walls for our ginormous poster? Then get our Not So Ginormous 3 Macas and a Reject Poster today!

Want to get your wife something that shows how much you care? Get her the "I Heart 3 MaaR" String Thong! That way she can feel sexy, all the while reminding you of your favorite band!

PS: All proceeds will go to help a Maca in need.

PPS: Merry Christmas Everyone! :D

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Have Fanmail you want to send us? Then open up your email and write to: "rejected.fans@live.com"!

I would still be in my parent's basement

...if I lived at my parents.

That's the realization I came to yesterday when, thanks to help from Phoenix, I was awarded the very last trophy for Rock Band 2, giving me 100% of all Rock Band 2 trophies.

I figure that, at 27 years old, I should be done wasting hours on end playing video games, but its just too darn fun! Heck, right now I'm thinking of which game I want to try and complete next: Mirror's Edge? PixelJunk Monsters? I just bought Linger in Shadows yesterday, maybe I'll try that...

In the end, I guess its not all bad. I may be living in a basement, but at least its MY basement, not my parents.

PS: Thanks to Phoenix and Raikan for your help in getting my last couple of trophies!

Rejected (Help, I'm surrounded by Nuts!)

Bongoo, Raikan and Phoenix are obviously some great nut specimens - each of them are well rounded individuals, highly nutritious and have the highest amount of beneficial monosaturated fats of any nut! Wait a minute... Sorry, I'm reading about the wrong kind of Macadamian Nut.

Although when you think about it, most producers do have quality assurance processes in place to insure that only the finest of their products make it to the consumer. If Macadamian were a nut producer, then Bongoo, Raikan and Phoenix would all have continued their nut journey towards store shelves, whereas I would have landed straight in the Rejects bucket.

Not that I resent having been rejected, since not two days after receiving a disappointing email from Macadamian HR personnel I was offered a Programmer Analyst job in the IT Applications Department here at Mobile Satellite Ventures, so it worked out for the best (seeing as how I was able to keep my seniority and benefits).

So I may be a Reject surrounded by Nuts, but I don't feel like a Reject one bit. The condescending and mocking atmosphere that could have been a theme during our Tuesday "Rockband" Nights is nowhere to be found, and instead you find a group of wannabe RockStars all jamming on plastic controllers shaped like instruments, trying to do their best to improve their score and make it to #1 on the PS3 Charts!

Add to that the odd groupie getting drunk on Martinis behind us and our first #1 song ever, and it makes for a hell of a good time :P