Solving my mazes on your screen?


You may be aware that I draw mazes. You may be aware that I have some maze books out, and that you can get my mazes printed on stuff to wear, hang, or sit around the house. You may be aware that I have a bunch of mazes posted here for free. In my never ending quest for World (and Lunar) Domination, I’m moving on to your phone, tablet, laptop, PC, and there’s probably somebody out there with a Raspberry Pi enabled potato or something. Maybe the DOOM fruit fly can solve a few?

While, it’s not ready to roll out to a full-ass audience yet, my buddy Jason has put together a way to solve my hand-drawn mazes on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can use your finger, a stylus, the control in the bottom left corner, the arrow keys, the WASD keys, or a mouse to move the cursor to solve the maze. You can change the ink color, erase, or “snap back” to get to the solution. You can pick the difficulty level & keep playing through to that level or all the levels if you’d like. You can also share your stats to social media or via text.

I did a screen recording of the game play on my phone, using my finger and the cursor on the bottom left at different times:

There’s a fancier 5x-ish sped-up version (with music) on TikTok too:

@aixelsyd13

So, my buddy Jason is helping to make my hand-drawn mazes solvable on a screen. This is a 5x-ish sped-up playthrough on my phone. Looking for people interested in testing functionality & providing feedback. That you? Might blog about it later. #maze #mazes #puzzlegame #apps #AiXeLsyD13

♬ I Am a Banana – Parry Gripp

So, we need some people to test this out! What is working? What isn’t? What’s intuitive? What’s not? Tell us about the functionality, and even if you like the idea. Sometimes, I feel like it is difficult to find maze-solving enthusiasts. Share this with your people who may like to do such things!

I’m not sharing the url for the test phase super wide right now so just reach out to me via email, social media, via comment here, or my contact form if you’d like to test the game out and tell is what’s working & what’s not. To quote the infamous Jimmy Pop, I’d appreciate your input.

If people dig it, I’ll add more & draw more! Do you think it’s something that you or someone you know would enjoy?

PlayFlashFrame.com

Also, if you like movies, you have to check out this other game that my buddy Jason made! In FlashFrame, you guess the movie title by a screenshot or poster/promo image from 4 answer choices. You go in to rounds of 10. You can play against other people, or do solo practice. You can pick your genres and narrow it by decade too if your cinephilia has highly specific interests.

I have gone head-to-head in movie naming competition with my kids, and with Jason himself. It’s a fun way to test your movie memory!

I like to narrow in on 80’s sci-fi, comedy, & action films. What would your decade & genres be?

It’s definitely fun and worth your time to check out. A few rounds go by super quick and you might surprise yourself with your movie knowledge!

Also, the more people who play, the more fun it is. You can invite your friends to play head-to-head battles.

🍌🍌🍌

And, for fun, I put the faster version of the maze solving on YouTube too:

James Gunn comments on the Tromeo & Juliet soundtrack!


Fist off, you should follow Sid the Punk Rock Girl Dad on Instagram, Threads, & TikTok… and James Gunn on Threads.

I “know” Sid from a Facebook group or three, and James Gunn not only crushes it on making movies and TV shows with crazy needle drops, but he also has no problem setting the record straight on DCU projects directly to the people. I have written about his move from Marvel to DC and his Creature Commandos Playlist before.

This lil’ interaction happened the other day and made me super happy:

@thepunkrockgirldad
Finally getting around to watching @jamesgunn ’s phenomenal Superman. It is incredibly difficult to get me interested in a DC character as I have been a Marvel fan since childhood, but this did the trick. Sidenote: I would love to sit and talk punk rock with JG for a PRGD lesson with Lorelai. A guy can dream.

@aixelsyd13
The Tromeo & Juliet soundtrack; @jamesgunn started knocking out bangers EARLY

@jamesgunn
On the T&J soundtrack all of the bands were kind enough to allow us to use their music for free, with the exception of Sublime, who I think we gave $1500, and the Ass Ponys, who asked me for 99 cent check from Troma they promised not to cash and would frame and put on their wall. I learned a lot through the process. It seemed so clunky, choosing all these songs in post, shooting and sometimes cutting before we had a song. So once I started making my own films I always chose the music beforehand.

@aixelsyd13
Oh, that's incredible insight! Learning by doing and moving forward with better knowledge for next time is applicable to all of us. My friends & I who were in a punk band at the time wore that CD out! I absolutely love all the needle drops from then to GoTG to Peacemaker & beyond. Thank you for the behind these scenes glimpse, and taking the time to answer 
@jamesgunn! (This also cements that the Ass Ponys rule! 🤘)

So, how cool is that? An-Die DysLeXiC introduced me to the cinematic masterpiece that is Tromeo & Juliet featuring one of the most unhinged car crash scenes of all time.

The soundtrack is banger after banger, and knowing that Mr. Gunn chased down every one so it could be included is incredible. “Mr. Superlove” by the Ass Ponys is awesome. Same with “Math” by Supernova, “Gizzards, Scrapple and Tripe” by The New Duncan Imperials, “Drink That Whiskey” by The Wesley Willis Fiasco, and… “Sacrifice” by Motörhead!!

Sadly, it’s not all streaming, but somebody did make a Spotify playlist with what they could find. (The score is there though!)

AiXeLsyD used to play “Gizzards, Scrapple and Tripe” at practice, but I don’t know that we ever played it at a show? We rocked this compilation and the Pist Midget: Heavy Music Stopilation #1 CD all the time. (A real one popped that on to SoundCloud!)

I still have this CD, and I’m gonna need to pop it in. I love the inside baseball on making movies and music selection. I’m reading You’ve Got Red On You about the making of Shaun of the Dead right now, and it’s fascinating about all the stuff that has to happen to get a project done.

Peacemaker and Creature Commandos have some bops. (Honestly sort of related, Doom Patrol really did too.)

I’m obviously a huge punk rock compilation fan, but What’s your favorite compilation or soundtrack CD that’s maybe weird or obscure?

Rock N’ Roll Movies 🎬


I like rock n’ roll movies. I’ve seen a bunch. I still need to see a lot of them, or it’s been too long to remember what I thought of them.

What are your favorites? Mine are noted below: ★★★★★ is good ★☆☆☆☆ is bad. I just threw them in a table, then sorted by rating then title.

Please don’t say Rock of Ages. I have no interest in musicals. 🤣

I used AI to partially successfully create a table with as-of-now correct IMDB & RT ratings. I’ll copy & paste it below, & link to my spreadsheet.

AiXeLsyD13’s Rock N’ Roll Movie List!
Movie:My Rating:IMDB:RT 🍅:RT 🍿:Category:
A Mighty Wind★★★★★7.287%82%Comedy
Airheads★★★★★6.222%57%Comedy
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure★★★★★7.081%75%Comedy
Boom: A Film About the Sonics★★★★★8.9n/an/aDocumentary
Empire Music★★★★★6.831%84%Comedy
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga★★★★★6.563%81%Comedy
Fat Kid Rules the World★★★★★6.484%61%Drama
Heavier Trip★★★★★6.091%n/aComedy
Heavy Trip★★★★★7.094%85%Comedy
Honeysuckle Rose★★★★★6.360%74%Drama
Josie and the Pussycats★★★★★5.653%53%Comedy
Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son of a Bitch★★★★★7.789%88%Documentary
Mad Tiger★★★★★6.767%57%Documentary
Mission to Lars★★★★★6.781%70%Documentary
Pick It Up!: Ska in the ’90s★★★★★8.0n/an/aDocumentary
Ray★★★★★7.780%87%Biopic
School of Rock★★★★★7.292%64%Comedy
The Other F Word★★★★★7.278%82%Documentary
The Punk Syndrome★★★★★7.894%87%Documentary
This Is Spinal Tap★★★★★7.995%82%Comedy
Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk★★★★★7.882%93%Documentary
Walk the Line★★★★★7.882%90%Biopic
Willie Nelson & Family (series)★★★★★8.386%100%Documentary
8 Mile★★★★☆7.275%54%Drama
Anvil: The Story of Anvil★★★★☆7.998%89%Documentary
Beware Mr. Baker★★★★☆7.698%81%Documentary
Bill & Ted Face the Music★★★★☆6.082%65%Comedy
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey★★★★☆6.356%56%Comedy
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones★★★★☆8.190%91%Documentary
It Might Get Loud★★★★☆7.680%84%Documentary
Muscle Shoals★★★★☆7.797%90%Documentary
Ordinary World★★★★☆5.553%46%Drama
Searching for Sugar Man★★★★☆8.295%92%Documentary
Sound City★★★★☆7.8100%90%Documentary
Straight Outta Compton★★★★☆7.889%91%Biopic
The Blues Brothers★★★★☆7.973%87%Comedy
Wayne’s World★★★★☆7.079%84%Comedy
Whiskey on a Sunday★★★★☆8.9n/an/aDocumentary
A Complete Unknown★★★☆☆7.4n/an/aBiopic
Almost Famous★★★☆☆7.989%92%Drama
Metal Lords★★★☆☆6.762%84%Comedy
Metallica: Through The Never★★★☆☆7.182%74%Drama
Once★★★☆☆7.897%91%Drama
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School★★★☆☆6.781%70%Comedy
Rockstar★★★☆☆6.352%57%Drama
Some Kind of Monster★★★☆☆7.589%86%Documentary
Studio 666★★★☆☆5.756%80%Horror/Comedy
That Thing You Do!★★★☆☆6.993%82%Comedy
The Rocker★★★☆☆6.241%57%Comedy
The Runaways★★★☆☆6.570%66%Biopic
Wayne’s World 2★★★☆☆6.260%61%Comedy
CBGB★★☆☆☆6.67%39%Biopic
Hired Gun★★☆☆☆7.240%72%Documentary
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever★★☆☆☆4.6n/a55%Comedy
SLC Punk★★☆☆☆7.463%89%Drama
The Dirt★★☆☆☆7.039%94%Biopic
Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story★☆☆☆☆6.6n/a57%Biopic
Becoming Led Zeppelinn/an/an/an/aDocumentary
Bohemian Rhapsodyn/a7.960%85%Biopic
Cadillac Recordsn/a7.066%68%Biopic
Elvisn/a7.377%94%Biopic
Gutterdammerungn/a7.6n/an/aWeird
Heavy Metal Parking Lotn/a7.583%78%Documentary
High Fidelityn/a7.591%90%Drama
Jimi: All Is By My Siden/a5.768%41%Biopic
Junen/a7.5100%83%Documentary
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Parkn/a4.8n/a60%Action
La Bamban/a6.991%78%Biopic
Metal: A Headbanger’s Journeyn/a8.090%91%Documentary
Punk’s Deadn/a4.6n/a36%Drama
Punks Not Deadn/a7.090%76%Documentary
Rocketmann/a7.389%88%Biopic
Sid & Nancyn/a7.088%84%Biopic
Sound of Metaln/a7.797%90%Drama
The Buddy Holly Storyn/a7.1100%82%Biopic
The Decline of Western Civilizationn/a7.5100%83%Documentary
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Yearsn/a7.276%76%Documentary
The Decline of Western Civilization Part IIIn/a7.2100%80%Documentary
The Doorsn/a7.258%83%Biopic

As I have finished up, damnit I forgot Filmage, Tenacious D’s Pick of Destiny (& the TV show), Crossroads, Purple Rain, Frank, CB4, Big Money Hustlas, Salad Days, Pump Up The Volume, We Are Lady Parts, Popstar, Beavis & Butt-head, Breakin’, Pirate Radio, & more. I’m gonna have to do a part 2. Or maybe this is part 2 or 3 already? I blogged about rock movies back in 2012 a bit, & about rock docs.

James Gunn’s Creature Commandos Playlist


I’ve been digging Gunn’s painstakingly curated Creature Commandos Spotify Playlist… But, I just noticed he has been deleting as well as adding content since the first episode. I have been maintaining a copy on Amazon Music because we have that, I refuse to pay for Spotify, & I’m not listening to a 2:1 song to commercial ratio.

There’s also something that calls itself Creature Commandos Sountrack Max DC that touts music “from and inspired by” the show. Well, which is from and which inspired by, Warner Bros.?

I did find this Screen Rant article listing all the songs, because… of course.

Are you watching Creature Commandos? You should be. I thought Peacemaker was perfect & it had a banger of a soundtrack too. This one is Gogol Bordello heavy where that had a sleaze metal vibe. I remember seeing Gogol Bordello at least once live. Maybe opening for Flogging Molly?

Also, obviously music was huge for The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, but who remembers the Tromeo & Juliet soundtrack? (Someone made a playlist for that, too.)

Thumbnails from various Creature Commandos playlists, and the Spotify & Amazon Music logos.
Creature Commandos Music

The World Needs Airheads II.


I have blogged about the song from Airheads before, just wondering about the recording of the Reagan Youth cover song, and never really uncovered much about the specific process or the whole change of lyrics & the arrangement, but I did get some replies from various social media from Paul Cripple, Rich Wilkes, & Sean Yseult. (Rich made a really informative comment on my post here. You should check out all of his work!)

There is, however, an incredible article from The Hard Noise about how the song came to be used in the film, & how the band eventually got paid a bit for it… Which is great to know.

I recently copied an old Reddit post of mine (complete with an egregious typo) to threads, and it took off a bit: https://www.threads.net/@aixelsyd13/post/DDh7SppR64k (When is WordPress going to integrate Threads embedding without me getting a plugin?)

I have asked before, & I'll ask again;

How do we get Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser, & Steve Buscemi to make an Airheads 2 where the plot is they break into Spotify to get paid for streaming when they learn that thanks to Nostalgia, social media, or placement in a TV show or movie, "Degenerated" has become a hit again?

Does Sandler still have his Netflix deal?

Someone, call Hollywood about this and get it done!

The Lone Rangers

After some digging, I have been suggesting the idea since at least 2015.

So, who is with me? Social media seems to be on board if you read my comments/replies. Can we get a petition or something? Or the comments here going? Or a social media campaign? Let’s get Rich Wilkes the resources he needs to do a 2nd script and get it in front of the actors! Nostalgia waves are at an all time high.

Perhaps a stupid blog post can get the ball rolling?

DC, Marvel, & @JamesGunn.


James Gunn preparing to promote Guardians of the Galaxy while on the DC payroll.

I’m excited to see The Batman Flash movie! Michael Keaton is the GOAT. I remember the absolute fervor when he was cast. Everyone was sure he would fail, but he became an icon and ushered in an era of superhero films. Hearing Danny Elfman’s theme gave me chills I tell you.

And I’m excited to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. These were irreverent films full of insanity & heart.

I enjoyed the other Guardians movies, Gunn‘s Suicide Squad, and I think Peacemaker is the best DC television show ever. I think the soundtrack is better than the GotG movies really. I have really been enjoying the soon-ending runs of Titans and Doom Patrol too. I get that Gunn has virtually nothing to do with this Flash film, but I’m excited to see what he has in store for the DC universe… and have dug his contributions to Marvel.

Is James Gunn the key to Marvel vs. DC at the movies, or the Amalgam Cinematic Universe???

If you go way back and you’re into weird movies, watch the Troma classic Tromeo & Juliet and get a copy of the soundtrack.

Can we give the man a Star Wars?

Mandalorian Maze


I, apparently like every other Star Wars fan, am fascinated by the Mandalorian and “the child.”

I was in a maze mood earlier too.

Help the Mandalorian find the child, or help the child find the Mandalorian.

Please excuse the drawings. I am wholly out of practice when it comes to things other than squiggly lines.

Mandalorian Maze by @AiXeLsyD13

Mandalorian Maze by @AiXeLsyD13

Print it. Solve it. Snap it. Post it. Tag me. (Or post it here in the comments.)

That’s @AiXeLsyD13 on most every social media platform.

If you’re so inclined, you could probably use a program on your phone, tablet, or ancient laptop or PC to solve & post.

I posted it on Instagram earlier.

My 6 year old saw me drawing and drew her own “Baby yoda.”

She is cooler than me.

So is it Baby yoda? Baby Yoda? Baby Not-Yoda? Baby Yoda-Clone?

Hit me up in the comments, then go read my last post.

All the #StarWars things.


I know I posted about this before, but a lot has changed since then.

All the Star Wars Things

(-o-)

So, if you were going to try to watch it ALL in chronological order, except the Lego cartoons, would it go like this?

  • Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace
  • Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones
  • Star Wars: Clone Wars (animated microseries)
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3D CGI movie)
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3D CGI series)
  • Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
  • Star Wars: Droids (animated series)
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story
  • Star Wars Rebels
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  • Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope
  • The Star Wars Holiday Special
  • Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
  • Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (made for TV movie)
  • Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (made for TV movie)
  • Star Wars: Ewoks (animated series)
  • Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
  • The Mandalorian
  • Star Wars Resistance
  • Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens
  • Star Wars – Episode VIII: The The Last Jedi
  • Star Wars – Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Forces of Destiny and Galaxy of Adventures are messing with me by jumping all over the place.  Does Blips belong there too?

Shut up about canon.

|-o-| [-o-] |-o-|

Also, would be fun to see in the mix:

  • Fanboys
  • Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy
    • Family Guy: Blue Harvest
    • Family Guy: Something Something Something, Dark Side
    • Family Guy: It’s a Trap!
  • Robot Chicken: Star Wars
  • Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
  • Spaceballs
  • Spaceballs: The Animated Series
  • Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back

Light it up in the comments.  Maybe someday we’ll continue Star Wars movie nights.  Peep all my Star Wars related posts.

 

Which rock docs you diggin’?


I liked & would recommend these rock docs, which other ones should I check out?

Rock Docs!

  • Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch – This has to be THE rock doc.  It ought to be the standard to which all others are held.
  • Mad Tiger – I love Peelander-Z.  This is a story about art, music, choosing your path, and ultimately about the bond of friendship beyond being band mates.
  • Anvil! The Story of Anvil – This is wild.  You feel for these guys so much.  At least I do.
  • Sound City – What a cross-section of rock n’ roll history.  Dave Grohl is cool for putting this together.
  • Searching for Sugar Man – This is a crazy story about how music can transcend time and borders, and save the artists like it saves the listener.
  • It Might Get Loud – I wouldn’t list any of these guys in my favorites as far as guitarists go… but this was a damn good movie.  I mean, Jimmy Page is Jimmy Page.  How can you not respect his body of work?
  • Beware of Mr. Baker – Fabulous just because Ginger is a wild man.  Maybe even a wild animal in a man’s body.
  • Flogging Molly: Whiskey on a Sunday – Mostly about Dave if I remember right.  I’m a fan of the music, so it was nice to have a peek inside that world.
  • The Punk Syndrome – Finland has some cool-ass social programs, one that gave us Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät.  Follow a punk rock band formed by cats with Autism and Down Syndrome and realize that their struggles are a whole lot like yours.
  • Filmage – ALL gets such a bad rap.  Ha ha.  I really enjoyed this story.
  • Mission to Lars – Less about being in the band, more about fandom & brotherly love.

What other ones do you like?  I am sure I have missed a few.  I liked that one Rush doc, I need to catch all of it.  I caught the end on VH1 way back.  Bonus points if these docs are “free” on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

Should you be featured on #GuitarHoarders? 🎸


Narrator: “Up next on Guitar Hoarders; Jim, 48, a self-professed ‘Blues Lawyer’ from Oaklahoma is going through a divorce due to his recent failure to remove 27 partscasters from his bathroom, leaving his soon-to-be-ex-wife to do her business in the rose bushes out back.”

Narrator: “Jim’s wife, Tonya, thought the rented apartment two towns over was for another woman, but it was way worse than she could have imagined. It was full of Chibsons and falsely advertised ‘Lawsuit Era’ LP copies that were actually nothing of the sort.”

Tonya: “I wish his browser history had said PornHub or RedTube, but no… it was all Reverb, eBay, ShopGoodwill, Craigslist, and the lowest of the low… local & national guitar forums on Facebook!

Don’t even get me started on LetGo and OfferUp. I wish I had found Tinder or even Grinder. That, I could deal with.”

Narrator: “Tonya did at least see a bright side to all of the madness.”

Tonya: “I mean, I guess at least it wasn’t Reddit.”

Jim: “I guess I don’t need that many guitars. I mean, I don’t get to play as often as I like. Most of my time is spent online explaining to n00bz how tone wood makes a huge difference, why I think Gibson is overrated and how they have gone downhill, the best types of wood for a fretboard, you know… the important stuff. There are some real idiots out there. How can you have fun if you’re not getting the best possible tone from your fingers?”

Narrator: “Jim is seemingly unaware that he has a problem.”

Jim: “GAS? No, never heard of it. Wait, is that the psychobilly jam-band that plays every open stage night at Free Beer Tomorrow over in Tulsa? No?

Anyway, did you know that Slash’s Les Paul that he used on Appetite for Destruction wasn’t even a Gibson?  And now they endorse him?  I mean.  If you don’t know that, you shouldn’t even be allowed to play Guitar Hero.”

Tonya: “I’m currently living with my sister.  Her husband plays the bass, so he can’t afford to have a hoarding problem.”

Jim: “That guy?  He doesn’t even know the difference between active and passive pickups.  Heh.”

Narrator: “At this time, Jim refuses counseling.  He thinks they can work it out.”

Jim: “I was teaching her how to play, but Mel Bay is so dumb.  We re-started with a ‘Top 50 riffs of all time’article form an old guitar magazine out of my pile.  I mean, there are only 8 notes, right?  Or is it 12?

I was trying to tell these guys at the county fair that they were playing the riff for ‘Lay Down Sally’ wrong, but you just can’t tell some people things.  I have a tabographic memory.  That’s where you can instantly remember every guitar tab that you have ever seen.”

🎸

TLC, I have another TV show for you.  This is a comment from a guitar group gone awry because I amuse myself way too much.  Who wants to do a YouTube sketch comedy show for a very specific audience?

Guitar Collection 2017