I started listening to back episodes of a new podcast, Battleship Pretension, thanks to a recent /Filmcast episode, on which the two guys from the BP podcast were guests. The two hosts, Tyler and David, sit down for an hour a week and discuss some random topic related to film or television. Examples: films of Spielberg, bad films by good directors, films about America, time travel films, et cetera. It’s really funny and entertaining. You should listen to it.

We have a new 5.1 surround setup in the living room, so this weekend I must’ve tried at least half of the games I own just to check out their surround sound experiences. Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, BioShock, Brothers in Arms, Rock Band 2, Rez, Force Unleashed, maybe some more, too. Can’t even remember.

BioShock takes the Most Amazing Sound in Coleman’s Living Room Award, though. I predicted that it would, but 5.1 BioShock is a completely different game than regular, crappy-sound-from-the-TV BioShock. The neighbors were probably even terrified when Big Daddies were walking around me, thanks to the overcranked volume on the subwoofer.

For anyone wondering what the new setup is, it’s a completely “budget” system. I wasn’t in the market to spend a fortune for movie theater sound, just a surround system that works for me with a receiver that provides enough interface options and inputs to minimize button presses and complication when switching between devices. I bought the Yamaha RX-V363BL 500 Watt “5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver” from Amazon, and the Insignia NS-HT51 5.1 Speaker System from Best Buy. I’m impressed by the speakers, by the way. Insignia, being Best Buy’s brand, is not only cheaper than the competition, but ridiculously cheaper. The closest reasonable bundle I could find at Best Buy was about $400, as opposed to the $150 we paid for ours.

I should also say, Colette bought me the speaker set for my birthday. She’s the best!