Yes, the above is true (it's in regards to our 9-9-09 celebration night). We'll have a full written report in the coming days!! So, start checking on us again!

Sorry we've been so lame and out- of-touch. We have some great plans for 2010.

Ok. Come back in a day or two and we'll explain the court case, just know this: someone had to explain to the judge what a Dreamcast is.

Even though the night had its fair share of hiccups, we still managed to have an amazing time. Here is how our night began : By the 8 o’clock hour we were met with three disappointing situations: 1) a thunder storm 2) a citation from the police department 3) a non-working wi-fi/internet connection. Things were not looking up.

However by 10pm everything was rolling smoothly and the party was in full swing. Just as promised, we had 2 Dreamcast set up on televisions in the different parts of the club and 2 consoles projected, one on a wall in the club and the other outside serving as the entrance to the club (by then the rain had let up).

We played Dreamcast all night. Dreamcast cakes were served, countless games were played, a Dreamcast was given away, people showed up with their own games, bands played (Gemini Cricket, Grey Milk, Captain #1, & I Have Read Other Books…), and we then around 1 am we ended the night with a Soul Calibur competition.

Even though we couldn’t stream the event, some video was captured and we are currently putting together a video to post next week. We are also trying to track down some photos that were taken by various people that attended the party. So even though things started on a sour note, the night ended with spirits high and feeling fulfilled.

The daytime or “around town” streaming also experienced its fair share of troubles, the most being weak wi-fi signals. Some places had great high-speed connections while others had incredibly slow connections. We are talking dial-up slow! Still, despite bandwidth limitations we had a great time everywhere we played. We experienced a wide range of reactions from puzzled and confused looks to others that totally embraced our mission and jumped on board. The highest level of enthusiasm was found at the University of Georgia, where I heard my favorite quote: “I was born before the Dreamcast came out but I wouldn’t say I was living!”

Overall, I can’t imagine a better way to spend the 10th anniversary of the Dreamcast. Like I said, we have pictures and video clips to be posted soon and I’ll go through the justin.tv stream and find some highlights as well. We will also post the article(s) written about us and the Dreamcast by The Red & Black newspaper.

Lastly, if you have not read The Dreamcast Top 100 presented by The Dreamcast Junkyard, you need to.

My only regret of the day was not being able to see much of the Dreamroom stream but I guess that is what archives are for! More soon!

Thanks to everyone that watched and hung out with us on 9.9.09: Play N Trade, Ike & Jane, The Daily, UGA – Jittery Joe’s Crew, The Grit, Go Bar, and The Red & Black
No-thanks to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department

Dreamcast Party - Athens, GA - 09/09/09
It is almost here! 10 years of Dreamcast gaming! We have heard lots of rumblings of gaming marathons and Dreamcast celebrations across the internet. We have finally gotten our acts together and think we are ready to start talking 09.09.09. I HAVE A DREAMCAST should be streaming a lot during 09.09.09. But will we not be gaming all of the time, we'll have a number of activities streaming throughout the day. We'll have a schedule soon. However, our big event will take place in the evening. The entire I Have a Dreamcast crew will be at The Go Bar! in Athens, Ga. It will be a party like no other! There will be performances by the Dreamcast bands, we'll have at least 4 gaming stations set up (one or two will be projected on the walls of the club), we'll have cake, special t-shirts made for the event, and copies of the Dreamcast EP. The event will be FREE and open to the public. We are doing our best to get all fans of the Dreamcast in the Athens/Atlanta region to attend and, hell if you live within 500 miles of Athens, Ga you owe it to yourself to be here! After all, it only happens once this year!

The Dreamcast Survey
Speaking of the DC 10th Anniversary, The Dreamcast Junkyard has put together a great survey to officially declare the top 100 Dreamcast games. Voting has already begun and the results will be posted on 09.09.09. So get over there and vote! We already have. http://dreamcast100.blogspot.com

DreamMP3
Last but far from least.
The folks at DC Evolution recently released DreamMP3, an MP3 player for the Dreamcast. At their website you can download the DreamMP3 for free and included in the CD image is our very own Dreamcast EP. So, once you've finish voting for your favorite Dreamcast games make sure you head over to DC Evolution and download the DreamMP3. They have also posted some kick ass album artwork for the release. Very cool. DC Evolution - DreamMP3

Lots of things going on in the coming weeks! I have probably said it before but I am totally impressed and proud of the Dreamcast community, from everyone in the SEGAJunkyard Family, DC Evolution and their DreamMP3, SegaNerds, GVN, the folks at the SEGA of America blog, and all of the other SEGA related blogs out there. I'm looking forward to September 9th and all the celebrations leading up to that day! Let us know what you are doing. We'll try to organize a way to list and promote everything.

DREAMCAST EP REFLECTIONS
First, a huge thank-you to everyone that supported The Dreamcast EP it was a HUGE success! We purposely left the website alone (maybe a bit too long) to allow for easy access to the download. Countless thanks for the outstanding support from The Nomad Junkyard, Sega Nerds, and The Dreamcast Junkyard as well as mentions on GoNintendo, SEGA of America's blog/podcast, and all the other SEGA fan sites out there. Most recently Barry from The Nomad Junkyard posted a preview video of the Dreamcast EP. Check out his website and see the video below.

Additionally, a huge thanks to everyone that downloaded the album and posted links around the 'net. We made the album for SEGA/Dreamcast fans everywhere and were totally blown away by the positive responses. I would also like to thank Buckner & Garcia.

As a child I wore a groove into my vinyl copy of their album Pac-Man Fever until the thing would no longer play without constant skipping. For those that do not know, Pac-Man Fever is a record dedicate to early arcade and Atari classics including: Pac-Man, Frogger, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteriods, Defender, and more. The music is a bit dated but it is still a fun listen, I recommend checking it out if you've never heard it. In my mind, The Dreamcast EP owes part of its inspiration to this early 1980s release.  Additionally, over the course of making the Dreamcast EP it went from being in the back of my mind to one of my main sources of motivation. You can download the album from Buckner & Garcia (they are charging) and listen to Pac-Man Fever below.

SHENMUE
Where am I with Shenmue and the original intent of this website? Right where I left off! I have a long list of excuses as to why I haven't played but I will spare myself the embarrassment.  However, know that we have our hands in many pots here in Athens, Ga and we will be sharing some of these other projects with you very soon. However, I still have every intention of completing both games before the end of 2009. I'm going to start playing again and will probably stream most of my Shenmue gaming, as well as document my progress.

MINI UPDATES
In an effort to keep things up-to-date we've added a Twitter feed. This feed will reflect things happening within our little Athens community including ihaveadreamcast related things, our music events, wiffle ball games (we play regularly), and random comments. So keep an eye on the Twitter feed whenever you visit and you please follow us if you have an account: @otherbooks.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE - 09/09/09 - DREAMCAST 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Recently, we have begun planning some events for 09/09/09. We should be able to reveal our plans within the next week or two. We are also up for ideas and collaborating with all the Dreamcast enthusiasts out there, so let's start scheming! Hit up the comment section to get things started. Expect another update next week - stay tuned.

Sorry for the lack of updates. February and March turned into 2 very busy months. In that time I have played very little video games and none of those hours were dedicated to Shenmue. To quote a buddy of mine, ihaveadreamcast.com has turned into “the.worst.blog.ever.”

All of that is about to change!

The Dreamcast EP will be available for free digital download or online order (for physical copies) this Sunday night, April 4th. We will also host another streaming event that night with more Dreamcasting and musical performances from the contributing bands. More on that later this week!

What has kept me/us so busy?
Here is a quick breakdown.
February was taken over by the RPM Challenge (www.rpmchallenge.com). The idea is simple, write and a record an album in a month. I completed the challenge using the name I Have Read Other Books Besides The Catcher in the Rye and another Dreamcaster recorded an album under the name Bromance.
Check out my album here: otherbooks.rpmchallenge.com
Check out Bromance’s stuff here:bromance.rpmchallenge.com

As we were writing our albums, a story emerged about a lonely space traveler and a lonely astronomer. When the tracks from our separate albums are combined it tells a complete story. We call the entire tale “The Observatory: A Space Rock Opera.” It was a lot of fun making the music and we both explored new areas of music including hip-hop, rap, electronic beats/music, and less of a reliance on guitars.

We have many things planned for these recordings including theatrical performances and a combined album of the space songs. Information about these albums/performances will be posted later this month.

Additionally:

• In March we went to a musical festival in St. Augustine, Fl called Harvest of Hope Fest. Good times and good music!
• Some of us DJ-ed one night for the local college station, WUOG 90.5 (check out our playlist).
• Bicycles and Gravel performed with Gemini Cricket in Athens, Ga.
• We have been recording the Dreamcast EP.
• We spent many days without power during a massive snow storm that hit the first on the month.
• And we have been practicing and planning for The Observatory performances.

That is that. Sorry for being a lousy blogger and for not giving Shenmue the time it deserves. I truly miss playing the game and look forward to returning to it. I still have plenty of time to complete both games! Lastly, thanks to everyone that continues to check up on my process or hassle me about my lack of, especially those that send the emails and IMs – keep them coming and we hope to see everyone this Sunday night! (times will be posted later this week).