about

Hiya! I’m Marty Day.

I’m based out of Baltimore, Maryland, where I live with my wife Sam, and our cats Riley, Oliver and Flynn.

What is this?

This is blast-o-rama. It’s my little corner of the web, where I share all of the cool stuff I stumble upon and read about while I lead my life, both online and off. I’ve been running it since February 2008.

Over the years, this site has been many things, but overall, it is and has been built on sheer, nerdy enthusiasm.

I love movies. I love comics. I love music. I love ridiculous fast food (although I don’t eat it as much, anymore.) I love artwork. I love toys. I love cats. I love comedy.

I believe that the web is better than just Twitter and Facebook. I don’t think “blogger” is a four-letter word.

I believe that people should build their own little section of it all. That’s what this site is.

(Also, I am stealing like crazy from the incredible work housed on Kottke.org and Daring Fireball. They’re my blogging idols for sure.)

Why “blast-o-rama.”?

Well, the origins of the name have to do with the title of an old White Zombie song, “El Phantasmo And The Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama“, which is particularly weird, as I’ve never really loved White Zombie or anything.

But that phrase at the end – “Blast-O-Rama”, it immediately makes me think about crazy, fun, pulpy 50’s sci-fi, which I’ve always loved.

The core ideas of that work, that adventure is around the corner and that the future is fantastic, are a type of optimism which I adore.

In turn, that’s why the logo here is that of a retro-styled rocket, and why I’ve picked the name I did for this site.

…even if I have to tell people “blast hyphen o hyphen rama dot com” when I say it out loud…

Cool! Do you do anything else?

Yes, yes I do.

I co-host and produce the coolest live art competition in the world, Super Art Fight.

I am also the co-host of a (frequently NSFW) podcast called The Rough House Podcast. If you like the sports entertainment, you might just dig that.

Anything else we should know?

Occasionally, you’ll see affiliate-related links here.

I’m a member of affiliate programs for Apple Services and Amazon.

So, if you purchase anything using those links, it’ll help me keep the lights on here.

But I promise, I’ll only link relevant goods where necessary.

How is this site built?

blast-o-rama. is hosted via Dreamhost, using WordPress.

Most posts are written using Ulysses, many times in Markdown.

I even made a slick Shortcuts script to speed up the posting of “link posts”.

Photo editing tools used are Pixelmator Pro, Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.

I tend to use images, where applicable, from TMDb and Unsplash.

I’m an avid Apple product user. Current devices: MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021), iPhone 14 Pro, iPad Pro (11-inch, 2020).

I want to ask you something. How do I get in touch with you?

Cool – contact page is here. Goes straight to me, no one else. Alternatively, you can bug me on one of my far too many social media profiles.