I despise American Idol. It goes against every fiber of belief I have in music. The Simon Cowell Cookie Cutter Factory of creating “stars” really gets on my last nerve. Despite my negativity towards the-show-that-distracts-millions, I can’t help but write about it at the moment, because metal gods Judas Priest made a guest appearance on the series finale the other night – and blew the whole show out of the water with a great performance, which you can view at the bottom of this post.

My hatred for American Idol aside, you have to admit that this is a good move for Priest in the publicity department. As reported here numerous times, the band are about to embark on their farewell tour, and making an impressive appearance on a show like this is a good way to get the word out beyond the regular fan base.

The video game deal of the day over at Amazon today is Rift Collector’s Edition for PC Download for only $40.19 (that’s 33% off the list price of $59.99).

Note, this sale is valid only for today, Sunday, May 29, 2011, until midnight PST while supplies last.

With your purchase of Rift, you’ll receive the Ascended Gift Pack.

The Ascended Gift Pack is stuffed full of items to aid the newly ascended in the battle against the planar fiends. With potions, drinks, and scrolls, along with an extra bag, any new hero worth his mettle will keep this loot close at hand.

Independent game developer Hothead Games is working on a new Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game.

The announcement was made on May 25, 2011 — Towel Day — by Megadodo Publications, who you might recognize as the publishers of the actual Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sited within the novel of the same name by the late Douglas Adams.

Since it first aired back in 1973 Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark has been proclaimed one of the finest and scariest features ever made for television and in the decades that followed, the film has gathered a strong cult following, culminating in a big-screen remake co-written and co-produced by Mexican genre filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and directed by first-time feature director Troy Nixey.

A trailer for the upcoming film has just been released and you can watch it here below.

Actor Jeff Conaway passed away yesterday, May 27, 2011, at the age of 60. Geek fans will remember him from television shows such as Babylon 5 and Freddy’s Nightmares, but he is also more popularly known from Grease and Taxi.

Conaway’s passing is a sad long story… At the beginning of May he was apparently dealing with pneumonia, and was taking a lot of medication to deal with the illness. Several days later, he was found unconscious on May 11, where it was discovered he had overdosed on painkillers (some media outlets have speculated other prescription medications as well) almost 10 hours before being found.

He was placed in a medically induced coma in the hospital, and was subsequently taken off life support on May 26. The following day, he died.