Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Man Named Sloane

Today in his blog, Christopher Mills was talking about a 70's spy show called "A Man Named Sloan." I don't remember ever watching or even hearing about the show. I loved Robert Conrad in "The Wild, Wild West" so I'm pretty sure I would have turned in to at least see the premiere.

Then again, after seeing this ad for "A Man Named Sloane" maybe I just decided to erase any memory of it from my mind.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Beatty Speaks

My buddy, John Beatty has posted up a pretty nice little interview with him from nearly 20 years ago. If you click over you'll read about his artistic influences, how he got to meet his idol Mike Zeck, his plans for the future and his $100 John Byrne haircut. It's worth reading and I'd say that even if he didn't drop my name in the interview.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Cloverfield Thoughts

I had mixed feelings going in to “Cloverfield.” I really liked the trailer and some of the hype boosting the movie. I thought the idea of a story told through a “found” video camera was interesting. By the same token, I knew that using the conceit of “the “video” would be limiting. But in the end, who doesn’t want to see a giant monster tearing up the city?

The Good: Once the action [finally] gets started and no one knows quite what is going on – seeing glimpses of the monster tearing junk up – crossing from the leaning building onto the stable one – a giant monster tearing up the city

The Bad: The movie takes forever to get crackin’ – being limited to just “the video” – what happens to people bitten by the little critters – the love story – what happens to the cameraman

The Ugly: People in the theater getting motion sickness – the monster – being limited to just one view of all the action

Overall I’m glad I saw “Cloverfield” although I must admit I was disappointed when I left the theater. “Cloverfield” won’t make it into my movie collection, and I have no desire to see it again… although I wouldn’t mind fast-forwarding to some of the good parts. I mean, who doesn’t want to see a giant monster tearing up the city?

Monday, January 28, 2008

Sketch Society


The first Sketch Society meeting for 2008 was held last Saturday. As luck would have it, the date conflicted with the FX convention and several Sketch Society members were committed to it and couldn't make the meeting. So it ended up being Big Beatty and myself hanging out and shooting the bull as he sketched [sans reference] the Rambo piece above.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 23rd at the Java Junction. The fun kicks off at around noon. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

88 Minutes

This looks like it may be pretty good. HOOOOO-HAAAA!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

I love my job, but if I was looking for a new one, I'd like a gig like Guy Fieri's. Fieri is host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives which airs on The Food Network. He travels the country visiting the best eatin' establishments meeting the show title's criteria and gets the lowdown on the grub and those makin' it.

Yeah, I could go for a job like that!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Harry Knowles Made My Day

After putting in a 14 hour day at work [with two more equally long days to follow] coming home to read THIS just made my day.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

RIP: Heath Ledger

I was shocked to hear that Heath Ledger was found dead today and that drugs may have played a factor. Although only 28, Ledger had already appeared in both critically acclaimed ["Brokeback Mountain" "Monster Ball"] and wildly popular ["The Patriot"] movies. Ledger seemed to me to be an actor who was more interested in being an actor than a star, although his upcoming role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" would surely once again pushed him into the spotlight.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

1st Look: Diary of the Dead Poster

RIP: Suzanne Pleshette

Suzanne Pleshette, best known for her role as Bob Newhart's wife, Emily Hartley, on "The Bob Newhart Show" passed away yesterday at the age of 70 from respiratory failure.

The first time I remember seeing Suzanne Pleshette on screen was in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." She played Rod Taylor's ex-flame, Annie Taylor [who to me was more appealing than his new love interest, Tippi Hendren]. I know I saw her in other things [since she turned up in a lot of guest star roles], but my next memory is of her co-starring with James Garner in "Support Your Local Gunfighter." Not long after that came the classic role on Newhart.

Suzanne Pleshette was pretty, fun-loving and brought a sparkle to the roles she played. She will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends and fans.


Saturday, January 19, 2008

RIP: Allan Melvin

I just discovered via Mark Evanier's site that Allan Melvin passed away last Thursday. While you may not know his name, I'll bet you'll know his face. Melvin was probably best known as "Sam the Butcher" from the Brady Bunch, but there was a time when Melvin was, as Mark Evanier states, "in everything."

Melvin appeared repeatedly on "The Phil Silvers Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Andy Griffith Show" [my favorite Melvin guest roles], "Gomer Pyle," "Lost in Space," "All in the Family" and so many more shows. He made every show he was on just a little bit better just by being there.

Mr. Melvin was 84 years old and is survived by his wife, his daughter, his grandson and many fans. My thoughts and prayers go out to them all.

UFC 80

B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson headline UFC 80 today live from Newcastle, England. Although there are, of course, other fights on the card, the main event is the only one that I am really interested in. My guess is that Penn will win, but given the right odds I would swing over to Stevenson [ya gotta love an underdog].

Friday, January 18, 2008

Maybe It's the Poster

Unfortunately these days it's rare that a movie uses actual artwork to attract viewers. Perhaps that's why I have an interest in "Hellride."

Then again maybe it's because it's about a biker gang out to avenge the murder of one of their own. Maybe it's because it's got a mix of horror thrown in. Or maybe it's because it stars Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones and Dennis Hopper and is "presented by" Quentin Tarantino.

Then again, it could be simply because I like the poster.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Sketch Society

My buddy, John Beatty started up Sketch Society a while back. Sketch Society is a group of artists [amateur and professional] who would get together for informal sketching sessions. Although not an artist, I would go just to hang out and shoot the breeze [and occasionally live blog]. The meetings were irregularly scheduled but always a blast.

This year John has decided to have regularly scheduled meetings with the same informal "let's get together to shoot the breeze, sketch, laugh and have a good time" atmosphere. The first is scheduled for January 26th. You can read more about the whole shebang HERE. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Doomsday: Drive-In Appropriate

The trailer for "Doomsday" makes it look like a riff on "Escape From New York" and I loved "Escape From New York." I don't think that I'll love "Doomsday." It's more like one of the movies that I'd go to see at the drive-in where it would be playing with a couple of other movies. Many times none of 'em would be well worth seeing except as part of a triple bill.

Man, I miss those days.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Night Stalker of the Living Dead

Chris Mills talks about his new mini-series "Night Stalker of the Living Dead" HERE and HERE. It's definitely worth a look!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Marx Best of the West

Boy, did THIS TV COMMERCIAL bring back some great memories. When I was a kid growing up in the 60's, I loved my action figures. My favorites were General Custer, Johnny West and Chief Cherokee all from Marx's Best of the West Series. Hard to believe how many hours I spent playing with them... and my guess is kids today would enjoy them if we could pry them away from their video games.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

RIP: Maila "Vampira" Nurmi

Maila Nurmi, better known as Vampira, passed away yesterday at the age of 86. Although few would recognize Ms. Nurmi's name, almost everyone knows her "Vampira" character. Maila Nurmi was born in Finland, but moved to the US with her family while still in her teens. Maila dreamed of stardom on the silver screen and headed for Hollywood.

Although romantically linked to Marlon Brando, Orson Welles and even James Dean, it was a
masquerade ball in 1954 that led to her pop culture iconic status. Maila attended dressed as Mortica Addams [from Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons which later became the basis for the popular Addams Family tv series]. Maila won the contest by beating out nearly 2,000 other contestants. Maila made such an impact that several months later she was offered the role as host of KABC's late Saturday night horror movies. With a few costume modifications and new name, Vampira was born! Maila and the show were an instant hit and provided the framework for all of the horror hosts that would follow. Vampira was profiled in Life and Newsweek [within a month of each other] and Maila began guesting on nationally syndicated shows. She was even nominated as the "Most Outstanding Female Personality of 1954" by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Judging by her impact on popular culture, you'd probably think that Vampira's horror host role lasted years, immediately led to movies, comics, and more -- but you'd be wrong. Despite the show being a smash hit,.it lasted just over a year. Some say that Maila was difficult to work with, while others say that the FCC and network blackballed her due to her on-air comments and double entendres.

Maila did make appearances in a few movies after her tv show was cancelled; most notably Ed Wood's infamous "Plan 9 From Outer Space." Maila left show business in the early 60's, but her spirit lived on through the antics of dozens of other horror hosts such as Zacherley, Sammy Terry, and even Elvira [who was later unsuccessfully sued by Maila]. With the growth of the goth movement, the "popularity" of "Plan 9" and Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" film, Maila enjoyed renewed popularity in her later years.

It appears that Maila died leaving behind no family members. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her friends and many fans.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Most People Have Fled for Their Lives

George Romero, The King of Zombies, is back with a look at his new movie, Diary of the Dead.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Merv Still Funny

Merv Griffin died nearly five months ago... yet he made me laugh today. That's more than I can say for a lot of comedians still alive.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Iron Man!

This very cool shot of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark on his way to becoming Iron Man is showing up all over the net. But you'll have to go HERE to some really cool shots of the first Iron Man suit that Stark makes while held captive.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Monster Revealed?



Movieweb is running what they claim to be is a photo of the monster from Cloverfield monster... sort of. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Mannix



I haven't seen this show in probably close to 40 years, but when I was a kid, Mannix was pretty cool. From the looks of the trailer, he'd still be.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Fight Matrix



This one goes out to Jazzman. - Craig

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Can You Name This Song?



I have to be honest. It wasn't until about halfway through that I figured out what he was singing. Maybe you can do better.

Friday, January 04, 2008

One For the Ages

One of the benefits of cleaning is finding things you haven't seen in a while. That's the case with the drawing above. It was penciled and inked by the great Neal Adams. I had a stat made of it and my best bud, John Beatty colored the stat. This was done in the early 80's. Over twenty years later and I'm still diggin' it.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Pop Quiz Anyone?

JustSayHi - Science Quiz

Two things: 1] I used to teach middle school science and 2] I believe I've seen this test before. So... beat that Mr. Hunt!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

David Blaine Street Magic Trio

I first discovered these guys doing a David Blaine Street Magician skit about a year ago. I didn't link to the first one or the second one because of some profanity. The third one was just released and I decided to post all of them with this warning: If you click on the links in this post you will hear some profanity during some really funny skits. You have been warned! Click at your own risk...

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Matt Hughes: Legacy?

We may have seen the last of Matt Hughes as far as MMA fighting goes. Still there are other options that would keep him active in the sport. Hughes would make an excellent commentator. He has already written one well-received book.

But if Matt Hughes decides to retire totally from the limelight, how will he be remembered? I think Dave Doyle sums it up perfectly HERE.