Friday, February 26, 2010

Convention Season!





I'm sitting here in my den looking at all of the George Romero collectibles that I have come to acquire over the last ten years and I've come to remember that in 2 weeks, convention season for me begins anew.




This will be my 12th year attending horror conventions and it still never gets old. At this point there is hardly anyone left on my list to meet. I've met and have had the great fortunes of becoming friends with a lot of the people I grew up watching on the old VHS tapes. I can't even put into words how awesome my life has become because of the horror industry. I know how weird that must sound, but if you're reading this then you know what type of person I am.




Everyone has their escapes. The beach, the mountains, a museum etc, mine is a convention or hotel filled with 2000 horror fans and horror icons. Nothing pumps me up more then spending 72 hours surround by horror goodness. Most of that time is spent hanging out with friends, browsing the dealers rooms, Q&A sessions, movie screenings oh and drinking. I didn't even mention food because I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to eat and come to realize that at 8pm I've been up since 7 and haven't eaten.




In 2 weeks I'll be in Cherry Hill NJ at Monster Mania. I'm going to hang out with friends and see Dario Argento and Corbin Bernsen. Corbin and I need to continue the film discussion we had at Horrorfind. Corbin has this idea for a futurist zombie baseball film. WHAT?!?! Trust me, it'd be worth the price of admission. Dario Argento will be there too, damn! I drove 8 hours to see him in Toronto a few years ago and loved the 45 seconds I got to see him and I want to get some more swag signed by him.




The following week is the inagural Saturday Nightmares in Jersey City. This is a pure Romero festival. Everyone from Romero himself to every pivotal figure in his films will be there. Roy Frumkes is debuting his "Definative Document of the Dead." He's been working on this for a while, since 2005 I believe. If all goes well you should see my mug pop up in that doc in a place or too (thanks Roy!). I'm taking Reeve who will be meeting George for the first time. Reeve loves him some Ken Foree & zombies so this'll be extra special for me.




Anyone wishing to attend these shows or any conventions please let me know I have 12 years of tips, tricks to make sure you have an awesome time. I love this shit!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Iteration 17294531

Ok so this is dedicated to all of those people who we know and work with that say "I stopped watching LOST in Season 1/2 because it got too weird/confusing." There will be minor spoilers, but if you're one of the people I'm writing about you won't get the joke or reference....but you will.

First off let me preface this by saying LOST is not a show for everyone. It requires weekly viewing from the start to finish of the season. It also requires repeated viewing due to all the complex relationships and hidden easter eggs thrown in each scene for us die hards.

Now, if you're one of those reading this and going, the show is too weird or why should I bother, i'm so far behind. Go and buy seasons 1-5 now, they're worth it plus you can probably knock through all 101 episodes in about a week, trust me, you can do it, i've done it.

Every episode of LOST in the first 3 seasons raised a fair amount of questions (don't worry I won't spoil it for those waiting to see how it ends when all the dvds come out). Season 4 started to answer those questions as well as ask more such as do they get off the Island? Are they dead? What/Where is the Island? As well as my favorite, what's up w/ that 4 toed statue? Each and every one of these questions is relevant to overall mythology of the show and that is what makes LOST so intriguing.

From the start the show was geared toward those not wanting instant gratification or quick, easy answers just for the sake of it. This is a serialized show. Our grandparents and parents had to go to the movie theaters every Saturday for this type of action, now it comes into our homes in HD. The show is not just about the Island or what the people did off of it before Oceanic 815 crashed. Its how they deal with their situation and poses questions like, is this our destiny and can you really start over after a horrific event like a plane crash?

Now is the time folks. For those of you who have waited until the end, go get caught up with the first 5 seasons. The 6th season will be out on dvd in August so you will only have to wait a little over 2 months after the finale to see how it all ties together. The creators have promised us the most important and intriguing questions will be answered and we as fans won't be disappointed.

PS: You'll only get the joke that is the title of this blog if you've seen the show.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Lost in 24

In anticipation of another LOST episode tonight. This is how LOST would look if the producers of 24 got a hold of it

Monday, February 22, 2010

Do not cross the Start/Finish line & collect $100,000

OK, first blog here and its about my favorite sport, NASCAR.

About 2 years ago I stumbled across a blog dedicated to the TV coverage of NASCAR. The Daily Planet by John Daily, no not the golfer, (http://dalyplanet.blogspot.com) has since become my favorite NASCAR blog. John has a love for the sport that I don't see that often. His blog focuses on the TV coverage of the sport and how well the sport is treated by the people bringing it into our homes. Every Sunday John is gracious enough to Tweet during the race his POV & thoughts on the race and its contents as its broadcast. John has been gracious enough to respond to my tweets to him through the thousands upon thousands he receives and we have often had a good dialouge.

Earlier tonight John and I had a quick exchange about Start and Parks in NASCAR. Basically these teams show up at the race, qualify and run about a 10th of the race before parking w/ a 'problem' or two and call it a day. For the effort, most payouts for a 43rd place finish is $100,000+. The problem with these teams is that they have no intention of running the full distance and are there to collect a paycheck. NASCAR this week has "confiscated" via a random drawing the #66 car, which has become a S&P team. The car will not be returned to the team until after qualifying Saturday. This poses a problem, the 66 only has one race ready car and NASCAR took it.

So apparently NASCAR is sending an indirect message to these teams, if you don't have the means to run the whole distance, don't bother showing up. This is a double edged sword, not only is this a sport these drivers love, but also a business. You can't race if you don't have money and you don't have money if you don't race. Punishing those without money is detrimental to the sport (example Carl Long 2009) while punishing an RCR or Roush team $100,000 and a crew chief suspension & 100 points means nothing.

If the TV booth won't call these teams out what should NASCAR do? Should NASCAR require all teams that show up to sign a form stating they will run the full race? Would this cut back on S&Ps? How about limiting the number of pit stops and tires each team can consume each weekend? Cut Happy Hour back to 30 min and that's it, plus qualifying? If NASCAR wants to save teams money, lets these guys race. The gap between the haves and have nots in this sport is as big as ever and it shows no signs of slowing down.

NASCAR needs to do more then have consistent start times and less policing. They need to either allow these S&Ps to show up and race however long they can or have policies in place to eliminate them all together and have less then 43 cars in the race. It seems NASCAR wants as many teams to show up as possible and is OK with these S&Ps as long as they don't do too well, like leading the race for more then a lap under caution.