According to The Washington Post, Washington trash trucks hauled away at least 130 tons of garbage after the inauguration of President Obama, with more to go still 2 days after the Inauguration.
Apparently, there were hardly any trash cans for fear of some nutjob putting a bomb in one. So big freakin' deal - if you brought a bottle, food, newspaper, blanket, pair of gloves or cooler (a list from the article of some of the things left behind) IN you can certainly take it OUT with you. Justifying leaving your crap on the ground on there not being a trash can nearby just makes you a big fat pussy.
A spokesman for the Mayor's office said, "They left behind Obama hats, Obama bags, Obama socks... lot of it was the vendors along the parade route" So not only did people just drop their crap and walk away, but vendors just dumped all of their unsold merch and left, too. Nice way to run a business - and show how sincere your support for our new president is. Jackasses.
What is infuriating about this is that I'd bet a ton of those Obama supporters would say that the environment/being green/global warming is a big issue to them, and would support all kinds of laws to keep America clean. But to shove an empty candy wrapper in your pocket or God forbid carry out your coffee cup IN YOUR HAND so you could throw it away later? Too much hassle for you apparently. Pathetic.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Crazy Busy...As Usual
Have been crazy busy so far this year.
Worked around some technical glitches with the "It Haunts" segment of TWISTED FATES and have finally finished all of the music and pretty dang happy with it. It was fun making themes like "Kelsey Mellow" and "Luther and Alma."
Have also made progress on editing the "Welcome Sister" segment. Up to just over 8 minutes and finished cutting the catfight together.
Big thing is that a week from Friday I'll begin shooting a new untitled horror flick for my buddy John Bowker. IT HAUNTS and PLATOON OF THE DEAD alum Michelle "Ame" Mahoney, Amanda Bounds, Doom Grrl and Joe Scott will be in it, along with Bryn Kristi from "Welcome Sister" and Robert J. Olin, last seen as Billy Joe Barney Bob in BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES!
Rob Merickel's going to do make-up and Eric Singer among others will help on the crew. It's a super-tight schedule, but I'm sure we'll get through it somehow. I've been parsing out the script and storyboarding my head off.
Depending on how John feels about it, I'm hoping to post some production blog stuff and photos and such. We'll see....
Worked around some technical glitches with the "It Haunts" segment of TWISTED FATES and have finally finished all of the music and pretty dang happy with it. It was fun making themes like "Kelsey Mellow" and "Luther and Alma."
Have also made progress on editing the "Welcome Sister" segment. Up to just over 8 minutes and finished cutting the catfight together.
Big thing is that a week from Friday I'll begin shooting a new untitled horror flick for my buddy John Bowker. IT HAUNTS and PLATOON OF THE DEAD alum Michelle "Ame" Mahoney, Amanda Bounds, Doom Grrl and Joe Scott will be in it, along with Bryn Kristi from "Welcome Sister" and Robert J. Olin, last seen as Billy Joe Barney Bob in BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES!
Rob Merickel's going to do make-up and Eric Singer among others will help on the crew. It's a super-tight schedule, but I'm sure we'll get through it somehow. I've been parsing out the script and storyboarding my head off.
Depending on how John feels about it, I'm hoping to post some production blog stuff and photos and such. We'll see....
Thursday, January 01, 2009
2008 Wrap-Up
Greetings everyone! As I look back over 2008, I'm happy to have such a great group of friends and fellow moviemakers in my life. It was a busy year, but then again, what else is new?
I started the year off coming off of the PLATOON OF THE DEAD shoot for my good friend John Bowker. I spent the first part of 2008 editing together behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers as well as shooting a featurette for the movie. This zombie action flick is set for release from Tempe Video in the second quarter of 2009. Tempe also released a loaded double feature DVD of THE EVILMAKER/ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER II at the end of 2007. Sweet.
In January I began writing a screenplay based on an outline by an actor/director. The project, BAD ILLUSION, was designed to be one for him to travel to Oregon to star in while I directed. Scheduling difficulties got in the way of a late Spring shoot, so we decided the best thing was for him to take my script and try to shoot it up where he is at.
I screened my horror comedy TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon on January 11 - a whole mess of people showed up and we all had a swell time!
I finally finished editing my DEADLY PREMONITIONS feature plus the behind-the-scenes and photo gallery featurettes at the end of January. I handed everything off to my BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES buddy Mike Hegg and he is currently wrapping up post-production tweaking and DVD authoring.
Actor in many of my movies over the years and a writer/director himself, Tom Shaffer finally shot the "Treespirit" segment of TRULY DREADFUL TALES for me and I edited and scored it in January/February. Then I edited and scored the "Death Nurse" segment that W.A.V.E. Video favorite Laura Giglio and her husband shot for it a couple of years back. Later in the year, I finished up the bugman mask for the next segment, which will shot by up in Canada in 2009.
I shot the last remaining shots for EATER over the Spring/Summer/Fall.
On the first of February, a BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES screening was held up at the Northern Lights Theater Pub with special guest Troma's Lloyd Kaufman! A last minute scheduling change on Lloyd's part had the organizers asking me to do Lloyd's "How to Smash a Head" bit, so I picked up a melon on the way to the theater, slapped a wig on it and smashed it to pieces! Lloyd was running late so instead of waiting for his movie (which he had with him) they showed my erotic thriller UNDERBELLY! Lloyd showed up and after a bunch of Q&A, posed for photos and was a really nice guy. The Salem Statesman Journal did a swell cover story on BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES in their entertainment section.
In March, I shot scenes for COLD AS SOUL for Luc Bernier and SLEEPWALKER STRANGLER for W.A.V.E. with Toni Draggon.
Also in March, I shot scenes with Darla Doom and Joe Scott for Phil Herman's INTO THE WOODS. Phil also used music I'd composed throughout the whole movie. Sweet! The movie was released in November to good reviews and we held a little screening party for it.
I shot "It Haunts" in May and June with Darla Doom, Joe Scott, Michelle 'Ame' Mahoney, John Bowker, Morgan Mayhem and Amanda Bounds. Originally intended as a stand-alone project, I later decided to swap it out for the "VideoDrone" segment in my Anthology TWISTED FATES. I got Ariauna Albright to be in a couple of phone call scenes, brining one more PLATOON OF THE DEAD cast member in to the project! Thanks to Eric Spudic who shot the footage for me down in California. I am finishing up editing and working on music for this segment.
Despite saying I'd never do it again, in July I squeezed into the orange jumpsuit to play Frank the Astronaut in Tom Shaffer's dinosaur planet movie PREHISTORICUS. One of these days he'll get that stop-motion animation and I can see the dinosaurs I've been pretending to run from for years! Also in July, I shot a friend's wedding.
Made a couple of goofy videos over the summer with my son and his friends for YouTube and then my camera broke in July. I was able to buy pretty much the same model from Amazon and keep on plugging away at everything. Whew!
August saw the 10th anniversary of me shooting and acting in John Bowker's DREAMWALKERS, the first of countless features and shorts we've done since then.
In October, I participated in a blog thing called Halloween Countdown. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun! Idea was to post a Halloween-related post every single day for the whole month. I ended up going through all of the photos and photo albums I had at the house plus going through all of the ones my parents had and scanning old Halloween Costume photos. I was a lot of fun and you can check all of the posts out at http://fandcproductions.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html
October 17 saw a double feature screening at Northern Lights of two movies I shot for John Bowker: HOUSEBOUND and THE SEEKERS. I play a 'Man In Black' in HOUSEBOUND and it was a lot of fun to see the movies on a big screen with a theater full of people.
After trying to get it scheduled for a couple of years, the shoot for the "Welcome Sister" segment of TWISTED FATES finally came together in late October. I'd hired Robert J. Olin to cast and direct and he did a great job and found a terrific bunch of troopers! We had to recast at the last minute and actually cast our replacement from the audience at the HOUSEBOUND/THE SEEKERS screening! Another actress called in sick the day of the shoot, but with some quick rewriting, the shoot came off very well. I'm currently about halfway through editing this segment.
This all lead to a dual showing of HOUSEBOUND in one theater and BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES in another on Halloween! Since they didn't start until 10:45, I was able to go up and attend the BRV show.
Actually did some video projects for work this year - a couple of short youtube-type goofy videos for our student activities department and then a 5-part series of shorts parodying American Idol with the staff for a Foundation project. It was a lot of fun and how cool to be doing what I do for fun at my day job! Our Halloween theme for office decoration this year was the Clue game. We all played characters, had different rooms set up with different weapons and a masking tape game board path zig-zagging through the office. I was Professor Plum in the kitchen with a knife...and I did it!
I worked on various scripts here and there over the year, and made a couple of nifty DVD-r presents for Christmas. One was of STARCHASERS, the first video movie project I made with John Bowker and Rob Merickel back in 1986 - and we're still working on things together today!
The other was of a tape I made compiling video footage from the first year of my son's life. Really reminds you of what is important in life. We got a puppy in June and my son did well this year in school, taekwondo and boy scouts. Life is busy, but rewarding. Spent New Year's Eve with good friends, good steaks and wine, games and guitar hero world tour. Good times.
What's in store for 2009? I've got a couple of potential projects I might be working on - waiting to hear back from folks, as always. I'm planning on finishing up TWISTED FATES and TRULY DREADFUL TALES anthologies, plus probably continuing to do some goofy video shorts with my son.
I wish you all the best in the coming year. Tell the people you love that you love them - even thought they know it, it's good to hear it often.
I started the year off coming off of the PLATOON OF THE DEAD shoot for my good friend John Bowker. I spent the first part of 2008 editing together behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers as well as shooting a featurette for the movie. This zombie action flick is set for release from Tempe Video in the second quarter of 2009. Tempe also released a loaded double feature DVD of THE EVILMAKER/ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER II at the end of 2007. Sweet.
In January I began writing a screenplay based on an outline by an actor/director. The project, BAD ILLUSION, was designed to be one for him to travel to Oregon to star in while I directed. Scheduling difficulties got in the way of a late Spring shoot, so we decided the best thing was for him to take my script and try to shoot it up where he is at.
I screened my horror comedy TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon on January 11 - a whole mess of people showed up and we all had a swell time!
I finally finished editing my DEADLY PREMONITIONS feature plus the behind-the-scenes and photo gallery featurettes at the end of January. I handed everything off to my BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES buddy Mike Hegg and he is currently wrapping up post-production tweaking and DVD authoring.
Actor in many of my movies over the years and a writer/director himself, Tom Shaffer finally shot the "Treespirit" segment of TRULY DREADFUL TALES for me and I edited and scored it in January/February. Then I edited and scored the "Death Nurse" segment that W.A.V.E. Video favorite Laura Giglio and her husband shot for it a couple of years back. Later in the year, I finished up the bugman mask for the next segment, which will shot by up in Canada in 2009.
I shot the last remaining shots for EATER over the Spring/Summer/Fall.
On the first of February, a BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES screening was held up at the Northern Lights Theater Pub with special guest Troma's Lloyd Kaufman! A last minute scheduling change on Lloyd's part had the organizers asking me to do Lloyd's "How to Smash a Head" bit, so I picked up a melon on the way to the theater, slapped a wig on it and smashed it to pieces! Lloyd was running late so instead of waiting for his movie (which he had with him) they showed my erotic thriller UNDERBELLY! Lloyd showed up and after a bunch of Q&A, posed for photos and was a really nice guy. The Salem Statesman Journal did a swell cover story on BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES in their entertainment section.
In March, I shot scenes for COLD AS SOUL for Luc Bernier and SLEEPWALKER STRANGLER for W.A.V.E. with Toni Draggon.
Also in March, I shot scenes with Darla Doom and Joe Scott for Phil Herman's INTO THE WOODS. Phil also used music I'd composed throughout the whole movie. Sweet! The movie was released in November to good reviews and we held a little screening party for it.
I shot "It Haunts" in May and June with Darla Doom, Joe Scott, Michelle 'Ame' Mahoney, John Bowker, Morgan Mayhem and Amanda Bounds. Originally intended as a stand-alone project, I later decided to swap it out for the "VideoDrone" segment in my Anthology TWISTED FATES. I got Ariauna Albright to be in a couple of phone call scenes, brining one more PLATOON OF THE DEAD cast member in to the project! Thanks to Eric Spudic who shot the footage for me down in California. I am finishing up editing and working on music for this segment.
Despite saying I'd never do it again, in July I squeezed into the orange jumpsuit to play Frank the Astronaut in Tom Shaffer's dinosaur planet movie PREHISTORICUS. One of these days he'll get that stop-motion animation and I can see the dinosaurs I've been pretending to run from for years! Also in July, I shot a friend's wedding.
Made a couple of goofy videos over the summer with my son and his friends for YouTube and then my camera broke in July. I was able to buy pretty much the same model from Amazon and keep on plugging away at everything. Whew!
August saw the 10th anniversary of me shooting and acting in John Bowker's DREAMWALKERS, the first of countless features and shorts we've done since then.
In October, I participated in a blog thing called Halloween Countdown. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun! Idea was to post a Halloween-related post every single day for the whole month. I ended up going through all of the photos and photo albums I had at the house plus going through all of the ones my parents had and scanning old Halloween Costume photos. I was a lot of fun and you can check all of the posts out at http://fandcproductions.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html
October 17 saw a double feature screening at Northern Lights of two movies I shot for John Bowker: HOUSEBOUND and THE SEEKERS. I play a 'Man In Black' in HOUSEBOUND and it was a lot of fun to see the movies on a big screen with a theater full of people.
After trying to get it scheduled for a couple of years, the shoot for the "Welcome Sister" segment of TWISTED FATES finally came together in late October. I'd hired Robert J. Olin to cast and direct and he did a great job and found a terrific bunch of troopers! We had to recast at the last minute and actually cast our replacement from the audience at the HOUSEBOUND/THE SEEKERS screening! Another actress called in sick the day of the shoot, but with some quick rewriting, the shoot came off very well. I'm currently about halfway through editing this segment.
This all lead to a dual showing of HOUSEBOUND in one theater and BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES in another on Halloween! Since they didn't start until 10:45, I was able to go up and attend the BRV show.
Actually did some video projects for work this year - a couple of short youtube-type goofy videos for our student activities department and then a 5-part series of shorts parodying American Idol with the staff for a Foundation project. It was a lot of fun and how cool to be doing what I do for fun at my day job! Our Halloween theme for office decoration this year was the Clue game. We all played characters, had different rooms set up with different weapons and a masking tape game board path zig-zagging through the office. I was Professor Plum in the kitchen with a knife...and I did it!
I worked on various scripts here and there over the year, and made a couple of nifty DVD-r presents for Christmas. One was of STARCHASERS, the first video movie project I made with John Bowker and Rob Merickel back in 1986 - and we're still working on things together today!
The other was of a tape I made compiling video footage from the first year of my son's life. Really reminds you of what is important in life. We got a puppy in June and my son did well this year in school, taekwondo and boy scouts. Life is busy, but rewarding. Spent New Year's Eve with good friends, good steaks and wine, games and guitar hero world tour. Good times.
What's in store for 2009? I've got a couple of potential projects I might be working on - waiting to hear back from folks, as always. I'm planning on finishing up TWISTED FATES and TRULY DREADFUL TALES anthologies, plus probably continuing to do some goofy video shorts with my son.
I wish you all the best in the coming year. Tell the people you love that you love them - even thought they know it, it's good to hear it often.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Trailers Posted
Posted a few trailers on YouTube today.
Here's a long trailer for Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires:
Here's one for Trailer Park Double Wide Trilogy of Terror:
Here's a trailer for We Need Earth Women:
Here's a long trailer for Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires:
Here's one for Trailer Park Double Wide Trilogy of Terror:
Here's a trailer for We Need Earth Women:
Thursday, December 18, 2008
End of The Year In Sight
Mike worked on the DEADLY PREMONITIONS DVD last week. Waiting to hear if it's ready to proof.
Have been working on fixing all the problems with IT HAUNTS. Just about done fixing up some sound issues, hope to do some workarounds this weekend then get back to the music.
Have been busy working on Christmas present video projects.
Have managed to upload and trim all of the footage from the late October WELCOME SISTER shoot. Have the first few minutes edited together.
Went through the NEW NEIGHBOR segment the other night and made some notes for when I have to edit it from scratch again.
Have been crazy busy at work and at home, but hope to get back to writing a year-end wrap-up to post. I didn't get as much done this year as I had hoped, but then again, what else is new?!
Have been working on fixing all the problems with IT HAUNTS. Just about done fixing up some sound issues, hope to do some workarounds this weekend then get back to the music.
Have been busy working on Christmas present video projects.
Have managed to upload and trim all of the footage from the late October WELCOME SISTER shoot. Have the first few minutes edited together.
Went through the NEW NEIGHBOR segment the other night and made some notes for when I have to edit it from scratch again.
Have been crazy busy at work and at home, but hope to get back to writing a year-end wrap-up to post. I didn't get as much done this year as I had hoped, but then again, what else is new?!
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Into The Woods Screening
Last weekend we held a little screening of INTO THE WOODS. Here are a few pics:
Darla Doom dressed to kill!
Joe Scott
Me with Rob Merickel
Meanwhile, I've been working on IT HAUNTS, running into some snags, but hoping to work them out over the weekend. Christmas projects have been taking up my time as well.
The end of the year is screaming towards me!!!
Darla Doom dressed to kill!
Joe Scott
Me with Rob Merickel
Meanwhile, I've been working on IT HAUNTS, running into some snags, but hoping to work them out over the weekend. Christmas projects have been taking up my time as well.
The end of the year is screaming towards me!!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Progress on It Haunts
Managed to get several hours' worth of editing done on IT HAUNTS over the weekend. I'm going through and tightening up the edit, adding the ghost hunting footage and Ariauna Albright scenes, fixing sound issues and taking care of a few sound effects here and there. Once I'm through, I'll be going back through to finish sound effects and create some music.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Pretty Maidens All In A Row
At the end of last month, I went with my buddy Rob to see the Maidens of Mayhem perform in Eugene. Beer, billiards and burlesque - what's not to like? I tell you what's not to like - getting to bed at 3 a.m. and having to get up to go to work a few hours later!
My office's Halloween theme this year was a giant CLUE game and I was Professor Plum! As you might guess from the blood on my coffee cup...I DID IT! With the lead pipe in the dining room no less!
Despite a very busy time at work and home, I have been working a bit on the IT HAUNTS and WELCOME SISTER edits here and there. Hope to make some more progress over the weekend. Also hoping to shoot needed pick-ups for WELCOME SISTER on Sunday.
My office's Halloween theme this year was a giant CLUE game and I was Professor Plum! As you might guess from the blood on my coffee cup...I DID IT! With the lead pipe in the dining room no less!
Despite a very busy time at work and home, I have been working a bit on the IT HAUNTS and WELCOME SISTER edits here and there. Hope to make some more progress over the weekend. Also hoping to shoot needed pick-ups for WELCOME SISTER on Sunday.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Trailer: Into The Woods
A while back, I shot a few small scenes for this movie with Darla Doom and her husband. Writer/director Phil Herman just sent me a link to this trailer, which features music by me as well. Cool!
Halloween Screenings
So the Northern Lights Theater Pub showed BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES and HOUSEBOUND on Halloween night this year. Each was in it's own theater, one at 10:40 p.m. and the other at 10:45 p.m. It was kind of short notice but Dale and I made the trip up and watched BRV with some folks who really seemed to dig it. Thanks to Mid-Valley Film Festival for helping to set it all up!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
October Screening and Shoot
It's been a busy month while the Halloween Countdown was going on. I have to say that was a blast going over all those old photos. I hope folks got a kick out of it.
Finally finished trimming down the ghost hunting footage for IT HAUNTS. Need to edit the pieces together, then get them worked into the timeline.
Had a great screening of HOUSEBOUND and THE SEEKERS at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon back on October 17. Writer/director John Bowker was there along with a number of cast and crew. It was great to see those flicks on the big screen and hear a live audience laugh and scream at the right parts! Special thanks to Ross from Mid-Valley Video Festival for making it happen!
The tickets!
It's me on the big screen! Here I am as an MIB in HOUSEBOUND holding a goopy skull!
Me with Ross Swartzendruber of Mid-Valley Video Festival
Writer/director John Bowker and actor Robert J. Olin
Cast, crew and friends at the screening.
When I arrived at the screening, Robert J. Olin told me that one of the actresses for the Welcome Sister segment of TWISTED FATES had dropped out. We were set to shoot the following Saturday, but I just knew we'd manage to make it happen somehow. By the intermission, we'd cast Sabrina out of the audience to play the role! Not only that, but RC, who works at the theater, came on board as a PA.
The Welcome Sister shoot on October 25 was fantastic. Robert was really organized and had arranged for a second cameraman to work with me as well as a craft services person to keep us well fed and watch the home base at a shelter in a park east of Portland, Oregon. Dale came up with me so we had 2 PAs with RC along. One of the actress had to bail due to being very sick, but Robert and I did some quick rewriting and made the whole thing work just fine.
The actresses were phenomenal! They really brought the roles to life and were total troopers, running over rough trails, through sticker bushes, bouncing off of trees, cat fighting on the forest floor, getting drenched in blood and screaming their lungs out. It was so cool! Here are a few pics (warning: SPOILERS!!)
The whole gang - cast & drew for the Welcome Sister shoot
Here I am with two of the girls, post catfight!
Director Robert J. Olin poses with the girls.
Mike Hegg is continuing authoring work on the DEADLY PREMONTIONS dvd.
The horror con Crypticon Seattle announced their 2009 dates - June 5-6-7 - planning to go!
Pushing onward.....
Finally finished trimming down the ghost hunting footage for IT HAUNTS. Need to edit the pieces together, then get them worked into the timeline.
Had a great screening of HOUSEBOUND and THE SEEKERS at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon back on October 17. Writer/director John Bowker was there along with a number of cast and crew. It was great to see those flicks on the big screen and hear a live audience laugh and scream at the right parts! Special thanks to Ross from Mid-Valley Video Festival for making it happen!
The tickets!
It's me on the big screen! Here I am as an MIB in HOUSEBOUND holding a goopy skull!
Me with Ross Swartzendruber of Mid-Valley Video Festival
Writer/director John Bowker and actor Robert J. Olin
Cast, crew and friends at the screening.
When I arrived at the screening, Robert J. Olin told me that one of the actresses for the Welcome Sister segment of TWISTED FATES had dropped out. We were set to shoot the following Saturday, but I just knew we'd manage to make it happen somehow. By the intermission, we'd cast Sabrina out of the audience to play the role! Not only that, but RC, who works at the theater, came on board as a PA.
The Welcome Sister shoot on October 25 was fantastic. Robert was really organized and had arranged for a second cameraman to work with me as well as a craft services person to keep us well fed and watch the home base at a shelter in a park east of Portland, Oregon. Dale came up with me so we had 2 PAs with RC along. One of the actress had to bail due to being very sick, but Robert and I did some quick rewriting and made the whole thing work just fine.
The actresses were phenomenal! They really brought the roles to life and were total troopers, running over rough trails, through sticker bushes, bouncing off of trees, cat fighting on the forest floor, getting drenched in blood and screaming their lungs out. It was so cool! Here are a few pics (warning: SPOILERS!!)
The whole gang - cast & drew for the Welcome Sister shoot
Here I am with two of the girls, post catfight!
Director Robert J. Olin poses with the girls.
Mike Hegg is continuing authoring work on the DEADLY PREMONTIONS dvd.
The horror con Crypticon Seattle announced their 2009 dates - June 5-6-7 - planning to go!
Pushing onward.....
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!!!
For a good five years now, I've had a tradition of watching my favorite horror movie, PHANTASM, on Halloween night.
I first saw PHANTASM on the CBS Late Movie in 1981. There I was, sitting alone in the dark in the dead of night (dead of night for a middle school kid), my family asleep at the other end of the house.
The creepy psychic lady. That box he had to put his hand in. The Tall Man. The spheres. The bug thing. The yellow goo. The volkswagon on it's side. The sound in that room with the bars.
Edited as it certainly was for TV, it still scared the crap out of me.
Nowadays as my kid gets older and stays up later after trick or treating, I have to start watching it later and later. Which is fine - I think it's better to watch it in the wee hours of the morning - when it's quiet and still outside and pitch black. When the rest of the family is asleep at the other end of the house.
In a few years, I'll be able to watch it with my kid. It won't be the same as when I discovered it by accident all alone in the dark. But I think he'll dig it just the same.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monster Bash!
Believe it or not - this was my 10th birthday - my best birthday party ever! Yes - it was a MONSTER PARTY!!!
Even though it was in June, everyone had to come in costume. And this photo is before everyone even showed up!
My dad designed the invitations and we even tried baking them in the oven for a bit to make them seem like old damaged parchment paper.
Here's the birthday boy, as Dracula (fangs removed for eating!), next to the menu, which reads:
Menu for the Ghoul Gourmet
Appetizer - Carrot and Celery Fingers
Salad - Harry's Brain Salad
Entre'e De Graveyard - Hand Sandwiches with Bone Chips
Beverage - A Glass of Blood (no charge for refills and transfusions)
Desserts - Coffin Cake and Tombstone Cookies
Harry's brain salad - a jell-o brain made in a homemade brain mold created by my Dad. He took a plastic fireman's helmet and flipped it over as a bowl and stuck brainy squiggles made out of clay all over the inside. Then some sort of plastic bag or plastic wrap was laid in and then the jell-o was added. Pretty sweet!
Notice that not everything could be monster-themed in June: Family Circus paper plates!
My sister shows off a "hand sandwich," which were just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into the shape of a hand.
Here is the coffin cake - complete with a plastic skull from a toy skeleton I had.
I made the "Pin the Fang on the Thing" board myself.
"Catch the Critters" consisted of my Dad throwing shelled peanuts in the air and us kids trying to catch them in brown paper lunch bags.
This was "Don't Step on the Monster" or something like that. Music would play and you had to walk in a circle, going over a monster face I'd drawn. If you were standing on the monster face when the music stopped, you were out.
I don't know if this had a monster-themed name, but it was a good old fashioned tug of war. Boy did we love this!
After all the planned games were over, cake was consumed and presents opened, the monsters waged an impromptu Battle Royale on the front lawn. It was awesome! Here we see the Werewolf holding Dracula down so the Sea Creature could chop his head off while the Devil and the Mummy look on. Wow!
I can't thank my parents enough for going all out for this crazy party for their 10-year-old son and his monster obsession!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Skeletons of the Seventies
In 1973 I was a skeleton - the mask was cool but a little odd: those are rope and tassles on my forehead and the beard-looking part is spiderwebbing...but it's orange. Weird. I love the screaming skull on the chest! My sister was Raggedy Ann.
Two years later in 1975 my sister joined me in my skeletal costuming.
Notice the orange UNICEF box in my hand. Also, I believe that's my Philadelphia Eagles jacket I'm wearing underneath.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Mr. Monkey Business
It was 1976 and I had been inspired by an illustration in Highlights magazine. It was some Halloween story and there were a group of kids trick or treating and one of them had a suit and monkey mask on. I immediately thought, "Mr. Monkey Business!"
We bought a Planet of the Apes costume for the mask. I wore my dad's suit jacket as well as his shoes (mine were inside of them, held in place by newspapers stuffed inbetween)! With a pair of gloves and a snazzy pink pattern tie, I was ready to go!
My sister went as a nurse. In this shot she's checking her watch while taking an imaginary person's pulse!
The pumpkin-headed dummy on the left had a line of twine tied around one wrist - the twine went up to my second-floor bedroom window. You can kind of see it in the right hand side of the window. Before and after I trick or treated, I would peek over my windowsill and wait for unsuspecting kids to come to the door and then would pull the twine to make the arm move up and down. Boy howdy did I scare some kids! Talk about monkey business!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Little Devil 1969
When I was a tiny kid and was bad, sometimes my parents would call me a little devil. Well when I was two years old, they dressed me as a little devil for Halloween!
Look at that awesome console stereo behind me. Those were the days when your stereo was FURNITURE!
Here is that wonderful console stereo again in 1971 with me as Mickey Mouse in front of it.
A year later, 1972, and on the other side of the room. Bugs Bunny and the bride (with a puffy winter jacket stuffed underneath her dress).
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Dark Side
Now, please pardon the poor photo above. It's a scan of a photocopied version that appeared in my zine Dr. Squid #10. I cannot locate the original photo, so just have this to go on.
It's my sister and I as Princess Leia and Dark Vader, Halloween 1977.
Now, you can't tell from the photo, but my outfit was an enhanced version of the ol' Ben Cooper costume.
We did buy that costume, but quickly ditched the smock in favor of my mom's black turtleneck, cape, black gloves, black pants, dark brown snow boots and a calculator duct-taped to my chest.
Yes, I said a calculator duct-taped to my chest.
This was serious.
My dad also took the plain plastic mask and attached it to a helmet made from cardboard. It was held together with staples and colored with magic marker as I recall, but it was super duper cool!
I'll never forget running into another Darth Vader that night.
I was coming down the walk at a house in the neighborhood, which seemed to be teaming with little trick-or-treaters, when I saw him. I could tell he was trying to be Darth Vader, but he'd made his own costume, including his own mask based on a giant pair of sunglasses. In retrospect it was kind of cool-looking, sort of like an armored bug alien head or something. But it just wasn't Darth. Besides, I had taken the official Darth mask and IMPROVED it. We each looked each other up and down and I can't recall who said it first but one of us shouted a muffled, "Who are you?!" It turned out to be my friend Chris from around the block.
While I can't recall the exact wording we used (c'mon it was over 30 years ago!), I recall there was an exchange of words over who looked better, and both of us left each other convinced we were the best and the other guy's costume sucked.
Ah...sweet memories....
That winter, my sister and I made a Darth Vader snowman! Note all the multi-colored buttons making up Darth's various electronic doo-dads.
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