Martha My Dear

I promised myself I would resist this year - but the second I saw this on the racks I crumbled like a house of tarot cards...

D'oh!

I can't BELIEVE I missed this!

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=467254

Ravens Grin

While on a trip to Illinois a friend turned me on to this amazing haunted attraction. We're not going to be able to make it to Ravens Grin this trip, but I definitely hope to check it out sometime soon...

Halloween may be long over at your house, but it never ends here at the Ravens Grin Inn, says Jim Warfield, a former plumber who twisted one too many pipes and now runs merrily amok with a Halloween attraction that closes nevermore in this tiny village in northwestern Illinois.

"People come through my haunted house, and it hits them that here's this guy living in this nice little town, making a living and having all this fun...I feel bad for all you other people. I really do," Warfield says.

To see more visit:

http://www.hauntedravensgrin.com/RGI/index.html

Chip Off the Old Block

My daughter trying out some of daddy's leisure-wear.

(yes, I actually wore this out in public!)

Dead Man Walking

The first official trailer for AMC's highly anticipated series THE WALKING DEAD is now up. Debuting Halloween night - it looks like it will be worth the wait!

http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/video?bcpid=86227333001&bclid=88963904001&bctid=593569611001

Quote of the Day

"In England, I'm a horror movie director. In Germany, I'm a filmmaker. In the US, I'm a bum."

--John Carpenter

Double Feature

It's been a great summer for finding classic movies dirt cheap on dvd - some stores seem to be practically giving them away. At Fleet Farm I picked up Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut for the bargain price of $7.99. This was a movie I had been longing to see for years - and I'm happy to report it was worth the wait! It's darker storyline is so much more satisfying than the campy theatrical version we've all come to know, and the inclusion of Marlon Brando as Jor-El solidifies the picture and ties it together nicely with the later man of steel sequel: Superman Returns.

"The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son..."

To top that, at Target I then picked up the 80's vampire classic The Lost Boys for the ridiculously low price of $4.75. Earlier this summer I snatched up the John Carpenter/Kurt Russell sequel Escape From LA from a Half Price Bookstore for only $3, as well as the Adam West BatMan movie for the same price. Okay - so they're maybe only classics in my book - but for these low prices, it's hard to say no. And so my dvd collection just keeps growing...

"Sleep all day, party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire."

Baby Rots

My loving wife - being the most thoughtful person on the planet - ordered me some baby Pumpkinrots, timing the delivery to coincide with our return from Chicago (the Jimmy Buffett concert that always signals that summer is over and haunting season has officially begun). It was a tough trip for me - bum shoulder with bursitis, a bee sting on my index finger - so to have this waiting for me when I got home was just what the mad doctor ordered.

Thanks sweetie! To order your own, head over to...

http://www.pumpkinrot.com

Zombie Ants

"Zombie ants" are carpenter ants that are transformed into "zombies" by a parasitic fungus, existing as far back as 48 million years ago, scientists have discovered.

The fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, has the ability to control the minds of infected carpenter ants and lead them away from their colony to a leaf that is an ideal reproductive site for the fungus.

Man - if that doesn't sound like the beginning of a horror movie I don't know what does...

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41201/

Man - I wish I would have used my brains and thought of this first...

http://zombiehaiku.com/

Counting Down...

75 Days and counting!

This weekend was our annual trek to see Jimmy Buffett - which always marks the unofficial end of summer for me. Now the clock starts to tick very loudly and I know it's time to kick up the prop building a couple of notches...

P.S. Our camp headquarters at Buffett is 'Halloween In Tijuana,' from Jimmy's song Desperation Samba (Halloween In Tijuana). Not even Jimmy is safe from the dark side!

Must Read

C'mon Fellas!

I grew up with Van Halen - I'm talking the REAL Van Halen - with David Lee Roth on vocals. Sure, I followed Van Hagar for awhile, but only long enough to see that Dave was really the spark plug that made the Van Halen machine run. I went to their semi-reunion tour (sans Michael Anthony) twice. I bought an over-priced t-shirt and other memorabilia. I would have gladly forked over the dough for a new album. And then, riding high on the hugely successful tour they did... nathing. Nada. Not a thing. Basically disappeared for two years. Such is Eddie Van Halen's work ethic today. C'mon fellas - is it too much to ask of you to throw a bone to your fans and give us just one new album (I'd even take a new SONG at this point) with Dave in his proper place in the universe?

As a die-hard Van Halen fan I'm an eternal optimist. With a band like this, you have to be...

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/247834/van-halen-recording-first-album-since-clinton-administration/

It's Coming!

Found the ever lovely Natalie Portman chatting up Pride & Prejudice & Zombies over at Mtv.com...

"We just got a new draft from David O. Russell, who is adapting it and is going to direct it. I'm such a big fan of his. 'Flirting With Disaster' is one of my favorite movies, and 'Three Kings' and pretty much everything he does is incredible. We'll probably be shooting next year, hopefully. It's a really, I think, clever mash-up between genres. These women only obsessing over marriage is such a zombie kind of behavior. It's kind of a perfect collision of genres."

http://www.mtv.com

Quote of the Day

"I remember, especially like when I was in high school, going to see Dawn of the Dead and it was...mayhem in the theater - you could barely even watch the movie."

--Rob Zombie

$300 Well Spent

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of the gems in his vast collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 years ago.

Mike Wheat of Fairbanks has put the 1940 comic book on the auction block through Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, where it's expected to fetch more than $40,000. Online bids already have climbed to $35,000 for the book, believed to be one of fewer than 300 still in existence.

Wheat, a retired city wastewater treatment plant operator, said he considers the Batman comics an investment. He said it feels like the right time to sell.

"I just decided it's time for someone else to have it," he said.

The Batman No. 1 comic book was discovered after local businessman Ron Jaeger bought an old dresser at a garage sale in the early 1970s, then kept it in storage for a few years. When Jaeger finally brought it out, he noticed one of the drawers didn't slide easily.

Wheat already had a reputation as an avid comic collector in 1974, and Jaeger sold him the comic books for $300.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100802/ap_on_en_ot/us_comic_book_auction

It's Here!

Midnight Syndicate's long-awaited dark fantasy film directed and scored by Edward Douglas and co-produced by Gary Jones and Robert Kurtzman. The Dead Matter tells the story of a guilt-ridden young woman (Sean Serino) desperate to contact her deceased brother who discovers a powerful ancient relic that controls the dead. Her dark obsession drags her into the tangled world of two warring vampire lords (Andrew Divoff of Lost , Wishmaster and Tom Savini of Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead), each with his own sinister plans for the artifact, and a vampire hunter (Jason Carter of Babylon 5) who will stop at nothing to destroy it. Classic horror themes with modern twists and a touch of dark humor that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

# DVD extras include: Midnight Syndicate's Dark Legacy & Lost music videos
# Eternal Legacy's The Dead Matter music video
# Three finalists from the Midnight Syndicate 13th Anniversary Video Contest
# Commentary with Producers Edward Douglas, Robert Kurtzman, & Gary Jones
# Gag reels & hidden features
# MAXIMUM DEAD MATTER - a feature-length behind-the-scenes program. Watch the movie in one window while you watch footage of the scene being filmed, concept art comparisons, location trivia, and interviews in the other windows!

NOW AVAILABLE AT ALL HOT TOPICS!