"where the line is drawn"

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween is here

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How will I spend Halloween? Sitting in the front room watching scary movies and waiting for the Trick or Treaters. I'm thinking about setting up the night cam and recording who comes to the door. It'd be good practice for actually recording a HELLshow some day. I'll need to figure out some way to set up the camera and the recorder and a monitor, but it should work.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Halloween Eve

choculamask

Tomorrow is Halloween, and I'm enjoying the season. Saturday night was the annual party at Scott's and we all went and drank and mingled. It was fun. Sunday night was carving pumpkins at Bruce and Mundee's, but I was falling asleep. Ah well, it happens.

I need to buy some candy for tomorrow. Maybe a trip to Target tonight?

Made a DVD of TORCHWOOD episodes one and two and will be dropping off the disc at Joshua's house tonight. No other plans beyond that, at least right now.

Saw the last reel of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 Friday night? This induced a dream of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES but instead of Uncle Jed and Granny and Jethro it was Leather Face and the Hitchhiker and the Cook. Mr. Drisdale and Ms. Hathaway spent the whole show hiding bodies. There's a minicomic in there someplace.

Oh, and I was horrified to find out that CHAINSAW 2 was a Golan-Globus production...

Friday, October 27, 2006

Dracula: Terror in the Snow!

Dracula: Terror in the Snow!!!

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Monsterfest had HELLBLAZER on last night, so I skipped it. A neat idea, but it's a bit slow and very VERY 80s.

In fact I don't remember what I watched last night, other then FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL KILL. I got home late and by the time I thought about eating supper it was even later. Crap. So much for that. There's goodness on TCM tonight, so I'll have loads to watch over the weekend. I think tonight's theme is ZOMBIES! Bring on the Scamblers!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Halloween toss off

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I couldn't watch the whole movie.

AMC showed HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION last night as part of their Monsterfest programming. I understand this is the follow up movie to H20, which I hear is a good movie. Unlike this one.

I got interested when I saw Jamie Lee Curtis in the opening credits. And we find Jamie as Laurie Strode in an asylum, not taking her meds and waiting for Micheal. Who shows up and starts killing everybody who isn't his sister. And we get a moment with Laurie fighting back and capturing Micheal on the rooftop. AND THEN she decides to unmask him before she kills him. And whouldn't you know it, Micheal kills her. And with a kiss and an "I'll see you in HELL," Laurie falls from Micheal's arms into the darkness. This is about 15 minutes into the movie. That's when the movie goes wrong.

And then it's like they wanted to cash in on the whole BLAIR WITCH thing. It makes no sense, and it's an insult to the audiance. Why not have the whole movie be Laurie vs. Micheal and have some real fun? What a waste.

I'm almost afraid to turn on the TV tonight.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

From one to five

Psycho08Cover
In the past few days I have now reviewed and watched HALLOWEEN 1 through 5, thanks to AMC's Monsterfest. And what an uneven batch of films. I've never seen any of these films in a theater. I did rent the VHS tapes way back when I worked at the video store in my teens. I watched Halloween 1, 2 and 3 back then. And I believe I've only seen the first movie more then once since then.

Last night was the first time I ever saw Halloween 4 and 5. After watching the ending of Halloween 3:Season of the Witch a movie that's more along the lines of say, Invasion of the Body Snatchers then Halloween, I found Halloween 4 to be very interesting, especially the ending which suggested so much in possibilities. I was so sucked in by Halloween 4 that I watched Halloween 5, Micheal's Revenge thinking I'd get more of the same. I was completely disappointed. All the promise of number 4 is completely wasted. And yet I'm compelled to analyze the mess and the message for bits of gold. And I gotta say I liked the opening titles from Halloween 5, a kinetic bit of pumpkin carving with Micheal's favorite knife.

It was Chas who pointed out to me that Halloween was John Carpenter's take on John Ford's THE THING. Micheal Meyers is James Arnes' space carrot complete with coveralls and upstoppable attitude. It's unfortunate that the rest of the movies in the series abandon THE THING FROM ANOTHER PLANET for FRIDAY THE 13th, and other slasher flicks that came after HALLOWEEN. Ah well. Borrow from the best.

Comparisons have been made between HALLOWEEN and PSYCHO. And I'm not certain why. I often think about how monster movies went from metaphorical monsters like Dracula and Fankenstein's Monter to human monsters like Norman Bates and back. You can't really call Micheal Meyers a human monster. If there's a similarity between PSYCHO and HALLOWEEN it could be in the family dynamic. Norman and his Mother and Micheal and his Sister. But that's all I can really think of. In fact I'm not too certain why Micheal kills, and who. It's a bit of a muddle. But then Death isn't too picky about why and who dies, either.

Still it is annoying when for no apparent reason Micheal Meyers decides to start killing teens at a party when he should be across town trying to kill the daughter of Lori Strode. I guess it makes as much sense as the decission to kill the daughter of Lori Strode who turns out to be Lori Meyers the sister of Micheal Meyers in the second Halloween. What? Because Micheal killed his sister when he was 7 or so in the prelude of the first Halloween movie. Micheal MUST kill his sister. Or at least his sister's daughter? Wha?

At least Donald Pleasence is pretty much a constant in these movies. Dr. Loomis is the Ahab to Micheal's Moby and if anything gets madder and sadder as the series goes on. So why is it that Micheal never targets Loomis???

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

EK is too good


smokingisthebeesknees
Originally uploaded by tohoscope.
And funny, too.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Watching...

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A run down of what I watched this weekend:
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE
HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS
FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL
MUDHONEY
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
EVIL DEAD
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTIEN
THE GHOST BREAKERS
FREDDY VS JASON
MAGIC OF THE UNIVERSE
THE PRESTIGE
and HALLOWEEN

Which indicates to me that I watch too many movies...

Friday, October 20, 2006

Rocking Zombie

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Good stuff on TCM tonight! Three vampire movies followed by FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL KILL and MUDHONEY. No sleep for me. Still kicking myself for missing BODY SNATCHERS FROM HELL eariler this month...

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Another Supes Sketch

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Thinking about comix I decided to check out the Shiot Crock thread over at TJC. I still haven't got mine, but somebody commented on The Sketch Pile. Good and bad, he liked my work but was disappointed that there was no actual comix. Which is what I'm talking about. I gotta get out of this rut...

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Today's Sketch

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Retooled the AWA issue of PG for Oni-Con. I'll send a few with Bruce to pass out at the green room and toss on the table. Zines are fun but I really need to get back to comix. I've just been too lazy. That and I'm stumped for what to do. Looking at my last attempt at creating comix I think I'm making progress, but I'm still not getting any results. Time to rethink my methods, what I'm doing and what I'm not doing and rework it. I think I need to start small. Start with a single page. Maybe just a single panel. Simple, small, workable. This isn't rocket science fer cripesake.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The Curse of the Werewolf!!!!!

werewolf_1

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Today's Sketchamadigital

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Digital sketches made on the Averatec tablet, kinda neat. I need to get back to the drawing board, badly...


FAST FILM on DVD.


Yeah, it's all crap.

Monday, October 16, 2006

The Gods Must Be Born Free

Woke up Saturday to find it raining. Turned on TMC and watched the last reel of BORN FREE, a movie I distinctly remember seeing at a matinee as a child. Later I watched THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY on IFC creating a mash up/juxtoposition in my head. Returning Elsie the lion to the wild and Xi returning the Coke bottle to the Gods at the end of the world became the same quest in the same setting. It also made me want to watch CRAZY SAFARI aka THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY: V. That's right, they made four sequels. And that last one had a hopping vampire at the center of it.

Also watched HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES again and it still pissed me off. I didn't get scared, I didn't find the effects to be very effective, I just kept thinking, "They're missing the point," over and over again. Rob Zombie should've sat down and watched TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and figured out why it works so well. And CHAINSAW is what he's trying to ape with HO1KC. Stupid movie...


Must get this.

Sketch of the Day

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Saturday, October 14, 2006

St. James Infirmary

It was down in Old Joe's barroom,
On the corner by the square,
The usual crowd was assembled
And big Joe McKinney was there.

He was standing at my shoulder.
His eyes were bloodshot red;
He turned to the crowd around him,
These are the very words he said:

"I went down to the St. James Infirmary
I saw my baby there,
She's laid out on a cold white table,
So so cold, so white, so fair."

chorus
"Let her go, let her go, God bless her;
Wherever she may be
She may search this wide world over
She'll never find a sweet man like me."
Oh, when I die, bury me
In my high top Stetson hat;
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain
God'll know I died standin' pat.

I want six crap shooters for pall bearers.
Chorus girl to sing me a song.
Put a jazz band on my hearse wagon.
Raise Hell as I roll along.

Roll out your rubber tired carriage,
Roll out your old time hat.
Twelve men going to the graveyard
And eleven coming back.

Now that I've told my story,
I'll take another shot of booze.
And if anyone should happen to ask you,
I've got those gamblers' blues.

Friday, October 13, 2006

S.W.A.T.down

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Watched Dallas S.W.A.T. last night. Learned a few things. Dallas S.W.A.T. doesn't knock. They just show up and tear the windows and doors off your house. Also, people are idiots. They will park their cars on the side of the Hwy, and get out and watch somebody hijacking an 18 wheeler at gunpoint. They will also get out of their cars on overpasses just to watch. Complete friggin' morons. Can it be a police state with rubberneckers?

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The Brainiac

brainiac_box_free

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

PoPChor


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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Planet of the Vampires

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This movie is the reason Italy needs a space program. Just check out the mod space suits, they look more like a Motorcycle Zoku who've lost their Vespas. This could be a good idea for a Halloween costume. Fun movie, too.


Get your Godzilla soundtracks here.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Bloody Nose

It's been a weekend of cat-drama. After work on Friday I find Nub has a bloodied nose. I figure he's been in a fight with Bruce and Mundee's cats. Then I take a closer look at the damage and it's pretty bad. By Saturday it's worse looking. But Nub's still eating. Sunday, Nub's sitting in my lap when he starts rubbing at his nose, AND PULLS THE SCAB OFF. Now I got a blooded mawed cat and his nose looks much worse. I call Mundee in a panic and she suggests that I get one of those plastic collars that keeps animals from scratching stitches and such. $10 later I put the collar on Nub. By nightfall Sunday Nub wanders into the Dan-cave and the collar has made his nose even worse. So, I take the collar off and decide to go to the vet in the morning.

This morning I call the Animal Hospital and tell 'em the whole ordeal and they get me in to see the Doc in 30 minutes. Nub has Pneumonia. He'll stay at the Animal Hospital for the next two days.

Damn Cat.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Nub's Nose

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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Sex, Sleaze & Soul - 60s & 70s Exploitation Movie Radio Spots

Sex, Sleaze & Soul - 60s & 70s Exploitation Movie Radio Spots

I'm seriously considering getting this. Movie Grooves also has a few of the Plastic Records discs I'm interested in...

Radio Spots at Toe Stubber and Skinny Robbie's Blog.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Video Kiosk and a cover


Move-Me.com Posted by Picasa

A year or so ago I had this idea of setting up a camera at an anime con with a sign saying something to the effect of, "Show us your talent!" And more or less just keep the cameras rolling and record everything that gets in front of the camera. Then take the most entertaining parts and show 'em at HELL.

Yeah, I really hadn't put a lot of thought into it. But now I'm thinking I could build a sort of Photo Booth Kiosk to contain the camera and lighting and microphones and recording bits. It would create a more controled environment and protect the equipment, making it possible to run a full 24 hour day. I could even add a terminal so people could enter in their personal information and and sign off on a EULA for the filmed content.

I need to draw it all out and maybe do some fabrication. I need to build it before I can use it.

And I've really got to get that server up this weekend, too. 50 days 'til my 40th Birthday...


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Thursday, October 05, 2006

1k Project II


I really wanna know how they did this...

Building a Tingler

drawbot

The other day Randy Stewart mentioned that The Tingler would be playing at a local theater. And then this Drawbot shows up the next day on the Makezine Blog. So I'm thinking I need to work out a cheap version of The Tingler for the HELLshow.

The easy part: tape a 9 volt battery to an electric motor with an offset weight attached. The hard part: How do I turn the 'tingler' on from across the room? How do I attach the 'tingler' to the seats? I'll need some sort of container to hold the 'tingler' and attach to chairs. I wonder if there's some sort of cheap rf switch I could use, I really don't want to run wires around the room. Too much of a hassle. Then again rigging multiple seats with tinglers will be something of a hassle. I guess it depends on how badly I wanna play William Castle.

I should start small and just rig up a few chairs in the house. Test it all out...

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

24 Hours 24 Pages 24



Monkey Patrol
Mister Mann and His All-Man Band
The New Brunswick Supersquad


This Saturday starting at Noon at Lone Star Comics Central Arlington. Maybe I'll be there...

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Wish I'd been there...


AWA Saturday/Sunday
Originally uploaded by tohoscope.
I hope everybody got a zine. I hope somebody read the damn thing!

Monday, October 02, 2006

Road to Nashville

 

The Carter Family and Johnny Cash do a couple songs on ROAD TO NASHVILLE. Posted by Picasa

24 Hour Comics dot com

24 Hour Comics dot com: "On October 7th, 2006, cartoonists around the world will face the 24 hour comics challenge. To help these cartoonists, some comic book stores, educational institutions, libraries, businesses, and comics clubs will host special 24 Hour Comics Day events. They'll provide cartoonists with a space to work, access to food and drink, and camaraderie."

If I wasn't so damn lazy...

Make your own Luchador Mask! Posted by Picasa

10 Zen Monkeys Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Fall of Autumn - Zine Distro and Independent Media Resource - Home

Fall of Autumn - Zine Distro and Independent Media Resource - Home

Some good folks. I just got their zine/catalogue in the mail Saturday, short but nicely done. Good stuff...

Dog Bite







More to come...