Gidget, the chihuahua responsible for the sale of millions of colon-cleansing Taco Bell tacos, has passed away. Though in recent years the ad campaign that made her famous had all but disappeared, the pup's ubiquitous catch-phrase "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" remains a part of the everyday pop culture lexicon.
This week's song came to me from the one place I really rarely ever hear new, good music-- the radio! And I don't say that to sound like some pretentious, "I Hate Radio" type of guy. It's just, I never listen to music on he radio. When I'm in my car I listen to one of two things, my iPod or talk radio.
It just so happened that I flipped to the one alternative station in Philly, and surprisingly liked what I heard. The song was "Oscar Wilde" by the featured band, Company of Thieves. It's a good song, but since downloading their self-titled album I've come to discover they have better songs to offer. Case in point, the video below-- "Even in the Dark."
The lead singer, Genevieve Schatz, has a cool style-- sort of a mixture of Fiona Apple and Bjork, two artists I thoroughly enjoy. And this is a band I'd definitely like to check out live sometime soon. If you're so inclined, check out the ret of their self-titled album, it'll be in my iPod loop for a while, I'm sure.
This August will mark the 12th Monster Mania convention in Cherry Hill, NJ. The show-- which is always a good time-- will also feature the long awaited release of the second issue of Monster Mania Magazine. As you can surmise from the picture to the left, this issue will be all Nightmare on Elm Street, all the time.
My article is a retrospective of the entire NOES series (films only-- books, comics, TV, etc. are all covered separately.) Depending on whether the piece was heavily edited or not, it should come in at a hefty 5000 words, or for you non-writer types, almost 20 pages.
Also worth mentioning-- you can now get Monster Mania Magazine at most book stores, including Barnes & Noble. So if you happen to be out grabbing a coffee and a book, support your favorite screenwriter-who-blogs-and-sometimes-writes-for-magazines-- me!
Check out the pics below for some shots of the mag finally on (and hopefully flying off) the shelves!
I came across indie-alt-rockers Dredg (not a misspelling) during one of my daisy chain iTunes hunts for new music. I start with a band I like, and then look at similar suggestions until I find something that catches my eye... or ear, actually.
Their sound is nothing particularly new, falling somewhere between Lydia and The Used. But the tonal shifts and genre crossing does just enough to differentiate them from much of the shit rock bands that are out there right now.
This album has 6 or 7 solid songs and the one below (Saviour) happens to be my favorite. Enjoy.
P.S.-- My iPod is officially broken and I am pissed.
Karl Malden passed away today. He was an awesome actor, and with all of the B.S. reporting about some former pop star clogging up the "media," I thought I'd do my part in making sure he was remembered.
A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Patton AND Dario Argento's Cat O'Nine Tails!
This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I am a huge fan of the banjo. Yup-- the twangy, goofy cousin of the guitar just has some kind of charm that I've always enjoyed.
And though I've known for quite a while now that Steve Martin played the banjo, but when I saw he'd now released his own album I had to give it a shot-- and I'm really glad I did.
If you aren't a fan of bluegrass, and aren't willing to give it a fair shake I'd say you can stop reading about right.... now.
But is you are open to checking out a terrific new album that may be outside of the traditionally popular genres, you've gotta give this one a listen. Beside the catchy, picky tunes that you may expect, Martin has a few that are contemplative, sometimes melancholy and always beautiful--such as the clip I've attached below entitled "Words Unspoken." And his undeniable humorous side also shows up on childhood-themed track "Late for School." Having already more than proved his mastery as both a comedian and a writer, Steve Martin has now shown that he's a damn fine musician as well.
If you're looking for something different, or if you like the clip I've provided, do yourself a favor and check the rest of the album out. I guarantee your toes will be tapping before even the first song is done.
So, apparently Jackie Earle Haley decided to tease the horror fans with a quick tease of the new Freddy Kreuger glove. The picture was supposedly taken by Haley during breakfast on the set of the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot and posted via Twitter.
It doesn't show much, but I figured I'd post it because I am very, very psyched to see how this new take on the NOES series goes. Once Robert Englund was officially off the table when deciding who should portray Freddy, I was pretty disheartened. But it seems Jackie Earle Haley is a pretty good choice, especially in light of his previous two high profile roles: a pedophile in 2005's Little Children and of course Rorschach in this year's Watchmen.
He's a talented guy for sure, and he should do well in the role of the bastard son of 100 maniacs.
The trailer for the new movie Zombieland has just been released. It stars(?) Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg and I have to admit-- I didn't know much about this one before now. I still don't! But I think it looks pretty awesome.
Clearly it's a lighter take on the zombie genre, a la Shaun of the Dead. That's just fine with me. Some of my favorite classic horror films are more comedic in tone (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, anyone?)
Anyhow, take a look at the trailer below. If you liked Shaun of the Dead, or even the Dawn of the Dead remake, this will probably be right up your alley.
Well, it's been a while since I've been able to blog. You know how it is... work, writing, school, and any number of other things. But the good news is I've finally cleared some time to catch up.
First thing's first-- I was in New York two weeks ago and I happened to stop at the mega-comics shop Forbidden Planet. I was there to try to get a copy of The Dylan Dog Case Files (which, if you have never heard of, you should definitely look into.) Anyhow, as I was looking through the
horror section (surprise, surprise) I happened to come across issue #1 of Monster Mania Magazine, right there on the shelf, with my Evil Dead article right smack dab in the middle. Needless to say it was a cool coincidence, seeing as I had no idea that it was even available in NYC. It's also available in many Barnes & Noble book stores. So, if you happen to see it in your travels, for God's sake BUY IT.
And finally, myself and a few friends recently took a road trip to Connecticut for the first ever Monster Mania in Cromwell, CT. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, issue #2 of the magazine was not able to be published before the show, so the teeming masses will have to wait until August for my Nightmare article. Damn. But the show itself was a blast. I even had the opportunity to discuss my Evil Dead article with the ladies of the Evil Dead, which was cool.
So... the blog will be back up and running again starting this week. In the meantime, take a look at this video that somebody put together about last weekend's Monster Mania Convention. Pretty Cool...
I know, I know, "not another Saw film" right? Well, you know what-- I've seen all of the Saw films released so far and if they have one thing going for them it's that they do attempt to be creative with their marketing. For instance, the poster for Saw 5 was supposedly printed with ink that included an infinitesimal amount of series veteran Tobin Bell's actual blood.
And now this... another in the new "web-only" marketing ploys (see: the internet-only poster for Gamer.) The poster is pretty cool-- perhaps not enough to save the sixth iteration of the admittedly tired series-- but it is a cool visual nonetheless.
With this summer shaping up to be pretty solid for horror (Drag Me To Hell, H2, The Collector, etc.), I may just have to see this one in the theater.
This week's song came to me from the one place I really rarely ever hear new, good music-- the radio! And I don't say that to sound like some pretentious, "I Hate Radio" type of guy. It's just, I never listen to music on he radio. When I'm in my car I listen to one of two things, my iPod or talk radio. 
This August will mark the 12th Monster Mania convention in Cherry Hill, NJ. The show-- which is always a good time-- will also feature the long awaited release of the second issue of Monster Mania Magazine. As you can surmise from the picture to the left, this issue will be all Nightmare on Elm Street, all the time. 
Karl Malden passed away today. He was an awesome actor, and with all of the B.S. reporting about some former pop star clogging up the "media," I thought I'd do my part in making sure he was remembered.
So, apparently Jackie Earle Haley decided to tease the horror fans with a quick tease of the new Freddy Kreuger glove. The picture was supposedly taken by Haley during breakfast on the set of the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot and posted via Twitter.
The trailer for the new movie Zombieland has just been released. It stars(?) Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg and I have to admit-- I didn't know much about this one before now. I still don't! But I think it looks pretty awesome. 
Well, it's been a while since I've been able to blog. You know how it is... work, writing, school, and any number of other things. But the good news is I've finally cleared some time to catch up.
horror section (surprise, surprise) I happened to come across issue #1 of Monster Mania Magazine, right there on the shelf, with my Evil Dead article right smack dab in the middle. Needless to say it was a cool coincidence, seeing as I had no idea that it was even available in NYC. It's also available in many Barnes & Noble book stores. So, if you happen to see it in your travels, for God's sake BUY IT.
