Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Maryland Cornholin'


Apparently, Maryland now holds a Cornhole Cup & Beerfest competition every year. Will someone please explain this phenomenon to me? Because everytime I hear the word "cornhole" I snicker like Beavis and Butthead ("I am Cornholio!"). At the very least, I think they should consider changing the name, because when I hear the word "cornhole" I envision hillbillies pulling down Ned Beatty's tighty whiteys in Deliverance and...well, it's not a pretty picture. I mean, how many words have such a diverse definition, one referring to a bean-bag tossing variation on the game of horsehoes, the other referring to backdoor lovin'? The cornhole game is also known as "tailgate tossing," but since Brits call people who stroke their John Thomas "tossers," this too takes on a randy meaning!


No way I can wear this shirt!

Related Links:
Corn-hole (Online Slang Dictionary)
Cornhole (Wikipedia)
Cornhole 101

Katrina still remembers the day Big B helped her

The Bachchan bahu, Aishwarya Rai, and Katrina Kaif might not be sharing great vibes but not many know that Amitabh had helped Kat during her first film, Kaizad Gustad's Boom.

Katrina recently met Big B at the GQ awards in Mumbai. "Katrina stabbed a 'hey it's me' finger on my shoulder and we recollected the old times," Bachchan writes in his blog entry.

"The time of her very first film, Boom, and how, as a shy reticent girl, she had been bullied by the director not to ever look (at herself) in the monitor," the superstar says.

He added how Kat was "new and uncertain like most of us, but was keen to see what she looked like on screen".

"I thought it was a most natural and common desire and one that should have been allowed by the director...

I had dragged her to the monitor and given her the first look of what she looked like. To her credit, she still remembers that moment," he writes.

Interestingly, Katrina was also denied entry at a club in Dubai as she was thought to be underage. "I recollect the embarrassment she and all of us faced when she was stopped from going inside a club because the man ( at) the door thought her to be underage," Bachchan adds. "And now, from a small insignificant part in Sarkar to the most googled and popular star in the firmament, Ms Kaif has come such a long way in such a short time," Big B says.

Salman's sweet - Bebo

That Salman Khan is all about “Being Human” is Known. But here is proof that the dildar Pathan is more than generous as well.

And the recipient of his generosity was the beautiful Kareena Kapoor, Salman’s co-star in Main Aur Mrs. Khanna.

In Melbourne on the shoot, the two stars who are friends would always be laughing, cracking jokes and having fun.

And when pack-up was announced, Kareena would often go shopping. Once, Salman accompanied her to carry the bags!

At one particular store, Bebo went on a shopping spree, picking up things for friends, family and herself.

When she went to settle the bill, she was zapped to be told her that it was already paid. Seeing Salman grinning from ear-to-ear, Kareena realised who her benefactor was. Of the things that Salman apparently ‘gifted’ her was a limited edition bag worth Rs 2. 5 lakh! She uses the bag in the film too. When asked about the incident, Kareena replied, “Salman’s generosity cannot be matched. It was a very sweet gesture on his part. He is a wonderful person at heart.

Rani Mukherjee & Kajol celebrate Durga Puja

The Bong beauties of Bollywood, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee, celebrated Durga Puja at Balkanji Bari in Santa Cruz West on Thursday.The Puja was organized by the North Bombay Sarbhajanin Durga Puja Charitable Trust and the set was designed by Amit Pal and was graced by a 13-feet tall Durga idol.

The celebrations also included the veteran actress Moushumi Chatterjee who said, “This isn’t just a Mukherjee’s puja for celebrities. It’s for the working class. We do our utmost to bring all communities together.

I request the new generation to be humble and inclusive of all.” Debu Mukherjee, secretary of the trust added, “This puja is a gharelu (domestic) puja. Kajol and Rani grew up here. So we don’t think they are celebrities. It’s like a house party for them.”

Blue promises never-seen-before visuals and stunts

Akshay Kumar says when “Blue” director Anthony D’Souza approached him for the underwater thriller, the first thing he asked him was “Are you capable of making the movie?”.

Touted to be India’s first underwater film, which is said to match international standards of filmmaking, “Blue” promises to bring with it some never-seen-before visuals and stunts.

“The first thing I did was to look straight into his eyes and ask him - ‘Do you actually think you are capable enough of making a film of this scale, genre and setting?

You may say that you want to shoot the film in space or on the moon, but saying something and doing it are two different things.

So how will you actually shoot the film?.” As things turned out, D’Souza had done his homework well in advance and showed some of his work from.

The past, which included certain advertisements he had directed as well as some groundwork on “Blue”.

“Honestly, it all led me to at least start lending an ear to him. I became further interested in knowing how he was going to execute ‘Blue’,” Akshay told IANS. “After all there were going to be extreme stunts in it and that too under water. Then Tony (D’Souza) also showed me the work of the DOP (director of photography) Pete Zuccarini.

“He is the same guy who has also shot ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. He even made me talk to him and once I did that, I was quite satisfied that at least Tony had his heart in the right place and he had done his homework well.” Once on board, Akshay wasn’t too worried about the fact that a film like “Blue” had never been attempted before on the Indian screen.

“I am sure that it would be legendary in its own way. Let’s see how the box office treats, but while doing the film we went all out for ‘Blue’. Making a film like this is no joke in any case. “With the backdrop of a treasure hunt to it, it involves real sharks and all. I had to go through some training, take diving lessons and earn a certificate for myself because without that you are not allowed to enter sea.”

But that’s not all. Akshay had to get back to reading after years — but this time under water. “Can you beat that? I had to read books around underwater. Tony made me do so much for this film. It was further hard work because there are minimal special effects. In fact, not a single shot has been taken against a green screen.

“My cameraman, Peter Zuccarini, who is famous for underwater swimming, also helped me a lot. I thought I knew swimming so it would be easy but this man taught me how to ‘belong’ to underwater. That’s the kind of encouragement I was looking for.” Also starring Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan along with Katrina Kaif and Kylie Minogue, “Blue” is produced by Dhillin Mehta and has music by A.R. Rahman. It is set to release Oct 16.

Aishwarya and Abhishek tell Oprah that living with parents was natural, normal

Bollywood’s world famous couple megastars Aishwarya Rai & Abhishek Bachchan live with Abhishek’s parents, the couple told “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on September 28.

With about five billion fans globally, Filmfare Award winners Aishwarya Rai (Devdas), 35, and Abhishek Bachchan (Bunty Aur Babli), 33, described.

It as normal and absolutely natural. Abhishek’s grandparents also lived with them before they passed away.

They have to abide by few household rules also like having one meal a day together if everybody is in Mumbai, where they live.

When they have time for themselves (they appear in five-six movies a year, as compared to one-two films of Hollywood actors), they spend it at home with each other, family and friends, instead of going to exotic places.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed applauded the couple for highlighting Hindu traditions and respect for the parents, who are revered in Hinduism. The Oprah Winfrey Show, a syndicated talk show, is the highest-rated talk show in American television history.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Jennifer's Body

You may remember Diablo Cody as the screenwriter of Juno, 2007's smash indie hit starring Ellen Page as a young, whip smart high school student who just happens to get knocked up. I, however, have still not seen Juno. I realize this is problematic and I promise to rectify this situation as soon as possible.

Fortunately this is a review of Diablo Cody's newest offering, Jennifer's Body. The New York Times, in an interesting but belated article called "Girls Gone Gory," describes the surge in horror films geared towards young women. These films are simultaneously scary and empowering, featuring women who find power by overcoming or becoming evil.

Too bad Heathers hit the nail on the coffin way back in 1988. A Mean Girls cum Friday the 13th murderous high school romp starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, is really the jumping off point for films like Jawbreaker (1999), Jennifer's Body, and countless others.

So, now that the shout out to Heathers is done, on to the film at hand. Jennifer, played by the unbelievably smokin' Megan Fox, is that girl, the one every girl wants to be, and every guy wants to be with. Inexplicably, Megan has chosen "Needy," (Amanda Seyfried) as her BFF, even though, true to her name, Needy is a bit clingy and nerdy.

But Jennifer needs a wing-man, and Needy's perfect for the job. That way, Jennifer doesn't have to worry about competition when it comes to seducing "salty" dudes. Unfortunately for Needy (and for Jennifer) the cheesy ass emo boy band they go to see ends up burning down the bar and abducting Jennifer, driving off in their van. Jennifer shows up later at Needy's doorstep looking like this:

Ouch.

Jennifer's become some sort of monster, who feels weak and strange unless she's full. And full means she's got a belly full of teenage boy.

So there's the "scary" stuff.

The real scary stuff, however, is the relationship between Jennifer and Needy. Jennifer's never really been a good friend to Needy, and since becoming un-human she's even less sympathetic. The shit really hits the fan when Jennifer goes after Needy's adorable boyfriend, Chip. Then the movie becomes an all and all cat-fight between the living and the undead.

Now, I know all of this is entertaining and results in a fair amount of comedy gold. But what I'd like to ask Diablo Cody is: why is Jennifer punished for her bad behavior? She's technically a victim, after all. And why the hell can't we see a movie where Needy might prevail? Or, even better, a movie where Jennifer and Needy rule the world? Or at least their high school?

The title of this movie says it all. Horror movies, even those written by women, still have a way to go when it comes to girl power. The ultimate girl power, to me, would be watching two lady friends triumph over evil by working together. And yeah, women fight, but it would be cool for once if it we weren't using the same subversive, sexist violence to fight each other.

Lick it up baby, lick it up.

SOPHIE MONK - Looks Hot in Black !




Whoops, this never happens when I go to the beach !


THE NILES LESH PROJECT - All Rights Reserved 2009

KJo to pair up SRK-Katrina?

Filmmaker Karan Johar has hinted signing on Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif for his next movie.

The director was quoted by a news channel saying that Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif are the most romantic actors in Bollywood.

When he was further asked whether he would like to pair them up, the filmmaker didn't weed out the possibility.

Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan are also said to be working together in a Yash Chopra movie. If this happens.

It might as well be the end of cold war between Sallu and SRK. Salman is already throwing hints regarding the patch-up.

He praised King Khan on his show Dus Ka Dum, saying he has high regards for the actor professionally.

Also, Salman said in an interview once that he won't have any problem if Katrina works with Shah Rukh. Well, we also want your war to be a history Khans!

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya on Oprah Winfrey

I already told you about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan’s apperance on CBS’s daytime hit program.

The Oprah Winfrey Show in an episode taped earlier this month. Well today is the big day for the Bollywood couple as their first television interview together will air!

Ash came on the popular U.S. talk show in 2007 where she talked about plastic surgery and dressed Oprah in a pink saree!

This time she donned a white and brown saree and brought her hunky hubby! Oprah seemed very excited to meet.

The Bollywood big shots and even called them "the most famous movie star couple on the planet!" Wow! Not bad coming from the Queen of talk shows!

The pretty pair dished on their marriage and how Abhi "popped the question to the most beautiful woman in the world!" They even shared an Oprah Winfrey exclusive on-screen kiss! So check out the promo and let me know what you think; are you going to watch Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan on The Oprah Winfrey Show? Let me know!

Hrithik & Priyanka Indian Youth Icons

The Youth Icon Awards was recently held in Gurgaon at the Leela Kempinski Hotel. The event was studded with.

The presence of several celebrities like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Shabana Azmi, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Dia Mirza, Rahul Bose, Irrfan Khan, R Madhavan, Madhur Bhandarkar, Usha Uthup, Mohit Chauhan and Sayali Bhagat.

The event was organised by Wizcraft Entertainment and Videocon, with a view to honour individuals for their contribution.

In various fields like entertainment, media, social welfare and justice, technology, business and sports.

The Indian Youth Icon of the Year Award was won by Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra in the entertainment category while Rahul Bose won the title of youth icon for his contribution in social work. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan bagged the ‘Global Face of the Year’ award while Deepika Padukone won the ‘Fashion Icon of the Year’.

Amrita Rao celebrates Navratri

Bollywood's celebrated youth icon and stylish actress, Amrita Rao, was captured in a festive mood on the sets of the reality show Perfect Bride on Star Plus.

The residents of the house created an immediate connect with Poonam from Vivaah after seeing Amrita.

In traditional gear. One look at her, and it's instantly evident why this sassy damsel efortlessly adopts new fashion avatars!

While there, Amrita performed the Durga Puja with all the other lovely ladies of the house before proceeding to dance Dandiya Raas.

She was seen spending exclusive time with the mothers and the boys who seemed smitten with her desi look. One of the Gujarati mothers seemed so fascinated by Amrita that she gifted Amrita an ancestral jewel that she was wearing. On this auspicious occasion, Amrita Rao said, 'Perfect Bride is more than a reality show. It is a wholesome experience where I am unravelling a whole new me. I initially started off as just a mentor who guided the young ladies and today, I have achieved humoungous accolades for being a great friend, daughter and sister in the house.

Bollywood's beautiful Twitter queen, Mallika Sherawat - Exclusive interview

I wrote recently about Mallika Sherawat, currently regarded by many as the hottest actress in Bollywood, and her role in the new Jennifer Lynch movie Hisss.

She is responsible for many Bollywood fans taking to Twitter (Mallika's Twitter virgins!). Mallika revealed some of her Twitter secrets such as who her best Twitter friend is and also talked about serious issues such as racism.

In the US and the Shah Rukh incidentWho are you closest to in your family ? Who is your boyfriend ? Best friend ? Best Twitter friend ? Who do you admire ?

I have a brother, Vikram, who is also one of my best friends, and he manages most of my work that I don't.

(I just like being the creative one;) I also tied a rakhi around an American bro this year, he's a good friend and has really helped navigate the Hollywood scene which is alot like Bollywood in some ways, and *very* different in others.

My best Twitter friend is probably @JesseBDylan, we DM (direct message) each other alot. In fact, I think he actually decided to develop the project for me while "tweeting" each other! [(Jesse is Bob Dylan's son and director of "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, "American Wedding", and "How High") is developing a project for her, specifically for the US market)

I guess my best "public" Twitter friend goes by the name of RagsTweets, he started a whole blog about my tweets and contests and all sorts of stuff, and he's a really cool guy. And my biggest Twitter fan has to be @chandu4M, he's been that for years and Twitter made it possible to get to know the guy a bit
and he's such a sweetheart.

I admire so many people, in many different fields, East and West-- but I'll keep it short. As far as actresses past and present: Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, and my fellow exotic contemporaries Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. AR Rahman.

"Civilians" (non-Entertainment industry people) like Gandhi and the Yogis:) Who is the Bollywood actor she has a crush on ? Hollywood actor ? Haha, a lady never tells! And I wouldn't want any of the others to get jealous;)Let's put it this way, if I were doing a blockbuster crowd-pleaser it would be with SRK, an epic style classic with Aamir Khan, a sexy drama with Hrithik Roshan and a gangster comedy with Sallu! And the guys more my age like Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor are really doing great, I'm loving their films. In America, there's many guys I'd love to work with, especially Edward Norton, I think he's a brilliant actor.



Lots of women want to look as good as you do. Do you have any make up or diet tips for your fans ? I go all organic vegetarian, lot of fruits and water! I workout daily, the usual "star" stuff:) I get plenty of sleep, I think that helps, too. And I never go outside without my parasol to lessen the sun rays to the skin.

Yes, my friends make fun of me but I know it works, and what works on camera works for me:) As far as makeup, I've started switching it up a bit, experimenting with more products I found on Rodeo Drive;) Was Shah Rukh Khan discriminated against ? Or were the airport staff just doing their job ? What do you think ?

If I had a good role for every time I was stopped and frisked at an international airport, there'd be no actresses left in both Bollywood and Hollywood! Now, it may be for different reasons they frisk me than
they do SRK;) but every culture does the airport security thing the way they feel they have to, and sometimes it may feel unfair in the moment, but in the end I think it's more common as an annoyance than outright discrimination. I know someone who talked to SRK when it happened. My friend said he was very cool about it.

The press went wild with it because that's what they do. Here's the biggest star in the world, who happens to be of a Muslim background, held up in an American airport right after 20th Century Fox announced all over the world that it would be distributing his terrorist-themed comedy movie! Priceless. You are like many of us - both Westernized and Indian, and spending time abroad and in India. Do you have difficulty reconciling the two?

Both cultures have so much good to borrow from, I'm finding it almost natural to live in both worlds at the same time. I guess I'm a real global gal now:) There are of course differences that come up and maybe make things a little more "interesting"-- but I have fun trying to find the common ground. Because of this, I've been told that I'm a good go-between for Bollywood and Hollywood.

I grew up in Bollywood, and always loved Hollywood films, especially the classics during the "Golden Age." And as a little girl watching Bollywood films, I always thought that it would be much more fun and interesting to play the hero's part! Maybe that's why I've gotten the reputation in India for being "edgy" and outrageous. And I'll be completely honest, Hollywood has better roles for women than Bollywood does, at least right now.

Tell us about your school and college days - where did you go to school and what was it like ? I have a degree in Philosophy from Miranda House in Delhi. Looking back, I was so serious in school. If I had to do it all over again, maybe I would have tried out some other subjects instead of being buried in philosophy books the whole time. Then again, I guess it made me who I am, and I'm feeling pretty okay with myself. There's always room for improvement, but I definitely feel I'm headed in the right direction.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Horrorfind Weekend in Death Valley


Horrorfind Weekend: The Spookiest Show On Earth

Horrorfind Weekend
September 25-27
Hunt Valley Marriott
www.horrorfindweekend.com

I had nothing better to do this past Sunday so I headed out to Hunt Valley (formerly known as "Death Valley" in the days before the mall got injected with steroids in the form of Wegmen's, the Regal Cinemas multiplex, and all those new retail "shoppes") for the Horrorfind Weekend horror fan convention. I'm not a horror or gore hound by any means, but I do like to check out the obscure cult, foreign and sci-fi movie bootlegs that are offer in the dealer rooms there - plus my ever-shrinking libido doesn't mind looking at the all the pale-faced tatted-and-pierced Goth babes (who are instinctively drawn to horror and gore like moths to the flame) in their Betty Page 'dos, platform heels, and form-fitting leather clothing so tight their naughty bits are almost hermetically sealed.


"Which way to the Dealer's Room?
We heard there are some pale gore hunks there!"


Of course, some lost "Simpsons Comic Book Guy" souls actually go to these events to meet and get their photos taken with washed-up celebrities like Margot Kidder (who looks like a homeless person you'd see pandhandling outside at the downtown library), Corbin Bernsen of L.A. Law (who I didn't even notice because, in my friend's spot-on description, he was "that bald guy sitting in the corner with his face buried in his Blackberry") or even scraping-the-bottom-of-the-name-recognition-barrel celebs like the Z-list actors who will forever be known as "the black guy in Ghostbusters" (for the record: his name is Ernie Hudson) or "the black guy from Night of the Living Dead (Ken Foree).


"Wait - the black guy from Ghostbusters is here?!?"

OK, I will admit this year I was kinda interested in seeing Danny Trejo - the pock-faced, tough-skinned Latino bit player who's made a career out of playing bikers, druggies and assorted badasses (not to mention "Carlos Santana" in Delta Farce!), most recent high-profiled as the star of the bogus movie "Machete" in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. I later saw "Machete" lobby cards and posters for sale in the dealer room, which makes sense because the Machete trailer spoof was so popular in Planet Terror that Rodriquez decided to make a real movie of that name starring Danny Trejo (tagline: "They fucked with the wrong Mexican!"); it's due out sometime next year.


Looking Sharp: Danny Trajo is...Machete!

Walking across the parking lot on my way in, I spied a spiffy looking black hearse. My first thought was that it was Chris X of Reptilian Records back in town from his Satanic honeymoon (he was recently married on 9-9-09 after missing out on making his vows on 6-6-06), but it was actually "Queen of Ghouls" Kim Yates of Kim's Krypt ("We'll scare the living yell out of you!") rolling uptown in style from her Dundalk domain. (By the way, her '68 Cadillac Crown Superior hearse is available for rental.)


Dundalk Representing: The Kim's Krypt Hearse


Kim's Hearse: Gettin' its full-frontal hood-on

I later saw Kim outside the dealer's room and asked her if she escaped any flooding from the September 18th broken water main deluge in Dundalk. She did, then proceeded to try and get me to buy her band's CD. Kim started out doing a Halloween-themed Haunted House but now offers family-oriented thrills for Kryptmas, Valentine's (Massacre) Day, and Friday the 13th, though no word on Yom Kippur as of yet (not a big demand for that in Dundalk I 'spose). Charismatic Kim is always "on" like a carnival pitchman, while her female "partner" Lil' Angie silently mans the merchandise table, the two as different as night and day. I gotta make a note to get down to Kim's Haunted House at the Merritt Park Shopping Center this Halloween and visit her crew, which includes her pets Boo "The Dog that Eats His Own Poo" and Spooky "The Exorcist Cat That Eats Rats." Even Alice Cooper is a fan of Kim's Krypt!



In Like Skint

I think they charge $20 to get in, but no one stopped me when I walked in - and I walked very slowly with my hand clasped around a $20 waiting for someone to greet/accost me - and, well, this Fanboy About Town has places to go and people to see! (Besides, I think the cashier chick was too busy texting away on her cell phone - today's Youth are very easily distracted).

Almost as soon as I entered the dealer's room, I ran into my Frederick, MD-based artist friend Steve Blickenstaff and his lovely wife Pingzhen, who had a table there.


The Blissful Blickenstaffs, beaming

Steve is most famous for his Good Music For Bad People album cover for The Cramps...



...but he's also done created artwork for They Might Be Giants, Thin White Rope, and even local blood-sucking surf-rockers The Atomic Mosquitos (with whom he plays theremin). Steve's wild Basil Wolverton-meets-Big Daddy Roth-&-Robert Williams-style art celebrates everything I love about monster, alien, zombie, and Pin-Up Gal kitsch.


Blickenstaff's usual suspects


Blickenstaff's art is an eyeful!


Steve's "Guitar World" illustration

Steve really knows how to market himself (it's surprising how few artists do), offering his work in every size, shape, and price range - from $1 pins and stickers to paintings in the low $$ hundreds. And accessories! Pendants (I bought a Ghoul Girl cameo for my GF), wall clocks (I bought one for the kitchen), keychains, you name it, he's got it. Check out his amazing artwork at www.stephenblickenstaff.com.

At the next table I heard what sounded like a bug zapper, but instead it was a tattoo artist inking some design on the back of a dude's leg.


Inkers were on hand to Tattoo You

There were actually two tattoo vendors in the dealer's room. That's a new trend. A bunch of inked babes in fetish gear were working the other table down the aisle. I fought the temptation.

At the Horror-101.com table I was watching a screener of the locally-produced Cannibal Holocaust spoof Isle of the Damned (available from direwitfilms.com)...



... when a voice behind me said, "You really should buy this, Tom!" Looking around it was my Facebook friend Armando Valle...in the flesh! Armando's not only a film geek, he also likes the same music as me. he filled me in on what a great show the Pet Shop Boys put on at D.C.'s Constitution Hall on a rare tour this past summer.


Professor Warner (note granny glasses) finally met his
Facebook virtual friend Armando Valle in the flesh
at the Horror-101.com booth


But the highlight of the dealer's room awaited me right across from this table, where I saw a guy selling a cornucopia of film and TV-related ID badges. As a Lost fan, I had to pony up for a couple of Dharma Initative Parking Permits...


Perfect for a VW Bus!

...and as a media maven about metropolitanland I had to grab the Jimmy Olsen Daily Planet press badge (no doubt it'll help me get into this week's Comic-Con for free, too!).


Cub reporter Jimmy Olsen press badge

The guy also had some nice Blade Runner IDs, including a "Spinner Operator's Permit" badge but I don't look enough like Harrison Ford to pull it off.


Deckard says "Come Fly With Me"

Right around the corner a guy had a great bootleg DVD table where I found Penelope Spheeris' The Decline of Western Civilization and The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years packaged together for $10.


Declines I & II: One for each ear

Though I have multiple copies of both films on video and DVD, the quality was so good I had to pick it up; it looked like it was taken directly from a laserdisc. (I just wish I hadn't been so tight-fisted and am now regretting not picking up two rare and out-of-print items, namely former Saturday Night Live writer Michael Donohue's Mr. Mike's Mondo Video 1979 TV special and Alejandro Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre. Doh! Oh well, there's always Comic-Con this weekend...)


The ones that got away...

As I was walking away from this table I almost bumped into...Danny Trejo, who had just strolled in with some young babe with Pepto Bismol-pink hair.

"Danny Trejo!" I blurted, showcasing my flair for the obvious. "I loved you in that movie you made with Patricia Arquette," I blathered away. His face squinched up as he drew a blank, no doubt because, retard that I am, I was confusing Patricia Arquette with Maggie Gyllenhaal in the 2006 rehab movie Sherrybaby, in which Danny plays 12-step veteran Dean Walker (a good guy for a change!) who meets Gyllenhaal at an NA Meeting. But Danny sympathized with the mentally challenged and graciously agreed to let his pink-haired friend snap my photo standing next to him. Wow, I never realized what a little guy this badass is!


"Delicate" Danny Trejo with "Testosterone-Teeming" Tom Warner

It's funny, I had just screened The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years at the Enoch Pratt Central Library the day before and commented that I didn't know anyone who had seen Penelope Spheeris' even rarer 1998 followup The Decline of Western Civilization Part III. Well, I found a copy at another vendor's table on the other end of dealer's the room.


Decline Part III

I passed, since it featured bands I had never heard of (Litmus Green, Naked Agression, Final Conflict, The Resistance), but it was there along with the other two voumes of Spheeris' music doc trilogy. I felt like calling up my friend Paul Wegweiser and telling him about the bounty of Decline of Western Civilization DVDs (Paul has searched for the original for years!). It was right next to The Complete Howard Stern Show on Channel 9-WOR bootleg (too expensive at $70) and the Japanese live-action manga adaptation of Rapeman (too disgusting). Spying a boot of The Complete Parker Lewis Can't Lose, I had to tell the young vendor that it had finally been given an official release so he might want to pull it now.

I mosied over to the adjacent table, a vendor from Michigan for a company called Monsters Among Us (www.monstersamongus.net), who had an amazing collection of pristine laserdiscs - still the best visual medium for watching movies (even though, like LPs, you have to flip sides) - in addition to an impressive array of cult LPs (natch), monster magazines, old Playboys, and even some vintage copies of Movie Club, the local movie mag produced between 1993 and 1997 by Baltimore's late great B-movie king Don Dohler. (Blood, Boobs & Beast, a documentary about Dohler that premiered at the 2007 Maryland Film Festival, is now available for purchase on Amazon.com.)


Don Dohler's legacy was in da house!

Right next door to this guy's table I saw a painted-by-numbers Hipster Doofus (well-trimmed goutee, Colonel Sanders glasses, Sinatra fedora, racetrack shirt hanging over his beer belly) holding an expensive mini-digital camcorder and interviewing some artist's crotch. "So, Mr. [name]'s crotch, tell us about your art, blah blah blah." How utterly fascinating!


Hipster paparazzi, representin'

God, there but for the grace of Atomic TV go I, I thought. This schmuck took glib to levels even I hadn't descended. The guy he was interviewing actually had some cool t-shirts for sale. I liked the one of Baltimore's Bromo Seltzer Tower with a bunch of guns jutting out of it. Since I recently read about a Hopkins student who killed a burglar with a samurai sword, I expect an update in next year's tee.

Harm City, representing, horror/gore-style!

Thoughts on Mad Men




Until several weeks ago, I had not seen a single episode of Mad Men. This fact does not stem from my inherent snobishness over popularly consumed media, but rather because when the show began I did not have cable television, and by the time friends invited me over to see the series, I felt I was already too far behind to catch up.

When season three premiered, my boyfriend and I both expressed interest in watching the show from the beginning and we were delighted to discover that Netflix offered Seasons 1 and 2. And so we began to watch.

Right off the bat, I found myself depressed and disturbed at the end of each episode. Mostly because of blatant and unrelenting misogyny, that, while I've no doubt is entirely accurate of the time period, left me feeling so upset that several nights after viewing I could not sleep.

And the female characters aren't the only ones who are trapped - most of the men at Sterling Cooper waffle back and forth between rapists and o.k. guys - their complete and total lack of respect for the women in the office and in their personal lives stemming from some cycle of masculine insecurity and violence that none are willing to step outside of. I find the show, in general, tragic and extremely difficult to watch.

I have to wonder if the popularity of the series stems not from its incredible art direction: including an obscene attention to detail in costumes, setting and the characters behaviors that borders on insanity, but rather from its' audience's deep-seeded enjoyment on entering a world that is perhaps not-so-long-gone, in which women are the victims of sexual abuse practically by the minute, and men ticking alcoholic time bombs.

Being only ten episodes into Season 1 [so no spoilers, please!] I have to hope that the women (and by proxy, the men) come to have some positive agency on the show - that they can at least attempt to overcome the crimes perpetrated against them, even if they don't succeed. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on the show: why you love it, why you don't, if you're a feminist how you deal with the disgusting culture that permeates every single moment, and why you think it's the best thing on television (or not).