Remember my pledge to put a centipede in my pants if 100 copies of my book, Tales of Misery and Imagination, sell by the end of September? Well, if you were holding off because you wanted to read it on your Kindle, your time has come — the book is now available for the fancy Kindle device, and the iPad …
Forbidden World (1982)
(This is an excerpt from my book Unsafe On Any Screen, which collects my review columns from The Weekly Alibi and Monsters At Play — hence the “Videodrome” reference. One of my favorite trashy movies, Forbidden World was recently released on DVD in two versions — the theatrical release, which is reviewed below, and the director’s cut (a.k.a. Mutant), which …
Streaming Bobbie Jo
Lots of new stuff has been turning up on Netflix streaming recently, and today I noticed they’ve added Mark Lester’s Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976). Shot in New Mexico (including plenty of stuff in Albuquerque), Bobbie Jo stars Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman, as if I need to mention that) and the incredibly strange Marjoe Gortner. And, uh, not to …
Crypto-Creature of the Week: The Dover Demon
I tend to have a tough time sleeping, and when I’m lying there in the dark, in the middle of the night, and I hear noises outside — and believe me, where we live, we hear lots of noises outside at night — I always think about this week’s Crypto-Creature, the Dover Demon. This little guy was first spotted in …
The Norseman (1978)
Lee Majors was an awesome bionic man, and a great Fall Guy (not to mention a really good Heath Barkley), but as a Viking, he doesn’t quite cut it. I’ve been wanting to see Charles B. Pierce’s The Norseman (1978) since it was originally released — I mean, just look at that poster art and tell me a 14-year-old kid …
Streetlights? Really?
I was nosing around on various UFO and paranormal sites recently, and on The UFO Iconoclast(s) I found a link to a book review on a site called Reviews of the Mysterious Kind. The book is called Sliders: The Enigma of Streetlight Interference, by Hilary Evans. According to this book, Sliders are people who possess the ability to turn streetlights …
Axe Cop
I realize this is old news, Internetically (Internetually?)-speaking, but Tanzi turned me onto Axe Cop awhile back and I’ve been a fan ever since. Created sort of by accident by Ethan Nicolle, a 29-year-old comic book artist, and his 5-year-old brother Malachai, the webcomic follows the adventures of Axe Cop and his pal Flute Cop (a.k.a.Dinosaur Soldier), among other nutty …
“I’m Always Home – I’m Uncool!”
I know it’s like, totally not cool or hip to like Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000). The movie is sentimental and goofy and everyone hates the “Tiny Dancer” scene. Screw it — I don’t like Almost Famous. I freaking love Almost Famous. I love it because it’s sentimental and goofy, particularly because it’s sentimental and goofy about rock n’ roll …
Crypto-Creature of the Week – The White River Monster
This week we’re taking a look at The White River Monster, a beast that reportedly lurks in the the waters of — you’re way ahead of me on this — the White River in northeastern Arkansas. Although some witnesses have described the monster as being serpent-like, there are reports of three-toed tracks being found on the banks of the river. …
Plaid Stallions
Tanzi and I are big fans of Plaid Stallions, a great 70s pop culture site featuring tons of posts about old coloring books (I’m posting a couple of covers here), department store catalogs (check out the suave outfit the kid is sporting in the photo below), and all kinds of toys, games and other cool stuff. So head on over …
“Like Methadone for Stephen King Addicts.”
The above quote comes from Richard Mueller, who was kind enough to buy a copy of my book Tales of Misery and Imagination at Bubonicon. The line is so good I wish I could go back in time and make it a cover blurb. Remember last month’s dorky promise I made in an attempt to promote my collection of movie …
Friday the 13th: Jason Goes to the Bank
(A bit of history here: back in 2005, I was asked to contribute an article to a book on slasher movies, and was offered the Friday the 13th series of films (not the TV show) as my subject. I wrote the following piece — which obviously pre-dates the 2009 remake or re-imagining or whatever the hell you want to call …
Thunderbird Update
I posted about the phenomenon of the Thunderbird photo a couple weeks ago, and today the fine folks at Phantoms & Monsters have a report on a recent Thunderbird sighting (it occurred on August 26th, so when I say “recent,” I mean very much so). Meanwhile, Cryptozoology Online has a not-so-recent report of a Thunderbird being shot and killed in …
Crypto-Creature of the Week: Honey Island Swamp Monster
This week our cryptid beastie is a stinky fellow known as the Honey Island Swamp Monster. Inhabiting the (wait for it) Honey Island Swamp in southern Louisiana, the creature was first reported in 1974 by a hunter named Harlan Ford. W. Haden Blackman’s Field Guide to North American Monsters describes the Swamp Monster as being 7′-10′ tall, weighing in at 600-800 …
Culver’s Means Full Bellies.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to eat — partly I think my desire for the tasty food stems from being a writer, and anyone who has toiled in those fields will understand when I say there are occasions where we don’t get to eat very much. Or at all. Because of this driving need to consume …