Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy halloween 2012!

i'm hosting my annual schlock horror movie fest as i do almost every year, but this year i've extended it in three parts because of moving and the hurricane that slammed the east coast. i choose different movies every year and mix genuine classics with b and c horror films for sh*ts and giggles. the following list is what friends and i viewed for 2012. part 3 happens tonight, halloween, with much merriment in store!


 1. feardot.com is a slick atmospheric film with tons of artistic imagery that's meant for lots of shock, but with little effect. the story has an interesting premise as those who log onto a website with reality-tv style torture become infected with madness until they finally kill themselves in brutal fashions. the police discover the website is possessed by a ghost asking for help.


2. The Werewolf vs Vampire Woman is an early '70s spanish film that's actually a little scary where the werewolf must play the hero and defeat a vampire queen who's wiping out a small village before destroying himself (with help from his one true love, of course).

3. The Gorgon is one of my all-time favorite hammer horror classic films. the movie starts out horrifying as the mystery of who is possessed of the spirit of a gorgon from greek mythology plays through up until the very end. then, unfortunately, the monster shows up and she's well ...

4. The Excorcist 3 has some genuinely terrifying moments and plays as a more direct sequel to the original Exorcist film. george c. scott's performance is exceptional as the detective trying to figure what's real and what's beyond the realm of norm.

5. possibly my favorite film from hitchcock, the film starts out slow, then quickly attacks the viewer as a small new england village is overrun with birds out to take over and put humans in their proper place.

 6. horrible acting! lame special effects! sad, sad music! but the crazy story of a young waitress trying to make it big drew me in. when she finally gets her dream wedding, she should have remembered those who supported her because the "freaks" or her husband's traveling circus  seek revenge.

7. much of the same, but with an '80s twist has a a witch return from the dead of modern time and start slaughtering the decedents of her killers in some unique ways. the sexy (and slutty) sorceress has a city of followers beneath new york city and plans on opening a gateway of hell -- because she can. or can she?

 8. zombies! voodoo! (sort of) beautiful women! what's not to love? i do enjoy that andre morell, who plays sir james forbes, is an over 60 hero who shows that age means nothing when battling the undead.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Superheroes of color

How has the media progressed with positive role models of color? I want your opinion - please check out my post on SWart Studio. I'll be using the collected information for a lesson on comic books, world issues, and popular culture. Thank you!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

I danced and sang (horribly) with bananarama

the culmination of my love affair with the music of bananarama for over twenty years came last night when sara dallin and keren woodward performed at the hardrock cafe in boston! my fiance, joe, arrived early without my knowing and spoke to the fabulous dayna brunelli, head of marketing for the hardrock. joe explained my long time love of the 'nanas and dayna gave us vip seating for the show! we were so close to the stage! s & k performed 13 songs and invited audience members for their venus number!

 sara recognized me out of the crowd (we tweet back and forth occasionally) and pointed to keren who pulled me on stage. unfortunately i had had one too many drinks. being vip we had easy access to the bar, joe had already had one (or two) while waiting for me and I was doing my best to catch up. that combined with my obvious exuberance i was a complete ass -- or adorable dork -- depending on who you ask. while i'm sure people in the audience that i spoke to were just being kind by saying how much fun i was, i saw the video of the performance that joe recorded and well, i wish someone would have politely shoved me to a far corner. instead, keren offered me center stage, which i graciously took, and began to maniacally mimic the routine to the song from the famous video.  i'm also a notorious klutz so of course i bumped into keren's mic stand and then sara's. the humanity! bananarama are true professionals and rolled with it continuing on with the show without pause.

 the show itself was everything i could have hoped for and more. the girls performed many of their classics and several of their modern day hits. i was also pleased to get to know several fellow 'nana fans in the audience. we had a great time singing and dancing! the bouncer guarding the stage was kind enough to slip the girls my copy of the special 30th anniversary edition of the fan magazine, true confessions, which k & s signed. i will treasure it always.

while i wish i hadn't been such a messy drunk, i am glad i was able to see bananarama perform again here in the states. and yes, someone posted a video of my idiocy on youtube. hopefully people will only see the gorgeous women of bananarama and the army of fans, not the fool in the front trying to work the crowd.

*sigh* keren, sara -- if you ever read this, i am SO sorry, but thank you for such an incredibly fun time! i assure you i'm much cooler, you know, when i'm not being a total (drunk) groupie. x

somehow i slipped from singing "venus" into "love in the 1st degree".

keren showed me how to really shake my hips.