The house is open. I can hear the chatter and laughter from the house side of the drawn main.

Oh look - there's that pig man that I wouldn't waste my spit on if he were on fire.

Hmm...the air smells of hurricane...

Hmm...these are hurricane rains...

Foodstuffs of Hell

Foodstuffs of Hell, originally uploaded by sprouseart.

I came across this online and I just couldn't resist.

It seems that in the 1950's, a special ingredient in VanCamp's Pork and Beans had the ability to snatch your soul from your body and replace it with some demonic nether-force capable of only thinking the most sinister of thoughts. Clearly, this illustration hints at little Timmy's desire to drag Santa behind the wheels of a mid-town bus after cutting the brake cable with his Jr. Swiss Army Knife.

Fortunately, the transformation only seemed to last as long as it took to get to the bottom of the can. Cases were relatively few, due simply to the fact that most folks had no desire to consume and entire can of Pork and Beans in one sitting. So, sprinkling some, say, over a hot dog, resulted in just a tad bit of wickedness. This discovery introduced "Van Camp's Pork and Beans Evil Lite" in the early 70's, but it didn't test well with the public.

And of course, the catchy jingle, 'beans, beans, good for your heart - the more you eat, the longer your soul explores the dark recesses of the pit of hades" inevitably was changed to it's present day low-brow version.

In Memorium...

I read this morning that Dominick Dunne died yesterday at the age of 83. I hadn't known that he was ill, so I found the news surprising. Most of my reading of his works went no father than the article he wrote for Vanity Fair magazine, which I found enjoyable.
As you can see from the article posted here, he had a fascinating life. I also was a fan of his son's (actor Griffin Dunne) work. He stared in some of my favorite films from the 80's including An American Werewolf In London, and the hilarious After Hours, plus he has remained active in film to this day.
I also found it if interest that Dominick Dunne was the father of Dominique Dunne, the young actress who played the oldest sister in the film Poltergeist. She was strangled to death by her abusive boyfriend shortly after the release of the film when she was only 22 years old. The tragic event sent shock waves through the film industry and altered Dominique's life and work forever.


In memorium
Dominick John Dunne
October 29, 1925 - August 26, 2009

Have a nice trip, see ya next fall...

Now this is one unpopular Dad. His wife, children, even the family dog are urgetnly offering him cartons of cigarettes just begging him to take the nicotine highway to eternal sleep. Cigarettes were much cheaper then then now of course and everyone smoked it seemed. In fact, I bet the sweet siblings here are kindly offering cartons from their own stash which they probably purchased themselves at the corner liquor store with change saved up from their lemonade stand.
Though it does seem like a carefully placed banana peel or roller skate on one of the steps would certainly be a quicker, and more cost effective, solution to this unhappy family's troubles.

Did I just see a spirit whisk across the stage behind the main? That would indeed explain quite a bit...

Final song of the show - Somewhere over the Rainbow...

Intermission until 10:21

Prepping for EYECONS and just had a hilarious conversation with Christopher Perterson about Joan Crawford's performance in Johnny Guitar.

Driving in NJ sucks and I'm riding shotgun.

I love the irony in seeing a man in a beat to hell pick up with no back windshield sporting a "Safety Is My Goal" bumper sticker.

On the road for a quick overnight to Philly/NJ. Fortunately going against the beach traffic.

"Compassionate Grounds" WTF??!!

Lockerbie Bomber Freed On Compassionate Grounds
by the ASSOCIATED PRESS

OK, this may prove controversial, but so be it. I have been against the death penalty for so many years that I can't remember when I made the decision and I do consider myself a compassionate person. However, just because I am against the death penalty doesn't mean that I am against punishment for people convicted of heinous crimes. This man was found guilty of over 270 innocent people - people that just happened to be flying to Europe or living in Scotland within the crash arena. It could have been anyone of us or our loved ones. This man, in my opinion, should spend every second of his agonizing and painful condition behind bars where he belongs.

In my opinion, if you really want to punish criminals guilty of a crime worthy of even consideration of being put to death, throw their ass into some hell-hole prison for the rest of their days. While most pro-death penalty folks like the "cushy life behind bars" myth, all it takes it to watch a few real-life documentaries about prison life to see what it's really about. There's a strong chance that some of these people may not leave the prison alive in any case, and I can assure you that that death would be much less compassionate than lethal injection..

Wow. Finally caughty up on sleep. This morniing has a good look and feel to it and I get to visit friends down Philly way to boot.

Julie and Julia

Last night, my partner and I went to the local theatre to watch the 9:10 PM showing of Julie and Julia. It's the first film that I've seen in a theatre in quite some time being that I am so turned off by the ever growing price for admission to most movie theatres, not to mention concessions which I avoid like the plague. I happened to have a gift certificate that had been given to me for my birthday just 3 months ago good for two admissions. Not surprisingly, the price jumped from 8 dollars a ticket from 3 months ago to 10 dollars now so the gift certificate had become more of a discount coupon in a very short amount of time. I wanted to use it initially to see the latest Star Trek flick which didn't happen due to a rather intense schedule that I was juggling at the time. Then, I wanted to use it to see the latest Johnny Depp flick ( the name of which escapes me for the moment), but again - scheduling issues and the fact that it seemed to screen here for about 5 minutes. Nevertheless, it still only costs 2 bucks to watch the film.

So, Julie and Julia it was. As we were standing in line, we watched the previous viewers exit the theatre as they have to walk en mass pass us yet to view the film. Most of them seemed enthusiastic and a few even did the old "thumbs up" gesture. The problem was, we realized that two separate films were exiting at the same time - the new harry Potter flick and Julie and Julia. So, which films were they thumbing up? This question became particularly prescient after one exuberant fellow bellowed "You're gonna love it!". The crowd was moving too quickly to ask in passing, "Wait! What will I love?" and by the time our line began it's procession to theatre # 2, we had abandoned the idea of trying to guess who had just seen what.

Julie and Julia turned out to be a gem of a film with just a touch of schmaltziness as is to be expected in many Nora Ephron films (You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seatle - though it's an interesting tid bit that she also directed Streep in Silkwood - one of the most brilliant films of Streeps careeer in my opinion). The film is composed of two stories melded together - Julia Child's journey from bored Paris based wife of a charming diplomat in the early 1950's into that of an internationally adored chef against Julie Powell's journey through the creation of a blog documenting her process of cooking every recipe in Child's cooking masterpiece "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" within the period of one year.

Of course, Streep is simply brilliant as Julia Child as is Stanley Tucci in the role of her husband Paul Child. Amy Adams as Julie Powell and Chris Messina as her husband Eric are enjoyable on film togther and "sweet", but frankly not as compelling in the film as the segments that focus on Julia's story in my opinion. In fact, I could have watched an entire film with Streep portraying Child and have been enthralled. Of course, I would be enthralled to watch her read the back of a cereal box.

Is it an enjoyable film? Absolutely. It's cheery, humorous, uplifting, and witty and very romantic. Could you wait to watch it at home on DVD? Yes. But, if you're looking for something romantic and sweet to do with your mate on a date night, or if you like big screen versions of perfect "chick flicks" then this is worth the extra money.

Just skip the popcorn and soda.

POWER WALK

I am glad to say that I have returned to my morning 2 mile power walks after a brief respite. I can't accent enough the benefits from them. When I say power walk - I mean, sweat dripping, leg grinding, move your ass power walk. Of course, I use some motivational music on my IPod Nano to assist in my task. Here is my current Power Walk music list -

1. "Ain't No Other Man" - Chirstina Aguilera Simply one kick-ass song that no normal person can resist moving to. Love this tune! Love it. Once it kicks in after the first few seconds, it doesn't stop. Added bonus - it's dripping with sexiness
2. "Bang A Gong" - T. Rex A classic. Sexy. Great beat. Great lyrics. T. Rex. Need I say more?
3. "Can't Get The Blue Monday Out Of My Head" DJ Kris Extended Club remix - Kylie Minougue vs. New Order While I don't have a link to this remix version posted, you can still see why this is easy to move to. As soon as Kylie's "nah na nahs" begin - you're hooked.
4. "D.A.N.C.E." Justice Mstrkrft Remix. My brother Nick turned me onto this great tune. First, it makes you move. Second, I love the sound of the British children's choir singing the lyrics a la Brick In The Wall only with a beat and pure fun. Watch the video and you'll be hooked too.
5. "Don't Leave Me This Way" George Benson - Pure disco genius with almost orgasmic sounding lyrics a la the divine Thelma Houston. Possibly my favorite disco song next to and maybe ahead of Shame.
6. "Electric City" Black Eye Peas Sound selector activate your transistor... Another great get off your ass tune.
7. "Flathead" The Fratellis Oh what a great song with a super kick back to my post punk days with a heavy dose of the Violent Femmes tossed in for good measure ( think - Day After Day)
8. "Love Hangover" Diana Ross - dance remix - There are a million remixes available to this fantastic and super SEXY song. Pick your favorite. The one I have a link to here isn't the one I use, but it's not bad. Not bad at all...
9. "I'm A Believer" The Monkees A throw back to my childhood? Yes. Great to move to. Absolutely.
   
10. "Paint It Black" The Rolling Stones. A throw back to my childhood? Yes. Great to move to. Absolutely.One of my favorite R&R songs of all time. Without. A. Doubt.
11. "Poker Face" Lady GaGa Hot Woman. Hot Song. Hot Video. Easy to move to.
12. "Renagade" Styx Some may think this is an odd choice - but after the intro vocal this kicks into high gear and stays. Another kick back to my childhood? Yes - but more like my early teens. Classic rock song.
13. "Shut Up And Drive" Rihanna Oh this song is HOT. Great to move to! Now shut up and drive.
14. "Somebody Told Me" The Killers Again - such a great song to pipe into your ers when working out. Great beat. Great lyrics. Great hook. Great chorus.
    
15. "Stamp Your Feet" Donna Summer Love this diva and am so glad that she is still making music. This carries a steady beat for power walking. Uplifting lyrics - and come on... it's Donna Summer.
16. "Talk To Me" Peaches - Oh do I love this song. Sexy. Great beat. This makes me want to shake my money maker - whatever that is. Seriously - it has a great beat to power walk to and feel good about it at the same time.
17. "What I Like About You" The Romantics. A true classic from the 80's. I remember thrashing to this in the clubs in the way back machine. I wonder if my friend Helen still has those high tops that she had them sign after the show...
    

Don't you hate it when....

This just happened 2 minutes ago. I pick up my phone to call a close friend that I was to have heard from by now.
Dial number.
Phone rings.
Friend answers.
ME: "Hey man, how's it going?"
FRIEND: (with a very stressed out tone in voice) "Terrible...I just lost my - oh crap - I have to call you back."
CLICK
end of conversation.
Man, I hate it then that happens...