Interesting Magnets and Coffins at a Craft Fair

 

By Jason Harris

 

I have been to many craft fairs as a patron and as a vendor. I use to set-up events at craft fairs and open air markets for the New England Horror Writers (NEHW) organization. These events were very successful for the NEHW so I have continued setting-up events like these for my bookstore, Books & Boos, which I co-own with my wife. Along with these shows, I also set-up events such as conventions and comic book shows for the bookstore. You can find out about these Books & Boos’ events here.

At the 41st Annual Craft Fair held at the Keefe Technical School in Framingham, MA. yesterday, there were the usual jewelry sellers, dog stuff, and handmade wooden bird houses. There was one unusual seller at this craft fair. The vendor was Frankenstein Medical School, which is owned and operated by Jerry Stiles. He sells finger hooks, coffin-shaped keepsake boxes, and interesting magnets.

2014-03-29 14.51.50

Jerry Stiles

Coffin Shaped Keepsake box.

Coffin-Shaped Keepsake Box

Magnets

Magnets

One of Stile's magnets.

One of Stiles’ magnets.

Finger hooks.

Finger hooks.

 

Stiles has a site on Esty, you can check it out here.

 

McKay to take on Paramount Pictures and Plan B’s ‘The Big Short’ from Acclaimed Writer Michael Lewis

 

Paramount Pictures and Plan B announced that writer / director Adam McKay has come aboard to adapt and direct “The Big Short,” based on the acclaimed book by Michael Lewis.

Based on Lewis’ best-seller The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine about the housing and credit bubble of the 2000s, the film will be produced by Paramount and Brad Pitt’s Plan B. Pitt previously starred in and produced Lewis’ Moneyball, which earned an Academy Award-nomination for Best Picture.

“Michael Lewis has the amazing ability to take complex formulas and concepts and turn them into page turners. Plan B and I connected over that breathless quality the book has. Very excited to jump into this,” said McKay.

Said Adam Goodman, Paramount Film Group President, “I am so excited as this project marks my third collaboration with Adam McKay – a tremendously talented filmmaker and one of my favorite storytellers.”

Said Plan B, “There are those rare literary treasures – as with “The Big Short” – that park in the harbor and you just wait, with hope. Adam McKay is a singular voice and talent and a ferocious mind – the vector of Adam and this book is what a producer dreams of.”

McKay most recently co-wrote, produced and directed the sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, for Paramount Pictures. The hit film has grossed over $170m globally.

Movie Review: ‘Night of the Comet’

 

By Stacey Longo

nightofthecomet

Night of the Comet (1984) must have made its debut on VHS around 1985, coincidentally, the same summer that my family first got cable. Having subsequently watched it approximately 55 times on HBO (it was a movie! On television!), imagine my surprise when I found out that not everyone has seen this horror/sci-fi classic. Boy, are you missing out!

Sisters Reggie and Sam Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney, respectively) find themselves in a strangely empty world the day after the Earth has passed through the tail of an extraordinary red comet. Even more amazing is the fact that these sisters didn’t manage to survive the night together, but each on their own: Reggie by fooling around with her boyfriend in a steel-lined projectionist booth at the theater where she works, and Sam was in a steel-lined shed after fighting with her stepmother. The odds of two siblings both individually surviving a cosmic event that wiped out 99% of the population is about as likely as a huge cosmic event wiping out 99% of the population, but put your skepticism aside. Plenty more will happen to test the limits of your suspension of disbelief.

While the idea of tooling around the neighborhood now that humanity is mostly dead is overall pretty appealing, the two sisters quickly figure out that not quite everybody is dead. There’s a rabid zombie or two running around, and the sisters are at the top of the menu. They hear another survivor broadcasting over the radio, and head to the station, where they find Erik Estrada-lookalike Hector Gomez (Robert Beltran). Since everybody knows that the only thing to do after a mass extinction event is to find someone of the opposite sex to begin repopulation of the Earth with, it seems that things are looking up for the sisters. They decide to celebrate by going shopping.

Anyone who has ever watched a zombie apocalypse movie could’ve told Reggie and Sam that the worst place to go is the mall, but the sisters are a pretty clueless pair. To nobody’s surprise except Reggie and Sam’s, there’s a group of zombies there, and they barely make it out alive, and even then, only with the help of the government. Guess what? The government agents are baddies, too, and once again, the sisters are in trouble. Hector shows up to save the day, rescue the girls, and rescue a couple of little kids who were also being held by the big bad government. In the final scene, the zombies have died off, and an attractive young stud driving a sports car nearly runs Sam over as she crosses the street. Hooray! Now both of the sisters have boyfriends!

Cheesy, silly, and setting back women’s rights for decades to come, Night of the Comet is a fun glimpse at what used to pass for quality entertainment. The hairdos, outfits, and attitudes are all a tribute to times gone by, and you’ll find yourself missing those simpler days. Or not. At the very least, you’ll remember your Aqua Net and legwarmers fondly.

Movie Review: ‘Scream Blacula Scream’

 

By Stacey Longo

Scream Blacula Scream

Billed as a Pam Grier vehicle, Scream Blacula Scream (1973) probably had no intention of being as preposterous as it was. The story revolves around Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall), also known as Blacula himself, revived from the dead by Willis Daniels (Richard Lawson), via voodoo magic. Blacula repays the favor by immediately turning Willis into a vampire and setting about his true agenda: finding a woman to fall in love with, antagonizing the cops, and making a whole bunch more vampires. He raises the suspicions of local ex-police officer Justin Carter (Don Mitchell), who ultimately hunts down and (spoiler alert!) with the help of voodoo princess Lisa Fortier (the aforementioned Grier), kills Blacula.

What makes this movie a trashterpiece is it’s unintentional hilarity, mostly due to the dated “jive talk” and the tendency, apparently, for African-American vampires to grow an unruly mass of hair on their face once they turn. Blacula sports two lightning-bolt sideburns that slash across his cheeks when he’s hunting; his apprentice, Willis, sprouts eyebrows resembling two wooly caterpillars mating in a briar patch. With references to ‘bread,’ ‘rags,’ and ‘dudes,’ the slang is dated and entertaining.

Grier is underutilized for the first twenty minutes or so, but hang in there: when she finally gets into the action, you’ll remember why she gets so much respect. She’s smokin’ hot and coolly confident. Yet she loses credibility points when she doesn’t recognize Blacula as Professor Mamuwalde at first, which is ridiculous. The only difference in his appearance is the rabid facial hair and a new, super-groovy black cape. Luckily for her, Blacula is immediately smitten, and he puts her under his protection against his rapidly growing clan of bloodsuckers.

Unfortunately for Blacula, Grier’s Lisa is already dating Justin Carter, and he doesn’t like the latest turn of events. However, a lousier shot with a crossbow you’ve never seen, and it’s up to Lisa to save the day.

Noteworthy in this flick, besides Ms. Grier, is William Marshall in the title role. His larger-than-life presence and baritone voice commands attention, and you’ll cheer when he announces not once, but twice: “The name is Blaa-cu-laa!” In a sea of porn mustaches and fabulous afros, Scream Blacula Scream is absolutely worth viewing. You dig?

Jamie Foxx Joins His Co-Stars of ‘The Amazing Spider-man 2’ and Earth Hour Super Heroes in Blue Revolution

 

Jamie Foxx, who plays the villain, Electro, in the highly anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2, will be joining his co-stars, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, in calling on a global community to take simple action online to protect the planet.

 

As part of Earth Hour Blue, the revolutionary program launched by WWF’s Earth Hour, Foxx will support ‘Light Up A Village,’ a clean energy project from WWF-Uganda. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 actor is urging participants to go online and contribute funds to the ‘Light Up a Village’ crowdfunding project, which will provide solar lights and energy efficient mud stoves to families living around an area in Uganda that has come to be known as the “Earth Hour Forest.” Through the simple steps of supporting these vulnerable communities, the project aims to empower the locals to become the future protectors of the soon to be rehabilitated forest area.

Foxx was inspired by a passionate video from a small community of Super Heroes in Uganda who came together to show how the project could protect the newly planted trees by meeting the basic energy needs of the locals. The video explains how just one energy efficient mud stove can save up to 33 trees from being cut down annually and also save money by reducing a family’s expenses on firewood and charcoal.

“Earth Hour isn’t just about lights off – it’s about people across the world coming together throughout the year to join forces to improve the planet. If you haven’t yet, you need to get involved. Never underestimate your power. Never underestimate what you can do,” said Foxx.

In conjunction with the Earth Hour 2014 celebrations in Uganda, one million trees will be planted across the country by youths over the next year, with the majority earmarked to help fill the 2700 hectares of land marked out for the Earth Hour Forest initiative.

Another global solution-driven crowdfunding project on Earth Hour Blue for people to back is a Colombian conservation project for The Amazon that aims to protect endangered species like the jaguar, Andean bear, and the pink river dolphin, and work with indigenous communities to use and restore natural resources in a responsible way.

The crowdfunding project from WWF-Colombia, called “Lights OFF AmazON,” allows you to invest in the largest ecosystem and air, water and life producer on the planet by raising funds to implement infrastructure for sustainable industries for indigenous communities. Known as the “world’s lungs,” the Amazon is quickly disappearing with mining and ranching causing loss of species and pollution in the area.

Earth Hour in Australia has today launched a report, ‘Lights Out for the Reef,’ that highlights the latest scientific findings about climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. The report confirms that urgent action to cut carbon pollution is needed for the sake of the reef’s survival.

“If we don’t act now, the effects of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef will be irreversible in a little more than a decade,” said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, one of the world’s leading experts on the Reef and author of the Oceans Chapter of the upcoming U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

The easiest thing you can do on the Earth Hour Blue platform is to give support via a quick social post to Instagram for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The Reef is under threat due to climate change and the recently approved government decision to develop a mega coal and gas port that would cause dredging and dumping of millions of tonnes of seabed and rock in its Marine Park.

Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder for Earth Hour, announced today, “What we’re seeing is a massive group of Super Heroes around the world who are calling on support for incredible campaigns to address the environmental issues we’re facing in our daily lives. That’s why we built Earth Hour and Earth Hour Blue, so now it’s up to you to help bring together this global momentum to show what can be achieved when we use our power together.”

Earth Hour event activities will be amplified on islands across the world, with music becoming a major focus to inspire environmental action in the places on the forefront of climate change and sea level rise. Reggae artists in Jamaica will perform an acoustic concert for the second year running; and in Tahiti, 5000 people will gain entry to a massive acoustic concert at Stade Paster by handing in a piece of recyclable waste they’ve collected to avoid landfill.

Following the recent announcement that Spider-Man is the first Super Hero ambassador for Earth Hour, the global movement organised by WWF, the cast of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be on hand to help to switch off the lights across Singapore’s signature Marina Bay skyline on Saturday March 29, at 8.30 p.m. as part of WWF-Singapore’s flagship Earth Hour event.

Expanding on many sustainability efforts over the years, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 became the most eco-friendly tentpole production in the history of Columbia Pictures. These environmental efforts, on set and off, were supported at every level – from producers, studio executives, and cast and crew and began as soon as the film went into pre-production.

“I’m very proud of the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is entirely carbon-neutral. We made a commitment to be as eco-conscious as possible during production itself, when we took a special effort to think green and avoid waste; now, completing that process with Earth Hour Blue is a wonderful testament to what we can achieve when we all work together,” says Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“Use your power at earthhour.org, so you too can become a Super Hero like Spider-Man, Earth Hour’s Super Hero ambassador,” said Foxx.

Unreleased Rascal Flatts Song to be Featured in the Film ‘Heaven is for Real’

 

Rascal Flatts Rewind Cover“Compass” to Be Included On Country Supergroups’s Forthcoming Studio Album This May

 

A new Rascal Flatts song entitled “Compass” will be featured in the upcoming Sony Pictures film Heaven Is For Real, which opens nationwide on Wednesday, April 16. The song will also be included on Flatts’ forthcoming Big Machine Records album, REWIND, available May 13. The album is now available for pre-order at www.RascalFlatts.com.

Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, Heaven Is For Real brings to the screen the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son’s extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.

The film stars Academy Award nominee and Emmy award-winning actor Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience.  Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth … things he couldn’t possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning from this remarkable event.

As the best-selling Country vocal group of the past decade, Rascal Flatts (Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney) have sold over 22.5 million albums and over 28 million digital downloads since their musical debut in 2000. The Superstar group has delivered 14 #1 singles to the top of the charts and have the distinction of being one of only four acts during the SoundScan era to have seven consecutive studio albums debut at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Rascal Flatts have earned over 40 trophies from the ACAs, ACMs, AMAs, CMAs, People’s Choice Awards and more. In 2012, they reached a new career milestone with over 7 million concert tickets sold and will hit the road again this Spring with the REWIND Tour 2014. In anticipation of their next Big Machine Records album this summer, fans will get a taste of the fresh sound and rewind back in time with some previously released tunes on March 4 with the release of a Walmart exclusive EP. Their new single “Rewind” is currently rising in the Top 15.

For tour information, new music, and more, visit www.rascalflatts.com.

Award-winning Photographer turned Horror Writer

By Jason Harris

F.M. Kearney1

F.M. Kearney, an award-winning photographer, has written his first horror novel, They Only Come out at Night. Today, he’s talking  about his career, New York Subways, and writing his first horror novel.

JH: How long have you been a fine art nature photographer?

FK: I’ve been a fine art nature photographer for about 20 years.

JH: What awards have you won for your photography?

FK: I’ve won numerous awards from various magazine and online photography competitions, ranging from First Place to Honorable Mentions.

JH: In the 80’s, you worked as a photojournalist for various New York City newspapers. What newspapers did you work for? What were you covering for them?

FK: I’ve worked for a number of local papers such as Town & Village, City Limits, The Phoenix, The City Sun and The New York Tribune. I mainly covered news pertaining to the particular neighborhood or borough that the paper serviced, but I also did hard news as well. I’ve done ride-alongs with FDNY and NYPD undercover units. I covered the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. I’ve also photographed many famous people, such as Bill Cosby, Mayor David Dinkins, Fred Lebow (founder of the NYC Marathon) and several sports celebrities in one-on-one sit-down interviews.

F. KearneyJH: What inspired you to write your first book and what was the idea behind it?

FK: I suppose my inspiration was two-fold. The first, and most obvious inspiration, came from my own personal experiences in the subway. As a photojournalist, I rode the subway all over town traveling to and from my assignments. I lived (and still do) in Manhattan, and up to that point, I had never really been to a lot of the stations in the outer boroughs, i.e., The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. I was really amazed at the total contrast in environments. You see, when most out-of-towners think of the NYC subway, images of Times Square and Grand Central Station will undoubtedly come to mind. These are huge, bustling hubs filled noisy activity and throngs of commuters almost 24/7. They have come to define what the NYC subway is all about. However, stations like these only account for a tiny percentage of the 463 stations of which the entire system is comprised. The vast majority of stations are nothing like that. In fact, I would even say that they are the polar opposites. Many of the stations in the outer boroughs (and even some in Manhattan) are very quiet, dimly lit and sparsely populated…and that’s in the middle of the day!  I can remember being in certain areas of some stations that were sore mote and so creepy that I felt very uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to get out. Many of these areas have since been sealed off to the public…presumably because of the safety risks they posed. I couldn’t help but think that this would be a perfect location for a horror story. To be honest, I’m actually surprised that Hollywood doesn’t use the NYC subway as a regular setting for horror movies.

My second inspiration came from one of the most unlikely of sources…a disco song. In the 80’s, Peter Brown released a single called, “They Only Come Out at Night.” It’s an upbeat tune about people (referred to as “creatures of the night”)  who like to go out clubbing. The song features the haunting sound of a saxophone — the kind of sound one might hear while walking along a deserted city street at night. Between that, and my experiences in the subway, They Only Come Out at Night (the book) was born.
JH: What drew you to writing in the horror genre?

FK: I’ve always been a fan of everything horror related…books, movies, TV shows, you name it. But, I always found one flaw in almost every story. It seemed as though a lot of time and effort went into producing the chills and thrills throughout the story, but the ending was usually somewhat of a letdown. Of course, most horror stories are fiction, but it seemed as though no attempt at all was made to make the story even halfway believable. I wanted to write a story that made sense — a story that, albeit fictional, contained enough factual details one might wonder if it could actually happen.

JH: Why did you use the New York City subway as the main setting?

FK: Aside from the reasons already mentioned, I used the subway because of its familiarity to so many people — even if they don’t happen to live in a major city that has a subway. Most tourists will make riding the subway one of their “must-dos” while visiting. Very few people will ever find themselves in an actual haunted house or a foggy cemetery at midnight. The same can’t be said for a subway. I think the chills are far more intense when you read about scary things happening in a more familiar and commonplace environment. After having read the book, a lot of people have told me that they will never again ride the subway alone at night.

JH: What type of research did you do for the book?

FK: I visited every major location I wrote about with a digital tape recorder. I recorded everything I saw, heard, smelled and felt…things that I (and probably most people) would never even give a second thought. This greatly helped to create atmosphere. I also researched news articles about local crimes committed in the area, and spoke with the NYPD about specific rescue procedures in the subway. As far as the supernatural aspects of the book are concerned, I went online and researched actual case studies and terminology. Lastly, the dates in the book are very important. I went to the library to insure that the days of the week and the newspaper articles I mentioned were correct.

JH: How long did it take you to write the book?

FK: Since I had no deadlines and was basically just writing for fun, I’d say it took about 10 years from start to finish.

JH: What’s been the reaction of some of the people who have read the book?

FK: Chapter One, by far, has received the biggest reaction! Many of my friends have told me that it was the most intense thing that they’ve ever read. Although they thoroughly enjoyed it, I realized that it might be a little too intense for the average reader. Before releasing the book to the public, I considerably watered-down this chapter from its original version. Even so, a number of reviewers have commented on just how violent this chapter is, and a few were even unable to get past it. Make no mistake, Chapter One is not for the faint of heart, but it is necessary to the story as a whole.

JH: Are there any other genres, you want to write in?

FK: As a nature photographer, I’ve considered putting out a non-fiction book about nature photography at some point in the future.

JH: Who is your favorite author/authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

FK: I like many of the works from Dean Koontz and Stephen King. I think King’s books are much better than his movies — many of which leave me scratching my head. These writers have a way of painting a picture with words that tends to put the reader right in the scene. I tried to do that with my book as well.

JH: What books have most influenced your life the most?

FK: I don’t know if I can point to any one book of fiction. However, I’ve read many photography books that greatly influence the way I shoot.

JH: Are you working on a second novel?

FK: Not at this time. Many have suggested a sequel to They Only Come Out at Night.  Although it definitely lends itself to a sequel, I can’t see myself writing one. Unless you’re talking about an action series, most sequels rarely live up to the original.

JH: What are your current projects?

FK: I’m currently focusing more on my photography and photography articles.