October 2010 - Page 2 of 3

The Jersey Jack O’Lantern!

Posted on October 18, 2010 by sexyarmpit

The Jersey Jack O’Lantern

Over the weekend I noticed an awesome tweet from our friend Laryssa of the Comma ‘n Sentence blog. She and her brother combined forces to carve the world’s coolest New Jersey Jack O’Lantern! Laryssa was nice enough to let me post some of the pictures she took during the creation of this badass pumpkin. Laryssa also offered us some insight as to what inspired her to cut The Garden State into her pumpkin:

“My brother and I are kind of obsessed with New Jersey. He attends school in Maryland, but he was home this past weekend for Fall Break. Making a New Jersey pumpkin was our way of celebrating how excited he was to be home. We thought about carving cartoon characters, even the typical Jack O’Lantern face. But this is more personal.”

A big thanks to Laryssa Wirstiuk and her brother! Remember to stop by her blog as well!

Ghostbusters Ectoplasm Energy Drink Review

Posted on October 16, 2010 by sexyarmpit

This Ghostbusters Ectoplasm energy drink jumped out at me from a small refrigerator in Spencer’s in the mall, very much like the terror dog did to Dana Barrett in the movie Ghostbusters. When I got home, I only took a couple of sips of the Ectoplasm and was not really impressed by it’s taste. The green color wasn’t as neon as a I thought it would be, and it didn’t glow in the dark, which was sort of a let down, but probably better for my insides. No ghosts flew out of the can after I cracked it open either. That’s probably a good thing also because I sold my Kenner proton pack and trap a long time ago. I couldn’t pinpoint the smell of the drink, but it was basically a Monster/Red Bull hybrid. It had a sour citrus/melon flavor and left a very syrupy texture in my mouth. The drink was filled with sodium, sugar, and of course, caffeine. Let’s face it, this drink has nothing on Hi-C Ecto-Cooler!

The reason why I mentioned that I only took a couple of sips of it is because I’ve recently kicked my caffeine addiction. Not sure if it was an actual addiction or if I am just being melodramatic, but regardless, I think it was a good move. I was constantly relying on energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull because I constantly felt tired. It made me start thinking that they were actually the reason why I was always tired. WRONG!!! The reason I’m always tired is because of this here blog. I stay up way too late working on posts. editing videos, and cropping pictures when I really should be sleeping. Here’s the indication that you’re staying up too late: You’re sitting at your computer desk but your eyes are shut and you’re completely incapacitated, only to wake up and realize you’re taking screen caps of some stupid movie that mentions New Jersey once. So I not only lack sleep, but a life as well.

Pounding these caffeinated concoctions sure made me alert and amped up, but not without side effects. My heart rate began to skyrocket in simple situations like walking up stairs. I also felt crappy and lethargic constantly. I knew this was from the energy drinks because I run all the time and go to the gym often and consider myself to be in good shape. Within the last month or so I curbed my caffeine intake altogether just to see if the enticing cans were the culprit. Sure enough my heart rate does not surge when I go up stairs and I don’t feel as jittery as I did when I was relying on these beverages. I still feel just as tired though, and every time I go to grab something with caffeine I get decaf because it’s obvious that I don’t need it and that the real problem is my lack of sleep. I tend to get an average of 5 or 6 hours of sleep per night which is not enough for me. I need more like 7 or 8 and I’ll probably still be tired! Have you tried this Ectoplasm yet? Do you think you’re addicted to caffeine too? Let me know, Love, The Sleepy Armpit.

A Halloween Meme

Posted on October 15, 2010 by sexyarmpit

Here’s a Halloween themed meme started by our friend Becca at No Smoking in the Skullcave. Visit Becca’s blog and shop when you’re through here! Feel free to join the meme and answer and post on your blog!

1. What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating?
For me, the worst was any hard candy or stuff that stuck in my teeth. I especially hated when I got sugar daddies that were hard as rocks.

2. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?
Sammi Curr, and even though it’s not truly a horror film, Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

3. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? (why)
Definitely a Psycho…because there’s probably less work to put into it. Not a lot of makeup or costume shopping involved. Psychos are usually low maintenance!

4. How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on DVD?
Hmm…let me think. I own every NMOES including Freddy vs. Jason as well as F13 part 1,2,3,4, and 6.

5. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
I don’t get scared easily since I started watching horror films when I was about 4 or 5. My parents were cool with it. How can you tell a kid who loves Freddy Krueger that he can’t watch the movies? My friends weren’t allowed, but I was!!! I am more creeped out my psychological and atmospheric thrillers and horror films with less blood and gore and more mindf*cks. I’d say classic films like The Shining, 1984’s Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, Poltergeist and newer stuff like The Blair Witch Project and Lake Mungo.

6. Lamest costume you have worn on Halloween?
For my first Halloween my mom dressed me up as one of Santa’s helpers, but that was completely involuntary. I wish I could go back in time and tell my mom that it was totally the wrong month for that.

7. Favorite Halloween treat?
A king size Snickers. To me, that was the grandaddy of all Halloween treats. And actual Reese’s cups, not the fun size ones.

8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one?
SCARY!!! The more sinister the better!

9. Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you?
If I did, I don’t really remember. I was never so scared of a horror movie character to the point where I’d dream about them chasing me.

10. Best thing about Halloween?
The weather, the atmosphere, the jack-o-lanterns, horror movies, the costumes, the parties, the house displays/decorations, and the memories.

11. Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of?
Plenty of people I know basically ignore the Halloween season altogether. That’s not fun at all.

12. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?
Believe it or not, no one in my family really loves Halloween like I do, of course my little niece and nephews like it because of the candy, but not so much the haunting aspect of it. So, I’d definitely say my girlfriend since she loves it and she’s definitely part of The Sexy Armpit family.

13. Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours.
I always seem to say that I’m NOT superstitious but I think we all are a little bit superstitious. There have been countless times that black cats have ran across the street in front of my car while driving, probably more often than most people. Oh, and I DO have a rabbit’s foot and I love the Stevie Wonder song, so I guess I actually am superstitious.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.48: Bride of Chucky

Posted on October 14, 2010 by sexyarmpit

“It was buried with my corpse in Hackensack, New Jersey”

The original Child’s Play was a fine horror film and gave me the creeps when I was a kid, but Child’s Play 2 and 3 didn’t grab me. It is rumored that Childs Play 3-D will be released next year, but for now, let’s take a look back at 1998’s Bride of Chucky.

Child’s Play was most effective within the time frame it was released since dolls like My Buddy and Cabbage Patch Kids were hugely popular. Dolls are really only popular with very young girls nowadays, while back in the ’80s dolls were marketed to boys and girls, making the idea of a murderous doll freaky for every young kid. The Chucky franchise changed after 10 years and with Bride of Chucky it incorporated a more comedic tone. Whether you like the direction of how the Child’s Play films continued or not, the Chucky story developed and became more intriguing than if they just continued to make straight up, cookie cutter sequels.

In Bride, Chucky finds himself a main squeeze, Tiffany (voiced by Jennifer Tilly), and off to killing they go. Bride of Chucky seemed to breath new life into the series even though Seed of Chucky has been the only film that followed in 2004. Bride is truly imaginative, it pays tribute to many iconic horror films, and it contains some amazing visuals. The film was directed by Ronny Yu, who later went on to direct Freddy vs. Jason. Katherine Heigl stars as Jade and John Ritter also appears as her uncle.

Chucky and Tiffany decide to embark on a road trip to a New Jersey cemetary in order to get the amulet and make Chucky human again. Soon after, they come to the realization that they’re dolls and they can’t actually drive. The dolls pay Jade’s boyfriend Jesse to drive them, but first, Tiffany has her own little montage where she’s applying makeup and painting her nails. Playing during this scene is “Call Me,” by recent Garden State Playmate Debbie Harry and Blondie.

Here’s a little trivia you can share with your horror buff friends: The son of Chucky and Tiffany was born in New Jersaaay!

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thesexarm-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0783232039&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 66: Friday the 13th Part 3

Posted on October 13, 2010 by sexyarmpit

No you aren’t imagining things. I did indeed post about Friday the 13th Part 3 previously in the Halloween Countdown. Not to slash a dead horse with a machete, but the film does a hell of a job honoring the Jersey history of the franchise even though it wasn’t filmed there. Thanks to that I was able to squeeze a whole other post out of it! There’s never a shortage of Jersey related t-shirts for me to write about every Tuesday, but it definitely gets repetitive. When I come across obscure finds like this one in the background of a movie, that’s when this column is most interesting. Think about it, how many people are blogging about that t-shirt in Friday the 13th Part 3? The answer is probably only 1 person, because anyone in their right mind who wants tons of hits wouldn’t give two shits about that t-shirt…but I do.

I came across the shirt when the young and attractive Vera (Catherine Parks) and prankster Shelly (Larry Zerner) head to the local convenience store in the fictitious town of Green Valley, NJ. There they attempt to buy some crap from this rotten bitch of a cashier who is in the running against Shelly for possibly the worst mop of hair in history. OK, we get it, you “don’t accept no food stamps.”

They’re just trying to get some munchies but then they run into an evil biker gang who attempts to steal Shelly’s wallet. Maybe if the movie wasn’t in 3-D then Shelly wouldn’t have recklessly tossed his wallet directly toward the camera only to have it fall on the floor. The wallet was on the floor so it was fair game, and in a strange twist of events, the felonious biker gang opted NOT to steal that luscious Green Valley Has Everything t-shirt that is seductively hanging on the wall enticing all the customers with it’s over the top sexual innuendo but grabbed the wallet instead.

Now, I’m not positive, because no human being can see lettering that tiny and blurry, but it looks like in parentheses the shirt says (including wildlife), which is completely unfunny if read literally. Hopefully that is what it says and we won’t have to go and solve some 28 year old mystery.

In case you’re about to click over to Expedia to plan a trip, don’t bother. There is no town called Green Valley in New Jersey, but there is a campground named Green Valley Beach in Sussex County. For the Google Maps enthusiasts out there, Camp NoBeBoSco (Camp Crystal Lake) is about a half hour away from there. Now enjoy that freaking awesome song by Henry Manfredini and Michael Zager (from Passaic, NJ!) that plays while they’re shopping in the convenience store:

Ad Jerseum 10: Six Flags Great Adventure’s Fright Fest

Posted on October 12, 2010 by sexyarmpit

Ad Jerseum: So much Jersey advertising it’ll make you vomit!

Six Flags Great Adventure Fright Fest 2010

Here’s Six Flags Great Adventure’s latest online advertisement for their yearly Halloween celebration running through the end of October. The graphic really gets me in the Halloween spirit while the colors and outline of the coaster in the background truly captures the atmosphere of the season.

There’s nothing better than riding roller coasters on a crisp Fall night. That’s exactly what I did on Saturday October 9th, 2010 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. Fright Fest kicks off at Six Flags every October and it’s always my favorite time to visit the park. I’ve been going there since I was a kid and I always try to make it part of my Halloween festivities.

There are Halloween themed shows going on while ghouls and zombies roam around scaring people. If you can get passed the crowds taking pictures of the creepy costumed stalkers, you might be able to get to an actual ride. We only had time to ride one coaster but that was enough for me. The line for Nitro stretched beyond the typical line and into the park itself, but we decided to tough it out. Nitro is the smoothest coaster in the park and gives you the most thrills of any coaster I’ve ever been on.

The other reason we wanted to go on such a busy Saturday night was that the Dirty Jersey Rock and Rollers Scarlet Carson would be performing at the Loud and Local stage (renamed Dead and Local for Fright Fest). It didn’t get any better than this! A perfectly spooky night at Fright Fest, my favorite roller coaster, and a concert from the best rockers from Jersey Scarlet Carson! The band also provided a song for Fright Fest’s Ghoulmaster’s Ghosts show which should be available on iTunes very soon. So, despite the throngs of people and the crazy amount of traffic getting out of there, it was an awesome night. Make sure you get out to Six Flags Great Adventure for Fright Fest if you’re in the area!

Animatronic Crawling Zombie

Posted on October 11, 2010 by sexyarmpit

CARNY (2009) Review: The Jersey Devil Joins The Circus

Posted on October 9, 2010 by sexyarmpit

I welcome any appearance of The Jersey Devil in all facets of media. JD has been the subject of a few films such as The Last Broadcast and 13th Child, but The Jersey Devil has yet to leave a mark in Hollywood. 2009’s Carny, was a step in the right direction, but not the badass horror flick that seemed to be depicted on it’s DVD cover. This was an RHI production (formerly Hallmark) which usually stands for low grade fare, but that didn’t bother me, I am a salivating beast constantly hunting for more Jersey Devil stuff to watch, and it started streaming on Netflix a while ago so I gave it a shot. I saved my thoughts for the Halloween countdown since it’s always best to let a movie sink in before I go writing about it irrationally.

The film begins in a small town, in of all places, Nebraska. The town is preparing to host a traveling carnival. While setting up, the carnival is derided by towns people as “the work of the devil.” The circus freaks are out in full force and so is the Jersey Devil. “What the hell is he doing in Nebraska?” you might ask. Well, it sounds like he took an insanely wrong turn on Route 287 if you ask me. The Jersey Devil is caged and on display for all to see and gawk at as part of the Carnival. That is until…he escapes and goes ballistic. It becomes The Jersey Devil versus the circus freaks and random towns people. The honorable and heroic cop, RICHIE!, ahem, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips, gathers his group of cronies to rid the town of the creature while the local pastor vows his own revenge on it for killing his son.

The Jersey Devil has become such a popular cryptid that creative license has caused him to terrorize other places besides strictly New Jersey. This defeats the purpose of the character. In Mystery of the Jersey Devil by Calu & Hart, The Jersey Devil is found to be a spirit meant to ward off anyone who hinders the growth and ecology of the stretch of rich Pine Barrens in southern Jersey. It might sound boring but that is one of the actual theories of why the legend exists. Putting him in another state as part of a traveling carnival is just plain wacky.

There IS a surprise ending. The keystone cops show up, and all of a sudden JD gets incarcerated in the local jail and gets shot with what seems like a pop gun several times. I remember hearing the line “I have slayed the beast…” seriously. There’s more after that but I’ll let you be unfulfilled for yourself. And stay for the closing credits where you’ll be serenaded by a bluesy rock song, “Pray For Dawn,” written and sang by RICHIE!, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips.

It must have come from New Jersey! – Garden State License Plate

You may think it’s a stretch, but the film does actually mix elements from the original King Kong and Universal Frankenstein films but it’s obviously nowhere near as good. The script could have used a little bit more humor instead of taking itself so seriously. DVDTalk.com has compared it to the ’80s horror vibe of “Friday the 13th The Series or HBO’s Tales from the Crypt,” and though I see the comparison, it’s not as imaginative or creepy as some of the aforementioned series’ best episodes.

The Jersey Devil’s look is pretty faithful to the way we know him, but he’s actually never been uglier or more ferocious. A beast like this could only be born in Jersey. In a review he posted at AssociatedContent.com, Kevin L. Powers said the film had “subpar CGI effects,” and I disagree. I don’t know the budget of the film, but the devil did not look cheap at all. Obviously, Powers doesn’t understand that for a movie of this scale, he can’t expect it to have Avatar-like CGI.

You’ll notice a lot of fake blood. When someone gets punched they spit a gallon of blood out of their mouth. The whole time I just wanted to yell RICHIE!!! and see Lou Diamond Phillips completely stop what he’s saying to look through the TV screen toward me and throw up his middle finger. He didn’t have the balls though. Not a bad film for someone who loves low to mid grade horror and the Jersey Devil legend during the Halloween season. Or if you’re just a fan of stock footage of people eating popcorn and riding ferris wheels, this is destined to be your part of your DVD collection.

A truly creepy Jersey Devil movie has yet to be made. It’s surprising too because that’s an urban legend whose story is deserving a seriously scary adaptation. Hopefully when one finally does get made, it will be filmed in New Jersey, not Canada. If you have no patience for this kinda stuff go find a few bootletg copies of Carnie!, Carnie Wilson’s ill fated talk show, now that was way scarier.

Jersey Devil Statue

Posted on October 9, 2010 by sexyarmpit

Jersey Devil Pinelands Preservation Alliance

Photo courtesy of The Pinelands Preservation Alliance

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is a group who are committed to protecting New Jersey’s vast Pineland region. The Jersey Devil and The Pine Barrens have become synonymous. Check out the Alliance’s website for a page dedicated to The Jersey Devil. If you dare, you can also join them on one of their Jersey Devil Hunts. *Unfortunately there was no credit as to who made the awesome statue of the creature that’s pictured above. You can make a tax deductible donation to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance at this link.

Kurt Loder in Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

Posted on October 8, 2010 by sexyarmpit

Mainly thanks to his MTV exposure, Kurt Loder has appeared in a bunch of TV shows and films. One of those films is 2000’s Blair Witch sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. It’s a movie I’m fanatical about, and thought it deserved a better reception, but that’s another story. It’s now time for MTV NEWS.

To the Gideon Yagos and the Sways of the world: You will never be Kurt Loder. Ocean City, New Jersey’s own Kurt Loder might have had a bland, straight down the middle delivery when breaking in between commercials with his MTV News brief, but he’s still the most authoritative news anchor MTV has had. If there was an important event going on in the music industry, I used to feel comfort in hearing it from the droll Kurt Loder.

The guys and girls who came after the likes of Kurt Loder, John Norris, Chris Connelly, and Tabitha Soren, totally missed the point. To be a cool broadcast journalist on MTV you shouldn’t try to be cool, and you shouldn’t try to be uncool. Loder didn’t try, he just seemed like he was always on a mission to bring us all accurate, unbiased music news. With U.S Army experience and a serious journalism career under his belt, Kurt Loder has become one of the most reputable music authorities in the world. And he was in the first scene of Blair Witch 2 which is pretty badass in my book.

Month: October 2010