Purple Stuff Podcast Episode16: Force Flashbacks

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The Force Awakens…it’s so close that I can feel the force flowing through me! We’ve waited so long and now it’s only a couple of weeks away. Getting a new Star Wars film is quite a Christmas present, that’s for sure. You’ll need something to keep you occupied until December 18th (or 17th depending on when you’re seeing it!) so Matt and I decided it was our duty as Jedi to bring you a podcast celebrating our love of Star Wars in honor of The Force Awakens. Available now, is our show where we discuss all of our “Force Flashbacks.” There’s Star Wars nostalgia and memories galore, so enjoy it and May the Force Be With YOU!

New Jersey Comic Expo Was Nerd Nirvana

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Much like Jello, there’s always room for another large scale comic convention, especially in New Jersey. Thinking back to when I was a kid and events like this were basically non-existent in my neck of the woods, the sheer abundance of pop culture conventions in the Tri-State area is reason to rejoice. The amount of cons is unfathomable to me at times, but it’s the quality that matters of course. Lately, I haven’t been disappointed. You might remember the AC Boardwalk Con, which was pretty awesome and set a pretty high standard for the modern era of NON-NYC Comic Conventions. With no affiliation to NYCC or Wizard World, this weekend’s New Jersey Comic Expo turned out to be an event we Jersey geeks can call our own, hell…look at that logo! It all went down this weekend at The NJ Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, NJ and I will give you the full report.

A sunny and cool Fall day provided the background for my excursion to the NJ Comic Expo. It was the perfect reason to ignore the fact that I desperately needed to clean my condo. On the ride to the convention center I thought to myself “How is this going to be any different than the other 462 conventions that I’ve been to?” For one thing, the complex I was driving to is where I had covered several Exxxotica conventions in the past. So, right there, it was definitely going to be different because there would be a lot less porn.

Even though I was an early bird, the parking lot was already starting to fill up. I got registered and made my way inside. First thing I noticed was the massive scale of this event. It was on the level of NYCC, and it hit me right away that it wasn’t bogged down with too much promotional nonsense. Everywhere I looked I saw collectibles, toys, and most importantly, COMICS! There was copious amounts of nerdery for me to gorge on, but I emphasize comics because that is the crux, the spirit, and the lifeline of all comic conventions, as it should be. When you have a hard time finding actual comics at a comic con, then there’s a problem. You may have read previously here that I stopped collecting physical comics a while back, opting for digital, and although it’s extremely tempting, I try my damndest not to buy hard copies unless it’s something really special. Further into this article you will see how I flip flop on this stance.

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The Dianoga in the Garbage Chute from A New Hope was a little ornery, but he finally quit squirming and posed for this photo for me. He was the true star of the event.

I continued on my trek through the entire expo center. The layout was logical and left enough room for me to not feel claustrophobic like I often do at these things. I stopped at Robert Bruce’s table to see his wildly diverse assortment of toys and nostalgic collectibles. You know him from AMC’s Comic Book Men and his accounts on social media (@popculturizm.) I’ve known him for a while now and I always enjoy talking with him because he loves what he does so much. He’s the real deal when it comes to toy collecting. After shooting the shit with Robert, I went over to talk to my friends in the New Jersey Ghostbusters. They had their Ecto 1 parked next to their table as we discussed their upcoming appearance in the Ghostheads documentary that is coming out soon. They are great dudes and they also appeared in The Sexy Armpit Halloween Special this year so I owe them a Chinese Feast with the last of our petty cash! They even had a small billboard for themselves that was a screen shot of them from their cameo in my Halloween Special. Check them out here: GBNJ.NET

Then, I found the autograph tables. I went to say hello to my friend Tommy Walker, star of Netflix’s Daredevil, who was appearing. Actress Amy Acker (Angel, Person of Interest) seemed very friendly as I passed by her table while she was meeting her fans. At that point I remembered that Samantha Newark, voice of Jem was appearing as well, and I had to go and meet her. Voice actors, especially those from cartoons that I grew up watching obsessively, are icons to me. Samantha was so cool to talk to and since I was in there just before the crowds started piling in, I had a while to chat with her. I told her about how I felt the Jem movie was needlessly shat upon (well, I didn’t use that exact terminology) and she agreed. I still stand by the fact that it in 5-10 years it will be looked at as a cult classic. You might think that’s a stretch, but stranger things have happened. Samantha had various Jem promotional photos to sign and other items, but I opted for a JoeCon exclusive GI Joe #212 comic with Zartan and Cold Slither and Jem and The Holograms on the cover. It’s one that I had been watching on eBay for a while. I’m glad I held out because now I can say I bought it and had it signed by the voice of Jem herself. This was one case where I had to get the Hard Copy. In fact, Barry Nolan is going to do a schlocky TV report about this.

What was cool about meeting Samantha Newark was that I didn’t even go to this expo with that objective in mind. I totally forgot that she was appearing, so it was this cool little unexpected moment for me. I actually smiled in the selfie we took which is rare for me. She even brought up her last name and how it has nothing to do with Newark, NJ, so all of those burning questions have been answered. It’s not a secret nod to her hometown or anything. It was just a cool moment because I’m that type of person who can hear Jem’s voice in my head, or any cartoon character from my youth, like He-Man or She-Ra etc. Not like “voices in my head,” but those are the voices I hear if I think of the character. I’d imagine not everyone feels as strongly about voice actors as me, but I’ve always been so fascinated with them, especially those who voiced characters that I loved as a kid.

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NJ Cosplayer Ashley Uncanny as a Gotham Cheerleader

Next up, I walked over to the Cosplay Corner. I’ve always been heavily interested in Cosplay and dabble in it myself. I can’t make any claim to be a cosplayer per se, but I do put together my own intricate costumes. What is so insanely impressive about cosplayers is their dedication. The cosplayers I know put so much time, money, and love into whatever character they are portraying. Their attention to detail is incredible and the fact that they travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to be at these cons is a testament not only to their love of cosplay, but to meeting fans and being a part of the scene. I had a chance to speak to Princess Morgan and Ashley Uncanny, and both were very cool. Princess Morgan had such an elaborate costume that left in me in awe (it won best in show at a Wizard World con) and traveled several hundred miles by car to be there. I told her I’m going to wallpaper my walls with her Harley Quinn photo shoots…she didn’t laugh. You can see the one that I took home below. Ashley Uncanny (pictured above) is a bubbly Jersey girl who was sweet and super friendly as she greeted everyone who went to her table.

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By that point, all I purchased was a comic book. I always go into these things trying not to blow too much cash, but this wound up being like a small leak that grew out of control. Actually, I’m exaggerating. Truthfully, I wound up picking up a few things I had on my mental wish list for a while. Let me tell you about my haul!

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I bought some cool shit, didn’t I?

I came home with some action figures, naturally. I’ve been re-watching the first season of The Flash TV series now that it’s on Netflix and that made me realize that, out of all the Reaction figures I own, I didn’t have The Flash! He’s now speeding around my condo cleaning for me (yeah right!) wouldn’t that be so awesome? I continued through the little mini storefronts that were set up with T-Shirts, Pop Vinyl figures, old Star Wars memorabilia, and my eyes zeroed in on one figure out of about 50 hanging on pegs. It was the Jae Lee Wonder Woman DC figure that I had been looking out for. It would’ve been easy to just get it on Amazon, but since it was right in front of my face, I figured why the hell not. It’s such an awesome figure! Glad to have it as part of my collection now and it coincided with the release of the Gal Gadot/Wonder Woman movie promo picture that hit the Internet. And the one figure that I hadn’t seen up until that moment was this Game of Thrones Daenerys figure from Dark Horse. It’s really more of a figure-statue since it’s not articulated, but I’m fine with that considering how detailed it is. Surprisingly, this is my first Game of Thrones collectible even though I’ve watched and loved the show since it premiered.

Toys are great, but Artist’s Alley is always my favorite place to browse at a comic convention. Jim Lee was appearing, but I was more interested in the creators in artist’s alley. Whether I’m discovering a new artist or meeting one of my favorites, it’s an excellent opportunity to pick up some original work from artists from the comic book world and elsewhere. After checking out almost all the artists, I arrived at two shared tables by a husband and wife from Chicago. The pieces they had on display were enticing me. Note to those with a table at a con: easiest way to lure me in: just put Lily Munster somewhere in your display and I will be at your table in mere seconds. After trying to decide what I wanted, I came to the conclusion that the Julie Newmar Catwoman print pictured above was perfect. This oil painting style of her had that special quality and it was like nothing I’ve seen before so I had to have it. I also picked up a couple of other pieces for friends here.

It was about time for me to wrap up since I couldn’t afford to stay any longer! I dug the Jersey Comic Expo and I hope they come back next year to the same venue. Next year, I’d like to see a larger roster of celebs as well as an expanded cosplayer area with photo backdrops and faux sets. Otherwise, there really wasn’t anything to nitpick, and if you’re into comics and buying geek paraphernalia, this is one of the best events I’ve been to in the area and I recommend it to you for next year! Thanks for reading.

Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 15: Board Game Memories

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Growing up in the ’80s, board games were in a huge boom period. A game like Life or Pictionary was required to be available in your home in case any guests wanted to take part in some wacky, competitive diversions. Although Travel Boggle and Tiddly Winks are NOT mentioned in the latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast, Matt and I do go back in time digging into our memory banks to discuss some of our own board game memories!

While I love Monopoly and Scrabble as much as the next person, I was more into games like Candy Land and Memory. I was a simple kid and anything to intricate or in-depth was an immediate turn off for me. I liked not being too committed to games that made you read intense directions comprised of IKEA-like diagrams with fonts the size of The Atom. Some games took forever to complete, while others were nonchalantly breezed through, providing just the right amount of mild, temporary entertainment. I prefer the latter.

In the episode, Matt brings up some of his favorite games, including the cult-favorite, Fireball Island. You’ll notice a pattern in Matt’s picks since most of them can double as action figure playsets! My choices weren’t nearly as cohesive with each other, aside from the fact that they all helped to uncover some deep seeded revelations for me, as suppressed animosity from a couple of games rose to the surface. It sounds way more serious than it really is, because I actually just wound up ragging on a few games that used to annoy me. Listen to the show to hear all of our selections!

Thanks for stopping by! I know you have some favorite board games from when you were a kid, so tell us some of them in the comments!

Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 14: Snacks We Want Back!

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Now that the Halloween Season is over for most, (I refuse to accept that) we are back to bring you another nostalgic podcast this week! Unfortunately, there are no ghosts and goblins to be discussed this week, but to ease the pain, we have some old chips, soda, and ice cream for you as we talk about Snacks That We Want Back!
Yes, Matt from Dinosaur Dracula and I have switched gears into a territory that we both know a lot about: OLD SNACKS. I can’t describe to you how much time I’ve spent in my life pining over discontinued junk food, so this show allows us to discuss some of those that have had me desperately dreaming their comeback for many years. And you sure as hell already know that Matt has spent the majority of his life curating old junk food so this is quite a discussion as you can imagine. We talk about the how the country fell in completely in love with Potato Skins which lead to them being turned into their own chips, Ghostbusters getting it’s own ice cream tie-in, and a certain beloved clear soda that might actually be making a comeback. It’s a kick-ass show that will jog your memory into looking back on some of the crap that you ingested while fermenting on your couch watching TV as a kid.

What are some of your favorite snacks from when you were a kid that aren’t around anymore? Let us know in the comments!

If you haven’t subscribed to the podcast, you can do so at iTunes, Podbean, and Stitcher! If you dig what you hear, please leave some positive feedback for us on iTunes! Thanks for listening and supporting the show! Stay tuned for more here at the Sexy Armpit very soon as I slowly get my ass back into gear!

Halloween 2015: There Was So Much Stuff!

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There was so much stuff. That’s what I’ll remember most about Halloween 2015. That and the fact that “‘ween” and “15” rhyme made this such a memorable season. Of course there was the Sexy Armpit Halloween Special AND this year marked the beginning of The Purple Stuff Podcast. Can we pile on anymore stuff?

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Think about it, grocery stores had aisles of limited edition Halloween cereal and candy packed from floor to ceiling! We saw BK’s Halloween Whoppers, Krispy Kreme donuts, Pumpkin Spice Twinkies, and spooky 7-11 cups. What’s crazier is that I didn’t even name half the stuff you probably bought on a whim at Target! Starbucks even jumped into the game with their release of A FRIGGIN’ COUNT FRAPPULA FRAPPUCCINO…wha-what? There was just so much that the sheer amount of Halloween spirit was awe inspiring. It was like Christmas morning for Halloween lovers for like 2 months straight. While in the midst of the season it may have been hard to process all this, but after the fog juice clears, it’s easy to see that Halloween 2015 was completely nuts in all the right ways.

I’m not sure if I’m rationalizing this or not, but think about it: quantity was the underlying theme this year. I’ve already touched on the amount of food and snack gimmicks that we were bestowed with, but what about everything else? In terms of my own little universe, our Halloween Special was an anthology, so you wound up getting THREE mini stories in one episode. It was pretty epic for us. Premiering a couple of weeks after our special was the anthology Tales of Halloween, with more stories crammed into it than I thought was humanly possible. We also saw the arrival of the long anticipated graphic novel Trick ‘r Treat: Days of the Dead which tipped the scales at heavy 144 pages! I’m here to urge you to reflect back and marvel at just how colossal this Halloween really was. I for one am still basking in its glow.

We had so much of the good ol’ BOO and yes, we know about the green POO, but I’m certainly not complaining. Monster Cereals were back in such a big way that they had various types of boxes to collect. You could even build a freaking mansion out of some of them! I still cannot believe that I have a Monster Cereal Mansion in my living room, as Old Man Parker would say, “…it’s indescribably beautiful!”

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What’s Halloweenier than a Jack O’ Lantern vomiting Spinach Artichoke Dip for all to enjoy? I took this shot at the Carnival of Shadows Masquerade at Trenton Artworks 10/24/15

This Halloween was awesome. I’m not merely listing all the crap that came out this season, but it’s important to mark this Halloween season as one that felt like it wasn’t a struggle to be a Halloween fan. When every company is slapping their products with limited edition labels and squirting them with pumpkin spice magic and ghost shapes, that is always accepted in my world. And while I’m on the subject of my world, last year for the masquerades I attended, I wore the same costume twice. This year, I somehow managed to conjure up 2 different costumes for the parties I went to. Double the work, but double the fun. Where are those More twins from The Final Chapter?

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Here I am as the Kenner Grim Reaper Action Figure from the Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure line which I wore to the Trenton Artworks Carnival of Shadows Masquerade party. As the story typically goes, this costume was on my short list of ideas every Halloween, so it was awesome to finally get to do it. Of course, no one knew who I was supposed to be and I was 100% expecting that. I don’t create these costumes to get a rise out of people, if that was the case there’s so many obvious costume choices in the Spirit Halloween store that I could easily go out and buy. Nothing made me happier than to see friends on social media totally geek out at this. That’s why I enjoy participating in social media, because in my real life nobody sees the cool factor in dressing up as an obscure Kenner action figure. They’re missing out and they can go back to gawking at some HILARIOUS guy who bought the Caitlyn Jenner costume. “Hey Henry, can you believe how creative Todd is in that Caitlyn Jenner costume…oh he’s always the life of the party!”

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These Pumpkin decorations hanging from the ceiling really manage to add that extra old school flair to an otherwise lame Halloween party. We made our own fun anyway.

On Halloween night, we played it low key, but still went out to a local establishment for a Halloween party. It wasn’t much of a Halloween party since about 60% of the joint was NOT in costume, unless everyone was dressed in that classic “Miserable, Middle-Aged Drunk” costume. I think Ben Cooper manufactured that at one point. Seriously, a Halloween party is not a Halloween party without the costumes. At least we know where not to go next year. The place had a couple of saving graces though. First, the ’80s cover band was pretty decent and their female lead singer was dressed as Big Bird, so yeah, that was surreal and right up my alley. Then, when I went to find the bathroom, I saw their elaborate Halloween decorations which I spent about 20 minutes Instagramming. No one knew where I was for a while. At one point, a twenty-something girl stopped me, grabbed my arms, stared at me and said to me in a very serious tone, “You are scarier than any of these Halloween decorations.” I chuckled like a big doof and said ‘Thanks, you look pretty scary yourself” which was a joke that I don’t think landed properly since she was in a Cinderella costume. She gave me a dirty look. It was fine nonetheless because, as I was walking into the bathroom, I heard a noise and looked back to see that she stumbled over her own feet, fell into the exit doors, and face-planted on the pavement outside. She was a little tipsy, but don’t worry, her friends were there to assist her. She was A-OK as she awaited her Pumpkin carriage and/or Uber.

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On Halloween night I dressed up as Alice Cooper in a straight jacket, which is based off of a portion of his live concert spectacle. Miss Sexy Armpit did a badass job on my wig and makeup too. In comparison to previous costume help that I’ve enlisted her for, this one was pretty easy for her. I got a lot of compliments and it was fun to be Alice for a night, especially since it was another costume that I had been meaning to do for several years. Miss Sexy Armpit was WWE Superstar, and one of my personal favorites, Paige. I even noticed a guy in a Bubba Ray Dudley costume walk in and he and I immediately gravitated to each other because wrestling fans just do that. It’s like, “hey, you’re weird like me! let’s talk about pro-wrestling in public fairly audibly as if it’s a real sanctioned sport!” Later in the night they rolled back over with their new friend STING! It was a who’s who of the WWE.

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I recall a few Halloween’s in recent memory where I almost felt guilty for celebrating as hardcore as I do, but this season, all the binging on Halloween was perfectly acceptable. It feels like Halloween is truly getting to a point that it demands more respect as a bonafide holiday. Usually, Halloween gets curb stomped by Christmas way too soon, but not this year. Thanksgiving and Christmas felt like they swooped in at a strangely appropriate time. Is this all just me? Am I officially taking crazy pills? I know I was taking Hallocor in the Halloween Special, so maybe I’m still on a bender? All I know is, I never give up on Halloween, it possesses me all year long.

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I hope you enjoyed your Halloween season! Did you dress up in a cool costume? What was your favorite part of Halloween 2015? Leave us a comment! Thank you for reading and celebrating with us!

The Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 13: ABC’s of Halloween!

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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW!

Happy Halloween! The big day is here and boy has this Halloween season been one hell of a whopper…pun Intended. Another memorable Halloween season has come to a conclusion. I’d like to thank each and every person who has stopped by The Sexy Armpit, watched our Halloween Special 2015, and listened to The Purple Stuff Podcast, you are all awesome and we appreciate your support. Now, I hope you have a kickass Halloween celebration and enjoy the masquerade parties and the trick or treating with your kids! Before we go and wreak havoc around town in our costumes, let me tell you about the special Halloween edition of the podcast and a couple of other pertinent items.

This week on The Purple Stuff Podcast, Matt and I bring you The ABC’s of Halloween! For each letter of the alphabet we try to think of stuff that reminds us of Halloween and horror, so you can listen along and try to think of your own 26 things! Once again, we had fun with it and it will be the perfect audio companion for your Halloween celebration. Check it out on iTunesStitcher, and Podbean!

Last weekend, I attended the Trenton Artworks Halloween Party which was a good time. I’ll have a more in-depth recap for you on that this week, so come back for it! Tonight we have another masquerade as well so expect some social media action.

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Don’t forget, if you haven’t watched our Sexy Armpit Halloween Special this year, it makes a great lead-in to your Halloween Marathons! The playlist of all 4 specials can be found HERE.

 

Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 12: Guilty Pleasures AND The Nerd Lunch Halloween Special

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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 12! 

Are you prepared for a Podcast double header? I’m cramming two shows into one post this time around. It’s been quite a busy Halloween season for me so I am a bit behind on posting. With the big day rapidly approaching, I’m trying to savor every last detail of the remainder of October. It’s like making sure you get the last drip of Birch Beer out of that cold frosty mug. Ahh, see, now you want a Birch Beer, don’t you? Me too. Not sure why, but it sounds like a good accompaniment to these perfect Autumn nights.

First up, the latest Purple Stuff Podcast is available and it’s all about our Halloween and Horror guilty pleasures. Matt and I had a blast with this one and it may be one of my favorite episodes yet. I’m sure you can relate to loving some pretty bad movies and having an affinity for other weird stuff like obscure TV specials and melted plastic popcorn decorations, so you will definitely be on board with this episode! Check it out this week before our Halloween show hits and if you can, please leave us positive feedback on iTunes! That would be awesome.

In addition to the PSP, check out the latest edition of The Nerd Lunch Podcast which is available TODAY! I had been guest on the Nerd Lunch Halloween show previously, and then last year, Matt and I were both invited to be guests. Pax and Jeeg asked us back again this year and it’s becoming a cool little Halloween tradition. It was a fun time as we talked about two Rankin Bass specials, Jack O’ Lantern and Mad Monster Party. We may not make any new friends after this one, but I felt we told it like it is. Thanks to the Nerd Lunch crew for having us back on!

You have plenty of audio entertainment to listen to as we usher in Halloween and we hope you enjoy it. Make sure you get your costumes ready and make a pile of your favorite horror films because we are coming down to the wire. I can feel the excitement already! Halloween is upon us!

The Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 11: More Spooky Songs

PSPEp11blogPublic Service Announcement: Halloween is so close that it’s imperative you take advantage of the remainder of October! Make every bit of it count! Submerge yourself in as many spooky things as you can! Watch some new horror movies, finish up your Halloween costume, and listen to the latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast!

Matt and I are back to bring you episode 11 of The Purple Stuff, a sequel to our Spooky Songs episode. We each supply a bunch of songs from our Halloween Playlists to bullshit about. There’s a lot of good tracks in this one including a few surprises! Be sure to check it out, and if you are so inclined, please leave us some feedback on iTunes! You can also check out The Purple Stuff Podcast on Stitcher, and Podbean!

Also, if you haven’t checked out The Sexy Armpit Halloween Special 2015, there’s still time for a viewing before November 1st when all it’s magic gets completely sucked out! It’s a perfect intro to your horror marathons this month! Thanks for reading, listening, and watching!

The Sexy Armpit Halloween Special 2015!

Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t know what hit you? Well, that’s personified the last 3 months for me. The worst part about it all is that I sort of dug my own grave…pun intended! As a creator, the only option is to at least give a valiant effort to keep topping yourself. Take some of your favorite bands for example, they can release 16 albums in their career, but how many of them are literal classics that are widely accepted as monumental and influential to music? There may be only one or 2 in the band’s entire catalog that are looked at in that light. While I’m not saying that this year’s Halloween Special is monumental OR influential, I’m saying that there’s no point in creating stuff if they don’t emerge different or offer some kind of varying degree of goodness than previous works. Where am I going with this? Read on!

The previous 3 Halloween Specials we’ve made are like little mini-movies that are fueled by my insane passion for Halloween. They’re chock full of horror movie references and Halloween masks. Capturing the essence of the Halloween season and putting it to video is my jam, but the key here is that it’s pretty much how my entire Halloween season goes. From the point the season officially begins on Dinosaur Dracula, to the point where I collapse from all the hell I’ve put myself through making the Halloween Special and creating some ridiculously obscure costume to wear to a masquerade, it’s non-stop chaos. Truly chaos.

Being late for family parties, arguing with loved ones, and extreme lack of sleep all factor into this chaos. Hell, I couldn’t even do the production blogs that I planned on like I did last year because this thing was so time consuming. My Halloween seasons are rarely pumpkin spice and everything nice, even though that’s the way it seems. It’s work, work, work. At times I even had to make a lot of executive decisions that pissed a lot of people off, but it’s all in the name of Halloween. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. I put this all on my own shoulders.

Yes, I put it all on myself, but in a way, I only do it for myself – let me elaborate. For the first 2 specials at least, having tons of people watch them wasn’t even on my radar. I just wanted to follow my passion and incorporate my love for movie making and my lust for Halloween into one thing that I could enjoy creating. When I saw how last year’s Halloween Special got so much great feedback, then it made me realize that I should continue making them, but how would I top last years? Personally I still love 2013’s so much, but damn, last year was special to me. Basically, I never thought I’d have more than a few hundred people watching these, and that is the honest truth. But, now that I do have so many cool friends and people I know from social media digging these, then it makes it that much more exciting for me to debut this. The fact that you care enough to take a chunk of your time to watch it means everything to me.

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Looking back over the last few months, from the second I sat down to write the script, to today, it’s been a long haul. This year, the entire production was bigger and more intricate than anything I’ve ever done. I’ve been making mini movies since I was 8 years old, and the reason why this is the most ambitious thing I ever created is due to a few reasons. Here they are:

1. IT’S AN ANTHOLOGY! – That means 3 stories in ONE, plus a wraparound story. More bang for your buck, but this is actually free so that doesn’t apply!

2. Bigger cast – mostly due to the addition of 2 characters. Both of these characters have been part of the earliest scripts that I’ve ever written for The Sexy Armpit show

2. More locations – Rather than just be stuck in my condo (Sexy Armpit HQ) for most of the show, we venture out to a few places

Sure, I put everyone through a lot of shit, and even though it’s a pain, there’s really no denying that it’s kind of fun to do. The personal satisfaction of hearing that someone enjoyed one of these silly productions I made, outweighs all the stress I put myself through. It’s not fun when I’m demanding 40 takes for the delivery of a 3 word line from someone, but if I can speak on behalf of everyone in it, it’s fun to be a part of. Watching the final product will be a lot more fun for our small cast and our cameo actors because they have no idea how it will come together. There are 3 or 4 people who have seen the script so it’s almost as tightly covered up as The Force Awakens! Only this one is a lot sillier and has several F-bombs.

Before I wrap this up, let me throw some thanks and appreciation. First, Miss Sexy Armpit, who is just as difficult to deal with as I am, did an amazing job pulling off at least 3 jobs. She is the voice and puppeteer of Sludgey, and she lent her kickass hair and makeup skills as well, oh and there’s another little surprise she’ve involved with as well! Thanks to Mike Wirth and his wife Lauren both are tremendous help and are very patient with me knowing how I can get when we are filming. We also have a new addition to the Halloween Special this year, and it’s very awesome for me to be able to thank friend and actress Holly Knapp for being in my special this year. Not many people would agree to do this after reading the lines that I had for this role. From many years back seeing her at a spooky dinner theater all the way to the present where she puts some literal magic on the screen in my special. She’s presently acting in a production of Ragtime in New Jersey. She’s definitely one of the highlights of the special this year and she was the exact person I needed to add that special ingredient. Special thanks to Ghostbusters NJ and The Sugar + Sunshine Bakery in Plainsboro, NJ, and last but not least, all of our surprise cameos! You know who you are! Don’t want to spoil anything just yet!

I’ve only watched this in chunks as I edited it for the last couple of months, but, tonight, I’ll watch it for the first time on the big TV with Miss Sexy Armpit. Time to break open the Gran Patron Platinum for this special occasion! I hope you enjoy The Sexy Armpit’s Halloween Special 2015 and let us know if you’re watching it via social media! You can find all of our accounts on the top right of this page. Watching it via your big screen TV is my recommendation and be sure to get inebriated. Try to take a screen shot of your TV if you can! Thanks for reading and watching and Happy Halloween!

PURPLE STUFF PODCAST EPISODE 9: FACT OR FICTION?

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You can also check out The Purple Stuff Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, and Podbean!

With torrential rainstorms and flooding hitting the Tri-State Area for the past couple of days, it’s been perfect October weather. There’s a chill in the air, actually, more like I had to put the heat on type weather! It’s also the busiest I’ll be all year long. Before you start listening to the latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast, I’ll give you an update about what’s going at Sexy Armpit Headquarters.

I’m still in the middle of editing the Halloween Special and we are looking to premiere it very soon. Within the next week or so, you will see me plugging it all over the place once it’s on YouTube. If you haven’t seen our previous Halloween Specials, give them a watch! They are fun and spooky and they are made with the passion for Halloween. If you could give the videos a thumbs up that would be even better! Your support is always appreciated! I can’t say that the specials all connect, but there is one or two elements that have been weaved through all of them and if you’ve seen them all then you know exactly what I mean. There’s little nods and payoffs here and there. For the most part though, they are an amalgamation of my love affair with movies and TV shows. They are a collage of references and memories that all takes place in some kind of weird alternate universe that I live in. I hope you’ll check them out! http://www.youtube.com/thesexyarmpit

Back to the matter at hand! This week, The Purple Stuff Podcast presents its own version of a game show! Fact or Fiction is the name of the game as Matt from Dinosaur Dracula and I face off against each other in a battle to determine which  of our statements are truth and which ones are complete bullshit. The stakes are high, so give it a listen to see who will be victorious! Thanks for listening! And remember…we are so damn close to Halloween so make sure you are filling up your nights with pumpkin candles, horror movies, and stuffing your face with Halloween food tie-ins!