During our visit to the 2011 Long Beach Comic Convention, we bumped into (and thankfully didn’t slip) the Cannibal Banana. We asked what his deal was and he gave us details about the character’s motives, his potassium seeking goggles that help him with a deficiency, and weighed in on a hypothetical Twilight versus Jersey Shore battle.
It turned out the Cannibal Banana was just a booth banana for Sheika Lugtu (@OMGcow). You can check out her quirky online comic diary here.
The Los Angeles Derby Dolls were at Comikaze promoting their league. I was lucky enough to check out an intense game a few weeks ago (Tough Cookies versus Sirens), so I was excited to chat with them for a few minutes and find out more about the sport and players.
STEFCON 1 gave us the low down on the history of its founders, the fresh meat program, public classes, injuries (broken collar bones, ankles, tail bone injures, wrists), other roller derby associations, the league’s involvement in “Whip It”, the growth of bank track leagues, hanging out with other teams after the game, and getting hit on by guys and girls.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area, I definitely recommend checking out the Derby Dolls:
twitter: @laderbydolls
tumblr: http://laderbydolls.tumblr.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laderbydolls
Sorry about the video glitches. My camera is on it’s way to Canon for repair 🙁
The Long Beach Comic Convention held its inaugural Masquerade Ball hosted by Mike Shields. Contestants showcased well crafted costumes in an effort to impress a small panel of judges. There were numerous awards given for different categories. Costumes included:
If zombies were real, they’d be our worst nightmare. The thought of people chasing us at a fast pace or at a slow crawl sends chills down the spine of even the toughest person you know. The image of even the most eloquent man slowly losing the ability to express coherent messages is also tragic. Just imagine your closest friend with ghoulishly pale/purple skin slowly diverging from rational behavior. And let’s face it, cannibalism is NOT socially acceptable. There is no corner or room safe enough to protect us from the relentless hunger of a zombie. No matter how far we run, zombies can smell us and hunt us down. What’s worst, zombies multiple.
Until they become a reality, let’s embrace them and have fun with the idea. Let’s line up in droves for zombie movies and buy zombie t-shirts. Let’s count down the days until Halloween so that we may shred a blazer, rip a blouse, apply facial paint, smear fake blood, use colored contacts, and even use makeup that makes it look like our skin is falling off our bodies.
Last weekend, people showed their love for zombies by transforming into the undead and joining the 2011 Long Beach Zombie Walk in an effort to break records. However, the participants didn’t just transform into the zombie version of their regular themselves. They used the event to express their creative sides and come up with interesting spins on the zombie. Instead of regular ol’ zombie Joe, they changed into zombie Bob’s Big Boy holding a severed Burger King King’s head.
The best part about a zombie walk is that there are no barriers to entry. We saw kids, teens, adults, elderly, couples, and entire families participating. Take a look at nearly 20 minutes of footage and see how many different zombies you spot. Here are some we’ve found:
00:00 zombie at the door
00:44 zombie Mario, zombie nurse
01:14 zombie Captain America
01:31 zombie cowboy
02:05 zombie bunny
02:25 zombie Kick-Ass
02:43 zombie fisherman
03:11 zombie doctor
03:20 zombie ward patient
03:31 zombie ship captain
03:41 waldo
03:59 zombie hippies
06:16 zombie eating head
06:42 zombie Michael Jackson
07:01 zombie Fred Flintstone
08:16 “KEEP Brains MEDICINAL”
08:24 “Zombies Occupy Long Beach. We are the 99%”
08:43 zombie in a straight jacket
08:56 zombie fireman
09:43 zombie nerd, zombie pilot
10:21 zombie Akuma
00:02 zombie Mr. T
00:07 “will work for brains”
00:27 zombie priest
00:41 Bill Lumberg (not zombie)
01:36 Tyrone Biggums
02:13 zombie cop
02:38 zombie bride
02:46 “EQUAL RIGHTS FOR THE DISEMBODIED DEAD”
03:40 zombie pirate
03:49 zombie Bob’s Big Boy
05:41 zombie Caltrans worker
06:07 zombie soldier
06:30 zombie prisoner
07:18 zombie patient with blood drip
07:47 zombie geisha
08:12 zombie Marilyn Monroe
Do you guys remember when we used to get a 20 ounce soda for a buck? Life was easy. A single dollar bill was all we needed. Then inflation kicked in and we started having to ask our friends or kind strangers for change because that dollar bill was no longer enough.
Prices bumps are never good news but they are often a necessary evil for businesses to remain profitable. Today Redbox announced it too will become that vending machine by bumping it’s rate. The good news is that the price hike only affects DVDs. While we’re probably years away from DVDs being the new laserdisc, the narrowing price gap between DVD and Blu-ray rentals may help adoption rate for the latter. For 30 cents more, why not watch movies in glorious high definition? Perhaps we’ll also see a shift in inventory for available titles on Blu-ray. One can only hope.
If you’ve been hesitating to rent a movie, head over to your local kiosk soon. The new price starts 10/31/2011
The Entertainment Matters Program just appointed Eliza Dushku as ambassador for the 2012 Consumer Electronic Show.
Eliza Dushku, a self-proclaimed tech geek, is no stranger to the digital entertainment community, engaging with fans through Twitter, tumblr, various voice acting roles in video games (Fight Night Champion, Wet, Saints Row 2), and an appearance on The Guild
Jeff Ross just tweeted the following:
Attention protesters at @OccupyLA – I’m comin down there to “Roast Wall Street” Wed at 1pm on the south lawn steps of Los Angeles City Hall.
I’ve always believed that comedy is a great way to cope with serious matters and I’m sure the Roastmaster General has some funny and thought provoking material to share with the folks of Los Angeles.
Kobe will be closer to Italian exotic cars makers like Maserati, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. It is already known that Kobe enjoys sports cars. He owns a Ferrari F430 and a 360 Modena. Being close to the automobile makers is like living near your favorite restaurant if you are a foodie.
After making a flashy slam dunk, he can go “That’s one spicy meatball!”. Right now, he’s got too much American in him. Even though he was raised in Italy, his heart is with the Lakers. Once he’s re-immersed into the Italian culture, that thick Italian accent and the hand gestures will surely resurface. Speaking of food, haven’t we already imagined him spinning pizza dough like he would a basketball on his fingertips?
We’re all dreaming Kobe will grow a mustache and wear a plumbers suit to become a Mario brother. Being in Italy will legitimize that vision. After all, he already possesses the jumping ability.
Everyone loves a prodigal son. If Kobe disappears, fans will either forget or fiendishly follow him. When he comes back, he’ll probably have gained new skills from a foreign culture and effectively become a more well rounded player.
Compared to the rest of the world, the United States isn’t exactly known for it’s soccer. Kobe stated that if he had stayed in Italy, he might have become a soccer player. Imagine if he were to live that dream. The world might have a new Bo Jackson.
Marriage takes a lot of work. Kobe Bryant’s had a rough start to his marriage because of sexual assault allegations. We all know Italy is one of the most romantic places on earth and being in Italy would definitely fan the flames of his love life with his beautiful wife, Vanessa.
Are you a working professional that’s also secretly a fan of teen drama shows such as One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, or Vampire Diaries? Good news! Netflix just inked a deal with CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Television Group that brings CW shows to Netflix streaming service subscribers for four years.
The deal brings current and future episodes of its hit shows. Here are some dates to mark on your calendar:
October 15, 2011: Previous seasons of The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and Nikita are made available
January 2012: Previous seasons of Supernatural and 90210 are made available
Fall 2012: current season shows made available
Have you been missing your favorite, baby boomer shorts-wearing, law enforcing cop? Rumors are stirring that the producers of Reno 911, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, are in talks with Netflix to revive the series. Plans are hazy and none of the co-creators have agreed to any terms.
One of the biggest hurdles in sealing this deal is Comedy Central owns copyright. It is possible the deal could provide new episodes available exclusively to Netflix at first rather than the usual 24 hour/season delay. Additionally, it remains unclear if all talents have the desire to reprise their roles. Luckily, if they do, the show’s low budget production costs are the least prohibitive barrier to the revival.
The beloved and quirky Bluth family will make a return to Fox’s TV lineup for a forth season. Speculation was put to rest through tweets by both Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. The upcoming season will reunite fans for 10 episodes and build up to to the crtically acclaimed show’s big screen adaptation. We’ve seen modern TV series hit the big screen before (Simpsons), but is this move too risky for a show that was given the axe? Have fans already moved on or has the flame been reignited since episodes were made accessible on streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and of course DVD?
As a Netflix subscriber, I enjoy hearing news about new deals being signed. This latest deal really raises the bar on testing subscriber patience for new content. Rather than releasing content in the near future or even following year, a deal announced earlier today provisions Dreamworks library access. It’s nice to know we can celebrate (hopefully) having access to hits like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Old School”, but a deal starting in 2013 means we’ll even have access to titles that haven’t even been released!