Dead 'til Dawn Horror Film Fest

I went to the Hi-Way Drive In, in Coxsackie, twice this past weekend for the Dead 'til Dawn Horror Film Fest.  Each night is a different lineup of old B-movie horrors.  Some of the movies were pretty good, I enjoyed Nightmare in a Damaged Brain, Wonder Women, and Destroy All Monsters.  Destroy All Monsters had Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and a handful of other monsters.  Not all the movies were great, but the experience was nostalgic.  That was the first time I had ever seen a Godzilla movie on the big screen, except for the crappy new one this past summer.  I can recall watching Godzilla movies on TV when I was a child.  Overall, it was a great experience, and if you missed it this time you can check out the Hi-Way Halloween Hell Night on October 17th & 18th at the Hi-Way Drive In.

Here is the line up for the Hi-Way Halloween Hell Night:
Movie Block #1
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS
NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES
A 4th "Secret" film to be announced at the show!

Movie Block #2
PROM NIGHT (1980)
RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR
NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF
A 4th "Secret" film to be announced at the show!

Here are a few photos from the Dead 'til Dawn Fest...

Big Bang Theory

Yaaaa!!!  That's all I have to say.  The Big Bang Theory is back on.  If you are not watching it, you might as well check yourself in somewhere, because that is complete lunacy.  It is well written, has a wonderful cast, and it is the only show that literally makes me LOL.  (5 out of 5 stars)
OMG!  Penny's golden locks are gone.  We can only hope that someday they return.  Penny is Penny, so obviously we love her, but much like Sheldon it can be difficult for some of us to accept change.
There was another OMG moment in the premiere, you'll know when you see it.  I gasped and grabbed my mouth.  Totally shocking.  I am so satisfied after seeing the premiere that I can now die happy.
As a bonus, there was one of the few vanity cards, written by Chuck Lorre, that could actually be read without pausing or having to look it up on the internet.  Sweet.

HV Beer Fest

This past weekend I volunteered at the Hudson Valley Beer Fest with a few friends.  The festival was held along the Hudson River banks at Riverfront Park, in Beacon behind the train station.  There were 90 different beer vendors, food vendors, live music, and other various local merchants.
The time passed by very quickly as the crowd swelled to about 3000 people.  I have bartended in the past, and just pouring a few different beers was relatively easy.  I was pouring two different beers from the Blue Point Brewery out of Long Island, NY and one from Great South Bay Brewery also from L.I.
The first brew, from Blue Point, was the Toasted Lager.  This had a great flavor, a bit nutty, almost like a toasted almond ice cream bar.  This was my favorite of the three.  Next was the Oktoberfest, a seasonal brew with a bit less flavor, but not bad.  Lastly was Great South Bay's Splashing Pumpkin.  I don't care for pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee, or pumpkin beer so this was my least favorite.  However a lot of people did seem to like it, and it was the only keg I had that was kicked by the time I was done.
Overall it was an enjoyable event and I would like to visit more beer fests in the future.  The weather was excellent, the setting was beautiful, and of course I got to hang out with some good friends and have a few laughs.
Cheers!

WotD: Wind

Today's Word of the Day (WotD) has many of us in the office perplexed. It seems to be a simple word, and initially I believed it to be a simple homonym, however that is not the case.

The word is wind.

How did you pronounce it?  

You could have said it two different ways:

The wind seems to be blowing fiercely today.

or

I need to wind my watch so that it keeps accurate time.

See the difference?  Of course you do.  There are several examples like this in the English language, but let's stick to our example.

When you Google the word it is like you arrived a few minutes late.  You look around the room and realize that Chuck Norris was here before you.  He happened to be in a bad mood and he took it out on the word wind.

You will notice that under the definition of the word, used as a verb and a noun, you will find that you can click to see more definitions.  Eventually you can find the definition you are looking for.  I was looking for wind, as in they were winding their way through the forest.

Not only did I find the many definitions and uses of the word fascinating, but I found it peculiar that Google Boy never rendered a pronunciation.  Is he not allowed to pronounce a word in more than one way?  This remains a mystery at this point, one which could easily be resolved by looking up other heteronyms, but I simply don't have the time for that right now.  In fact I have taken far too long to type out this post.  I have other, more important, pressing matters at stake right now.  

Hmmm, stake, steak...

Anyway, that brings us to the other point concerning today's WotD, it is a heteronym.  A heteronym is defined as: 

each of two or more words that are spelled identically but have different sounds and meanings, such as tear meaning “rip” and tear meaning “liquid from the eye.”

Google Boy will pronounce heteronym, if you'd like him to.

I don't remember learning about heteronyms in school, but I am sure we must have. Unfortunately for them, they don't get the spotlight like homonyms and synonyms (those two words have unique spellings, don't they?)  Ask your kids if they know what a heteronym is. Don't have kids?  Go find one wandering around on the street or at WalMart, ask them.

Hope you all enjoy your Word of the Day.  I'm outta here.

Peace

PS.  I am thinking about contacting Chuck Norris to go over to Google Boy's house and beat the pronunciation of the word wind out of him.  He's got some nerve not pronouncing wind.  Fyi... he will pronounce pronounce and pronunciation for you, if you so desire. 

Utopia - 9/9/14

“Over 200 years of American history in under two weeks.” Please, give me a break. Shave that stupid mustache and lose the hat, Charlie. I wish they would drop a crate of guns on the island and just let them all kill each other. This is awful. 1987 called, Corey Haim wants his hat back. This series just perpetuates how stupid society has become.

What I want to see is them doing something productive, to actually build a utopia. Fox has an opportunity to do something unique, but we are ending up with another crappy reality show. Why not just watch Big Brother? At least we expect the rhetoric there, and they have some competitions. Now what we are left with is a bunch of lunk heads that can't agree on anything. Pathetic.

I am starting to think the casting was designed just to cast over the top personalities that wouldn't get along. Why not introduce a few people with half a brain. The few that are there now are not being heard and nothing is going to be accomplished. If we want to build a real Utopia it is not going to be done on network TV.

One last thought, please put Bella's head on a spike and display it outside the gates to ward off others.

I don't know how much longer I can continue to watch this crap.

Utopia – Fox Reality Series

9/7/14

It seems like a good concept, develop a Utopian society, but from what I have seen of the premiere episode it is no different than any other reality show. I thought it would be a lot more interesting and intriguing. So far they may as well have put 15 children in a pen and let them fight for three days, because basically that is what we have been presented with so far. They haven't created anything but a lack of enthusiasm for anyone on the island. Oh wait.  Sorry, that is a different show.

If this first episode ended with the complex burning down and they all died, I would not shed a tear. I will watch again, but I really hope it gets a lot better. Again, it seems like a wonderful concept, but you need to put the right people in place to make a change. At this point it might as well be a show about the government. If I want that, I'll just watch the news.

I suppose the casting was well done, they are a bunch of mixed up misfits. Obviously we don't see everything, so part of the disinterest could be due to the editing. The host isn't very likable either. By the end of the show they all hugged. Is this the solution to everything that they need to accomplish? It seems like the only thing they will accomplish is another failed reality show.

Hooley on the Hudson

A Hooley is defined as a party, usually with traditional Irish music and dance.  I went to the Hooley on the Hudson this past week, and it was definitely a good Irish party.  The event is put on by the Ulster County AOH, and they did a terrific job.  It rained a bit in the afternoon, but it didn't seem to effect anyone's spirits.  Admission to the Hooley is free, pints of Guinness are only $5, and there were plenty of vendors with wares and food.  I think I have found my new destination for the Labor Day Weekend.
The music was also fantastic and I got to see my favorite band close out the fest, Black 47.  They did all of their best stuff and closed out with an encore performance of Gloria, by the band Them (Van Morrison), and I Fought the Law, written by Sonny Curtis in 1958. Prior to the encore they closed their set with James Connolly followed by Bridie's song, The Funky Ceili.  Check out the video on Youtube here: Black 47 : Funky Ceili.
I've always enjoyed seeing Black 47 perform in small venues, you can get close to the stage to get a good view, the music is always crisp and clear, and they always put on a great performance.  I closed my eyes for a few moments the other night, during 40 Shades of Blue, and it felt like I was hearing them play for the first time.  They never disappoint.  If you have a chance to go see them before they retire at the end of the year, do it.
A lot of their songs are politically based, some more fun, but always authentically Irish. Songs like James Connolly always seem to unite the crowd.  With their fists held high in the air, you feel proud to be Irish.  I will miss seeing the band play live.  Memorial Day Weekend won't seem the same without them.  Thankfully their music will live on for decades to come.

Continue on to see more pictures.