Cinema Wasteland, April 2008 - Post-Mortem

I have been to the Wasteland, and have returned intact! My first trip to Cinema Wasteland this past weekend was truly remarkable--I got to catch up with old friends, meet some new folks, work a table for the first time (no, that's not a euphamism, internet), and get flogged by Dyanne Thorne.

Above: Team Ultra Violent Magazine Represents - photo by Don Edmonds (we look THIS GOOD on Sunday morning--scary, right?)

Convention highlights will be bulleted for ease of perusal:

• Panels were well-run by Art of UV Magazine. I really enjoyed the "Ilsa" panel with stars Dyanne Thorne and Howard Maurer and director Don Edmonds. Edmonds has a real passion for movie-making that carries over to young filmmakers. He was incredibly encouraging to folks who spoke with him over the weekend regarding their own film efforts, and I give him a lot of props for being so supportive.
• I got a photo of me being flogged by Dyanne Thorne! This evidence of my horrible abuse at the hands of "Ilsa, She Wolf of the S.S." will be forthcoming once I get it scanned in. Ms. Thorne is just about the sweetest, most fun human being you'd want to meet--I just adored her all to pieces. AND she liked my outfit. I endorse an Ilsa/Tenebrous Empress team-up.
• Sadly, I missed the Jack Hill "Spider Baby" panel because I was being a dutiful employee of UVMag, but I *did* get to meet a man with FOUR tattoos dedicated to "Last House on Dead End Street." Now *that*, meine freunde, defines "Special Needs."
• I got to see Juggaloes in their native habitat! As you might imagine, we're light on Juggaloes in the New York City area, so this was something of rather anthropological import to me. Seriously, dudes, they had the jackets and the weird hair and everything. Fascinating.
• On the "little bit scary" tip, there were Actual Skinheads at the convention as well. I had never seen a Skrewdriver t-shirt on an in-person human being until this past weekend. Yikes.
• I saw Beer Pong in person for the first time, too. The second-floor hallway was co-opted into a Beer Pong arena on Saturday night. Saw someone get denied an opportunity to play beer pong because she was "too drunk." Dude--who gets to decide a woman is "too drunk" for beer pong? I call shenanigans.
• There were on-con-floor whiskey-drinking hijinks on Saturday, but I did not participate. Sorry to disappoint, but nothing good would have come of that! To the Guilty Parties, I have pictures of all of your WhiskeyFaces. Adventures in sobriety for the win.
• Got to see most of "Green Slime" on the projection screen--it was a hoot! I agree with Ms. Joan Arkham who identified that the sexual tension was way stronger between the two male leads than between either of them and the Ursula Andress character. Also--bonus points for the groovy-ass soundtrack.
• For those of you who doubted the veracity of the hobo documentary, you can BUY yourself a copy of "Murder on the Tracks" here. Do not doubt any of my future hobo-related nuggets of trivia, you bastards.
• My own purchases for the weekend included a GIANT stack of DVDs (including the silent "Fantomas" serials and a couple of Turkish "Kilink" movies) and two lino-cut prints from an artist whose card I lost (DRAT). They're very hott, though--I selected the Frankenstein Monster print (to go with other Frankenstein Monster art in my home) and the Aleister Crowley print (which just has a general creepy coolness about it of which I heartily approved).
• Finalmente, my giant Eurotrash sunglasses received the approval of my horror peers. The Tenebrous knows how to dress herself, in spite of her Domestic Partner the Baron's suspicions.

I'm undecided as to whether I have the fortitude to make the October convention, but I had an extremely memorable time. Thanks to my friends and the con organizers for making this a fantastic weekend!