Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

Month: July 2013 (Page 1 of 3)

The PopCult Toybox

Just two brief items this week in the Toy Box.

GI Joe Returns Home

First up, we’re going to give you a link to THE JOE REPORT, where Mark Otnes (of Patches of Pride fame) tells us the very cool story of Tim Hubbell, an Ohio man who recently had his massive childhood GI Joe collection returned to him after it had been missing and thought lost since the 1970s.

“Rarely, almost like folklore, fans will hear tell of one lucky individual to whom the unthinkable has just happened; his original GIjOEs have been found—and returned to him intact! Today, we celebrate the good fortune of one such fan, Tim Hubbell, a former Ohio State Highway Patrol Staff Lieutenant, who is now the Administrative Pastor at Crossroads Church in Lima, Ohio. We asked Tim to tell us about his history with GIjOE and how he managed to be reunited with his childhood “originals.” According to Tim’s Testament:”

It’s an incredible story, and another example of why THE JOE REPORT is one of the top sites on the web for cool GI Joe stories.

Photo courtesy of The Joe Report

Photo courtesy of The Joe Report

Who You Gonna Call?

Our other story is that these guys…

Ghostbusters-2-Lg-dolls-1

igbmage001

…have turned up at Big Lots, for  very low price, $30 per two figure set.

These are super-detailed,  well-articulated 12″ figures based on Ghostbusters II. Original retail was to be $120 for each set.  These figures were briefly available before Mattycollector pulled the plug on several of their large format “Movie Masters”  lines in early 2012.  Zod and Lex Luthor from the 12″ Superman The Movie line showed up at Ollie’s last year. These Ghostbusters figures are an even cooler, bigger find. The accessories are superb and the outfits detailed and accurate. The figures also come with extra hands for different poses.  Jump on this deal quick. Scalpers are already doubling their money with them on eBay.

The Nanker Phelge and HarraH rock in new places and plug ShockaCon

flyer-1Radio Free Charleston 188, “NU-TRA Shirt,” welcomes back two old friends to the show, but also showcases them in two venues which haven’t been on our show before. We also have the first of a new batch of Frank Panucci’s compilations of public domain footage. The main thrust of this episode is to raise awareness of ShockaCon, which is coming up in less than two months. Among the bands performing at ShockaCon this year are our musical guests, The Nanker Phelge and HarraH.

ShockaCon will take place September 20 – 22, with the activities divided between Kanawha Players Theater and The Haunted Barn. This is a horror, science fiction and fantasy convention that will mix music with dance, vendor tables, celebrity guests, makeup demonstrations and all sorts of really cool genre happenings. Just as we did with the first edition of ShockaCon last year, our cameras will be on hand to capture the musical guests, plus other sights and sounds for our Halloween special. You can visit the ShockaCon website or visit their Facebook page for more details.

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Monday Morning Art: Luna Redux

Img_75832This week’s art is a digital painting over a photograph of Luna L’Enfant, taken at the June edition of Doctor Sketchy’s.  There was no July edition of the Anti-Art School, since the Dr. Sketchy’s Charleston guru, Chase Henderson was in Australia, running with the ‘roos.

However, Dr. Sketchy’s will return on August 18, at Uncork and Create (at 7 PM) with an evening of Goddesses, featuring Elle Xohmbeah, Baroness Ruby Rouge, and Raj. Check the website for details, and click the image to enlarge it. And come back to PopCult later today for a brand-new episode of Radio Free Charleston, featuring HarraH and The Nanker Phelge in a preview of ShockaCon 2013.

Stuff To Do

tribute pc 001The PopCulteer
July 26, 2013

It’s a short column this week. We’re going to take a quick look at some great weekend events. Most notable this week is Tribute To The Troops III, to be held all day Saturday at the Roadside Park in St. Albans, right across from the St. Albans Mall.

This show features a great line up of talent and it’s for the benefit of The Wounded Warrior Project, a most worthy cause.  Here’s the flier for the show, followed by the special episodes of Radio Free Charleston that we produced for last year’s Tribute To The Troops. RFC will not be on hand for this year’s show, since your PopCulter (and RFC host and cameraman) is unable to shoot any outdoor shows at the moment. However, we do endorse this very worthwhile show and thank Wood Boys Music for all their great efforts.

tribute pc 002

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PopCultus Interruptus

You may notice that some of our regular features, like the PopCult Bookshelf, have been missing in action for the last couple of weeks. Let me step out from behind the editorial “we” and be frank for a moment. I am dealing with a serious illness in the family, and it has eaten into my blogging time. Things are not dire yet, but they are not going well, and while I have a great review of a wonderful book in my head, I do not have the energy to turn it into the written word.

It’s a very stressful time, and I hope you understand if PopCult is a little light on content for the next couple of weeks. I will try to come back with a PopCulteer Friday, and I tentatively plan to produce Radio Free Charleston 188 this weekend, but those plans may have to take a backseat to family.

Later, Rudy

The PopCult Toybox: Plastic Zombies and Spacemen

This week, feeling a bit nostalgic after our recent trip to the Marx Toy Convention, we’re going to look at a couple of new playsets of little plastic people. These aren’t your traditional Green Army Men, but they’re pretty darn cool nontheless.

$T2eC16h,!zUE9s39!eniBRQO!1CFbQ~~60_12Zombies vs. Zombie Hunters
By EMCE Toys
35 figures, poly bagged
Under $12 at Amazon

This playset, courtesy of EMCE Toys (the company run by our pal Doc MEGO) contains just exactly what it says it has–Zombies and Zombie Hunters. These little two-inch-tall figures are just the right size to re-enact the latest episode of “The Walking Dead” on your desktop at work. Or you can slip them into your Santa’s Village for a memorable Christmas display.

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Sunday Evening Video: The Aquabats

Hub_Network_-_The_Aquabats_Super_ShowI’ve been on a bit of an Aquabats kick lately. The second mini-season of The Aquabats Super Show just wrapped up on The Hub, and I’m still wanting more. Tonight’s video is an entire Aquabats concert from Lawrence Kansas in 1998, presented in glorious low-fidelity!

Enjoy the classic days of the crime-fighting band, back when their weapon of choice was SKA!

ArtWalk in Photos

The PopCulteer
July 19, 2013

Img_7870It’s ArtWalk Photo Time!

It’s that time of the month, and this month your PopCulteer actually made it to Downtown Charleston to take pictures of ArtWalk.

I’ve been slacking off a bit this year, mising last month’s ArtWalk and not covering as many galleries as I’d planned for the months before that. I’d determined that July would be the big month where I made up  my spotty ArtWalk attendance record this year.

The plan was to hit every gallery yesterday during ArtWalk. It’s been months since I’ve even made it out to ArtWalk, and I wanted to make up for lost time. Then I got in my car and saw this…

Img_7794 …which wasn’t so much of a shock since my car was hot enough on the inside for me to start feeling my internal organs melt. Yet, I soldiered on and made it to six galleries before common sense told me to go home. Well there was also the fact that folks started asking if I were okay.

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