Author: rudy panucci (Page 19 of 34)

If the Hello Kitty Fender Guitar wasn’t bizarre enough, then how about lining up this fall so you can buy the Chrysler 300C Personal Computer. According to Brandweek Magazine, we’re going to be treated to a PC that features a base unit shaped like the popular overpriced gas-guzzler. The hard drive is inside the 21-inch-long car replica, and the disc player tray pops out from under the distinctive front grille.

It’s going to sell for $1,500, which puts it about 500 bucks higher than comparable computers that don’t happen to look like toy cars. However, for that extra five C-notes, you get special features, like the option of having the computer make revving-up sounds when you turn it on. The desktop icons all have the winged Chrysler logo, and you can purchase custom rims for the tires. On top of that you can even have the PC make idling sounds while the computer is on, at least until you snap from the constant noise and start beating it with a toilet brush.

Initially, this special PC will be a limited run of 5,000, and it will be sold in special retail locations that cater to foolish people with too much money. It’ll be interesting to see if this sort of gigantically pointless feat of cross-licensing will have any effect on the already idiotic practice of PC case modifications.

Fender Guitars wants more women to get involved in playing music. They especially want younger girls to pick up the guitar, and follow in the footsteps of artists like Lisa Loeb, who endorses Fender products. So, in order to target bright, talented, introspective and mature young women who might want to explore the artistic wonders of the electric guitar, Fender has decided to design a guitar that they think will appeal to intelligent, serious, budding young female artistes.

They took one of their cheaper guitars, painted it pink, and slapped a decal of Hello Kitty on it.

It’s the Hello Kitty Fender Guitar, and they honestly think that this will sell girls on the idea of becoming a rock star. Because, when you think of ROCK, you think of Hello Kitty.

Makes you wonder if Mattel wanted too much money to license Barbie: Fairytopia to Fender.

Courtesy of Paul Hipp and the folks at the Huffington Post, this week’s SOTW is a fresh take on The Beatles’ classic “I Am The Walrus,” filtered through the recent spoutings of our Commander In Chief: “I’m The Decider.” Right click and save to download, or click here to see the lyrics while you listen.

“Walrus” is one of my favorite Beatle tunes, and normally, the thought of it being sung by Dubya would be stomach-turning. But this version is clever enough to overcome the inherent blasphemy.

So, I took a week off from writing Popcult (and thanks for the kind words and well wishes), and I turn on the TV Sunday morning, only to find that they were showing the movie “The Road Warrior.” No big deal, except that they were showing it on The History Channel.

This was The History Channel, you know, the channel where they show programs about things that really happened, sometime in the past. In case you don’t know, “The Road Warrior” is a post-apocalyptic action flick starring Mel Gibson as one of the last civilized people on Earth who fights a band of mutants in the Australian outback. It was a sequel to “Mad Max,” but it was this second movie that was more successful and inspired the professional wrestlers who swiped the name.

I know I’ve been a bit preoccupied during the last week, but did I miss the end of the world?

At right you see a digitally assaulted photograph of the former Mound Elementary School in Dunbar, where I first learned to write good. Click the photo to enlarge.

Now it’s the Fairlawn Baptist Church Annex. Many years ago, before it was an elementary school, it was Union District High School, the first high school in Kanawha County.

And it’s built on an Indian burial mound, which explains all the zombies we used to have wandering around during math class.

The above picture is a composite that I made of my parents a few years back for their anniversary. It’s their two favorite photos of each other, combined into one. I have pretty much dedicated the last fifteen years to taking care of my parents full time. Dad passed away in 2003, after a battle with leukemia. I mentioned in my sketchy bio, back when I started this blog, that I’d been taking care of Mom here at home since she suffered a major stroke in 1997. We lost Mom Saturday morning. She had a peaceful end, after fighting to live for many years more than any doctor expected.

I’ll be back posting in a few days.

This week’s Song Of The Week is a bit of an archival recording, so you’ll have to excuse the audio quality. This was recorded the night that I met Hasil Adkins, back in March, 1990. It was a Friday night, and The Swivels (formerly The Swivel Rockers) were playing at the Empty Glass. All week long they promised a surprise guest, and they did not disappoint. Between sets by The Swivels, Boone County Legend Hasil Adkins got up and performed a handful of songs, sitting behind the drum kit with his guitar.

Whoever was running sound that night recorded it off the soundboard, and, with Hasil’s blessing (nobody wanted to cross Hasil Adkins), I was able to play this song the next night on Radio Free Charleston. This is a dub of the air check from that episode of RFC, digitized and cleaned up a bit, but it’s still pure Haze. Sure it’s low-fi, but somehow the thought of Hasil in Dolby 5.1 Surround doesn’t seem right.

So, travel back to that magic night when Hasil Adkins took the stage at the Empty Glass, and performed the Chuck Berry classic, “Maybelline.” For more on Hasil Adkins, check out the official Hasil Adkins website, from which I swiped the above photo. I had to “Hasil-ize” it, a little, though.

I had a lot of fun last week at the meeting of the Charleston Area Bloggers, at Rick Lee’s studio on the West Side. It’s great to get to put faces to the names on the local blogs. They meet the first Friday of every month, and I’ll post details here on the next meeting as the plans are finalized. Any local blogger, or prospective blogger, is welcome to attend.

It was a kick seeing Rick’s studio, and over at his blog, you can see the first photos of me ever published on the internet–at least the first photos where I don’t have robotic spider legs. Aside from the frightening sight of me, you ought to check Rick’s blog for his terrific photography. The guy’s a real artist.

I also got to meet two other photo bloggers who do great work: Shane Evans, who does Through The Lens; and Scott Mitchell who’s behind the Entropy blog. It was also great to meet Robin S., the man who does One Stack Mind. Bob Coffield maintains the Health Care Law Blog, and is one of the deans of the local blogging community. Bob was just brimming with cool ideas and advice, and as I was leaving, he and Rick were helping set up Dale Morton, a Hurricane-based designer of way cool mascot outfits, with his own blog, which quickly got added to my everyday list.

I’m already looking forward to the next meeting, and hoping that my schedule will allow me to attend. I know that there are several other area bloggers that didn’t make this get-together, so it’d be great to get to meet more of the flesh-and-blood counterparts to Charleston area blogger-egos.

It was hyperactive night of incredible wrestling action as IWA East Coast put on yet another spectacle last week in South Charleston. Shoots And Ladders featured a rematch from last year, and a tremendous visitor from the East, as the South Charleston Community Center hosted nearly 300 fans of blood, guts, and mayhem. Here’s the recap, with photos by Nick Gatens.

The evening opened with IWA’s darling, Mickie Knuckles, venturing outside of the women’s division to take on Ashland’s Juggulator. Despite a valiant effort, Mickie was not able to overcome the outside interference by Jugg’s sidekicks, Crowza and Woody Numbers. After the match, Ian Rotten rescued Mickie from a 3-on-1 beatdown, and challenged Juggulator to a “Loser leaves IWA EC” match at the next show, on June 7.

The second match of the night saw the team of Trik Nasty and JD Escalade take on the unstoppable monster, Warpig. Warpig won, after his handler, Dr. Max Graves, paid Escalade to abandon his partner. The score between Nasty and Escalade will be settled at the next show.

Next up, we had the terrifying Bull Pain facing hardcore legend, Ian Rotten. Bull Pain was intense, and had half the crowd shaking in their boots. Rotten was unfazed, and more than held his own against his frightening oppenent. After a brutal match that saw the Community Center’s walls baptized in blood, Ian emerged victorious. After the match, Bull Pain managed to terrorize several ringside workers and ring announcer Christian Harper.

In the first of three marquee matches, former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, The Sandman, returned to face the inebriated luchadore, El Drunko, one year to the day after their legendary match at IWA East Coast’s “Happy Hour Hatred.” Sandman was in the best shape he’s been in years, and both guys knocked themselves out putting on a great show for the fans. Sandman evened the score with a win, hopefully setting up a rubber match somewhere down the road.

The “Hell Match” was next on the card. “Mr. Insanity” Toby Klein, defeated Mad Man Pondo after smashing him over the head with a steel chair that had illuminated light bulbs attached. This match went all over the arena, and really gave the fans their money’s worth. After the match, Pondo was attacked in the ring by two mystery men wearing prison jumpsuits. 2 Tuff Tony, Pondo’s tag team partner in Japan, made the save, and the next show will see how well these guys can fair in a two-on-two tag team match.

The evening wound up with an acrobatic tour-de-force between IWA East Coast champ, Chris Hero, and Dick Togo, a legend in Japan who has wrestled in the WWE as part of Kai En Tai. Togo is a phenomenal, high-flying technical wrestler, and Hero was able to match him move for move. These guys really put on an exhibition for the crowd. Hero retained his championship, but after the match the crowd cheered both men, and chanted “Please Come Back” at Togo, who rarely works in the United States these days. It was a rare treat to see him live, and I hope that he decides to come back someday.

As usual, it was an amazing, entertaining night of blood, guts, beer, and wrestling, courtesy of IWA East Coast.

We kick off this week with a digitally-assaulted photograph I call “Tracks East”. The photo was from a batch of pictures I took in Dunbar a few weeks ago. The digital assault was done just last night.

It took some cropping, colorizing, retouching, and a quick run through the pointillism filter to get it to look like this.