Hello all!  Hope you're enjoying your day off.  There's a new article in town — a massive two-page photo-essay on my first experience at a Horror Convention!  We had a great time — met Betsy Palmer, made Betsy Palmer sign a picture of her decapitated prop head and giggled when Betsy Palmer kept interrupting the guy who played Jason for three seconds in the first F13 movie.  Lots of Freddy, Pinhead and other horror icons were also there to make this weekend one we won't soon forget.  Admission: Article is really, really long and kind of all over the place, so bear with it.

In other news, this latest article is the last to be posted within X-E's long-running Christmas layout.  I'm looking at the new design now — Brian's just tweaking it up.  I'm using it to introduce a couple of new features to the site that'll help keep the place alive during weekdays, since I think we can safely say that I have no time to write these EPICS after work.  In short, better times are ahead for the site, and I thank all of you who've stuck by it during the eternal holiday season.  You will all be rewarded with candy canes.

Working feverishly on many things at the moment, but wanted to mention X-E's latest journey off the Internet.  In the July issue of Stuff Magazine, check out the "Hit List" section for a nice little blurb about my Worst Game Room Ever article. 

There's a mildly interesting story attached to this.  The magazine had contacted me months ago to be included, but the images in the article were too shoddy after what I did to 'em to use in print.  I didn't have the originals.  Fearing that I'd lose my shot to have 1/10th of one page in one issue of one magazine dedicated to something I wrote a year ago, I offered to recreate the picture they were after, wrongly assuming I had a volley of Ms. Pac-Man machines at my disposal.  I didn't.  The only one I had access to was at an editing facility we use at work, so one day, I crept out for an hour, took the subway downtown, blasted into the facility with a digital camera, pleaded my case, took very odd pictures of their Ms. Pac-Man machine and ran back to the office with only minutes to spare before a pretty critical meeting, which I sat through sweating profusely.  Thanks, Stuff Mag!

I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath to find out what I thought about Sith.  Yeheh.  Gotta be honest: I didn't love it, and for the first few minutes after leaving the theater, I wasn't even sure I liked it.  Truth be told, I think I was just overly spoiled.  I'd read every last aspect about the movie prior to seeing it.  Hell, I'd seen stills from every major scene, pretty much frame by frame.  The movie had no chance of surprising me, and in many ways, it never had a chance to win me over: Having only seen the stills, I had weeks and months to make up in my own head how the scenes were going to play out.  That rarely works in favor of the actual product.

Which isn't to say that the product isn't completely without blame.  My complaints aren't original so I won't repeat them for the millionth time, but fuck man, I can't get past 'em either.  Save for ol' Palpsy, I just couldn't shake the belief that nobody onscreen really wanted to be there — an idea I willingly out as being unfair, since it's not like Hayden and Ewan didn't give it as much as they could.  I dunno.  Obviously, I'd much prefer to be in LOVE with the movie, and plan to see it again soon.  Maybe my opinion will swap.  I loved Attack of the Clones when it debuted, hated it a few weeks after.  I'm hoping for the reverse effect with this one.

But beyond all that, it's easily the most literally exciting of the prequels.  I dug the entire "Order 66" sequence, one of the only parts of the entire prequel trilogy that got a genuine emotional response outta me.  Palpatine's various freakouts were also a plus.  Bleh.  Gimme a few weeks…hopefully I'll come around.

In other news, the reason you didn't get a new article this past weekend is because I was out of town — so that means you get a, drumroll, trip report this weekend.  And how.

Consider the comments field for this entry your discussion thread for Revenge of the Sith.  Those wanting to avoid spoilers should be careful while scanning through.  I'll be seeing the flick tonight (passed on the midnight opener knowing that it'd require taking today off), and I can't wait.  Three and a half stars from Ebert, fifty and a half stars from people who know who played the Wampa in ESB.  Can't wait can't wait can't wait.  Share your thoughts, anticipations and questions in the comments.

EDIT: Saw it last night.  Didn't leave the theater knocked out, but it's grown on me overnight.  Will have more to say on Sunday.  Oh, those DVD contests?  I got a shitload of entries, so let's make the cutoff Saturday, 11:59 PM for entries.  Also, since I got waaaay more entries than I was anticipating (likely in the realm of 700 or so), I asked if the PR comp would mind supplying two of each set.  So, there will be four winners total.

I got my ticket!  Revenge of the Sith opens this week, sure to trigger millions of bittersweet moments as Star Wars fans young and old embark on the almost-certainly last-ever big screen debut for the franchise.  It doesn't matter how "good" the movie is: It's a necessary experience for anyone who ever fantasized about rushing over highway traffic on a speeder bike, for anyone who ever wielded a wrapping paper tube as a lightsaber, and for anyone who filed a written complaint about Greedo shooting first.  With so many memories attached to these films and their extended lore, it's tough to imagine those ending credits scrolling without an audience of massive cheers, massive tears and at least a few hundred rebels who hold lit lighters to the sky in a show of respect to the story that gave them so much joy.

Now us fans…we've survived a whole lotta torment over the past several years.  Both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were panned by critics, casual viewers and diehards alike, spoofed and insulted in every way possible in every media form imaginable.  If that didn't shake our loyalties, nothing will.  Still, if nothing else, it's given us a sense of humor about the franchise.  We love it, but I've run into very few Star Wars fans who are unwilling to poke fun of their hobby and its many lovable faults.  It's this newfound humor that paved the way for a number of hysterical cross-promotions in recent months, running the gamut from Chewbacca's Burger King commercial to M&M's dressing up like Sith warriors.  With Star Wars, nothing is sacred and everything is fair game.  I'm sure a great many hate this to no end, but personally, I'd rather have people goof on Star Wars if it means I can walk into a 7-11 and drink Darth Vader's Slurpee.  Introducing…Darth Dew!
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Sorry for the incredible lack of updates lately.  I feel like I say this too much.  But you understand, because you have no choice but to understand.  Not understanding will only make your hands and feet explode.  The good news: Brian is getting prettttty close to being done with the new design which, aesthetic improvements aside, ushers in two new sections to X-E that'll allow for nice, quick updates at a way more frequent rate.  I'll give one away now — more Kool-Aid reviews.  As in, every Kool-Aid flavor you could possibly remember.  I've somehow managed to get my hands on all but a very small few (Rainbow Punch still eludes me, sniff), but the collection of vintage fun mixes is immense, and it just felt like a nice summery project to do.  I don't want to spoil what's coming in the other new section, but it's far more grandiose and the result of collecting materials for the past year or so.  You will be most excited.

One of my more recent projects at work was writing/producing a commercial for Clarissa Explains It All on DVD.  A friend of mine did the spot for The Adventures of Pete & Pete.  Looks like they've seen the trends and are reacting accordingly — both shows' first seasons are coming out this week, and as fate would have it, I've snagged a couple of box sets on each to give away right here, right now in the efforts of good PR.

So, if you're interested in winning a Clarissa Explains It All DVD box set, use this link to e-mail me.  If you're more of a Pete & Pete kinda guy, use this link.  I'll draw a name at random in about a week, and since I'm only pushing this on the blog, you've all got a fairly decent shot at winning.  (Note: You must be at least thirteen-years-old to enter.  If you're twelve, you're fucked.)

By the way, I was never much of a Clarissa fan during the show's original run, but having to watch the first season a couple of hundred times has pushed me into the realm of quasi-fan.  I think it's the episode where Clarissa's dad and ladder-crawling neighbor boy do a Vanilla Ice-style dance about architecture that sealed the deal.

Sorry this is so late…been a hectic few weeks.  You'd never guess it from looking at this site, but summer is coming — and what better way to usher in hot weather than with a big, prehistoric glass of Purplesaurus Rex Kool-Aid!  I may be a Sharkleberry loyalist at heart, but there's no denying that this is the flavor most people of or near my age remember with the most fondness.  Article includes everything: A taste test, a comic book, a commercial and a trip through the unsweetened sands of time.  Enjoy, and have a good weekend.