Vote for THG in the Mushroom Recipe Challenge

As some of you may know I'm not just a trash lover and unredeemable gorehound but I also love to cook. I recently entered some recipes in the Marx Foods Mushroom Recipe Challenge and I'm hoping you'll show us a little love. Simply click on the graphic below and vote for The Hungover Gourmet's 'Mini Morel Meatloafs'. Plus, after you vote you can enter a random drawing to win some fresh truffles. Thanks for your support!

Hey Amigos! You Got Tarantulas in My Coffee Beans!

There isn’t an abundance of movies with coffee as a plot device, so when I stumbled upon a DVD of the 1977 tv movie TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO (Frematle Media) I knew I had to give it a spin.

Filmed before he became a tv star via WKRP IN CINCINATTI, TARANTULAS briefly features Howard Hessman and dependable Tom Atkins (NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, THE FOG, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D) as a couple of gringoes with heads full of get-rich-quick dreams. So when they pour out of a taxi at a South American airport looking drunk and hanging all over some slatterns the federales eye them up as easy marks for an “export tax” on their cargo of Ecuadorian coffee beans.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Detective Cameron listens to Johnny Fever and his plan to get the money they need to get back to the States. And that’s the first sign of trouble. Well, that and the tarantulas that have crawled into the bags of beans. Oh, and the three illegals who get on board and promptly fall ill and get bitten by the spiders that spring from the bags during a storm. Other than that it’s a great plan.

After the plane crash lands in a small town filled with orange groves, the tarantulas – actually the Wandering or Banana Spider – make life a living hell in very JAWS-esque fashion, threatening the local industry (oranges instead of tourism) and turning Pat Hingle into Roy Schieder’s character.

As slow moving as the titular characters, TARANTULAS is almost bad enough to be entertaining. Almost.

There’s minor moments of hilarity like the woman who mistakes a tarantula for her boyfriend (in her defense his chest was pretty hairy) and lines like “hey you punk kid, get away from there” but most of the 96-minute running time is devoted to watching 70s tv stars wander around a warehouse shoveling up spiders – did I mention they’re motionless spiders? – while wasp sounds buzz through the speakers.

If that sounds like your idea of a good flick then by all means run out and grab TARANTULAS from the cheapie DVD rack at your local supermarket. If not, then consider yourself warned.

Review originally appeared in The Hungover Gourmet #11: The Coffee Issue.

Louis Fowler's DEVASTATOR Tour '09: THG Style

Ever wonder what it's like to spend a day eating your way around Baltimore with yours truly?

Louis Fowler does a pretty great job of capturing the high and low lights of his all-too-brief visit to Charm City including going to Attman's Lenny's for lunch, a visit to the one and only Atomic Books, and breaking crabcakes at Michael's Steak & Lobster House with yours truly and Smile Hon editor Patrick Tandy (aka The World's Most Prolific Zine Publisher).

As my daughter would say, "Check it!"

Combs Cooks

I love cookbooks and I love horror films. So how come I'm just finding out about It Came from the Kitchen, a 2007 cookbook that collects recipes and food-related anecdotes from horror and science-fiction personalities?

Even better, the cookbook contains a recipe from none other than Herbert West himself, actor Jeffrey Combs.

Combs, star of RE-ANIMATOR (and its sequels) as well as the underrated Lovecraft-inspired horror flick FROM BEYOND, contributes his recipe for Tortilla Soup, a tasty looking blend of peppers, spices, beef and beans that will surely warm you up on a cold winter night.

You can check out the complete recipe – and stay on top of all the Combs news that's fit to print – by visiting The Combs Corner, an excellent blog devoted to the popular actor.

31 DAYS OF FRIGHT: Curse of Frankenmallows

Gotta love these fun looking Halloween treats that look like Frankenstein but are made from popsicle sticks, marshmallows, pretzels and melted chocolate.

Not interested in a tasty, candy treat? Looking for something a little grosser for your Halloween dinner party? Try these Bloody Eyeballs!

Or maybe you'd rather turn your home into a haunted vineyard and host a Halloween Wine Tasting.

Happy Repeal Day

'Nuff said. But here's a link if you need to know more.

Zine Reviews: Uptight Moms, Transit Trains and Pack Rats

It's probably safe to say that anybody reading this blog can relate to the subject matter of YOUR MOMETER #7. This cute, old-school zine about – what else? – just how much of a pain the editors' moms were had me laughing out loud from its first pages. Everybody thinks their mom was the worst to grow up with and I can share some doozies about mine. But I digress. YOUR MOMETER is all about Cathy Catheter and Matty Monochrome's mothers, whom they describe as “hella uptight. Uptight. Strained. Stretched tight. Taut. UNRELAXED...”

The 32 mini-digest pages are fleshed out with illustrated stories (one about how their collection of MAD Magazine went missing hit very close to home), lists of things that make moms blow their tops, record reviews and the required collage. With its rough, hand-drawn cartoons and illustrations, typewriter set copy, and cut and paste feel, YOUR MOMETER feels fun, fresh and old school all at the same time. ($2 from YOUR MOMETER, PO Box 66835, Portland, OR 97290, no trades.)

While YOUR MOMETER partially succeeds because most of us can relate to the idea of an uptight parent who can't grasp our musical taste or romantic choices, a zine like OPUNTIA 63.1B has a tougher task in front of it. Dales Speirs' sparse, simple publication mixes it up from issue to issue, delivering a review zine, index, apa zine or perzine depending upon the numbering. This issue happens to be a review zine, but not your normal amalgamation of record, book, movie and zine reviews. Instead, Speirs tackles a decidedly niche topic: the commentaries, histories, magazines, and pastiches featuring the characters that populated the world of the popular fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. As a very casual fan (I read all the Holmes and Watson adventures as a youngster but haven't revisited them in decades) it was fun to see how writers and publishers had expanded the universe created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and conjured up new tales in which Holmes becomes a real world celebrity, Doctor Watson solves the case, or an author explains background details from Conan Doyle's work.

Though I found the zine's layout confounding at times – the 16 digest size pages are layed out in landscape fashion – the content was worth the effort. And, like any good niche zine, Speirs' look at the world of Holmes made me want to explore the topic more. ($3 cash to Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7.)

WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS is another long-running zine, and one that has maintained its singular focus of celebrating, criticizing and appreciating the New York City Transit Authority for 37 issues. Editor Fred Argoff should know a thing or two about the subject, he's a conductor for the legendary transit system. Issue #37 is the comforting WTCD blend of photos, facts, observations and reviews you've come to know and love, all written in Argoff's pleasant and conversational style. Reading an issue of this zine – or the editor's equally interesting BROOKLYN! – is like sitting down and chatting with a particularly knowledgeable pal and letting them wax poetic into the early morning hours about their favorite subject.

What I love about WATCH, though, is summed up best in Argoff's letter from the editor that opens this issue. Bitching about work has become a national pastime in this world of ours but, as Fred writes, “if you cannot find things to amuse yourself during the work day, then you are in the wrong field, and you should find a new job as quickly as you can.” Of course, it wouldn't be a review of WTCD if I didn't register my one and only (minor) complaint about the publication: the photos. Though the photo reproduction in this issue is much better than in the past, a photo of a crowd exiting a train en masse is little more than an indecipherable blob of toner. Again, this is a minor quibble and one that can be easily overlooked for a zine that remains true to its roots and vision. ($2 to Fred Argoff, Penthouse L, 1170 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11230. And while you're at it send him a couple bucks for the latest BROOKLYN!, too.)

It's certainly naïve of me to think this way, but I can see zines like OPUNTIA or WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS still being published years from now. The technology required to put them out isn't going away anytime soon, and the editors seem to have an endless supply of information to share about their subjects. That isn't to say that other publishers who decide to give up the print route have run out of things to say. Quite the contrary.

In fact, I have been giving serious thought to ending the print version of THE HUNGOVER GOURMET after the next issue. Not because I feel like I've exhausted the subjects of food, drink, travel and fun. Just the opposite. The print edition simply isn't timely enough for me while the blog and website are able to share something like my recent trip to a 7-11 made over into a SIMPSONS-ized Kwik-E-Mart that day, not months later when the promotion is a distant memory in the collective, "what's now" psyche that plagues our world.

But I've been waffling on this issue since I first mentioned ending the zine in the pages of XEROGRAPHY DEBT. Yes, the death of Tower Records has been a major blow to the zin'e distribution, but the publication was never about readership or reach or core audiences. It was just another way to share my passion and the passions of others. I'm still up in the air about what to do, but I have to admit I'm leaning more towards keeping it going than pulling the plug.

I definitely fear there'll come a day when Anita j Michel hangs up her print hat and goes all-digital. And that's too bad, since Michel's SYNDICATE PRODUCT (the zine formerly known as LOW HUG) is one publication that I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing for. (Somewhat full disclosure – Anita and I have known each other for probably 20 years or so, I'm a frequent contributor to the pages of her zine, and I once gave her a very cool mushroom-shaped 70s stereo system that I couldn't move from Pittsburgh to Philly.)

Until that day comes when she decides to carry out her threat to move the publication on-line for good, we still have issues like 12.0: Year of the (Pack) Rat. Calling upon a wide array of writers and illustrators, Michel pulls together another great issue that delves into the diverse, but somewhat related, topics of collecting/acquiring/hoarding and the inability to get rid of things as well as the wonderful world of record stores, where many of us went to collect, acquire and hoard until they began disappearing one by one, from the corner shop to the corporate behemoth. It's another issue full of insight and wry observations and I'd love to see Michel turn some of these concepts into books. These tales of attachment to everyday objects really leave you wanting more. And for those of us who do want more, be sure to check out Anita's enjoyable, slightly snarky SYNDICATE PRODUCT blog at syndicateproduct.blogspot.com. ($3.00 to PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.)

Welcome to Nablopomo, Day One

"So, what's a Nablopomo?" you're probably asking yourself. Well, it stands for National Blog Posting Month and that's what November is. The idea behind the movement is that you commit to posting something to your blog every day of the month. That's it. They don't have to be long posts, detailed posts, or funny posts. You just have to post.

I've never taken on the Nablopomo challenge before but I plan to do it on two fronts: both here at the Exploitation Retrospect blog and over at The Hungover Gourmet blog. Aside from this initial post I'll do my best not to share content. That'd sort of be cheating, wouldn't it?

Anyway, I decided to tackle this challenge because work is getting busier, the holidays are coming up, life is getting crazier and it'd be really easy to slack off and let less important things like the blog take a backseat. Plus, I look at writing as a muscle and if you don't exercise it every now and then it starts to go a little soft.

So that's that. Welcome to Nablopomo and I hope you enjoy the ride.

By the way, you can also click the little participant graphic at the top of the right hand column to be taken to the Nablopomo homepage where you can read more about the event and explore some of the other blogs that are participating.

THG and Smile Hon Nominated by Utne

Utne Reader has officially announced its nominees for the magazine’s 2007 Independent Press Awards, which honors the very best in independent media from the pool of more than 1,300 sources Utne uses to cull its content. Among the 111 nominees selected were old favorites as well as a number of newcomers.

I'm thoroughly pleased to announce that both The Hungover Gourmet and Smile Hon, You're in Baltimore (edited and published by good friend and frequent THG contributor Patrick Tandy) have been nominated in the category of General Excellence for Zines.

Congrats to all the nominees! Utne will announce the winners in January/February 2008.

Spider Cakes and Skull Plates

I love, love, love Halloween and all the spooky, ghoulish things that come out around this time. How can you not love walking into a grocery store and seeing a display of Universal Monsters Fruit Roll-Ups? Not to mention the fine selection of onesies and pajamas we've found for Ryan to wear.

Even Dean and Deluca is getting in on the act, though the ghoulishly cool items are a bit out of my price range. Their newsletter arrived in my mailbox this morning and I was totally psyched... until I discovered that the Spider Web Cake was $125.00 and the set of Skull Plates used to serve it would be (gulp) $175.00.

If you're looking to spend a little less but still get that creepy kick, check out these mini Day of the Dead chocolate skulls from Vosges Chocolate. Yeah, they're pricey, too – at $8 for a 2.2 ounce skull – but they look awesome and I can attest that their chocolate, which we've been sampling the last week, is out of this world.

Another Year Another Eurotrash World, er, Gathering

Another year, another gathering of The Eurotrash Paradise under my belt. Actually, it's more like over my belt as it seems like we ate and drank and ate and drank our way through four days of fun, friends, movies, buying and more. Unfortunately, these weekends are too short and infrequent, but what are you going to do?

Also unofficially dubbed Christmas in August (nobody owns that, do they?), these gatherings are a great time to exchange movies, posters, books, mags and more with friends you know will appreciate them. This year I made out like a bandit and my weekend haul (gifts and purchases) included:

• A YEAR OF FEAR by Bryan Senn: this terrific new book is just what the title suggests. Senn offers up 366 horror films, one for each day, that somehow ties in to an event from that day. For instance, today, August 14th is National Senior Citizens Day, so the author features THE MAN WHO TURNED TO STONE, a "lurid" 1957 shocker with a mad scientist on the prowl for nubile bad girls. Bryan and I don't always see eye-to-eye (he prefers snooty Eurobrews, soccer and LAKE PLACID while I dig American swill, pro football and FRIDAY THE 13TH) but his writing is always engaging and entertaining, and he never pulls his punches.
• TARGET FOR KILLING: I've never seen this 1966 Eurospy flick featuring Stewart Granger and the great Klaus Kinski, but it now sits on my shelf awaiting a viewing.
• THE MANHUNT (a revenge pic featuring John Wayne's son John Ethan, Ernest Borgnine, Bo Svenson and Henry Silva) and DOUBLE TARGET, an over the top actioner starring Miles O'Keefe and Bo Svenson, directed by Vincent Dawn (aka Bruno Mattei).
• ALIENS: SALVATION and IRONWOLF: FIRES OF THE REVOLUTION, two comics featuring artwork by HELLBOY's Mike Mignola.
• A handful of CDs including 'Don't Worry About Me' by Joey Ramone, Japan's 'Quiet Life', and 'The Platinum Collection', a 16-track compilation of tracks from the years Hall & Oates spent on the Atco label. (Sue me. I love blue-eyed Philly soul.)
• Issue #20 of the continually amazing CINEMA SEWER by Robin Bougie. This sleazy installment features VICE SQUAD, nude cowgirl movies and much, much more. With the passing of Tower, CS – like many zine publishers including yours truly – needs support more than ever.
• BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #6: I missed issue 5 and I haven't been overwhelmed by this Frank Miller-penned comic but I find it almost impossible to resist a cover featuring a spandex-clad redheaded Batgirl.
• BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN trade paperback. I've been meaning to pick up this sequel to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS for a couple years now. With Batman on the brain (thanks to the upcoming film) and store credit burning a hole in my pocket I had to get this 200+ page sequel.
• THE MAN WHO SAVED BRITAIN: A PERSONAL JOURNEY INTO THE DISTURBING WORLD OF JAMES BOND by Simon Winder. Bats and Bond are two of my weak spots and this 2006 hardcover about the evolution of 007 and post-war Britain was definitely calling my name.
• CRAZY LEGS CONTI: Zen and The Art of Competitive Eating. I'm almost as much a food nut as I am a movie nut, so this documentary about the eccentric competitive eater is right up my alley.
• Atomic TV's Natty Boh Tribute and Atomic TV Cocktail Hours DVD. While I love living in the Baltimore suburbs, I miss having things like cable access channels that feature the Atomic Books produced Atomic TV. After enjoying the Natty Boh documentary that screened at The Senator last summer I had to grab this tribute to the legendary local brew.
• LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE DEAF MAN by Ed McBain. I used to read 87th Precinct Mysteries all the time when I was going through my "pulp phase" about 10 or 12 years ago. This pulp should make for a nice change of pace.
• MONSTER PLANET: A Zombie Novel by David Wellington. Again, I had store credit burning a hole in my pocket and I find it hard to resist words like "A Zombie Novel." Unfortunately, I didn't realize this was the conclusion to a trilogy so I may have to track down the first two books before I get into this one.
• A COOK'S TOUR: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain. I'll admit to being a Danny-Come-Lately as far as Bourdain goes. I'd sampled some of his stuff before and found him to be off-putting, cocky and arrogant. After watching his television shows and reading some more of his writing I still find him to be cocky and arrogant, but damned if he's not funny and engaging as hell.
• A couple vintage issues of pulpy men's mags, including STAG and BLUEBOOK.
• The latest issues of FILM COMMENT (only purchased because it features a four page article on Kinski) and PHANTOM OF THE MOVIES' VIDEOSCOPE.
  
• Not one, not two but three new Klaus Kinski movie posters (SCHIZOID, VENOM and the BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT/CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND double bill) plus an awesome window card for WEB OF THE SPIDER featuring Kinski as Edgar Allan Poe with a moustache that can only be defined as "whispy".

Wow. At the time I really didn't think I'd acquired that much stuff over the weekend, but I guess I did! I won't go into the details of our bar and restaurant adventures here, but I will post a link when I get around to it over at The Hungover Gourmet.

Dante's Inferno: 8/9/07

For those of you who have not been following our escapades via The Hungover Gourmet blog, I have two things to say. One, for shame. And, two, we're home.

Yes, after a 3000 mile road trip that took us through West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and probably a state or two I'm forgetting we have arrived back at ER Headquarters ready for, well, another few days off.

It's Horrorfind Weekend here in the Charm City area and while that news is usually met with the excitement and anticipation of just how much cash I can drop on obscure Kinski-related ephemera, this year stands to be even better.

This marks the fourth annual gathering of friends from the Eurotrash Paradise on-line group for what has become known as ETP WorldCon. This year's crew features many of the usual suspects as well as a couple new faces along for the weekend of trashy flicks, fatty foods, cold beer and good times.

I'm also pleased to report that Curt Purcell – good friend, fellow Trasher and head of the great Groovy Age of Horror blog – will be reading from his horror novel in development, Night Falls on a Fairy Tale. The Horrorfind website states that Curt will be reading on Sunday around 1:00 PM, so be sure to hightail it over there if you're at the show.

Other than that, you may have noticed a subtle change or two to this blog's layout. Mainly, I updated the header to reflect the logo over at the ER website. And yes, for those of you who have inquired, the ER site is still active and will be updated soon. The addition of our daughter and going on multiple vacations have taken their toll on my spare time. With summer – and my wife's three month maternity leave – rapidly coming to a close, I'll be getting back into my usual routine (or as close as I can get to it with a 12 week old close at hand) and writing and publishing more.

Look for reports from Horrorfind and ETP WorldCon IV over the weekend.

Short Notice is Better Than None

Sorry for the short notice but I'll be pinch hitting and taking part in tomorrow's zine panel at Baltimore's City Lit Project Festival. The panel takes place from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I'll be joined on the panel by Jill Strass from the Baltimore County Public Library's Zine Collection. Come on out, join the discussion, ask questions. I'll also be bringing tons of free zines with me!