Needless Things

If you listened to last week’s (LAST WEEK!) Episode 23 of the Needless Things Podcast, then you know that we had a great time talking about the history of the Godzilla franchise. We barely scratched the surface, though, so there will be a sequel episode later this year. After we finished recording I was so excited by talking to Gary, Johnny, and Scott that I asked if they would be interested in getting back together after we had all seen the new movie. Everybody was in -  Shoot the Moon Comics’ Scott Stripling, The RevCast’s Gary Mitchel, and pro wrestler and Godzillaologist Johnny Danger.  I saw it at the IMAX in 3D Friday night with the family and the movie blew me away. There were some minor issues, but overall I was just amazed at what Godzilla accomplished. I couldn’t wait to talk to the guys about it. We got online Sunday night – a mere week after recording Episode 23 – and had a great conversation about the movie.   ***CAUTION: There will be SPOILERS!***     “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com    

I am not a Godzilla fanatic.   I do love Godzilla as a monster. I am awed by his place in cinematic history. I think he is one of the best monster designs ever, in movies or otherwise. And he has certainly been mimicked and paid tribute to more than any other modern monster. He also has the best rogues gallery of anybody, ever.   I can’t tell you which Godzilla movie I saw first or when I saw it, but I do know that the King of Monsters has been a part of my consciousness since I was very small. I know this because he is still a monster to me. As much as I love 60s Godzilla and his victory dance, there’s a part of me that is still terrified of Godzilla. And that fear must have been put there when I was young.   I think that the fear will be back this Friday, because the new Godzilla movie looks like it gets back to the roots of the 1954 original. It’s because of that impending release that I wanted to gather some folks and talk about the Big G. I am fascinated by the history of the monster, but hardly an expe

I’ve known James T. Warbington for about two decades now and I find myself hard-pressed to describe him. He’s a punk rocker, an entrepreneur, a musician, a director, a redneck, an arranger of things, a wrestlemaniac, a mentor, and one of the most unselfish people I’ve ever met. And he writes like a loud insane person. James was the first subject of one of my 13 Questions posts and I still feel like it’s the best one. He took full advantage of the format to express himself and talk about his movie, The Black Earth. Ever since that Q&A I’ve wanted to do an actual interview because I thought it would be fascinating and hilarious. Much to my surprise James does not interview like he writes. He’s thoughtful and almost quiet, in a way. We had a great conversation about wrestling, life, and his new movie, The Gorda; which starts shooting in July. About halfway through the interview wrestler and comedian Matt “Sex” Sells and his lovely wife, Jen, drop in to join us in discussing this new Western that James is

Yes, the picture is correct - this is Episode 19 of the Podcast. We recorded it back in January, but for various reasons I have not been able to publish it until now. This makes the image for the Stephen Platinum episode incorrect, but the numbering is right on everything now. 2013 was a huge year for Masters of the Universe and now it's time for me and Mr. Beau Brown to finally get together and talk about it. Or time for me to post our talk about it anyway. We actually recorded this back in January, but I haven't been able to put it up until now because of the restrictions I had on my hosting. Thanks to you Phantomaniacs I have finally been able to upgrade and I can do more podcasting than ever before. We'll see how that goes. I have lots of big plans for the future. As for Masters of the Universe, 2013 was pretty unbelievable. Not only did we get the long-awaited and often thought impossible Castle Grayskull, we also got the Filmation subscription. This was a big surprise - not so much t

In which Phantom Troublemaker discusses matters of health, finance, and rocking the mic.   Seriously, though - I just wanted to have a nice little fireside chat with all of you Phantomaniacs and let you in on what's happening. We hit our goal, the podcast will go on to be bigger and better.  But there are other things afoot, as well. Give it a listen and leave your feedback here, on Facebook, or send it in to the e-mail on the right side of your screen. The one under the PayPal Donation button.   Ahem.   Anyway, give it a listen. I talk about stuff and then at the end share a very perosnal, special treat with you guys. Enjoy.   "Procrastibate" by LeSexoflex.com "Proceed" by TheRoots.com

This past Sunday I got online with Mr. Beau Brown (SciFiJanitors.com), Ryan Schweck (Evil), Jay Hornsby (The Belligerent Monkey), Josh Wilson (The Oncoming Storm), and Reverend Dan Wilson (Poddy Humor) to discuss the recent New York International Toy Fair. Check it out:

I am absolutely delighted to be bringing you an interview with the most brilliant professional wrestling mind I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, Stephen Platinum. But he’s more than just a booker, he’s also a pop culture aficionado, which plays into his booking style in more ways than you could imagine. We talk about Steve’s life, career in wrestling, and Dexter. His tour of Full Moon Studios comes up – something I’ve always wanted to ask him about – and of course we spend some time on the genesis of PCW (if you want that whole story you need to watch the excellent documentary, The Booker). The Booker -Trailer- from Mike Perkins on Vimeo. I had great fun talking to this man and I think you guys are really going to dig this one. It was hard to wrap up at the end; I think we probably could have talked TV and movies and horror all night. Enjoy! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “The Wizard” by Black Sabbath -Phantom

I couldn’t be more excited and quite frankly impressed with myself as far as how this year is shaping up so far. I am pretty awesome. Just let me have this moment. I have three podcast episodes in the can already and two more on the schedule. Three of these episodes are interviews that to me are Big Deals – dany only, today’s with Adam WarRock, and another one that you’re just going to have to wait a week or so to find out about. I’m almost wishing I had more monthly space on Podbean, but that’s not going to happen because that takes even more money. On a related note, if you like what you hear, ypu can donate by clicking that PayPal button to your right! I give my whole Adam WarRock story in the show, so I’m not going to repeat it here. The deal is that his Doctor Who Mixtape dropped on January 7th and once I listened to it I was dying to talk to this guy. I didn’t know what format it would be – ideally we’d do an hour long Needless Things and record a ten minute drop-in about The Doctor Mixtape for Earth

Hey Phantomaniacs – it’s an all-new year and I’m proud to be kicking it off with an interview I’ve been waiting over a year for. My goal is to bring you no less than twenty-four new episodes over the next twelve months, and I have a lot of cool stuff planned. If you don’t know, dany only (yes, that’s correct – no caps) is a professional wrestler that’s been working the Southeast for over a decade now. He’s a three time APW Tag Team Champion, a former GCW Tag Team Champion, and held the NWA Anarchy Tag Team titles with his partner, Stryknyn, for 77 days. All he ever wanted to do was wrestle, and he does it as much as he can. Over the years he’s developed a strong philosophy about the business and the people in it, and he’s not afraid to voice that philosophy loudly and often. Sometimes to the chagrin of others. More recently The Human Hand Grenade has taken up the flag of the patriot, pointing out fallacies in American culture and society; particularly the media. His recent time in Afghanistan opened only’s ey

Time to put together all of the stuff that I didn’t know what to do with and stick it in a podcast! I had two episodes that didn’t work out right at the end of the year, so I need to use up that storage space I’m paying for (feel free to chip in through the PayPal widget on the right side of your screen!). I have two recordings from Walker Stalker Con that never made it onto Needless Things. The first is an interview with Zack Galligan that was too short (not entirely his fault) and the second is a roundtable interview with Andrew Lincoln that I didn’t put up because there were nine other people involved and I figured they’d all put it up in bigger media outlets than I had access to. But now I feel kind of bad about not posting it (or about reviewing the Con, which was actually pretty great) so here it is. Finally, Beau and I did an audio review of the Masters of the Universe Jet Sled. It went on too long and I didn’t think it would make a very good episode by itself, but after going back and giving it a l

Join me, Phantom Troublemaker, and my co-host Mr. Beau Brown as we talk Doctor Who with our guests Beth Van Dusen and Dana Swanson. We discuss our first experiences with Doctor Who, how we've followed throughout the years, our reactions to the relaunch in 2005, and our hopes for the post-50th Anniversary era. It was a great talk with a cool bunch of people. If you've got a few bucks to throw at the podcast, please click on that link to your right. This stuff ain't cheap, and it isn't getting any cheaper. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Doctorin' the TARDIS” by The Timelords -Phantom

Breaking News: CM Landrus – today’s guest - sent me an e-mail late last night letting me know that the Mission Indiegogo campaign had been put on hold. I don’t know the whole story, but I get the feeling that a few more resources need to be gathered before the film is ready to be as big a deal as it should be. I wish CM and the rest of the crew the best of luck in getting what they need together. I never imagined that I might be able to interview the person responsible for bringing a future Mil Mascaras movie into being, but that’s exactly what happened. Thanks to the incomparable Joe Crowe of the Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track I was able to talk to CM Landrus, the Producer and Director of Mission, the new Mil movie. It’s written by Jeffrey Uhlmann – the man who scripted the last two Mil films. He has a fantastic understanding of Luchador movies and the tone and content that people expect out of them. I was honestly a little nervous because this is the first interview I’ve done where I haven’t

This is the big one, Phantomaniacs. You’ve heard the action figure panel. That one is really my pride and joy because it is the first Dragon Con panel that I was responsible for. Obviously I love action figures and toys and it was a blast to blather on about them with Gary and Geena for an hour. I’m pretty sure we’ll do it again next year in some form. You’ve heard the He-Man panel. That one was special because me and Beau got to do our Needless Thing in front of an audience and… sometimes my phrasing is really bad. Gary was with us on that one, too, because Gary is awesome. But the awesomest awesomeness was the fact that we got to talk with William Stout. That made that panel extra special. And I’m so glad I got to record it. I learned my lesson about recording panels after being on a fantastic Elementary panel at TimeGate with (dude) and it having a single shred of evidence from it. But now it’s time for my passion. It’s time for the panel about the toy line and cartoon and comic book that ruled my

By the Power of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track… I HAVE THE POWER! Fabulous powers were revealed to me when I held aloft my mic and started running my mouth about dork shit. Seriously – that’s how I got the panel gig. I’ve told the story before here on Needless Things, but after working with the fantastic American Sci-Fi Classics crew (and publicly referring to them as “fantastic” many, many times) last year at Dragon Con I was invited to more panels this year. And my casual aside mentioning how much I’d like to run a toy panel at Dragon Con was taken seriously. I basically got an e-mail a few months ago that said, “Here’s your toy panel and a list of others you might want to participate in. Oh, and you should probably just run this Masters of the Universe panel, too.” Mrs. Troublemaker has said I’m pretty much insufferable since then. The first thing I did was ask if I could bring my Needless Things Podcast co-host Mr. Beau Brown. I know Masters well enough to on for an hour (or more), but it’s Bea

I am so frazzled I'm not even sure what to write at the moment. I'm getting over Con Crud, which I think delayed my, “Holy shit that was a busy and productive Dragon Con and how did I get so much done and FUUUUUUUU...” reaction. I was diagnosed with Acute Pharyngitis (which translates to “sore throat and tons o snot”, which is a palindrome) and basically spent all of last week laying around watching Sons of Anarchy and not thinking very much. Now I am thinking again. I am planning panels for next year. I am planning panels for other conventions. I am thinking about how flat-ass broke I am and being thankful that there was this crazy glut of toys right before Con (this always happens for the back-to-school season) so I have enough toys to review to keep me going through November. I am also thinking about 31 Days of Halloween, which starts very soon and which I have no posts banked for. Argh. But I have already made arrangements for some Guest Posts and of course we'll have a new, spookily appropriate Best C

If you don’t know, Calabrese is a horror rock band out of Phoenix, AZ that I first discovered at Dragon Con back in 2009. “Midnight Spookshow” was the first song I heard and it was a revelation. I love music very much, but I just don’t follow it like I used to. So finding out that there was a band out there making this incredible music about vampires, zombies, darkness, and all of the horror stuff I love was great. The fact that they were also one of the tightest rock outfits I had heard amazes me to this day. I’m happy to say that I’ve now had 2/3 of Calabrese on and we did a little exploring. Jimmy and Bobby came on and were absolutely awesome to talk to. I got into the history of the guys, their interests, their plans for the future, and what makes them tick, tock, and rock as a band. I had a blast talking with them and I think we covered some good ground. I hope you enjoy the show and pay careful attention – there’s a special announcement about Dragon Con towards the end. For now, though, learn a

It’s time for the next thrilling installment of the Needless Things Podcast! After the magic of Heroes Con I knew I was going to have to do a full episode with the magnificent DJ Spider. I got to enjoy an excellent conversation on costuming with her and some other folks at Heroes and I wanted to do my best to recapture it in podcast form. Aside from the fact that we were all sober this time I think it worked out pretty well. If you don’t know, DJ Spider is one of the premiere cosplayers of the Southeast. She is renowned for not only her skills, but the humor and wit that she puts into many of her costumes. Half of what she makes is based on dares. The other half is Dazzlers. If you’ve seen an excellent Big Barda walking around at one of the Southeastern cons, that’s probably Spider. Not only is she an amazing talent, she is also more than willing to share her knowledge and love of the hobby of costuming. So sit down with me, Mr. Beau Brown, and the lovely DJ Spider as we dive into the world of costumes

Surprise! It's time for another Needless Things Podcast! I hadn't expected to be doing another one quite so soon, but when my co-host Mr. Beau Brown wants to talk Masters of the Universe, I have learned it is best to get on the ball and make things happen. And there was a lot of MOTU news to talk about coming out of this year's San Diego Comic Con. Mattel probably had their best showing yet. But it wasn't all about Masters, or else it would be called San Diego Masters of the Universe Con. No, there was also news from Hasbro, NECA, and all of the other toy companies, as well as a few movie announcements. Join me - Phantom Troublemaker, my co-host Mr. Beau Brown, Jay Hornsby (The Belligerent Monkey), and Ryan Schweck as we run down some of our favorite - and not-so-favorite - reveals and bits of news from SDCC. Here's Episode 7 of the Needless Things Podcast! "Procrastibate" by LeSexoflex.com "Suppose the Doomsday Cults Were Right" by Kill, Baby... Kill! -Phantom

No – the live recording of Needless Things Podcast Episode 6 did not fill up the Odin’s parking lot or Media Room and certainly didn’t make Bobby Nash and Jay Hornsby rich men. But we did have a great time hanging out and recording and the trial by fire of the Olympus W-802 Digital Voice Recorder was a success. The point is that everybody involved had fun and we got a good conversation out of it. I learned several things that I will put into effect for the next live show on August 17th. I’m going to focus more on the show itself than trying to make any kind of event out of it. The bottom line is that we can record whether people show up or not. And as Bobby and I determined after the event, it’s pretty much always better recording in person, whether you have an audience or not. The interaction is more immediate and real and the conversation has a much better flow. So here’s Needless Things Episode 6 – LIVE From Odin’s Cosmic Bookshelf. Myself, Mr. Beau Brown, the Belligerent Monkey, and Bobby Nash talk about

Hey Phantomaniacs - welcome to another somewhat unexpected episode of the Needless Things Podcast! I went into HeroesCon hoping to score a few interviews with some of the guests there and ended up with seven excellent segments that I cannot wait for you guys to hear. I got to sit down with Jennifer of Handmade Stuffs, Kyle Starks, Jamie Cosley, Hashim of Silver Panther Studios, and even ended up with a surprise interview with Jim Rugg. Everybody was very cool and I feel like I did a pretty decent job of interviewing. I’m sure I’ll get better over time, but the most important thing to me this go-round was to not ask everybody the exact same questions. I think I tailored each session to the particular artist for the most part. Plus, I talk to Award-Winning Bobby Nash and Fan-Tiki-Tastic Mike Gordon of the ESO Network in the wrap-up segment. It's ballin'! P.S. - Jim Rugg's Supermag is fucking insane and brilliant. Hunt it down. -Phantom "Procrastibate" by LeSexoflex.com "Theme from Superman" copyright Warne