Stagnant Island

Foxell Teaser from edJoy productions

2012-01-17T22:04:00.004-05:00

here's a sneak peek at out latest production...

PARANORMAL NATIVITY

2011-12-04T22:33:00.002-05:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from edJoy Productions!

The Theatre Bizarre

2011-10-02T21:45:00.003-04:00

Buddy Giovinazzo (Combat Shock)is one of the directors in this new horror anthology...besides, anything with Udo Keir has to be cool!
...see trailer here:
http://vimeo.com/26085661

Gotta Love the Shit i find Part III

2011-06-15T09:38:00.003-04:00

These incredible R-rated stamps are a real hoot! Funny, bizarre sayings like: "Constipated? try curtain rods", ..."Open you purse, I have to piss", "Can I butt-fuck your kittens", ..."I fart and the ground shakes", ...and others. Although of unknown origin, I beleive these were from the early 1970's era. Must read them for a good chuckle. (also selling them on the eBay)

ZOMBIE WALK 2010 chosen for Staten Island Film Festival

2011-05-06T03:09:00.004-04:00

Although you can watch it somewhere below, See it on the big screen!
... as part of the SUPERNATURAL SPECTACULAR!
Saturday 6/11 * 10pm * Snug Harbor Music Hall
See here for more info and free passes!...sifilmfestival.org
see more At:
edJoyMedia.com

Top Ten Things I'd do as CTV Director...

2011-04-08T14:02:00.003-04:00

Met the new director (Rob) at SICTV, and he seems like s nice guy. It's a thankless job, and I applaud his efforts to better the channels...
but it got me thinking...
What would I do as director to our local public access station?

So here it is:
Ed Droogie's Top ten Things to Improve CTV:
#10-CTV on Demand
#9-HD CTV
#8-Airing Communtity Board meetings
#7-Online streaming of channel 34
#6-"Coming Up" bumpers between shows
#5-Revive the monthly newsletter/Guide
#4-Revive the Director's Chair festival
#3-Dedicated channel for religion
#2-Resume late-night programming until 6am
.....and the #1 thing that MUST be done:
#1-MAKE SURE THE PROGRAM GUIDE IS CORRECT.
BTW...yes, industrial TELEVISION is still on every Sat. at midnight, as always....BUT it does not show up in the Tribune Media on-screen program guide....so viewers will have to MANUALLY schedule their DVRs to record channel 34 from 12Am to 1AM Every Sunday morning....(jeez!)...thank you for your attention in this matter, we return you now to the rest of the interwebz.

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE

2011-03-11T11:51:00.003-05:00

This is
a must-see
for any
fans of
industrialTELEVISION.
Finally a doc about the guy who created gore movies!
here's a short blurb:
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, literally hundreds of American filmmakers journeyed into the realm of Exploitation. There was money to be made then from cheap movies, and the result was a vast sea of no-budget flicks pushing either cars, monsters, killers, or supple skin. Very few of these films rose above the norm of the time, and far fewer actually tried to reinvent a seemingly fixed genre. Herschell Gordon Lewis and producer David F. Friedman knew that staying ahead of the game was the best way to make a buck, and, thanks to the combination of their ambition and their skewed minds, they ended up blazing a trail for independent cinema that America hasn’t seen the likes of since.

Met HG once back when Rick Sullivan had the Gore Gazette screenings at the DIVE in the 80's. Herschell was mega-cool, and had the BEST stories. Buddy Giovinazzo and I were there because we knew Herschell was attending. (I still have my auto'd 1-sheet of Blood Feast!) We were hanging out with Joe Spinell at the time, so we're all at the bar bullshitting, I actually uttered the line: "By the way, Herschell, do you know Joe Spinell?"
...only afterwards did I realize the gravity of what had just transpired. My god, I just introduced the "godfather of gore" to the "MANIAC"!!!

Click on the title for the link to the screenings, as I do not know when it will be issued on DvD.

R.I.P David F. Friedman, explotation pioneer

2011-02-22T08:39:00.004-05:00

David F. Friedman, producer of such classics as Blood Feast and many "Nudie films" such as Trader Hornee has died at 87. He will be missed. Featured many times on industrial TELEVISION, his trailers have become legendary. With narration such as:
"This film is for broad-minded adults only.....so if you got broads on your mind, come see this movie!"
A fixture at the chiller theater shows, he was always a cool old dude with many incredible stories from the old days of exploitation. I chose this trailer for She Freak, as it features Dave as a carnival barker, exactly where he got his start. His memoir, "A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-Film King," is a must-read.
Clicking on title will bring you to his something weird video page, where you can marvel at some of his legacy.

Signs of Staten Island Download

2011-02-17T11:33:00.002-05:00

R.I.P Tura Santana

2011-02-09T10:25:00.006-05:00

R.I.P Tura Santana ...Just found out that Tura Santana has died (of heart failure) at 72 years old. She will be missed, but her legacy lives on...just take a look at her greatest role....Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!....BTW, The narration (as always in Russ' trailers) absolutely ROOLS!

old Litter Sign in Port Richmond

2011-01-30T22:33:00.002-05:00

For pete's Sake....I remember these also being in the subways back in the late 1960's....this was found on a pole in port richmond.....amazing what survives!

Richmond Music Center Christmas

2010-12-18T11:51:00.001-05:00

Zombies at Asbury Park!

2010-12-07T16:25:00.004-05:00

see our new short on the record-setting 2010 Asbury Park Zombie Walk right now by clicking the link/title above!

signs of staten island on IMDB

2010-05-25T17:35:00.002-04:00

From the insipid to the just poorly-drawn, 'Signs of Staten Island' documents the kitschy & sometimes pretentious signage of the forgotten borough......a short film we just finished, see it here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1612023/

gotta love the stuff I find (part II)

2010-04-30T10:52:00.005-04:00

Christian NAZI HEIDI!!!
...inadvertently cool Christian comic from 1976!...
...HANSI the girl who loved the swastika!!..."story about a young girl who shares her experiences from the twisted cross of nazi-ism to new life through the cross of Jesus Christ."
...gotta adore that cover with that great art! (the artist, Al Hartley also drew ARCHIE comics!)....she somehow looks idyllic & catatonic at the same time...strange, sick, twisted.....I love it.
And i have a few to sell!

signs of staten island

2010-03-23T12:18:00.002-04:00

here is the title page for our new short film...will have an official trailer up soon, but you can see a (very) rough cut here:
http://current.com/items/90938569_signs-of-staten-island.htm
let me know what you think!
thanks for reading!

PIZZA TOWN & sorry guys, but I have to do this

2010-01-05T12:56:00.005-05:00

due to the amount of spam received in the comments section, I have to approve all posts from here out...please do not hesitate to post comments, though....

On the left is yours truely on a recent visit to PIZZA TOWN USA in new joisey....some SI'ers may remember this place for many years on New Dorp lane, ...the sister operation exists to this day in Jersey..and it's still the same as it ever was...fried calzones rool!
Why do things survive/last in NJ and get torn down/changed in Staten Island?
hmmmm.....
your ole pal, ed droogie...
(PS-people have asked about future industrial TELEVISION releases from the archives...Plans call for a "best of" seasons 1&2 at this point....we are going over old iTv episodes for a new box set to be released later this year....a thankless, lengthy task, indeed!)

ed droogie goes to FUNSPOT

2009-08-31T16:43:00.005-04:00

Here's a short video of my stoner tour of Funspot in New Hampshire. That's where I racked up those Defender scores in my last post. The place is amazing. Funspot has over 500 games on three floors, and about 350 of those are from the 1980's...most are working, and well maintained. Games I have not seen in 30 years, and games I've Never seen! The video is on current.com, you can see it by clicking the title of this post....& please comment if you like it!

what I did on my summer vaction

2009-08-17T07:32:00.004-04:00

Although I am a shadow of my former Defender self, (in 1980, I rooled this game!) I WAS able to sort-of recapture those old skillz this summer!...need I say more? Just look at those scores!
(taken at the largest arcade in the world, FUNSPOT, NH)....there's a video of this great place coming soon!

ALSO, I recently made this CHURROS video with the light of my life, Joy...
it's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUM-YjlC-Ck

Combat Shock & Cracktown

2009-08-12T08:20:00.004-04:00

Troma has outdone itself with the new special edition 2-disc set release of (filmed on STATEN ISLAND) Combat Shock/American Nightmares. This edition truely cements the legend/myth of this underground classic. I worked on the film back in the early 80s, and contributed some footage and stills to this edition. (it's on the bonus features disc) It's now being heralded as "one of the greatest independent features of the 80s" (!) and "better than taxi driver & eraserhead" (!!)...funny how me and Buddy G. (Buddy Giovinazzo) used to goof about this happening one day in the future back in the editing room while cutting Combat/Nightmares. Well, it's come true 25 years later. Mind-boggling. It's now being reviewed in many, many places, including Film Comment AND the NY Times!!!....they wouldn't even let us purchase those publications back in the 80s, now they not only cover the movie, but applaud it! Go Figure. (years ago, I set up an informative tribute page HERE, and promise to update it soon with all the new reviews)

I recently attended a screening of Buddy's newest film "Life is hot in Cracktown"...it's very good, (better than "no way home", at 1/4 the cost!) and comes out on video on aug. 25th....it's dark & dismal, looks great, & is worth checking out!

gotta love the stuff I find

2009-05-18T10:28:00.003-04:00

going through an old box of adult books, I find this one...
I don't think I need to say anything more...
And I LOOOOVE the really bad artwork!!...
yep,
it's a strange world indeed....

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL

2009-04-09T13:23:00.002-04:00

as a metalhead from way back (seen Anvil at the St. George in '82!!)..I had a vested interest in "ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL"...it truely is one of the (if not #1) greatest rock documentaries ever made...It transcends the genre, as I seen people in their 60's applauding, and purchasing the CD after a screening. Amazing.
It is sad that "ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL" is not gonna get the wide-release of Michael Moore's films. And of course, it will NOT play on staten island...I strongly urge all to go to manhattan to see this.

my infrequently updated blog- NEW POST!

2009-03-31T08:57:00.004-04:00

is such because i have been so busy working:

here on the eBay

and working on my pool game
and several other websites

BUT, I am gonna try to update this page more often.
people are always asking me "what are you gonna do next" and "are there any plans for something after industrialTELEVISION?"...
aside from pushing the current & future DvDs, which may contain some new content...
there are no plans for new episodes of iTv.
(sorry)...
You see, putting together an hour show (for little $) every 2 weeks for over 10 years has left us spent, bothered, & bewildered.

When we started out (in 1996) there was a question on the application: "What do you hope to accomplish from producing at SICTV?" I wrote: "to change the face of staten island cable access"...
No small task, indeed, BUT- I believe (after a decade and 180 episodes) we've done that.
but as far as "something after industrialTELEVISION?"...
we'll just have to wait and see...
as there are some program concepts/ideas/irons-in-the-fire!
again I thank all the fans who have come up to me & expressed their love for the show. I've always said, this my real payment for all our efforts.

checkers S.I. review

2008-10-30T13:03:00.001-04:00

yes, the checkers in NJ is better. (as is the case with most chain restaurants that open a branch on SI....blimpie, popeyes, etc. serve as prime examples)As far as the new Checkers on forest, I waited 20 minutes to order, then another 6 minutes to pick up the food. The double cheeseburger is pretty good, everything else had a "samey" quality to it them rendering them indisguishable from other burger joints (give me white manna or white diamond anyday!)I tried the chili cheese dog, big buford (aka small whopper), chicken sandwich, and fries. All were non-spectacular.NOT worth the wait. ...the staff do not know what they're doing yet...will check it out again next year (if they last!)

trip to NH

2008-09-29T13:47:00.001-04:00

above is a link to my album with some photos i got on a recent trip to NH

Ritz Theater Staten Island, NY 1926

2008-05-11T14:40:00.004-04:00

Recently a friend lent me this to scan, it's a rare program from the Ritz Theater Staten Island, NY from way back in 1926. Interesting note about the bus running 6 times an hour! Wow, wish we could get that today!
These thumbnails are the links to the individual pages, enjoy!

industrialTELEVISION review

2008-02-22T14:56:00.001-05:00

this guy tells it like it is, I love the "behold SI's finest" coment...check it out

animal friggin' planet in my backyard

2008-02-15T10:36:00.003-05:00

I know it's kinda hard to see, but here is a HAWK eating a pidgeon on the roof of the shed in my backyard. He stayed long enough for me to snap a pic, then hauled his prey to a new location. I loved the way he'd hold the unlucky feathered friend down with one claw while methodically ripping out his guts. uhh...Cool! (gore rools, ok?) I have seen raccoons, possums, many strays, but this is the first time for a hawk dining on a juicy bird. Tune in next week when we explore more exciting adventures from the wilds of staten island!
signs spotted on SI:
"toxic-do not enter or play near this site"...
another sign 300 feet away down the same road:
"Forever wild".....

squeaky wheel gets the grease...

2007-12-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

Amazingly, we do have our fans at the SI ADvance! Thanks to Ben Johnson for his impeccable good taste, wisdom & foresight. This blurb (promoting our new DvD Box Set release) is from out local newspaper's AWE section. (thats' advance weekly entertainment) I love the part where he says: ...It's a totally politically incorrect hybrid of "Beavis & Butthead" meets "Mystery Science Theater 3000"...and "plenty of sex, gore and stuff blowing up". (...uuhhh....coool)
It's very rare when we get any press in our local paper (last time was over 3 years ago), so this is a welcome, refreshing change from their norm.

Kudos, dood!
(now, if I can only get that "todd hill" film reviewer-dude to mention us..he seems bent on not only ignoring SI, but reviewing movies that never even play on the island!)

BTW-if you are interested in purchasing a box set for your loved one, visit industrialTELEVISION.com

SICTV - does it exist? si ADvance says: NO

2007-11-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

a recent letter to si ADvance's "AWE" editor, ben johnson:

SICTV - does it exist?
According to AWE (and the si ADvance)...NO.

would not it be an awfully nice gesture on your (and the advance's) part to actually SUPPORT
the producers and programming done LOCALLY on staten island community television?
I am not asking for full page articles...
(no, I realize those are reserved for bands, films and TV shows NOT produced locally)
but c'mon...at least a mention? a listing? a few mere crumbs from the ADvance's table of promotional bounty?

While I realize there is a fair amount of garbage on the SICTV
channels (34, 35, 57)...believe it or not, there ARE some programs that are
valid, entertaining, and worthy of your readership.

and none more worthy than my show.
(11 years, 183 episodes, thousands of fans worldwide)

in closing, can you simply explain to me WHY SICTV is Glaringly omitted from AWE??

some channel employees have told me that the ADvance is against CTV...i said: "that can't be true"...
but actions have spoken louder than words here, methinks...

the courtesy of a response is respectfully requested...

and I'll let you know if anything comes of this...

Savage Thrust resurrection

2007-10-22T19:36:00.000-04:00

Well, we had our 1st meeting (in 20 years) of the original line-up of ST last friday. As can be expected it was a love & laugh fest. I lost my voice and was sore from laughing to the point of crying at some of the old videos and stories. Some of the footage we screened will be included in the forthcoming release.

But the general gist of the matter is: We ARE going to write and record 2 new songs for the official Savage Thrust compilation CD: "In Savage We Thrust" ...this will be 2 discs, one CD & 1 DVD with ultra-rare live performance footage, stills, and more!

As some of us have not been playing for some time, (including moi) it will take a while to practice and re-build some "chops" as they say.

We hope to be in the studio in January to lay these tracks down.
(I know it sounds like a bad comedy plot...you know 5 older guys decide to go "middle-aged crazy" and start telling each other..."Hey-whaddya say we start up our old heavy metal band from the 80's??!!"...)

but it's gonna happen...

In other news, Jimmy (our bass player) has re-worked the logo and updated the look a bit (nothing drastic-ya don't fuck with what works) and it looks way cool see?! And you can download the ultra-cool new logo wallpaper @ savagethrust.com now!

look for edroogie on eBay!

2007-09-28T10:07:00.000-04:00

like dogshit, these guys keep turning up

2007-09-14T14:23:00.000-04:00

Alright, enough's enough already!

I won't even befoul these pages with naming the business these two attention whores own, but you know them if you live on S.I. ...

Joe "Weave-fredi" & his son "Nicky nepotism" ...yep, No other auto dealer in NYC actually insists on having their picture in every goddamn ad published , except these two hammerheads. Geez, once in the while is OK, but every friggin' day, maddone!! They are virtually inescapable from Staten Islander's eyes. Taking out multiple ad pages in the advance DAILY leads to a wearisome reading experience that leaves me fatigued, spent, and questioning my very existence on this planet. Makes me want to fantically search for a blunt, rusty butter-knife to gouge my eyeballs out. It would be safe to assume that after repeated viewings, some buyers actually walk into this auto dealership and REQUEST one of these vain mudda-fukkas to service them! It's a sad commentary on our residents here. But this being the "borough of stepford sheeple", I'll bet it happens. Often.
Ah, the power of bad advertising.. even if it is uninspired, hackneyed, banal, & ego-driven...

One would think that they're content with incessant bombardment & regularly invading our inner psyches in everyday newsprint ads. But no- these conceited, self-centered egotists decide to place a giant billboard ad on the Goethals bridge with their huge faces on it. I have come to the conclusion that although these heads on the billboard are 11 feet tall, they pale in comparison to the originals.

Savage Thrust official website

2007-09-07T12:42:00.000-04:00

Some of you may or may not know of a metal band I played with called Savage Thrust. From 1985 -1992 we played a never-ending series of live gigs, many at a club called "lamour's".... This allowed us to sell thousands of cassette tapes, appear on a compilation album ("speed metal hell II"!!) ...record a 7" single, then a full LP.. ( These recordings are very rare today, and command premium prices on eBay) ...even tour Mexico!! We were (unbeknowest to us) one of the founding bands that helped form the legendary early NY/NJ thrash metal scene. (we shared the stage with practically every heavy band around at the time: Overkill, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, etc.)

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear from Myspace fans these days! (guess thrash is making a comeback!)...some are as young as 17 years old! (we played our last gig in 1992!!)
...I guess we did leave some kinda mark, afterall...

The band hope to have a compilation CD with ALL old material together on disc for the 1st time!!! (possibly a DVD with a vintage live performance will be included as well.) Should be out before christmas.
We are considering temporarily reforming in order to write & record a new tune specifically for this release!
soooo.... here's a vintage itv clip for 'ya from 1999!!!

industrialTELEVISION

Add to My Profile | More Videos

ed goes to Ozzfest

2007-08-17T01:11:00.000-04:00

I missed most of the 2nd stage bands, but here's my 2 cents on what I saw.... note: all bands suffered from poor sound from the house mix....
BLACK TIDE: not too bad, a little inexperienced, but had a heavy sound. LORDI: had a cool stageshow with lots of pyro, but musically they are nowhere near as heavy as they should be judging from their look, fun to watch. noticed some people giving them the finger. STATIC X: again not bad, sufered from a muddy mix, but had good energy onstage LAMB OF GOD: they were probably good, but the insufferable mix rendered everything into thick mud. Although, that guy has a very cool scream. PA mix was Noticeably louder than the other bands. OZZY: surprisingly, quite good! I was expecting less vocals, but he came through with at least 90% of the vocals, I only winced a couple of times, ....BUT: this much I have determined: Zakk Wyld imitating Randy Rhodes' solos is bearable...a 20 minute guitar solo is Not.

Ben & Jerry's at the beach

2007-07-24T18:26:00.000-04:00

must say, I have eaten in some pretty rotten dives in my life, but they cannot hold a candle to the new "Ben & Jerry's Boardwalk Cafe" at south beach. The absolute WORST service and food quality I have ever experienced in over 30 years of S.I. "dining"...

Where does one start? 27 minute wait on line;

Hamburger was ICE COLD;

Knish was not heated/room temp;

Asked for a pepsi (large cup), they gave me a bottle;

Ordered a vanilla shake, ..it was thin, watery, unsweet;

Returned the cold burger, gave me a lukewarm, undercooked hot dog...

I see it's run by "south fin"...draw your own conclusions...

I heartily urge all staten islanders to avoid this establishment at all costs!

(there's a subway & uncle Louie G.'s a block away)

we have our own channel on youtube!

2007-04-25T19:06:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/industrialTELEVISION
if you haven't noticed, we have our own channel on youtube...where you can find clips from your favorite show! new clips posted weekly! YAY!
plus I just found this!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hTBtTS1-CU

some recent random thoughts

2007-04-09T21:41:00.000-04:00

Came upon a true "sign of the times" today, when walking past Merlino photo, I was surprised to see that they (finally) changed the photos in the window....they are all mexicans now in the pics. Merlino knows which side her bread is buttered!

Ralph's opened last week, but what's with all these flavors? Jeez, I recall a time when they added "rainbow" ice, and it was a big deal!...and BTW, I don't want to drink anything called a "Ralphie"... I noticed sedutto's ice cream is coming to the pizzeria on Albion! Remember sedutto's?

I see they are having religious services at the st. george theater (drawing record crowds) on sundays now. This from the same christian group housed in that huge "church" on richmond ave. Another great move by the owners of the theater.
You know, I remember seeing the ground-breaking legendary chic porn film: "the devil in miss jones" there back in the 70's. It appears the st. george has come full circle. They went from projecting films of people screwing to actually screwing people. BTW- I received a recruitment postcard from the group, and in bold letters it proclaims: "We Love Children!".....scary.

My S.I. Pizza/Burger picks

2007-01-23T23:34:00.000-05:00

1st off, lemme say that the best burgers and pizza are (sadly) NOT found on S.I. ...Jersey and Manhattan are where one must go for (what I deem) the best.
That being said here's my fave picks for the best Staten Island has to offer:

Pizza: (listed in order of preference)
-Brothers (scilian is best)
-Denino's (still the best thin crust type)
-Joe & Pats (runner up for thin style)
-La Bella (not bad, sauce is kinda sweet)
-Papa John (last resort-sauce still has that slight "chef-boy-ar-deey" taste to it,but at least they use fresh mushrooms!)

-DeGiorno (pure desperation-when they're all closed)

Burgers:
Bridget's Public House
Burger Chef
Duffy's
Tugs
Ruddy & Dean
White Castle
Absolute last resorts: any sheeple chain (chevy's, applebees, charlie brown's etc.)

Well, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

NASCAR dead on S.I.

2006-12-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

well, it's official, ISC have given up trying to put a racetrack on the Island. Citing "fierce local opposition", they are going to sell the 200+ acres they been developing.
While the sensible Ed in me says: "this is probably for the better, look at all the traffic NOW, can you imagine what it would'a been like on race weeks?"....
but the anarchist in me would like to have seen it happen, just to piss off the "hoi-polloi", and other "stuck-up sticky beets"...plus I'll miss those tailgate parties!

well, readers, whaddya' think?
NASCAR dead on S.I.-good or bad?

the SI Yankees

2006-11-14T19:08:00.000-05:00

In an effort to turn around the sagging attendance problems at the ballpark, a new management agency has been brought in with much hoopla. Ummm... sorry to be the bringer of bad news, guys...but there's no chance. You might as well save your money. I don't care what kind of incentives they offer the ticket buyers-YOU ARE STILL ON S.I.!!!!
The reason the ballpark in Coney Island sells out during the summer is that... (drumroll, please...)
...it's in Coney Island! The sheeple of S.I. will not go to a local game. Period.
They won't even go to a rock concert...remember?
Listen, there's a reason that nothing ever happens on S.I.
(at least nothing ever exciting or innovative)...
That's the way the residents (and business owners) want it.
They moved out here to get away from all that crap.
As a matter of fact, there's so LITTLE to do here, most NYC tourists take the ferry here, and get right back on to return to manhattan!
So here's a few "suggestions" for the new management in order to target staten islanders specifically...
-Free eyebrow waxing for the guys...
-Free orange spray-tans for the girls...
-Free nextel cellphone with 2-way radio (bleep!)...
-A chance to win a ten-foot wide townhouse(one of 7 attached homes, where there used to be one!)...
-One year's free auto repair (you'll need it with the roads!)

My haunted house tours 2006

2006-10-31T13:11:00.000-05:00

Went to a record 4 haunted house shows this month (oct.)...and 2 were on Staten Island!
I'll start with the smallest one, at the GREEN SIDE UP NURSERY on 5050 Hylan Blvd. It was a little better than the one there last year, at least they had the chainsaw-weilding maniac this time, plus lotsa Rob Zombie music blasting. Some of the animatronic figures were cool.

Next was the "Face your Fear" show at Seaview's Colony Hall. The cast's enthusiasm made up for the few shortcomings at this attraction. Cool things such as a room getting smaller, some "saw/hostel" like effects with guts splattering, girl getting stalked, evil clown, etc. It was a bit short, but well-done overall.

Down south there's these christian "hell houses" wheras they show the "horrors" of aids, abortion, gays, etc. They use these shows to recruit new blood into the fold.
BUT in Brooklyn they staged a "HELL HOUSE NYC" show, which was pretty much faithful to the southern formula. Some highlights: A girl gets high and raped at a rave; gay sex ends with aids; a fetus in the womb gets removed by a giant "monty pythonesque" pair of tongs; a columbine-like school shooting, a live abortion in a hospital room setting; walking through various souls suffering in hell; and getting to meet satan and christ all in one show!
It was put on by an art group, playing to a hip crowd in the Dumbo section...Very telling was when the audience was asked to recite the prayer at the end, only 2 out of the group of 25 complied.

Best of all was the trip to the Headless Horseman attraction in New Paltz, NY. About 90 miles from home but worth the trip! There was lots to see at this show, (the giant animatronic figure when entering is mega-cool!) and it drew big crowds. First there's a haunted hayride with many stops and "mini-plays" with actors, props, sets, etc. along the route. Somewhere there's the chainsaw dude again,and a real Headless horseman chased us (on a real horse!) Plus many gigantic way-cool sculptures adorn the site and grounds.
Then there's a walk-through haunted house, then a haunted corn-field maze, then another bigger haunted house....whew! It probably took about 45 minutes to go through everything. Lots of enthusiastic performers and wonderful figures/sculptures made this one great.

I know I have not updated this in a while, but like Jack in the shining:
"I'm baaaaaack!"

remembering SBA

2006-06-18T21:22:00.000-04:00

NOw, here's your second chance to actually get a piece of the now-closed South Beach Arcade.
I attended the auction on the 13th, and lost out on most lots (things went for WAY more than they were worth)..but I DID win a lot containg some old game "marquees" (the sign on the front of video games, meant to be backlit from within the cabinet) and "bezels" (the art that surrounds the monitor on game cabinets)
I pulled the ones I wanted, and am sharing the rest with the world! On eBay, of course...auction ends sun, the 25th....good luck!

The end of an era-Beachland Closes

2006-05-12T18:38:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true, the owners finally gave in to offers from real estate developers. The beachland amusement arcade on sand Lane is closing after 56 years. It was the last remnant of an era long-forgotten on S.I.

I remember being very young and even before moving here from Bklyn. in 1969, I used to love to come visit my Aunt Rosie, whom lived on Sand Lane...about 1 block from the amusement areas. There were two arcades, a kiddie park with lots of rides, a ferris wheel, a spook house, lotsa junk food...and shitloads more! It was mega-cool, especially for a 10-year-old! I used to make our family greetings, and after about 15 minutes would be begging my mom and aunt to let us go across the street to the arcades and rides and stuff. Well, that's all gone now. Everything's been closed/demolished/razed/built-over/town-housed/homogenized to the point where the neighborhood is unrecognizable from what it used to be. (must be a real shocker to any visiting former residents of the area to return and see this debacle)...the only thing that stayed the same was SBA.
The last bastion of the old-school amusement attractions was the South Beach Arcade ("SBA", or "beachland") which survived/resisted all of the above-listed abominations to this day. They are closing forever on the 4th of June. The equipment is going to the auction block on June 13th.
It's a very sad day on S.I.
As a regular there (and many other arcades in the tri-state area) on and off for 30-something years, I can attest to the fact that SBA were the last of a dying breed. Sure half of the vintage 80's games were broke, but at least they HAD them! Trying to find these games today is a true rarity. Just finding a place with more than one pinball machine is tough. SBA had 7. They also had the last of the old-style Skee-Ball machines...you know, the ones with the funky sounds & wood balls? Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Centipede....Jeez, there's even a few of those "Pokerino" units there! It's a real trip back in time, I gotta tell 'ya. The original prizes for coupon redemption are mostly still on the walls and in the cases. Image saving up and redeeming all those tickets for a color TV set!...only it's from the late 70's & has knobs on the front. The place was off the kitsch factor scale.
And I for one, will miss it sorely.

quasi-riot at the NASCAR "meeting"

2006-04-28T18:28:00.000-04:00

Jeez, they can't even have a meeting...it lasted only 45 minutes before the cops broke it up...

YA KNOW...where were all these vocally vehement people for the last 10 years as the Island slowly succumbs to overdevelopment?

I guess that's not as big a problem as a race track...

"The spirit of America" ...money well spent?

2006-04-05T16:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of the new ferry boat, "The spirit of America" which is heading to S.I.

Notice right next to the life preserver is a small sign with a symbol on it that signifies "this is a life preserver" Ummmm....am I the only one who sees the impropriety/idiocy of this? Hel-o-oh!
I mean, c'mon...if you can't see the life preserver without that sign....well, there's major problems in your life, me bucko...more dire than having to actually use that badboy, methinks.

I just have to imagine the logic (or lack thereof) behind the creation/placement of this sign. Maybe, perhaps there are similar signs only with arrows on them, all around the boat, all pointing to this one sign?...And when you see THIS small green sign, you'll make a connection, perk up your ears in a pavlovian manner and realize: "Oh, I see, thank the maker- THAT's the life saver I was hunting all over this friggin' boat for!"

Notice also there's no writing on it either....possibly this universal symbol for a life saver will help save the life of an illegal immigrant who cannot read, and assumes the writing on this big donut means "danger-stay away", or "INS snare"...but think about it- if you've never seen a life preserver before, how is that little symbol-sign gonna help?
All in all, it seems like just another in modern day America-one more bureaucratic-inspired, politically correct waste of funding, does it not?

Which makes the title of the boat all the more be-fitting.

Disclaimers on TV Commercials

2006-03-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

Don't 'cha just love when you see some commercial and down on the bottom of the screen (usually some legal mumbo-jumbo conjured up by fatcat coporate lawyers on retainers) are disclaimers like: "Do not attempt, closed course." or "Do not attempt, professional driver." or just "Do not attempt, dangerous"?...
I love when I see stuff like "Computer generated car and course-Do not attempt."...WTF!?!
Am I not to attempt driving a computer animated car? Am I not to attempt to animate such a scene?
Then I see some beer ad and on the bottom it reads: "Enjoyed responsibly since 1682"
Yeah, right. I can just picture some of our fore-fathers drinking this brew in moderation.
I won't even go into those prescription drug ads. ...Enough-uncle!!!

p.s.-sorry for not posting here more often...My excuse- I am either always busy or frequently lazy!

more about the sad state of films on S.I.

2006-02-02T18:46:00.000-05:00

I noticed today that 2 of the films nominated for Oscars, "Capote" (which I hated) and "Good Night, and Good Luck" NEVER played on S.I. Which in of itself is very telling.

A recent article on the front page of the advance belied the fact that there are many smaller, independent films that never make it to S.I. The reason given by the theater owners is that the distributors do not think S.I. is enough of a "market" to open the movies here.
What they fail to see is that given the chance, and over a long run, these films would make more per screen than the latest Hollywood "one-week wonder" films that permeate the island's theater bookings. C'mon, surely one can see that a film like "Good Night, and Good Luck" would out-gross something like "Doom" which plays one week and ony does halfway decent business the first weekend before heading to DVD 2 months later.
I refuse to believe that if these movies played here that people would not attend. Many have traveled off-island to see these already. Wouldn't it be great to have an "Angelica" type of indy movie house on the island?
STATEN ISLAND needs an independent movie theater. I think the Lane would be perfect.
If there's any millionaire film lovers out there that would want to tackle this project, let me know. The Lane is for sale/lease....most likely in the 2-3 million range. It would probably take another million to renovate and turn it back into a movie theater. I do not know if this venture would be immediately profitable, but I suspect that within 3 years, it should be able to pay for itself, and put some extra cash in the owner's bank account.
update:
these two movies DID open this fri. (feb. 3rd)....almost FIVE months after the initial release.
Better late than never?....hmmm...

terms for smoking pot

2006-01-23T17:55:00.000-05:00

marijuana is a subject I profess to know something about...after all, I have been using on & off (mostly ON) for 30-some-odd years. The other day an older friend of mine said to me: "Wanna do a number?"...I said: "Shit, dood-I haven't heard that term since high-school!" ..."Yeah, but I gotta score another LID first!"...I mocked to him.
Many smokers have a "code" for going to smoke a joint...some memorable ones:
"gotta see a man about a horse"
"wana bone-up?"
"gonna go burn one"
"do a unit"
"let's get zooted"
"break out!"
"gotta go tune-up"
But my all-time favorite still cracks people up to this day, and comes from an old burn-out friend of mine back in the 80's-
He wouldn't say: "wanna smoke a joint and get get high?"
he'd say...Hey ed:
"Stogie?"................"get nice?"

worst movies of 2005

2006-01-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

2005-it seemed to be a banner year for bad movies...here's a sampling:
The Honeymooners
Stealth
Fun with Dick & jane
Yours, Mine & Ours
Texas Chinsaw remake (sacrilege!)
Elektra
Fantastic Four
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Dukes of Hazzard
Miss Congeniality 2
Bewitched
The Legend of Zorro
Son of the Mask
Doom
White Noise
The Longest Yard
XXX: State Of The Union
The Cave.....and that's just for starters!

a half century of insanity

2005-12-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

when I was most of your ages, I would think about anyone 40+ years old-"shit, you're OLD-probably going to die soon, right?" I would tell people...yet, seeing it now from 50-year-old eyes, it really doesn't seem old. Hopefully, you will all get there one day and see my point.
The only thing that I DID notice recently (while listening to "classic rock" radio) is that I realized-I had seen 90% of these groups live.

yes, today I turn 50 years old.
(yeah, having a birthday on xmas eve sucks in a way when you are younger-I always had that cheap uncle who would give me a fiver and say "Here, Eddie-$2.50 for your birthday, $2.50 for xmas." But it gets better if you are older and want to forget your age, only my closest friends remember my birthday, everyone's caught up in the holiday.)
...funny, I don't feel 50, I feel like a 19 year-old...
now run out and fetch me one, eh?
...preferrably asian with huge cans.

"my top 10 movies of 2005"

2005-12-16T21:50:00.000-05:00

so, since I see these everywhere, I figgured "Hey I am just as smart/dopey as these dudes!"....so here's my
"my top 10 movies of 2005"
(posted in order of rememberance, not quality)
The Aristocrats
Devil's Rejects
A History of violence
Kung-Fu Hustle
The 40-year old virgin
Land of the Dead
American Splendor
War of the Worlds
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
King Kong

why "HOLIDAY" is better than "CHRISTMAS"

2005-12-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

I know, you've seen it everywhere, from major stores to the post office, all are offering "holiday" items and not "christmas" items. ("holiday trees"...umm...I dunno) They are all afraid to offend any one particular group, cowtowing to the stomach-churning "politically correct" ideology so rampant in today's overly-sensitive world.
But in the reverse-psychology of my world, I think it's a good thing to rid Xmas of these labels. Look, I could care less about the offended feelings of the religionist hoards and/or atheisits out there. My reasoning is that eventually the political correctness will grow to ban...CHRISTMAS SONGS!
yes, CHRISTMAS SONGS! ...those insidiously nasty ditties that blare out to us at every opportunity aroung this time of year.
God, how I hate the incessant din of those friggin' xmas songs that follows me like a unrelenting black curse everywhere I go! I have already heard enough Burl Ives to fill many lifetimes.
I mean really, how can one defend their stance (I am talking from Big Business' point of view) of banishing all references to "christmas" and pump nothing but "holy" songs through the store's speakers?
Can you imagine all businesses playing only holiday songs without any references to "christmas" in them? It would narrow it down the amount of brain-numbing music played tenfold. I can't event think of any tunes that would even fit the bill.
And "lite-fm" stations would probably have to can 99% of their playlists. YAY!
well, I can dream, can't I?
update:
I can see it's starting already!...
(from ABC news)
in Maplewood, N.J., last year— officials told high school bands they can't even play instrumental versions of Christmas carols, and — as happened in Chicago — to make the lyrics of traditional songs more generic.
"Holiday celebrations where Christian music is being sung make people feel different," said Mark Brownstein, a Maplewood parent. "And because it is such a majority, it makes the minority feel uncomfortable."
YAY!!!
(my xmas wish...)
Please, Jesus, ...please let the MALL & any store playing Lite FM be NEXT!

Capote

2005-12-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

I can not see what the raves about this film are. I RARELY ever walk out of a film, but this was one of those times. I could not take another reel (when I seen the final reel change cue come up, I knew it was gonna be another 15 minutes, I had to book) and I was barely staying awake.
The whole film to me looked like this picture. Just a extreme close-up of Hoffman "empathizing" to the story. Don't get me wrong, Hoffman is a good actor, and portrays Capote (probably) faithfully during that phase of Truman's career.
I think the main problem was that the film did not cover the period we knew Capote & loved from (I'm talking about being drunk and ranting on 70's TV shows like Stanley Seigel and Mike Douglas)...that was the FUN Truman, not the boring one depicted in this film. I know what you're saying: "In Cold Blood", those grisly murders, etc...."How could it be not interesting?"....Well don't friggin' blink, or you'll miss any violent scenes what-so-ever in this flick.
Maybe one day the later (drunk & fun) years will be brought to the screen, but until then this movie does not warrant accolades.

The biggest Disease on staten island

2005-11-04T17:33:00.000-05:00

An intelligent friend told me the other day: "You know what the biggest Disease on staten island is?"
..."Apathy"
Truer words were never spoken. Now before the rant begineth, let me confess that I am at times guilty of this same mind-numbingly indiffent affliction as most of the island.
Many times I hear: "There's nothing to do on S.I.!"....and most of the time they are right. But it is with vague indifference that most S.I. "events" are met with.
Take for example the recent concert at the St. George stadium. Less than half the capacity over 2 days. Many people traveled here to see this show, leading me to believe that out of the few thousand that DID attend, even less were S.I. residents whom are into seeing these sort of events. And this being the biggest rock concert in many a year to hit our shores. Sad, ain't it?
Even on a smaller scale, take most "events" listed in the paper. Very few show up to these meetings.
Why?
Can we chalk it up to the "cocooning" & "Couch potato" mentality that's so rampant today?
Or is it merely the uber-powerful sheeple ethic at work? Once headed along a cretain path, it's very hard sometimes to divert a large flock, as any rancher will tell 'ya. This is especially true in a borough where diversity, creativity and ingenuity are either discouraged or ingored.
Which brings us back to the title of this piece.
..."Apathy"

"SI's scarriest haunted house"

2005-10-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

went last night to check out "SI's scarriest haunted house" (their spelling, not mine)...and although it's in a tent and kinda small, It was cool...they have at least 7-8 animatronic dummies in various scenes. My fave is a demented guy in clown make-up (chuckles) just sitting and giggling/shaking in the corner. There was also a cool looking chick (screaming Nancy) covering her face and then screaming to reveal some kinda acid-burns or somthin'...It's worth checking out-only took like 5 minutes to see everything, though. It was at "Green Side Up" nursery, 5050 Hylan Blvd.
They usually go all out at this house on Caswell Ave. I will check it out next weekend...Last year was kinda crowded, but there's lots of crazy "horrific" action.

movies at the St. george---psyche!

2005-10-12T01:42:00.000-04:00

very disappointing. went to see the "abbott & costello" flick, and not only was it a dvd video projection, the portable screen (set up in front of the closed theater screen) was about 15' wide. Audio was unintelligable at times. looks like slightly over 100 people paid $8.50 each to see this. I can only hope things will change in the future. Perhaps she's doing well with Jackie Mason shows for $72.50 a pop, but as a movie venue, this was embarassing. Looks like I'm off to Loew's jersey city to see REAL classic film projected on a REAL screen...done by REAL movie buffs whom CARE about presentation.

travis theater closing

2005-10-06T15:42:00.000-04:00

I see the UA theater in Travis is closing (turning into a gym?)...and I was just getting re-aquainted with it!. Too bad, as it was easier to get good seats, and they showed some limited-release films that the one in the Harbor did not.
Damn! I like the regular kind of movie theater seats! You know, the "non-stadium" type. It reminds me of the old days of going to the movies and LOOKING UP at the screen in awe and wonder. The movies truely were "Larger than life!"...
With "stadium seating" most people in the theater "look down" on the movie. (Something one should never do) and forget about negotiating those stairs in the dark. Ever come into a darked theater from out side and try to find a seat while climbing stairs? Only owls and bats could, methinks.
One great place with the correct seating is lowesjersey.org
They are showing Godzilla, Dr. Strangelove and many other flicks "old-school" style. That means in a fantastic big old theater, no commercials, regular seats, and cheap admission! The on-screen dialog wonderfully booms and echoes just like the old days!
Brings a tear to me eyes, it does...

movies at the st. george again!....kinda

2005-09-14T00:42:00.000-04:00

I see there's a few actual films being shown again (1-time only) at the st. george.

(aww, gee I was just getting used to all those "great" stage shows they run there!)

Anyways, there's this thing called the "downtown Si film festival" and they are having some films at the theater, as well as a few in the muni parking lot across the street....they are setting up a "drive-in" It's got an inflatable screen, and you tune into your car radios to hear the audio. (for $23.50 a car!!) I am not sure how good this is gonna be, (I mean, Drive-Ins gotta have that speaker that clips on your window!) But they are showing Grease, Pink Floyd:The Wall, ET, and One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest outdoors. Playing at the St. George is: Casablanca, The Wild One, Spy Kids 3-d, and a couple of other "classics"...The only one that caught my interest was "Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein". (at 5Pm on a monday!)

I think good idea to actually show MOVIES in what was for most of it's life a great MOVIE theater, hope this becomes a habit...and not just once a year.

tgi fridays and chain-restaurants

2005-09-09T23:59:00.000-04:00

sheeple, sheeple, pleeeeze!...do not frequent these places. They are all weak. If you have no regard for yourselves or your colons, think of all the struggling local small island restaurants that cannot afford the co-op ad buys and radio tie-ins and color sunday newspaper circulars and billboards and tv comercials that all cost bookoo thousands. Weather you realize it or not, like good Stepford Islanders, that's the reason you go. AD dollar$ = asses in seats. Period.

Listen...there are documented cases nationwide where small restaurants have been forced to close when the "chain-restaurants" come to town...You're helping that happen here by simply patronizing these establishments! I wouldn't be surprised to learn that over 1000 new restaurant seats apppeared on SI in the last year alone. Think-many of the local places have been here years for a reason. The food is better-the prices are roughly the same-and you don't have to wait a half hour to be seated, & most of the time the owner is your neighbor! where to eat here? see my april threads...(& Bridget's Burgers are quite good!)

"little Mexico II"

2005-09-01T05:30:00.000-04:00

"SWAT" team on the roof of a PR building on the ave. last week told me they are looking into drug sales and gang activity.

Gang leaders are actually charging some day laborers to stand on the corner & seek work. It's "their turf"...

Look, I've met MANY good, god-fearing, business-owning, hard-working mexes. The difference between them and the majority of others is- they can read and write. Most "corner" immigrants cannot even read spanish-nor even write/spell their own names....and are content with it.
Fact.

Just in case, one may think I am insensitive to the beaner plight, I DO think they are way better for port richmond than what it was like 20 years ago.

The absolute bottom line, which sums everything up in a nutshell is this:

I (and most people) have no problem walking through a group of 15 mexicans standing on the corner.
I (and most people) used to cross the street, instead of walking through a group of blacks on the same corner.

Fact.

iTv on DvD! and I'll send you a "free" copy!

2005-08-27T10:11:00.000-04:00

NOW, as a public service to all those people who cannot view the greatest show on Staten Island, I am going to send you a "free" DvD (or vhs tape for you retro-holdouts out there)..all you need to do is pay the postage and a small handling fee (4 bucks), and go to this page.
Be sure to request vhs when paying, or DvD will be sent automatically.

BTW, the 10th season of iTv will premiere Oct.1st...

for those of you that are unfamiliar with the program,
here's a windows media video preview of an opening sequence.

Here is the official bio (reprinted blurb) from the site:

industrial TELEVISION-A brief history...
industrial TELEVISION-created by the "2droogies"- edmund varuolo and brian powell.industrial TELEVISION is an underground film & video oriented cable access show produced here on staten island...
(9 years running!) Every Sat. night at midnight, "iTv" features an eclectic underground mix of cult, uncensored and subversive film & video from around the globe. It's been screened/filtered/re-edited by your hosts, the 2droogies.

We are (and have been for years) the most popular locally-produced cable television series on staten island.
industrial TELEVISION first aired during june '96 (the pilot episode) on staten island community television, our local cable access channel here. Due to a very favorable response, we decided to go for a series contract at sictv and commit to an ambitious schedule of one new episode every two weeks.

At that time, we estimated approx. 30 hours of possible programming culled from our vast collections. Right from the beginning, we featured many industrial training films (these are a staple of the show-hence the title "industrial TELEVISION"),b-movie trailers and edited-down features. Since then, we have added many new titles to our vast collections and now have way beyond the original 30 hrs. predicted.After episode eight, we started shooting additional footage ("inserts") to be cut into the body of each program.

You know .... reaction shots and such .... sort of a running visual commentary/everyman's view...somewhere between beavis and zacherle. We also then decided to re-dub the audio on certain clips with our own "funny" dialog. These changes allowed us to truly customize each episode and many fans tell us it's their favorite of the show.

UPDATE:after nine years & 167 episodes, we are still the #1 show* on staten island community television...despite never being aired earlier than midnite!...And, if judging from the low number of complaint calls to the station...we have somehow managed to anesthetize staten island!

*sources: website stats, internet searches, sictv mall survey 1999, ctv staff interviews 2002-5

coney review/underground film nite

2005-08-11T18:59:00.000-04:00

glad to see some new faces at the coney gig...it was great, despite the swealtering heat.
(there's no AC, & still 40 people showed up!)
The producer of the series was impressed with the turn-out for a hot Aug. night, and was amazed at the "crowd interaction"....
At the outset I told the Brooklyn crowd that "talking back to the screen is encouraged!" Well, that lit the fuse, and it turned into a piss-in-your-pants interactive experience for all. This audience really, really "GOT IT", laughed at all the right parts, improvised/added dialog, chanted in unison, applauded for the most outreageous parts, I tell 'ya, it was way cool and almost rocky horror-ish! It's sad we could not attract the SI crowds at martini, I know we woulda got the same reactions, if only we had the numbers.
Anyhows, we'll be back at Coney next year! Kudos to Rob from indiefilmpage.com for this cool series.
Until then check out their schedule, there's always cool shit happening....Hopefully, we'll be doing a show at CSI this fall......until then we are still seeking a suitable venue for our monthly "underground film nite" screenings.

If you know of a bar or club that might be suitable for our monthly film series, please let me know. All we really need is a liberal-minded owner (one who won't mind a little explicit content) and his room on 1 wed. a month. Preferrably on the south or west shores. Even if you don't know of any places, Spread the word, maybe someone youre friends with can help us!....hey, ya never know!

originality in Hollywood

2005-08-11T07:05:00.000-04:00

scanning a recent issue of the hollywood reporter (know thy enemy...) I hadda notice a slew of either remakes, sequels, or adaptations. I am not sure some of these should be made, but I AM sure that originality and creativity today seems to have gone by the wayside for the most part. Dig this:
Sequels:
RoadHouse 3
I know what you did last summer 3
Hollow Man 2
Rush Hour 3
Basic Instinct 2
Big Momma's House 2
Pirates of the Carribean 2
Mission: Impossible 3
X-men 3
Fast & Furious 3
The Santa Clause 3
Spider-Man 3

Remakes:
The Transformers movie
King Kong
Logan's Run
Miami Vice
Superman Returns
The Hills have Eyes (sacrilege!)
Secret life of Walter Mitty

and my most questionable remake (like, why is being done?).....
"Mr. Blandings builds his dreamhouse"...... (starring Ice Cube. I swear, it's true.)

ummm....wasn't that Honeymooners remake a lesson?

SI Advance links to this blog!

2005-08-09T21:19:00.000-04:00

http://www.silive.com/weblogs/, trusting fools,!.....sure, go ahead, ...send slumming conservative dullards to my page to hear my pedantic dictums & rants of ire! Muahahahahaha....
...well, this surely can't last, but I welcome all the "normal" eyes that this link may send this way, whilst it does.
And thanks for all the cool comments from youse people about this blog.
I still can't believe anyone reads this doo-doo drivel, besides me!

just a reminder...

2005-08-04T17:44:00.000-04:00

industrialTELEVISION comes to Coney Island this Sat.!

yep, they have a "sat. nite film series" there (at the coney island museum-1208 surf ave.-right down the block from Nathan's)

...and THIS Sat. (aug. 6th), they are letting industrialTELEVISION program the show! We'll be showing some samples of our openings from industrialTELEVISION, plus: condensed versions of:
"If footmen tire you, what will horses do?" ...The most unforgettable religious scare film ever conceived!
"The Turkish Star Wars".... incredulous Turkish rip off of Star Wars with no dubbing or subtitles...'ya don't need 'em!
and:film nite favorite-"Perversion for Profit"...a hilarious 1960's anti-pornography scare film funded by savings & loan scandalist Charles Keating!
plus bonus cartoon:
Banned animation short!- Donald Duck goes Nazi!Hope to see some if not all of you there!

the iTv DVD box set is coming!

SI is so boring...there's nothing to do here!

2005-08-01T19:51:00.000-04:00

Sad, isn't it? the sorry state of cultural affairs on SI?...
Well, kiddies...it wasn't always like this....
Just to recap:
back in the 70's (when i was just a wee sprite...) they used to have national acts play at the Ritz Theater in Port Richmond. Alice Cooper, Mountain, Black Sabbath, Yes, Capt. Beefheart, MC5, King Crimson, The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, ...even Vanilla Fudge! I was too ingnorant of a lot of those bands and only got to see the 1st four on that list....but isn't it amazing? I also remember (vaguely) whenever there was a concert, the streets absolutely packed like Greenwich Village, stores open past midnight, everyone partying...incredible.
In the eighties, there were at least 4 clubs to play at and most of the acts played original music. I know, because I played at every one of 'em...Red Spot, Park Villa, Billy O's (AKA:Octobers/Rock Palace), Wave St., The Intimate Lounge, and Neri's come to mind immediately. There was not only a thriving scene, but plenty of places to play for local "basement/garage bands"!
I think what we REALLY need is a genuine rock club. You know with a real PA and real lights, and a real stage, etc. The last place like this closed 2 years ago (Backstage/Roadhouse Blues)...and there's been no replacement.
Possible hope? (this could go either way if true)---Rumor has it that the original owners of Lamour's in brooklyn are gonna start a big club on SI.....possibly at what used to be "club drink"....we'll see....stay tuned.

update: this question (& my answer) was originally posted on the Cinema Treasures site.

ed , i don't doubt that it became a concert venue, but weren't most of these bands/performers at the height of their popularity at that time? why would they book concerts on staten island?......
posted by garth on Aug 1, 2005 at 5:30pm

I thought so too at the time... but this was a period right before these bands played arenas like MSG & Nassau Coliseum. I remember the Yes LP "Fragile" had just been released, and Sabbath's 2nd LP, "Paranoid" was new at the time of their tour stop in SI. Most of these bands also played at the academy of music (AKA: the paladium on 14th st.)in manhattan. The Ritz concerts did not last to due "contract riders" put into place in the early seventies by NYC concert promoters. They insisted that the musicians performing at their place could not book additional shows within a 50 mile radius of the venue nor within a month surrrounding the show. This essentially killed the bookings for national recording acts at the Ritz Theater. During that time it was run by a pair called "The Ungano brothers", whom had previous success with a manhattan club bearing their name. Interestingly, I never seen a movie at the Ritz, only concerts!
posted by edroogie on Aug 4, 2005 at 3:14pm

little Mexico (port richmond)

2005-07-26T23:23:00.000-04:00

Sure, the vacancy rate for stores on the avenue is at an all time low, but the residual is: Beaner blood and "mexi-puke". That's what I usually see Sun. mornings on port richmond ave. After a night of mucho cervazas, our locals here simply barf up and stab each other. Wonderful country to live in, Staten Island, don't you think? I have seen mexican gang graffiti for about 4-5 years now. There is an employment agency that hires day-laborers with little or no proof of residency needed. Some immigrants have told me they walked through the desert for 4 days to get into amerika...
Which make me wonder, if these dudes can get into the U.S. so easily, what of a terrorist?

NJ Proposes Banning Smoking While Driving

2005-07-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

"New Jersey Legislator Wants to Ban Smoking in Your Car"...now this bill does not stand a chance of passing, but it may serve as a wake-up call to those persecuted smokers (like me!) as a "call to arms" Time for action, methinks. Believe me it will not be long before you cannot smoke in parks and beaches. Soon cars and apartments will follow. I am almost pissed enough to become one of those "activists" for whom I have hated all my life...
ABOVE ARE A COUPLA PIECES I CREATED CALLED "SMOKING FAME" & "THE STATUE OF ONE LESS LIBERTY"

the island

2005-07-23T00:26:00.000-04:00

the new director of CTV...

2005-07-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

Perhaps there's hope for the station.
Well, I met with the new director of CTV, Matt, and he actually seemed very human!
(as opposed to the old, thick-headed "director", whom seemed more interested in producing fat-cat business associate's shows and grafting equipment funds!)
Within two weeks of taking over Matt had the audio problems fixed in the editing room, wheras after 7 months of complaining to the old "director", that guy refused to do anything. Now, not only will the shows sound better, I will finally get to edit and air the bands from last Dec.'s benefit concert.
Not only did he tell me that "industrialTELEVISION was the only show I could watch on CTV", but Matt also said that he taught a communications class at St. John's and whenever CTV was mentioned, industrialTELEVISION was the first thing out of the student's mouths! (naturally, of course)
This is the first time in almost 10 years that the head of the channel understands what we're trying to do!
So things are looking up.

We also finally got some copies of the show on DVD....write me for details.

some more random irks about S.I.

2005-07-12T17:46:00.000-04:00

first off, I hope to see all of the fans of my show at the coney island sat nite film series on aug. 6th 8:30 PM admission $5.00

went down to the "back to the beach" event at midland....ummm, I think we could use a few more gyro vendors! (sarcasm) ...and lets put the stands so close together that no one can walk when there's a crowd!

I also love the fact that 2 outta every three people I seen were overweight! (warms the cockles of my heart, it does!) I heard "Jimmy" (molinaro) was treated lke a rock star when he appeared. Great, nobody remembers the over-crowding, lack of funds for wed. nite concerts, under-the-table deals made with contractors, union-busting of CTV, incessant potholes, alleged mob ties, ...etc....etc...ad naseum...It's sad, reallly sad.

OK, ralph's opened late in the season, but the lines are waaaaaay outta control. (and what's up with 77 flavors? Shit, I remember so few that when they added "rainbow" flavor ice-it was a big deal!) But those lines-Who would wait 45 minutes for an ice? Jeez, it's the same "cattle heard" mentality that drives ALL profitable food businesses on SI!!! I try to seek out the other Ralph ices outlets on the island, where there's no wait! (or even "Rita's" or "Uncle Louie G's!")....best of all, screw 'em...go to Eggers!

Outdoor dining-but you can't smoke! was recently at Tugs, good food-nice outdoor dining area, watch the boats go by, ....but if you want to smoke, please walk 30-40 feet away, down by the tracks. Ummmm....we're OUTSIDE!...just another win for the "nico-nazis", I'm afraid. ...it's gotten so bad, I seen an outdoor cafe on Hylan, where they make the smoker stand on the other side of the 3' fence...less than 5 feet away from the tables!...amazing.

9th Annual Industrial TELEVISION Anniversary Party

2005-06-20T17:58:00.000-04:00

will be held JUNE 25TH at the Gecko Lounge, 589 Lincoln Ave., SI, NY (718) 667-9815
6 hours of movies and live music!...(you must be 21yrs. minimum) Free Eats!, Doorprizes!, Meet the 2droogies & other itv fans! Be on industrialTELEVISION!
...films start at 7:30 PM, bands go on at 11:30PM....appearing live: without end, sanitarius....special guest: TERRIBLE TIM!

S.I. gay,LESBIAN, bisexual & transgender parade

2005-06-06T17:11:00.000-04:00

welp, I was there...it was a good time & and lesbians out-numbered the males by (what appeared to be) 2-3 to 1...I've always said it....Lesbians rule!!!
what was not good was the way the city/police routed the parade to the walkpath leading along the beach from the end of the boardwalk to the picnic area. way out of the public eye....I asked the organizer, (whom seemed to be glad for just having it!) about how come this wasn't on Cappadano Blvd.?....he told me: "Perhaps next year..."

BTW, I got "props" from lesbians, cops and pornographers!....I've always said we cross ALL cultral boundaries!

Those "the truth" ads....

2005-06-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Those "truth" ads are really annoying...You know, that one with the megaphone and that other one with the numbered people especially....
I wonder how many people would be out there for victims of automobile accidents?...
or booze?...
"The Truth" is-you'll never see protests outside GM or Seagrams...Whom manufacture products that are more lethal than cigarettes...Funny, ain't it?...

the FINAL underground film nite

2005-05-17T01:23:00.000-04:00

Will be 8pm - may 25th at Martini Red...(372 Van Duzer Street -stapleton)

we tried for 6 months to get our crowd to come out to Stapleton and also cross-over to a new college audience, but to no avail...even when there were some regulars at the bar, (which was rare) they stayed in the front, not caring what was going on in the back. I can't blame the owner for cancelling, 6-12 people weekly just don't cut it.
so, I guess there's one less of the "signs that the island is getting hipper".
But fear not-plans to do something at CSI and the coney island summer film festival are in the works....we can't be gotten rid of that easy!

BTW, know of any bars to host our film nite? tell 'em to contact me!

CTv fires it's director

2005-05-11T01:40:00.000-04:00

I told youse there was controversy a-brewing!...here's my take:
Hopefully, the next one will live on S.I.!!! Really, I personally had nothing against the dude they fired. BUT-his choices sucked. The direction he took the channel sucked. What he did to the staff's morale sucked. His tech guy sucked bigtime.
Many have said to me: "Ed,put in for the position"...no way. Although I would surely turn the channel around and increase status, new productions and viewership...I would just be a "figure-head" director, being the puppet of the board's whims. Which answers to the B.P.'s union-busting whims...
The best man for the job is the guy, Luke, whom they fired last year.
It cracks me up when I hear things from the head of the board like:
"we want to encourage less ego-driven programs"....honey, open you eyes-look at MNN's schedule. We are merely a microcosm (and a very small one-at that) of the manhattan network.
Well, at least we did get mentioned in the advance article sunday-"...industrialTELEVISION-which has been criticized for explicit violence & nudity."...after reading that what would YOU want to check out?.....

coment: What the hell are the politics over there? Not to belittle it, but it is a public access channel. I would think it would be a creative, fun atmosphere but over the years I've been reading bits in the paper (especially Letters to the Editor) and it sounds like the place is suckhole where power corrupts and a select few lord over a fiefdom. Can you try breaking down what the power struggle is? I'm just curious now.

...it started about 5 years ago-
The old director was pushed out by the board. But first, a little background on the CTV board...in order to get on the board, you must have political brown-nosing skills, a relationship with Jimmy (molinaro) and wealth. Lawyers, priests, politicians, doctors, etc....All members are in "Jimmy's pocket." He forced the channel to hire a new producer whose only function is to shoot Jimmy's events. (and at a higher pay scale than regular CTV employees) He has called the program director and had opponent's show's pulled. He (and the board) are fighting tooth & nail the unionization of the channel's staff. (...of course, then they would have to pay real wages!)...racking up legal fees that are depleting the channel's budget. Hence, the union inflatable rat in front of borough hall last week.
The fired director of CTV (Tibor-a NJ resident!) was very unpopular from day one. Draconian rules were put into effect. The staff bailed one by one, the number of new producers/productions dropped, and general ill-will reinged at the station. Even long-time producers stopped going there.
Funny, how the reason he was let go was his refusal to get bids from other companies for maintenence & equipment-purchase contracts. I smelled this two years ago while arguing with "jerry", the tech dude appointed by Tibor. I believe he was from the same country (serbia) as the director. The tech dude installed wrong equipment configurations, refused to replace broken equipment, refused to use other sources for purchasing, and even bragged about taking home 3 VCRs from the station. (these professional decks cost about 6 to 10 thousand each)...let me stop - I feel chest pains coming on...

BUT....I think the problem lies not in whomever is appointed director for the channel, but with the BP & board itself. In manhattan, the board members include filmmakers, video artists, media teachers, and other artistic types. On CTV's board there are none. (what do you expect a politician and priest to think of industrialTELEVISION?)

The St. George Theater-it's a shame

2005-05-05T17:48:00.000-04:00

Gee, almost as much controversy surrounding this place as CTV!
I had a nice tour of the place late last year, I think she's doing an admirable job trying to retore this old venue....BUT when I asked about showing FILMS there, she expressed apathy bordering on distain-no interest what-so-ever. Her main concern is to focus only on attracting fat-cat politicos and corporate big-wigs for over-priced dinner and theater "events".

Ummm...news flash, toots-the St. George was A MOVIE THEATER! An incredible injustice is being done by not bringing that aspect back! I even forwarded info to them on an organization that installs free, new digital projection equipment into old theaters and plays independent films in them.
But Noooo, they would rather sell 300 tickets (at 65+ bucks a pop) to some third-rate live "act". It's a shame.

To see what can be done with an old theater & some dedicated movie fans, go to loewsjersey.org and be amazed.

In the meantime, any wealthy investors out there want to turn the Lane into an indy theater?...contact me.

ralph's still not open...

2005-05-05T17:44:00.000-04:00

....due to new equipment being installed. One of the owners was lamenting the fact of how much money he's losing. Gee, ya gotta feel for these multi-millionaires, don't cha?
Hopefully, they will be open in two weeks.
Until then, I will be at those small ice stores & eggers.

just a link to an article I wrote....

2005-04-27T01:38:00.000-04:00

hey, I'm re-published! From Cinema Sewer...This was an article I wrote on the heyday of times square/porn scene in the past:

http://2droogies.com/pornmem.htm

let me know what you think!

the south beach arcade

2005-04-23T01:42:00.000-04:00

Before I moved to SI, we would periodically visit my aunt in south beach. I used to love coming here because she lived on Sand Lane, steps away from the amusement area. Imagine, right across the street, rides, games, food...and even a fun house!
As one of the last bastions of old-time staten island, the south beach arcade is the only place here to play pinball!
I recently seen some old postcards of SI (about 80 years old) and south/midland beaches were the hotspot for summer NYC residents. All the bungalows in midland beach were originally just summer vaction homes, most did not have heating. The rows and rows of townhouse-dwellers in the area now have no idea what it once was like. The boardwalk/beach area back then was like coney island and the jersey shore rolled into one. Huge pavilions, amusement parks (one was called "Happyland"....) and arcades!
The Sand Lane arcade exists to this day.
Lots of video games,"pokerino", skee-ball, DDR machine (that's "dance dance revolution" if ya didn't know)and...

Pinball! ...at least 7 old-school games, most are working. Pinball, I'm afraid, is a dying art. The last great pinball manufacturer, Williams, stopped making machines in 2000. They have dozens of moving parts and are prone to breakdown, requiring constant maintenance. The best ones were from the 1978-82 period. South beach arcade has some dating back to '94. I am told the fun house is still intact, just closed since '98. (wish they would open it again!)

the weekly ordeal that is CTV's equipment

2005-04-21T06:36:00.000-04:00

yep, we just keep "rolling with the punches" equipment-wise at the channel.

Trying to put together an hour-long show every two weeks is a monumental, stressfull task in of itself. Compound this with the shoddy equipment configuration & settings used to actually edit and dub the show. (video artifacts, degraded picture, compressed, tinny audio) For good measure, add mono playback & extra audio compression from SI Cable when aired. (yes, CTV is the only channel on time warner cable in mono-left channel only audio!)
Whaddya get?...a program that sounds like total shit and looks very close.
We are at wits end after months of balking.
Our artistic "vision" is being seriously compromised.
Therefore, after 9 years, I am doing everything in my power to move the editing of industrialTELEVISION to my home set-up, thereby eliminating at least two of the above problems.
The problem stems from the current director (for whom a replacement is being sought) and his poor choices, as well as the main culprit - the "technician" who "maintains" the equipment.
Just posting this makes my stomach knot-up, thinking of the weekly "stress-session" tech debacle that is editing on CTV's gear.
http://2droogies.com/

didn't believe it until I saw it...

2005-04-20T02:08:00.000-04:00

Guidos with waxed and shaped eyebrows. Dude, sorry, but I can maybe see back hair, but doing that shit is kinda gay...

I was told of this practice amongst the more
narcissistic "coo-genes" on S.I., but only recently did I start looking for it, and lo & behold, three in one day! (just goto the mall or bar)....
It's really weird too, ...not just the "uni-brow" middle part, but waxed and shaped into a thin curve, ....just like a chick! (almost looks "Spock-like")....scary.

the sorry state of locally-produced TV

2005-04-16T02:01:00.000-04:00

Why is it that more often than not every time I turn on channel 34 there's some imported religious program on? It's because we don't have enough locally-produced shows to run!
It's really sad when you think about it....here we have an invaluable resource at our disposal, (staten island community television, or SICTV-our local community access channel) and most people do not take advantage of it. Look-just go down to cable way, take the course ($65.00) and start producing your own TV show!
If you need the impetus to do this, simply watch the channel for a week...I guarantee you will have ideas and say to yourself: "I could do better than this crap!"...and go and DO iT!
Watching you sitting at a desk and talking for a half-hour about ANYTHING would be better than the current tripe currently being broadcast daily.

from the recent NY Times article

2005-04-14T04:48:00.000-04:00

about "island girl"...in last sunday's paper.....

There are inklings that the island is getting a bit hipper and more singles-friendly; the Stapleton dive bar Martini Red presents screenings of underground films, and a Christian singles night is held every other Thursday at the Muddy Cup coffee shop.

well, which would you rather attend?

"industrialTELEVISION underground film night" at Martini Red (372 Van Duzer Street -stapleton) is now on the last Wed. of every month!Look for these upcoming dates! -..April 27th...Mention the drink specials: $1.50 pabst...$4.00 martinis....$2.00 shots....

random gripes about S.I.

2005-04-12T23:36:00.000-04:00

the "sheep" mentality of islanders...FOR EXAMPLE: they way they heard blindly towards the latest national dining chain to open (be it Chili's, Charlie Browns, Boulder Creek, ...whatever) Only to wait 45 minutes for a table to eat mediocre food at premium prices, Rather than seek out a local business (at which there is usually no wait for a table, and the food is better!)

the lack of an "arthouse" type of theater....you know like something in the village?I recently had to go to manhattan to see "inside deep throat" (a documentary about the legendary porn classic)....and have traveled often in the past to see other films in jersey (mostly "NC-17" rated movies)....why can't there be a place for these films on SI?...wouldn't people go?

"convience" stores....these places set up in the lowest income areas (port richmond, stapleton, etc.)...extract all the money from the neighborhood, (just show me one without beer and lotto!)...and give nothing back....Complain?...and you'll be called prejudiced...YET-they usually hire only others from their same country of origin. They mark up prices 3-400% of what a supermarket charges....and this is for sometimes outdated goods as well!...How many times have you gone into one of these places and he's ringing you up with one hand while screaming in Arabic on the telephone cradled under his chin?....Aren't I worth at least 20 seconds of his undivided attention?....oh, stop me before I go on...

http://2droogies.com

nascar track

2005-04-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

the planners of the nascar track are being backed by the mayor and borough president...they even hired ex-BP Molinari as PR....you can't fight city hall...

the city has granted a waiver on track property taxes for the next 100 years!....meanwhile bloomberg raises ours!...naysayers may balk, but it looks like it's inevitable...

walmart....I hope not...but I fear so....if for a moment you believe staten idle-ners don't want cheap goods -look for a minute and count the number of ".99 cents stores"!

stop and shop....GOOD! (ever been to the one right over the bayonne bridge?-much better than waldbaum's, pathmark, key food!)

http://2droogies.com

well, I must take issue with a few of these

2005-04-11T21:44:00.000-04:00

"summer concerts"...remember when there used to be concerts every wed in the summer at gateway?...."it's not in the budget"...says "Jimmy" Molinaro....yet, somehow dopey, idotic, million dollar dolphin and turtle fountains ARE!....

"Applebees, Chilis, etc.".....these places are poor (esp. applebees) and over-priced. They cater only to the lemming-like, sheep mentality of Staten Idle-ders....consider these places next time:
Deninio's, Burrito Bar, Burger Chef, Olympic Diner, Basilio's, Loon Chuan, ...and one of the very Best - Shaeffer's tavern.

30 minutes to the city? yeah, if you live in the ferry terminal and work at Whitehall St.!....consider this: we're part of NYC, but-for the average Stagnant Is. commuter (by public transportation) it takes 40-90 minutes to get to midtown manhattan. a recent survey said we have the longest regular commute in the nation! YET-If you live in jersey, (another STATE) it's 5-10 minutes....sad ain't it?

BTW, jsut to show it's not all negative, two of the best things about SI:
The Sand Lane Arcade.......and Ralph's Ices!(which should be open soon!)

ya know, it's funny....

2005-04-10T19:32:00.000-04:00

ya know, it's funny....when I was growing up on the island, we used to goof on the old geezers when they would point to the mall and say:"I used to hunt rabbits back there ....no more"...

I DO remember a lot more desolate areas on the south shore. I also recall an incredible amount of woods in that area...Jeez, I remember when "heartland village" was new and the houses were hated, like:"who would live in a community like that?...we'd ask ourselves... boy, oh boy....many people today would jump at the chance of owning one of those detached units!

even more amazing, I went to see my 1st rock concerts here on SI....bands like Black Sabbath, Yes, Alice Cooper, and others at the Ritz theater in port richmond! Yep, many top recording acts played there 30-35 years ago. And let me tell 'ya, when there was a show playing, it was like greenwich village...stores open past midnight, hundreds of people walking the streets, people partying everywhere....and "ground Zero" for all that was happening was the "Head Shop".....no more...(christ, sound familiar?)

some random issues about S.I.

2005-04-10T18:48:00.000-04:00

top 10 things I hate about staten island...
10.-Staten island cable -gee, I'm glad I upgraded to digital, now I just have to re-boot the fricking box once every couple of weeks!...let's not mention the low volume, "screen freezes" and other signal break-up problems!
9.-CTV - if anybody has watched a show or two on channel 34/35....you know what I'm talkin' about, dood!
8.-The Ferry-I don't care how much they put into the terminal, the restrooms on the boat still smell like urine...
7.-The S.I. Advance - oh, I mean the "local politician photo-op newspaper"...the writing is horrible, the articles are insipid, where does one start?...P.S. I've never seen a good paper with a "worship" section every week...
6.-The Mindless Sheep mentality - islanders just follow the herd, re-walking the same well-treaden path over and over again...
5.-The Borough President(s) - in the contractor's pockets, sold away the island to developers, funding of stupid projects, mob ties, what's to like?
4.-Business owners - (see "sheep" above)
3.-The bands who play ONLY on S.I - one must seek out the other "off-island" clubs -get out there and play every weekend!...it's your only hope!
2.-Whiggers - I realize they are just lifting black culture to up there 'street cred"....but it still makes me wince daily...
1.-Guidos, Coo-Genes, Guidettes, etc. -note to them: Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco and A Bronx Tale are movies, not a lifestyle....AND GUYS-STOP WAXING YOUR EYEBROWS!!!