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Boo Berry Is Back Again For Halloween!
You guys know I love Boo Berry, and after fighting for so many years just to keep his cereal in circulation, it's nice living in a time now when it's fairly easy to find come Halloween. Plus, nowadays we can look forward to other Boo Berry products being released each year as well. Last year was a good year for Boo Berry; he was officially declared the best monster cereal, some Fruit Roll-Ups were made in his honor, and he even got a brand new Boo Berry Halloween costume. This year, he's back again with two new Boo Berry vinyl toys from Funko as part of their new Pop! Ad Icons collection.
As you can see, there are two versions of him - the standard Boo Berry and the shiny 2011 Comic-Con variant. They clearly went for the classic Boo Berry look with the droopy eyelids 'n all, so any hardcore fan should be real happy with how these figures turned out. Both of them look great (and ridiculously adorable), so it's absolutely worth tracking each one down if you ask me. Be aware that the Comic-Con variant is a bit tougher to track down as they're part of a limited edition set with only 480 figures ever produced, but I've still seen a few pop up on eBay here 'n there for about 20 bux or so. Did I mention how sickeningly adorable these figures are? I can almost picture them hanging out with Glo Worm, that's how adorable they are.
But vinyl figures aren't the only new Boo Berry product for the 2011 Halloween season...
Hot Wheels has released a special Boo Berry edition of a 1929 Ford pickup truck. Gotta love how they went with the classic look for Boo Berry on the packaging. The truck itself has a really nice overall design which includes the cereal logo in between some creepy old trees on the doors, a few blue bats scattered around, shiny purple hubcaps, and a picture of Boo Berry hovering around a haunted house on the roof. My only wish is that they had filled up the back of the truck with miniature boxes of Boo Berry cereal, as if to suggest it was out making a delivery, but I'm sure anybody who is into papercrafts could make that happen... and they should. Also, if any of you happen to own a 1929 Ford pickup truck, you'd be a fool not to paint it like this. A fool!
Lastly, for those of you wondering about the cereal itself this season, I'm happy to report that it's now more widely available in stores than probably any other year in recent memory. Almost every grocery store in town had some boxes of it, as did Target and Walgreens, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. I'd show a picture of the 2011 cereal box, but it's the exact same one from last year when they made Boo Berry look like he has fish lips for some unknown reason. Disappointingly lazy on General Mills' part, so here's hoping they come out with a new box design next year - sans fish lips of course.
All in all, another very solid Halloween season for fans of Boo Berry.
The Newport Beach Ghost Ship Halloween Haunt Is Incredibly Bad.
I've been going to Halloween haunts for as long as I can remember, and no matter how cheesy or low budget they can be, I always enjoy myself a lot. That all changed last weekend when I went to a brand new haunt that I was more excited about than any other event (aside from Halloween itself) this October. So come with me on a tour of something that should have been absolutely amazing, but instead, turned out to be absolutely disappointing. Come with me for a full review of the awful Ghost Ship of Newport Beach. We begin with the promotional ad that drew us all in:
Looks great doesn't it? I thought so too. They certainly put more money into advertising the Ghost Ship than on the Ghost Ship itself. When I saw this ad and found out it was a haunt that actually takes you out to sea, I was instantly sold on it. Sure, it had a whopping $60 price tag, but the chance to go on a completely unique haunted ship with a bunch of friends is something I wasn't about to pass up. We bought our tickets early and were anticipating our ghostly voyage for over a month. October 15th finally rolled around and we couldn't wait to see what the ship was going to look like in person.
Wow. None of us could believe how normal it looked on the outside. Look, I didn't expect this thing to be rusty and have holes on the sides 'n all... the thing obviously needed to be seaworthy, but no decorations on the outside whatsoever? Come on! Spray it with some fake blood and cobwebs; drape it with some old torn black netting; hang a few skeletons off the side to use as boat fenders... anything! It was even docked next to some other luxury yachts that had big yuppie cocktail parties going on, and frankly, the only thing on the outside of the ship that distinguished it from them was a banner hanging off the back with the Ghost Ship logo on it. Of course, the banner itself was partially covered up by an American flag... I mean... a spoooooky American flag. The ghost pirate LeChuck would have their heads for such an offense.
None of us thought this was a good sign, but we bit our tongues and boarded the ship, hoping that the inside experience would make up for our completely lackluster introduction to the Ghost Ship.
When we boarded the ship, we were directed to the top floor, where we entered a dimly lit room filled with chairs facing a stage area with a spotlight on it as we felt the vessel pull away from the dock. Once we were all seated, a man with a welding helmet walked into the spotlight and began introducing three prisoners whose executions we would witness aboard this "floating asylum" that we were on. One guy was rolled out on a dolly cart and you could clearly see that he was sitting on top of a skeleton. Then they shut the lights off and pretended to melt his bones off with acid, but it wasn't even that dark, so you could easily see the guy running off to the side of the stage as the audience collectively groaned. Then, when the lights came back on, only the bones remained on the cart. We're talking total amateur hour here, folks. The welding helmet guy even struggled to remember his lines, so we were left wondering whether he was an actor or an actual welder who they handed a few lines to read at the last minute. To conclude the show, they had a few guys run down the aisles with cans of compressed air that they shot into people's faces - one audience member even complained that it was shot into his ear saying it hurt. And no, it wasn't scary, cuz you could see them coming with cans in their hands... it was just plain stupid and I heard lots of people in the crowd saying the same thing.
After the painfully bad stage show ended after a whopping six minutes, we were then free to head downwards to one of the two remaining levels. The middle level was a bar area and the bottom level was a haunted maze you walked through. We went straight for the maze, but much of it was pitch black with very little to see, you just kind of felt your way through some inflated walls... nothing particularly memorable. It didn't last long at all either; we made it through the whole thing in under five minutes and it felt like a neighborhood yard haunted attraction at best. The longest part of the maze was waiting in a small hallway that had virtually no air being pumped into it until we were allowed to enter.
And that's when it hit us: in roughly ten minutes, we had already experienced all the major attractions the ship had to offer. Now we were all starting to feel a bit seasick, but it sure as hell wasn't because we were out on the ocean, it was because we were duped into believing this would be a scary, professional, and fun haunted attraction.
We headed up to the middle floor to check out the bar / lounge area, hoping that there would be something of interest. See that white sheet haphazardly tossed onto the couch there? Yeah, that's about as far as they went with decorations... a fog machine and a few sheets on couches. I could make a trip to any local Halloween shop, spend 20 bux on some fake cobwebs and other decorations, and I could make that ship look a hundred times better than it did. That's no exaggeration... it was that bad.
What was really sad is that the actual crew members didn't even dress up for the event. Sure, there were some paid actors wandering around in cheap costumes they bought at Target or something (I saw one guy in a Leatherface mask and a hospital gown, I shit you not), but the actual crew was dressed in standard sailor attire. Kinda kills the effect of being on some haunted ship when the members of its crew didn't even dress up for the part. The best thing in the lounge area was a skeleton-butterfly hybrid woman doing a quick burlesque performance followed by a corny magician who had almost as much confetti on hand as Rip Taylor. I don't really drink, but they didn't even have good names for the libations at the bar (which, I might add were not complimentary, despite the high ticket price). You're on a Ghost Ship for chrissakes... call one of the drinks "Ghoulish Grog" and toss a few skull-shaped ice cubes in the cup! It's not rocket science.
So there we were, with an hour left to go on our Ghost Ship voyage, we all sat around in the lounge area, bored to tears and wondering how anybody could screw up such a great concept so badly. Oh yeah... they only cared about taking people's money, that's how. A lot of customers started leaving negative reviews for the Ghost Ship on its official Facebook page too, but the organizers of the ship quickly started deleting them. On top of that, they're claiming that other local haunts were responsible for the negative reviews. Nice business, eh? I'm pretty sure I'm not a local haunt, nor were any of the other disappointed customers that night.
But at least we were out in the ocean, right? That had to be kinda creepy, right? WRONG.
This was our view the entire night on both sides of the ship. The ship puttered around the local harbor area which had plenty of shops and homes lit up along the shoreline which we were only a few hundred yards from at best most of the time. We didn't have any feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere with no land in sight... we hardly traveled anywhere that night. "The only haunted attraction in the country that sets sail into the dark, open ocean at night for a seventy-five minute ride of horror." That's a direct quote from the official Ghost Ship web site. Open ocean my ass. Talk about false advertising...
You know what else would be a good idea for the Ghost Ship? How about not having white Christmas holiday rope lights lining the entire thing. It's really not hard to find orange Halloween rope lights and they cost the same. It's a sad day when Ghost Ship the movie is better than Ghost Ship the haunted attraction.
I've been to countless haunts and reviewed many of them on this site over the past 13 years or so, and I've never been to a haunted attraction that had put so little effort into it to where I had to give it such a negative review. It felt so incredibly lazy that we all believed it was blatant, and by the end of the night, everybody couldn't wait to abandon ship. Keep in mind, none of this is the fault of the actors aboard the ship, they were just working with what little material they were given, so I applaud them for trying. The fault here lies completely with the people who run the Ghost Ship and here's hoping they're held accountable, because they sure aren't offering any refunds or real apologies. When the captain is a moron, it's time to mutiny, and some people have. Some unhappy customers have already started reporting them to the BBB, so I guess that's another first for a floating haunted attraction.
I really wish I ran this haunt myself, cuz I could easily do so much more with it it... I certainly have the experience. But hey, even though I don't work for the Ghost Ship, I decided to be a good sport and lend them a hand by parodying their promotional ad to reflect the experience more accurately:
Much better.
If you're anywhere in our around Southern California, please do yourself and your wallet a favor and do not take a ride on the Ghost Ship. The sad, simple truth is that it's an absolute waste of a great idea and your money. For that kind of cash, you can enjoy a wide variety of other professional haunts all over the state who actually care about giving people the scares and fun they're looking for.
Tales From The Candelabra!
Here's a little something I simply had to share this with you guys. When I got back home from the road trip with Keith Apicary, Re had a nifty little surprise waiting for me: she tracked down this awesome vintage Tales From The Crypt candelabra! I was a huge fan of the HBO series (I have all the seasons on DVD) and looked forward to all the corny one-liners that the Crypt Keeper would deliver each week back when it was still on TV. Some people are greeted with hugs and kisses when they return from a long trip; I'm greeted with an ancient corpse who tells bad jokes in a televised horror anthology series. Awesome. Let's take a look... or as the Crypt Keeper would say, "let's take a hook!" or something like that.
Perfecto! The Crypt Keeper's eyes glow, his candle comes with a flickering bulb, and his hands rest nicely atop his his book of tales - what more could one ask from a lamp? It's as if he's lit a candle beside your bed to tell you some horrific tales to ensure that you'll never sleep again. I can almost hear John Kassir's voice cackling away whenever I turn this thing on, and I plan on surrounding him with Halloween candies for the rest of the month. Who better to guard them, right? Between this, my Halloween Bubble Light, and my Blinky Glow Lite, I think I'm set for spooky indoor illuminations this season.
SURVEY: While we're on the subject of Tales From the Crypt, what are some of your favorite episodes and why? I've always had a soft spot for the "And All Through The House" episode since it was my introduction to the series.
I Ate Frankenstein’s Brains!
Paying a visit to Knott's Scary Farm has become an annual Halloween tradition, for it always has a great blend of haunted mazes, spooky rides, and a terribly cheesy public hanging of a current popular celebrity (this year it was Rebecca Black). While the mazes haven't changed much in the past two years, it was still a blast checking them out again - especially my favorite "Dia de los Muertos" 3D haunt and the always amusing haunted log ride. The one thing I did take photographs of while there was the amazing desserts we were served as part of our monster dinner. Behold!
Up until this event, I had never tried mousse before, so I'm glad that my first time eating the dessert was out of a monster's skull. It was a mint mousse stuffed into a chocolate head of Frankenstein's monster and it was absolutely delicious. They even added a raspberry drizzle to it so that it appeared his brains were bleeding all over the place. The raspberry didn't really mix well with the mint, but the rest of it was so good that...
...well, as you can see, I really enjoyed it. They had a few other flavors such as a chocolate cauldron filled with strawberry mousse and another filled with almond mousse, but let's be honest here... who in their right mind is going to pass up a chance to eat the minty brains of Frankenstein? That kind of thing only happens once in a lifetime if you're lucky. Just like Winston told Ray, "If somebody asks you if you're a god, you say yes!", if somebody asks you if you want to eat Frankenstein's minty brains, you say yes too.
So yeah, I grabbed a fork and hollowed out his skull without ever looking back.
In related news, not to break with tradition, I made sure to get another photo of myself hanging upside-down in a coffin at Knotts:
While we're on the subject, in case you haven't seen them already, be sure to check out some of my previous Knotts Scary Farm Halloween maze pictorials: Knott's Scary Farm 2009 and Knott''s Scary Farm 2006.
Apicarnage Tour Coverage: Part Two.
[Click here to watch in hi-res]
I know it's not technically a Halloween update, but I'm sure you'll like this new video... and I do experience quite a few horrors in it, so that counts as far as I'm concerned. The Apicarnage tour may be over, but Gametrailers finally put up the second tour coverage video which showcases some more of the great game stores and arcades we visited, what driving around the country in a station wagon with Keith Apicary is really like, and the luxurious accommodations our sponsor provided us with. Once again, be sure to stick around after the credits for an extra scene.
If you missed the first video where we visit the Goonies house and beach, definitely check it out too. And yes, there's still more tour footage to come, so I'll post it here whenever they put it up online.
The 2010 Lego Halloween Ghost, Bat, And Pumpkin Set!
Like many of you, I spent far too many hours building pirate and space Lego sets when I was a kid. Most of the time, I would end up combining the two series and creating some bizarre anachronistic monstrosity that probably should've been set on fire. Fortunately, for your eyes, I don't have photos of those old creations of mine, but I do have a great set of Halloween themed Legos to show you today.
Left over from last year, I never got around to showcasing these ghost, bat, and pumpkin Legos when they came out during 2010 Halloween season, so it's high time they enjoy the limelight. These small Halloween Lego sets came packaged separately and could be found in various toy stores last year. Don't worry, if you missed out on them while they were in stores, I'm sure you can still buy them on eBay or something.
I absolutely love the package design on these sets. The subtle glow around the ghost, bat, and pumpkin makes it look as they're haunting that full moon graveyard scene. Speaking of which, they even placed the bats in different locations on each package to add a little variety. That's the kind of love I like to see put into Halloween novelties... even the most subtle changes are appreciated, because it shows that some real love went into the products.
First up, we have the Ghost (set number 40013 for all you Lego fanatics). This was clearly the easiest one in the entire set to construct as it's made entirely of the most standard Lego blocks - 18 pieces worth. That doesn't make him look any less fantastic though. I could see this blocky lil' fella chasing Pacman to his grave any day of the week.
Next, we have the Bat (set number 40014). While this one still consists primarily of standard Lego block sizes, I figured it would be the most difficult to assemble of the three simply because it's super skinny and could easily fall apart. Still, with 25 pieces, it only took a little over a minute to put the finishing touches on this guy. They also included an extra eyeball with him, so maybe I'll lend it to the ghost since he didn't get any colorful accessories. I gotta say, the bat is my favorite of the three... I think it's the white fangs that won me over.
Last on our list, we have the Pumpkin (set number 40012). I almost feel like I should buy more of these ones simply so I can have more orange colored Halloweeny Lego blocks. I also had never seen the tiny triangle pieces that you use for the teeth on this pumpkin, and the green leaf topper was a real nice touch. I'm kind of curious to see how this one looks behind a candle light...
Behold the Leg-O-Lantern!
As you can see, once assembled, these three make a fine set of festive Halloween decorations worthy of placement on your mantle 'til the end of October. Here's hoping Lego sees fit to release more of the miniature Halloween themed sets, because I need every minute of my day to be filled with something festive. These three sets killed about five minutes tops, so you have another 1435 minutes worth of Halloween sets to deliver to me, Lego. I suggest you get to work.
Oh, and by the way... the ghost is totally rocking those two leftover pieces from the bat and the pumpkin:
He's so punk rock.
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