The Deep Blue Sea On The Red River

Shreveport, LA

In my last post I talked about attending the KISS: End of the Road tour with my son in Bossier City, LA. Anybody familiar with the area knows that right across the Red River is the city of Shreveport. It’s the third largest city in Louisiana and the center of a region known as the Ark-La-Tex.

Located downtown along the Red River and nestled between casinos and the Sci-Port Discovery Center is the Shreveport Aquarium. I decided that a visit to the aquarium would be the perfect way to end me and my son’s little vacation to northwest Louisiana.

All photos in this post taken by me.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting very much from this aquarium. I read through a few online reviews and visited the aquarium’s website and came to the conclusion that this would be a fun place, but probably nothing too amazing.

Thankfully the aquarium far exceeded my expectations. Yes, it isn’t a very large aquarium, but it makes up for its lack of size with beautiful exhibits, tons of opportunities to interact with sea life, and a staff that was both friendly and knowledgeable about the animals and plant life in the aquarium.

We were greeted with a smile at the admissions desk and offered the chance to purchase a feeding token to feed stingrays. My son didn’t want to feed the rays but I went ahead and purchased a token for a small fee. We then entered the first wing of the aquarium. It featured tanks full of brightly colored fish and other animals. Lionfish, clownfish, pufferfish, and other sea life darted in and out of reefs and hid behind rocks. Throughout the exhibit, seafaring items such as anchors and cannons dotted the walkway.

As we left the first portion of the aquarium, we entered a large solarium that featured wood ducks, turtles, fish, and vegetation native to Louisiana. The area also had a small play area for younger children. Despite it being in the 90’s outside, the solarium had cooling units in place that kept the temperature reasonable. It wasn’t hot, but it was warm enough for the reptiles in the exhibit to remain comfortable.

We left the solarium and headed into the portion of the aquarium that featured starfish, clams, and jellyfish that you could touch in the water. It was fun getting to touch and feel these creatures in the water. There are obviously strict rules in place about touching the animals, so please respect these rules so that others can enjoy this experience. Also in the area, seahorses and baby sharks are in tanks for observation.

The next area that we entered was the massive aquarium featuring all sorts of fish including a number of sharks. Two “portholes” were available that allowed people to experience being at the bottom of the ocean with tons of sea creatures swimming around you. This is a perfect place for a photo op.

The final exhibit area was my favorite. I cashed in my token to feed fish to stingrays and touch them as they swam by in their pool. The rays were extremely friendly and didn’t seem to mind all of the people touching them. Feeding them is definitely a memorable experience and I recommend it if you ever visit the Shreveport Aquarium.

The final area in the aquarium was the SALT Cafe and a small gift shop. My son and I didn’t eat in the cafe, but it had a nice view overlooking the Red River. There was also a massive foot made out of plastic bottles that reminded visitors of the impact that plastic can make on our oceans.

This aquarium turned out to be a nice surprise and an excellent way to cap off our trip to the Ark-La-Tex. I have plans on bringing the rest of my family here in the future. Visit the aquarium’s website for more information on the exhibits and experiences that happen throughout the week including meet and greets with pirates and mermaids!

Thanks for reading this post. I have one more upcoming post about another experience that my son and I had while visiting the Ark-La-Tex, and you don’t want to miss it!

KISS: End of the Road Tour

Bossier City, LA, 9/7/2019

I’ve been a KISS fan for a very long time. I’ve been ridiculed, laughed at, and even accused of worshiping Satan because of my love for the band. Despite this fact, though, I’ve only recently been able to see them perform live. In total I have seen KISS perform live on three occasions. The first two times were in Houston and the most recent show was in Bossier City, LA. This show was a little bit more special than the other shows, though, as this show would be my young son’s first concert.

KISS didn’t disappoint.

Photo by me.

The opening act for KISS was a performance painter named David Garibaldi. I, along with most of the folks in line around me prior to the show, had serious doubts about a painter being the warm-up for the band. I, and everyone else that doubted him, was wrong about David Garibaldi. The guy painted three pictures within thirty minutes and had the crowd cheering the entire time. He did brilliant paintings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis, and KISS. To top it all off, the KISS painting was raffled off for charity. I’ve followed Garibaldi’s Facebook page ever since and he comes across as a genuinely nice guy. Check out his Facebook page for links to his website and other social media.

  • Photo by Greg Wood.
  • Photo by Greg Wood.
  • Photo by Greg Wood.

When it was time for KISS, they opened the show as they always open the show, “You wanted the best! You got the best! The hottest band in the world…..KISSSSSSSS!” This was followed by the dropping of the black KISS curtain and the band exploding onto the stage via lifts, all the while belting out the opening to Detroit Rock City. They went on to play a total of twenty tunes including an amazing drum solo by Eric Singer (it was a highlight of the show for me) and a solid guitar solo by Tommy Thayer.

Photo by me.

Gene spit blood and fire and tore through tracks like Calling Dr. Love and War Machine. Paul flew out into the crowd for two of his signature tracks, Love Gun and I Was Made For Lovin’ You. Eric Singer gave us his rendition of two of original drummer Peter Criss’ signature tunes, Black Diamond and Beth.

Photo from the web.

The stage lighting and pyrotechnics were the best that I’ve ever seen at any live show. They were also the best of all of the KISS shows that I’ve either attended or watched online. HD screens, laser lighting, flamethrowers, KISS beach balls, and the signature confetti were all used during the show. Sure, some of Paul’s lines were the same ones that he’s used for decades and his voice isn’t as good as it used to be, but you could tell that he and the rest of the band put their entire hearts into the show. Gene sounded great vocally and on bass. Eric’s drums and vocals were as solid as they’ve ever been as well. The real star of the show, though, was Tommy Thayer. Perpetually viewed in the shadow of Ace Frehley by far too many fans, Thayer fleshed out the solos and made them his own this time around. Tommy is proving to the world that he truly is one of the best guitar players to ever grace the stage with KISS.

Photo taken by me.

When KISS played Rock N’ Roll All Nite to close out the show, everybody was on their feet. Knowing that it will most likely be the last time that we get to see these four guys on the stage together in full makeup and with tons of pyro behind them in Bossier City, it was a tad bittersweet. I’m going to miss these guys.

With that being said, however, something wonderful happened that evening. Throughout the show I would glance over at my son. He never looked back at me, though. He was too entranced with the wall of sound, flames, and lights that he was experiencing. He loved every single minute of the concert. As the final piece of confetti hit the ground and the crowd exited the arena as the house lights came up with God Gave Rock N Roll To You II blaring over the CenturyLink Center speakers, I looked at my son. He was smiling from ear to ear. He was completely amazed by what he had just seen.

Photo by the Shreveport Times staff.

Prior to KISS’ encore, he had been wearing ear plugs for the entire show. He was worried about damaging his ears. When Eric Singer returned to the stage to perform Beth, however, he took his plugs out, nudged me, and said that he wanted to hear all of the encore. I was fine with his actions and my heart tugged just a little bit as well. I gave him the okay and he smiled.

Photo from the web.

After the show, I picked up a t-shirt and bandanna from the merch table. My son didn’t want anything. As we walked to our car he repeatedly talked about what happened during the show and how cool he thought that it all was. Once we got to our vehicle, we decided to wait out the crowd a bit before leaving. We talked even more about the show and it was so refreshing to hear my son’s point of view. His favorite performer of the night was Tommy Thayer. Unlike many KISS fans these days, my son only knows Ace Frehley’s work with the band from what I’ve told him and played for him. His Spaceman is, was, and always will be Tommy Thayer. It was so refreshing to hear someone not complain about Tommy but instead, praise his work.

Photo from the web.

This show will always be my greatest memory of KISS. It was my last show, my son’s first show, and something that we will talk about until I’m gone. Hopefully my son will share this memory with his own son or daughter some day and he’ll get the chance to share some other band’s concert with them.

Thanks for the memories, KISS. This might be the end of the road, but you’ll be playing in hearts, minds, and plenty of stereos for many years to come.

Here’s the setlist from the show:

  1. Detroit Rock City
  2. Shout It Out Loud
  3. Deuce
  4. Say Yeah
  5. I Love It Loud
  6. Heaven’s On Fire
  7. War Machine (Gene Breathes Fire)
  8. Lick It Up
  9. Calling Dr. Love
  10. 100,000 Years (Eric Drum Solo)
  11. Cold Gin (Tommy Thayer Solo)
  12. God Of Thunder (Gene Simmons Bass Solo/Spits Blood)
  13. Psycho Circus
  14. Let Me Go, Rock N’ Roll
  15. Love Gun (Paul On Crowd Stage)
  16. I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Paul On Crowd Stage)
  17. Black Diamond
  18. Beth (Encore)
  19. Crazy, Crazy Nights (Encore)
  20. Rock N’ Roll All Nite (Closes Show)

Throwback Thursday: I Wanna Go Back…(1980’s)

The Brimstone’s Totally Rad 80’s Party

I spent my childhood growing up under the influence of pop culture icons like Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox, Family Ties), ALF, and Macho Man Randy Savage. I listened to bands like Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and KISS. I watched iconic films like The Empire Strikes Back and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and a few cult hits like Critters and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I am a child of the 1980’s and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Me, circa 1987 by way of 2019.

Last Saturday, the Brimstone Museum and the Henning Cultural Center in Sulphur, LA capped off their recent Chaos Theory Art Show with the Brimstone’s Totally Rad 80’s Party, a celebration of all things 80’s. I attended the event and have to admit that I really enjoyed myself.

A shadowbox display of a typical room from the 1980’s.

The party featured the Louisiana Ghostbusters, a public service fan group and fundraising group for charities. They were raising money for the American Cancer society. Attendees were given the chance to take photos with Ecteaux-1, the group’s version of Ecto-1 from the film, and also to take photos in full Ghostbuster gear. The original Ghostbusters film was also shown on a large outdoor screen at the event.

A Critters canvas that I purchased from a local artist, Malcolm O’Brien.

Local artists were also on hand to sell their wares. Original artwork, prints, magnets, books, crafts, and other items were made available by these artists. There was also a facepainting booth and Boombox Frozen Pops and Ice Cream was on hand to serve up some frozen goodies. I tried their “Pop You Like A Hurricane” pop and it was delicious.

Boombox Frozen Pops and Ice Cream’s “Say Anything” display.

The event also had a scavenger hunt that included everything from getting a high five from a Ghostbuster to busting a move on the dancefloor. I actually completed most of the items on the list but didn’t turn in my card for the prizes which included the legendary Maplewood sandal (only locals will get that reference). Other prizes included goods from Paper Heroes and dance lessons!

The infamous Maplewood Sandal!

Zoltar was on hand to tell you your fortune as well. He gave me some sound advice about a film that I am going to see.

Zoltar!

I left the event about thirty minutes before it ended. There was a costume contest well underway as I made my way back to my vehicle. I want to thank Thom Trahan and Kat Godsey of the Brimstone Historical Society and all of the volunteers and vendors for putting on such a great event! The bar has been set high for next year’s show!

Hurricane Pro 8/24/2019

The Great Sexy Love Invasion Continues…

Two months ago, Sexy Steve De Marco and his Great Sexy Love Stable made their presence known at Hurricane Pro Wrestling. They stormed the ring during the main event between HPW Champion Jordan Jensen and “SuperTex” Brent McKenzie and declared that they were going to take over HPW. In July, things ran rather smoothly for HPW’s Queens of the Ring event as GSL didn’t show up at all.

But HPW’s August show was a different matter….

Photo by Chad Cooper

Great Sexy Love arrived in full force, making their presence known by challenging for belts, disrupting matches, and basically stirring up as much mayhem as possible. While their antics outside of the ring drew a ton of heat from the crowd, their work in the ring left all but one of them in Loser column for the evening.

Photo by Chad Cooper

The highlight of the evening was for the Hurricane Pro Championship. Worthy challenger and all around monster in the ring, Edgrin Stone battled Jordan Jensen in one of the best matches of the evening. Jensen retained his title but his celebration was cut short as GSL attempted to close out the evening on a sour note. Thankfully Jensen had backup waiting for anything that might happen and Make Your Own Path and Don Rodrigo arrived just in time to prevent Jordan from getting another beatdown by GSL.

Photo by Chad Cooper

Here’s a breakdown of the evening’s matches:

GSL’s Loverboy Nate Andrews lost to Ryan Davidson.

Billy Fletcher III and Estrella Galactica’s match ended in a no contest when both were savagely attacked by an unknown wrestler.

Photo by Chad Cooper

Ricky Starks lost to Miranda Alize in an intergender match.

Photo by Chad Cooper

Johnny Flexx upset defending champion Don Rodrigo for the HPW Cruiserweigt championship after interference from GSL’s Punk’n Morrigan.

GSL’s The Great Ones fell to defending HPW Tag Team Champions The Pump Patrol despite attempted interference from Nate Andrews and Punk’n Morrigan.

Photo by Chad Cooper

Bu Ku Dao lost to defending multi-belt champion Sexy Steve De Marco (GSL’s only victory of the evening).

Photo by Chad Cooper

Edgrin Stone lost to defending HPW Champion Jordan Jensen.

While all of the matches were excellent, the matches between Ricky Starks and Miranda Alize and the Stone/Jensen battle were outstanding. Stone and Jensen were well matched and hopefully they forged a bond as friends since Stone would definitely add some bulk to HPW’s lineup as they continue their battle against GSL. Starks and Alize provided one of the funniest and most violent matches of the evening, with Starks repeating slamming Alize into the guardrail and Alize exposing Starks’ posterior and getting a face full of backside as a result.

Next month’s event promises to be a good one as newly crowned HPW Women’s Champion Heather Monroe returns to Beaumont to defend her belt for the first time at Ford Park. Her opponent hasn’t been announced yet. According to HPW’s Facebook page, rematches and international debuts are also going to occur. I’m sure that Great Sexy Love will also be returning to stir up trouble. I’ll be sure to let you know all of the results right here next month!

Thanks for reading. If you’re local to the southwest Louisiana/southeast Texas area, I highly recommend checking out Hurricane Pro wrestling. They provide excellent independent wrestling action and have brought in some of professional wrestling’s best athletes like Thunder Rosa, Brian Cage, Chelsea Green, and Masada!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror Returns!!!

And this time it’s Universal!

About two years ago I decided to watch and review thirty-one horror films across the month of October. I made it to day fourteen and had to call it quits due to the fact that work was piling up on me and I’m lazy. This year, however, I’m primed to complete my initial journey of thirty-one films and I plan on doing it by watching thirty-one classic Universal Monsters films!

From Bride of Frankenstein to Abbott & Costello Meet The Invisible Man, I’m going to view all of the great (and not so great) horror films that turned me into a horror fanatic for life.

So why Universal Monsters? One reason is that I’ve always loved these films. If you’ve read just a few of my posts on classic horror, you know that I am a huge fan of the Wolf Man and love films that feature practical effects. These films blazed trails in effects and in cinematography as a whole. Another reason is the fact that I recently read Mallory O’Meara’s brilliant book, The Lady From The Black Lagoon, about the life and career of Milicent Patrick. Check out my review of the book here.

Yet another reason is that these films are just fun to watch and I can watch them with my family. My kids think that I’m insane for watching these old movies, but every now and then one of them will stumble into the room, sit down, and watch a few minutes of the films with me. My daughter has especially taken a shine to the Creature, and I hope that she continues to watch more of these films with me.

I’m also excited to see a few of these films for the first time! I’ve never watched an entire film featuring the Invisible Man, but that will change in October!

Let me know some of your favorite Universal Monster flicks in the comments section. Also, keep an eye open for the first film review on October 1st in just over a month. I plan on throwing in a few interesting historical facts and maybe tie a few of these classic films with films that they inspired.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all in October!

Throwback Thursday: Zone Troopers (1985)

Somewhere in Italy

Trapped behind enemy lines during World War II and chased by Nazis, a small group of American soldiers end up as the rescuers of an unlikely POW—an alien!

1985’s Zone Troopers is definitely not for everyone. It’s a B-movie with big dreams and hokey special effects that might turn off a lot of audiences. For me, however, it’s perfect. Featuring a cast headed up by prolific character actor Tim Thomerson (the Trancers film series, television shows such as Down And Out In Beverly Hills, Sirens, and The Flash), this action/science fiction yarn is surprisingly fun and full of 80’s action.

Three actors round out the core cast with Thomerson. Biff Manard (Trancers, The Flash, Bonanza), Art LaFleur (The Sandlot, Field of Dreams, Trancers), and Timothy Van Patten (Class of 1984, St. Elsewhere, The Master) are all excellent performers in their own right and keep the story interesting.

Thomerson, Manard, and LaFleur have starred alongside each other in many films and television shows over the years. Most of those projects were either written and/or directed by Danny Bilson. Zone Troopers was Bilson’s directorial debut and one of his earliest writing credits, but he’s probably best known for writing films and television shows such as The Rocketeer, The Flash (1990), Viper, and Human Target. Timothy Van Patten started as an actor, but made his mark behind the camera as the director of multiple episodes of hit series like The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, and Touched By An Angel. He was even nominated for four Emmy awards.

Zone Troopers moves quickly and feels more like a big budget television movie than a major motion picture. That’s a good thing in my opinion. I can easily visualize this movie being sandwiched between episodes of The A-Team and Knight Rider in 1980-something. The humor is light and cheesy at times, but it’s perfect for this film. The action features a lot of shooting, running, and a little bit of luck, which was par for the course in most 80’s films.

While the special effects and costumes aren’t much to look at, they don’t take away from the story. Yes, you might chuckle whenever the alien uses a grenade-like device to obliterate a Nazi tank, but you’ll keep a smile on your face for the entirety of the film because it’s such a fun ride. I do want to point out that the exterior of the crashed alien ship looks great, as does the interior hall that leads to the cockpit.

This is an excellent film to watch if you’re rained in on a weekend. You won’t feel like you’ve wasted your time watching this movie and you might even find yourself watching other classics like Trancers while you’re at it.

As always, thanks for reading. Let me know if you’ve seen Zone Troopers or any of the other films starring, written, or directed by this extremely underappreciated cast and crew.

Bookish About Boggy Creek

Fouke, Arkansas

When I was nine years old, my family went to the movies to see a film entitled Boggy Creek 2: And The Legend Continues… which was actually the third film in the Legend of Boggy Creek series. There aren’t many people that consider this particular film to be great, but for young me, it was golden. I became determined to find Bigfoot and since this particular version of the beast lived just a few hours north of me, it became the focal point of my mission.

Well, I’m north of forty years now and while I never became the great Sasquatch hunter of my dreams, I still love the beast in all of its incarnations. The Fouke Monster is my favorite simply because it’s (possibly) the closest version of the creature in my vicinity.

I became familiar with Lyle Blackburn‘s work a few years ago when I started seeing him pop up in documentaries and as a guest at different conventions. While I have yet to meet him (primarily because I’ve always been unable to attend any conventions that he has appeared at), I’ve become a fan of his work. This book, The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster, is an excellent resource for those interested in the Fouke Monster.

Blackburn’s style of writing is extremely personable. At times it’s as if he’s simply having a conversation with the reader. He takes a look at the history of the creature and its supposed appearances prior to the Bigfoot craze of the 1970’s and continues through with sightings up to the publication of his book.

He also gives the reader a look at the history of the community of Fouke and the surrounding areas. He then weaves the history of sightings and interactions with the beast over the years into that history.

A large portion of the book deals with the Charles B. Pierce film that brought the world to Fouke’s doorstep, The Legend of Boggy Creek. Blackburn describes the process of Pierce as he created the film, how it affected the community and many of its citizens that starred in the movie, and how it influenced other movies that came after it.

Blackburn also spends a lot of time giving an in depth look at selected sightings of the beast. From the credibility of the witnesses to evidence uncovered, Blackburn reveals the good and bad of possible legitimate interactions with the creature and some potential hoaxes.

Blackburn takes us through Fouke today and how the beast still influences it. From Smokey Crabtree’s books to the Monster Mart (which I’ve visited and you should, too), we get a glimpse of just how much of a unique hold this creature has on this otherwise sleepy rural town in southwest Arkansas.

The book also contains a timeline of events as they happened in “The Legend of Boggy Creek” and Blackburn lets the reader know just how much artistic liberty Pierce took with some of them. He also provides an excellent timeline of sightings of the beast over the years.

This book was fun and informative. It’s especially interesting if you, like me, grew up with the old films and lived either in the Fouke area or nearby in Texas or Louisiana.

I plan on reading more of Lyle Blackburn’s work, and be sure to check out his band, Ghoultown, as well.

As always, thanks for reading. If you are interested in Bigfoot or any other cryptids, let me know in the comments section. Also, I’m always eager to hear stories about such creatures, so if you know any good tales or had an encounter yourself, comment below or send me a private message.

This post is a modified version of a review that I recently posted on Amazon.

Throwback Thursday: Boggy Creek (2011)

Not In Fouke, Arkansas

When I was nine years old, my parents took me and my siblings to see Boggy Creek II: And The Legend Continues. In a dimly lit theater in Oakdale, LA, I became enthralled with the beast that terrorized the rural town of Fouke, AR and a professor and students intent on discovering the truth about the creature. No matter how bad the film was, it inspired nine year old me to hunt for Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and any other cryptid that may or may not be lurking in the forests of the world.

I haven’t found anything yet, but I’ll always hope that the creature is real.

With that being said, I’ve watched tons of documentaries, read plenty of books, hit a couple of trails with mild intentions of finding something (but not really sure what I’d do IF I did actually find something), did a little web research and viewed countless films, most of which were terrible, about the beast.

Add 2011’s Boggy Creek to the list of terrible films that I’ve watched. While I commend the actors and crew for attempting to make a decent horror film, I can’t say that I have any good memories about this flick. Texas Battle (Final Destination 3, The Bold And The Beautiful) and Stephanie Honore (The Final Destination, Mirrors 2) are probably the best known actors in the film and they feature in supporting roles. Actress Melissa Carnell heads up the cast as the star of the film and is given support from Battle, Honore, and relative unknowns Shavon Kirksey and Damon Lipari.

The film has no connection to the cult classic The Legend of Boggy Creek or any of its sequels. In fact, it doesn’t even take place in Arkansas. It takes place in the fictional northeast Texas rural town of Boggy Creek. It was actually shot in Jefferson, TX and the area around Uncertain, TX, which along with places like Gun Barrel City, Cut And Shoot, and Kermit, only strengthens my argument that Texas has some of the coolest small town names.

The plot was pretty basic, even for Bigfoot horror. Jennifer (Carnell) returns to her deceased father’s camp after it is left to her. With tensions brewing between her and her mother, she decides to take a break with her friend, Maya (Kirksey), and Maya’s stepbrother, Dave (Lipari). Dave brings along his snobby girlfriend, Brooke (Honore), and Maya’s boyfriend, Tommy (Battle), pops up unannounced. Violent deaths and mutilations are on the rise in the area that the group decides to camp in and despite warnings from others in the area, the gang decides to stay at the camp. After a lot of build up, the creature begins its attack on the group, planning to kill the males and kidnap the nubile young ladies for breeding.

For whatever reason (maybe it was just my television), the film seems to be shot entirely in soft focus, which made me believe that this was an attempt at bringing a little Hallmark Channel flair to horror. The acting wasn’t that great and neither were the special effects or music. I will say that the ending of the film had a ton of potential but ultimately flopped like the rest of the film.

So if this film was so terrible, why did I revisit it and blog about it? For the simple reason that I’ve been on a larger than usual Sasquatch kick and I decided to watch this film again. It was perfect fodder for an evening of laundry and Coke Zero. It’s brainless, bad, and somehow a little bit fun.

As always, thanks for reading. I’ll be watching more bad movies as we get closer to Halloween. I’m thinking about attempting Thirty-One Days O’Horror once again. I failed at it a couple of years ago, but considering the fact that I’ve acquired a ton of bills recently, I won’t be leaving home that much because I’m poor. Netflix and meager meals, it is.

Rising From The Murky Depths

A life in the Black Lagoon

The following is my review of The Lady From The Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, originally posted on Amazon. I’ve added a few photos to this post that are not a part of the original review as well as a brief side note at the end of the review.

I’ve been a fan of Universal’s classic monsters for a few decades. I started watching them as a child on Saturday afternoons and as I grew older I began to collect the films. The Creature From The Black Lagoon and its sequels were some of the last films of that era that I got to watch. I was mesmerized by the Creature, especially by the way his gills would expand while he was out of the water. It was an amazing thing to see, especially considering the fact that it was 1954. I knew nothing of the Creature’s designer other than the fact that Bud Westmore was given credit for it.

Milicent Patrick working on Creech. Photo taken from an NPR article.

It was only a few months ago that I learned of Milicent Patrick through a meme that one of my fellow monster friends posted. It credited her with being the designer of Creech. This caught my attention and I sought out more information on her. That’s when I stumbled upon Mallory O’Meara’s wonderful book, The Lady From The Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick.

O’Meara’s book is actually three stories at once. The primary story is of Patrick’s life and career. The two secondary stories are of O’Meara’s trials and tribulations while researching Mil and of the struggle of women in the male-dominated arena of film and television.

Julia Adams being terrorized by the Creature! Photo taken from ocweekly.com

All three stories are quite amazing. O’Meara brings Milicent Patrick to life on the page. We learn about her upbringing that was both amazing and heartbreaking at times thanks primarily to her father, Camille Rossi, as he pursued a career in architecture. We also learn that Milicent became one of (if not the first) woman hired by Walt Disney to work at his studios in the Ink and Paint Department. Reading this particular part of the book was fun for me, as I’ve read a few biographies about Walt Disney that mention his all-female Ink and Paint Department. None of them, however, named Mil specifically as being part of that department.

O’Meara then takes us along for the ride as we explore Patrick’s time as an actress and artist. We learn about some of her strongest friends, greatest enemy, and the many loves won and lost over her life. O’Meara does an excellent job of presenting Mil’s life to the reader, all of the glamorous and not so wonderful parts of it.

Obviously a lot of attention is given to Patrick’s design work on The Creature From The Black Lagoon and how she received zero credit for all of her work thanks to Bud Westmore and the lack of action from others. You’ll have to read the book to find out how that particular tale goes down.

O’Meara also gives us an in depth look at how difficult it was to find information on Patrick. Just the fact that Mil went by quite a few names over her lifetime made it hard to track her moves through Hollywood. O’Meara also turned me on to a few other books and people that she utilized to piece together Mil’s life and career. I’m particularly interested in the work of the Mormon Church. Again, you’ll need to read the book to see what that is all about.

Finally, the battle for equality that has been a part of film and television since its inception is addressed. As more and more information is brought to light, men are becoming more aware of just how oppressed women are in the film industry. O’Meara handles this topic with fire. She handles it well. In all honesty I would like to see O’Meara write a book specifically about this subject. I’m sure that it would be a great read.

Author Mallory O’Meara. Photo taken by Allan Amato.

All three stories in this book appear to be written with love, anger, humor, and intelligence by O’Meara. Her footnotes offer solid information and a few laughs. She gives a solid example of Milicent Patrick’s world, the good and the bad of it, while keeping the story engaging.

Milicent Patrick’s work and contributions to cinema are slowly rising from the murky depths. I see even more women being brought to the top of the lagoon in the future and I believe that O’Meara’s book will be heralded as the beginning of a new age for women in Hollywood.

Highly recommended.

Additional side note: One of the things that makes The Creature From The Black Lagoon so wonderful is that up until February of this year, both Julia Adams (Kay Lawrence) and Ricou Browning (the Creature in underwater scenes) were still alive. It’s one of those rare occasions where people that were a part of a classic film are still alive. Sadly, Julia Adams passed away in February of this year. As far as I know I was one of the last people to get an autographed photo from her, as she passed away just days after I sent in a request for a photo. Ricou Browning is still alive as of this writing. I still need to acquire his autograph.

As always, thanks for reading.

Queens Of The Ring!

Hurricane Pro Wrestling, Beaumont, TX

On Saturday, July 27th, my daughter and I made the hour plus journey to Beaumont, TX for what has become a monthly ritual for my family. We attended Hurricane Pro’s Queens of the Ring event at the Ford Park Exhibit Hall. The show featured five matches that offered up some of the best female wrestlers on the independent scene and a sixth match featuring an intergender battle. I’ll talk about that particular match in a little bit.

Photo taken from Hurricane Pro’s Facebook page.

Here’s a breakdown of the matches:

Phoebe defeated Renegade Wrestling Vixen champion Raychell Rose in a non-title match.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Heather Monroe defeated Alex Gracia in a Hurricane Pro Women’s Championship Number One Contender’s Match.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Thunder Rosa defeated Mercedes Martinez.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Defending champion Hyan defeated Amber Nova in a Sabotage World Championship match.

Priscilla Kelly defeated Rok-C.

Defending champion Miranda Alize defeated Joey Ryan in a Hurricane Pro Women’s Championship match.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Heather Monroe wins the Hurricane Pro Women’s Championship in an unscheduled match against Miranda Alize.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

In all honesty the win by Heather Monroe was a shocker to me. Alize has held the Women’s Championship for just over a year now (also the first to win the title) and I didn’t expect Monroe to challenge her so quickly for the it. Alize is a local fan favorite and I was surprised by her loss of the title. That being said, Monroe has definitely draws plenty of heat from the crowd. It’s almost as if the fans are still trying to decide whether or not Monroe is a heel or a face and that uncertainty makes her fun to watch.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

The match of the evening in my opinion was the battle between Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez. Martinez, an independent wrestling veteran that definitely knows her way around the ring, gave Thunder Rosa all that she could handle. The match lasted over twenty minutes and featured humorous moments such as a dance-off and the most brutal moves of the evening including a wicked powerbomb. The match is available to watch for free on YouTube here.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Of course, all of the talk has been about the match between Miranda Alize and Joey Ryan. Ryan, who has a reputation for being quite controversial, pulled out plenty of his old tricks including lollipops and his signature move, the d!ck flip during the match, but Miranda managed to defeat him in a solid match that leaned heavy on humor. Alize pulled off some brilliant moves on Ryan and got in a few cheap shots of her own against him. The match is available here on Title Match Network’s YouTube channel. All but one of the rest of the evening’s matches are also available on the channel.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

The rest of the evening’s matches were excellent. Due to an apparent legitimate injury, the bout between Rok-C and Priscilla Kelly was cut short. Like Joey Ryan, Kelly has gained a bit of notoriety due to her actions in recent matches. Rok-C is a young and hungry talent who has nowhere to go but up. I was hoping to see more of this pair battling it out, but the injury to Kelly abruptly ended the match.

Hyan brutalized Amber Nova. Nova drew a ton of heat from the crowd but Hyan, one of the best heels on the independent circuit in my opinion, won over the crowd by being her typical nasty self. I don’t know very much about Nova, but I was quite impressed by her skills in the ring. Hyan continues to impress me and seems to get better with each match.

Heather Monroe and Alex Gracia put on an excellent match. The duo worked well together and sold each others moves with near perfection. This was the second time that I got to see both of these women live and they are extremely fun to watch.

Photo by Chad Cooper (posted on Facebook)

Raychell Rose and Phoebe opened up the show with a solid performance. Both have wrestled for Hurricane Pro in the past. Rose battled it out in a three way match with Rok-C and Alex Gracia last month and Phoebe was the first competitor to enter the ring in last year’s inaugural Women’s Championship gauntlet match. Phoebe is a fan favorite and Rose has quickly drawn massive heel heat from the crowd. I hope that both of these ladies return in the near future.

Oh, and I got a photo with my favorite wrestler, Thunder Rosa!

Photo taken by my daughter

Hurricane Pro returns to the Ford Park Exhibit Hall on August 24th. The first match to be announced is Sexy Steve De Marco versus fan favorite Bu Ku Dao. De Marco brutalized current Hurricane Pro Champion Jordan Jensen at June’s show and revealed his Great Sexy Love stable to the crowd. They have big plans to dominate Hurricane Pro, but Jensen definitely has a few plans of his own.

Thanks for reading this post. Get more information on Hurricane Pro on their Facebook page. I’ve also included links to the wrestlers’ fan pages on Facebook except for Alex Gracia, Miranda Alize, and Hyan. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like any of these ladies have fan pages yet. Feel free to share this post with your friends!