#152: People Who Still Think Being A Geek Is A Bad Thing!

Sadly, these people still walk among us, even in 2012.

They think being a fan boy or girl is somehow linked to a person’s social standing or worth; as if an individual who stands in line for hours – or even days – to get into a convention is any different than someone who lines up for concert tickets or to get into a Coach store.

Personally, I have more respect for the young lady who spends her cash on a convention ticket that will lead to lifelong memories than the vapid, soulless wench who spends $300 of Daddy’s money on a purse!

Nevertheless, the terms “geek” and fan boy’ will forever be linked to individuals who..

• Refuse to leave Mom’s basement. What if she’s a really great cook?
• Have never had a real date that didn’t charge them.
• Just can’t seem to purchase t-shirts without a licensed character adorning the front or back.
• Refuse to immerse themselves in the ordinary.

Well, I’ll tell you something, folks, The Hook is proud to call himself a fan boy – even at 42! In those four decades, I have…

• Lived on my own. But I’ll take a meal from Mom anytime!
• Never paid for “romance”.
• Purchased run-of-the-mill clothing as well as superhero themed apparel. I just wear the Flash t-shirts underneath!
• Lived a life of balance; I just take the family with me to the comic conventions. The wife loves to meet actors who portray vampires!

I mentioned the year for a reason folks; in 2012 fan boys have achieved the following…

• They’ve created a venue that sells over 130,000 tickets six months in advance of opening. The San Diego Comic-Con International has become the place to be for Hollywood execs searching for the next big franchise or to launch new projects. 
  

  Image via Wikipedia

  
  

• The young geeks who have left Mom’s basement are the new wave of filmmakers whose projects bring in big bucks for Tinsel Town.
• These same fan boys and girls are no longer dependent upon hookers for dates. Although they can now afford the really classy ones!
• Comics and sci-fi projects have influenced pop culture and even fashion for years now. Yes, even fashion!
• It’s now cool for a musician or screenwriter to say they’re working on the next Batman or Spiderman flick!
  

  Image via Wikipedia

  And finally….

• Actors actually WANT to be cast in superhero films! They lead to franchises which ensure a steady paycheck for years. What’s not to  like?

ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

June 9. 2012 10 A.M – 7 P.M.
Scotiabank Convention Centre
Niagara Falls. Ontario. Canada

For full details, click here, fan boys and girls!

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#171: The Devolution of the Sex Symbol.

We should all be ashamed of ourselves.

We need to expect more from the people we lust after and adore.

Once upon a time, being a sex symbol meant something; it was a true acknowledgment of one’s attractiveness to the world at-large. If you found yourself to be so blessed as to be elevated to this pinnacle of humanity, you had to conduct yourself accordingly.

Not these days. Just look at where we used to be and where we’ve wound up…

RITA HAYWORTH. Go hit Wikipedia, kids!

A “Classy” Megan Fox pose…

But that’s not what we’re used to, is it? How about this one instead…

I LOVE THE INTERNET…

Can you imagine Rita Hayworth selling Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Canvas High Top White Sneakers – had they existed in the 1940s, that is – in such a “reserved”  (Gotta love sarcasm, right?) manner? What about a little something closer to the here and now; Farrah Fawcett‘s classic poster…

And Christina Applegate‘s entry to the annals of poster history, circa her Married With Children days…

To her credit, Applegate has always managed to keep her image clean, something most teenage boys could never say of their copies of this poster! There have always been sex symbols willing to display a harder edge. Just look at Jane Russell  - she got your Grandpa’s motor racin’ in the 1940s and 1950s, kids – and her “bad girl” look…

 I HAVE TO ADMIT, SHE SCARES ME A LITTLE…

 And finally, the person most responsible for the devolution of the term “sex symbol” in our modern-age…

 KIM KARDASHIAN’S LATE FATHER HAS TO HAVE SPUN HIMSELF OUT OF HIS GRAVE BY NOW!

 One could argue the modern media is to blame for our current climate of  low standards of public image for female personalities, although the paparazzi existed in the Golden Age of Hollywood and you still didn’t see the same level of promiscuity in ads and posters, etc. 

No, we’ve become hungry for lewd images and incredibly lax standards for advertisers. Our willingness to sit idly by – and in some cases, encourage this behavior by buying the resulting products – has resulted in a modern-day sex symbol who is both mainstream and fringe all at once. Kim Kardashian and her douchebag predecessor Paris Hilton have both used sex tapes as marketing tools, successfully so.

I just wish we had kept softcore porn and the mainstream world separated, just as they used to be. There have always been other avenues open to those souls hungry to satisfy their lustful urges. In my day, it was the Sports illustrated Swimsuit Edition, your Mom’s Cosmo or the Sears catalogue. Nowadays kids can surf the web from the comfort of their room  (Of course, the door doesn’t lock, but you can’t have everything, right?) and cut right to the chase.

And that’s my point – finally – sex symbols used to leave you wanting more. Now? I can see Kim Kardashian engaged in full-blown – pun intended – porno mode.

In closing, I’d like to publicly say that I’m more than a little afraid of what the future is going to hold for sex symbols everywhere. The days of seduction and class are loooong gone.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but it’s a safe bet it’ll be x-rated.

Schwarzenegger Puts An Austrian Bun In The Wrong Oven, Now He Has Egg On His Face!

Image via Wikipedia

Since leaving the California governor’s office in early January, Arnold  Schwarzenegger has sought ways to bring his profile back to the top of the heap in the entertainment industry.

He has definitely succeeded.

The Los Angeles Times has revealed the former “Governator” was playing house with a woman who worked for his family for 20 years and retired in January.

Nothing too unusual about a major Hollywood star/politician cheating, except…

• The former staffer conceived a “little Terminator” with Arnold.
• She claimed another man — her husband at the time — was the child’s father. When the Times later informed the woman of the fact Arnold had let the ten-year-old cat out of the bag, she declined to comment further.
• According to a Times source, Schwarzenegger took financial responsibility for the child from the start and continues to provide child support.
• The revelation apparently prompted Arnold’s wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, to leave the couple’s home before they announced their separation to the world last week.

“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” Schwarzenegger told the Times in a statement that also was sent to The Associated Press early Tuesday. “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.

“I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time,” the statement concluded. “While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not.”

What a typical Hollywood “I cheated, please forgive me” type statement from a beloved icon. Doesn’t Arnold have a spin doctor or two to turn to in his hour of need?

As for this woman,  she’s apparently shut her hole. She should have done that ten years ago.

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God’s Gift To Hackers: Vanessa Hudgens!

Raven hair, a perky smile and a teenybopper voice make for a great Disney product. A penchant for nude self-portraits and poor firewalls, not so much. Vanessa was the cute little mathlete in Walt Disney’s High School Musical series,  but … Continue reading →

Behold… The Anti-Sheen! And I Discovered Him At A Comic-con?

In the past few weeks, the world has been witness to the effects of a new and powerful strain of celebrity virus – one so powerful it even infects those who consider themselves merely casual viewers of Hollywood’s many dramas.

Yes, the “Sheen-Fever” or ”Tiger Flu” if you prefer, has spread like wildfire and we have one man to thank – our good buddy, Patient Zero - Charlie Sheen. Oh, there are those who will blame  the media for coughing this mess up onto the rest of us, but Sheen started this whole mess with his whirlwind tour of television and radio interviews not that long ago.

Now, terms like “Adonis DNA”, “Winning, duh!” and of course, “Tiger Blood” are ingrained in the social consciousness.

But there is hope. There are celebrities out there “who get it.” Actors who understand how lucky they are to be working at all and who act accordingly – by not biting the collective hand of the industry that feeds them. I’ve been in the presence of one such actor this weekend and believe me, while it’s been fun to watch Charlie implode, I’d rather see actors behave like this guy.

Meet Christian Potenza, a hard-working, self-proclaimed class clown made good. Sure, he’s had to pay his dues, dressing up as a  giant yellow toothbrush in commercials but has he complained? Well, probably, but he knows a paying job is a paying job, so he smiled and did as he was told.

Are you reading this, Charlie?

Christian Potenza is hardly a household name, even in his native Canada, but his voice is another matter entirely. Potenza has lent his vocal skills to the Total Drama series of cartoons, a hilarious send-up of reality shows like Survivor, and 6teen, an animated examination of teen angst – with plenty of fart jokes thrown in for good measure.

He may never be rich, (even by Canadian standards!) or have a min-harem with a porn star girlfriend, but he’s happy and grateful. How grateful?

 The Hook hit the Wizard World Toronto Comic Con on Saturday and Christian Potenza was there, happily promoting his various cartoon series and greeting every fan with a smile. Sure, there were others in attendance whose stars shine brighter, or they did once, but they charged fans for autographs and pictures – not Christian Potenza. He spent the day posing and signing for nothing more than a smile.

For that, I dub him the “Anti-Sheen”.

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Leslie Nielsen -The Greatest “Terrible” Actor Ever!

Sometimes in life it’s necessary to steer yourself in a different direction; the results can be more rewarding than you can imagine. That was the unofficial motto of one of my idols. He left this world surrounded by his wife and closest friends, who no doubt smiled through their tears when they remembered all the laughter he inspired.

Now, here was a vampire I could relate to.

At his own expense, no doubt.

Most of his humor came from stumbling through situations, completely oblivious to the confused looks of the characters around him. Unlike us, they were unaware of the genius in their midst.

Rising from an abusive childhood, he became a strong powerful man who Hollywood cast as the serious, dramatic hero.

Comedy was his destiny, though. He could portray a “terrible” cop (the iconic Lt. Frank Drebin) or a “terrible” Prince of Darkness (forget Edward, Nielsen’s Dracula was the best).

Either way, he was golden. The audience stuck with him through it all – you just couldn’t take your eyes off the screen when he was in control.

The media, especially his critics, will soon be out in full force, dissecting his transition from drama to comedy. It always seems that the media praises older actors after they’re gone, while largely ignoring their value  in life.

The fans, however, never forgot Mr. Leslie Nielsen.

And we never will.

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