It's a Wonderful Jimmy Aquino

I’ve been a bit too busy this year for Halloween. Not even sure if I’m going out to any of the parties or not. Don’t really have a costume either. So, in lieu of that, I’ll leave you with pictures of me from Halloween’s past! Enjoy:

Kim Jong-Il 2010. 

The Crow 1997 (I recycled this costume about 3 or 4 different years).

Cowboy. Steel horse ridden. 2000.

My sister had a combo “White Trash/Pimps & Hos” party. I went as a “White Trash Pimp”. 2005?

Undead Waiter. Old podcast (COMIC NEWS INSIDER) co-host/former roommate/good pal Joe did the makeup for the night shift waiters when we all worked at Serendipity 3 back in 1995. 

Big Pimpin’ in 2003. 

Me on the right as an “Undead Rapper”. 1998? Tacky, I know. 

Zombie Pimp in 2005. What? I thought her brains were down there. 

Zombie Ninja 2007. Joe did the makeup again before we recorded our podcast that night and then scared the local neighborhood kids. 

Sense a theme? Either a zombie or a pimp or a zombie pimp! Maybe when Kim Jong-Il passes I can do a zombie version. Until then, allow me to offer you some variety of costumes for you. I’m cheating here as they aren’t from Halloween but from my previous years in theater. 

As “The Beast” in Beauty & the Beast. Back in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Theater Jacksonville’s Children’s Theater Co. 1991. 

As “Yu” in The Chinese Brothers (written/directed by Yours Truly). Theater Jacksonville’s Children’s Theater. 1991.

Me as “Bill Clinton” in old sketch comedy group HomeGroan. 

Me as “Samuel L. Jackson” in HomeGroan sketch I wrote. (Concept was “What if Tarantino wrote/directed the movie Sideways?”)

Me as “Barbara Bush” in HomeGroan sketch I wrote called Desperate White House Wives. I think you get the concept. 

Me (on left) as “Guard” in Turandot. New York City Opera at Lincoln Center. 1995.

 Hope you enjoyed that walk down costume lane! If I get motivated, maybe I’ll go as a Zombie Samuel L. Jackson disguising himself as Barbara Bush who really loves dressing like a Pimp. It could happen. 

I don’t like to post about politics or what not on social media. I have my opinions and you’re welcome to yours. That being said, I haven’t mentioned the Occupy Wall Street movement. But I follow the news and know what’s going on. Not completely everything, of course. Being a New Yorker, it’s in my backyard. Recently, I talked with someone about it, also a local, who is completely clueless to it. They are a friend in their mid 20’s. Their reaction was “Oh, they’re just in the way and wasting our tax dollars”. They know nothing about it yet that is their opinion. I started asking them where they get their facts from, do they follow it, etc. NOPE. Just glanced at a news blurb and heard people talking about it. Amazing. This is probably what so many people think. I may not completely agree with how some of the movement is going but I do know that a proper protest IS about being in the way. It’s about peacefully disrupting things so people take notice. And hopefully that notice will lead to change. Doesn’t always work but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an important idea. 

This person also has no clue as to what exactly their tax dollars do. (I’d argue that is true for most of us). As I mentioned that to them, they got quiet as I think they realized that they had no idea what they were talking about. (Sorry for the pronoun game, I don’t want to call the person out as a male or female). 

Mostly my point is to have an informed opinion. Not just hearsay. You can absolutely be on one side or the other. If after this person I chatted with paid a little more attention to the facts and still had a similar opinion to the one they haphazardly threw out at me, then fine. Or, you can just not care. If you don’t, then you can’t just cavalierly throw out “It’s stupid” or even “It’s the greatest thing ever”. Be informed. THEN make an opinion. 

Or continue to live in ignorant bliss. 

On Monday, I saw the immersive theater piece called Speakeasy Dollhouse. Full of hooch, cannolis, 1920’s dress up, special coffee and MURDER! It was a lot of fun! Cynthia Von Buhler, whom created the show, says it’s a recreation of events that happened with her ancestors in the early days of New York City. You could follow the actors around and witness various “scenes” and maybe even…MURDER!! 

I finally saw Kevin Smith’s Red State. If you’re not familiar, you’re not alone. Smith is distributing it himself and showing it on a tour, limited engagements in cities, On Demand and now available on DVD. Not exactly mainstream. It’s a complete departure from his previous work. No potty humor. No dick and fart jokes. No Jay and Silent Bob. A horrofic tale of a super crazy religious cult and some kids who get caught up in it. Like those wackos of the Westboro church but with guns and even more crazy. Great performances by Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and others. Parks deserves at least a nomination. 

Oh, what did I think? I loved it. It’s available everywhere as I mentioned. So find a way to get it in your eyeballs right now. 

Reviews: Deadpool MAX 2 #1, Dead Rising Road To Fortune #1, Monocyte #1, My Greatest Adventure Vol 2 #1,  Orchid #1, Star Trek Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, Shade Vol 2 #1, 30 Days of Night #1,  X-Men Regenesis #1. Batman: Year One DVD

Strap in! It’s another super-sized episode! Sorry for the length but we have over an hour worth of great interviews. Jimmy is joined by Aussie pal Matt Brick again to review tons of comics and chat about Speakeasy Dollhouse, Mekhi Phifer, Once Upon A Time, X-Men anime on G4, Grace Helbig co-hosting Attack of the Show, CDC zombie comic, Marvel layoffs, Dry Seasons preview, The Loxley’s and the War of 1812 preview, and Matt Smith might be leaving Doctor Who. Speaking of…more NYCC interviews with G4TV’S Blair Butler and Blair Herter. Blair Butler swung by the Comic News Insider booth to hang with Jimmy and chat her first written comic book called Heart. They also chatted the comic industry and recent comics as well. Blair Herter came by after meeting Jimmy the night before and having many drinks. They had a blast talking comics, video games and how Jimmy is stealing his fiance’, Jessica Chobot, from him. Kevin Mellon also came by to talk about Heart. You know, since he’s the artist on the comic book. News includes: Ben McCool & Nikki Cook’s Memoir heads to TV,  Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons announce their comic The Secret Service, Joss Whedon takes on Much Ado About Nothing, 2000AD fills gap in empty Barnes & Noble shelves, The Punisher heads to TV, Spider-Kids dressed up needed for Spidey column, Ed Brubaker’s Criminal heading to film, Red 2 is coming and King Con III is postponed. As always, Listener Feedback, the Top 3 and more! Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love!

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Thanks for listening!

A really awesome evening. Steak dinner with my roomie Ben (@Templesmith) & then saw Katelan (@katelanfoisy) in Speakeasy Dollhouse at a mysterious location downtown. It was crazy fun interactive theater with drinks, cannolis, “special” coffee, flappers, and MURDER!!! Got to meet/hang with creator of it all, Cynthia Von Buhler, and some of the cast. She’s done some amazing stuff and I’m interested in checking out more. If you can still get tickets for next Monday’s show, I highly recommend it. Heck, I may go again, so we can hang! (What more incentive do you need?)

MTA tried to ruin the fun on my way home as I waited for the A train for over a fucking hour before deciding to hop in a cab home. Bit pricey as I was at the bottom of the island and live near the top but worth it to get home. 

I shall now make myself feel better by watching my awesome pal Grace Helbig co-host Attack of the Show on G4TV for the first time! She’s co-hosting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and will rock the shit out of it. So happy for her and just another step on her way to superstardom!

That is all the Jimmy info you get. For now. Stay tuned though, tribbles.