Bones Brigade

I used to skateboard, in middle school and high school. I wasn't anything near great, probably not even close to good, but I strongly enjoyed it. I spent more time in empty parking lots than I did in skate parks, however I did frequent the parks from time to time. More than anything else, I just liked to pop a cassette in my walkman (often special skate mix tapes I made) and shred around. All this came to an end in 2000, when I was 15, after a serious skateboarding accident (skull, meet concrete). I skated here and there afterwords, but it's safe to say my mom wasn't the most excited about me being back on a board.

I still have two boards, even rode them a few times in 2012, probably more than I have in the last ten years combined. Even though I hold no place in the skateboarding community, I'm still connected to it, still like it. A lot, actually.

Tonight I was in the mood for a documentary, wasn't really feeling the ones I had in my Netflix instant queue. Scrolling through other titles available, I saw Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, and knew my searching was over. I knew who the Bones Brigade were, seen the videos, knew the skaters, but I wasn't aware there was a documentary coming out, let alone that it was directed by Stacy Peralta.

110 minutes later, I'm floored. Without a doubt, the best docu I've seen all year. Yes, I'm drawn to the subject matter, I have an interest in it, but this is put together so incredibly well, and the story is told just perfectly. Not by our own fault, but we take so much in our lives for granted. We don't always think about how something came to be, or how monumental an achievement/moment/idea was when it wasn't already established. I'd go as far to say that my knowledge of skateboarding history is decent, not academic by any means, but sufficient. That knowledge was acquired through magazines, books, videos, and other skaters. Hearing it from the voices that lived it, the ones that wrote the book, if you will, is remarkable.

Find out for yourself, seek this one out.

We Dine On Visions With New Eyes

After working all day at the legendary (okay, maybe it's not exactly legendary, but it will be!) House of Heroes Comics and Games Day After Christmas Sale, the staff feasted at Red Robin for a post-sale celebration. For those that might not know, Red Robin is a loud sit-down burger joint, framed posters and photos covering every inch of wall space, unlimited steak fries, and you can substitute veggie patties on any sandwich for free (huge bonus). Anywho, it's a common restaurant, usually is quite occupied, and they play a plethora of friendly tunes through the loudspeakers. That last part is key here.

As we're mowing down on our burgers and fries (and I'm on my umpteenth iced tea), pop hits from the '80s serenade the establishment. Think of any radio pop song from the decade, chances are it played. As one song came to its end, the first note of the next started. From that very note, I thought, "What, The Misfits?! No, can't be." The song continued, "No way, it's not. Nope." Next thing I know, I'm mouthing the opening line, "This street we walk upon…"

I was in complete and utter disbelief. Cough/Cool was indeed playing at Red Robin. After those two minutes and a few seconds seconds of musical bliss, we went back to regular scheduled programming, with something like Duran Duran.

Moral of the story; if you go to Red Robin, you have a chance of hearing The Misfits. Even the smallest chance is better than none, right? Unreal.

SAVE MONIES ON DEAD WEIGHT!

I co-wrote/directed a film, Dead Weight, that was released earlier this year, if you didn't know. We've been traveling the country promoting it at cons and festivals. In fact, we've even won some awards and received other nominations. Check 'em out!

Awards
Best Feature - Madison Horror Film Festival 2012
Best Writer - Madison Horror Film Festival 2012
Best Cinematography - Madison Horror Film Festival 2012
Best Editing - Elvira's Horror Hunt 2012
Juror Award - Central Wisconsin Film Festival 2012

Nominations
Best Feature - New Orleans Horror Film Festival 2012
Best Actor - New Orleans Horror Film Festival 2012
Best Horror - Great Lakes Int'l Film Festival 2012

I'm (still) super proud of everyone who worked on this film. Mega congrats to the entire Dead Weight family!

Still haven't seen this award-winning film (boy, that's so weird to say)? Well, now's the best time to order; we're running a sale on all Dead Weight merch until the end of the year. All you gotta do is pop over to the Head Trauma Productions store!