There are certain key figures in American corporate life that transcend their businesses, and become part of the culture as a whole. Surely Steve Jobs, who is being mourned more than any businessman in recent memory, was one such figure. But he was not the first, and we can begin the difficult task of assessing his historical importance by noticing...
Comics: Bill Morrison Reveals Relaunch Plans for Roswell and Lady Robotika
In this final installment of TMR’s exclusive extended interview with Bill Morrison, long-time Creative Director of Bongo Comics (publisher of The Simpsons and Futurama monthlies) details his personal slate of projects he’s got planned for next year. Topping the list is a revival of Lady Robotika, the sci-fi comic series co-created and -written by Jane Wiedlin (of the legendary rock...
Hunting For Ghosts With John Fraser
John Fraser knows a hell of a lot about looking for ghosts. He serves on the Council of the UK’s renowned Society for Psychical Research (SPR), is a member of the SPR’s Spontaneous Cases Committee, and has been the Vice Chair (Investigations) of the Ghost Club, the world’s oldest psychical research organisation. He is also the author of Ghost Hunting:...
Steve Roach Milestone, Quiet Music Volumes Reissued
Ambient music has been around now for a long, long time. Once championed by Tangerine Dream, a successful German ambient band from the ‘70s, the genre has consistently expanded to become many things for many people. From therapeutic, musically backed waterfalls and ocean splashes to the magnificent textures of Michael Hoenig (Departures From The Northern Wastelands – 1977), to the...
Watch It! House in the Big House, Jessica Lange in a Haunted House, Harry Potter, and The Ghost Writer
The fall season is off and still running with more premieres on the networks and satellite channels as well as finales (Breaking Bad), films (Scorsese on George Harrison) and reality (Say Yes to the Dress), and spooky stuff like Harry Potter’s penultimate installment and Mysteries at the Museum, plus Raphael Saadiq—so don’t say there’s nothing on television. Catch the following:...
Stalking Spirits with Ghost Adventures’ Aaron Goodwin
There is something different about Ghost Adventures. For all the quirky star power, the increasingly slick production bells and whistles, the rabid fans, there is an underlying sense of mission to this trio, these Musketeers — Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin — that transcends show biz trappings and lends weight to their undertakings. Aaron Goodwin joined the Ghost...
The Movie Spew: Russell Replaces Costner in Tarantino’s Latest
Kurt Russell and Quentin Tarantino Continue Their Cinematic Love Affair Last week Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming slavery spaghetti western Django Unchained suffered a bit of a setback when Kevin Costner dropped out of a key role as a sadistic plantation manager who enjoys torturing slaves. It was surprising that Costner ever accepted the role, but not so surprising that he dropped....
Scientology Connections: Is X-Factor Contestant Stacy Francis Telling The Truth?
On last week’s X-Factor, Simon Cowell’s new reality talent show, there was a singer showcased named Stacy Francis. The story she told was a sad one: single mom, two kids, abusive relationship in her past, struggling artist, too old (she’s 42) to make it in the industry. It had all the elements of a great “triumph over tragedy” story, the...
Kirstie Alley: Scientology Celebrities’ Conditions of Confusion
Recently, prior to attending a reading by Janet Reitman of her book Inside Scientology, my date and I strolled down Vermont Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz, looking at the packed cafes and coffee shops. In contrast, I noticed one large, well-lit storefront was also vacant, save a couple of employees. “What’s this?” I said, reading a...
Service With A Smile – Actor Ethan Phillips Talks Star Trek: Voyager
When you are a stranger in a strange land, it helps to have the advice of someone who knows the locals. Fortunately, when Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew of the U.S.S. Voyager were flung 70,000 light years from home and into the Delta Quadrant, they were able to count on an alien named Neelix to help show them the...