Happy New Year's! (almost.).... until then, listen to the new episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'....!

The 12th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages! It's a Christmas special just for you!

This is the last episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' before the new year. I celebrate with some terrible flavors of ice cream, a brief talk on moderation, some fun facts to share with friends and family and the reality of a zombie/virus outbreak. It's the show you never knew you wanted. ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) Holiday by The Get Up Kids

2) Sleeping With Ghosts by Guri Hansdttir

3) The Double Life by Rainer Maria

4) I Wanna Be Your Johnny Depp by Testosterone

5) Sideways Forest Ever 1996 by Love Spirals Downwards

6) Auld Lang Syne by Rockosaurus Rex

It's Christmas, let's listen to 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'....! Get the family around the iPod and grab the cocoa.

The 11th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages! It's a Christmas special just for you!

Obviously, this episode has a theme, but don't let that keep you from listening. It's still the same old Joel goodness, but with a little added holiday cheer! Things I talk about this week: my favorite Christmas presents ever, the top 5 zombie gifts I'd love to receive, the truth about Santa and holiday traditions. It's an early present from me to you. See you next year.... (actually, just before then) ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) Jingle Bells by Skid Row

2) Jingle Bell Rock by Nelson

3) Santa Clause Is Coming To Town by Dokken

4) Blue Christmas by Tom Keiffer of Cinderella

5) I'll Be Home For Christmas by Twisted Sister featuring Lita Ford

6) Gimmie Stuff (For Chistmas) by Rappy McRapperson

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Mask Maker: Meet Your Maker' aka 'Maskerade'

I'm going to keep this short, as I really want to get something up here besides my podcast updates and 'Gregory' promotions. I actually saw this movie several weeks ago and I have to say, I wasn't impressed. People said it was similar to 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and I can see why. I still had hopes for it, after a somewhat promising bit of the movie happened. Sadly, nothing ever got better and once the "Mask Maker" made a skin mask.... I lost all interest. the mask was probably realistic, if you were to skin a mans face off perfectly and wear it. But, I have to say that I doubt anyone could do that. It's where the comparison to 'TCM' comes in. The big difference is that in 'TCM', the FX guys realized that a perfect looking skin mask wasn't possible. Instead, Leatherface sews one together in pieces and it's far more interesting to look at and more realistic. This movies mask was just plain dull and uninspired. Which kind of defines the rest of the movie as well.

All in all, I give it 2 out of 5 stars for putting forth a little effort. I just hope that they don't make a sequel and I recommend that you don't bother watching it. Even on a rainy day, when you have nothing else to do. Garbage.

If you want to see the movie it's trying to mimic, rent any of the 'TCM' movies.... and I mean ANY of them. They're all better than this.

it's not disgusting, really....! 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is back for another week of "fake" talk radio....

The 10th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages!

This week, is a laid back kind of week. We're almost to Christmas and the super spectacular holiday episode! In the meantime, I talk about a conversation with an old friend, the books I'd love to write, 6 things guys want women to know and why I think zombies eat flesh. It's a jam packed show, but a fun show none the less. Grab your fork and dig in! ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) Summer Is Gone by Pensive

2) What To Do With Michael by The Candy Butchers

3) Buried A Lie by Senses Fail

4) Spread Legs Not Lies by The Blackout

5) For The Summer by Lokata

6) Really Really Happy by The Muffs

The photo dictates the title, it's that simple.... here's episode 9 of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'....! I hope you're hungry.

The 9th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages!

Another week, another problem. It seems that if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all! This week: I tell all about my lovely car accident and other problems in 2 parts and then give you a list of zombie movies you might want to give a second look. It's a big show folks. ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) In A Long Time by 46 Bliss

2) Red Light Pledge (acoustic) by Silverstein

3) Make Me Hate You by Joanna Burns

4) You Can Never Hold Back Spring by Tom Waits

5) I Like What You Say by Nada Surf

6) I'm So Sick by Airbomb

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Movies mentioned:

1) Land of the Dead

2) Diary of the Dead

3) Survival of the Dead

4) Flight of the Living Dead

5) Dead Meat

6) Resident Evil

7) Resident Evil: Apocalypse

8) Resident Evil: Extinction

9) Resident Evil: Afterlife

10) Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

does the show title mean anything....? not really.... but it's fun anyway....! ep 8 of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is done and done.

The 8th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe and The Social Engine podcast pages!

This weeks show is capped with a sad finish, but the rest of it is just like normal. This weeks topics cover a listener question from Lenny about Chicago vs. everywhere else, what makes a song a good song? and what's going on with running zombies vs. slow zombies? It's a longer than normal show and you'll understand once you hear it. Plus, there's a big announcement! Get ready for some ear candy kids ENJOY!

Songs played:

1) I Want To Be Wrong by No Use For A Name

2) Octopus by Vagina Waterpark

3) Brown Sweater by Truth In Fiction

4) Pressure by Paramore

5) Jailbait Judgement by A Step Behind

6) One Day At A Time by Muck Sticky

When life gives you lemons....

When this last week started, I didn't expect it to end the way it did. I can only figure that it was bound to happen, when everything else had been going so well.

At the start of the week, I got a letter from Unemployment that my benefits were being stopped. I called the office the next day and after waiting on hold for 2 hours, I was told that due to an error.... I would not be getting benefits until I filed a new claim. I was told it would take up to 6 weeks before I would get any more money. Sadly, I have no interviews scheduled and no jobs on the horizon. So with no pre-planning, we're screwed. Christmas is 3 weeks away-ish and we don't know quite what to do. Rent and living expenses are first, but our kids and possible presents are second. Amy got some stuff for them before we found out, hopefully we won't have to return them for money. It all depends on if we can come up with stuff to cover things first. but it doesn't stop there. Tonight, after Amy got home from her part-time job, we heard a large crash outside. We go out and find that our car has been hit from behind and totalled. We have no usable vehicle and were ticketed on top of that! We were parked and the other gentleman was driving and hit a slick spot. He was a really nice guy and I feel bad for him and his situation. All in all, it's just another kick in the ass. I am hoping the insurance for the other guy covers all the costs, but with our luck.... I am guessing something will go wrong.

We are trying to keep a positive attitude and hoping for the best. You can see where we'd be skeptical right now. We try and do good and pay things forward, but in this world that just doesn't seem like it means as much as it used to. That would never stop me from doing the right things though. Just keep hoping for the best or even just a little bit better and I'll keep keeping on.

(NOTE TO THE READER: I find it ironic that the post I wrote earlier tonight was for the movie, 'Wrecked'.... which was about a car accident. Odd.)

my brief thoughts on.... 'Wrecked' (2010)

I like survival movies. 1 person against all the odds and very little chance for survival. With these types of movies, you truly never know until the end, if the hero will survive or not.... and there is a chance they won't. I like not knowing the outcome and I like seeing people get creative. That's why I love zombie movies so much. They're the ultimate survival movies. 'Wrecked' is in that category and had all the earmarks of a good survival movie. The problem with it was that I didn't really care too much about who he actually was. In order to spend about 2 hours with someone, you'd better make them likeable or at least pick a very likeable actor. Adrian Brody is a good actor and one that I am usually happy with, but he wasn't really right for this role in my opinion. But the biggest problem with 'Wrecked'? The ending. The answer to the question of who Adrian Brody was and the last 2 minutes, were lame. The last 60 seconds before the credits rolled, pretty much destroyed the rest of the movie. I am not sure why the director and writer chose to put one final clip into the movie, but they did. I guess that maybe they did it since the movie is kind of being pieced together and it was a missing part of the puzzle? But it didn't make a whole lot of sense in it's placement. If the story was in reverse, perhaps. (it wasn't) It was jarring and not needed. It just makes me upset to think about it. I, however, haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater. I still found good things about this movie.

First, here's the plot: (taken from IMDB.com) "A man awakens in a mangled car-wreck at the bottom of a steep cliff. Injured and trapped inside, with no memory of how he got there or who he is, he must rely on his most primal instincts to survive. But as he attempts to free himself from the carnage and escape an impossible situation, a darker side is revealed. Even if he manages to survive, the man may have to face the horrible consequences of an earlier, forgotten life." That is basically the plot. There is some other things going on that are kind of confusing at first, but get explained later in the story. There is very little dialogue and most of the movie is centered on Adrian just trying to get away from the wreck. Anyway....What have we learned so far? The movie doesn't have a likeable lead character. (not Mr. Brody's fault) The ending is terrible. It felt like an hour and a half wasted. What else is there to say? Well....

It started out really well. I was engaged and very curious what happened to the main character. He was trapped in a car in the middle of a forest and you could feel his claustrophobia. I could put myself in his place. It's one thing to be stuck in the middle of nowhere or to be injured there, but to also not even have a remote chance of helping yourself try.... is frightening. He could barely move, let alone go anywhere. Once he finally escaped the car, that's when things got even more difficult. The man had a broken leg-something and there wasn't anyone nearby to hear him yell. He also is being visited, regularly, by a hungry mountain lion. The tension and hopelessness in the story are very tangible. It's just that once the hallucinations and back story start to unfold, I really began to lose interest. It almost would have been more effective to just leave it up to the viewers to figure things out. The man finds clues all along his way towards rescue and each one of them leads you to believe something different. I don't know if it would have worked better my way, but I think I would be writing a better review if it had been done that way. And not just because it's my way.

I have seriously debated how much the ending tainted my thoughts on the overall piece. As of right now, I have come to the conclusion that it pretty much ruined it for me. I'm going to give it 2 out of 5 stars and I think that's fair. I really wanted to like it from the get-go and I tried to keep my interest throughout the entire thing. There just wasn't enough content in this movie to make it what it really should have been, a great film. Adrian Brody did the best with what he had and the only other real characters were his dog, the mountain lion and the phantom lady. They also did the best with what they had. That's really all I can say about this movie. It's OnDemand right now from Netflix, so if you're really bored and want to see if I'm right.... check it out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right? Perhaps.