ICS Update - December 27, 2011, Happy New Year!

Greetings, my fellow ICSers- I hope that a wonderful Christmas was had by all that celebrate Christmas. And for those that don't, I hope that life is treating you well.

A new year is upon us, and that means dues are dooby dooby due. We strive to keep the dues to the basic level we need to operate. This club has always been run as a haven for movie geeks, and we strive to keep it a club that keeps its members happy.

I'm not sure the schedule for the new year yet, except that in April we will be having Martin Grams. I will be going over that with Charming Charlie at the January Meeting.

We did very well with the Silent Auction. $200 for the club! We are in fine financial straits, and a big THANK YOU to Nina for the wonderful job she's doing as our treasurer!

More later! Best Wishes for the New Year!

Hendo

ICS Update - December 18, 2011

Season's Greetings, everyone! This is your old elf Hendo bringing you some updates!

Despite having been double booked with another group that evening, things went off very well! The church has a new secretary who is probably not aware of how we move the December Meeting to before the holidays. However, we were able to get them into the church hall, and they were satisfied with that. To make sure we're straight for next year, I have mailed the following meeting dates to the church:

January 28

February 25

March 31

April 28

May 26

June 30

July 28

August 25

September 29

October 27

November 24

December 15

Thanks to everyone who brought stuff in for the 2nd Annual Silent Auction. John Ward was in charge of overseeing the auction, but he was ably assisted by Tom Proveaux and Courtney Spies and Darryl Chase and John Weber (and anyone else I may have missed) in setting up and marking lots and collecting money. Speaking of which, we collected $200 for the auction, which is a very nice haul! All the money goes to the ICS Treasury. And all the leftover items are being donated to Goodwill.

We watched the cult flick "Daughters of Darkness". I can see how this movie is one of those that you either like, or don't like. But it was different, and very few of the members had seen it. Thankfully it beat out "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer". No lie.

It's dues time of year again. Dues remain the same again for this year. Nina Hawes started collecting at the December Meeting, and will continue in January. We know that times are hard- if one has a hardship they can ask for a waiver. We do not want to lose any members due to money problems. But please make sure it's really because you can't afford it. We do put the money towards club activities- like the Memorial Day Cookout and paying rent. So your fellow club members are carrying you. Yeah, yeah it's socialism, but if one is really hurting, we don't mind waiving the dues- if the need is real. And if you show up one day in a new Caddy, we may have to re-evaluate your waiver.

We will be having elections this January. Sam D and Rick A have agreed again to be our election judges, and will tally the votes. If you are interested in running, and it's not too late- please let Sam or Rick know. To date we have: Tom Proveaux, John Ward, Nina Hawes, Charlie Wittig, Dave Willard and myself, who will also be running for Chairman again. It was a good year last year, and we hope to continue to provide a fun atmosphere for watching movies and socialization.

If I don't communicate with you before the holidays- have a very safe and very Merry Christmas and the best of New Years!

Hendo

ICS Update - Season's Greetings, December 15, 2011

This Saturday will be our Holiday Meeting! Ho ho ho, and a bottle of rum and all that jazz. We'll be having our 2nd Silent Auction, and no, it's not too late, it's never too late to bring in an item. Jovial John Ward will be handling the event, so see him if you have an item to put up for auction.

Also it's a bring in a movie-select 3-vote for 1 nite. Bring in a favorite (or not so favorite) movie. We'll put them together, and pull out 3 at random. Then the club votes for 1. This is a way to get a little variety in our viewings.

Remember, dues are due come January. 

We'll also be having elections in January, too.

Happy Holidays~

Hendo

ICS Update - Happy Thanksgiving, November 23, 2011

Well, the stores have been decked out in holly and silver bells for a month now, and Christmas Carols are playing on the radio, so that means it must be THANKSGIVING!

I wanted to wish one and all a very Happy Thanksgiving Day. May the Great Turkey bring you lots of food, fun and football!

Just a reminder that this weekend will be our monthly meeting. We will be having Thomas Proveaux showing "V for VENDETTA". Again, don't forget to bring something for next month's silent auction, too!

See you!

Hendo

ICS Update - Halloween Recap: November 1, 2011

Well, friends, this had to be one for the books. I can't ever remember our having such a cold, ran, snowy, sleety, rainy, all round miserable day for Halloween.

If someone had wanted to bet me on it, I'd have taken the bet. And I'm not a gambler. Looking out over the harsh landscape, I felt sure this would have an effect on turn-out. Which it did. But it was perfectly understandable.

I got there early (about 1:30) to decorate, as is my custom, and the temperature that is displayed on one of the building signs showed it to be 35 degrees. I knew it had nowhere else to go but down... Still we had a nice turnout for so crappy a day.

Dave Willard stepped in for Greg Mank, and showed the excellent German film "M".

We had a costume contest, and Nina Hawes won for her costume as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

I was a bit under the weather, so I left after that. We will find out later what other movies were screened and who lasted until morning.

Next month we will be screening "V for Vendetta". Now I know you're thinking, "Hendo, I thought you said we were encouraging people to have movies we can vote on". Well, yes we are... but we haven't gotten to the point where we will tell folks what to do. We do encourage future presenters to have a vote on a movie night. Not that we're against single movie nights, but we've had a long run of them.

We will be having the 2nd Silent Auction in December. If you have anything to donate, please bring it on in.

So far we have 6 people running for the board- John Ward, Nina Hawes, Charlie Wittig, Tom Proveaux, myself and Dave Willard (who holds the distinction of being the only board member to hold office since the club's founding. Throughout the years others have retired or left to give someone else a chance at being on the board). If you'd like to run, pls see Sam DiBlasi or Rick Arnold.

Remember to use the ICS linkee when you make purchases on Amazon. Even MP3 downloads count, as we found out when yours truly downloaded some Halloween sound effects for playing at the party.

I contacted Martin Grams, CEO of Mid Atlantic Con Enterprises, and have arranged for him to be our April Speaker. More on that later...

Keep warm!

Hendo

Happy Halloween - October 27, 2011

Halloween Greetings to Everyone! I hope that everyone is ready to have a fun time at our ANNUAL HALLOWEEN ALL-NIGHTER PAR-TAY! A time to watch some movies, good and bad, have something to eat, and do some socialization, too! Remember, there will be a costume contest, with a $25 Amazon gift certificate going to the winner. Dave Willard will do a presentation on the movie "M", and after seeing that movie, it's on with the all-nighter. If you'd like to bring in a movie for consideration, pls do so!

Well, last weekend the club had a screening of the movie "Earth Vs The Flying Saucers" at the Perry Hall Library. Board members Charlie, Nina, John and myself showed up early to set up, along with help from Courtney, Darryl, Joe and Mike. Other ICS members showed up, too to take part in the event. We even got a write-up in the Sun, even though they listed the wrong library. I understand that we got that blurb thanks to some PR work by Marvelous Mike Schilling. Appreciate the effort, Mike. As far as a possible "recruitment drive", it was some kind of bust. But the ICS members who showed up enjoyed it, as you can see in the photos.

So, let's hope for a non-rainy weekend, and see YOU at the party!

Hendo

"Hey, look! It's Enrico Pallazzo!".

ICS - Halloween Happenings October 21, 2011

Greetings one and all! Just a reminder that tomorrow is our screening at the Perry Hall Library of Earth v The Flying Saucers, brought to you in living color, on ICS (cue the peacock), at 1 o'clock. That's the good news. The bad news is that we got a free blurb in the Sun and in b the paper, and they listed it as being at the WHITE MARSH LIBRARY, not PERRY HALL.So your friendly neighborhood Hendo drove allll the waaay out to White Marsh (ok, about a 7 minute ride when you catch all the lights green) and informed the info desk of what had happened. They told me that for fifty bucks they'd send people to the right branch. Luckily they take charge cards.

While I was out, I went and picked up some new decorations for our HALLOWEEN PARTY next weekend. The flooding of the hall basement ruined a lot of our old decorations, so I decided to get some new ones. Remember it's a POT LUCK DINNER Night, so please bring something to eat. It will be the first time in many many years that we won't have gregarious GREG MANK giving another one of his excellent presentations, but we will have our own Dave Willard doing the movie "M" with Peter Lorre ("Help me, Rick! Help me!").

That's it for now. Hope to see you tomorrow!

Hendo

Quickee ICS Update - October 17, 2011

Just a reminder, dear friends, that this weekend we will be sponsoring the ICS screening of EARTH V THE FLYING SAUCERS. It's at the Perry Hall Library on Honeygo Blvd starting at 1. Many of us will be getting there early to set up. We hope to have a nice crowd there-

Our Halloween Meeting will be the week after. Again, we'll be having dusk to dawn movies. Feel free to bring in a movie that night. Dave Willard will be doing the classic thriller M.

As some may know, Baltimore City happens to have a Poe House, which Edgar stayed at for a period in Baltimore (Richmond and New York also have Poe Houses. Perhaps Boston, too). However, due to cuts in funding, the Poe House will be shuttered come January 1. If you've never been there, October is a perfect time. They often have a Poe impersonator there, reading Poe. I won't kid you, it's in a very bad part of town. Everytime I've gone, there's been a police car stationed there. Parking has never been a problem for me, though. They have some interesting Poe artifacts there. If you've never been, and want to, better go soon. BTW, a new movie featuring Poe will be coming out.

Here's the trailer:

 The Raven

Hope to see folks on Saturday!

Hendo

ICS Update - October 7, 2011 Earth VS. The Flying Saucers

Just a reminder- to mark your calendars for OCTOBER 22 for our movie presentation of EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS at the Perry Hall Library.  It starts at 1:00, but come earlier if you can. Unfortunately, it was not listed in the local newspaper along with PHL's October Events- we'll have to have a board member check up on that.

Speaking of the board- it's still 3 months out, but remember we will be having elections in January. I'm not sure about the other board members yet, but I plan on running for the board Chairman again. If you would like to run, give your name to either Rocking Rick Arnold or Smiling Sam DiBlasi.

Also start looking through your stuff for donations to the Silent Auction that we will be having in December. Also that month is open, presenter wise, so we will be asking folks to bring in a movie, and we'll vote on which one to watch. Sort of a movie Grab Bag Night.

I must stand corrected (actually sit corrected)- I said in the last Update that it was Courtney's first time as a presenter. That was incorrect- Courtney had previously done the fantastic "Legend of Hell House".

That's it for now!

Hendo

ICS Update - September 28, 2011

Greetings and Salutations!

Well, Fall is now here, Summer 2011 is now a thing of the past. Which is better than being a Thing From Another World.

Last month we had Courtney Spies give a great talk on Orson Welles' MacBeth (hoot, man!). Courtney is a long standing member (we tell him he should sit down and take a load off every now and then), but this is the first time he's done a presentation! What's more, he liked it, and wants to do another one, and we are going to accommodate him on that. We encourage everyone to take a shot- we're not a judgmental audience at all.

In case you weren't there, or would like to hear it again, go here to see it on THE ICS CHANNEL:
The ICS Channel

Well, October is coming, and for us lovers of the macabre, that means HALLOWEEN. Mark your calendars for October 22- that's when the ICS will be putting on a feature presentation at the Perry Hall Library on Honeygo Blvd (see map). At 1:00 we will be screening a colorized version of EARTH v THE FLYING SAUCERS! It will be open to the general public, and we are using this as a means of publicizing the club, the olde fashioned way- by meet and greet. If you can make it, please do so!

MAP

The Halloween Party is set for the October 29. More on that later.

In December we will be having the Silent Auction like last year. And in January we will be having RECENTLY RELEASED MOVIE NIGHT. I couldn't help but notice that for a variety of reasons, most of our members don't go to the movies. And since so many movies go to DVD pretty quickly, it is possible to bring in movies that were in the theaters 3 months (if that) earlier. So that's what we will be doing. I already have 2 to bring in- DRIVE ANGRY about Nick Cage escaping from Hell, and BERLIN DEAD, an acclaimed German film about a Zombie outbreak. Got a recent movie? Bring it in!

I wanted to mention here... that we've noticed that there's been a lot of single movie nights where there's no voting. We would like to encourage members to try to pick themes, and bring in movies along that theme that the members can vote on. People are often going to decide to come based on their impression (preconceived or not) of a movie on a single movie night. But when one doesn't know exactly what film is being shown, there's more chance of members showing up. I'd love to have a VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA night, but I know full well that after the presentation, I'd be the only one watching! So while we're not trying to discourage single movie nights, we are trying to encourage movie nights where the members vote. Yes, it's politics. What isn't nowadays?

More to come later!

Chairman Hendo of the People's Republik of Cinema

ICS Update - September 16, 2011

Is it Michael Jackson cloned? No, it's the first shots of Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins...

Also, some shots of next year's highly anticipated THE AVENGERS movie. Not quite sure who the villain is- but I imagine Loki's involved.

Nuff said

 

ICS Quick Update - Monday September 12, 2011

Greetings folks! I hope that most of you are beginning to dry out from all the rain we've had. And those who had damage I hope are getting themselves back together. It's been one freaky summer we've had.

Judy, Betsy, Charlie and Rick have been doing wonderful things with our Facebook Page and website. They've set up a memorial page for Jim Childs, John Clayton and Sue Feder. Check it out and leave a message there, si vous plait.
ICS Facebook Page

The Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Con will be held in Hunt Valley this year, the last weekend in September. I won't bother going over the guest list, but I will say that I thought one guest, Micheal Considine, was dead... but he's not! He's alive and kickin' and... selling autographs.
Nostalgia Con

Are there any original ideas out there? I see they're now re-making "Straw Dogs". There is a new film out with Ryan Gosling called "Drive" that I'm looking forward to. And all the rain gave me a chance to catch up on some DVDs in my "to watch" pile- "True Blood" (hey, if your biggest dream in life was to see Anna Paquin naked, you need to check this out), "Unstoppable" (did see this in the movies), and "3:10 to Yuma". That fellow Russell Crowe did a good job in this movie. I wonder if he'll do any other movies just as good, or whether this was a one shot deal for him...

Anyway, enjoy the dwindling days of Summer (which OFFICIALLY ends the Friday before our meeting) and SEE YOU- AT THE MOVIES!

Hendo

ICS Update - September 2, 2011 Labor Day Update

Dang, that summer went FAST!  Don't they always? And yet winter just seems to drag on and on... Here we are at the unofficial end of summer (which doesn't officially end until September 23). Schools back in session (starting before Labor Day to me is an affront to tradition and the traffic shows it.


Here in the past 2 weeks we've had an earthquake and a hurricane. I've heard that the storm affected different folks depending on where they live. Everything from no damage to extensive damage to no power. Here's hoping that those adversely affected are back on their feet. And yes, for the first time ever we had to cancel a meeting due to a tropical storm.


So that means we will push Courtney Spies and MacBeth back to September, and Dave Willard will do the movie "M" for Halloween.


Well, if you're looking for stuff to do, and the Orioles only get your deepest contempt and the Baltimore Grand Prix is not your cup of tea, and the Ravens haven't started the regular season yet- there are some genre movies out. There's Fright Night, a remake of the original that starred the always creepy Chris Sarandon (gawd, his scenes in Dog Day Afternoon and Lipstick have totally ruined any chance of my looking at him without a biased eye). Then there's Apollo 18, ranking an unbelievable 26 on the ol' Rotten Tomatoes site. And for those like myself who thought there was no bite left in shark movies, there's Shark Night (sounds like something on the Discovery Channel), that employs the usual empty headed premise- teens frolicking and a killer shark (see photo).

So, best wishes for a great holiday to all of our members, friends and guests!


See YOU at the movies!


Chairman Hendo

ICS Post Storm Update - August 28, 2011

I hope this finds all of our ICSers safe and sound. While the storm did not turn out to be quite as bad as expected, it did cause a lot of damage in specific pockets of the Baltimore Metro Area. We still have power here in Perry Hall, but there are a lot of trees down and debris in the roadways. All in a all, I think canceling the meeting was a good call. We did not want to risk any members trying to make it to a meeting.

This is the first time we've been called for a hurricane. I always look forward to our monthly meeting. I don't know about everyone else, but after a month of working where our budget is cut, where micro-management seems to be the new ideal, and where managers don't know how to lead, I enjoy our monthly times together.

What we will be doing is moving Courtney's presentation on "MacBeth" to September (if Courtney can make it) and Dave Willard will fill in for Greg Mank with his presentation on the Peter Lorre film "M". We have some gaps open in our months ahead- if you'd like to sponsor a night, let Charlie Wittig know.

We will try to re-schedule Greg Mank for some time in the future. The Board will go over the upcoming months to see what we can do as far as scheduling. We will definitely try to get him for next October, if nothing else.

Now how come Summer goes so fast, but Winter drags??

Chairman Hendo

ICS Update - August 26, 2011 IMPORTANT: Hurricane Cancels Orson

Listening to the latest weather reports, it sounds like we are in for a heavy tropical storm, with the brunt of the storm  hitting around 5:00 p.m. Saturday and lasting into Sunday morning.

There seems to be no point in delaying it any more. We will be dealing with torrential rain, and high winds. It is not worth anyone taking a chance coming out to the meeting.

Therefore, we will not be having our meeting tomorrow night. The Board will let you know how we will schedule things for September

Everyone stay safe and stay dry, and we'll see you next month.

Hendo

P.S. You can always go to our FACEBOOK page and post photos of the storm from your neck of the woods if you like! 

ICS Update - August 24, 2011 (Good Night Irene)

I got this email from Charlie:
2. "Good Night Irene"...
Am I the only one concerned about the state of the weather on Saturday afternoon/evening?

I think we ought to send out a note asap to the rest of the ICS telling them to watch the weather reports and to check their email at 4pm.  If the weather is creating problems, the board can get together on the phone/email and make a decision on whether we will have a meeting.  A note can go out, and people will be prepared to check at 4pm.  For the Proveaux's of the world who do not have regular access to email, we can call.

What do you all think ?

Charlie is spot on. For those who may not have heard, a major hurricane is heading our way this weekend. What happens depends upon its course. If it veers out to sea, we'll have a lot of rain. If not, we'll have major winds and rain. Use common sense. Check your emails that day. We'll send out an email if there is good reason to cancel.

Hendo

ICS Update - August 1, 2011 (Short Update)

Hey group! We had a nice turnout for Pizza Night. 32 people showed up for the yearly event.

Mary Blackstock gave a presentation on THE EXORCIST. Believe it or not, John Weber had never seen it!

Next month, Courtney Spies will be doing the Orson Welles version of MAC BETH. One of my favorite Shakespearean plays.

Attached are a few photos from Pizza Night:
PIZZA NIGHT PICTURES - July 30, 2011
A longer update will come out in a few weeks. 
Hendo

ICS - Update July 23, 2011, Those lazy hazy crazy days of Summer!

Hot enough for you? I know that's a rhetorical question actually. 100+ degrees should be enough for anyone not lucky enough to have a pool or be at the beach! It's an old cliche, but to me it's the humidity. When you can't sit under a tree and read your kindle or a good book of  zombie stories (which is what I'm reading right now) without dripping on the display or the page, it's the humidity. Let me assure everyone that I will  get to the Hall early before the next meeting to turn on the A/C.

And the next meeting is PIZZA NIGHT!! Yes, our annual pizza night that is open to all members and guests. And to top it off, we'll be having MARY BLACKSTOCK showing that iconic film, THE EXORCIST!

Also I think we'll have time to see if anyone ventured forth with pocketfuls of cash and the mighty Cards of Plastic to see SHORE LEAVE! Plus there was some 2nd part of a movie finale that opened a short time back involving some young wizard who likes to play with evil destructive forces that I imagine one or two of our members have seen... 

Let's all be thankful that it wasn't this way LAST month when we had our outdoor JAWS screening! BTW, I left out a big "thank you" to GARY SVEHLA, whom I understand brought us the super-duper speakers. Thanks, Gary!

Speaking of books, for us antiquarians who still enjoy a good book, it comes as sad news that BORDERS Book Store is closing its doors. The longtime bookstore chain suffered from mismanagement and being slow on the technology curve (think Kindle and Nook). I went there early on Friday morning- good thing I did; I hear lines are like at Christmas now. I always liked BORDERS. The had a very nice history and poli sci section, a great Comic Book Trade Paperback section, and a good performing arts section. Plus they had a bohemian atmosphere that B&N doesn't have, except for maybe their Starbucks section. Anyway, I picked up a little of this and a little that- ok $100 worth of stuff. Unfortunately, they had taken all of their PCs out, so trying to find if something was in stock was hit or miss.

This is actually an excellent example of Tom Woodward's presentation on economics. Who says you don't learn something practical at an ICS Meeting? Here is the classic clip that Tom showed from "Other People's Money" that describes BORDERS' situation exactly: 

Larry the Liquidator

It's time to take the wraps off our new website! The AMAZING CHARLIE WITTIG (written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby) has done a great job with getting us a website set up in the first place.

However, our Chazz has been pulled in so many directions he wasn't always able to keep up with it.  A while back JUDY PENTZ, RICK ARNOLD and BETSY CHILDS came to the board and asked about trying to use the internet to publicize the club. They then offered to handle the website. And what a job they've done! You have got to give it a look-see. Just click the link to be whisked away to see it! And let us know what you think of it.

 ICS Page

So remember to attend the next meeting, after all:

Gee, I wonder what this linkee goes to?

Hendo

ICS Update - July 7, 2011

Greetings! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable July 4th holiday!

I must admit I had doubts. We'd been kicking around the idea of showing a movie outside for awhile, but I didn't think it would be dark enough. Plus there was the problem of mosquitoes and other bugs, as anyone who has ventured to the Bengies can tell you. But everyone was so enthusiastic over the idea. So it was decided to give it a try.

Well, thanks to Charlie (again), we had the dangest outdoor screen you could imagine. It was huge. And what's more- it worked perfectly! Wherever you got it Chazz, I suggest a ***** rating! Thanks to assistance from John Ward, Courtney Spies and Skip Phillips, it was up with a minimum of hassle.

After that, Courtney gave yours truly a hand with bringing out the beverages. And thanks to all the members who brought citronella candles, I for one, was only bitten once! I hope everyone else fared as well. And afterwards John, Skip, Courtney and I helped take it down and put it in it's convenient carrying case made of rich corinthian leather. And a big thank you to Nina, who before every meeting goes to the store to buy food and drinks.

And what a classic movie to see for a summer night- the first blockbuster- JAWS. After 36 years, it's still almost a perfect film IMHO.

And even though they won't be reading this, I'd like to thank the nearby camping Scouts who lent us their powerful LED flashlights when we took it all down. The one detail we overlooked!

So how do we top this? Why by having our Annual Pizza Night in July! And that night we will be having Marvelous Mary Blackstock doing that classic fright flick- THE EXORCIST! That will be on Saturday, July 30.

Just a reminder that SHORE LEAVE is going on this weekend. For more details, just go to: Shore Leave. And bring money. Lots of money. Lots and lots of money. Today's cons aren't cheap, and you're going to have to pay to get that matching set of Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman autographs (that's still one of my favorite episodes). And if you're there, talk up the ICS to anyone who seems interested and won't think you're some kind of stalker for doing so!

Til next time!

Hendo

ICS - Update June 15, 2011 IT'S SUMMER 1975 AGAIN . . .

, , , as the ICS takes on JAWS! We're going to take a look at the FIRST Summer Blockbuster Movie EVER (according to the film historians). This really waxes nostalgic for me, since I was an usher at the Senator Theater when JAWS was unleashed upon the world.

The meeting will be held on June 25. Now there are going to be some changes to our sh-ed-u-le for that evening because we're trying something a little different. We will be showing the movie OUTSIDE drive-in style (w/o the cars). Chazz Wittig has purchased a HUGE inflatable screen to show the movie on (see the ICS Facebook page for photos!  ICS Facebook Page ). Which means we'll have to wait until about 9 p.m. to start the movie. So here's the agenda:

As always, I will arrive there early to turn on the A/C.

• Anyone who wants to come early to socialize can certainly do so.
• At about 5:30 the board is going offsite for dinner and a business meeting. We'll return by 7.
• At 7, Chairman Hendo will be showing a power point (inside) that was YEARS in the making entitled- "A look back at JAWS". It'll be a nostalgic look back at the movie, including scenes from and behind the scenes shots of the movie, plus some commentary to boot.
• This will segue into a panel discussion on JAWS, led by John "You all know what I do fer a livin'" Ward and Nina "We're gonna need a bigger boat" Hawes. During this time, Charlie and I will be making final preparations outside for showing the movie.
• When the 9:00 hour nears, we will ask folks to kindly take their seats- outside this time- as we prepare to show our 36th Anniversary Celebration of JAWS.

Now- I would ask folks while you're running your daily errands over the next week and a half that if you're in a Walmart or Target, pick up skeeter repellent. Also if you can, bring a citronella candle (I picked up this flammable gel stuff today). We have a large area to cover, but if enough folks bring one candle, we might be able to keep the area relatively bug-free. My backup plan is to hide the bug spray from Regina, because she's a mosquito magnet.

Just kidding, Reg!

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for nice weather. Another update will come out before the meeting.

Your friendly neighborhood Chairman Hendo

ICS - Update April 29, 2011

Greetings!

Our April Meeting is tomorrow, and it looks like we have a weekend without showers!

Remember to bring THE MOVIE THAT SCARED THE BEE-GEEZUS OUT OF YOU tomorrow!  We'll be having an open panel discussion tomorrow on the topic, followed by a voting on whose scary movie to watch.

Looks like we will have a change in plans for June. Gary Svehla happened to notice that Tom Weaver, who was scheduled to be a co-speaker in June, is listed on the guest list at MONSTER BASH in Butler, PA that weekend. Some emails went back and forth tween Tom and myself, who says he was never told the date (um, I don't think that's accurate).

Anyway, after input from board members John Ward and Charlie Wittig, we basically decided not to worry about it. We still need to find out if Greg Mank will also be in Butler. In any event, the show will go on!

Hope to see you there tomorrow, same bat-time, same bat-channel!

Hendo

ICS - Update February 5, 2011

Bela Lugosi was Universal's top star after Dracula. It was only natural that he was considered the leading actor to play in the upcoming Frankenstein. However, seeing that he would be covered in makeup, and would have no dialogue, Bela passed on the monster, feeling it was beneath him.

In 1943, it was a different story. Lugosi needed whatever work he could get. And when he was offered the chance to play the monster in an upcoming Universal movie, he took it.

Universal was planning the first of its Monster Rallies- this time an epic contest tween the Wolfman and Frankenstein. Settling on the original name Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (please note- not the Frankenstein Monster Meets the Wolfman). Lon Chaney Jr had just played the monster in Ghost of Frankenstein, and Universal's big idea was to use Chaney in both roles. But all the trick camera work was not in Universal's budget, so the part went to... Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi was in his 60s by now, and the strenuous schedule of playing the monster wore heavily on him, causing Universal to rely heavily on stunt doubles.

Well, your friendly neighborhood Hendo has contacted Tom Weaver and Greg Mank (along with Barry Murphy who generously handles arrangements with Tom Weaver) and finalized plans to have these Titans of Terror screen the movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman at our June meeting. Now I know most of us have seen it, but a lot of drama went on behind the scenes at Universal, and those stories make for an interesting presentation.

To say NOTHING of the battle over which stuntman- Eddie Parker or Gil Perkins, performed what stunts! There's a 383 PAGE thread on FMTW at the Classic Horror Forum:

FMTW thread

I found this foreign poster online- funny, I don't seem to recall any such scene in the movie!

ICS - Update January 30, 2011 Election Results

Warm Greetings to everyone!

We had 21 people show up for the meeting last night. Now that is a very good turnout for a crappy winter night.

We had our annual election- and this year's board will be: John Ward, myself, Nina Hawes, Charlie Wittig, and Dave Willard.

Thanks go to Betsy for throwing her hat into the ring, and Tom Proveaux, who performed excellent service on the board. And a BIG Thank You to Sam DiBlasi and Rick Arnold, who did a great job with the election!
As of Monday, Charlie will no longer be employed. But in his case, that's a good thing. CW is joining the ranks of the retired! After 34 years with the Feds, he's taking his leave. Course Charlie isn't one to sit still for long.

Congrats go to Little John Ward, who received his Eagle Badge in the Scouts. As you know LJ was struck by a mysterious illness which he thankfully recovered from. So it was delayed a bit, but better later than never!

We tried our "DVDs in the basket, pick 3 vote for 1" idea last night. Marvelous Mary Blackstock picked 3 movies, and the winner was a non-genre film- "Hot Fuzz" brought in by Jocular John Weber. We may need to fine tune the idea a bit- say restrict folks to only 2 movies, and we would suggest bringing in something that has probably not been seen by a whole lot of folks. You know, get back that "Creature Feature" feeling of seeing a movie on the tube you haven't seen before.

Well, I have to go shovel some more snow, so this is a quickee.

Keep warm, and See You At the Movies! Unless it's in 3-D. I'm never going to another 3-D movie again... I hope this fad fades fast.

Hendo

ICS - Update January 23, 2011 ICS Elections

Sam DiBlasi has agree to be one of the election judges! His email is DiBlasis@yahoo.com. Thanks, Sam!

If you won't be attending the meeting you can email your choices to Sam. Again the candidates are:

Dave Henderson
Charlie Wittig
John Ward
Nina Hawes
Tom Proveaux
Betsy Childs
Dave Willard

Vote for NO MORE THAN 5. You can vote for 2, or 4, but NOT 6. Sam will add your votes into the tally that evening. We will also be asking for one more volunteer to help Sam collect and count the votes at the meeting.

If we are sn*wed out, then we will hold the election the next meeting.

Keep warm!

Hendo

ICS - Mini Update II, UPDATE January 6, 2011

Greetings ICSers! Well, just wanted to touch base on an issue or two-

First, I'd like to see if there is anyone else interested in running for office? I will shortly be putting together a ballot to bring in January, so I need to know who will be running.

Second, we will need 2 election tellers at the meeting. Regina V has agreed to be one, so we will ask for a second volunteer. If you won't be at the meeting and would like to cast an absentee ballot, please email your vote to Regina. She is one of the most decent and honorable persons I know, and she will cast your vote as you instructed. Remember, we have 5 positions open. Anyone who marks down more than 5 will not be counted (yes, I know it's not an easy choice). However, if you think say everyone on the ballot stinks but one, you can just vote for that one. Just no more than 5.

Dues are due- $25 a person, $40 for a couple. Nina won't be at the next meeting, but John Ward has agreed to collect dues from anyone wanting to pay in January. Please, if you can, make it exact change or check.

Sorry I wasn't able to attend the last meeting, but I should be at the next one, and yes I will get there by 2 and throw some coal in the fireplace and crank the heat up so it will be comfy when folks arrive (although Tom and Justin and John and Nina usually get there in time to help set up, too). Remember, this month we are asking folks to bring in a movie (or two, but try to make it no more than 2) and have a vote-off of 3 selected at random. If this works at getting more variety in our diet of movies, we may make it permanent. However, anyone already scheduled to do a presentation (except John Ward and myself, who are giving up our months to try our movie vote-off experiment) will still be on for a presentation. That's all for now! Keep Warm!

Hendo~~

ICS - Mini Update, UPDATE January 3, 2011

I'm pleased to say that both BETSY CHILDS and CHARLIE WITTIG have tossed their hats into the ring! So we will be having elections at the next meeting. We'll need to members to serve as vote counters.

Anyone else? There's still time to get your name on the ballot!

ICS - Mini Update January 3, 2011

First off all, thank you to those who sent well wishes in regards to my father. I'm pleased to say he is doing well.

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas, and best wishes for a Happy New Year.

A couple of points I'd like to go over with everyone-

First off, dues are due. People can pay their dues thru Paypal, but make it personal or Paypal takes $1.50 as a fee.  It is $20 per person or $40 for a couple.

We will be having elections in January. Anybody wishing to run for the Board should let a Board member know so we can put you on the ballot. We can always use new blood- some of our members have been on since inception, and a changing of the guard every now and then to bring in new ideas never hurts! Well, I don't think it hurts.

In January, we will be trying out our idea of members bringing in movies, and selecting 3. Those 3 will be voted on to see what we watch that evening. So be sure to bring in one, tops two, movies for consideration.

More later!

Hendo