MOVIE REVIEW "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole"  by Michael Smith
LA FLORIDIANA The Fabulous Architecture of the Tampa Bay Region, Part 12  by William Moriaty
RETRORAMA Dark Night of the Scarecrow  by ED Tucker
THE AUDIO PHILES September Album reviews: Weezer,Interpol, The Walkmen, and Boston Spaceships!  by Terence Nuzum
FANGRRL Pop Culture Potpourri: Anniversaries R Us ... R.I.P. Luna Vachon  by Lisa Scherer
THE ASIAN APERTURE Battle Royale  by Jason Fetters
MIKE'S RANT You Say It's My Birthday .... Hate To Say I Told You So (no I Don't) .... The Big 5-o .... Where Was Matt? .... .... .... .... .... Mike's Record Shelf o  by Mike Smith

Pop Culture Potpourri: Anniversaries R Us ... R.I.P. Luna Vachon

ANNIVERSARIES R US

I saw a video online recently – not quite sure where, hmmm – about the 50th anniversary of Psycho. 2010 is a big anniversary year in pop culture, it seems: Friday the 13th turned 30, Goodfellas turned 20, The Goonies turned 25, Dumbo turned 70, Airplane turned 30, Jaws turned 35, The Breakfast Club turned 25, Caddyshack turned 30, Breathless turned 50, The Empire Strikes Back turned 30, To Kill A Mockingbird (the book) turned 50, The Blues Brothers turned 30 and The Simpsons turned 20 in 2010, among others. (Whew!) Plus:

*October 3 is the 50th anniversary of the first airing of The Andy Griffith Show. TV Land will mark the occasion with a day-long marathon of the best episodes, but hardcore TAGS fans will of course be at the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, North Carolina getting Betty “Thelma Lou” Lynn’s autograph.

*The Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Celebration is November 5-12 in Burbank, California.

*The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Somewhere in Time with a special celebration weekend October 15-17. [CUE Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini] Sigh...



R.I.P. LUNA VACHON

Retired pro wrestler Gertrude “Luna” Vachon died of a suspected prescription drug overdose on August 27, 2010 at her home in Port Richey. Vachon was the adopted daughter of wrestler “The Butcher” Vachon and niece of wrestler “Mad Dog” Vachon. Throughout her career – with Florida Championship Wrestling, ECW, WCW and others, but mostly at the WWF -- Vachon was known as the intense, intimidating “Daughter of Darkness” with a painted face, mega muscles and a fondness for brawling. (Just ask Sensational Sherri.)

In addition to the long-running feud with Sensational Sherri, other notorious Vachon moments include her stint as Bam Bam Bigelow’s “main squeeze,” managing the wrestler Golddust, her evening-gown match with rival Sable and her repeated, unsuccessful attempts to wrest the women’s championship title away from Madusa. In 1994, she was the first female wrestler to be included in a WWF videogame (WWF RAW).

Vachon left the WWF in 2000 and continued to wrestle on the independent circuit. In 2007, she became the first Great Lakes Championship Wrestling Ladies Champion and retired from wrestling for good six months later.

R.I.P. Luna.