Top Five . . . Childhood Crushes

 I've already mentioned that I was a weird little kid, and that extends to my various childhood crushes as well.  I was a big movie buff even then and I often developed puppy love for offbeat characters in my favorite films.  I was lucky enough to have a young, very cool mom and to grow up in the '80s and early '90s, so my crushes come from that era (and a lot of them from John Hughes movies).  Here are my Top Five childhood crushes:

Max Casella as Vinnie Delpino

 5.  Vinnie Delpino (Max Casella in "Doogie Howser")

Vinnie was the titular character's best friend on "Doogie Howser, M.D."  He was a New York accented, wise-cracking budding filmmaker and often the instigator of the mischief the two friends got into.

Christian Bale as Jack Kelly

4.  Jack Kelly (Christian Bale in Newsies)

In the fact-based Disney movie Newsies, Jack Kelly was the leader of the "newsies" - New York-based newsboys who went on strike after Joseph Pulitzer raised newspaper costs.  Back when Bale was a relatively unknown actor, he did this heavily panned flick. But critics be damned, I freakin' love this movie and I still watch it when nostalgia strikes. 

3.  Lane Meyer (John Cusack in Better Off Dead)

John Cusack as Lane Meyer

I love Cusack in almost all his flicks, but Better Off Dead  is one of my favorites.  It has several quotable lines and Cusack is at his sarcastic best playing Lane Meyer, the jilted, semi-suicidal boyfriend of a popular girl who left him for his school's star skier.

Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry

2.  Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard in Dead Poet's Society)

Before appearing as Dr. Wilson on "House", Leonard was best known for his performance as Neil Perry, the intelligent prep school student who attempts to follow his acting dreams, much to the dismay of his father.  Dead Poet's Society  is an excellent film and Leonard is amazing in it.

Jon Cryer as Duckie Dale

1.  Duckie Dale (Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink)

All of this brings me to my #1 childhood crush, and the only Teen Beat-esque poster I had on my wall.  In his pre-"Two and a Half Men" days, Cryer was best known as the unrequited love afflicted Duckie Dale.  Loyal to his best friend/crush and devoted to New Wave, Duckie was the coolest geek out there and every true Pretty in Pink  fan knows that Andi should have picked him over Blaine.

Honorable mentions:  Duncan (Elias Koteas in Some Kind of Wonderful), Ferris Bueller and Cameron Fry (Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller's Day Off), and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride)

News and Upcoming Events

So, remember him? He is also a geek, and since he is way more into computers and video games than I am, I've decided to have him guest post once in awhile. He will be doing tech and video game reviews, and as a bonus, we will have an "Ask the IT Guy" feature, where he will answer whatever computer questions you may have. Just post your question in the comments section of the most recent post and he will post the answer!

On the toy front: Awhile back, I got a cute little Alice in Wonderland plush doll and then, just a few weeks ago, we found a Green Lantern one at Borders that was almost identical. Turns out, these little guys are made by Funko (famous for pop culture bobbleheads) and Entertainment Earth has a bunch of them! They have everything from Lord of the Rings to Universal monsters to Wizard of Oz, along with tons of Star Wars bobbleheads. My personal favorite is this guy (available for pre-order and expected to arrive in October):



Finally, October is quickly approaching and as a horror movie fan, this is an exciting time for me. New horror flicks are already being released in theaters and, as always, AMC will have their Fearfest towards the end of the month. And, drum roll please . . . this year, we will be having our own "Geek Fright Fest"! I will post a horror movie review each day in the month of October. The reviews will be fairly in depth, but I will refrain from divulging major spoilers. I will include the MPAA rating as well as a "Fright" scale. Suggestions are highly appreciated, so if you have a favorite scary movie (or a horror flick you've been wanting to see), post it in the comments and more than likely, you'll see it reviewed! Our Fright Fest will culminate with a review of the "Walking Dead" premiere on October 31st.

Doll Braaaaainnnns . . .

Like most little girls, I had a doll collection. My dad brought dolls from all the places he visited around the world and they sat on shelves collecting dust.

My favorite dolls were my Barbies. I had a veritable army of Barbies - all different kinds, including the Disney princesses. Eventually, I grew out of the Barbie craze (except for this one, which is one of my prize possessions), but the other day I found myself in the toy aisle at Target squealing over a new Barbie. I never intended to even look at the Barbies. We were on our way from the Legos (so Kris could drool over the deluxe Star Wars kits) to the baby toys to check out possible presents for some friends who are expecting.

Occasionally, Target carries the "collector's" Barbies. These are clearly not meant for little girls (evidence: the new "Mad Men" Barbies). Ever since the release of The Birds Barbie, I've been hoping for a Rear Window Grace Kelly Barbie (wouldn't that be perfect?).

The Barbie I was squealing over was a new doll called Frankie Stein. She's part of a new collection called "Monster High", which is basically a hybrid of Bratz dolls and Barbies with a movie monster flair.



I think they're adorable. (There's also a Creature From the Black Lagoon one!) There is one problem, however. Mattel has created a website and short webisodes to promote the dolls and there is a character that doesn't have a doll. Ghoulia Yelps (daughter of the Zombie) got the shaft! And she's the best character! (Other than being a zombie, check out the cherry print camisole and the awesome cat-eye spectacles!) My favorite part about her - she's a genius, but because she's a zombie, she only speaks in moans!



There's been talk of releasing a Ghoulia doll in 2011, so I'm crossing my fingers.

I Was One Warped Little Kid

My cousin posted about her favorite Saturday morning cartoons, and I was like, "Oh man, I totally loved the "Tales From the Crypt" cartoon." That got me thinking . . . what kind of warped little kid loves "Tales From the Crypt"?

The more I consider my childhood, the more convinced I am that I had (have?) some serious problems. My favorite show (other than "Tales From the Crypt") was "Unsolved Mysteries". I watched the crap out of that show. I also loved ghost stories. I couldn't get enough of them. I wanted to be a member of the Midnight Society more than anything in the world. My favorite authors were, get this, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe. When I was four, my favorite board game was the "Adam Walsh: Child Awareness Game". I also spent 30 minutes a day for an entire summer reading Stephen King's It outside the bathroom door while my mom was in the shower. As soon as she turned off the water, I would run and put the book away.

The thing that weirds me out the most is that I wasn't actively trying to be dark. I just really liked weird stuff.

I think this picture says it all.



More specifically, Kris thinks this picture says, "We can't stop here; this is bat country!"