HorrorFind 12 in Gettysburg the Wrap Up

Well, the convention is over and I'm almost home. At least I'm half way there. I should be home by tonight and can't wait to see my hubby and kids. They are driving to pick me up since I can't drive. Do you realize how inconvenient it is to not be able to drive? I have to rely on my 18-year old daughter to take me places or catch rides with others going. Makes me feel even worse.

The headaches are now constant and I'm on new medicine to try and combat it. Usually, I can at least tolerate things, but today, it feels like a knife has been wedged into my neck and another red hot poker is being slammed repeatedly into my left temple. Such are the joys of my day.

So, the final day of HorrorFind was less hectic. We had met all the celebs we were interested in the first two days, so we were able to just walk around and watch the other fans and take photos. That's my favorite part. I did buy a new series of zombie books from their author Kim Paffenroth. He kindly autographed the two books as well as a mousepad he gave me and posed for a photo. I started reading the first book as we were walking around, but had to stop when I just wanted to stand in one spot and finish the book. I'll have it done in a day or two, depending on the level of pain. Sadly, reading makes things worse.

One of my brother's friends had kidney surgery and wasn't able to go with us. One of her favorite actors was there and my brother asked him if he could possibly say a few words to the video camera for his friend. Instead, he offered to talk to her on the phone, if that were possible. Terrence Zdunich starred in Repo the Genetic Opera. When he handed my brother back the phone, his friend was still screaming and hyperventalating. She couldn't believe he would do that for her. I'll tell you, I haven't seen the movie, but that man has another fan for life in me. Any celeb who would take time out of his day to call a sick girl deserves my admiration.

Another very nice celeb was Doug Bradley who played Pinhead on Hellraiser. Any fans out there of the cube? He was happy to pose for photos, so I had one taken.

Again Gary Busey wasn't really available at his table and Jake was no where to be found while we were there. No loss, for even though I might enjoy their movies, I can't imagine paying $20 just to have a photo taken with them or of them. I noticed not many people did in the three days.

Diamond Dallas Paige, yes the pro wrestler, was there. He was in Rob Zombie's movie The Devil's Rejects. He was very animated that day and was signing postcards for free. They describe his workout plan and he showed me some of the people who had done it and the unreal changes in their lives. It's called YRG Fitness System. I have no idea what the cost is. He didn't require payment for that autograph or for a photo with him. Another really nice guy.

Has anyone seen the movie The Human Centepede? Well, three of the stars were there. I saw the trailer and it made me nautious, so I haven't gotten the nerve to watch the movie yet. Brother is laughing since I can watch most horror movies while eating a nice medium rare steak. In fact, when we got back to his place, I finished my steak from dinner while we watched the Italian classic Zombie. Back to the stars of this movie. They were very friendly to everyone and even gave a response to what Tosh.0 said about their movie. My brother is sending it to the show. He really slammed the movie, so we're thinking he'll use the promo.

The dealers' room had quite a variety of items to purchase and make up artists were avialble to turn people into the walking dead. I didn't have that done because we had a two hour drive ahead of us and I imagine I'd be talking to some nice men in blue if I walked into a convenience store to get a bottle of water with blood and bruises covering my fave and hands. :)

While there were some serious problems with the convention, it was mainly how some of the staff acted. I've already addressed that in another post and won't go into it again here. Most of the staff were great and helpful. We did enjoy the convention and found it incredibly convenient to be staying in the same hotel as the show. The cost of admission was nothing compared to other shows I've covered and written about. I can get over some of the rude staff because the celebs were good. I just hope they think about finding a decent place for their costume contest/auction where people aren't turned away and treated so poorly.

Back to Gettysburg

I’m in Gettysburg, PA for the weekend and already it’s made me want to just stay for the rest of my life. I was just here in August for our 22nd anniversary. Randy couldn’t make it this weekend, so I caught a ride with my brother. There are quite a few people dressed up in costume.

We’re at the HorrorFind convention. It’s a horror get-together. There are so many celebs to sign autographs and post for photos. Todd got his photo taken with quite a few stars today. I only got one – Dee Wallace. Yes, the mom on ET. She had quite a few nice 8x10 photos, either color or black and white. I chose a photo of her and Jake Busey from the Frightners. Busey is also at this convention. Everyone is
charging between $15 and $30 per item signed. If you buy a photo or whatever, they will usually agree to take a photo. She is selling a few DVDs and other things on that line, but my absolute favorite is a booty panty and a thong. They have either Cujo or The Howling. I got one of each. Even though she autographed them to me, I think that Randy will be enjoying them just as much.

We had gone downtown for a bit, just to look around since he hasn’t been here in about 10 years. Of course, we got tickets to go on a ghost hunt. I was a little leery about that after the awful experience we had with a ghost hunt last month. We did go and it was one of the best tours in any State I’ve travelled in. They didn’t fake a thing or try and trick people. They gave us the full 2 hours after passing out the ghost hunting tools. We were right next to Culp’s Hill and I got a few nice photos.

Tomorrow, we’re starting bright and early for a Q&A with George Romero. Yes, the father of zombies!! Then there’s a movie being screened for the first time. Then we’ll go back to the dealers’ room to pick up a few things and to the celeb room and get autographs of ones who we missed today. Must get Adriene Barbeau & Kristy Swanson for sure. Kristy brought along steaks to sign. Too funny. Of course, I’ll have to get one.

I had to lie down and take a nap because the day took too much out of me. The food in the hotel restaurant is out of this world. Todd and I both agreed we’d be eating there again on Saturday.

Gary Busey is at the show, but doesn't spend much time at his table, he's usually walking around with a drink of some sort or another in his hand. He and his son charge $30 for an autograph while most everyone else is at $20, plus Gary demands payment to even have a photo taken of him. Well, being a reporter, I find that repulsive, so here's my freebie!

Until tomorrow …

Interviewing Bob Casey Jr.

US Senator Bob Casey Jr. was in the area yesterday to campaign for a State Representative hopeful Frank Straub. Of course, I had to be there to photograph it and write the article for the paper. My mother and daughter went with. (I'm not allowed to drive because of health)

I had met Casey before he was elected and interviewed him extensively on the campaign bus. He's a very nice guy and happy to sign anything when he was campaigning and I was hoping he was still the same after being elected. I had made a scrapbook page to remember the interview. I brought it with and my daughter had him sign it to me. He commented on the photo and asked where it came from because he never saw it before. I reminded him of where and he remembered talking to me.

When I was taking photos to go with my article, he kept commenting that I had the only real camera in the room. The other newspaper photographers weren't pleased to hear that, but it's true. My camera is a pro model Nikon D200 with the extra battery pack and a massive flash that rivals the run for brightness. :) He posed for photos with me when my daughter took the camera.

Political rallies are a good place to get politicians' autographs. Anyone else collect political memorabilia? I picked up campaign buttons and will use the stickers to make another scrapbook page for Straub.

Scare Fair

All About a Party in DuBois held their annual Scare Fair over the weekend and it was a HUGE success. The kids, my mother and I went and stood in line about a half hour to get autographs from their guest stars. Not bad because others were waiting over an hour after we left.

The guests were Tony Moran ("Michael Meyers" from the original Halloween) and Cindy Morgan ("Yuri" on Tron and "Lacey" On Caddeyshack). I got my Tron UMD case autographed. It looks great in silver marker and is sitting on our entertainment center. Would love to be able to add more of the stars' signatures to the display. It was a great movie for the time it was made.

They were both happy to talk to fans and pose for photos. Moran said he hadn't seen Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween and had no interest in ever seeing it. I have seen it and ... well ... lets just say there can't be any new way to show a teenage girl's bits after that movie.

Everyone always comments on my camera, especially when the professional lense is on it - yeah, it's that HUGE. I even got in front of the camera this year for a couple photos. Hubby couldn't go with since he worked, so I wanted to show him the fun.

One of the displays was a 100 pound burger. GACK! I love my cheeseburgers, but looking at it made my stomach ache! The hosts had a 2-pound burger eating contest. Nope, I could never eat that much at once. There were make up demos, games, food, costume parade and more scheduled, but we weren't able to stay for most of it. Arielle had to get home and get ready for the homecoming dance. She did find the perfect half sweater to go with her dress while we were at the mall. I'll post about that later though.

Valentines Weekend

We had a good Valentines weekend. I didn't take my meds, so I was able to enjoy the weekend. Isn't that something? The stuff they give me to function makes me so miserable I can't stand up most days, but it's for my own good? How does that work?

Anyway, we went to see Friday the 13th and Taken on Saturday and met the kids for dinner at Hoss's. Yes, my kids were on a double date! How did that happen? Stop laughing Kim! They all went to see Friday the 13th when we were at Taken.

Yesterday, we went to State College for a minor league baseball winter welcome back festival and met some of the players and coaches. Arielle's boyfriend went with us. Got lots of autographs in my scrapbook and on posters and schedules. Took a ton of photos. I interviewed the new head coach of the State College Spikes. Gotta love a press ID. I'm a freelance writer/photographer for those who don't know and people who work with media always mark me as a reporter. Guess it's the huge camera around my neck and the way I look? I don't know. :) Anyway, the All Star game is being held in State College in August and the general manager has me on the list for press credentials for that! Woo Hoo!!!

We stopped at Hot Topic, of course. I had seen a Twilight bag last weekend when I was there and was so good and didn't buy it. Mentioned it to Randy and it was my Valentines' present. (I'm a purse addict for those who don't know) I just love it! Got another fairy shirt, too. We went to my favorite restaurant for dinner Outback Steakhouse and I ate way too much. I always share a meal with Randy. We had prime rib this time. Oh, it was soo good! We went to a few stores and stopped by to see my new little cousin Layken on our way home. What a great end to the weekend! She is such a little sweetie! Can't wait to start spoiling her. That's my job in the family. All the cousins' kids call me when their parents won't let them get something. They know I'll find it and they'll end up with it for a birthday or Christmas. That's the only positive about being so ill, nobody has the heart to yell at me for spoiling them. Of course, I use that.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The annual Pittsburgh Pirates winter caravan was in the area the past two days, so of course, I had to go to all three. :) Last night, I weasled my way into an invite-only party to meet all of them. No biggie since I worked at a radio station with one of the sponsors. Always nice to have friends. I had my small scrapbook with and they all signed my baseball page as well as a baseball. My kids each got a set of cards signed and my cousin got a couple posters, cards and baseballs signed.

Today, they were at my son's school. I took a ton of photos and had the team sign my 12x12 scrapbook that I created for sports. Looks pretty cool so far and I just need to add a few of the photos I took to finish off the page. Most of them remembered me from last night and were laughing that I had gotten the photos printed out so quickly. They all autographed them for me.

Once we left the school, it was off to a local radio station where they were having another invite-only party. Yeah, we crashed it, too, but nobody really cared since we have big cameras and I have press credentials. It was nice talking to everyone there. The bus driver was the funniest one. I probably talked to him the most, then got a tour of their bus.

If you ever get a chance to meet any of the team, go for it. They are all very fan friendly and were willing to sign anything and everything put in front of them. They also had photo cards to give to everyone.

DuBois Scare Fair

The annual scare fair was held on Saturday and it gets bigger every year. This year, they added a movie star and a horror author as well as the man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Yes, you'll be a dentist! That probably makes no sense to anyone who doesn't know the movie and/or Broadway play, but to those that have seen it, you understand. :)

The TV stars were Erin Murphy "Tabitha" from Bewitched and Butch Patrick "Eddie" from The Munsters. I grew up watching them, so I had to go. The kids had no idea who they were, but trudged along because it made me happy. Then the movie star was Lenny Lies who played the "Machete Zombie" from the original Dawn of the Dead. He was also the zombie on the book cover in my previous post. Of course, the author, I've already written about, Len Barnhart.







Everyone there had a free page to autograph or were selling their own photos or other items. Lenny even had a machete. They were all happy to take photos with the fans. More conventions should be run like this. There were no problems. Everyone was friendly, including security. Looking forward to seeing who will be there next year. Time to bring in Grant and Jason. :)

Am I the only crazy one?

We went to the Penn State blue and white (inter team scrimmage) game over the weekend. It started out with an autograph session. I literally had to push people off my daughter as they were pushing her into the metal railing to get an autograph. That ticked me off. Getting hit in the back by a grown adult male really pushed the limits. I'm covered with bruises from it. All this for men to get an autograph?

Then the game started. Parents let their little darlings stand in front where only people in wheelchairs should be. I tried to be nice and tell them to sit down if they had to be there. Finally, one mother flipped out on me. How DARE I talk to her child? Ummmm ...... How dare she allow her precious to be so rude and inconsiderate? My two children sat beside me the entire game. They know better than to stand in front of people. Then that same shining example of motherhood riled up the entire section and had them send their kids to stand in front of me. Ohhhh, they sure showed me!

Am I the only person in the world who believes children should be taught simple manners? One father even threatened me (he was massive, I'm 5'2" and petite) that I better not even look at his daughter. SIGH!

Teaching children that the world revolves around them doesn't do them justice. One day, mommy won't be there to fight for them and they'll get the snot kicked out of them for thinking the world owes them because they're "special."

Sorry for the rant, it just really bothers me.

President Clinton

Yesterday, I had the rare honor of hearing former President Bill Clinton speak and got to shake his hand twice and got his AUTOGRAPH!!! The crowd had swelled to over 1,000 people by the time the doors opened and the President walked out. They were screaming his name and chanting for Hillary. He still has such extreme popularity that he could be re-elected tomorrow if he were allowed.

My mother and I got to the event at 10 a.m. and it was scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. I helped out by passing out flags and Hillary buttons and just talking to people there. I wasn't covering the event for the paper this time because I wanted to get an autograph and that's a no-no. Hey, a girl needs to have her priorities! Besides the press had to be at the very BACK of the event, standing on a platform. I was in the very FRONT of the event.

I was in the front row, right in the corner of the VIP section. (It's good to have friends), so I was in the perfect spot for photos. I only took 278! :) The sun got to me and I had to sit down. They had a retired nurse spraying me with water and keeping track of my pulse and kept wanting to call the ambulance, but I wasn't about to leave.

He spoke for almost an hour with no notes, just from memory. He scored a lot of points and the crowd went wild when he talked about needing to fix the education system.

When his speech was over, he went to the railing to shake hands and give hugs. I had my scrapbook out and he took it and handed it to Secret Service along with dozens of other things people wanted signed. He went by me twice and grabbed my arm each time. If you ask my hubby why, he'll say it was the low cut top I was wearing, I say it's because of my beautiful eyes. :p

His staff brought out the books and papers about 15 minutes later and he had signed and dated each thing. I was beyond thrilled. I'll add a couple photos from yesterday to the page and it'll be a perfect memory of the day.

If you get a chance to go hear him speak, I highly recommend it. Even if you don't care for his politics, he is truly magnetic and very friendly.

Democratic Spring Banquet

I was invited to cover the annual spring Democratic banquet over the weekend. The two Presidential candidates weren't there, but they had their representatives. For Obama, it was the one and only Jay Paterno. For those who don't know that name, he's the world-famous Penn State head football coach's Joe Paterno's son. Jay is the quarterback coach for Penn State. It was interesting to hear him talk and he was happy to sign my program. He didn't really tell much about what Obama is going to do for the country, but I learned a lot about being a football coach from a family of rabid Republicans.

For Hillary, it was US representative from Arkansas Marion Berry. He was very eloquent and spoke with a real down-home attitude. He explained that he didn't want to have his grandchildren ask him why he didn't do anything when he had the chance to change the way the country is going. (I have to agree big time there). He has known the Clintons for decades and said there is no way Hillary is going after our guns. That's one thing all the fear-mongers keep telling. I'm sure you've all heard it. It's against the Second Amendment and she won't even try. He also knows Obama and McCain. Of McCain, he said, "He means no harm to anyone, but he has absolutely no business in th Oval Office, but for a very short visit." Berry also was happy to sign his fact sheet.

There were several candidates for the 5th Congressional District. The current incumbent is retiring. The only one I had a chance to talk to is Rick Vilello. He's the current Mayor of Lock Haven and seems to be very sincere. I still haven't decided who to vote for though.

I was able to add a few new pins to my political pin collection - one for Hillary, one for Vilello and two different Obama ones.

Pittsburgh Pirates Winter Caravan

Last night we went to the annual Pirates' winter caravan. The event was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. A had gymnastic practice til 5, so we picked her up then and went right to the event. It was about a 40 minute drive and we got there about 20 minutes early. The line was already to the door by then with about 75 or so people in front of us.

The Pirate Parrot (mascot) was walking around talking to the kids and posing for photos and a local radio station was giving out balloons. Then a couple of Pirates' interns starting making balloon animals for the kids.

By the time the event started, the line had wrapped three times, so I'm estimating about 200 people were there for autographs.

The line moved fairly quickly once they started, with only one autograph per person allowed. The Pirates' players were all friendly and happy to talk to the fans and would sign whatever you had for them or they provided little 3x4 photo cards. It was a free event. Looking forward to more autograph opportunities as the year goes on.

Scare Fair

Spent yesterday in DuBois at a scare fair. A local costume shop puts it on and this was their second year.


John Franklin ("Cousin Itt" from Addams Family movies) was there to sign autographs and pose for photos. Also had Dave Tango from Sci Fi's Ghosthunters there.
They were both very fan friendly and loved to talk to everyone. They personalized every autograph and would sign whatever you put in front of them.

There were also a bunch of different tables of things for the kids to do. Just in time for Halloween season, there was a make up seminar to teach you how to create the monster effects. It was a completely free event. They even fed us pizza and energy drinks. :)

Can I get a full body transplant?

As I creep closer and closer to the dreaded 4-0, my body seems to have betrayed me and I think it's time we part company.

Spent all day yesterday having tests upon tests to see what's wrong, then went to the orthopedic surgeon about my left shoulder. It's been killing me for months and he's decided it's time for surgery. I have a couple bone spurs on the shoulder blade as well as a calcium deposit in my rotator cuff, which may or may not be torn. He won't know for sure until he opens it up.

Today, it's back to the neurologist for a check up on the horrid botox treatment. It didn't work and I won't go through it again. It may be time to find a different one.

After that, it's Randy's turn to go under the needle. He had an emergency root canal last week and goes again today to have it finished. What fun!

Since we'll be in State College for his appointment, we're going to see the Spikes play. It's one of their last games of the season. One of my last chances to get autographs from the team and take photos. I'm hoping to go again tomorrow night, but we'll see if I can drive. Randy has to work and won't be able to take me. It's 1 1/2 hour drive at night and it's not my best time to see.

Hope everyone is having fun! Summer is just about over here and the leaves have already started to turn colors.

State College Spikes

Randy and I went to a State College Spikes' minor league baseball game last night. For those who don't go to minor league games, you're truly missing out on a lot. So the talent is up to major league standards yet, but neither are the egos.

I have a baseball scrapbook that goes to every game with me and almost the entire Auburn Doubleday team signed the book. I also had a media guide for the Spikes and got quite a few on it. Once I add photos to the book (I only took 460 last night), I have the photos signed, too. I will make copies of the best to give to the players since most don't have good action shots of themselves to send to their families.

These guys are truly appreciative of their fans. They enjoy signing autographs and meeting the fans. I prefer minor league games just for this reason. The only down part of the games is I don't speak Spanish and quite a few of the players don't speak English. Of course, they all understand the universal autograph seekers sign of holding out a pen and book.



The Spikes lost 6-1, but you can't win them all. They gave everyone a seat cushion as the promo give away. Nice thing to keep in the car for our many trips. Makes those bleachers a little easier to sit on at my kids' events throughout the year.

Penn State Blue and White Game

My daughter and I just got back from State College where we were at the annual Blue and White game. It was an unbelievable day. There were tons of booths outside Beaver Stadium where you could get freebies or food and We got a little over a dozen autographs on cards, photos, yearbooks and my hat.
We went down last night to avoid the traffic jams this morning. Good choice. Of course, I stopped at the mall to hit Hot Topic. As anyone who has ever read my articles knows, I'm addicted to that store. She had to run into Aeropostal. It's all she wears these days.
The entire area was decked out in their school colors, but also were wearing their orange shirts as a way to honor VA Tech. They had a moment of silence for those killed and were taking donations all over to send to the school.
The sun was shining and I have beet red arms and face. After the horridly cold spring we've had, I don't mind at all.
Anyone else taking any trips?

G