Needless Things

Needless Things Podcast Episode 42 - 2015 (Life, the Universe, and Everything)

Phantom Troublemaker talks to himself and looks at 2015 month by month. 

 

From January’s Royal Rumble Party to the far-flung wilds of October’s Monsterama Con, our host discusses his plans for 2015 and does a little pontification on the side, brought to you by Angry Orchard Cider and Fireball Whisky.

Settle in and get ready for an episode that borders on rambling, but is snatched back from the brink by some actual, for-real notes. Here’s the list of topics that kept Phantom (sort of) on track:

January

• 1/25 - The Royal Rumble – The promised rules for the Rumble Game:

1. Determine how many entrants are in the Rumble.
2. Come up with a system to draw numbers (I use a bowl with ping pong balls in it) and number accordingly. You can get ping pong balls from your local Dollar Tree for – wait for it – a dollar. I think six come in a pack, so it should cost about five bucks to have enough. If you need me to tell you where to get a bowl then you might not be equipped to handle the rest of the Rumble Game. Go watch Uncle Grandpa and eat some ‘Nilla Wafers.
3. Each person in your group will draw numbers until there are none left. If anyone ends up with fewer numbers, they may select one of their drawn numbers to count double.
4. When the Rumble begins, each person must keep track of their number as the competitor enters the ring. Points are awarded thusly:

1. 1. 1 point for each elimination – if multiple contestants participate in a single elimination, each is awarded a point
   2. 2 points for each competitor that makes it to the Final Four
   3. 5 points for the winner of the Rumble

5. Whoever has the most points when the Rumble ends is the winner and has their dinner paid for or wins fabulous cash and prizes or whatever.

February

• 2/2 – Less Than Jake & Reel Big Fish at The Masquerade
• 2/6-8 – Days of the Dead

March

• 3/13-15 - The Great Atlanta Toy Convention
• 3/29 – WrestleMania 31

May

• 5/10 - Phantom’s Birthday and Also A Wedding
• 5/22-24 - TimeGate

June

• 6/19-21 - Heroes Convention

September

• 9/3-7 – Dragon Con

October

• 10/2-4 – Monsterama Con

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

Needless Things Podcast Episode 41: The Atlanta Toy Meeting

Phantom Troublemaker has been trying to get in with the folks of the Great Atlanta Toy Convention for a while now.

Last year things didn’t work out due to his work schedule, but this year it looks like Needless Things will be well represented at the con in March. Before that happened, Phantom wanted to get to know the folks who run the show and they, rightly, wanted to know what they were getting into by working with us.

This is how Phantom ended up getting invited to one of the group’s secret meetings.

Every so often, a group of Atlanta toy enthusiasts meets in an undisclosed location at undisclosed intervals to talk toys. Today, for the first time ever, the outside world gets to listen in on one of these meetings and learn a little bit more about the folks who run the Joelanta toy convention and how they came together with the Atlanta Toy Convention to form one of the best toy shows in the Southeast; as well as how that combination of shows has continued to grow over the years. 

 

Listen in now and learn more about how a group of collectors and enthusiasts created the popular and rapidly expanding Great Atlanta Toy Convention!

To join the group and learn more about the show, check out their Facebook page:

Great Atlanta Toy Convention

Plus – Listen to today's episode and learn how you can win a Zenescope Entertainment prize pack consisting of an Alice in Wonderland action figure by Clayburn Moore, the Wonderland board game, and Wonderland trade paperback collections!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Big Time” by Webb Wilder

Needless Things Podcast Episode 40: Music and Black Friday with Joel Brody

Earlier this year Phantom Troublemaker became quite taken with the idea of Record Store Day.

If you don’t know, Record Store Day was started by a group of independent store owners as a way to draw attention to independent shops and create hype around the hobby of record collecting. For more information visit the website:

RecordStoreDay.com

We’re doing things a little backwards, as the actual Record Store Day occurs in April. The subject of today’s episode is Black Friday and what special Record Store Day releases will be hitting then. That’s why, just a few days from the event, Phantom Troublemaker recruited local expert Joel Brody to talk about the event, the releases, and music in general. Listen in and learn about this great event!

For the full list of releases go here and to find a store near you go here. 

 

Phantom and the rest of the Needless Things crew will be visiting Joel at his home base at CD Warehouse on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth, GA. Check them out here.

Not all participating stores will be carrying all releases, so be sure to contact your local stores between now and then to find out who is getting what. 

 

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“The Maestro” by The Beastie Boys

Needless Things Podcast Episode 39: Jim Stacy

On this week’s Needless Things Podcast, Phantom Troublemaker sat down with Emmy winning television host, restaurateur, chef, artist, musician, writer, and comedian Jim Stacy of Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy. 

 

Jim talks to Phantom about growing up in a hardworking Southern family, playing in bands like Greasepaint and Grand Moff Tarkin, and the long journey to opening his unique, freestanding restaurant Pallookaville. As always, Phantom is fascinated by such an impressive drive and work ethic, especially from a man like Jim with so many fields of expertise.

Listen in as the guys talk food, art, and rock n’ roll!

Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy can be seen on The Cooking Channel on Thursday nights at 10:30 PM. Jim’s restaurant, Pallookaville, can be found in the Avondale Estates area of Metro Atlanta and has a website here and a Facebook page here.

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Shake Appeal” by The Stooges

Needless Things Podcast Episode 38: The Headless Horseman of Silly Hollow

If you read Phantom Troublemaker’s post about The Headless Horseman of Silly Hollow, then you know about his recent visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.

 

After the puppet show Phantom was able to sit down with the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers – siblings Robin Erlandsen and Brian and Erik Torbeck – to discuss the fourteen year history of Silly Hollow as well as their own backgrounds in puppetry.

 

Listen in and find out what goes into a puppet show and how it evolves over time, as well as what motivates the puppeteers. The siblings also discuss some of their other family oriented shows, including a Western and one about pirates!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by The Monotones

Needless Things Podcast Episode 37: New York Comic Con 2014 & Toy Guru Leaves

In this week's episode we divert from Halloween festivities (sorry, boils and ghouls) to address what is potentially the biggest news the toy industry has seen in over a decade - Scott Nietlich - AKA Toy Guru - has resigned from Mattel due to an offer from an as-yet unnamed competitor.

On hearing this, Phantom Troublemaker scrapped plans for a horror toy episode and assembled the Needless Things Toy Irregulars - Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, and Jay Hornsby, the Belligerent Monkey.

The quartet discuss the announcements from Mattel and Hasbro at this year's New York Comic Con and then delve into a discussion about the past, present, and future of the toy industry's most recgnizable name. No matter what you think of him, there's no denying that Scott Nietlich had a huge impact on the collectors' market and the way that collector toys are marketed and sld. He was passionate and innovative and worked hard to see his visions come to life and be delivered onto the shelves of fans and customers.

Tune in now ans the Needless Things crew discuss NYCC 2014 and the man known as Toy Guru!

"Procrastibate" by LeSecoflex.com

"Heavy Scene" by Meg Lee Chin

Needless Things Podcast Episode 36: Shane Morton

Shane Morton has been a fixture of the Atlanta scene for pretty much all of his adult life. From rock n’ roll to tattooing to haunted attractions, he’s always stayed busy and contributed to many different art forms.

In this episode Phantom Troublemaker traveled out to the Morton homestead to talk about Shane’s many pursuits over the years. He’s rocked in the bands Super X-13 and Gargantua, owned Black Cat Tattoo, and entertained and delighted people from all over the country with the Silver Scream Spookshow and Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. They also touch on Shane’s world travels and some of the legendary names he’s met and worked with.

So listen in as Phantom and Shane talk tattoos, haunts, and rock n’ roll!

This episode is sponsored by Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. Join us for our final year of creating the most unique and innovative haunted attraction in the Southeast! And be sure to come out for the grand finale on November 1^st for the grand return of Atlanta’s own Monster Bash!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Goatsucker Fever” by Super X-13

Needless Things Podcast Episode 35: 31 Days of Halloween – Mike Gordon

In this week’s episode Phantom Troublemaker sits down with “Howdy” Mike Gordon, host of the Earth Station One Podcast and creator of Tiki Zombie.

Phantom and Mike discuss the creator’s history, his views on the art of creating comics, and which franchise he'd galdy take over given the opportunity. It's a great conversation that gives a great insight into the mind of a great creator and a talented podcaster.

Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“A Fistfull of Terror” by The Bomboras

Needless Things Podcast Episode 34: 31 Days of Halloween – The Business of Fear!

This is literally the biggest episode so far!

Needless Things wanted to do something really cool for the first October episode, so we gathered a whole bunch of folks together to talk about horror and fear. Featured in this episode are:

Phantom Troublemaker – Your Host

Beth V – Needless Things’ Top Reporter

R.T. Ewell – Author and Needless Things Contributor

Ryan Cadaver – Lead Vo-Kill-Ist for The Casket Creatures

Nathan Hamilton – Son of Celluloid

Jonathan Williams – Wrestling With Pop Culture

The crew discuss their own histories with the horror genre, favorite movies and events, and personal fears and how they’ve been reflected in media. We also get the lowdown on what everybody will be up to this Halloween season.

Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Judgment Night” by ONYX & Biohazard

"Zombie Werewolves From Outer Space" by The Casket Creatures

Needless Things Podcast Episode 33: Dragon Con 2014 – Conan the Destroyer Panel with William Stout

Dragon Con is over and I may only have one podcast to show for it!

Due to many different factors – one of which was me neglecting to turn on my digital recorder – I only recorded one panel. But that's okay because it was a great one!

I felt very fortunate to once again be at the table with the wonderful and talented William Stout, this time for a discussion of Conan the Destroyer. Listen in as Tegan and Gary from RevCast and I talk with Mr. Stout about his work on all of the Conan-centric films!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Conan the Barbarian Theme” by Basil Poledouris