New Fans, Helping Grizzlies, and Other News!

I am constantly astounded to find out who has become a Sven fan- and a couple recent discoveries have indeed been pleasant surprises!

I've found out that Gina Schock, the drummer for the legendary rock band the Go Gos, is not only very knowledgeable about horror flicks, but is also a big fan of our show! And, speaking of horror flicks, my jaw dropped when I got a Tweet from Rick Baker, legendary make-up and effects master! He was happy to see that, in my segment about the cast in  "Murders in the Rue Morgue", I singled out Charles Gemora, the man in the ape suit, who was an iconic make-up and special effects artist. I'm happy to know that Rick  watches us every week !

Going from apes to bears- please remember that I will be making my return to the Brookfield Zoo AAZK special fundraising Spaghetti Dinner event at the zoo in Brookfield, Il, on Thursday. This yearly event raises funds for Vital Ground, an organization which procures and protects land in the wild for grizzly bears and other wildlife. The event goes from 4 -8 pm- and I'll be there signing and posing for photos with you from 5:30 to 7 pm! You can come meet me, have a great spaghetti dinner, bid on auction items, enjoy the deejay,and more- while contributing to Vital Ground. Check out the details and the link right here on our site- under "appearances" ! I missed this event last year while recovering- but I look forward to being there this year- and , hopefully, meeting you!

Well, the ballot is officially out for the annual national Rondo Awards, and, yes, I am again nominated under category # 24, "Favorite Horror Host", along with a full roster of noted hosts from around the country. Please feel free to vote for whoever is your favorite- there are so many worthy hosts! Among the other categories that will get my vote- in category #19, best blog, it's our friends of "Terror from Beyond the Daves"- under #15, best themed issue of a horror magazine, I obviously throw my support to the Scary Monsters #87- fan tributes to (ahem) Svengoolie issue! Under #9, best independent film, I like "Son of Ghostman"- a film about- what else-a horror host! At the #11 category, best book, I'm a fan of "Hidden Horror" by Aaron Christensen (yeah, there's a comment from me on the cover...) #20, best convention, has Flashback Weekend getting my vote- and, for #34, Monster Kid of the year- I'll write in my friend John Aranza, whose love and devotion of the genre is evident in the store he created and maintains, devoted to the horror genre, "Horrorbles"!

You can vote for as many- or as few- categories as you like-  just go to www.rondoaward.com - you'll find the ballot there(which you can cut and paste to vote) as well as all the rules- like, you can only vote once- you must include your name, etc. I encourage you to vote for WHOEVER your favorites and choices are, and support the Rondos in this, their twelfth year!

Let me throw in one more thing- keep Sunday, April 13th, open- so you can witness the big challenge I've thrown to legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette, as the two of us join Lisa Marie Varon at her "Squared Circle" restaurant in Chicago's Lincoln Park! meet me, these two wrestling icons, and enjoy some great food- specific details coming soon!

Hope to see you Thursday night at the zoo (yes, the event is  indoors!)- and come back shortly for the lowdown on our show this week!