Somebody on one of my social networks recently mentioned that they were experiencing the “Nighttime Blues”, an overpowering feeling of unfulfillment which sends them crawling over the internet searching for that certain “something”, something they can’t identify. This reminded me that I began to recognize my own “nocturnal ennui” in the mid-1980s with (of all things) a commercial for Michelob beer, set to the song “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins. Glittery Manhattan skyscrapers, sexy 80s women, darkened clubs with live music, people on the street, steamy sewer grates…. all I knew is that I needed to be in the car driving somewhere. Sometimes I still do.

Yes, the title of this post sounds exciting and dirty, but it is in fact a very accurate description of some special effect chairs that were built over at Scenario Custom Scenery a few years ago for a set of commercials for Badcock Furniture. I personally worked on the first chair shown in this video…. check it out and I’ll explain a bit more afterward:

Okay, in the first part of that video you saw a chair’s upholstery being sucked up into a vacuum cleaner, right? Well here’s how it worked…. Continue Reading

This weekend I attended a tiny science fiction convention called ‘Sci Fi Summer Con’ for the second year in a row. In my opinion the very best thing this fledgling convention has going for it is the ‘Board Room’ where a gentleman (whose name I have yet to learn) runs a 16mm projector for most of the day, showing old television shows, old movie trailers and ancient industrial films featuring celebrities from the world of science fiction.
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