ScareLA: Haunted LA vs. Haunted OC

I was lucky enough to go to ScareLA this year, and while I was there, I attended Haunted LA vs. Haunted OC, a live version of the Collywobbles podcast. I wrote about it for Haunt Jaunts, and you can read about it here:

Scare LA: Haunted LA vs. Haunted OC

You can also watch the podcast, which I highly recommend because it was really entertaining. : )

ScareLA

I moved to L.A. on August 2nd, and it's no coincidence that my move happened a few days before ScareLA, an awesome convention celebrating all things Halloween. There was so much to do there that I didn't get a chance to see as much as I would've liked, but I did get to check out all the vendors, attend the "Monstrous Spirits: Haunted LA vs. Haunted OC" podcast, see my favorite theatre group, 2Cents Theatre, perform scenes from Nilbog the Musical, and try to avoid dozens of creepy clowns. I took a ton of pictures, so feel free to live vicariously through me if you didn't get to go. ; )

A marquee for IT Presents Float: A Cinematic VR Experience

From the school bus featured in IT Presents Float: A Cinematic VR Experience

IT Presents Float: A Cinematic VR Experience

Frankenstein's monster, Hollywood Horror Museum booth

Regan MacNeil, Hollywood Horror Museum booth

A demonstration by EI School of Professional Makeup

Nope.

Triple nope.

Gremlins from Trick or Treat Studios

ScareLA's announcements were made by a familiar voice: John Kassir, the voice of  The Cryptkeeper.

Well, this is creepy...

Reign of Terror Haunted House booth

Reign of Terror Haunted House booth

2Cents Theatre performing a scene from Nilbog the Musical

More Nilbog

The cast of Nilbog the Musical

Me as the devil (photo credit: Juan Lozano)

I saw some cool things at ScareLA, so here are some links where you can find more information about them:



ScareLA


2Cents Theatre

Trick or Treat Studios

Hollywood Horror Museum

Reign of Terror Haunted House

Harlequin Costume

Scream For Me Inc.

Megan E. Risk, Freelance Artist

VFX

ScareLA was so much fun, and it was the perfect way to spend my first weekend as an L.A. resident. I can't wait to go again next year! : )

Movie Spotlight: Absolutely Anything

Absolutely Anything is a 2015 movie starring Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard, and Joanna Lumley and featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Michael Palin, Terry Jones (who also directed the movie), Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, and Eric Idle. Schoolteacher Neil Clarke (Simon Pegg) is given the ability to do anything by a group of aliens who want to see if he will use his powers for good or evil (and if he chooses evil, Earth will be destroyed).

Absolutely Anything is a fun movie with an impressive cast, particularly Simon Pegg as a man learning that having powers can be more of a curse than a gift. Though all the humans in the film
were great, my favorite character was Neil's dog, Dennis (voiced by Robin Williams), because he was adorable, and dogs are the best. ; )

My rating: 7/10

Blog Anniversary

I went to the Roswell UFO Festival in 2013, and it inspired me to start this blog. Four years and more than 400 posts later, I'm still having fun with it, and I'm thankful to everyone who's been reading it. To celebrate the blog's anniversary, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite posts. : )

 Movie Spotlight: Ghost Shark

 Encounters: U.F.O. Experience

Review: Carrie the Musical at City Stage Co.

Movie Spotlight: What We Do in the Shadows

Visiting the UFO Watchtower

Review: Evil Dead the Musical at the Knight Theater

My Favorite Bad Movie: Hobgoblins

And the one that started it all:
Roswell...finally!

Also, my book Paranormal Jokes and Haiku is free through July 19th. : )

https://www.amazon.com/Paranormal-Jokes-Haiku-Crystal-Smith-Connelly-ebook/dp/B00U1SPTZM/

Exciting News!

In a month or so, you might notice that I'm not posting as often as usual, so I wanted to tell you why: In early August, I'm moving to L.A. to finally try to follow my dream of being a TV writer! I still plan on posting here as much as I can, but since I'll have to work a lot to be able to afford an apartment, it might be hard for me to post once a week or more like I do now. My first weekend there, I'll be attending a Halloween convention called ScareLA though, and of course I'm going to write about that and share some pictures. ScareLA sounds really cool, and I'm excited to wear my '80s Ghostbuster costume again. For more info on ScareLA, check out their website, and if any of you will be there, let me know. : )

http://scarela.com

Roswell: A Great Place to Crash

I was inspired to start this blog after a trip to the Roswell UFO Festival, and since this week marks the 70th anniversary of the Roswell UFO crash, I thought this would be a good time to share a bunch of my Roswell posts in one place. Enjoy! : )

Roswell...finally!

What happens in Roswell...

The International UFO Museum and Research Center

Don't tell anyone, but we smuggled something home from Roswell...

Book Review: Beyond Roswell

Roswell Memories

2017 Roswell UFO Festival

It's almost time for the Roswell UFO Festival again! The festival starts on June 29th, and this year is the 70th anniversary of the famous UFO crash, so you should go if you get the chance. I went in 2013, and it was so much fun! The festival offers lots of interesting lectures by UFO experts, and you can see who the guests will be here:

http://www.ufofestivalroswell.com/ufo-festival-guest-speakers/

Check out the UFO Festival's website to see what fun stuff will be going on! : )

http://www.ufofestivalroswell.com/