Echoes of the Southwest

http://phoenixfearcon.com/event-details/event-schedule/ Movie screenings Celebrities Workshops Book signings Merchandise Food and beverages Paranormal Investigations with COPS Zombie fashion runway show Circus of the Dead Various panels with various subjects and many more...

There will be celebrities signing autographs, taking pictures, and meeting their fans.  This years celebrity guests are from the hit AMC show, "The Walking Dead". 1.   Theodus Crane (Big Tiny) , a prisoner in residence.  Theodus began his professional acting career in Georgia.  He has acted on stage, even vaudeville/sideshow acts, and started his TV career in 2010.  This amateur fighter currently lives in New Orleans, LA. 2.   Kyla Kenedy (Mika) , was a part of the most talked about and surprise ending of Season 4.  Her character was killed by her disturbed sister, Lizzie.  This young actress has been keeping busy since her character's demise, guest starring on several shows and having other projects in the works. Along with them, other characters and zombies will be there as well: http://phoenixfearcon.com/guests/the-walking-dead/ Greg Crews Michael Koske (Walker) Larry Mainland (stuntman, zombie) Markice Moore (Andrew) Mike Mundy (Grandpa Walker)

(From their website) “Especially 4-U Tours of Mesa, Arizona is a premier & full service tour company. We offer tours throughout the United States and abroad, specializing in the South-Western United States. Especially 4-U Tours started in September of 1980 by doing 24 hours tours to Las Vegas. Since then we have expanded our tour opinion widely. We still do Vegas, but now we have tours all over the United States and internationally. Our tours focus on the Southwest, Gambling, Mexico and the California coast…” For more information about this company and what they provide, check out their website: http://www.especially4utours.com/ I am definitely planning on trying out their services for future trips. I will report on it afterwards.

What the heck are pop rocks?  Basically, it is small, rock looking effervescent candy that you pour into your mouth from a bag.  These various colored treats are made of sugar, lactose (milk sugar), corn syrup, and various flavoring to give you that yummy taste.  Once inside your mouth, the candy dissolves, has a bubbly effect, and creates a popping sound.  It is crazy fun to eat. Where did this unusual candy come from?  In 1957, General Foods chemist, William A. Mitchell, came up with the idea, but it wasn’t accessible to the public until 1975.  They lasted about 8 years before General Foods pulled them from the shelf.  There have been various types of imitation Pop Rocks, but just not the same as the original.  Today, Pop Rocks are just as popular as they were in the 1970’s. There are several urban legends swirling around Pop Rocks.  The most prevalent one is that consuming the flavored candy, along with soda, will trigger an explosion of ones stomach.  There was false i

For the past four years, Sharon and I have made it a tradition to make the trek to Queen Creek, AZ for the Pumpkin and Chili Fest at Schnepf Farms.  We have gone there in the evening to enjoy the sunset over the pumpkin patch and inside the corn maze.  This year, we ended up going in the morning and with our friend Damian.  The weather was nice at first, but started to get a bit warm towards noon.  The entire experience was different in the daytime but we still had fun.  Enjoy my photos...

What is an Alien Brain Hemorrhage you ask?  It is a crazy mixture of four different liquors to make one freaky looking drink.  You will need Peach Schnapps, Bailey's Irish Cream, Blue Curacao, and Grenadine.   Your ingredients and shot glasses. First is Peach Schnapps. Next is Bailey's Irish Cream Then you pour slowly the   Blue Curacao. Lastly, using a cap, you spot pour the   Grenadine. And before you slam it down, check out the interesting design it makes. Be warn, it is a very sweet drink. The following video is one that Sharon and I made:

Just recently I went to the Rob Zombie's Great American Nightmare event. ( http://www.greatamericannightmare.com/ )  The setup is based on his movie "The Devil's Rejects". You are sent through three spooky haunted houses.  The first house was called, "The Lords of Salem" and was a total blackout house.  You basically had to feel your way around the maze of rooms not knowing who or what was hiding in the darkness. The second house was called, "Captain Spaulding's Clown School" and was a total 3D experience.  You were given 3D glasses at the beginning and entered into a very colorful maze of rooms.  I really like the 3D effect and how it messed with my eyes and mind.  There were things popping out at you and some blended into the background.  This one was very cool. The third house was the recreation of the house and scenes from Rob Zombie's movie, "The Devil's Rejects".  The final house was named after the m

When I wrote my "Arizona's Back Roads" travel book, it started out to just be an information book.  My publisher, Dinah, asked me if I could change the concept and content of the book and make it a travel book.  I loved the idea and was up for the challenge.  I never wrote a travel book before, so I check others to get an idea of where to begin. First of all, I changed the original title "Dead and Buried in the Southwest Desert" , to what it is now.  I kept the chapters the same, but provided information and websites about each place.  All the pictures in the book were taken by me with an exception of a couple and was noted.  I am proud of how this book has turned out and can't wait to get feedback.  You can pre-order the book now and it will be available on October 28, 2014.   (All information is provided on my sidebar.) After I noted all the places in this book, I realized that many other locations, cities and towns were left out.  My biggest surp

Sharon and I will be at this event on October 4th and will report on it.  I will have lots of photos and will probably make a spooky video of them.  You can check out this event and information about it on their website:   http://www.greatamericannightmare.com/