Mean Girls' 10th Anniversary


Film pundits and fans of the 2004 now-cult comedy Mean Girls are acknowledging today as the 10th anniversary of its theatrical release. Hard to believe it’s been so long since we first saw “The Plastics” clique, led by queen bee Regina George (winningly played by Rachael McAdams), strutting around North Shore High. Not so hard to believe is that the film, produced by Saturday Night Live’s head honcho Lorne Michaels and chock-full of SNL alumni in its cast, has since developed a cult following.

The above select scene features Regina and her minions, Karen, Gretchen, and Cady (played by Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, and Lindsay Lohan, respectively) in the dress shop "1-3-5" as queen bee Regina can't believe she doesn't fit into her size 5 dress, especially since all she's been eating lately are Kalteen bars, thinking they'll help her lose weight. However, they actually make you "gain weight like crazy," a fact revealed to Regina by a beau, later on in the film. The very snooty salesgirl here is played to the T by Jo Chim, who delivers the only two lines she has in the movie in such an uppity tone, she earns her place as one of the film's memorable characters.

Twisted Twins Coming to Texas Frightmare Weekend


Jen and Sylvia Soska, the eerily sexy sisters behind Twisted Twins Productions, shot this promo video last December, but the event they're plugging here is happening in Dallas this weekend (May 2nd through 4th), as this goes to press. Coincidentally, the day this goes to press is also the ladies' birthday.

Ploy Nyam for Headmuns Security Pants



This Thai commercial for Headmuns Security Pants has pretty Miss Ploy Nyam speaking of the dangers that concern many of today’s young women living in Thailand’s urban areas. However, she need not worry any longer, because Headmuns now offers a defense designed to ward off potential attacks, while also providing protection for the wearer’s “lady parts.” These security pants are guaranteed to thwart any would-be assailants by presenting them with something they didn’t expect to find their intended victim to be packing. Then again ….since it is Thailand ….maybe it’s exactly what some would-be assailants would be expecting to find a young lady packing.

The song that accompanies this spot is “Lovely” by Audrianna Cole, and pleasantly offsets Miss Nyam’s monologue, which one viewer described as sounding like “a cat that’s fallen into a wood chipper.”

Vanessa Bayer Moves to "I Don't Want to Know"


Named by the Huffington Post as one of the best Saturday Night Live sketches of 2013, "Divorce Meeting" features Vanessa Bayer (one of SNL's all-time hammers) and Paul Rudd as a bitter couple meeting in a neutral location to hash out their divorce agreement. However, they keep getting diverted away from their hostility toward each other when their favorite song, Fleetwood Mac's "I Don't Want To Know," keeps playing.

Judging from viewer comments, many who enjoyed this skit searched Google and Youtube for "I Don't Want To Know" soon after it aired. SNL fans will now probably associate the song (which was written in 1974 by Stevie Nicks and ended up on Fleetwood Mac's 1977 Rumors album) with this sketch just as much as they do Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" with "More Cowbell." For me, there's just something about Miss Bayer's dance moves that make me want to keep replaying this one. Would have also loved seeing more of the moves from (Vanessa's fellow SNL hammer) Nasim Pedrad, whom we catch groovin' to the song just a bit of at the very end of this sketch.

Psyche Chimère


According to Psyche Corporation vocalist and frontwoman Psyche Chimère; the band is a “dark, fairytale, steampunk, cyberpunk band” who “deal in alternative world music, both in the world music sense and in the alternative world sense.” They’re based out of New York City but again, according to her, they’re also “based off of a dream manufacture company far into the future, where brain implants allow you to download dreams from the Internet.”
The band’s music provides an often haunting sort of background to Miss Chimère’s flawless soprano and narrative lyrics. She’s also one of the few, very visible Asian ladies of the steampunk sub-genre. Above is the official music video for “Jewels,” off of their early 2013 album Crypts and Codes.

Brenda Song on Dads


Despite a seasoned cast that included 26 year-old Brenda Song, the FOX sitcom Dads, didn’t even make it one full season. Above is Brenda making her second screen appearance in the pilot episode, in which her employers talk her into dressing as a sexy Asian schoolgirl straight out of a hentai comic book in order to "impress" some Chinese investors being pitched a new video game entitled “Kill Hitler 2.″

The show was widely panned by critics and deemed “racially insensitive” by some Asian-American groups, who found certain jokes (some spoken by Brenda’s character) and referencing certain stereotypes (like the one above, I suppose) offensive. Even though we won’t be seeing Miss Song on Dads anymore, given her track record over the past 20 (yes, 20) years, I doubt she’ll be drawing unemployment for very long.

Rachael Robbins

Actress, model, and comedienne Rachael Robbins has ventured down several avenues of show biz throughout her career, so far. She started modeling for Playboy in 1997 and delved into acting a couple of years later with the 1999 comedy-horror film Terror Firmer. Also among the 40-plus acting credits she currently has, is her role in Ernest G. Sauer's 2001 gem Little Shop of Erotica, alongside two big names of the adult film industry. (It's one that she seems to want to forget, but I made sure to ask her about.)

No stranger to the stage, a few years back, Rachael starred in the all-female cast of Pieces (of Ass) throughout its off-Broadway run, as well as its stint in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Her most notable screenwriting credits to date, are for the 2013 Kenneth Del Vecchio horror films Captured Hearts and the soon-to-be-released (July 1st) Scavenger Killers, both of which she also has starring roles. The former, as one of the five lovely and lethal Van Houten sisters. Most recently, she's in the pre-production stage with Matt Zattell's The Advocate.

As a stand-up comedienne, Rachael has had to overcome the handicap of being outwardly sexy in a business where the objective is to get laughs, not leers. However, despite her looks, she's succeeded in the field and has regularly performed at such venues as New York's Gotham Comedy Club and Times Square Comedy Club.

Rachael is also directing the upcoming Marilyn and Friends, which will be showing at New York's Metropolitan Room, April 16th (next week, as this goes to press) and stars renowned Marilyn Monroe tribute performer, Erika Smith. (Info and tickets here) Above photo of Rachael and the Notorious P.I.G. courtesy of the lovely Miss Robbins, herself.

Mo Whelan

Maureen "Mo" Whelan is an actress, model, animator, graphic artist, writer, and (as she puts it), "duct tape film producer." She tells me she primarily considers herself a creative producer, and one who isn't afraid to handle legal matters that come with the territory. One of her latest projects, a horror she co-wrote entitled No Service, she'll be producing and directing with Miss Misery Reyna Young, and will feature Felissa Rose of Sleepaway Camp fame. Among her animation credits is 1999's South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut, where she spent hours animating Terence and Phillip's heads.

Before the glitz and glamor of show biz called, Mo managed a large auto parts franchise store, so she's a lady who knows her way around under the hood of a car. Also a lady with a big heart, Mo actively supports many charitable causes and is often seen at their events and fundraisers around the Los Angeles area. I was recently fortunate enough to get Mo to take some time out to answer some of the questions I had for her, which included her artwork (she also paints), her views on the future of the visual effects industry, and her thoughts on Eric Cartman. Above photo of Mo at last year's A Nightmare to Remember International Film Festival, courtesy of Oscar Benjamin.

What would have been Stella Chuu's interview

To be clear, when I contacted model, cosplayer, and burlesque performer Stella Chuu about being interviewed for a feature here, she didn't say yes or no, but rather said I could send her my questions though Facebook and "we'll see what we can do." So, I subsequently sent the questions, but she ended up deciding she wouldn't "feel comfortable" being featured here, for whatever reason a burlesque performer may have for not feeling "comfortable," and declined the offer.

Absolutely no problem with that and much more her loss than ours, but I don't like to waste my time researching someone, only to have the good and pertinent questions I came up with, go unanswered, nor let interviews that others would have surely appreciated, go unseen. So, even though my questions will go unanswered, I'm not going to let them go unseen. Here's my half of what would have been an interview with the aforementioned Stella Chuu. Of course, at left is where a photo of her would have gone and I would have given credit to the photographer here.

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