SHOW NOTES FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 23, 2012 SHOW #249

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THIS WEEK’S SHOW NOTES:
It’s time to get your haunt on in the cold winter as this week RFR kicks it into the new year by bringing you the HAUNTED PYRAMIDS during this past haunt season. RFR Casket Crew’s Badger was on location Halloween Weekend and brings us all the Haunt Fun with interviews, the cast, crew and more from the Haunted Pyramids to keep you in the haunting mood as we gear up for Transworld.

In addition RFR Creator and Host Jonathan discusses Deadite Emails, Answers Questions Submitted, and more. There are all kinds of Twisted Goodies to keep you Rotting and Rolling as RFR is Back like the Walking Dead.

So as we continue to Rot Forward, Deadites and RFR are together again for the first time as so to put it all you Fright Freaks, Haunters and Halloween Junkies, you can…
Sit Back, Relax and Rot Away to Rotting Flesh Radio!

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Cedar Fair Entertainment

With many amusement parks, the Halloween Season continues to be a fun time for their guests and special events. This also goes beyond just the Halloween Season and the rest of the entertainment years as well.

The All-New CEO has outlined Cedar Fair’s Long-Term Growth Strategy this week with a look at what the park has planned.

Release:
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, hosted an investor meeting in New York City today at which its president and newly named chief executive officer, Matt Ouimet, outlined his long-term growth strategy – known as “FUNforward” – and the corresponding financial goals for the Company.

“This is truly an exciting time for Cedar Fair,” said Ouimet. “Given our favorable industry dynamics – including significant barriers to entry and a loyal, high-repeat customer base – as well as the significant momentum we have created for the Company over the past two record-setting years, we see several attractive strategic growth opportunities in both the near and long term. We believe there are many compelling reasons for investors to choose Cedar Fair, and we are committed to rewarding them for their confidence in us with meaningful and sustainable value creation through a balanced approach of distributions, growth investments, debt reduction and unit repurchases.”

Ouimet cited Cedar Fair’s high-quality, well-maintained parks, its recognized stature within the industry as an innovation leader and its strong brand positioning as the core drivers of the Company’s financial and operational momentum.

“We are very proud of our properties and the men and women who ensure families and thrill-seekers alike have the ‘best-day-of-the-year’ experience they expect when they visit one of our parks,” Ouimet said. “It’s not an accident that we enjoyed our second straight year of record attendance – 23.4 million guests – at our 17 locations across North America in 2011.”

Cedar Fair’s award-winning parks – including Cedar Point, which was named the number-one amusement park in the world for the 14th consecutive year, and Kings Island, which was voted “Best Kids’ Area in the World” for the 11th straight year – are home to four of the top 11 steel coasters in the world and top-rated Halloween events.

“We believe we offer our guests compelling value by providing wholesome, exciting, quality experiences with the greatest thrill rides and family attractions, which is an especially strong entertainment proposition in today’s discerning consumer market,” Ouimet added. “Likewise, our goal is to continue to be a total return investment for our unitholders. Our recession-resistant business continues to generate strong free cash flow, which has allowed us to further strengthen our financial flexibility and make meaningful distributions to our unitholders while at the same time experiencing appreciation in our unit price.”

Components of the FUNforward strategy include:

Enhanced guest experience – Maintaining an unwavering focus on delivering compelling value for the price paid, at every park on every day. In the near term, the Company will continue to add new rides and attractions while at the same time expanding evening event activities to provide enhanced value and extend the length of each visit.

Improved consumer messaging and relationship management – Modernizing the marketing and sales strategy and execution to ensure the Company is most effectively segmenting its customer base and speaking to each audience with messages that “break through the noise” and create the proper emotional connection that drives action within the operating season.

Dynamic pricing and advance purchase commitments – Incorporating a new e-commerce platform common to other industry players. The new platform will provide real-time data and dynamic pricing modification, while supporting incremental programs such as season pass installment sales and up-sell of benefits and value.

Premium product offerings – Expansion of premium experience offerings for benefit-oriented guests. Examples of this will include premium parking and dining experiences, “fast lanes” at various high-demand attractions and “Fright Lanes” during Halloween events, among other things.

Strategic alliance fees and promotional leverage – Industry benchmarking indicates an opportunity for the Company to expand its strategic alliances while still protecting the integrity of the guest experience.

Capital and expense productivity – Prioritizing capital to the highest return-on-invested-capital opportunities across the Company’s portfolio, encouraging manufacturers to innovate at lower costs and remaining disciplined in the management of costs. The Company will also look to utilize its undeveloped land to drive additional park admissions through activities and investments that leverage its installed asset base.

“It’s important to have a balanced mix between thrill rides and family attractions,” said Ouimet. “We are investing approximately $90 million across all of our properties and have a very strong rides and attractions menu for the 2012 operating season.”

OUTLOOK

According to Ouimet, the Company’s preliminary results project 2011 net revenues to be approximately $1.028 billion, and project Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $375 million. Both projected net revenues and Adjusted EBITDA are at the high-end of the Company’s most recent guidance of net revenues between $1.015 billion and $1.025 billion and Adjusted EBITDA between $365 million and $375 million.

“By 2016, we believe Adjusted EBITDA will be in excess of $450 million,” he said.

The Company anticipates a 2012 annual distribution rate of $1.60 per unit, to be paid in $0.40 per unit cash installments, and a record 2013 annual distribution rate of more than $2.00 per unit. “As this record-setting 2013 target distribution would suggest, we are very excited about the future of Cedar Fair,” said Ouimet.

To find out more about their goals, outlook and more visit them at: www.CedarFair.com

Edgar Allan Poe

It may be cold in most places, but today we can open our black little hearts to remember the birthday of a true horror icon, Edgar Allan Poe. On January 19, 1809 the one and only literary author was born and from there he became a legend in the written word.

With a movie coming in 2012, and his works continually being made into short subjects, he is going to be around much longer than his death in 1849.

So in memory of a legend a Black Hearted Happy Birthday to the one and only Edgar Allan Poe

Courtesy of WIKIPEDIA (for more visit Wikipedia:
Born Edgar Poe, January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. After enlisting in the Army and later failing as an officer’s cadet at West Point, Poe parted ways with the Allans. His publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to “a Bostonian”.

Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move among several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845 Poe published his poem, “The Raven”, to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years after its publication. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.

Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

CFX's Mask of the Month for October

A good friend of ours at Rotting Flesh Radio makes some of the best silicone masks you will find within the Haunt Industry! Composite Effects has made their mark in the Halloween and Haunt Industry with top notch quality silicone masks. And each month they offer a hidden gem in the Mask of the Month.

The Mask of the Month is the CFX Team’s way of offering a limited ONE UP, ONE OF A KIND silicone masks. Each month they are different and the first person to snatch one up gets that one of a kind piece. From the Joker, to Darth Maul, they have explored many unique Masks of the Month.

For October, they decided to go in the direction of a fan favorite 80s classic…BEETLEJUICE! And as much as we are excited to let you know about it, it has already been sold.

So one lucky Haunter out there will be able to done the ghoul’s face that Keaton brought to life in Tim Burton’s classic. And even though you missed this chance, look at the detail, the care and the movie quality of the mask!

Let this remind you to keep looking for the Mask of the Month and keep an eye on November’s right around the corner. And if you still need a mask for the Haunt Season right now, check out all their current inventory that we are sure you will encounter at a variety of haunts this Halloween.

For more on the CFX Team visit them at: www.Compositeeffects.com

American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2

Vampire hunters Cash McCogan and Felicia Book get shot down over the mountains of Romania and find themselves trapped in the Nazi-occupied country. And as if these monsters weren’t difficult enough to contend with, they also need to worry about the vampires that stalk the night.

Do you remember this series? Well, I do and I’m still faithfully following it. However, instead of Sheriff Book, we follow special agent Felicia Book, his daughter. And she’s haunted by Sheriff Book’s old nemesis Skinner Sweet. Is Sweet still kicking around? Not sure, but his presence is still felt.

This time or this era, Felicia is not only facing vampires but maybe a more evil force – Nazis. And what’s worse – Nazis vampires.

Along with her partner, Cash McCogan, Felicia is on her way to rescue a scientist from the Nazis when their plane is shot down in Romania. Posing as American sympathizers, these two manage to get their destination in one piece. They meet the scientist they were sent to rescue but something far worse is waiting for them.

American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2 was written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Sean Murphy. It is published by Vertigo.

Six Flag's Magic Mountain FRIGHT FEST

Six Flags Magic Mountain offers 10 more days of terrifying haunted mazes, roaming zombies and spooky shows and is adding a “twisted” element to some of its monster coasters by turning off the lights, leaving riders to face their fears literally in the dark. And, the Fright Fest exclusive that coaster fanatics wait for all year … the transformation of one of the largest, most celebrated coasters in the world … Colossus runs backwards! Running the remaining three frightfully fun weekends, Fright Fest at Magic Mountain leaves no tombstone unturned, bringing guests the ultimate sensory overload for every range of fear. For the little monsters, a Trick or Treat Trail, Kid Scaryoke and Halloween Crafts round out the activities.

The newest and one of the largest mazes in Southern California is “The Aftermath,” where brave souls enter a post-apocalyptic city inhabited by nomad warriors and the dead stalk the living. Also new this year is “Chupacabra,” where guests come face to face with an elusive blood-thirsty creature as it terrorizes the local Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival, and “Cursed,” featuring roaming gypsies and werewolves. Returning mazes include the popular “BITE II,” where sexy and sinister werewolves are out for a bite in this nest of the undead; and “Lecter’s Slaughterhouse,” a family-run business specializing in tasty human treats.

Spooktacular shows include hypnotists Chris Maybre and Suzy Haner, who put park guests in compromising scenarios in their hilarious stage show located in Golden Bear Theater, and the new “Off With Your Head,” a Pop/Glam Rock musical spectacular featuring the music of Bon Jovi, Rihanna and Michael Jackson. Additionally, the comical freaks of the new “Dr. Fright’s CarnEvil” perform the hits of Guns n’ Roses, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga in front of DC UNIVERSE, and be sure to dust off your thriller moves and join in the fun as the popular “DJ Demonic” and “gRAVE” return to the same area.

Fright Fest hours at Six Flags Magic Mountain are from 10:30 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays and Monday, October 31.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is located at 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia, north of Los Angeles off Interstate 5 at the Magic Mountain Parkway exit. The Park is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October as well as Monday, October 10. For information call (661) 255-4111 or visit us at sixflags.com for operating days and hours.

For more information on Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest, visit: frightfest.sixflags.com/magicmountain

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest regional theme park company with 2010 revenue of nearly $1.0 billion and 19 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six Flags Over Texas, the company’s flagship location, is celebrating its 50th anniversary season in 2011.

Follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/sixflags
Like them on Facebook at facebook.com/SixFlagsMagicMountain

Most people think the world of Horror fandom is like a family. They believe that there is an overwhelming sense of acceptance and community and that we all stand united, hand in hook against whatever adversity the world can throw at us. For the most part this is all true but there is another side to the horror world as many of us know. It can be sinister, it can be competitive…I’ve only been a horror blogger for a couple of months and I’ve already been shot twice! Yes, the sad truth is that no matter how harmonious we like to imagine this world is, there are things that divide us. Freddy or Jason?….Fast Zombies or Slow? Kane Hodder or Derek Mears? Evil Dead or Army of Darkness? Any of these questions can cause an instant eruption of war between your average dedicated deadite but there is a deeper fault line running through the horror community for decades threatening to tear apart the very fabric of everything that we have worked so hard to build.

Hip Horror Indeed

It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am talking about the Hip-Hop Horror Turf Wars that erupted in the late 1980’s and have only gotten stronger since. When hip hop or “rap” became mainstream it almost immediately began to take off in popularity. Along with its meteoric rise it ignited incredible passion among its fans. That passion took the form of completely new forms of dance, an unprecedented level of poetic expression and the light speed evolution of electronic music. Unfortunately that passion came with aggression, division, and sometimes even violence. Once the world of rap entered into its inevitable partnership with horror movies the division only became worse.

It began small, various hip-hop artists speaking about their fandom of slasher films, giant monsters, and the supernatural…horror directors like Sam Rami and Wes Craven taking on DJ duties at some of the hottest LA nightclubs, and who can forget Stephen King’s short lived segment on Yo! MTV Raps. Soon every monster, unearthly creature and undead slasher began to actively campaign for hip-hop representation. They arrived in Los Angeles by the dozen going to the offices of major record labels, meeting with top executives, slaughtering them and then starting the process all over again. Finally gold was struck, the all American first family of spooky entered in to the ultimate partnership with a struggling, up and coming rapper by the name of MC Hammer. The collective life experiences and vibrant lust for life enjoyed by the Addams’s seemed to be just what Mr. Hammer needed and he was plucked from the depths of total obscurity soon becoming the toast of the town with hit record after hit record. His popularity grew so much that at its peak he became nearly too legit to quit.

After Hammer’s success the floodgates opened and rappers were joining forces with masters of monster movies all across America. Will Smith or the “fresh prince” as he is known on the streets joined forces with the imitable Frederick J “Freddy” Krueger, when Krueger himself senselessly murdered Smith’s long time partner DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith later said that the rhymes he created with Krueger where not only the freshest he had ever created but also the dopest. He also proclaimed Freddy one of the best natural scratchers he had ever seen. The arrival of the Fresh Prince marked a 180 degree turnaround in Krueger’s career following the end of his 8 year partnership with the Fat Boys who, after defecting from the Krueger Camp announced a newly signed contract with Michael Myers.

Are You Ready for Freddy?

Their first hit song under the agreement “Devil’s Eyes (Pass the Fries)” shot straight to the top of the Killboard Top 100 Horror Charts. It wasn’t all success though …for instance when Chucky and Vanilla Ice formed their infamous White Boys and Killer Toys alliance it turned out to be a huge flop and effectively ended both of their careers. And Young MC’s ill fated “Dance Off“ with Pumpkin Head in the follow-up video to his hit “Bust a Move” became a laughing stock.

Some people weren’t content to enter into collaborations, and became crossover artists in their own right. When C&C Music Factory released their single “Things that Make You Go AAAAAHHHH!” The world fell in love with their new blood, gore and pyrotechnic driven performances. Even international artists got into the act. Seamus O’ Shame (The Leprechaun) actually became a rapper. He made his debut with a song entitled “Lep In The Hood” at the end of a movie with a very similar title. After releasing his album he realized he could lay down some ill tracks and bring people unspeakable pain at the same time and he never looked back.

Need Gold?....Chains?

While the def jams were flying fast and loose and the money was rolling in, there was something much more ominous brewing below the surface. Turf wars and minor scuffles had began to break out as to who ran what horror neighborhood. The leprechaun laid claim to the Tiny Terror Zone which did not go over well with Chucky or The PuppetMaster Puppets. Jason and Michael Myers left untold death and destruction following the terrifying Silent Lumbering Killer Wars of ‘83.… It all got bad and then it got worse. For decades, record labels and horror movie producers turned a blind eye choosing to focus only on the millions of dollars they were raking in and ignoring the loss of both life and street cred. Sadly, something happened in 2010 that would make the world take notice, when Jackie Earl Haley and Samuel Bayer conspired to do the unthinkable. They murdered Freddy Krueger in cold blood. The worlds of horror, hip-hop, and hip-hop-horror fell silent. They realized that money and fame had gotten in the way of what really counts, poetic expression…and ultra violent gory movies. It was decided by all parties involved that everyone needed to get back to basics and to start doing what they did best. With that in mind, all horror/rap partnerships were dissolved.

Recently it seems as though there have been signs of a mild renaissance in the world of horror rap. Will Smith in partnership with the Saw franchise released the song Getting Jiggysaw With It and it seems to be doing fairly well in the charts so far. We can only hope that this time things will be different. That we can have a real sense of community and produce works that are all about art and not about money or “turf”. Together we can live in a world that undead, horribly disfigured, psychotic serial killers like Freddy Krueger would be proud to call home. With that in mind I hope that each of you can sit back, relax…and have a nice day!

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978)

Greetings Film Fiends and Deadites,

Happy “Autumnal Equinox”! To commemorate this holiday I present a strange piece that was an NBC miniseries in 1978. Based on Tom Tryon’s 1973 novel, “The Dark Secret of Harvest Home”, directed by Leo Penn and starring Bette Davis, David Ackroyd, Rosanna Arquette and Rene Auberjonoiis, tells the story of a young couple moving to a small New England town that practices that “old time” religion.  Although the book was vastly superior to this miniseries, it is still worth a look. Hopefully it will give you some ideas at “planting time”.

The Grimm Fairy Tales

When a young unattractive teen is tormented by her high school peers she makes a deal with Belinda and seeks out her own form of revenge. Now, ten years later, the once ugly duckling turned swan is living a successful life as a top model. However, on the night of her high school reunion, she’ll find that the deal she made many years ago is about to come to bite her.

He couldn’t have her as his own, so he killed her. In fact he killed many of ‘her’. Over and over and over, the swan killer has struck and he cannot be stopped. Events were set in motion years ago by Belinda, and now the psycho she helped create is loose and on the prowl. While stalking a new beautiful woman from afar, we learn of his past which will lead up to his next victim’s murder. She must die and he knows that he cannot stop himself – but maybe something else can.

Grimm Fairy Tales 36 Part 2

Those wacky people over at Grimm Fairy Tales have taken the much beloved children’s story The Ugly Duckling and twisted it for our entertainment. Actually they took the beloved story and have broken it into two parts. The first part, in issue 28, is a twist of The Ugly Duckling. The second part, The Swan is retold in issue 36. Put these two together and you have one grand twisted tale of revenge, murder and psychos – what more can a  Deadite wish for.

If you’ve never picked up a Grimm Fairy Tale, I implore you to do so. The thing I like about this series is how a innocent child’s tale can be twisted and folded and bent and come out the other side completely the same yet completely different. These books reminds me of a paper version of The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Darkside which are quite entertaining to watch. And like those TV shows, Grimm Fairy Tales continue to be quite entertaining to read.

EREBUS Haunted Attraction

Celebrities are always a big draw for a Haunted Attraction during the haunt season. It both gets customers to your event to meet, party and have that photo moment with Horror Icons, but also gets them to your front door, facade and more.

Since the Haunt Season has arrived, many haunts use this technique and coming next week to the World Renown Haunted House EREBUS in Michigan.

Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees

Now you can attend the special VIP Party with Kane Hodder. Hoddar played Jason Voorhees in many of the Friday the 13th films.

Kicking off on September 30, 2011 from 8pm to Midnight. 100 fans will be partying Hollywood style with Kane Hodder on the rooftop of Erebus the four story haunted attraction in downtown Pontiac Michigan.

All you have to do to be one of the few, the proud is submit a photo of you as Jason or a Jason-victim to info@hauntedpontiac.com.

100 fans will be selected to mix and mingle with Kane Hodder. The media will be there and you may even get a chance to be on a reality TV show.

NOTE: You must be 21 or over to enter. If you are selected you must arrive in your Jason or Jason-victim costume with your VIP invitation in hand.

to find out more about the event, details and the World Famous Haunted Attraction EREBUS visit: www.HauntedPontiac.com