Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Three Days of @C2E2 2024: Alien Day, Hannibal Reunion, James 'Lightning' Pax

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 1: C2E2 2024: Alien Day

I still think that I am the only Captain N: The Gamemaster Cosplayer

CatBusRuss has arrived at C2E2, and he is surviving. He is doing his best to vacation, but like anything you plan out, it is more hustle than relaxation. It was a fun day because 4.26 is “Alien Day”. Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright provided a great panel about the 45 year-old film. Celebration was the theme of the day as Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes showed their respect to their audience that owes their sense of humor to “Clerks” a movie that is celebrating its 30th Anniversary.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 2: @C2E2 2024: ThePoeticCritic, Hannibal, Rick and Morty

And I have been to six of the 16 C2E2s

CatBusRuss had a fascinating day at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

He got the slap in the face about how far behind he was on the Adult Swim classic, “Rick and Morty”.

And the gut punch of how great “Hannibal” sounds when he went to the Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy panel.

Then it got serious after hours with Nerdlesque and Cosplay Karaoke.

It becomes more intense when ThePoeticCritic interjects herself on the pod.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 167: @C2E2 2024 Conclusion

Eva the Queen Kitty with her spoils

CatBusRuss is still exhausted from the trip to Chicago, but day three was worth the physical toll. He got to argue for one of his favorite “Alien” movies with Channel Awesome. The acting insights of Maya Hawke were quite impressive. But the biggest thrill may have been meeting James Pax. Lighting from “Big Trouble in Little China” had podcast advise. How can you top that?

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Stacia Hardin Memorial Image Gallery and Testimonials

Stacia with her black hair
Stacia Marie Hardin Memorial Image Gallery and Testimonials

The following was written in 2008, nearly four years after she had passed.

I did not know Stacia Marie for that long, but I do know she was the best friend I have ever had. There has yet to be a more caring person to cross my path, and I do not mind if I ever meet that person because I had the chance to know her.

No matter what personal demons she struggled with, she always put her friends ahead of herself. When I had a broken wrist, she would call me every night to make sure I was doing well, and to encourage me not to do so much stupid stuff that could result in broken bones.

Stacia with raven wings from Halloween 2003

If you knew her, you know she was an awesome sibling to her brother Brian, and you saw her kind and caring nature through him.

Stacia was also a really smart person who kept her feet on the ground, and knew how to get the most out of life. Usually, that came out through some of the best rock of our generation, her wicked sense of humor, and her beaming smile that never seemed to fade.

We all really miss you down here, and I for one hope you never turn the music down or let the party end up there, no matter how much St. Peter complains.

All the love I can offer,

Russ Stevens

If anyone else would like to add a testimonial about Stacia to this page, or have any images they want to share, e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com.

Thank you.

Stacia posing for a photo by Stefanie Smith

May 9, 2024

Stacia expressing her sense of humor
It has nearly been 20 years since Stacia left the physical/mortal plain. I still think about her everyday. With her help, I know that I have been doing my damndest to be a better, kinder, and stronger person. She is keeping an eye on me and I am certain she is doing the same for every person that she touched in her life.

I bring this up because I have changed a lot philosophically. As far as I can tell, there is no almighty entity that is responsible for this universe. With all of the atrocities in the world and good people dealing with the trauma of abuse, why would anyone want to claim that as their own?

Growing up, religion (in my case Christianity via Methodism) was something that helped me be a good person, but outside of the tales I was told and the lessons that I took from them, I felt its primary purpose was to control people.

When I further realized that the vocal "Christians" were using the faith as a means to judge others, I knew God was not real. They want the power to claim their superiority to and over others. If that is what that power is for, I want no relationship with who ultimately holds it.

If someone can be declared evil for being a good and true person (be it queer, being non-white, or both), I determined that if there is a God(s), they will not judge me. My prayers were nothing more than me asking for help in resolving concerns and I soon realized that the voice which was answering was my own.

This all went down nine years after Stacia passed away, so I cannot claim to be a fast learner. Because, within a week of her passing, I was praying to make sense of it. It was me asking questions and me trying to answer them. Nothing was being solved, but then her voice came to me and asked me, "Do you want me to be your saint?"

I knew she would be pissed if I answered yes, but more importantly, I was ecstatic knowing she was still here. Here is to hoping that besides helping us out, she takes the time to haunt the hell out of all the evil leaders of the world. Or finally light a fire under our asses to fix the trouble they are causing.

This is not my original memorial to Stacia that was posted on my website. HostGator determined my 12 years of loyal patronage was not enough to be treated fairly. The only reason I dealt with their greed and indifference was to keep that memorial page up. But, Stacia would not want me to be anyone's bitch, so I let it go. I hope this fulfills the spot that was lost.

Thank you for your patience and thank you Stacia for insisting that I be at my best.

Stacia with her mesmerizing smile

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

"The Princess Bride (with HappyBeebsMeowMeow)" and "The Kill Room", "Hobbs & Shaw", and "Fast 1"

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 163: The Princess Bride vs. HappyBeebsMeowMeow

Eva the Queen Kitty > The Princess Bride

HappyBeebsMeowMeow (or just Beebs) returns to the podcast to discuss another one of her favorite movies, "The Princess Bride". A movie with Christopher Guest and Andre the Giant, how could CatBusRuss resist?

Ninety For Chill's guest said this was a feature that she knew so well, that she did not require a rewatch. To make sure everyone was in the right headspace, CatBusRuss had the feature running as the two discussed this classic comedy. After the two gush over the brilliance of Rob Reiner's second classic (Russ has not seen "Stand By Me" or "The Sure Thing", but both fit the runtime parameters of the podcast.) they essentially enjoy a virtual viewing of the film. Please do not judge our host too harshly for his attempts to do the dialogue justice.

Russ and Beebs do their best to really understand the genius of this family classic. As Joel Siegel stated, "This is Walt Disney meets Monty Python". That is short changing the efforts of the son of Mel Brooks's original comedy partner, Carl Reiner. "The Princess Bride" is Mel Brooks's humor meets William Goldman's understanding of what makes a perfect screenplay. If Rob Reiner had more features under his belt when he directed this, he may have had the skill to make the best film of all time. The more Russ has seen it, the better it gets. Does Beebs agree?

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 165: “The Kill Room” + The Best & Worst of “Fast & Furious”

Eva wants to eats popcorn, quit taking notes Russ

CatBusRuss was left to explore what might entice an audience to his podcast.

This led him to the recent Uma Thurman/Samuel L Jackson movie “The Kill Room”.

It's a comedy of errors about art dealing and money laundering.

That maybe too indie a genre to investigate.

To find out whether or not the “Fast & Furious” franchise met the podcast parameters.

That is a concept for the masses.

Monday, April 1, 2024

"Coraline" in 12 Parsecs & Super Mario Bros. 93

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 159: "Coraline" in 12 Parsecs with HappyBeebsMeowMeow

I think Eva could make button eyes work

It is never too late to start the New Year. Some people hope to just get out of their comfort zone. That is the goal of Brandy Stonum, or should we call her HappyBeebsMeowMeow.

With a Twitch handle like that, watching a movie where a feline plays a big role seemed perfect. So CatBusRuss was able to bend the rules of the podcast a bit, Han Solo style, and allowed Henry Selick's Neil Gaiman adaptation, "Coraline", be the focus of the show.

CatBusRuss has been trying to get one of his best Champaign/Urbana pals onto the podcast since about the inception of the show. The two chat about and have watched movies in each other's company over the past couple of years, so he thought content would come naturally. Our host thought the biggest issue was just finding a movie to fit the parameters of the pod, but people can just be nervous about putting themselves out there.

This was probably true of Russ until he had to cut his first wrestling promo. There were just too many quiet goth wrestlers in Peoria. Creating a character was the only in he had.

Brandy is a few weeks from bringing her Twitch channel online, so like our film's protagonist, she has to make the online world in her image and not have it handed to her. Hopefully, we can get her back on the podcast once her channel goes live, but until then, lets revel in her cinematic intelligence and patience when it comes to dealing with the CatBus.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 161: Super Mario Bros. 93 with Ta2Squid

Eva is beyond Super

If it is a movie adapted from a video game, you may lure out the Ta2Squid. CatBusRuss welcomes a returning Andras Bodolai to Ninety For Chill: The Podcast for a chat about what is essentially the first attempt at bringing characters from a home gaming console to the big screen, "Super Mario Bros. (1993)".

Our host's first conversation with his fellow podcaster was about 2005's "Doom". Like the John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins led movie, most do not remember that feature fondly (if at all as displayed by Kollin from the Trash Panda Podcast). But, there has not been a reclamation effort for the Dwayne Johnson film. Maybe more time needs to pass. Give it 30 years (and a billion-dollar animated feature), and Karl Urban's Doom Slayer might get his proper due.

Russ thinks a narrative might still hold the Martian-based movie back. It would not have even needed a sane one because what Dennis Hopper movies do?

CatBus and his guest discuss how this may have been a bad adaptation of the source material, but a fun mind shag of movie that walked so "Mortal Kombat" could kick ass. This Screen Drafts Marquee of Fame entrant maybe a flawed masterpiece. The direction is lacking, but this is a movie that has a crazy enough story and charming enough characters that it may have been a decade too late for when the audience would have ate this flick up. And/or, it was a decade too early which prevented meta-obsessed fanatics from appreciating it.

It definitely needs more attention since this is only the first round of the Leguizamo v. Hopper battle. Hit CatBusRuss on social media if you would like to discuss George A. Romero's "Land of the Dead".

If you find this episode interesting (despite the technical issues...and a "Ghostbusters (2016)" review), we hope you still have a DVD player because that is the only legal way to watch this underappreciated film.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

@BFest 2024 & ThePoeticCritic & Ally Presents: M - N - Oh What a Waste of Talent

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 157: @BFest 2024 & ThePoeticCritic

Eva the QueenKitty of the Red Carpet


For the first time since CatBusRuss started making the annual trip to Evanston, ThePoeticCritic accompanied her little brother to B-Fest. It is a celebration of “The Best of the Worst” in motion pictures. That is a bit of hyperbole, and the two siblings will try to support that claim with there recap of the events. B-Fest at least met our host’s expectations. Bad musicals (The Apple), some deep hurting (She-Devils on Wheels), kaiju (Tammy and the T-Rex), and roller skates (The Monkey Hospital). If only there was some classic action, but we will let the elder sibling speak on that (Runaway).

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 146: From Dusk Till...Marathon with @CouchManBakes

Eva is just disappointed

After a very successful Spooky Month that carried into Veterans Day, CatBusRuss felt it would be best to return to just reviewing movies this week. It was an opportunity to catch up on Ally's Accessories Shop of Etsy's Trash Feature Revue.

As it turns out, we are in the home stretch when it comes to covering all of the DVD's Russ's ex-girlfriend bought him to ensure the podcast would have content for at least three years. Back when she would visit Skimble "The One Eared Angel" weekly, three discs per letter of the alphabet were provided to our host. This podcast is in its third year, so we are about out of the "gems" that she provided.

Her efforts to represent each letter of the alphabet left some of the characters in better positions. In other words, we are out of T, U, and V (the last review was for "Swingers"). But, September and October's need for horror left CatBus jumping from the letter L ("The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" [1979]) to the Letter P ("Puppet Master II"). So, to fill in for the missing letters, "Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with CatBusRuss" returns to M, N, and O.

Russ hopes that you will find at least two of these films to be charming. "The Night Listener" has strong Toni Collette and Robin Williams performances. "The Oranges" has a superb ensemble trying to carry a taboo May/November relationship tale. And some of you may have been charmed by Vince Vaughn in 2001's "Made". CatBus knows this because since he had friends who thought they should act like one of the characters that Jon Favreau wrote for Vaughn. This unacceptable behavior helped to hasten his move from Peoria to Downstate's Liberal Hotbed.