Jurassic Fight Night
Gila River Arena, Glendale
October 9, 2021

Readers should already be aware of our fondness for prehistoric reptiles. So you will not be surprised to hear that we were there for an event which described itself as “dinosaurs in the boxing ring, fighting to determine who is the fiercest creature of the prehistoric era.” You pretty much had us running to buy tickets at “dinosaurs in the boxing ring”. This was actually a return for us, having attended a previous such event in February 2019. That wasn’t reviewed, since I was between websites at the time, but I have no intention of letting it pass without commentary again. Below is a video which will give you some idea of what this was like. Complete with me yelling.

Read More

The Dyatlov Pass Incident is one of the weirder events of the 20th century. Nine Soviet hikers were found dead on the side of a remote Siberian mountain, in very unusual circumstances. Some were half-clad. Others had crushing injuries. Their tent had been ripped open from the inside. Theories for what happened range from the prosaic (avalanches triggering a panicked exit) to the esoteric (UFOs, naturally).

Nobody knows for sure what happened, which makes speculation all the more fun. There have previously been both documentaries and fictional features about the event. Now, comes this 8-part Russian TV series which while fictional, is based on official records, and purports to tell the true story of what happened in 1959.

Read More

I was, to put it mildly, surprised to discover Netflix were making a TV series based on Todd Grimson’s book. I first heard about the adaptation, when I was putting TC 20/21 online, which included a letter Grimson – then a subscriber to my humble little ‘zine – wrote to me about his book. In it, the author described his work as “starring none other than NASTASSJA KINSKI, or as good as, or actually quite a bit better when you stop to consider would NK wear a thong-bikini or submit to the included tattoos, piercing, etc.” You will therefore understand I was (again, exercising literary restraint) “somewhat interested” in seeing the show.

Read More

Jurassic Quest: Glendale Arena, Phoenix
Sept 5, 2021

Like many kids, I was a big fan of dinosaurs, back in the day. I remember in particular having a booklet that you could fill up with cards depicting various dinosaurs, on the back of which were facts about them. I’m not sure where you got the cards; might have been at petrol stations? Though it might also have been in packs of cigarettes – y’know, back when manufacturers were advertising to the pre-teen market. That inner child was thoroughly excited for Sunday’s trip to see Jurassic Quest, a drive-through experience promoted as “The Largest Exhibition of Lifesize, Moving, Museum-Quality Dinosaurs in North America!”

Read More

Lighthouse Artspace, Scottsdale
29th August, 2021

Truth be told, I’ve never been a particular fan of Van Gogh. I prefer my artists a bit more technically rigorous, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, like John Everett Millais. But there’s no denying the cultural impact of Vincent Van Gogh, and if one artist was ever going to have an “experience” devoted to him, he’s the obvious choice. Or, rather: multiple experiences, for it seems there are quite a few of these travelling events doing the circuit this year. Each claims to be the best, but I’m not going to get into that. This is the one which staked its spot first in Phoenix, so we’ll go with it.

Read More