Bad Cinema and Assorted Beautiful People

As promised, here are the few books and assorted goodies I found while shopping in Dallas. I also found some CDs, but I'll be posting those in my "What I'm Listening To" post at a later date.

The majority of the items listed here today are well under $5, so I've added hyperlinks to the ones that Half.com currently has in stock. Incidentally, Starburst magazine is still in production (going strong since 1977!). Though they initially billed themselves as "The Magazine of Cinema & Television Fantasy," they are now primarily dedicated to Sci-Fi.

• The 50 Worst Films of all Times: : (And How They Got That Way) by Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss. © 1984. Softcover
Comments:
I'll definitely be talking more about this book at a later date, listing all 50 movies and debating at least one of them that I can't believe is on the list.

• Starburst magazine. © 1981
Comments:
This was a no-brainer (no pun intended). Once I saw the great Scanners cover and saw that the inside contained articles about other movie favorites (i.e. The Bride of Frankenstein, etc.) I HAD to buy it. I just love all those old horror/sci-fi magazines of the 70's and 80's.

• The Mad Weirdo Watcher's Guide by Tom Koch. © 1982. Paperback
Comments:
I bought this one for the great cover art. Plus, I've always been a fan of Mad.

• Totally gay hunkalicious magnet I bought while in gay town. Stop looking at me that way. I'm only human.

• Young Frankenstein. © 1974. Paperback
Comments:
I couldn't resist buying this paperback of one of my all-time favorite movies. PLUS "16 pages of fabulous photos from the smash movie!"

• Body By Jake: The Don't Quit Exercise Progam by Jake Steinfeld. © 1984. Hardcover
Comments:
I have to admit, during my formative years, I had a major crush on Jake Steinfeld. Sure, he's got a bit of a gopherpuss, but he looks mighty tasty in that tight shirt. I distinctley remember seeing him ONCE with his shirt off in a photograph, but as a general rule, it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find a picture of him without a shirt. Go on. I dare ya to find one!

And, if I remember correctly, he was on some special or talk show with Charo and she kept on and on and on about him taking off his shirt and flexing and he repeatedly rebuffed her. It was painful to watch (though, I secretly wished he would, too! Lol!). So anyway, my point is, there are multiple images of Jake in the book shirtless, so that alone was my motivating factor in buying it. Also, I love all the cheesy photos that separate each chapter, of him with some big-name (circa 1984) "celebrity." Hilariously awful!

No to mention, the book is autographed inside by Jake, himself! The inscription reads: "Hey Wayne, Thanks For the Help! "Don't Quit" Jake" Ah, can you smell the cheese?

• The Beautiful People's Diet Book by Luciana Avedon and Jeanne Molli. © 1975. Paperback
Comments:
When I saw this book on the shelf, I thought "Why, that's ME!!", then I pursed my lips and made my Zoolander face. Whatever. LMAO! The photos in the book, alone, are priceless! Actually, it made me think of my friend Derik first, which also cracked me up (he lives in Dallas, the self-proclaimed land of "the beautiful" (insert eye roll here). Dallas is also the land of the maxed out credit card and botox injection. I promise to keep you posted on any fabulous secrets I may unearth while reading this book. Kisses.

• Love at First Bite FotoNovel. © 1979. Paperback
Comments:
I LOVE FotoNovels!! I have one for The Incredible Hulk, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (thanks, Nathan!), Saturday Night Fever and now one of my all-time favorite movies, Love at First Bite!! For those of you who didn't grow up with these, a FotoNovel is basically a paperback version of a movie, done completely in stills from the movie, with little word bubbles for the dialogue. They're so great, and there are tons more. I'm still hoping to find the one they did for Grease. They are kinda hard to find, esp. intact, since they tend to not be bound all that great to begin with. Still, they are totally worth seeking out, if you get the chance!

• The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. © 1987. Paperback
Comments:
The Witches of Eastwick is one of my favorite 80's movies. I remember being SO psyched about it at the time (1987). I went crazy cutting pictures out of magazines about it and went gaga over Nicholson's pink trench coat that he wore in the movie (I bought 2...still have them). Having watched the movie recently, I decided to finally read the book. Though the book is set in the 60's (an era I so don't dig), I'm determined to read it. I've been meaning to for ages and now I can see how the two compare.