JUST LISTEN: LOS STRAITJACKETS (PT. 2)

On stage, Los Straitjackets has a show like no other. Wearing Mexican wrestling masks, matching outfits and instrumental surf rock puts them in a category by themselves. They've toured the country from coast to coast and shared the stage with Tom Petty, Reverend Horton Heat and many more. They've also toured Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands and did a two-week gig at a Moscow nightclub.

Here's Los Straitjackets performing "Itchy Chicken". You'll want to turn your speaker volume as high as it will go when watching this clip. Trust me on this.

FROM THE COLLECTION: UNKNOWN DAREDEVIL

Unknown Daredevil, Real Photo Postcard

SUPER HERO SQUAD TRAILER

Marvel has the trailer that originally premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con for The Super Hero Squad Show.

The audience at San Diego Comic-Con roared with cheers and laughter at "The Super Hero Squad Show's" panel and signing on July 25th. Marvel icon Stan Lee, Co-Executive Producer and the voice of Super Hero City's Mayor, was in attendance along with another Co-Executive Producer, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.

The panel audience thrilled to see their fave characters from throughout the Marvel Universe brought together in one action-packed show. The superstar cast list was also a hit, including Mark Hamill ("Star Wars") as the Red Skull, Robert Englund ("A Nightmare on Elm Street") as Dormammu, Tricia Helfer ("Battlestar Galactica") as Sif, Lena Headey ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") as the Black Widow, George Takei ("Star Trek") as Galactus, Adrian Pasdar ("Heroes") as Hawkeye, Taye Diggs ("Private Practice") as the Black Panther and James Marsters ("Buffy") as Mr. Fantastic.

Key cast members performed a Comic-Con exclusive skit with the likes of Tom Kenny ("Spongebob"), Steve Blum ("Wolverine and the X-Men") and Charlie Adler ("Cow & Chicken", "Transformers" features) taking part. The skit told the story of Doom's attack on Comic-Con 40 in search of his own convention-exclusive My Little Pony. Extended clips from two episodes were also previewed to a hysterical and enthusiastic crowd.

A variety of Super Hero Squad merchandise spin-offs are planned, including a video game from THQ (October 20 release), expansion of the Hasbro toy line, and a major fastfood partnership.

"The talent that has signed on truly speaks to the strength of the Marvel brand as well as the uniqueness of this series," said Eric Rollman, Marvel's President of Animation. He continued, "This is the first time Marvel has produced an action-comedy show and the reaction from both broadcasters and celebrity talent indicates we have something very special in the making."

"The Super Hero Squad Show" premieres worldwide fall 2009.

George Takei as Galactus? Plus, Ms. Marvel is in it? Count me in! This looks like it's going to be a blast.

NEW WEIRD AL MUSIC VIDEO

JibJab and Weird Al have joined forces with a new music video for the song "C.N.R." and even allows you to put yourself in the video. Check it out!

KICK-ASS CLIPS LEAKED ONLINE

The four clips that premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con for the upcoming film Kick-Ass have been leaked online. Watch 'em while you can. They won't be around for long. I can't wait to see this movie.

PIN-UP OF THE WEEK

JUST LISTEN: LOS STRAITJACKETS (PT. 1)

Los Straitjackets is an instrumental band formed in 1988. Originally called The Straitjackets, the band split-up soon after forming and would play together again for six years.

Guitarist Eddie Angel moved to Nashville in the 80's to work with the Planet Rockers. Danny Amis, aka "Daddy-O Grande", was working as a sound engineer in Nashville and performing with the Raybeats. The two formed The Straitjackets in 1988 with a Nashville session player, Jimmy Lester. They played several gigs that summer but soon disbanded.

The band reunited in 1994 as Los Straitjackets, adding bass player Scott Esbeck. They released their first album, The Utterly Fantastic and Totally Unbelievable Sound of Los Straitjackets on Upstart Records.

It didn't take long for the band to gain a cult following with their instrumental music and fun performances. The band members wear Mexican wrestling masks and dress identically. Amis is the only member of the band who speaks, introducing songs in broken Spanish.

Esbeck left the band while recording The Velvet Touch of Los Straitjackets and was replaced by Pete Curry. Lester left the group in 2005 and was replaced by Jason Smay, aka "Teen Beat".

Over the years, they've collaborated with several artists, including vocalists Big Sandy, Eddy Clearwater, Kaiser George and the burlesque dancing act The World Famous Pontani Sisters.

Los Straitjackets has released eleven studio albums, three live albums and two collaboration records.

They provided music for the movie Psycho Beach Party and appear in the film. Here they perform "Tempest" in this promotional video for the movie.

You can learn more about Los Straitjackets at their official website and purchase their music here.

JENNIFER, THE TWO-HEADED COW

Meet Jennifer, a cow born with two heads but only one brain. Her head is so heavy, she can't stand up without help. Farmer Marino Cabrera built a hammock support to help her stand.

Jenifer was born last Friday at a farm in Rivera, 150 miles from Bogota.

Farmer Marino Cabrera, claims he has never seen anything like it in 30 years as a cattle breeder.

The calf's four-year-old mother had already gave birth to a normal and healthy calf.

"She's a very cute thing, beautiful, I see her as a pretty thing that God sent, he sent her as she is," Rosario Leyva, the wife of the farm's caretaker, told local television reporters.

The condition, known as Polycephaly, is incredibly rare, but can occur in both animals and humans.

Found here.

COSPLAY GODDESS: ILLIARA (PT. 2)

Illiara has created some truly amazing costumes. From The Pro to Cowboy Bebop, she takes inspiration from her favorite characters and brings them to life. Here she is as Cammy White from Street Fighter. Some people feel intimated or threatened by her creativity but Illiara marches to her own drum and lives life according to her own rules.

"I am a eclectic blend of cutesy girlish awkwardness, spry boyish recklessness, and ambiguous allure. I am a vagabond. Impulsivity makes me thrive. I like it when a person I am interested in has that same impulsivity. Let's go somewhere new together because not all who wander are lost! Fair warning: I am pretty easy to read when it comes to Mancandy and Chicklets (actually, I'm pretty much an open book) so if you continue to pursue me and I keep saying HELL NO in the politest of terms, it's probably for a reason ;)

I am known for being open, frank, outgoing and honest. Don't take everything I say personally, because I usually do not mean any harm. I appreciate living my life in a straightforward and simple manner -- I dislike social niceties and consider them to be hindrances to real communication. So if I seem like a bitch to you, it's probably because I don't feel obligated to treat you like my super special BFF (!) especially if I'm not even really that fond of you and you're just not used to that. This is not to say that I am an appalling cunt to strangers (I am rather nice actually) because I will do absolutely *anything* for my friends and those that I feel justified in helping. If I feel taken advantage of, I will likely smite you where you stand by the powers of my cosmic fabulosity. Deal with it.

I have lots and lots of energy and tend to become quite restless if I feel confined. I demand the freedom to do as I choose -- I must be self-directed or I feel trapped and anxious. I manifest my creative urges artistically through costume design, fashion, drawing, photography, and singing. With my abundant energy, I enjoy being outdoors and I am attracted to physical exercise or to those forms of sport that can help me burn off some of that excess energy. Usually this means "x-treme" sports: white water rafting, rock climbing, motorcycling, retarded impulses with friends (riding that sleigh-chair down a flight of stairs XD), etc. It also means floofy, girly things like gymnastics, dance, and rolling down big grassy hills.

Very gregarious, I love to socialize -- my innate enthusiasm livens up dull situations unless I for some reason am feeling self conscious. I pay great attention to details. I am always seeking perfection and sometimes get bogged down searching for the ultimate when adequacy would have been sufficient (this usually only applies to something I am creating or trying to achieve). I have a strong and enduring sense of personal responsibility and I prefer that others be at least as responsible as I am. I am exceedingly critical of myself. My personal growth occurs when I have the freedom to do things in new and interesting ways -- this brings out my natural inventiveness. I am an individualist.

Above all, I am unabashedly ME."

You can see more of Illiara's costumes on her deviantART page or friend her on MySpace.

NEW DISTRICT 9 PROMO TRAILER

Sony Pictures has released a new promotional trailer for the upcoming film, District 9. The film invades theaters August 14th, 2009.

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU SUPERMAN AND WONDER WOMAN

Tony Lucchese and Sarah LaFore love a big production. They met seven years ago while working on How to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying at the Oak Ridge Playhouse in Tennesee. He was the artistic director and she was a player in the show.

When he proposed, Tony Lucchese told Sarah LaFore that she was his kryptonite.

He gave her a green diamond ring. Then he got planning.

Then bridesmaids balked at fishnets and leotards.

They told LaFore: "We love you a lot, but we don't know if we love you enough to wear spandex."

Undaunted, Lucchese went back to work.

The script has been polished. The stage built. The costumes fitted.

Eighteen months in the making, today's the day for their superhero wedding.

"We're really hoping a lot of villains show up," LaFore said.

When the superhero idea first came up, they weren't even engaged. And neither is a huge comic-book fan. But Lucchese had a Superman T-shirt he wore a lot. He could work his hair into the perfect Supes' spit-curl.

And they both love a good production.

"It was a joke for a number of years," he said. "At some point we came to the painful realization it wasn't a joke anymore."

Lucchese decided early that great costumes would be key to pulling it off. He tracked down a New Jersey designer who's made costumes for theme parks and the Syfy Channel.

"Everyone involved is doing a few extra crunches and forgoing a few extra desserts during the week to pull off spandex," said best man Eric Kieschnick of Pennsylvania. "It's the opposite of a gut-hiding cummerbund."

Aquaman, Flash and Spider-Man round out the groomsmen. Ten bridesmaids will be Amazon warriors — in comic mythos, Wonder Woman is an Amazon princess — with spears, togas and sandals.

Two weeks ago, LaFore and Lucchese made an emergency trip to Jersey, down and back in one day, to tweak her costume.

"Paramount to having a successful wedding is having the bride feel pretty," he said.

He and volunteer carpenters built a Fortress of Solitude altar in a rented warehouse space in Portland. They'll be married by Kieschnick's father, dressed as Jor-El, Superman's dad. Part of the script borrows from Kryptonian wedding vows. The couple will break character to say, "I do."

"I watch him try to come up with ideas for certain things; I feel like I'm sitting on the sidelines like a groom," LaFore said. "I've loved every minute of it. I love that he's so excited about the planning."

They expect 85 guests and plan three cakes: One with Wonder Woman and Superman on top, one with Marvel figures and a third for DC characters. Instead of flowers, they'll decorate with superhero paraphernalia.

Lucchese said he turned to Casablanca Comics in Portland as a "sort of superhero library," with staff helping them find back issues like Action Comics' "Supergirl's Wedding Day." When he ordered posters from Canada to hang around the warehouse and they got stuck in U.S. Customs, the comic book store donated a bunch.

Lucchese spent the days leading up to Saturday on final touches, arranging enormous set pieces cut and painted to look like crystals, adjusting lights and cuing up sound.

For example, "When I put a little kryptonite shard (in a tube) to bring the fortress to life, I have some ringing crystal sounds," Lucchese said.

Kieschnick, who works in film and television, applauded his friends' "theatrical commitment."

Now that's a fun wedding! The crazy part is, neither one of them is a comic book fan.

Click here for the full article and more photos.

SCOPITONES SATURDAY: "I CRIED FOR YOU"

Lounge singer Sonny King loves women and it certainly shows in this Scopitone. King was Dean Martin's roommate when they were first trying to get into show business and introduced Martin to a young Jerry Lewis. King moved to Las Vegas and quickly became a fixture in the local clubs until his death. He died at age 83 on February 3, 2006 of cancer.