Tommy Dreamer Wrestles In Nitro, OSCAR's Botched Memorial And More Photos From DC

The PopCulteer
March 3, 2012

Hardcore Wrestling legend, Tommy Dreamer, will face our old buddy, Man Man Pondo, in Nitro Saturday night for IWA East Coast.  Dreamer made his mark as the "Innovator Of Violence" in ECW, later moving on to WWE and TNA.  He's facing Mad Man Pondo in the main event of a loaded card.

"The Dark Child" Chance Prophet will face Omega Aaron Draven, and Two Tuff Tony will meet "The Bulldozer" Matt Tremont. Check out the video below the show poster. There are loads of other great matches scheduled for the night.

Tickets are fifteen bucks for ringside seats, ten for general admission. A meet-and-greet will take place at 6 PM. That's an extra five dollars for exclusive access to the wrestlers an hour before bell time.

It all happens at King's Outreach Center (formerly Nitro High School), 302 21st St., Nitro. Advance tickets can be pruchased through IWA East Coast.com.



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OSCAR Snubs The Dead

One of the highlights of the OSCAR telecast for many people is the "In Memorium" seegment, where the Academy pays tribute to stars who have passed away in the last year.  This year they really dropped the ball. All of the folks in this video, compiled by MadWorld1427 at YouTube.  Sadly, he also leaves out James Arness.

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My Trip To DC: Part Two

Last week your PopCulteer brought you the first half of a photo essay of a trip to our nation's capitol. This week we pick up where we left off, in the Fashion Centre Mal in Pentagon City. We took the trip to see the excellent show, "The Elephant Room" at Arena Stage, but we had lot's of adventures along the way. So let's get back to the photo phun, shall we?

Stores We Don't Have Here

[caption id="attachment_7528" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I think this was some sort of high-tech fruit stand or something."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7529" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Some of those jeans were so tight you could tell a person's true religion."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7530" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="No meth in this store. Apparently it's not that kind of crystal. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7531" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This place had lots of hatz, necklazes and brazletz."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7532" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Who knew they were even still in business?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7533" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="We used to have one of these. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7534" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="It's pronounced "Ko-tur," not "Cooter." Word to the wise. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7535" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Not a store, but I wanted to post one more shot of the cool light-up stairs at Signature Theater in Shirlington."][/caption]

Off To See The Show

The reason for our trip was to see the hysterical magic show, "The Elephant Room."  Imagine if Tenacious D and The Trailer Park Boys did magic. That's what it was like. Dennis Diamond, Louie Magic and Darryl Hannah treated us to a night of magic, illusion, thrills, breakfast food, lapsed rehab incidents and country balladeering.

The show took place in a basement rec room from Patterson, New Jersey, ripped out of the ground, loaded on a flatbed truck, and propped up on cinder blocks on stage. After the show, the guys ran out and assaulted people leaving the theater with their merchandise stand.  We need to bring these guys in to FestivALL.

I did not get any cool shots of the outside of Arena Stage, so we're leading of with a shot I took in daylight last year...

[caption id="attachment_5458" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Arena Stage is housed in a building constructed by one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, George Jetson."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7536" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This is not only really artsy, but it also demonstrates the fact that I didn't take the good camera with me to the theater."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7537" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="We didn't see the show "Red," about the life of artist, Mark Rothko, but they had cool red costumes from their past productions on display all over the theater."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7538" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="See."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7539" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="They also had artistic tributes to Rothko, done by attendees, hanging all over the place."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7540" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This is a cool-looking support beam that holds up the Jetsonsy part of the building."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7541" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Dennis Diamond, one of the magicians from "The Elephant Room" hawking merchandise in the hall outside the show. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7542" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Darryl Hannah, some guy, Diamond and Louie Magic, posing for a photo."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7543" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Louie Magic hawks more merchadise to the guy who wanted the group photo, while Darryl Hannah pumps his fist."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7544" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Still hawking (not Stephen). "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7545" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Diamond again, listening to Mel pitch FestvALL as a possible venue."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7546" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=""Is that a camera?""][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7547" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=""Hell! That IS a camera!""][/caption]

The Return Trip: Google Maps Can Bite Me

Our hotel was conveniently located four blocks from I 395 in Arlington. Mel and I decided to get directions from Google Maps before we left the hotel. This did not turn out so well.

[caption id="attachment_7549" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Twenty minutes from the hotel, we figured out that we might not be headed to I 395. Photo by Melanie Larch."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7550" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Yep. That would be The Washinton Monument peeking out behind that tree, not the entrance ramp to the interstate. Photo by Melanie Larch."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7551" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="We're lost. Let's pull into the parking lot of that oddly-shaped building and turn around. Photo by Melanie Larch."][/caption]

It was at this point that we embarked on a tour of every red light in Washington D.C.  We made it through the historic areas, Georgetown, and even the shady part with all the criminals, K Street.  Eventually we made it to the interstate 90 minutes behind schedule. Ten minutes later, we again followed Google Maps directions for a one-hour tour of Maryland, even though we both knew better than to trust those directions.  I turned the wheel over to Mel four and a half hours, and 60 miles, from where we left.

[caption id="attachment_7552" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="It's Billy The Mountain!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7553" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Not bad for a shot taken from a car doing 70 MPH."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7554" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Even better. Looks like a shot from an HO-scale train layout. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7555" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="What the hell is that?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7556" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Oh! It's a replica of Noah's Ark. That doesn't look like it would hold many animals, or keep water out. Maybe it's a metaphorical ark. "][/caption]

We Need One Of These Stores In Charleston

We made a stop in Hagerstown on the way back and found a Five Below store. We'd been in one in Canonsburg, PA before, and were instantly won over.  We could really use one of these here in Charleston. They'd be a great fit at The Shoppes at Kanawha. This store offers every item for five bucks or less. They carry quality stuff and even have a vintage candy section.  Take a look...

[caption id="attachment_7557" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="De promised land!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7558" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Nothing more than a measly five bucks!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7559" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Clean, well-lit stores with cool stuff. Can't beat that. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7560" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Action figures next to a wall of tin mini-lunch boxes featuring South Park, Beavis and Butthead and Jack Kirby's Captain America, among others. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7561" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="DVDs, all under five bucks. Good stuff, too. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7562" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Notice how nice and bright the place is. Not like Dollar General, which has the ambiance of a flea market in the bad part of town."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7563" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Crazy electric gadgets like all you kids buy. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7564" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Note that it's a "Party" section next to a "Media" section. They do not sell Party Meds at Five Below. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7565" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="They even had the rare Jim Morrison as Wolverine magnet!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7566" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Mini skateboards, about 14 inches long, for five bucks. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7567" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A whole wall of magic tricks and jokes. Whoopee cushions, fake poop and fake vomit galore!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_7568" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="We take one last look back, having dropped almost seventy dollars in the place. We really need one of these here. "][/caption]

That's About it, Folks!

Remember to check back for Sunday Evening Videos and Monday Morning Art, and early next week, the long-gestating Radio Free Charleston 150! Before we go, we want to share with you the final fortune cookie of deceased propaganda merchant, Andrew Breitbart....