Do you believe in UFO’s?

This week’s post is from a guy in our marketing department, whom we like to call The Ladies Man, although that nickname has nothing to do with this post. He has agreed to be a guest blogger for us when he sees stories of interest he feels deserve to be shared—and discussed. Enjoy…

There was a recent story in the recent news—a UFO was spotted in China a couple of weeks ago. After watching the movie E.T. as a kid, I have always asked myself the question of whether or not life exists elsewhere in the universe; however, it has always been a stalemate.

So here are my arguments on why I cannot come up with a conclusion…

POSITION 1: UFOs Are Real

1) The universe is bigger than any of us can possibly imagine. NASA recently released a new photo of the entire galaxy using the latest and greatest technology, enabling them to take a picture 5 billion light years away. It would be selfish to think humans are the only inhabitants.
2) There are some really incredible Alien movies that make me want to believe there’s other life out there. I could go on forever on rants about these movies, but I will keep it short and say that my top three are The Abyss, Signs and Contact.
3) True TV. If you have ever been in “zombie” mode late at night and cannot sleep you have probably seen these shows. They are actual home videos of un-ordinary objects in the sky.


POSITION 2: UFOs Are Phony

1) If they were real, there would be some hard evidence! The True TV shows always get debunked by science.
2) The government would have told us by now if Area 51 was real. Trusting the government may be a challenge for some of us to grasp, but over the course of 50 years, someone would have leaked some juicy evidence by now, right?
3) Simple faith—God only created earth.
4) If the Aliens traveled light years to get here, they would do more than just a fly over. They would leave some sort of scientific footprint.


So…what do you believe?
And what are your favorite sci-fi movies that have aliens?

For all of you who not seen the UFO recently spotted in China here is the link for the news report.

For Six Years, I was LOST

Sunday night was the epic ending of LOST, an amazing six years of television. Of course, I had to DVR the finale because I can’t stay awake that late. I have now watched it twice.

LOST was truly an original show. When it first aired in September 2004, I was engrossed from the first night. I’m really glad they decided to do a re-cap show about the entire saga before the actual finale, because there were many things I had forgotten over the years.

One of the best features of the re-cap? Seeing the characters in their first season. Many of those actors were unknown or little known in the United States, other than Matthew Fox (Party of Five, anyone?). They all embraced their roles and totally evolved them into the characters we loved, hated, cried with and cheered for through all of the happenings on that bizarre island. In the finale, we see those fully evolved characters come together in love, which made for a great ending. My favorite moment involved Sun and Jin in the hospital with Juliette confirming their pregnancy. I also really enjoyed the emotional reunion between Charlie and Claire.

While the show was really about the characters, you can’t have a discussion about the show without contemplating all of the mysteries brought forth in the first few seasons. Like the polar bears in season 1. The numbers in season 2. And, of course, the Others. For a long time, I wondered if the island represented Purgatory. And while that may be true, I also think that perhaps the “flash sideways” was Purgatory. I’m also not sure why the candidates were identified by numbers in the first place. If anyone knows that answer, please feel free to share it with me!

For sure, I will miss the show. It was a unique concept that will be challenging to duplicate. It was intriguing, sometimes frustrating, but it was a great hour of television every week. I suppose, given my unanswered questions, I will happily remain forever “lost.”

Clash of the Titans—new and improved?

Last Friday, Clash of the Titans opened in theaters. With 3-D special effects and a cast headed up by actors Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, the movie is being set up as the next great remake. Early reviews from the critics are mixed, but if you like fantasy, especially fantasy based on mythology, you might want to check it out.

Many of you might remember the 1981 original Clash of the Titans film, which by today’s standards is pretty crude as far as special effects are concerned. The jerky stop-action sequences with its monsters will make younger moviegoers chuckle today; however, the movie did have the one-and-only Sir Lawrence Olivier as Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. And Ursula Andress—“the original Bond Girl”—starred as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. The movie tells the story of Perseus, who is sent on a quest to destroy the evil Medusa, a snake-headed creature able to turn men to stone with her horrifying gaze. Along the way he tames Pegasus, the beautiful winged horse, and he must rescue his love, Andromeda, from the horrible fate of having to marry a monster. If you saw the original film, it’s not hard to imagine why someone would want to remake it, although the original is a lot of fun to watch, and it’s safe to have your kids watch, too. Here’s an image of the original movie poster:



Greek mythology is rich with good stories and demons, quests and valiant heroes. It’s true that the story of Perseus isn’t as well known as the story of Hercules or even Jason, but it’s equally as interesting.

The flashy 2010 film version of this story promises to be a visual spectacle, complete with CGI script animation and all the bells and whistles. Sam Worthington from Avatar is now Perseus in this modern version. The trailers sure look impressive! We’re always game for a great fantasy film!

Here’s the bigger question—was a remake necessary? It’s like having one of your favorite high school or college tunes be remade by a modern band. Yes, the words are the same, and yes, the equipment used to produce the song is probably far superior, but somehow the magic of the original has been lost. When we checked IMDb to see how people rated the film, we noticed that men over 45 gave it the lowest marks. Not a surprise, given that it’s those folks who probably have a sentimental spot in their hearts for the original.

Then again, the remake could be fantastic! If you do go to see it, enjoy it. And if you still have a place in your heart for the original, then watch this remake with the same open mind you had when you saw the original. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Until next time…

Rob-sessed

Last week “New Moon” came out on DVD. For all of the “Twilight” book and movie fans, this was a big event. Here in the Hamilton office, some of us were a little surprised it wasn’t a much bigger event, because some folks here (who shall remain nameless) have become, well…Rob-sessed.

For those of you scratching your heads, Rob is Robert Pattinson, the British actor who plays Edward Cullen, the lead vampire in the “Twilight” movies. With a cult-like following, Edward has stolen the heart of just about every teen-aged girl around the globe. Well, we would like to prove that the Rob-session stretches to a demographic far beyond the tween and teen crowd. In our office, grown women are absolutely swept away by the character of Edward and the physical being of Rob. In fact, he is everywhere…

For those of us who are taller in the office (I’m 5’8”), you need only stand up and scan the cube maze to get a glimpse of Rob. We have not one but TWO life-sized cut-outs of Rob in the office. They move around from cube to cube, depending on what is going on in the office and who might be visiting the offices on any given day. Some of those here who are stricken with the Rob-session keep it well hidden from the general public, so when we have visitors, the life-sized cutouts move!

Here’s one…

Bet you didn’t know Edward was also a Yankees fan!

That’s the "Twilight" Edward, but we also have the “New Moon” Edward in life-sized silhouette…


Sorry for the darkness of that previous photo. I pulled Edward out of this person’s office and got a little better photo…


There are also numerous calendars, so a new image of Edward can be stared at every month! This person has multiple calendars in her office, because why stop at one when you can have two? There are also lots of photos and clips from magazines that hang on display all over the office.


Sometimes a calendar just isn’t big enough, so there are posters, too. We have a lot of Edward around here. Here are two posters that just about everyone sees every day. They are in prominent places around the office.



Some have dedicated their cube walls to Edward Cullen, like this person…


Yes, people around here are ROB-SESSED. Aside from all of the images, these folks are really knowledgeable about the man. They know everything about him! Just walk into the kitchen around lunch time and you’re bound to hear the latest Rob gossip.

It just goes to show that our collections here at Hamilton can and do go beyond our wonderful products! Now if we could only make Edward figurines…

We’ll write more soon!

On the Road to Megacon

MegaCon is short for Mega Convention drawing a respectable crowd and not just any crowd. MegaCon is a dream come true for the trekkies, anime followers, Star Wars fans, Star Wars troopers, comic book lovers, sci-fi film aficionados, and much more. You never can tell what you will run into around the next corner at MegaCon. It could be a full size Wookie, the Terminator, or even Speed Racer.

And this year I got to go. Little Me, Ruby! See, I am fortunate to have some very kind human friends who like to travel. Before this weekend, I had never left my hometown and boy I was excited to make my first road trip. We got up early Saturday morning and drove down to Orlando in hopes of seeing some of my sister fairies, meet new friends, and may be find a little romance.



From costumes and celebrities to models, magic and more the MegaCon show has it all. We walked down the hall of the Orlando Convention Center and through the doors and might as well have stepped into another galaxy. My journey through MegaCon lasted most of the day and we met some awesome new friends. The walls were lined with memorabilia and every gizmo and gadget from your favorite show, comic, and film. In short . . . I loved it and highly recommend you do not pass the opportunity to attend next year’s MegaCon in 2011 as I will be there too! Enjoy the pictures I have posted here and share with me some of your own pictures and stories from MegaCon 2010.



When we were waiting in line to purchase our admission tickets, we met “Primative American” as he likes to be called.



My first stop was to see my Jasmine sisters. It was great to have a family reunion and we even got some shopping in at the same time.







Go Speed Racer! How cool this was. He even let me sit in his real Mach 5 Speed Racer!



This is Stanley Morrison. He is an extremely talented dragon artist. I love his artwork.



Caution Lego train crossing!



I even got to meet R2D2! We were doing the moon walk together when R2D2 had a sudden short circuit. I went flying across the room and was not the most graceful fairy when I landed.



I am okay, just a broken leg. Who wants to be the first one to sign my cast?

The Making of the Modern Megacon

The annual Megacon is being held this weekend at the Orlando Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Tomorrow is the kickoff day for this weekend-long event. For those of you who don’t know, Megacon is short for “Mega Convention.” Featuring comic book and fantasy artists from around the world, this show is expected to attract over 20,000 people to its 156,000 square feet of space devoted to a wide range of fantasy genres, including comics, gaming, sci-fi and anime.

Here at Hamilton Fantasy, some of us thought it was important to share its beginnings and share some of the attractions attendees can expect to discover at this year’s show. So without further delay, here is a brief history lesson…

Megacon was first held in 1993. It has always been held in Orlando, and what was once a small local event has grown into one of the larger conventions in the United States. Different groups have controlled and operated the event over the years. In 1999, James Breibiel sold the event to CrossGen Comics, who assumed control of the show beginning with the 2000 event. CrossGen hired a former school teacher, Beth Widera, to run the event. At that time, Megacon had a clear CrossGen bias and was heavily focused on its own content, which experts believed negatively impacted the show’s ability to draw a wide range of industry talent. In 2003, the company ran into serious financial troubles involving freelancer payments and put Megacon up for sale. It was Beth Widera who came to the rescue, buying Megacon for an undisclosed sum. She has owned and operated the event ever since, smartly growing the event and garnering attention from publishers throughout the industry.

This year, some notable celebrities will be making appearances at the show. James Hong, from The Day the Earth Stood Still, will be available for photos and will sign autographs. For fans of the Back to the Future series of movies, both Lea Thompson and Claudia Wells will be at the show. Trekkies will surely not want to miss Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura in the original Star Trek series. And for the Star Wars lovers out there, plan on catching a glimpse of Jeremy Bulloch, who played the iconic Boba Fett, and Peter Mayhew, who was the man behind Chewbacca! For a full list of media guests, click here.

Comic book fans and collectors who visit the show this year will be treated to a line up of great artists behind so many famous books. There are too many to list, so click here for a full listing.

Now we realize some of you may be traveling to Megacon for other reasons. Maybe you’re hoping to see Jasmine Becket-Griffith—she will be there painting, of course! Maybe you love the fanfare and seeing all the people who come in costume. Trust us, there will be plenty of good people-watching at this show! To make sure you all don’t miss anything, we found a great Top 10 at About.com. Check it out…

The Top 10 Things To Do At A Comic Book Convention

Enjoy the convention this year…we certainly will. We’ll post some photos next week on Facebook, and we’d love to see yours, too!

Alice In Wonderland Is Finally Here

The big day is finally here! Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland premieres today, and we’re really excited here at Hamilton Fantasy!

Tim Burton’s sometimes unconventional approach to film is sure to be a great fit for this classic yet peculiar tale by Lewis Carroll. In this story, Alice returns to Wonderland as a more mature 19-year old and finds herself on a mission to defeat the evil Red Queen. You may have seen the trailers, or, at the very least, seen that strange maniacal face of Johnny Depp in full makeup as the Mad Hatter!

To celebrate the premiere of this film, we found some interesting trivia on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website, which we have posted here.

• Actress Mia Wasikowska beat out several candidates for the role of Alice, including Amanda Seyfried and Lindsay Lohan, who lobbied for the role.

• This film marks the 7th time Johnny Depp has worked under the direction of Tim Burton and the 6th time for Helena Bonham Carter.

• This marks the 3rd time Michael Gough has come out of retirement to appear in a film by Tim Burton. This also marks his 5th film under Burton's direction.

• Despite the fact that there have been many other Alice in Wonderland films, Tim Burton have said that he never felt a emotional connection to it and always thought it was a series of some girl wondering around from one crazy character to another. So with this, he attempted to create a framework, an emotional grounding, which he felt he never really had seen in any version before. Tim said that was the challenge for him - to make Alice feel like a story as opposed to a series of events.

• Tim Burton and Johnny Depp worked hard to give the Mad Hatter more depth and presence than in past portrayals. In fact, the pair swapped sketches and themes for the character prior to creating this new version.

• In the trailer, it is visible that the Mad Hatter has mismatched pupils. The right one is dilated and the left one is not. Medically speaking, that implies serious brain injury.

• Helena Bonham Carter stated on a February 17, 2010 "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (2005) show that two weeks before its premiere, Tim Burton was still working on the movie.

Click here to enjoy more trivia for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.