My first post of the new year is actually not about Ghostbusters. This is a personal post, and one that won't even be of much use to the large percentage of you who live outside of the New York area, but it's something that I'm proud of, and wanted to make a special mention of it.

My parents, Linda & Joel Rudoff, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this past Tuesday. Their anniversary will be announced in the LI Life section of the Sunday January 2nd issue of Newsday. That's tomorrow, for those of you playing along at home. Although the newspaper is available on Long Island and in the City, I think the LI Life section might only be in the Long Island edition. I mean, that would certainly make sense given the name of the section.

Anyway, I'm very proud that my parents have made it this long, especially given the run of bad health they've both had these past two years. I know that they won't make it another 35 years, but I'm wishing them all the best to make it to the big 50th anniversary.

Newsday already published the announcement on their website on December 27, 2010 at 2:23 PM, correctly listed under Nassau County anniversaries, and also incorrectly under Suffolk County anniversaries, but without the photograph that should be published in tomorrow's paper.

35th
LINDA AND JOEL RUDOFF of East Rockaway were married Dec. 28, 1975. Linda is a retired home health care nurse, and Joel is a retired custodian at Nassau County Medical Center. They have two children.

[UPDATE - 1/2/2011]
Here's a scan of the anniversary announcement from today's newspaper. The photo isn't the greatest because I didn't have the best photo of them available to submit.


[UPDATE - 2/6/2011]
Newsday also owns the local This Week's Pennysaver publication, which is a free newspaper consisting mostly of advertisements. In the February 5, 2011 Lynbrook Edition, on page 6, my parent's anniversary announcement was reprinted in the "Your Special Occasions" section. The text is exactly the same as what was in Newsday, but the photo is now in black and white and has been zoomed-in a little bit. Neither my parents nor myself had any idea that the anniversary announcement was going to be republished in the Pennysaver, so it came as a great surprise when we all looked through it today. Thank goodness we didn't throw it out sight unseen, like I'm sure some people do.

On a somewhat related note, searching Newsday.com for my last name shows me that they have my sister Michelle listed as part of the East Rockaway High School Class of 2003 and that there's a monetary music award named after me: the Paul Rudoff Award (worth $750). Actually, it's not named after me, but someone with the exact same name - and the spelling of my last name isn't that common - who was the founding conductor of the Island Senior Symphony. I believe I know of this other Paul Rudoff. He's probably the guy I saw in the obituaries many years ago. Let me tell you, it can really scare the hell out of you to see your name in big bold letters in the obituary section of the newspaper. It's even scarier when you consider that he came from Westbury, NY and I grew up in Westbury, NY; and (from what I've read) he contributed in some manner to the private elementary school that I used to attend. It's a real shame that we never met when he was alive. It's even more of a shame that I can't win the monetary award that bears my name.

GBMax Massimo from Ghostbusters Mania has done one of the coolest things I have ever seen. In fact, in my 14+ years of being in the Ghostbusters online community, I don't remember anyone else ever doing this. He decorated his Christmas tree with home-made Ghostbusters community decorations. Not just one or two, but at least a couple DOZEN of them! There are ornaments for Spook Central, Proton Charging, Ghostbusters Fans, Ghostbusters News, the Ghostheads podcast, the Cleaning Up The Town fan documentary, MANY of the franchises (too many to mention here), a few prop art ornaments (spy the Proton Pack in the collage below), a few cleverly-designed cast/crew character ornaments (Robin Shelby's Slimer, William Bryan's Stay Puft, Jim Fye's Miss Liberty), some official pieces (the Hallmark Ecto-1 ornament, the action figure trap), and lots, LOTS more.

The collage below will give you a taste of the awesomeness, but I highly suggest that you check out the full gallery over on Facebook. I am especially touched that he made a Spook Central ornament. It gives me the warm fuzzies to be thought of and appreciated like that. He even added a Spook Central logo to the back of his cute little Ghostbusters Mania Ectomobile (thanks to Massimo for the large photo, smaller photos of the car can be found in this Facebook gallery). Coolest... Car... Ever! I'm really honored, Massimo.

The only suggestion I would have is for Massimo to release printables of the decorations (with instructions) for the other Ghostheads who may want to do the same thing next year. Share the awesomeness! Special thanks goes out to Doreen Mulman for telling me about this.

Actress Jennifer Runyon is best known to Ghostbusters fans as Jennifer, the pretty blonde student Peter was hitting on when he administered the not-so-scientific ESP test at the beginning of the movie. There are a few videos of Jennifer's other works up on YouTube, and I thought I'd assemble them in one place for anyone who may be interested in seeing them.

First up is an in-progress clip of Jennifer being interviewed by Merv Griffin circa 1984/1985. The person being spoken about at the beginning of the clip is her father, the late DJ Jim Runyon.


The interview above was conducted while Jennifer was starring on the Scott Baio television series "Charles In Charge". Jennifer's character, Gwendolyn Pierce ... GWENDOLYN PIERCE!, only appeared in the first season on CBS, which ran from 1984 to 1985. When the series came back in syndication for its second season in 1987, her character was no longer on the show - and neither was the family Charles was originally in charge of! Season 1 is available on DVD.

1984 was a very busy year for Jennifer. Besides Charles In Charge, Ghostbusters, and being interviewed by Merv Griffin, she also starred in the feature film Up The Creek alongside Tim Matheson and Stephen Furst (both of Animal House fame). According to IMDB, our very own Frank Welker is also in the film as the voice of Chuck the Wonder Dog. Sadly, this film is not on DVD, but the old VHS tape is still available (if you're willing to pay astronomical prices for it).

A few years later, in 1988, Jennifer had a role in the George Burns/Charlie Schlatter body-swap film 18 Again!. Here's a clip of Jennifer dancing with Charlie Schlatter. This film is available on DVD.

Last week's episode of Jim Belushi's new series The Defenders, entitled "Nevada v. Dennis" (airdate 12/8/2010), featured a special guest appearance. Prominently sitting on Belushi's character's desk was a bottle of Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka. Jim and Dan are very good friends going way, way back. Not only has Dan guest starred several times on Jim's previous series According to Jim, but Jim's brother, the late John Belushi, and Dan worked on many projects back in the day: Saturday Night Live, 1941, Neighbors (John's final film), and this little thing called The Blues Brothers. Dan and Jim even had (still have?) a "Blues Brothers" type band, and Jim was originally set to co-star with Dan and John Goodman in Blues Brothers 2000, but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts. And, heck, the role of Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters was originally written for John; and it's been said that Onionhead/Slimer was modeled after his character, Bluto, in Animal House. So with the long history of friendship between Dan and the Belushi family, it's no surprise that Jim would sneak a bottle of Dan's vodka into his show.

Earlier this year as I was doing some frame grabs from both movies I saw a few goofs that I hadn't noticed before. I stopped noting goofs on this website a long, long time ago, as there were way too many to keep track of, but I wanted to make a quick post to note these new ones that I found.

GHOSTBUSTERS - While the guys and the head librarian are walking through the main room of the library, a set light and light deflector screen can be seen in the upper right corner of the screen.


GHOSTBUSTERS II - During the baby carriage chase a guy on a bicycle falls down. When Dana falls down shortly thereafter, the bicycle is nowhere to be seen in one shot, and then right next to her in the next.




GHOSTBUSTERS II - When Louis is waiting for the bus, the Bus Stop sign next to him has small text on the side facing away from the direction that the bus is coming from. When the shot changes towards the direction of the bus, thus showing us that side of the sign head-on, it now had a bus logo on it with the words "Bus Stop - No Standing" on a gray background.

Way back in September 1986 Columbia Pictures Television presented "Real Ghostbusters Day" at the Ambassador Hotel (3400 Wilshire Boulevard) in Los Angeles in conjunction with the LA Science Fiction and Comic Book Convention. The promotion was to draw attention to The Real Ghostbusters, the then-new animated television series that, as we all know, would appear on the ABC TV Network that Fall on Saturday mornings. Old-School Ghosthead Peter Mosen was asked to be there to help with the festivities, and recently he was nice enough to pass along the photos seen above for me to share with all of you. Photos #2 and #3 are official Columbia publicity photos from the event, as you can see from the captions beneath them. According to Peter, the guy with the glasses in the first photo is Dan Harary of Columbia Pictures Television and the rest, he believes, are members of his staff.

According to Peter, at the event they showed some of the cartoon, gave out flyers, and had the original Ecto-1 on display in the parking lot (which Peter poses with in the photos). Peter was able to get lots of reference shots of the vehicle, inside and out, which enabled him to fabricate his own vehicles. "Technically I built three. My original '66 ambulance with a very limited budget in 1984, the replica '59 ambulance for my touring and appearances in 1989, and the refit of my original to Ecto-1A which wound up in Buenos Aires, Argentina in '90."

Peter told me that since The Ambassador Hotel itself was said to be haunted, he stayed overnight to investigate, but had nothing to report when the morning came. Unfortunately, he won't have the chance to investigate any further as the legendary hotel was demolished in 2005 to make way for a few schools. A wake for the hotel was held on February 2, 2006 at the Gaylord Apartments and adjoining restaurant H.M.S. Bounty, directly across the street from the Ambassador. Actress Diane Keaton, who was one of many who fought for the preservation of the hotel, was among the speakers at the ceremony.

Los Angeles, CA -- December 7, 2010 -- With the city quaking in fear and no help in sight, who ya gonna call? Atari, one of the world's most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, is once again answering the call for gamers everywhere by delivering the first ever Ghostbusters digital title, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. In conjunction with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStationNetwork, and Windows PC Download at Atari.com, in Spring 2011.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost-busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. Players will suit up with their proton packs and assume the role of a rookie hired by the Ghostbusters to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions.

The action-packed gameplay progresses as players complete jobs as fearless rookies who explore a series of haunted environments that must be cleared of any ectoplasmic threats. The gripping adventure rages on as players encounter gigantic bosses that require a concentrated effort to defeat using a medley of highly destructive weapons including the Proton Stream, Plasma Inductor, and the Fermion Shock. Rookie Ghostbusters will face the dangers of the eerie world alone or with a ghostbusting team of friends both locally or online through the game's multiplayer capability.

"Following the success of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, we are committed to continuing the lore of the Ghostbusters franchise with Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime," says Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari, Inc. "In Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, we are introducing an entirely new look and gameplay experience on digital platforms that will impress new and loyal Ghostbusters fans alike."

"We are more than pleased to see Ghostbusters continue to thrive in the video game space with the upcoming release of Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime," said Mark Caplan, Vice President Interactive, Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Atari has been an incredible partner in helping us re-establish this beloved film franchise."

Developed by Behavior Studios, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be available in Spring 2011. For more information, please log onto www.atari.com or www.atari.com/gbsanctumofslime.

About ATARI, SA
Atari group is a global creator, producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Atari's brands and content are available across all key traditional and digital distribution touch points, including browser-based and social online platforms, PC, consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, and advanced smart phones (i.e. iPhone, Android and RIM devices).

Divisions of Atari, SA include Cryptic Studios, Eden Studios, Atari Interactive, Inc. and Atari, Inc. Atari benefits from the strength of its worldwide brand and its extensive catalogue of contemporary classic game franchises (Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Lunar Lander), original owned franchises (Test Drive, Backyard Sports, Deer Hunter), MMO games from Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions) and third party franchises (Ghostbusters, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Dungeons and Dragons). Atari also leverages the power of its franchises to deliver movies and merchandise to consumers around the world.

For more information please visit: www.atari.com
© 2010 Atari Europe SASU. All rights reserved.
Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House celebrated its 100th anniversary back in 2007, and to mark the momentous occasion - one which almost didn't happen had the building been demolished back in 1979 like some had wanted - the U.S. General Services Administration commissioned a short film on the building's history entitled Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House: 100 Years of Grandeur. The seventeen-and-a-half-minute short can be viewed in its entirety on the GSA website, who is graciously making DVD copies available to interested parties.

The 1907 Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York, New York, is one of the more than 200 legacy properties under GSA's stewardship. The film is part of GSA's efforts to support the Executive Order 13287, "Preserve America", which encourages Americans to explore and enjoy our nation's heritage. It was produced for the Center for Historic Buildings, Office of the Chief Architect by the Video and Broadcasting Team, Office of Citizen Services and Communications. DVD copies are available by contacting historic.buildings@gsa.gov.

I received my free DVD simply by sending a short message to that e-mail address asking for a copy, and providing my mailing address. I don't know if the offer is only available to U.S. residents - I would assume it is - but if you're outside of the U.S., it doesn't hurt to ask. Just post a comment here to let everyone know whether it's a yay or a nay.

The professionally-made DVD-R (the label is actually printed on the disc) is housed inside a black slim jewel case with a dual-sided front insert. At the end of this post are scans of the insert and the disc. The disc contents are as follows:

• Welcome (2:10) (16:9 Widescreen)
  A brief welcome message from Helen Post Curry, the great granddaughter of architect Cass Gilbert.
• Program (17:29) (16:9 Widescreen)
  This is the short video that can be viewed online detailing the history of the building. Broken up into four chapters: Prime Real Estate, Design Of The Times, Building Beauty, and Facing The Future. It has English subtitles which can be turned on and off manually.
• Photographs (4:42) (4:3 Fullscreen)
  A slideshow of 68 photographs separated into two categories: Exteriors (38 images) and Interiors (30 images). All photographs were taken by Carol M. Highsmith Photography, Inc. I think that there might be one or two duplicate photos.
• Relighting Ceremony Speech Highlights (May 8, 2007) (5:17) (4:3 Fullscreen)
  Labeled as "Relighting Ceremony" in the menu, this is not the entire relighting ceremony, but rather just speech highlights. So you really don't get a feel for what the ceremony was like at all. Nor do you see anything being lit, though the video closes with a still shot of the front of the building all lit up. The seven speakers you'll hear from are: Mistress of Ceremonies Emily R. Baker (Regional Administrator, General Services Administration); Kathleen Farrell-Willoughby (Clerk of the Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York); Susan Mitchell (Director of Field Operations, New York U.S. Customs and Border Protection); John Haworth (Director, George Gustav Heye Center, Smithsonian Institution, NMAI); Frank Santiago (Executive Vice President and General Manager, General Lighting Division, Osram Sylvania, Inc); Randy Sabedra (RS Lighting Design); and Michael Colotti (Vice President, Brand Management & Marketing Communications) [interview excerpts]. At 1:04 Kathleen Farrell-Willoughby mentions Ghostbusters (leaving out the "2") and other films shot at the Custom House - asking if they would be the same if the building had been demolished.

(UPDATE - This disc was later added to the Spook Central Disc Preservation Project.)

By all accounts, it was 100 years ago today, on October 2, 1910, that Fire Station #23 in Los Angeles, California opened for firefighting business. Ghostheads would know it best as the shooting location for the interiors of Ghostbusters Headquarters in both movies, and as the birthday party interior in Ghostbusters II. Of the two firehouses used in both movies, L.A. 23 is the oldest by two years.

There are many who never would have thought that the firehouse would still be standing today. From what I understand, it's not in the best of shape. As far as I know, the city of Los Angeles owns the building, but they don't take active care of it, so paying for its upkeep isn't very high on their list of priorities. The building's caretaker is a man named Daniel Taylor, who has put together the Corporation for History, Art and Culture as a way of helping to raise funds to cover the costs of maintaining the building.

If you'd like to learn more about the history of Fire Station #23, go to LAFire.com. If you'd like to take a virtual tour, check out the videos uploaded by some fans to GBFans.com.

Jason Hughes and Luke Crisalli (with guest Pat Harmon) over at the Ghostheads podcast released their 16th episode this past Friday, and I am honored that they spent a couple of minutes talking about Spook Central's 14th Anniversary in the broadcast (from 25:55-28:06). It nearly brought a tear to my eye listening to what the guys had to say. I'm touched...really.

You can listen to the Spook Central excerpt by clicking on the little play arrow/button above, or if you have a desire to hear about Ghostbusters, Bjork, and liquefied gummy bears - and who doesn't? - head over to the Ghostheads site to listen to the entire 36-minute episode.