Gotham City, NJ: More Evidence!

After my post GOTHAM CITY, NJ? last year became one of the most popular here at The Sexy Armpit (excluding this one of course), I found yet another piece of evidence to back up my theory that Gotham City is actually in New Jersey. If you haven’t seen the Star Ledger Live/NJ.com video where they interview me about my theory, check it out right here: http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2011/11/could_batmans_gotham_city_real.html and here http://www.nj.com/ledgerlive/index.ssf/2011/11/gotham_city_new_jersey_yes_bat.html

If you aren’t familiar with this, there is quite a lot of evidence to prove that Batman actually operates out of New Jersey rather than New York. The trend seemed to start in the mid to late ’80s and early ’90s. As I detailed in the original post there were several occasions that dropped clues and even blatant facts that Gotham was indeed meant to be in NJ. Now, with the release of The Dark Knight Rises upon us, there’s even more of a reason to finally let go of the past and embrace change.

New York City is the greatest city in the world, there’s no doubt about it. It’s sickening amount of notoriety and fame will last eons. Let us, The Garden State, be proud of our connection with Batman – whether it’s a theory of an underground blogger or not. We in Jersey didn’t ask for MTV’s Jersey Shore. How much do you like guidos? That’s exactly how much New Jersey likes them. No silly MTV show being filmed here can ever compare to the fact that The Dark Knight Rises was filmed literally right down the highway in Newark, NJ.

Sandy Hook - Gotham City 

Onto the further evidence that has been collected. I initially discovered this information back in December 2011, but I kept this one under wraps until we arrived at July 2012, in time for the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. The excellent horror blogger and movie reviewer Chuck Conry over at Zombies Don’t Run posted several pictures he found of a package containing promotional materials from The Dark Knight Rises marketing campaign. The package included a Bane T-Shirt as well as a map of Gotham. Posted above is a shot of this map that depicts a very familiar HOOK.

I’m not referring to Captain Hook or the memorable part of a song…I’m talking about my favorite barrier island: Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook is clearly labeled on the promo Gotham map. While this is simply Batman’s movie continuity, there’s still lots of clues in the comics as well. Take for instance Nightwing’s ‘hood, Bludhaven. The crime infested city has been pinpointed by DC Comics as southern New Jersey, possibly Little Egg Harbor, Brigantine, or Atlantic City. There we have hints in the movies and the comics, but what about the ’60s Batman TV show? Yep, we have that covered as well!
In New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments 27 you can read how BATMAN AND NEW GUERNSEY are PURRRFECT TOGETHER!!! 

I was in Newark while the filming of the movie was taking place and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had (Thanks to @BrianDonohue). Walking the streets and seeing Gotham City street signs and passing police cars with Gotham City license plates was incredible, especially since I’m a life long Batmaniac. Needless to say I’ve got my tickets for The Dark Knight Rises and this film is going to be memorable for me for a couple of reasons. Not only is it the last film starring Bale as Batman, but it features plenty of scenes in the subways of Newark and a big fight scene on the steps of Newark’s City Hall! 
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I don’t think you can argue with the piece of evidence posted above. If I convinced my man Eric and his young daughter from all the way across the country in Cali into believers, then that means it’s the real deal! Follow him on Twitter Twitter.com/BubbaShelby ! And if all of my research has proven true, then The Dark Knight Rises is truly a homecoming for Batman. Please feel free to weigh in with your opinion on the actual location of Gotham City!

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Batman Broadcast on WWOR Channel 9

Batman WWOR 9 TV Guide Ad

Constantly claiming that things were always better 15-20 years ago is a habit that I never wanted to get into. While it’s not true in some cases, everything always does seem better in hindsight. The music sounded better, movies were more entertaining, and in this case, there was more to watch on TV – even though I only had 6 channels. Nowadays, with a copious amount of programming options, like 800 channels worth, it’s no cliche to say that I still can’t find anything to watch.

When I was a kid I remember the period of time when we did not have cable TV. Although cable was gaining popularity, we held out. At that time, we secretly lusted for channels like HBO, MTV, and Nickelodeon. We eventually convinced my Dad to let us get cable, but I remember being fine with the typical broadcast channels. WPIX 11 was one of my favorites because they always showed cool reruns and great afternoon movies, but I was also loyal to WWOR 9. Channel 9 relocated to Secaucus NJ in the early ’80s and my family and I would pass the building all the time on our way to visit with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

If you aren’t from Jersey then it’s difficult to fully understand how slighted we are media wise. We are a state so jammed with people and yet if you live in the northern and central regions of the eastern part of the state,we have to watch New York stations and those to the south and west watch Philadelphia stations. What the hell is that about? The minute you drive down to southwest Jersey everyone is in love with the Philadelphia Eagles and watches Philly TV news broadcasts. Never made sense to me.

Channel 9 had the same annoying problem that the old Giants Stadium and New Meadowlands Stadium have. People always refer to them as being in New York. Why do we even have MAPS!?! Talk about being a state that gets crapped on. Can’t we just have our own things? New Jersey is the Peter Brady of the United States.

The above ad is just an example of how great channel 9 was. Not only did they offer quality programming but also created amusing ads for the TV Guide! It goes to show how cool the ad was since I kept in for over 20 years now. I used to get so excited when The 1966 Batman movie was on TV. Several years later channel 9 became even more awesome to me when The Howard Stern Show premiered. And people who weren’t aware or didn’t care still thought Secaucus was in New York City.

College Humor’s Dark Knight 1960’s Version

Being such a hardcore fan of the campy ’60s Batman TV series, I normally would be disgruntled after watching a video that makes fun of the show, but I couldn’t help laughing at this one. College Humor strikes again with their version of The Dark Knight film done in ’60s TV series style. I would recast the guy who’s supposed to be Adam West though.

To The Jersey Shore, Robin!

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Many Jersey folks refer to the beach as “the shore,” it’s just something we do. Some people wear socks with sandles, we call the beach “the shore.” Some people still bring fanny packs fastened around their gut that’s hanging over their waaay too small seafoam green bathing trunks, while some middle aged women are parading around in front of other beach goers lacking the proper butt cheek coverage. You can tell when a woman isn’t from around here when she’s wearing what Paul Stanley refers to as “butt floss.” 

At the Jersey Shore, some people don’t give a crap if they kick sand in your face as they pass you. And then SOME PEOPLE BRING A MUTHAF–IN’ BATMAN TOWEL THAT THEY BOUGHT AT WALMART. (Me) So, I got news for you lousy people who have no common courtesy and kick sand around while walking: If you see a guy laying on a Batman towel, watch out because you might get a batarang flung at your ass. And nobody wants to see your gut, you beached whale.

Do you think I should soil this awesome rectangular piece of heavenly bat material by bringing it to the dirty Jersey Shore, or should I keep it sheltered in the linen closet at home as it anxiously awaits it’s chance to soak up the water particles off my squeaky clean body after I shower?
Summer is almost here so break out your bootleg of “Surf’s Up, Joker’s Under,” and as the Joker said…”Cowaboonga!”

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.8: Batman and New Guernsey Purrrfect Together!

Before Gotham City set up shop in Chicago in The Dark Knight, it was always widely thought to be inspired by New York City. Even though never explicitly defined, Gotham was similar to New York City and Metropolis seemed to be a mirror of Chicago. No matter where these imaginary cities are actually intended to be is up to the imagination of the comic book writers and their readers. The same goes for superhero adventures on the big screen and in this case, full color Television!

The ’60s live action Batman TV series frequently threw in parodies on names of real people and places. To the west of Gotham City was “New Guernsey,” which served as the New Jersey of the Batman dimension. New Guernsey is shown on a street sign in the episode “Scat, Darn Catwoman,” which aired in January of 1967.

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Julie Newmar can sit on her golden cat throne forever because she’s the sexiest, most seductive, and sly Catwoman to ever play the role. How could we allow such feline failures in the past? Was there any reason for the Lee Meriwether’s, Eartha Kitt’s, and Halle Berry’s when we could’ve just reused old footage of Julie Newmar? If it wasn’t for Tim Burton resurrecting Selina Kyle as some kind of Cat-Zombie, Pfeiffer would be on the exact same level as Newmar. What can I say, I’m traditional, I don’t enjoy my women as much after they get eaten by cats.

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I’m sure millions of simultaneous wet dreams ensued in 1967 as all the pubescent boys watched Catwoman as she was running and climbing stairs all over this episode. As you know, running leads to bouncing, and climbing leads to great ass shots. Thanks for everything Julie Newmar!

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At the end of the episode we get to see Batman and Catwoman having one of their classic heart to hearts:

Batman: I’ll do everything I can to rehabilitate you…
Catwoman: Marry me
Batman: Everything except that, a wife no matter how beauteous or affectionate would severely impair my crime fighting!
Catwoman: But I can help you in your work…as a former criminal I’d be invaluable. I could reform honestly I can!
Batman: What about Robin?
Catwoman: Robin? Oh I’ve got it, we’ll kill him!

Was Catwoman possibly clairvoyant?
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The Water Club, Atlantic City N.J

For the big Dark Knight weekend we had the pleasure of staying at The Water Club at the Borgata in Atlantic City. When I first walked in I noticed how grandiose the design was. It’s huge, but sparsely decorated, which I enjoy. I’m a fan of big open spaces and super high ceilings what can I say? The folks at the front desk tended to our every need. They even asked if they could make dinner reservations for us, and we actually took them up on their offer. We went to Wolfgang Puck’s American Grille in the Borgata. You would think I’m the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase with all this, but I’m far from it! I had the Almond Crusted Salmon with Horseradish Potato Puree and red wine reduction. That’s just a fancy schmancy way of saying Salmon topped with Almonds and mashed potatoes. As you could imagine, the presentation of the entrée was excellent and the meal was superb.
When we got into our room I saw an interactive plasma hanging on the wall that welcomed us by name. It had all of the visitor info and check out info as well. The room was decorated in beige and brown earth tones. I expected no less than a Cisco IP phone on the desk and leather pillows against the headboard. The room featured the most comfortable bed and pillows which were as good if not better than the Borgata’s.
As if you haven’t had enough Batman already, I had an Adam West sighting on the trip. This time he wasn’t in person, he was starring in a Password slot machine game. In other Batman news it’ll be Joker week at Eclectorama! Go check it out and continue on your high from The Dark Knight! I also had to basically beat a couple of guys off the new Indiana Jones (pictured below) machines with a stick to get to play one for 5 minutes. And lose most of my money in the process. We also got comp tickets to see a live version of The Wedding Singer. This was a show on Broadway but now it’s over at Harrah’s Resort until the end of August. There’s no big name actors in it but I thought it would be fun to see since I am a fan of the movie and a total ’80s freak. The transition from screen to stage wasn’t an easy one for The Wedding Singer. There plenty of ’80s references and a few really good one liners but it almost seemed like it was better off as a movie. The play is made up of original songs written for the stage show which all fell short and were not catchy at all. Two songs from the film appeared such as the humorous delivery of “Somebody Kill Me Please,” which wound up getting alot of laughs because of the way the actor playing Robbie actually “sang” the song instead of screamed it ala angry Adam Sandler. The other was “I Want To Grow Old With You.” If you plan on seeing this show, I warn you of the abomination that is the guy who played the Billy Idol impersonator. His part was “Billy Idol impersonator” and he wasn’t convincing at all…but the Tina Turner impersonator on the other hand, went over big! It’s worth seeing only if you got a comp ticket offer like we did.

Answer the Batphone, it’s for you!

I’ve been fortunate to have met many idols of mine throughout my life. One of the most fun and memorable of those times was when I met Adam West at a convention. I’m pretty sure this photo was taken in 1995 and my dad secretly snapped a picture of me. The best part about meeting Adam West was that he is still Bruce Wayne/Batman. As a kid I always related Batman to Adam West so it was that much more exciting to get to meet him.

Adam West is a friendly guy and he loves to converse with his fans unlike many TV and movie stars who feel they are too good for us plebians. When I walked up to Mr. West he started pretending he could hear the batphone ringing and he said it was for me! Adam West aka BATMAN was telling me that Commissioner Gordon was on the Batphone and he wanted to talk to me! ME!?!? What could he possibly want with me? In a moment of utter nirvana, Adam West handed ME the Batphone. What a moment. It’s one of those moments that if Vh1 did a “I Love Jay’s Life” special then they would definitely riff on this moment. I bet Michael Ian Black and Hal Sparks would have a ball with it.

**Remember to click on the Dark Knight countdown button on the right side of the page to win a copy of Batman on Blu-Ray!

Batman on Blu-Ray Giveaway!!!

To celebrate the kickoff The Sexy Armpit’s DARK KNIGHT COUNTDOWN Fox Home Video has been gracious enough to supply us with a Blu-Ray disc of the original Batman The Movie (1966) Special Edition starring Adam West and Burt Ward to give away to a lucky reader. Batman was released today on Blu-Ray so THANKS Fox Home Video!

HOW TO WIN THE BATMAN BLU-RAY DISC: E-Mail sexyarmpit@comcast.net subject line: BATMAN. Just for fun, try to answer one of the 2 following questions: What was Catwoman’s Moscow Bugle Alias OR answer Riddler’s riddle What’s Yellow and Writes? One winner will be picked randomly and the deadline is 7/20.

I’ve always been obsessed with the ’60s Batman TV series. It’s so bad that I can tell you the episode name, what season it was in, who played each villain, etc. So basically it’s going to be difficult for me to give away the new Blu-Ray transfer and not try to hold onto it for dear life.

As any legit Bat-fan knows, the ’60s live action TV series brought us some cool bat crap but my favorite of all time comes from this film: SHARK REPELLENT BAT-SPRAY! When I was a kid my friend Frank and I made all kinds of accessories for our toy utility belts but the one thing that he never had that I DID was a mini can of Shark Repellent Bat Spray that my dad made for me. Alot of you remember the times that your dad taught you how to spiral a football, throw a slider, or change the oil in your first car. Well, I remember my dad fashioning me a kick-ass aerosol can that would repel sharks in case one decided to “pull my leg.”

In the film you’ll see all the classic villains masterfully portrayed as well as the entire cast of Batman regulars. There’s so many extras on this disc they couldn’t even fit on Commodore Schmidlapp’s yacht!

Features include: Commentary by Adam West and Burt Ward, Isolated musical Score in DTS, several featurettes including: Batman: A Dynamic Legacy, Caped Crusaders: A Heroes Tribute, Gotham’s City’s Most Wanted, The Batmobile Revealed, Batman on Location, original trailers, still galleries, trivia, and lots more! Take a look at one of the featurettes from the new Batman Blu-Ray disc:

Dennis Quaid’s Deep Dark Shark Secret

Sharks are ALWAYS cool. (duh, everyone knows that!) That may sound like a statement uttered by the mouth of a five-year old, but that’s expected when dealing with me. I never claimed to be eloquent, but Sharks ARE cool, and so are coincidences. I’m always trying to discover various correlations between things. It’s fun. Just like some people enjoy baseball and others enjoy throwing a dirty ball that fell on the floor into a cup of piss warm beer and then gulping it down, I like to partake in the art of correlation discovery.

Due to my A.D.D let us abruptly switch gears…to Dennis Quaid. He’s a fine successful actor who hasn’t yet reached his true potential, but his upcoming film, In Good Company, is looking good. But, let’s be real here – what movies come to mind when you think of Dennis Quaid? Innerspace, or his turn as Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire? Unfortunately he’s more well known for his 10 year marriage to Meg Ryan. She bounced on the poor guy, that plastic surgery bitch. Let’s take a quick look at some of his resume: The Big Easy, Frequency, The Rookie, Any Given Sunday, Dragonheart, DOA, The Alamo, you get the point. He’s done plenty of crap, but he makes me wonder, why isn’t this guy a higher caliber Hollywood gun?

My theory is that Quaid has never been forgiven for starring in Jaws 3-D. To all producers and casting directors: Let the guy move on, please! It’s not like he’s got leprecy. He’s a great actor. Come to think of it, maybe he’s the one who is still holding on to the “harpoon.” In the triumphant Jaws 3-D, nothing can eclipse Quaid’s portrayal of Michael Brody. Especially because he’s the hero, and it’s 3-D! Even seeing a 3-D, high tech scif-fi bonanza on an IMAX screen wouldn’t really do much to change the fact that this movie sucked armadillo shit. The film is insanely cheesy. It also stars a hot young bikini clad Lea Thompson (Back to the Future) who Quaid coincidentally met on set and was engaged to for 3 years. Thompson plays Kelly Ann Bukowski, which sounds eerily like Bukake let’s call her Kelly Ann Bukake, shall we?

Jaws 3-D has been unlawfully labeled “garbage” and “really really bad.” It’s almost impossible to not embrace something so bad. It’s apparent the filmmakers didn’t take it seriously and that’s why it’s classic. The reason why the Nightmare on Elm Street films have always been so popular is because they didn’t take it too seriously, especially after it became cliché. Adam West’s version of Batman was camp, but it was completely classic and DAMN YOU if you don’t have a warm place in your heart for camp. Jaws 3-D was supposed to be a serious disaster movie but it obviously was the furthest thing from terrifying.

This third Jaws installment was a desperate attempt to make the series interesting. They opted for the 3-D feature which lacks in effectiveness while watching on basic cable. Quaid doesn’t even like to talk about Jaws 3-D in interviews, almost as if it was a bastard child of his. You never heard about that? Quaid had a kid with a 16 year old semi-retarded albino in North Dakota years ago while still married to Meg Ryan. (No wonder why she dumped him, that skunk!) They named the child…Jaws 3-D!

What Quaid does like to talk about in interviews is his band. It isn’t a coincidence that the band is named Dennis Quaid and THE SHARKS! Now we can plainly see who holds this silly-ass Jaws movie close to his heart. He won’t let on about his true feelings for this movie but it’s all there. Until he shakes his sick obsession with this film, the curse of mediocrity will remain with D.Q. And I didn’t even get started on his brother Randy!