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I just read a story about how the Moscow Circus will be performing at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk from July 8 to August 16, and it brought back memories.

I got my Bachelor's degree at U.C. Santa Cruz and lived in Santa Cruz for about 5 years. In fact, it was while I lived there I learned to belly dance, which is mentioned in the July issue of The Genre Traveler.

Anyway, after graduating I worked at a software company, The Santa Cruz Operation, which would hold its annual employee party at the Boardwalk. It was always a great time. People would come in jeans or cocktail attire, drink, ride the Giant Dipper and generally be merry. Fun was had by all.

So, one year, I wore this dress that I designed. It was made with wine-coloured satin, had one shoulder strap and black fringe draped along the torso. But, apparently it had a flaw. But I get ahead of myself.

Part of riding the Giant Dipper is standing in line and slapping the hands of those who are just coming back from riding the coast as the car comes back to the gate.

So here I am, wearing a nice satin dress, raising my right arm to slap the hands of the people in line, when I feel a breeze where a breeze shouldn't be. I look down and, yep, my right boob is hanging out of my dress.

Oops. I put it back where it belongs and laugh. Of course I had been drinking, so the embarrassment wore off quite quickly.

That story always brings a smile to my face. I don't know if anyone other than my girl friend's boyfriend saw it, because no one mentioned it to me.

Remember, everyone else had been drinking, too.

Anyway, I have a lot of great memories of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. So, if seeing the Moscow Circus can bring you to this special place to make memories of your own, so much the better.

DETAILS:
What:
The Moscow Circus

Where:
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Santa Cruz, Calif.

When:
July 8 - August 16

For More Information:
www.beachboardwalk.com
The Moscow Circus
Moscow Visits Santa Cruz

Sci Fi Weekly reported something I just had to share.

Horror author Neil Gaiman and his daughter, Madeleine, visited the set of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army in Budapest last month. Madeleine posted some pics (with captions) of her on the set in Gaiman's blog. Check them out, they're kinda cute.

Budapest, because of its unique architecture and because filming there is inexpensive, is a favored filming location. Several genre films and TV shows have had scenes shot there, including:

• the 2002 TV series Dinotopia,


• the 2006 TV series Robin Hood,


• the 1990 TV movie Daughter of Darkness,


• the 2002 TV movies Dracula,


• 1991's Dracula, Live from Transylvania starring George Hamilton,


• Eragon,


• next year's The House of Terror,


• the 1998 Whoopi Goldberg film A Knight in Camelot,


• Mortal Kombat (1995),


• both Underworld and its sequel, Underworld: Revolution,

and more.

I'm working a couple of new sections for The Genre Traveler: Book Reviews and Video Reviews.

The former will include reviews of science fiction, fantasy and horror books that either have a strong sense of place or would make good vacation reads. It will include both traditional books and books on tape.

The latter will include reviews of movies, DVDs, TV shows and other science fiction, fantasy and horror video, highlighting either their strong sense of place or the location in which they were filmed.

If you have suggestions for what I should call these sections, please let me know! You can either leave your suggestion as a comment to this blog post (and even comment on the suggestions of others, or send your suggestion to editor@thegenretraveler.com.

In the mean time, I found this interesting book review in Cosmos, a cool science magazine hailing from Australia.

The Outcast: An Anthology of Exiles and Strangers

As an aside, I searched Amazon.com (US Version) and could not find this book. Also, the "Buy from Amazon.com" link on the review page doesn't pull it up for me. Therefore, I think it may only be available in Australia or s not yet published. If you find out anything , let me know. Sounds like a good book.

Turning a amusement park ride into a movie can be a tricky endeavor. Take the above named examples, for instance. The first spawned a very popular trilogy (so far), with the latest currently in theaters. The latter didn't do so well.

Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the animated 3-D stereoscopic ride, Corkscrew Hill, at Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Va., is trying its luck and shopping around a script.

The ride, according to ThemeParkInsider.com, "takes guests on a grand adventure through the lands of old Ireland."

To promote Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Fox put up a replica of the Surfer on the London Eye, according to Variety.

Do any of my British readers have any photos they'd like to share? I'd love to post them for the rest of the readers to see, if you do. Send me an email at editor(at)thegenretraveler.com. You'll get full credit and a link back to your site, if you have one.