VampiresI remember studying this in my high school Sociology class. The experiment of the wire-mesh mothers, in which some baby monkeys, deprived of their real mothers, were given fake ones. Some of the fake ones were furry and warm and some were just made of wire mesh. The monkeys that got the wire mesh grew…Continue readingWire-Mesh Sociopaths
We are in the doldrums now. That’s what I call the period immediately following the end of the holidays. It encompasses most of the month of January, the dreariest, dullest, saddest month of the year. I always get depressed once the holidays have passed, and this year is no different. It helped a little bit…Continue readingWhat We Do With The Gingerbread
Anytime an agenda is put before the plot of a story, you end up with a lousy story. As Stephen King puts it, it’s a recipe for some bad fiction. Or, as the analogy goes, “if you want to send a message, use Federal Express; it’s cheaper”. Now I don’t *know* that FIRST KILL is…Continue readingAbout FIRST KILL: Gay Teenage Vampire Drama
The Sphinx—THE Sphinx—is in Egypt. We all know that. (We do, don’t we? Despite the continuing dumbing down of American society, and human civilization in general, the inexorable slide into mass stupidity, the sad dropping a rung or two on the evolutionary scale that has accompanied the disproportionate increase in our global population, there are…Continue readingDracula’s Sphinx
“If you let me go, I’ll do anything you say!” “You’ll do that anyway,” Charlie said. Starting at her ankle, he slit her jeans up to the waist. “You’ll do whatever I want you to do.” He moved to the other leg, finished cutting off her pants. He threw them into a corner. “Don’t hurt…Continue readingTHE CHOSEN Part Three: A STUDY GUIDE TO THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX Chapter 20
This is not at all surprising. Blame the guvment. They’ve failed to get the vaccines out in a competent manner. Those reports of entire batches going bad before they could be administered? Yep. On the guvment. The whole thing has been a cluster. And because of the delay in getting people vaccinated, which was going…Continue readingMORBIUS Delayed Again
The shackles they had fastened to Gale’s wrists were cutting into her skin. She tried to stand up a little higher on her toes to relieve the pressure, her calves trembling with the effort. She stood hanging from a chain attached to a pulley mounted in the ceiling, her arms stretched above her head by…Continue readingTHE CHOSEN Part Three: A STUDY GUIDE TO THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX Chapter 19
In many ways the Comana Monastery near Bucharest is a better candidate for Vlad’s burial site than Snagov Monastery. While tradition holds that Vlad founded Snagov, this cannot be corroborated by extant documentary evidence. Those records have been lost. The proof that Dracula founded Comana is still available, though this in itself doesn’t mean much.…Continue readingWhere is Dracula Buried? Part Two: Comana
After his assassination, an event which is itself shrouded in lots of mystery, where was the body of Vlad Dracula taken for interment? Tradition says that it was without a head at the time, as the Prince’s murderers had taken it with them to present, eventually, to the Sultan, to prove that the dreaded Impaler…Continue readingWhere is Dracula Buried? Part One: Snagov
One of the most impressive costume ensembles from BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA is that of the “Devil’s Armor”. Fashioned out of either fiberglass or plastic, it certainly looked authentic in the film. There is a real-life suit-of-armor on display at the Church of the Madonna Delle Grazie in Italy that is also called the “Devil’s Armor”.…Continue readingDracula’s Devil’s Armor
I recently bought some HAUNTED HONEY that I have no intention of ever consuming, so it wouldn’t be any different, really, for me to buy some of this coffee, even though I don’t drink coffee. Dead Sled Coffee has several themed brands available for purchase, bags and varieties honoring Bela Lugosi, Vampira, and now Robert…Continue readingCollectible Coffee
The problem about World Heritage sites is that some of them, maybe many of them, are in places in the world that are not qualified to look after them. I remember back during the failed coup in Egypt a few years back, with all the rioting, and there was genuine fear that some of the…Continue readingSquatters Against Mummies
