DC Comics does Reading

Saw this set of reading aids via DC Comics characters on Tumblr. They are ridiculous and silly.

Of course we have all seen this one.

It's long since become a meme.

Trilogy of Horror B-Days

As will happen in any attempt to group, this week has given us a trio of horror great birthdays. These three fellows spent decades scaring, thrilling, and amusing their fans.

From House of Long Shadows - Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, and Peter Cushing
-- And a John Carradine bonus!

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages - Stoker's Tale

Having enjoyed some folklore, having taken in some other literature, it's time for the main act.

It's time to get to the book most know. You know the book. Bram's Stoker most remembered tale.

Dracula (1931) Promo Photo

DRACULA

Puppies need your love.

Dogs. What can you say? Most of us love and adore them. But not every dog gets the affection it deserves in it's life. ...Made you sad?

How about a couple of tales of dogs getting a second chance? How about some sad dogs that are given a reason to wag their tails enthusiastically about life?


A blind stray dog finds love, home, and sight.




Caged Beagles discover grass, and fun.




There are a lot of services and facilities around the country that work to help out stray dogs and cats, or those that are exploited, or those that are in need. Consider donating time or money to help out.

Game of Thrones: 1990

Imagine if Game of Thrones was not a 2010's show, but a 1990's show. The 90's music. The smiling, earnest, or forlorn montage. And those 90's title effects. Oh, yeah!

From Cracked.com:

If 'Game of Thrones' Was Made in the '90s -- powered by Cracked.com

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages - The Literature That Came Before

From folklore and rumor, we go to the tale on the page.

Let's get into the literature that led into and inspired Dracula. After all, while Dracula inspired many, it was also born from earlier work.

Many of the works that helped cement the more modern view of the vampire, and formed the basis of Dracula, came early in the 19th century.

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages, From Folklore and History

In the dark, down through the ages, we have been stalked. From the shadows we can feel it, but never can we escape it. Our dreaded myths and legends will never let us be.

That which hunts us has gone by many names, and has had many forms. Folklore. Legend. Myth.

And among those mythic visions is the vampire. The creature of the night. The creature of the tomb. The creature of blood.

While we've grown comfortable with a particular vision of the vampire it hasn't always been limited by one set of rules. Different cultures have had their beasts. Beasts that feasted on blood. Beast that feast on flesh. Beast that won't stay put in their graves. Dracula may be synonymous with vampirism, but he isn't the Alpha or Omega.

Le Vampire Engraving - R. de
Moraine - 1864

The vampire has had it's forms and predilections. An amorphous form with tentacles. A hopping corpse that can go rabid. A ghoul. A ghost. Detachable parts. A creature that spreads sickness. A being that stalks up behind lords in their halls and bashes them over the back of the head, using a bucket to catch up all the best bits.

Another aspect often at debate is just who can become a vampire. Generally, it was the dead who would turn; unless we are talking of tales of naturally preternatural being. Sometimes a person who was wronged would not stay still in their grave; no peace found. Other times it was a vile criminal who Hell could not hold. As you can imagine the ideas intersected a great deal with the ideas of other beings, like ghosts.

That is just how folklore works. It changes, from person to person, from culture to culture, and age to age. Changing. Morphing. It finds it's new niche.

Transitioning from word of mouth the vampire became a useful force in written stories. They would appear in different forms from time to time in different cultures.

Let's get into the some tales that at least partly step out of folklore and into reality. Some historic events also marked future tales of vampires.

The Horror Of...Scheduling, May 2013

Hello, again. It has been awhile since I've done an update.

But this seems like a worthwhile time.

Friday the 13th on Almost Tuesday the 13th - Episode 8 - Shadow Boxer

The 13th has come again, who could have seen that coming...

Okay, I didn't. I've been distracted the last week. I was haunted by the idea that there was something I wanted to get done, but nothing clicked. But something needed to dealt with, and I had no bills due. And then it finally hit me Tuesday. ...Which is apt with the story of this episode.

So it's time to move on from bad doctoring to bad pugilism in this episode.

Let's take a look once again at Friday the 13th the Series.

Time to get into the ring with "Shadow Boxer".

Trailers in Short - Speedsters, Mystics, and Detectives. Oh My!

Well if the rounds of superhero movies isn't enough, we seem to be in store for a whole range of TV series based around comic book heroes. (Okay, we often have various superhero series these days. But let's all pretend, like the media does.)

So let's see all the DC Comics and Marvel Comics offerings coming this year. (And maybe some movies. We are obliged.)

Let's start with The Flash (he always races to the front of line). He's a favorite of mine in comics. And I am always pleased when he gets some press or representation. (And maybe they'll finally finish a Flash video game. The one that almost came out before looked lovely.) And I do love a speedster.

The Real Climate Change Skeptics

Image from Roberto_Rizzato

"I can't hear you over the weight of scientific consensus!"

Climate Change is one of the issues that, despite conservative media claims, is pretty well established. Much of it is human made. And the human made portion is having a clear negative impact on humanity. The world is less hospitable to us.

It's an undeniable consensus now.

And if we find a trail of evidence that leads another way, I'll be surprised, and scientists are ready to hear about it. But like in dealings with religious apologist and Creationist, there is NO new data against human made Climate Change to consider.

Galling in this issue, are people opposed to accepting the impact Climate Change. They call themselves skeptics often. They are skeptics in much the same way as guys who call themselves demonologists and skeptics, or antivaxxers and skeptics. (And, yes, we have seen some famous people who call themselves skeptics who mocked the idea of Climate Change. And they deserve to be criticized for the bad analysis.)

The Simpsons - McBain: The Movie

Sure, The Simpsons has a movie. They also have another movie, embedded inside their TV show.

Everyone remembers McBain, right? We keep seeing bits of his movies throughout the series. Who doesn't have the occasional urge to shout out, "Mendoza!"

All those clips, scatter through The Simpsons, actually fit together into one semi-logical (as far as action movies go) story line. The story of one cop, who doesn't play by the rules, who is out to stop the sinister Senator Mendoza.

Watch.

Ever since learning this existed, I keep having to look back at it. It's classic 80's action, with the awkwardly bad or boring in between scenes excised out.

Penny Dreadful - New show, Victorian horror

Penny Dreadful is officially starting tonight on Showtime. A Victorian Horror Series that brings together a number of archetypes and characters of the era's horror, it offers what the potential to sate one's Sunday night horror needs.

It's already an overstuffed night, with Game of Thrones, Veep, Last Week Tonight, Mad Men, etc. So I thought I'd take a quick look at the show's opener to tempt anyone looking for something new.

Now to be clear, this is a Showtime show. So that means, blood, gore, and sex will be included. I know most of us assume any drama show that appears on Showtime or HBO will have this stuff, it is worth reminding people who are bothered by that.

So to begin, Josh Hartnett has the question to ask as Penny Dreadful starts.