Monday, March 31, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p29

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 131, chapter 131

A year and a half ago...

The onyx wolf circled the small farm house, his nose to the ground, the scent of fresh pine needles burning his nostrils. He was tired, his muscles feeling the weight of the last few hours from the fight with the Queen's dogs and guards. But he wouldn't want to eat for another few days. Yawning, the large wolf found a spot in the shade of the large oak tree near the edge of the farm and just stretched out. He was sleeping when the sound of footsteps caused his ears to twitch.
Lifting his muzzle, the wolf sniffed, catching the scent of burning leaves and sulfur. He growled, getting to a standing position, his ears flat against his skull, fangs exposed as a figure approached him.

"Easy there buddy. I'm not here to start a fight." the guy stopped moving, standing about ten feet away, putting his hands first out in a surrender then at his belt. "I do need to talk to you, so if you wanna slip into something more comfortable, I'll just wait right over here."

The large wolf snarled, then sneezed in a huff, as the sound of bones crunching, of animalistic grunts that turned into the screams of a human male invaded the air, along with the wet slopping noises of blood, and other bodily fluids as they hit the ground forced the intruder to take a few steps back, closing his eyes.

"Alright, talk." The deep voice said as the male stood then in front of him, his long dark hair slick against his shoulders from the shifting. He spat on the ground between them, his blue eyes showing no expression.

"I'll never get used to that. Comfortable doesn't include pants for you does it?"

Rolf grunted, shaking his head, but willed the magic mist around his lower half, creating a pair of black pants and boots. "Wasting time man."  he replied his hands now out at his sides palms up.

"You're needed. I was sent to get you by Prince Kraven."

"I don't know who that is. And I don't know who you are." he took a step forward, sniffing deeply, his eyes flashing the amber-grey of the wolf. "But I know what you are." Rolf said, flicking his hair out of his face, his one hand at his belt as he moved slowly towards him. "You're a witch. You're really lucky right now, my buddy's not here, he's got a sweet tooth for witches. Lucky for you I've already eaten." he grinned, a shiver running through the intruder.

"Prince Kraven rules the kingdom in the north. You have a common enemy, the Queen." the guy cleared his throat, taking a half step backwards as Rolf once again advanced towards him. "He needs you to help him break into the Fort."

"Why?"

"Because the Queen is holding Prince Kraven's favourite...companion."

Rolf laughed, as he flicked his hair again out of his face. "And what has that got to do with me?" he leaned forward a centimeter gesturing with his hand between them.

"It's come to the Prince's attention that you have two younger brothers that are missing. Have been for awhile now. At lest I would assume they are your brothers, given the family resemblance. In a furry sort of way."

Rolf snorted. "Missing? What are you talking about? My family is fine."

"Not so much. They were spotted a few weeks ago, on the outskirts of the kingdom. Captured by the Queen's guards. Still alive, still have their heads. That much I know for sure, you know that much too, otherwise you would have felt their deaths. That's how it works for your kind, isn't it? You're all connected on some sort of spiritual level? You know when a new alpha is crowned, when a new litter is born, one one is killed. You help the Prince free his...personal interests from the Queen's prison, and he can help you get your brothers back, heads intact."

"If he's so resourceful, then why doesn't he just do it all himself?"

"He holds information. But, sadly, the Prince is physically unable to lead a rescue himself. Which is why he sent me to find you. Trust me, if he could do this mission himself, he would have already."

"And why should I trust you?" Rolf was starting to loose his temper.

"Because you don't have a choice." the guy said licking his lips, turning to glance up at the sun as it moved behind a few clouds. This caused his image to flicker as if nothing more then a candle flame in the wind.  He must have used a transportation spell to find Rolf, which would explain the sulfur smell. "I have a camp set up on the edge of the kingdom, on my Prince's side of the border. About two days from here. Meet me, in person, see for yourself if I'm telling the truth."

"Let's say I believe you. How do I know you aren't just out to bag a shifter?"

"Fair enough." he snapped his fingers causing a smokey cloud to appear between them. Rolf gazed into it, swallowing hard as the images played before him. "That's only one possible future. Come, meet me in person. Meet my Prince."

TO BE CONTINUED...NEXT SEASON

Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Ask yourself, is Rolf about to make a deal with the devil?)


The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p28

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 130, chapter 130

"I saw that movie you did back few years ago, the one about the guy with the split personality who thought he was pastry chef but was really a trained assassin..." Rolf commented to Reuben.

"Yeah, I had to spend six months training for that one." he replied.

"Oh yeah, like for the boxing scenes?"

"No, the cooking scenes. I told my director that when I say I do my own stunts, I mean all of them. You have any idea how difficult it is to make a perfect souffle?  Dude, it's more stressful then getting punched in the face." he shook his head, running his hand over his beard. "I've seen guys get split open, bleeding half to death and keep going, but try being in a hot kitchen on your feet for eighteen hours a day, brutal."

Rolf laughed, as he shook his head at the other male. "Well, that's new." he turned looking at the chick sitting in the back of the screening room with the Seer. "Well, I guess it would come in handy for impressing dates." his eyes became slits. "What do you think about that girl?"

Reuben turned to look at the two sitting in the back of the room. "She's hot. And if you're thinking about stealing her from that guy sitting up there, go for it."

"Yeah, she's..." Rolf nodded, his lips in a duck bill. "...actually I was talking about Nosferatu." 

Reuben's eyes went wide as he gave a silent laugh, his mouth open. Nodding, he gestured towards the aisle. "Whatever gets you through the night man. I'm not one to judge."

"Not your style?" Ash said suddenly, returning from the men's room.

Reuben grunted licking his lips. "Everyone's my style." he raised his eyebrows staring at Ash giving him the once over. "Speaking of..." he nodded in the direction of the door, as Nosferatu walked back in alone carrying her drink. She smiled at the group of men, and then decided to take a seat in the first row on the far right of them. Reuben gestured to the seat right beside him. "What the hell, we not good enough for you anymore?"
He watched as she hesitated, then moved over to where they were. She hooked her thumb over her shoulder towards the Seer and the new chick who were still sitting in the back of the screening room.

"I just thought...you guys would have a better offer." her voice seemed to loose all strength as she cast her eyes down suddenly very interested in her shoes.

"The offer might be better but not worth the investment." Rolf commented as he reached out his left hand gently punching her shoulder. He pulled his arm back with a yelp as our heroine jumped nearly a foot off the ground.  Both were wide eyed, our heroine placing her open palm at her throat, her drink spilled.

"What the hell was that?" Rolf asked as he moved out of his seat.

"Static electricity?" Ash replied.

"Na, na. I've never seen giant blue sparks like that with static electricity." Reuben said. "Are you two okay? There must be some loose wires or something in here?" he jumped up and started to check the floor around them, then the nearest seats.

Meanwhile...

"Did you just see that?" Bacchus asked pointing to the window of the projection room. Loki shook his head, having been leaning out of the doorway, bored.

"Did someone finally make a date?"

"No. Rolf touched Nosferatu and there were bolts of blue lightening."

Loki's shoulders slouched as he quickly moved back across the tiny projection room. Pointing to the group, the dark haired god knitted his eyebrows together in question. "That's impossible. There's never been a connection between those two. Barely friends."

"Something just happened." Bacchus replied, his voice raising in confusion. He let out a small sound as he tried to process the information."I...I know she's never even tasted his blood, nor him hers." the sandy haired god covered his mouth, then ran his hand over the back of his neck. "There was that one day when she'd touched Rolf's arm just like that and there were small sparks, a jolt. The shifter shrugged it off to having garlic on his hands." he let out another sigh of exasperation. "Call the magic ninjas now. See if those two clowns have anything to say about it?"

"Why on earth would they have anything to do with it?"

"Cause they granted Rolf magic he wasn't suppose to have." Bacchus answered. He shook his head, a dark cloud of anger turning his eyes pitch black then white. "Let's just hope this is a bit of magical residue and nothing serious."

"In the meantime, are you ready to pull them out of this reality?" Loki asked, punching the air.

"No, this world is binding their powers. Why I picked it, get a clean reading on them. We'll leave them here until after you talk to the magic ninjas."   Loki nodded and shimmered disappearing. "Okay Rolf, what are you hidding?"

Meanwhile...

"I didn't find any wires, or loose electrical cords or anything that would explain what that was. And neither of you have any kind of surgical implants that might have caused it?" Reuben asked completely intrigued by the event. Rolf shook his head, while our heroine seemed to relax suddenly. Removing her sweater, she rolled up her sleeve to show them her arm.

"When I was seventeen, I fell shattered my arm. I've got two rods, a few plates, screws." her voice trailed off, as her eyes once again began to examine her shoes.

"I can't imagine how painful that must have been." Ash replied, his own hand hovering around her shoulder, unsure if he should touch her, afraid more giant bolts of electricity would hit him too. Our heroine shrugged.

"You learn to deal with the pain."   A hand suddenly appeared at her arm, strong pale fingers gliding over the exposed flesh of her arm.

"Cool scars."  Our heroine turned to see Dagan had returned, and was hovering over her right side. She said nothing, just pointed to the side of his face. "What?"

"Mustard." she whispered.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story.  Just feeling a little Twiztid this morning.)

Year 3 Day 80

movie: Ocean's Eleven (remake)
starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt
genre; Crime, Comedy
year: 2001
format: TV edit

plot: Freshly out of jail, a thief puts together a group of bank robbers in order to break into the vaults of some of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas.

Normally I stay away from anything with Brad Pitt in it, cause I just don't care for him, but I decided to sit through this one.  I thought this was funny, liked it enough, laughed out loud more then once.

I was expecting more out of the Clooney character though.  I did think the comedy timing between Clooney and Pitt was decent. (the only thing I've ever really liked Pitt in was Interview with the Vampire) The idea that this thief was smarter then an entire staff of casino thugs was interesting in it's own right.
I didn't really buy the Julia Roberts/Clooney "romance" though, that for me fell short.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p27

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 129, chapter 129

Bacchus stood there seething for a moment, his eyes closed, hands locked behind his neck, feet apart as he went over the whole thing. The plan had been simple, introduce the female to the alpha, have them bond, and unlock her abilities. Then, plant Loki's experiment in her, and create a new breed of werewolf. After, which her powers would be more then just that of a simple vampire, she'd possess the abilities of the shapeshifters as well. At that point, Bacchus had meant to make her the first alpha of his new bacchae.

Simple.  Bacchus just hadn't expected Dagan and our heroine to be so stubborn. He hadn't taken in account that she might indeed fall for one of the other males. Opening his eyes, a devious looking smile crossed his lips. Waving his hand slowly across the room, an invisible coating seemed to spread over the building. "Let's up the ante"

Meanwhile...

The credits for the first film splashed across the screen, quickly followed by the intermission commercial. Just as the door to the screening room opened. Everyone turned to see who was joining them for the second movie.

A silence seemed to come across the group as the female walked into the room. She was thin, dressed in a skirt that was so tight it was like a second skin that came mid-thigh, a low cut top that was tied at the neck, and boots that came just below the knee. All in pink. Her hair was long, in waves of chestnut. Looking over at the group, she smiled as her gaze caressed each of the males. Taking a seat in the back of the screening room to the left of everyone, she settled in waiting for the second film.

Our heroine felt all the air go out of her lungs as she watched the reaction each of the males had.


Meanwhile...

"That's dirty. You do know you just signed our little bat's death warrant don't you? Now none of them are going to bother with her."  Loki said a look of amusement on his face. "I give them ten seconds, and they'll start moving to where your little plant is."

"You have that little faith in your own pets? What about the whole pack is family, mating for life, loyalty you sewed into their dna?"  Bacchus asked as he gestured towards the group.

"Was your idea to introduce the plant." Loki mumbled.


Meanwhile...

The Seer sat up just a little straighter, as he smiled wide at the new chick, running his hand down the length of his shirt front.

"It's getting crowded in here suddenly." Leo remarked.

"Yes, maybe one of us should find a new seat." The Seer replied as he started to head towards the chick. He stopped a few feet away on the steps, turning to look at our heroine. "Nice meeting you." he turned again towards the back of the screening room, sitting down beside her.

"I'm going to get something to drink." Leo commented, gazing up towards where the new chick and the Seer were now sitting. "Would anyone care for anything?" 

"I could use a pop." our heroine said grabbing her purse. She turned to look at Rolf who was still sniffing, but was no longer sneezing since he took the sinus pills. "You need anything?"

"Na, I'm good. Thanks." he said, leaning to the right, his shoulder bumping Dagan's as the larger male turned to look at the new chick, his eyes glancing again at our heroine. He elbowed Dagan getting his attention. "Dude."
Dagan had been in his own little world, staring blankly off towards the movie screen. Jumping up, he  turned to look towards the back of the room, removed the glasses he'd been wearing to watch the movie, tossing them into his messenger's bag and began to climb over the back of the chair, walking to the end of the aisle. The auburn haired male stood there for a moment before walking up the steps, mumbling to himself.

Dagan then stopped abruptly, turned around and walked back down them, his arms tucked close to his sides as if keeping invisible people from touching him. "Five...seven...nine...eleven..." he counted out loud as he continued to mumble to himself as he came to stand in the middle of the room, tilting his head back to look at something on the ceiling.  He continued to just stand there as Leo and our heroine brushed past him heading back out to the lobby.

"Is he okay?" Reuben asked suddenly standing beside Rolf.

The larger male shook his head shrugging. "I have no idea. Could be stoned?"

"Hey!" Reuben shouted as he moved towards Dagan. "Hey, buddy. Are you on something?"

Dagan blinked as he turned his upper body towards him, then swiveled his lower half back into alignment. Closing his eyes tight, the male scratched at the back of his skull, rotating his shoulders twice, craning his neck slightly, his jaw squared. "I could really use a burger."  He said his hands suddenly everywhere as he padded the pockets of his jeans. "Where's my money?" Finding a ten dollar bill in his pocket, Dagan turned around in a half circle, then turned back to the others. "You need anything?" Both Rolf and Reuben shook their heads no, but it didn't matter as Dagan hadn't bothered to wait before turning back towards the door.

He sauntered past the usher, who was now sitting beside the door of the men's room, presumably to stalk Reuben were he to need the toilet; crossing the length of the lobby to the snacks area. Dagan then stood in line behind Leo and our heroine as they waited for the teenaged girl to get their order. Sniffing, Dagan's leg began twitching.

"You're coming back in for the second movie right?" his voice a whisper as it slithered around her shoulder. Turning to look at him, our heroine gave the tall male a nod. "Right that's cool, cause I liked talking to you about that other film. This one is a favourite of mine, cause it's a werewolf movie. I...I think it's cool anyways." He shrugged, his left hand out at his side, drawing circles in the air as he talked. "Do you like werewolf movies? I only ask cause so many chicks are just into that whole vampire thing." he brought his hand up to his face, his second and third finger in the shape of fangs. "You know cause of all that vampire stuff, seems to get chicks high or something. All that biting on the neck stuff..." he shrugged again. "I mean, vampires are fun, you know...but so many people forget there are other monster movies out there...like the mummy, creature from the black swamp style stuff, giant mutant bats and ...then there's Frankenstein." he cleared his throat, scratching at his right shoulder.  The girl working the snacks counter handed both our heroine and Leo their order, asking Dagan what he wanted.

"I'm going to get something for Ash." Leo said softly nodding at her. "Catch up with you in a second."  Our heroine then wandered back to the screening room alone, as the tall dark haired male turned to look at the younger Dagan. "Bit thick with the geek fest don't you think?"

Dagan shook his head in a quick jerk, his eyebrows knitted together. "What...wa...what you mean?" he ordered his food. "I was just killing time. You two were standing here, so, I was being polite." he scratched at his neck.

Leo grunted as he leaned on the counter, waiting for the girl to notice him, but she just seemed to be too wrapped up in making sure Dagan's order was perfect. Getting bored, Leo reached one arm over the counter, grabbed an empty cup, filled it with ice and pop. "She's out of your league."

"Now how can you say that?" Dagan asked paying for  his order, stuffing a fry into his mouth.

"I can say that because she's not your type." he placed the money down on the counter for the pop, turning back towards the movie screening room.

"What makes you think she's not my type?"

Leo said nothing as he opened the door entering the movie.  


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Leo vs Dagan in the main event)

Year 3 Day 79

movie: Ring Two
starring: Naomi Watts, Simon Baker
genre: Thriller, Horror,
year: 2005
format: TV edit

plot: Nearly a year after a young woman and her son had dealt with a ghostly encounter, they find themselves in the middle of another killing spree by the same ghost. This time, the ghost has decided to possess the young boy. The two find themselves on the trail of what really happened to the girl, in order to free her from her state of limbo, thus ending the power she has over the young boy.

Okay, yeah. I remember seeing the first one back when it first came out, and didn't really care for it. I have to be honest, if it wasn't for the fact it was on tv for free, I wouldn't have bothered with this one.

But, with that said, I found part two to be more like a crime drama then out right horror. It had a decent pace, the story made more sense then I was expecting it to, and reminded me a lot of the Nightmare on Elm Street films.
Yes, I liked part two much more then what I remember part one having been like.

Too bad this doesn't work as a stand alone film. If you haven't seen the first one, you will get confused easily.  Even I have no clue what the deers represented? 
But I like the fact the electricity and water, as well as cameras, were major elements in this film. As all are said to be conductors to the spirit world.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Year 3 Day 78

movie: Nearlyweds
starring: Steve Bacic, Travis Milne
genre: Comedy, Romance
year: 2013
format: TV edit

plot:  Three couples who all got married within the same month, find themselves dealing with their marriages not being legal, after the death of the minister who performed their weddings. Now, each has to deal with jealousy and control issues in order to see if their relationship can really work.

This is a made for tv movie, based on a book.

I found it to be too typical of a made for tv movie. It was too sweet, it was too much of a formula. I found the characters to be just a bit on the cliched side, and didn't really connect with it at all.


Friday, March 28, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p26

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 128, chapter 128

Reuben cleared his throat, running his hand over the edge of his beard as he sat for another few moments, before deciding to join the group. He had been in the public eye for so long, it was almost refreshing to have the little group of people in the cinema screening room letting him be. Almost. There was a part of him that was dying of curiosity to know what was so interesting for the group?
Getting up, he crossed the aisle, placing his hand on the back of the chair, smoothly jumping over it completely to land on his feet, switched hands and repeated the action to land on Dagan's right, taking the chair beside him.

"Not even out of breath. I'm impressed." our heroine said, tilting her head to smile at him.

"Thought I'd crash your party." he winked, his chocolate brown puppy dog eyes sparkling in the flashing of the movie projector.

"Movie club." Dagan grinned wide both hands in the air, palms up as he nodded towards the screen. Our heroine jumped up from her seat, making her way up to where Ash and Leo were still sitting. Leaning over, she placed one hand on either side of Ash's shoulders, whispering into his ear.
The tall tattooed male ran his tongue over the edge of his bottom lip, shrugging, smacking the back of his hand on Leo's shoulder repeating to him what she had just said.
The long haired male, removed his sunglasses, made a dismissing gesture towards her as he stood up and began to walk down the steps taking a seat on the other side of the Seer.

"That would be a yes." Ash replied as he too stood up, jacket in one hand, the other on our heroine's back between her shoulder blades.

"Um...could...could you maybe tell me what's with the seating arrangement?" The Seer began, as he cleared his throat, hugging his extra large tub of popcorn, making a face as he pressed his tongue against the top of his mouth.

Ash sat down beside our heroine on the very end of the aisle, boxing her in beside the Seer.


Meanwhile...

"Huh." Bacchus grunted as he watched the events from the small window of the projection room. "Didn't see that coming."

"Better get the second movie cued up. I think your plan is about to backfire." Loki said with a hint of humour, as he pointed to the second canister without looking.

"And you're just loving this aren't you?"

"Well, what do you expect? Huh? You put her here, in this reality, once again the only female. Of course someone other then your golden retriever in there is going to start sniffing around her. You've got them locked in a cage, so to speak. They are going to start getting the idea in their heads of that limited supply again. I don't think your favourite little pet bat in there is ever going to make a choice, because the choice is never truly going to be her's. It will always be theirs."  Loki gestured with both hands first at his left side then his right, punctuating his point. "You can manipulate the situation all you want, doesn't matter." the dark haired god said shaking his head. "You wanted her with the alpha, you forget, Ash technically is still a pack alpha. And on some level, he knows it even in this reality. I mean, just look at how they are all interacting with each other." he stood up moving towards the little window, one arm across his stomach, biting the thumbnail of his other hand."Rolf and Reuben have taken a spot beside Dagan. Dagan and the Seer have both planted themselves right in line with  Nosferatu challenging each other, while Nosferatu has made the gesture to welcome Ash and Leo. Who...who have placed themselves on the same level as her. It's almost like the pack has split into a hierarchy." the god's brown eyes flicked back and forth as he began to examine his pack. He pouted turning towards the other god. "I don't like this."

"Uh, you never like anything." Bacchus remarked between clinched teeth. "Besides, they're pretty much acting like normal, only as humans. The Seer and Dagan butting heads, Rolf and Reuben showing their support, Leo being Leo, Ash suffering in silence..."

"And Nosferatu feeling like the invisible girl." Loki added pointing to the group. "Even now, she's the center of attention and she still doesn't feel like any of them notice her."  he clapped his hands together, rocking forward on his toes. "Which, I think is part of the problem."

"Why she's not as powerful as she should be." the sandy blonde male said letting out a sigh.

"Well that too." Loki giggled looking up at his buddy from under his lashes. "That and the fact the witch is using her as a light socket."

Bacchus threw his head back in frustration, clasping his hands together over his head. "Of course! How did I miss that? Every time...aaggghh...every time the sidhe feeds off of her, he saps her powers. Damn it!" the god slammed his hand into the wall, causing a crack that ran to the ceiling.

Loki cracked his neck puffing out his checks. "Truth sucks sometimes." he smiled sticking his tongue out.

"Not funny."

"Ready to wrap this little field trip up?" Loki asked peeking back through the window of the projection room.

"Not just yet. I still think that putting Dagan and Nosferatu together was the right move. They're meant for each other." Bacchus said off handedly.

"Well, someone needs to give them the memo on that. Cause I think our little bat girl is getting really friendly with Mr. Ink Splotch."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Popcorn...)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p25

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 127, chapter 127

The Seer tilted the popcorn tub towards her, leaning in asking if she'd seen the movie before.

"Yeah, when I was younger." our heroine answered, taking a handful of the buttery offering.

"Me too. Five times. What a coincidence. You know, the movie was shot almost completely in an abandoned warehouse in the spring in 1941."

"That's not true." they turned to see Dagan now right behind them, He sat forward, a pair of glasses on his face, a bottled water being taken from the leather messenger's bag, along with a small freezer baggie of candy. "The movie was actually shot in the course of a weekend in the fall of 1941, and it wasn't an abandoned warehouse, it was an old tire factory that the guy playing the mummy's ghost owned." He started chewing on a gummy worm then grunted holding out the baggie to our heroine.

"You know anyone can look stuff up." The Seer commented.

"I didn't look it up."

"Then why should we believe you?" the Seer continued to challenge him.

"Cause I have no reason to lie, and it's the truth." he reached into the leather bag again, removing a dvd. "I watched the commentary this morning."

"Dude, if you've got a copy of the movie, why are you here?" the Seer's voice took on a slightly high pitch of annoyance.

Dagan shrugged. "I was bored." he held up his hand as he started rummaging around once again in the pockets of the messenger's bag. "Are you allergic to anything?" he asked.

"No." our heroine said.

"Only to Trekkie nerds with bad timing." the Seer snorted. Dagan ignored him, handing each of them a homemade tart.

"My next door neighbour is this drag queen who owns a bakery, up near the airport, Headless Flamingo, and he is forever trying out recipes. He gave me a dozen of these this morning when I was leaving for work."

"Headless Flamingo...and their raspberry tarts, thanks for the visual." our heroine mumbled as she bit into one. "Damn these are good."

"Wait till you try his nut balls."   Both the Seer and our heroine nearly choked on the tarts. Dagan rolled his eyes, nodding. "It's a chocolate roll thing, with almonds and cashews."

"I figured." our heroine replied.

Another sneeze echoed through the room. Dagan turned noticing Rolf. "Sorry." he blew his nose once again, tucking the handkerchief in his right pocket, getting a clean one from his left. Dagan grabbed something from the side pouch of the messenger's bag.

"Hey, catch." he tossed it at Rolf. The massive male caught the item in his right hand, sniffing. Flipping it over, he realized it was a package of sinus pills. He took two before getting up and returning the package. Rolf then took the seat beside Dagan, just behind Nosferatu's left shoulder.

"Thanks man." Rolf rubbed his eyes. Dagan nodded holding out the candy bag.


Meanwhile...

"Even in this reality, the group is collecting together." Loki commented, stuffing popcorn into his mouth. "Once a pack, always a pack."

Bacchus scratched at his chin, wagging his finger at him. "Well, we knew that. That's not the question. The question is, will our female be better with one of the other guys? Will she pick a different wolf?"

"Uh...she didn't pick Dagan. You picked Dagan for her."

"Yes I did and I stand behind my choice. Besides, you're forgetting she did choose Victor, Dagan's uncle and dead ringer."

"Another situation you set into motion." Loki tossed the popcorn in the air, trying to catch it in his mouth, missing more then he caught.

"Quite genius actually." Bacchus replied.


Meanwhile...

Our heroine watched as Dagan started to remove his shirt, changing it out for a fresh one. "I love how men can be half naked in public and not get arrested. You officially have more in that bag then I have in my purse." she gestured to the male just as the mad scientist started to monolog with the vampire hunter about his big evil plan to destroy the world.

"I've learned to live out of it." he answered.

"Am I seeing things, or is that who I think it is back there?" Rolf asked, hooking his thumb over his shoulder towards Reuben.

"Yes. That's him." The Seer answered, feeling smug as he adjusted himself in his seat so that he was halfway facing both males and still able to look at the movie screen.

"What do you think he's doing here?"

"Maybe he had a day off?" Dagan said, nosily chewing on another tart. "Movie stars are people too. Just with better hair." he mindlessly began scratching at his jaw as he turned to look over his shoulder at him.

"Maybe he's researching a part? I heard he's just signed to play a vampire hunter in the latest Death by Demonic Stereo film." the Seer was quick to reply, nodding, his eyes closed.

"I think I heard about that." Rolf leaned forward, grabbing a hold of the edge of our heroine's chair. "It's it like number eight in the series? Didn't the hunter die in part seven, at the hands of the scarecrow that was reincarnated with the voodoo curse?"

"Na, that was part five you're thinking of." Dagan butted in. "Part seven the guy was killed fighting the reanimated corpse of his dead wife who had been slaughtered by the mutant jellyfish farmer." he turned again to look at Reuben. "Let's just ask." Springing to his feet, Dagan screamed at the back of the room. "Dude, duder...buddy..." he jumped over the rows, making his way up the stairs crouching beside Reuben.
The two males chatted for the whole of the big monster reveal scene before Dagan stood back up, making his way back to where everyone was sitting. "Okay, you were half right. He did sign on to do the next two movies in the Death by Demonic Stereo series, but he's not researching hunters or anything. He was suppose to do a meet and greet two buildings over but it got cancelled. So he's just hanging out."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story.  Monster Mash anyone?)

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p24

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 126, chapter 126

The air was thick with the smell of popcorn, tempting her with the idea. But our heroine took one look at the clock and decided she just didn't have the time. Smiling, she handed her money to the ticket girl, and waited for her little slip of paper with the movie's name stamped on it.  She'd been having a bad week so far and thought an afternoon of monster movies was just the thing. The cinema was playing an old black and white creature feature, and it seemed like a good fit.
Adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder, she headed in the direction of the screening rooms, stopping to notice a large poster of the movie.

"They don't make them like that anymore eh?" a male voice said over her shoulder. Turning, our heroine saw a man standing beside her, dressed in a dark pants, a chocolate coloured shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a jacket in hand. Those hands were covered in tattoos, as were his arms, neck; pretty much every centimeter of exposed flesh was. The female nodded in agreement, as she stood there, transfixed by the guy.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" her voice was unsure as she pushed her glasses up, her own hazel eyes searching him for some clue.

"No, sorry." he held out his hand for her. "Ash."

"Nosferatu." she replied, feeling a strange deja vu. Turning, she started to head into the screening room, Ash a few feet behind her.

"Are you here with anyone?" the male asked once again leaning over her shoulder.

"No. Are you?" she turned slightly as they entered the room, catching a look at how empty it was. They were, it seemed, the only ones there.

"Actually, a buddy of mine, Leo, is meeting me." he gestured over his shoulder towards the hallway of the building. "You just standing there, looking a little...lost..." he shrugged.

"To be honest, days like this I really feel it." she nodded again, pushing on her glasses as she found a seat in the first row. She watched then as Ash leaned his right arm on the railing of the steps that began the climb towards the back of the screening room, just as the door opened, revealing another male. Turning, Ash nodded, moving back a few feet to catch up with him.

He was dressed in leather pants, cowboy boots, a black button up shirt that was half untucked, and sunglasses. The two males were whispering as they made their way up the steps a few rows, every few seconds, Leo turned towards where our heroine was, grinning.  

The previews started, grabbing the female's attention.

Meanwhile...

The door to the projection room opened, spilling light from the hallway along with whiffs of burnt nachos, salt from popcorn and more then a few bad perfumes all tumbling together. "Okay, what's all this? Why are we here?" Loki asked  leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm proving a point." Bacchus replied looking over his shoulder, a genuine smile on his face.

"And what would that be?" Loki asked as he wandered into the small room, his pale strong fingers gliding over the canisters of film stock, stopping as he picked one beat up looking tin container, a smirk spreading across his lips. "The House that Cursed Frankenstein's Mummy's Tomb." he put it back down with a clank, picking up the next one that was under it. "And The Return of the Wolfman's Cousin's Uncle" he waved it at the other god. "Only the two of them? Couldn't get your hands on the final film in the trilogy? " Bacchus moved a half step picking up a film canister from the table in front  of him, handing it to Loki. "Attack of the Vampire Bats from Mars. An oldie but a crappy."  The dark haired god let out a deep sigh as he tossed the film canister back down. "So your point is what? That the golden age of movies had really shacked up titles?"

"I was thinking about what you said the other day, about putting her with the right werewolf. So, I'm testing it out. See what happens when you introduce them to her under other circumstances. See who in an alternative world she would go for?"

"And you had to do it here? With a movie marathon?"

"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I'm betting everything is sorted out before the end of the first movie." The god turned then, shrugging.

Meanwhile...

"aahh-pphhhffftt!"  the sneeze seemed to originate from the door of the screening room, just as it opened. A guy entered looking worse for wear. He had a handkerchief  clutched in his left hand, his blue eyes bloodshot, his nose red from constantly sneezing, his long hair tied back in a loose ponytail, wearing dark blue jeans, a brown turtle neck sweater, and a dark corduroy jacket.  The 6 '3 male smiled a closed mouth smile as he walked past our heroine, sneezing again. "Allergies." he said as he blew his nose nosily into the handkerchief.  He blushed, looking around  before deciding to take a seat on the opposite side of the room, three rows up on our heroine's left.

The door opened again, this time exposing a guy about 6 '1. Leaning against the wall, he seemed to be waiting for someone. Our heroine moved in her seat as she watched the male, his long dark hair loose around his shoulders, falling into the folds of his shirt. She watched as he put a large rimmed fedora on, tying a tie-dyed skull patterned scarf around his neck, which he quickly untied once he realized she was watching him. Reuben sniffed, as he turned to see the door open again, the usher sliding up to him, handing him first a container of popcorn, then what looked to be a ticket. The teenaged boy flicked at his hair as he followed Reuben a few more feet into the screening room, a small disposable camera in hand.  Our heroine heard the usher clumsily ask if he could take a photo with him.

"You know who that is right?" a voice squeaked behind her. Our heroine turned in her seat to see yet another male suddenly sitting just behind her right shoulder one row up. "That's Reuben Blacksmith. Here hold this." he handed her a very large tub of popcorn and jumped over the seat, sitting beside her. "Reuben Blacksmith, the actor. He did that independent series of horror films, all moody and gothic like. He played a whacked out stoner version of spider man in that really cool Canadian film by that uber mysterious Canadian director. You had to have seen that? It was playing here for like a month straight during the horror film fest. Total cult phenomenon. What do you think he uses to keep his hair looking so smooth?" he ran his hand through his quickly. "How's my hair? I'm Edward by the way."  Our heroine introduced herself handing him back the tub of popcorn just as the last preview seemed to replay. "Didn't we just watch that one?" the male asked as he pointed to the screen, popcorn dropping everywhere, including on our heroine's shirt. "Let me get that." Edward said reaching towards her. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to seduce you or anything."

"aaahhh--pphhhfffttt."  another sneeze rang through the room, causing everyone to turn and look at Rolf. "Sorry." he sniffed loudly.

The door opened once more, as a guy stumbled in. Literally. He tripped over the edge of the rug where it crossed the threshold. Getting back up, he brushed the dirt off his butt, then picked up the bag he had been holding, the stack of files, turned around in a full circle as he looked for his ticket, which had fallen outside of the screening room in the hallway, causing him to take another few steps back to collect it.
He seemed to slide then across the wall, as if he were afraid of falling again, till he made it to the edge of the rows of seats. That's when both our heroine and Edward realized the guy was taking his time, searching for something in his bag. The files, threatening to fall out of his hands again, the ticket firmly between his teeth as he tried to balance everything. 
He looked up just as the previews seemed to re-loop once again, a strange look of  confusion on his face, as the files finally seemed to give in to gravity and went scattering everywhere. Our heroine couldn't help herself, she got up and began to help him pick them up.

"Thanks." the male said, chewing on his bottom lip, stuffing the now completely out of order pages and file folders into the leather messenger's bag he was carrying. "It's been one of those days."
Nosferatu told him she knew how he felt as she went back to her seat. The male surveyed the room, climbing the steps to the second row, dumped his bag, struggled with the thigh length trenchcoat as he took it off, tossing it on the seat, then turned back towards where our heroine was sitting. "Hi, thanks again. I'm Dagan." he held out his hand, then seemed to nervously change his mind, hugging his elbows. Our heroine introduced herself, tilting her head to the side. Another wave of deja vu seemed to come over her, forcing her to close her eyes.

The screen went dark then, indicating the end of the previews. Dagan swore as he tried to find his way back to his seat and not fall down the steps in the process. The large screen lit up again with the silvery opening credits, filling the whole screen, in a popping and cracking. 

Meanwhile...

"Looks like our cast of characters are here. Huh, the Seer has taken a seat next to the female. Without her really saying he could." Bacchus commented as he threaded the movie into the projector. "See how she reacted though to Dagan?" he rubbed his hands together feeling smug.

"Play the movie and let's get this experiment really started." Loki commented yawning.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story...Curse of the Bats from the Bottom of the Hunchback's Dirty Bucket...)

Monday, March 24, 2014

Nosferatu's Lunchbox 2

So this is the series of posts where I give a character from my serial/soap opera that I'm writing on here, a signature dish/drink.

Tonight, I thought I would give Harker his spotlight.

Harker was written as a twist that I hope no one saw coming.  He's a pirate so it would be most natural to give him a seafood themed signature dish.

I think, for a drink, the classic Cesar   which is made with celery salt, 1 and 1/4 oz Vodka, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, salt and pepper, 3 oz clamato juice, celery stalk

Or you can go with the Bloody Cesar which is done as above but with the addition of  hot sauce and 1 and a half oz of lemon juice.

And for the dish, I'm thinking something simple, like cod cakes.

Ingredients: cod, potatoes, salt, pepper, flour, onion.
Chop the onion
boil the potatoes,
boil the cod, then mix the three together
mix in the salt and pepper, and enough flour to hold it all together
shape into patties and fry (butter or oil your choice)  till crisp on each side.

Simple.

These are recipes family members love, but I personally don't eat/drink (I have never cared for seafood, nor do I drink clamato juice or eat anything with worcestershire sauce because of the anchovy paste in it) But, I thought they fit the character nicely so I'm adding them to the blog.

Tune in later for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me, and more from the lunchbox.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Year 3 Day 77

movie: Thirst (1979)
starring: Chantal Contouri, Max Phipps
genre: Thriller
year: 1979
format: DVD

plot: A woman is kidnapped and taken to a compound run by a cult of vampires. They keep prisoners like cattle, draining them of their blood in order to live. Kate is told repeatedly that she is from the Bathory bloodline, and that it's her duty to take her place among them.


It plays like a bad drug induced nightmare, never really giving up what's real and what's in the character's head. The end scene I found, lends itself to having you wonder if the lead character was "a vampire" all along, or a prisoner who desperately wants to be?
The vampires in this use a set of fake steel fangs, (right away thought of Triple H in Blade 3 Trinity) and seem to be more human then non.

The big theme seems to be paranoia and insanity. Are the things happening to the character because she's a suppressed vampire, or just a victim of a cult of sadists?
This is also one of those 1970's vampire movies that seemed obsessed with the Bathory story, adding it almost as an excuse to make the movie than any real purpose to advance the story. 

Okay, I was like just giddy when I found this in one of my boxes of movies, cause this is one that I didn't even remember having.  (bottom of the box, kicked up a lot of dust which I'm still tasting)  But, as I started to watch it, it seemed a bit familiar.  I have something like five vampire movies with the same title "Thirst" and almost all of them either have blood dripping lips/fangs on the cover or the generic Blockbuster covers from when I bought them in the clearance sale the year Blockbuster Canada closed.  Forgetting about this film, was understandable, and after watching it again, explainable.

For a 1979 film, this could have been a lot worse, the editing seemed to be jump cuts, and there wasn't a lot of dialog to really explain the plot. You spend half the movie listening to the score, and having to decode the odd looks the actors give the camera.

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p23

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 125, chapter 125

Loki and Bacchus were sitting in one of the rooms in the hall of doors, a large table in front of them covered with trays of food, watching everything unfold in a mirrored window.

"Did we put her with the right wolf?" Loki asked scratching the back of his skull.

"She needs to be the mate of the alpha. Her powers are useless otherwise. I just don't understand why she isn't more advanced? It's been a year." Bacchus remarked, his hands linked behind his neck.

"I know, but...she's so much happier with this one." Loki gestured towards the image playing out before them.

"The half breed? Sidhes can't love. They are designed to seduce, to take. Not give anything in return."

"He's only part sidhe. Witches can love, werewolves can love. You forget that." Loki turned to look at his buddy, letting out a deep sigh, his brown eyes closed.

"No, no. It's fine. Besides, I've bent way too many rules as it is just to have her bound to Dagan. In the mean time, Reuben..."  his sentence was cut short by the appearance of Artemis. The woman stood between them and the mirror.

"They took my amazons." She crossed her arms, her long braid tangling around her shoulder. The warrior goddess was dressed in red leather from head to toe, her eyes filled with hate.

"Lovely to see you too. No, wait it's not." Loki said sitting down, pouring himself a glass of wine. "Can I offer you anything? Wine, mead, banana, sausage?" he winked.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. Those men took my amazons." her voice rose as she stomped her foot.

Bacchus rolled his eyes letting out an exasperated sigh. "Yes cousin, I heard. Maybe if you spoke in full sentences or a paragraph or two, I'd understand better who 'they' are and why you're coming to me about it?"

"The guards at the Fort where the Necromancer has taken up residence. Since the ban on wives has been lifted, four of my tribes have been kidnapped and taken there. God only knows what those filthy creatures are doing to them."

"What the hell do you want me to do about it?" his strong fingers were then at his forehead, trying to hold back a headache he'd gotten since the arrival of the goddess. Bacchus's energy patterns always conflicted with Artemis's.

"He's your creation. Your pet."

Bacchus shook his head, sipping from a wine glass. "He switched sides. The Necromancer has been a devotee of Ares for years now. I have no control or influence over him. Therefore, not my concern."

"If you're not going to help, then replace my tribes with your bacchae." it was not a request as much as a threat.

"Here we go again." Loki mumbled as he put his feet up on the table.

"Don't be foolish! My bacchae are some of the most powerful female vampires, sidhe and witches around. It's taken generations to gather the few I have. What makes you think I'd hand any of them over to you?"  Artemis stomped her foot, advancing a half step then stopped.  "Your powers are useless on us, in this place. You know that as well as we do so don't bother with your little light show."

"My tribes are depleted as it is."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Loki mumbled as he stretched.

Bacchus raised a hand to silence her. "Then look at it as a blessing. They took them for wives, those who survive will expand the species, and in a few months, a year or two, you have a new generation of amazons to rule over. Everybody wins."

"and those who don't survive you collect and turn into more vampires. Is that it?"

"The thought did cross my mind." Bacchus smirked.

"Have you tried the sausage? Melts in your mouth." Loki remarked, stabbing a piece with a knife.

"You want to play it this way? Fine! I'll lead a slaughter in that kingdom." she pointed at Loki.

"Be my guest." he said, twirling the knife with his left hand, the sausage dancing in the air. "I've already sacrificed hundreds of my shapeshifters, hundreds of my timber wolves, for the cause. You don't see me throwing a temper tantrum. Hundreds. I've lost more of my pets, my favourites, in one generation then you could even imagine. Go home. Go back to your temple and let your tribes of virgins prove they are worth saving. Your almighty warriors, spouting their girl power. If they're worth anything, they'll get themselves out of this. Like Bach here said, this mating ritual helps all of us."  She disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. "Maybe I should have offered her the fish?"

"You're crude." Bacchus said unable to hide the smile.

"You love me."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story.  MMMMM, blood-sausage...)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Year 3 Day 76

movie: The Haunting
starring: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson
genre: Thriller
year: 1999
format: TV edit

plot: A doctor manages to get a group of volunteers together under the idea that they are taking part of a sleep experiment. In truth, he's studying fear. The unsuspecting group end up in a mansion with hidden rooms, and more then a few ghosts.

This is a remake of the 1963 film and based on the 1959 book/

Okay, so now that one episode of the Scary movie franchise makes a little more sense. This is obviously one of the main plots stolen for that spoof.  Not that there really seemed to be much of a plot in this film. But as I always say when it comes to a tv edit, it might have been that choppy story wise because it was edited for television. It was just so disjointed, and it seemed you could only follow the dots of less then half the so called plot.

I wanted to like it. I really wanted to like this movie, but I just couldn't. With the cast it had, it should have been a better film, but it was like kindergarten paste, just a slow sticky mess of tasteless nothing. The design of the house, was the only good thing in it, as the sets were just gorgeous.  Had this relied on good old fashioned story telling (more interaction on the monologs, more lighting/shadow play) and not on computer effects, this would have been so much better.

To me, it felt like the ending was a last minute decision to explain the mess. But again, this was a tv edit so the bad plot lines could be from that.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Year 3 Day 75

 movie: Rock Star
starring: Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston
genre; drama, music
year: 2001
format: TV edit

plot: When the lead singer of a heavy metal tribute band is offered the chance to replace his idol in the group Steel Dragon, he spends the next two years of his life trying to fit in.

This is loosely based on the real life of Tim Owens, who took over as lead for Judas Priest.

Good, but not great. This is one of those films, that if you grew up in the 1980's/early 1990's like I did, you would get a kick out of seeing so many of the bands/band members as extras and supporting characters (now I really want to find a  dvd copy of Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2 the Metal Years, mine's on vhs)

The themes seem to be a blend of never giving up on your dreams, and how we perceive (all about perception) our heroes. More then once in the movie, someone tells the Wahlberg character that he's got to create a "good story for the fans". This, over time eats away at his own sense of self until he has to make a choice, either continue deluding himself and the fans or stand up for what he believes in.


Nosferatu's Lunchbox

Themed cookbooks are everywhere. Just everywhere. From Star Wars, to Star Trek (those yes I expected to hear of) to True Blood, Mad Men, Disney's Princess and the Frog, to Muppet's Presents Miss Piggy's cookbook, to zombie cookbooks to...you get the idea.
I'm a big food person. Love to cook, not always successfully (I hate to admit it, but my cooking skills were much better before I became a vegetarian 13 years ago. Seems tofu is a lot easier to screw up then chicken) and I'm constantly buying cookbooks (no, sadly I don't own any of the ones I just listed) I also love to see what people consider their signature dish/drink.

If you've been reading my soap opera on here, The Nosferatu Adventures,  you know that for 90% of the story, our heroine (that would be me) Nosferatu carries around a lunchbox. You would also notice, that I have the characters eating all the time. Food, plays a massive roll in the story like it does life in general. And when my vampire and werewolves aren't sitting down like civilized monsters, they're usually feeding off each other. (literally)

So, I got the idea in my head this morning, of what would Nosferatu have learned to cook since her time with the werewolves?  And what kind of recipes would Rolf have inherited from his aunt?

The first "signature" dish came to me without any trouble, Reuben's Rabbit Stew.  So I searched my many cookbooks, and found nothing. All the cookbooks I own, and I own four large boxes of them, I could not find one recipe for rabbit stew. This took me to searching online. Here, I found a few recipes for it.   All are extremely time consuming. Not that I would actually try the recipe myself, because I'm a vegetarian, but, I wanted to add a recipe to the blog that would be on an easy level for anyone willing to try it.
After two hours of searching for the rabbit stew recipe, I decided, I need to figure out one myself. This could take awhile, given I don't eat rabbit and even if I did, that's not something you can get where I am.  What should have been the easiest signature dish for the story, has turned into the hardest. And I'm just getting started.

So let's give him a signature drink for the moment.

I wrote Reuben as a guy who is the most loyal of the group, but as we've learned, he's got one of the darkest streaks to him. (I've got about six pages of notes on where I want to take Reuben's character)
Some drinks I thought would work with him are the Rusty Nail, The Prince Charming, or Black Russian. 

The Black Russian, is a classic with 1 and a half oz Vodka and 3/4 oz coffee liqueur

The Prince Charming 1oz Prince Igor Premium Vodka, 4 oz cranberry juice, and 1 oz pineapple juice.

The Rusty Nail, is made by 1 and a half oz of Scotch and 1 oz Drambuie with a twist of orange peel

Personally, I'm really leaning towards that Rusty Nail as Reuben's signature drink. It looks like it's a light drink, but it hits hard.

And as I tell you in the story...tune in for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me...and more from the lunchbox. 


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Year 3 Day 74

movie: Fatal Trust
starring:  Amy Jo Johnson, Paul Popowich
genre: Thriller, Drama
year: 2006
format: TV edit

plot: A widow moves back to her hometown with her young son after the death of her mother. She gets a job working for the local doctor, and discovers he's been killing his patients.

This is a made for tv movie.

The first hour was just stiff, total paint by numbers reading the lines badly, but the second hour of it seemed to loosen up some. The story improved as did the acting.
The story is loosely based on actual events of several different situations. Just as the credits roll, three separate end tags appear explain this.

This is a bit scary, the whole fact that the events this film was centered around happened, that they happen all the time in the world. There was a scene were the lead character actually brings up the idea to her boyfriend that what if this doctor got into the medical field to kill?  Kinda makes you not want to trust anyone.



Friday, March 14, 2014

Coffee talk March 14th 2014

I wish I had something cute to tell you. My lovely Spudguns! (Have I called you all that on this particular blog at all? I can't even remember. My older regular readers from my other blogs will understand) but, sadly I don't.

I think I have hit a small wall. Not a large "oh my god we're going to die in a firey hell of pain and windshield splatters" but an "okay, I hate waiting in line behind people who are as slow as cold molasses on a February morning".

Translation there for you... I've briefly run out of movies. I know, you're thinking "there are a few billion movies on the planet, how can this stupid bat have run out?"
Well, the whole purpose of this blog challenge thingie was to watch one different movie a night for a year and talk about it. Key word being different.
I've run through the current Netflix Canada and the current Shaw Video On Demand, and more then half my own movie collection (it seems I have more older movies on vhs then I originally thought, and am reluctant to use the vcr more then twice a year in case it dies on me) not too mention, since Blockbuster left Canada three years ago, there isn't really any video rental places here anymore. Lest, not the crappy little town I live in.

This was one of the issues I faced last year, and one of the reasons that year 2 -all vampire year- failed. I found myself way too quickly covering vampire movies that I had covered in the past both on here and in general on my all vampire themed blog...(sticks tongue out taking deep breath realizing that if I had been speaking out loud would be gasping for air) And, some of you might have noticed that the last few weeks, the movies have not been every day.
The first year was a breeze really. With everything just like a brand new shinny tag team championship ready for the wearing, but here I am, smackdown in the middle of year 3 having already talked about roughly 450 movies (seriously I haven't bothered to count up all from year one, the random ones/vampire ones from year 2 or so far in year 3, I'm guessing it's about 450 total)

So tonight, I found myself putting in "Julie/Julia" into the dvd player. Going back to the beginning of it all. But, I can't count it, as I talked about it before on the very first day of the blog, and on the last day of the first blog year.
Okay, maybe just a little chat on it... as I was sitting there tonight watching this film for what must be the 50th time, I started thinking about how the challenges the two women created for themselves around the cookbook made them examine their own goals and how they interacted with everyone around them.  They each knew what their big passions in life were, and found a way to express that.
I can not explain what it is about this movie, this story (which is in turn two stories) that keeps drawing me back to it? There's a quiet strength in it. In the telling of these parallel lives. An understanding that nothing is as bad as it seems. (and now I want to listen to old Manowar tapes)

Then I started to think about cookbooks, and personal recipe books. That will be another topic for another day, as I realize how long this ramble is tonight. I had just meant to come in here and explain why this year's challenge is spread out so much right now. I just need to get my hands on a new stack of movies.

This little bat is heading into graveyard shift and my coffin break is over, see you in the daylight.
till later

Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p22

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 124, chapter 124

"You ever going to allow yourself to mourn his death?" The Seer asked as they collected firewood. The three of them had traveled east for the last day, the Seer having had another vision of the mysterious witch. Our Heroine shrugged.

"Reuben is in mourning enough for everyone." she turned to look at the young werewolf. "I've been dreaming about Dagan. Every night since I woke up in that cell." she started to bite her lip.

"What kind of dreams?" he asked as he piled another armload of firewood on to her already heavy load. Turning around, he nodded as he walked over to a small tree grabbing it by the base of the trunk, pushing it over, breaking pieces off. He made a sound of pride as he began to pile them together.

"Just dreams. He's just always there you know. Not doing anything, not saying anything. Sometimes, human, sometimes wolf. It's like he's haunting me or something."

"Maybe he is?"  the werewolf said not looking at her, screwing up his face as he pretended to exert himself with the task of breaking up the tree for firewood.

"Yeah but why?"

"Um...sire bond, the fact you are...were his mate, sorry slip of the tongue there. The whole Frankenstein family curse. The fact you're not allowing yourself to mourn him. All the above. Option C...oh wait that's someone else...nevermind." the Seer scratched the back of his skull, letting out a deep breath. "How do you feel in these dreams? Scared? Like he's angry at you? What?"

The female looked down at her shoes, they were blue canvas tennis shoes that whomever it was that had dressed her in the cell had picked for her, along with the way too large dress. "Safe actually. Protected. That's weird isn't it?"

The Seer shrugged "Why would you think that's weird? Again, let me remind you of the fact he is...er was your mate. Safe, protected is what you should feel about Dagan."

"For starters, Ripper did just that. Ripped me to shreds every chance he got..."

"Oh you're pulling that card are you?"

"Yes, I am pulling that card. Second, you've had a slip of the past/present tense tongue twice in two minutes. What are you hiding? Vision?"

The Seer ran his hand gently down her arm, his seduction spell relaxing her in waves. "Not hiding anything. I just see things differently remember." he blinked, his mouth slightly open, lips forming a crocked smile then a perfect 'o' shape. "And to burst your self loathing bubble, Dagan stopped ripping you to shreds every chance he got once you became his mate. Have you ever bothered to ask yourself why?"

"No. Just glad it stopped." she closed her eyes. "And then Reuben started up on it..." she paused, tilting her head to the side eyes wide open again. "...and I stopped being his favourite chew toy when he made me his mate too. Okay pattern."

"Think about it. Fangs, sharp pointy body parts penetrating flesh..." he gestured wildly with his hand before giving her the finger.

"Got the metaphor. Okay, now I feel stupid. Like twelve year old nun stupid." she blushed, ducking her chin to the armload of firewood resting her face on it. The Seer smirked as he grabbed the pile from her, heading back to the camp.

tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Anyone else catch that they are handling wood...)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Year 3 Day 73

movie: The Wolverine
starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen
genre: Action
year; 2013
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: A young psychic tracks down Wolverine and convinces him to go to Japan in order to see her adopted grandfather, someone Wolverine had helped decades before. The grandfather dies while he's there, and soon he learns that the family are fighting over the fortune. He goes on the run with the other granddaughter, until he is attacked by another mutant who has the ability to drain him of his immortality. Before long, Wolverine finds himself in the battle of his life.

Okay, so this is the next chapter in the X-Men/Wolverine series. (2nd in the Wolverine chapters, and I think 6 in the X-Men)

Where as the first Wolverine film was a straight up superhero movie, this was more of a martial arts film.  I can't say I didn't like it cause I did, but I don't think it was a good as the first one. 
For me, there could have been more of him having to deal with his issues, as it just felt like everything was glossed.

Captain America Blogathon

Not mine.
This is being hosted by Fandango Groovers. 

The idea, is to come up with a list of movies that you would give someone who's been frozen in time from the years between 1943 and 2011.  Sort of interesting when you really sit down and think about it.

Here's my list:

The Goonies (1985)
Stand By Me (1986)
The Shinning (1980)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Mr. Mom (1983)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Practical Magic (1998)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Honestly, I have to cut myself off here, cause I could go on for hours listing movies that I would think would be a "dude you totally have to see this"  and there was a 10 movie limit. I had over 20 on my original list.

Most of the movies on this list are there because they are favourites of mine, but little twist of fate here, with Interview with the Vampire,  because there is a scene where Louis is doing the same thing. He goes to the movies every decade to see how certain things have progressed.

I believe this is running on Fandango Groovers blog until the end of March 2014.

till later

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Year 3 Day 72

movie:Baggage Claim
starring: Paula Patton, Derek Luke
genre: Romance, Comedy
year: 2013
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: A thirty-something unmarried woman, has just been told her much younger sister is about to get married, and she's been asked to be a bridesmaid. In a moment of total panic, she lets two of her friends talk her into re-dating all her ex-boyfriends who are single, in under a month in hopes of finding a husband herself. Meanwhile, the right guy is closer to her then she thinks.

Based on the book of the same name.

It's a girl freaks out about how bad her family makes her feel (familiar with that) and sets herself up for total destruction (yeah, been there done that) and then ends up with the neighbour who's been in love with her for years. (that's never been an issue)  In other words, it's a typical romantic comedy. There isn't anything new in this at all. It works, but that's because it's a mix of cliched moments from other romantic comedies.
It's a nice collection of really horrible dates and worse men.


Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p21

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 123, chapter 123

Reuben dropped the ropes he was using to drag the two bears as he made it to the camp. The werewolf was still breathing heavy, his hair now plastered to his shoulders from sweat. "Where's the Seer?"

"He needed to go feed his sidhe side, why?" our heroine said, getting up from her spot against a tree.

"Did he get the locator spell done?" Reuben asked as he started to pace a bit, obviously still pumped from the hunt.

"The basic didn't work, but it drained him. Hence the need to feed."  The male grabbed the nearest large branch of the tree, using it for a round of chin ups. Landing firmly on his feet, he flicked his hair out of his face, stalking towards her. Glaring at her from under his lashes, the werewolf smiled. "You good?" she asked.

"After the lack of hunting we faced for all that time in the hall of doors, I really needed this." he gestured to the dead bears, as he planted his right arm against the tree, sniffing her. "Adrenaline's still hot." he rocked towards her, his eyes at half mast.

"Hard not to notice from the angle I was sitting." our heroine remarked. "Something tells me you're considering asking for an invitation."  The male said nothing just sniffed again rubbing his other hand over his beard twice, making a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.

"We're alone. No one's watching. And like I said, the blood's still pumping from the hunt. Energy to burn." Reuben bent his nose to her collar bone, nuzzling her. "I know since day one, you've thought about it." He winked. " You haven't exactly been subtle or shy about liking me." he licked her neck. "And when I made you my mate, I wasn't really myself. Full moon ritual and all."

"Roo, if I thought you really wanted me, there wouldn't be a real need for an invitation." He pulled his face away from her, a look of shock in his eyes. "You claimed me cause you didn't have a choice. You're my mate now. You may need an invitation, but without one, you're not getting to use me or anyone for as long as we're both still alive." she grabbed his wrist, bringing his hand up, entwining her pale slim fingers with his stronger ones. "Roo. See this. Until you're over your own feelings about it all, this is your..." he covered her mouth with his other hand shaking his head, his hair everywhere. Sticking his tongue out, the male closed his eyes backing away from her.

Meanwhile...

Rolf and Dagan made their way through the forest finding themselves at the edge of a field.  "So what happened?" Dagan asked, the timber wolf tight to his side, her nose to the ground.

Rolf gave a grunt, turning his blue eyes up to look at him sideways. "Loki said you had some cloaking spell or something hiding you from him. So he sent me to get you."

"No, I mean, everything? The ship, the cells, the cliff. Everything." he stopped, making a low growling sound as he nearly tripped over the timber wolf.

"Plenty of time for that later. We've got a long boat ride back home. But first, I need to stop off and pick up the damned dog." the larger male answered as he laughed at his buddy.

"You didn't say we were meeting up with Nosferatu." Dagan instinctively ran his hand through his hair, then over his jaw.

"What? Na na man, The dog." Rolf held his hand out causing Dagan to bump into him. "Tombstone. I left him with some chick at the last Inn I stayed at. I knew there was no way I could climb a mountain side with him. Ends up, for a hell hound he's scared of heights."  Dagan stood still, his eyes wide, mouth open. "I haven't seen the female since the day on the ship. Or Reuben for that matter." Rolf shrugged.

"But they are alive?" Dagan's tone was a comment more then a question.

"God I hope so."


tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Reuben got denied.)
  

Year 3 Day 71

movie: Free Willy
starring: Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside
genre: Drama,
year; 1993
format: TV edit

plot: After getting caught spray painting a whale tank, a boy is placed in a foster home and has to spend the summer cleaning up the paint. While doing his community service, he forms an attachment with a troublesome whale. He helps to train him, but when it looks like the whale will be destroyed, the boy forms a plan to release the animal back into the wild.

I'm neutral on this one. Typical wild kid makes good type of movie. You sort of get the idea of what is going to happen before it does.
You have two characters who are just looking for a solid home, and a family that they can count on to not leave them. You see the bond created by the kid and the whale, which gives way to the kid starting to get over his trust issues. In a way, I suppose the whale does too.

Classic family movie, I just wish some of the characters had more depth to them.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Year 3 Day 70

movie: Rio
starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
genre: Cartoon
year: 2011
format: TV edit

plot: A tropical bird gets kidnapped as a chick and ends up in a pet store. After 15 years of being a house pet, the owner is told it's the last male of it's species, and is shipped off to Rio where it is suppose to be mated to the last female of it's species. The two birds end up being stolen and the owners try to track then down. Along the way, they have to dodge a group of criminals that include pick-pocketing monkeys, a bird who is a psychopathic bully, and the humans who want to sell them.

Well, babysitting, so this was my cousin's pick. It was a lot funnier then I thought it would be, yes, I actually laughed out loud more then once.
It's a comedy/musical/romance all rolled into a cartoon.

The main theme is having the courage to believe in yourself, while battling your fears.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p20

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 122, chapter 122

Three weeks ago...

The auburn wolf jumped from one rock to the other, his nose to the ground, having caught the scent of a deer. Crossing a shallow stream, he stopped, a sound in the distance having tickled at his ears. Turning to look in the direction it was coming from, the wolf couldn't ignore it. Dinner would have to wait.

He followed the low wheezing till he came upon a timber wolf. It was a female, and she was wounded, her front paw sliced badly, bite marks covering her. The auburn wolf sniffed, the scent of blood heavy as he ran over to investigate. Growled his ears were flat, his fur bristling, as he realized she'd been attacked by a dog. Most likely one of the Queen's hunting dogs. The timber wolf was having a difficult time as her breathing was labored and he knew she'd starve out here alone unable to hunt. The auburn wolf licked his chops as he disappeared into the nearest batch of trees, finding a small rabbit bringing it to her. Noticing her pack was nowhere to be found, the auburn wolf moved around the area, catching the pack's scent everywhere.

Howling a few times, he stretched out beside her and waited with her till they returned.


Four hours ago...

Rolf filled a flask from a shallow stream. Crossing, he stopped as he crouched by the edge of the bank. The large male smiled as he ran his hand down the length of the nearest tree trunk. Someone had carved a spiral into it's base. He didn't need to guess who, it was a bad habit Dagan had when he was bored. Turning right, the large male followed the line of trees till he caught the scent of a timber wolf. Actually, many scents as he discovered a full pack. Whistling the werewolf sat down, not more then fifty feet from them, and waited to be noticed.

It only took a few minutes before the timber wolves crept slowly, cautiously to where he was, the pack alpha sniffing once he was less then ten feet away. Raising his muzzle to the sky, the leader howled, as he stopped and turned as if looking for permission to continue. That's when Rolf saw him.

He was in wolf form, a good two feet larger then the timber wolves, his auburn fur dirty, blood staining his muzzle. There was no mistaking him as Dagan sauntered over to his buddy.  Rolf shook his head laughing to himself as he raised an eyebrow. Even in wolf form, Dagan was as cocky as ever. The large wolf sniffed the male's face before headbutting him.

"We've got a lot to catch up on. But first, how about you hit the showers cause you stink."

The auburn wolf snorted as he shook his head slumping to the lake. Rolf had a campfire started and a small deer caught by the time Dagan pranced up to him again. The auburn wolf stretched out, his tongue hanging out of his mouth panting. Rolf rolled his eyes at him. "You going to change?" The wolf grunted giving a snort. "You realized you can't continue to live strictly as a wolf. Not with this adopted pack. It's mating season. They will be expecting you to choose one of the females." he flicked his long hair out of his face. "Dude, come on. That's just wrong even for us."

The wolf grunted again, moving a few feet, transforming. Many of the timber wolves yelped as they backed away farther, the sounds of bones snapping and vocal cords realigning frightening a few of them.  But one female timber wolf didn't seem to be afraid. Bowing her head, she slowly moved towards them. Dagan crouched down as the magic mist engulfed him leaving a pair of black pants in it's wake, and reached out his hand to pet the animal.

"Meet Matilda." The timber female closed her eyes, leaning her muzzle into his hand. "The pack was going to abandon her when I first got here because she had been injured."

"You explain to your little groupie here that you've got a mate?" Rolf snickered.

"You're gross you know that."

"I learned from the best." he replied popping a chunk of deer meat into his mouth.

"You need to go back to your pack now." Dagan said in a near whisper, his voice taking on a sing-song. "We need to get back to our own."  The timber wolf whimpered as the werewolf  tried to push her away. She wouldn't budge, forcing Dagan to pick her up and carry her a few feet back to the pack. He barely made it five feet back, when he felt her smash into his knee, having followed him again. He let out a grunt turning pointing towards the rest of the timber wolves. "Go." the timber female just wrapped herself around his knees, her face brushing against his other hand, headbutting it. "Okay, you can come with us if you think you can keep up. But just so you know..." he lowered his chin, eyebrows knitted together. "I only date vampires."

tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story...ah Dagan, Dagan, Dagan...)

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Nosferatu Adventures S4 p19

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 121, chapter 121

Rolf...

He dug his fingers firmly into the rocks, as he lifted himself up another few feet. By this point he was breathing heavy, the air getting thinner. Sweat began to coat his face as he turned his blue eyes to look at the setting sun. Licking the corner of his bottom lip, the large male decided he'd have to camp soon. He'd been climbing now for half the day, and even with his ability to see in the dark, the mountain side was not the place he wanted to be after night fall.

Rolf heard the sound of bats off in the not too far distance, indicating there was some form of shelter close, a cave or at the very lest a small clump of trees. Nodding to himself, the werewolf headed in the direction the sound was coming from.

It took him another hour even with his strength and speed to make it to the small dugout. It wasn't as much a cave as it was an indent in the side of the mountain. The male managed to huddle inside, thankful for the few bats, as they became dinner.

He was sleeping a while later, his mind trying to block out some of the things done to him in the hall of doors, when he hear the familiar sound of a wolf howling. The large male sat up, a grin spreading across his lips.

"I'm coming buddy." stretching, Rolf headed in the direction the howling had originated from.


Meanwhile...

Reuben stood slightly hunched, feet apart, eyes locked on his prey. The male exhaled silently as he waited. The large bear lumbered towards him, forcing Reuben to roll out of the way in a quick and razor sharp side shoulder roll, his chocolate brown puppy dog eyes flashing and changing to the amber-grey of the wolf.

His ears twitched as something moved in the bush to his left. Turning to see, he spotted a second bear make it's way out of the woods. The male laughed to himself, sticking his tongue out clearly enjoying the hunt, as he rolled again in another perfect side shoulder roll.Quickly he sprang to his feet charging the first bear, using his werewolf speed to plant a hard kick upside it's head. The bear let out a roar as it batted at him. But Reuben dodged out of the way, swaying and jumping. His hands at his sides, as he taunted the animal.

"Come on! You are going to be a blanket when I'm done with you."

He continued like this for the next few hours, until finally the werewolf tired of it. He tossed the first bear aside, having snapped it's neck, just as the second one made a swat at him. Reuben jumped up, his knee connecting with the second bear's head, slamming it to the ground in a wet splat as blood began to pool under it.

Standing tall, the werewolf was coated in sweat, his hair matted and tangled, his breathing extremely laboured. Clapping his hands he screamed. "That's how you do it!" Looking then from one lifeless body to the other, the male ran his hand over his face and through his hair. "Aw shack! How am I going to carry both those back to camp?"

Tune in again later for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story...I love werewolves)

Year 3 Day 69

movie: The Romantics
starring: Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel
genre: Drama
year: 2010
format: TV edit

plot: a group of friends reunite for the wedding of two of their members, only to find that old relationships and friendships/jealousies have not been moved on from.

Based on the novel.

I hated this. Straight up, thought it was just drivel. It went nowhere, the characters were flat, and it just seemed like it was made strictly as a vehicle to get the group of actors together in one film. It felt like it was trying to be the next big 80's group, but just fell flat on it's face.