I am very taken with this horror meta poem: "The Last Word," by Gwynne Garfinkel. Sad and funny, and a true appreciation of two characters who are overshadowed by the more monstrous figures, but who are pivotal to the plot and meaningful to some of us. I'm feeling warm and fuzzy about Garfinkel's appreciating these two for themselves ( Read more... )

I watched Interview with the Vampire on a big screen last night. I used to think of that movie as having no plot. Now, it strikes me that it's the tale of Louis fleeing one abusive relationship successfully, only to blunder right into another one. Truly, it takes a long time to learn how to avoid getting involved with terrible people ( Read more... )

I got to show Ravenous (1999) to kestrell and alexx_kay yesterday. It was delightful. Zelda, you were one hundred per cent correct about me and this movie. I keep coming back to it. It has all sorts of things I love, and the way it unites them is beautiful. For a movie about human flesh, this is damn good-looking. Blood pouring down window glass with the light ( Read more... )

I enjoyed this article in Strange Horizons: Boucher, Backbone, and Blake - the legacy of Blakes 7, by Erin Horakova. I've never watched Blakes 7; I like the article for a variety of reasons. It's written in a funny and observant style, the sort of thing I'm aiming for and never feel I quite achieve in my movie and theater reviews on here. It's ( Read more... )

17th-century-and-earlier revenge tragedy rewrites of famous narratives are becoming A Thing on Tumblr. Why should they have all the fun? Here is my current favorite, a summary of the deeply gruesome and nihilistic "The Madman's Tragedy" with discussion questions.

[copying this post from Tumblr--I wasn't going to bother, but on second thought I feel it needs to be said here, too]

I LOVE A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Like, lifetime fan, can repeat quotes by heart, experienced the gamut of emotions reading it as a small child and find something new every time I go back to it.

It also has some horribly ( Read more... )

In which Zelda tags me, Kestrell, and Alexx in a post about H.P. Lovecraft, and I go off on the original post for spreading misinformation. I feel like a jerk, but I can't sit idly by and let this kind of nonsense circulate. Again with the "creative person was hallucinating" and "person with gross worldview was crazy and therefore a bigot" bullshit ( Read more... )

I saw the production of Shakespeare's Nothing Will Ever Be Okay Again This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things King Lear on Boston Common last night, and I recommend it for anybody who wants to watch a good production of a harrowing and nihilistic play. It's running Tuesdays through Sundays till August 9th, it's free, and more info is hereThis is not ( Read more... )

Item:

A sheet of paper on my floor says, in my handwriting:

...I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!

***
[lower down the page, still in my handwriting:]

4 AM me thought this important a few nights ago. Make what you can of it.Item ( Read more... )

sovay has an excellent essay here on "The Brides of Dracula," and I just enjoyed reading it. See my icon for my facial expression.