Count Yorga is Dead

When I was a kid, I went to see a double feature--back in the day when the still had such things--The Return of Count Yorga, and Frogs. The first was the first 'modern' vampire movie I'd ever seen and truly scared the crap out of me. I mean, until the Scream channel, I had no idea how the movie went because I spent most to the time with my hands over my face, cowering beneath the chair and bawling. Thank God, for Frogs, which was a joke compared to the nightmare I'd just gone through.

For years I remembered old Count Yorga, and vowed to watch that movie again, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, Scream (Canada's horror movie channel) showed it and I finally watched it. Well, I'm a bit jaded now, so it was little wonder I thought it not the greatest movie in the world, or even scary, really, except for when Yorga does that vampire charge of his. Kind of disturbing.

Anyway, Robert Quarry, who portrayed Count Yorga in two movies has died. My story, "Second Banana," in the latest issue of Necrotic Tissue, is an homage to The Return of Count Yorga, not as it is, but a childhood remembrance of what it had been.

Mike

Oscar, Oscar, Ossscaarr!

The above is from the TV series, "The Odd Couple". Oscar and Felix are vacationing in the Caribbean and Felix makes up a Calypso song. Here is the clip on U Tube.
Whenever it is time for the Oscar awards, the song always pops in my head.

So, here is my take on the Oscars. When I heard they were going to 'revamp' the show, I was concerned. Considering the number of 'Democrats' in the acting profession, the awards are remarkable 'Republican' in who gets what. And when I saw the promo of how they were going to do it, apparently revamping means stealing ideas from 60 to 70 years in the past.

And yet they managed to pull it off. I liked the set, and I liked closeness of the stage to the audience.

I thought it interesting that 'Slumdog Millionaire," and "The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button," took so many technical awards, but that is the nature of popular movies released late in the year. Had the "Dark Knight," come out around Christmas, I'm sure the awards would have been a different story.

Which brings me to Heath Ledger who won a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award. I have no doubt he deserved the award, and the family accepted the award for his daughter. Not a dry eye in the house after that. Poor Bill Mahr, to have to come on after that--well I digress.

To win and Oscar is a boon to any acting career. Heath Ledger is dead. He doesn't need it. I feel if there is a case of a posthumous Oscar, then another should be given to a living nominee. Might sound cold, but then it feels like -20 C with the wind today.

Mike

Morning Musings

GM is asking for FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS!!! WTF?

I sympathize with the employees, I really do. They will never find a job that pays so well for what they do, and they all know it, (unlike some Canada Post employees, but that a whine of another flavor.) Let's not forget the employees who support the auto industry, the parts makers right down to the waitress at the local donut shop. They are the real casualties of this recession.

But seriously, $50,000,0000,000.00! And what is the grand restructuring plan?

Well, close down factories and layoffs, of course. Put more people out of work, that way they'll have more money to, ah, hmm. . .

Anyway, once the economy gets back on track we can continue making our gas-guzzling, er, we'll get back to you on that.

The real key to GM survival is pricing. We need to keep our cars unaffordable, beyond the means of the average, ah . . .

Oh, screw it! We have to answer to our share holders. They demand dividends, and our poor VP's need bonuses, lots and lots of bonuses because they've been under alot of stress lately. We stick to the same policy that has served GM well since the Jurassic: Take care of the Big Guys and the little people will fall into place--like they have a choice.

And if that doesn't work, we'll just ask for another 50 Billion.

I say buy a lottery ticket. That's what I'm doing.

Quick Movie Review: "Iron Man." Believe the hype. It's everthing a good superheroe movie should be.


Mike

Morning Musings

This winter seems to be the season of revamping websites and blogs. I noticed this as I surfed over to friends websites and old haunts. My website, MikeRimar.com also has a new look. Even Kat seems to approve.

Don't forget the Aurora Awards for Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy. My story, Avarice is eligible in the Short Story, English category. Nominations end Feb 28th 2009.

Quick movie review. 'The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford'. Slow moving in the sense you are drawn into that world, living and feeling every moment. All characters are equal parts unlikable and sympathetic, in other words, human. Excellent from beginning to end.

Mike

I Want My. . .I Want My MRI

My left knee, as seen through Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Cool!



Looks like I got plenty of cartilage, so no operation. Unfortunately, I have plenty of arthritis, too, so it's going to be a brace for me, and holy crap are those things expensive.

Of course, I'm going to get the leather jumpsuit so I can be Mel Gibson in the Road Warrior. The cool, tough guy Mel, not the drunken antisemitic Mel.

Thoughts During Morning Tea

I need to move my Word icon away from my Outlook icon. At a quick glance the two look the same and I always manage to click the wrong one.

Today I go see the doctor regarding my knee. No doubt he will tell me I need some kind of surgery but he won’t get to me until the summer, at which point the police will be called because I will kill him.

A quick review of, Shoot ‘em up. Fantastic, totally unrealistic stunts. Plot as thin as cheap toilet paper, and the script, littered with preschool poo-poo jokes was likely used as such after filming. Essentially the writer/director’s wet dream of what an action movie should be. My only explanation is somehow he slipped a date rape drug into all the actor’s, crew, and financier’s cocktails, and screwed them all into making this movie.

2 out of 5 stars because I’m in a good mood today.

I have discovered editing a novel is like that Al Pacino line from Godfather 3, “Just when I think I’m out, they drag me back in.” I thought my book was ready for first readers, but noooooo. Luckily, the edits are getting shorter, and more like edits and not total rewrites.

Mike