Slept through the night last night.
Yesterday I got up after only a couple of hours of sleep. Voted and my wife said "Hey it is beautiful outside, lets go on a hike."
So six miles later I crashed.
Slept now, will resume tonight.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Dracula, The Hunters' Journals: 26 October; Doctor Seward's Diary
Seward gives some more updates.
Dr. Seward’s Diary.
26 October.—Another day and no tidings of the Czarina Catherine. She ought to be here by now. That she is still journeying somewhere is apparent, for Mrs. Harker’s hypnotic report at sunrise was still the same. It is possible that the vessel may be lying by, at times, for fog; some of the steamers which came in last evening reported patches of fog both to north and south of the port. We must continue our watching, as the ship may now be signalled any moment.
Notes: Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Not much here. More examples of the Count controlling the weather.
Interesting how he was such a presence in the first part of the book and now he has no lines to speak of.
Friday, October 25, 2024
October Horror Movie Challenge: Land of the Minotaur (1976)
So today I was weeding through some of my boxed sets of questionable horror DVDs when I found it. Donald Pleasance even has top billing on the cover. Sadly the movie itself doesn't hold up the search I have been on for it.
Land of the Minotaur (1976)
I mentioned it is also The Devil's Men, was a Greek/British production starring Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing. In a turn around, Pleasance plays the good guy Father Roche and Peter Cushing plays our bad guy, cultist Baron Corofax.
The movie centers around the idea that a Minotaur is still somehow alive and worshipped as a god. OR it is really demon. OR it is just a statue what has jets of fire coming out of it's nose. Hard to say really.
A group of Archeology student go missing and Father Roche calls up his friend private detective Milo Kaye (Kostas Karagiorgis) to help him and survivor Laurie Gordon (Luan Peters) investigate.
They discover a cult lead by Cushing who sacrifices outsiders to the minotaur.
Standard cult fare really. There is confusion as to whether or not this minotaur is a minotaur or some manifestation of the Devil. Father Roche is able to keep the cultists (most of the village) at bay with a cross. Note: Father Roche is an Irish Catholic priest, but uses what looks like an Eastern Orthodox cross.
They find the cult, and Father Roche blows up the minotaur (stone on the outside, soft squishy guts on the inside) using holy water.
Yeah it is not great, but not a bad little cult movie. The American version is 8 minutes shorter than the European version, as can be expected really. There is a whole scene I guess where Milo and Laurie have sex that is not on my DVD.
Featured Monster: Minotaur
The Minotaur of Greek myth was a unique creature. Thus it had certain gravitas or even a god-like quality about it. It was the monster in the labyrinth, whom sacrifices had to be made. Multiple minotaurs in a game make them just ogres with bull horns.
BUT the thing this movie does do well is show how terrifying a single minotaur can be to a group 0-level Humans. The factor in the whole Minotaur as a god thing and getting damaged by holy water, just make him into Baphomet. Now suddenly the movie makes much more sense.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
Viewed: 37
First Time Views: 17
Dracula, The Hunters' Journals: 25 October; Doctor Seward's Diary
Seward gives us some updates and laments doing it all by hand.
Dr. Seward’s Diary.
25 October.—How I miss my phonograph! To write diary with a pen is irksome to me; but Van Helsing says I must. We were all wild with excitement yesterday when Godalming got his telegram from Lloyd’s. I know now what men feel in battle when the call to action is heard. Mrs. Harker, alone of our party, did not show any signs of emotion. After all, it is not strange that she did not; for we took special care not to let her know anything about it, and we all tried not to show any excitement when we were in her presence. In old days she would, I am sure, have noticed, no matter how we might have tried to conceal it; but in this way she is greatly changed during the past three weeks. The lethargy grows upon her, and though she seems strong and well, and is getting back some of her colour, Van Helsing and I are not satisfied. We talk of her often; we have not, however, said a word to the others. It would break poor Harker’s heart—certainly his nerve—if he knew that we had even a suspicion on the subject. Van Helsing examines, he tells me, her teeth very carefully, whilst she is in the hypnotic condition, for he says that so long as they do not begin to sharpen there is no active danger of a change in her. If this change should come, it would be necessary to take steps!... We both know what those steps would have to be, though we do not mention our thoughts to each other. We should neither of us shrink from the task—awful though it be to contemplate. “Euthanasia” is an excellent and a comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.
It is only about 24 hours’ sail from the Dardanelles to here, at the rate the Czarina Catherine has come from London. She should therefore arrive some time in the morning; but as she cannot possibly get in before then, we are all about to retire early. We shall get up at one o’clock, so as to be ready.
25 October, Noon.—No news yet of the ship’s arrival. Mrs. Harker’s hypnotic report this morning was the same as usual, so it is possible that we may get news at any moment. We men are all in a fever of excitement, except Harker, who is calm; his hands are cold as ice, and an hour ago I found him whetting the edge of the great Ghoorka knife which he now always carries with him. It will be a bad lookout for the Count if the edge of that “Kukri” ever touches his throat, driven by that stern, ice-cold hand!
Van Helsing and I were a little alarmed about Mrs. Harker to-day. About noon she got into a sort of lethargy which we did not like; although we kept silence to the others, we were neither of us happy about it. She had been restless all the morning, so that we were at first glad to know that she was sleeping. When, however, her husband mentioned casually that she was sleeping so soundly that he could not wake her, we went to her room to see for ourselves. She was breathing naturally and looked so well and peaceful that we agreed that the sleep was better for her than anything else. Poor girl, she has so much to forget that it is no wonder that sleep, if it brings oblivion to her, does her good.
Later.—Our opinion was justified, for when after a refreshing sleep of some hours she woke up, she seemed brighter and better than she had been for days. At sunset she made the usual hypnotic report. Wherever he may be in the Black Sea, the Count is hurrying to his destination. To his doom, I trust!
Notes: Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Seward has to write out his diary instead of recording. Ah the inconveniences of modern life.
They are tracking the Count, but it seems as they get closer and closer Mina is more and more affected. So much so that Seward is already thinking what will need to be done if she turns.
Pop Yourself! Larina
I am not a big collector of Funko-Pops. I have a few but not what I consider a lot. But recently I saw they had a Halloween (now over) promotion to get a Funko Pop figure of yourself. Well that is fine and all, but do I really need one of me? A blonde (er now gray) guy with glasses? I am not even sure I can get one with glasses and a goatee. (I just checked, I can). But since one of the choices was a witch, well I knew what I needed to do!
And since today is what I consider to be Larina's birthday, I thought I would share the Funko Pop I had made of her.
I did a re-paint on her hair, and yo see I messed up her eyebrows a bit. Still, I am happy with the hair. I opted not to repaint the rest of her. I am not really that good to be honest.
Here is the original.
Obsessive? Yeah maybe. But I always buy something for myself on Halloween. This was what I got for myself this year.
By the way, I did go back and see what a Funko Pop version of me would look like.
Not bad. Not sure I need it though.
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