...In Which I Give Thanks And Ramble

So, welcome to another edition of random notes. First things first - I have to give some shout outs to some rather kind fellow bloggers that have recently handed out some awards to me. While I still try to figure out why I have been chosen, I'll thank them.

First up, I was awarded the Versatile Blogger award thanks to Will Errickson of the sublime blog: Too Much Horror Fiction. This is a guy who knows his books. I'm constantly checking his blog out for whatever he may be reading at the moment - he is a prolific poster who mirrors my exact taste in horror. One of the best things about his blog is that he posts all the vintage paperback covers - most of which I have on my bookshelf, literally. And yes, that dates me. Ugh.

I recently got psyched when he actually posted the illustrations from inside an old Reader's Digest Condensed version of Jaws! My grandma used to read those old condensed versions of novels (probably because she was too busy practicing the weekly hymns for church on the piano to actually read the real thing!) and the Jaws one got me so intrigued that I had to read the real deal. So I actually have that crappy abbreviated version of the best-selling novel to thank for igniting my entire Jaws passion. But the illustrations are really quite lovely!

Anyway - if you read and especially if you have the same fondness for classic (vintage) horror fiction as Will and I do, you should be reading this blog! On a side note, this dude once actually had a conversation with Joey Ramone. I mean, how many people can actually say that!?

In order to accept the award there are conditions of course, and I don't want to let him down. So here we go: You have to:

• Thank the person who gave it to you. Which I already did...

• Share 7 things about yourself. Okay, here goes:

- I would rather attend The Kentucky Derby than any other event in the entire world, anywhere. Ever. True story.

- I have 26 - count 'em, 26! - books on my nightstand. Seriously, I just counted them. I'm currently reading four of them.

- I'm obsessed with paranormal/fantasy novels starring vampires. If this makes me lame, weird, hokey, seemingly unintelligent, and/or hackneyed then so be it. If I've lost credibility, que sera, sera.

- For all my heinous, gory obsessions and fixation on all things horror, I love Glee.

- I just got my very first cell phone earlier this month. And I'm nearly clueless about how to use it.

- I would love to seriously move someplace like Scotland, Ireland or Wales - live on the coast in a tiny cottage with some sheep in the yard, ocean waves at my window, and no neighbors for miles. I want to be well-removed from society and have all day to read, write, and drink prolifically. With internet access of course.

- I currently have an unhealthy obsession with Joe Manganiello. I'm sure I'm not alone.

• Pass the award along to 15 who you have recently discovered and who you think fantastic for whatever reason.
-Oh boy, fifteen? Really?
Okay, I'm gonna have to change that up, or I'll never get this post up. If you scroll through my extensive blog roll, you'll no doubt see a few blogs that you haven't been reading or have never experienced. So do that. Go. Click. Experience. And for my part, how about I just pick the fifteen out of my blog roll that I read religiously.

Behind the Couch

Billy Loves Stu

Chuck Norris Ate My Baby

Day of the Woman

The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense

Fatally Yours

Final Girl

42nd Street Cinema

From Midnight, With Love

The Horror Digest

Kindertrauma

The Lightning Bug's Lair

Planet of Terror

Too Much Horror Fiction

The Vault of Horror

Please don't be offended if your blog is not listed! This is why I hate doing these things cause I feel too nice (at times) to leave anyone out. It doesn't mean I don't read your blog, because as you can see from my blog roll I have a ton of blogs I read on a regular basis.
I guess these blogs above are simply my go-to reads. And just so you know, they are alphabetized so no one feels slighted or put off. So there.

Hmpf! I still feel like a heel.

• Contact the blogs you picked and let them know about the award.
So with this, I suppose I have failed.


Next up!
Thanks go out to Melissa Helwig of Little Miss Zombie, as she has bestowed upon me the "You Scare Me" award. She said such incredibly nice things about my blog that I almost didn't believe she was talking about me.

Melissa has went through a really rough time recently and I have to commend her for pulling through the heartache and blogging her blues away -well, I'm sure that's not entirely possible but I just want to tell her to hang in there - she's got friends thinking of her!

(And Melissa, Mindless Movie Monday will be starting back up soon. Meanwhile I'll still be bringing you your weekly fix of gore on Sundays.)

The "rules" of this award are to award it to two blogs that you feel are outstanding.
So here goes. To the aforementioned Behind the Couch.
James and I are kindred souls, both with a huge appreciation for Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Vincent Price, and red wine. He's like a brother from another mother. Oh, and did I mention the guy has mad writing skills? Already an author of a book on said Argento, his blog is rife with terrifically written reviews that are hard to come by in this flooded emporium of horror bloggers. And yes I always gush, James.

And to Radiation-Scarred Reviews - a site that loves all things "B-movie". I've gotten to know the super-nice Bill Adcock through our mutual other hang-out, The Blood Sprayer, and late night chats on AIM during a 'Push Up Your Horror Nerd Glasses' movie-fest! He's hilarious, kind, and always in the know. And besides, his love for both sharks and Godzilla puts us right on the same page! And I'm sure the other members of the RSR site are equally as groovy!

And thanks lastly to iZombieLover, who gave me the Zombie Rabbit award, which coincidentally I already have and certainly hope the two undead bunnies don't get too close and personal or I think we know what will happen.

So with this award you are supposed to 'pay it forward' and pass it on to the blog that is "next" - in other words, award it to a random blog that is the one after yours on the next blog slider button. So when I did that, I got a blog called 'The Dead Don't Die', which turned out to be in the horror genre, so that was pretty darn cool. So perhaps you all should check that one out.

And of course you are to pick ten blogs that you want to award it to. Well, I pretty much did just that during the last "awards season", so I'm just going to cheat and tell you once again to look on my blog roll- I have a ton of truly great links there to some of the best horror blogs out there...so feel free to click away on those. Clickety click click....

And now for some shameless self promotion.
If you haven't been reading The Blood Sprayer, you are totally missing out on one of the newest places for horror fans to hang out. With an ever-growing assemblage of simply awe-inspiring writers on staff, I'm proud to be a part of it!

You can read my articles here. Some of which include: love-fests for Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento, a list of my favorite roles for men in horror, and the pros and cons of dating Norman Bates, among others. There are some really brilliant writers on this site, many of which have blogs listed above, so don't waste any more time - please go check out The Blood Sprayer in your internet travels - it's truly great stuff!

Okay, that's all for now....

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Abominable



Rogue



The Grudge



Prey



Scream

Billy Loves Stu and I do too!

Now hear this: The guru of bad-ass sass and cheeky sarcasm - and one of my favorite people - Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu, has put out a challenge to all his fellow bloggers to complete the following meme and I have obliged with downright glee.

So here we go:

The First Ever Billy Loves Stu Meme for Horror Bloggers

1: In Ten Words or Less, Describe Your Blog:

One woman's quest to rant and rave about everything horror.

2: During What Cinematic Era Where you Born?
A: The Classic Horror Era (late 30's to 40's)

B: The Atomic Monster/Nuclear Angst Era (the late 40's through 50's)

C: The Psycho Era (Early 60's)

D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's)

E: The Exorcism Era (Early to mid 70's)

F: The Halloween era (Late 70's to Early 80's)

G: The Slasher Era (Mid to late 80's)

H: The Self Referential/Post Modern Era (1990 to 1999)

Awww, man. Do I really have to go there? Let's just say Night of the Living Dead and leave it at that.

3: The Carrie Compatibility Question:

(gay men and straight women - make your choice from section A)

A: Billy Nolan or Tommy Ross, who would you take to the prom?

(straight guys and lesbians - make your choice from section B)

B: Sue Snell or Chris Hargensen, who would you take to the prom?

No offense to Pax, but Tommy Ross is waaaay to saccharine for me. I like the tall, dark and handsome bad boys, so it'd be all about Billy Nolan. And no doubt he can dance.

4: You have been given an ungodly amount of money, and total control of a major motion picture studio - what would your dream Horror project be?

What I have been truly itching for is an old fashioned, completely authentic ghost story - set in a sinister looking mansion/castle somewhere in the UK and chock full of actual frightening elements and no CGI unless absolutely necessary. With all that money I should be able to afford the best practical effects, right? Of course I'd want a superbly obscure cast - none of this MTV bullshit. Add to that a brooding, melancholy score by the likes of someone like Hans Zimmer or Dario Marianelli.
And goddamnit, it would be scary.

5: What horror film "franchise" that others have embraced, left you cold?

Nightmare on Elm Street. I love the first one with pretty much all my heart. But to be honest, if I never see any of the others ever again, I won't lose any sleep. Freddy got ridiculously stupid. He was supposed to be a killer, not a comedian. Spare me.

6: Is Michael Bay the Antichrist?

I think that is being too kind.

7: Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Frankenstein Monster - which one of these classic villains scares you, and why?

Oh Dracula of course. While I have extreme love for all things fanged, I'll be the first to admit that Drac definitely instills more fear in me than the other two. That being said, I must say I'd rather just get bit by a vampire than have my throat ripped out by a wolf man. Yikes.

8: Tell me about a scene from a NON HORROR Film that scares the crap out of you:

I think I've mentioned this scene at some point here on FWF - but the scene in American History X where Edward Norton makes the dude open his mouth on the curb and then....! Oh god I thought about that for weeks. Even now: *shudder!*

9: Baby Jane Hudson invites you over to her house for lunch. What do you bring?

Rat poison? Enough for the cackling broad as well as the rodents. And some strong scotch. For me to tease her with as she foams at the mouth...

10: So, between you and me, do you have any ulterior motives for blogging? Come, on you can tell me, it will be our little secret, I won't tell a soul.

I'm doing it to meet men.
NO, not really! Actually, I can't help but to write. It's part of my psyche and blogging calms me down after the worst of days. It's just a plus that anyone actually wants to READ it.

11: What would you have brought to Rosemary Woodhouse's baby shower?

A little black cape (for the baby of course). Black is always in. Oh, and maybe some mini-sunglasses so folks don't make fun of his eyes!!

12: Godzilla vs The Cloverfield Monster, who wins?

The mere thought that such an inconsequential monster such as that Cloverfield piece of shit (didn't it even have a name? A disgrace!) is a laugh! Godzilla will ALWAYS rule!

13: If you found out that Rob Zombie was reading your blog, what would you post in hopes that he read it?

First my hubby would want me to say how much he enjoys Zombie's wife's nude/near nude scenes. Then I would tell him to please come up with something original for his next film, and perhaps to wash his hair. Or not.

14: What is your favorite NON HORROR FILM, and why?

Sideways. Because I like drinking fucking Merlot.

15: If blogging technology did not exist, what would you be doing?

Writing. Always.
When I was a kid my best friend and I used to write stories together - I'd write some, then pass it off to her and she'd add some...and so forth. I've been writing ever since.
But I'm really glad I decided to start Fascination with Fear. It's my baby and I've met some really extraordinary fellow bloggers. Like Pax!
Thanks for this meme, dude - you're the Bosley to my Kelly.

Netflix Rocks Horror...Instantly!

Netflix, while single-handedly reinventing the wheel and revolutionizing the DVD rental business, has brought movies to those of us who no longer have another rental option available.
You lucky dogs who live in or close to cities have Redbox in your local grocery stores and/or a Blockbuster right down the street are too fortunate to realize your blessings.

I live in the sticks. Well, maybe not the sticks - but close enough. And when my local rental place closed down I was shit outta luck as far as renting movies. It became extraordinarily expensive to just buy everything I wanted to see, and even getting HBO was a moot point because everything they show has been out for months.
You can hear me rant and rave about this subject here.

Suffice it to say that I am in love with Netflix. It brings me movie after movie into my mailbox (and who doesn't like getting something other than bills?) and puts a smile on my face when I realize I don't have to drop a fortune at Wal-Mart or Target on DVDs I might never watch again.
I have only a two day turnaround for movies which means I could conceivably watch up to say, six movies a week with the plan I have. Yep, new releases too of course.
Add to that the fact that you can watch tons of movies right on your computer (or with a Wii) instantly....and seriously, who can deny it's a great deal?

Now...
Of course I realize many people do not have Netflix, but for those who do, I really feel I have to mention the plethora of decent horror films they now have available on their 'watch instantly' feature.

(And please forgive me for not linking all the films...I would have been at my computer for a whole day doing that! But you can look any and/or all these films up on Netflix, Amazon, or IMDB. Please do so.)

Included in the awesomeness:



I can tell you I personally watched every one of these films (not necessarily on Netflix mind you) and they are all worthy of your attention.
So seriously, if this didn't make non-subscribers want to jump on this bandwagon - for the instant watch if nothing else - I don't know what would.

I'm thinking I should get some sort of compensation for this lovely infomercial here...