...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....