Blessings on that rare and wonderful thing: the independant local book store.  When the nearby Borders Books ran out after 2 hours,  our beloved little book store was still handing them out, wrapped up in gift paper and tied with ribbons like the gifts they were!!  You've never seen so many happy Mothers in one place in your life!

Oh my gawd.....isn't that posterized Peter Max effect just the grooviest thing?!!

The height of technical effects....circa 1970

Oy...

I just caught a short film about (not BY) Dario Argento on the Independant Film Channel......the title is "An Eye For Horror"

I'd never heard of him before I saw his films discussed here so I thought I'd mention this in case any of his fans didn't know such a film existed.

I don't know how you'd go about finding out if and when it might be shown again....don't know if it's a new production or something that's been around.....just thought I'd share. 

...why Phillip Todd was wearing blue plaid pajama bottoms in a jail cell, in Collinsport, in 1970 

I was just wondering...

Am I the only one here who HATED the return of Willie Loomis?

Didn't any one else throw something at the TV?

Never saw this stuff before.  Wish I still hadn't.

The nature of Willie's relationship to Barnabas Collins ALWAYS makes me want to shriek.....but this was beyond endurance.

That Willie would even for an instant consider staying and helping the man who: enslaved him, beat him, tormented him, threatened him, framed him, belittled him, betrayed him......isn't just stupid.  It's sickening.

If they had wanted to, they could have written Willie's return in much different terms.  He could have come back older and wiser, angry and vengeful, with something of his original personality, determined to let Barnabas and Julia know he was no longer afraid.  He could have demanded admissions of guilt and apologies all round,  and only when Barnabas had admitted to both contrition and helplessness, should Willie have thought about remaining to help.  In one conversation (this IS a soap opera, after all) they could have changed the nature of the entire relationship in a way that would have resolved past issues and opened up new possibilities for the interactions of all three characters.  Instead of being needed merely to babysit the contents of a casket, he could have brought some of the original hoodlum's talents to the fight against the Leviathans.  They could have made REAL use of one of the most talented actors in the studio.

But no.  They brought him back the same simpering, pathetic child...still hoping to please his abusive parent....even to the point of destroying the first chance at happiness he's ever had.  One can only  assume the mail indicated this was the way the fans  liked Willie.  Or maybe TPTB were just too damned lazy.

Better he had stayed away¢â‚¬¦

How much longer to William Hollingshead Loomis?

I just realised something about that nursery rhyme they keep repeating about the legend of the werewolf (lifted straight from the original "Werewolf" movie with Lon Chaney, by the way).

The curse actually require TWO things for the change to take place: the moon must be full, but also, the wolfbane must be in bloom.  Well, that doesn't seem like such a terrible affliction to me.  Wolfbane doesn't actually BLOOM for longer than a month.  I know.  I grow the stuff.

There are varieties of Aconitum (most often called Monkshood) that will bloom as early as July, but most will not until August or September.  So what are we talking about?  Two transformations a year, at the most?  Maybe only one since this is  Maine after all and the growing season is short?  I know people who get migraines more often than that who would gladly trade for a couple of ¢â‚¬Ëœbad hair' nights a year in a cell.

In case anyone is interested in this sort of stuff, the name ¢â‚¬Ëœwolfbane'  came about because Aconitum is extremely poisonous and was distilled to poison the tips of arrows used in wolf hunting in Europe.  They were more concerned that they actually KILL the wolves rather than wound them, so they didn't mind making the kill inedible.

Too bad Grandmamamama Edith never thought to add a Victorian era glass and iron conservatory onto Collinwood¢â‚¬¦¢â‚¬¦.it would have been SO authentic to  such a house, (not to mention a FABULOUS set to tape in!) especially in a place like Maine where it would have provided a rare place to grow delicate things.  And it would have been very handy, considering the amount of strange plants, weird herbs and deadly botanicals the locals seem to require.

I see that our cousin's list profiles now include our average posts per day along with the actual total.  I don't recall seeing that before.

Is this another forum 'enhancement'?  They're coming so fast and furious it's hard to keep track.

You know.....I've been reading posts that refer to Amanda's photos being all over the place ever since she appeared on the scene.  It's always implied that it must signify an enormous conceit.  And I wondered why the writers or the directors would bother with such a silly attempt at humor.

But now that we've heard the story of her encounter with Mr. Best.....I think the photos have a more significant role.

I think the photos are there as a visual reminder of the Faustian Bargain she made with 'death'....not as some set decorators idea of a visual 'joke'.   I think Amanda never allows herself to forget that time is running out, despite the fact that she remains as untouched as those photos.