Seth Grahame-Smith

The remake of "Dark Shadows" is going to be a Tim Burton and Seth Grahame-Smith collaboration. Smith wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so it is apropos that he's into the gothic macabre end of literature. Johnny Depp as the vampire Barnabas Collins with Tim Burton directing should make the movie tantalizingly dark emphasizing on the dramatic closeups.

The original "Dark Shadows" soap opera ran on ABC for 30 min. a day from 1966-1971. Stories of people running home from school to catch it have been told to me over and over. It was syndicated later on the SciFi Channel where new fans found it addictive. All the episodes are now available in DVD box sets for all to enjoy. There isn't a storyline of the series that I didn't like where Barnabas was in love with Victoria Winters or Josette Collins, or when Angelique bewitched Barnabas and Quentin Collins.

Memorable characters will hopefully be warmly reprised such as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Willie Loomis, Maggie Evans and her father Sam Evans, Prof. Timothy Stokes, Carolyn Stoddard and her mother Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Roger Collins.

Perhaps most underrated is the original music composer Bob Cobert. His suspenseful episodic music moments and the opening theme are timeless. Would a movie remake of "Dark Shadows" use different music? It just would be unthinkable; box office suicide.

The Dark Shadows Boards are where you can find a lot of updates on festivals and movie tidbits.

honey bee in the cold of San Francisco

I am troubled tonight at this early evening hour where it is 56 degrees F and there is a honey bee outside my kitchen window, lost and lonely. I see pollen on one of its legs. It is impossible to find its way back to the hive tonight. Do I take it in? I run the risk of getting stung if I do. Its antennas were moving when I first spotted it, but now I see the antennas are cast down and its nose is right against the wood. The antennas went from fluttering to a very light, microscopic twitch. I think it could either be dead or just sleeping. Is there any way to tell the difference between a bee sleeping or having died and not flipped onto its back? Tapping on the window does so little for it. Here is a photo of it.

I opened the window and it started moving so I know it is still alive, but I don't dare let it in and it can sting me or my cat.
UPDATE: The bee was still sleeping there at 8:30AM, but once the sun burned through the clouds, the little fella must have warmed up enough to fly back to its hive. It was nice seeing you, bee.

Anagram of the Dead

In recent days, three famous writers (of song and/or book) have died (Tuli Kupferberg, Harvey Pekar and Sugar Minott) and I decided to revisit an anagram creator to see what their three first names would make as an anagram: I entered "Tuli," "Harvey," and "Sugar" and found these fascinating
anagram results, some so bizarre and visually disturbing. I dare you to use them in a sentence today.
"A Sugary Evil Hurt"
"A Guitar Very Lush"
"A Surreal Thug Ivy"
"A Variety Lug Rush"
"A Variety Rug Lush"
"A Heart Ugly Virus"
"A Hater Ugly Virus"
"A Hearty Lug Virus"
"A Vague Hit Slurry"
"Trashy Luau Giver"
"Hairy Uvulars Get"
"Gay Hair Vultures"
"Gray Luaus Thrive"
"Gray Hula Virtues"
"Augury Trash Evil"
"Augury Shalt Rive"
"Sugary Ultra Hive"
"Vulgar Hairy Suet"
"Alive Trashy Guru"
"Heavy Trial Gurus"
"Heavy Rituals Rug"
"Yeshiva Ultra Rug"
"Earthy Visual Rug"
"Share Virtual Guy"
"Shear Virtual Guy"
"Heavily Star Guru"
"Heavily Rat Gurus"
"Heavily Art Gurus"
"Heavily Tar Gurus"
"Heavily Sugar Rut"
"Auras Thrive Ugly"
"Larva Hirsute Guy"
"Aviary Lures Thug"
"Aviary Gruel Huts"
"Salivary Huge Rut"
"Ashtray Evil Guru"