Xmas Traditions Across the Earth

From Icelandic book floods and Japanese families eating KFC to entire Peruvian villages staging single combat events, different cultures have their own offbeat and even bewildering holiday traditions 

‘Tis the season to talk about Christmas traditions throughout the world.

For years, people have embraced the so-called fictional holiday, Festivus. The holiday was first mentioned in an episode of Seinfeld. Personally, I never liked the show—I found all the characters highly annoying and unlikeable–but I did find the idea of Festivus amusing. Reportedly, a Seinfeld staff writer’s family had been celebrating Festivus since 1966; Dan O’Keefe’s father Daniel had the holiday as an anniversary celebration of his first date with future wife and Dan’s mother, Deborah. As detailed in the December 23, 1997, episode, “The Strike,” there are the “airing of grievances,” that happens during dinner: Yes, each person present describes how others have disappointed them over the past year. Afterwards, “feats of strength” ensue, including and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed them over the past year. After the meal, the “feats of strength” ensue, including wrestling with the head of the household to the floor . . . and if and when they’re pinned, the holiday concludes.

According to O’Keefe, there was never a Festivus Pole.

Since then, throughout the world, yes, Festivus has been celebrated on Dec. 23.

However, for many years, a similar holiday tradition has been celebrated in Chumbivilcas, a Peruvian province in the Cusco Region. It’s called Takanakuy—in regional language Quechua, it means “when the blood is boiling” or “to hit each other,” depending on the source.

On Christmas Day, communities throughout Latin America typically hold large public celebrations, with people in colorful costumes, lots of food, drink, music and dancing. In communities throughout the Cusco Region, however, celebrants flock to the local sporting arenas or public squares for Takanakuy and watch as people of all ages, kids to the elderly, men and women alike, engage in fist fights.

Yes.

Single combat.

Takanakuy is how grievances that people have had with one another over the past year. Be they personal matters or civil disputes, two people slug it out after calling one another out by name. The victor is decided by knockout or intervention by an official. According to tradition, Takanakuy is how people settle conflicts and resolve to spend the new year living peacefully with one another, strengthening community and even familial bonds.

Until more grievances arise.

The Philippines has the highest population of Catholics in the world. At midnight Sept. 1, radio stations start playing Christmas music, lights and decorations appearing everywhere. The city of San Fernando, known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines,” hosts Ligligan Parul Sampernandu, the Giant Lantern Festival. Surrounding villages compete against one another as they build large, elaborate lanterns; Japanese origami paper was originally used but now more modern materials are used and the lanterns with their kaleidoscope patterns are lit up by lightbulbs rather than candles.

Some lanterns can be nearly 20 feet in diameter.

In Japan, Christmas isn’t a national holiday but some still observe it . . . and eating chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken in particular. Back in 1974, some savvy salaryman came up with a marketing campaign called “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii” or “Kentucky for Christmas.” Ever since then, Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii has proven to be extremely popular in Japan. How popular? Well, KFC restaurants start taking advance orders for holiday meals as far back in September or October or it’s a two- or three-hour long lines of people wanting their Christmas chicken meal. Employees also dress as Santa Claus too.

Iceland has a number of Christmas traditions. A small nation yet one with one of the highest literacy rates, there’s the Jólabókaflóðið—the Christmas Book Flood. On Christmas Eve, books—the most popular holiday gift in Iceland—are exchanged and people stay up all night, reading their new books and drinking hot chocolate.

And while most countries observe the 12 Days of Christmas, Iceland has thirteen. Each night leading up to Christmas, the thirteen Yule Lads make their rounds as kids place one shoe in their bedroom window. Good kids get candy and the bad ones get rotten, stinking potatoes. The Yule Lads are elf-like creatures and were once depicted as being malevolent at times. Over the years, they’ve become more mischievous.

Their mother Grýla, however, is a horrific ogress living in the mountains. She’s always on the prowl around Christmas, searching for naughty children to throw in her cauldron of boiling hot water.

Icelandic folklore also has a large black cat that prowls the country on Christmas Eve–Festivus,everyone must get new clothes and if not, the Christmas Cat will kill and eat them.

Be thankful for those new socks or ties, okay?

In Barbados at Christmastime, people eat Jug: Influenced by Scottish immigrants, it’s a dish that combines salted meat, pigeon peas, guinea corn flour and herbs. Glazed ham and rum also round out holiday meals.

Going back to pagan beliefs, on Christmas Eve, Norwegians hide all the household brooms in closets, in the fear that evil witches will take them and fly about all night.

That said, in parts of Italy, a good witch named Belfana travels about, leaving gifts and candy for kids.

Instead of candy, kids in South Africa snack on delicious fried caterpillars. Seriously.

If you’re ever in Caracas, Venezuela during Christmastime, be prepared to see people wearing roller blades; skating to church services is so common that officials keep vehicles off the roads.

For years now, people have Christmas dinner at Chinese restaurants. Over a century ago, Jewish immigrants could dine out on Christmas because everything was shutdown. Save for Chinese restaurants. By the late 19th Century, Jewish and Chinese immigrants often lived close to one another, so, proximity was a factor. Another was that the Chinese didn’t adhere to antisemitic views held by other European immigrants or Americans. They felt safe there.

As New York restauranter Michael Tong said in a 2003 New York Times interview:

“Welcome to the conundrum that is Christmas New York style: While most restaurants close for the holiday, or in a few cases, stay open and serve a prix fixe meal laden with froufrou, thousands of diners, most of them Jewish, are faced with a dilemma. There's nothing to celebrate at home and no place to eat out, at least if they want a regular dinner. That leaves Chinese restaurants . . . .”

When the film A Christmas Story was released in November 1983, the practice of having Chinese food for a holiday meal gained more popularity overnight.

A Smith family Xmas Eve traditon was Granny serving both chili and oyster stew. It's been years since I've had that. That said, I have my own Xmas tradition: Chinese buffet lunch. Every year, it's domething I look forward to.

Happy Holidays!

Be seeing you.

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THE SATANIC PANIC WAS A HOAX LIKE PIZZAGATE AND QANON.

I had to write that in all caps. I needed to get everyone's attention.

Religious alt-right "paranormal investigators" are attempting to start another "Satanic Panic" and we can't let that happen again.

The McMartin School trials.

The miscarriage of justice surrounding the Memphis Three.

We have to stop it. Let's look at what happened in the past.

The "Satanic Panic" was a widespread moral panic and hoax that occurred primarily in North America from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, based on unsubstantiated fears of a vast, secretive network of Satan-worshipping cults engaging in organized child abuse, sacrifice and other crimes. These claims were proven to be entirely baseless, and no credible evidence of such a conspiracy was ever found by law enforcement or psychological experts. 

Origins and Spread:

Michelle Remembers (1980): The book, co-written by a psychiatrist and his patient, which detailed alleged "recovered memories" of satanic ritual abuse (SRA), helped spark the panic and provided a template for future claims.

Media Frenzy: Daytime talk shows and news programs, such as those hosted by Geraldo Rivera and Oprah Winfrey, uncritically reported sensationalist stories and "expert" testimony about SRA, amplifying the fear across the nation.

Recovered-Memory Therapy: Therapists used controversial and now-discredited techniques like hypnosis and leading questions to help patients "recover" memories of abuse, often inadvertently planting false memories.

Cultural Scapegoats: Anxiety over societal changes, such as more women entering the workforce and an increased reliance on daycares, led to these centers becoming primary targets for accusations. Other forms of popular culture, including heavy metal music and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, were also falsely accused of being recruitment tools for cults. 

Key Cases and Debunking

McMartin Preschool Trial: This highly publicized California case (1983-1990) became the longest and most expensive criminal trial in U.S. history. Despite years of investigation and hundreds of accusations, no one was convicted due to a lack of physical evidence and the use of coercive child interviewing techniques.

West Memphis Three: Three teenagers were wrongfully convicted of murder in 1994 based on the prosecution's claim that the killings were part of a Satanic ritual. They were later freed in 2011 after new DNA evidence and an admission that the initial evidence was faulty.

Lack of Evidence: A major 1995 report by the National Institute of Justice concluded there was "scant to non-existent" hard evidence for large-scale satanic ritual abuse. The FBI also found no evidence of an organized, nationwide Satanic conspiracy. 

Legacy: The Satanic Panic is now widely regarded as a classic example of a moral panic and a modern-day "witch hunt," where mass hysteria leRd to ruined reputations, wrongful convictions, and the neglect of genuine child abuse issues. Elements of these debunked claims have unfortunately resurfaced in modern conspiracy theories like QAnon, which echo the same baseless fears of child-abusing cabals.

Debunking the Satanic Panic hoax and other conspiracies.

Lost in Hollywood History: The First Cinematic Universe

 

It was on 5 March 1943 when Hollywood introduced the first cinematic universe to the world.

The was the date when Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man had its New York premier—a week later, it would have its nationwide opening. The film was a sequel of sorts to both The Ghost of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man . . . interestingly, Lon Chaney Jr. played the titular monsters in those films. This time around, he reprises his role as the tragic, cursed Larry Talbot and Bela Lugosi appeared as the Creature; in fact, it was originally planned that Chaney would play both roles but it proved to be way too physically demanding for him.

The script was written Curt Siodmak, German-American novelist and screenwriter, who wrote primarily science fiction and horror. Roy William Neill directed the film.

Four years have passed since the Wolf Man’s ravages and the specter of Frankenstein’s progeny. On a wind-whipped night in Cardiff, two tomb-raiders—one of whom played by famed character actor Jeff Corey—pry open the Talbot family crypt under the full moon’s glow. They snatched the wolfsbane that sealed Larry Talbot’s fate. Moonlight strikes his motionless body, ignites the dormant curse—and Larry rises from death.

That’s another facet of Talbot’s curse: Immortality.

Talbot, through some misadventures, meets Dr. Frank Mannering (Patric Knowles); begs Mannering to alert the authorities before he kills again. Mannering and the police find the Talbot family tomb, discovering the truth; an escaped Talbot, haunted by his immortality and lycanthrope nature, flees Wales to seek out the Romni seer Maleva. She whispers of Dr. Frankenstein’s lost research as the only possible cure. Together they traverse Europe toward the scorched ruins of Frankenstein’s Vasaria estate, each step a gamble with fate.

Once there, Talbot discovers an ice-encased Creature and breaks him—hoping the Creature will lead him to the knowledge that will free him of the curse. Events happen and all leads to the inevitable clash between the Wolf Man and the Creature. Both Talbot and the Creature are swept up in a flood and lost.

Despite lukewarm reviews, the film did well and Universal Studios planned a sequel. Studio press releases called the film, Chamber of Horrors, hyping it as a monsterfest spectacular starring Lugosi, Chaney, Boris Karloff, Claude Rains and other Universal horror film stars. Dracula. The Frankenstein Creature. The Wolf Man. The Invisible Man. Kharis, the Eternal Mummy. It was billed as a horror film fan’s dream—or nightmare—come true. Siodmak wrote the screen story, this one called The Devil’s Brood. It promised to be an ambitious project.

Alas, I guess, it was too ambitious.

Edward T. Lowe wrote the screenplay, keeping some of Siodmak’s elements and Erle C. Kenton would helm the film; Karloff would star as Dr. Gustav Niemann, the mad scientist, John Carradine as Dracula, Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein Creature and J. Carrol Naish as Daniel, a hunchback convicted of murder. Ladies and gentlemen . . . your monsters.

Not the hyped monsterfest some were promised but, nonetheless, it would bring in the fans.

At the beginning of the film, Niemann’s obsession with reanimation lands him in a dank prison cell, condemned for trying to duplicate Frankenstein’s forbidden work. There he meets Daniel, a hulking hunchback whose twisted body Niemann promises to rebuild once free—if Daniel will serve as his assistant. When an earthquake shatters the prison walls, the pair slips into the night.

As they flee, the pair meets a traveling showman, Professor Lampini. In a savage moment of ambition, Niemann and Daniel murder Lampini and seize his prized showcase: Dracula’s embalmed remains. Niemann, hell-bent on revenge against Burgomaster Hussman—the man responsible for his incarceration—rests his plans on Dracula’s revival. Under flickering lantern light, he awakens the vampire and sends him stalking the Burgomaster’s granddaughter-in-law, Rita. Hypnotized, she leads Dracula to Hussman’s manor, where the old ruler falls under fang and bite. The Burgomaster’s grandson sees the horror and raises the alarm. As screaming citizens give chase, Dracula scrambles back to the carriage where Niemann waits—only to find himself jettisoned into the road. Dawn breaks, and the rising sun turns him to dust.

Undeterred, Niemann and Daniel press on to the flooded ruins of Castle Frankenstein in Visaria/Vasaria. On the way, Daniel rescues Ilonka, a spirited Romani woman, from a jealous lover’s whip. Grateful and intrigued by Daniel’s gentleness, she joins their expedition. Upon reaching ruins of Castle Frankenstein, they find Talbot and the Creature. A love triangle forms between Talbot, Ilonka and Daniel

Chaos and monster-on-monster violence ensues.

While the film doesn’t hit the scare level of the original Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolf Man films, House of Frankenstein did thrill its fanbase and, again, Universal brought back Chaney, Carradine, Strange, screenwriter Lowe and director Kenton.

Carradine’s rather suave, dapper Dracula seeks cure for vampirism from Dr. Edelmann (Onslow Stevens), who uses his own blood for transfusions—with unexpected side effects. Meanwhile, Larry Talbot arrives seeking relief from werewolf curse. After transforming into Wolf Man under full moon, he's taken to Edelmann's castle. When Talbot attempts suicide by jumping into ocean, he discovers cave holding the Creature. Despite finding rare fungi that might cure lycanthropy, Edelmann hesitates to revive the Creature—at the same time, the good doctor undergoes a very nasty metamorphosis of his own . . . and it doesn’t go well.

House of Dracula would be the final Universal Studio’s final “serious” film featuring their classic monsters. It was an end of an era. In 1948, Universal released Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein—reuniting Chaney and Strange with Lugosi returning as Dracula—and the film became a classic and spawned more Abbott and Costello films featuring other Universal monsters.

None of them were as good as A&CMF.

The Gillman—the creature from the Black Lagoon—joined the Universal Monsters’ pantheon and people loved it. However, Universal Studios shifted gears: Giant, mutated creatures and alien invaders thrilled audiences throughout the 1950s. Universal released its final vampire film, a hybrid Western/vampiric gunslinger film called Curse of the Undead.

And that, you see, was the first cinematic universe. It was brief, silly, some would say, but damn, it was glorious for us fans. Those three films really ignited our imaginations and some found the inspiration to become storytellers, writers and directors. Makeup FX. What have you.

The Japanese Kaiju films introduced Gojira/Godzilla and Gamera and their respective cinematic universes. In 1987, Monster Squad reunited versions of the Universal Horror movies and 2004’s Van Helsing emulated the formula. A few years ago, Universal Studios  attempted to create a new shared Dark Universe—Tom Cruise’s The Mummy and The Invisible Man would be the first; however, The Mummy proved to be a disastrous flop, a critical and box office bomb.

The Dark Universe died right there.

That said, the original Universal Horror cinematic universe gave way to the MCU, the Arrowverse, the new DCU and the ever-expanding Star Wars Universe.

I’d love to see another Dark Universe reboot. Maybe it will happen but I have some doubts.

Who knows?

Today, I watched those three films and it brought back a lot of memories. Good memories.

Just what I needed for Hallowe’en.

Be seeing you.

-30-

 

My Own Private Reset . . . .

 And . . . I’m back!

Sometimes—as we all know—things don’t go as planned, this blog, for example. Until serious health issues happened, I had a lot of big plans . . . I still do but there’s a lot of catching up to do. Like my series of articles about the TV series produced in the 1970s; with Hallowe’en over 80-plus days away, expect some paranormal-themed articles and a look at the first cinematic universe, the Universal horror films. I’ll also write about paranormal podcasts I’ve been following on YouTube—there a lot of problematic even outright offensive and bad podcasts and a few good ones.

There are a lot of major genre news too. The first four episodes of Stranger Things’ fifth and final season drops on Wednesday, 26 November; the second set of episodes will hit Netflix on Xmas Eve and the last feature-length episode debuts on New Year's Eve.

December will also see Fallout’s second series dropping on Amazon Prime—now date hasn’t been released yet. This season, we’ll find Lucy, the Ghoul (aka Cooper Howard), Dogmeat and Brotherhood of Steel Knight Maximus in the quasi-civilized New Vegas. According to production photos, the New Vegas sets look great and we’ve seen NCR troopers and Rangers, salvaged NCR powered armor, Securitron robots, Deathclaws and Caesar’s Legion. In interviews, the cast have said “a lot of wild shit” happens and I’m looking to see how both character arcs and their dynamics will change.

I’m hoping all the episodes will drop at once—it worked well last season and I think they will repeat the same strategy.

So.

Will we see Felicia Day as BoS scribe, Veronica and Danny Trejo as Ghoul gunslinger, Raul Tejada? In the game, Wayne Newton voiced the AI called Mr. New Vegas and will he do it again? Actor Michael Hogan played Doc Mitchell but Hogan’s had debilitating health problems and, sadly, Matthew Perry passed a few years back—no Benny, not even flashbacks unless the character is recast. MAGAt bootlicker and actor Zacharay Levi’s Arcade Gannon might be re-casted . . . by Macaulay Culkin. I’m fine with it.

Well, that’s it for now.

I hope you all will be checking out the website and I’m looking forward to your comments.

Be seeing you!

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Part 3 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Gunfight at the Enclave Outpost

 

Part 2 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Fear and Loathing in the Glowing Sea

Smith faces hostile forces—from the invading Dalek alien cyborgs to ghouls and mutants—as he searches for an Enclave outpost deep in the Glowing Sea.

Part 1 Fallout 4: Smith's Run -- Chapter 2 starts now!

 

Part 10 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: The Judas Protocol

 Parting is such sweet sorrow as Smith takes his revenge on Father and the SRB Coursers.

Oh.

One more thing:

Mishaps, deaths and other hijinks ensue . . . .

Part 9 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Angelo's Secret

 

Part 8 Fallout 4: Smith's Run -- Even Shadier Dealings

 

Part 7 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: An Atomic Culling

 

Part 6 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Help I've Fallen . . . . The Second Chapter

 

Part 5 Fallout 4 -- Help I've Fallen . . . . The First Chapter

Part 4 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Headhunter

 

Part 3 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: The Wonderland Line Radroach Massacre of 2087

It's a jaunt to the Boston Airport that ends badly for the Brotherhood of Steel.

It gets worse after a random encounter leads to a fight with a radroach horde.

Have fun!

Be seeing you.

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Part 2 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: A Scavenger Hunt

This is the second chapter of my Fallout 4 playthrough Smith's Run.

The Mean Machine bus unleashes fire-and-brimstone hell during a late-night attack. Then, it's off on onto a scavenger hunt to the Glowing Sea. If you download the Deus Ex Adam Jenson armor mod, I show you how to find it.

A lot of Cybermen and feral ghouls die. Deservedly so, I believe. They started it, after all.

I unalive myself too.

Deservedly so, some have said.

Be seeing you.

-30-

Part 1 Fallout 4 -- Smith's Run: Wasteland Trackdown

I  haven't streamed in nearly two years.

Fighting both Covid and Writer's Block, I returned to gaming vids. Gaming jump-starts my brain and helps with the block; several writers play these games.

Jonathan Nolan loved playing the Fallout games—of course, he created the hit Amazon Prime web series by the same name.

So.

It's a bit slow and I'm getting back to the video gaming zone.

But I'll get there.

Here we go . . . again:

Renegade SRB agent and now a fugitive synth, Smith.0 returns to the Commonwealth Wasteland after years of wandering what's left of North America. After reaching Old Boston's ruined outskirts, Smith discovers a holotape with a shocking revelation: Husband and wife Nate and Nora Anderson were violently removed from their Vault 111 cryopods—only to be murdered by a merc named Conrad Kellogg, who kidnapped their son, Shaun. Kellogg was one of the reasons he returned to the Commonwealth; Smith set out on a quest to rescue Shaun.

And, after a century, finally kill Kellogg and settle some very old scores.

The Best Horror Film Ever Made Is 90 Years Old: The Black Cat.

“Supernatural? Perhaps. Baloney? Perhaps not. There are many things under the sun.”—Dr. Vitus Werdegast, The Black Cat.

By the mid-1930s, Universal Studios hit its stride with the horror film genre. For over the last decade, the studio released a number of fine movies but really made both cultural and financial impacts when in 1931, Tod Browning’s Dracula Béla Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, Helen Chandler, David Manners and Dwight Frye was released (both Lugosi and Van Sloan appeared in the 1924 Broadway play; the studio also released a Spanish language version starring Carlos Villarías, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton and Pablo Álvarez Rubio, which was directed by George Melford. Both were successful and over the next three years, Universal released Frankenstein with Boris Karloff, The Mummy (1932) again with Karloff; Lugosi’s Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932); Karloff’s The Old Dark House (1932); and The Invisible Man (1933) starring Claude Rains. Aside from The Old Dark House, the other films each would spawn a series of sequels that drew in audiences.

Universal wasn’t about to let up, so they decided to produce other films—and then someone had the truly brilliant idea of pairing the studio’s most popular actors: Karloff and Lugosi. The Black Cat was the first of eight films starring the two, all but one produced by Universal Studios. The film was notable for Lugosi as one of the “good guys” while Karloff essays one of his best menacing and villainous roles in his career.

Another great idea was hiring director Edgar G. Ulmer.

Ulmer was a highly versatile and talented filmmaker of Jewish-Moravian descent. Despite primarily working on B movies and low-budget productions in Hollywood, he gained a cult following among critics who praised his unique style and eccentric approach to storytelling. Ulmer was known as 'The King of PRC' for his remarkable output at Poverty Row studios. Some of his most renowned works include the eerie, atmospheric science fiction film, 1951’s The Man From Planet X and the moody, captivating film noir Detour (1945).

Ulmer, along with screenwriter/pulp mystery writer Peter Ruric—known by his real name, Gregory Sims—they developed the story, “suggested  by” Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat; Ruric then wrote the screenplay—and by 1934’s standards, even before the Hays Code took effect, it’s one hell of an off-the-hook story.

On their honeymoon in Hungary, American crime writer Peter Alison and his new bride Joan are told that, due to an error, they will have to share a train compartment with Dr. Vitus Werdegast, a Hungarian psychiatrist on his way to visit an old acquaintance. As the night progresses, the couple discovers that Werdegast left his home 18 years ago to fight in World War I and has not seen his wife and daughter since then, as he spent the last 15 years in a notorious prison camp in Siberia.

In the midst of darkness and heavy rain, Peter, Joan, Werdegast and Thamal, Werdegast's loyal servant, transfer to a small bus. As they draw near to Werdegast's destination—the secluded mansion built by Austrian architect Hjalmar Poelzig atop the ruins of Fort Marmorus—the driver loses control and crashes the vehicle. The crash claims the driver's life and leaves Joan injured, but Peter, Werdegast and Thamal can carry her to Poelzig's eerie house.

If the story sounds familiar, well, some have said The Rocky Horror Show/The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a remake of The Black Cat. The Black Cat is a better film.

Joan starts acting strangely and it’s quite apparent that Werdegast and Poelzig—who was based on infamous occultist Aleister Crowley while the name Poelzig was taken from Austrian architect, Hans Poelzig—share a sinister secret and scheming against one another. It’s soon revealed that Poelzig, after Werdegast was imprisoned somewhere in Siberia, marries Karen, Werdegast’s wife, and along with her daughter, also named Karen, build a new life. However, the elder Karen mysteriously dies and Poelzig marries the younger Karen.

Poelzig is also a satanic cult’s high priest and a full moon is about to happen—and he plans to use Joan for the black mass’ sacrifice.

Werdegast tells a frightened, bewildered Joan:

“Did you ever hear of Satanism, the worship of the devil, of evil? Herr Poelzig is a great modern priest of that ancient cult. And tonight in the dark of the moon the rites of Lucifer are celebrated. And if I'm not mistaken, he intends you to play a part in that ritual . . . a very important part.”

Despite Poelzig’s evil plans and having the odds in his favor, Werdegast hatches a desperate gambit to save the American couple and get his revenge—no matter what.

The movie had a major impact on me was I was younger; I was 14 years old when I first saw it—one of the local TV stations showed old Universal horror films on late Friday nights, while on it was old mystery film series on Saturday nights, starting with Sherlock Holmes. I hadn’t heard of The Black Cat before so I didn’t know what to expect. From the very beginning, I was transfixed, mesmerized and totally blown away.

Even by Pre-Code Hollywood standards, Ulmer and Ruric pushed the envelope in many ways: The Black Cat unravels like a haunting nightmare, filled with disturbing scenes of serial murders involving women as victims, necrophilia, ailurophobia—the fear of cats—drug abuse, disturbing implications of incest, a deadly duel played out as a game of chess, brutal torture, skinning and a gruesome human sacrifice. This truly bizarre yet mesmerizing masterpiece, barely lasting an hour, complete with still jarring and unsettling images still lingering in my mind long after all these years.

The Black Cat's budget was $95,745 ($2.2 million today) and it made over $236,000 ($5.4 million today). The film was Universal Studios biggest hit of 1934.

The film has tension, a pair of great actors in their prime, moody, sinister atmosphere and briskly paced; again, clocking in at an hour or so, The Black Cat packs a punch and delivers more than any “modern” film made over the years. Like Halloween, there’s no gore but the shocking violence is present, it’s implied: Kristy Marlana Wallace, also known as Poison Ivy or Poison Ivy Rorschach—the Cramps’ cofounder and guitarist, as well as a horror film afficionado—once said: "(When) ******* gets skinned alive at the end but they show the shadow of it and somehow that's more gruesome.”

Reservoir Dogs. Michael Madsen’s Mr. Blonde cuts off the cop’s ear and Quintin Tarantino shot two versions: One where you see Mr. Blonde cuts off the ear; the second version is of the Mr. Blonde and the cop’s shadows are seen on the wall as the cop’s ear is sliced off.

Guess which version worked for the audience and used?

The second one. People found it more than gruesome.

Ulmer knew it’d work—but he had no other options but he made it work.

Both Carpenter and Tarantino knew it worked well.

If you’ve never seen The Black Cat, I think you should check it out. More than nine decades later, it holds well today and if you love certain aspects of filmmaking, from lighting and set design—in fact, Poelzig’s cavernous fortress-turned-home becomes a character itself. The Black Cat is available for rent or buy from most major streaming platforms. It’s even available to watch for free on the Internet Archive . . . it’s grainy but still watchable.

I hope you’ll take my advice and watch The Black Cat. You won’t be disappointed and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Be seeing you.

-30-

SussuSudowrite.

I decided to give Sudowrite, the AI writing tool, a try. Hugh Howey, has used it and loved it; I’ve heard other good things from others, so I decided to give it a try. Now, it’s an AI assisted tool not generative. It’s like Grammarly on steroids and does more; it reminds me of being back in the newsroom, having that peer review which I found useful back in the day. In fact, reminds me of a writing tool software I used over a decade. It helps with tracking chapters and other things; when I have problems with a big rewrite and I’m hitting a wall, I can do quick rewrite, mix and match here or there.

I plugged various sections into a analysis box and I got the following—the last paragraph is a condensed version.

**Analysis of Writing Style**

**Tone and Mood:** The tone is gritty and cynical, reflecting a dystopian world filled with crime and moral ambiguity. The mood oscillates between chaotic vibrancy and dark foreboding, creating an atmosphere that is both lively and unsettling.

**POV:** The narrative is told in the first-person point of view, allowing readers to experience the protagonist's thoughts and feelings directly. The tense is predominantly in the present, which adds immediacy to the unfolding events.

**Vocabulary and Word Choice:** The vocabulary is a mix of technical jargon and colloquial language, reflecting a futuristic setting. There is a blend of formal and informal word choices, with a penchant for specificity (e.g., "suborbital shuttlecraft," "biosynth humanoid-looking bot"). The use of cultural references and slang adds depth to the world-building.

**Sentence Structure:** The sentences vary in length and complexity, with a mix of concise statements and longer, descriptive passages. The author employs fragments for emphasis and uses complex sentences to convey intricate ideas, creating a dynamic flow.

**Pacing and Rhythm:** The pacing is brisk, particularly during action sequences, while moments of introspection slow the narrative down. The rhythm is punctuated by short, punchy sentences that heighten tension, interspersed with longer, more descriptive passages that provide context and detail.

**Dialogue:** Dialogue is characterized by a mix of formality and informality, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the characters. The protagonist's voice is sardonic and observant, with a tendency to critique the absurdities of the world around them. Unique dialogue tags and interruptions enhance the realism of conversations.

**Descriptive Style:** The author employs vivid sensory imagery, using detailed descriptions to create a rich visual landscape. The use of bioluminescent flora and the contrast between modern architecture and retro fashion adds depth to the setting. Descriptions are often layered with emotional undertones, enhancing the reader's connection to the narrative.

**Themes and Motifs:** Recurring themes include cultural diversity, the complexities of identity, and the moral ambiguities of society. Motifs of surveillance, technology and crime permeate the narrative, reflecting the protagonist's struggle within a corrupt system.

**Cultural and Historical Context:** The piece reflects a futuristic, multicultural society influenced by various cultural elements from the 20th century. The blending of styles and the presence of crime syndicates suggest a commentary on societal decay and the persistence of human vices across time.

Overall, the writing style is characterized by its intricate world-building, sharp wit and a blend of humor and darkness, creating a compelling narrative that invites readers to explore a complex and flawed society.

Gritty and cynical, the first-person narrative unfolds in present tense, blending technical jargon with colloquial language. Vivid imagery and varied sentence structures create a chaotic yet immersive atmosphere, reflecting a dystopian world rife with moral ambiguity and cultural complexity.

I've been worried if I was hitting all the marks I'd set for myself and, to be honest, it's been stressful and leading to downward spiraling depression.I feel better, I'm hitting those marks and I feel good about it.

I feel good about myself.

Be seeing you.

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The SF/F TV Series Renaissance of the 1970s: UFO

This week in 1970, the cult classic TV series, UFO, debuted. It became popular in both the UK and the United States and a second series (season, here in the States) was planned but it later became Space: 1999.

UFO was the first live-action series created and produced by Gerry Anderson (Fireball-XL5, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett). It was dark at times, downbeat; innocent, unaware civilians got caught in the crossfire and paid a terrible price—it was, after all, about a secret organization fighting an invasion of organ-harvesting aliens.

Instead of The X-Files saying “Trust no one,” UFO said “Trust us.”

From Wikipedia:

The series’ premise is that in 1980, Earth is being visited by aliens from a dying planet, who are abducting humans and harvesting their organs for their own bodies. The alien incursions may also be a prelude to a possible full-scale invasion. The series' main cast of characters are the staff of a secret, high-technology international military agency called SHADO (an acronym for Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization) established by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Germany (believed to be West Germany as the city of Bonn is mentioned along with Washington, Paris and Moscow) to defend Earth and humanity against the mysterious aliens and learn more about them, while at the same time keeping the threat of an alien invasion hidden from the public.

Operating under the cover—as well as literally beneath the premises—of the Harlington-Straker Studios movie studio in England, SHADO is headed by Commander Edward Straker (Ed Bishop), a former United States Air Force colonel and astronaut, whose "cover" is his role as the studio's chief executive.

SHADO has a variety of high-tech hardware and vehicles at its disposal to implement a layered defense of Earth. Early warnings of alien attack came from SID, the Space Intruder Detector, an unmanned computerized tracking satellite that constantly scans for UFO incursions. The forward line of defense is Moonbase from which the three lunar Interceptor spacecraft, that fire a single explosive warhead, are launched. The second line of defense includes Skydiver, a submarine mated with the submersible, undersea-launched Sky One interceptor aircraft, which attacks UFOs in Earth's atmosphere. The last line of defense is ground units including the armed, IFV-like SHADO Mobiles, fitted with caterpillar tracks.

On Earth, SHADO also uses two SHADAIR aircraft, a Seagull X-ray supersonic jet; a transatlantic Lunar Carrier with a separating Lunar Module; a helicopter (actually, a small VTOL airplane with large rotating propellers; and a radio-controlled Space Dumper. The Moonbase has hovercraft-like Moon Hoppers/Moon mobiles that can be deployed for transportation or reconnaissance.

The alien race is never given a proper name, either by themselves or by human beings; they are simply referred to as "the aliens". They are humanoid in appearance, and the post-mortem examination of the first alien captured reveals that they are harvesting organs from the bodies of abducted humans to prolong their lifespans. However, the later episode “The Cat with Ten Lives” suggests that these "humanoids" are actually beings subject to alien mind control, and one “alien” body recovered was suspected of being completely Homo sapiens, "possessed" by one of the alien minds.

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In UFO, characters bickered and, at times, it was apparent they didn’t like each other. There was rarely any lighthearted fare or snappy, witty banter like the relationship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy; the storylines were also played straight and serious. Despite not being Star Trek or Lost in Space, UFO was a dark, moody and somber alternative to contemporary SF series—and I think that’s what people loved, and still love, about it. Again, the series is set in 1980 but the fashions including the Nehru jackets—that could be cringy but the rest of the series is still engaging. The opening theme by longtime Anderson associate, Barry Gray, is still amazing after these years. The special effects. The cast of British, American and Canadian actors were great—one of them, Wanda Ventham, who was Col. Virgina Lake, is more famously known as Benedict Cumberbatch’s mother.

It was different. Fresh. New. It’s easy to see why UFO has had a major impact on the genre and fandom for the last fifty-plus years; you can watch online and DVDs are available—yes, I have the complete series set. You can find the series here: 

The series is, yes, dated. I’m certain some will be upset by some of the sexism but, hey, it was 1970. No reason to get one’s knickers in a bunch. Cheesy yes but, as I’ve mentioned begore, it’s dark, paranoid and not a plucky comedic sidekick in sight.

UFO, in my opinion, was the first of the 1970s’ renaissance of SF series. It had a big impact on me as I a kid and I still love revisiting it over the years.

Watch and enjoy.

Be seeing you.

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