Having already been approached by other shabby beggars in the Portland metro area, young William reluctantly gives a dollar to a fairly pushy homeless girl named Mary, who keeps incoherently yammering on about her virgin pregnancy and various delusions about being the mother of a god, or some such drivel.

• Bigfoot, Bigfoot, Bigfoot!
• Pac-Man: The Movie
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes… online!
• Welcome to the Books of Blood. First Entry.
• The Internet can help IMPROVE your word usage for a change!
• Sure, 900 suicides by poisoned Kool-Aid… but they sure could carry a tune. And so apocalyptic!
• Jimmy Justice. He’s like Judge Dredd, but with a Yankees Cap.
• If you come to Charlie’s garbage dump, he’ll feed ya, teach you that in love there is no wrong, Helter Skelter… you know, the usual.

For our German readers (and, yes, many Germans have a working knowledge of English — some actually learn it in school), my first book, Bearing The Devil’s Mark has been reviewed on the German version of the entertainment news and review website, Monsters and Critics. And it looks like it got 5 out of 5… whatever those symbols are. Click here for actual review.

If English is your primary tongue, you can still enjoy the reviews of BTDM at its Amazon.com reviews page. Of course, if you ever find a review for one of my books, please let me know by filling out this contact form with the details. Thanks!

Bryan Betts for TechWorld writes: The problem is that it [Birmingham City Council] lists organised religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism in one group, while relegating less mainstream - but recognised and perfectly legal - faiths such as Wicca and Paganism to an “Alternative Spirituality/Occult” group… Blue Coat points out that its database groupings have been around for several years now, and that it is open to input on what should be listed where. (I can’t help wondering what would be the reaction of the US religious right if it listed Satanism as a religion alongside Christianity and Judaism, though.)

dropkick_emmy writes: I took the time to educate myself on Satanism just in case there was anything relevant. I have read the Satanic bible myself, from front to back twice, they dont believe in human or animal sacrifice in any way shape or form, Anton LeVey states very, very clearly that to sacrifice ANY living thing in the name of ANYONE is an atrrocity, especially women or young children. This [West Memphis Three] killing wasn’t Satanic. It was done by someone who had quite alot of strength and weight behind them, not 3 weedy teenagers. But they looked weird, and had a different belief system. This could be any number of my friends. That could have been me. How does an entire state and their police department become so one-eyed?

thomasbannach writes: These are people who claim to worship The Devil, Lucifer, the Anti-God, The Dark Lord or Satan or whoever. Often they talk of their preferred deity in the same way that Christians talk of their God, i.e., worship Him or die. Frequently Devil Worshippers require that you Sell your soul to the devil in order to “be one of them”. If someone says that are in contact with an entity such as these then you’re in ill company. It is Devil Worshipping that make the noises which most people assume is in league with the Church Of Satan - IT IS NOT. Devil Worshippers are immature, unstable and nothing to do with us.

Yes, it’s true. Despite my glaringly boyish looks, I have actually lived through eight presidents, three U.S.-involved wars, numerous countries either renamed (including the one I was born in) or no longer existing, and the entire histories of heavy metal and movie ratings, to boot. Though, most people think more about getting older than I do. Truth be known, I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin, deep and wrinkled as it will one day get. So, what that translates to is that I love the age I am and have zero desire to be younger (or even “young”), which is about as close to a heretical statement as this culture gets.

So, before I get into the meat and potatoes of the week, I have to vent about the airlines a little. I flew on Delta this time around, having had some old Sky Miles kicking around and, being fearful of the future of some of these companies, decided to use them up before they became the equivalent of Confederate cash. Otherwise, I prefer JetBlue. And let me tell you, Delta is no JetBlue.

It’s fair to say that the more prominent airlines, such as Delta, have gone straight into the toilet in ways I couldn’t have possibly imagined. Even compared to my experience on airlines based in Central and South America. This was worse. On one of my flights into Portland (yes, the long flight), we were stuck on the runway for 4 hours… with no air conditioning. Seems they now like to shut off the air during taxi (and keep it off in at least 45-minute intervals during flight), making the cacophony of griping passengers and screaming infants (four alone within a 5-foot radius of me) all the more intolerable. And, of course, the airlines now charge you for virtually everything on the flight at stupidly inflated prices. Yes, even water, served to you by individuals who come in three flavors: fat, ugly, or old — oftentimes, all three. Standards thrown out the window, thanks to political correctness. And to think on another one of my flights, the stewardess was wearing a t-shirt. A fucking T-SHIRT, for crying out loud! Ever reminded that I was born about 75 years too late. But, moving along…
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I am completely dog tired after all of the air travel I’ve done. Because of that, I’m going to hold off at least a day on posting (perhaps in length) about my big Birthday Week in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon. So, while I’m getting some needed rest, here is a funny picture I shot while Jack and I were heading to a good pub for food and drink…

Since I can only guess that there exists an entire generation of moviegoers who are not in-the-know, let me get this out of the way. I Am Legend is not the first movie adapted from the Richard Matheson novel of the same name. So, a quick pre-history might be needed for the youngins.

The first known film translation of Matheson’s book was The Last Man On Earth (1964) starring Vincent Price — a film from which many accuse George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968, to have been a little more than borrowed. This version of IAL is considered a classic and, to this day, is still claimed to have never been matched, even by the latest attempt.

Taking another crack at Matheson’s tale is the 1971 release of The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston. Some people enjoy this take on the tale, but many despise it — perhaps due in large part to Heston’s trademarked overacting. For better or worse, it has that definitive cheesy ’70s TV movie vibe going for it.

And, now in 2007, it gets another try. In this rendition, military scientist Robert Neville (Will Smith) spends three long and lonely years following a biochemical outbreak attempting to create an antidote for the remaining (but now infected) humans. By day, he and his canine companion wander the barren streets of midtown Manhattan, hunting for food (including what I’d imagine to be escaped zoo animals) and supplies, all to get home by sundown — the time when the infected humans come out to feed and infect. Neville’s fine in the latter department as he’s immune to the infection, but he still must avoid being torn to pieces.

Most of the first half of this film is actually worthy of merit. With no distracting background score, every faint sound, whisper, breath, you name it, magnifies the desolation. I could easily put myself in the protagonist’s shoes: plotting my day, staying alive, retaining my sanity, etc. Neville’s life is a lonely one and you can feel that through witnessing his daily routines. It’s certainly immersive in that regard. A few tastefully used flashbacks even help this along. For those paying attention, there is some deep allegory here; the reality of loss seems to be a recurring theme throughout. Without ruining a serious plot moment, something happens a little over the mid-mark of the film that is positively heartbreaking. I have to admit, it got to me.

But, then come the infected humans — de facto zombies, really. It’s strange to say that they somewhat wreck the very movie that relies upon them being there, but they do. The problem is the obviously CGI-created clusterfuck of them and how the climax of the film seems to be all about how many of them can fly around, smash through things, and fill the screen with third-rate eye candy — you know, like every other Will Smith vehicle. It felt like what was good about the film was used as a mere segue to an animated fight sequence that didn’t really add to the story at all. Overall, the infected humans were ineffectively used and it seriously dampened the outcome of the plot.

Even though I’m no fan of Will Smith, there were moments — even legitimately touching moments — when I really liked his performance. Were there enough of these moments for me to recommend this film to you? I couldn’t say. Depending upon your level of expectation, this is either a unbalanced story somewhat worth renting or simply a dismissible popcorn movie. It started out so great, but then devolved far too soon. A pity, really.

So, Birthday Week ends tomorrow and I’ll be back to more “normal” posts (that is, more than just video clips) at that time. But, here’s one more a/v gem…

If you enjoy Boyd Rice’s performance in this video, he also has a slew of quotes in our latest book release, The Book of Satanic Quotations. Click link for more info.