May Food n Flix round up

This month, I got to host Food n' Flix for the second time. My selection was Witches of Eastwick. (announcement post here) Not at first glance what you would consider a foodie film, but scratch the surface and look a bit closer, there's more food in this film than you would expect.  

Our first submission was from Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures and she made Orange Creamsicle Cookies, inspired by the many scenes of both fruit and cocktails which she combined nicely.

next up we have a Bewitched Cherry Blue-Basil Bourbon Smash, inspired by the second cherry scene, with Nicholson's character in full on rant;  from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

next is the group founder Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen with her offering of Creamed Pearl Onions with Bacon and Brandy, inspired by the scene where Felicia's pearl necklace breaks and she slips falling down the stairs.

next up is
Wendy at a Day in the Life on the Farm with Zucchini Jam, inspired by the opening scene where Sukie's children are vocal about being given peanut-butter and zucchini jelly.

Next up...
Debra from Eliot's Eats made Wicked Fruit, inspired by all the mountains of fruit that we see through out. 

Next up...
Deb from Kahakai Kitchen with Boozy Spiced Cherries with Vodka and Brandy, inspired by the "party" scene where the group are in the pool with the first round of cherries.

Next up
Evelyne at CultrEatz made Bourbon Cherry-Pistachio Ice Cream. Her inspiration came from later in the film, when the character of Daryl Van Horne is sent out for ice-cream, while the girls worked some kitchen mojo.

and I offered up my Monty Cristo sandwich. Which was inspired by one earlier scene where the girls are talking about their husbands and playing cards.

All in all, a great selection of offerings from our wildly wicked group this month. Don't forget to join us in June, with our host Evelyne at CultrEatz and her selection I Am Love.

Night Bleeds May

This month's selections were a themed combo. The Female Slayer.  We watched the original 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and read the 2010 monster mash-up  Jane Slayre.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In every generation there is one girl with the skill and strength to defend against the forces of darkness, she alone is the slayer. (I originally talked about this one back in year one. Day 84.  And had been inspired to do a food post last year - What that movie inspired me to do 24)  Buffy has no idea that she comes from a long line of women protectors. Or that any of the dreams she's been having are actually memories of past lives. That is until she meets Merrick, her watcher. The dreams are warning her that Lothos, a master vampire has once again resurfaced in her area. Lothos, has been building an army of vampires, mostly teenagers, ready for the fight. Buffy, on the other hand is still trying to juggle her new reality with her old one, being a normal teenaged girl.

So Buffy is listed as one of the first female heroes to really impact pop culture. True, but not true. As horror movies tend to have both the lead female as victim and heroine mixed into one. (Prom Night, Psycho, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street) She is however, one of the first to have the main plot around the fact she's taking back her power.

We see Buffy literally be forced to grow up, in a short time. Literally hours as she goes from learning about her slayage to having to defend herself in a graveyard of fresh dug up vamps. That sort of shock to the system is what brings her out of her "highschool years" and into the "real world".  This forces her to take a long hard look at the people she considers friends (the popular girls who mock everyone even her behind her back, the teenaged boyfriend who cheats on her, breaking up with her answering machine because he's too much a coward to face her) and what she really wants out of life.
This in turn leads her to Pike. An older guy (undisclosed how much older but would assume collage age) who has had the tough luck of stumbling upon the vampires via his best friend Benny who was bitten.  I like the character of Benny. He's the link between worlds so to speak. The teenaged vampire who still has some of his old personality left. Makes you think that if the character had survived the film, he would have been given a sequel as a Master himself... no?

The theme here is simple, you never know what you are truly capable of doing till you're forced to do it.

Jane Slayre: After living the first ten years of her life in a house of vampyres, Jane finds relief at the idea of going away to school. But not soon after, she discovers the school's big secret, that it is a breeding ground for zombies. Zombies that become servants to the ever growing vampyre population. When she's old enough to leave the boarding school, she finds a job and a home working for a wealthy man as a governess. But even that happiness is short lived, when Jane discovers a werewolf living in the house. Running away from all she loved, she finally learns there are others like her, the Slayres, born to rid the planet of what lurks in the shadows.

Like February's selection Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, this is a mash-up story. Unlike ALVH, this is not history mashed with fiction, but fiction mashed with fiction. The base line is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The story of a young girl who is mistreated by her family then shipped off to boarding school where she undergoes a mixture of humiliations and kindness. She then becomes a governess, falling in love with the man who hired her before learning he's already married.
The mash up part, which is written by Sherri Browning Erwin, is the Buffy connection. Little nods to Buffy come in the ever now popular vamps turn to dust, the "cramps" that inform both that vamps are near, the slayers coming from one bloodline, a "watcher" who trains Jane while at boarding school. 

Themes seem to run from betrayal, illness - both physical and mental, love/lust, self acceptance, status/class, religion, family.  The character of Jane finds her strength through her torment as much as she does through love. She spends the first half of her life just trying to survive a rough environment.
There is a scene where she's bitten by her young cousin John Reed, that could be seen as a sexual assault. Using lycantropy as a metaphor for extreme violent behaviour, was a touch of genius. Not original mind you, but understandable.
The fact the zombies are bred in an extremely pious boarding school, made me chuckle. Having the girls obsessed with reading Psalms after becoming zombies, points out some of the direct connections between Christianity and Hoodoo. As Psalms is used in many talismans and offerings for spells/rituals. Using the whole zombie aspect as a metaphor for the conditions that would plague such schools back in the time the original Jane Eyre was written was also a clever idea. 

Jane is left with a choice, she can follow her heart, which means living with an already married man being shunned by society, or break her own heart by leaving him. She does what she thinks is the right thing, by fulfilling her "slayer" side, and becoming a bit of a watcher/hunter herself. But over time, her bond to the man she loves, Mr. Rochester proves to be more than just a simple sexual attraction. They are soulmates, able to feel each others pain across country. (I could spend hours on the idea)

What it inspired...so I pulled from Buffy the Vampire Slayer for my inspired project. In the movie, we see near the beginning of the movie, the characters of both Buffy and of Benny, each eating popcorn. Buffy at her house with Jeffery, and Benny sitting in the cinema with Pike.

I can never get the idea of popcorn out of my head when I watch this movie, and trust me after 24 years of it being one of my ultimate favs, that's a lot of thinking of popcorn. Plus, you'll notice the dress she wears to the final dance makes her look like a giant kernel of the stuff.

I made a caramel-toffy sauce covered popcorn

2 Tablespoons butter salted
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
splash of vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

simmer, stirring constantly. Let cool before pouring over popcorn.

Next month we're talking about Interview with the Vampire. Both the movie and the book.
I'll be back later in the week with the official announcement post for it.

If you haven't checked out Heather's offering and thoughts on this month's selections, do so now - here.

year 5 day 147

movie: The Do-Over
starring: Adam Sandler, David Spade
genre: Crime, Comedy
year: 2016
format: Netflix Canada

plot: When two old high school buddies decide they need a fresh start, they fake their own deaths. Unfortunately for them, they've stolen identities of wanted men.

So this is one of those Netflix Original Films. I have to say, it was a lot better than expected. I know I know, I keep complaining about how much I dislike Sandler yet end up watching his stuff. It's a vicious cycle of boredom and stupidity that has me in that loop.

What seems like a simple buddy comedy at first, becomes this interesting -okay mildly interesting- who done it. The two lead characters find themselves first living what seems to be the lives of two very wealthy criminals, but as things progress, the facts are uncovered and they realize the identities they have stolen are of two doctors trying to cure cancer. They soon have mobsters after them, and limited time to figure out who the real killer is.

This is fairly clean for a Sandler/Spade combo, up until the last fifteen minute or so, than it falls into that typical teenaged crap they are known for. I don't think I'd sit through this again, but I thought it was much better than some of the other films I've seen the duo in. (apart from the Hotel Transylvania films which I loved)

what did I learn? There was way too many up the butt jokes.

What that movie inspired me to do 45

Back a few months ago, I was talking to Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, about the new Alice in Wonderland sequel. I had at that time, been thinking about doing a post inspired by the story/movie. (which would have been back in March for my birthday post...but I ended up not doing a birthday post) Timing is everything, and we decided to do posts inspired by the Alice stories, to correspond with the sequel's release this weekend. Alice Through the Looking Glass.

While watching the movies again, I couldn't get the idea of mushrooms out of my head. Because the Caterpillar sits on one and they are everywhere. I also couldn't stop thinking of the Queen of Hearts' tarts, and of course the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

So I decided, to mix some of that together, and threw myself an unbirthday party (UN-bIRthdAY PaaARrr-TEA ...big "U" big "N" accent on the tea)

This I have to admit, was not the easiest blog post I've ever done. It was in fact frustratingly brutal. I went from the original idea of a straight up Mad Hatter's Tea Party but had issues with menu ideas other than just tea and tea-sandwiches, to mushroom tarts which exploded twice in my oven, to a cake that wouldn't hold up.   In the end, I pulled together what I could from the mess and thought I'd hand in my homework anyways. Trust me, some point down the line, I'll do another Alice in Wonderland themed dinner to try and make up for it.



For the mushroom tarts

I used a pre-packaged dough,
half an onion rough chopped
ground black pepper,
two large white mushrooms rough chopped
some cheese
and a can of cream of mushroom soup

I layered everything into the dough first, than spooned in the soup about three Tablespoons each.

The cake was a boxed cake...lemon. And the icing was as well.

The cake, started to crack and split down the middle before I even got it half way icing-ed...iced...frosted.

And the sprinkles, which were little red/white/pink hearts fell off the sides. There was more on the table than the cake.

I forgot the tea! Ironic as it is, and probably the biggest screw up of the project. But I'd put everything away before I realized the tea didn't make it to the photo.

So not my best week in the kitchen, nor my prettiest. But, I have to tell you, it tasted really good. If you haven't checked out what Heather has to offer, do so now. (her blog)

year 5 day 146

movie: The Nice Guys
starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe
genre: Crime, Noir, Comedy
year: 2016
format: Cinema

plot: A private detective finds himself hired to help solve a missing person case, by the man originally hired to stop him. They soon find themselves in the middle of a cover up involving the death of a porn star.

Set in the late 1970's, this movie had me thinking of those old made for tv movies/detective series like McMillan & Wife, and Starsky & Hutch.  There was one scene where Gosling's character is frightened by a corpse where he's unable to scream, which is straight up Abbot and Costello.

This is a buddy film no doubt around it, but, the addition of the fact the one character's daughter tags along on most of the case, rounds out the team. I think in some ways, it helps to ground the otherwise over the top-ness of it, keeping the film from going to a level of unneeded gore. The violence is there, but it manages to pull back at a decent enough hour to keep it's integrity.  Which is actually a theme in itself. As Gosling's character is constantly making comments about how his daughter is facing a society of perverts and cons.
The comedic timing and chemistry between the two leads could easily be harvested for at lest one more movie.

If you've been reading any of my stuff for the last while, you know that I love it when stories get back to basics. When they are set in a way that forces the characters to "do the work do the research". And having this set in 1977, when there was no choice but to hit the library or use a pay-phone, adds a layer to it. We follow the leads for about a week as they cris cross their way across L.A. following clues and uncovering three different plots. Supposed kidnapping-murder-cover up.

Both the characters have been hurt, the Gosling character having lost his wife in a fire and is a single dad with a drinking problem, and the Crowe character having gone through a divorce. There is actually a great line where Crowe's character just beat a man nearly to death and stops saying "you owe your life to a 13 year old" after the little girl tells him if he continues she'll never speak to him again.

what did I learn? Sometimes you're really not that paranoid they really are out to get you.

What that movie inspired me to do 44

It's that time again, the time of the season when we have season finales of all our favourite shows (if they're not mid season shows that is) and myself and my friend Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, have a shared lust for Supernatural.  So of course we had to turn that into blog posts.

As like with our 80's Day last month,(we've got another coming up soon) we have not told the other person which episodes/seasons/characters have inspired us to make what we decided to make.

And with 11 seasons of the show in the bag there was a lot to choose from. (I'm only pulling from the first 10 seasons as that's what is available on dvd at the time of this post) I can't wait for next season, it can't get here fast enough for me.  I sat down and thought about some of my favourite episodes from seasons 1-10 and came up with this list for today.   Clap Your Hands if You Believe (season 6 episode 9) Mystery Spot (season 3 episode 11) and Bad Day at Black Rock (season 3 episode 3)  which ironically, are more of the comedic episodes.

Clap Your Hands if You Believe - the plot: The brothers are called into to investigate what they think is at first alien attacks, but it turns out to be fairies.    the food: corn, beer, coffee, whiskey, pizza rolls, cookies, tea, cream, sugar, salt.

Mystery Spot- the plot: While investigating a disappearance of an occult debunker, Sam must relive Dean's death 100 times over until he can break the cycle.   the food: pig in a poke, coffee, bacon, pancakes, roasted chicken, garlic, wine, hot sauce, fish tacos/tacos, Chinese food, sausage, syrup, melon, chocolate milk.

Bad Day at Black Rock- the plot: The boys learn that a cursed rabbit's foot has been stolen from the family storage unit, which gives it's victims a roll of unbelievable good luck until it kills them.    the food: whiskey, garlic bread, ice cream, coffee, BLT sandwich, pop, fries, burgers, wine.

I wanted to at first, make something from each episode, but in the end for convenience made the one dish. So, pulling the ingredients of hot sauce and garlic from Mystery Spot, the corn from Clap Your Hands if you Believe, and burger from Bad Day at Black Rock plus the title; I made  "Black Bean Burger with Corn chips and salsa".

1 can of black beans, drained,
3 pieces of bread pinched up for breadcrumbs,
half an onion chopped,
half a green pepper chopped,
1 teaspoon minced garlic,
2 eggs,
salt,
ground black pepper,
hot sauce to your taste,

I started to mash up the beans, but I have to admit, I don't have a food processor so I was doing it by hand with an old fashioned potato masher, and got fed up mid way, so half my beans were mashed half were not.

I set the mix in the fridge for half an hour so that it was firm enough to form into paddies. Depending on how thick you make them, you will get anywhere from 4-6 paddies.

I then pan fried them in a bit of oil for about five minutes on each side. Topped them with melted cheese, the corn chips and salsa (instead of on the side and both store bought)

Now, go check out Heather's offering. And check back with us later this week to see what else we've been inspired to do.

year 5 day 145

movie: The Fly
starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis
genre; Sci-Fi, Horror,
year; 1986
format: Hollywood Suites Channel

plot: After testing an experiment out on himself goes wrong, a scientist begins to de- evolve.

Based on the 1958 movie and the 1957 short story.

Take about a mad scientist. I haven't seen this in years, so much I'd forgotten just how gross it got. For some reason though, I seem to remember there having been an explanation for his extreme sugar consumption, which there didn't actually seem to be. (trailer maybe?)

I found the first half to have been rushed, which was the style for the decade it was done. I got the impression of the main character having an addiction to his own creation. That high you get when you've managed to create something so off the charts new. He kept coming back to the idea that he was - in the first half of the film- creating a stronger faster form of evolution. At which point, while the adrenaline is still controlling him, he starts desiring a mate just as unique as himself. The character is no longer functioning on any form of human level; pardon the pun. He's become tunnel-vision goal minded, that of survival. And in this case -for the first half of the film- survival of his new species. The second half, just seems to be about survival at any costs. He's nearly accepted the fact he's about to die, than seems to begin fighting that. That fear of death becoming more than he can handle.

Metaphors I got from this were addiction, disease, transformation, paranoia and mental illness. There's also a lot of jealousy floating around between the three main characters. Both the Goldblum character and the John Getz try to out "alpha male" each other during moments throughout the film.

what did I learn? You know I'm going to say it...IT'S A FRANKENSTEIN MOVIE

year 5 day 144

movie: The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
starring: Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp
genre: Drama, Musical
year: 1994
format: TV Edit

plot: Three drag queens travel across country, performing as they go. Before long, secrets are exposed, causing some heartbreak.

All I could think through this was that Terence Stamp looked like he was fed up. I don't know if it was just the show-girl head dresses that pained him in his scenes, or if he was just not happy to be there?
The end seemed very lackluster. They travel for what is suppose to be weeks, seemingly meeting up with the same events over and over again. People who seem to just not want them there, no matter how sweet they are to their faces.  Now, you've heard (read) me say this before, I don't know if that angle was the actual storyline or just the way the channel edited it?

The last half of the movie, where they arrive at their hotel, and are embraced by the ex-wife was one of the few expected moments. Bit rushed almost like an afterthought, but then again might have just been where the channel edited it for time.

what did I learn?  Even the toughest men work heels better than I could.

year 5 day 143

movie: Victor/Victoria
starring: Julie Andrews, Robert Preston
genre: Comedy, Musical
year: 1982
format: Hollywood Suites Channel

plot: A woman down on her luck pretends to be a female impersonator in the 1930's

Remake of the 1933 movie and of the 1935 First a Girl.

The lead character, Victoria, falls in love with a man, but in order to keep her identity safe, she continues to live her public life as her alter ego Victor, which begins to take it's toll on her boyfriend. Shortly there after, the boyfriend's bodyguard informs him he's gay, making the boyfriend; who's a mobster, feel uncomfortable.  This then causes some issues for the mobster boyfriend with his business partners forcing Victoria's hand to revealing her true identity. 

The whole movie is about public perception. How we present ourselves, be it for gain or survival in society. The story takes place at a time when a woman having a job outside the home was still considered unnecessary to begin with, add to it the fact she's an entertainer, surrounded by openly gay men, and you've got a lot of prejudice to deal with.  There are a few scenes in the beginning of the movie, where we see our lead character so desperate, she nearly sleeps with her landlord because she's broke and hasn't eaten in days, and a scene where she's planning to con her way out of a restaurant bill.

I find it ironic that the same year Dustin Hoffman stared in Tootise, as a man who pretends to be a woman to get a job.  As well, the line "a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman" would be mirrored a decade later in Interview with the Vampire "vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires, how avant garde"

what did I learn? It's always going to be about the meatballs.

year 5 day 142

movie: Honeymoon in Vegas
starring: Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker
genre: Comedy
year: 1992
format: Hollywood Suites Channel

plot: After loosing money in a poker game, a desperate man allows his girlfriend to spend the weekend with the man who hustled him. Before long, he finds himself in the bad end of a wild goose chase to get her back.

I have one word for this. Retarded. Yep, I thought it was a really stupid premise.

I'm not sure if the "moral of the story" is  knowing when you've found your one, or always allow second chances, or not to be a dink gambling in the first place? But it all seems to be covered in this movie.
You've got a guy who's afraid to commit, a woman who doesn't seem to know her worth, and a con artist. Had this been taken a bit more on the serious side, it would have made for a good drama, but instead, the comedy just didn't take hold.  And the side story of the Parker character semi-falling for the James Caan character, just made her seem weak.

what did I learn? I'll never be an Elvis fan.

year 5 day 141

movie: Conan the Barbarian
starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones
genre:Sci-fi, Adventure
year: 1982
format: Netflix Canada

plot: After witnessing his entire village slaughtered, a slave sets off to get revenge on the man who's responsible.

Based on the novels/stories of Robert E. Howard

So this is the character/serial that all sword and sorcery branch from? Huh.  Religion runs amuck in this, from snake gods, to weapons forged by gods, to one character becoming one of Odin's Valkyries, to the lead being left to die by crucifixion.  It's got a lot of trials/tests happening, that even the lead character is unaware he's taking part in. Like, having to "survive" the pits in the beginning, with his wits as much as his strength, and later; after his "death" which has nothing to do with him as much as it does his companions. 

It's no secret, as I've stated it more than once, I am not a fan of Schwarzenegger at all. But, I found the film's peppering of comedy decent enough. The story being laced with paganism and occult notions from book end to book end was the only reason I was still watching it after the first ten minutes.

I would have liked some more explanation on the why and how of James Earl Jones's character though. Here's this all powerful god or witch or shapeshifting genius, and it's never explained on how he got to be so? Was he always supernatural or did it happen after his years as the warlord?  I was half way expecting there to be some big reveal about Conan being descendant of Doom given the fact Conan was the only one who had been able to defeat the uber snake.
 
what did I learn? The witch, the warrior and the woman...got a ring to it right?

year 5 day 140

movie:The Intern
starring:Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway
genre: Drama, Comedy
year: 2015
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: When a widowed man decides to come out of retirement and work again, he becomes the anchor for an internet company.

This is pretty much a role reversal of Devil Wears Prada, Hathaway's other big film. The first half is loaded with inside jokes on De Niro's character trying to fit in and get used to the too relaxed internet based staff. Such as the scene where the office massage therapist comes over and effects him more than expected. The second half of the movie, becomes the pointed drama/buddy movie you know it's rolling out for. Hathaway's character is cliched as the do it all or die type, while her stay at home husband not so subtly cheats on her.  You almost want to throw a shoe at the screen during the hotel scene where Hathaway's character is making excuses for her husband's behaviour.

This seems to have been a decade for starting over films. As the world has changed so drastically in the last decade, so many are finding themselves at a crossroads they might not have otherwise, and it's been represented in every form the cinema could think of.  And this was one of the better ones.  I did like the scene where De Niro is describing their warehouse/factory over pizza, as we learn that it was the same building he worked in for over 40 years before being bought by Hathaway's character. It brings a perspective to things.

what did I learn? Proper briefcases still rock.

The Nosferatu Adventures s10 p11

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 259, chapter 259

Out of Time...

Loki's eyes were their human brown, and devoid of all their sparkle as he looked at our heroine. "OUT!" he waved his hand, Edric and Quentin disappearing.

Meanwhile...

The yelp startled Matilda causing her to drop the burnt tray of cookies.  "A puppy."  The Seer said gleefully.

"Not a puppy, a hellhound."  Dagan said automatically reaching for the little furball. It darted out of his grasp, running circles around first The Seer's legs, then straight for Matilda before doubling back to investigate Rufus. Dagan lurched for him again still missing, before giving up and just sitting on the floor, his back against the nearest bookcase. Bringing his knees up, he draped his wrists over them closing his eyes.  Satisfied that the occult shop was safe, the little pup gave a short snort as he raced back to where Dagan was, squeezing in under his legs as if a tent and stretched out. "You're a little weirdo aren't you?"


Meanwhile...

"Shack!" Edric screamed as he kicked a parked car. The vehicle skirted across the empty street the side door caved in, before screeching to a stop against a tree, the security alarm going off.

"What just happened?" Quentin asked as he leaned back at the night sky.


Meanwhile...

"Have you lost your sense of reality?" Loki asked. Licking his lips, he cast his eyes down his left hand out palm up. "You went against my orders with The Seer, you decided to shack Arthur who is very human by the way, you shacked me..."

"Actually you shacked me." our heroine interrupted.

"...and what you shacked that guy?"

"I never shacked him! I don't even know him!"

"Well I'd beg to differ given he is sired to you." Loki replied poking his left palm with his middle finger. Angry looking rust coloured sparks slithered across his palm when he did. "Something happened for him to be!" he ducked his neck closer to her, his shoulders hunched. "Explain to me how you..." he gestured towards her. "You managed to create such a trail of shackables?"

"That guy." she pointed to the closed door. "Can't be sired to me, I've never seen..." she turned staring at the door, then stopped mid sentence. "Double anchovy." she let out a deep sigh of exhaustion. "I didn't sleep with him. I fed off of him. The other night, at Edward's. He was the neighbour. I pretended to be a pizza delivery to get access to his apartment and helped Edward escape his. I thought he was dead. Dead-dead."

"Well he's not. And now he's about to be your big obsession. Just like you were for Dagan." he tilted his head to the side waiting. "In fact, you should have started with the crazy by now. I sent him the next town over." he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his right hand propping up his other elbow. He reached out poking her shoulder sending her swaying. The dark haired god poked her shoulder again. "Crazy yet? Crazy yet?"

"You're eyes are extra beady today." she remarked coldly. "Makes your arse look flat."

"That made zero sense even for you." he shook his head at her, smirking."Flirting isn't going to get you out of this one." he lifted his chin squaring an already squared jaw.

"Well suck it up while you can. Cause if you're even a sliver right, our living arrangements are going to get really crowded." she sighed locking her fingers behind her neck, her eyes closed.

"You know there is a solution to this. You and Dagan had the sire bond broken more than once. Just slaughter the dude and his little homeless friend." Loki replied waving his hand around, a green orb suddenly appearing as he tossed it like a golf ball.  He watched her breathing deeply for a moment, her breath coming out in precise exhales as she counted to five before each, her right leg suddenly twitching. Growling, our heroine moved around the god in a jagged motion before turning on her heels and heading towards the bathroom. Loki's eyebrows knitted together as he waited for her to return, a smirk once again plastered to his face. He watched as the now frustrated female stalked past him heading towards the front door. "Where are you going dear?"

"After my obsession. I hate you." she growled as she slammed the front door to the apartment. The dark haired god whispered to the green orb still balanced on the edge of his fingers, watching as it turned to a hot gold colour before disappearing. 


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. For a reality that isn't suppose to have any werewolves, we've suddenly got a ton of werewolves)

Year 5 Day 139 (May Food n Flix)

It's that time of the month again, Food n Flix. And this month, I'm hosting my second round. My selection was the 1987 film Witches of Eastwick.  Here is my announcement post 

The one movie a day challenge part-

Movie: Witches of Eastwick
starring: Cher, Jack Nicholson
genre: Drama, Thriller
year: 1987
format: DVD

plot: Three bored housewives make a wish to bring more excitement, adventure and romance into their lives. In doing so, they unknowingly end up inviting more than they bargained for to town.

Based on the novel by John Updike.

This is one of those films that could be considered a starting over story. It's a story about learning to move forward even when you think you've hit rock bottom, as with the character of Jane who's just freshly divorced. There is a bit of a romance going on here, not just in the typical sense of the women being seduced, but in the idea that they fall in love with themselves. Each finds her footing only after something tragic lays down tracks. 

The core of the story here is four women...yeah keep reading...four women who have come into their own. We have the three "witches" Alexandra, Sukie and Jane, who are already friends, bonded over their tragic losses(Alexandra is a widow, Sukie has been abandoned by her husband and Jane just got divorced) and their kids. And then you have Felicia, who even though is more of a nemesis than a friend, is still very much connected to them. Her husband even though he's still married to her, has long since detached himself emotionally from her. (this has been argued is what forms the completion of the pentacle of earth (Alexandra), air (Felicia), water (Sukie), fire (Jane) and spirit (Van Horne))

Enter the character of Daryl Van Horne. Here we have "your average horny little devil" which could refer to any fertility god (Cernunnos, Osiris, Adonis, Kronos, Baal, etc) But the alcohol in the wish scene, always made me lean towards Dionysus/Bacchus.(a foreign god that comes)  Remember, the other half of the spectrum is the character of Felicia, who represents the religious aspect of the story, and Dionysus also found all religions sacred. ( Felicia drops a vat of honey which is sacred to the Bacchus ego of Dionysus) The fact the character of Van Horne "liberates" the characters of both Alexandra and Jane, by giving them permission to finally do what they really want to do in life, also adds to the theory the character is really Dionysus/Bacchus in written form. (the character of Fidel as the servant/guard is another extension of this)

We see the town turn on not just the core characters, but each other as gossip, doubt and betrayal begin to run amuck. This leads to the deaths of both Felicia and her husband. (he murders her then commits suicide) {blood sacrifice anyone?}Which is a clear warning that when you uncork something, you better be totally ready to deal with the responsibility/consequences. (cause and effect) In this case, the three main characters are not, as they begin to hide under the covers hoping it will just take care of itself. When that doesn't happen, only at the threat of death do they take responsibility for their own actions.
I thought it was interesting that the movie gave Felicia the biggest powers of intuition, as it drives her crazy. The doctors blame her sudden visions on a blood issue, but if you read between the lines, she's the one who has the most "blind faith" in something. 

what did I learn? Be careful what you wish for, and just exactly how you word it.

The Food n Flix part- bread and butter, chips, crackers, martini, popcorn, olives, cherries, fish, bagels, ice-cream, oatmeal, eggs, pickles, tea, bananas, zucchini, mustard, toast, garlic, tomatoes, peanut butter and jelly, beer, onions, spices, pop, canned cheese, canned soup, canned corn, marshmallows, brownies, cake, honey, Chinese Aphrodisiac Cooking (mentioned), sugar, pheasant, duck, oranges, apples, grapes, octopus, pineapple, peaches, cheesecake, rum, vodka, brandy, cookies, absinthe, whip cream, pears, lemons, pies, coffee, salad, peppers, mushrooms, muffins, sausage, chillies, salami, pepperoni, lettuce, cabbage, croissants, bones (dog is eating,) passion fruit, red tamarillos,

My inspiration scene was the girls night at the beginning (which I also got inspiration for another post  here), where they are playing cards talking about Sukie's husband Monty.(which they point out is happening on a Thursday. I always thought it was on purpose because Thursday is sacred to the god Thor who is a fertility god) 
I ended up going with what I hope is totally out of the cauldron...er box idea. With a version of a "Monty Cristo" sandwich.  The Monte Cristo is normally a turkey and ham and cheese, which is fried in egg batter.   Mine is a vegetarian version, with Tofurky.

I decided to use a smoked tofurky in place of the ham, and an oven roasted tofurky in place of the actual turkey.
As well, the selection of cheese was a vegan lactose free/animal rennet free cheese.

This I dipped in a simple French Toast batter of egg, milk (I used almond milk) and salt.

Then pan fried it as I would a typical grilled cheese.  I did however, leave it for about 8 minutes each side. 

There is so much food in this otherwise, non-foodie movie, but look closer. More than half is there on purpose. Think about the inside joke about the Chinese Aphrodisiac Cooking... Absinthe (connected to love and sexuality), lemon (love, happiness, purification) , gin (love, sexuality -because of the juniper berries) honey (love, sexuality, weight loss, wisdom, spirituality, purification, health, happiness,), olives(sexuality, peace, health, spirituality), lettuce(celibacy, money, weight loss, peace), onions (protection, weight loss), mushrooms (psychic awareness), tomatoes(protection, fertility, love, money, health), apples (love, health, protection, peace,), bananas(love, money, spirituality), cherries (love spells,) , grapes( dreams, fertility, money), oranges(love and purification) , pears(money, longevity), passion fruit (peace, love), peaches(health, love, happiness, wisdom,) , pineapple(healing, money, protection, love), the salty foods (earth magick, protection, grounding rituals, money spells,) , brandy (sexual desires, money spells, and used in incenses), rum (voudon offerings,sexual desires, purification rituals) , ice cream (this is one of those all purpose foods for protection, love, money, psychic awareness, healing, purification happiness, wisdom- all depending on the flavour), squash - in this case the zucchini (connected to the nonphysical realms)


Don't forget to join us next month for I Am Love, being hosted by CulturEatz

year 5 day 138

movie: Huntsman 2 Winter's War
starring;Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt
genre: Fantasy
year: 2016
format: Cinema

plot: After having her heart broken by the death of her child, the sister of the Evil Queen begins to form an army of children, with the Huntsman as her bravest warrior.

You feel like you sort of have two separate movies going here. The one with the Huntsman's backstory, and the one between the two queens.  The queens story is sort of the bookends for the Huntsman's story. Both parts are suppose to fit, but they almost don't gel.

I liked the introduction of the Snow Queen, I thought Emily Blunt played it well, and I've never been one for snow queen stories.  I actually could have done without half the Huntsman's story, and would have loved to have seen more of the two queens back story.

It plays a bit too expected for me. You have the Huntsman and his wife separated by a spell, and the two battling it out for a good chunk of time, until they have to join forces to battle the queens.  That's another issue I had, you sort of get the impression that the Snow Queen is the badder of the two, then the rug is pulled out from under you and the Evil Queen becomes the badder of them, with the Snow Queen the victim. I didn't care for that line of back and forth so quickly in the story. It would worked better if they had given more time to both characters.

There really isn't much to say on this. Snow White is a footnote in this movie. Which I'm fine with, as Snow White has never been a favourite character of mine. None of the scenes really stood out enough for me to pick apart. Other than the fact the Evil Queen has something like 7 wardrobe changes in under 15 minutes of air time. All of which are suppose to be within a few hours in the story.

what did I learn? Ever notice that all fantasy/sci-fi quest stories are buddy road trip stories?

year 5 day 137

movie: American Ultra
starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Connie Britton
genre: Action
year: 2015
format: Netflix Canada

plot: A sleeper agent is activated hours before he's scheduled to be killed.

This does not say anywhere that it's based on a graphic novel or game (if it did I missed the credit) but it feels like it was.  There is one scene where the big fight is happening in a store that is seen as if first person shoot out game.

The idea is there. But the movie just barely skims the surface of what it could have been. It was obvious from the last few minutes, that it was originally designed with the idea of a sequel, but it doesn't carry enough weight for that.
The joke is that there is no real joke. The lead character is unaware of his own purpose or skill set, and even as it's revealed to him, he plays it too hip. There were no flash back or lead ups that would have made the big reveal more believable. He's this victim for 90% of the movie, then suddenly the audience are suppose to buy into him being the bullet chaser.  The big twist of the Kristen Stewart character being an agent as well, is not a twist but something you can see coming five miles away. The only question is in doing so, why is she unable to defend herself?

There were a few moments of decent nods to action films, such as the use of a spoon to slaughter one villain, a dust pan for another, and the set up of the fireworks which pays for itself twice, once near the beginning of the film dealing with a bomb and again near the end as a distraction. I did get a laugh out of the grenade catching stunt.

what did I learn? Sometimes violence for the sake of violence distracts from the actual point.

year 5 day 136

movie: Mistress America
starring: Greta Gerwig, Michael Chernus
genre: Comedy, Drama
year; 2015
format: Netflix Canada

plot: A hopeful writer spends a semester with her soon to be step sister, living on the edge of their dreams.

This reminded me of a mix of Sex and the City and every Woody Allen movie I've ever seen.  It was witty at times, but the wit was not enough to keep me interested. The characters came across very one dimensional; other than the main lead, who seems to need a prescription for sedatives. She bounces back and forth between such psycho realities, you feel like the roof is about to cave in any second.

You've got a buddy movie at the core of this, but it's so amped up on electric dreams, you wonder if the night life is more of a night light. The two main characters are searching for an anchor that neither can really provide for the other. Their families are less than solid, and you see the life raft sinking fast before the first half of the movie is close to over.
The theme of jealousy is so thickly relied on, that it seems to overwhelm even the basic plot line of that search for family. To belong without trying to find that place you belong. The Gerwig character of the older sister, becomes the metaphor for the entire plot, as she describes in one scene her idea for the restaurant she wants to open. A place to gather and feel at home at, that also is a community store and beauty parlor. She's taking everything she believes is a safe central meeting spot and trying too hard to make them fit together. When the pieces to her life start to fall apart at the same time, she's forced to deal with her past by not just making up with her former best friend/love, but to rethink her entire plans.

The scene where they are all gathered in the home of her former friends, feels disjointed. The group of them appear out of nowhere, crash a book club and then help themselves through the course of the night. This is near the end of the movie, and the one character starts ranting about women's issues for no reason.

what did I learn? This felt like a stage play that ran too long.

year 5 day 135

movie: The Boss
starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell
genre; Comedy
year: 2016
format: Cinema

 
plot: When a self made millionaire is jailed for insider trading, her life hits rock bottom. Before long, she finds herself at the mercy of her former assistant as they partner up to rebuild their company.

You've got a buddy comedy that seems to be McCarthy's strong suite. We watch as the McCarthy character finds herself having to start over from scratch, dealing with not just the loss of her company, but realizing that she is utterly alone. 
While her former personal assistant is willing to take her in, she's -the assistant- not willing to allow herself to have a life blaming it on the fact she needs to keep focus as a single mom.

The core of the story is family. The kind that we create for ourselves over the decades. We see both of the main characters standing up for what they want, but being afraid to have it all. Neither really admit that they are lacking some connections in their life, letting their work be their center point. And both are hiding from the men in their lives.

I did like this movie, but the story was watery at times. One of the biggest laughs came from the two women fighting over a bra.

what did I learn? When you invite someone into your sofa, be prepared to let them into your sock drawer.

The Nosferatu Adventures s10 p10

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 258, chapter 258

Out of Time

The auburn haired male snarled as the sofa bounced beside him. The Seer had sat down so close to him, their thighs were touching. Dagan shifted over a few centimeters towards the opposite arm of the sofa.  "Would you like a cup of tea? Some cookies? A sandwich?" Matilda's voice was going at top speed as she moved around the occult shop her hands at her throat one second, then covering her face the next, then fiddling with the scarf she wore as a belt. The familiar practically beamed with giddiness over the fact Dagan was there.  He wasn't sure if she was just truly happy to see him, of if the former timber wolf still had a crush on him? Dagan figured it was a bit of both.

"I'm fine." he mumbled tilting his head to the side, his blue eyes locked on Rufus. He couldn't get over the fact the little clumsy timber pup he'd saved that day in the woods was standing before him in human form, a Familiar now. Rufus glowed with pride as he showed Dagan some of the treasures they'd managed to collect in the last few years for the shop. Swords, first editions of occult books, a large dragon statue with a crystal ball in it's mouth; the knick knacks were endless.
Dagan felt the heat once more of The Seer's knee as he changed position half way facing him on the sofa. Looking at him from the corner of his eyes, Dagan made a clicking noise with is tongue. The Seer's perfect lips began to spread as that overly confident grin of his crept over his pale features. Dagan's eyes became slits as he batted the other male's knee away from him. "Dude you're creeping me out just a bit."

"I dreamed of you. You..." The Seer reached his left arm over and patted Dagan on the hair. "You..." he began to laugh. "...were a wolf." the dark haired male gestured wildly, smacking Dagan in the face as he did. "Big wolf. Red wolf."

Dagan scratched the back of his neck grunting. "And?" he squinted up his eyes again tilting his chin at him. "You're a wolf too. Big fluffy caramel one." he pointed at the other male's seat. "Did I say fluffy, I meant annoying and...and...that butt in wolf form just gets bigger and...well fluffy. Where are you going with this?"

The Seer laughed at him, slapping the back of his knuckles on Dagan's thigh. "It was just a dream." he made a sound that was partially a huff, partially a snicker. "That's not real. No..." he shook his head his own blue eyes cast down again as he picked at the hem of his shirt. "Not real. I know that can't be real. Just because I dreamed about you doesn't mean..." he pointed towards Rufus. "I'm allowed to come outside now. It doesn't hurt to open the front door anymore." he slapped his hands together making a boom gesture. "Rufus is allowed to take me to see the strippers and I'm not in pain..." his voice trailed off as he tapped a finger on his temple. "My nightmares aren't making my skull hurt anymore, since...since...since Nosferatu rescued me."

"Rescued you? What do you mean rescued you?" the older werewolf's voice got louder as he got up from the sofa and made his way in to the little kitchen where Matilda was busy making the tea no one wanted. "What are you not telling me?"  He felt the other werewolf as he slammed into his back.

"Sorry." The Seer mumbled wiping an invisible piece of lint off Dagan's shoulders. "You're taller than me. Were you always taller than me?" he asked, another smile plastered on his face. He stood up on his tip toes, his right hand measuring his own height on the back of Dagan's skull.

"What's going on? Did he have a lobotomy or something?" the male asked hooking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Magickally speaking. Yes, you could say that." Matilda pulled Dagan a few feet away by the elbow, forcing him to bend down to her height as she leaned in whispering in his ear. "He is possessed and it's taken a ton of spells to keep the thing...sedated."

"What do you mean a ton?"

"Oh about eight and a half years worth." she bit her nails practically shaking in awe of Dagan.

"Why didn't you just un-possess him?"

"Not that simple. It's Pan. Remember, he did the same thing back in the day to Reuben, more than once."

"Yeah but everyone's been in Reuben...er um I mean, Leo even possessed Reuben." Dagan replied his hand out in front of him, palm down fingers spread as he made a slight bouncing motion with his arm. "Reuben's very open to that sort of thing...being inhabited by other men...other creatures getting up in his business..." he scuffed his feet in place as if wiping them. "I'm just making it worse aren't I?"

"Little bit." Matilda squeaked her head down, blushing.  Dagan bit his lip as he scratched at his chest the smell of something burning causing him to sniff. Pointing to the oven, he watched as Matilda turned around a few times panicking looking for her oven mitts, in order to remove the very burnt cookies from the oven. Turning himself, Dagan smashed again into The Seer. Leaning in just a half centimeter, the older werewolf snarled.

"You don't seem to like me much." The Seer commented as he patted the other male's chest. Dagan leaned over closer still, sniffing deeply. The Seer reacted by bringing his left arm up sniffing himself. "I smell fine. Clean clothes, showered this morning..."

"Na, you still smell like her."  the auburn haired male watched as The Seer pointed to Matilda. "Not that her. The other her. You know." he brought his hands up in front of them holding them first together then widening his gesture, as he moved his hands to waist level. "You know that bloodsucking moose." 

The Seer squinted up his nose tilting his head to the side, scratching at his neck. "Moose don't have any front teeth that would allow for them to be able to suck blood. I think it's medically impossible for them to be..."  Dagan rolled his eyes at him as he walked around the shorter male heading back out into the main area of the occult shop. Shuffling his feet, the auburn haired shapeshifter began to lick his fingers, running his hands over the bookshelves, the corner of the wall, the door handle marking his territory. His delicate werewolf ears twitching ever so slightly as he could still hear The Seer's soft voice in the other room, as if he were only a few millimeters away.

"Wow, they really did do a number on you didn't they? I mean, seriously, who needs to know the migration routes of the Eastern Moose or how much bark they can eat in a day. Besides, I wasn't talking about the animal moose, I was talking about her moose. My moose. Nosferatu." Dagan's voice dropped on the last sentence.

"Nosferatu is not a moose." The Seer's voice had a sing song to it. Dagan's eyebrows raised in unison as he licked his lips grabbing a handful of some sweet smelling herb from a glass jar, sniffing it before tossing it back into the jar making a face like he'd eaten something bad.

"Has she lost weight?" he asked

"Yes" Rufus said. "Well not really." Matilda commented. Both at the same time.  Dagan nodded to the room, before reaching out and grabbing a book about astrology off the shelf.



Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Remember, in the beginning Dagan and The Seer fought for both pack alpha and our heroine.)
 

year 5 day 134

movie: Advanced Style
starring: Joyce Carpati, Debra Rapoport
genre: Documentary
year:2014
format: Netflix Canada

plot: The cameras follow a group of women as they prove you don't have to be under 30 to get noticed.

As this is a documentary, there really isn't much to say other than, some of the ladies really had what I would call "style" while others just sort of had "character".

It's interesting that this started off as a blog, then became a photography book before finally becoming a documentary.  All the women are over the age of 55.  There were a few that when they introduced them, I was thinking there is no way that they more than 50 years old, but shockingly, most were in their late-60's/early 70's.
You could see a few were still striving for something big, while others were just happy to be there.

what did I learn? Personality wins every time.

May Night Bleeds Announcement

May's selections - Book : Jane Slayre
                            -Movie: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Watch the movie, read the book, then blog about it.

The blog post must be current (May 2016)  And if you're inspired to cook/bake/craft something by the book the movie or both, add that to your post, and then drop me a line and let me know. The post must have a link back to either this post or the Night Bleeds page.

Deadline is Sunday the 29th May 2016

And as always if you are in Thunder Bay and would like to join the physical book club, drop me a comment here.

badge by Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

year 5 day 133

movie: Smokey and the Bandit
starring: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field
genre:Comedy, Action
year:1977
format: Netflix Canada

plot: A couple of truck drivers take a job smuggling illegal beer cross country in under 48 hours. Along the way, they find themselves the center of a speedy round of police chases.

Classic. One of the car movies that started it all. With the right balance of action and comedy, Bandit has what a lot of current car films are missing. Heart.

The stunts are there, but the film manages to be witty while doing them. The idea of the running joke that only the Field character truly knows why they are suddenly being chased plays well through out. The raunch factor is there but subtle, as it's all done in winks and nods and a few innuendoes.

The fact that the Reynolds and Field characters are the decoy, makes for an interesting factor, given they are trying to stay a few steps ahead of the police the entire time. This lets their third partner who is driving the bootlegger, a chance to just cruise through with out being noticed.  I think part of what makes this film so good, is the decade when it was done. We're talking a decade without "digital technology". The characters have to rely on their skills and wits, communicating just through cb radios and people they already know for help. Even the trouble they get into is more "innocent" that what you would expect in modern films.

what did I learn? sometimes you just have to take the bet for the fun of it.

Food n Flix Annoucenment May

This month's Food n Flix selection is Witches of Eastwick, and I'm hosting.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, which is based on the novel, it's about three women who decide that their lives could use a bit more. More excitement, more adventure, more romance. During one of their weekly girl's nights, they make a wish, and before long a man arrives in town and turns everything upside down. 

How to join in... Step 1) just grab a copy of The Witches of Eastwick, and then head to the kitchen to bake/cook something that it inspired you to do.

Step 2) You must have a blog to take part. Then write a post about your creation during this month. And it must be a current blog post (during May 2016)   Make sure you link to both this post AND to the Food n'Flix blog.

Step 3) Then, you email me  (domesticanddamned (at) gmail (dot) com )with a link to your blog post, the name of your dish, the name of your blog  and it's url, and a photo of your dish or give me permission to snag a photo.  Make sure to title the email "FOOD N FLIX SUBMISSION"

Deadline will be Monday May 30th 2016 at 6pm EST.  I will have the round up posted withing 24 hours after that.