The Cinema Files
page 3, chapter 3
Ectoplasmic Exploitation
I walked into my building, trying to balance a large plastic bin of files, a cheese pizza and my purse while digging for my keys. My mind still reeling from the last few hours. A dead body, a mystery man, and my aunt's secret life. I couldn't think straight and all I was thinking about was how I was going to open the door to the apartment without loosing my lunch? Well, dinner actually, and I was meaning keeping the pizza box from slipping to the floor while I tried to balance everything. Giving in, I let out a long breath having to place the storage bin and pizza on the floor. There was just no way around the situation, I wasn't talented enough to balance it.
"Let me help you with that." a male voice said out of nowhere. Well, actually behind me slightly to my right. I stopped cold, unaware anyone had been watching my attempt to not dump my dinner on my shoes. God, I hope my underwear wasn't showing. Turning, I saw the most beautiful pair of grey eyes suddenly staring back at me. "You look like you are having a bit of a rough day." He bent picking up the storage bin, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. I remember nodding as I finally got the key into the doorknob, opening it. I placed the pizza on the nearest surface, hitting the light switch, flooding the small hallway suddenly with a progressive orange glow. "I'm Rudolph." he brought his right hand then to his chest palm flat. "I just moved in across the hall."
"Desdemona." I said hanging my purse on the doorknob of the hall closet.
"Where would you like me to put this?" he asked lifting the storage bin a foot. I pointed to the kitchen table just to the left of him.
"Thank you." I managed to get my coat off, holding it like a shield. He crossed back to the door in a few quick strides, turning to face me as he leaned his left shoulder on the doorframe hands in his back pockets. He was not quite 6'foot, with jet black hair that was to collar, his pale skin showing the beginnings of a sunburn just under his hairline on his forehead. Proof that he wore a hat when outside. His build was difficult to figure for certain as he was wearing loose fitting jeans and shirt. Did I mention he had a slight accent that I couldn't place?
"You could thank me by..." he grinned widely his teeth clenched, shoulders suddenly raised. "...walking around the neighbourhood with me. Maybe point out the nearest grocery store, or restaurant. I literally got to town three hours ago and nothing is hooked up yet. I can't even get a map of the place." I nodded still caught in those grey eyes of his. "Cool. I'll come knocking again in about half hour." he gestured then to his apartment with his right hand.
"Half hour." I nodded again as I stood there then for a few seconds my brain not computing before closing the apartment door. Just enough time to shove two pieces of the pizza into me, brush my teeth from the garlic breath and find a clean t-shirt that was a little more v-necked. At which point I realized it was too v-necked showing off my very comfortable but unsexy granny bra. I ended up changing back into the first t-shirt as I slapped my hands against my thighs in defeat. Rudolph showed up exactly at the half hour mark, his phone clutched tight in hand. I noticed how tight actually, like his life depended on never letting it go. As we left the building, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off him. Not just because he was extremely good looking, but because he was still gripping his phone like a life raft. That was until we turned the block and he started taking pictures of everything.
"It's so beautiful here." he spoke quickly. I gestured towards the next left turn saying the grocery was across that parking lot from the bank. I was so wrapped up in the moment, I didn't notice Blake's car parked at the chicken place next door to the bank.
There was a knock at my door three hours later, less than two minutes after I got home. And then there was another knock, followed by a rapid fire series of them before I had a chance to cross the kitchen to open the door.
"What the hell'd ya tink ya'r doin'?" Blake's words were as rapid fire as his knocking had been. His strawberry blonde hair was sticking up in the back from where he'd been wearing the hood of his sweater; his ice blue eyes squinted up in something that could be anger or disgust I couldn't tell which. "Some unknown guy gots murdered ten feet from yous this mornin' and I sees you, right, few hours later, out gallivanting around town with some guy I've never met before?" he wiped then at the corners of his mouth turning a half step towards the hallway, his right arm gesturing wildly. "What ifs that was ta guy? Huh? What ifs, that was the murderer?" Blake ran his hand then through his short hair closing his eyes for a second. "What sure? What were you babysitting or something? You going to let me in or what now?" he snarked referring to the fact Rudolph was a lot younger than us.
"Do you have to go to the bathroom?"
"No."
"Then no, I'm not going to let you in. Night. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I closed the door locking it. Sighing, I allowed myself first a few seconds of silent disbelief at how worked up Blake had been, then as I crossed to the bedroom to change, allowed myself a half giggle at how worked up Blake had been. Sitting down at the kitchen table with the rest of my now very cold very coagulated cheese pizza and the files Vincent and I had gathered from my aunt's storage locker, I began to make some notes of my own. I started by noting how many clippings my aunt had gathered from the newspaper Our Local Source. Not too surprising given she did work there. What was surprising was the number of them she had cross referenced with a small red star beside them. I searched everywhere in the bin of files but couldn't figure out what that meant? When I heard the upstairs neighbour's alarm go off suddenly causing me to jump, I looked at the clock realizing it was after 2am already. Turning the lights off, I went to bed my mind racing with everything that had happened that day. From the dead guy, to the mystery man, to Blake's reaction to seeing Rudolph.
I was just crossing the parking lot of the mini mall the next morning, still yawning when Vincent opened the door to the coffee shop. He stood there like an angel holding out the largest mug of coffee I'd seen. It was one of those extreme cappuccino mugs the cafe used for soup. I had to hold it with both hands as I sipped the still steaming liquid. "There's a reporter here to talk to us. I figured he might as well talk to us together." I raised both my eyebrows in question as I looked around Vincent's shoulder seeing an empty room. "He's in the bathroom." Nodding, I shuffled to the nearest table dropping my purse and carefully placing my oversized coffee on the table's surface. I liked the design the worn tabletop had gathered over the years. People having left drawings in marker that had been painted over but still showed through.
"We meet again." I heard Rudolph's smooth voice as I looked up. He was standing there beside Vincent suddenly. Turning to him, he dropped his canvas bag on the chair across from me. "Can I get another large black coffee and just let me know when your friend gets here." Vincent tilted his head towards him smiling, before gesturing towards me.
"That's Desdemona." Vincent's brown eyes sparkled as he took a step back to get Rudolph his order.
"You're a reporter?" I found myself whispering somewhere between shyness and shock. He nodded gathering up then a pen and notepad before reaching for his phone. He waved it before placing it beside him on the table, hitting the record button.
Tune in again for another installment of Cinema Files starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Small world isn't it?)
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Friday, March 23, 2018
Coffee Talk March 23rd 2018
Spudguns! How's everyone on this Friday morning? Awake at lest I hope. Anyways, I'm not sure how to stretch this out to be a semi- decent length post? Because it's basically just a program note.
I'm going to switch this week's stories around. Yep, instead of having an installment of The Nosferatu Adventures this Sunday (March 25th) I'm going to toss you another installment of the new one Cinema Files.
So, Cinema Files for this Sunday (March 25th) and The Nosferatu Adventures will return next week (April 1st)
That is literally all I had to post on here today, and now I'm not sure how to make this post any longer?
I could tell you that in May, I'll be hosting Food 'n Flix for the last time. Hey, guys guess what, in May 2018, I'm hosting Food 'nFlix for the last time. It will be my 5th and final hosting of it. (to be honest, for some reason I thought it was my 6th?) And because of that, my theme (that I have literally let fall through the blogging cracks on here) will be connected to my movie selection. So, don't forget to check back in later on for that. (I have been keeping up with the themes on my Facebook page though)
With that, I'll be back later in the weekend with Cinema Files.
I'm going to switch this week's stories around. Yep, instead of having an installment of The Nosferatu Adventures this Sunday (March 25th) I'm going to toss you another installment of the new one Cinema Files.
So, Cinema Files for this Sunday (March 25th) and The Nosferatu Adventures will return next week (April 1st)
That is literally all I had to post on here today, and now I'm not sure how to make this post any longer?
I could tell you that in May, I'll be hosting Food 'n Flix for the last time. Hey, guys guess what, in May 2018, I'm hosting Food 'nFlix for the last time. It will be my 5th and final hosting of it. (to be honest, for some reason I thought it was my 6th?) And because of that, my theme (that I have literally let fall through the blogging cracks on here) will be connected to my movie selection. So, don't forget to check back in later on for that. (I have been keeping up with the themes on my Facebook page though)
With that, I'll be back later in the weekend with Cinema Files.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
The Cinema Files s1 p2
Cinema Files
page 2, chapter 2
Ectoplasmic Exploitation
Detective Whitechapel jotted down the information as quickly as possible wanting nothing more than to let the coroner's people take the body away. He didn't want to know anything about it right then. In fact, he didn't want to admit it was a puzzle. Right now, it was being listed as accidental death. Drunk guy passes out in a puddle. That was the unofficial rumour. I felt his disapproving gaze as he looked over at Vincent and myself. We were still looming in the doorway of the coffee shop, the police having closed down the mini mall and taping off the parking lot. He was doing his damned best to ignore us. I watched as he moved back to his car to write something that one of the emergency responders was telling him. Clearly, Ryan was in a bad mood.
Detective Ryan Whitechapel, stood 5 foot 11, had bleached blonde hair that hadn't been touched up in over a month, letting his roots show in all their salt 'n' pepper glory, blue-green eyes that depending on the light would have you swearing they were pure emeralds, and a devious sensual smirk that never seemed to leave his pale lips. The boy could flirt with a telephone pole and have it shivering in anticipation. Even though he was another east coast replant, Ryan had spent a few years in England, giving his accent more of a British bite. Our city had become a hot bed for people from the most eastern provinces.
"Your aunt had a knack for finding herself in the middle of such nonsense." Whitechapel said as he crossed the parking lot towards us, gesturing with the pad and pen securely pinched between his middle and ring finger. "I don't want to start with you now that she's gone." his voice rose an inch as he planted himself in front of us, directing his tone towards me. I watched as he quickly tucked the notepad and pen out of my view and into the safety of his inside pocket. Before my aunt Jackie had died, she'd been a bit of an amateur sleuth. She had worked at the local paper writing obituaries, and sometimes while doing the background checks, she'd dig up stuff that the police missed. I nodded then, more to myself than the detective, suddenly thinking I should swing by my aunt's storage locker and finally clean it out. "You two get out of my crime scene. I'll call you if we need another statement." he literally shooed us away back into the coffee shop closing the back door behind us.
"Have we just been banished to the kitchen?" Vincent asked.
"I think so. Well..." I looked around awkwardly sighing. "Since the whole building has been closed for the day, I think I'm going to go home." Vincent shrugged making a duck bill with his lips his eyes closed in agreement.
"You want some company? I got nothing to do now if he's shutting the place down. Nothing but going home to feed the cat anyways."
"Since when do you have a cat?" I asked as I waited for him to shut the kitchen down, turning off the lights before making our way slowly through the coffee shop. He gently guided me out the front door of the building onto the sidewalk as he locked up for the day.
"Uh. I've always had a cat. It just hides when you're over." he said matter of factly. I brought my hand up letting the back of my knuckles gently tap against the muscle not quite near his shoulder nor his chest.
"Actually, I have a detour first. You're not allergic to spiderwebs are you?"
The tiny office smelled like burnt tires and fried chicken grease. Not the most pleasant of combinations. We stood waiting for the manager to finish digging around first on his computer files finding nothing, then with a deep sigh of what could only be boredom, move the two steps to the five foot filing cabinet behind the desk. Snorting under his breath, he copied down a number before opening the large jewellery case retrieving the keychain. Vincent looked over my shoulder as we left the little room to stand in the chilly air, clouds thick and grey once again overhead. Personally I love when the weather is like that. Not too hot, not too bright, not too cold either. Grabbing the little piece of paper out of my hand nearly ripping it in two, he held his other hand out for the keys.
"You in a rush?" I asked looking at his reflection in the windows of the few cars stalled along the road waiting for the lights to change. He shook his head.
"No. I just have a better sense of direction than you do. I let you have the building number and we'll be going in circles all day. Besides, it's going to rain again. I don't have a coat." We ended up walking for another three blocks before spotting the sign for the storage lots. Quickly, we realized one of the two keys were to unlock the gate, and then just as quickly realized we'd wasted time walking around the block when we could have just entered the property next door to the office. "Okay let me see this." Vincent said as he began squinting towards the building numbers.
"Why don't you just admit you need bifocals." I teased.
"I don't need bifocals. I can see just fine...as long as it's you know day time and things happen to be right in front of me." he began to jog a little as he turned left down a tightly built row of sheds.
"At some point we all need bifocals." I began mumbling under my breath as his face lit up having found the right storage locker. The metal door rolled up on it's hinges like a garage would, scrapping aluminum as it did. "Okay not what I was expecting." I had never been there before, and was thinking it would be nothing but photo albums, stuffed toys from her childhood, and old clothes from the 60's but, instead what we found was more an office than an old storage shed.
A small desk sat against the back wall of it, a lap top in the middle with a printer beside it. Two large filing cabinets to the left of that both of which had plastic storage bins on top of them with extra files, a bookcase framed the opposite side of the desk filled with books, mostly paperback novels, but some looked like encyclopedia volumes and text books, two corkboards leaned up against the foot of the bookcase covered in photos, notes and printouts. A large map of Canada was pinned over the desk with a few tacks marking off places of interest. Another small fold out card table was pushed into the corner by the door which held a coffee maker and mugs, and finally a small two seater sofa finished off the cramped space.
A thin layer of dust covered everything, but not by much. My aunt had only been gone now six months, and by the looks of it, she'd kept it pretty clean up to that point.
"Computer works." Vincent said sitting down turning the machine on. "Oh my god!" he closed the lid embarrassed. "Okay I'll let you deal with that later."
"Why?" I was distracted by the list of true crime novels sitting on top of the bookcase.
"Um...she say anything about a boyfriend? Cause...her screen saver...I can not unsee that." he continued on blushing for a few minutes before regaining his composer. "I think it's safe to say we stumbled on your aunt's crime lab...crime den...crime nook? Help me out here. What is this exactly?"
"Lab would imply experiments and the only thing close to that here is the mold in the coffee pot." I stuck out my tongue dropping the filter and two dirty mugs into a waste basket. "This must have been what aunt Jackie meant all the time when she said she was going to the other office?" I wiped my hands in my jeans, unable to find any kleenex in my overstuffed purse. "This place is actually kinda cool."
"Hey, I found a couple of dvds with the store's stickers on them." I heard the cases crash together as Vincent picked them up from the edge of the desk. "Documentary on Jack the Ripper, the Johnny Depp horror movie about Jack the Ripper, and something about wishes."
"Let me see that." I grabbed the top one from him. "Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8." I opened the dvd case. "It's empty. Odd. There was this guy this morning that came into the store looking for this title. I'd never heard of it before."
"That's a bit creepy. Wait it wasn't the dead puddle guy was it? Cause that would be super creepy like sleep with the lights on creepy."
"No, different guy." I looked around the storage shed again not seeing a dvd player or tv, before opening the lid to the laptop once again. Vincent swore as he turned away his back to the screen. "Yeah, didn't need to see that." I blushed myself at the naked photo of the guy. "Wait a second. I don't think it's a screen saver per say." I hit the side button on the laptop, the dvd drawer opening up causing the picture to vanish. "Found our missing dvd."
Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Everyone needs a crime nook)
page 2, chapter 2
Ectoplasmic Exploitation
Detective Whitechapel jotted down the information as quickly as possible wanting nothing more than to let the coroner's people take the body away. He didn't want to know anything about it right then. In fact, he didn't want to admit it was a puzzle. Right now, it was being listed as accidental death. Drunk guy passes out in a puddle. That was the unofficial rumour. I felt his disapproving gaze as he looked over at Vincent and myself. We were still looming in the doorway of the coffee shop, the police having closed down the mini mall and taping off the parking lot. He was doing his damned best to ignore us. I watched as he moved back to his car to write something that one of the emergency responders was telling him. Clearly, Ryan was in a bad mood.
Detective Ryan Whitechapel, stood 5 foot 11, had bleached blonde hair that hadn't been touched up in over a month, letting his roots show in all their salt 'n' pepper glory, blue-green eyes that depending on the light would have you swearing they were pure emeralds, and a devious sensual smirk that never seemed to leave his pale lips. The boy could flirt with a telephone pole and have it shivering in anticipation. Even though he was another east coast replant, Ryan had spent a few years in England, giving his accent more of a British bite. Our city had become a hot bed for people from the most eastern provinces.
"Your aunt had a knack for finding herself in the middle of such nonsense." Whitechapel said as he crossed the parking lot towards us, gesturing with the pad and pen securely pinched between his middle and ring finger. "I don't want to start with you now that she's gone." his voice rose an inch as he planted himself in front of us, directing his tone towards me. I watched as he quickly tucked the notepad and pen out of my view and into the safety of his inside pocket. Before my aunt Jackie had died, she'd been a bit of an amateur sleuth. She had worked at the local paper writing obituaries, and sometimes while doing the background checks, she'd dig up stuff that the police missed. I nodded then, more to myself than the detective, suddenly thinking I should swing by my aunt's storage locker and finally clean it out. "You two get out of my crime scene. I'll call you if we need another statement." he literally shooed us away back into the coffee shop closing the back door behind us.
"Have we just been banished to the kitchen?" Vincent asked.
"I think so. Well..." I looked around awkwardly sighing. "Since the whole building has been closed for the day, I think I'm going to go home." Vincent shrugged making a duck bill with his lips his eyes closed in agreement.
"You want some company? I got nothing to do now if he's shutting the place down. Nothing but going home to feed the cat anyways."
"Since when do you have a cat?" I asked as I waited for him to shut the kitchen down, turning off the lights before making our way slowly through the coffee shop. He gently guided me out the front door of the building onto the sidewalk as he locked up for the day.
"Uh. I've always had a cat. It just hides when you're over." he said matter of factly. I brought my hand up letting the back of my knuckles gently tap against the muscle not quite near his shoulder nor his chest.
"Actually, I have a detour first. You're not allergic to spiderwebs are you?"
The tiny office smelled like burnt tires and fried chicken grease. Not the most pleasant of combinations. We stood waiting for the manager to finish digging around first on his computer files finding nothing, then with a deep sigh of what could only be boredom, move the two steps to the five foot filing cabinet behind the desk. Snorting under his breath, he copied down a number before opening the large jewellery case retrieving the keychain. Vincent looked over my shoulder as we left the little room to stand in the chilly air, clouds thick and grey once again overhead. Personally I love when the weather is like that. Not too hot, not too bright, not too cold either. Grabbing the little piece of paper out of my hand nearly ripping it in two, he held his other hand out for the keys.
"You in a rush?" I asked looking at his reflection in the windows of the few cars stalled along the road waiting for the lights to change. He shook his head.
"No. I just have a better sense of direction than you do. I let you have the building number and we'll be going in circles all day. Besides, it's going to rain again. I don't have a coat." We ended up walking for another three blocks before spotting the sign for the storage lots. Quickly, we realized one of the two keys were to unlock the gate, and then just as quickly realized we'd wasted time walking around the block when we could have just entered the property next door to the office. "Okay let me see this." Vincent said as he began squinting towards the building numbers.
"Why don't you just admit you need bifocals." I teased.
"I don't need bifocals. I can see just fine...as long as it's you know day time and things happen to be right in front of me." he began to jog a little as he turned left down a tightly built row of sheds.
"At some point we all need bifocals." I began mumbling under my breath as his face lit up having found the right storage locker. The metal door rolled up on it's hinges like a garage would, scrapping aluminum as it did. "Okay not what I was expecting." I had never been there before, and was thinking it would be nothing but photo albums, stuffed toys from her childhood, and old clothes from the 60's but, instead what we found was more an office than an old storage shed.
A small desk sat against the back wall of it, a lap top in the middle with a printer beside it. Two large filing cabinets to the left of that both of which had plastic storage bins on top of them with extra files, a bookcase framed the opposite side of the desk filled with books, mostly paperback novels, but some looked like encyclopedia volumes and text books, two corkboards leaned up against the foot of the bookcase covered in photos, notes and printouts. A large map of Canada was pinned over the desk with a few tacks marking off places of interest. Another small fold out card table was pushed into the corner by the door which held a coffee maker and mugs, and finally a small two seater sofa finished off the cramped space.
A thin layer of dust covered everything, but not by much. My aunt had only been gone now six months, and by the looks of it, she'd kept it pretty clean up to that point.
"Computer works." Vincent said sitting down turning the machine on. "Oh my god!" he closed the lid embarrassed. "Okay I'll let you deal with that later."
"Why?" I was distracted by the list of true crime novels sitting on top of the bookcase.
"Um...she say anything about a boyfriend? Cause...her screen saver...I can not unsee that." he continued on blushing for a few minutes before regaining his composer. "I think it's safe to say we stumbled on your aunt's crime lab...crime den...crime nook? Help me out here. What is this exactly?"
"Lab would imply experiments and the only thing close to that here is the mold in the coffee pot." I stuck out my tongue dropping the filter and two dirty mugs into a waste basket. "This must have been what aunt Jackie meant all the time when she said she was going to the other office?" I wiped my hands in my jeans, unable to find any kleenex in my overstuffed purse. "This place is actually kinda cool."
"Hey, I found a couple of dvds with the store's stickers on them." I heard the cases crash together as Vincent picked them up from the edge of the desk. "Documentary on Jack the Ripper, the Johnny Depp horror movie about Jack the Ripper, and something about wishes."
"Let me see that." I grabbed the top one from him. "Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8." I opened the dvd case. "It's empty. Odd. There was this guy this morning that came into the store looking for this title. I'd never heard of it before."
"That's a bit creepy. Wait it wasn't the dead puddle guy was it? Cause that would be super creepy like sleep with the lights on creepy."
"No, different guy." I looked around the storage shed again not seeing a dvd player or tv, before opening the lid to the laptop once again. Vincent swore as he turned away his back to the screen. "Yeah, didn't need to see that." I blushed myself at the naked photo of the guy. "Wait a second. I don't think it's a screen saver per say." I hit the side button on the laptop, the dvd drawer opening up causing the picture to vanish. "Found our missing dvd."
Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Everyone needs a crime nook)
Thursday, March 15, 2018
March 2018 Food n Flix
Spudguns! it's that time of the blogging month, when we head into the kitchen and stir up something based on a movie. This month's Food 'n Flix selection is Runaway Bride, and is being hosted by Fix Me A Little Lunch.
plot: A reporter learns about a woman who has left three men at the altar, and travels to her small town to interview her. Before long, he's fallen for her himself.
I talked about this movie before on the blog (in Year 5 Day 72) both then and now, I watched a TV Edit, and both times I mentioned the "runny egg yolk"...okay not funny I admit. But, yes as I mentioned back couple of years ago first time I watched the film, there seems to be a running gag about how the lead character likes her eggs. In which she always says the same as the person she's with. Reflecting on the fact she doesn't know her own mind and is always trying to just fit in.
Notes: cornfield, beer, steak(sign) chops(sign) limes, olives, martini, pretzels, picked eggs, chips, mustard, ketchup, coffee, carrot sticks, gingerbread cookies, onions, flavoured rice, fruit, cereal, canned spam, geese, peaches(sign) wine, crab, tea, wedding cake, tomato, lemon, potato salad, cornbread, deviled eggs, green salad, corn on the cob, fish (pictured) brownies, bagels, donuts, bread, honey, scrambled eggs, muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pumpkins, juice, pop, hot dogs, cheesies, pancakes, bacon, omlette, hashbrowns, scones, butter(mentioned) cows, poached eggs, Chinese food, coconuts, pineapples, grapes, strawberries, cherries, trout, shrimp, bananas, papaya, watermelon, fried eggs, ice cream, crackers, sandwiches
I wanted to stay away from the two obvious, being eggs and corn. Corn being the second most noted food in it. So in this, she dumps 3 guys at the altar. I started thinking of things I could do that were 3 ingredient based. I then of course went to the next obvious thing, a wedding soup. Broth, Greens and Meatballs. But, the vegan versions were so over the top with ingredients. Some didn't resemble the original dish in any way at all. But, my mind was made up, and I decided this one time I'd go with the obvious and made a vegetarian version of wedding soup. Only, I wasn't sure I could pull it off with just 3 ingredients.
Lucky, my kitchen cheaters version allowed me to technically do it in 4. Technically.
Ingredients
half a bag of Kale Slaw (kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower)
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Orzo pasta
1 Veggie Burger
I started by bringing the vegetable broth to a boil, adding in the orzo and cooking for 6 minutes.
I then pan fried one of the veggie burgers, breaking it down into smaller pieces
The slaw I added at the last minute, just giving it a chance to wilt more so than cook
Because both the broth and the veggie burger were pre-packaged, I did not need to add any extra salt or seasonings.
Not as out of the box as I like to try to be, but I think this is a good match.
That's about all I've got for you this table-setting. Next month's selection is the animated Coco, and is being hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
plot: A reporter learns about a woman who has left three men at the altar, and travels to her small town to interview her. Before long, he's fallen for her himself.
I talked about this movie before on the blog (in Year 5 Day 72) both then and now, I watched a TV Edit, and both times I mentioned the "runny egg yolk"...okay not funny I admit. But, yes as I mentioned back couple of years ago first time I watched the film, there seems to be a running gag about how the lead character likes her eggs. In which she always says the same as the person she's with. Reflecting on the fact she doesn't know her own mind and is always trying to just fit in.
Notes: cornfield, beer, steak(sign) chops(sign) limes, olives, martini, pretzels, picked eggs, chips, mustard, ketchup, coffee, carrot sticks, gingerbread cookies, onions, flavoured rice, fruit, cereal, canned spam, geese, peaches(sign) wine, crab, tea, wedding cake, tomato, lemon, potato salad, cornbread, deviled eggs, green salad, corn on the cob, fish (pictured) brownies, bagels, donuts, bread, honey, scrambled eggs, muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pumpkins, juice, pop, hot dogs, cheesies, pancakes, bacon, omlette, hashbrowns, scones, butter(mentioned) cows, poached eggs, Chinese food, coconuts, pineapples, grapes, strawberries, cherries, trout, shrimp, bananas, papaya, watermelon, fried eggs, ice cream, crackers, sandwiches
I wanted to stay away from the two obvious, being eggs and corn. Corn being the second most noted food in it. So in this, she dumps 3 guys at the altar. I started thinking of things I could do that were 3 ingredient based. I then of course went to the next obvious thing, a wedding soup. Broth, Greens and Meatballs. But, the vegan versions were so over the top with ingredients. Some didn't resemble the original dish in any way at all. But, my mind was made up, and I decided this one time I'd go with the obvious and made a vegetarian version of wedding soup. Only, I wasn't sure I could pull it off with just 3 ingredients.
Lucky, my kitchen cheaters version allowed me to technically do it in 4. Technically.
Ingredients
half a bag of Kale Slaw (kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower)
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Orzo pasta
1 Veggie Burger
I started by bringing the vegetable broth to a boil, adding in the orzo and cooking for 6 minutes.I then pan fried one of the veggie burgers, breaking it down into smaller pieces
The slaw I added at the last minute, just giving it a chance to wilt more so than cook
Because both the broth and the veggie burger were pre-packaged, I did not need to add any extra salt or seasonings.
Not as out of the box as I like to try to be, but I think this is a good match.
That's about all I've got for you this table-setting. Next month's selection is the animated Coco, and is being hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
The Nosferatu Adventures s13 p1
The Nosferatu Adventures
page 331, chapter 331
Out of Time
She looked up at him from under her lashes, unable to breathe. The unspoken thought waved through him as he stiffened his back standing to his full height. Vlad knew something was wrong. The two vampiric creatures still held a psychic link. Still able to communicate silently between them. A fact not even her fledgling knew. The dark haired male left his seat on the second floor landing, gingerly taking the stairs so that no one else asked where he was off to. He walked at what would for him be a snails pace down three blocks before turning and walking another four till he found himself ironically outside a cemetery. Nosferatu appeared a half second later, leaning on a large rot iron fence.
"I need to know what's going on?" she spoke with tired authority.
"In what manner do you mean?" the dark haired male responded as he moved a step closer, his hands clasped together in front just under his belt, his right leg swinging to be planted firmly and noisily in the gravel in front of him. After all these centuries, something as simple as the sound of gravel crunching under boot still gave him a sense of satisfaction.
"I left here we were basically under attack. Big bad evil sorcerers hundreds of years old were up our arses. I get home and nothing." she raised her hands palms up letting them slap against her thighs. "I'm confused. Did we win?"
"There has been no trace of them since you left." he move again towards her. "I have not sensed them. I have not seen them. I have not smelled them. It is as if they just vanished." his brown eyes were soft as he spoke, the spark between them daring to dance in his gaze.
"Did you know?" her tone took on that of bitterness, her eyes slits of emptiness verging on anger. "About Edric?" raising her left arm she gestured mindlessly. Vlad snorted as he tilted his head back, his eyes softening some more before becoming jeweled flicks of gold. The smile cold on his lips. The dark haired male moved again in a half circle around our heroine, as if plotting his mark. The sound of the denim and flannel he was wearing whispering in the air.
"Not at first. But by the time I figured it out, you were already gone." he brought his hand up touching one of the taller grave stones. "Does it really matter now?" he felt the roughness of it as it scraped his palm and fingertips. For all this modern reality gave him, he missed the simpleness of stone buildings, wells and pathways.
"You know how he betrayed me. Betrayed us!" her voice actually quivered at the memory. She dug her hands then into the depths of her jacket pockets, as if defending herself from not just the snowy air but the very thought of it.
"Jacob Oaken betrayed us over six hundred years ago. Edric, poor little whip that he is. Has been nothing but faithful to you. To your pack of rugrats." he continued to circle her, the circle itself getting tighter and tighter. "Can you say the same?"
"Three years passed for me where I was. In that time, I did the same thing for Reuben and Rolf that I did for you back in the 1400's." she didn't bother to tell him how she copied his tactics. How she left a field of raiders planted on spikes like a forest of death. How she became known as the Impaler as far as the edges of two kingdoms on either side of Rolf's. Not only had our heroine defended her adopted brother's lands, but expanded them as well. Nosferatu had left there not just Reuben's mate, but his queen.
"So you spied on your enemy. Spied on them from their own bed." he ran his tongue over his teeth at the thought of her whoring herself out. "I suppose you felt it was the lest you could do, given you dumped your soul into Rolf making him crazy." Vlad's tone never rose over a whisper as he brought his hand up to cup his ear. "There is something I need to tell you that I'm not sure you can handle." his right hand reached out as if on it's own accord before pulling away, afraid of the jolt he expected from the mating barrier, before remembering it no longer existed. "Your friends. Matilda, Rufus, even Dagan. No one has seen them in months. I went there one afternoon, and the place was gone. Not just empty, but the occult shop didn't exist. Nor has anyone mentioned them." he tilted his head to the side waiting for her response. "It's as if they never existed. Wiped from their minds." He stared at her for a long pause, his eyes squinted up. "You don't seem surprised."
"I made a deal with Odin. In this case, returning those souls back to their own reality. What happened to them after that, is no concern of mine." she said too casually shrugging.
"So you were reunited with your sire while you were gone? With Dagan?" a hint of jealousy began to creep into his tone.
"Don't be stupid!" our heroine turned now to face him as he stopped moving to lean against the nearest grave stone. Clearly she felt insulted as if being slapped. "Why does everyone think I would...I left him more times than I could count! That abusive possessive self centered..." she nearly spat the last sentence. "Clearly everyone seems to have one way tunnel vision, because no one; no one wants to admit that was an extremely abusive relationship!" her fist slammed hard into the side of a grave stone causing it to shatter into pieces. "Everyone. Everyone was so blinded by him. So charmed by him, that no one ever wanted to see what was really going on! I never wanted to be his! I chose Reuben. But everyone seems to conveniently forget that part." she crossed her arms now under her chest giving her boobs a boost. "All I ever planned with Dagan was a quickie. And look what that got me. Huh? A couple of years of abuse from an over possessive lycanthrope who couldn't handle being rejected by the fat chick. Poor male ego! Bent, broken and bruised like some deranged child." she shook her head, her eyes the pure white of the banshee."If it hadn't of been for that stupid sire bond he would never have claimed me and I would only have needed to leave him once. But instead, because of that forced bonding, he was able to track me down. Went insane too every time. I'm glad he's dead."
"Dead?" Vlad propelled himself away from the grave stone. "You said nothing about him being dead, you said he was returned to his original reality." Our heroine let out a breath that nearly shook the trees a few feet away.
"Odin took him as payment in order for me to break the no touching barrier. So that I could get close to the king. The same thing I might add that Bacchus did when I was with you." she leaned her upper body towards Vlad, her eyes never breaking contact. "Of course he's dead." she shrugged. "Why else would Odin ask for him?" she blinked finally, her eyes returning to their human hazel colour.
"And Loki had nothing to say about this?"
"Loki abandoned us." she shook her head slightly biting her bottom lip. "Something I never dreamed he'd ever do. No one has seen him or heard from him in...I'm not sure how long? Before I ended up back with Reuben in that reality."
"None of us have had any contact with him either in months." Vlad's brown eyes began to rock back and forth as he thought silently; doing the math in his mind. Licking his lips, the dark haired male ran his hand through his hair then over his neck. A smile once again teasing at his mouth. "When was the last time you did see him? Or even get any visions from Loki?"
"I don't remember." it was our heroine's turn to run her hands through her short spiked hair, clasping them behind her neck. "Bacchus had said something about Loki trying to make a deal with Odin for my soul back when I dumped it into Rolf. That was so long ago now for me." she let out a sigh of frustration. "Edric and I were at the warehouse talking and going over notes when Bacchus showed up covered in blood..." she stopped cold. "The blood. Damn it!" she bent down at the knees. "Oh my god! Why didn't I...course cause we had the iv bags everywhere...the blood Bacchus was covered in didn't have a scent."
"Everything has a scent." Vlad began.
"Not ghosts or gods." she reminded him.
"So you think Bacchus killed Loki?"
"No. He'd brag if he was able to do something that powerful. I mean, power like that..." her eyes flashed back to the pure white of the banshee. "But I do think he hurt him badly enough."
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. New mission new season)
page 331, chapter 331
Out of Time
She looked up at him from under her lashes, unable to breathe. The unspoken thought waved through him as he stiffened his back standing to his full height. Vlad knew something was wrong. The two vampiric creatures still held a psychic link. Still able to communicate silently between them. A fact not even her fledgling knew. The dark haired male left his seat on the second floor landing, gingerly taking the stairs so that no one else asked where he was off to. He walked at what would for him be a snails pace down three blocks before turning and walking another four till he found himself ironically outside a cemetery. Nosferatu appeared a half second later, leaning on a large rot iron fence.
"I need to know what's going on?" she spoke with tired authority.
"In what manner do you mean?" the dark haired male responded as he moved a step closer, his hands clasped together in front just under his belt, his right leg swinging to be planted firmly and noisily in the gravel in front of him. After all these centuries, something as simple as the sound of gravel crunching under boot still gave him a sense of satisfaction.
"I left here we were basically under attack. Big bad evil sorcerers hundreds of years old were up our arses. I get home and nothing." she raised her hands palms up letting them slap against her thighs. "I'm confused. Did we win?"
"There has been no trace of them since you left." he move again towards her. "I have not sensed them. I have not seen them. I have not smelled them. It is as if they just vanished." his brown eyes were soft as he spoke, the spark between them daring to dance in his gaze.
"Did you know?" her tone took on that of bitterness, her eyes slits of emptiness verging on anger. "About Edric?" raising her left arm she gestured mindlessly. Vlad snorted as he tilted his head back, his eyes softening some more before becoming jeweled flicks of gold. The smile cold on his lips. The dark haired male moved again in a half circle around our heroine, as if plotting his mark. The sound of the denim and flannel he was wearing whispering in the air.
"Not at first. But by the time I figured it out, you were already gone." he brought his hand up touching one of the taller grave stones. "Does it really matter now?" he felt the roughness of it as it scraped his palm and fingertips. For all this modern reality gave him, he missed the simpleness of stone buildings, wells and pathways.
"You know how he betrayed me. Betrayed us!" her voice actually quivered at the memory. She dug her hands then into the depths of her jacket pockets, as if defending herself from not just the snowy air but the very thought of it.
"Jacob Oaken betrayed us over six hundred years ago. Edric, poor little whip that he is. Has been nothing but faithful to you. To your pack of rugrats." he continued to circle her, the circle itself getting tighter and tighter. "Can you say the same?"
"Three years passed for me where I was. In that time, I did the same thing for Reuben and Rolf that I did for you back in the 1400's." she didn't bother to tell him how she copied his tactics. How she left a field of raiders planted on spikes like a forest of death. How she became known as the Impaler as far as the edges of two kingdoms on either side of Rolf's. Not only had our heroine defended her adopted brother's lands, but expanded them as well. Nosferatu had left there not just Reuben's mate, but his queen.
"So you spied on your enemy. Spied on them from their own bed." he ran his tongue over his teeth at the thought of her whoring herself out. "I suppose you felt it was the lest you could do, given you dumped your soul into Rolf making him crazy." Vlad's tone never rose over a whisper as he brought his hand up to cup his ear. "There is something I need to tell you that I'm not sure you can handle." his right hand reached out as if on it's own accord before pulling away, afraid of the jolt he expected from the mating barrier, before remembering it no longer existed. "Your friends. Matilda, Rufus, even Dagan. No one has seen them in months. I went there one afternoon, and the place was gone. Not just empty, but the occult shop didn't exist. Nor has anyone mentioned them." he tilted his head to the side waiting for her response. "It's as if they never existed. Wiped from their minds." He stared at her for a long pause, his eyes squinted up. "You don't seem surprised."
"I made a deal with Odin. In this case, returning those souls back to their own reality. What happened to them after that, is no concern of mine." she said too casually shrugging.
"So you were reunited with your sire while you were gone? With Dagan?" a hint of jealousy began to creep into his tone.
"Don't be stupid!" our heroine turned now to face him as he stopped moving to lean against the nearest grave stone. Clearly she felt insulted as if being slapped. "Why does everyone think I would...I left him more times than I could count! That abusive possessive self centered..." she nearly spat the last sentence. "Clearly everyone seems to have one way tunnel vision, because no one; no one wants to admit that was an extremely abusive relationship!" her fist slammed hard into the side of a grave stone causing it to shatter into pieces. "Everyone. Everyone was so blinded by him. So charmed by him, that no one ever wanted to see what was really going on! I never wanted to be his! I chose Reuben. But everyone seems to conveniently forget that part." she crossed her arms now under her chest giving her boobs a boost. "All I ever planned with Dagan was a quickie. And look what that got me. Huh? A couple of years of abuse from an over possessive lycanthrope who couldn't handle being rejected by the fat chick. Poor male ego! Bent, broken and bruised like some deranged child." she shook her head, her eyes the pure white of the banshee."If it hadn't of been for that stupid sire bond he would never have claimed me and I would only have needed to leave him once. But instead, because of that forced bonding, he was able to track me down. Went insane too every time. I'm glad he's dead."
"Dead?" Vlad propelled himself away from the grave stone. "You said nothing about him being dead, you said he was returned to his original reality." Our heroine let out a breath that nearly shook the trees a few feet away.
"Odin took him as payment in order for me to break the no touching barrier. So that I could get close to the king. The same thing I might add that Bacchus did when I was with you." she leaned her upper body towards Vlad, her eyes never breaking contact. "Of course he's dead." she shrugged. "Why else would Odin ask for him?" she blinked finally, her eyes returning to their human hazel colour.
"And Loki had nothing to say about this?"
"Loki abandoned us." she shook her head slightly biting her bottom lip. "Something I never dreamed he'd ever do. No one has seen him or heard from him in...I'm not sure how long? Before I ended up back with Reuben in that reality."
"None of us have had any contact with him either in months." Vlad's brown eyes began to rock back and forth as he thought silently; doing the math in his mind. Licking his lips, the dark haired male ran his hand through his hair then over his neck. A smile once again teasing at his mouth. "When was the last time you did see him? Or even get any visions from Loki?"
"I don't remember." it was our heroine's turn to run her hands through her short spiked hair, clasping them behind her neck. "Bacchus had said something about Loki trying to make a deal with Odin for my soul back when I dumped it into Rolf. That was so long ago now for me." she let out a sigh of frustration. "Edric and I were at the warehouse talking and going over notes when Bacchus showed up covered in blood..." she stopped cold. "The blood. Damn it!" she bent down at the knees. "Oh my god! Why didn't I...course cause we had the iv bags everywhere...the blood Bacchus was covered in didn't have a scent."
"Everything has a scent." Vlad began.
"Not ghosts or gods." she reminded him.
"So you think Bacchus killed Loki?"
"No. He'd brag if he was able to do something that powerful. I mean, power like that..." her eyes flashed back to the pure white of the banshee. "But I do think he hurt him badly enough."
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. New mission new season)
Friday, March 9, 2018
Themed Day p6
March theme is Witches/Witchcraft. And yes, a day late this week but...
movie: Warlock
starring: Julian Sands, Richard E. Grant
genre: Horror, Drama, Paranormal,
year: 1989
format: DVD
plot: In the mist of the witch hunts of the 1600's, one male witch manages to time jump to save his life. The witch hunter follows, and begins trailing him. The two end up in the late 1980's where the male witch begins searching for the missing spellbook known as The Grand Grimoire. With the help of a young woman who's now hexed by the witch, the hunter travels road trip style across the U.S. trying to find the book first.
This movie is an interesting mix of folklore and fiction. Remembering, this was done back in the 1980's, when anything dealing with witchcraft or the occult, was still considered slightly taboo and only for horror stories. That's also what makes it an interesting movie. Treating it as a horror story allowed them to not water anything down. But, at the same time, because of that factor, it's seen strictly from a Christian point of view. aka they make the witch the bad guy.
My biggest complaint aside from that, is there doesn't seem to be any "chemistry" between the character of Redferne, played by Richard E. Grant, and the character of Kassandra, played by Lori Singer. They just don't have any dynamics coming through. I get that the character of Kassandra is suppose to be a bit "plastic" given it's the late 80's and she's very much the typical 80's chick, and she's suppose to have some abrasiveness to her. But, with that said, they might as well have had the Grant character hiring different cab drivers to take him on his hunt. And his character seems a bit too well adjusted for someone who's just time traveled 300 years into the future.
I would have liked to have had more back story with the actual Warlock, as we're given some more on the Redferne character with him having lost his wife, but you're sort of left asking "is that the only reason he became a hunter?" Was there something else between these two in the 1600's? And ever notice in these movies, the witch hunters who seem to condemn the idea of witchery always use it themselves to hunt the witches? This sort of falls in line with the way the old Hammer films were styled back in the 1960's, with the hunter chasing down the vampire just because he was a vampire, and having to save the village; namely the virginal girl. Which, for a horror movie works.
movie: Warlock
starring: Julian Sands, Richard E. Grant
genre: Horror, Drama, Paranormal,
year: 1989
format: DVD
plot: In the mist of the witch hunts of the 1600's, one male witch manages to time jump to save his life. The witch hunter follows, and begins trailing him. The two end up in the late 1980's where the male witch begins searching for the missing spellbook known as The Grand Grimoire. With the help of a young woman who's now hexed by the witch, the hunter travels road trip style across the U.S. trying to find the book first.
This movie is an interesting mix of folklore and fiction. Remembering, this was done back in the 1980's, when anything dealing with witchcraft or the occult, was still considered slightly taboo and only for horror stories. That's also what makes it an interesting movie. Treating it as a horror story allowed them to not water anything down. But, at the same time, because of that factor, it's seen strictly from a Christian point of view. aka they make the witch the bad guy.
My biggest complaint aside from that, is there doesn't seem to be any "chemistry" between the character of Redferne, played by Richard E. Grant, and the character of Kassandra, played by Lori Singer. They just don't have any dynamics coming through. I get that the character of Kassandra is suppose to be a bit "plastic" given it's the late 80's and she's very much the typical 80's chick, and she's suppose to have some abrasiveness to her. But, with that said, they might as well have had the Grant character hiring different cab drivers to take him on his hunt. And his character seems a bit too well adjusted for someone who's just time traveled 300 years into the future.
I would have liked to have had more back story with the actual Warlock, as we're given some more on the Redferne character with him having lost his wife, but you're sort of left asking "is that the only reason he became a hunter?" Was there something else between these two in the 1600's? And ever notice in these movies, the witch hunters who seem to condemn the idea of witchery always use it themselves to hunt the witches? This sort of falls in line with the way the old Hammer films were styled back in the 1960's, with the hunter chasing down the vampire just because he was a vampire, and having to save the village; namely the virginal girl. Which, for a horror movie works.
Coffee Talk March 9th 2018
Spudguns! How's it where you are right now? Spiffy. It's March month and that means, a new theme for the month. I know, I failed horribly - no pun intended- on February's zombie month theme; and so far this month's witch theme, has been missing too. (there are a few things coming)
I actually did a couple of zombie themed recipes, that didn't turn out as planned, so I haven't posted them as of yet. One based on iZombie, the other on the Walking Dead, I had intended to post the weekend both shows had their season/mid-season return.
I have been, however, keeping up the monthly themes on my facebook page (right here) with the weekly quotes, quiz and tidbits.
I think by doing this blog for the last few years, it's driven my love for doing movie reviews deep underground. It's not that I haven't been watching movies the last year, it's just I haven't been talking about the movies I've been watching the last year. Such as, I finally saw Cult of Chucky last week, as well as The Cure for Wellness back a few weeks ago. Was really disappointed by both to be honest. I had purposely stayed away from all reviews on both, because I wanted to have a clean opinion of them; only to feel like I was only given half the story. You know that feeling? Like half the movie was left on the editing room floor.
Earlier in the week, I sat through Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice, and was confused. Would have been nice to know beforehand it's technically the sequel to the previous Superman film, which I have not seen.
As much as I love Netflix Canada, I do long for the days of actual rental stores where you can go in and shuffle around the aisle interacting with other people. Part of the whole movie experience for me was rooted in the physicality of it. Seeing the new posters being added every week on new release day, having to sometimes reserve a copy to make sure you got to see it cause the store only ordered two copies and you knew people were not going to return them. The shelf of collectables that sat in the middle of the room, where everyone huddled around like a fire-pit talking about their favourite films. I miss that.
Doing the reviews online; both written and video, doesn't hold that same flair anymore for me. I am hoping that love returns as time goes on.
Beyond that, I have the new serial on here, Cinema Files. Which, for the next few months, I'll continue to alternate with The Nosferatu Adventures.
We are 236 Days away from Hallowe'en. If you drop me a comment either here or on my facebook page, letting me know your favourite movies, if I haven't seen it yet, I will do my best to watch and review. We'll chat about it, over our invisible fire-pit.
See you later in the week.
I actually did a couple of zombie themed recipes, that didn't turn out as planned, so I haven't posted them as of yet. One based on iZombie, the other on the Walking Dead, I had intended to post the weekend both shows had their season/mid-season return.
I have been, however, keeping up the monthly themes on my facebook page (right here) with the weekly quotes, quiz and tidbits.
I think by doing this blog for the last few years, it's driven my love for doing movie reviews deep underground. It's not that I haven't been watching movies the last year, it's just I haven't been talking about the movies I've been watching the last year. Such as, I finally saw Cult of Chucky last week, as well as The Cure for Wellness back a few weeks ago. Was really disappointed by both to be honest. I had purposely stayed away from all reviews on both, because I wanted to have a clean opinion of them; only to feel like I was only given half the story. You know that feeling? Like half the movie was left on the editing room floor.
Earlier in the week, I sat through Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice, and was confused. Would have been nice to know beforehand it's technically the sequel to the previous Superman film, which I have not seen.
As much as I love Netflix Canada, I do long for the days of actual rental stores where you can go in and shuffle around the aisle interacting with other people. Part of the whole movie experience for me was rooted in the physicality of it. Seeing the new posters being added every week on new release day, having to sometimes reserve a copy to make sure you got to see it cause the store only ordered two copies and you knew people were not going to return them. The shelf of collectables that sat in the middle of the room, where everyone huddled around like a fire-pit talking about their favourite films. I miss that.
Doing the reviews online; both written and video, doesn't hold that same flair anymore for me. I am hoping that love returns as time goes on.
Beyond that, I have the new serial on here, Cinema Files. Which, for the next few months, I'll continue to alternate with The Nosferatu Adventures.
We are 236 Days away from Hallowe'en. If you drop me a comment either here or on my facebook page, letting me know your favourite movies, if I haven't seen it yet, I will do my best to watch and review. We'll chat about it, over our invisible fire-pit.
See you later in the week.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Cinema Files s1 p1
Cinema Files
Page 1, Chapter 1
Ectoplasmic Exploitation
The rain was sloshing in my runners, the cuffs of my jeans heavy with puddle water. My purse was soaked, as I hurried across the parking lot of the little mini mall, digging for my keys. I dropped them; which of course is the sort of luck I've been having a lot lately. Swearing, I scooped them up from the edge of another puddle, my purse slipping off my shoulder as I did. It landed splashing my glasses. Sighing, I managed to enter the store just in time to hear the phone ringing. Our answering machine kicking in.
"Nosferatu's Video. Store hours are 10am to 10pm Monday to Sunday. Please call again." The person never bothered to leave a message, just sighed as they were hanging up.
"I know the feeling buddy." I mumbled to no one. Taking my glasses off, I wiped them in the tail of my t-shirt, as I headed around the check out counter. Stuffing my purse and coat into the closet that was in the corner of the store, masquerading as an office, I hit the play back button on the answering machine. We had six calls, three of them were frustrated hang ups, two were people looking for the latest summer superhero movie which wasn't due to be released for another month, the last one was looking for a slasher film from the 80's. I turned as the door opened exposing Vincent. "You're in early."
"I saw you stumbling around in the rain there Desdemona. You drunk? Please tell me you're drunk." he replied leaning on the counter top. He was dressed in jeans that fit every muscle as if tailor made for him, and a t-shirt in a shade of burnt copper that might as well have been painted on. He had this silver plated belt buckle that sported the letter 'V'; that on anyone else would have been godly cheesy, but on Vincent, seemed perfect.
"Haha. You are so not funny." I answered as I caught a glimpse of our reflections in the front window. Vincent's skin glowed like ripe olives in the sun under the bad fluorescent lighting. His deep brown eyes like pools of melted chocolate and able to make you just as comforted. His short dark hair showing his age around the very tip of his ears. To look at him, you'd never know he was in his late 40's. Vincent just naturally looked like he was still in his mid twenties. He was a vast contrast from my own reflection of pale skin, auburn red hair shorter than his, hazel eyes which no one ever noticed because they are always behind small wire rimmed glasses. We were about the same height, but he's three years older than I am. "Are you?"
"No sadly." he replied tapping a very heavily ringed hand on the counter. "But I did bump into Blake last night at the club. He was asking about you."
"We both know that is ancient history." I rolled my eyes at him half blushing. Blake inherited his family's flower shop few years before, when his older brother decided to move to Vancouver. They supplied the flowers to the rest of the stores in the mini mall.
"Well, history does repeat itself." he smiled showing off his dimples. The door opened as our first customers of the day came in the store. Standing up straight, Vincent took a step backwards. "Guess it's time for work." he nodded towards the customers as he left the store to go back to the coffee shop at the end of the mini mall.
Just as the first of the days' customers left with their dvds, there was a large crack of thunder as lightening flashed outside the window. I held my breath for a second praying that the lights stayed on. They thankfully did. A guy dressed in a dark suit walked through the door, looking confused. He was soaked, his umbrella having two bent spokes, his tie wind-whipped at a weird angle on his shoulder.
"I'm looking for a copy of The Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8" he said in a very rushed voice, still looking over his shoulder.
"I've got Nightmare on Elm Street's Dream Master, but that's about it." I replied unboxing a stack of new posters. He looked at me with a mix of horror and confusion as he wiped at the corners of his mouth.
"Did you not hear what I said?" his panic seemed to rise a few notches.
"You can take a look if you'd like, but I've never even heard of that one." I gestured towards the small side room where the bulk of the horror movies were. The guy just stood there for a moment as if lost in his own mind.
"Oh my god. This is the wrong..." he continued to stare off at the wall before running back out into the rain. I shook my head in confusion of my own, as I unfolded the posters, seeing what new releases were being sent. The latest summer superhero movie, two kid's movies, and the remake of yet another 80's horror film. Nothing unusual there. There was another round of thunder as lightening flashed outside the window again, just as Suit Guy ran back in looking the same as he had two minutes before. "I'm looking for a copy of The Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8." he said in the same tone he had the first time around, as if he'd never been in.
"I just told you I don't have it."
"What do you mean just told me? I just...oh my god!" he ran outside again into the now heavy storm.
"Maybe I should lock the door for a while and just stay closed for the day?" I mumbled to myself as I began to catalog the new posters. The thought was a strong one, as I walked across the length of the store locking it. My shoes still wet enough to squeak slightly as I did. "That ends that cycle of weirdness." I said to an almost empty rack of dvds. The phone rang, causing me to jump as the answering machine picked up.
"Desdemona. Pick up. Come on. Picks up girl, I knows you're there. Right. Okay I'm sittin' 'ere at the end of the parking lot abouts to leave after deliverin' to the hair salon right, and 'tis guy come flying mad cow style into my truck Eh? flaying his arms round like 'ta loonie bin lost 'er number. Saw him start in your direction and then run down the parkin' lot into traffic when you locked the door. You's alright?" it was Blake. "Mona! Mons. I knows you're still there, I can sees you in the window. Pick up or I'll drive the truck into the window I swears to god."
"That's a long message for someone twenty feet away." I sighed into the phone as I leaned over the counter to pick up.
"I saw you lock the door no point in knocking." his tone changed from that of worry to that of near snottiness. "Everything alright then?" he cleared his throat realizing his east coast accent was betraying the cool exterior he wanted to present.
"Fine. Just an odd start to the day." I found myself twirling the phone cord around my finger trying not to look out the window for either Blake or the strange suit guy. Hanging up I went back to work. The rest of the morning went pretty much normal. I unlocked the door about a half hour later. The storm ending quickly, as if someone had shut off a shower head. It was too convenient, like being in a movie. It had me on edge tip toeing around the store, too aware of every little sound. "Great, now I'm turning into a crazy person. Beauty." I sighed under my breath as I tacked up the poster for the big summer superhero movie. Stepping back to see if the poster was straight, I let my gaze fall across the store. The walls were an old shade of off white from age, filled with tiny and not so tiny pin holes from years of posters being added and removed. The right side of the room had two long steel racks of movies; the family and kids sections, with a small side door that led to another area for comedies and musicals. The middle of the main room had a solid book shelf of current releases, this was followed by another two long steel racks on the left side of the room that held the movies for sale. Past that was the side room that carried the sci-fi and horror, which when you continued on gave you one more little room that carried the dramas, and crime section. Looking at the clock, I decided to take the trash out. It would give me an excuse to stop in at the coffee shop. Locking up again, I lugged the two bags of trash to the bins, heading to the edge of the mini mall.
The sign over the door was scrapped and worn with weather, the apostrophe s half way faded, leaving it reading Loki Coffee Hut. Vincent was busy filling cup after cup of freshly brewed coffee, while serving homemade pie, cookies and muffins. Skillfully avoiding the groping hands of some of his more abrasive regulars. Spotting me he began to move around the tables like a tightrope walker or dancer, as he somehow managed to refill three customer's cups without raising the coffee pot from one pour to the other.
"Just put on a fresh pot. Take a few minutes. Dessie, you do me a solid and take the trash for me too?" I ended up going straight to the kitchen and grabbing up the large green trash bag heading out the back door. I didn't actually end up tossing the trash though. What I ended up doing was standing there just beyond the door, staring at the large bins, and the guy face down beside them. Turning around I dropped the trash right back where I'd found it, ran through the coffee shop to the table Vincent was standing over, and tugged his arm. Coffee sloshed on his jeans and shoes. "Hey!"
"Um, there's someone passed out...or something." I didn't wait for him to follow, just headed back through the kitchen towards the back door. "Vincent! I'm not joking!" He was little bit angry at me as he followed me out behind the mall to the back alley, complaining about his shoes being ruined when he stopped cold.
"Okay buddy. This is not the place to sleep it off." he got a few feet closer leaning over his hands on his knees. "Oh shack. Call the emergency number...this is more than just a drunk...I think he's dead."
Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Just time for something fresh for a while.)
Page 1, Chapter 1
Ectoplasmic Exploitation
The rain was sloshing in my runners, the cuffs of my jeans heavy with puddle water. My purse was soaked, as I hurried across the parking lot of the little mini mall, digging for my keys. I dropped them; which of course is the sort of luck I've been having a lot lately. Swearing, I scooped them up from the edge of another puddle, my purse slipping off my shoulder as I did. It landed splashing my glasses. Sighing, I managed to enter the store just in time to hear the phone ringing. Our answering machine kicking in.
"Nosferatu's Video. Store hours are 10am to 10pm Monday to Sunday. Please call again." The person never bothered to leave a message, just sighed as they were hanging up.
"I know the feeling buddy." I mumbled to no one. Taking my glasses off, I wiped them in the tail of my t-shirt, as I headed around the check out counter. Stuffing my purse and coat into the closet that was in the corner of the store, masquerading as an office, I hit the play back button on the answering machine. We had six calls, three of them were frustrated hang ups, two were people looking for the latest summer superhero movie which wasn't due to be released for another month, the last one was looking for a slasher film from the 80's. I turned as the door opened exposing Vincent. "You're in early."
"I saw you stumbling around in the rain there Desdemona. You drunk? Please tell me you're drunk." he replied leaning on the counter top. He was dressed in jeans that fit every muscle as if tailor made for him, and a t-shirt in a shade of burnt copper that might as well have been painted on. He had this silver plated belt buckle that sported the letter 'V'; that on anyone else would have been godly cheesy, but on Vincent, seemed perfect.
"Haha. You are so not funny." I answered as I caught a glimpse of our reflections in the front window. Vincent's skin glowed like ripe olives in the sun under the bad fluorescent lighting. His deep brown eyes like pools of melted chocolate and able to make you just as comforted. His short dark hair showing his age around the very tip of his ears. To look at him, you'd never know he was in his late 40's. Vincent just naturally looked like he was still in his mid twenties. He was a vast contrast from my own reflection of pale skin, auburn red hair shorter than his, hazel eyes which no one ever noticed because they are always behind small wire rimmed glasses. We were about the same height, but he's three years older than I am. "Are you?"
"No sadly." he replied tapping a very heavily ringed hand on the counter. "But I did bump into Blake last night at the club. He was asking about you."
"We both know that is ancient history." I rolled my eyes at him half blushing. Blake inherited his family's flower shop few years before, when his older brother decided to move to Vancouver. They supplied the flowers to the rest of the stores in the mini mall.
"Well, history does repeat itself." he smiled showing off his dimples. The door opened as our first customers of the day came in the store. Standing up straight, Vincent took a step backwards. "Guess it's time for work." he nodded towards the customers as he left the store to go back to the coffee shop at the end of the mini mall.
Just as the first of the days' customers left with their dvds, there was a large crack of thunder as lightening flashed outside the window. I held my breath for a second praying that the lights stayed on. They thankfully did. A guy dressed in a dark suit walked through the door, looking confused. He was soaked, his umbrella having two bent spokes, his tie wind-whipped at a weird angle on his shoulder.
"I'm looking for a copy of The Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8" he said in a very rushed voice, still looking over his shoulder.
"I've got Nightmare on Elm Street's Dream Master, but that's about it." I replied unboxing a stack of new posters. He looked at me with a mix of horror and confusion as he wiped at the corners of his mouth.
"Did you not hear what I said?" his panic seemed to rise a few notches.
"You can take a look if you'd like, but I've never even heard of that one." I gestured towards the small side room where the bulk of the horror movies were. The guy just stood there for a moment as if lost in his own mind.
"Oh my god. This is the wrong..." he continued to stare off at the wall before running back out into the rain. I shook my head in confusion of my own, as I unfolded the posters, seeing what new releases were being sent. The latest summer superhero movie, two kid's movies, and the remake of yet another 80's horror film. Nothing unusual there. There was another round of thunder as lightening flashed outside the window again, just as Suit Guy ran back in looking the same as he had two minutes before. "I'm looking for a copy of The Master of Forgotten Wishes vol 8." he said in the same tone he had the first time around, as if he'd never been in.
"I just told you I don't have it."
"What do you mean just told me? I just...oh my god!" he ran outside again into the now heavy storm.
"Maybe I should lock the door for a while and just stay closed for the day?" I mumbled to myself as I began to catalog the new posters. The thought was a strong one, as I walked across the length of the store locking it. My shoes still wet enough to squeak slightly as I did. "That ends that cycle of weirdness." I said to an almost empty rack of dvds. The phone rang, causing me to jump as the answering machine picked up.
"Desdemona. Pick up. Come on. Picks up girl, I knows you're there. Right. Okay I'm sittin' 'ere at the end of the parking lot abouts to leave after deliverin' to the hair salon right, and 'tis guy come flying mad cow style into my truck Eh? flaying his arms round like 'ta loonie bin lost 'er number. Saw him start in your direction and then run down the parkin' lot into traffic when you locked the door. You's alright?" it was Blake. "Mona! Mons. I knows you're still there, I can sees you in the window. Pick up or I'll drive the truck into the window I swears to god."
"That's a long message for someone twenty feet away." I sighed into the phone as I leaned over the counter to pick up.
"I saw you lock the door no point in knocking." his tone changed from that of worry to that of near snottiness. "Everything alright then?" he cleared his throat realizing his east coast accent was betraying the cool exterior he wanted to present.
"Fine. Just an odd start to the day." I found myself twirling the phone cord around my finger trying not to look out the window for either Blake or the strange suit guy. Hanging up I went back to work. The rest of the morning went pretty much normal. I unlocked the door about a half hour later. The storm ending quickly, as if someone had shut off a shower head. It was too convenient, like being in a movie. It had me on edge tip toeing around the store, too aware of every little sound. "Great, now I'm turning into a crazy person. Beauty." I sighed under my breath as I tacked up the poster for the big summer superhero movie. Stepping back to see if the poster was straight, I let my gaze fall across the store. The walls were an old shade of off white from age, filled with tiny and not so tiny pin holes from years of posters being added and removed. The right side of the room had two long steel racks of movies; the family and kids sections, with a small side door that led to another area for comedies and musicals. The middle of the main room had a solid book shelf of current releases, this was followed by another two long steel racks on the left side of the room that held the movies for sale. Past that was the side room that carried the sci-fi and horror, which when you continued on gave you one more little room that carried the dramas, and crime section. Looking at the clock, I decided to take the trash out. It would give me an excuse to stop in at the coffee shop. Locking up again, I lugged the two bags of trash to the bins, heading to the edge of the mini mall.
The sign over the door was scrapped and worn with weather, the apostrophe s half way faded, leaving it reading Loki Coffee Hut. Vincent was busy filling cup after cup of freshly brewed coffee, while serving homemade pie, cookies and muffins. Skillfully avoiding the groping hands of some of his more abrasive regulars. Spotting me he began to move around the tables like a tightrope walker or dancer, as he somehow managed to refill three customer's cups without raising the coffee pot from one pour to the other.
"Just put on a fresh pot. Take a few minutes. Dessie, you do me a solid and take the trash for me too?" I ended up going straight to the kitchen and grabbing up the large green trash bag heading out the back door. I didn't actually end up tossing the trash though. What I ended up doing was standing there just beyond the door, staring at the large bins, and the guy face down beside them. Turning around I dropped the trash right back where I'd found it, ran through the coffee shop to the table Vincent was standing over, and tugged his arm. Coffee sloshed on his jeans and shoes. "Hey!"
"Um, there's someone passed out...or something." I didn't wait for him to follow, just headed back through the kitchen towards the back door. "Vincent! I'm not joking!" He was little bit angry at me as he followed me out behind the mall to the back alley, complaining about his shoes being ruined when he stopped cold.
"Okay buddy. This is not the place to sleep it off." he got a few feet closer leaning over his hands on his knees. "Oh shack. Call the emergency number...this is more than just a drunk...I think he's dead."
Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me (straight up story. Just time for something fresh for a while.)
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