What is up with our infatuation with Vampires???

What exactly is our love affair with Vampires? What is that all about? I must admit, I too am one of the infatuated. Over the years, there have been more movies made about vampires than any other creature of fantasy or fictional character for that matter. There are over 170 versions of Dracula alone.

What is it about them? Their history and backstory has changed dramatically throughout the years and every incarnation as it is told by the next person. Some have romanticized the idea of vampires as nobility while some have them as mindless simpletons whose only urge is blood and killing. Some have them as rogue teenage outcasts or as the popular kids with a dark secret. Most have shown to have a tormented soul, but isn't it common that vampires have no souls, hence "the undead"?


There have been mentions of vampires and fantastical creatures all the way back to the beginnings of recorded history. Every culture has reports of the undead. Some based religious practices around it. The strange thing is that we assume, based on a good assumption, that ancient civilizations did not correspond with each other. However, stories of the undead and the reports of vampires in their earliest forms are eerily similar, some almost identical. Could that be coincidence? Maybe. Who knows? So whether we are talking about ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, medieval Transylvania, old Bulgaria or Romania, old world London, early United States, Russia, China, Japan, Alaska, Mexico or some other country; vampires have been part of the lore of that region of the world. There have been so many iterations, that I will only focus on the more important.

1. - Vampire of the Coast (1909) - 1st Vampire Film. Silent.
2. - Nosferatu (1922) - First movie of "Bram Stoker's Dracula. Unofficial. Bram Stoker's estate sue and won. All prints ordered destroyed. Only 5 copies survived. Restored in 1994.
3. - Dracula (1931) - The most famous Dracula movie of all. Dracula infamously played by Bela Lugosi.
4. - El Vampiro (1957) - Mexican vampire movie. The first where the vampire show his fangs and introduced alot of other cliches.
5. - Dracula (1958) - Reintroduction of Dracula featuring Christopher Lee. Starred in 7 more movies in a series.
6. - The Last Man on Earth (1964) - Based on Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend".
7. - The Omega Man (1971) - Also based on Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend".
8. - Blacula (1972) - Introduced the first black vampire and the first 2 gay male vampires in a movie.
9. - The Lost Boys (1987) - Cult Classic. Made vampires cool for the teen crowd.
10. - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) - Honest adaptation of Bram Stoker's Novel. Cult Classic. First to mix Dracula and story of Vlad Tepes, A medieval Bulgarian Count.
11. - Interview with the Vampire - Famous for starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst along with many other star actors.
12. - Blade (1998) - Intermingled the story of the Daywalker.
13. - Underworld (2003) - Mixed the story of a war between vampires and werewolves.
14. - 30 days of Night (2007) - Based on a graphic novel. Featured vampires as simple bloodsuckers.
15. - I Am Legend (2007) - Remake of "The Omega Man" Based on Richard Matheson's novel where vampirism appears to be symptoms of a worldwide disease epidemic.
16. - Twilight (2008) - Super popular series based on novels by Stephanie Meyer.

And let's not forget the great TV series along the way:

• - Dark Shadows (1966-1971, 1991)
• - Forever Knight (1992-1996)
• - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
• - Angel (1999-2004)
• - Blade: The TV Series (2006)
• - Moonlight (2007)
• - True Blood (2008-Present)
• - Vampire Diaries (2009)

Not to mention all of the wonderful anime series that were based around vampires, most notably: Trinity Blood, Blood: The Last Vampire & Vampire Hunter D, just to name a few.....




Anyway, you'll see what I'm talking about. Well without further ado:



Special Love Affair for the Undead....

Don't believe me....check these videos out.....

"Vampire Diaries" TV show on the CW (for tweens)

True Blood Season 1 on HBO (for Adults)


True Blood Season 2 on HBO (for Adults)

Well until next time....
R. Steed (Big Goldie)
"Fluffy Puffy - The Media Mogul in Training"
www.arewenotentertained.blogspot.com

What's entertaining me today 6/13/09

Today is a bit of a slow day for what has entertained me. However, there is never a day that passes that I am not entertained in some form or another. So what is on the agenda for today?

*UFC 99: The Comeback
*Lakers vs. Magic
*True Blood
*Digital Television Transition

1. UFC 99: The Comeback - Tonight is a really great card in the UFC. The fight is in Germany, so it actually came on pay-per-view at 2:30 because Germany is 6 hours ahead of Eastern daylight time. The card features Dan Hardy vs. Marcus Davis in a severe welterwight grudge match. In a lightweight match Spencer Fisher takes on Caol Uno. In another highly contested welterweight match Mike Swick takes on Ben Saunders in a match that both predict will only end in knockout. Now the matches everyone really wants. Cro-Cop takes on Mustapha Al-Turk in Cro-Cop's second debut with UFC. Two of the rising stars of the heavyweight division go toe to toe with the match up of Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo. Cheick Kongo accepted this fight 3 weeks ago after Velasquez's opponent of Heath Herring had to pull out of the fight. And in the co-main event, two of the most exciting stars in the UFC ever face off in former welterweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva. This is a UFC event to watch... dont believe me.....check this out.....

SPOILER: DON'T READ IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW WHO WON.....
(highlight up to video)

Dan Hardy defeats Marcus Davis - split decision
Spencer Fisher defeats Caol Uno - unanimous decision
Mike Swick defeats Ben Saunders - TKO
Cro-Cop defeats Mustapha Al-Turk - TKO
Cain Velasquez defeats Cheick Kongo - unanimous decision
Rich Franklin defeats Wanderlei Silva - unanimous decision



2. Lakers vs. Magic - I have been saying since before the conference finals were over that whoever comes out of the West will win the NBA finals. I didn't think Lebron had enough team around him to win it all. Some people will then say, "but the had the best record this season..". So! The playoffs are different. It is a new season. However, the Magic have been doing everything they can to put the Lakers down. It just hasn't been enough. Both teams match up well, but the Lakers have a team with people that can create their own shot (ie...Kobe...) and a well balanced team when all cylinders are firing. They have post presence in Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. They have an extremely solid clutch point guard in Derek Fisher. They have a solid role player who can step up and hit big shots from time to time in Trevor Ariza. ..and they have arguably the BEST player in the game in Kobe Bryant. Kobe can create his own shot and seemingly hit just about every shot he puts up. The Magic have a good team in Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee (props for a Western KY player - rookie at that...), Mikael Pietrus, Rashard Lewis and the most frightening defender in the NBA, Dwight Howard. Even though the Magic have players that can step up and hit big shots, they don't have any that can create their own shot like Kobe and none that really put up big points. If the Lakers have their 2nd and 3rd scorers show up, it is a long night for whoever they are playing. And that brings up to game 4. With 4.6 seconds left on the clock, Jameer Nelson's defense on clutch shooter Derek Fisher was non-existent. That is some of the poorest defense I've seen since watching a middle school game. And to not only let him do it at the end of regulation and in Overtime is unacceptable. I think it's amazing that Jameer Nelson recovered so quickly from shoulder surgery when he wasn't supposed to play anymore this season, but that defense????......WOW!!! Was this one hell of a comeback by the Lakers or an unforgiveable choke fest by the Magic. You decide....Here are highlights from Game 4...Check this out....



3. True Blood - The Season 2 premiere for the outstanding HBO series, True Blood is tomorrow, Sunday June 14th at 9PM. The series was created by Alan Ball and is based on the Sookie Stackhouse Novel series by Charlaine Harris. This critically acclaimed series even managed to snag a Golden Globe earlier this year for Season 1 due to the superb acting of Anna Paquin (whom also has an Oscar for her role in "The Piano", but most will remember her as "Rogue" from the X-Men movies). This series has introduced us to vampires (which are all the rage right now due to the undeniable appeal of the Twilight movies) in a new way, as well as shapeshifters and telepaths. This show takes the approach of what if we knew that vampires were among us? Interesting premise. How would this affect people's sensibilities and even moreso those people who are completely obsessed with the gothic and vampire culture. Who is to say what this season has in store, but if last season is any indicator, this season is going to be great.



4. Digital Television Transition - Yesterday was the day that many a grandparent the land over have dreaded. The day has come and gone to transition over to digital television. Can anyone tell a difference? Not yet, I don't suppose. I was so used to going to my grandmother's house and seeing the smaller TV on top of the old 1970's console television with the rabbit ears antenna. But now my grandmother has to moved to the digital age even though she's an analog type of lady. It is estimated to still be over 3 million people who were not ready for the conversion yesterday. I was at Best Buy and saw a mountain of digital converter boxes made by Apex for $49.99. There will be many of us who are completely unaffected by the transition and had already made our choice long ago with someone's cable or satellite service. However, if you are unsure about this whole digital transition, the best place to start doing some research is the Government's digital television website, www.dtv.gov Here I have included a video about Tivo's HD service. Not that I recommend Tivo, (I have digital cable with a DVR box, but it's the same thing as saying Tivo all the time. I often refer to it as Tivo) Those of us who are part of the digital age find that a Tivo or DVR service is a must. Dont believe me.....Check this out....



Well until next time....
R. Steed (Big Goldie)
"Fluffy Puffy - The Media Mogul in Training"
www.dashowtv.com