Chiller Diller “Collectors Haven” Thriller: My Scooby Doo Collection Video Feature with Mike Pingel

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collecting, collection, Collectors Haven, interview, Mike Pingel, Scooby Doo, video chat

How much stuff does one accumulate in 30 years? Well, why don’t we find out!

I was four or five years old when I fell in love with the cute but cowardly cartoon Great Dane known as Scooby Doo. And honestly, 30-ish years later, nothing has changed.

I have been interviewed before about my not-so-secret, ever-growing Scooby collection, by both Syfy Wire and Scooby Addict respectively. Then last week, I was invited by Mike Pingel to be a guest on his new YouTube show “Collectors Haven”. Always excited at the prospect of waxing poetic about my ol’ pal Scooby Doo, I, in turn, welcomed Mike into my closet (quite literally — that’s where my Scooby collection is displayed!), and the result was a 40-minute video where we laughed, chatted, and explored the depths of my Scooby memorabilia.

I had so much fun doing this video interview with Mike, an acclaimed author whom you might recognize from a show called “Chasing Farrah” — among other impressive accomplishments, for a time, Mike worked as assistant to actress Farrah Fawcett of “Charlie’s Angels” fame.

Terror Tuesday: Horror Anthologies (Part III): “Ghost Story”

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anthology, B-Grade Horror, Circle of Fear, Ghost Story, horror, Sebastian Cabot, television, William Castle

When I sit down to watch television, my preference is a show that has a clear beginning, middle, and end; where I don’t need to have any prior knowledge of the plot or characters, and no need to wait another week (or an entire season) to find out what happens.

Give me a procedural over a serial any day of the week. Better yet, give me an anthology!

A few years ago, I began a blog series that featured some of my favourite horror and mystery anthology programs. Terror Tuesday: Horror Anthologies Part I rounded up my top picks, and a few of the most notable: Hammer House of Horror, Tales from the Dark Side, The Twilight Zone, Beyond Belief, The Outer Limits, and Tales From the Crypt.

Part II covered some classics, like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Goosebumps, and Night Gallery, but also introduced my readers to some lesser-known gems: The Ray Bradbury Theater, Hammer: House of Mystery and Suspense, and Boris Karloff’s Thriller.

Today, I want to finally revisit the horror/mystery anthology universe and focus on one forgotten series in particular. Produced by horror legend William Castle himself… this is “Ghost Story”.

Fear Not, The Lord Is With Us

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Art, Bible, Christ, christianity, faith, fear not, God, Jesus, Sunday Scripture, the Lord is with us, trust

This is what the LORD says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

~ Isaiah 43:1-2

Vampires, Rabbits and High School English: Remembering Ms. Linda Wood

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Dracula, English, high school, In Memoriam, Linda Wood, memories, Ms. Wood, remembrance, teacher

I’ll bet everyone can guess what my favourite subject was in school…

Spoiler if you’re new here: The answer is Art.

But a close second, and also one of my best subjects, was English. (I was going to say something like, “If you read this blog, maybe you’re not surprised after all”, buuuuut there was way too much room in that morsel of narcissism to blow up in my face, and truthfully, the fact is that I’m not a writer — I just pretend to be one on the internet a few times per month.)

So it shouldn’t come as a shock that my two favourite teachers — not just from high school, but in my entire 14 years of academic drudgery — were ones who taught me English.

“Bride of Frankenstein” 85th Anniversary: Censored Cemetery Crucifix Scene

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Bride of Frankenstein, censorship, crucifix, deleted scene, Frankenstein, horror, James Whale, Jesus, Joseph Breen, monster movie, Production Code Administration, Universal Pictures

Suggested by the original story written in 1816 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and adapted by William Hurlbut and John Balderston, on April 19, 1935, producer Carl Laemmle Jr. resurrected Frankenstein’s monster.

But the title character of this sequel to Universal Pictures’ 1931 classic isn’t Boris Karloff’s sympathetic creature — it’s his mate — a character who only gets 4 minutes of screen time in a 75 minute movie.

Elsa Lanchester and Colin Clive

“The Bride of Frankenstein” first emerged from her bandages 85 years ago today. It was actress Elsa Lanchester (who also played Mary Shelley at the beginning of the film) who brought the Monster’s undead bride to life.

I’ve covered “The Bride of Frankenstein” in depth on this blog before, back in 2015 for the film’s 80th anniversary, with the post “A Toast to Gods and Monsters“. Together, we went over the film from start to finish. But today, we’re going to talk about something that didn’t make it into the movie.

Have a look at this:

Flipping the Script: Was a Vintage Horror Comic the Inspiration for Twilight Zone’s ‘Eye of the Beholder’?

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Adventures Into Weird Worlds, comics, comparison, Eye of the Beholder, horror, Rod Serling, Twilight Zone, vintage comics

In 1947, a mysterious unidentified flying object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. It began an obsession over the potential of alien life that is still going strong today.

Are there creatures living on other planets?

Are they intelligent?

Are they like us?

If not, then how are they different?

These were the types of questions front and center in most people’s minds throughout the 1950s and ’60s.

It didn’t take long for writers’ imaginations to kick into warp speed, and these two decades produced a flurry of gloriously galactic sci-fi content, both in books and on screen.

Holding Onto Hope

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, Christ, christianity, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Painting, Sunday Scripture

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

~ Psalm 42:11

I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

Acts 2:25-28

Interrupt Anxiety With Gratitude

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coronavirus, Covid-19, faith, gratitude, hope, Jesus, thankfulness

“Interrupt anxiety with gratitude.”

That was the message I scrolled past on Pinterest Thursday night after watching an hour-long Canadian National News broadcast covering a myriad of updates concerning the Covid-19 virus that’s currently plaguing the entire world.

I spent Thursday in town — the first time I’d been out in a week (normal for me — weekly shopping), and it was a trip I made with a mask on, toting a container of homemade bleach wipes.

My dad was with me, and he too was sporting a mask, and being extra vigilant not to touch too many things, and to wipe down carts, etc. On the entire trip, I saw one other woman with a mask, and one elderly man who pulled out a pair of rubber gloves when he arrived at the grocery store. But that was it.

We got plenty of looks (not all pleasant), and encountered a few childish people who thought they were in drama class and assumed it was appropriate to put on an impolite little show when we were in the same aisle.

International Women’s Day: The Ugly Truth Behind the Feminist Quest For ‘Equality’

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equality, feminism, feminist, gender, inequality, International Women's Day, International Women's Day 2020, social commentary, women

A girl should be two things: Classy and fabulous.

~ Coco Chanel

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The other day, I woke up to an email from Barbie.com, promoting their limited edition 60th anniversary Career Dolls line. I’m not ashamed to admit it: At 33, I can still get excited over a pretty Barbie, so I was curious which careers would be featured. If there had been an artist doll, you’d better believe I’d snap it up in a flash.

Here’s how the website introduces the dolls:

Barbie career dolls have been inspiring kids to dream big and aim high for 60 years! She’s had more than 200 careers and continues to explore new professions. This collectible six-doll bundle celebrates some of her most iconic positions from her storied resume. Shoot for the stars with Barbie astronaut doll or soar through the sky with the pilot doll. Score points with the soccer player doll or climb the ladder to success with the firefighter doll. Report the news with the news anchor doll or make the news with the political candidate doll. Each doll wears an outfit for a day on the job, like a space suit or pilot’s uniform, and includes accessories that spark the imagination. Different body types, skin tones, eye colors and hairstyles provide endless storytelling possibilities and create aspirational fun.

Now, I love the idea of career Barbie dolls, I really do. But looking at these… I was completely UN-inspired.

I’ve been feeling that way about Barbies in general for quite a few years now. And looking at this picture, all I could think was, “They all just look so basic.”

Basic.

Yes. That’s what’s wrong with how Barbie is currently being portrayed. I follow a number of accounts on Instagram where ladies show off their Barbie collections, mostly dolls from the late ’80s and ’90s, and I just recently made a comment on someone’s post that I thought there was no prettier face mold/paint than the 1990s’ Barbies. They’re pretty, they’re glamourous… even when Barbie was just heading to the beach, or out for an evening baby-sitting job, she looked put together, fabulous, and ready to take on the world.

Because Barbie is a woman, and women have that special ability to look amazing even when doing the most mundane things. We know how to put in extra effort.

But today’s dolls… they’re not glamourous. They’re not even pretty, in my opinion. They have the most generic faces and bodies imaginable, and while yes, you can now buy a Barbie in any of the 47 skin tones, with many other diversity options like plump Barbie and no-hips Barbie, varying sexual persuasions Barbie, etc….. she just looks so damn basic.

The whole magic of Barbie when I was a child, and when I got older too, was that Barbie is ANYTHING but basic. She’s ALWAYS glamourous, no matter what she’s doing. And if you want to add in all the diversity, okay. That’s fine. But Barbie is about the magic. Don’t make her look basic.

Because women weren’t meant to be basic either.

The Lord’s Discipline: Don’t Take It Personally

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Bible, christianity, discipline, God, Jesus, punishment, science, Sunday Scripture, truth

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood [contempt]. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.