photo: Jane Edberg c2023
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p.s. Hey. Today a faithful reader of this blog who wishes to identified on this occasion by the thematically appropriate ID Pyro has gathered a nerve jangling plethora of incinerating things and people for your scrolling and pausing and scrolling pleasure. And, refreshingly, to at least some of you, I suppose, there’s not a single gif in the entire bunch! Let your reactions be your guide, and thank you, and very big thanks to you, Pyro! ** David Ehrenstein, Cue A-ha. ** Bernard, Howdy. Well, then you might be interested to know that I have a Lon Chaney Jr. Day coming up next week. And you might or might not be interested to know that Lon Chaney Jr. lived in my neighborhood when I was growing up, and I was good friends with his grandson as a kid, and that I only met LCJr once, and the only thing I remember about said encounter is that he made a ‘werewolf’ face to charm/scare me and that I thought he looked really, really old, which he was. That pittance said, thank you so much sharing your considerable insight and wisdom regarding the topic at hand, and I hope and trust that the assembled were attentive and feel exponentially enlightened, as I am/do. Let’s hang. Other than a bunch of Zoom meetings re: the film, I’m pretty free and game/jonesing for your company. ** Dominik, Hi!!! The blissful reward of true fandom is one of life’s more wonderful gifts. The person with whom we Zoomed was so nice and interested that I was able to be utterly sincere and do my job at the same time. Now we’ll find out if that paid off, fingers crossed. My building is the favored home of many, many pigeons, so me too. See, now that’s a ballet dancer I would pay to watch! I hope your love ends up in some world famous company so I can. Love carrying a bucket of water with him everywhere just in case, G. ** Misanthrope, That was my suspicion, yes. Busy is something I know all about, albeit differently. Mid-life crisis maybe? Is that an actual thing or just a wives tale? I never had one. ‘Dr. Strange 2’ is definitely a plane thing for me. I try to let Bernard and his bear friends frolic about in locations where I am not. ** Nick Toti, Hi, Nick! Oh, wow, that’s really interesting. Who’d have thunk? Not me. Of course now I’m going to have to look up ‘Shape-Shifting Santa and the Vampire: An Unlikely Christmas Combo’ if not steal that title for one of my upcoming projects. Thanks a lot, buddy. I hope all is sweetness in and around you. ** _Black_Acrylic, The only thing I remember about ‘Teen Wolf’ was being very confused that the guy who was the youngest son on the then-massively popular TV show ‘Bonanza’ was a werewolf but that nobody on ‘Bonanza’ ever talked about him being a werewolf. I was young. True indeed about Derek’s cover. Thanks, B. ** Steve Erickson, I like the 700Bliss album. I just put a track from it in an upcoming gig post. Yeah, strong record. She’s really prolific. Surely you’re right about the fetish porn. There’s some wolf/werewolf cosplay fetish in the slave sites, but it’s pretty niche. ** Brandon, Hi, Brandon. Top o’ the morning to you! There’s going to be a big classic monsters-themed haunted maze at this year’s Universal Horror Nights, and it’ll probably be a let down, but I hope/intend to find out. Glad you’ve reached your summer break. Shitty jobs should give summer breaks too. Fucking capitalism, man. Oh, I’m mostly beset with doing all the film prep stuff so my friend Zac and I can come to LA and audition people to play the parts and stuff like that, but we have someone looking for prospective people, and we’re starting to get there. Otherwise, not a ton. Enjoying Paris spring. Sniffling in the pollen burst. France is dropping the very last COVID restriction on Monday — masking on public transport — which is kind of scary but kind of really good news, I guess. I think I’m finally going to train over to Germany to hit my favorite amusement park Phantasialand next week. That’s the big potential excitement thing. I hope your off-time is packed with excitement of all sorts. ** l@rst, I really liked your poem and presentation, man. You’re rolling! ** Bill, Something in the air perhaps. Like I told Bernard, I not only brought back yesterday’s shebang but some whim caused me to put together a Lon Chaney Jr. Day too. Weird. I’ve seen ‘The Wolves of Kromer’ and really enjoyed it. Nice. May Thursday be entirely yours! ** Right. Pyro has you covered (in petrol) today, so please be who he hopes you will be. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
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Baby’s On Fire
DEAD AT LAST! The cunt lived til 94.
The Midge and I
Oh, we know the French novel and film that’s a propos now: J’irai cracher sur vos tombes
Boris Vian/ Sullivan.
Want to take down Gore vVidal’s Pink Triangle and Yellow Star as a final fuck you
Thursday already? I’ve been here 10 days?! I’ve mostly been chained to the desk, because I really wanted to get work under way, and I have a really pleasant view. But I will come out (as it were) at your convenience. You can DM me: Friday evening through the weekend unplanned. Ot I’ll text you, when I’m awake and stuff. I’ve only started to look up what’s at the galleries and museums. And I believe you know my policy on Ethiopian food: where it is is where I wanna be.
Thank you for being kind and I hope the Wolf Man blah blah didn’t scare anyone away> Note: Dennis’ blog is not usually like that.
Misanthrope (and D, for that matter): In my decrepitude I hardly ever go to “those” movies, shops, etc. any more. I am a very serious person with a shockingly low testosterone level and an eye fixed on the prospect of eternal bliss. And the occasional handy.
The most famous photo of a person on fire for most of my life has been the snap of Thích Quảng Đức, who self-immolated in Saigon in 1963, the first indication most Americans had that the government of South Vietnam promoted Catholicism and discriminated against Buddhists. You can see it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%c3%adch_Qu%e1%ba%a3ng_%c4%90%e1%bb%a9c#/media/Fichier:Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c_self-immolation.jpg and elsewhere. It accompanied me through most of my adolescence; and by the time I was participating in Vietnam war protests I was putting it on my notebooks and backpacks. I wanted to have it always in mind, and I still keep the picture up in my home office.
You probably know I’ve taught Nightmare on Elm Street many times, and this sequence is a big favorite of mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zGPaC7q8hQ&ab_channel=FilmVerse
Fans know that Freddy was born of fire; that is, he was an ordinary garden-variety child murderer until death by fire transformed into a supernatural presence in the dreams of children. Man, that’s a good story. Till soon.
Hi!!
I fully agree – with the notion that the blissful reward of true fandom is one of life’s most wonderful gifts.
Ah, amazing news about the Zoom meeting! I’m really glad you didn’t have to force yourself through the painful motions of schmoozing! Do you know when you’ll hear back from them?
Love stepping up to your love and, with an unashamed eyebrow wiggle, saying, “It’s lucky you have some water ‘cause my heart’s in flames for you.” Od.
I reviewed trans director Angelo Madsen Minax’s personal documentary NORTH BY CURRENT for Gay City News: https://gaycitynews.com/north-by-midwest-new-forms-for-trans-documentary/. After airing on PBS last year, it’s getting a four-day run at Anthology Film Archives starting tonight.
After several months on her waiting list, I’ve connected with a therapist and confirmed that my insurance covers her. I’m very happy about this. Our first appointment will be in about 2 weeks.
The 700 Bliss album sounds more adventurous the more I listen to it. “700 bitches go cardiac” is a great flex from Moor Mother on the title track. When is the music Gig Day?
I’ve gotten back in touch with the editor and cinematographer on my last three films and sent her my latest monologue. I’m finally happy with it, and I hope it’s possible to shoot it later this year.
Bob Fosse