Oral conscious sedation means you will take a pill that allows you to become deeply relaxed but still awake and fully conscious. This type of sedation is not necessarily for one type of dental treatment or another, but is instead used when patients are unable to get the dental care they need because of fear, anxiety, discomfort and other factors.
The only way to know for sure whether this type of dentistry is right for you is to talk with one of our experienced sedation dentists in a consultation. Our dentists are trained in providing sedation and are members of the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS). Our dentists are uniquely trained and educated to help you determine whether sedation is a good option for you. We want to help you get the dental care you need, and if sedation will help you do so, we can discuss options such as oral conscious sedation.
If you want to know if you are a candidate for sedation dentistry and you live in McLean, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Tysons Corner or the surrounding areas, please contact Galleria Dental Aesthetics to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced dentists.


Offering beautiful views of the Red Sea, a private white-sand beach, sky blue infinity pools and luxuriant gardens with palm-lined deserts and mountains in the backdrop - Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh is simply breathtaking. Located in the heart of Sahl Hasheesh Bay in Egypt, this Mediterranean-styled hotel is a haven of luxury. The guestrooms, built in the style of Arabic palaces, serve up views across the Red Sea or the courtyard. There's a selection of six restaurants and six lounges/bars offering Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Mexican, Asian and international cuisines, plus a sushi bar, barbecue and live cooking events. Boasting royal suites with private swimming pools, a kids pool, water park, pool bars, Jacuzzi, spa and wellness centre, entertainment park, diving centre, playground with sports facilities, shopping mall and daily entertainment, Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh Hurghada is a beautiful choice for a luxury getaway. Whether you want to lounge on the private sandy beach or enjoy the world-famous diving, you'll never be short of activities and sunshine!
The hotel is located in the heart of Sahl Hasheesh Bay, right on the beach. At the front of the hotel lies 600 metres of private white sands. Surrounded by gardens and a variety of swimming pools, the property is designed to resemble an oasis in the middle of the desert; undulating sands and desert lie behind the hotel. Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh is only 17km away from Hurghada International Airport and 20km away from Hurghada downtown. Cairo is also a short flight away (under one hour) and the hotel provides airport transfer service and shuttle buses the city centre.
The 644 rooms and suites at Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh are categorised into Baron Club sea view rooms, swim-up suites with a private pool, panorama suites, ambassador suites and royal suites. They offer stunning views of the Red Sea and/or the courtyards. The guestrooms feature king-sized bed or twin beds, various types of pillows upon request, balcony/terrace, air conditioning, vanity table, daily stocked minibar, telephones, LCD TV, high-speed internet access, tea and coffee making facilities, radio with individual wake-up clock, bathroom with bathtub/shower stall, 24-hour room service. There are also separate rooms for disabled travellers. All Suites, Baron Club sea view rooms and swim-up suites enjoy the privileges of the Baron Club, with its exclusive access to the spacious Club Lounge.
Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh offers buffet and a la carte menus. There are six restaurants that feature a variety of cuisines and daily changing themed dinners. The restaurants comprise Red Sea Restaurant (international buffet), Bella Vista Restaurant and lounge (Italian), Egyptian Restaurant (Middle Eastern), Chillitos Restaurant (Mexican), Ying & Yang Restaurant (Asian fusion), Mikado Restaurant (Japanese), Infinity Pool Restaurant (seafood with barbecue). All the restaurants have indoor and alfresco seating. There are six bars and lounges within the hotel complex that serves local and imported alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Choose from the Palace Lobby Lounge, Infinity Pool Bar and Lounge, La Salsa Bar and Club, Bella Vista Italian Lounge, Baron Club Lounge, The Niche Bar and Teens Bar. The Infinity Pool Bar and Lounge is located poolside, The Niche Bar is a classical English bar offering exclusive cocktails and premium Cuban cigars. On the other hand, Teens Bar is specially designed to host youngsters below 17 years old.
There is a variety of swimming pools including a main pool, cascade pool, relaxation pool, whirlpool with jets (adults only) and honeymoon suites pools (adults only). The on-site PADI-certified dive centre offers a wide range of activities customized for all ages including diving courses for beginners. There's a fitness centre with a fully-equipped indoor gym, exercise studios and personal trainers. Other sports and outdoor facilities include tennis courts, beach volleyball, aerobics, beach games, table tennis, pool table, darts and a private jogging and cycling track on the promenade between the hotel and the beach. Golf lovers can tee off at an 18-hole golf course near the hotel. Inside the hotel lobby there is a bookshop, jewellery shop and a fashion store, plus a shopping mall within the premises. The on-site spa and wellness centre provides Turkish hammam, sauna, whirlpool, a variety of showers (tropical, hot, cold and jet), outdoor spa pool and massages (hot stone, Thai, Balinese, Shiatsu and more). There's a separate honeymooners' spa suite with a treatment area, sauna, whirlpool, rain shower, steam bath and bathroom. The Baron Kids Club has amenities for the tiny tots, such as kids' playground, entertainment park, kids' swimming pool (heated in winter), water park, indoor activity room and cinema room. The hotel also hosts evening shows and live entertainment in different venues daily suited for all age groups.
The Baron Palace Hotel certainly lives up to its name as we were treated like royalty by all the staff. The food was amazing. A La Carte restaurants were excellent, especially the Italian and Infinity. Even the Buffet restaurant had a vast selection of quality food. Overall cleanliness was excellent. I cannot praise the staff highly enough. They just could not do enough for you always with a smile. We could not even put out our towels by the pool. They would insist on doing it for you and your drinks would be remembered and brought to you all day. We usually like to go somewhere different every year, but this is one place we would certainly return to again and again. Wonderful.


text:
Incomprehensible to the last…
August 3, 2005 Howard Tayler 9 Comments
We finished watching Alexander tonight, and it was incomprehensible right up to the end.
I got more drama, more emotion, more ecstasy and anguish out of 10 minutes of working my shoulder out with a giant rubber band than I got out of that entire movie.
Previous PostNot again…Next PostA quick Shout to my Orem peeps
9 thoughts on "Incomprehensible to the last…"
dwaggie says:
Old man: Alexander was loved for a little bit because he conquered everything… In fact, this one time while we were conquering this place…
Scribe: Dude, what's up? We're trying to get the gloss over for the back cover..
Old man: I DON'T CARE! MY M.. STORY!
Scribe: Well, wake me up when you're done.
randytayler says:
That's why, legally, they weren't allowed to call it Alexander the Great. MPAA almost made them title it Alexander the Don't Bother.
count_01 says:
I thought the original working title for the script was Alesxander the Pretty Average Oliver Stone Flick but that had to be shortened for time, legal, and ego constrictions.
Okay, Stone's ego has no limitations, but there were still time, space, and money to consider.
prosperouscheat says:
Just the preview cracks me up – Alexander with an Irish accent and that hair. :))
cinnamon_digory says:
How you make up for blatent fan-service for the guys is do blatent fan-service for the women, like Tagon and someone similarily built in Speedos having a similar conversation (ie the male equivalent)…
but that wouldn't make me happy… so yeah…
I'm just mad about the blatent fan service…
I'll get over it…
howardtayler says:
I think you misunderstood the joke:
Fanservice for guys = women in bikinis
Fanservice for girls = women talking about relationships ("chick flick")
Don't get mad about the fan service. Get mad about the fact that I poked fun at the female predilection towards films in which people talk about their relationships. 🙂
lol… now it's funny :)… thanks for clearing that up 😀
PS since the DOUBLE fanservice was intended, I can't really be mad…
I just personally don't like most chick-flicks (exception: Legally Blonde)
r_caton says:
NOW go see Kingdom of Heaven and see if you don't agree it's a better movie.
Alexander is out on DVD? Woot! Thanks muchly for the heads up, even if you didn't enjoy the film.
{runs to Amazon}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On Friday, May 3rd, I was honored to give the following speech during the Young Autism Program's (YAP) annual dinner/dance at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Links to the videos of this speech follow the text.
Thank you very much. It is great to be here with all of you. My son, Mikey, was a YAP student for three years, and I'm happy to see that the Young Autism Program is still going strong. I want to thank Kathleen Prunty, Nicole Shea, and YAP for inviting me to speak at the annual Dinner/Dance. It is truly an honor.
I address you tonight as a YAP alumnus, contributing blogger for the Autism Society, and most of all, member of that very special community: The autism parent. Yes, we are a special breed. You know us by our bloodshot eyes and haggard look. By our expert use of the expressions, "No, he doesn't need a menu, he's on a special diet" or the ever popular, "Use your words." You also know us by our unwavering, deeply devoted love of our children with autism and the fire in our hearts when it comes to making sure our children get the services they need in the wake of this growing epidemic.
When I was born, in 1966, the rate of autism was about 1 in 10,000 or so. Since my son Mikey was born in 2005, the rate has gone from 1 in 150, to 1 in 110, to 1 in 88, and now, according to some studies, 1 in 40. Now, I'll pause a second for you to consider that shocking number... Yes, it is true, I am 46 years old.
Prior to Mikey's diagnosis at 20 months, I was basically clueless about autism. My wife, Lynne, and I were just getting used to being parents and now we were going to be AUTISM parents...and I didn't even know what that meant. I only knew that I felt incredibly scared, deeply sad, and extremely lost.
The first thing I did was to dive into reading everything I could about autism. I can tell you, now, how big a mistake that was. First, I read about how Mikey's autism was my fault. Then, I read that it was my wife's fault. I even saw one article that said it was because we let Mikey watch TV before he was two years old. If there was some ridiculous reason to blame for Mikey's autism, it was covered in every crazy theory I read. Finally, the saving grace for my sanity and, most of all, for Mikey's well-being was DDI and with that, the Young Autism Program.
Previously unsure of what we should be doing to help Mikey, his acceptance to DDI, and our subsequent involvement in YAP, were the best things that could have happened for all of us. We were extremely happy to have the help and guidance of the amazing professionals at DDI. And the community of autism families from the Young Autism Program made us feel a little less alone. It helped that Mikey took right away to being in a classroom environment, and it didn't hurt that he immediately fell in love with one of his TA's. He may not be a silver-tongued devil, but my son is a big-time playa with the ladies.
There's an old African proverb (and Hillary Clinton book title) that says, "It takes a village to raise a child." When it comes to autism, this is absolutely true. I offer up that organizations like YAP and DDI are our village. Look around you. Here are your tribesmen. And the best thing we can do for our children is to make sure our village stays strong. With a poor economy and budget cuts everywhere, it falls to all of us to help ensure the survival of something so valuable, nurturing, and communal. Over the past few years there are two things I've learned for sure: First, 80% of my DVR space will always belong to Mikey's cartoons, and second, you can't face autism alone.
It is with that philosophy in mind that I approach the monthly columns I've been so honored to write for the Autism Society's blog. My goal is to share my observations from the viewpoint of an Autism Dad, pass along any tips I've learned from my time at YAP, and express the day-to-day joys and challenges of raising a child with autism. I'd like to share with you now three of my columns that express a spectrum of feelings and experiences I've had on my journey as an Autism Dad.
The month of April is upon us once again. The fourth month of the year is my son Mikey's birthday and also National Autism Awareness Month. The former a happy, celebratory occasion; the latter a sobering reminder.
Since autism spans a spectrum of symptoms and behaviors, not everyone experiences it the same way. Some children with autism seem to be quite typical, while others are very obviously struggling. The same goes for the families and friends of these children who see their lives completely impacted by the world of autism.
How many people would be able to watch a child cry and be devastated by their failed attempts to communicate or complete a simple task as they are repeatedly hindered by OCD or echolalia? How many could watch parents deal with the guilt of thinking they caused their child's autism or the doubts caused by the questions of what to try next for their child when all else has failed? How many could truly understand just how much time and money it costs to even make an attempt to help your child with therapies, diets, and other unproven programs?
Do they want the real awareness of autism? Do they want to know about how many times today I tried to communicate with Mikey only to hear TV show talk or a generic "yes" as the reply? Do they want to know the frustration of feeding your child popcorn, cheese doodles, and peanut butter because those are the ONLY THREE THINGS they'll eat? Do they want to know how many soiled pull-ups my wife and I have changed this week because the concept of potty training is a constant attempt at futility?
I truly don't know if any of those answers would be yes. With most awareness campaigns like this the general public seems more open to just throwing some money the way of the cause and then going on with their regular lives without actually being educated about the subject. I can understand that. I really can. And it is hard to blame them. The real truth is never pretty.
I think what I truly want from an Autism Awareness Month extends beyond facts about how many cases are diagnosed and where people can donate to help. No, what I really want is for people to know that our children with autism are really amazing kids who go through incredible struggles every day. I want the public to know that autism parents don't want you to pity them or their children, but only to understand just how deeply love and respect are important to the autism community. I want the world to know that after April ends, and the TV cameras turn their attention somewhere else, well, we're still here and we're VERY much aware of autism. That fact is true, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, TWELVE months a year.
The first time I ever heard the expression "Mother Warriors," I half expected to see a pink tank rolling down the street or perhaps a platoon of women in designer fatigues with daisies sticking out of their rifle barrels. But then, after I let my out-of-control imagination subside, I was able to see the true strength and power of these ferociously focused females.
Over the past few years since Mikey's diagnosis, I've experienced the phenomenon of the Mother Warrior Autism Mom and the, oftentimes ignored, Autism Dad. Being an Autism Dad is one of the most challenging things a man can experience and requires a life-altering transformation.
The Mother Warriors I've come across transcend the traditional nurturing role of a mommy to seize the warrior spirit that lets them become relentless in their drive to get whatever their child needs to thrive. The ironic thing is that the Autism Dad needs to shed his traditional male trait of being warrior-minded. No, the Autism Dad requires much more patience, tenderness, and love than typical of a warrior. Instead, our battle needs to be against our natural inclinations.
Let me pause for a minute to be clear about the need for patience. The patience I'm talking about is well beyond what most people would imagine. No, for those of us in the Autism Dads Club, I'm talking about the type of patience usually attributed to a saint. Saint Autism Dad needs to take a deep breath when his child throws his food on the floor for the fifth time in a row. He needs to turn the other cheek when his child's humming stim rivals that of a thousand bees in his ear. He must speak softly and calmly when his actual urge is to scream and yell. I know your struggle, Autism Dads, but, if we try hard enough, perhaps one day we will all be canonized.
Now, watching Mother Warriors form a group or battle a school board shows the natural female ability to be organized and come together as a group. Men really don't organize. When men organize it usually turns into a political party...and we all know how successful they are. No, men just want to get to fixing things. How can we fix autism? Is there a tool for it? How about a little WD-40 or some duct tape?
I learned early on as an Autism Dad that it's not about fixing…it's about giving. An Autism Dad has to give all of himself to his child. You can't hold back any attention, any compassion, any understanding, and most of all, any love. Not an easy task for most men who tend to hide their emotions.
I was fortunate to learn how to be an Autism Dad because of the silver lining of a dark, dark cloud. I was unemployed for almost two straight years right at the time when Mikey was diagnosed. I basically became that classic Michael Keaton character, "Mr. Mom," and was able to spend an incredible amount of time with Mikey. We learned so much from each other during those tough times and dedicating myself to Mikey truly kept me from falling into a deep depression. My biggest smiles of the day were picking Mikey up from DDI and then a little later in the day when my wife would walk in from work. My family was my foundation and Mikey my inspiration.
Being an Autism Dad has helped me to fine-tune natural skills I had, and to develop new skills that I never thought I'd need. For instance, taking Mikey to t-ball and soccer is second nature to me…I had waited my entire life to be a sports dad. But asking people for money while fundraising for an autism charity…that was so out of my comfort zone. The bottom line, though, is whether I'm helping Mikey throw a baseball, or raising money for charity, it's all with the single focus of helping my child overcome autism.
So, my advice for new Autism Dads, or for dads who haven't quite figured out the whole approach to having an autistic child, is to embrace everything there is about your child and their special needs. Go to their doctor appointments, be a part of their therapy sessions, go to their schools, get involved with autism charities like YAP, read about autism, and be prepared for anything your child needs. Preparedness is the way to win a battle. Just ask a Mother Warrior.
Bob Marley's song "Three Little Birds" is more commonly known from the line that Mikey has made so adorable: "Cause every little thing gonna be all right."The song appears in a children's video that plays during one of Mikey's TV shows and it has fast become his favorite video to watch.
As any parent of a child with autism can attest, any words that come out of your child's mouth are heartwarming miracles. Mikey started singing this song the other day and at first it was just adorable and cute, but then after I listened closely and read the lyrics of the song, I felt so uplifted and saw it as if Mikey was really speaking to me.
When it comes to Mikey, my normal reaction is to worry…about everything. I would do anything to help him with his autism and I do everything I can to make him feel happy and loved. As I think of that line I realize I need to stop worrying about the things I can't change.
I hear you speaking to me, Mikey. I do. My ears and my heart are wide open. And I can't wait until the day you can tell me every single thought in your head. I'll be forever listening to your sweet, sweet songs.
Thank you very much for listening to me tonight. Please continue to support the Young Autism Program. And enjoy the rest of your evening. Good night.
The video of this speech is available at YouTube in two parts. Click here for Part One. Click here for Part Two.


text:
Milligan leaves Worksop by mutual consent
Published: 12:11 Monday 14 May 2018
Duncan Milligan has left his post as first team manager at Worksop Town by mutual consent.
Milligan arrived at the club in February of this year and started with a home win over Notts neighbours Clipstone.
But only three victories from 17 games in the second half of the campaign has led the Tigers board to review his position.
A statement on the club website read: "Worksop Town Football Club can announce that Duncan Milligan has left today by mutual consent from his post as first team manager.
"As the end of the season came to a close and with much thought and deliberation, the board of directors have made the decision that last season's results have required us to review the structure of the first team.
"We understand the constraints that Duncan was under as the football club tried to rebuild itself on and off the pitch.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank Duncan, John (Buckley, assistant) and his team for all their hard work and endeavours and we wish them the best of luck in the future."


plus a past participle of the same verb.
The past participles end in -ado for -ar verbs, and -ido for -er/-ir verbs.
And it always agrees with the subject.
Ponerse triste, To get sad.
Ponerse nervioso, To get nervous.
Ponerse alegre, To become happy.
Ponerse molesto, To become upset or bothered.
Ponerse enfermo, To fall sick.
There are some more verbs in this group.
Estar cansado, To be tired.
Estar deprimido, To be depressed.
Estar preocupado, To be worried.
Estar aburrido, To be bored.
Enamorarse, To fall in love.
Estar enamorado, To be in love.
Estar gordo, To be fat because you've just been doing a lot of eating.
Me canso del frío en enero, I really get tired of cold weather in January.
Estoy cansado del frío, I'm tired of this cold weather.
¿Te deprimes con el frío?, Do you get depressed with the cold weather?
Sí, estoy deprimido con el frío, Yes, I am depressed with the cold.
Ella se enamora de los niños, She falls in love with all children.
Estra enamorada de los niños, She's in love with the children.
Again, the reflexive pronoun plus the verb signals the process of becoming.
And estar plus the past participle describes the resulting state.


text:
Q: How to get wifi signal strength of a router in android program in real time? Using BroadcastReceiver() in wifimanger,i am able to get RSSI strength for every 4-5 seconds.
But i need it in real time.
Can i get the strength in real time?

A: Your best bet would be to start a scan with the WifiManager getScanResults:
final WifiManager wifi = (WifiManager) getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
List<ScanResult> results = wifi.getScanResults();

However, note that it returns the latest results which might be sooner or later than 4-5 seconds ago. But at least you obtain the most recent results.
Edit
You cannot get signal strength results in real time because there is no continuous scan.
If you must, you can initiate a scan with startScan, but you will have to wait for the asynchronous event sent on completion of the scan.

A: I was trying to do the same thing and I found a decent solution.
If you use an Asynchronous task and run a loop that gets an updated RSSI on every iteration, you can update the UI with onProgressUpdate().
I added a Thread.sleep(500) in my loop so it updates every half second.
If you have more questions I'd be glad to help.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Julian Assange hit back at The Intercept over a February 14 article claiming he backed Donald Trump's presidential campaign in leaked group chats from a disgruntled former WikiLeaks associate who set up the chat room.
[I]n the fall of 2015, Trump was polling at less than 30 percent among Republican voters, neck-and-neck with neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Assange spoke freely about why WikiLeaks wanted Clinton and the Democrats to lose the election.
In a series of rebuttals over Twitter, Assange notes that The Intercept's Micah Lee failed to do basic fact checking, such as noting that the WikiLeaks account has a rotating staff (i.e. anyone could have written the controversial messages), and used "messages from late Oct 2016 when I infamously had no internet access."
Assange also notes Lee's long-standing grudge against the WikiLeaks co-founder, which he called "obsessive" and "obscenity laden."
- the editorial propriety of letting Micah F Lee, of all people, instrumentalize the Intercept to further his obsessive, obscenity laden campaign against WikiLeaks must be questioned. Lee was formally behind cutting off WikiLeaks' US tax deductible donations.
- after I wrote to the FPF board last year on that serious subject, Lee has become hysterical. The conflict of interest is obvious. Such a story should have been given to someone else. By failing to do so the story's credibility has been marred.
Assange, who remains confined in the Ecuadorian embassy in London following a failed appeal of his arrest warrant also notes that WikiLeaks cannot confirm the Twitter support group messages, and that there are "dozens of such groups, full of people's freewheeling banter and quips, but even the funniest do not represent editorial policy."
Assange's defenders, such as journalist Caitlin Johnstone, and Disobedient Media's Elizabeth Vos have come out in force against The Intercept's "disingenuous and sloppy character assassination against the Wikileaks Editor-In-Chief."
The Ecuadorian embassy in London cut off Julian Assange's internet access in October of 2016, but the WikiLeaks Twitter account kept posting about leak drops uninterrupted. The embassy's action made headlines all across mainstream media. It is common knowledge for anyone who was paying attention to WikiLeaks during that time. The Intercept's editors are unquestionably aware of this.
So, whether The Intercept is now simply another establishment tool masquerading as a legitimate news outlet, or its editors simply let one of its journalists publish a terribly inaccurate hit piece curiously timed to coincide with Assange's UK court action, Julian Assange's defenders are out in force to set the record straight.


text:
Night of the Walking Dead / El extraño amor de los vampiros (1975)
"The sun shining in my dreams
The light is getting hot
Saved by eternity
I have seen death so close
Away, awhile the angels crossed the sky
But I'm condemned to stay here." -- Heavenly
In his memoirs, Paul Naschy said he had referred Argentine film directing stalwart Leon Klimovsky to be director of his seminal Spanish horror classic La noche de Walpurgis, AKA The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971), because one of the film's financers wanted a quick and reliable director.
It would seem that Klimovsky was known for his fast shooting and workmanlike skills, and yet he managed to direct some real atmospheric classics of Spanish horror, often on low budgets and high pressured shooting schedules, and he introduced an oft-imitated technique of filming vampires and zombies in slow-motion, capturing a uniquely nightmarish plane of existence in the process.
Klimovsky's vampire films are exceptional and interestingly varied, and they belong alongside the best of Jess Franco and Jean Rollin. The aforementioned The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman was a record breaking box office success that revived the Spanish horror fantasy genre. The other Klimovsky directed vampire films that followed were the epic The Dracula Saga (1973), the more grindhouse flavored The Vampires' Night Orgy (1974), and the romantic, adventurous, and somewhat eclectic Night of the Walking Dead / The Strange Love of the Vampires, the topic for tonight
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 2:03 AM 4 comments
Labels: Carlos Ballesteros, Drama, Emma Cohen, Gothic Horror, Leon Klimovsky, Romance, Spanish Horror
Shock / Beyond the Door II (1977)
Mario Bava's final full-length film as director Shock (AKA Beyond the Door II) is like The Amityville Horror (1979), Repulsion (1965), and The Shining (1980) combined into a progressive-rock tinged haunted-house Italian horror/mystery thriller that does manage to be scary. Bava again employs the vengeful ghost story, as in his child-themed Kill Baby Kill (1966), but keeps it in the family, creating a ghost story about marital vengeance, which was based on a true story that Bava weaved in to an already existing script, about a living house, he had co-written with Dardano Sacchetti several years prior. The end product is a slow-paced but ultimately exhilarating experience that succeeds at being one of the creepier Italian horrors. Bava's son Lamberto Bava, who also contributed to the script, said they were influenced a little more by Stephen King and were attempting to make a modern horror film.
The film also has a possession angle that takes a few cues from The Exorcist (1973), which might have been in response to the success of The House of Exorcism (1975): producer Alfredo Leone's revamping of Bava's Lisa and the Devil (1973), with newly filmed possession scenes spliced in.
Labels: Daria Nicolodi, David Colin Jr., Italian Horror, Ivan Rassimov, John Steiner, Lamberto Bava, Mario Bava
The Mummy's Revenge / La venganza de la Momia (1973)
When looking over the lengthy cycle of mummy movies, one in particular often goes heavily unmentioned, and that's Spanish actor, filmmaker Paul Naschy's take on the mummy myth, The Mummy's Revenge / La venganza de la Momia.
Being somewhat of a tragic love story, The Mummy's Revenge is rather faithful to the original Universal film and is also easy to compare to the 1959 Hammer reboot as well. What sets The Mummy's Revenge apart is that it's a Paul Naschy film, meaning it's going to be a little more erotic, a little meaner, more fearsome, more violent, and more personal. There is also a sadomasochistic element too, with a number of maidens strung up for both amusement and sacrificial purposes.
The film is directed by Carlos Aured and is written by and stars Naschy. It is one of four collaborations between Naschy and Aured, with the other three being the seminal Horror Rises from the Tomb (1972), part of the Waldemar Daninsky Werewolf cycle Curse of the Devil (1972), and the Spanish giallo Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1973). The Mummy's Revenge is Naschy's second, and more focused, take on the mummy, as the creature did appear in Naschy's horror/sci-fi monster mashup Assignment Terror (1970), along with aliens, the werewolf, Frankenstein's monster, and Dracula.
Labels: Carlos Aured, Gothic Horror, Helga Liné, Jack Taylor, mummy, Paul Naschy, Pre'ween 2014, Rina Ottolina, Spanish Horror
Venomous Vixens: Aurora de Alba
At present, little is known about the European actress and dancer Aurora de Alba. Her film career is varied, although consisting mostly of rare, hard-to-find movies, with a handful of Spanish horror films being the most well-known and accessible. What little I could find out is that her name was Aurora Galisteo before being known as Aurora de Alba, and she is the cousin of famed Spanish dancer/actress Carmen Sevilla, who was born Maria del Carmen Garcia Galisteo. This would also make Aurora cousins with Spanish cinematographer Jose Garcia Galisteo. Aurora danced at the Venice Film Festival in 1953, from which a number of historical photos were made. She married Chico Scimone on June 23, 1954, in Taormina, Sicily, and later had a son, Gianfranco Scimone on March 11, 1955. She died February 24th, 2005.
Throughout the '50s, Aurora starred in a number of Spanish/Italian comedies and dramas, most of which seem to either have been forgotten or fallen into obscurity. As the Euro film industry shifted its output to different genres in the '60s and '70s, Aurora managed to land roles in Euro-westerns: Un hombre vino a matar (1967) and Su le mani, cadavere! Sei in arresto (1971) (under the direction of Leon Klimovsky); Euro-spies, Agente X 1-7 operazione Oceano (1965) and Top Secret (1967); and Euro-horrors La Marca del Hombre-lobo (1968), La rebelión de las muertas (1973), and La orgía de los muertos (1973). The three aforementioned horror films also starred Paul Naschy and seem to have been the most accessible. In addition, she was frequently directed by José Luis Merino. After starring in a line of comedies and dramas in the latter half of the '70s, her movie career seemed to have taken an abrupt halt at the end of the decade. What she was up to after that is probably anyone's guess.
Some sources list her as an Italian actress, while others show her as a Spanish actress. Aurora is actually of Spanish origin, however she did get married in Italy and most likely lived there for a time. Another source lists her birth date as February 2nd, 1948; this cannot be true, however, because, as was mentioned before, she was married in 1954, and the following image of her below is from the 1953 Venice Film Festival, and looking to be somewhere in her early twenties at that time, it is probably not a far cry to assume she was born sometime in the '20s or '30s.
Labels: Aurora de Alba, Female Vampire, Gothic Horror, Leon Klimovsky, Paul Naschy, Pre'ween 2014, Venice Film Festival, Venomous Vixens
City of the Living Dead / The Gates of Hell (1980)
City of the Living Dead is part of a high point in Lucio Fulci's career that would make him synonymous with gore, zombies, and splatter and also cause him to be more generally regarded as a horror director, despite having worked in numerous other film genres. Being the first film in what has become known as The Gates of Hell trilogy, which also includes The Beyond (1981) and House by the Cemetery (1981), City feels a little rough around the edges, a step down from the previous Zombi 2 (1979) but at the same time a stepping stone or prototype to The Beyond, a film that masterfully embodies a dreadful but surreal atmospheric ascetic that I like to call nightmarish horror, which abandons logic to create a sense that anything can happen, usually something bad involving the eyes.
While there is an interesting Lovecraftian story (co-written by Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti) and plenty of dialogue and characters to fill it, City feels a bit like a compendium of gore scenes and set pieces, most of which exemplify Fulci in top form. It has its flaws and issues, yet it's one of those films where you can talk just as much about what's wrong with it as you can about what's right with it, and what's right is pleasing enough to supersede what's wrong.
Despite having a dodgy narrative, a few silly moments, and somewhat shallow characters, who have grown on me with time, such as Bob (Giovanni Lombardo Radice), the film is quite a macabre experience that has become known for its top-notch ambiance and gore FX (by Gino De Rossi), as well as succeeding as a horror film overall. It's like a product of low quality that nonetheless continually hits the sweet spot throughout its runtime so that you just can't help loving it. It's almost the masterpiece The Beyond is.
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 5:25 AM 11 comments
Labels: Catriona MacColl, Dardano Sacchetti, Fabio Frizzi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Gothic Horror, Italian Horror, Lovecraftian, Lucio Fulci, Zombie
Female Vampire / La comtesse noire (1973)
If you haven't noticed, female vampires in movies have been a long-running theme I've enjoyed exploring with this blog. It's an appealing aspect of fiction to me, and I just can't get away from the archetypical idea of the vampiress: her gothic image, seductive power, hidden feral side, and deadly sexuality. Some time ago, around the time I reviewed The Blood Spattered Bride, I finally gave Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla a read and wasn't too surprised at realizing how much Carmilla's influence is felt in a large number of cult female vampire films. Although, there seems to have been a bit of a debate as to whether or not the perceived erotic subtext in Le Fanu's novella has been misinterpreted by non-Victorian readers, yet many filmmakers have nonetheless taken the subtext at face value, taking whatever supposed eroticism is there in the writing of the book out of the implicit and into the explicit; and, for its time, Jess Franco's Female Vampire (a.k.a. La comtesse noire, Bare Breasted Countess, Erotikill, and many more) has to be the most erotic lady vampire piece, even more so for the XXX version Lüsterne Vampire Im Spermarausch. (On the opposite end of the spectrum is perhaps, and also recommended, Let's Scare Jessica to Death — a Carmilla influenced movie that hardly features any eroticism).
Labels: Alice Arno, Belgian Horror, Erotic, Female Vampire, French Horror, Gothic Horror, Jack Taylor, Jess Franco, Lina Romay, Monica Swinn
Spirits of Death / A White Dress for Marialé (1972)
With Spirits of Death, I'm reminded of how pleasing it is to keep discovering new worthwhile Eurocult movies of the vintage variety. Years ago I thought that I might have been coming close to exhausting my selection of every notable Eurohorror / giallo / surreal-art-house-drama film. However, that notion seems to become more and more untrue with time, which is counterintuitive, as it would seem that the more movies of this type you see the closer you would be to seeing them all, but it nonetheless keeps opening up a world that always seems bigger the further you go in.
Spirits of Death is one of those arty, Eurohorror, giallo movies of a particular brand that I can't believe I went so long without knowing (let's see if we can coin the term "Sleeping Eurocult" – in winking reference to Agatha Christie's Sleeping Murder). Spirits of Death is directed and cinematographed by Romano Scavolini, who many may know as the director of an infamous Video Nasty from the early '80s, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain. He is also the brother of Sauro Scavolini, director of another marvelous "Sleeping Eurocult" Love and Death in the Garden of the Gods.
The film is essentially a gathering of colorful guests, who have been invited by one of the proprietors, Marialé (Ida Galli aka Evelyn Stewart), with mysterious motives, to a spooky old castle. It might sound familiar, and it is, but the gathering turns into a fascinating, candlelit journey into the underground caverns of the castle as well as a delirious entertaining descent into a batshit crazy Fellini-esque masquerade dinner party before things turn over to a more traditional murder mystery, as party guests start getting knocked off by an unseen assailant in the latter half.
Labels: Evelyn Stewart, Giallo, Gothic Horror, Ida Galli, Italian Horror, Ivan Rassimov, Luigi Pistilli, Pilar Velázquez, Romano Scavolini
Asylum Erotica / Slaughter Hotel (1971)
I was charmed the other day by a 1915 vintage, almost Victorian looking, Kellogg's Corn Flakes advertisement poster I spotted amongst the old-fashioned-decor adorned on the walls at a local Cracker Barrel diner. While staring at the ad, for some reason, I became curious as to the origin of Corn Flakes. Where were they invented, and how did they come about? I previously had a stereotypical notion that they may have originated in farming communities, due to the rooster, Cornelius, usually observed on the boxes. After ordering pancakes (not the multigrain or wheat ones but the regular pancakes), I googled "Kellogg's Corn Flakes history" on my phone, and the results were a little startling.
It appears the invention that brought about Corn Flakes was discovered by accident in 1894, at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan by health reformist Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Keith Kellogg as part of a bland diet to keep the patients from having increased passions, i.e. to keep them from masturbating.
One day, the Kellogg brothers left a batch of cooked wheat out to sit, when they were diverted by urgent matters at the sanitarium. Upon their return, they'd found that the wheat had gone stale, but because they were under a strict budget, they decided to salvage the wheat. After pressing the wheat through rollers, it formed, to their surprise, wheat flakes that were subsequently toasted and served to the patients; it ended up being a hit. Later Will Keith Kellogg experimented with flaking corn, which he eventually made into a successful business.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was a pioneer surgeon, who succeeded in having exceptionally low mortality rates with his surgery practice. He was the superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium and pioneered numerous health reform treatments, some of which still hold up today. However, the good doctor sometimes missed the mark.
Labels: Corn Flakes, Erotic, Fernando Di Leo, Giallo, Italian Horror, Klaus Kinski, Margaret Lee, Rosalba Neri, Sexploitation
Daughters of Darkness (1971)
"Genre rules" seem to be most common in zombie and vampire films, and it's with these particular genres that breaking the "rules" ends up being the most controversial. Yet, these so called rules are non-existent, and filmmakers can do whatever they want. Of course, the big risk with breaking too many rules is that so many people will already hate the movie before/without even bothering to see it. On the other hand, sticking with the rules and relying too heavily on clichés is too easy and contributes to oversaturation of a genre. I personally enjoy the best of both worlds, classic and innovative, the best of the old with the best of the new. Give me what I came for, but surprise me too. Clichés are important but more for the sake of maintaining a basis of familiarity.
Harry Kümel's emblematic, chic, and sensual vampire seduction Daughters of Darkness falls somewhere in the middle ground between familiar and different. It probably isn't even worth mentioning the many parallels between this movie and The Blood Spattered Bride or The Shiver of the Vampires, other than to note they were made around the same time and manage to be so different from one another, even though they tell similar stories. They all contain a common sapphic vampire story that owes a lot to Sheridan Le Fanu's novel Carmilla, which was adapted a year earlier with The Vampire Lovers in 1970 and ten years before that with Blood and Roses.
Labels: Andrea Rau, Belgian Horror, Delphine Seyrig, Erotic, Female Vampire, French Horror, German Horror, Gothic Horror, Harry Kümel, John Karlen
Zombie / Zombi 2 (1979)
I used to not be able to stomach gory zombie films very well. Despite being excited and thoroughly fascinated after watching zombie films in my youth, I suffered from a loss of appetite for a while. Anytime I was trying to eat, my brain would be like "you know what's a good movie? Dawn of the Dead (1978)," and images from the scene with zombies eating in the cellar would pop into my mind, and I would be turned off to eating meat or anything savory for that matter. Sweets or French fries were fine, but my mind just would not cease to relate the taste and consistency of anything else, especially if it was slimy, to what it was the zombies were chomping on. I was disgusted by zombie carnage but still thought it was so cool.
The zombie film that grossed me out the most, which is really saying something, was Lucio Fulci's Zombie. As a kid, I used to hate looking at the VHS cover with the iconic, rotting, worm eyed, conquistador zombie (Ottaviano Dell'Acqua). I wasn't scared; I was repulsed. Being a growing boy on the verge of puberty, I didn't think it wise to be turned off to protein, either. And so, the tape just sat on my movie shelf, after only being watched once, collecting dust, never to be touched again for quite some time.
Needless to say, I eventually overcame this sort of appetite-loss problem and no longer felt sick after watching zombie films. I don't know if it is enhanced mental discipline or desensitization, but I can now eat pizza while watching movies like Zombie and Burial Ground without getting nauseous.
Anyone who may have read my article for The Beyond during last year's gore-a-thon may recall that I wasn't a fan of Zombie for a while. It took seeing The Beyond for me to re-evaluate what was my negative stand on Zombie. I was guilty of hoping for another Dawn of the Dead, ignorantly overlooking every one of the film's strengths.
Labels: Al Cliver, Fabio Frizzi, Gore-a-thon, Italian Horror, Lucio Fulci, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Richard Johnson, Zombie
The Wax Mask / M.D.C. – Maschera di cera (1997)
The last film Lucio Fulci ever worked on, The Wax Mask, was supposed to have been the grand collaboration between Fulci and Dario Argento, had it not been for Fulci's tragic death some few weeks before filming was to begin. The project came about after Argento had approached Fulci at a 1994 film festival in Rome and suggested they work together on a new film. This was more of a sympathetic gesture from Argento who had intentions of reviving the spirits of an ailing Fulci in a wheelchair, who, at the time, had not worked on a new film in years. The two were never the best of friends, as Argento always thought Fulci imitated his filmmaking style (the separate camps weren't only with the fan base it would seem).
Differences aside, they mutually agreed upon recreating House of Wax with Fulci directing. Along with Daniele Stroppa (The House of Clocks), they wrote the script for The Wax Mask, an alternate take on the wax museum myth that doesn't necessarily feel like a remake of House of Wax (1953), even if it is.
Labels: Dario Argento, Gore-a-thon, Gothic Horror, Italian Horror, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Stivaletti
Announcing the Second Annual Gore-a-thon
"Do you hear the clarion call? It's calling out to one and all." –Falconer
The horror blogging clarion call sounds again! That's right; it's almost time for Blood Sucking Geek's second annual Ultimate Gore-a-thon 2014 -- Another Splatterific Extravaganza! I hope a fraction of you fantabulously awesome readers remember this event from last year, when nine sites came together to embark on an ultimate gore-centric blog-a-thon! The event will run from June 15th to the 21st. Including At the Mansion of Madness, there are, so far, twelve sites. The other blogs/sites taking part in the upcoming Gore-a-thon are as follows:
90s Horror Movies
Blood Sucking Geek
Candy-Coated Razor Blades
Craft Fear
The Info Zombie
Love Horror
Midnight Cinephile
Movies at Dog Farm
Slasher Studios
Terrorphoria
Wide Weird World of Cult Films
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 9:52 PM 1 comments
Labels: Events, Gore-a-thon
Chicks with Candles (Tumblr Page)
My good friend, and fan of this site, Terence, has a cool Eurocult Tumblr I just found out about yesterday, Chicks with Candles! Not only does it live up to its title, celebrating the beloved gothic film trope of beautiful maidens with candelabra from movies like Tragic Ceremony and Baba Yaga, the page also features posters, cover art, deleted scenes, trivia, interesting but concise observations on Eurocult films like Jess Franco's Lorna the Exorcist, and, most importantly, a lot of attractive films I've never heard of but really want to look at. I believe that me and Terence share an affinity for the use of lit candles as a mood enhancing aesthetic on film sets, and it's an elegant idea for a Tumblr page.
Check it out by clicking the delectable image of Rosalba Neri below, and be prepared to stay a while!
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 10:38 PM 4 comments
Labels: Chicks with Candles, Eurocult, Gothic, Shout Out, Tumblr
Lady Frankenstein (1971)
Lightning, angry mobs, grave robbing, and a criminal's brain, like so many Frankenstein offshoots / spinoffs / parodies, Lady Frankenstein owes more to James Whale's classic 1931 horror film than Mary Shelley's 1818 literary masterpiece. Despite its many fitting references to, and retreading to an extent, some of the plot points to its trendsetting predecessor, Lady Frankenstein is far from feeling like a gory, colored remake, primarily thanks to the addition of Frankenstein's biological daughter, Tania (Rosalba Neri), a little novelty with a lot of potential, like reimagining the classic 1931 movie with the doctor's attractive but even more ambitious daughter written into the story.
In a time when females were grossly underrepresented in science, Tania Frankenstein shatters what must've been a prominent stereotype, enduring her pursuit as a surgeon, even when faced with sexist instructors at the University; as she puts it, "the professors have a lot of old fashioned ideas about a woman's place." When she returns home from the University after becoming a licensed surgeon, her father, Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotten), expresses admiration for her accomplishments, and yet he and his assistant, Dr. Charles Marshall (Paul Müller), still treat her as if their work involving cadavers is too much for her delicate senses to fathom. They seem to not want to involve her in their gruesome work, but, to their surprise, she's all for it. They attempt to make her think they are working with animals, but she has been thinking along the same lines as her father the entire time, being more interested in human transplants; "I am my father's daughter." Not only does she thoroughly understand her father's work, she ends up refining it.
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 12:48 AM 8 comments
Labels: Frankenstein, Gothic Horror, Herbert Fux, Italian Horror, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Hargitay, Paul Műller, Rosalba Neri
The Other Side of the Mirror / Al otro lado del espejo (1973)
Jess Franco could film movies faster than I can write reviews for them. His films can sometimes have an overwhelming low quality feel to them, making them difficult to digest for the majority. The natural location shots, haunting tone, memorable and well-chosen female actors (Franco definitely had an eye for female leads that just seemed to resonate with the camera lens), and Franco's brand of bizarre surrealism and eroticism don't seem to be enough to save the films for many, but they are nonetheless a huge hit for others. Al otro lado del espejo contains all of the aforementioned elements and yet has a higher-than-usual quality feel to it, most likely due to the terrific acting and screen presence from its leading lady (Emma Cohen of Horror Rises from the Tomb and Night of the Walking Dead) and a believable tragic story.
Jazz pianist/singer Ana (Cohen) is profoundly affected by her father's (Howard Vernon) suicide shortly after her engagement. After calling off the wedding, Ana leaves her homeland on Madeira Island only to undergo several failed relations when she intermittently becomes hypnotically driven to kill any man that becomes close to her.
It isn't just enough to say that Ana is haunted by images of her dead father in the mirror. She doesn't just see him, but she finds herself at times in the mirror, in Franco's looking glass world. It can also be viewed as Ana's mental reflection on her emotional trauma. The memory of her father's suicide driven by his stubborn disapproval of her marrying and leaving him is intertwined with Ana's psyche, manifesting itself when she murders any man that shows any sexual interest in her. Ana's traumatization, spurned the moment of her outcry into the mirror, yields a malediction that could either be viewed as some sort of curse or spell from her father's ghost or played off as the result of a kind of posttraumatic stress disorder. If taken at face value, the goose bumps inducing ending, made more dramatic with church bells signifying the wedding that never was, reveals which one happens to be the case.
Labels: Alice Arno, Drama, Emma Cohen, Howard Vernon, Jess Franco, Spain
Down to the Cellar / Do pivnice (1983)
Down to the Cellar is a short film from Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer that I've grown fond of. I remember feeling a little underwhelmed when I first watched it, but it stayed with me, for some reason, and now it's one of my favorite short films (I wonder if there's a name for that kind of art). It was the same with Svankmajer's Alice (Neco Z Alenky), a creepy vision of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland complete with Svankmajer's disturbing but fascinating characteristics. For me, the last quarter of Alice became a battle to stay awake. I thought Alice just wasn't the film for me, but that couldn't have been more untrue. Alice ended up planting itself in my mind before slowly taking its hold on me, and, as if a bug had just bit me, I spontaneously ordered off for the DVD and, on a whim, read for the first time Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. As those of you that follow my At the Mansion of Madness fan page on Facebook might have noticed, I have endeavored to watch as many AIW movies as I can slowly but surely come across. This is all primarily thanks to Jan Svankmajer's vision of AIW. Not bad for a movie that I struggled to stay awake during on first viewing.
Labels: Czech Horror, Horror Short, Jan Svankmajer, Monika Belo-Cabanová, Surreal
Morgiana (1972)
Morgiana, by Slovak director Juraj Herz, is a seldom spoken of curio from the Czechoslovak New Wave that's heavily stylized with regards to its visuals and mood but is straightforward with its story and might feel a little influenced by the 'Grand Dame Guignol' horror of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Much like Poe's The Black Cat, there is an escalating sense of guilt in its protagonist, aristocratic villainess Viktorie (Iva Janzurová), that's not particularly out of remorse or regret for her crime, but from paranoia, constant annoying reminders of her misdeed, and fear of being found out, which is where I think a lot of the suspense comes from.
I like that there is a lot of appeal to its detestable, unsympathetic villain. Viktorie (Viki) is probably one of my new favorite villains. She emanates a wicked aura, primarily due to her excessively evil gothic look that pretty much gives away the nature of her game at first glance. Janzurová's performance is frightening, stellar, and versatile. I say versatile because she also plays Viki's sister, Klára. The personalities and appearances between the sisters are like night and day, and I don't know if I was a bit naïve at the time, but after watching the whole movie for the first time, I had no idea the same actress played both sisters.
Labels: Czech Horror, Drama, Gothic Horror, Iva Janzurová, Josef Abrhám, Juraj Herz
Sex of the Witch (1973)
Witchcraft, tainted family history, and murder mysteries are very agreeable story themes, but writer and director Angelo Pannaccio, hitherto unknown to me, gives these horror hallmarks an attractively perverse edge with Sex of the Witch.
This is one of those films that brings a substantially large group of shady relatives together in a family mansion for the reading of a will, with the inheritance being split equally among the relatives, with an added stipulation that if any beneficiary should die before a certain time, their share must be split among the surviving heirs. Of course this will inevitably create a murderer or two, amongst the family. I've seen a similar plot device in a couple other movies, One Body Too Many and Legacy of Blood, but something different with Sex of the Witch is the inclusion of a perverse, evil witch relative with a good measure of hate and malice for the family, which gives what could've been a routine plot device a rather demented and supernatural spin.
Labels: Camille Keaton, Giallo, Gothic Horror, Italian Horror, Jessica Dublin
Love and Death in the Garden of the Gods (1972)
Being a conversation heavy drama mystery with a bit of a dreamy languor about it, Love and Death in the Garden of the Gods may require a little focus from viewers if they hope to get absorbed in its compelling story, beautiful scenery, and tragic characters, but it is worth it. The plot is more or less structured to be an exploration of a hazy backstory that slowly crystalizes before eventually catching up with the present.
The film is directed by Sauro Scavolini, a prolific screenwriter (All the Colors of the Dark, amongst many others) with few directing credits. He is the brother of director Romano Scavolini (Nightmares in a Damaged Brain), who also helmed cinematography for Love and Death in the Garden of the Gods.
The story is fed to us in fragmented bits and pieces from an inquisitive Professor of ornithology (Franz von Treuberg), restoring and listening to a heap of tangled audio recording tape he discovered in the forest outside the villa he's rented to study the non-indigenous birds of the region. As the Professor listens to the tape recordings, the film cuts to flashbacks of the previous inhabitants of the villa, making the place seem haunted by a past that is both alarming and fascinating. While the past is the primary setting of the story, the film still emphases events in the present, particularly the relation between the professor and the seedy estate administrator, Dominici (Vittorio Duse), giving the Professor dimension and making him more than just an avenue of backstory disclosure.
Posted by Giovanni Susina at 12:04 AM 10 comments
Labels: Drama, Erika Blanc, Giallo, Italian Horror, Orchidea de Santis, Peter Lee Lawrence, Sauro Scavolini
Delirium / Delirio caldo (1972)
At first glance, Renato Polselli's stylistic S&M fever nightmare, Delirium, might feel like an interesting case study of psychopathy, but I'm hesitant to call the film's protagonist a psychopath. He's definitely a sadistic maniac of sorts, but a psychopath has no conscience and therefore cannot feel empathy and remorse. Our maniac, here, feels remorse and is at odds with himself. After doing harm, he gets emotional and curses his reflection before shattering the mirror. Just to stop the monster, he tries to set himself up to be caught by the police.
No sir, he may be a serial killer, but the highly respected, criminal psychologist and police consultant Dr. Herbert Lyutak (Mickey Hargitay) is no psychopath.
He actually makes for a compelling lead, thanks to a fair amount of charisma and outward charm that contrasts with his hidden sick side. It's made known early on that Herbert's a particularly nasty fellow, with a pitch black disturbing murder sequence involving a young lady (Stefania Fassio). In making its protagonist a murderer, we have something more unique from the get go. Though we know Herbert's a killer, murders still continue in the traditional 'whodunit' giallo style, which imposes the question of Herbert being the only killer. The multiple murder scenes of pretty girls getting killed are cruel, which isn't surprising for a giallo, but Polselli really seems to be trying to outdo them all.
Labels: Christa Barrymore, Giallo, Italian Horror, Mickey Hargitay, Raul Lovecchio, Renato Polselli, Rita Calderoni, Stefania Fassio
The Master of This House
Giovanni Susina
Albuquerque, NM, United States
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key.
At the Mansion of Madness on Facebook
Follow @GiovanniSusina
Night of the Walking Dead / El extraño amor de los...
The Other Side of the Mirror / Al otro lado del es...
Thoughtful Commendations
"A visit to the Mansion always feels like a master class in foreign film." - Brandon from Movies At Dog Farm
"Were it not for your reviews, I would have missed out on plenty of gems and whole portions of Eurocult cinema." - Terence from The Glass Cellar
"I love discovering the best of Italian horror with Giovanni Susina." - Wednesday's Child from Seven Doors of Cinema
"very well written" "stays away from the "everything sucks" school of blogging" - Rob Gray from The Whacky World of Rob S Gray
"One of my favourite film blogs. Giovanni always provides such wonderful insight & looks for the good in these films." - Rachael from Hypnotic Crescendos
"Reading Giovanni's reviews just makes you want to go and seek those films out and see them for yourself." - Alex from trash film addict
Around the late '70s, Joe D'Amato got his paws on three Jess Franco films and, with editing help from Bruno Mattei , combined separate foo...
Justine (2016)
" Justine, your prison was my kingdom come. " -Virgin Steele Were it not for Jess Franco , I probably would not have had even a pass...
Macumba Sexual (1983)
For me, going back to Macumba Sexual is going back to my Jess Franco origins, as it was the second Jess Franco film I ever saw, the fir...
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), AKA Blood Feast
After a long hard day, a brief trip to a different time period in a faraway place is usually what it takes to provide the right amount of...
Nude for Satan / Nuda per Satana (1974)
"Think of nothing but the fact that you are marrying me, and are promising to love and obey me forever, past death, into eternity!" – Vincen...
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)
I have read of the elusive cult that targets and stalks vulnerable victims while driving them to madness and suicide. They have a preferr...
Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973)
I first saw Horror Rises from the Tomb many years ago (around 2003) as part of a four movie bargain set of zombie movies, and my initial...
Jess Franco could film movies faster than I can write reviews for them. His films can sometimes have an overwhelming low quality feel to ...
Interrabang (1969)
Considering movies like Barbarella (1968), Top Sensation (1969), and Russ Meyer's Vixen! (1968), it would seem that the late '60s, the...
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
Before AIP's The Dunwich Horror , a 1970 film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's horror novella The Dunwich Horror from 1929, not a whole l...
PRE'WEEN 2014
Whacky World of Rob S Gray
C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, Get Naughty!
OIK´S BLOG
MONSTRÓZNÍ SPECIÁL část 1
Cult Movie Reviews
Marc Valdez Weblog
Broadway Cruise on New Year's Day, 2022
WIWLN (What I watched last night)
Big Doin's
A Wasted Life
More or Less "Best of" 2021
The Lucid Nightmare
The Lucid Nightmare - Thrashin Review
The Oak Drive-In
Favorite Catalog Releases From 2021
Sticky Floors and Stale Popcorn
Jess Franco's Weird Women Files
Acidemic - Film
Way of the Coffin Flop: GAME OF DEATH II (1981)
Visione Sospesa
Resoconti VIS #21: Feature and Short Films | Archivio delle migliori 'cose' viste nel 2021
The Obsidian Mirror
A fine anno non tiro somme
Creatures of Light and Darkness
The Stalls of Barchester (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1971)
Giallo w kadrze
Squillo - Call Girl
sevendoorsofcinema
The Urge To Kill (1989)
A Sétima Cultura
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974) Soundtrack | Horror OST
Behind the Couch
Black Christmas (2019)
Love and Magik in 1971- Stephen Boyd and Marisa Mell – Stephen Boyd Blog
Special Bardot in Malaga photograph display
Krell Laboratories
In It For the Kills
The Twonky - 1953
The Glass Cellar
Camille Keaton in Italy boxset
Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience
The Wild Eye
Out now – Spanish Cult Cinema, volume 1, 1960-1964
CINEMATIC SHOCKS
Scream Magazine issue #67 (June 2021)
House of Self-Indulgence
Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild West Part 2: Jammy Glands from the Rio Grande (Rinse Dream, 1993)
Wicked Horrors
Let's Hold Hands & Watch Hannibal Lecter Movies!
Hypnotic Crescendos
Costuming & Italian Horror: Opera (1987)
Tim Lucas / Video WatchBlog
LENZI/BAKER: SO SWEET, SO PERVERSE reviewed
Cinema Somnambulist
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959) - Just A Look
Midnite Monster Party
MARISA MELL
Danger: Diabolik
Italian Horror Goldmine
NIGHT KILLER
I'm Still Calling It The Pre'Ween Picture Show, Calendar Be Damned
We Has Nightmares News!
The Films of Jess Franco
#MonthlyBookChallenge – January, 2019.
trash film addict
Happy Birthday Al Cliver!
Blood Money - A History of of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle
Quiet Cool
The Hugo Stiglitz Chronicles, Volume Four
euro fever
La morte scende leggera
Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies
Super Xuxa versus Satan (1988): or, Brazilian Wacks


text:
West Ham United: we're taking them seriously
Image: addick-tedKevin
The world has gone mad. A Hammer comes to Salut! Sunderland and promises to buy drinks for all our readers (later modified, wisely, to "a select few of our favourite commenters") and a Premier manager talks about the importance of the Carling Cup. Luckily, it was our manager and some drinks, at least, are still on Sam the Hammer …
Hammers fans: go straight here
We must welcome Steve Bruce's promise to put out a strong side to play West Ham in the Carling Cup tonight/tomorrow night (depending on when and where you're reading this). And news that Asamoah Gyan will make his first start since arriving for £13m from Rennes, should give all Sunderland fans a great buzz.
SAFC, it is safe to predict, will not win the Premier League title just yet. We have every right to expect a distinct improvement on last season's 13th place finish, but 12 places higher may still be out of our reach.
It is feasible, however, to hope the club can produce a serious run in the Carling or FA Cup, or both. These are competitions teams still want to win, but not at any cost in terms of fitness.
Fans of clubs with other priorities, top or bottom, openly admit they couldn't really give a hoot.
In Sunderland's case, it is absolutely vital that we do give a hoot. We can aim for as strong a league campaign as possible, and leave the club in no doubt that the top half should be a non-negotiable return on the investments made by Ellis Short (and us). But we need a morale-boosting string of cup successes to give us a real chance of reaching Wembley again.
Bruce told the official club site: "I've said since I walked through the door here that we must treat the cup with the utmost respect. We've got a home tie against Premier League opposition – we want to try and get through to the next round, it's as simple as that.
"We are capable of winning the trophy. We can win five or six games; any team in the Premier League can do that. We'll be treating it very, very seriously and I'll be putting out a team which will merit that."
I don't expect West Ham to be a pushover despite their poor start to the season, and nor does Bruce. "They've had a good result at the weekend so that will give them a lift just at the right time," he said. " … when you look at their team they have England players throughout the team – in goal, defence, midfield and up front. It'll be a difficult game."
Difficult, but eminently winnable. Ha'way the Lads.
Colin Randall
Categories Content Tags Steve Bruce, Sunderland, West Ham
Au revoir Arsenal, now for West Ham …
Sunderland v West Ham: the Hammer's guide to friendly Mackems


Letterhead and Business Card Templates Marvelous Aviation Flight Instructor Business Card & Letterhead, picture size 700x434 posted by Janet Hunt at January 21, 2019	Elegant Gallery Of Letterhead and Business Card Templates - From the thousand Stocks on the web in relation to letterhead and business card templates, we all offer the very best libraries together with highest resolution only for our readers, and of course,this pictures ,in fact, one among graphics series inside our admirable photographs gallery concerning Elegant Gallery Of Letterhead and Business Card Templates. I optimism you will love it. This photograph (Letterhead and Business Card Templates Marvelous Aviation Flight Instructor Business Card & Letterhead) formerly mentioned can be categorized using: written simply by Janet Hunt at 2019-01-21 19:51:18. To discover plenty photograph within Elegant Gallery Of Letterhead and Business Card Templates models gallery don't forget to adhere to this web page URL. If you feel happy with this post, then please share with your friends.


Contact us for the best and result oriented SEO services in Delhi NCR. We will meet your high expectations to dominate in Google top pages of SERP. We are not only expertise in keywords ranking in Google first page but we works closely with our clients to grow their business and we do this by implementing our effective and updated SEO techniques to our customer's website. We achieve our desired goal in expected time. We apply only white hat SEO strategies to the websites which results our customers for long time benefits. Fill the simple form to let us know your business requirements or contact us on below company address.


text:
Dr. Oliver Höner
Tel: 0049 (0) 30 5168 516
E-Mail: hoener@izw-berlin.de
Oliver Höner studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland, and graduated with a study on free-ranging red colobus and diana monkeys. He did his doctoral thesis at the University of Berne, Switzerland, and the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiologie in Seewiesen, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Heribert Hofer and Prof. Heinz Richner. He graduated in 2001 with a study on free-ranging spotted hyenas. After a short postdoc period at the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in Berlin, Germany, he moved to the Leibniz-IZW as a scientist where he also is the head of the Ngorongoro Hyena Project. Since 2007 he also works as the red list authority of the IUCN/SSC Hyaena Specialist Group and he is a scientific advisor to the Tanzanian authorities Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.
Behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology of the spotted hyena population in the Ngorongoro Crater: how (well) does a group-living carnivore adapt to social and environmental change?
Emerging bacterial infectious agents
Mate choice
Sexual selection
Cultural evolution
Human-carnivore conflict
Davidian E, Wachter B, Heckmann I, Dehnhard M, Hofer H, Höner OP (2021): The interplay between social rank, physiological constraints and investment in courtship in male spotted hyenas. FUNCT ECOL 35, 635–649. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13733
Vullioud C*, Davidian E*, Wachter B, Rousset F, Courtiol A, Höner OP (2019) Social support drives female dominance in the spotted hyaena. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 71-76. doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0718-9. *co-first author
Davidian E, Courtiol A, Wachter B, Hofer H, Höner OP (2016) Why do some males choose to breed at home when most other males disperse? Science Advances 2: e1501236. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1501236
Davidian E*, Benhaiem S*, Courtiol A, Hofer H, Höner OP, Dehnhard M (2015) Determining hormone metabolite concentrations when enzyme immunoassay accuracy varies over time. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 6(5): 576-583. doi:10.1111/2041-210X.12338. *co-first author
Höner OP, Wachter B, Goller KV, Hofer H, Runyoro V, Thierer D, Fyumagwa RD, Müller T, East ML (2012) The impact of a pathogenic bacterium on a social carnivore population. Journal of Animal Ecology 81(1): 36-46. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01873.x.
Höner OP, Wachter B, Hofer H, Wilhelm K, Thierer D, Trillmich F, Burke T, East ML (2010) The fitness of dispersing spotted hyaena sons is influenced by maternal social status. Nature Communications 1: 60. doi:10.1038/ncomms1059.
Höner OP, Wachter B, East ML, Streich WJ, Wilhelm K, Burke T, Hofer H (2007) Female mate-choice drives the evolution of male-biased dispersal in a social mammal. Nature 448(7155): 798-801. doi:10.1038/nature06040.
Höner OP, Wachter B, East ML, Runyoro VA, Hofer H (2005) The effect of prey abundance and foraging tactics on the population dynamics of a social, territorial carnivore, the spotted hyena. Oikos 108(3): 544-554. doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13533.x.
Höner OP, Wachter B, Hofer H, East ML (2002) The response of spotted hyenas to long-term changes in prey populations: functional response and interspecific kleptoparasitism. Journal of Animal Ecology 71(2): 236-246. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2656.2002.00596.x


text:
<?
/**
 * Class Quickpay_Form_Remind
 */
class Quickpay_Form_Remind extends Quickpay_Form {
    /**
     *
     */
    public function init() {
        $this->setAction(Zend_View_Helper_Url::url(array(), 'passwordRemind'));
        $this->setMethod('post');

        $email = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('email', array(
            'required'     => true,
            'label'        => 'Email',
            'filters'      => array(
                array('StringTrim')
            ),
            'validators'  => array('EmailAddress'),
        ));

        $send = new Zend_Form_Element_Submit('send_auth', array(
            'class' => 'button-link',
            'label' => 'Send'
        ));

        $this->addElement($email)
            ->addElement($send);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package org.apache.kylin.gridtable;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Iterator;

public class EmptyGTScanner implements IGTScanner {
    @Override
    public GTInfo getInfo() {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public int getScannedRowCount() {
        return 0;
    }

    @Override
    public void close() throws IOException {

    }

    @Override
    public Iterator<GTRecord> iterator() {
        return new Iterator<GTRecord>() {
            @Override
            public boolean hasNext() {
                return false;
            }

            @Override
            public GTRecord next() {
                return null;
            }

            @Override
            public void remove() {
            }
        };
    }
}


To coincide with the arrival of Open Banking regulations, we're excited to say that we've chosen to make an interim API accessible to third party companies authorised as Account Information Service Providers (AISPs).
APIs make possible so many things we take for granted, big and small. Transport for London's API helps Citymapper plan our journeys, while Spotify's API lets Alexa find and stream the latest Taylor Swift track. By giving developers access to information, they advance innovation and make it possible for regular people to build really cool things, even without the clout of a major global company behind them.
APIs affect everyone, but of course it's developers that actually use them to build things. We're a company full of developers (almost 50!) and we've placed transparency and fairness at the heart of everything we do. So when we started Monzo back in 2015, we knew we wanted to offer API services, and build a bank that is "API-first." That means everything that Monzo can do is done via our API. Every single system at Monzo is built in this way. It's an important part of the reason we've been able to build Monzo into what it is today: having a consistent API for everything means we don't need to make architectural or topological changes to build new features. It helps us work quickly, and makes building new features at Monzo a breeze.
The Monzo API has so far served two purposes. First, we use it to actually power the app: our iPhone and Android apps use it to talk to our backend systems.
For much of last year, our priorities were to launch current accounts, give everyone the chance to upgrade and build a product and platform that can scale. In order to focus on that, in May we decided to postpone opening up third party access to this API.
In part, the reason for that is internal: we've switched to use a new, more fine-grained authorisation system we call "Auth V2". It allows us to more carefully control the data that third parties can access. Practically, it means you could give a third party access to view your balance, but not to see your individual transactions, for example.
This switch to "Auth V2" meant that new features, like Pots were not automatically accessible to developers using the Developer API.
Tomorrow, the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) becomes law. Legislation put in place by the EU, it requires all payment service providers (mainly banks or building societies 🏦) to make their data accessible to third party companies.
In the UK, we expect that a common API will become the standard, that all banks – from high street giants to challengers like Monzo – will be required by law to adopt. That API is currently being designed by the group tasked with implementing Open Banking, but isn't ready just yet.
By opening up access to this information, these changes not only allow developers, fintech companies and challenger banks to build useful new products, but they in turn stand to totally transform the banking industry, and the way we use and manage our money day-to-day.
For so long banking has been dominated by just a few traditional players. If they work as intended, these rules could help more challengers enter the market, and make our products even more useful to customers. The hope is that increasing competition will give customers more choice, better choices, and incentivise all banks to do better.
We have plans to make some serious improvements to our API in the future but, spurred on by the arrival of these new rules, we've decided to make a new, updated API available in the interim.
From today, what we're calling the AIS API will be made available to particular companies, that have been granted authorisation as Account Information Service Providers (AISPs) by the FCA. Companies applying will have to show that they will follow the regulations laid out by PSD2, including rules about keeping your account and data safe and secure, and only using their access to provide the service that you've asked for.
The AIS API does not expose all the functionality of either the main Monzo API or the subset known as the Developer API, but the functionality it provides is frozen. This means companies can be sure that it stays the same and remains available – two things they need to be sure of when building products and offering them to people.
We've deliberately kept it simple, replicating the functionality that will be available through the Open Banking API, and through other banks' existing APIs.
Remember that these third parties will not have access to the parts of the Monzo API that allow our app to show you personal information like your name, date of birth or home address.
Information is only ever shared when given a customer's explicit consent, like if you actually choose to use an app that integrates with Monzo, and actively agree that it can access certain parts of your account data.
If you give a third party access to your Monzo account information through the AIS API, and at any point want to revoke that access, you should first contact that company directly. Otherwise, you can reach out to us via in-app chat and we'll help sort it out on your behalf.
We plan to begin work on a new V2 Developer API, that will make available a much more comprehensive, complete API to developers and third parties. This API will be able to access functionality like making payments, updating and creating feed items, and full access to a customer's data and accounts. The V2 Developer API will also use our new Auth V2 system, so will have precise controls over exactly which data and functionality third party apps can access. Our goal is that it will significantly broaden the scope of what's possible to build with our API, in a totally secure, highly controlled way.
We expect design of the Open Banking API to finish later this year. At the moment, it's unclear whether all UK banks, or only the nine largest will be required to implement this API. But we may if it's a good standard and our customers will benefit.
We're so excited to take the next step towards building a beautiful API and making it much more widely available. Please email [email protected] if you work in a company that's applying for AISP permissions and would like to build an integration with Monzo. We'd love to help and hear about what you're working on!
Tell us what you think on Twitter, or share your ideas and feedback in the community. If you're a developer, join 3,000 others in our busy developers Slack channel.