Turkey Day thanks

On this and yet another Thanksgiving Day I always like to stop and interrupt my critical nature and curmudgeonly demeanor to express my thanks for things and people that, well I'm thankful for. Without further ado, what I am thankful for:

1. that I have enough common sense NOT to participate in the "Black Friday" shopping insanity that takes place annually in the U.S. the day after every Thanksgiving day
2.  that I can still, despite arthritis in my feet and knees and the periodic gout flare in my toes, ply my trade as a gardener/landscaper/lawn maintenance contractor with competence and consistency
3. college football and the NFL: I have held a lifelong passion for football(collegiate and profesional)
4. high definition televisions: they're lighter and provide a terrific picture which negates any need to put on my bifocals in order to watch television
5. the core group of loyal and active members of my internet message board called MONSTERLAND FORUMS, all of who make running my message board fun and well worth doing
6. sci-fi and horror movies, especially older films from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's: these movies are for me not just entertaining but provide a welcome and fun glimpse back in time when films relied so much more on actors, acting and practical special effects
7. coffee: I remain a daily coffee drinker and still rely on this beverage to help get me through work days, especially during the cold winter months
8. my elderly landlord, a kind and great hearted woman who is like a grandmother to me
9. the friendship of two men here in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia-I've known both of these guys for eighteen years and they're like brothers to me
10. Facebook: this social media website permits me to keep in touch with people I would otherwise not be able to connect(and re-connect with)
11. my foster parents(deceased since 1983 and 1999, respectively): I think about both every day and will always be thankful that they took me in and raised me as one of their own. 
12. my dentist, who works at Buckhead Esthetic Dentistry here in Atlanta, GA. She has performed quite a bit of dental work on me(much needed work) since 2012 at a substantial discount and continues to help me keep my choppers clean and in good working order

Behind closed doors: THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD(1971)

Every October my DVR gets a workout as I record horror movies off Turner Classic Movies. Most I've seen before(on DVD or on TV) but every year I watch a few for the first time. My October horror movie binge included numerous "haunted house" movies including House On Haunted Hill(1959), The Haunting(1963) and Burnt Offerings(1976). I also managed to watch THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD(1971), an "Amicus" horror film which is an anthology of four stories. The cast is terrific and includes Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Joss Ackland and Ingrid Pitt. This film is available on official DVD and can be purchased online at Amazon.


To see the Lions Gate R1 DVD release(in 2003) of this film for sale at Amazon click the link: THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD DVD

Happy Birthday Godzilla!

Godzilla celebrates his 60th birthday today! Back on November 3rd, 1954 the Toho Motion Picture Company released a film in Japanese theaters called GOJIRA. This film, a major financial success, introduced the monster "Godzilla" to the world. The monster was realized on screen through a man in a heavy, vulcanized rubber suit. The Godzilla suit actor for the 1954 movie was Haruo Nakajima who would also "suit" many other giant monsters in subsequent Toho kaiju movies. The film GOJIRA was also a great showcase for the talents of the studios' special effects department lead by (the late) Eiji Tsuburaya. Much of this work can be seen in the detailed, intricate miniatures and the frequently spectacular pyrotechnic effects featured in the 1954 film and subsequent Toho films featuring giant monsters like Rodan, Mothra and Ghidrah(a three headed space dragon).

Godzilla is now arguably the world's most recognized movie monster and has appeared in films from 1954 through 2014, most recently the Legendary Pictures film entitled GODZILLA which arrived in theaters back in May of this year. GODZILLA(2014 - Legendary Pictures) was a financial success due to $520 million in worldwide box office receipts.

Godzilla is sixty years young today and as a lifelong fan of Godzilla here's wishing this legendary monster another sixty years of fame and prosperity!

Here's a Toho trailer for GOJIRA(1954), the very first Godzilla film and still in my opinion one of the greatest giant monster movies ever produced!


Gojira (1954) Trailer by mytrailerdose_com