The Sunday 11: Favorite Harry Potter Creatures

Yeah, I know. It's Tuesday. But, my internet was down this weekend, so I'm bringing you all this late edition of the Sunday 11.

11. House Elf
Yeah, Dobby probably comes to mind. But, I think house elves in general are interesting. They portray a sad reality of an otherwise magical world. Plus, they're rather adorable.

10. Centaurs
J.K. didn't come up with centaurs, but she portrayed them in a way that seemed to be unique. Very territorial and judgemental, they have quite a temper. But some, like Firenze, are shown to have a heart of gold.

9. Goblins
Am I the only one who is freaked out by these things? They're rather ugly little beasts....and greedy, too.

8. Werewolves
Again, not an original idea, but portrayed differently than most. Some werewolves are sweet, loveable creatures( in human form), such as Lupin. Others, like Greyback, are bloodthirsty demonic douchebags who crave flesh. Lovely.

7. Dragons
Hungarian Horntail, Chinese Fireball, and many others. They breathe fire, they fly, and are very protective of their eggs. I kind of wish I had a Norberta of my own. They seem rather cuddly.

6. Boggart
Damn little things. With no known shape, they can take the shape of anything that the viewer fears, whether it would be spiders or Snape. I wouldn't want to meet one of these little suckers.

5. Fairies/Pixies
These aren't the happy little Tinkerbell fairies. These are the mischevious weird fairies that can be sweet, but are usually....not so sweet.

4. Pygmy Puff

Look at it's wittle face!

3. Dementors
These things scare the shit out of me. Like...have you seen one of them without the robe on?!

2. Hippogriff
Half griffin. Half horse. All attitude.

1. Threstral
I love them....

Important (to me at least)

Instead of the customary Sunday 11, today I'm going to dedicate the post to a man that I had the privelege to know.
Ronnie Blatt was a guy that everyone knew. He had contacts in pretty much every place he went, including radio jockeys, ticket holders, politicians, and a very special contact in concert promotions. Because of this amazing man, my family and I were able to go to various concerts and shows for free. He became part of our family, as we were his, since his wife passed away. He spent holidays, birthdays, and other special events with us. We were his family.
On Friday ,November 12, my mother recieved a call from the local hospital. They were unable to find his next of kin, and since he always carried our names and phone numbers in his wallet, we were the first they called. Since we were not genetically related, the hospital would not tell us anything other than he had been admitted into Emergency.
After the finally reached his family, and they went over there, we were given the news. His closest relative called, and said that he had suffered a heart attack when he had gotten home from work that day. The EMT's worked on him for over 40 minutes, but were unable to revive him.
He was only in his early 60's, and had a lot of life left to live.
His passing was sudden and unexpected. His life had affected so many people, especially my family and I. If only we had gotten the chance to tell him how much he had meant to all of us.
Rest in Peace, Butch.

Book Review: Skeleton Crew

Sorry that I've been absent for a few days. I've been sick, and overloaded with a lot of school work. But! I'm back, and come with a review!

 Book : Skeleton Crew
Author: Stephen King


Skeleton Crew is a collection of short stories written by Mr. King.  Included in the book are well-known stories, such as the Mist, which was recently adapted into a motion picture. Some lesser-known stories, but even more awesome than the well-known ones, include The Jaunt, The Raft, Cain Rose Up, and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet.

The Mist was the first story in the collection, as well as the longest. Taking place the day after a horrible storm, a father and son get trapped in a grocery store as a terrible mist rolls over the land, bringing prehistoric monsters along with it. A horrifying account of the terror that can be found in simple things.

The Jaunt was one of my personal favorites. While not exactly a horror short story, it interested me a great deal more than some of the other stories. The Jaunt was a futuristic way of teleportation, taking only a blink of the eye to appear in various locations. There was a catch, though. You had to be asleep for the Jaunt, or else you'd go completely insane.

The Raft was one of the most amusing stories in the book. While it's plot was shaky, it's basis of a monster shaped like an oil slick was amusing. Especially since it ate people. That was pretty funny.

Cain Rose Up was what seemed like an earlier version of the Richard Bachman novel, Rage. While the plot was different, it's basis was similar. Involving a student who finally cracks and goes on a shooting spree, it showcased a different side to college life.

The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet was another story that fascinated me. The idea that insanity was a flexible bullet was ingenious. Also, the whole "Fornit some Fornus" thing was fairly amusing...

Anyway, overall, the stories in this book were a mixture of horror, amusement, and various other things that I don't have time to explain. =].

Scooby Snacks Awarded: 7.5/10

The Sunday 11: Best Edgar Allan Poe Stories

11. The Masque of the Red Death
The red death was a fictional plague that swept over the land. Prince Prospero and one thousand other people of noble birth have taken refuge in the prince's estate so they don't catch the plague. They basically party for a while, when they notice a mysterious figure. In the end, they discover that the mysterious figure is Red Death itself, and all the guests succumb to the plague.

10. Hop-Frog
Hop-Frog is the court jester. He is also a crippled dwarf. After being ridiculed and abused by the king and his comrades, Hop-Frog takes his revenge. He convinces the men to dress up as orangutans chained together. Hop-Frog attaches the chain to the ceiling. and hoists the men up. He climbs up to them, and sets them on fire, making his escape through the roof.

9. The Pit and the Pendulum
Some would say that this belongs higher on the list, but personally, it's not one of my favorites. However, it's story of torture, Inquisition, and pendulums still is quite fascinating.

8. The Fall of the House of Usher
The illness, the destruction, the creepiness. All of these factors make the Fall of the House of Usher a great classic story.

7. The Premature Burial
It involves being buried alive, and the intense fear of it happening. Pretty freaking awesome.

6. The Tell-Tale Heart
Murdering a poor old man, just because of his hideous eye. Well, I guess a good dose of insanity helped as well. Anyway, The Tell-Tale Heart has a heart that just won't stop beating; even after the owner is dead and dismembered beneath the floorboards. Gotta love insanity, right?

5. The Gold-Bug
I hate bugs, but i love this story.

4. The Raven
"Quoth the Raven, Nevermore."

3. The Black Cat
Another story of insanity, dismemberment, and cats. I'm pretty sure it isnt possible to not enjoy this story.

2. The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Killer monkey. Need I say more?

1. The Cask of Amontillado
I love stories that involve trapping people alive behind a wall...

Random Rant

Okay, so since I havn't been able to watch any movies lately (lots of schoolwork), I don't have any movie reviews this week. Well, not yet at least.
Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to say that today, I saw a miniture Gerard Way clone.
and yes. That made my day.

Wacko of the Week: Alien

Real Name: none officially specified; known as the Alien, or by some die-hard fans, xenomorph
Appearances: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator, and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

Does it have the face only a mother could love? Quite possibly. The Alien was created in a sketch  by H.R. Giger, who was asked to design certain creatures from the Alien films. Not exactly a loveable creature, but yet it is loved by millions of fans around the globe.
The Alien starts off as a chestburster.
Obviously, not something you would want to be around. The chestburster is inserted into a host's body by a facehugger, whose purpose is to attach itself to a host's mouth, and deposit the alien into the body. From that point, the chestburster grows, until it's "birth" (bursting out of the host's chest, thus killing the host).
In a matter of hours, the chestburster grows into the Alien we all know and love. It stands at almost 7 feet tall, and is equipped with an arsenal of organic weapons.
The Alien, while being somewhat intelligent, is incredibly hostile, destroying anything they percieve as a threat. Also, no percieveable differences can be found to distinguish between genders.

Trademark Weapon: blood (extremely acidic), blade-tipped tails, extreme physical strength,acid
Moral of the Story: Never mess with an extraterrestrial

Why I'm not going to see Saw 3-D in theaters

For the seventh, and supposedly last year, the Saw franchise hit theaters on Friday. As of today, it is at the top of the weekend box office, edging out rival franchise, Paranormal Activity 2. Now, you have to understand, I'm not someone who hates the Saw franchise. In actuality, I actually enjoy the gory escapades of Jigsaw, Jigsaw's comrades, and other people that end up disembowled. But, I absolutely refuse to go see Saw 3-D in theaters. There are several reasons why I refuse to do so:

1. The franchise should have ended a few movies ago.
Does anyone disagree with that? The first 3 movies were decent, possibly even good. But, once Jigsaw was killed off, the franchise has quickly spiraled downhill. Many people say that Saw VI revived that franchise, and that it's storyline was far more engaging than any other installment. I disagreed with that, since I didn't particulary enjoy it that much. But, I think most of us would have been reasonably happy if the franchise had ended at Saw III.

2. Tobin Bell isn't in a leading role
Tobin Bell, portraying Jigsaw, really made the series. He portrayed the character so well, even invoking sympathy at some points in the franchise. But, if what many other people are saying is in fact true, he is barely in this movie. That disappoints me greatly, even if I do understand that his character died 4 movies ago.

3. The 3-D
Why does everything have to be in 3-D nowadays? Am I really the only one tired of this gimmick? And did this franchise really need to be in 3-D? I personally don't need to see my mutilations in 3-D. Please, just resort back to the regular format...please...

4. This picture.


It features Tobin Bell, for God's Sake! And he's barely in the freaking movie! Plus, the stupid poster doesn't really make any sense! What's it supposed to portray, exactly? That little people are rebuilding a giant robot Jigsaw? ....I'm so confused.