365 Days of Vampires

The team from The Strain sent me this amazing care package today. It’s not every Monday that a gal gets a beating heart in a jar sent to her…

Our receptionist messaged me to let me know that a “big black box” had arrived for me. My response back was “is it anthrax?” When we opened it, we found something much more interesting than chemical weapons.

Inside the box, there was a large lump covered in black velvet. Tucked in front of it was a card that said “Open Immediately”. This is when I knew that this was going to be awesome. I ran and gathered more of my coworkers so we could discover what’s in the boxxxxxxxxxxxxx together.

Inside the envelope was a card that read:

WARNING The Heart is Infected. Do Not Open this Specimen Jar You Will Witness Sporadic Movements When the Heart Is Exposed to Light These Movements Will Increase as HE Gets Closer

When I tore the black velvet off the jar, it revealed the grotesquely gorgeous heart. The jar is solid glass and very heavy, with the rotted organ beautifully on display inside. As we all marveled over it, it began to beat. I confess that I screamed. (I have it on video, I’ll post it in a sec.)

I’ve been playing with it for two hours non-stop. It seems to beat sporadically and I wonder if it really will beat all the more as the premiere approaches. There is a little sensor of some kind embedded in the top so it knows when to beat. It’s one of the coolest gifts I have ever gotten and it is absolutely going in my kitchen so my guests will know what kind of meals to expect when they come over. (Because every day is Halloween in my house.) It is intricately detailed and lovely in a macabre sort of way.

I was already excited for the Strain. It premiers on July 13th and I’m going to have a huge party at my place with all of my horror-loving friends to celebrate. The Strain is an amazing book. The trailer for the show looks INSANE and I love that Guillermo del Toro is putting the terror back into vampires. My favorite monster will always be the vampire (have I told you that I helped publish the newest edition of Mind’s Eye Theatre: Vampire The Masquerade?). The Strain TVshow looks like it learned from modern zombie tales like The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later, got scary vampires by way of Near Dark and 30 Days of Night, and even took some inspiration from other classics like Alien and Outbreak. FX puts out some solid shows so I’m really, really hopeful.

For all the corporate goths and office vampires out there, I dedicate this blog to you.

Taking a moment to address real life horror. Please share this and spread the word.

LGBT people in Russia are being beaten and oppressed. Many brave athletes have taken a public stand against this outrageous homophobia and violence. Let’s say thank you and make sure the world can hear it! We can use the McDonald’s and AT&T apps to get this message on the jumbotron in Times Square!!!

1. Find the Twitter handles of LGBT and ally Olympians on the image above

2. Use the links to send messages of thanks, support, and solidarity via McDonalds & AT&T’s iphone and Android campaigns. Here is a Twitter list that has all the athletes in it.

3. When sharing on Twitter and Facebook via the apps be sure to use “#GayPropaganda” and thank athlete allies for voicing their support of LGBT equality.

A few pictures from the opening scene to 1983’s “The Hunger” based on the novel of the same name by Whitley Streiber.  This is probably my favorite part of the movie with two predators seeking prey among the seething throngs of a darkened club to the strains of Bauhaus, then leading them back to their lair with the promise of physical pleasure before taking their blood in an act of savage betrayal. I just wish the rest of the movie had been as good.

 I particularly love that last image.