Category: 1995-2000

Well, tonight sees the release of perhaps the scariest ever produced- The Exorcist. Do I know first-hand? Have I watched the original? Not bloody likely! There are three things that really scare the bejesus out of me. The prospect of demonic possession, aliens, and clowns.

I remember when I was eight, and I was watching 20/20, they had an exorcism on there. Since that moment, I have been absolutely mortified my possession. Aliens? When I was four-years-old, my parents watched the original alien. Since then, I nearly wet myself when I see those movies, or when I see a credible documentary on it. Clowns? Two reasons why I am scared of clowns. It and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Both those movies misrepresent clowns.

Aside from the clowns, the other two sources of fright seem to make sense. It seems to me, that people are more afraid of realistic demonic possession than they are of a homicidal maniac running through the woods with a rusty razor. The reality of it all- that’s what’s scary. That’s probably why so many poor souls were shaken and stirred after watching Blair Witch.

If realistic horror films produces more gasps and groans than fantastic ones do, why do they continue to produce the other? My guess is that a realistic horror film is much harder to produce. It’s easy to add in loud noises and bright lights. But it’s far more difficult to make someone truly frightened after the movie.

Recommended rental: Seven starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. Scared the starch out of me.

New Mulberry format erected. I figured that an appropriate subject would be talking about remakes, re-creations, and reinventions. Sometimes those stellar corporate big-wigs come up with the brilliant idea to release something that has already been done. Examples include the Star Wars Trilogy, several album releases, and countless television shows.

Most the time, when companies re-release old products, they add a cosmetic feature, thus making it “better.” For instance, George Lucas added several computer effects and generally cleaned up his Star Wars movies. When albums get re-released, oftentimes, it’s a special edition or some other hokey gimmick; and that leads me to the point of the entry.

All that re-releases are is a gimmick. They create the aura of necessity, in which the consumer feels he/she must buy this “new” product, for fear of losing it forever to Father Time.

Bottom line: it’s all crap. All of it. The Mulberry Hand is just like it was before, I will tell you that right now. It just looks different.

Just in case you were wondering, Best Buy is always busy. I went up there at 10:05 this morning, and I picked up “A Night at the Playboy Mansion” by Dimitri from Paris (very choice), and the blasted place was already bustling. Also, as it turns out, it probably is still cheaper to buy things at a store instead of online. Shipping prices for a lot of that stuff is outrageous.

I can’t believe that I am out of school. All I have done this week is sit on my tush and wish I had something better to do. Needless to say, I have become very familiar with USA’s programming schedule, and I have learned at that dreaded 11:30 a.m. timeslot, “Wings” is your best bet.