A Far Out Fantastic Site

Credit: Wikimedia Commons /Harry Clarke   Warning: There are unavoidable spoilers in this review. The only way to avoid them is not to read the review (until you’ve read the book and seen the movie, of course). Edgar Allen Poe is not only known as an early author of American horror but also America’s first detective writer. His short story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, combine elements of horror and detective fiction. The story contains gothic elements, a killer ape and methodical crime investigation. The earliest full-length movie adaptation of the story is Universal’s 1932 version directed by Robert Florey. In this movie adaptation a mad scientist is added to the story who does more of the killing than the ape, yet the original basic plot is maintained. The Short Story Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” involves a couple of gothic amateur detectives, one by the name of Auguste Dupin and the other the narrator who, as with many of Poe’s stories, is mostly left unnamed. The two...

Credit: Pixabay.com Cloning has been a theme in a lot of science fiction and horror. However, it became a reality more than ever during the past week with a ferret clone. Also new this week is the announcement of a remake of the ‘80s movie, “The Running Man”. (Yes, another remake. Or is it?) Dead Ferret Cloned Into a Live One This week the ideas of “Frankenstein” and “Jurassic Park” became more science fact than science fiction. Thursday, the US Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) disclosed to the world that they successfully cloned a black-footed ferret that had been dead for more than 30 years. The ferret’s cells had been frozen through the decades. Then, recently, scientists developed an embryo from them and placed it in a living ferret that, in turn, gave birth to the clone Elizabeth Ann. She is the first clone of an endangered North American species. CNN   says that scientists cloned the dead ferret for reasons of rescuing the black-footed species from going extinct. FWS plans to...

Credit: Pixabay/Alexas_Fotos   During the week, people the world over have been partying like mad for Mardi Gras/Carnival. At least as much as the plague (Covid-19) will allow. And, depending on where they can gather, this year everybody celebrating is probably required to wear masks (if you know what I mean). Myself, instead of partying like mad, has been working like mad to catch up on some projects such as my newsletter and one of the short stories that I plan to include in my upcoming book of short fiction. More on that in a bit. But I wanted to talk about an author who died in late December who I just discovered and found really fascinating--James E. Gunn. James E. Gunn Although many media outlets announced it only earlier this week, James E. Gunn died back on 23 December 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. He is not to be confused with the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” who also holds the same name only without the middle initial “E.”. James E. Gunn, the author, was best known...

 It’s the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for another Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG)  post! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. IWSG Question of the Month A lot of times blogging is referred to as a kind of social media. And it often is that. We don’t only post our content to show to other people and gain exposure but we also inspire and contribute to discussions. We reach out to each other to share our thoughts and exchange knowledge. We also form friendships even if they mostly remain online. As this month’s IWSG question puts it, “Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?” And my answer is yes.  I’ve met plenty of people in my blog’s comments box. However, not all of them are frequent visitors. I think what has helped me make...