Horror 101: My Favorite Slashers

For the past couple of years, I've been cogitating on my favorite slasher movie villains.  I struggled with this for a long time, obviously, because there are so many to choose from.  I consulted with my dear friend and fellow horror head Noob, but still it was a struggle trying to figure out my faves and why.  I mean, I love the genre so much that this was quite difficult.

Recently I watched Chiller's 13 Great American Slashers and it was a revelation.  The hour-long show runs down 13 classic horror movie villains and it was here where I was able to gather enough data to construct my Slasher Villain Mount Rushmore.  God bless YouTube.  

Prince's Legacy, #1

#1: Parade

My favorite album by His Purple Majesty.   Parade is the soundtrack to Prince’s second film, Under the Cherry Moon.  The movie was nowhere near as good as Purple Rain, but it didn’t have to be.  I love Parade because it has a European feel to it, as UTCM was set in France.  From start to finish, the album is a classic fusion of pop, jazz and soul with some definitive French undertones.  It is different from any of his previous albums, and along with the theme change, Prince himself changed.  He went from his trademark curls and ruffles to a sleek slickback and feminine-tailored suits.  Yet he remained beautiful and ethereal.

Prince's Legacy: #2

#2:  Purple Rain

This is Prince’s 6^th studio album, and it is iconic; the definitive Prince album.  It was his second with The Revolution, and it, of course, is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name.

Like, do I even need to say more?  Everyone knows Purple Rain.

I will, because the album deserves the full treatment.  It sold over 22 million copies and is one of the best-selling soundtracks ever, in addition to being one of the greatest albums of all time.  It won two Grammys and an Oscar, and four of the songs became Top 10 hits.  Purple Rain owned #1 on the Billboard charts for 24 consecutive weeks, and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for its cultural significance.

Now that is an impressive list of accomplishments.

#3: Prince's Legacy

#3: Sign O’ the Times

This gem of a double album came out in 1987 and it was the first Prince album I actually owned myself and believe me, I played it until the needle broke.  I used to stare at the album cover (inside and out) for hours.  Prince had this whole peach and black thing going on (as mentioned in “U Got the Look”) and the inside cover contains a picture of him sitting in front of what I swear looks like my mother’s living room window sporting a peach outfit, glasses and fierce hair.  He was fucking beautiful and stimulated quite a few dreams and fantasies.   I am not ashamed to admit this.  Hell, y’all know me by now.  Men inspire me.

Prince's Legacy #4

#4: Musicology

Musicology dropped in 2004.  It’s an R&B-heavy album and was Prince’s most successful album since Diamonds & Pearls.  My bestie and I went to the concert and scored front-row seats.  We were maybe twenty feet from His Royal Badness and it was epic!!!  My bestie is an even bigger fan than I am; she saw him in concert five times.  One of the things she told me was that Prince’s concerts ALWAYS started on time, and that magical Monday night was no different.  The show was from 7:30 – 11:30 and opened with Morris Day & The Time.  We were screaming like lunatics and on our feet the entire time.

Prince's Legacy #5

#5: 1999

1999 dropped in 1982.  It’s synth-heavy; you get the impression that Prince was experimenting with a lot of different keyboards and drum machines.  As a child, I was a fan of keyboard-laden music and so one-nine-nine-nine was right up my alley.  It was the first of his albums to crack the top 10 (peaking at 9 when it was released and 7 after he died).  It’s the album that made people stand up and take notice of the Purple One.  The cover is unbelievable; I haven’t seen an album cover that comes close to the artistry that is 1999’s face.  1999 also marks the introduction of The Revolution.

Prince's Legacy: #6

#6: The Gold Experience

In 1995, The Gold Experience dropped.  The album is a blend of

funk and rock and was arranged as a set of “experiences.” Each song began with a female computer-voice intro informing listeners which experience they were accessing. Prince was still going by the love symbol at that time due to his dispute with Warner Brothers.  TGE snuck up on me because 1995 was a stressful year and a great many things occupied my mind, music being one of the least.  But it is a solid album and I learned to appreciate it later on.  Favorite cuts include “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” “Shhh!,” “I Hate U,” “We March,” “Endorphinmachine,” and “Shy.”

Prince's Legacy: #7

#7:  Diamonds & Pearls

In the late 80s/early 90s, Prince was dropping an album yearly, or so it seemed.  Diamonds & Pearls dropped in 1991, with an awesome holographic cover of Prince and his backup dancers “Diamond” and “Pearl.”  It is an album with an eclectic mix of musical styles from funk to pop to rock.  Diamonds & Pearls features the album debut of Prince’s backup band The New Power Generation.

Having been nursed on Prince and the Revolution since the early 80s, I was sad to learn that Prince and the band broke up in 1986 (though it seemed like they’d been together longer than that.  I’m clearly misremembering that the Revolution was the band behind Sign O’ the Times.  I didn’t know it until Prince got a new band.

*sniff*

Prince's Legacy: #8

#8: Love Symbol

In the early 90s, Prince went to war with Warner Brothers and changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, which consisted of conjoined female and male glyphs.  My friends and I called him “Shem” or “TAFKAP,” which stands for “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.”  Anyway, he dropped an album in 1992 that was titled with said glyph.  It has since come to be known as the Love Symbol Album.  Prince conceived the album as a rock fantasy opera and it is a mix of different musical styles and the songs tell a story.  There is a short movie that goes with the album called 3 Chains o’ Gold. 

Prince's Legacy: #9

#9: Batman

Tim Burton’s Batman came out in 1989 and its soundtrack created almost entirely by Prince.  He played all the instruments (except horns), wrote all the songs (with an assist by Sheena Easton and John Nelson), did all the production and created a fun, funky album that sold over 4 million copies upon first release.  It wasn’t as successful as his previous albums, but I love it.  Nowadays, over 20 years later, many consider it to be an underrated classic.

Prince's Legacy: #10

#10: Controversy

Controversy dropped in 1981.  The title track is my favorite, followed by “Let’s Work,” “Do Me, Baby” and “Sexuality.”  I loved “Controversy” because it introduced me to concepts and ideas that my young mind could not fathom.  Also, the beat and synthesizers…come on now!  The song was about all the questions people were raising (or starting rumors) about Prince himself.   “Am I black or white/am I straight or gay…do I believe in God/do I believe in me…?”  

And my interpretation of the entire track is that Prince felt that it was no one’s damned business if he believed in God, if he was straight, gay, bisexual, or whatever.  We’re all human, we are who we are and in the end, what difference does it all make?  The extended cut includes a portion of the Lord’s Prayer, which people thought at the time was blasphemous…or, shall we say, controversial.  He ends the cut by saying we’re all just the same and basically, fuck outta here with all that human hypocrisy. 

Prince: My Top Ten Legacy

Actual Comic Book by Dwayne McDuffie

Now that I’ve recovered most of my emotional balance, I am in a better position to pay tribute to the legendary brilliant virtuoso Prince Rogers Nelson, who left us in April of this shit-tastic murderous year, decades too soon.  In fact, I have always been of the belief that Prince was otherworldly and not bound by the rules of us mere Earthlings.  He created music as easy if it were breathing, which for someone as prolific as he was, it had to be.  This man easily wrote over a thousand songs, and I'm being conservative in my estimate…in a world where some people have trouble dropping 1000 words, over a thousand songs is definitely not-of-this-realm-talent.  Prince was from fucking Saturn, Narnia or some planet orbiting Polaris.  He wasn't of this world and no one will convince me otherwise.  

Leonard Nimoy, 1931-2015.

The Man...erm, Vulcan

A/N:  Mr. Leonard Nimoy died February 27, 2015 at the age of 83.  He touched millions and millions of lives.  May he rest in perfect peace.  Join me in celebrating this highly respected actor and his legendary iconic role.

In memoriam, I'm republishing this post from 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was the ears.  They did something to me, and to this day, I have a yen when it comes to a man’s ears.  Then it was the sideburns, the fact that he was a Vulcan scientist, and cooler than a polar bear’s toenails.  The eyes, the voice, and the way he veed his fingers in salute; if the title didn’t give it away, then you oughta know I’m talking about Spock.  And let me clarify: Spock, meaning TOS Spock, the character portrayed by Leonard Nimoy.  No disrespect to Zach Quinto’s embodiment, but he can’t hold a candle to Leonard...and I’m sure he knows it.

Gene Roddenberry put a chokehold on pop culture with the creation of Star Trek, and Spock is a masterpiece.  You say, “Spock,” and everyone everywhere knows exactly who you are referring to.  The image that comes to mind is unmistakable.  This character rocked my young nerdy-girl world.  I thought he was the coolest dude I ever saw.  He was smart, sensible, and level-headed.  And did I say he was cool?  Far as I’m concerned, Spock was easily the best character on the show; far more interesting than Kirk.

"A Piece of the Action"

 As a grown nerdy woman, I love him even more.  For us fangirls, Spock represents a near-perfect man, erm, alien.  Most of us would hop a shuttle to Vulcan if it meant we could hook up with him.  We’re of the mindset that he would be an exceptional lover and boyfriend; being a telepath, he would know exactly what we wanted and would bring it accordingly.  Not just talking about sex, either…but can you imagine?

Mirror Spock

My favorite TOS episodes are “Mirror, Mirror,” “Amok Time,” and “The Enterprise Incident.”  “Mirror, Mirror” featured a bearded Spock—and when I say he blew my mind, believe me baby, he blew it.  That beard added a whole delicious diabolical seductive quality and I was done!  Far as I’m concerned, TOS should have made regular visits to the Mirrorverse just so us fangirls could drool over him.  This whole endeavor; the genesis and evolution of Amaya Radjani, born from PinkElegance, is because of Mirror Spock.  I know the Mirrorverse isn’t the best place to be, but I am not the only fangirl who would risk it to get my hands on Mirror Spock.  Three words:  sexy. as. hell.

"Amok Time” had Spock in heat and needing to return to Vulcan so that he could claim his bride and mate with her, in a ritual called pon farr.  Fangirls will give you various interpretations of pon farr, but there are those of us willing to risk it if it means getting a piece of Spock.  His intended bride, a gorgeous female named T’Pring, didn’t want him.  I still don’t know what in the hell was wrong with her; why she chose lame ass boring Stonn over sexy, fine-as-hell Spock eludes me to this day.  I ain’t the only one confused about this.  T’Pring should have had her ass beat for that shit.

Is she CRAZY????

"The Enterprise Incident” had Spock under cover on a Romulan ship, and he was in total pimp mack-daddy mode when he was trying to seduce the Romulan Commander.   I say “try,” but the fact of the matter was that he succeeded admirably.  The poor commander didn’t stand a chance; Spock had her out of her uniform within a scant few minutes.  Of course, TV being what it was in the 1960s, all they could show was Spock having Vulcan finger sex with her.  But us fangirls knew Spock hit it during the commercial break.  And not a one of us would have denied him.

Rawr!

I was happy to see the ST 2009 reboot.  Zach Quinto made an adorable Spock, but when you stand back and compare the two, Zach is Spock Lite.  No contest, none at all.

So I raise a glass of Moscato to Spock, one of my longtime loves, and to Leonard Nimoy, one of the greatest actors of the 20th century.  Your memory will live long and prosper more.

Fic Update Alert: Discipline (2/?)

"He was tall, very tall, and slender.  He walked towards me and extended his hand.  Nice, long fingers, square nails…not a callus to be found. There was a gold bracelet peeking from under his suit jacket.  I took his hand and gripped it while looking him dead in the eyes, which were green.  He had black hair; as black and as layered as a raven’s wings, slicked back and longer than I prefer my associates to have, but it worked for him.  Boy, did it work.  He was decked out in the finest of Alexander McQueen and he smelled great.  He looked at me and there was a smile dancing over his lips.  “_______________, at your service.” "

Read more here...

New Shortie Alert: Discipline

Well, this little baby was inspired by a discussion over on The Black Girls’Club.  May I present to you, “Discipline,” starring Jill Scott, Tom Hardy, & Tom Hiddleston.  This fic comes with pics and a soundtrack.  

“Lord, he felt so good.  My hands went up and down, down and up, taking in the tactile terrificness of his torso and I couldn’t help but moan a little.  But being the calm, cool woman that I am, I moved my hands back up to curl around his neck, making sure I got every inch of available skin. Then, when I was ready, I caressed the lobe of his right ear, giving him the signal to sit up.  He did so, giving me room to get to my knees.  I’m so glad my tub is deep; otherwise water would slosh everywhere.”

Read more here…

I Love My Doctor!

My first foray in writing fanfiction consumed by online masses was in the Hannibal Lecter fandom.   I wrote under a different nom de plume, and at the time, all we had available was Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs (SoTL; book and film) and Hannibal the novel.  This was just before the movie came out.  We called ourselves Lecterphiles, and we were a naughty bunch that served proudly on the good ship Hannibal/Clarice.  The Good Doctor could do no wrong in our eyes, especially mine.  I was and am still here for this man.  Clarice too, but that’s for another post.

Hannibal Lecter, M.D., b/k/a “Hannibal the Cannibal” is one of the greatest characters in all of fiction.  He’s suave, smooth, brilliant, and refined, with senses keener than a bloodhound and an unmatched culinary cleverness.  He can eviscerate you with his tongue, his scalpel, and his mind.  The Good Doctor was brought to life a second time by none other than the great Sir Anthony Hopkins (the first incarnation was Brian Cox).  Sir Anthony’s performance was so perfect that he garnered an Academy Award despite being onscreen for less than twenty minutes, and the world demanded more…and more…and MORE…!

"and one...more...time...!"

Predator

I’m a Predator fan.  I’ve been once since its inception; John McTiernan’s 1987 masterpiece introduced the world to a bad-ass hunting machine.  Created by brothers Jim & John Thomas, the Predator (created by the great Stan Winston and brought to life by the great Kevin Peter Hall) caught my attention in a way that hasn’t been rivaled since.  Predator is my favorite movie; I can quote it and re-enact scenes.

"If it bleeds, we can kill it."

"There's something out there hunting us, and it ain't no man."

"I ain't got time to bleed."

"What are you going to try next? Cheese?"

"This stuff will make you a goddamn sexual Tyrannosaurus."

Me and my muse...*sigh*

It's funny how you can be swamped with a crapload of things to do and then all of a sudden, you get smashed over the head with an idea for a fanfic.  Like I have time to do any extra writing outside of my research and the editing of Tainted...but here comes the muse skipping along with a damn-near-fully-formed plot bunny and an icepick.  This means that I am compelled to write said fic because she will go all Sharon Stone on me if I don't comply.


The fic in question was inspired by Tom Hardy's Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.  Tom's sexy to begin with (lips!!!), but here he made the ol'girl damn near lose her religion.  I was literally breathing hard about four minutes into the movie and ready to throw my sexy panties at the screen during the beat'em-down scene.  If you've seen the movie, you know what scene I'm referring to.  By the time we reach the scene of him standing in front of Blackgate Prison, I was quite ready to launch myself at said screen.  Can we say giant girl boner???  


I have a predilection, so the mask is not a turn-off.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  My blood pressure hasn't been right since I caught the midnight showing. 


*cue drool* Dear Lord, could this man not be any sexier?

Pre-beatdown.

Four minutes in...and my pulse was racing.

*smiles slowly and spreads...*  Yeah.  You read that right.

When said fanfic, tentatively titled "What You Need" is posted on pinkelegance, I'll let you guys know.


*goes to sleep with visions of a naked Bane dancing in her head*

Memories of an O'Head: 1984

This one is for the old heads like myself, who came of age in the '80s & the early '90s.  Holla if ya hear me!

Uhhh, you be the judge. 

A few weeks ago, Unsung aired an episode featuring Full Force.  As an '80s baby, it was an absolute delight to take a trip down memory lane with Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou, B-Fine and ‘nem.  The episode was great, as it highlighted aspects of Full Force’s producing talents.  I’d forgotten how many acts they produced. One such group is UTFO (UnTouchable Force Organization).  If you’ve never heard of them, then you’re probably not an o’head like me.  They were a rap group who came out with the megahit “Roxanne, Roxanne,” penned by B-Fine.  From the moment I heard that joint, I was in love.  It’s such a fun song.  Three guys, Kangol, Doc, & EMD, were competing with each other for the hand (read: sex) of Roxanne, a beautiful around-the-way girl.  Watching the two-minute clip of UTFO unleashed a flood of memories.  It was a visceral, intense punch in the face and I jumped out of my seat and threw my hands up with a “HEEYYY!!!!  THAT’S MY JAAAAYYYUUUUMMMM!!!!!”  My brother, who was upstairs on the computer, came to the top of the stairs and did the same thing.  For a moment, we were kids again.

 “I guess that’s what I get for thinkin’/Ain’t that right, black?”

“So when I met her/I wasted no time/But stuck up Roxanne paid me no mind”

“That’s what we planned/But she stood me up/Roxanne, Roxanne”

From that, I was overwhelmed with memories of 1984.  This was back when MTV actually played music, and competed with VH1 for video supremacy.  McDonalds was considered a treat for good behavior.  I watched “Dynasty,” “Dallas,” “The Cosby Show,” & “Family Ties,” along with other classics.  I sported a jheri-curl, Jordache jeans, Keds (affectionally called “white girl” shoes) a Members Only jacket, multiple pairs of socks, and round coke-bottle glasses.  Yellow was my favorite color, but I had a red Swatch watch and rocked gummy bracelets and twister beads.  My whip was a blue ten-speed, and I could double-dutch, hopscotch, and hoola-hoop like a champ.  The “big” gift for Christmas that year was a Crayola Caddy.  I was at the outer edges of my tomboyishness; breasts were starting to sprout and cause problems.  I was a skinny, goofy-looking awkward pre-teen with spectacles and no rhythm, likely busting the hell out of 98 pounds, but a PYT nonetheless.  And Roxanne, as portrayed, was a goddess.  I wanted to be her.  The fact that she didn’t swoon over the guys in the group made it even better.  She was a boss chick.

1984 Royalty

“Roxanne, Roxanne” played all the time, everywhere.  Classmates performed it at the talent show.  The video ran damn near 24/7.  It spawned at least 15 get-back tracks and changed the landscape of rap as we knew it then.  It was the first rap I knew all the words to, and my mother bought me the cassette tape (yeah, I said “tape;" I still have that bad boy) and I wore that damn thing out listening to it every day and night.  This was back when you could listen to an album and not have to skip tracks, and every rap album had a slow cut and a song that paid homage to the DJ.  The songs were fun and didn’t need to be edited for radio play.  There was no profanity or disrespect, and I don’t recall my mother telling me not to listen to UTFO or calling their music garbage.  Every last member of UTFO could rap.  They were skilled lyricists, and as a word-nerd, I recognized the layer and depth of their delivery and loved it.  There was an intelligence and a cleverness to their songs that is lacking in today’s dreary music landscape. This can be generalized to rap and hip-hop as a whole; I’m not an o’head for nothing.  Music used to be real, but now it’s on life support.

Let's judge this with eyes from 1984, shall we?

Anyway, I fell in love with Kangol, Doc, EMD & MixMaster Ice.  Well, not exactly.  Like any group—then or now—you become fixated on one or two members.  Each man had an identity: Kangol was a “soldier of love;” he wore a red leather suit, majorette boots, and of course, a Kangol.  In ’84, he was fly as hell.  I repeat, in 1984.  Doctor Ice was a “physician” and wore white scrubs with red suede Pumas.  EMD, or the Educated Rapper, was a “nerd” and wore a suit, and MixMaster Ice, the DJ, was a “ninja.”  This was an appropriate persona, since Ice could cut the fuck out of a record.  I grew up loving rap, so I appreciate the art of a clean scratch, and Ice is a freaking legend.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look:

Cotona Park, NY; circa 2007.  Ladies and gentlemen, that is what you call skills.

My friends at the time swooned over Kangol & Doc, but I was in love with Ice and would have straight up married him if he asked me.  He wasn’t the front man and he wasn’t flashy like Doc or Kangol, but he was smokin’ hot in that ninja gear, and he has great eyes and beautiful hands.  There are a couple of videos on YouTube , as well as the album cover, showing my man in full ninja regalia AND new-wave frames.  Can you say "pimp?"  MixMaster Ice could have gotten every inch of my pre-teen ass, and while that may sound perverted, it was the truth.  Quiet as it’s kept; he could get every inch of it right now.  I believe that Roxanne didn’t want the other guys because she was smitten with Ice, and rightfully so.  But I digress.

1984 was a potent year in terms of my imagination.  It was unwieldy to begin with, but shot into the upper layers of the stratosphere.  Music is highly influential, and my serious teenage crush on MixMaster Ice, coupled with my love for magnificent Michael, fired me to the point where I wore out my first typewriter and put a serious dent in the second one.  This includes the massive amounts of stuff I wrote by hand.  Michael was a much bigger star than Ice, and therefore, more unattainable.  Based on the skewed logic I’m sure I possessed at that time, that was the reason MixMaster Ice—and not Michael—became the template for a lot of the men in my stories.  He still is to an extent.  Disclaimer: I regretfully admit that I do not know this man (though I do follow him on FB and Twitter), so the behavior of said male characters do not necessarily mimic his.  Considering how everything turned out, I’m certain I made a better choice in terms of my male model.  You can’t mistake The Master for anything other than a man, trust and believe.  

Anyway, I can’t even tell you what all of I wrote back then featuring him and it doesn’t matter; it’s all upstairs in my file cabinet, brown and worn from age.  I’ve never gone back and looked at any of it; there was an innocence to my scribbling, a complete disregard of logic and common sense—pulled from a spot where I couldn’t get to now even if I wanted to.  That time has passed and it has its place…1984.  But man, did I enjoy the trip!  Thanks, Unsung!!

Men I've Loved: Cougar

Cougar, a sniper, is played by hottie Oscar Jaenada.  He's one of the characters in "The Losers."  I can't find the words, but it doesn't matter.  I can show you better than I can tell you.

Hot like fire.  Need I say more?