Monthly Archives: August 2009

SURROGATES: Sci-Fi Thriller on Robotics and Digital Technologies

One of the more interesting research and writing projects I worked on earlier this year was a chapter for a forthcoming book through Westminster John Knox Press on videogames and digital cultures where I presented some thoughts on a techno theology of cybersociality, the interactions between human beings over the Internet and through other digital technologies […]

Joseph Laycock: Vampires Today

For quite some time the vampire has been an important figure in popular culture. While the zombie has been a rival in recent decades as a monstrous icon, the vampire seems to be making a comeback as the increasing number of books, films, and television programs featuring this figure indicate. I recently finished reading a […]

9 Film Premiere and Prize Package Giveaway

As usual, Comic-Con provided attendees and those who follow comics and the fantastic in pop culture with sneak previews for several interesting films soon to be released. One of those is 9, the lastest project of gifted filmmaker Tim Burton, who is serving as producer of this film along with Timur Bekmanbetov and Jim Lemley, […]

LEGION: Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination

With this post I bring together a revised version of a post I wrote for another blog of mine, with a film trailer for Legion, due out in January 2010. (A word of warning to my readers: The trailer is rated R for mature viewers due to graphic language.) These two items come together in […]

Horror, Pop Culture, and Current Events

In the past I’ve connected aspects of the fantastic to popular culture and current events. With this post I do so again, first in serious fashion, and second with tongue in cheek. In a recent post I asked readers to consider America’s continuing struggles with the legacy of racism through reflection on Conquest of the […]

“In Search Of…”: Opening the Door to Paranormal Television Then and Now

In September 2006 Baylor University released a survey which mentioned that a “surprising level” of belief in the paranormal by Americans. ReligionLink commented on this and said that, “According to a 2005 askyourguide Poll, about 75 percent of Americans hold some form of belief in the paranormal – extrasensory perception, ghosts, telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, communicating with […]

Vampire Fest 2009 Film Submissions

        I received a press release today from the Vampires News Network that I pass along here for readers. Pasadena, Calif. August 6, 2009. Vampire Fest 2009 will take place in the beautiful city of New Orleans from October 23 – 26, 2009. Filmmakers have heard our call, and Vampire Fest has […]

The Twilight Zone, Healthcare Reform, and “The Obsolete Man”

I still remember staying up late on weeknights in my youth watching episodes of The Twilight Zone. I appreciated the interesting storylines and twist endings, but as a child, and later as a teenager, I was rarely able to appreciate the depth of the issues involved in many of the episodes as Rod Serling and other writers […]

Halloween in August: Spooky Town Collection Now Available at Michaels

                Last year I discovered accidentally that Halloween begins early at Michaels stores when I sensed the first hints of fall and this wonderful holiday in the air in late August. Today I was out and about on a Sunday afternoon and I thought I’d poke my head […]

Entertainment Weekly, Again: Vampires!

With another post inspired by a feature in Entertainment Weekly, indeed, back to back posts, readers may wonder about my magazine reading habits, or think that I am on the payroll for EW. Neither situation should be of concern, but it is interesting that the magazine has now featured aspects of horror in two consecutive […]

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