Sunday, February 28, 2010

"True Blood" Author Charlaine Harris is Bluewater's Next "Female Force"

For most of the more than 20 years that Charlaine Harris has spent writing mysteries, she fit squarely into that later category. She had her fans, but she was nowhere near a household name. Then she created a character called Sookie Stackhouse, and everything changed.

This May, Harris will also star in her first comic book, as the subject of Bluewater Productions' latest entry in its popular Female Force line of biographical comics. Harris herself participated in Female Force: Charlaine Harris, granting extensive interviews to writer Kim Sherman. This marks an important first for Bluewater: Harris is the first celebrity to be interviewed for the Female Force series.

Sookie Stackhouse is now the featured character on HBO's hit southern gothic vampire series True Blood. And Harris, who will release her 10th Sookie Stackhouse book this summer, is finally one of those household names.

This May, Harris will also star in her first comic book, as the subject of Bluewater Productions' latest entry in its popular Female Force line of biographical comics. Harris herself participated in Female Force: Charlaine Harris, granting extensive interviews to writer Kim Sherman. This marks an important first for Bluewater: Harris is the first celebrity to be interviewed for the female empowerment Female Force series.

read on

CH's is not listed yet but you can buy others, HIllary Clinton, MIchelle Obama etc




Visual Vamps: How Video Changed the Beast Within

“Twilight.” We’ve all heard the word, and whether you perk up upon hearing it or throw up a little, there is no question that you know what it is. The saga by Stephanie Meyer has infiltrated almost every home in America in the form of TV commercials, movies, books and even clothing.

“New Moon,” the second movie of the four-part series, grossed $140 million at the box office on opening weekend, earning $72 million on opening night. According to Michelle Lee, an undeclared sophomore, “‘Twilight’ equals ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ – it’s that big.”

But why has “Twilight” become such a sensation? For one thing, the story allows us to indulge in the idealized love story between human and superhuman and to escape the flaws of realistic relationships in order to experiment with the prospect of eternal love.

Beyond that, “Twilight” has, shall we say, “re-vamped” the popularity of vampires in mainstream pop culture.

read on

The Southern Gothic Brilliance Of True Blood


Who knew that regal southern gentlemen vampires and demure human ladies could make for the greatest show to hit HBO in quite some time? Getting geared up for a third season, fans are buzzing about what could possibly happen this time around. So far, the series has managed to make household names (and major crushes) out of random Swedish actors, revived Alan Ball’s relevance, and provided spin-off potential for everything from soda to new versions of the books that the series is based on in the first place.

There are a number of reasons that “True Blood” is one of the best things to hit satellite tv in quite some time. First, it manages to appeal to people looking for very different things in an HBO series. Those who want the fantastic and the slightly gloomy will be really into the vampire back story as well as the crumbling Gothic southern homes being filmed expertly by Alan Ball. Fans of camp and kitsch will love the show’s funnier moments, with a fast-talking and truly sassy gay drug dealer stealing every scene he’s in, and markedly hilarious exchanges between midlevel vampires and higher-up sheriffs. “True Blood” is also one of those shows where those who need to swoon at romance can do so right next to partners who are more interested in gory fights or more racy scenes of romance.

read on

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Fan Made Season 3 promo



Put A Spell On You
Thanks, lyspeckstudio

Saturday, February 27, 2010

BBC talks to Alexander Skarsgard: True Blood 'gets weird very fast'

Producers for the vampire show True Blood say season two picks up right where the first left off.

Expect to meet new shape-shifters, warlocks and other unclassified supernatural types. Apparently, "things get really, weird very fast".

Newsbeat entertainment reporter Chi Chi Izundu talks to one of the stars Alex Skarsgard.

His character, Eric, finds love this time round but in real life he says "he doesn't bite people".

True Blood season two starts at 10pm on Friday 26 February on digital channel FX.

watch video here

Anna, Stephen 'don't kiss on set'

Some one remind me, wasn't Sam the first person Stephen told after they told ( confirmed it ) to Alan Ball ??? Maybe i'm remembering wrong ...

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer don't go in for "public displays of affection" on the set of True Blood, co-star Sam Trammell has revealed.

Oscar-winning actress Anna plays Sookie in the FX series, while British actor Steven plays her vampire love interest Bill - and the two are dating in real life.

Asked how the relationship has affected filming, Sam - who plays bar owner Sam Merlotte - said: "It doesn't feel like anything's changed because they're together."

He continued: "I guess they were seeing each other for a while without any of us knowing about it. And they're very professional, there's not many public displays of affection, they have separate trailers and they're really cool, they're just nice people and honestly it doesn't feel like a lot has changed."

source

Anna Paquin Vamps It Up at Costume Designers Guild Awards

Anna Paquin looks stunning at the Costume Designers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Thursday (February 25) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The 27-year-old True Blood actress presented an award at the ceremony honoring the year’s best and brightest in costume design. Fellow blonde beauty Kristen Bell also served as a presenter Thursday evening!

FYI: Anna wore a mini dress with Swarovski crystal details by Marios Schwab.

10+ pictures inside of Anna Paquin at the Costume Designers Guild Awards…

Read more: http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/02/26/anna-paquin-vamps-it-up-at-costume-designers-guild-awards/#ixzz0gkTzKSxq

True Blood Music Video of the Day: We Are The Champions (We Will Rock You)



We Are The Champions (We Will Rock You)
Thanks, ToddMarty

Friday, February 26, 2010

True Blood Creator Alan Ball on season two: sink your teeth into this

Tonight sees the new series of True Blood premiere on FX. So what should we expect? Creator Alan Ball lets us into a few of Bon Temps' secrets, explains that sex and vampires always go together, and why ad breaks are never a good idea …

Alan Ball: 'If this show was on a network then Bill and Sookie's relationship would be perfect'

• Excited about season two? Check back after the show to find the latest installment of Rebecca Nicholson's True Blood episode blog …

• Still got season one of True Blood stacked up on your PVR waiting to be watched? Be warned: there are spoilers below

We're about to start season two of True Blood here in the UK. Can you tell us what to expect?

I'm totally in season three now so I'll have to go back. What can we expect? Just... more. We're definitely going to meet some new kinds of supernatural creatures, we're going to meet some new vampires. We'll meet the oldest vampire we've ever met. Sookie and Bill are together now, a couple, so let's see how difficult it is to have a vampire-human relationship. We're going to see what it's like to be a brand new vampire through the eyes of Jessica. I love her.

read on Guardian UK

HBO Brings Out Big Guns Before Heading to War With Pacific

HBO rolled out the red carpet last night for the LA premiere of The Pacific, the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced war miniseries that starts airing next month. True Blood heartthrobs Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgard, and Stephen Moyer were all in attendance though Michelle Forbes filled in on the arm of Stephen in the absence of his fiance Anna Paquin. Alexander was a welcome face at New York Fashion Week events earlier this month, though his recent frequent date Kate Bosworth sat out yesterday evening's party as well.

True Blood Music Video of the Day: The only thing that looks good on me by Bryan Adams



The only thing that looks good on me by Bryan Adams

Thanks, ToddMarty

Thursday, February 25, 2010

UK: Sink your teeth into an all new True Blood Season 2 Promo

Fan Art : Eric Northman Keepsake box

I am on a kick looking for for interesting ways that fans are staying sane while waiting for Dead in the Family or True Blood Season 3.
How can you not want a burned wood Eric Northman portrait on a keepsake box?

Buy one today!

From Danelle41

http://www.etsy.com/shop/danelle41

Let's compare Dead and Gone ( Sookie #10) different book descriptions


Here are the 2 different book descriptions I've seen posted to the Dead in the Fa
mily pre-order listings on Amazon. There is no description posted yet for Borders or Banes and Noble.

Amazon US book description

After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she's angry. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he's under scrutiny by the new Vampire King because of their relationship. And as the political implications of the Shifters coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to the Shreveport pack draws her into the debate. Worst of all, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some Fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry...

Amazon UK description

If you think your family relationships are complicated, think again: you haven't seen anything like the ones in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a whole host of family problems, ranging from her own kin (a non-human fairy and a telepathic second cousin) demanding a place in her life, to her lover Eric's vampire sire, an ancient being who arrives with Eric's 'brother' in tow at a most inopportune moment. And Sookie's tracking down a distant relation of her ailing neighbour (and ex), Vampire Bill Compton. In addition to the multitude of family issues complicating her life, the werewolf pack of Shreveport has asked Sookie for a special favour, and since Sookie is an obliging young woman, she agrees. But this favour for the wolves has dire results for Sookie, who is still recovering from the trauma of her abduction during the Fairy War.

Pre -order today

‘Intercourse With A Vampire’ Picks Up ‘Twilight’ 5 (or 10) Years Later

Now is exactly the right time to spoof vampires, because they are everywhere. Right Thoughts of a dying Atheist? They are in our books, our movie adaptations of books, even our TV show adaptations of books. Eddie Murphy, either you had bad timing, or were way ahead of your time.

As you might have guessed from its title, Intercourse With A Vampire is a spoof. The comedy is about a lascivious, rather unconvincingly seductive Dracula-type named Vampire Larry who lives with his high school sweetheart. The idea being “what if Robert Pattinson’s Twilight character Edward got older, kept his girlfriend, but was a creep.” Using that premise, Vampire picks up where creator and star Jacob Fleisher’s comedy short Twilight – 5 Years Later left off.

In terms of performance, Fleisher has the tendency to go broad with his comedy. That’s putting it politely. In the first scene of the first episode he slimes his way into bed with his girlfriend Tracy (Kristen Carney), and as they have sex his face contorts wildly, as if a GIF Party of Jim Carrey’s face from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

read on



Intercourse With A Vampire, Episode 1

'Gone With The Wind'/Vampire Mash-Up Proves That Blood-Suckers Make Everything More Awesome

Forget the idea of retro-fitting old movies for 3-D, which sometimes reminds me too much of when Ted Turner thought it'd be a good idea to colorize classic films back in the mid-80s. Vampires are a much better trend. If you don't believe me, just check out the mash-up video "Gone with the Wind with Vampires," which takes the all-time top-grossing (adjusting for inflation) classic and tosses in a plot involving bloodsuckers. Rhett Butler as a Civil War-era Dracula? Or is he more like a 19th century Edward Cullen? Either way, it fits.

from MTV

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) Sex Bomb


Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) Sex Bomb
Thanks, Gracounette4

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

True Blood author Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series to have a comic adaptation


Via PR, another best-selling author goes the comics route, Charlaine Harris:
Acclaimed author Charlaine Harris, the writer of the Sookie Stackhouse series, is joining the Dynamite Entertainment family in 2010! We are proud to announce that the first book of her hit Harper Connelly series, Grave Sight, will be adapted by Dynamite Entertainment in 2010. Her Sookie Stackhouse novels became the basis for one of today’s most successful television shows, the hit HBO series True Blood. Dynamite is extremely proud to present Charlaine Harris’ first comic adaptation!

For the past five years, readers have been thrilled by the Harper Connelly series. Featuring Harper Connelly, a woman who has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who’s passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she’s providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she’s used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she’s become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it’s always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.

read on

If you haven't read them get going !







True Blood gets Southern Comfort backing

Sponsorship includes national press campaign

Southern Comfort is sponsoring the second season of TV vampire series True Blood, showing on digital entertainment channel FX.

The drinks brand is being included in marketing promotions, including a national press campaign.

Brand manager Jamie Butler said: “Southern Comfort’s ‘come as you are’ attitude to life is epitomized in the stories of the residents of Bon Temps, which along with our New Orleans heritage makes True Blood a perfect fit with our brand”.

Cool website with more drink recipes here


The Sookie Swizzle

This zest infused cocktail has plenty of bite. Southern Comfort mixed with the fresh fruit infused flavours of blood orange and lemon juice is a combination that is sure to stimulate your taste buds for all the right reasons.

Ingredients

50ml Southern Comfort

3 wedges Blood Orange

3 wedges lemon

15ml Sugar syrup

Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters

Served in a large rocks over crushed ice, muddle fruit and build in glass

Southern Merlotte’s Punch

This cunning concoction mixes Southern Comfort, red wine, with the juice of 1/2 a blood orange to create a taste tingling explosion of flavors.

Ingredients

35ml Southern Comfort

15ml Lemon Juice

25ml Apple Juice

50ml Merlot red wine

15ml Sugar syrup

1/2 blood orange (squeezed)

Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters

Shake and strain into a High Ball glass over cubed ice. Serve with a blood orange and lemon slice and garnish with mint sprig.

Southern Mary

Move over Bloody Mary; make way for Southern Mary which offers an eclectic mix of Southern Comfort, tomato juice, Tabasco and red wine – sure to wow friends and family.

Ingredients

35ml Southern Comfort

15ml Red Wine

15ml Lemon Juice

Dash sugar syrup

80ml Tomato Juice

2 dash Tabasco

1 dash Lee and Perrings

Salt and pepper

Celery Stick

Mix the Southern Comfort, red wine, tomato and lemon juice together and stir. Add the Tabasco, Lee and Perrings sugar and salt. Sir again and garnish with celery stick.

Southern Blood

Mixes Southern Comfort, a traditional taste of New Orleans, with the juice of half a blood orange – an established drink with a dark twist.

Ingredients

50ml Southern Comfort

½ blood orange

Ice

Fill a glass halfway with ice and pour the Southern Comfort over. Squeeze the juice of half a blood orange and stir for a true taste of New Orleans, where Southern Comfort originates.

The spectre of sexism haunting horror fiction

Women play a huge role in the genre, so when they are ignored it speaks of an ugly menace

Just when you thought it was safe to venture into the murky depths of horror fiction again, back comes the re-animated, shuffling monster of a problem that seems to be dogging the genre at the moment: accusations of sexism.

The latest broadside against the lack of acknowledgement given to the role of women in the horror field is levelled against SFX magazine, one of the longest-running and most successful SF/fantasy glossy magazines on the UK market.

The magazine has just published a special horror-themed spin-off. "Our first special edition of the new decade is SFX COLLECTION: HORROR," it proclaims: "your ultimate guide to the dark side of the imagination. It features a beefy 14-page news section, oodles of in-depth new features, and six great free gifts." It also features, unfortunately, a distinct lack of female practitioners of the dark art, resurrecting an argument from five months ago that prompted an internet flurry when the British Fantasy Society published a book entitled In Conversation: A Writer's Perspective, Volume One: Horror.

read on from Guardian UK

Shop HBO UK


Shop HBO UK

True Blood Season Two May 25th

Despite stumbling a bit in season two (mainly due to the Michelle Forbes plot taking forever to get anywhere), True Blood remains one of the best guilty pleasures on television. Set in rural Bon Temps, Louisiana, season two of True Blood continues the romance between waitress and amateur psychic Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and gentlemanly vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). The season sees Sookie's dim-witted brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) fall under the spell of a Fundamentalist church determined to kill all vampires, explores more of the vampire world's culture and government, and introduces Michelle Forbes as a mysterious newcomer with a powerful sway over the locals. It also strengthens True Blood's reputation as the nakedest supernatural soap opera around. Just sayin'.

Just like season one, season two will be available in both Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download versions. The standard DVD version will run you $59.99 and bring you a handful of special features, but throwing down an extra 20 bucks for the Blu-ray will mean tripling the bonus features, at least according to the press release. Here's what we know:

Standard DVD Bonus Features

  • "Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of Light" -- Gives “rules to live by” from Fellowship of the Sun leaders Steve and Sarah Newlin.
  • "The Vampire Report: Special Edition” -- Highlighting the year’s biggest stories in vampire news, politics, and pop culture.
  • Audio commentaries including creator Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, Michelle Forbes, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, and more.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features
All of the above, plus...
  • True Blood Enhanced Viewing -- Picture-in-picture interactive content on all 12 episodes.
  • Character Perspectives -- Straight from the mouths of Hoyt, Pam, Karl, and Steve Newlin.
  • Flashback/Flash Forward -- Allowing the viewer to relive pivotal moments and revealing the significance of certain scenes.
  • Pro/Anti-Vampire Feeds -- News updates and information from the American Vampire League and the Light of Day organization that helps fans decide which camp they support.
  • Hints/FYI -- Trivia facts, show hints and clues.
From Cinema Blend



Sam Trammell: True Blood series two is even better


True Blood's Michelle Forbes and Sam Trammell have told fans that the second series is set to be sexier, scarier and more bloody.

The hit vampire series returns on Friday for a new series on FX and the actors claim that this stint will be even more successful than the last.

Sam Trammell, who plays Sam Merlotte in the drama, told The Daily Record: "If you liked season one, then this is where it all really starts getting exciting - it was the second year that saw the show really take off in the States, we were all getting recognised more and it kind of exploded.

"Season two is really fantastic, it's better than season one and is very exciting and very fast paced.

read on From whats on TV UK

'True Blood' star Alexander Skarsgard reveals he used to be an anti-terrorist marine in Sweden

These days Alexander Skarsgard often uses his teeth as weapons, but he is much more comfortable with your garden variety guns and ammo.

Long before he became known as the evil head vampire Eric in 'True Blood,' SKarsgard was an anti-terrorist marine in his home country of Sweden, London's Telegraph reports.

The 33-year-old actor grew up in Stockholm as the son of famous actor Stellan Skarsgard. As he grew up, he says he wanted the challenge of a hard life.

At 19, he enrolled in Sweden's national service where he practised battle tactics, combat and anti-sabotage assaults

Read more

True Blood Music Video of the Day: My United States Of Whatever


My United States Of Whatever

Thanks, ToddMarty

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

True Blood Parodies : Applesauce and more

I begin to worry a little bit about True Blood fans every year when it's been SOOO long between new Sookie books and new seasons of True Blood that we start expressing ourselves like this ...hahha



True Blood on Sky TV UK

Check out Sky TV UK True Blood web page and Character Profiles

Bon Temps born and bred, Sookie's boyfriend Bill Compton is a true Southern gentleman - and a 173-year-old vampire.

First Appearance: Strange Love (Episode 1.1)

Special Attributes:
Vampire

Season 1: Bill walked into Merlotte’s bar and into the life of Sookie Stackhouse. After rescuing her from an attack by a pair of rednecks, Bill let Sookie drink of his blood, healing her and forming a bond between the two. His relationship with Sookie hit a bump when he killed a vampire who was trying to hurt her. Vampire code dictates that he must be punished and he was forced to turn an innocent young woman into a vampire. Having completed the task he discovered the young woman was overjoyed at leaving her drab human life behind, but was also something of a handful. When Sookie was being pursued by the Bon Temps murderer, Bill sensed that she was in trouble and ventured into the sun to help her. The power of the sun nearly killed him but he was buried and saved by Sookie and Sam.

Check it out here

True Blood's Anna Paquin : A relationship with bite


Anna Paquin was nine years old when she first became famous for her role as Flora in The Piano, and 11 as she stood smiling and gasping in silence for a full 20 seconds at the podium to receive her Oscar for it.

In True Blood, the new HBO hit (seen here on Showcase), Paquin, now 27, has morphed into the telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse. She runs around in tiny shorts and has bleached blonde hair and a lot of steamy sex with a vampire named Bill.

The first episode sets out to shock, featuring a couple getting amorous strung from a meat hook while watching vampire sex on video. But it has been a huge success in America, winning Paquin a 2009 Golden Globe for best actress in a television drama. It is now HBO's second most popular series, after The Sopranos. To add to the mix, and to the delight of the British tabloids, in August Paquin got engaged in real life to her vampire lover, the English actor Stephen Moyer. He is 40, she is 27, and they divide their time between his house near Hampstead and hers in Los Angeles.

read on Brisbane Times

True Blood series two is when things get really crazy and sexy, say stars Michelle Forbes and Sam Trammell

ahh to be at the beginning of a new season of True Blood

IT'S one of the sexiest and most exciting shows to hit television in years - and it's about to get crazier than ever.

That's the warning from True Blood stars Michelle Forbes and Sam Trammell, as series two of the top supernatural drama arrives on UK screens this week.

According to the actors - who respectively play a nude pig walker and shape shifting barman in the HBO phenomen on - as mad as fans may have thought the series got last year, it 's about to get a whole lot more fun as a range of new characters, stories and monsters cavort across the US deep south.

The first series was about how the people of smalltown America cope with a world where vampires exist and have gone public thanks to the invention of a synthetic blood substitute.

And it was set around the love affair between psychic waitress Sookie Stackhouse and 137-year-old vampire Bill Compton.

Filled with sex-crazed vampires, bayou-dwelling exorcists and blood-addicted hillbillies, the programme became one of the most talked about dramas in years and it returns to satellite channel FX this Friday.

read on Daily Record UK

Where do vampires come from? National Geographic TV tonight

Long-time National Geographic staff historian Mark Jenkins' new book, Vampire Forensics, is the basis for a new National Geographic Explorer television special premiering in the U.S. Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel. With apologies to Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, Jenkins shares some of what he learned on the trail of vampires.

Where did the belief in vampires originate?

Fear of the walking dead is old. Sucking blood isn't always part of it--sometimes they eat you, sometimes they just beat you up. There's some sort of deep layer of belief that crops up here and there, possibly something shared once in the Indo-European past that survived when the tribes became separate nations.

In twelfth-century England, William of Newburgh, a fairly good historian, wrote about prodigies, oddities well beyond the natural course of events. When you read his stories, they're pretty much about vampires and related characters--people who die in sin and come back as nasty monsters, like what we would call zombies today, spreading disease with them through the town.

read on

Buy the book

True Blood Music Video of the Day: I don't wanna miss a thing by Aerosmith



I don't wanna miss a thing by Aerosmith

Thanks, Gracounette4

Monday, February 22, 2010

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Fix you by Coldplay



Fix you by coldplay
Thanks, Cladis83

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Viewers seek out Sookie's haunts

For a tiny pocket of a place, Bon Temps is a mighty interesting corner of Louisiana.

It's got a country bar, old farmhouses and at least one sweet telepathic barmaid with Southern manners and a sense of hospitality no matter how strange the company.

And it's got vampires.

At least it does in the mind of author Charlaine Harris and the producers of HBO's "True Blood."

But Bon Temps can't be located on any Louisiana map, despite how familiar the place seems to fans of the show and Harris' Southern Vampire Series and waitress Sookie Stackhouse.

That doesn't keep some folks from seeking it out.

In their quest, many have inquired in Shreveport and Monroe, two cities that have seen their share of action for our heroine and telepathic waitress.

Shreveport, for example, has the distinction of being home to the fictional Fangtasia, a vampire bar that has seen its share of danger in nine books and two television seasons.

"Everybody wants to know about the 'True Blood' bar," said Brandy Evans of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau.

"We don't have a vampire bar, but we do have lots of other bars."

Here are some places in Shreveport and Monroe that might offer a taste of the landscape that inspired Bon Temps. Shreveport

About 15 miles from the Texas border, Shreveport and Bossier City straddle the Red River.

Sookie fans know Shreveport as the home of Fangtasia, a bar run by handsome but not-to-be-trusted vampire Eric Northman. It is also the workplace of Alcide Herveaux, one of Sookie's werewolf friends.

The two cities and surround? ing areas have many attractions for human visitors.

Louisiana Boardwalk: A trolley runs through the collection of shops nestled by the Red River. The area also has multiple restaurants and a movie theater. You can board the Spirit of the Red River Cruise here.

Film Trail: Shreveport has been a stand-in for places as diverse as Paris, New York and Kodiak, Alaska. In addition to "True Blood," "The Guardian" and "Mr. Brooks" have filmed there. Check out www.shreve?port-bossierfilm.com for a guide to Shreveport in the movies.

Casinos: Five riverfront casinos and one casino/racetrack lure the betting kind. But the casinos also offer restaurants, entertainment, spas and pools. www.shreveport-bossier.org/casinos.

R.W. Norton Art Gallery: The museum sits on 47 acres in a residential neighborhood near downtown. The museum's collection includes 19th-century American and European art, antique dolls dressed in the Louisiana fashions of 1720-1920 and antique firearms. The grounds feature more than 20,000 azaleas that bloom in late March or early April. Admission is free. www.rwnaf.org.

Dorcheat Bayou: Mark Norris fell in love with the bayou and its moss-draped cypress and tupelo trees when he took a canoe trip as a child. Now he runs Norris Canoe Outfitters, which offers guided half-day to weeklong tours of the waterway.

Depending on the day, paddlers may see any of up to 50 species of birds, "some native and some not so native," Norris said. And alligators. Plenty of alligators. His office is at 731 Main in Minden, about 30 miles east of Shreveport. (318) 588-0166.

read on

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Amazing Life by Jem



Thanks, saroufim93

Amazing Life by Jem

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Kevin Alejandro Teases New True Blood Season


Kevin Alejandro is one of the many actors to jump on board for the upcoming third season of Alan Ball's hit series for HBO True Blood. He'll be playing Jesus, a caretaker for Lafayette's mother (Alfre Woodard), as well as a love interest for Lafayette.

The busy actor who's appeared in everything from Southland to Ugly Betty to Weeds chatted with Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect from him on True Blood. Here's an excerpt from the EW interview:

What can you tell us about your character?

read on Shock till you drop HERE

Alexander Skarsgard talks " One Last Thing " with the Guardian UK

Hi, Alexander! In True Blood, you own Fangtasia, a vampire bar. What would happen if Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Edward from Twilight or Kiefer Sutherland from The Lost Boys dropped in for a snifter?

Well, Fangtasia is open to humans and vampires alike so we're very welcoming (1). I'd buy Edward and Kiefer some Tru Blood (2) and I'd buy Buffy a memorabilia T-shirt. Ha!

You weren't in season one very much. How do we know you're not going to be killed off in the opening seconds of season two?

I only had a couple of scenes in season one, you're right. But we get to know Eric a lot better in season two. We get to see his background and why his motives are personal and not always for business. There's a lot more to Eric than the antagonist bad boy.

read on

New Book : True Blood and Philosophy: We Want to Think Bad Things with You (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

You can pre-order below

The first look at the philosophical issues behind Charlaine Harris's New York Times bestsellers The Southern Vampire Mysteries and the True Blood television series

Teeming with complex, mythical characters in the shape of vampires, telepaths, shapeshifters, and the like, True Blood, the popular HBO series adapted from Charlaine Harris's bestselling The Southern Vampire Mysteries, has a rich collection of themes to explore, from sex and romance to bigotry and violence to death and immortality. The goings-on in the mythical town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, where vampires satiate their blood lust and openly commingle with ordinary humans, present no shortages of juicy metaphysical morsels to sink your teeth into.

Now True Blood and Philosophy calls on the minds of some of history's great thinkers to perform some philosophical bloodletting on such topics as Sookie and the metaphysics of mindreading; Maryann and sacrificial religion; werewolves, shapeshifters and personal identity; vampire politics, evil, desire, and much more.

  • The first book to explore the philosophical issues and themes behind the True Blood novels and television series
  • Adds a new dimension to your understanding of True Blood characters and themes
  • The perfect companion to the start of the third season on HBO and the release of the second season on DVD

Smart and entertaining, True Blood and Philosophy provides food—or blood—for thought, and a fun, new way to look at the series.


  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley (June 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470597720
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470597729


We Love Vampires Because Of Morality, Not Sex


More comments on the recent NPR Adler piece from io9

With the hormone-drenched success of HBO's True Blood and the Twilight saga, it's easy to think our love of vampires is driven by undead lust. But NPR's Margot Adler read 75 vampire novels and discovered a different reason. According to Adler, the vampire fascination has more to do with fantasies (and realities) of having

read on





True Blood : The Timeless Appeal of Vampire Lore


Vampires are beautiful and young for all eternity. They are incredibly strong and have unbelievable speed. They are mysterious and fascinating and there is something undeniable sexy about the creatures. They appeal to that forbidden, rebel side of most everyone's personality. There's that little bit of fear mixed in that just makes the whole thing all the more exciting! What's not to like? It doesn't hurt that in the movies and TV shows the Vampire characters look like this.....

read on from Susan at Warm Chocolate Milk blog here

Vampires everywhere, oh my! What does it mean?

Like a lot of us, Margot Adler over at NPR has been pondering the question: Why are so many vampires popping up in books, movies and on TV these days? And why are they morally conflicted, sometimes even do-gooders? To find out, she read 75 vampire novels, classic and contemporary, and came up with some interesting insights.

The principle observation of Adler’s entertaining essay is that interest in vampire stories surges in times of uncertainty, “used again and again to speak to our fears and concerns.”

The vampire or something like it can be found in most cultures and folklore going back to the beginning of time, but it’s a mistake to think they have all the familiar attributes of Count Dracula. The idea –and the term “vampire” — began to appear in literature in the 18th century. Heinrich August Ossenfelder’s 1748 poem “Der Vampir” may be the first. (You can read it here–and trust me, it’s worth a look).

read on Florida Center for the Arts here


Charlaine Harris speaking at book signing event in Evans, GA January 23, 2010

Charlaine Harris speaking to an audience at a book signing event in Evans, GA January 23, 2010



thanks , Shayne42069

True Blood nominated for Saturn Awards

The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the nominees for the Annual Saturn Awards. The Saturn Awards, founded in 1972, recognize the best in genre for television, films, and DVD releases. The winners will be announced on June 24.

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series:
Breaking Bad
Battlestar Galactica
The Closer
Dexter
Leverage
True Blood

Best Actor in Television:
Josh Holloway (Lost)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Matthew Fox (Lost)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Zachary Levi (Chuck)
Stephen Moyer (True Blood)
David Tennant (Doctor Who: The End of Time)

Best Actress on Television:
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Ghost Whisperer)
Evangeline Lily (Lost)
Anna Paquin (True Blood)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
Anna Torv (Fringe)

Best Supporting Actor on Television:
Jeremy Davies (Lost)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Aldis Hodge (Leverage)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
John Noble (Fringe)
Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood)

Best Guest Starring Role in Television:
Bernard Cribbins (Doctor Who: The End of Time)
Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad)
Michelle Forbes (True Blood)
John Lithgow (Dexter)
Leonard Nimoy (Fringe)
Mark Pellegrino (Lost)

Queen Sophie Ann and the mystery of the missing bracelet

My friend Keyse emailed to say she has been geeking out a bit ( i think waiting til the next Sookie book and for True Blood to return in May and June) and posted about Sophie Anns bracelet from BK

Read on her excellent blog :

heads rolled for this
sorry, but i am geeking out right now...but doesn't this look like Sophie-Anne Leclerq's diamond bracelet? This is what it looked like in my head - Charlaine Harris fans will understand :)
Anzie Jewelry, White Topaz Heart Bracelet, $475

http://crocodiletears-keyse.blogspot.com/2010/02/heads-rolled-for-this.html


The first thing you must know about the diamond from the bracelet must fit in side a tampon applicator tube....

These are matching bracelet given to SophieAnn by at their wedding. She gave one to Sookies's cousin Hadley and after Hadley is murdered she brings Sookie down to New Orleans under the guise of letting Sookie go through and have her cousin things but really SA wants Sookie to help find out Hadley's murderer and what became of the other bracelet.

Here is the exchange from Definitely Dead
"Did you want something of Hadley's?" I asked her, my train of thought having veered away from
money. "You know, a remembrance?"
Something flashed in her eyes, something that surprised me.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," said the queen, with an adorable hint of a French accent.
Uh-oh. It couldn't be good that she'd switched on the charm.
"I did ask Hadley to hide something for me," she said. My bullshit meter was beeping like an alarm clock. "And if you come across it in your packing, I'd like to have it back."
"What does it look like?"
"It's a jewel," she said. "My husband gave it to me as an engagement gift. I happened to leave it here before I got married."
"You're welcome to look in Hadley's jewelry box," I said immediately. "If it belongs to you, of course you have to have it back."
"That's very kind of you," she said, her face back to its regular glassy smoothness. "It's a diamond, a large diamond, and it's fixed on a platinum bracelet."
I didn't remember anything like that in Hadley's stuff, but I hadn't looked carefully. I'd planned to pack Hadley's jewelry box intact so I could pick through it at my leisure in Bon Temps.
"Please, look now," I suggested. "I know that it would be like a faux pas to lose a present from your husband."
"Oh," she said gently, "you have no idea." Sophie-Anne closed her eyes for just a second, as if she were too anxious for words. "Andre," she said, and with that word he took off for the bedroom—didn't need any directions, I noticed—and while he was gone, the queen looked oddly incomplete.

later "I'll keep an eye open for the bracelet," I said. I suspected that the value of the jewelry did not lie in its appraisal. "Would that bracelet have been left here the last night before the wedding?" I asked cautiously.
I suspected my cousin Hadley had stolen the bracelet from the queen out of sheer pique that the queen was getting married. That seemed like a Hadley thing to do. If I'd known about Hadley's concealment of the bracelet, I would have asked the witches to roll the clock back on the ectoplasmic reconstruction.
We could have watched Hadley hide the thing.
The queen gave one short nod. "I must have it back," the queen said. "You understand, it's not the value of the diamond that concerns me? You understand, a wedding between vampire rulers is not a love
match, where much can be forgiven? To lose a gift from your spouse, that's a very grave offense. And our spring ball is scheduled for two nights from now. The king expects to see me wearing his gifts. If I'm not …" Her voice trailed away, and even Andre looked almost worried.

finally ...
"How'd you get it past the search?" the queen asked. "I'm sure the searchers were checking for it."
"I had the bracelet part on under my bandage," I said. "The diamond stood out too far, though, so I had to prize it out. I put it in a tampon holder. The vampire who did the searching didn't think of pulling out
the tampon, and she didn't really know how it was supposed to look, since she hadn't had a period in centuries."
"But it was put together," the queen said.
"Oh, I went into the ladies room after I'd had my purse searched. I had a little tube of superglue in my purse, too."

Trivia : where did Sookie find that Hadley had hidden the bracelet ?

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Here with me by Dido



Here with me by Dido
Thanks , smvgrey74

Friday, February 19, 2010

Charlaine Harris and Sookie invade Europe

APPEARANCES

Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series, takes to Europe. Here is her current schedule by date:

ITALY

March 2 – 9:30 pm Shan Go, via San Saba 11, Rome, Italy – Interview with Rosaria Renna and signing

POLAND

March 4 – 5 pm Empik Mega Krakow, Rynek Glowny 5/ Sienna 2, 31-042, Krakow, Poland – signing

March 5 – 6 pm Empik Giga Junior, Ul. Marszalkowska, 116/122 00-017, Warsaw, Poland – talk and signing

UNITED KINGDOM

March 9 – 6:30 pm The Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Place, London England -Talk and signing – Tickets 8 pounds call 020 7494 3654 or www.princecharlescinema.com

March 10 – 12:00 pm Waterstones, 1-5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham, England – signing

March 10 – 7:00 pm Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, Manchester, England – signing

PORTUGAL

March 12 – 6 pm Maxime, Praca da Alegria Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal – presentation and signing – Tel: 213467051

March 13 – 9 pm FNAC, Columbo center Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal – presentation and signing – Tel: 711 4200

Harris will be back in the states at the end of the months at these events:

March 24: Lecture at Shippensburg University – Shippensburg PA

March 27: Launch Party – Clarksdale, MS – Ground Zero Blues Club

Filming Notice for True Blood shoot - Alcide's apartment ?


For Love Of Do-Good Vampires: A Bloody Book List

We've been inundated with vampires this past decade, and we don't simply mean bloodsuckers like Bernie Madoff.

In the 1980s, it's true, there was a similar surge of interest in vampires, with Whitley Strieber's The Hunger and the wildly popular novels of Anne Rice. But the past few years have seen a new crop of intriguingly different vampires — seemingly conflicted souls, from Bill Compton in HBO's True Blood to Stefan in the CW's television series The Vampire Diaries and, of course, Edward Cullen in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books.

Read on and listen at NPR here

also transcript

The list

Margot Adler's Vampire Book List


1-4. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

The four books — Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn — have sold millions around the world. I confess I enjoyed them all. Not everyone likes these "sparkling vampires," but they definitely fit into my reluctant-vampire thesis. The Cullen family is lovely, including the doctor, his wife, the handsome Edward, two other kids and my personal favorite, Edward's sister Alice Cullen. Then there are the werewolves: In this saga, the werewolves and the vampires are kind of like the Capulets and the Montagues. By the way, the vampire baseball scene in the first film may not rival the Quidditch matches in Harry Potter, but it's still fun.


5-13.The Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris

There are nine of these so far, starting with Dead Until Dark and ending with Dead and Gone, and more are coming. They take place in northern Louisiana; much of the action plays out in two bars, Merlotte's and Fangtasia. The books are the basis for the HBO series True Blood. In this alternate world of today, the Japanese have developed a synthetic form of blood, and vampires can "come out of the coffin" and live among humans. Sookie Stackhouse is a mind-reading waitress who falls in love with Bill Compton, a vampire who was turned after the Civil War.


14-15. A Touch Of Dead

so 16-18







Full list here

True Blood Season 2 starts airing again Sunday March 21st


8 pm Sunday nights - get ready!

True Blood Music Video of the Day:



In The Arms of The Angels
Thanks ,ChemAttraction

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sam Trammell talks about new series of True Blood

If the definitive film of the current vampire craze is the Twilight franchise, then the definitive television series is True Blood.

Stylised, sexy and unrelentingly dark, the first series captured a fanatic audience with its tales of the inhabitants of fictional Louisiana town Bon Temps, where vampires live uncomfortably alongside their human neighbours.

Bar owner Sam Merlotte, played by Sam Trammell, attempts to break down the barriers by stocking synthetic blood (called Tru:Blood) alongside draft beer and vodka shooters, so fanged customers can drink with their human counterparts.

But problems brew in the town after a string of unsolved murders, and Sam's waitress Sookie, played by former child Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, finds her relationship with vampire Bill, played by British actor Stephen Moyer, questioned by all around.

Sam, 38, says there's even more danger in the town in series two.

read on

'Sesame Street Live': This Count has the look, but not the scare In a vampire-crazy world, this ageless Muppet stands apart


More than ever, it seems like vampires are lurking around every corner.

There's "Twilight," "True Blood," "The Vampire Diaries" and dozens of knock-off novels - not to mention classics such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the early books of Anne Rice and, of course, Count Dracula himself.

Perhaps the world's friendliest vampire, though, is Count von Count, the arithmemaniacal "Sesame Street" character who has taught millions of children about numbers for nearly 40 years. He's never seen drinking blood or sleeping in a coffin, and he appears to have no problems with direct sunlight - but there's no denying those fangs, the cape and the Bela Lugosi stare.

read on

How To Catch And Keep A Vampire

Bella Swan and Sookie Stackhouse are fortunate to have vampire boyfriends. But what the heroines of Twilight and “True Blood” don’t have—and could use—is some advice on getting along with them. Everything they and every other red-blooded American girl wants to know about finding a dreamy blood-drinker and making him hers is within How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-by-Step Guide to Loving The Bad and the Beautiful

Reviewed by Michele the book junkie

read on

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Come here Boy by Imogen Heap


Come here Boy by Imogen Heap


SweetDreams7000