Friday, November 21, 2008

Myra Norris ( wife of Mayor Norris) - Ambrosia Salad

AMBROSIA SALAD

2 cans pineapple chunks, drained
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 jars maraschino, drained
1 can coconut flakes
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
4 oz. sour cream
16 oz. Cool Whip

Combine sour cream and Cool Whip. Fold in all other ingredients. Chill covered for at least 2 hours.

Puns used to be the highest form of humor...

We love you Lafayette- Picture of the Day

Fashion faux pas in Sookieville : Lace- up jeans

Who wore this item ?
Where were they going ?
Who suggested that they wear them ?




Post your answer in the comments ...

Recap "Strange Love" episode 1 aired Sept 7

True Blood Season 1 -episode information

Season 1: 2008

Season
#
Series
#
Title Director Writer Original airdate Viewers
(in millions)
1 1 "Strange Love" Alan Ball Alan Ball September 7, 2008 1.4(2.1*)[1]
Two years after vampires have "come out of the coffin", the life of 25-year-old waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is changed when 175-year-old Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) walks into Merlotte's Bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Meanwhile, Sookie's friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) comes to work at Merlotte's while Sookie's tomcatting brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) finds himself on the wrong side of the law.
1 2 "The First Taste" Scott Winant Alan Ball September 14, 2008 1.8(2.4*)[2]
After saving Sookie from the Rattray's revenge, Bill uses his vampire blood to heal Sookie and it leaves her with some strange side effects. In return, Sookie invites him to her house for a get-to-know-you gathering with Jason and Gran (Lois Smith). Jason is released from custody, having only been a person of interest. He continues his amorous ways with Dawn, discovering her to also have had encounters with a vampire. Tara expresses her interest in Jason, while the Rattrays are killed by an apparent freak tornado. Later, out looking for Bill, Sookie comes across strange vampires.
1 3 "Mine" John Dahl Alan Ball September 21, 2008 1.81(?)[3]
Bill lays claim to Sookie in order to protect her from a cadre of his vampire friends. At Merlotte's, Sam (Sam Trammell) and Tara seek refuge from their respective problems and Jason asks Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) for help.
1 4 "Escape from Dragon House" Michael Lehmann Brian Buckner September 28, 2008 1.82(?)[3]
When another Bon Temps resident is murdered under suspicious circumstances, Jason is once again taken into custody and it is up to Sookie to uncover the identity of the real killer and clear her brother's name. Bill takes Sookie to the vampire bar Fangtasia, where she is introduced to Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), a thousand-year-old Viking vampire and Bill's superior.
1 5 "Sparks Fly Out" Daniel Minahan Alexander Woo October 5, 2008
Spurned by an exasperated Sookie, Bill ends up winning over Adele's church audience with his vivid recollections from the Civil War, though Andy and Bud remain suspicious. Sam tries to make the most of his opportunity with Sookie, though she's clearly not ready to commit. Ignoring Tara's rebuff, Lafayette convinces Jason to give vampire blood, aka "V juice," another shot. Alone at home, Bill remembers the painful wartime incident that changed his fate forever.
1 6 "Cold Ground" Nick Gomez Raelle Tucker October 12, 2008
Numbed by tragedy, Sookie looks for refuge from the cacophony of her friends' and neighbors' inner voices. After lashing out at his sister and decking Andy, Jason wrestles with withdrawal symptoms from his V juice habit. Tara resists the overtures of her mother Lettie Mae, who's trying to rid herself of a demon and needs her daughter's help. Sam and Tara make a connection in their mutual search for "something real."
1 7 "Burning House of Love" Marcos Siega Chris Offutt October 19, 2008 2.1[4]
Sookie's painful childhood revelation about her Uncle Bartlett spurs Bill into action. Despite her skepticism, Tara agrees to pay for an exorcism to purge Lettie Mae of a demon. In search of V juice, Jason travels to Fangtasia, where he bonds with an adventurous young woman named Amy. A trio of rednecks decide to exact vigilante justice on a pack of vampires who crashed Merlotte's in search of their wayward mate Bill.
1 8 "The Fourth Man in the Fire" Michael Lehmann Alexander Woo October 26, 2008 2.07[5]
Sookie tries to hold herself together in the wake of another possible tragedy. Tara is amazed by Lettie Mae's turnaround, and considers similar therapy for herself after lashing out at Sookie and Sam. Jason's new squeeze Amy charms the crowd at Merlotte's, but shows a darker side to Jason when their V juice well runs dry. Rene (Michael Raymond James) pops the question to Arlene while Sookie is baby-sitting her kids. Later, at Bill's request, Sookie agrees to use her gifts to help Eric, a powerful vampire sheriff, root out a thief at Fangtasia.
1 9 "Plaisir d'Amour" Anthony Hemingway Brian Buckner November 2, 2008 2.35[6]
Bill breaks a vampire taboo in protecting Sookie - and must pay a steep price as a result. Jason and Amy break their own taboo by kidnapping a vampire named Eddie in order to harvest his blood. With Lettie Mae apparently cured, a skeptical Tara consults with Miss Jeanette about exorcising her own inner demon. Sookie returns home to yet another horrific tragedy, prompting Bill to enlist an unlikely bodyguard - Sam - to protect her while he's away.
1 10 "I Don't Wanna Know" Scott Winant Chris Offutt November 9, 2008
Caught in a compromising position, Sam shares a secret with an incredulous Sookie. Thinking she's been purged of her demon, Tara celebrates with Lettie Mae - but goes off the deep end when she uncovers Miss Jeanette's true intentions. Sookie has a disturbing revelation during Arlene and Rene's engagement party at Merlotte's; Jason and Amy debate what to do with Eddie; and Tara speeds into a bizarre roadside encounter that lands her in jail. At a vampire tribunal to decide his fate, Bill faces a harsh penalty for his offense, but the magister decides on a more creative sentence involving a young human named Jessica.
1 11 "To Love Is to Bury" Nancy Oliver Nancy Oliver November 16, 2008 2.67[7]
Bill fulfills the conditions of the tribunal's sentence, although he and Eric find that Jessica doesn't quite turn (out) as expected. Trying to solve the mystery behind her most recent vision, Sookie heads to a pie shop with Sam and later puts the squeeze on a philandering police officer to get info. Jason helps clean up Amy's mess, worrying about their future, but unable to break away. Tara's anger over Lettie Mae's refusal to bail her out of jail is tempered when Maryann Forrester, a wealthy "social worker," comes to her rescue. Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a vamp-bashing state senator, Lafayette decides to pay him a visit on the campaign trail. In Bill's absence, a vulnerable Sookie finds comfort in Sam. A distraught Jason finds himself in hot water with Bud and Andy, again.

Living and Flying into Dallas ????

Anna Paquin might also be doing some filming in and around Dallas in 2009 . We know the 2nd season of True Blood is based on the 2nd Sookie Stackhouse book called “ Living and Dying in Dallas “ and the story involves a mystery and investigation of the Fellowship of the Sun Church ( of course, they would be headquartered in Dallas)
Anna is also rumored to be cast in a movie called "Flying Into Love" is based on critically acclaimed novel by British author D.M. Thomas: A provocative re-imagining of JFK’s assassination as seen though Jackie Kennedy’s eyes and four people whose lives are forever altered by this tragic event and its haunting legacy on the American psyche. Their stories unfold floating between a dream and nightmare, between beauty and horror, between reality and illusion to reveal an intimate love story of an extraordinary man and woman, and a nation’s last innocent hours.
More here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945492/
hmmmmm......???

What the hell is a Maenad ?

What the hell is that ? Who the hell is Maryann ? Who was that naked lady in the road with the huge hog when Tara crashed ?

A Maenad is -- In Greek mythology, Maenads (Greek: Μαινάδες) were the inspired and frenzied female worshipers of Dionysus, the Greek god of mystery, wine, and intoxication, the Roman god Bacchus. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". They were known as wild, insane women who could not be reasoned with. The mysteries of Dionysus inspired the women to ecstatic frenzy; they indulged in copious amounts of violence, bloodletting, sexual activity, self-intoxication, and mutilation. They were usually pictured as crowned with vine leaves, clothed in fawnskins and carrying the thyrsus, and dancing with wild abandon.

She appears in Bk 2 and attacks Sookie as a way to get Eric's attention because she wants to be given a tribute ( remember the car and big house ?) it gets more complicated and involved as the book proceeds

bk 2
*...Excuse me, ma'am, but what are you? If you don't mind me asking."
She smiled again, and I shuddered. "Not at all. I'm a maenad."
That was something Greek. I didn't know exactly what, but it was wild, female, and lived in nature, if my impressions were correct.
"That's very interesting," I said, grinning for all I was worth. "And you are out here tonight because . . . ?"
"I need a message taken to Eric Northman," she said, moving closer. This time I could see her do it. The hog snuffled along at her side as if she were tied to the woman. The smell was indescribable. I could see the little brushy tail of the razorback—it was switching back and forth in a brisk, impatient sort of way. "What's the message?" I glanced up at her—and whirled to run as quickly as I could. If I hadn't ingested some vampire blood at the beginning of the summer, I couldn't have turned in time, and I would've taken the blow on my face and chest instead of my back. It felt exactly as though someone very strong had swung a heavy rake and the points had caught in my skin, gone deeper, and torn their way across my back.

*....Chow said, "The god entered some women so completely that they became immortal, or very close to it. Bacchus was the god of the grape, of course, so bars are very interesting to maenads. In fact, so interesting that they don't like other creatures of the darkness becoming involved. Maenads consider that the violence sparked by the consumption of alcohol belongs to them; that's what they feed off, now that no one formally worships their god. And they are attracted to pride."

**.....I took a deep breath. "I'm worried .."My mother used to tell my father that they love a proud man," he said, and for a moment I thought he was still teasing me. But I looked at his face, and he was not. "Maenads love nothing more than to tear a proud man down to size. Literally."
"Yuck," I said. "Anything else satisfy them?" "Large game. Bears, tigers, so on."

**......"I've spent a few evenings in the woods with her, yes. As Sam, and in my other skin."
"But she's so evil," I blurted.
Sam's back stiffened. "She's a supernatural creature like me," he said evenly. "She's neither evil nor good, she just is." "Oh, bullshit." I couldn't believe I was hearing this from Sam. "If she's feeding you this line, then she wants something from you." I remembered how beautiful the maenad had been, if you didn't mind bloodstains. And Sam, as a shapeshifter, wouldn't. "Oh," I said, comprehension sweeping me. Not that I could read Sam's mind clearly, since he was a supernatural creature, but I could get a lock on his emotional state, which was—embarrassed, horny, resentful, and horny.
"Oh," I said again, somewhat stiffly. "Excuse me, Sam. I didn't mean to speak ill of someone you . . . you, ah . . ." I could hardly say, "are screwing," however apropos it might be. "You're spending time with," I finished lamely. "I'm sure she's lovely once you get to know her. Of course, the fact that she cut my back to bloody ribbons may have something to do with my prejudice against her. I'll try to be more open-minded." And I stalked off to take an order, leaving Sam open mouthed behind me.

*......"Hello, messenger," the maenad said to me. "I forgot to introduce myself last time, my canine friend reminds me. I am Callisto."
"Miss Callisto," I said, since I had no idea what to call her. I would have nodded, but Andy had hold of my neck. It was sure beginning to hurt.
"Who is this stalwart brave gripping you?" Callisto moved a little closer.
I had no idea what Andy looked like, but everyone on the deck was enthralled and terrified, Eric and Bill excepted. They were easing back, away from the humans. This wasn't good.
"I love drunkenness, and you are very drunk," Callisto said happily. "I love pleasures of the flesh, and these people are full of lust. This is my kind of place."

Scenes from True Blood:

tara swerves to miss what in the road ?



tara after wreck and in jail



tara at Maryann's home

True Blood Panel Discussion Comic-Con 2008 (July)



Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWaHiOYeFMc
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-snde5wgSXg
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EuSRqjiy4
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Z713wycKs
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2IF7GaBYfE
Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLquOs2A1tg
Part 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKb29PpHlQg

On the eve of 'Twilight,' why women find vampires so sexy

BY ROSEMARY BLACK Friday, November 21st 2008
NYDaily News

Kristin Stewart finds herself drawn to Robert Pattinson's charming vampire in 'Twilight' - something women old and young can identify with.

They're creepy, they suck your blood, and they turn you into a creature of the night. So why do fang-endowed vampires spark love at first bite – or maybe even before that first bite – in so many women?

"The vampire represents the quintessential bad boy," says Joanne Detore-Nakamura, a professor who teaches a literary film and monsters class at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "He's got a terrible reputation, he's gorgeous, he's dangerous and most importantly, he's vulnerable. He lives on the fringe of society."

We're drawn to vampires because of the sheer, fearful thrill, she says. "We are drawn to that which we fear, and we love vampires for the same reason we love roller coasters and scary movies," Detore-Nakamura says. "And while a vampire has the power to kill, a crude wooden stake or a sunrise can dust him, too."

The newest vampire on the scene will make his movie debut Friday, when the moody, mysterious and impossibly beautiful vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) hits the big screen in "Twilight," opening nationwide. The film, based on the bestselling series of novels by Stephenie Meyer, has a huge teen audience, and hundreds of midnight screenings have already sold out.

It's not just teens and tweens who'll flock to the film, though, says Harry Medved of Fandango, the movie ticketing destination. Moms are hot to see Twilight, too. In his survey of 5,000 ticket buyers, 25 percent said they were going with a mother or a daughter, Medved says.

And Edward's not the only member of the undead who's popular these days. On the hit HBO series "True Blood," Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer) is strong, fast and has switchblade-like fangs that are an irresistible draw for viewers.

"There is something very sexy about a vampire's otherworldness," says Medved. "They have an intensity and a desperate need to be close to other humans that is appealing. It's exciting because you just never know when a vampire is going to lose control and have to bite you. There is a chaste sensuality at work."

For many women, a vampire like Edward is close to ideal.

"Here is a vampire who looks like a Greek god, he's insanely good looking, forever young and all he wants to do is read your thoughts and spend time with you," Medved says. "When is the last time most men told their wife he wishes he could read her thoughts?"

Women also love the concept of succumbing to a vampire, says Kristin Romney, an archeologist who's done a lot of research in Eastern Europe and is the science advisor for men's lifestyle site www.asylum.com. "Vampires have become a replacement for sex," she says. "A vampire is such a powerful figure who sneaks into bed with a woman at night and, though he doesn't ravage her, promises her eternal life. Once a vampire bites you, you become immortal."

Of course, it helps that vampires have changed in the last 100 years or so. "If you look at Bela Lugosi, who was in his mid 40s when he played a vampire, he wasn't exactly youthful or good looking," Medved says. "Now screen vampires have become younger and better looking. They are the perfect romantic lead for any entertainment vehicle."

"Vampires are the ultimate safe sex symbol," says Romney. "And this is why a Mormon mother of young children [like Meyer] can write a sexy novel. 'Twilight' doesn't involve any sort of sex and yet the protagonist, the vampire, is such a sex symbol he has the girls swooning for him."

Vampires cause hearts to flutter in girls of all ages because they are wise beyond their years and eternally youthful, Romney says.

"We find them attractive because they live forever, and it's not their fault that they are not monogamous," she says. "After all, their wives and girlfriends keep dying off."

also*Sexy Vamp gallery ( eric is #4) HERE

HBO's 'True Blood' worth another try

Chicago Tribune Nov 21 2008

OK True Blood" fans. I give up. You win. I like this show.

And yet, to those of you who've been e-mailing me to tell me "True Blood," which airs its season finale 8 p.m. Sunday, is your favorite show—I can't agree. But the e-mail correspondents who've been saying the HBO show has finally become the escapist vamp potboiler that was lurking inside the somewhat pretentious show we first saw back in September—I agree with that assessment. Though it's not perfect, "True Blood" has improved a lot. Dare I say it no longer needs a transfusion?

There are so many things about "True Blood" I can still pick apart.

As Sookie Stackhouse, a woman in love with a courtly vampire, the miscast Anna Paquin is often the least interesting part of this show. The show's melodrama veers into laughable Southern Gothic at times. (Demon exorcisms? Really?) There are plenty of plot holes that you could drive a hearse through. The show's vampire mythology is contradictory and downright chaotic.
And don't start me on the variable accents on this show.

On the other hand, lately, "True Blood" has been doing a lot of things right.

Perhaps because of the obvious lack of chemistry between Sookie and her vampire lover, Bill (the fine Stephen Moyer), the show has been adding terrific guest actors. And it has focused on the one through-line that unites the show's disparate elements: the mystery of who's been murdering women in Bon Temps, La.

A few weeks ago, the wonderful Stephen Root showed up as a gay vampire-accountant (and that's the first time I have ever written those three words in a row). His character didn't resemble the mostly predictable vamps on this show, which have tended to favor eyeliner, leather pants and wanton murder. He was a lonely, soft-spoken guy who thought becoming a bloodsucker would spice up his life—but it didn't.

And as if that weren't enough, in recent weeks the show featured two "Homicide" veterans I would watch read from the telephone book: Michelle Forbes, of HBO's "In Treatment," and Zeljko Ivanek, who won an Emmy for his work on FX's "Damages."

"True Blood" has wisely opened up a world beyond vampires, a territory that his been well trod in books, TV and movies for decades now. There are shape-shifters in Sookie's world, and other beings with strange powers have been hinted at as well. Though it still has its self-indulgent moments, "True Blood" has picked up its pace admirably and now boasts more tension than the lackluster current season of Showtime's "Dexter."

An HBO representative says viewership for the show has dramatically increased. But even before those numbers went up, the network had renewed "True Blood" for a second season, which now looks like a wise move (and a necessary one—the finale, the HBO representative said, contains a couple of cliffhangers).

This drama is on its way to becoming what creator Alan Ball originally promised: a sexy, well-acted soap opera about bloodsuckers and the people who love them.

moryan@tribune.com

Taking a moment to gush about 'True Blood'

By Matthew Gilbert
Globe Staff / November 21, 2008

When "True Blood" premiered in September, I expected it to unfold as a highly thought-out and orderly metaphor of minority struggles in America. In Alan Ball's TV adaptation of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels, vampires come "out of the coffin," churches declaim "God Hates Fangs," and still the undead and their nightclubs have a hip cachet.
As the tiny Louisiana town of Bon Temps was initially scandalized by the love affair between the human Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill (Stephen Moyer), a gentlemanly creature of the night, it was hard not to fit the lovers into our history of enmity toward interracial romance. With Sookie and Bill fighting off bigotry, I thought of the more passive heroine of "Society's Child,"' Janis Ian's 1960s pop hit about racism. "True Blood" looked like it was going to be a fabulous - but limited - conceit. But the neo-gothic series, which will finish its first season on Sunday night at 9, has turned out to be so much more than a canny metaphor. Yes, the parallels between vampires and American cultural outsiders remain strong, and Ball and his writers aren't afraid to use them to comic and dramatic effect. The clips of vampires defending their rights on TV are amusingly droll sendups of real-life talking-headed venom. And Bill's mistreatment by Bon Temps has been both touching and, as it undoes the sensitive vampire and his beloved waitress, tragic. Sookie and Bill belong together.

Still, on top of the occult trope, which reaches beyond vampirism to include Sookie's mind-reading and her boss Sam's shape-shifting, "True Blood" has become a compelling genre mystery about a serial killer in Bon Temps, who's murdering women close to Sookie and her brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten). As the season has sped by, we've seen a number of characters cycle in and out of possibly being the killer, in the same way we've seen characters who may or may not be "The Skinner" on "Dexter." At the end of last week's "True Blood," we were given a major clue - a face on a fax machine - but I'm thinking the finale may bring on yet another twist. The show is, after all, wonderfully twisted, with every episode ending in a burst of unforeseen action.

And on top of that great unfolding mystery, "True Blood" - like most good TV shows - has become the intricate story of its particular characters, a collection of vivid and unexpectedly sympathetic people. Ball did the same thing on "Six Feet Under," as the funeral-home drama quickly grew into the saga of the specific members of the Fisher family. I can't say "True Blood" has the same psychological complexity as "Six Feet Under." But "True Blood" is very far from flat - always a danger when writers are working with phantasmagoria. Even the most peripheral characters - for example Alexander Skarsgard's Eric, owner of the Fangtasia nightclub - are memorable.

Sookie has become, like Buffy on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a heroic, but appealingly flawed, defender of the vulnerable. With her giant white teeth, her gaping diastema, and her plucky Southern mash-up of an accent, Paquin has done a superb job of making Sookie into a comic figure. But she also brings dramatic heft to this small-town girl who refuses to play dumb when it comes to the men whose minds she can read, who stands up for misfits and bans shame from her life. I remember thinking, when Paquin came to the stage to accept the 1993 best supporting actress Oscar for "The Piano," that the frightened little girl was doomed to a career in the shadows of that intense movie. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Paquin's chemistry with Moyer has grown rich, as Moyer has had the chance to make Bill into more than the mysterious cipher he was early on. Sometimes, Bill is the familiar, tragique vampire we've seen in so many Anne Rice novels and on "Dark Shadows" - but he's also more than a cliché, with his oddly mannered boyishness and hurt eyes. Sookie's friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), too, has managed to be more emotionally layered than the angry-black-woman stereotype she portrayed in the first few episodes.

But Kwanten, as Sookie's man-slut of a brother, Jason, deserves the biggest shout-out. He has been like a live electric wire on the show. At first, he seemed doomed to portray self-parody, with Jason as the classic big little boy. But, while he is still funny as he makes Jason's dull thinking process crystal clear, Kwanten has also given us a guy who has been unexpectedly baptized in self-awareness.

The networks tried to deliver a decent fall, and they came up with a pair of likable new dramas in "The Mentalist" and "Life on Mars." But my fall favorite this year is from HBO, which picked up some post-"Sopranos" mojo with "True Blood." The show is a fantastic supernatural fantasia.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/ tv/blog.

Where or where has my little vamp gone ?

Are you wondering what you are going to do after the series is over?
Have you already read all the Sookie book/stories ?
Here are some reading ideas
The Vampire Library is a resource for readers of vampire fiction, literature and non-fiction books. This site offers lists of vampire books, detailed book information, and links to purchasing information where available. In association with Amazon.com.

Book Lists /Novels/Sequels/Fiction Series/Anthologies/Fiction Guide/Non Fiction/All By Title/All By Author -http://www.vampirelibrary.com/

You can also browse vampire topics books on Library Thing here :
http://www.librarything.com/tag/vampires

Vampire poem of the day- The Giaour

In a passage in his epic poem The Giaour (1813), Lord Byron alludes to the traditional folkloric conception of the vampire as a being damned to suck the blood and destroy the life of its nearest relations:

But first, on earth as vampire sent,
Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent:
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corse:
Thy victims ere they yet expire
Shall know the demon for their sire,
As cursing thee, thou cursing them,
Thy flowers are withered on the stem.

Here on Earth Radio - Public Radio interview with Charlaine Harris

A great tip from Red Mercury-thanks Red


What vampires eat -- Oct 31 2008

The fact that Halloween happens to fall on a Friday this year has not been lost on us. So our approach to food this week will be a bit deviant: You are invited to join us at a table for the undead where you will find our favorite ghoul, Neil Whitehead. He can describe, with relish, just what vampires eat.

Guests:Neil Whitehead, Professor of Anthropology and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Charlaine Harris, creator of the Southern Vampire Mysteries which inspired HBO's True Blood

listen here
http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_081031k.cfm