What has happened to the monsters? For three decades, from the 1920s to the 1950s Universal gave us the demons that became classic fodder for our nightmares. Now nobody at the studio has the slightest clue how to utilize or market these creatures in the modern world. Is there no relevancy for the great terrors? Has the world moved on and left these beings to rot and crumble in the dust? Does anybody still have vision enough for these beasts to creep out the modern movie-goer?
The basic group, as all good horror fans should know, are Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, Phantom of the Opera, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and, okay for good measure, The Invisible Man. There are also plenty of second and third tier beasts to play with. This is quite a large group and yet Universal seems more eager to let the monsters die than to promote and reengage the latest generation of viewer with new experiences and kick start these franchises.
A giant Jacob's Ladder and some flashing test tubes was cool technology in the 30's. Go ahead and update. that would be lovely. Actually go ahead and do something with a little heart and a little vision. But we either get garbage or nothing. The grip of the studio is so tight that monster lovers need to create their own versions. Guillermo Del Toro was refused access to remake the Creature form the Black Lagoon story, supposedly, (that is part of the tale of creation of The Shape of Water Hollywood mythology which we'll leave for another day) so he went on to win an Oscar with his version of an Amazon fish man.
Why can't Universal find their way to creativity and or even decent marketing efforts with their stable of (what I consider) genius monsters? Who and what is REALLY holding them back? Many of the legacy monsters were based on books. Dark Delicacies is filled with books and, more often than not, writers who would give their canine teeth to see their fears come to life. Take it all a step further and ask where is Poe and Lovecraft and all the great unnerving horror that lies dormant in its grave? Is it the fussing and feuding among the original stars families, do modern filmmakers feel there is no relating to 100 year old tales, or idiocy and lack of motivation in the front office? Over the years tales, reasons and excuses have abounded. But no one size fits all excuse seems to have satisfied as a true explanation.
If something needs to give these beasts a punch to get going I have one idea. How about we turn all these horrors over to the women? This is their time to shine. why not shine in the area we all love and cherish so much? The men seem to have failed dramatically for the last two decades ending with that horrible Tom Cruise debacle of the Mummy (2017). The talented women of Hollywood could breathe new life into these franchises and resuscitate the corpses of our dark dreams. I would love to see a female producer,  director and writer tackle these myths. I can hear the screaming now.

There are times in life when we become so bogged down with the day-to-day crap that we forget to enjoy or even laugh at living. You've got to. It is a steam valve. smile a little and reflect on the absurdity of damn near everything. My personal feelings are that there is nothing that cannot be joked about or that has humor...including death. As with all humor it is all about timing.
For instance we may be able to tell jokes about death from long ago -
How long did Caine hate his brother? As long as he was Able. (I didn't say it was good humor) But maybe not joke about Hitler yet. Comedy. Timing.
The point is that there is humor all around you. The other day we were holding a big signing event in which people attending were given a number for their place in line.  I received a phone call.
"I have a number for your event tonight."
"Yes."
"I'm just trying to figure out when to be there."
"Okay. what number do you have?"
"Well, are you doing the numbers in order?"
I should have told them no. we're pulling them randomly like the draft so be here from the beginning.
Today somebody walked in and asked if I carried cassettes. I told them I didn't, only CDs.
"What kind of place is this?"
"A horror book and gift store"
"So do you have Simon and Garfunkel?"
'nuff said.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the polarization of America, maybe it's worldwide. I don't know. I vowed when I started this blog that I would not devolve into political talking points and yadda, yadda, yadda. I won't. This is about relationships between people.
I've watched all of us get more distant by being closer together in conversation online all day, every day.  People don't discuss. they label. You're Leftist or Right-wing or Progressive or Conservative. Whatever. The thing none of us are is just a person. Wow. what happened? When I stand in Dark Delicacies and talk with people we all have different opinions no matter the subject. Because we're human with different experiences and opinions. That's cool. That's what life is all about. But once on line and it is like the guy driving his dick down the highway.
Is it just me or does everybody feel a sense of oneness and not part of the human synergy? So I asked my friend Brian Keene how he felt about the situation. Hmmm. We're kind of in sync as you'll see below. After reading this tell me how you feel, without politicizing. How do you feel as an individual? How do you feel about yourself? How can we make this work? I look forward to reading your comments.

Now...Here's Brian

I'm apolitical in that I belong to neither party, and don't blindly echo the talking points of FOX News, MSNBC, or CNN. On some issues, my personal code leans to the Left. On others, it leans to the Right. But mostly, I stand firm in the middle of the road -- the most dangerous place to walk, but the only place I feel true to myself and my principles.
 
The key, for me, has always been to be respectful of another's opinion, regardless of whether it's an opinion I personally hold. I have friends who identify as Conservatives, Progressives, Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Libertarians, and even a few anarchists. As long as they are being respectful of others, and being respectful of me, I listen. Sometimes, I find my perspective or outlook changing depending on the information and knowledge and personal perspective they share with me.
 
But when it comes to racism, or bigotry, or sexism, or any other form of disrespect or hate, that's when I elect to stop listening and tune out. I'll defend to the death a stupid person's right to express stupid political speech, but that doesn't mean I have to stand there and listen to it, nor do I have to respect it. The moment a person begins castigating someone for their sexual orientation, religion, gender, race, or political party, I disregard everything else they say. And that goes for ANY discrimination. I have as much intolerance for those screaming that every American who voted for Trump is a racist as I do with every American screaming that Clinton was in cahoots with Russia and some ill-conceived and poorly-articulated Illuminati Pizza Trafficking ring. I'm as repulsed those who disrespect Christians as I am by those disrespecting Muslims. I'm against the clamor to ban all firearms as I am against the clamor to ban gay marriage.  
 
And as a result, I feel very alone these days. And very small. I watch the carefully cultivated social media echo chambers of my friends, all curated to cater to their own individual confirmation biases, and I feel very small and afraid of what's happening in this country, and to us.
 
I find myself spending less time online, and more time reading books. But mostly, I'm just worried about the future, and how both sides of the political aisle seem hellbent on hurtling us into oblivion, with no quarter asked and no fucks given, simply so they can score points on the other team.
 
I find myself heartbroken.
 
Brian Keene

Some very good news has filtered it's way down the pike recently with the announcement by the people at the Texas Frightmare Weekend scheduled for May 4-6. If you scroll down their home page you find that Clive Barker has been scheduled to be one of the show's guests. This is both surprising and delightful for Horror fans.
Before you get too crazy I must say that it looks like all of the $160 premium passes for the show are sold out but that doesn't mean (with a little research that there isn't something else available). You could still buy weekend packages and day passes. I would suggest that you don't wait too long to get you regular admittance tickets.
So here's the thing. As anybody worth their horror salt knows, Clive hasn't been in the best of health as of late...extended late. I believe his last convention appearance was in Los Angeles and he appeared to be fighting his way through that. So the surprising part of this announcement is that after he has seemingly come out the other end of the illness tunnel he would choose to make his first appearance halfway across the country from the comfort of home. But it seems to be true and that's the delightful part. This means he must be in much improved health and that is wonderful news.
According to reports coming out of Texas and Hollywood Clive's appearance agent/manager Chris Roe has Clive booked for three days including signings and photo ops.
Wonderful to hear Clive is back! Enjoy your convention Texas and give Clive some of that Western hospitality you're famous for.

As they say "All good things must come to and end".  My feelings are "All good things must change". 
Those of you who are familiar  with, not only Dark Delicacies but, the entire "Horror Crawl" here in Burbank, CA understand what a great thing happened to this stretch of Magnolia Blvd a decade ago. For me, it is reminiscent of several decades ago when the strip of Melrose Avenue in Los Angels between La Brea and Fairfax rose up with cool shops of very niche type stuff. The heyday lasted about ten years and was so popular in fact that there was a magazine in the Far East called Melrose about all the happenings and shops on the street.
But, alas, all good things come to an end or at least a change. Melrose is no longer the super cool strip. Like Sunset Blvd and the Santa Monica area before it, landlords saw how popular the area was and raised rents. This led to overbuilding to be able to have more spaces to lease which, in turn, caused parking problems and eventually the cool places were crowded out, high-leased out and the people turned stopped turning out.
Here on Magnolia Avenue the Magnolia Park area of Burbank has risen up to become a Horror Lover's dream recognized around the world - Dark Delicacies, Mystic Museum/Bearded Lady, Creature Features, Blast from the Past, Motion Picture FX, Geeky Teas, Black Cat comics and others plus a slew of Gothic and retro stores including Pinup Girls and Hilary's Vanity. It has hit it's peak. Landlords and corporations are getting the idea that the thriving area created by the merchants is theirs to plunder and take excessive profits from, as if the store owners did all the work so that they could give their living to the corporations and landlords. Now the shift has started and the exodus begins. It will take a couple of year's but trust me it will happen.
The Crooked Path (a spiritual, occult and alchemy store) probably won't last through it's landlord shift and lease renewal. Creature Features leaves the Blvd the end of March as opposed to resigning what would probably be a substantially higher lease agreement. However, they plan on still doing pop-up events and being on-line. That's nice but not the same as having their physical presence. The hunting, forging and tactile experience the collector store offered is unmatched.
Collector areas cannot be created. They have been trying with mediocre results to create a hipsville area in the NOHO district of North Hollywood for years. Only the restaurants and bars endure. The unique retail has not rooted. A real area of this type must grow up organically from demand by the customer and foresight by the mom and pop retailers willing to invest everything they have on a chance. I fear that for Burbank's Magnolia Blvd area a few loose rocks may be signalling the beginning of an avalanche. I hope I'm proven wrong. It may not be the end. But if nothing else, a change is coming.