Draco the Dragon Man

I'm a fan of cheesy cover art in just about all genres,  especially vintage books and albums. I couldn't resist the cover so I picked it up; with a title like Draco the Dragon Man, (Cyril Donson,1974) I couldn't resist.

I expected the book to be bad, and wow, I was right! The writing is bad, as well as lurid. Which is to be expected. The sex scenes are so ridiculous.  Donson, the author, loves TO WRITE LOTS OF WORDS AND SENTENCES ALL IN CAPS for some reason. Comma abuse is rampant as well as illogical. Oh, and exclamation points! All OVER, the, place! Everyone, is either shouting! Or YELLING, they all seem MAD! All the time! ALL the time!

But I was interested in the topic: underground reptilians. Reptilians as aliens, overlords, half human half beast, as monsters, as intelligent beings living in secret beneath our cities -- all fascinate me. This story however is your basic somewhat thin monster/horror story.

Cyril Donson, British writer, wrote westerns, sci-fi and even a book of poems. The latter which, I can only guess at that one.

Ghost Hunters Find: Scholastic Books

A few years ago I bought this Scholastic Ghost Hunter "kit" at our book fair. I'd forgotten I had this - - found it while clearing out my bookshelves, my summer project.

Front of box: Ghost Hunter

The thing is kind of cheesy, I think it came with a little thermometer but that was gone when I opened the box. There was a plastic votive holder and battery operated candle, which still works.

Ghost Hunter Box: back side

I think there was a little book inside but if so, it's gone. Also included, cards of "ghosts" in various haunted locations. Some cards have text on the back. One example:

"St. Augustine, Florida: "Everytime I go to St. Augustine, I see this little boy sitting in the tree. this started when I was 13!"

The photos are fun but many of them look phony to me. 

RMS Queen Mary Bridge Long Beach, California: "Person seen at the helm. Who is this ghost?"

Graveyard: St. Augustine: "Need to do research on who the girl might be."

 While a lot of the images look phony to me, you all know I certainly believe ghosts are real! As to the Queen Mary, while I've never been there, I know many people who have, and they have had many sightings of ghosts there.

Bookstore Find

Found this today at the St. Vinnie bookstore section. Which is just about the best used bookstore in the area.

"Easter Eggs", Moby Dick, and The X-Files

So much is out there about the limited return of The X-Files -- I can't possibly add anything anymore insightful or different. All I will say is that the three episodes shown so far have been fantastic. Classic X-Files, just excellent.

In the third episode, amongst the humor and "throw back" X-Files vibes, were "easter eggs" as Vulture.com refers to the many inside jokes and references in that episode. For example:

Every Easter Egg in X-Files Were-Monster Episode -- Vulture: Daggoo! Finally, we need to talk about Daggoo, the cute canine Guy Mann adopts and Scully later sneaks out of the animal shelter. This continues Morgan's trend of referencing Herman Melville's time-honored Moby-Dick. In the novel, Daggoo is one of the harpooneers on the Pequod, the ship captained by the tyrannical Ahab. In one of the Morgan-ghostwritten scenes for season three's "Quagmire," Scully likens Mulder to Ahab, and compares the agent's quixotic quest to Ahab's obsessive search for the great white whale. (Vulture.com)

One I noticed that the article didn't mention: when Fox Mulder is in Scully's motel room, standing by a fox head mounted on the wall.



It has been wonderful to have The X-Files back! Even if it is for a very limited run.