Vampires: Fact or Fiction?

This is another repost from an old blog of mine that is no longer public:

Why am I, as a grown woman, bringing this subject to light? As an adult, I have had my feet planted solidly in the real world for a long time. Then I became a mother and my daughter grew into a teenager who reads...a lot. Lately, it's been quite a few vampire-themed books. Naturally, we added watching The Vampire Diaries on Netflix and after reading the Twilight book series, we now have the movies. We've watched Buffy The Vampire Slayer, too, and its spin-off, Angel. I just finished reading, "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer", and Rachel is reading it now. All this resulted in being surrounded by lots of neck biting and bloodsucking as a lifestyle. 

Along the way, I think I began to understand some things. First, there are a variety of vampire types. Let's start with the simple things. 

Some vampires can survive in sunlight with no adverse effect. In some cases, this requires an enchanted ring provided by a witch. Sometimes it's just a case of "adjusting" to the light as they age in an undead manner or simply the use of sunscreen. For some, their particular species of vampire simply doesn't even know there are vampires that can't endure sunlight. And finally, sometimes they stand out in the crowd because the sunlight makes them.....sparkle. Yes, it actually makes me cringe a little to say it. 

"Hi, I'm a deadly vampire and I sparkle!" he says while doing some Broadway dance steps and using his jazz hands. 

In almost every instance, there is a human love interest, so apparently not only do they want to suck our blood, but they also want to date us. One or the other, fellas, cause you can't have both. 

There also seem to be good vampires and bad vampires. The good ones try to get jobs at the local blood bank or take out the area's deer and bunny population because they can't bear to be consumed by the guilt of killing everyone they date. I have a suggestion for them which would take some time to run the supply out - at least in our neighborhood. How about squirrels - especially the little varmints that eat our Halloween pumpkins every dang year! 

The bad vampires, on the other hand, have no problem taking out everyone they encounter and taking slow, repeated pints from their human partners. But for some, deep down they are torn by their own viciousness; just not enough to stop. It seems they are like addicts who just can't give up "the good stuff". I'm pretty sure if my daughter suddenly started wearing scarves around her neck every day, even in the summer, I'd be checking for hickeys, at the very least. 

How about the eye color? Some have red irises. This is both to indicate they are creepy human bloodsuckers and possibly so they can pass as albinos in the human world. I'm thinking I'll go with creepy human bloodsuckers. 

Some have amber eyes and this eye color must repeatedly be mentioned if you write about sparkling vampires. It's some sort of rule or something. 

"Brad, you have the most gorgeous amber eyes," she gushes. "The amber is so captivating but when they change from amber to black, it sort of creeps me out," she says with a shy smile on her face, demurely looking at the floor which also happens to be sort of an amber color. 

Some have eyes that are totally black, with no distinction between iris and pupil or the entire visible eye is black. Some of the red and amber vamps sometimes have black eyes, too - possibly because they are hungry. Or it could be that a movie director thinks contacts that cover your entire visible eye in black is a cool looking effect. Whatever the case, you would think this would alert the humans who start dating them and that they'd count themselves lucky after surviving the first date. Alas, humans are not all that aware, apparently. 

I think the most obvious hint you can get that you might be dating a vampire is when you ask his age and in giving you a triple-digit number, he doesn't smile to indicate it's a joke. 

"So, how old are you, anyway?" the seventeen-year-old boy asked. 

"One hundred and fifty," she answered and flipped her long, thick hair behind her shoulder. He looked at her for a moment, awaiting the cue that would tell him she was teasing. 

When nothing happened, he responded, "Oh," and thought to himself, "Cougar." 

Have I answered the question posed in my post title? I don't know, but the guy at my door just said he can't come in unless I invite him. **Cue spooky music**

Tall Actors

This was written on another one of my blogs, no longer being maintained, but I loved how it turned out and decided to share it here.

They are surprisingly difficult to find.  You see a lot of attractive actors but not a lot of them very tall.  Well, tall for me means well over 6 feet because I'm tall myself at 5'9" - although I used to be taller until serious back problems robbed me of over 2 inches.  So is this because taller means less attractive?  I think not!  Here's a sampling to nix that idea:

Gorgeous Hugh Jackman at 6' 2". 

 

Matthew Fox also at 6' 2" AND also looks good wet.....

Lee Pace at 6' 3" - nice on the eyes if not slightly thick in the brow.

Tom Selleck as he looks now...

and in his younger, Magnum P.I. days, at 6' 3 1/2".  I had a teenage crush on him (yes, teenage) and he's aging well if you ask me.

Liam Neeson at 6' 4" but maybe just attractive to those of us over....a certain age.  Love his accent!

And John Corbett (remember Northern Exposure) at 6' 5" - if only he wasn't frighteningly out of touch with reality (a little crazy). And still looking good with age:

 

Of course, there are others, I'm sure, but this is my blog and I get to pick 'em today.  Add yours in comments if you like.

Immigration Reform - From Dec 7, 2014

This is copied from a post I made on Facebook on December 7, 2014, and is still valid:

I've been thinking and reading and praying a lot about the immigration issue in our country for many, many months. I know I disagree with amnesty for all who are in this country, especially the ones who have flooded into our country recently. But, after prayerfully considering those who have long lived in this country, I think things need to be considered. Do they support a family here in the U.S. by the work they do? That does NOT mean living on subsidies; it means actually holding down a job. Do they have American citizen immediate family members - meaning wives and/or children? Do they have a criminal record in their homeland and have they broken ANY of our laws while in our country -other than being here illegally? Are they gang members? Are they able to speak the English language or are they willing to learn over six months - enough to function here, take direction, understand instructions? Do their family members speak English or are they willing to learn? I think it is blatant disrespect and speaks volumes to expect to live in a country permanently and not know the language well enough to function there. If you want to be a United States citizen, BE a United States citizen.

We ARE a nation of immigrants and I think most people are accepting of that. The protest arises from criminals coming over, a flood of people coming because they believe "Now is the time" with our current debate over immigration, those who refuse to speak the national language - or pretend to not be able to-, those who are unable or unwilling to work and have no family members who can support them.

It is NOT inhumane to expect immigrants to be contributing members of society. It is NOT unkind to expect immigrants to take responsibility for themselves. In the past, many immigrants have been some of the greatest contributors to our society. We, as a country, have a right to expect an immigrant to rise up to their responsibilities. I think it MUST be broken down to the ability to contribute, just as it is in any other country taking in immigrants. Keep in mind, immigration and refugees are far from the same, and claiming all the South Americans coming over the border are refugees would be simple ignorance.

I also think our borders MUST be tightened because it is not just a flow of South Americans coming here. Border patrol folks KNOW there are other countries - those countries interested in destroying us - who are slipping through, too. I am praying that our national leaders can stop their political power struggle long enough to take thoughtful and meaningful action in this matter.

Jump to 2017 - The issue of immigration has moved more toward Muslims now than South American's, it seems.  The mass movement of immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere has dropped off significantly.  I don't want to see good people who work hard deported to a country where they cannot survive because the ability to obtain citizenship has not been available or has been too far outside of an affordable position for them to make it happen.  But I do think that's where all of the gang members, other criminals, and those that drain our social service funds should go.  And please understand, I'm not saying I think it's just immigrants that drain us as a society.  Of course, there are people born and raised their entire lives, like their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, in this country who behave in exactly the same way.  We have enough of our own.  We don't need them from another country.  I just wish I had a workable answer for it.