The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

I have come to the conclusion that I am totally jaded when it comes to things that go bump in the night. I watched "Paranormal Activity" and I didn't find it the least bit scary. In fact, I found it to be a little cliche and laughed at certain parts.



I saw the original ending to the movie and I have heard about the newer ending which to me seems a little silly. The original one they had is far more plausible. **SPOILERS** If you haven't seen it don't read any farther.



Now to see at the end that the boyfriend goes flying across the room and then she looks into the camera with sort of an Exorcist face is sort of gimmicky from the type of movie they were doing. The original ending where she goes out, you hear her screaming and he runs out to help her and he is screaming and she comes back into the bedroom holding a butcher knife with blood on her shirt was more apropos I thought, as far as scare factor. She rocks all day long. You hear a phone call but she doesn't respond and then her g/f comes in and finds Micah dead downstairs and starts screaming. She leaves and then the police come and finally go upstairs to find Katie still on the floor rocking, holding the knife. They talk to her and she gets up approaching them with the knife in hand. They tell her to put it down but she is totally disoriented. She is calling Micah's name. They keep telling her to drop the knife, but she doesn't put the knife down and they shoot her twice and she falls down just to the left of the doorway where you can only see her legs but it is pretty evident she is dead. Now I guess there should be one more frame where the cops find the camera still running but what I watched stopped where they killed her and called in.



I didn't find this movie scary and sometimes I found it funny. It did make one jump with sudden booming and such. I was annoyed that they didn't mention the chandelier downstairs swinging which was very obvious. It was ok I guess but I am tired of hand-held camera movies like this. The guy did a good job though, for a novice. It's not the worst movie I have seen. Out of 5, I would give it a 3. Many others loved it and it is doing very well. There is no accounting for taste but having been a spiritualist most of my life I found some of it laughable because he researched I think reading books and articles.



The psychic was pretty believable in what he told them according to popular viewpoint. Only certain people get involved with what some call demons, lol. I guess from what I read the stuff with the ouija board was added in. I am getting sick of people giving that tool a bad name!! He could have just as easily used a pendulum which is much easier or tried automatic writing...geesh. It did what the filmmaker wanted for most people but scary...not to me at all. What I did notice is he filmed it like older horror movies that used shadow and noises to make their movies scary and did a great job.



I recognized the neighborhood because I lived in San Diego for a long time until more recently when I came back home due to the health of my parents who are both now passed. Rancho Penasquitos is off the 163 freeway just south of Escondido on the west side of the freeway. Most of the housing is Spanish in style but not all of course. It is one of the nicer middle class neighborhoods in the City of San Diego. San Diego is very large, 7th largest city in the US, so they have it broken up into many areas like this one. La Jolla is another and so is Rancho Bernardo. There are many, many areas of the City of San Diego. I lived in North Park which was an older area and closer to the San Diego zoo and museums and downtown.



If I had seen a street sign I might have known where it was that he filmed, lol. All in all it is a passable movie and if you aren't that familiar with this sort of thing and you are willing to wait as the movie builds...it might scare you and considering the actors worked with no dialogue they did a great job.

I really get discouraged with turmoil in the vampyre community. I think everyone can work things out. Everyone at one time only recognized a difference in themselves. One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to be aware. What they won't be aware of is the organized heirarchy of the modern community.



It is made up but it has been around between 30 to 40 years. Now most who have hit puberty and are going through things which more than likely are just normal growth responses for most are influenced by all the materials they see written on the internet. Some written in books that are questionable at best even if the person is well known. Most of it is hogwash. There are enough books written by the self-proclaimed "we know it alls" that people think it is all gospel but it isn't. It is theories and just plain pecking orders.



This is fine because groups tend to do this and come up with buzz word names for things and if you don't know these words...hell to pay for you! I could care less about all of it. Each person is free to pursue their interaction with this subculture as they see fit. There are no edicts in this community of free people. What interests you is your own private business, such as BDSM. This is not a reflection of this community or a factor. It is a personal interest of some people but not all. If someone does something relating to an interest that you don't approve of...don't bring it into the community because it has NO place there. If you can't get along with someone, DON'T bring it into the community because it doesn't belong there.



The worst thing I see with the community is circulating libelous (in writing) statements around amongst other people to make yourself feel vindicated and especially if you are a male dealing with a male or other males. Come on, be adult and handle it privately. Do not threaten with bodily harm because if known it may be YOU that gets shunned. Have some class and be a leader and diplomat. Do not use a flagrant amount of profanity, i.e, calling the person names using flammatory words.



Ever since I got involved with connecting online so many think it is ok to try and blackball someone or ruin their reputation because they have different viewpoints and many are not trustworthy in the first place. My council WILL NOT circulate such garbage around the community. It is unconscionable and gives a bad impression of the type of people who are in certain positions in the community. It gives a bad image to everyone that we are all a bunch of violent opinionated assholes to say it bluntly. Keep your problems in private and in your own organizations. If you cannot be adult enough to handle your problems within your own organizations maybe you should close up your doors.



I am tired of all the fighting and won't use the word "drama" because to me that is a teeny bopper word. I don't use it. Set an example and work things out instead of kicking people to the curb because they say or do something that is different from your way of thinking. Find out the true details and don't judge people so easily and for goodness sake don't act like gangs that come together to back each other up. Whoever the person is that is having the disagreement should be able to handle the issue on their own and solve it. If it involves other people they should be able to handle things themselves as well. Don't be so quick to believe what everyone says about things...some things can purely be misunderstandings and above all be honorable and if someone tells you something in confidence...leave it there. Don't meddle. This is one of the biggest problems in the community of everyone meddling into everyone else's business.



Some of us older people in the community are starting to bow out of it. One major person in particular has done so. Hopefully they will return. We all have a place whether we do large tasks or are around to support smaller tasks. Many of us have gotten sick and tired of all the bickering and policing some keep trying to do for the sake they say of everyone else instead of letting each individual organization or person decide for themselves. We have many different viewpoints which need to be tolerated. Opinions are fine as long as they are respectful. Those who are in constant turmoil with others should do some self reflection and act accordingly. As for recognizing our own kind this idea is flawed because I will state something openly which I don't like to do but there is one House in particular that is run by someone who is not what they say and they host activities and are connected to all sorts of groups. The community does accept others who run Houses and are not vampyrics at all but have them in their organization and they actually to a degree befriend the community. Money talks I hate to say and sometimes depravity. I have watched this happen for several years and heard people say they can say who is and isn't a vampyric...well how come this slipped right through the cracks? I know the background of the person in question and I laugh because people say they know their own kind and watch them do a 360. This isn't the only one that has gone up in stature yet people venerate those I know are in it for the stature and nothing more. They aren't vampyrics but of course they drink blood because that is easy to do and is visible to the eye. I just shake my head that so many can be so fooled and they think it matters so much they will stoop so low they have no dignity. I am just thoroughly fed up with it!

I have written a few more things but one in particular is like when I started it before. Once I get into it, it is so voluminous it gets disorganized. I will be working on that one. On a Romanian website I thought it interesting and this confirms what has been said by others in the past.



Strigoi



This is the major Romanian vampire. It's basically the most common and well-known type of vampire, even if one doesn't know the term Strigoi. When a person thinks of a "Vampire," this is usually what they're thinking of, even if they don't know it. Although, there is a difference between Strigoi, and Strigoi mort (a Romaninan friend said this was an improper spelling), both Romanian vampires. The former being a live vampire, and the latter being a dead vampire. There's also the Strigoi Vii, whom are witches destined to become vampires after death. The Strigoi was discovered by an unusual occurrence either at their birth or death, and a living Strigoi was a person who was born with either a caul or a little tail. A Strigoi Vii may become a Strigoi Mort, as well as other people who died irregularly, such as by suicide or an accident.



Therefore, to call oneself a Stregoi vii does not mean they are a vampire. This word meant more in line with a witch and was also somewhat generic in use but you will see farther down they are saying a vampiric witch. What that meant is not very clear.



Varcolac and Pricolici, the Werewolves



A varcolac in Romanian folklore may refer to several different figures. In some versions, a varcolac is a wolf demon. Like the Norse Fenris, the varcolac can swallow the moon and the sun and is thus responsible for eclipses.



Some legends say it is a ghost or vampire (Strigoi) while other say it is a werewolf, although it can occasionally mean "goblin". The word varcolac is a loan from Slavic (cf. Bulgarian varkolak, vulkdlak, Greek vryklakas), meaning "werewolf" (etymologically "Wolf's Fur").



A Pricolici (same form in plural) is a more definite werewolf in Romanian mythology, whereas the varcolac can sometime symoblize a goblin.



Pricolici, like strigoi, are undead souls that have risen from the grave to harm living people. While a strigoi possesses anthropormorphic qualities similar to the ones it had before death, a pricolici always resembles a wolf or large dog. Malicious, violent men are often said to become pricolici after death, in order to continue harming other humans.



Even as recently as modern times, many people living in rural areas of Romania have claimed to have been viciously attacked by abnormally large and fierce wolves. (what it doesn't say here is whether they are Roma or actually of Roman descent) Apparently, these wolves attack silently. unexpectedly and only solitary targets. Victims of such attacks often claim that their aggressor wasn't an ordinary wolf, but a pricolici who has come back to life to continue wreaking havoc. (It is known that in many European countries the wolf has mated with wild dogs and hybrids have been created that are far more dangerous that the pure wolf. Most wolves are shy but these mixed breeds are said to be aggressive.)



Strigoi: The Romanian Undead



In Romanian mythology, strigoi (same form singular or plural) are the evil souls of the dead rising from the tombs (or living) that transform into an animal or phantomatic apparition during the night to haunt the countryside, troubling whoever it encounters.



A strigoaica (singular feminine form) is a witch. Strigoi are also known as "moroi" in some parts, especially rural areas. They are close relatives of the werewolves known as "pricolici" or "varcolaci"



These names are derived from striga, which in Romanian meant "witch" or "barn owl", cognate with Italian strega, which means "witch", and descended from the Latin word strix, for a shrieking vampiric bird. Strigoi viu (plural: Stregoi vii) is a living vampiric witch.



Strigoi mort (plural: Strigoi morti) is a dead (undead) vampire. They are most often associated with vampires or zombies. According to Romanian mythology a strigoi has ginger hair, blue eyes and two hearts.



By Slovenian mythology a "striga" is most likely a woman but there are exceptions when she is a male. One of the ways for ending her powers is to expose her to public after witnessing her powers. Folklore superstitions also says she can't be killed unless killed which she is feasting on the lifeforce of her prey.



The Moroi variety of vampire:



A Moroi (same in plural form) is a type of vampire or ghost in Romanian folklore. A female Moroi is called a Moroaica (pl. Moroaice). In some versions, a Moroi is a phantom of a dead person which leaves the grave to draw energy from the living. Moroi are often synonymous with these other figures in Romanian folklore: Strigoi (another type of vampire), Varcolac (werewolf or goblin), or Pricolici (werewolf). They are also sometimes referred to in modern myth as the live-born offspring of two strigoi.



In fiction, based on the folklore though with a number of modifications, the name Moroi is sometimes spelled as Moroi. (or "Moroii), the former being an undead vampire, the latter being a living vampire, However, in Romanian folklore the distinction is not always clear, and a Moroi may also refer to a phantom-like figure.



From rest Romania, branches in Romania and Australia.



http://www.restromania.com/Sociologie/RomanianFolkloreAndTraditions.htm



Therianthropy is a generic term for any transformation of a human into another animal form, or for a being which displays both human and animal characteristics, either as a part of mythology or as a spiritual concept. The word is derived from Greek therion, meaning "wild animal", and anthrōpos, meaning "man".



Therianthropy - Scholarly use of the term

In folklore, mythology and anthropology, therianthropy can be used to describe a character that shares some traits of humans and some of non-human animals. The most commonly known form is lycanthropy, from the Greek word lycos ("wolf"), the technical term for man-wolf transformations. Although the precise definition of lycanthropy specifically refers only to werewolves, the term is often used to refer to shape changing to any non-human animal form. Egyptian gods which display the heads of animals, such as Ra, are an example of therianthropes.



When people believe they change into an animal form (theriomorphosis), or possess supernatural non-human animal traits, the term clinical lycanthropy is often used. This classification is a form of mental illness, though many anthropologists would point out that the belief has extensive religious precedent in shamanic cultures. Likewise, people who call themselves shapechangers as a form of social identification are generally not considered ill by mental health professionals unless their beliefs interfere with the normal functioning of their lives. This can be a controversial issue, as the line between what the Western mind passes off as a strange or alternative belief and what is considered a mental illness is indistinct.



http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Therianthropy/id/1897355





From my researches, the ancient Greeks, pre-Hellenistic in the area of Arcadia did not believe in the vampire or more precisely, have any vampire lore until much later and then they spoke of the vrykolacas but it actually was a word that meant werewolf in the beginning. This may account for why many words used nowadays literally mean werewolf or wolf's fur.



It appears most of the tales that even mention them in earlier years are only those stating that if a werewolf is killed they will come back as a vampire. Many times as well it is the dead person's soul who is trapped in the grave and they project an image from this place that could be human-like or animalistic. There are a variety of beliefs. Many of the tales do not talk about drinking blood but taking life force. The early Romanian tales are like this as well, but it might account for the fact that those who spoke vulgar Latin, the Roman troops, were essentially from all over. No one knows what decent some of them actually were and they were in Transylvania for 167 years. We also know that some from Greece migrated into the area that is now known as Romania, but not going into that. Some of them emulated the arts and crafts of the Scythian culture. It's in my article, heh :)



Some discredit the idea that porphyria has anything due to the superstitions of the vampire:



The theory also operates on a highly-flawed premise, mainly in regard to a perceived harmful effect sunlight had on vampires. But this is a much more recent innovation in vampire lore: its origin is from 1922, with the release of vampire movie, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens. (This may or may not be true because no citation was given. Nosteratu was a version of the novel, Dracula that hadn't been approved. They were ordered not to release it by Stoker's wife. Later she was talked into letting them release it in the US. The book itself was never copyrighted in the United States) There are about eight different types of porphyria, four of these types of porphyria can sometimes cause sensitivity to light: Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP) or Protoporphyria, Congenital Erythropoetic Porphyria (C.E.P.), Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) and Variegate Porphyria. Therefore this is a stretch to use it as an example but most websites use this idea and some within the community wrongly. You will find the statements about prophyria all over the net.



Check wikipedia and other sources on this topic.

I am frustrated about Satanism. Everyone thinks what most talk about as Satanism has been around a very long time. The origins of that word go way back, long before Anton LaVey was a twinkle in anybodies eye. It is referred to as Religious Satanism in this century as opposed to Theistic Satanism.



People who rebel from established mainstream religion tend to go this direction. I personally don't follow any of them. What people don't seem to want to understand is this, yes the word existed and it had more than two meanings and usage. How a word is used centuries past is not always the same.



From what I can tell there was an angel called Satan and never called Lucifer. There is no Lucifer as an individual. The term was used descriptively to mean someone who was great in acts, bright and shining like the planet venus since this was the ancient Latin name for that planet. Some how it took on sinister connotations much later and it seems to be that it has a lot to do with Paul. No one followed the teachings left to James but they followed Paul who taught the gentiles. Unlike what most think the gentiles were not on the agenda to be added to the teachings...sorry folks it is true. Paul didn't have a clue what many things meant and over time you have what you have now with the influences of meddling scribes, priests, monks and King James. If you want to believe all of it that is the individual's prerogative. I am not going to tell you anything about who is right and who is wrong just about this idea that relates to Satan.



Satan never fell out of favor with God, according to the Rabbis. He did his job and is probably if he exists a little upset at how he/she is being represented. Now here I have an opinion...man was supposedly given free will so I don't believe this angel would interfere and try to set the record straight and I am sure he/she most likely is perturbed at how he/she is being represented. The use of the word was colloquial as well to mean many things, just like we presently use words and use them figuratively and in many ways are not the main definition. One in particular was representing false thought.



This idea that is pervasive about what Satanism is, is modern. It has not been around for even 100 years and isn't even as old as Wicca. Whether considered a philosophy or not by some, LaVey made it a church legally. If you do that you have to live with it. Don't try to rationalize what church means. It is philosophical but it is about what life means for those who believe in it. It is pretty radical and straight forward but it doesn't hold the corner on the market in Satanism.



LaVey was always wanting to be in the limelight. All of this was a stepping stone to fame for him. Don't try to elevate the man. He knew things but he couldn't write his stuff without borrowing things others wrote word for word. Doesn't mean he didn't feel it fit in his own philosophies. You got to move on past him. It is now an established group that some consider a cult, others a religion, yet others a philosophy and to some a deity. What I am saying is when one brings up this topic one should not assume that something that hasn't been around more than since the sixties, not even as long as Wicca is the only belief that is referred to as Satanism.



If someone says they are a Satanist one must ask what they believe. It isn't a given it will always be LaVeyan. Nothing wrong if it is. It shouldn't be looked down upon because there are so many beliefs out in the world that this one is one of the more rational ones around as compared to some in my opinion. I say live and let live but we have to be realistic. LaVey's form is not the only one and they were talking about Satanism centuries ago and it was nothing like this. Whether it was hysteria or reality is not relevant. It is because of the Christian concept that most think of this angel as being evil, which has veered into other religions that have come out of this one such as Islam. People believe all sorts of things. Don't think Christianity is the last word either...it is one of many.



Most of what is believed now was different in the beginning and there are much older sects that follow different ideas such as the Syriac church that is the oldest Christian denomination and still speak Aramaic. Large groups of people very often get disgruntled and split. For example now we have Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants want to say that Catholicism isn't Christianity but it is and a precursor to the other which has so many denominations and beliefs most cannot make head nor tails of it. Be sure you know your subject before you start saying something is this or that and preface it with in this viewpoint or something like that. It is not accurate to say what LaVey espoused is what Satanism is because that is an untruth, it is only one belief of many. If he had talked of this 400 years ago he would have been executed for heresy. You really think that anyone who believed anything remotely connected to the word was writing books and out in the open in those days? I think they most likely wanted to keep their heads, no matter if a philosophical view or deity worship.

I have written on this topic so many times. I don't know why anyone would think it was something to be ashamed of to say they were a vampyre or even a role player (lifestyler as some call them) for that matter. Are we each other's keepers? I have met some very charismatic people within the vampyre subculture I know were not either of these things and quite frankly were probably sociopaths. There have always been people who are attracted to those who don’t exactly follow the line of acceptance in society. They want to be something more than mundane. They want special powers, which comes up often. We have no special powers other than some are more adept with working with energies but so are healers which is a common interest of some in the community and shamans.



Could the average human being be what we would consider positive as far as how we relate to energy? Perhaps to balance nature, there are those who are of a negative type. I sometimes represent this as sun people and moon people. They may be here in the reverse of what most of us think is “normal.” What is normal has been decided by the bulk of society but actually it is merely a belief and subject to critique. We must get rid of our ideas that negative means evil. Those that many label “dark” or negative in nature, tend to be the creative folks, those in tune with the hum of the universe. They prefer the dark, they generally perceive themselves as having a reversed circadian rhythm and they scoop up all the expended positive and negative energies spewed out by society to keep the world in balance. Are they bad people, evil? How can that be if everything in this plane of existence is perceived to be dual in nature according to society, religion and philosophy? Therefore by that very premise, this would allow for those that are of the dark or spectrum which mundane humans cannot see.



What is interesting is most of these types of people are judged by dress and interests, even though they vary tremendously. It is the more aggressive in the culture that are noticed or mundane people who commit crimes stating they are among this kind but are mentally ill and merely delusional. All are lumped together and further supported by scathing articles written by the media and further endorsed by the fanatical religious sects.



Why not use these people for what they were made for; to balance life here on earth and elsewhere. They can consume all of these energies and re-route them into something constructive as well as maintain good health for themselves in so doing. Yes there are factions and even those that believe the vampyre to be overlords of old of the human race. This of course remains to be seen and is another issue altogether. There are many beliefs in the vampyre community, most unsubstantiated. This is what belief is all about. It doesn’t require a scientific explanation or some cosmic contract spelling it all out.



Those that speak of themselves as predatory are most likely that. As a group the vampyric individual is usually dominant in some way. All are very sexual in nature and none of them are any one thing as far as feeding beyond food. This is a fallacy held by the community. Yes, we were tribal and nomadic in centuries past but we are like everyone else, now in the 21st Century. We need to give up those things of the past and live in the now. If reincarnation exists then it exists for all and others have faint recollection of past lives. Having been persecuted we cling to the things of old but we must move on past this antiquated idea. Like mundanes we have varying tastes and ideas about the vampyre and their behavior. We are no longer vagabonds and in our present generations our upbringing and values no longer stem from survival of the fittest but from every corner of the world.



Spiritualists or light workers believe that tendrils are formed between each person we come into contact with. These are considered energetic pathways between individuals sometimes referred to as “etheric cords.” The idea is that when used positively one can experience love, friendship and empathy for those we come into contact with but on the other hand if they are not used positively that automatically means it’s a negative drain. It is via these tendrils that many vampyres feed. Many feel these etheric cords to be negative in nature once established and must be cleansed away.



Those who judge and feel that these negative energies, which is debatable that this is the case, must be washed away don’t understand that in this plane of existence, whether illusory or not, there must remain a sort of balance. If we wash away all of these energies by daily cleansings then society will stagnate and we will not be able to grow and expand into space and transcend the bonds of time. I feel in many cases these very actions will bring out the more aggressive side of the vampyre. It is our kind who will hold out their hands and lift us into the future. It matters not whether we have piercings, tattoos or have interest in various alternative sexual practices. Most of us are interested in the things that are one step different than most other people. We are curious and we strive to understand those things that others pass off as unbelievable and often called occult. We are one step in and out of this plane of existence.



Nowadays many have come out of secrecy to proclaim they are here and stand proud of their heritage which for most is very sketchy. They look to the past for guidance and to the future for enlightenment. These people call themselves, “Vampyres.”

I just got through watching a movie that will be in the theaters November 3. It's called Hardwired. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr. with Val Kilmer and Michael Ironside and others. It is a scifi-action thriller. I thought the premise of the movie was good although computers controlling people isn't a new theme. The way this one was done was very entertaining and all the actors do a fine job. I really liked it. Seems futuristic, scifi movies are in right now. The only ones I have seen that I wasn't too fond of were Sunshine, Humanity's End, and District 9. I liked the one I just watched and Pandorum was ok and that is the most I will say about it. The fact that it was so dark made such a long movie hard to watch but it was crucial to the ending for it to be like that. All I can say is it was passable.



I watched Steve Austin's new movie and it was ok as movies of that type go. I just like watching that big guy. I have been sick with a flu virus and once I think I am over it, I start feeling sick again so I have been spending time resting and watching movies. Making sure I don't get the tendonitis flare in my arm areas again by being on here too much.



Here is a six minute preview of Hardwired.

I noticed they are talking about health in this particular meeting. I know many have the migrains. I am not one of them. I am sensitive to light. It is confirmed by a optometrist that noticed this and said my glare problem was really bad. I always have to have some tinting on glasses which I don't like to wear and don't know where they are at the moment, hahaha. I am highly sensitive to touch which has been documented by UC Irvine in an experiment I took part in relating to age. Does that have anything to do with vampyrism...no one really knows. My blood has always been funny and the doctors couldn't figure it out, lol. They would put me on these dang diets. It was like a just in case sort of thing I guess. I was never anemic. I had lots and still do of allergies.



I do not drink blood and my spiritualist background and my penchant for a slightly OCD personality will not let me. I consider it unclean. Has nothing to do with whether there is a draw but I don't let anything do that to me. I have never been on drugs, smoked and rarely drink and I don't eat a lot of meat unless it is ground. Don't ask me why. I have never really liked the taste of meat but I eat it covered with something, lol. It really just depends because I really love prime rib.



I have been taking energy longer than some have been alive in the community and I didn't split hairs about it. I do not consider myself psi or sang. I think they are silly labels. It doesn't matter how you take in energy whether it be via the blood or otherwise but I have felt this way. All vampyrics draw in energies whether consciously or unconsciously no matter how in control they think they are. Some need the boost of something in the blood but I do not think it is the prana in it. There is no way to prove there is any more there than in any other bodily fluid. I think it is some consituent in the blood that boosts the energy carrying of the other energy feeding they are doing but not acknowledging spontaneously. I think it has to do with the vibrational level or various frequencies that one person suggested. Will go into that later. Vampyrics I believe have a less dense body structure...it is subtle and nothing one could measure but I still think it is the case. Just my opinion but it relates to my spiritualist background and things I have learned and I am not going to do a dissertation on it and explain all of this...If it is something you need to know it will come to you in other ways, just like it did for me. It's tedious and time consuming.

I took the time to watch Twilight a second time. Yep, I am daring, haha, and watched it twice. It really isn't a bad movie and I understand the limitations of the medium but they really didn't fill in much about the background of the vampires. Just that they didn't want to kill the humans and they banded together like a family unit. There were others around that didn't have this same idea. No background to anything really, only information necessary for what was happening at the time. I thought the soundtrack was really bad. I hope they have something better next time around. Pattison did an excellent job with the American accent. You couldn't tell he wasn't an American. Now Kristen I think is sort of a dull actress. She was the same way in Messengers but maybe they wanted an actress that was very lowkey, I don't know. Overall I would give it a 7 out of 10.



Now ask me about Drag Me to Hell...I would give that one a 3. It was like watching one of the scifi channel movies and if you have watched them you know what I mean. Every so often they come up with something good but even by their standards this one was pretty cheesy.

I watched Surrogates with Bruce Willis. Sounds like it would have to do with surrogate mothers but nope...not even close.



It's an action packed scifi thriller Bruce Willis style. I really liked it because I thought it was extremely unique and creative. I would buy this movie.



Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact vicariously through surrogate robots. Here is the trailer or one of them.

No joke: College removes zombie plan from site

All set for hurricanes? Check. Pandemics? Check. Living dead? Check.



GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Florida's response plans for a zombie apocalypse are no longer available for public consumption.



University spokesman Steve Orlando said Friday the university removed a link to a disaster recovery exercise, which detailed how the school could respond to an outbreak of the undead. The link was taken down late Thursday afternoon.



Orlando says officials felt the joke "didn't really belong" on the site, which also included plans for dealing with hurricanes and pandemics.



The exercise lays out the university's response to attacks by "flesh-eating, apparently life impaired individuals." It notes that a zombie outbreak might include "documentation of lots of strange moaning."



Orlando says the employee who wrote the gag wasn't punished, saying that it was written by an employee to "add a little bit of levity" to disaster preparation discussions.



Orlando says officials felt the joke "didn't really belong" on the site, which also included plans for dealing with hurricanes and pandemics.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33130861/ns/us_news-weird_news/

I went to the San Clemente Fest. Can't remember the full name but they have a chowder cook off there every year. It was nice getting out after being sick. Can't say I am totally over it but the beach air was nice.



Anyway you get this ticket and you get to sample 5 of the chowders which are mostly clam but not all. Some are mixed fish and they had the Manhattan style and variations. I liked the one that had won three years running. It was really good. It was from a restaurant but some were from individuals or businesses of another type. I watched everyone drink themselves silly in the bar, lol. I hardly ever drink. We took the metrolink so they did't have to worry about driving really for at least two hours. It took that long on the train but it was fun and I was surprised how clean it was considering you can bring snacks and things on the train. It's pretty inexpensive too considering the price of gas.

I tried to break up the minutes but it is too time consuming. So if you want to read it, some of the whose who is in it talking. Some are VVC members yet others are not. Following is the list of attendees. They tend to bring in their buddies. Vyrdolak use to go by Inanna Arneth (think I got the last name right, lol) and Sanguinarius is a woman if you didn't know. This is Inanna's website. She told me she changed her ID to be less gender specific.



http://www.bylightunseen.net/



Deacon Gray is a member of many things and is the co-founder with me of the GraveYard Press. Vampyre Onyxdragon is someone I know pretty well and is on the west coast. He belongs to a group I belong and Deacon. Should be a member of the VVC but for some reason he is not. Neither am I. I am not joining anything else. Sylvere is an owner of a popular online group and is friends with Sanguinarius, Michelle Belanger, ...goes back years. Merticus is a member of the AVA and managed the survey they did with the community. Diaboluslupus I have known online for a long time, even before Merticus. He is a donor as far as I know from the Los Angeles area. SphynxCat is a lady as well and that is all I will say about her. I don't really know The Pink Lady except in passing. Have been in chat with her in one of Lady CGs groups. Ancient Arcane I know fairly well. He has a House that believes in ancients and some other esoteric things slightly different than mainstream but a really nice person. I probably know who some of the others are but I am having brain fade and frankly...heh...I don't really care. Just thought I would figuratively travel guide you through the group oh and I think Winged Wolf was on there. She is the most unusual person connected to the Vampire community...sort of an ex sanguinary vampire or so she says, is therianthrope now and holds gatherings, is very nice and is owner of the Psion Guild...she is hard to beat in a debate, no degrees but really well rounded person. Anshar you can find in Youtube. I believe he is an owner of a House in Northern California...after awhile it is just too many names, lol. At my age, who can remember anymore! Remember this is an open meeting so some may say off the wall things. For instance the fang thing. Having very pointy canines does not mean they are fangs. Vampires did not have fangs except in works of fiction. It's an aesthetic of the culture. Some emulate the gothic and fictional vampire in dress and looks. Some are rp but many are not. It is the cultures fads at this time, just not for all.



If you have a hard time reading the minutes you can go to either of these sites. It is the best I could do. It doesn't look like that in word or notepad but comes up like that on here...sorry.



The transcript is available from the following links:



http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/images/VVCGlobalVampireCommunityDiscussion09.20.09.pdf

http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/images/VVCGlobalVampireCommunityDiscussion09.20.09.doc

The last is talking mostly about commercial organizations but it applies to those who are not commercial as well if they want to claim the mark or name legally. You can copyright your by-laws and any written materials but names for things cannot be copyrighted. Specific names like the name of a House would be their trademark and you would have to register it in that way. It means that someone else might have it already registered even if you are older and could ask you to change your name. Be careful. All of this is expensive and the way things form and dissolve I would think before I would pay the fees personally. It is several hundred dollars if I remember right to register a Trademark. The next article unless you are interested in the topic is long and boring so I would pass on by if I were you :)

I'm looking for origins to particular words and I come along to this well known House and they have taken words out of public domain because they are old words and used them in a way that is incongruent with true meanings and then say they have copyrighted words. You can only copyright the usage in that particular group. The words themselves can be used by anyone at any time, and especially words I call abducted from Enochian vocabulary or ancient Egyptian. The heirarchy in the way it is used is the only thing they can copyright. The words or even using them cannot be copyrighted and I find it a little presumptious that anyone would want to take a bunch of words, unless writing a novel and use them in the vampire community. Why the airs is what I am wondering? It makes the House no more than a Lodge like many other Lodges. Perhaps that is what they want. I just find it silly, sorry. I guess you need a name for something but many of the words have been used for other things long before, so they don't own them or have a corner on the market. Don't put up copyrights on things you cannot copyright. Most things that deal with labels and titles have to be registered as Trademarks and not copyrighted. It doesn't work like copyright rules but costs a lot of money. What I am speaking of is for instance the name of a House. One has to register it as a Trademark...it isn't something that comes under copyright law.





Here is an article on the net from about 20 years ago and it tells where to look for newer information but still it gives the basics.



Will a trademark protect my organization's name on the net?



Summary:

Having a registered trademark is a help, but registering your name for internet use is also a good idea



Answer:

The easy answer is to file for a trademark: it doesn't matter how it is

used. However, the important thing is to get the mark based on first

use: someone else can file ahead of you and get the rights (or at least

assertable rights). This happens all the time in the commercial world.



Network Solutions, one of the organizations that register domain names (like

nonprofits.org), requires that people and organizations be entitled to

use the name. But when there are competing claims, it can be very difficult for the disputing parties to sort it out. The best course of action is to

register your organization's name sooner rather than later

so it will be available to you whenever you decide to create a website or

start some other Internet service. One facility for doing this is available

online at http://www.networksolutions.com/. In the Spring of 2001, Network Solutions (and perhaps others) offer an opportunity to pre-register for domain names with the .biz, .info and .pro extensions. See http://newdomains.networksolutions.com/gtld/tm_landingpage.jsp



NOTE (5/31/01): The environment for registering domain names is significantly more complicated now than it was when this brief article was written in the mid '90s. The topic is beyond the scope of the Internet Nonprofit Center. There is a great deal of information available elsewhere. The curious might try a search on |trademark domain registration| at http://www.google.com



So there is a difference with registering for a name in the real world and something else to maintain the name as yours on the net. They are not a given.



---------------------------------------------------------



This goes for symbols but it can also be names of things.



Inexperienced entrepreneurs often overlook the importance of properly securing rights to their business and product names until it is too late. Sometimes this is due to the overwhelming demands on an entrepreneur’s time during the frenzied pace of the start-up phase of their businesses. Unfortunately, mistakes at these early stages of choosing and protecting names can end up being very costly.



Trademark law provides the exclusive right to use a mark that serves to distinguish the goods of one person from another. A trademark typically includes a word, phrase, logo, design or even a combination of these. It is used to identify the source of a particular product. A service mark is similar to a trademark except that it is used to identify the source of services. Consumers identify trademarks with a particular quality of goods or services. Trademarks are valuable assets of a business and continuously increase in value as the products or services they represent gain brand recognition and consumer loyalty.



Before launching a new business, product, service, or patented invention in the marketplace, it is important to undertake a comprehensive trademark search and obtain a clearance for your mark. It is not uncommon for a company to invest a considerable sum of time and money promoting a new product or business only to have their marketing efforts made useless because their mark was already in use by another company.



Trademark law protects both trademark owners and consumers. It protects trademark owners by preventing competitors from using a trademark to which they have no rights and to which they are owed no good will. Consumer goodwill is earned by a business over a period of time and trademark law recognizes that it is unfair for a competitor to take advantage of this goodwill without permission. Trademark law is also concerned with protecting the source and quality expectations of consumers. By preventing anyone other than the trademark owner from using the mark as a source identifier, the law protects consumers from deception. Not only can a trademark owner prevent someone from using its exact mark, but marks that are “confusingly similar” to a trademark can also be enjoined.



Unlike rights in a patent or a copyright, a company’s rights in a trademark can last indefinitely as long as the mark is still in use and the registration is renewed regularly.



TRADE NAMES



Contrary to popular myth, a registered trade name is NOT a registered trademark. This is often an area of confusion among entrepreneurs. Registration of a trade name with the Secretary of State does not mean that the trade name is not infringing on another trademark. A trademark clearance search should be conducted to ensure that a trade name is not infringing the rights of others. To obtain nationwide trademark protection, the mark should also be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington.



TRADEMARK PROTECTION FOR DOMAIN NAMES



The interaction between trademarks and domain names has created a minefield of potential dangers to businesses. Without proper trademark protection, a company’s reputation and goodwill can be “kidnapped” by cybersquatters. A cybersquatter is an individual or business that registers a domain name on the web with the intention of ransoming it for sale. A company with proper trademark protection is protected from cybersquatters. Obtaining a trademark on your company’s name or products helps provide quick and effective recourse to your marks in the event that someone tries to hold your company or product name hostage or unfairly benefit from the goodwill that you have generated. A trademark not only prevents others from using an exact duplicate of your registered mark, but also prevents the use of confusingly similar marks.



SELECTING A TRADEMARK



It is important to select a mark that can be registered as a Federal Trademark prior to introducing the business or product name into the marketplace. Businesses should be very careful in selecting a mark so that they retain the ability to obtain registration and prevent others from using their business, service, or product names.



A mark can be classified into one of four categories as being either generic, descriptive, suggestive, or arbitrary. It is important to look at these categories in more detail.



GENERIC MARKS



Trademark rights cannot exist in marks that are considered generic. A generic term is the common ordinary name of a good or service and can never be a trademark. Examples of generic terms include “corn flakes”, “automobile” and “basketball”.



DESCRIPTIVE MARKS



Descriptive marks describe some aspect of the product or service with which the mark is used. Descriptive marks are usually not very good choices for your mark. Trademark protection is only extended to descriptive marks where they have attained a secondary meaning. Secondary meaning is attained when a mark has been used for so long or so exclusively that they do not convey simply their literal meaning in the public mind, but are instantly associated with one source.



SUGGESTIVE MARKS



Unlike descriptive marks, suggestive marks merely suggest or hint at some quality, aspect, or component of the goods or services with which they are used. A suggestive mark is stronger than a descriptive mark because it does not require the showing of a secondary meaning.



FANCIFUL OR ARBITARY MARKS



Fanciful or Arbitrary marks are the most distinctive of all marks and receive the strongest level of protection. Such marks are typically unknown before they become associated with a product. A well-known example of an arbitrary mark is the mark KODAK ® for photographic supplies.



TRADEMARK SEARCHES



A trademark search should be conducted on all state and federal registered trademarks as well as pending trademarks. Depending upon the results of the search, it may be advisable to seek federal registration for your mark. Federal registration provides constructive notice to all potential users of similar marks whether or not they are aware of your mark. Additionally, a federally registered mark enjoys the presumption that the owner of the mark is the registrant and that the owner is entitled to use of the mark nationwide.



Please click here to receive a detailed trademark information packet outlining the steps involved in obtaining trademark protection for a new company or product name or brand identity, an estimate of the associated legal fees and costs involved, and a statement of our qualifications and experience in trademark matters.



At Gold & Rizvi, P.A., we concentrate our practice on protecting ideas and identities and are knowledgeable and experienced in practicing before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If you would like to speak with an attorney about your particular situation, please do not hesitate to call our office.





Question: What is a trademark and why does it get special protection?



Answer: A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.



Consumers reap the benefit when trademarks are protected. By preventing anyone but the actual mark owner from labeling goods with the mark, it helps prevent consumers getting cheated by shoddy knock-off imitators. It encourages mark owners to maintain quality goods so that customers will reward them by looking for their label as an indication of excellence. Consumers as well as mark owners benefit from trademark laws.



Trademark owners spend a lot of time, money, and effort to protect the distinctiveness of their trademark. Once trademarks have become diluted to the point where the general public no longer recognizes them as distinctly applying to a particular manufacturer, they lose their value to the trademark owner because they no longer attract customers to his particular goods. For example, ?aspirin? used to be the trademark of one particular manufacturer of synthesized acetylsalicylic acid, but is now used to generically describe that product regardless of who produces it. Trademarks owners must be vigilant to make sure that their trademarks rights are not being infringed and that their trademarks are not becoming diluted or generic.



The birth of the Internet and the use of character strings (domain names) to represent Internet addresses has presented trademark owners with a whole new set of problems. It is often too expensive to register every variation of a trademark in every top level domain. Therefore, trademark owners must make sure that the people who register domain names that are either the same as or confusingly similar to a trademark are not using the domain name in a way that infringes on the trademark. One way to ensure that the trademark owner will not lose its rights in the mark is to file a UDRP complaint so that the Panel can decide whether the domain was registered in order to take unfair advantage of the mark owner. The Panel may decide that the trademark owner was wrong and had nothing to worry about, but unless the trademark owner is vigilant and files the complaint, it may never know for sure whether its rights were being abused.



Question: Can a trademark give someone rights in common words and letters?



Answer: Not all identifying names and phrases can be protected by trademarks. Protection depends on a mark's strength, which is determined by how it is categorized. There are four categories (in descending order of strength):



arbitrary

suggestive

descriptive

generic

An arbitrary mark receives the most protection since the name bears no relationship to the product -- it implies imagination and thought. Kodak is an example of an arbitrary mark because the name itself suggests no connection to film or camera equipment. We learn this association only after the name has been used and becomes associated with the source of that product. A descriptive mark receives protection if it has secondary meaning in consumers' minds. A generic mark rarely receives protection because it is naturally associated with something in consumers' minds. An ordinary description is not special enough to warrant protection. However, if consumers connect the mark and its source in a way that would not exist without the mark's use in commerce, then the mark can be protected.



Alphabet letters, initials, abbreviations and acronyms may be entitled to protection if they are so original that they constitute an arbitrary mark (e.g., NICAD for nickel cadium). Otherwise, they may be protected only if they had acquired a secondary meaning which means that consumers have come to recognize the mark and associate the goods with a particular manufacturer (e.g., IBM and BMW).



More here:

http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain/faq.cgi

I found these while shopping for bedding. I have no affiliation with anyone connected to this online place. I thought some here might be interested in this so I am posting the URL. If you are curious go look. Not putting a direct link, just the URL. I found out they have a Twilight board game there as well. I am not sure if it is offered under the online stuff or you have to look in the catalog, hehehehe.



http://www.lakeside.com/details.asp?I=TWZ&N=36+374&Nao=5&R=877536029TWZ4&product=50-x-60-Twilight-Licensed-Throws