R.I.P. Queen Elizabeth II

I loved her. There will never be another Queen or King like her again.

Elizabeth serving her country in 1945.

70 years of serving her country as Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II
21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022

Child's Play 3 (4 Stars)

"You can't keep a Good Guy down".

That's a true statement. However often the Good Guy doll containing the soul of Charles Lee Ray is destroyed, somehow it keeps coming back. This film starts with the plastic from wrecked dolls being gathered up for recycling. One of the dolls is the possessed doll called Chucky, and we see the blood of the doll being mixed with the plastic remains thrown into a vat for remoulding. This is negligence on an unheard of level. Even if there weren't a possessed doll involved, what sort of company would mix blood with plastic when making dolls? The owner of the toy company is the first victim when Chucky comes back to life. He deserves it.

Eight years have passed since the events of "Child's Play 2", but "Child's Play 3" was filmed only a year later, so a new actor had to be chosen to play Andy Barclay. Chucky's first impulse is to pursue Andy to transfer his soul into his body, but by chance he comes across a boy called Ronald Tyler who's a willing companion and playmate.

Chucky might be a psychotic serial killer, but at least he's not racist. Tyler's skin colour doesn't bother him, as long as he can become human again.

The film takes place in a military academy. Andy Barclay (standing on the right in the second row) has been sent to the academy because he could never stay in any foster home. He was too difficult as a child. The academy is intended to teach him discipline. It might have succeeded, if Chucky hadn't followed him to the academy.

It's a strange academy, with 60 boys and two girls. I'd hate to be in an academy like that. Now if it were 60 girls and two boys, that would be a place worth living. Of all the boys in the academy, Kristin DeSilva feels attracted to Andy. It's a shame she doesn't return in the future films in the series. She has a boyish look, as is to be expected from a girl in a military academy, but she's a strong young woman with an assertive personality. She would have been the perfect partner for Andy in his ongoing battles with Chucky.

Like in the previous film, the music is loud and bombastic. I wouldn't say it's good music, but it's perfect in underscoring the film's aggressive nature. When the final credits rolled I couldn't tear myself away. The music had me entranced, and I needed to listen to it.

Success Rate:  - 0.4

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Highlander (5 Stars)

I've never been able to define what a cult movie is. The Wikipedia page on the subject makes a good effort, but I still have a tingling feeling that something is missing. It's noticeable that this page is frequently being re-edited, showing that the contributors are also unhappy with the definition. I have an intuitive feeling as to whether a film is a cult film or not, but I'm not able to write a check list which I can use to make an objective decision.

One of the main deciding factors is that a film has a large fanbase that stays loyal in their appreciation of a film as the years go by. That would imply that to be classified as a cult film, the film has to be old. I agree with that, but how old? Is 20 years old enough? One thing often said about cult movies is that they're films which went unnoticed when they were first released, but have become popular later on. That seems right, but what about "The Matrix"? It was a big success when it was made, but everything in my head screams that it's a cult movie. Intuitively. If the lack of initial success isn't present, what makes it a cult film? Is it the genre? Definitely not. Is it the originality? Maybe. Is it the fact that people (i.e. many people) are still talking about it 20 years after it was made? That's definitely a factor.

This is a topic I'd love to talk about, in person or online.

Yesterday I watched "Ghostbusters". Today I watched "Highlander". For me both films are cult movies. Both have a huge fan following. The difference is that "Ghostbusters" was a big success in the cinema, whereas "Highlander" was a failure. My "success rate", which I add at the bottom of most of my reviews, is a good indication of whether a film was successful or not. One thing the two films have in common is that they're both imperfect, but fans overlook the imperfections, either saying they don't matter or arguing them away. That's another factor I could add to pointers about the cult status of a film, but it certainly doesn't apply to "The Matrix".

Today "Highlander" was shown in the cinema as part of the "Best of Cinema" series. The cinema was almost full. That made me happy. I could tell from the audience reactions and snippets of conversation that I overheard that the majority already knew the film. Interestingly, there was a couple sitting next to me, who couldn't have been older than 25. They were born long after the film was made (1986). The man knew the film, but his girlfriend didn't. She reacted with shock at some of the events, starting with Christopher Lambert cutting off the man's head in the underground car park. Will she become a fan? I don't know, but I hope so.

One thing that amused me was the reaction of the audience to the first Quickening. It was overdone. It was exaggerated. When the cars rolled forward in unison, there was laughter in the audience. This is one of the film's imperfections. But I'm sure that if I'd talked to anyone about this imperfection they would have defended it.

It's obvious that "Highlander" was intended to be a standalone film. Several awful sequels were made, though I'm not sure why. Normally sequels aren't made to an unsuccessful film. A brilliant TV series was made, also called "Highlander". The TV series was better than the film, because it answered many questions, such as "If they're all immortals, why do some look older than others?"

Shortly after I began my blog I wrote a long post which summarised the Highlander franchise. I still consider it one of my best posts. I was inexperienced with blogging at the time. I made a perfect layout for viewing on the PC, but I didn't realise until years later that it looks messy on a mobile phone. I've decided that I'll reformat and republish the post. I shan't change the text, I'll just make it look better. I hope I can find time before this year's Fantasy Film Festival.

Success Rate:  - 1.5

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Ghostbusters (4 Stars)

Camp. Trashy. Cult. Those are just three words that can be used to describe this 1984 film. It tells the tale of three university academics who're forced to form a company after the university withdraws its funding. They specialise in catching ghosts. They have fancy devices called positron colliders, which can grab ghosts.

It all looks so easy that anyone can do it. Later in the film a fourth man without any academic qualifications joins the team. They shove a positron collider in his hand and he can start work immediately.

Their first customer is a concert cellist called Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), but they don't get very far with her. When Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) visits her apartment he's more interested in chatting her up than taking her claims to have seen a demon seriously. Of the three men in the team, Venkman is the most sceptical. He always assumes that anyone who says he's seen a ghost is lying or delusional until he can see the proof with his own eyes.

The ghosts may be easy to catch, but the demons are more trouble. Dana is possessed by a demon called Zuul, the servant of a Sumerian God called Gozer. When Gozer enters our world he'll destroy everything he touches. The positron colliders won't be a match for him.

I enjoy the film, but it's technically very dated. Millions of dollars were invested in the film's special effects, but in 1984 they couldn't get much for their money. "Ghostbusters" hasn't survived the transfer to Blu-ray, because the high definition images make the film's weaknesses all the more apparent. For instance, in the final scene the New York skyscrapers look like cardboard.

But something about "Ghostbusters" has touched a nerve. It's still popular with film fans 40 years after its release. The cheap special effects are overlooked. The 2016 film shows what it would have looked like with modern special effects. Maybe it's Bill Murray's laid back humour that makes the film a success. Or maybe it's Sigourney Weaver's 1980's hairdo. Whatever it is, it's a film that has captured the imagination of a generation.

Success Rate:  + 9.8

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VFB Stuttgart Season 2022 Match 5

VfB Stuttgart – FC Schalke 04

Date: 3rd September 2022, 3:30 pm

Result: 1 – 1

I'm later than usual with this match report. Usually I try to write something within 24 hours, while the match is still fresh in my mind, but I've waited two days this week. I'll be honest: I didn't feel motivated. I was so disappointed by the match on Saturday. I expected VfB Stuttgart to have an easy victory, because FC Schalke 04 is one of the weakest teams in the Bundesliga, but the match proved that there's no such thing as an easy victory.

The two teams were both hungry for a victory. Neither team has won a game so far this season, though Schalke's record is worse. (Stuttgart has only had one defeat, while Schalke has lost two matches). Both teams began the match aggressively, but Stuttgart drew first blood with a goal by Chris Führich in the 18th minute. The crowd went wild. As far as I was concerned, the game was as good as over. My prediction was a 3:0 or even 4:0 win for VfB Stuttgart.

Not so. Three minutes later FC Schalke equalised with a goal by Simon Terodde, a former VfB player for a single season (2016-2017) in which he scored 25 goals. They must be wishing they hadn't let him go. The rest of the first half was a hard battle, neither team managing to develop scoring chances. Schalke finally had a chance in the 43rd minute, when Simon Terodde hammered the ball at the goal, barely missing. I was in panic.

In the second half I'm sad to say that FC Schalke 04 was the better team. It was a hard fought match with fouls on both sides. In the 58th minute Joshua Vagnoman received his second yellow card and had to leave the pitch. This was a repeat of last week's match. Stuttgart was down to 10 men.

For the rest of the game Stuttgart was under pressure. It looked as if Schalke could score at any moment. Only Florian Müller's expert goalkeeping kept the ball out. In the 89th and 90th minutes there were two close misses, both shots by Schalke's Rodrigo Zalazar. When the final whistle blew, you could see on the faces of the VfB players that they felt relieved not to have lost.

Where does VfB Stuttgart go from here? Five games without a victory is a disheartening start to the season. They desperately need a win, but next week's match is an away game against Bayern München, third place in the league table and still undefeated this season. It'll be a tough challenge.

After today's draw, VfB Stuttgart is still in 12th place in the league table. Usually I say that the top 10 places are good and the top 14 places are safe, but VfB is in a precarious position. One more defeat could push them down into the danger zone.

Smallville 1.08 - Jitters

Click here to view the podcast.

Whatever else might be happening in this episode, one thing stands out. It shows the return of John Glover as Lionel Luthor. He's a powerful actor who impresses me every time I see him. He can express more with his eyes than other actors can say with long speeches.

The freak-of-the-week is Earl Jenkins, a man who used to work on Jonathan Kent's farm. He left to work at the Luthorcorp fertiliser plant because the job paid better. While sweeping the floor in the plant's underground Level Three there was an explosion. In this level plants were sprayed with a green mist that made them grow twice as fast. Earl was covered with the mist, and ever since then he's had sporadic uncontrollable shakes. Jitters. The shaking is so strong that everything around him also shakes.

Earl has seen doctors, but nobody has been able to cure him. He attempts to see Lionel Luthor in Metropolis, because Lionel was the head of the fertiliser plant when the explosion occurred. He accidentally kills a security guard when his jitters return, so he runs to the Kent farm for help. Clark realises he's sick, so he sends Earl to hospital, but now he's wanted for murder. The doctors tell Clark that Earl has minerals inside his skin, and the jitters are his body trying to eject them.

By coincidence, there's a field trip for Clark's school to the fertiliser plant the next day. Clark asks about Level Three, but he's told that there's no Level Three. At the same time Earl escapes from the police guarding him in hospital and walks to the plant. He tries to visit Level Three, but there's a brick wall where the elevator used to be.

In the meantime, Earl takes the school class hostage while he demands to be taken to Level Three. Lex Luthor arrives and insists there's no Level Three. Lionel Luthor also arrives and criticises Lex for not handling the crisis better. He confirms that there's no Level Three. Lex says he'll go to speak to Earl in person. Lionel tells Lex to stay away, but Lex insists on doing things his own way.

In my opinion, this subtle smile is the highlight of the whole episode. Despite their disagreement, Lionel is proud of his son for standing up for himself. Lionel is emotionally distant, so this smile is the closest he can get to showing affection. It's moving. These few seconds give the episode emotional depth.

Lex tries to reason with Earl. He honestly believes that there's no Level Three. There hasn't been a Level Three since he took over the factory in the first episode. While Lex is talking to Earl, Clark finds the brick wall and breaks it down so that he can get to the elevator. Lex persuades Earl to release the children, after which Clark leads Earl and the dumbfounded Lex to Level Three. It's empty now, but the existence of the Level shows that Lionel Luthor was lying; he was trying to cover something up.

There are too many details in this episode to discuss them all, so I'll move on to the podcast. This week the special guests are Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of the Smallville series. They have very good memories of this episode, because it was a problem episode. It should have been the third episode of the series, but because of repeated problems it had to be pushed back. The original director (Michael Watkins?) walked out and left the episode unfinished, so other episodes had to be filmed while they were looking for a replacement. Bits and pieces of the episode were filmed over the following weeks until it was finally finished.

Al Gough and Miles Millar were both young men when the series began, 34 and 31 respectively. Hearing this is a shock for Tom Welling, because he always looked up to them as older and wiser. Tom was 24 at the time, so they weren't much older than him.

Al and Miles tell a lot of stories about their time with the series. They were impressed with the quality of the pilot, but they didn't know if they could keep it up. They hoped that "Smallville" would last at least four seasons. In the early days they kept full control of the scripts. They wrote all the scripts themselves for the first two seasons. The scripts had to be approved by someone called Peter. I have no idea who that is. Was he a Warner Bros executive? The buck stopped with Al and Miles. They were the ones who had to make the series work. And they succeeded. They created a masterpiece of television – however modest Michael Rosenbaum may be with his cautious rose'n'bomb ratings – and they laid a solid foundation for the future careers of Tom and Michael.

Al Gough defends the freak-of-the-week format used in the first season. He says this was standard for series at the time, naming "Buffy" and "Supernatural" as examples. Michael Rosenbaum should stop complaining about the freak-of-the-week episodes. They work well.

This was the best Talkville podcast so far. The conversation between Tom, Michael, Al and Miles is entertaining and informative at the same time. After they signed off Ryan Tellez said that they could have carried on talking for two hours. Yes, they could have, and it wouldn't have been boring for a moment.

Here are the two Luthors. It's a dysfunctional family, and finding out that Lionel was lying about the existence of Level Three makes the distrust even stronger. It's a contrast to the happy relationship that Clark has with his parents.

In the final scene we see the two families. Clark is surrounded by loving parents, while Lex receives a cold hug from his father, possibly only for the reporters. Lex watches Clark jealously.

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List of Klaus Schulze albums

After three years I've finally completed my reviews of Klaus Schulze's albums in chronological order. Below is a list of his solo albums. I've omitted his albums which are collaborations with other musicians. My personal definition of a collaboration is that Klaus contributes less than 50% to the music, whereas in a solo album Klaus contributes 50% or more. Using these definitions I've included some albums as solo albums that Klaus's publisher KDM would omit, such as "Babel" and the Dark Side Of The Moog albums.

The following list excludes the limited edition box sets. For each album I've given my personal rating. If an album has been rereleased with one or more bonus tracks, I've rated the bonus tracks separately. I've numbered the official Klaus Schulze albums. Unnumbered albums are unofficial, for one reason or another. That doesn't mean they're not good albums, essential buying for Klaus Schulze fans. Those who know his music will already understand why they're omitted from the numbering.

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	Name	Rating	Bonus
1.	Irrlicht (1972)	5 Stars	5 Stars
2.	Cyborg (1973)	5 Stars	3 Stars
3.	Blackdance (1974)	4.5 Stars	5 Stars
4.	Picture Music (1975)	5 Stars	5 Stars
5.	Timewind (1975)	5 Stars	4.5 Stars
6.	Moondawn (1976)	5 Stars	4 Stars
7.	Body Love (1977)	5 Stars	5 Stars
8.	Mirage (1977)	5 Stars	3 Stars
9.	Body Love 2 (1977)	5 Stars	4.5 Stars
10.	X (1978)	5 Stars	3 Stars
11.	Dune (1979)	3.5 Stars	3 Stars
12.	Live (1980)	5 Stars	3 Stars
13.	Dig It (1980)	3 Stars	4.5 Stars
14.	Trancefer (1981)	5 Stars	5 Stars
15.	Audentity (1983)	4 Stars	5 Stars
16.	Dziekuje Poland (1983)	5 Stars	3.5 Stars
17.	Angst (1984)	4.5 Stars	5 Stars
	Drive Inn (1984)	4 Stars
	Aphrica (1984)	1 Star
18.	Inter*Face (1985)	5 Stars	4.5 Stars
19.	Dreams (1986)	3.5 Stars	5 Stars
	Babel (1987)	5 Stars
20.	En=Trance (1988)	4.5 Stars	3 Stars
21.	Miditerranean Pads (1990)	3.5 Stars
22.	Dresden Performance (1990)	4.5 Stars
23.	Beyond Recall (1991)	3 Stars
24.	Royal Festival Hall Vol 1 (1992)	4 Stars
25.	Royal Festival Hall Vol 2 (1992)	4 Stars
26.	The Dome Event (1993)	3.5 Stars
27.	Le Moulin de Daudet (1994)	4 Stars	5 Stars
28.	Klaus Schulze Goes Classic (1994)	4 Stars
29.	Totentag (1994)	5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog (1994)	5 Stars
30.	Das Wagner Desaster (1994)	4 Stars	3 Stars
31.	In Blue (1995)	3 Stars	5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 2 (1995)	5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 3 (1995)	4 Stars
32.	Are you sequenced?	5 Stars	5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 4 (1996)	4.5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 5 (1996)	4.5 Stars
33.	Dosburg Online (1997)	4.5 Stars
	Drums'n'Balls (1997)	3.5 Stars	4 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 6 (1997)	4.5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 7 (1998)	4.5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 8 (1999)	4.5 Stars
34.	Vanity Of Sounds (2000)	4 Stars
35.	The Crime Of Suspense (2000)	5 Stars
36.	Ballett 1 (2000)	5 Stars
37.	Ballett 2 (2000)	5 Stars	4 Stars
38.	Ballett 3 (2000)	5 Stars	3 Stars
39.	Ballett 4 (2000)	5 Stars	4 Stars
40.	Live @ Klangart 1 (2001)	4.5 Stars	5 Stars
41.	Live @ Klangart 2 (2001)	5 Stars	4.5 Stars
42.	Virtual Outback (2002)	3 Stars	4 Stars
43.	Timbres Of Ice (2002)	2.5 Stars
44.	Another Green Mile (2002)	3.5 Stars	3 Stars
45.	Androgyn (2002)	4 Stars	2 Stars
46.	Cocooning (2002)	3 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 9 (2002)	5 Stars
	Andromeda (2003)	4.5 Stars
	Ion (2004)	4.5 Stars
47.	Moonlake (2005)	3.5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 10 (2005)	2.5 Stars
48.	Kontinuum (2007)	5 Stars
49.	Farscape (2008)	3 Stars
50.	Rheingold (2008)	4.5 Stars
	Dark Side Of The Moog Vol 11 (2008)	5 Stars
51.	Dziekuje Bardzo (2009)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 1 (2009)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 2 (2009)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 3 (2009)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 4 (2009)	5 Stars
52.	Big In Japan	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 5 (2010)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 6 (2010)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 7 (2010)	4.5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 8 (2010)	4.5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 9 (2011)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 10 (2011)	3 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 11 (2012)	3.5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 12 (2012)	4.5 Stars
53.	Shadowlands (2013)	5 Stars	4 Stars
54.	The Schulze-Schickert Session (2013)	5 Stars
55.	Big In Europe Vol 1 (2013)	5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 13 (2013)	4.5 Stars
56.	Big In Europe Vol 2 (2014)	4 Stars
57.	Stars Are Burning (2014)	2 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 14 (2014)	4.5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 15 (2014)	4.5 Stars
	La Vie Electronique 16 (2015)	4.5 Stars
58.	Eternal (2017)	5 Stars
59.	Silhouettes (2018)	4 Stars
60.	Deus Arrakis (2022)	4.5 Stars

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I'm well aware that not everyone will agree with my ratings. Opinions differ, even among Klaus Schulze's fans. However, I'm sure that all of us can agree that he's the greatest musician who's ever lived.

Dexter Kill List

When I was watching the series "Dexter" last year I wanted to make a list of his kills. I made notes as I watched each episode. After the first 20 episodes I discovered that a list had already been made that was much better than anything I could have done myself. It's actually a team effort published on the Dexter fan site. In this post I've merely reformatted and simplified the list, but the hard work compiling the list was done by others. The easy part is listing the kills that we see taking place on the screen. The difficult part comes from counting the blood slides and reading the names briefly shown in season two as victims of the Bay Harbour Butcher.

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Dexter Kill List

Before Blood Slides

1. Nurse Mary - Flashback in S103

2. Unnamed Victim - Mentioned in therapy in S802

3. Drug Dealer (Third Victim) - Mentioned in therapy in S802

4. Juan Ryness - Flashback in S210

5. Robert Milson - Web series Early Cuts

6. Peter Thornton - Web series Early Cuts

7. Unnamed - Dexter website

At the beginning of the Early Cuts web series Dexter states that he's already killed dozens of people.

Blood Slide Box 1

8. Alex Timmons - 1st blood slide - Flashback in S106

9. Gene Marshall - Web series Early Cuts

10. Coleman Lindquist (2000) - Web series Early Cuts

11. Max Lindquist (2000) - Web series Early Cuts

12. Cindy Landon (2004) - Flashback in S106

13. Walter Munro (possibly 2005) - Flashback in S712

14. Marcetti (2006) - Flashback in S501

There were probably other kills not shown in the Early Cuts web series.

Unknown Order (15 - 51)

15. Carlos Gutierrez - Name shown on board in S204

16. Dylan Maddock - Name shown on board in S204

17. Jeff Linder - Name shown on board in S204

18. Joseph Cepeda - Dead body seen in morgue in S204

19. Marcus White - Dead body seen in morgue in S204

20. Oscar Sota - Dead body seen in morgue in S204

21. Renzo Sandoval - Name shown on board in S204

22. Rick Jensen - Name shown on board in S204

23. Robert Thatcher - Dead body seen in morgue in S204

24. Chad Carpenter - Name shown on board in S207

25. Shannon Reynolds - Name shown on board in S207

26. Anthony Rodrigo - Identified by Debra in S208

27. Smith - Mentioned by Lundy in S208

28. Orozco - Mentioned by Lundy in S208

29. Fowls - Named in slide show in S210

30. Luke Wellens - Named in slide show in S210

31. Alan Elson - Named in a list in S210

32. Alan Matherson - Named in a file in S210

33. Andy Jorgen - Named in slide show in S210

34. Berry Cooper - Named in slide show in S210

35. Buck Forester - Named in a file in S210

36. George Hoss - Named in slide show in S210

37. Henry Vortman - Named in a list in S210

38. Herbert Washington - Named in slide show in S210

39. Jacob Wilson - Named in slide show in S210

40. Jerry Voltic - Named in slide show in S210

41. Kevin Mott - Named in slide show in S210

42. Larry Costes - Named in a list in S210

43. Larry Mueller - Identified by LaGuerta in S210

44. Leandro Noriega - Name shown on board in S210

45. Marty Terison - Named in a list in S210

46. Olman Estavez - Named in slide show in S210

47. Peter Matherson - Named in a list in S210

48. Rachel Rhodes - Named in slide show in S210

49. Rick Cross - Named in a list in S210

50. Sean Dibberman - Named in slide show in S210

51. Thomas Hillstat - Named in a file in S210

SEASON ONE

52. Mike Donovan - S101

53. Jamie Jaworski - S101

54. Matt Chambers - S102

55. Jorge Castillo - S105

56. Valerie Castillo - S105

57. Emmett Meridian - S108

58. Brian Moser - S112

SEASON TWO

59. Little Chino - S202

60. Roger Hicks - S203

61. Ken Olson - S206

62. Santos Jimenez - S208

63. Jose Garza - S210

64. Esteban Famosa - S211

65. Teo Famosa - S211

66. Lila West - S212

Blood Slide Box 2

Between Seasons Two and Three

67. Phillip Barnes - 1st blood slide - Named in a file in S705

68. Unnamed Wife Killer - 2nd blood slide - Mentioned by Dexter in S309

69. Marvin Madden - 3rd blood slide - Named in a file in S705

70. Christopher James - 4th blood slide - Named in a file in S705

SEASON THREE

71. Cal Rooney - 5th blood slide - S301

72. Oscar Prado - S301

73. Fred Bowman - 6th blood slide - S302

74. Nathan Marten - S303

75. Ethan Turner - 7th blood slide - S305

76. Clemson Galt - 8th blood slide - S306

77. Camilla Figg - S307 (mercy killing)

78. Miguel Prado - S311

79. George King - S312

Between Seasons Three and Four

80. Alfred Norris - 9th blood slide - Named on Dexter's computer in S501

81. Matt Parker - 10th blood slide - Named on Dexter's computer in S501

82. Michael Rose - 11th blood slide - Named on Dexter's computer in S501

83. Adam Rowe - 12th blood slide - Named on Dexter's computer in S501

84 - 91. Eight unnamed blood slides

SEASON FOUR

92. Benito Gomez - 21st blood slide - S401

93. Zoey Kruger - 22nd blood slide - S404

94. Jonathan Farrow - S407

95. Stan Beaudry - 23rd blood slide - S411

96. Arthur Mitchell - 24th blood slide - S412

SEASON FIVE

97. Rankin - S501

98. Boyd Fowler - 25th blood slide - S503

99. Dan Mendell - S506

100. Lance Robinson - S505

101. Cole Harmon - S508

102. Stan Liddy - S511 (self defence)

Between Seasons Five and Six

103 - 115. Thirteen unnamed Blood Slides

SEASON SIX

116. Ben - 39th blood slide - S601

117. Roger - 40th blood slide - S601

118. Joe Walker - 41st blood slide - S601

119. Julio Benes - 42nd blood slide - S602

120. Walter Kenney - 43rd blood slide - S503

121. Nick - S606

122. Norm - S607

123. Steve Dorsey - S610

124. Beth Dorsey - S611

125. Alberto - S612

126. Travis Marshall - S612

After Blood Slides

SEASON SEVEN

127. Viktor Baskov - S701

128. Ray Speltzer - S704

129. Unnamed Hitman - S708

130. Oleg Mickic - S709

131. Clint McKay - S710

132. Hector Estrada - S712

Between Seasons Seven and Eight

This was a six month period, so there were probably kills.

SEASON EIGHT

133. Unnamed - S801

134. Andrew Briggs - S801

135. Ron Galuzzo - S803

136. A.J. Yates - S805

137. Oliver Saxon - S812

138. Debra Morgan - S812 (mercy killing)

NEW BLOOD

139. Matt Caldwell - S901

140. Jasper Hodge - S905

141. Elric Kane - S908

142. Wiggles - Flashback in S909

143. Kurt Caldwell - S909

144. Sergeant Logan - S910

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The 144 victims listed above are the ones that can be verified, whether named or not. At various points Dexter makes claims about how many people he's killed. Not all his claims are correct.

In the web series Early Cuts he claims that he's already killed dozens of people who deserved to die. I've included this statement in the list because it's probably accurate.

In Season Five Episode One Dexter claims that he's already killed 67 people. This is incorrect, because at this time there were already 96 verified kills.

In New Blood Episode Nine Dexter claims he's killed hundreds of people. Maybe he's exaggerating, or maybe he's forgotten the exact number of kills after his ten year absence from killing.

The Princess (4 Stars)

This is a recent documentary that was first broadcast on German television four days ago to commemorate the death of Princess Diana. Today I watched it on the ARD Mediathek, the streaming service for recent broadcasts. It follows her life from her engagement to Prince Charles to her death.

I didn't learn anything new from the documentary. I'm well informed with the facts about her life, because I was fascinated by her ever since Charles began to date her. I watched her fairy tale wedding on television. I followed the news reports of infidelity by both married partners, up until the day they were divorced.

I don't intend to talk in detail about her life. If you don't know about her already, you must have been hiding under a rock for the last 40 years. All I'll say is that she was a beautiful young woman who didn't know what she was getting herself into. In the past, members of royal families always married members of other royal families. The husband and wife were both accustomed to royalty, so they knew what to expect after the wedding. Diana didn't. Despite coming from a wealthy family, she lived a quiet life. Nobody outside of her family and friends payed any attention to her. Then she married the future King of England, and she became a celebrity overnight. Everybody wanted to photograph her, and everyone wanted to write about her slightest mistakes.

Marrying a prince isn't like marrying a butcher or a baker. When you marry a prince you're taking on a career that you're committed to for the rest of your life. I don't believe Diana was capable of fulfilling the obligations of this career. I don't even think she was aware of the responsibilities awaiting her. She was a starry eyed young girl in love. Her marriage was doomed to failure, even if Charles had remained faithful to her.

I'm in an awkward position, as far as the British monarchy goes. I'm pro-monarchy, but I'm anti-Charles. I see monarchy as a good system, in principle, but I don't think that Charles will be a good King. He's too arrogant and opinionated. For those of my readers who are anti-monarchy, consider the following: what would have happened if Queen Elisabeth had been the absolute ruler of Britain for the last 70 years? There would have been no Margaret Thatcher, no Tony Blair and no Boris Johnson (to name but three prime ministers). Surrounded by political and financial advisers, the Queen would have led the country in ways of peace and prosperity. She would have been well loved by politicians throughout the world.

The problem is that not all monarchs are as benevolent as Queen Elisabeth. The only other benevolent monarch I can think of is Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Austria from 1848 to 1916. So maybe it would be more accurate to call myself anti-monarchy but pro-Elisabeth. Talk to me again when the next king takes over the throne from Elisabeth, if I live that long.

The First Purge (4 Stars)

This is the fourth film in the Purge franchise. It serves a prequel, taking place before the other films. In the previous films we see the Purge as a national event, intended to be carried out by true American patriots. The first Purge was carried out solely in Staten Island, New York, as an experiment.

In the previous films it was hinted that the American government, in particularly the NFFA (New Founding Fathers of America), intended to save money be eliminating the poor. In this film all subtlety is cast to the wind. The government wants the first trial Purge to be a success, so armed mercenaries are sent in to make sure enough people die.

The mid credits scene declares the trial Purge a success, and it's promised that the Purge will be repeated every year. Hallelujah! God bless America.

Success Rate:  + 8.5

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Klaus Schulze: Deus Arrakis (2022)

Klaus Schulze - Deus Arrakis

KS Album 60

Track Listing:

1.	Osiris	18:18
2.	Seth	31:47
3.	Der Hauch des Lebens	27:08

Notes:

(1) Wolfgang Tiepold plays cello on "Seth".

(2) Eva-Maria Kagermann makes vocal sounds on "Der Hauch des Lebens".

Rating: 4½ Stars

This is the 60th solo album recorded by Klaus Schulze. It was announced on 4th April 2022, but sadly he passed away three weeks later on 26th April, making it a posthumous release. I was in hospital at the time, clicking away the boredom on my mobile phone, when I read the news. I can't begin tell you how much it hurt me. I already knew that he'd been ill for years, but it was still an unexpected shock.

The album is based on the "Dune" novels by Frank Herbert. I admit that I've never read the books, so I'm unable to piece together the connection. I know that Arrakis is the name of the primary planet in the books, but I don't know the significance of Osiris and Seth.

Today is only the second time I've listened to the album. I listened to it as soon as I received it when it was released in June. After this I put it on one side while I was reviewing his other albums in order.

"Osiris" is probably the closest music Klaus has ever made to space music. I don't want to say space rock, because it's far from rock music. Its majestic building synthesizer chords build in intensity, until they're finally joined by a subtle sequencer rhythm.

Some music takes its time to grow on me. I remember that I didn't like "Seth" when I first heard it. It starts off with space music once more, but the sequencer kicks in early, more prominently than in the first track, and Wolfgang Tiepold's cello lifts the music to a different plane. Is it spiritual or just hypnotic? I can't say. What I can say is that it's a piece of music best listened to in complete darkness. 

"Der Hauch des Lebens" (engl. "The Breath of Life") returns to the realm of space music. That's an appellation I would never have given to Klaus Schulze's music at any time during the last 50 years, but it fits now. Are we drifting through space or wandering on a barren planet? It's more of the latter. The sequencer begins after eight minutes, but rather than dominating the music it gives emphasis to the synthesizer sounds. It drifts out as effortlessly as it began.

Among Klaus Schulze's fans, the praise for this album has been ecstatic. Some have even called it his best album. I think they're saying that for emotional reasons. Looking at it objectively (as objectively as I can) it's a very good album, but not up to the quality of his classic albums made in the 1970's. Or maybe it will grow on me even more when I listen to it again.

Is this his final album? That depends on Klaus Schulze's friend and publisher KDM. Does he have more tapes that would be suitable for release? Maybe, maybe not, because I assume that he's already released the rest. What I do know is that over the years he's given many pieces of music free on CD-Roms to subscribers of his monthly magazine, "The KS Circle". I'm hoping that all of these will be released in a future box set.

Masha and the Bear 1.2.1 - Jam Day

This episode was first broadcast on 22nd March 2009.

This episode begins with Bear picking fruit to make jam. He's a bear of many talents. While he's cooking the fruit to make jam he receives a visit from Masha. He was distracted and didn't notice that she's already eaten all his fruit. The only jam he has left is the one pot he was cooking.

But there are problems. Masha gets her head stuck in a jam jar,

When Bear pulls it off her head, he gets his own claw stuck in the jar. A manoeuvre like that takes skill! When he tries to pull it off he slips and knocks his only saucepan of jam on the floor.

Bear goes back into the woods to search for fruit. All he finds is raspberries, but as he begins to pluck them he encounters a beautiful female bear also plucking fruit. He politely steps back and lets her have all the raspberries.

Will he ever see the beautiful bear again? Wait and see.

Back at Bear's house, Masha is feeling guilty. She decides to make jam for Bear. She collects vegetable, such as carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes, and she cooks them on Bear's stove.

When Bear comes back home empty-handed he looks disdainfully at the vegetable jam, but after one spoonful he's hooked. It's the best jam he's ever tasted.

Is vegetable jam really that good? I've never tried it.

And they all lived happily ever after... or at least until the next episode.

---

Song of Jams

Got to get the pandemonium,
And that means all pans and pots.
Clear the way! I need to make room
To make jam and to make lots.

What was on the garden patches?
What grew on the tree I got?
Made from it some mix-and-matches,
Put it all in one big pot.

I’ll add carrots for some nice zest
To the Portobello jams,
But the juiciest and sweetest
Will be pinecones and the yams!

I peek in, and as I’m looking
At the weird brew, I yell,
"Now I know what’s really cooking!
I am in a jam, as well!"

Three Thousand Years of Longing (5 Stars)

It's a story that's been overdone as long as books have been written and films have been made: someone finds a bottle, rubs it and a genie comes out who offers to grant three wishes. If that sounds boring to you, think again. "Three Thousand Years of Longing" adds new ideas. Apart from which, how could anyone turn his back on a film with Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton in the leading roles? I know I criticised Idris Elba's performance in "Beast" earlier this week, but in this film he's back in top form. As for Tilda Swinton, she's always been in top form.

Tilda plays Dr. Alithea Binnie, a narratologist. That's a new word to me, but in the context of the film it's obvious what it means. It's a person who studies stories and story structures. She visits Istanbul to hold a lecture on the historical importance of stories. Today we have science, but in the past stories were necessary to explain anything for which there was no scientific explanation. We still need stories today, because science hasn't yet explained everything, but as scientific discovery advances stories will gradually fade away.

Alithea buys an old lamp in a shop in Istanbul. She cleans it with the help of her electric toothbrush. Yuck! Then a genie (or Djinn, depending on the transliteration) comes out and offers to grant three wishes.

As a narratologist Alithea isn't naive enough to accept the offer. She says that stories of wishes being granted all end in tragedy. There's always a trick. The genie insists that he isn't a trickster, but isn't that what all tricksters say? Instead of this they spend the following hours talking to one another. Alithea tells the genie about her past, which is relatively mundane in comparison to the tales the genie has to tell of his life in the past 3000 years. Yes, his tales tell of women who suffered after making wishes, but he claims that he didn't trick them. It was the women's own fault that they wished for the wrong things.

Alithea is still reluctant to make wishes, but the genie is desperate. He says that if he doesn't grant three wishes he'll be sentenced to wander as an invisible, disembodied soul. Alithea still doesn't believe him. Is he applying emotional blackmail because he can't appeal to her greed?

But... no, I'll stop there. No more spoilers! All I'll say is that this isn't just a fairy tale, it's a deeply philosophical story with romantic undertones. I had tears in my eyes as the film came to an end. It's a brilliant film!