The other day I went to my favorite restauraunt for delicious eggs bennedict. I was informed upon my arrival that I would be seated next to the women of the Red Hat Society. to which I replied “Huh?”

As I was seated, I noticed that the prophecy was correct – and I was seated beside a bevy of old broads wearing red hats and purple dresses! I had no idea what they were about, nor what “the deal” was with the red hats. I went on their website and discovered that all they care about is going out and having a good time; whilst wearing the scarlet chapeau.

The only rule of law these ladies abide by is this:
Girls under 50 – purple hat and red dress.
Girls over 50 – purple dress and red hat.

Ladies of the Red Hat I salute you, and in time hope to point to you as an influence in the creation of
The Fabulous Mens Club. (Roma Del Tora 4 life)

Hopefully this will get some of the other members of the House to crawl out from beneath the rocks they’ve been hiding under, concocting their quizzes and playing their Warcraft.

Warner Bros. is going ahead with a Conan movie, set to start filming in 2007. The writer (and potential director) is Boaz Yakin, a lifetime fan of Robert E. Howard’s tales. He hopes to bring that devotion to Howard’s work to the big screen. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately for some, what this means is that this will be a remake and not a sequel. And not only will Schwarzenegger not be involved, but a large chunk of what many people consider to be part of the Conan canon will be obliterated. For example, Conan’s village wasn’t destroyed in the original stories, nor was he sent into slavery, worked as a gladiator or fought serpent men. Hell, in the original Howard stories Cimmeria was supposed to be a stand-in for Scotland, not Austria. In fact, many of the more familiar aspects of Conan the motion picture were actually lifted from other works of Howard’s, like King Kull and Bran Mak Morn.

It’s understandable why the filmmakers did this. Most of Howard’s stories were more like tales heard around the campfire. They had no real connection to one another, and no drive that pushed the narrative forward as a whole. In the short stories, Conan simply develops wanderlust after hearing tales of lands outside Cimmeria, and leaves to seek adventure. Not nearly as rousing as a tale of revenge.

As much as I love the original film and believe that it captured the essence of Howard’s creation, having read the original stories many times over I’m looking forward to this remake. If they do intend on sticking with the original text, they’re going to have a hard time making it work, not only because of the resistance from the rabid fans of the original, but also in adapting such a fractured tale.

I remember the first time I met Doug…

Wait. No I don’t. How the fuck did we meet?

It might interest a few of our readers to know that Welland Centennial Secondary School is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. To honour the occassion, the school will be having a reunion during the Thanksgiving weekend. This is a perfect opportunity for us all to gather together and realize just how little we’ve accomplished in over a decade.

Yesterday morning, one of the most influential comic book artists of the past hundred years passed away at his drawing table doing what he loved most.

Rest in peace, Mr. Toth.