Serpentaire - Serpentarius

Editor's Voice

Hallowe'en is only celebrated once a year, but don't let that stop you from enjoying all those wonderfully frightening little things all year 'round. With the upcoming film, "The Ring", you won't have to wait long.

Also in this bulletin, find out who are the most popular monsters of all. And hey, we're talking fictitous, movie monsters, not terrorists or snipers.

News...

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Off the Hook

The Ring, set to debut October 18th may be the epitome of films in the Urban Legends genre. Actually a remake of one of the most popular Japanese films ever, the American version, directed by Gore Verbinski, promises to deliver some of the darkest, most intriguing atmosphere you could ask for.

The story begins with what sounds like just another urban legend - a videotape filled with chaotic, nightmarish images. If you watch the tape, you die. A phone call is said to foretell your death in exactly seven days. Now, who can resist?

Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive) stars as reporter Rachel Keller trying to get to the bottom of it. She's skeptical until 4 teenagers, including her niece, die exactly one week after watching the tape. She tracks down the video, watches it, and sure enough, the phone rings and an ominous voice speaks, "Seven days".

The videotape contains clues that seem just on the verge of making sense if only the characters-and the viewers- could find the right context to put them in. And that's the appeal of the film. Its psychological, complex, and, with an excellent cast promises to satisfy even the most discerning horror film fan.

Official website http://www.ring-themovie.com/

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Our FavoriteMonster

A recent survey says it's Dracula, The Lord of the Undead. Both young and old consider the classic vampire to be the scariest movie monster ever in a nationwide survey that tried to find out what scares us the most and why. People are attracted to monsters who are intelligent and have super powers. They also like monsters who perform on screen with the kind of evil and lack of inhibition that normal people don't have in real life.

That may explain why number 2 on the monster list is Freddy Krueger, followed by Godzilla, Frankenstein, and that unlovable doll, Chucky.

Older folks prefer the classic monsters who kill for survival, fear, or revenge. Younger generations like violent, bloodthirsty slasher-murderers. The difference: young people tend to feel immortal and don't take violence personally. Older people can perceive killing-machine monsters almost as a personal threat.

So why do we LIKE to be scared? Because it's something that is out of the ordinary in our experience, according to researcher Dr. Steven Fischoff of California State University in Los Angeles. The pleasure in being scared is in knowing that it will stop. Close your eyes or turn off the television. You're safe. You get the adrenaline rush, but you know it's going to end

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Bid on a Prize To Die For

The prize is worth $28,000 (£18,000). The catch is that it can only be claimed after death -- the chance to be cryogenically frozen after passing away.

It's part of a competition held by New Scientist magazine. And if the winner doesn't want to wait, an alternative prize is available: A week in Hawaii and a view of the stars through the world's highest telescope at Mauna Kea.

If the winner chooses the deep freeze, once pronounced legally dead, he or she will be prepared and cooled to a temperature of -196 C, where physical decay of the body stops. The person will then be suspended in liquid nitrogen, in a state known as cryonic preservation.

When and if medical technology allows, he or she will then be healed and revived and awoken to extended life in youthful good health.

The prize is being offered in conjunction with the Cryonics Institute of Michigan, a U.S. facility that stores the remains of more than 40 people. Participants are asked to explain in 50 words or less which prize they would prefer: a chance to be frozen and brought back to life, or a warm, sunny beach and a view of the universe today.

Till death do us part?

Not anymore. A Chicago company can turn cremated human remains into diamonds that can be worn as jewelry, a sparkling alternative to tombstones and urns. LifeGem Memorials purifies the ash in a vacuum induction furnace at 3,000 degrees Celsius (about 5,400 F). Then for about 16 weeks it is placed under intense pressure and heat, in a faster version of the forces that create a natural diamond.

Greg Herro, head of LifeGem Memorials, says the blue diamonds are of the same quality that you would find at Tiffany's.
Life Gems or Death Rocks?

Life Gems says they will also turn your dearly departed pets into jewels as well.

Games

Baldur's Gate(TM): Dark Alliance(TM) for Nintendo GameCube(TM) Available at Retail in November

First Nintendo GameCube(TM) Dungeons & Dragons(R) Game Approved for Manufacturing

Black Isle Studios, has announced that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance for the Nintendo GameCube video game system has gone gold and will be available at retail in November.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance features a distinctive blend of action and adventure. Faithful adaptation of the new 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules set, customizable player and character development allow for an engrossing gameplay experience new to the Nintendo GameCube audience. Dramatic spell effects and powerful abilities enhance this action-packed game, assisting the player in combat against an abundance of monsters throughout the adventure.

Played from a third person perspective, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance immerses players in the port town of Baldur's Gate. Darkness has fallen upon the town and rumors of a Thieves' Guild civil war brew beneath the streets of the city. Entering this desperate situation, new to the world of adventuring, the players soon learn that they stand in the way of one of the greatest threats ever to strike the town of Baldur's Gate and the entire region of The Sword Coast.