Categories
Movies

Movies: “Stake Land (2010)” – Gorgeous Vampire Apocalypse

“Stake Land” hit me like a hammer of wonderful. I was not expecting to love it. Any hopes I had for the end of the world soured months ago and I officially declared the apocalypse so “yesterday” However, this indie horror flick makes me add an exception. What first struck me were the visuals. The film felt like film both due to image quality and the thoughtful establishing shots that plumped out the locations. The milieu felt really familiar, really rust belt and post industrial. It wasn’t shot in the Midwest technically but except for a few mountains, it felt like home.

The main characters were all strongly conceived and portrayed. Obviously the heroic “Mister” is the defining core — yeah, yeah, structurally speaking the kid he saves is the protagonist– and yeah, the overall thrust of the movie is a bildungsroman for this youngun, complete with separation from natal household, learned independence, sexual awakening and (spoiler) re-establishment of a new household. The kid character is good, central even but damn, Mister is da MAN. Supporting characters are excellent. There’s a rescued nun, a pregnant singer, an ex-marine… and what compelling narrative would be complete without an ape-shit bad guy?

Religion and its bizarre perversions formed an essential thematic strata of Stake Land a detail that made it particularly vivid. America is daft already when it comes to the variety and ingenuity of our faith-based practices. The end of normal society could only make those oddities accelerate outward. I particularly enjoyed the suggestion of a suicide cult during one scene since it was nicely understated, not to mention that it goes in a completely different direction than I’d expected.

“Stake Land” compares favorably to the film version of “The Road.” Both are beautiful to look at. Both chronicle the decay of American civilisation and the desperate attempts to retain a sense of family in the face of such devastation. Both films end on at least a whisper of optimism. But I’ll take “Stake Land” over “The Road.” It comes down to something that I believe Nick Mamatas noted when explaining the difference between genre and literary fiction: in genre stories, something happens. Too often “literary” writing and “auteurist” cinema specifically repress story and plot as they focus on the elements of mood, character, theme. A film like “Stake Land,” modest though it may be, is a strong reminder that movies can be both poetic AND entertaining.

And if all that weren’t enough already, there were no zombies. Aren’t we over zombies yet? The vampires in “Stake Land” provided different levels of threat. They weren’t quite the über-beasts of “30 Days of Night” but they were happily far from the urbane and decadent artistocrats of “Interview with a Vampire.” I loved the sense that there was a taxonomy of vampire types known to the hunters; “scamps” were young ones, “berserkers” were older, more dangerous. Perhaps my favorite touch was how Mister collected the fangs from his kills and better, how those fangs functioned as currency.

I have no idea what angel of dark cinema spirited “Stake Land” to me but I am deeply grateful. I had been wallowing in a morass of joke-ridden, childish home movies masquerading as horror. “Stake Land” reminded me that mature and reflective grown ups make scary movies too.

Categories
Movies

“Rot” – Stop Motion Decomposition Short

This little video gem popped up around the web (io9.com, boingboing.net, etc) but I loved it so much I just had to share it here too. Double plus good, eh? It’s the proper length, not too long, not too short. The animation effect is smooth enough. The frame composition is nice to have the face AND an item in the background. And it goes beyond being a simple makeup test. About the only thing I can say of a critical nature is that there aren’t anywhere near enough maggots and that there would have been a great “bloom” of them long before our hero turned to bones. But quibbles. Enjoy!

Categories
Nightmares

Nightmare #322 – Darkness and all within it

(Female, 40’s) It was the middle of the night in my dream, and I was not able to sleep so I woke up– that is, in my dream I was awake and the only one in the house
who was awake.

So I wandered around the house, being quiet so that I didn’t wake my sleeping family. I went into the kitchen, and I walked to the backdoor to open it and look out in the yard. I wanted to see what the weather was going to be like.

When I opened the door, I saw a huge menacing dog or wolf standing in the yard about 20 feet away from me. It was very dark outside, but the animal was an even darker black in the night. The opening noise of the door caught its attention, and now its gaze was focused on me. Its eyes were bright red; I could see the gleam of its big pointy teeth in its growling mouth. Its fur was ruffed up along its back so it was obviously an angry animal.

As I had opened the door, a broom had fallen into the doorway, so I knew I couldn’t just slam it shut and be safe. I would have to bend over and pick up the broom before I could shut the door, and that action would give the dog enough time to charge me if it wanted. Of course, after mauling me, the dog/wolf would get my sleeping family.

But the dog hadn’t yet made up its mind about attacking me.

Instead, we locked eyes across the short distance. Both of us stood stock still, having a staring contest. Time stretched on. I was too afraid to move at all.

Then suddenly, I blinked and it was gone. I hurried to move the broom and close the door.

Categories
Art Events music Performances

Theatre Bizarre – 2012 – “The Summoning”

Last Saturday evening, Elsa and I dolled ourselves up but good and trotted down to the 2012 offering of Theatre Bizarre called The Summoning. We return with a heart full of fond memories and a clawful of blurry photos. Let understatement suffice: The evening was everything I had hoped for.

The party started while we waited in line. My faith in the inherent creativity of humanity was rekindled as I surveyed the varied costumes as we shivered in the cold. A very serviceable Sir Graves Ghastly caught my eye, complete with the cackle and tagline “Happy Haunting.” I also spotted a Slestak from Land of the Lost, and one particularly brave lady portraying Leeloo from The Fifth Element wore only a handful of strategically placed bandages. There were several costumes based around wheelchairs and all of them were high quality, though my personal favorite was the guy who was a whole pirate ship. But the best costumes were glorious self expressions of uncategorizable ingenuity. One guy wore swirls of striped fabrics, pale body paint with hundreds of dots. Does it really matter what he was “supposed” to be?

Once inside, we milled around the entry way, taking in the animated Fiji Mermaid and thrilling to a diorama of previous extravaganzas when all of a sudden the Detroit Party Marching Band appeared in our midst to serenade us with deafening, butt-shakin’ grooves. The festivities were officially underway and this surprise performance primed us for a night of sudden wonders. The design geniuses of Theatre Bizarre did their crafty best to splice their weird DNA onto the already strange architecture of the massive Masonic Temple. Floor upon floor of wonders and oddities exploited the nooks and crannies of this grand edifice.

It’s easy enough to list the set areas and extoll their virtues: Here, a raucous dance floor, complete with fire dancers;

there, an “Odditorium” of off-beat sideshow performers, a room of suspensions and ritualized performance, another of spanking and naughtiness.

There, a “Sinema” showing silent horror flicks with strange subtitles and most importantly, handing out free popcorn.

Good, old fashioned burlesque dancers performed in one room, entering through a proscenium shaped like the devil’s mouth.

A game room tucked to one side had pinball machines and cleverly modified devices like this detail of a Career Prediction machine.

On our travels we discovered a sweet shop that served deliciously wacky flavors of ice cream — I had absinthe laced licorice and Elsa sampled the pumpkin and bourbon blend.


Way down in the basement, bands rocked the house to its foundations and way up on the top floor, a Ghost Train took riders on a perilous trek through a mist filled expanse.


The best advice came from the devil ahead of us in line for the Ghost Train: “Just keep walking and keep your eyes open.” Often, we would walk past and area and discover it had been transformed into a performance space. A fez topped vibraphone player popped up in one area and a swanky jazz combo appeared in another niche. I spotted several darkly made-up contortionists who crawled along the floor and furniture and leered like impudent lizards. I *think* they weren’t just guests.

Liquid refreshment was plentiful and reasonably priced. Merchandise was quirky and tasteful. Elsa and I danced ourselves limp and sweaty on the dance floor amid revelers literally half out age.

We crawled away while the party was still in full swing though part of me wanted to take up permanent residence. In short: Theatre Bizarre is one circus this horror snob would gladly run away to join. See you there, next year.

Categories
Nightmares

Nightmare #321 – Alone in the Dark

I was sitting in bed, reading a book. It was night time and for some reason I had the window shade pulled back so the window was large and black reflecting the lights from the room. I heard a sound outside. I can’t remember exactly what it was but it made me think someone was out there messing around in my backyard. I was outraged and without a single thought I raced out to the kitchen and threw open the back door.

The whole back yard was pitch black but I could heard voices coming from over by the corner of the yard.

“What the hell are you doing back there?”

The voices replied jovially, ha, ha, nothing to worry about.

I flipped the switch for the porch light and without thinking I charged forward into the darkness. I had gone about four steps before I realized that the light had not come on. I was completely engulfed by the dark. I was also just a little disoriented because at that instant all the lights in the housee also went out. I became immediately aware of my vulnerability, standing in my back yard, with the backdoor still presumably wide open, surrounded by darkness with two or three different voices of mischief makers coming from just a few steps away. Their tone shifted to one of menace and mockery.

Startled, I woke up.

Categories
"What We Fear" Events Movies Other Haunts

Flint Horror Convention – October 20th


If you read this blog and you’re near mid-Michigan next weekend, stop in to the Second Annual Flint Horror Convention, right down town at the creepy Masonic Temple kitty corner from the original Halo Burger. Vendors, Movies, Panels and all so close to the center of this mitten-shaped wonderland. TV horror celebrity Wolfman Mac is playing host and, among many other guests, my friends from the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers will be on a panel. Last year’s inaugural convention was a blast and this year promises to be bigger and better.

Categories
Dissections Events Other Haunts Performances

Theatre Bizarre – October 20th

Guess what arrived in the mail? Yes, oh yes, passes for this year’s version of Theatre Bizarre, titled “The Summoning.” The lurid festivities will be held at the Detroit Masonic Temple and please note, costumes are MANDATORY. I am taking time off from stitching mine to type out this posting.

If you aren’t hip to Theatre Bizarre — and there’s no shame really — check out the video I made of some of their side show props at the 2011 Detroit Maker Faire. Remember: you have been SUMMONED.

Categories
"What We Fear" Other Haunts

“Darkness and Dawn” – a vintage “Hell House”

It’s October and officially the time for Haunted House attractions and their evangelical knock-offs known as Hell Houses. A Hell House takes the thrills and chills of a traditional haunted house but dresses them up with a heavily moralistic and pietistic spin. A common feature, I gather, is a lurid depiction of Hell and all the tortures awaiting immoral, impious folks. This phenomenon is nothing new, heck some of the best medieval plays are thinly veiled cautionary tales. But I was charmed to find a post about a midway attraction from the early decades of the 20th C named “Darkness and Dawn” that featured a peek into Hell, presumably for pure amusement not instruction.

The first reference I found came from the blog Anonymous Works that featured a ticket for this attraction plus a snippet of information. They noted the attraction was located in Coney Island, that is burned down in 1903 and was later re-built in Luna Park. The style of the attraction was a cyclorama, a circular panorama intended to give a sense of all encompassing vista.

The blog Gaping Media Hole had several postcards from the attraction’s appearance in different locations, including the promotional card shown above and the shot of the midway that shows the front of the attraction. The locations noted are Revere Beach and Venice Beach.

The best description about the attraction came at a site devoted to the Pan-American Exhibition of 1901 held in Buffalo, NY. If I read the information correctly, “Darkness and Dawn” grossed the highest amount of any of the Midway attractions, scoring 17th overall behind restaurants and concession stands. The attraction started with a “Cabaret du Mort” where patrons drank from skulls and sat at coffin-shaped tables. Likely these beverages were alcoholic since at this time, amusement parks were aimed at young couples and were not particularly family friendly. I found little description of the Hell portion other than the note that while the creator of the attraction was puzzling out a way to get patrons over a lake of fire he came up with the idea for another attraction, “Visit to the Moon.”

These were the details I was able to piece together with a few minutes of research. I’m sharing them here mostly to remind myself to look into it further when I get a chance. Suffice to say, our interest in fear as thrill is sometimes served with a candy coating of instruction, and sometimes that candy coating is quite thin.

Categories
Games Other Haunts

“Better to Reign in Hell than Serve in Heaven…”

Elsa got me fairly ADDICTED to this cute, quirky on-line game called Glitch. You do all sorts of weird stuff like milk butterflies to make butter and later, cheese or squeeze chickens to get grain. Even the pigs will let you nibble on them if you pet them first. It’s certainly WEIRD but perhaps not exactly DailyNightmare material…

…with the exception of, well, Hell. If you let your energy levels slip to zero, you go to Hell. But Hell is not all that bad. You can earn your way out by squishing Hell grapes and if you find your way to the end of Hell, there’s even a bar! He’re a shot of my Glitch character astride a floating island in the depths of Hell. Both weird and creepy.

Categories
"What We Fear"

Zombie Walk Ann Arbor 2012


Hordes of undead shambled through downtown Ann Arbor last weekend and they did it for charity…and presumably for brains. The 2012 Zombie Walk Ann Arbor was held last Saturday, Sept 27. The undead were requested to bring canned goods to benefit Foodgatherers, a charity that feeds the hungry in Washtenaw County. I do not know if Foodgatherers has an official policy on feeding hungry zombies, however. I caught up with the zombies as they dragged their partially rotted corpses through picturesque Nickels Arcade.

The macabre parade was kept in line by “armed” representatives from the local chapter of Zombie Squad, a national organization that seeks civilian preparedness for zombie outbreaks and other types of disasters. The decomposing crowd ended it festering stroll at the Michigan Theatre, just in time for Three Corpse Circus, the annual festival of short horror films, where the undead were given a discounted admission.

Categories
"What We Fear" Other Haunts

Video – “Ask a Mortician”

A few years ago I was researching a piece about funeral parlors that I finally abandoned because, I am embarrassed to admit, I was too afraid to actually ask a mortician about specific details of the embalming process. File under “Thank you, Internet:” this running video blog of perky mortician Caitlin Doughty who gleefully responds to viewer questions about death, dying and funeral customs. She runs a website too called Order of the Good Death . com

The videos are quirky and light hearted with plenty of illustrations edited in to satisfy the tachistoscopic tastes of the MTV generation. But Caitlin’s warm personality and gentle wisdom are the real attractions of this vblog.

Check out the first episdoe at least, will ya?

Categories
Art Halloween Party

Halloween Treats: Meat Hand

It’s not often that we are moved to post recipes here on the Daily Nightmare, but this was one I couldn’t resist.

How gruesome, how fitting, how… delicious.

A mold was used to shape meatloaf into a hand. Cheese, ketchup, and onions add the extra touches which makes this dish outstanding.

Get the full instructions from the Not Martha blog here, and feed your family a Halloween dinner they’ll remember.

Categories
Art Movies

Three Corpse Circus Hits Its Stride

This year the Three Corpse Circus really hit its stride with polish and panache and easily the best crop of short horror films they’ve screened yet. The whole evening was enjoyable… for those, of course, who enjoy an evening of gore and terror. A few touches were tasteful, like the costumed vampires who handed out programs while others were simple but greatly appreciated, like projected list of films shown between each movie that reminded viewers of the title and country of origin. The evening was preceded by a zombie walk and the lobby was filled with tables for the local chapter of Zombie Squad, The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers and the Flint Horror Convention which rounded out the sense of an actual horror community in Michigan.

The films were the stars as it should be at a film festival. I was struck by the “freshness” of the offerings since all but one were made within the last year. Those who have read my reviews of the previous festivals (year one and year two) will remember my embarrassment that so few exceptional films came from the US. I am pleased to note with a quiver of patriotism that this year the domestic product was clearly dominant. U-S-A! U-S-A!! Overall, the movies themselves were of such a generally high quality, a loud disagreement broke out among myself, Elsa and Igor when it came time to choose our favorites.


Igor particularly enjoyed the taut Spanish short “Refuge 115,” a beautifully shot tale of mysterious disappearances in a bomb shelter. The location was spot on perfect and was exceptionally well lit, a necessity since darkness in the tale seethed with malevolence.

Elsa agreed that Refuge 115 was the most consistently scary piece, but she also quite enjoyed “Saw Misgivings” a British farce that depicted the dark hilarity resulting when a housewife discovers a torture-porn head vice and gets it stuck on her head… just as company is expected for dinner. The acting was spot on and its comic timing was immaculate. It was the kind of droll comedy we expect from the British Isles.

I, however, don’t like to laugh.

I am a purist and a snob when it comes to horror and I tolerate only the lightest touch of comedy and only when it’s used to heighten the overall tension of the piece. Otherwise, I’d be extolling the obvious virtues of “Zombie Factor,” a locally produced piece about reality TV after the zombie apocalypse. Its tone perfectly captured the feel of survivor-type television with a healthy dose of the undead. The director was on-hand and answered questions during intermission and he should be justly proud of his work. It really felt like a professionally produced product. Honestly, the only thing I can say against this film is that is was funny, quite effectively so… and with horror at least I am not amused by humor.

With that prejudice in mind, let me highlight the three films that rocked my world.


“Tarnished Gluttony” (2012), a music video, told an eerie Lovecraftian tale of sacrifice. Gorgeous visuals and convincingly bloody with good, yet tasteful gore, this short piece left just enough mystery and wonder unexplained to whet my taste for more. Igor, that grouch, couldn’t get past the soundtrack.


“Familiar” (Fatal Pictures, Canada 2012), the final piece of the night, was a well-shot and perfectly acted tale of middle-aged quiet horror that spirals downward into more Cronenbergian body terror. The effects were nicely achieved and the whole tone of domestic desperation was masterfully portrayed. Damn those Canucks and their National Film Board!

But my favorite piece, the one that I would like to watch again, was the brief gem titled “Green Glass Door,” which depicted a grisly parlor game directed by a serial killer. (It can be watched in its entirety here.) Elsa, Egor and I were talking about it as we left the theatre, puzzling it out. Pay attention to the closing credits if you’re still in the dark. It was for my money the most consistently brutal piece cramming a fist full of convincing executions into its scant seven minutes. The horrific deaths were unsettling, immaculately shot but framed so as not to show too much. And if all that wasn’t enough, I discovered that “Green Glass Door” was entirely shot and edited in 48 hours as part of a Lousiville, Kentucky project. I expect great things from Antonio Pantoja.

I could keep going since there was something interesting about each of the films this year. I left eager for more but quite satisfied. I felt that last night, Three Corpse Circus really started to its promise as a rallying point for the Michigan horror community. I can hardly wait for next year.

Categories
Events Movies

Movies: “Nosferatu” (1922) with LIVE ORGAN accompaniment


The historic Michigan Theatre in downtown Ann Arbor MI, keeps one Halloween tradition I heartily endorse: their yearly showing of Murnau’s “Nosferatu” complete with a LIVE ORGAN accompaniment. This year it happens on Thursday, October 25. If you’ve never seen a silent movie with music performed on an honest to goodness theatre organ then treat yourself to this special showing. A theatre organ has the complete range of an orchestra and I should note, they are actual instruments, not digital copies. And take a look around the place too. The Michigan theatre was restored to its ancient glory a decade or so ago and its lobby is worth a gander as well. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the butter on their popcorn is actual, REAL butter.

Nosferatu remains an enduring classic, if for no other reason than how it resolves the central problem of all vampire movies, that is, how can an undead creature of the night do something as ungainly as crawl out of a coffin without looking like an awkward scramble. Lugosi’s Dracula, as I recall, resolves the problem in a different, far less cinematic way with a demure cut-away, but Nosferatu’s full-figure, effortless rise is worth the price of admission. Sure, you’ve seen it in a hundred other movies, but this is the original and for my money the best.

http://www.michtheater.org/shows/nosferatu/

If you just want to watch the movie, however, it’s up on the You-Toob:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzubFvBsA

Categories
Nightmares

Nightmare #320 – Bullies who Unlock the Brain

(Male, 40’s) The whole dream was creepy with people I know who are dead and who I knew were dead even in the dream. But it didn’t turn into a nightmare until the last final moments. I was in a warehouse, a showroom with crates and merchandise stacked up several stories tall. I had been with friends — even though they were dead — but suddenly I’d turned a corner and was completely alone.

Then, there were two men there, leaning against the boxes. They didn’t seem openly hostile or theatening just vaguely up to no good, like con men. One of the men was friendly. He started chatting with me. He said something about the Wicked Witch of the West, about how she had 9 shelves full of… something, but that he had 18.

I asked if that meant his shelves were half as big as hers. He laughed.

Then the other man, the silent one moved in. He held up one of his hands and made a big show of pulling on his forefinger. He removed the flesh like it was a cap. The bone protruded an inch or two… but it wasn’t a bone: it was a key, an old-fashioned key, a skeleton key, I guess. The silent man then pointed his finger-key at me and stepped forward. He pointed at my forehead like he was going to unlock my brain. Before he touched me, though I woke up.

Categories
Nightmares

Nightmare #319 – Alien Take-Over

(Female, 40’s) Aliens had taken over the planet. Like in a well-paced monster movie, they didn’t make an appearance until the 3rd act, but we knew they were out there.

Most people had been put to sleep in these sleep-unit devices that looked like metal filing cabinets — or morgue trays, now that I think about it — in their own homes. This suspended animation mode was drastic, but it was for their own safety, especially those with children.

I wasn’t asleep, so I had to slink around carefully, avoiding the aliens who were known to come out during the daytime.

I went into the home of some friends at dusk. Something like a power-surge had caused their sleep-units to open, and the mom, dad and 2 kids were standing there, confused and rubbing their eyes. I had to break the news to them: they had been sleeping for weeks, aliens were in charge, and they’d have to go back to sleep before sunrise. So they spent this night getting cleaned up and eating dinner and playing games with their kids. In the morning, I helped them seal up and go back to sleep.

I somehow made it to the apartment building where my parents live in another city. I didn’t know how to bring up the topic of aliens with my parents. I asked my mom if she had noticed anything strange going on.

“What? Like the aliens?” replied my mom. I nodded, surprised and embarrassed for some reason.

“We just don’t go outside in the day anymore. And we have to stay away from the windows so we can’t be seen. But at night, when the aliens are sleeping, it’s safe to go out. The government told us that. We go shopping and visiting our friends.”

I went to another friend’s house. Even though it was daytime, I woke them up on purpose because I was feeling lonely and I missed them. I told them about the aliens and how they would have to stay away from the windows, but they didn’t believe me. I pointed outside to the 30 foot tall, slender metallic bodies striding through the neighborhood. The aliens eyes were like red lasers shooting from their spaceship-shaped heads and blowing up things like trees and cars.

“See? You don’t want to make those creatures angry.”

Categories
Movies

Three Corpse Circus Film Festival Saturday September 29th

What better way to start off a month of Halloween celebrations than with the third annual festival of short horror films known as Three Corpse Circus? It’s earlier than past years which I consider a plus. October gets so cramped with horror events.

This year there will be two blocks of programming which seems like a good idea. Gluttons like myself reveled in the four hour marathon but I bet more casual viewers will appreciate the segments. The list of films is already posted: http://www.threecorpsecircus.com/line-up/ and as usual there looks like there will be something for everyone.

Wanna an idea of what to expect? Check our my reviews of the First Year and of the Second Year.

Categories
Movies

Troma Movies now on YouTube

Those purveyors of premium schlock, Troma, have released a whole slew of their full length movies on YouTube. Great fun. They might not be exactly fitting with our “snob” reputation here at the DailyNightmare, but Troma has a full four decade legacy of producing authentically independant films… or at least movies. Love ’em or hate ’em, that’s an impressive track record. And they’ve released films that they distribute too like “White Zombie” with Bela Lugosi, considered the first zombie movie.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tromamovies?feature=watch

Categories
Nightmares

Nightmare #332 – The Huge Storm

(Female, 30’s) In real life, we built a new garage in our backyard a couple of years ago. And it was sort of the garage in my dream, but not exactly, you know, in the way dreams are different from real life. Anyway, this dream was short on story line, but big on image.

In my dream, there had been a huge storm and a gigantic tree collapsed on the top of our garage (there’s really no trees anywhere near our garage).

Half of the garage was destroyed, like utterly smashed in. The upper story collapsed in by this tree. The roof was left all jagged and unstable.

Then a big machine with a big claw was scooping up the damaged bits.

I had no idea how we were going to fix the garage.

Categories
This Just In

Your First Vampire, The Count, Dead at 78

If ever there was a vampire whose death we should mourn, it is The Count from Sesame Street. Jerry Nelson, the talented muppeteer who portrayed numerous characters over the years, including the Count, is dead at age 78. For many, this character was the introduction to numeracy as well as to word play (The Count, get it? Get it?) I can’t help but think that this link between vampires and a near obsession with numeration is the subtext for the vampire on that episode of the X-Files that Mulder distracts by spilling a box of matches which the OCD blood-sucker must stop to count before attacking. A stretch? Perhaps. But ponder for a moment the poetic fittingness of numbers which go ever on and on with the notion of immortal life represented by the undead. The Count was a cuddly monster, a near contradiction in terms. Though Jerry Nelson be dead, let the Count live on.

One. One heart-felt tribute. Two…

http://www.sesameworkshop.org/our-blog/2012/08/24/in-memoriam-jerry-nelson/