According to The Register, scientists at the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing may have discovered the gene responsible for hypertrichosis, or the “werewolf disorder”. Over the course of four years, geneticist Xue Zhang and his team scanned the DNA of over two dozen people who have congenital generalized hypertrichosis terminalis (CGHT). Zhang’s team discovered that each of the subjects share a mutation near the SOX9 gene, which controls hair growth. Further research is required to discover whether this is a coincidence or if there’s an actual connection, but it’s an interesting bit of news nevertheless.
Category: Pop Culture
Trendy werewolf stuff for trendy werewolf people.
“Werewolf” Strategy Game – What’s Up?
I was digging through some unread Google Alerts from April when I came across this CNET article by Caroline McCarthy about Werewolf, a social strategy game that’s becoming increasingly popular with a group of people the article describes as “young techies”. (more…)
The Top Five Worst Werewolf Book Covers Ever
Werewolf News is pleased to present this special report from jujitsu / River City Ransom sensation Mike Roukas.
There is a fine line between the intentional retardedness of Teen Wolf and the unwitting ineptitude of the JarJar Binks-era Star Wars movies. I regret to say that when it comes to making werewolf-related media, it’s very easy to cross that line and blast into uncharted dimensions of stupidity. The following are what I believe to be the top five aesthetic blunders in the wide, wide world of werewolf book covers. Please keep in mind that the cringe-inducing ineptitude of these covers doesn’t necessarily reflect the writing inside them, but it probably does.
Werecon – Online Werewolf Convention
I just caught wind of a werewolf convention going down this November 18 – 22. Werecon is the “first ever online convention to bring werewolves together in one place”. At the moment the site has a chat area, a promotional link banner and some regional “packs” you can join, but it’s light on details regarding the actual convention. The site just went up a day or two ago, so hopefully more details will be posted soon!
The Phantom Limb – Albert Fish and Werewolf Marionettes
Haverty Marionettes is “Atlanta’s first and only theater company dedicated solely to the creation of puppetry for adult audiences”, and their current show, The Phantom Limb, is garnering positive attention. What’s it about, and how is it related to werewolves? From the Haverty site:
[The Phantom Limb is] an account of events in the life of Mr. Albert Fish, the ‘Brooklyn Werewolf’. Life-size and miniature wooden marionettes, live actors, 2D cut-outs and silhouette film combine to create a surreal dream world weaving fairy tales and historical fact into an unconventional exploration of morality, fantasy, and the capacity in nature for evil.
Grim stuff, but by the looks of things, it’s presented in a fascinating way. According to the review on Creative Loafing, the show includes “short puppet-based vignettes that riff on ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Peter and the Wolf’… [and] The wolf puppet features an intriguingly half-human design.” Here’s a closer look at the wolf and Red Riding Hood puppets (photos by Stephanie Richardson):
The Phantom Limb is playing at 7 Stages in Atlanta, March 13 through April 5. I’ll post more ticket and showtime info shortly!
Harry Potter Fans: Wield Your Werewolf Wisdom and Win a Wand
The Leaky Cauldron.org has been one of the premiere Harry Potter fansite for ages, and they’ve just announced their March contest: Top Ten Ways to Spot a Werewolf. Entries should be “entertaining and without an iota of seriousness or factuality”, and winners (you can enter alone or with a friend) will receive a wand from Wizard Wood Wands. If you’re a creative Harry Potter fan who knows a thing or two about werewolves, submit your entry before 11:59pm EST on March 22nd for your chance to win. Visit the contest page for submission instructions and contest rules.
Tony Slotslider’s Book Of Terror – “Thriller” With Werewolves, in 48 Hours
Say what you will about Michael Jackson… Thriller was an amazing video when it first came out in 1983, and it’s still pretty awesome today. Jimi Cuell feels the same way, and last October, he and his dedicated crew of dancers / zombies / 80’s fashion victims / filmmakers collaborated to create an homage that is both hilarious and impressive.
Tony Slotslider’s Book of Terror is an eight-minute short film that Cuell & friends wrote, shot and edited, all within 48 hours. Madness, you say? Nay, friends, it’s the Bloodshots 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Contest. Cuell’s group was required to create a film in the werewolf genere, and they had a few other guidlines as well– they had to include an occult book as a prop, and use the line “this picture looks familiar” as part of the dialog. “We came up with the idea in something like 10 minutes,” Cuell told The Vancouver Courier. “And then we went straight home and started working on the song and that took three hours or so. We wrote the lyrics accordingly and went and grabbed a werewolf mask and just went from there.” See the results for yourself!
Tony Slotslider’s Book of Terror is being screened at Vancouver’s Roundhouse Community Centre on Friday the 27th (tomorrow!) at 9:30 AM, as part of the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth. Jimi Cuell will be in attendance, so be sure to impress him with your dance moves.
Everyone Loves (to Download) Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
According to statistics posted by TorrentFreak, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is this week’s number one most downloaded film on the BitTorrent protocol. The stats posted don’t include total download numbers, but TorrentFreak confirms that the total number of downloads is “well over a million”. I’m not sure what says about the quality of the film. Given that another one of this week’s rising stars is Beverly Hills Chihuahua, probably nothing good.
What did you all think of Rise of the Lycans? I’m afraid I was still hibernating when it came out.
Happy Horny Werewolf Day
Hey, everyone. Happy Horny Werewolf Day.
As per Warren Ellis:
Valentine’s Day is a Christian corruption of a pagan festival involving werewolves, blood and fucking. So wish people a happy Horny Werewolf Day and see what happens.
Yeah, I should warn you all, I’m apt to act immediately on advice given by the guy who wrote Transmetropolitan.
Holiday Recap
Hey, everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday. I know December was kind of a spotty month at Werewolf News, with fairly sporadic posts, but as the new year approaches it’s time to get things back on track. I have a couple of new features planned for the site, which I aim to have set up by mid-January (real-life work permitting), so check back in the next two weeks for a Werewolf Event Calendar and… well, let me get things working first and then you can check ’em out.
Here are some recent news tidbits that I haven’t had a chance to write up.
- Fox is moving ahead with the Michael Dougherty drama/comedy “Bitches”, about four female werewolves living in New York City.
- A third poster for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans has been released, this one featuring Lucian… in human form, alas.
- Image’s new comic imprint Man of Action is launching Bad Dog, a title about a hard-drinking Texas bounty hunter who’s also a werewolf who refuses to return to human form. 2009 is looking like a good year for werewolf comics!
- You know Proposition 8, that unfortunate law that robbed same-sex couples in California of certain basic rights? According to The Onion, there was a typographical error in the paperwork that actually means Proposition 8 is good news for same-sex werewolf couples. Hooray for gay (werewolf) rights!
That’s it for now!