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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Oct. 20, 2006 / 28 Tishrei 5767

Boo!

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Another Halloween is upon me and I haven't a thing to wear. No, that isn't true. I do have several rubber masks. They're packed away in a box somewhere in the garage but even if I were able to find them I don't know if they would still be usable since rubber can disintegrate or melt in extreme temperatures. I know this from experience because years ago I took out my pair of Frankenstein hands only to discover that they had melded into one totally disgusting blob of rubber.


As a kid I collected masks which included Frankenstein, Wolf Man, the Mummy and other assorted monsters. I found them for sale in the pages of my favorite magazine, "Famous Monsters of Filmland." The masks were created by Don Post Studios and they were positively the best around - the most authentic likenesses of the Universal movie monsters you could get. "Hand painted, hand-made in Hollywood of durable latex," the ad said.


Six or seven years ago I had the pleasure of visiting with Forrest J. Ackerman, publisher of "Famous Monsters," at his home in Hollywood. To me he looked almost the same as he did in the photos that appeared in his magazine some forty odd years ago. His house is exactly what you might expect the house of a movie monster maven to look like - filled with thousands of photos, books, props, stills, and other odd and sundry items from science fiction and horror movies throughout the decades.


The house itself he called his "Ackermansion" which is located in Hollyweird, Karloffornia and is one of those old California Spanish places which looks as if a horror movie actor might have actually lived there in the early 1930's. For a kid of my generation it would've been the perfect place to go trick or treating on Halloween.


Forry, as Mr. Ackerman prefers to be called, was the perfect host - leading us through every room of the house, proudly showing off his fantastic collection of monster memorabilia and telling us behind the scenes stories as we went along. Here was a man who certainly loved what he did for a living, or more precisely, was able to make a living at what he loved most.


As a ten year-old kid, I collected every issue of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" that came out. I loved the magazine because I loved the movies that the magazine honored. Those great old horror movies that scared the wits out of me. Pictures like the original "Frankenstein" starring Boris Karloff, as well as all the subsequent sequels; the Wolf Man pictures; "Dracula;" the mummy pictures; and the "Invisible Man." "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" starring Charles Laughton was pretty frightening too, as was the original silent "Phantom of the Opera" starring Lon Chaney. These were the truly classic horror movies.


We didn't have the big screen televisions they make now, but watching Lon Chaney Jr. in "The Wolf Man" at home in our den on a rainy cold night was bigger than life. Not to mention scarier. "The way you walked was thorny…through no fault of your own," the old gypsy woman, Maria Ouspenskaya, chanted over Chaney as he lay dead at the end of the picture, finally at peace. Jack Pierce's makeup gave me nightmares for years. This was my favorite horror movie.


Another one that really got to me and stuck within my little impressionable brain was "The Beast with Five Fingers" starring Peter Lorrie. A concert pianist is killed in his gothic mansion; one of his hands is cut off and comes to life crawling across tables and floors terrorizing everyone who is in the house. Sounds silly? Oh, no. Not when you're a nine year-old boy watching it on TV in a dark room at Halloween.


About the only thing more fun than actually watching scary movies on television as a kid was scaring my little sister with them. She would watch them with me and I happily would torture her with them long after they were over. I'd put on one of my masks and chase her around the house. I got to the point where I memorized the scariest lines from the films and I could imitate the character's voices, usually late at night in the dark when we were in bed. "RRrrrr! Smoke, good!" I would say in my best Frankenstein voice. "T'was de hand! You, you must believe me!" I would shout as Peter Lorrie. I did them all, from the old gypsy woman to Quasimodo to Igor.


I don't think kids nowadays can get scared watching those old movies like we did. They've been exposed to too many other images of blood, gore, and just plain repulsiveness that are much more frightening in the films and TV of today. I wonder how a ten year-old of today would react to watching "Frankenstein" for the first time. He'd probably think it's funny. That's a shame. There was a style, mood and sense of storytelling in those pictures that all the best computer generated images in the world can't duplicate. And there is absolutely nothing today that can equal pound for pound, the scariness of Lon Chaney Jr. changing into the Wolf Man.


"Even the man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the moon is full and bright."


Maybe I'll go out to the garage, dig out one of my old masks and visit my sister this Halloween.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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