Alcide has been Cast!

There’s a hot new werewolf on the scene!

Taylor Lautner may be PEOPLE’s most wanted star in 2010, but True Blood fans will have something to growl about now that the show has cast Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux, who will appear in season 3 as a love interest for Sookie Stackhouse.

In the books by Charlaine Harris that HBO’s hit is based on, the werewolf Alcide helps Sookie (played by Anna Paquin on the show) search for her missing vampire beau Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer).

According to EW.com, which first reported the casting news, producers were looking for a “good-looking, rough-around-the-edges, articulate, heroic, and decent” man for the role.

They found their guy in Manganiello, who is best known for playing bartender Owen on One Tree Hill and his recurring role as Brad on How I Met Your Mother.

In another bit of casting news, Emmy-winner Alfre Woodard will guest star on True Blood, according to The Hollywood Reporter, as the mother of Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), Merlotte’s short-order cook who illegally sold vampire blood.

Tell us: Does Joe Manganiello make a good Alcide? What do you hope for season 3 of True Blood?

MaryAnn's Hunters Souffle

A Big Thanks to Dallas and @taramerlottes for this.


Mary Anne's Hunter Soufflé

Ok, I'm not an epicurean but I have done some research and I think we can recreate the Hunter Souffle' following and combining two different recipes

Using the recipe from an Aussie recipe website for Calf's Hearts ( see here) You would dice and brown chopped heart with garlic, onions, carrots, diced potatoes, with herbs and spices in butter. Then flame with cognac, cover and cook.

Then you could use the resulting mixture as a basis for the basic Ground Beef Soufflé. You could replace the beef added in the [-- ] below with your browned heart and vegetable mix and proceed with the rest of the basic souffle recipe.

* note it will NOT bleed when you cut into it and hopefully it won't make you start slapping your family...

Ground Beef Souffle

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
5 eggs, separated

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a skillet and stir in flour. Let cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, but don't brown. Stir in milk and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add cheese, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper.
[Place ground beef into another skillet and cook and stir until well crumbled and lightly browned. Drain off any fat.]

Stir into the sauce. Beat the 5 egg yolks until creamy and gradually stir into the sauce as well. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Beat it thoroughly and let it cool. Beat the 5 egg whites until very foamy and creamy. After the yolk mixture has cooled, stir a big spoonful of the beaten egg whites into it thoroughly until it has a slightly foamy look. Pour this slowly over the remaining egg whites, folding and lifting as you pour.

When it is all folded in well (DON'T BEAT IT) pour carefully into a buttered and floured souffle dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. It should be very firm and shake hardly at all when tested

Beauty..

We are ALL Americans

True Blood Cover

If you are interested

If you are hankering for some good supernatural reads to aid your True Blood withdrawl, the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole is hot and tantalizing with a mixture of supernatural. I highly recommend them.

Open House

Good news, "True Blood" fans! While you and I are waiting with bated breath for the return of our favorite vampire-centric television series, it sounds like the on-screen and real-life romantic coupling of Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are doing whatever they can to satisfy our thirst for all things Bon Temps by bringing Sookie and Bill to the big screen!

Alright, that's not exactly the case. You see, Anna and Stephen are set to star in a movie together, but it sadly has nothing to do with "True Blood," vampires or the fangtastic Alexander Skarsgård. Instead, the small screen's most lovable duo are hitting the bright lights of Hollywood in "Open House," an all-new thriller directed by Anna's brother Andrew.


According to IMDB, the movie focuses on a wealthy couple (played by Anna and Stephen) going through a marital crisis. As a result, they decide to host an open house in order to sell off their troubled home — but the real trouble emerges when they realize that one of their potential buyers is still lurking inside their house.

The "True Blood" duo are joined in the film by an excellent cast that includes "Battlestar Galactica" favorite Tricia Helfer and "Nip/Tuck" actress Jessica Collins. The film is apparently in post-production and set for a 2010 debut, so we might even get to see this film before "True Blood" returns to the airwaves next year — suddenly, the wait for Bill and Sookie's on-screen reunion isn't so bad, is it?

Charlaine Harris Interview

Alex Sings!

I couldn't resist

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Happy Halloween

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Halloween's History

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Courtesy of History.com

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Courtesy of Charleston Daily Mail

Former Charleston resident Sam Trammell, who stars in the HBO series, "True Blood," will bring some spooky star power to a Halloween weekend event sponsored by East End Main Street and the Charleston Area Alliance.

HallowEast has been dubbed "an event you can really sink your teeth into," and is intended to be the first of an annual occurrence.

Officials from the alliance and East End Main Street announced details Tuesday at the headquarters of Kanawha Players in the East End, amid special effects that included a coffin and smoke.

Trammell, who plays a shape-shifter, or character who changes from man to animal in the vampire-themed series, is the headliner for the HallowEast fund-raiser. He will participate in an interview with David Wohl, dean of arts and humanities for West Virginia State University, that will be styled like the Bravo TV show, "Inside The Actors Studio."

HallowEast runs Oct. 28 to Oct. 31 with a variety of events from a cocktail party, VIP reception with Trammell, art show, a Halloween Hootenanny, Trick or Treat at Appalachian Power Park, the Kanawha Players production of "Dial M for Murder," and even a well-timed blood drive for the Red Cross.

Charleston artist Mark Wolfe has designed the logo and a special T-shirt for the event.

Mayor Danny Jones commented during Tuesday's press conference, "I appreciate East End Main Street's emphasis on arts and culture. We're looking forward to a new, family-friendly event around Halloween."

Trammell, in a prepared statement, said his current acting gig makes his visit a good fit for the event.

"If you've read the Charlaine Harris books (on which the show is based), you know she introduces a whole host of fantastical creatures. For sure, it's a Halloween sort of show."

While Trammell was born in Louisiana, he attended elementary, middle and high school in Charleston, graduating from George Washington High. His parents, Willis and Betsy, live here.

Cast Thanks Fans!

Here's a Different Version

I've found the pilot that wasn't aired. You'll notice a few differences.

Attention Trubies!

For those of you like me, waiting for the new season of True Blood is going to be slowly agonizing. Not anymore! A website has been created so that the rabid fans such as myself can get our weekly fix. Simply go to http://groups.google.com/group/twitter-sookie-stackhouse-book-club-?hl=en

This is a Sookie Stackhouse Book Club and to have a live chat go to http://www.chatzy.com/880721523958 and enter the password Sookie01.

If you're like me, you're looking for something to make the time pass and now we have it! Enjoy!

What a Let Down.

Ok, I know many of you watched and loved the season finale! While it was entertaining, I found it lacking in the the last half hour. I enjoyed seeing Maryann meet her final death but we were left hanging in regard to Eric and Queen Sophie-Ann. Yeah, she's the one having Eric push her blood, but couldn't they give us a bit of a teaser or throw us a bone as to motive? I really love True Blood and will be a loyal fan, yet for those who have not followed, there is nothing to bring them back. No real cliffhanger, yes Bill is kidnapped and I think it's Sophie-Ann. Why? She could be brought down by Bill for forcing Lafayette to sell her blood. There is the motive. While True Blood is not following the books, I feel a sense of disappointment with this finale. I hope they do better next year...June 2010

And the Winner is........

@katmars with Fanged Fantasies Fulfilled Nightly!

Congratulations!!

Fuck Awards!

Michelle Forbes doesn't hold back when saying how she feels about True Blood being pretty much shut out of this year's Emmys.

"Excuse me, but f—k awards!" says Forbes, who plays the very evil but deliciously sexy Maryann Forrester in the hit vampire series.

"That's not where the glory is. The glory is in the audience," she adds. "That's who we tell the stories for. It's not for, with all due respect, the critics and not for the awards shows, but for the audience."

And as we all know by now, True Blood not only has a loyal and dedicated audience (me included!), but…

The series' following keeps growing with every episode. Sadly, season two's finale is on Sunday.

Forbes, who you may already know from herBattlestar Galactica days playing Admiral Helena Cain or as Gabriel Byrne's wife on HBO's In Treatment, admits she never had an interest in vampires or the supernatural before joining True Blood.

"She doesn't have a duality, she has a quadruple-ality," Forbes says with a laugh. "They came up with this character that is running around in evening dresses and playing in the dirt and she has mad domestic skills and a butler and then there's dancing and the food. It's been so much fun."

Also fun? Getting to watch the real-life romance blossom between Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

"It really is a beautiful partnership to witness, and I don't say that lightly," Forbes says. "It's not often that you meet two people so wholly suited for each other."

Remember 911

Today is a day to remember,

A day we must never forget.

We lost many loved ones

and many faces were wet.

Tears fell many that day,

The pain will never go away.

We vow to remember

and never to forget

Heaven gained many Angels that day,

The pain will never go away.

We must live, laugh and love,

For when we go above,

We shall see the Heroes that died

On that fateful day.

To honor those who have passed

We must live and not let time pass.

Life goes in the blink of an eye

So live, laugh, and love,

This will be their legacy.

Live your life with love.

Love, Love, Love This!!

The Final Hour!!

Can you handle it?

Eric and Bill Fans!

Are you Team Eric or Team Bill?

• Yay Team Eric!
  
• Yay Team Bill!
  

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Create a Blog Poll

Glamoured!

TALK about being glamoured. HBO's "True Blood" may be an ensemble show, but this season there's only one character everyone's talking about: Eric, Eric, Eric.

Alexander Skarsgard, a Swedish actor previously seen on "Generation Kill" and in "Zoolander," has been stealing every scene he's in on the campy drama, in which he plays Eric Northman, the local vampire sheriff and bar owner with Viking origins and a yen for Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin).

In last Sunday's episode, he brandished a rifle while wearing a housedress and referred to children as delicious "teacup humans." Earlier this season, he tricked Sookie into (very suggestively) sucking bullets out of his chest, disemboweled a man while wearing highlighting foils in his hair, and masqueraded as a Southern hillbilly.

And fans clearly can't get enough of him.

Robert Pattinson, who plays heartthrob bloodsucker Edward in the "Twilight" films, may be breathing a sigh of relief right about now -- the fan-phobic star is fast losing his status as world's sexiest creature of the night, thanks to Skarsgard.

In a poll titled "Who makes the hotter pretend vampire?" on Hollywoodgossip.com, the 33-year-old Swede beat Pattinson 66 percent to 33 percent. (Comparatively, Stephen Moyer, the ostensible romantic lead on "True Blood," lost to Pattinson by the same margin in an Us magazine poll.)

So what is it that makes Skarsgard so irresistible?

"I think there's a flexibility in his masculinity, and a vulnerability," says writer Jacob Clifton, who recaps the show on the Television Without Pity Web site. "He's a lot more unilaterally flirtatious, and expresses emotions in a very different way than an American actor."

Also, he adds, "He catches the light in a very nice way."

Lady Gaga thinks so, too. She cast him as the traitorous lover in her video for "Paparazzi," which required them to film a lusty opening scene in bed and then on a hotel room balcony.

"Alexander is a very good kisser," she recently told a Swedish magazine. "I don't know how other people do [it], but we were kissing for real."

She's preaching to the choir. Skarsgard's native country has reportedly voted him Sexiest Man in Sweden five times.

Recently, a scene from the 2002 Swedish film "Hundtricket" ("The Dog Trick") has been making the rounds on YouTube and elsewhere. It's a minute-long sequence of Skarsgard and two other actors showering. ("Possibly with subtitles," said one site. "We couldn't tell you.")

At the moment, he's shooting a remake of the 1971 Sam Peckinpah movie "Straw Dogs." Subject-wise, it's a weighty contrast to his vamp rival Pattinson, who was last seen on-screen wearing a silly mustache as Salvador Dali.

A TMZ film crew recently caught up with Skarsgard in an airport and asked him what he thought of the "Twilight" vampires. "I think they're cute," he said with a mischievous grin. "They're adorable.

Thanks to NY Post http://www.nypost.com/seven/09032009/entertainment/swede_tooth_187806.htm

Fan Art!

Plot Outline for Book 10

Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place …or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives…

Behind Blue Eyes

Awesome Video

Courtesy of SMVGrey74

Thee Finalists!

Ok, I have narrowed down all of the entries for the slogan contest. The three finalists are:

Todd O'Neill "A Bloody Good Time"

Judy Manning "The Best Bite of Your Life"

Kat Mars "Fanged Fantasies Fulfilled Nightly"

I will announce the winner the night of True Blood's Season Finale! Thank You for all who entered, it was fun seeing your imaginations at work!

Is He a Vampire?

Well, I do have to say that Queen Sophie-Anne looks ravishing in these photos, I could use a bit of a tan *chuckles* Who knew the Queen had a soft spot for Yahtzee! I love that game! Too bad we have to wait two weeks to see what happens! I hope it was better than this past episode!

Sneak Peaks!

First I want to say thank you to @BillsBelles for passing these photos over! Can you see my Queen Sophie-Ann? Isn't she beautiful? If you have eyes you can see why I fell head over heels for her.

Below, Bill, Queen Sopie-Ann and I are enjoying some time by the pool. No it is artifical light, not sunlight.

And here Bill is asking for help.

There are only two episodes left of our beloved True Blood, please do not cry! It will only be a few months before True Blood returns with a vengeance!

True Blood Vs. Twilight

True Blood, which is novel based has become HBO's biggest summer hit. - the entire first season of the HBO show was based upon the first book in the series called Dead Until Dark (The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1) by Charlaine Harris. The Sookie Stackhouse novels has a rabid and devoted fan-base. See True Blood on Twitter http://truebloodtwitter.net/

Sookie Stackhouse is a young, intelligent, and extra-sensory perception wielding southern lady. Sookie has rejected the advances of men she has known since she states "it's hard dating regular guys when you know what they're thinkin'." (that is, until she meets her charming, romantic, vampiric counterpart).

The most obvious difference, at the out-set, between the two stories and the worlds that Bella and Sookie live in is the fact that, in Sookie's world, vampires are commonly known to exist, and they are openly trying to assimilate into human society (for the most part, at least). The clever name of the television series, in fact, comes from the title of the bottled blood that vampires (are supposed to) live off of. In Twilight, by sharp contrast, the world is mostly unaware of the existence of vampires, and the vampires that do exist (save for the Cullens and the Denali clan) are mostly nomadic and do not try to resist their thirst.

Sookie (played by Oscar-winner Anna Paquin) is eager to become affiliated with vampires, and when she meets Bill, she, like Bella Swan, is totally enamored with him. Unlike Bella, Sookie can let Bill bite her without necessarily becoming a vampire as the procedure for "the change" is quite different between these two stories.

Bill (played by British Stephen Moyer) is a bit like Edward Cullen (played by also-British actor Robert Pattinson) in that he is frustrated with his circumstances as a vampire and wants to be different from some of the less human-friendly others of his kind. Edward comes across as a tortured vampire, where Bill just seems uptight.

Also, there is another similarity. In True Blood, as in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, there are also shape-shifting (werewolves, arguably) humans such as Sam (played by Sam Trammell) and Twilight's Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Although in the Sookie Stackhouse Novels there are much more than just werewolves.

Perhaps most obviously, one similarity between these two series (book and TV/film) is the fact that the protagonist is a woman, who carries a voice and virtue that her audience can identify with. Her relationships with vampires in the stories is trying, at times, but for the most part one which she wants and finds love and comfort within. Both Sookie and Bella have a uniqueness about them and when they meet their vampiric counterparts their lives change forever.

As for the actors, Anna Paquin delivers in True Blood. She is able to present the southern sweet belle charm at the out-set so well, but also maintain that consistent edge that Sookie Stackhouse has. In other words, she is sweet, but she has a low tolerance for bull all the same. Kristen Stewart, similarly, presents us with a Bella Swan which we can recognize from the book series - inward, thoughtful and intelligent, learned, and constantly in awe of her leading man. Stephen Moyer effectively presents the inner struggle that his character has as well as the consuming desire to protect Sookie in True Blood. One could literally feel his pain as he lay in wait (because, in True Blood, vampires cannot come out in the sun, and, in the south, cloud coverage is not helpful) to come to Sookie's rescue. Robert Pattinson's performance of Edward Cullen runs through a similar vein - the viewer can identify with the washes of strife that come across his face, but are taken by his cavalier and courtesy throughout the story.

Both of these vampiric stories have elements that, at times seem to mirror each other but, once you sit and digest the differences of these books, the more you can love both series for what they are. Twilight is aimed more toward the teen crowd while True Blood is definately more adult oriented and to be honest, reading the books aimed toward the younger crowds made me feel pervish and I do not feel like a perv for lusting after the Vampire Viking Sheriff Eric Northman.