You thought I forgot, nope, it's just been a busy few months! This is a post on Supernatural Seasons 7 & 8. You can read my random thoughts on seasons 1 & 2 here, 3 &4 here, and 5 & 6 here. Warning: Lots of confusing spoilers! Lol.

In Season 7 we basically loose Castiel and Bobby. Castiel comes back as Emmanuel and they leave him in a mental hospital after he risks his life to remove Lucifer from Sam's head, then he's an angel again and gets sent to purgatory with Dean, he gets pulled out of purgatory and is an angel, then a human with angel radio. Bobby is a ghost for a hot minute and ends up in purgatory in season 8, then heaven. Ugh.

One of the main underlying storylines...Basically there are two tablets, one is a demon tablet to close hell and one is an angel tablet to close the gates of heaven. Kevin Tran is the prophet that can translate them, along with Megatron...... er I mean Metatron that actually wrote the tablets. They both list three trials that one must endure to close either. Sam ~ of course ~ is the one who begins the trials to close hell. First he must soak in the blood of an invisible hellhound, send an innocent to heaven (which ends up being Bobby), and cure a demon (which ~ in a plot twist ~ could have been the King of Hell Himself Crowley).

This time I'll start with the pluses.

Can I just say there really needs to be a Supernatural drinking game? When you should drink...

1. When Sam or Dean "dies".
2. When they actually drink on the show.
3. When Bobby says, "Balls."
4. When they show blood splatter.
5. When they say "ganked". (I kind of cringe when they say it, it's an ugly word.)

SO MUCH BLOOD SPLATTER. Yeah, I get that it's cheaper than special effects, but they must go through gallons and gallons! Oh by the way, this would be under my PLUS column.

PLUS- There's a Sam as a teenager episode that's refreshing, because you don't see too many flashbacks when they are young on this show, and I LOVE a good flashback. It's Season 7, episode 3 "The Girl Next Door". You see Sam as a young hunter and Amy as a young monster. She's referred to a lot in the beginning of this season even though she's only in one episode. Bonus: Amy is played by Jewel Staite from Firefly. Yes, I'm a Firefly fan, but more of a Whedon one. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best. Shhhh, don't argue.

PLUS- SPEAKING OF BUFFY- James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter, both actors on Buffy, are in an episode where they play married witches. Outstanding. I love them all together. It's Season 7, episode 5 "Shut up, Dr. Phil".

Mayor Richard Wilkins III from Buffy, the actor  Harry Groener also makes an appearance in Season 7, episode 13 "The Slice Girls" as a professor. It's a parallel to an Angel episode, Season 1, episode 12, where Cordelia gets pregnant and comes to full term in a day.

PLUS- Jo is back! Unfortunately it's only for one episode where she is a ghost that tries to kill Dean. (insert sad face here). Season 7, episode 4 "Defending your Life".

PLUS- There's a Lilydale, NY episode!!! I should mention that Lilydale looks nothing like it's pictured. Lol. Season 7, episode 7 "The Mentalists".

PLUS- In Season 7, episode 10 "Death's Door" Bobby gets shot and the whole episode takes place in his head, where he's trying to avoid the reaper, but you get to see flashbacks of his traumatic childhood and how it shaped his future as a father. This is a great episode. By the end he's still in a coma though, so it leaves you hanging...again. So good. So sad.

PLUS- I'm still enjoying the opening sequences and recap especially when they are themed to the episode like Season 7, episode 8 "Season Seven, Time for a Wedding".

PLUS- Time travel with Chronos and Elliott Ness, Season 7, episode 12 "Time After Time". I kinda love the time travel episodes. Dean in vintage styling works perfectly.

PLUS- Garth ~ another hunter ~ has wonderful 1990s theme songs and one is Bel Biv DeVoe's "Poison". He kills the tooth fairy at one point. He replaces Bobby...in his own way. He's the comic relief hunter, but he still does his job. Oh and he's a hugger.

PLUS- The new villian in Season 7 is Dick Roman. Everytime he says his own name he smirks and it makes me laugh out loud. It's WAY over the top.

PLUS- Charlie played by Felicia Day is the perfect hacker that the show needs. She appeals to the girl audience and she's perfect for the fan boy cult followers of the show because she has a nerd fan base of her own. It's hinted at that she has a back story we'll probably find out about in the future. Season 7, episode 20 "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo".

Charlie is back in the Season 8, episode 11 "LARP and the Real Girl". She part of a LARPing group that really speaks to the nerds that watch the show.

"Pac Man Fever" Season 8, episode 20 is outstanding. Charlie contacts the Winchesters because she's in town visiting her hospitalized mother and she has a case for them. Charlie has been in trouble with the law since she was 12, she's been on the run and paying hospital bills since then. The storyline and acting is truly well done. There's even an alternate reality to 1951. This episode really shows that the Winchesters are Charlie's only family and that's she's a strong female character. Finally! It only took 8 seasons for them to realize women watch the show, not just for the hot main actors.  

PLUS- Ms. Tran the mom of the newly introduced prophet Kevin Tran. She's kick ass. She's smart and sassy and can hold her own, sadly she dies at the hands of Crowley.

PLUS- Cas is removed from purgatory by angels and in Season 8, episode 8"Hunteri Heroici" it's adorable when he interrogates the cat in the nursing home.

PLUS- Sam and Dean find out they are part of the Men of Letters, and ancient organization that fights monsters. They also find out where the abandoned lair for the Men of Letters is located and start living there. It's a pretty sweet art deco Batcave!

MINUS- Dean has a very soft spot for kids, as a result of living a normal life for a year a couple of seasons ago. He was living with his girlfriend and her little boy. This makes some episodes very predictable i.e. Season 7, episode 3 "The Girl Next Door" he let's Amy's son go even though he's a monster or Season 7, episode 11 "Adventures in Babysitting" or Season 7, episode 14 "Plucky Pennywhistles Magical Menagerie" or Season 7 Episode 22 "There Will Be Blood" when they take a little boy away from the Alpha vamp. This is pointless to the story.

MINUS- I miss the black Impala. They are going incognito and using a bunch of different cars in Season 7. In season 8 it comes back ...FINALLY!

MINUS- Annie ~ another hunter ~ is a great character, but she dies the first time we meet her. Gah. Season 7, episode 19 "Of Grave Importance".

MINUS- SO MANY FLASHBACKS in Season 8 and not just in the opening. The show is trying to recap a year between season 7 and 8 where Sam had a normal life with a girlfriend named Amelia, while Dean was in purgatory constantly fighting monsters with his vampire friend Benny. You know when a flashback is coming when they begin to stare off into space.

MINUS- Season 8 episode 16, "Remember the Titans" is a terrible story line, the writing is bad, and it's not worth watching.

PLUS/ MINUS- You know I like the funny episodes and in Season 7, episode 8 "Season Seven, Time for a Wedding" I think it was meant to be funny, but I found it sad. We get to see Becky aka the biggest Sam Winchester fan ever from Season 5. (She's the one that tricked the boys into attending a Supernatural convention.) Well in this episode she's attending a high school reunion and everyone makes fun of her. I thought she was cute, and for the show she's comic relief, but they make fun of her a lot. I guess I relate too much to her. She feels like a looser and just wants people to like her.

I really don't like season 8 and care nothing for the Crowley/ Castiel story line. However it ended with angels falling from the sky, Sam almost dead, Castiel without angel powers, and Crowley almost cured from being a demon. This has peaked my interest. On to Season 9.

My cat Ginger Rogers is not doing so well. You can read about the beginning of her illness here.

Wednesday (10/4)- She had lost an ounce since her vet visit on Friday. She ate Fri because of the appetite stimulant they gave her, then she ate less and less until now she's down to a couple of cat treats a day. So back to the vet we go for another appetite stimulant and hydration injection, but this time with blood work. Then we wait.

Thursday (10/5)- Ginger's blood work looks ok, but with a slight abnormality in her kidneys. She's getting another liquid injection today AND tomorrow to flush out whatever is in her kidneys. The blood work showed a slight inflammation too, but it's not enough of a problem to put her on meds. It's so frustrating.

Friday (10/6)- Another liquid injection, then we wait to see of she eats over the weekend. If she slows her eating down again I have to call Monday morning and bring her in.

I've been telling her to get better. It's not working.

I was excited to hear electronic music pioneers Front 242 were coming to Toronto. I've never seen them live and the last time they came was 10 years ago, so I HAD TO get tickets. When I told a friend about getting tickets in Toronto, they said that the Guillermo del Toro exhibit is making a stop at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It's only one of 3 stops ~ I thought, how exciting! I planned a day ~ exhibition first, lunch, then concert.

The exhibition is so HUGE it takes up almost half of their second floor! It has timed tickets for every half hour, and we went early on a Sunday. It seemed crowded for timed tickets, and just when you think you can get up close to see a piece of artwork there's a person behind you breathing down your neck. That being said, there was SO MUCH mixed media to take in, that you could go back three or four times and not see everything. Just when you think the exhibit is over, there's another room to immerse yourself in!

Stairway going up to the exhibit.

Entrance to the exhibit and wall photo of what one of his libraries looks like.

People everywhere!

All the eclectic ephemera, props, books, writings, and artwork are borrowed from del Toro's home which he calls Bleak House, taken from his favorite Charles Dickens story. This display is just a small part of his 13 libraries that he houses at Bleak House. I can't even begin to imagine all the things he has collected if this is just part of it. The exhibit is loosely grouped by theme and really it's like stepping into his mind. These are the things that make him happy ~ the oddities ~ and as a fellow weirdo, I understand why they bring him joy and inspiration. Since there is so much to take in, I'll just include a tiny part of what I thought were the highlights....

When you step into the exhibition and round the corner you see The Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth. What an entrance! It's probably one of his most well known monsters. The placement of this is in the exhibit it perfect. This piece is life size and this picture doesn't do it justice. (Someday I'll be The Pale Man for Halloween.) Here's the film sequence for reference...

"Look with your eyes not with your hands". Witty.

I thought it was interesting that del Toro collects artwork from artists that are inspired by his films. An artist collecting other artists work about him, you can really see his scope of influence. Here is a piece inspired by Pan's Labyrinth. (The other artwork in the room is reflected in the glass of this painting.)

He collects animation cells from the darker side of Disney. You can see the stylized 1950s aesthetic in these concept art stills.

He has some original Edward Gorey drawings. You can read about my love of Gorey and visit to The Edward Gorey House Museum here.

There was a smaller separate room off in a corner of the exhibit called the Rain Room, it's a recreation of where del Toro has made his study to look like it's thundering outside complete with sound and window lighting...and Edgar Allen Poe?! This just makes sense since he used to work in special effects. He said he finds the sound of rain and thunder relaxing. The Poe life size figure is beautifully made by Thomas Kuebler and there's more of his figures throughout the exhibition.

Stunning costumes from Crimson Peak. They really show how he plays with color and makes the garments period correct.

Giant Angel of Death from Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Haha. Man, Myth and Magic book series from 1970 are in his library and were the first books he bought to research the occult.

And here I thought the music in the exhibition was being piped in! Nope, they had a real piano player in the middle. Really this exhibit is installation art, where you are completely taken to another place. (Sorry the video doesn't seem to be working.)

There was lots of movie props including this helmet from The Phantom of the Paradise. (Not a movie he made, but a good one nonetheless.)

There was a room with comic books and horror magazines from floor to ceiling. They are real, this isn't wallpaper! I was impressed he had some Buffy comics. You can read about my love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show here.

More very impressive life size statues.

"Friend".

Wall of Frankenstein covers.

This is just a tip of the iceberg of what was on display, it doesn't include his sketchbooks, artifacts, vintage toys, books, and curiosities. You can see where his creative process gets a jump start for his films. The only collection that was included in the show that terrified me was the insects. I know they always play a large part in his movies and there is a room of taxidermied insects in the exhibition. The scariest thing in the exhibit was an Owl Moth the size of my hand. If I encountered this in real life, I think I would die. I probably fear butterflies and moths more than anything. Which leaves a couple questions...What doesn't he collect? And who dusts everything?!

A couple pet peeves about the exhibit. (I feel I can say these things because I used to work in an Art Gallery and minored in Museum Studies.) The glass over the artwork in the Rain Room was really dirty and there was a couple cronoslogical er... I mean chronological errors on the name plates. (Like my del Toro pun?)

Overall, it's a huge display of collectables that makes me feel like less of a hoarder. Del Toro's varied inspiration makes me embrace his work even more. Now I want to revisit all of his movies since I know some of the background behind them. I can't rave enough about it. On to more museum!

I can't stop at the AGO without visiting the Henri Moore room. It's like seeing old friends. I always loved how bright the room is and how you can walk around his giant sculptures.

Next we wandered around and had lunch at Sin & Redemption across the street. They are known for having lots of beer on tap.

Me & Andrew. (I'm wearing the T shirt from The Risky Rabbit.)

Front 242 at The Danforth Music Hall.

Until next time Toronto! (p.s. I had my hat first.)

Ok, if you've read some of my blogs you know Vicktor will eat anything, my Ginger on the other hand is just the opposite. She's tiny and finicky, and as she is getting older it's getting worse. It may be her sense of smell that's not up to par, but we are working on it. It's making me nervous for her health.

She stopped eating for a day last week and we thought maybe she's too hot (it was 90 degrees outside), then it cooled off and she still didn't eat. This is a problem because she's a really small cat to begin with. At her biggest she was 6 lbs.

Uh-oh time for a vet visit. We are trying to rule out any pain or sickness. They did a physical exam and couldn't find anything wrong except that she's dehydrated. We went with the conservative route and had them give her an appetite stimulant and inject her with fluids. It's the saddest thing to see such a tiny cat with fluids, she looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and NO I didn't take a picture that's cruel and embarrassing for her.

So now we wait. She normally eats a little wet food and dry food with a crushed Lysine table in the wet food, for her eye lesions, twice a day. We rotate foods around so she doesn't get too picky, but this is very stressful.

Here's the checklist of food for when Ginger doesn't eat (this has happened before):

1. Maybe she doesn't like the cat food, so we've been trying others. She gobbled up some Fancy Feast shrimp, but only for a day. She's over that now.

2. Maybe she wants the cat food heated, so we tried that. She doesn't like that.

3. We thought maybe she doesn't like the plate the food is on, so we changed that. From ceramic to plastic saucers. Eh, this didn't make much difference.

4. We were giving her a ground up Lysine tablet in her wet food, we thought maybe she could taste it, so we stopped doing that. She still won't touch the wet cat food.

5. We cooked up some chicken and shredded it for her. She's not interested. (Note: Make sure if you give your cat people food it's not exclusive. They need nutrients that cat food can provide. This goes for #6, #8 & #9)

6. You can try tuna fish/ tuna juice. Ginger never liked it, they say it works for some cats.

7. To get her to eat anything I gave her some cat treats. She ate those. You're not supposed to give them that many, but at this point she's eating something, so that's good.

8. We tried some meat flavored baby food. She ate some of it.

9. I made her runny eggs which are her favorite. She didn't even look at them.

I really hope this doesn't lead to kidney or liver problems. My Ginger is my baby. I guess we are lucky to have Vicktor. He'll be happy to eat her leftovers.