Holiday: Peter Weyland Day

On this day in 1931, the film Frankenstein was released in theatres featuring a lumbering Boris Karloff with bolts in his neck and a flat head. The film was a huge hit and Karloff’s monster became an instant icon. The film had to be edited for audiences depending on local censorship laws, the strictest being in Kansas City, which demanded 34 cuts before releasing it to the public. One of the most famous scenes where the monster throws the little girl into the lake was not revealed to any American audience until the 1980s.

Mary Shelly published her book, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, in 1818 when she was only 20 years of age. Her story is much more evolved than the thriller audiences soaked up on the screen in 1931. She addressed deep philosophical topics like base behaviors, the definition of life, the relationship between creator and creation, parent and child, master and slave, and the ethical dilemmas inherent in exploring new technologies like electricity. They are profound topics we still grapple with today on both logical and spiritual levels. With Victor Frankenstein, the first mad scientist (at a time when the word “scientist” did not yet exist), Shelly gave birth to the Science Fiction Genre.

Music Du Jour:

• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) Soundtrack by Patrick Doyle
• Frankenstein (1972) Edgar Winter Group
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Podcast (original story read)

Films Du Jour:

• Frankenstein (1931)
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• I, Frankenstein (2014)
• Victor Frankenstein (2015)
• Frankenstein Meets Wolfman (1943)
• Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
• Mary Shelley (2018)
• Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)
• Frankenstein (2011, National Theatre)
• Frankenstein (2015)
• Gothic (1987)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)

Snacks du Jour: Frankenstein’s monster was a vegetarian. Here are 25 delicious vegetarian appetizers from the Food Network.

Cocktail Du Jour – The Frankenstein Cocktail

This recipe is from Nic Polotnianko at cocktailwave.com:

• 5 oz vodka
• 1 oz melon liqueur
• 5 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 oz ginger beer

Pour all ingredients over ice in a tall glass with ice and stir. Garnish with 2 or 3 gummi worms.

Mocktail Du Jour – The Frankenstein Mocktail

• 5 oz non-alcohol vodka
• 1 oz melon syrup
• 5 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 oz ginger beer

Pour all ingredients over ice in a tall glass with ice and stir. Garnish with 2 or 3 gummi worms.

Beer Du Jour

Mason Aleworks Dankenstein’s Monster Collection or any good Bavarian beer.

Wine Du Jour

Frankenstein is an Alsace Grand Cru vineyard in France that might have you screaming “Eureka!” if you can find one of their bottles. Otherwise try a 19 Crimes Frankenstein Cabernet.

Use freshly squeezed citrus in your cocktails and mocktails when called for – It makes such a difference! Here’s a reliable and inexpensive juicer.

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Photo credit: “”Frankenstein” by twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.