Vincent

In the spirit of the time of year, here's a delightful little short from Tim Burton, narrated by Vincent Price, on the topic of Edgar Allen Poe. Perfect.

I've seen this one before, but it's worth another view. Or two.

Saturday Halloween, giggles and screams

Halloween was on Saturday this year, and MrB wanted to do a costume (two things that are many many blue moons apart) so we gave out all the candy and went out afterwards. We found out that his costume was way too scary for some of the really little kids, and a few of them freaked out when he opened the door... I mean screams, tears, the works. I finally had to started answering the door (sans the box), because I could pass myself off as a weird Santa, when actually I was Dick In A Box (except that my "dick" was Dick Cheney).


It was really very funny having a fake beard, because I really could have passed for a man. I was coming out of the stall in the restroom and some women freaked for a moment, then we all had a good giggle. Here are some pics from down on 6th street where thousands of people milling around in costumes.







Around 10 we went down to Cheer Up Charlie's on East 6th (which was away from the big crowds) to see Or, The Whale from San Francisco. They are a wonderful band but they don't really have a following in Austin. It was a patio party with a great band, a fire pit, vegan food, and free beer (for tips). The whole night, including the beautiful weather, was a real treat.

Autumn events

Halloween at our house was just like it is every year. The doorbell rang non-stop from 7-9pm, and we ran out of candy. It's mostly really little kids in off-the-rack costumes, although there are a few teenagers out there too. Cute but annoying. We always vow to not be home next year, but always are. Thanks to the ability to pause live TV, we were able to watch in full some of the H.P. Lovecraft-based movies from the 1960s on AMC. Check out The Haunted Palace starring Vincent Price here. Fun stuff.

We went to the Celtic Festival on Saturday. I always look forward to it, and hope for a bit of cool weather, which didn't happen. It was around 85° and the humidity was rising - which made me kind of tired after the wonderful dry air we've had lately.

I was browsing the tent shops with my beer in hand, and one of the shopkeepers said "what you need with that Guinness is a taste of haggis," to which I replied "oh... I don't think so. There's meat in it." That was supposed to be funny, since I think haggis is pretty much all meat (of the mystery kind)(but probably less mysterious than hot dogs). And he replied with the most surprising answer, they have Vegetarian Haggis! OK, I had to try it, and it was actually pretty tasty. It was oily and I think he mentioned pine nuts, which would account for the price of it: $10 per can. It's a little cheaper than that on their website though - Caledonian Kitchen. They also had whiskey cakes in a can, and all sorts of stuff I don't normally eat.

I just hadn't put any haggis money in my budget for the day (who knew there would be edible haggis?), but did budget for a CD by John Williams. Not the one who's done all the movie themes, this one is a founding member of the band Solas, and is a wonderful celtic-flavored accordion, concertina, and flute player who tours and records with guitar player Dean Magraw.

The most wonderful thing about this weekend was that it's the last one before the election, and we will be getting a break from these damn campaigns for at least a year. I am nervous about this one. I always am. Not sure if I want to watch the results in a public place preparing for celebration this time, or in a fetal position with my head under the covers like I usually do. Maybe this is the year for the public place.

Scary is for Halloween, not Election Day

Every year our Austin Chronicle comes up with a scary mask for their cover that you can actually use if you want - cut out the eyeholes and glue it to cardboard. This year it's a twofer - The Monster and The Bride. If you want to download these, go here, and select pages 1 and 3. Format is PDF.

Scared?

Find your phobia - by fear - or - by phobia name

Halloween is nearly here, and all the scary stuff comes out. A lot of movies, stories and costumes feature the devil. Personally, I have gotten over him. I don't actually believe in him so he doesn't scare me anymore. I've had a few friends who called themselves Satanists, and it was quite fascinating to hear them tell about it, but these days I don't think that, as a religion, it's any weirder than any other one. Witches? Oh please. I have had Pagan friends from the time I was a teenager to the present day, and any enemy of Sarah Palin and her wacky preacher is OK in my book. Black cats? Right up my alley.

I do have my share of phobias though, and then some. For instance, this picture and article just freaks me right out. [spider warning]. Yes, I am an arachnophobe. It's not uncommon. I have dealt with it somewhat over the years. I am no longer phobic about tiny spiders, just bigger ones (quarter-sized counts as "bigger").

A phobia is an irrational fear. If something actually presents a danger that's in line with the measure of your fear of it, then it's not irrational.

Some things that are feared truly are not dangerous. For instance, fear of money (called Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia) or fear of music (Melophobia). There is the fear of relatives (Syngenesophobia), sermons, sitting down, bats (don't come to Austin if you have a fear of bats - not in summer anyway), things on the right side of the body, bald people, or dinner conversations. How about the fear of the number 666? Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. My mother was afraid of the number 444. I'm not kidding. She was convinced that she would die at 4:44. She didn't.

Here's a funny one: the fear of long words is sometimes called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (or its alternate spelling Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia) (I am not making that up).

This particular spooky season, there's one thing that is scaring me the most.

This.
There must be a word for it. It would be related to the fear of fraud and/or Fascism.

This scares me a lot too. Fear of the haters.

It's a pumpkin. No, really.

You won't believe this incredible gallery of carved pumpkins. There's a tutorial on the page, so you can do the same thing. Riiiight.

Candidate masks

1. Download.
2. Print out.
3. Attach to face.
4. Don't forget to cut out the eye holes.

From the Chicago Tribune.

Reel Fear

Inspired by Von Monkerstein, and with fright week here, I decided to come up with my list of movies that scared me. Not just scared, but scarred. These all left a mark of some kind, a lingering influence.

eXistenZ (1999)
This one is about fantasy, real life, dreams, nightmares, the lines we draw, the nature of reality. Doesn't sound terrifying, I know, but this one lodged in my head like a rock in a shoe. Can't watch it again.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The old worn-out plot of of having a bunch of people spend the night in a haunted house for some big $, but this was before it was worn-out. The scene where the person who falls into the vat of acid comes up as a skeleton is the very reason I'm afraid of still, deep bodies of water -- that and water moccasins -- and now we've got the death by amoebas up the nose scariness going on. I was 6 when I saw this movie and it scared the bejeebers out of me. Now it's cheezy and funny, and has Vincent Price in it. Always a bonus.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
There are soooo many movies made about serial killers, but this one is the most frightening to me, because it seems like you are looking at real life. It's not Hollywoodized, and by that I mean it's not presented as fine art and cinematography with the well-placed lenses, enhanced colors and splatters. It's more like you are looking in on a real scene. Saw it once. Can't watch it again.

A Little Peace and Quiet (1985)
OK, it's not a movie, it's a Twilight Zone, and not even a "classic". This is one directed by Wes Craven from the 2nd TV series. It has always haunted me. a frazzled housewife (Melinda Dillon) finds a magic stopwatch that can stop time and motion, then with another click starts everything moving again -- she finds it's great for silencing the kids and commotion, getting through traffic, making shopping less stressful, or just getting a minute of peace. Then, when it's announced that nuclear missiles are incoming, the town erupts into chaos until she freezes the moment with the stopwatch. She sees the missile, right there frozen in the sky, maybe one second from hitting its target. That's how it ends.

Village of the Damned (1960)
Talk about bad seed!! For me this is the first "let's face it, children are scary" movie, now a common theme. And if they aren't scary enough on their own, then make them all joined at the brain, offspring of the same alien malevolent parentage. They know your thoughts, so you'd better be good and obey... or else.

Natural Born Killers (1994)
The enjoyment that the subjects get out of killing, and the media's equal joy in covering it. That's disturbing enough. Then Mr. Bs. co-worker went on and on about how cool it would be to do what they did. I got freaked out over this one and stayed that way.

The Wicker Man (1973)
I didn't see the recent re-make of this one and don't want to see it, but I enjoy this older version very much. It's about religion, and puts it very much under a harsh light, including the religion of the victim. When the villain in the movie is devils, angels, the anti-christ, stuff like that -- they don't scare me, I just switch those off -- gods are not scary, it's the true believers that are!!! This one does not have supernatural critters in it, it's all pretty real stuff that you might encounter yourself in a similar situation. Also, the movie has a lot of mystery going for it, right up until the last scene. If you've seen it on basic cable, you haven't seen it. The DVD has nude scenes (Britt Ekland). Highly gratuitous, IMO, unless they are just there to add to the whole surreal experience... and they do.

The Birds (1963)
I dearly love birds, but I still think of this movie when there are a love of them around, filling the trees and wires, and making a deafening racket (like they are now -- it's bird season). The scary part is that the villain is a perfectly normal thing that turns deadly, and you never even find out why. It made a lasting impression.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and excellent remake (1978)
Have not seen "The Invasion" with Nicole Kidman - maybe a rental sometime if we can't find anything else, it's not reviewed very well (not that that's ever stopped me). Anyway, everytime it seems like someone's behavior has changed to the point that they are not acting like themselves, we say "did you check for pods?". This is a paranoia-enhancing concept, where if you are not one of them, you have to pretend to be. A Fascist State controlled by aliens, and if it's a Fascist State, what does it matter if it's aliens or politicians?

Purrsday Night - Henry's Halloween costume

It's hard to decide what costume to wear. Goodness knows I can't get any cuter. Can you guess what this costume is? Three guesses...

Any ideas? OK, scroll down.


I'm a cat box. A cat box!! Get it? A cat... in a box... oh, never mind.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Missy, KC and Bear on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging -

Happy Birthday P.J.!

Happy birthday today to Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind the movie magic of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He's slimmed down a lot since that picture was taken, and gotten rid of the glasses -- but still a hobbit at heart -- just like we are.

I'm scared to smell your feet...

The scary day is finally here! Like I said, we won't see many scary or creative costumes in our 'burbs. Down on 6th Street, well that's another matter, but we will have to watch them on TV while the doorbell rings. The scariest part of it is that the doorbell sends the cats into panic, and sometimes Duncan is driven to relieve himself on the couch.

Not that many movies scare me anymore, I guess I stay away from the ones that are shock-factor only with no humor (or bad humor). I don't believe in the devil, so all those movies based on biblical inventions like the devil, angels, evil spirits, etc. bring a yawn (unless they star Johnny Depp). Here's one movie that really did scare me: eXistenZ (1999). The blurring of reality and interference in rational thinking was terrifying. I will generally pass on horror or slasher movies unless they are funny, vintage, or just done very well (or have Johnny Depp in them... heh heh...)

When my mother was young, there really was "trick or treat". If the person in the house didn't give you a goody of some kind, they would trick them. One trick that was common was catching the old farmer in the outhouse and turning it over. Whew!! Somebody got an extra bath when it wasn't even Saturday night!!

Everybody have fun, and if you're going to throw rotten eggs, take them up to Crawford.

- Halloween -

Howl-o-ween

Oh my Dog, I am being bombarded with pictures of pets in costumes, and I love it! 'Tis the Season, after all. I was over on J-Walk and discovered that the source for one particular batch of circulating pics is the PetSmart costume contest for 2006. (the page has sound) I just got some more in email, and see that they are from the PetSmart 2005 contest (the link is on the same page as above). I only wish the kids in our neighborhood (...er... rather, their parents) were even half this creative. We see the same stuff over and over, and most of it probably came from Target or Wal-Mart.

Click to enlarge this snazzy rat. (I love rats but they are a poor choice of pet in this house, needless to say)

Tags: Halloween - pets

Violent vegetables

Wow, there are some really creative things over at Extreme Pumpkins! Here are the winners of last year’s contest (and you’re seeing one of them here). Some of them are rather graphic and gross (...even though it’s not really brains, it’s cauliflower)

I gave up on that pumpkin carving business. Mainly because it’s HARD! Hell, it’s hard enough just cooking pumpkin from scratch. I tend to hurt myself when I’m around sharps these days. I was moving a garden block yesterday, brushed my hand against a prickly pear cactus and got it covered in little needles, including one that managed to go in a vein and break off, creating a big blue spot on the back of my hand. Well, it’s nearly Halloween and bruisey-looking stuff will fit right in. Good grief!

Anyway, back to the pumpkins. There’s a contest for next year too, so if you’ve got a great one at your house, submit the bugger! (Look for the link on the sidebar on the above link.)

- Halloween -

Party Business

A very Happy Birthday to the reigning King of the Costume as far as I'm concerned: Peter Jackson, (born in 1961). If that doesn't make any sense to you, get the extended edition of any of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy movies and watch the extras. I've also seen some of the costumes and props in person at the travelling Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy Exhibition, and they are absolutely stunning.

- LOTR - Tolkien - Halloween - Movies -

Happy Halloween, and always wear goggles when using a chainsaw

You can send this e-card or others from the Humane Society website. Obviously cats are considered to be better with power tools!

It's a good idea to keep your pets in tonight, especially black cats. It's bound to improve their luck!

- Cats - Dogs - Halloween -