By Tineidae.
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Saturday, September 24, 2022
Party City Halloween 2022
For me, the Halloween shopping season starts when I visit Party City. I wasn't disappointed. Lots of neat stuff and reasonably priced. Their fog juice was TEN DOLLARS CHEAPER THAN SPIRIT HALLOWEEN'S JUICE(S)!
And the cooler weather really helped.
Friday, September 23, 2022
The Wrenfield
Revenant Manor left the recipe below in a blog comment on an earlier post. This man has a gift for booze reviews and for making really tasty cocktails.
He wrote:
We used regular Rye Whiskey, and not the grave varietal.
Jack O damage may or may not be related to the cocktails.
The following is a take on the old-fashioned that will surely inspire the purists to break out their torches and pitchforks, or if they are on the other side of the grass, spin in their graves. (I am OK with this)
Ingredients:
-2 ounces Graverobber Unholy Rye Whiskey
-2 or 3 dashes black walnut bitters
-¼ ounce Not-So-Simple™ syrup (**see below)
-1 blood orange wedge (plus, additional for garnish, if desired)
-1 Luxardo cherry (plus, additional for garnish, if desired)
-Truly Massive Ice Ball
Concoct the drink (and enrage The Traditionalists):
-Add Not-So-Simple™ and black walnut bitters to a rocks glass
-Rim glass with blood orange wedge, then add blood orange wedge and Luxardo cherry
-Muddle into a bloody pulpy mess (pause to admire this crime scene and aroma)
-Add Truly Massive Ice Ball
-Pour Graverobber Unholy Rye over ice, and stir gently (preferably with a skull-head cocktail skewer to truly enhance the flavor)
** Garnish with additional orange peel and / or Luxardo cherry (also preferably with a skull-head cocktail skewer to make it look totally metal)
Not-So Simple Syrup™:
-1 cup sugar
-1 cup water
-2 whole cloves
-1 star anise
-1 strip blood orange peel (and / or zest of same)
You know the drill; combine, boil, etc...after all, it's just simple syrup with extra goodies ;)
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Now Watching: Halloween Goodness
Repost of a wonderfully appropriate and timely video... edited with scenes from a bunch of great Carpenter films (and Pumpkinhead and Tommy Lee Wallace's HIII).
Click below...
Autumnal Equinox
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Hocus Pocus
Eating crow is a colloquial idiom, used in some English-speaking countries, that means humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position.
My good friend Wren was in town, and we squeezed in a bunch of fun pre-Autumn activities. Turns out a viewing of Hocus Pocus was one of those activities. I realize I've been pretty outspoken about my lack of fondness for Bette Midler over the years. And I tried to figure out where it all went wrong. Where SHE went wrong. I never really saw her act in anything. Never saw her interviewed anywhere. Don't really know much about her personally.
Essentially (and I'm not proud of this), I'm pretty sure it has to do with that one song of hers. You know the one. Played at weddings and funerals (hopefully at my funeral): Wind Beneath My Wings. It is still my contention that this song's success is the result of a Faustian Bargain. One where the fine print mentions me personally and specifically as being excluded from the charm spell affecting the millions of people who enjoy this song. I, you see, hear the real song. As mentioned in the fine print.
So, this song led to certain opinions. About her acting. About Hocus Pocus. And it reminded me of an incident that occurred one Christmas season at work many years ago. An older guy that worked in our department was talking about his holiday plans and I mentioned egg nog. He commented that he hated egg nog. I asked when was the last time he sipped this heavenly elixir, mentioning that a person's tastes can change over the decades. He replied "Oh, I've never tried it." This resulted in a five-minute theatrical tirade from yours truly about the absurdity of such an opinion in the absence of actually trying egg nog. Luther did as he always did - he laughed at me. We understood each other.
Chapter 2: I Am Luther
Turns out Hocus Pocus (as most people reading this already know) is a fantastic movie. A Halloween movie. I went in thinking that I'd just like the set design or the fact that it was filmed during the Autumn season. But it's a solid movie all around. Great performances (especially from Bette Midler). An interesting and fun story. Very likeable characters. A super cute black cat. And true villains - the Witches were actually sinister heartless Witches. I found myself thinking that it reminded me of Halloween specials back in the early 80s.
The movie was made in 1993. Sometimes it takes me a while. And sometimes it helps to have a push.
Thanks, Wren, for that.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Cemetery Patrol
One year our department started receiving complaints of headstones being knocked over in the city cemetery, around Halloween. The chief advised us on the midnight shift to spend our extra time around the cemetery to catch the person(s) causing damage. Me being sneaky, I found a good hidden observation point about a block away. There were two major well-lit streets providing fair lighting in the cemetery. For several nights I would from time to time stop and check the cemetery with my binoculars and only patrol the cemetery at the start and end of my shift (as usual).
One time checking the cemetery I spotted something that looked like a cat walking on its hind legs. I watched it walk approximately 10 feet between headstones and lost sight of it. I rushed over to the area in my patrol car turning on my spotlight, alley lights and takedown lights. Couldn't find a thing but a track through the dew on the grass that dead-ended at a headstone. To this day I can remember how it moved and its outline in my binoculars. Creepy. I'm an avid hunter and I’ve done plenty of hunting at night. I am very familiar with all the animals in my neck of the woods and I have never seen anything like it. — Arthur Rigsby
Monday, September 19, 2022
Now Playing: The House Painted Black With Ash And Blood
I love Dark Ambient track names.
Click below for a new one from Curse All Kings' upcoming album (releasing on Halloween).
Sunday, September 18, 2022
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Midnight In The Cemetery
A blast from the past from a rad Halloween blog: The Haunted Gallery. Home to many a perfect spooky soundscape.
Click below...
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Friday, September 16, 2022
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