tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39842221422170868172024-03-04T23:50:29.133-05:00Vampires Keeping Me Up At NightA blog to celebrate Halloween and nostalgiaElton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-87270812722388309282023-11-23T11:00:00.017-05:002023-11-24T11:09:22.845-05:00Happy Thanksgiving<p>I am grateful for so many things. I hope you are too. Here's another pic of me in the newspaper, in probably 1983? Who knew I was so local-famous back then? I'm in the back left with the Osh Kosh overalls...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRN68gBn2aQfpx_I8HlCuPJOBkbgXqHZmYL0kc0Vx5lxx2Xt3a-RTSEe5hrztKwr0JkXb9mINe86XL55JcN2gT-_jgQxnLv7uOyx9x0qk7H0VOfYoHpOsxDPK_rg_5dELXFaXA38YYT1WaA72WF4Rkq7HYK18ifMP7Ka8n1DVuCkkA7VUUKIB2PTX5m4/s4032/pilgrim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRN68gBn2aQfpx_I8HlCuPJOBkbgXqHZmYL0kc0Vx5lxx2Xt3a-RTSEe5hrztKwr0JkXb9mINe86XL55JcN2gT-_jgQxnLv7uOyx9x0qk7H0VOfYoHpOsxDPK_rg_5dELXFaXA38YYT1WaA72WF4Rkq7HYK18ifMP7Ka8n1DVuCkkA7VUUKIB2PTX5m4/s320/pilgrim.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Today, in honor of Matthew Perry, I will construct my own Moist Maker. I understand that it was Ross's sandwich, but there's enough common degrees to make it happen...</p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-36922731799459221352023-11-14T16:18:00.013-05:002023-11-17T11:33:07.152-05:00New Halloween Additions There have been a few additions to the Halloween decorations and bric a brac here at the Haunted Mansion, Rumsey Island edition. While searching my parent's basement boxes for my old VHS collection I came across a few things I kept. My parents no longer decorate for Halloween, which breaks my heart. But now these things are with me now, so....<div><br /></div><div>At Barnes and Noble the other day, T had disappeared for 10 minutes. When we got home I found out why. She had found, at the counter, this really cool Halloween advent calendar she surprised me with.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br /></div><div>It comes with this lil plush ghost for the days. Just look at 'im; he looks stoned on jack-o'-lantern stuffing or something. Or he's horrified he's stuck on this site because he didn't make it on Dinosaur Dracula...</div><div><br /></div><div>Next is Gerald from Target. I first saw this preppy pumpkin-head scarecrow a few days after Halloween a couple years ago, and when I returned next to pick him up, he was gone. Liquidated unto Clearance. I shared a photo of Gerald with T, months later, and she somehow found him at a thrift shop, clearance tags and all. It would be kismet for Gerald to return to me... He's my boy.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a random piece of Halloween history no one cares about but I'll share regardless. In elementary school, my first year at Dundalk Elementary, we went to a pumpkin patch in October. Clamoring along in thick mud, I eventually got stuck and lost my shoe in the patch. I think I may have even fallen, until some chaperone came over to help me out of my plight. I think I cried, maybe. I was 6.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, my cousin and I somehow made the local paper, the Dundalk Eagle while making jack-o'-lanterns from these pumpkins we just pulled from the patch.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br />I'm the smug one in the back left with the smile and what I think is a squash. I definitely did not pull a squash. I was enamored with pumpkins even at this early age, so there is no way I would've picked anything other than a nice, round pumpkin... My cousin Amber is the one in the middle with the head-sized pumpkin.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next thing is a mask my mom had somehow picked up over the years. She kindly offered it up to me for a decoration. I have no idea the history of this mask, but I've found a pic online on someone's flickr account of their 1980 Halloween.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br />Finally, several days after Halloween we found a few jack-o'-lantern decorations at Wegmans for 7 bucks! They were marked $5 off at $25 but they rang up for 7. Even a couple of ladies working there walked over to our register because how cheap it rang up. I think word got around because as we were driving away we saw 3 employees pick up the final few jacks, even the broken one. He has a hole in back to place a large candle, or you can simply remove the lid. It feels made of clay or brick-like material. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div>Lastly, I found this lil vampire pencil at Home Sense, unfortunately missing the key chain vampire. I still picked him up because he was marked down to 3 bucks. And I couldn't find them online at all. However I did find a jack-o'-lantern pencil online. This Knitmares pencil/keychain combo comes "handcrafted" out of Thailand. The vampire on this pencil gives me David Dastmalchian vibes for some reason... Anyway, this is him below. He looks so lonely.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-35625678811254868122023-11-11T15:06:00.023-05:002023-11-15T11:13:13.674-05:00Curse of Crom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU162i6RG_v7Em3gsXXc_e-e23HD4vk0E63kMaKTPCUn0W3870OHkUO5thQZ1-Ej790u1vC6Nt3-9v01W6JWXjyBJO2Yo-1cB6wSwqmae_ym-IhMCd1_SM9oMz1beHjtJWk1ovaFLdms6D26KfI73dqEbeCd4YKPApe_I-JvagWmDxMYt-kA7BJEyzN_A/s1920/crom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU162i6RG_v7Em3gsXXc_e-e23HD4vk0E63kMaKTPCUn0W3870OHkUO5thQZ1-Ej790u1vC6Nt3-9v01W6JWXjyBJO2Yo-1cB6wSwqmae_ym-IhMCd1_SM9oMz1beHjtJWk1ovaFLdms6D26KfI73dqEbeCd4YKPApe_I-JvagWmDxMYt-kA7BJEyzN_A/s320/crom.jpg" width="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><p><i>Curse of Crom, The Legend of Halloween</i> is a new favorite film. I watched this film last season, and I honestly fell in love with it right away. I ordered the bluray right after watching it on tubi or some other streamer, of which there were many showing Crom. Low-budget Indy flicks have never been my cuppa but this one had me at Halloween. The opening is Halloween 4-style perfection. It's incredibly earnest, for some reason I've used this word often when talking about this flick. What I mean is that low-budget or not the characters are in this film and they own it. I really like every single character. Steve, or Lil Rock, as I refer to him (Halem Medina) is the spitting image of a younger Dwayne Johnson. I do not accept that this guy is not the bastard son of the Rock. I shouldn't gossip, it doesn't become me.</p><p>The scene where Steve finally sees the spirit is great. The next time we see him he is dressed in a costume of dead animals (or the likeness thereof, to protect him from Crom) and it's hilarious. Harvey's reaction to it works, too. The characters all click in scenes like this.</p><p>The Steve character, as I refer to him (Tanner Gillman), is Harvey. Tanner's character just reminded me of Steve from Stranger Things the first time I watched. He has a dance scene that has me LOL every time. And he and Mary's (Chelsea Jurkiewicz) adventures in fighting the dark Irish Halloween god could have been a bit more developed. What I mean by that is just that I wanted more. I'm not a movie critic, so I don't have any insight to what's missing with the movie, but I felt like there was more to explore.</p><p>Crom was filmed in beautiful Utah, and I would have liked more Halloween imagery, more Trick or Treating, more jack-o'-lantern carving. The film has some of this, but I didn't think enough. Perhaps I'm just never satisfied. As I've already mentioned, I love this movie. The climax does very much close out this story, but it needed more. Just more, more of Crom, more interactions between the characters and Crom. It feels like the story closes with a whimper and a stare.</p><p>I have to note the monster, Crom. The budget has certainly affected the main star of the film. There are moments where the creature does look low-budget, but there is a close-up scene where the monster looks fantastic. So there we go, hit and miss. However, there is a scene where we see the monster, and he looks like a dangling Halloween dancer popular in the late-'90s, and he reminded me of the monster from <i>Screams of a Winter Night</i>. Lorraine is this little witch's spirit zipping around the graveyard killing high school kids, and she could be a cousin to Crom. This only helped to further endear the film to me more.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxLnvXWzbiWJ3xiWdXX1joDGoVLb2qgZ2cm6d5XWxfTDtNj8-Iu0-Om-DaWUJAPEMP5J38yGz-kX_7dw8ki1wxWf97TPGwGjw5X6ja_Ss3JKYOBYix_5M8jp2B3GPPH9dRZ6IKW7WZUHBHV23KNSdNKnSqye5UmH33z1JUkazqcLGbLfpIAUxzRtSsHw/s1600/shataba.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxLnvXWzbiWJ3xiWdXX1joDGoVLb2qgZ2cm6d5XWxfTDtNj8-Iu0-Om-DaWUJAPEMP5J38yGz-kX_7dw8ki1wxWf97TPGwGjw5X6ja_Ss3JKYOBYix_5M8jp2B3GPPH9dRZ6IKW7WZUHBHV23KNSdNKnSqye5UmH33z1JUkazqcLGbLfpIAUxzRtSsHw/s320/shataba.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curse of Lorraine, Another Legend of Halloween...</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So take my criticisms with a grain of salt because this film is now in heavy rotation for Halloweentober here on out. It's worth a watch if you love Halloween. I think the director, Rob York, has said there will be a sequel. Get your copy below!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwh-PbDUaIN3ZnKYiGl2ZhhKLlsaG5PsxCkNZg5HaBymCKBcXSSHEwV1SFP8iELElP3Xcpjfj4UD-va_7XkHr7hFJs4i8kDxlfaNw3vPFBTbrIFgRTC1o3F_O4J-ppdK0fhTJVMOsVh0A1xK2GCPDB4j6VHE1sUf4OXUDJtJgM0onUWtBInSTd-494DM/s4032/grom.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwh-PbDUaIN3ZnKYiGl2ZhhKLlsaG5PsxCkNZg5HaBymCKBcXSSHEwV1SFP8iELElP3Xcpjfj4UD-va_7XkHr7hFJs4i8kDxlfaNw3vPFBTbrIFgRTC1o3F_O4J-ppdK0fhTJVMOsVh0A1xK2GCPDB4j6VHE1sUf4OXUDJtJgM0onUWtBInSTd-494DM/s320/grom.jpg" width="240"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is MY copy, Get your own below</td></tr></tbody></table><br><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://curse-of-crom.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders">BUY </a>CURSE OF CROM NOW!</p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-51746751683707210072023-11-09T12:55:00.003-05:002023-11-15T23:57:24.385-05:00A Legacy for Kain<p><i>Blood Omen Legacy of Kain</i> came out for the Sony PlayStation in 1996. I bought it day 1 and was hooked. The game was a bit challenging, but the story, revolving around the vampire named Kain and his betrayal was right up my dark, foggy alley. The story gets quite convoluted over the nearly half dozen games on the PlayStation, and sequels on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube, but what a story it was. I've always hoped we'd get a film or novels based on these characters and the world of Nosgoth. The lore is there, just waiting to be explored by a Brad Lineweaver or a Kevin J Anderson.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><p></p><p>The first game is my least favorite out of the Kain storyline games with regards to gameplay, compared to the more traditional action/adventure 3D games sequels. The top-down sorta-RPG is more of an exploration game of discovery rather than action. In fact, the action in the game is borderline dreadful compared to later incarnations. But the music, the story, the art, and the voice acting is all grand and lovely.</p><p>But this is not to say that <i>Blood Omen</i> is not enjoyable. In fact, it is ridiculously cool. It is a game with a vast story. Our character Kain, not so much an anti-hero as budding villain is fun to play, wielding vengeance like a weapon of war against those who conspired to use him.</p><p>My favorite character in the series did not debut until the sequel, <i>Blood Omen 2</i>, but he would make quite the entrance. "Give me meat! I require 1400 ounces every day," he declares, a large flaming cauldron attached to his back. He continues, after turning two guards into stew, while speaking to the slave he would have cooked if not for these guards intervening, "I've had my allotment. 1400 ounces or 20 stone. You may go!" I've heard Magnus's math is wrong so we can infer that the poor devil really was quite mad when Kain comes across the tortured vampire and former ally in the <i>Bad Blood</i> chapter.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><p></p><p>The actor, Rodger Bumpass, plays Magnus hammy, and his dialogue very matter-of-fact, and I love it. This character feels like he was ripped from Hideyuki Kikuchi's <i>Vampire Hunter D</i> stories, another long-time favorite series. He's such an iconic character in the game, parts of his brain and flesh is bare for all to see and wretch. The boiler on his back is apparently surgically attached to his back, as the meat in this pot seems to be his sustenance instead of his usual diet of drinking blood.</p><p>Something borrowed from Anne Rice's <i>Vampire Chronicles</i> is the vampiric Dark Gifts. (Magnus is also the name of the vampire responsible for turning Lestat.) Anne Rice dubs the Dark Gift as the act of becoming a vampire, but it's also used in recognizing different vampiric traits that certain vampires gain with the blood, much how it is called in the LoK series. And like some of Anne's vampires Magnus uses the gift of telekinesis. His Dark Gift ability is that of immolation. Kain takes this gift directly from the blood in his veins after he kills Magnus, mercifully. This is considered a version of telekinesis, or better still pyrokinesis, wherein the vampire can envelope an enemy in flames, from the inside or out.</p><p>I am not a contemporary gamer, but I'm still sad that Crystal Dynamics, or whomever owns the rights to the series, haven't made a game for today's powerhouse systems. Who knows, it could be the game that makes me purchase a new Xbox or PS... For now, I'm having fun revisiting Nosgoth through the PlayStation 1 and 2.</p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-12143439549229416432023-11-08T11:10:00.014-05:002023-11-24T10:27:46.173-05:00The Inherited Retro Game Collection<p>It's fair to say, if a bit macabre, that I am collecting "retro" (that hurts to admit that the games/systems I grew up with are classified as retro) games due to the death of a once quite close friend. Dan's widow offered me a game that he and I had spent months playing together, Castlevania Symphony of the Night for PS1. This game means the world to me, as Dan and I spent 1997 finding every single piece of food and items we could, and upright and upside down, we searched Castle Dracula. This game is quite expensive today, especially a black spine first printing. I lost my copy decades ago, while Dan kept his original game. I had to have it, and his widow happily extended the copy to me. I am quite grateful for her generosity.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SdFveuPGZGCeKpTQSEGqeztDFH_E8lkVl6y3JocZHYHaVfTHv18rGIipB744wPVEvYzF-CLYDEtnrP7OT917ysoLXnDh2r2pwjo-F02tUdd_F4-WQd_txyaxXy83gCvh5ai6g3rdViQAQkPZ5HPqnDfIb3qHvTFBQECwJZ-70HqFbf88vXMvmclwlfs/s2419/sotn.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2419" data-original-width="1842" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SdFveuPGZGCeKpTQSEGqeztDFH_E8lkVl6y3JocZHYHaVfTHv18rGIipB744wPVEvYzF-CLYDEtnrP7OT917ysoLXnDh2r2pwjo-F02tUdd_F4-WQd_txyaxXy83gCvh5ai6g3rdViQAQkPZ5HPqnDfIb3qHvTFBQECwJZ-70HqFbf88vXMvmclwlfs/s320/sotn.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When he passed I was not collecting games. I had a few of my old, original games, and an Xbox 360, from back in the day but that was it. Nothing that could be considered a collection. She would change this, however. His widow generously gifted me with dozens of his games, from N64 favorites like Blast Corps and Super Mario Kart and his Jungle Green N64, and some PlayStation games. A Panasonic 3DO FZ-1 that was once mine along with Road Rash. Somehow, over 20 years later, this system and game found their way back into my loving arms. I had no idea he had even kept this system and game.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kIQArj8jXBAFcXqukFgYlS4u0yKMTWVle7nLSINF4dVq41wnBGt7R5gccqF1I0dZni5u7vheKkfAmpmheHDVSJ8pjOyYpuWjVI87lJ-70eVLMCpWZjwuKQlgml3o7dPOaTQkv399ozZymZ5wDktx02TZ5xeamlXXmPkXKA5-aYRjdYJECz1_QokFIpg/s4032/road%20rash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kIQArj8jXBAFcXqukFgYlS4u0yKMTWVle7nLSINF4dVq41wnBGt7R5gccqF1I0dZni5u7vheKkfAmpmheHDVSJ8pjOyYpuWjVI87lJ-70eVLMCpWZjwuKQlgml3o7dPOaTQkv399ozZymZ5wDktx02TZ5xeamlXXmPkXKA5-aYRjdYJECz1_QokFIpg/s320/road%20rash.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like an old friend, returned</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Since receiving these pieces of a friend's history and friendship, I began adding to it. I've re-collected a Sega Saturn, found a near-mint PS1 at a flea market for 30 bucks. My collection is miniscule compared to some collections I've seen out there, but this one feels special to me and perhaps me alone. I felt some sort of connection with Dan in a time where connecting with him is purely in my memories alone. Dan and I hadn't talked much for years. Until Thanksgiving 2019. I met up with him and another close friend that night at Best Buy to get a jump on Black Friday sales. Dan and I each bought a dozen blurays. As we were leaving I would end up giving him a ride to his car, as it was closer for me than it was to go back with our mutual friend.</p><p>So before I bore you too much with the mundanity of a simple memory, this was the last time I would ever get to see Dan again. So I agreed, thinking to myself I hoped this meant that he and I would hang out again like we used to. We met in high school, at Patapsco High in Dundalk, 1995. We were sophomores. Somehow video games were mentioned in Mr. Forrest's class, and we hung ever since. We spent entire days and into nights and into mornings playing PlayStation or 3DO or Nintendo 64. He'd chug liters of Surge and we'd have The Chemical Brothers on in the background.</p><p>I showed him electronica or dance music and he introduced me to Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith movies. We went to the movies no less than 25 times together in the '90s alone. We had front row ringside seats at the 1998 WCW Great American Bash PPV in Baltimore that you always dream of having, and I still have the shameful youthful guilt of giving the fingers to every wrestler not in the nWo for hours. I re-watch matches on YouTube and I get red in the face. But we were kids, caught up in the moment. Even getting tickets for the event was an adventure in of itself, a night which included a transient pooping in a box in front of us and a head-on car crash at 2am. Dan and I shared stuff that I will never forget.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiida67biCSuXyxGMFg5R_stwCMxh_Y-ld2bBWTXe_HyeYgBOQlWZaC9qGARsM5HHiAFYdeGl9K4KxoC9BdjgjbI6AqmYUf7BZFRloG00t9koPXJ5Cd_AlBoIS-d142JkBmtkrNGDwv-ICZ_E_-KNhPBN4j3kRspwJc33pVFwFwhGCGFY72I_PJIgxwQTY/s463/98%20GA%20Bash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="463" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiida67biCSuXyxGMFg5R_stwCMxh_Y-ld2bBWTXe_HyeYgBOQlWZaC9qGARsM5HHiAFYdeGl9K4KxoC9BdjgjbI6AqmYUf7BZFRloG00t9koPXJ5Cd_AlBoIS-d142JkBmtkrNGDwv-ICZ_E_-KNhPBN4j3kRspwJc33pVFwFwhGCGFY72I_PJIgxwQTY/s320/98%20GA%20Bash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>But that Black Friday evening finished with Dan and I in Walmart. We were once again shopping for blurays back in Electronics, and pints of Ben and Jerry's. I took him to his car, we gave each other version of the handshake, the nWo wolfpack kiss (you fans know what I'm talking about), and we went home. We texted a few times throughout the years, but we never did hook up again.</p><p>The last time that we talked was on Independence Day 2022. I mentioned that I had found our Scream movie ticket stubs. He remembered that we had seen the first 3 films together in theaters. I said I'd give him his stub when I see him next. He was dead a few days later... Our relationship stuck in limbo, never to reconcile into friendship again. There's a physical pain that comes with that lost chance of redemption. All the things I wanted to tell him are stuck in my head like remnants of a leftover shake in a blender that didn't make it into the glass.</p><p>I am an extremely sentimental person. I have no qualms about this. By keeping some of Dan's old games I feel like he will never be truly gone, and that's up to a therapist and me to decide if that's healthy or not later, but it helps me to cope today. It helps me to keep those memories of him and I working at two different McDonald's together, or hanging out at Eastpoint Mall or any of the half dozen arcades we would frequent fresh in my brain. I'll never forget Dan getting yelled at by Mr. Forrest in 1995. "We're not friends, we don't hang out," Mr. Forrest said to Dan outside the class beside the lockers after Dan continuously called our teacher by his first name. Unlike Mr. Forrest and Dan, he and I were friends, and we did in fact hang out together.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sUubE8ZkUeIRxutIeqn4uySr_56hg_HtVi4OaIbEn0mJlRtH9sE814I7MWSBxtO3UQpI_aEd2KqZoQ6Ze6-7Zsdl2hrG898rjzwNsao-aa86bj-5D_PdoMKpcvo26464wQRrDWHBq7Y26uBiFfbaDOI-s6AT-K5s8rIL1spmSkml8xj_EAS0pjFsahI/s1620/wood.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sUubE8ZkUeIRxutIeqn4uySr_56hg_HtVi4OaIbEn0mJlRtH9sE814I7MWSBxtO3UQpI_aEd2KqZoQ6Ze6-7Zsdl2hrG898rjzwNsao-aa86bj-5D_PdoMKpcvo26464wQRrDWHBq7Y26uBiFfbaDOI-s6AT-K5s8rIL1spmSkml8xj_EAS0pjFsahI/s320/wood.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan at our annual Memorial Day cookout (probably 2005)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-17572189386204413312023-11-02T08:54:00.005-04:002023-11-16T10:21:29.450-05:0012 Months of October<p>I just received some items from the Etsy creator, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/12MonthsofOctoberCo?page=3#items" target="_blank">12 Months of October</a>, who makes absolutely adorable Halloween ephemera. I have a feeling I will be ordering more from her shop. It's Halloween nostalgia at its best.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxKXkuRAWLK_H1qAdaCPz65LR63xAvkbQ1OmoWkTQLmE21Oka5_v9997KFhqkB_ZzNrbopmdao6IfhbFhbPAgRuaPmSUEHK9ObJy6E_ZtnGDeAYWJSYn_Uo4gjWJYN-oRJSmyMkdUEnvmIdenq0ZJqX8oXT_VbGapgq8Yj28augsx1GYYDqHV1BU1zjM/s4032/20231109_214408.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxKXkuRAWLK_H1qAdaCPz65LR63xAvkbQ1OmoWkTQLmE21Oka5_v9997KFhqkB_ZzNrbopmdao6IfhbFhbPAgRuaPmSUEHK9ObJy6E_ZtnGDeAYWJSYn_Uo4gjWJYN-oRJSmyMkdUEnvmIdenq0ZJqX8oXT_VbGapgq8Yj28augsx1GYYDqHV1BU1zjM/s320/20231109_214408.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>These pieces just make me feel like I'm a kid again in 1986 and it feels so good. I can practically smell the PAAS vampire makeup running on my face and feel the uncomfortable pinch of vampire teeth plastic in my gums...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bexAFA-1rbOTT9NhQmGPAeCudypmk3SNo8SalntFC0AeXHjOyqDMH4qXwvwEkM8Sp3l9pKs2YgOJJjKXRJnSGFn0JU3bF6yF8GQJvDvETY9-IA2nZVeCFshqbiKi0D8V2IrMj8U9hs0F8LooLr2gdrvKDxM_ftGd4MJU5utlGAMWYzPSPLJeQVvYRG0/s4032/20231109_214325.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bexAFA-1rbOTT9NhQmGPAeCudypmk3SNo8SalntFC0AeXHjOyqDMH4qXwvwEkM8Sp3l9pKs2YgOJJjKXRJnSGFn0JU3bF6yF8GQJvDvETY9-IA2nZVeCFshqbiKi0D8V2IrMj8U9hs0F8LooLr2gdrvKDxM_ftGd4MJU5utlGAMWYzPSPLJeQVvYRG0/s320/20231109_214325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This Etsy store has given me so much inspiration - from simple mugs and bumper stickers! - for a short story I've added to my Halloween short stories collection. 12 Months of October has become my muse.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-7679444922817915422023-10-31T14:59:00.003-04:002023-11-09T16:24:33.290-05:00Happy Halloween!<p>This month, Halloweentober, has been fantastic, fun, wonderful and just lovely. Without doubt Halloween, and October in general, have become my favorite time/holiday. I'm a lifelong Halloween fan but as I get older my love for this ancient holiday just continues to grow. I spent nearly every evening reading Halloween-centric books or watching movies or TV shows about All Hollow's Eve. On more than one occasion I carved pumpkins into traditional jack-o'-lanterns to ward off evil spirits. I spent time fashioning a rustic witches broom from a fallen branch from the back yard tree.</p><p>I spent some time writing my Halloween short stories notes. Eventually I'll have to stop writing notes and begin the stories themselves. Ideally, October would have been the perfect time, so it will probably be another 10 or 11 months before I start.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqHw4qMxoEp8PSCSZcQDs0mXKxz3r7WCXut4iuxnstTl9oAONPlZhcuN7kUWGbUFPG2p2gnPG4egJiUxReqs8YaWTJbn3mGs0_F7bUtpT8ENXCd-jgvL-fEPhn2sIOXyaZJ8EmBiX10kfBRlXxNUbqtrjoJ1DLH2qEfRgoYBFj-E9e-V_fy98MgSoe_M/s2048/gil%20ghost.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1570" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqHw4qMxoEp8PSCSZcQDs0mXKxz3r7WCXut4iuxnstTl9oAONPlZhcuN7kUWGbUFPG2p2gnPG4egJiUxReqs8YaWTJbn3mGs0_F7bUtpT8ENXCd-jgvL-fEPhn2sIOXyaZJ8EmBiX10kfBRlXxNUbqtrjoJ1DLH2qEfRgoYBFj-E9e-V_fy98MgSoe_M/s320/gil%20ghost.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br /><p>I read Cameron Chaney's <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/autumncrow-cameron-chaney/1134217592" target="_blank">Autumncrow</a>. It is such a fantastic ode to Halloween, and I was wishing it was longer. Autumncrow is the living embodiment of all things Halloween, including the town itself which is stuck in an eternal loop of life in All Hollow's Eve. This short stories collection hits all the bullet points for the holiday: fallen, crunching leaves, candy, Trick-or-Treating, cornfields and scarecrows, et al. I plan on picking up his new book, Fresh Hell, Autumncrow High, and go through it just as quickly next season. Perhaps jealously rearing it's ugly head, I was hoping Cameron didn't turn out to be such a good writer. But he is. Not every story in Autumncrow wowed me but it is completely worthy of becoming an annual read.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ROuYoCIPTmRMpxT9W_I3EJr-__p96gouCRsvpu4x-9cLK4XQL3KtqXBlj4GdPAgDQ4wt0wnwzNIrp4QcLC0W0lTODu0KqtJGnhYgXtsMV_KlPpICVnrLckIdicvkvgtSsrrGsxQyaOC1ZNi6fOLz2UFP_f7373GhDjMEXngXeuCKdethPPqkfm8EMRs/s3270/jackcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3270" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ROuYoCIPTmRMpxT9W_I3EJr-__p96gouCRsvpu4x-9cLK4XQL3KtqXBlj4GdPAgDQ4wt0wnwzNIrp4QcLC0W0lTODu0KqtJGnhYgXtsMV_KlPpICVnrLckIdicvkvgtSsrrGsxQyaOC1ZNi6fOLz2UFP_f7373GhDjMEXngXeuCKdethPPqkfm8EMRs/s320/jackcard.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><p>Now that it is the First of November that post-Halloween depression is setting in. Luckily Christmas is only weeks away, and like it's macabre cousin I enjoy the red-and-green time of year almost as much. Almost. The lights, the music, the giving - and yes, celebrating the birth of our lord Jesus Christ - all makes this festive season a joyful succession to the feeling I get in October. With another great, fat holiday between them for fun (and to give thanks).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkljzL5zgPJoCqMry01ClDC92lT97UGSAb_U56Jrolq4jFWy8LdEPhAa74rNKQPFNKnKKtHXnJb0iZpXajeNbnROyJYC2-l6a1U5ReI6aNvmB_JYQIdjwHIor9DYLobF1ULC1Y-FUHQTMCx3PdEq00Jr6J1UX6HnPfeTS8juxH2Es6uEVU3ur2CnOi0kM/s1186/punkin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkljzL5zgPJoCqMry01ClDC92lT97UGSAb_U56Jrolq4jFWy8LdEPhAa74rNKQPFNKnKKtHXnJb0iZpXajeNbnROyJYC2-l6a1U5ReI6aNvmB_JYQIdjwHIor9DYLobF1ULC1Y-FUHQTMCx3PdEq00Jr6J1UX6HnPfeTS8juxH2Es6uEVU3ur2CnOi0kM/s320/punkin.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>But last night I sat out front, jack-o'-lantern lit beside my candy bowl, and playing Pete Antell's "Stop, Look & Listen, It's Halloween" among other Halloween songs in my extensive playlist. And surprisingly, we had a lot more Trick-or-Treaters than previous years, even with the chill in the air. I hope you had a thoroughly wonderful Halloween, as well. Let's do it again next October.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE-p1aFza-AzN0tGAkeFfRoRuT83kt8l3vadIUThM8_z6rWoNlwUcveBHryu9mCVyLmHhyphenhyphen4e5eJEB7un3qiw0fS4u_h6vXZOsCPenVCUac-C_8mMzSFKG_fzHNClhkgjQFebCOr4oYXk6uPSn2xXNaMrs5rtpmDWejnzjbPRPkolCuHeAOv0YIhMYwEY/s4032/jacko.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE-p1aFza-AzN0tGAkeFfRoRuT83kt8l3vadIUThM8_z6rWoNlwUcveBHryu9mCVyLmHhyphenhyphen4e5eJEB7un3qiw0fS4u_h6vXZOsCPenVCUac-C_8mMzSFKG_fzHNClhkgjQFebCOr4oYXk6uPSn2xXNaMrs5rtpmDWejnzjbPRPkolCuHeAOv0YIhMYwEY/s320/jacko.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One final movie of the season</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-53079181429133321222023-10-26T12:20:00.022-04:002023-11-11T13:22:15.345-05:00Add Some Meaning to your Halloweening with UNICEF<p>I just wanted to share a commercial that came out last Halloween season from Unicef. Now the big U and Halloween have gone hand-in-hand together for over 70 years helping kids with fresh water and food. Last year they had their annual Halloween commercial that just is the coolest, most atmospheric one to date. I absolutely love it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-08YsTYMuCfCdrTh_fKtgPB7nC8KRGY1DhBC4phcY5M-rB9iLNrzTDPgoijsaNr0dpahp7VS5dgcp1kVV6Oy7uZ9Wp1AnPqz88ffnXFOWqn0cQx_PlO_TkCt4rt9s6jb1dZzfGbitC0nY8tVjWTzQIlnN8vhCcdEpZZ6sSrG9VWnEhs0-OfABAytBoB0/s735/trick-or-treat-for-UNICEF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="735" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-08YsTYMuCfCdrTh_fKtgPB7nC8KRGY1DhBC4phcY5M-rB9iLNrzTDPgoijsaNr0dpahp7VS5dgcp1kVV6Oy7uZ9Wp1AnPqz88ffnXFOWqn0cQx_PlO_TkCt4rt9s6jb1dZzfGbitC0nY8tVjWTzQIlnN8vhCcdEpZZ6sSrG9VWnEhs0-OfABAytBoB0/s320/trick-or-treat-for-UNICEF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The 30-sec film is practically the most Halloween commercial ever, at least in the days of Covid. It is this small, quick package of wonderful, and the message is a good one, too. It features a pair of really cool blow mold ghosts, some jack-o'-lanterns, a scarecrow that I think winks at me, and a TV stuck on a dead channel. It's a shame that those cute little orange milk cartons for collecting quarters are no longer a thing, but it appears that the carton has given way to a digital giving experience via the QR code above.</p><p>Here's the video below from their YouTube channel. It's a favorite of mine, and I've been watching it this Halloweentober even though it wasn't on television like it was last year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bTHHlf8U7Aw" width="320" youtube-src-id="bTHHlf8U7Aw"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-48925159662662642432023-10-12T13:24:00.076-04:002023-11-22T12:58:43.321-05:00WNUF Halloween Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QSDKcZ1l_Sj6WU-V9Fe9jSJbvYsehsL8VDo0c61FCdLcq-fJ4plYFVtfEjo6oGJx7idjwGwe4ARwt7Lr94KbaWaRVWOUea3akUqUVVBkAysKxeirbbZoInOix-cK-BM_C9Sa4T75oBR_S6jVlpoppff-FmrFfmwA1n2dp3_YJ8XFsj4zYAJlum-z0jY/s4032/20231109_185716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QSDKcZ1l_Sj6WU-V9Fe9jSJbvYsehsL8VDo0c61FCdLcq-fJ4plYFVtfEjo6oGJx7idjwGwe4ARwt7Lr94KbaWaRVWOUea3akUqUVVBkAysKxeirbbZoInOix-cK-BM_C9Sa4T75oBR_S6jVlpoppff-FmrFfmwA1n2dp3_YJ8XFsj4zYAJlum-z0jY/s320/20231109_185716.jpg" width="240"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>I found WNUF Halloween Special only after it made the jump to bluray, thanks to boutique label Terror Vision. Upon my first viewing I was <i>enthralled</i>. I may have been hypnotized with magical nostalgia (I use that word a lot) as I sort of drifted off (but not dozed off) into this subconscious trip back in time, or so I imagined. The film is a supposed found-footage tape of fictional news station WNUF of a Halloween Special produced in 1987. It follows Frank Stewart as he visits the purportedly haunted Webber House. The brilliance of this film is the authenticity with which it appears to be a product of the '80s.</div><div><br></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMbEVrflfyo56PacUMq5vLxfLMMJdWe6DwUGD_jDRQN-yHXsWUNm9oltzzAll4B-z0zMZTHwKhyphenhypheng0l7vK45so9dzQaiRWMRP0y8qcK6dPMPHy1msskyDqYWm_9oH9yZQZx1vfzANtOWuhZUw84_R3NpsrHwtg3bHNaEBjlXi9tDy3dZOMtXk0-YWfBpA/s4032/20231109_185812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMbEVrflfyo56PacUMq5vLxfLMMJdWe6DwUGD_jDRQN-yHXsWUNm9oltzzAll4B-z0zMZTHwKhyphenhypheng0l7vK45so9dzQaiRWMRP0y8qcK6dPMPHy1msskyDqYWm_9oH9yZQZx1vfzANtOWuhZUw84_R3NpsrHwtg3bHNaEBjlXi9tDy3dZOMtXk0-YWfBpA/s320/20231109_185812.jpg" width="240"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd slipcover option</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br></div><div>And so as I watched the film, that stupor had set in, as I was half-tired, and my brain was fooled into comfortable fantasy. The commercials felt so real, like half-forgotten moments of long lost life. Or maybe a tape ejected from one VHS dimension into an adjacent dimension here. I had begun to believe that this was indeed a tape that had been found, and WNUV had been changed to WNUF to avoid criminal litigation. Such is the depths of creativity created by Chris LaMartina and co. It's beautiful. It's earnest. It's warm. It's Halloween in a time capsule saved specifically for me and my viewing pleasure, or anyone else desperate for a return to that better time.</div><div><br></div><div>Watching this I imagined what <i>other </i>Elton would have been doing the night this aired after Trick or Treating, and staying up late to watch this <i>special</i>, vampire cape still on in defiance of Halloween's witching hour nears. As the night wears on, glutted on 15 Reese Cups and a dozen Mr. Goodbar minis, and getting more and more under the covers as the ending reveals the horror that's in store for our host.</div><div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br></div><div>This was a locally produced film here in Baltimore, so I immediately felt this sort of kinship with the movie solely on this shared experience. Chris LaMartina and his team used stock footage and new-but-old "commercials" spliced throughout the "broadcast". Chris also used a nifty VCR technique to throw the tape back and forth over with recordings to give it the authentic tracking lines throughout, and to give that feeling that there was something underneath it all.</div><div><br></div><div>Now, you can find more info about the making of this movie in Wikipedia. I don't have more info that what's provided on their page. But it seems that WNUF is I assumed based off of local station WNUV. WNUF TV28's city behind their news anchors Debra Merritt and Gavin Gordon is a picture of Baltimore. Another bumper shows downtown Baltimore via news copter as their Anywhere, USA downtown city. But I immediately recognized my town, and researched the film in depth. I had no idea this was a local project at the time. Now, I'm completely addicted to this lil gem.</div><div><br></div><div>I missed out on the VHS tapes Chris left around conventions and around town. This would have been a very cool piece collectible to own and display. The idea of finding one of these tapes and putting it in, watching it and the unfolding bewilderment had to be monumental. I was raised with a VCR and Halloween, so this just feels like a love letter to me, and that sounds selfish but that's OK. It's how I perceive the film, not necessarily how you will. But for those of you born before Bush 2 was in the White House or dressed up as Dracula four consecutive years for Halloween, you'll probably find a reason to love this movie. At least I genuinely hope so.</div><div><br></div><div>There is a vinyl produced for the film that adds additional Frank Stewart investigations to the lore. It gives us some more insight into the features that Frank Stewart investigated in his tenure at WNUF. The vinyl is super rare, only 200 pressed, at least of the orange vinyl I received. You can buy it digitally, but the vinyl is just too cool to miss out on. It comes complete with a Frank Stewart Fan Club certificate and a jack-o'-lantern cut-out mask (as if). However, if you haven't watched the movie yet, maybe hold off on looking at the front cover of the vinyl, as it spoils the ending...</div></div><div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibemEchtR4pRA5gPKbT3lHyWT7NzabdzEQh3WnAis2G7wx0vXIlkVwiIHCybGQkKjqKeLUA76wkRlTXXPrIJyvrr4t4PQG6aZ80YbWR-o9TNnUER47pM8LVoEkrxsnXdgVjkUIgjlzb-b6NQx1IQBSJVM4O1C1nhxhEG9jXj9-UQJkqLhuXmLe8TgWJH0/s4032/20231109_185206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibemEchtR4pRA5gPKbT3lHyWT7NzabdzEQh3WnAis2G7wx0vXIlkVwiIHCybGQkKjqKeLUA76wkRlTXXPrIJyvrr4t4PQG6aZ80YbWR-o9TNnUER47pM8LVoEkrxsnXdgVjkUIgjlzb-b6NQx1IQBSJVM4O1C1nhxhEG9jXj9-UQJkqLhuXmLe8TgWJH0/s320/20231109_185206.jpg" width="240"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7Qin1zMMc3-vu6sCs_QkpKwN2USTDoUjsreB-kTr3dPjz8qpcRTxitE5VjQpgewzIfLe7Iy8Srbdxp3GDkaMthPw85qsvenVNBkjLbWhrxqdNLxaTdeumhM6xgVFvUkWk7UDDz53fjZR7RZRL9HU-doFLu7VS6LdQ3T5qBFErU941BJckI07vAJKDGo/s4032/20231109_185220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7Qin1zMMc3-vu6sCs_QkpKwN2USTDoUjsreB-kTr3dPjz8qpcRTxitE5VjQpgewzIfLe7Iy8Srbdxp3GDkaMthPw85qsvenVNBkjLbWhrxqdNLxaTdeumhM6xgVFvUkWk7UDDz53fjZR7RZRL9HU-doFLu7VS6LdQ3T5qBFErU941BJckI07vAJKDGo/s320/20231109_185220.jpg" width="240"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><br><div><br></div><br><div><br></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-81516297084678565802023-10-09T10:01:00.008-04:002023-11-07T13:51:34.492-05:00Halloweentober 2023 <p>The O's are in the playoffs, fresh off winning the AL East. They've just a season that consistently had me pinching myself. But yes, it was all real, and they play the Rangers here at home today.</p><p>Halloween has taken a huge truck stop-after-chili dinner dump all over our home. Jack-o-lanterns sit on every table and mantle and sit aglow in warm candlelight every night. This time of year just makes me happy. It's rather simple: autumn, Halloween, horror movies and ghost stories, lots of candy and pie, the chill in the air, it all makes for the most wonderful time of year. I'm currently reading Autumncrow by Cameron Chaney. So far it's better than anticipated.</p><p>I'm on vacation in a few days, and I plan on writing my Halloween short stories, and overdosing on Reese Cups and slasher films. I'll try to make time to walk Betty Boxer. Another new addiction is watching 1980s and 1990s Halloween commercials. I've got a playlist on YT that's into 6-hours. And I just received a cool Halloween-inspired grab bag from Chris LaMartina, the creator of WNUF Halloween Special. This included a DVD-R mix tape style of aforementioned Halloween commercials and news specials of this great day. I'm not sure how to describe the euphoria of falling into hypnotic trance-like state while watching these videos. I slowly fade into time travel, sitting in my old home in Dundalk, it's Halloween in 1986 or the like, bag of candy spread before me, still in Dracula make-up and cape. I go back to that place inside my head to find happiness because it's so very hard to find it today.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-yxOZKjWT4mbz067Si_ldEKBo5jkuxpnWAryCrvToe7TWGhejjnpEtz48VL0rK2IIw4GlSyu1jcch_wVaovqpqCMEg8mFEllLf2KXXZ0rM9-iuiIk1w4z6BviH3QrZ9GCLKs6U97g2jdcGkWRCdz8hvyb0admunyjDXRnmCzY_gKYzORIknjeOX6-P3I/s4032/dvdr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-yxOZKjWT4mbz067Si_ldEKBo5jkuxpnWAryCrvToe7TWGhejjnpEtz48VL0rK2IIw4GlSyu1jcch_wVaovqpqCMEg8mFEllLf2KXXZ0rM9-iuiIk1w4z6BviH3QrZ9GCLKs6U97g2jdcGkWRCdz8hvyb0admunyjDXRnmCzY_gKYzORIknjeOX6-P3I/s320/dvdr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I'm in the midst of building a shadowbox for my McDonalds Halloween Pails translite (1986). I want to back-light it, and display the pails below it with fake ivy like the translite. I'm old enough to remember when McD's still used bulbs w/translites for promotion, rather then the flat screens in use today. Personally, I feel that the translites worked better.</p><p>I vividly remember this Halloween pail advertisement below (or above, then). Sitting in our local McDonalds on Wise Avenue as a toddler, eating my McNugget Happy Meal (w/honey like a madman!) and staring at this beautiful piece of Halloween art. I was enthralled. I still am today, which is why I framed it on my wall. I can stare at it all day long.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFy6Mb8TEejFvY_bAqGdkA43QAcan4nsjJOj9f4LhksyJoktFFnjCvNH_IZAy84rWKpOcnyxJx8O016P8rml_VqL2eh4DdqBDZabmLZoHrgO3EHVKcJGpuC4SCavV3YU_M6K27WA6_7Mc3ToNHcNArpCL3-81uebOPGrqYi8YRWG3Srjl79r303I9Rcxc/s4032/pails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFy6Mb8TEejFvY_bAqGdkA43QAcan4nsjJOj9f4LhksyJoktFFnjCvNH_IZAy84rWKpOcnyxJx8O016P8rml_VqL2eh4DdqBDZabmLZoHrgO3EHVKcJGpuC4SCavV3YU_M6K27WA6_7Mc3ToNHcNArpCL3-81uebOPGrqYi8YRWG3Srjl79r303I9Rcxc/s320/pails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>These pumpkin pails (McBoo, McPunk'n and McGoblin respectively) were far superior than any toy the great Clown could've included with this Happy Meal. I've always had an affinity for the Jack-o-lantern, and these are at the top of that long and illustrious list.</p><p>It's quite remarkable these Boo Buckets have become so popular these days. They've reached some kind of legendary status in the collecting/Halloween/nostalgia groups. Dinosaur Dracula was discussing these pails over a decade ago. But something clicked for me in particular about 5 or 6 years ago, and I had to find my original buckets. That didn't happen so I visited the 'Bay.</p><p>I have begun to question the nature of nostalgia today when I began collecting the McDonalds Halloween ephemera. What makes a person want to collect pieces of fast food's past and spend money on these things. I know I feel a sort of short shot of euphoria with this stuff in my home, in my office, so perhaps this is the nature of nostalgia alone. I don't see any end to this in the near future, because every day I open a long-recessed memory, or find something else from childhood on another site that I simply must have... Should I feel shame in this emotion, or just go with it for now? Every day it's a little harder to live in the present, so these quick hops into the past seem to make me feel better overall.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0C1EagY_Og1c65E81HsK2e_P0DsSXE5vUU-oqfUDUxIh2UVq7Tztf-b8R5wIsaY0AhS791YPcadjym6bzsmMZ8eewpWG-Rgi7dRToe8SVKKCU-dyyTGwz76DFIhrzhKnt8_p10uF7fmR6UIDMp94SPlrGWf55-2Pbkev7nGGAW_amPFJZ5AKFokca6Ps/s4032/pumpkin1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0C1EagY_Og1c65E81HsK2e_P0DsSXE5vUU-oqfUDUxIh2UVq7Tztf-b8R5wIsaY0AhS791YPcadjym6bzsmMZ8eewpWG-Rgi7dRToe8SVKKCU-dyyTGwz76DFIhrzhKnt8_p10uF7fmR6UIDMp94SPlrGWf55-2Pbkev7nGGAW_amPFJZ5AKFokca6Ps/s320/pumpkin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1-csUobjxpi8OPzYliXvZEMJXlF2glHmIZtqjDRbGOxnAruI_3bnDH-XUl2lr8xYxA53uI3sOc8ez3JMGvOECPhLJd9gdK3Mrn1tw5O06_-fsRtfL-zbNWi_61NAS_swMqopi1YANKfg9GWzrUwZk-4OOq5qWXVKa_k9rhLoMUb2pu4KMr8AScRsRAo/s4032/pumpkin2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1-csUobjxpi8OPzYliXvZEMJXlF2glHmIZtqjDRbGOxnAruI_3bnDH-XUl2lr8xYxA53uI3sOc8ez3JMGvOECPhLJd9gdK3Mrn1tw5O06_-fsRtfL-zbNWi_61NAS_swMqopi1YANKfg9GWzrUwZk-4OOq5qWXVKa_k9rhLoMUb2pu4KMr8AScRsRAo/s320/pumpkin2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyjO4qIK3ghNIZP6EDCPm9WgfngLlqrhHlYVG2rohS7t6vHwXfNo1y6t8Xm6iBre9H3AUNKPKn3ODGADz-KHOETpZCSFZlwz3DYmM3SbWW65r7EXnOKvQGwYJb1W6Qfihkb-R4LKZ8-c7-AGjbjwqMtjqCDYHgaaIkMZbcmml7Dmaqlz3dDYp3553cYE/s4032/pumpkin3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyjO4qIK3ghNIZP6EDCPm9WgfngLlqrhHlYVG2rohS7t6vHwXfNo1y6t8Xm6iBre9H3AUNKPKn3ODGADz-KHOETpZCSFZlwz3DYmM3SbWW65r7EXnOKvQGwYJb1W6Qfihkb-R4LKZ8-c7-AGjbjwqMtjqCDYHgaaIkMZbcmml7Dmaqlz3dDYp3553cYE/s320/pumpkin3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Last night was the first night of pumpkin carving. Time to keep the nasty spirits away from our home and make the house look cute in the process.</p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-28266918673999777332023-10-08T23:28:00.037-04:002023-11-09T17:55:23.882-05:00The Midnight Hour<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarkxr2cF4dhINjCCYREVB3vS8zESK3vKd6hpsNSN6DqFLcTGkZ64h_jK8qzewuu25lSjLgsIruSwamWFS1EDI8Ye4NI4yaWnlyv_00-2FalLCI7boR2UtMs8A2ocSRi8Jh8WiWQXdCLgsDTOq3Azb-j6vFibMW0nXZd9aoBl_EEWFhnb68YFt6Ca5XtU/s4032/23punkn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarkxr2cF4dhINjCCYREVB3vS8zESK3vKd6hpsNSN6DqFLcTGkZ64h_jK8qzewuu25lSjLgsIruSwamWFS1EDI8Ye4NI4yaWnlyv_00-2FalLCI7boR2UtMs8A2ocSRi8Jh8WiWQXdCLgsDTOq3Azb-j6vFibMW0nXZd9aoBl_EEWFhnb68YFt6Ca5XtU/s320/23punkn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>31 Days of Halloween is here. Tonight we had our 2nd annual family jack-o'-lantern cutting contest where we were all winners. Above is my offering to the Halloween spirits. I managed to carve 2 jacks this season. Next year I'm going big and bold, and attempting 31 jack-o'-lanterns, one for each day of Halloweentober! Where am I going to put them all, you ask? EVERYWHERE. I may drop them off at unsuspecting neighbors homes, lit of course. Staring at their door, I'll ring their doorbell and run off. Little adoptable jack-o'-lanterns in need of a new home.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMcrSv-M3AssLwtLoiBvHZ7TBkokkvnRJlvKy-i4DEjCbQBv-IcELFPRnTpaHs9NKA-8vjQq1VgZ6mkhXNxYvMz8WGlrPA-iaBdLpk7bde3p-J0RWv3RiXkRV4inqoiBHLuipEAEfGiyF4xzW_fuXjIp7QdlllEuQDyJqIRg1v7jpgIB6grp5-q-YnaY/s4032/dolanpunkn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMcrSv-M3AssLwtLoiBvHZ7TBkokkvnRJlvKy-i4DEjCbQBv-IcELFPRnTpaHs9NKA-8vjQq1VgZ6mkhXNxYvMz8WGlrPA-iaBdLpk7bde3p-J0RWv3RiXkRV4inqoiBHLuipEAEfGiyF4xzW_fuXjIp7QdlllEuQDyJqIRg1v7jpgIB6grp5-q-YnaY/s320/dolanpunkn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This is the lineup. It was a solid year for jack-o'-lanterns this year at the House of Dolan. Tonight we watched The Midnight Hour on DVD. The Anchor Bay DVD is long, long OOP. I settled for the Spanish DVD years ago, which used the old VHS cover art. Transfer is not too bad. I pray annually for a bluray release. T fell asleep. I woke her up and told her to go upstairs to bed. She was not amused.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHih-23E-gGAQ63R5YyloQQPI8Dq7DZvlO6d_cY8jqQIiuWW8cMrx2CLMnuDeWa2rql7m6qkPBFTtJQMbefAQsu2zr91yxwJfgnLpES3-Nv_ZY8mKRafcFwaX4KsvoXgtoXncw5BFzEWCH-eL1KA76xFBXu2jOXhH4FvjczCBcIdWJECUMK7GpxvMpawQ/s389/midnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHih-23E-gGAQ63R5YyloQQPI8Dq7DZvlO6d_cY8jqQIiuWW8cMrx2CLMnuDeWa2rql7m6qkPBFTtJQMbefAQsu2zr91yxwJfgnLpES3-Nv_ZY8mKRafcFwaX4KsvoXgtoXncw5BFzEWCH-eL1KA76xFBXu2jOXhH4FvjczCBcIdWJECUMK7GpxvMpawQ/s320/midnight.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ad from my 1985 TV Guide</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /></div><div>This made-for-TV movie is a commitment under my roof. I expected more from her. I wanted her to love and cherish this flick like I have since 1985. But she's watching this for the first time in her 40s, that's just not going to happen. I was not even 9 the first time I watched it. I do have faint memories of watching this live, but to my horror and dismay, it premiered the day after Halloween. That's a giant WTF, my friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Critically, this film is barely regarded gateway horror. I'm sure it has a cult following now. But this film gave me my favorite song, The Smith's <i>How Soon is Now</i> and I will always love it for that. Mr. Reading Rainbow is in this film, LeVar Burton himself. At the time that's the only familiar actor I knew of. Years later I'd grow fond of Peter DeLuise in 21 Jump Street.</div><div><br /></div><div>One thing about the film that never quite made sense was that the kid's ancestors included an infamous witch and a famous witch hunter. But the witch, Lucinda Cavender, when resurrected, is actually a vampire. Did I miss something even after 20 viewings? But they never attempt to stake the witch, I mean vampire. Yet the vamp-witch Lucinda goes around turning their friends... Meanwhile, the film's protagonist is out foolin' around with a ghost from the '50s. By the way, Phil is in high school but looks to be about 34 years old. Mitch Crandall is lineman huge! What's with the water in Pitchford Cove? And Dedee Pfeiffer is in this, and I think I've always had a crush on her. She was in <i>Vamp </i>too, so double vampire bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div>For those of you who haven't seen The Midnight Hour yet, it's got a small cameo or two by Kurtwood Smith as the Police Captain and Kevin McCarthy is the judge (and father of Peter's DeLuise's Mitch). And Wolfman Jack is on the radio. The script is not that tight, but it is a fun, Halloween film of the 1980s, just about everything I love today. I have been looking for a VHS recorded from TV tape for years now, a sort of white whale for me to collect.</div></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-26763382344289594542023-10-03T16:42:00.031-04:002023-11-11T16:56:12.466-05:00Hocus Pocus is Perfect<p>I have an insane amount of love for this Halloween flick. Like way more than you think I mean when I say an insane amount. Like the other day, someone asked me which fictional universe would I want to live in and without hesitation I yelled <i>Hocus Pocus</i> Salem! with food still in my mouth... As nostalgia is a bigger part of my life now than at any other point in my life, the 1993 setting is a banger here. The film, when compared to contemporary Halloween films, is innocence at its core. The film has no agenda other than to make you feel that Halloween is the greatest night in American history one night a year.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXuUBUKmKonVtmdw0Cala768R517yH6tTcGCvmY3aWy1hGFCRwYaWM9DP5IpNXEMuJjtnPtChoIA-sfmnh6cS0ccaD1JuVDIFSgD7CC3FQKRg2Ex9OZ7Sv0ORSaYLvTJiDjkl6dkBXRV3tN7-wHNxeCtFPdpjbayPVSSEcGozd8iUkR0CJHoWu-J5uXc/s3989/hocuspocus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2376" data-original-width="3989" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXuUBUKmKonVtmdw0Cala768R517yH6tTcGCvmY3aWy1hGFCRwYaWM9DP5IpNXEMuJjtnPtChoIA-sfmnh6cS0ccaD1JuVDIFSgD7CC3FQKRg2Ex9OZ7Sv0ORSaYLvTJiDjkl6dkBXRV3tN7-wHNxeCtFPdpjbayPVSSEcGozd8iUkR0CJHoWu-J5uXc/s320/hocuspocus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only half of my copies...<i>sigh</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Halloweentober usually begins every year the same for us around here, and that's with watching The Pocus. This year was the 30th anniversary *coff! (just shot coffee out of my nose and mouth) and I don't know how that happened. Like many of fans of this film, I spent most of my time watching this on Fox's 13 Nights of Halloween, and then ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween, and then Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween over the past several decades. Before becoming a collector, I didn't own a copy of HP because I knew it would be on every single day in Halloweentober.</p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-71780147003158994942022-10-22T11:03:00.007-04:002023-11-09T14:17:02.647-05:00Halloweentober 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wcyHYmrMckM95MA8NBC3fE1z6r7G57tq4fyQknDkliuA7SgSdqMcTWxI4qrIfR-SjPC2a0fAWv-R7NoqhhcIJ7nT0tcsQrG4ew6zhRbDjyi6Ds65O3-bhtkq4A8mThyv1s8THwjn209zwjq0aFRdqX9bRI1HHe4HZdO5YDN3wx0s4NIgPUg1ZjUTp4k/s4032/pumpkinfield.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wcyHYmrMckM95MA8NBC3fE1z6r7G57tq4fyQknDkliuA7SgSdqMcTWxI4qrIfR-SjPC2a0fAWv-R7NoqhhcIJ7nT0tcsQrG4ew6zhRbDjyi6Ds65O3-bhtkq4A8mThyv1s8THwjn209zwjq0aFRdqX9bRI1HHe4HZdO5YDN3wx0s4NIgPUg1ZjUTp4k/s320/pumpkinfield.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Halloweentober is here and for a brief few weeks I can forget what a hellhole our society has become. The world has seriously and irreparably lost its mind, and I'm using whatever I can to forget the mind-numbing stupidity of 'Merica in the 21st century.</p><p>Now I hold steadfast to the belief that America is the greatest country in the world. But everyday our "leaders" are doing what they can to make that declaration a complete and utter lie. Once, we were afforded freedoms to rival any nation on planet Earth. But daily we are seeing liberty wiped away in the name of safety. The pandemic has given our government carte blanche to act authoritative and without repercussions to ensure that We the People are protected from the Big Bad Bug. Soon, life here will be like a dystopian novel, replete with Nazi-like neighbors tattling on you for using too much AC on a hot and humid summer afternoon, and barcodes on forearms; Oops, you've had too much steak this week--no airfare for you this month! Some of the things I hear coming out of American's mouths in the past five years have me legitimately worried for the fate of my country. When people can proclaim that making our country come first is racist, we're fucked. For half of the nation truth is offensive and the most heartrending thing of all is that these people are backed by the biggest industries, biggest corporations with the biggest reach and the biggest wallets. </p><p>I simply want to live in the America I grew up in. The America where morality was inherent in our culture, and inclusion was granted decades before morons created diversity. Just read a goddamn X-MEN comics issue from the '60s to pre-2017 ffs. I want to live in an America where illegal immigration is just that. It's in the name! Immigration helped make America the greatest nation on Earth. But a country's laws cannot be ignored for the sake of citizenship. A just nation has law and order. I do not want to live in anarchy. I support Police that is sworn to serve and protect its community. I support government that defends the constitution of the United States. I support Americans that will fight to save the republic, and not destroy it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkSeNhxv0zH_u3N8zCN4mxopGb0mauDIeNIA3jzEEYYi9TsIaLgy4fRRPt2RI7RbVSZCf35VSwyXmMuYZo9xs72gtb2c1qq3nAMXNtdlSEaO3Hn9rF0Qv9YLXSmsmZbalbXOOJelLsBoyNLd3IfHH8akcfxCRGs-rWq85j5OdP88UmP3PAa7icGNvMWs/s2929/jacklight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2197" data-original-width="2929" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkSeNhxv0zH_u3N8zCN4mxopGb0mauDIeNIA3jzEEYYi9TsIaLgy4fRRPt2RI7RbVSZCf35VSwyXmMuYZo9xs72gtb2c1qq3nAMXNtdlSEaO3Hn9rF0Qv9YLXSmsmZbalbXOOJelLsBoyNLd3IfHH8akcfxCRGs-rWq85j5OdP88UmP3PAa7icGNvMWs/s320/jacklight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>You see, all of this is exactly why I am returning to the blog. I want to escape the incessant din of madness that has infected the US, and I suppose the world. I want to talk about vampires again, and comic books, and horror movies, and retro video games (good grief, is the PS1 retro?), and Halloween culture in general. And things that make me happy. I was writing just before the pandemic threatened to upend civilization. I want to write again. I want to start the YouTube channel.</p><p>I want to come to terms with nearing 45. I want to live life and enjoy it all instead of being afraid. Afraid of viruses. Of vaccines. Of tyranny. Of the Great Reset. Of my neighbors. I want to be afraid watching Jaws or Poltergeist, not simply waking up in the morning. I want to have a community of people who are into the same shit that I am.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEPbe9y-7ugVkhADoxdYQwRT489BGNFECxb-cMOKFQzOaQfxVSTu4wXE3agFufxyynyd849cypBqVnjAqizeDoSl8kWyWg7mG5qDaeBmCilM3bcz7cHIGYLAwF5_BvH-6GATBWW6RDr1dohnnokm5HW5v8wLWRiRepUJurNibemkJK45Azg05s5Uozjk/s4032/jack2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEPbe9y-7ugVkhADoxdYQwRT489BGNFECxb-cMOKFQzOaQfxVSTu4wXE3agFufxyynyd849cypBqVnjAqizeDoSl8kWyWg7mG5qDaeBmCilM3bcz7cHIGYLAwF5_BvH-6GATBWW6RDr1dohnnokm5HW5v8wLWRiRepUJurNibemkJK45Azg05s5Uozjk/s320/jack2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>None of this is what I want to talk about here on this blog. Not even close. I want to talk about Halloween and the monthlong celebration I've dubbed Halloweentober of October. It' the most beautiful time of year, the gold and purple and red and yellow leaves falling and crackling underfoot. The pumpkins turn into jack-o'-lanterns on steps and porches. The world turns into a Goosebumps novel. I pull out my pile of Halloween books and set them out on the coffee table -- feel free to read one. So, Happy Halloweentober, everyone. Let's ignore the scary world out there. Get festive. Get happy! Get creative!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhqr6-4HNc9ELm-b6G4Gg9ZFZoeiknXFTUPc_RlU23miZcmU9oXx66exQjlTL4MRxDbYLzlSpOyyYyNvQ7Xu-FYE-pxxfnFIxtocaQmTJAswF0_S-jNGxhAX-eBm6wuonmWUyn_3WWchLvXqNd77ctbxUSg3PtBvSSjjx9UuTrOTFeGMD4uJ0wa86TWs/s4032/Hbooks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhqr6-4HNc9ELm-b6G4Gg9ZFZoeiknXFTUPc_RlU23miZcmU9oXx66exQjlTL4MRxDbYLzlSpOyyYyNvQ7Xu-FYE-pxxfnFIxtocaQmTJAswF0_S-jNGxhAX-eBm6wuonmWUyn_3WWchLvXqNd77ctbxUSg3PtBvSSjjx9UuTrOTFeGMD4uJ0wa86TWs/s320/Hbooks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-86288841791987819032021-10-30T15:13:00.068-04:002023-11-09T15:15:08.844-05:00The Hospital Halloween 2021!I'm still in Upper Chesapeake. I'll be in the hospital for Halloween. I could've gone home, but the doc said she'd prefer I stay a couple more days just to ensure I'm good, that my sodium levels level out. I'll defer to her med degree and stay the weekend.<div><br /></div><div>Covid and low sodium have kicked my ass. I've legit seen beds and rooms cleared, and <i>you know where those bodies are going, don't you, Elton</i>? I do, and it's and odd feeling. It's frightening. I don't know if I've been this close to death before, in space and time - not my health.<div><br /></div><div>Earlier this week has been non-stop rainy. But then a beautiful golden sun came through, and it looks absolutely autumn outside. I'm staring out a huge window on the backside of the hospital to a view of just trees mostly. I'd wake up in the middle of the night to go #1 and it was pouring. I could see it pouring on the pavement under the amber parking lights. This persisted the first few days I was here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now we're closing in on 9 days... But I'm starting to feel a lot better. I don't know if I had brain fog, but I felt this utter head congestion. It was as if my brain had outgrown my skull and it was threatening on breaking out of its skull-prison. I couldn't quite articulate this feeling to the doctors, so they did a brain scan. And the other night, I felt this bout of uncontrollable nihilism. It was weird, and I hated every second it lasted. I had no interest in anything, or anyone. I couldn't have visitors but I didn't want to have any regardless. It was a terrible, depressing feeling and I hope it never returns.</div><div><br /></div><div>Docs said my brain is perfect. Well to my standards. All my tests are really good. My oxygen level is near perfect. So maybe the vaccine helped me kick Covid's ass. She mentioned to me that I wouldn't be here for the Covid alone; they are only treating the low sodium. This helped me to understand my treatment now.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>One night I called T on Instagram video chat. I wanted to see her and not just a picture, and the dogs, as well. She was carving pumpkins, and I was entirely jealous. She got the 'Vid too, but she was blessed with only a cough. So she stayed home and made these two precious jack-o'-lanterns.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFnuroXIjxGv39X0mbY6mmIsGs6rBiRKk0h_KSC8zROo7rLEGpkAMxZzFokXuiOGYAAI4ola1hpmewXg_K5znS9Zh_1UeF8DzmP2_K0YsylF75nwVnVWi-OeQRCODJGbTiLR2UcFhZIRp1N7L8vweQZMrcULViFitzj1lc1iXZohleZQNKHPa1oozefk/s2048/punkn1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFnuroXIjxGv39X0mbY6mmIsGs6rBiRKk0h_KSC8zROo7rLEGpkAMxZzFokXuiOGYAAI4ola1hpmewXg_K5znS9Zh_1UeF8DzmP2_K0YsylF75nwVnVWi-OeQRCODJGbTiLR2UcFhZIRp1N7L8vweQZMrcULViFitzj1lc1iXZohleZQNKHPa1oozefk/s320/punkn1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hLqTnHbeK-JAbjurkcYn7Q0zAULp3d6FKDmJTBBpwEui8QEQRLhTWIs3fS6dzhW8osHMyz2VRi9KRcs3R7tF9MrVEWfDdsWqB10ZJhW9uUEnRJjdRXXdvwlUYPPu7DQjD_xdaNhCcmfqlvOzksj6NPXWdYbsjoPk8icDHlxrQKEwc5RKgkjTUEZlRQM/s2048/punkn2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hLqTnHbeK-JAbjurkcYn7Q0zAULp3d6FKDmJTBBpwEui8QEQRLhTWIs3fS6dzhW8osHMyz2VRi9KRcs3R7tF9MrVEWfDdsWqB10ZJhW9uUEnRJjdRXXdvwlUYPPu7DQjD_xdaNhCcmfqlvOzksj6NPXWdYbsjoPk8icDHlxrQKEwc5RKgkjTUEZlRQM/s320/punkn2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>One thing I have to admit, and it's kept my spirits up the entire time I've been here, is the staff - all of them - have been just incredible. When I showed weakness and curiosity to making it out of here, they were there for me. The care I've received here has been just perfect, and I appreciate them all. I've thanked them in person but I wanted it out there in the universe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Something unexpected happened the other day. There was an active shooter scare here at the hospital. I was told to get in my bathroom and lock the door. I watched as staff took off in all directions, securing patients. It worked the adrenaline while I was bed bound...</div><div><br /></div><div>So Halloweentober 2021 has not been and ideally perfect holiday. But the fact that I'm getting healthier by the day is all the good news I need at the moment. I'll try to make up for it next season.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHYen6Wksbc0e0Zl-_7T3sXfwBxmwKs5251Slfg70ezJxwYVZT9n52S3V_xxk6TEjPOiiqodgQTlWLtTcwBGXU-3bAxzCAib-9SwdqTdbtXRDJyYHohSJLsCZ703RfM8q9eQ_yCR0W0o8rUtGXvdWA8WO3gLjA8y8FTOs-wYIGCYqKz0VGUYDMOTJvX4/s4032/gerald.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHYen6Wksbc0e0Zl-_7T3sXfwBxmwKs5251Slfg70ezJxwYVZT9n52S3V_xxk6TEjPOiiqodgQTlWLtTcwBGXU-3bAxzCAib-9SwdqTdbtXRDJyYHohSJLsCZ703RfM8q9eQ_yCR0W0o8rUtGXvdWA8WO3gLjA8y8FTOs-wYIGCYqKz0VGUYDMOTJvX4/s320/gerald.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Gerald. He returned to me.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Gerald (above) is a thing. This preppy pumpkin-headed scarecrow was at Target, and I forgot to go back for him. Next visit and he was gone, as were all his siblings. However, weeks later T showed up at home with <i>new </i>Gerald. She remembered I really wanted to pick him up and missed out. She saw him one day at a thrift store and brought <i>new </i>Gerald home. He will never leave his forever home.</div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-28729832725023718712019-10-02T14:22:00.090-04:002023-11-18T15:45:55.186-05:00Hooray for Halloweentober!<p>It is that glorious time again, October and autumn, which we now call Halloweentober. The greatest, spooky holiday cannot and shall not be constrained to a single day. The fact that Halloween isn't a national holiday is a shame, too, but that's a story for another post...</p><p>I'm all in my Michael Myers zone right now. This is a series that I think may be my favorite of the holiday. I enjoy and like each and every single film, and H2018 blew me away. The mood and angst was phenomenal, and the music works so well. So this month I'm watching every Halloween film, even the outcasts. I may even watch the Rob Zombie films, which I haven't seen yet. I don't do redneck, inbred white trash horror, and that is what Rob Z does best. </p><p>We've put out decorations a week ago, and today we are carving our first pumpkins. This year, I feel the need to do more active Halloween celebrations. I haven't been to a haunted house in a very long time. Growing up in Dundalk we had quite a few to choose from. The first haunted house I can remember visiting was the North Point haunted police precinct on Wise Avenue across from the McDonalds. I bring up the Golden Arches simply because sitting inside and eating happy meals during Halloween, right out of the first pumpkin pails, we'd sit by the window and look out at the large brick building across the street. Unassuming 11 months out of the year, but in October it had this large sign with a skeleton painted on the façade. I loved him at 10 years old.</p><p>The haunt itself was novice, a place for the kids. I remember a Dracula vampire and a horned, red devil with a costume probably purchased at J. J. Newberry. There was the strobe light and lots of noise. At 8 or 9 years old I was frightened enough to enjoy the hell out of this experience.</p><p>We also had, for the older kids, the Haunted Dungeons at Fort Howard. This fort was used during the War of 1812. Cannons sit on the embankment as testament to the history there. In the summer families come for cookouts. I nearly always came in autumn.</p><p>This mostly outdoors haunt in Sparrows Point gave me some of the very best frights of my life. Surrounded by woods, you walk on a long desolate trail to get to the dungeons, and the woods are full of things that go bump in the night. Once I looked behind me, and all you see are the shadows of hundreds of trees, but between the trees, there was this something else. A tall, spindly figure came upon us, and I freaked out. I scurried up to my friends and told them what is behind us. It was this 15-foot figure, draped completely in a black cloak. A guy on stilts - awesome!</p><p>In the dungeons, the scares are what you'd expect. I mostly visited here in the late '80s and early '90s, so it was chainsaw wielding lunatics, zombies, Jason masked maniacs, strobe lights and piped in thunder and lightning.</p><p>Other haunted attractions around here are Legends of the Fog and Bennett's Curse. I think I'll visit both this month. It's been years since I ventured out for some physical Halloween activities. But tonight it's an evening with the Conner's. Some of the best television Halloween specials in American history, and I was lucky enough to watch them live when the show was on air.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdntspXDqvefsbo9TbL83mYUmFLYXbfkoSmwON9gF2zF2DRUaxdqyDSWYIgd9Gr8C3hV2i46vQBYjuBJX0VpIh_i_j1shF574I03W5tEJLfCXxlNIEcyc_XgDCLMis3qIgzflsYQjSs3AHjdpr1vhuzUbWcqlqbXYzC4iLH3o6jdyc3yVF6ioyWF1i0CQ/s960/roseanne%20halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="960" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdntspXDqvefsbo9TbL83mYUmFLYXbfkoSmwON9gF2zF2DRUaxdqyDSWYIgd9Gr8C3hV2i46vQBYjuBJX0VpIh_i_j1shF574I03W5tEJLfCXxlNIEcyc_XgDCLMis3qIgzflsYQjSs3AHjdpr1vhuzUbWcqlqbXYzC4iLH3o6jdyc3yVF6ioyWF1i0CQ/s320/roseanne%20halloween.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-57338683638956587292018-11-04T14:26:00.004-05:002023-11-11T11:51:56.650-05:00Still Alive, Apparently, Mr Blog - But Why?I look back on dozens of posts from years and years of thoughts, and wonder what was it all for?<br />
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I've stopped writing. I've stopped reading. I suppose I've stopped living. I don't do much of anything these days. I don't ride my RC51, I stopped traveling. Where has my creativity gone? I'm glad, in a way, that I stumbled onto this blog. I used to have such faith, in my skills as a writer, in the future - but now, the world is shit. If some far-off extraterrestrial race is rewinding time and surfing the waves of time and finds this tiny, inconsequential site, perhaps they'd be curious to know how far we've fallen, the human race.<br />
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President Trump (yes, my friends from Zeta Reticuli, I said President Trump) has ushered in a new world order of indecency, neo-McCarthyism at the Free Press and anointed them all Fake News. Antifa marches violently in the streets of West Coast cities and proudly spews hate speech. The President of the United States of America is a Russian agent; China is marching toward the world's largest economy, a caravan of "immigrants" and "refugees" are crashing the US border with Mexico and the world's most evil corporations are the Silicon Valley Axis: Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter. They have created an internet where freedom no longer exists and net neutrality is dead. The changes that we're seeing in the world have backhanded us all back into slavery of the mind, and The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave is too busy sitting on fat, stuffed asses with smartphones and social media and have acquiesced to corporate takeover of America.<br />
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I think of what the world has become and it's no longer a mystery to me why I have lost creativity, why I have even lost interest in being a part of this world. I've cut myself off from social media as to no longer witness the death of Liberty. In the prophetic words of Real Life, send me an angel, send me an angel...right now. Send them all, Heaven, and cast out the devil and his minions in DC, the Democrats and Republicans alike who have sold out our country to other nation-states and corporations and highest bidders and destroyed this country from within.<br />
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What am I saying? This is not what this blog was intended for; I should be discussing my writing, and vampires, and pop culture and movies and music and Halloween, not politics. But it is amazing to me just how much things have changed since I posted on here regularly. Time is even in flux, and seems to be progressing much quicker than normal.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyNOBeQUz_Rp0Q6Jb_hiwOS9w3IBlNzUO6TVCAZpjPsb7cd00UqgQ9WxC3RqYiCIDaLhnFI3a1NxMZyKQhSvYJRmqgTbdwTQeEOzVZYrO_7B6ajFeAcbYjIt0Yt1ZaviQgy9hU4FDs4QN8d4mQ_FIrX7_HMhusp23kP1ovUKc-Y-JZqjePtN0pQyRNLw/s720/skellylady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyNOBeQUz_Rp0Q6Jb_hiwOS9w3IBlNzUO6TVCAZpjPsb7cd00UqgQ9WxC3RqYiCIDaLhnFI3a1NxMZyKQhSvYJRmqgTbdwTQeEOzVZYrO_7B6ajFeAcbYjIt0Yt1ZaviQgy9hU4FDs4QN8d4mQ_FIrX7_HMhusp23kP1ovUKc-Y-JZqjePtN0pQyRNLw/s320/skellylady.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div><div><br /></div><div>*Update: Today is 11/4/2023. I had long ago deleted this post, because what was it for? But I look back at just 5 years ago and see a different person. I despised President Trump at first, but then really became a fan of his America First policy. We can all see that the Russian collusion stories were completely fabricated. And China is in economic peril today. We had a pandemic that completely changed the world, not for the better.</div><div><br /></div><div>And good grief the world is in turmoil more than I have ever seen in my lifetime. I'm only updating this old post because it's interesting to see how my perspective has changed about a few things today. How divided our country is about every single topic. Today my opinion is that I completely hate our society in 2023. I have gorged on a spiritual diet of nostalgia because today is just disgusting. Woke culture is pure evil. Today is one never-ending season of Twilight Zone proportions. Today's news headlines are completely designed in the mirrorverse, it seems. God help us all.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm bringing this blog back to life. I long ago stopped writing the novels I had created back in the early 2000s. I want to use this platform for more Halloween related stories, and nostalgia for those things I miss from that legendary time we called the 1980s and 1990s. As the world is transforming into whatever this is, I find myself looking more inward, toward spirituality, to God, and to the past. Looking back to the past too often is probably not the healthiest thing to do, but it's got to be better than what is going on now. I want to avoid the evil, divided nature of society and come here to enjoy things that make me happy. Hopefully it will make some of you happy too.</div></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-64763408787984244352017-10-14T11:20:00.005-04:002023-11-11T11:48:56.844-05:00Post-Creativity Life and Halloweentober!In the several years since I've gotten off pills, but not entirely sober either, I've seemingly lost all connection to creativity. Reading, which I usually did all the time, has become harder to do, mostly with a lack of focus. I'm not sure what the hell is going on there...<div>
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But with all the fiction that I still do read and envelope myself with has been prying open that shuttered part of my brain that used to design worlds and characters, and begged me to step back into that world of creativity again. It's been soo long. Too long? I don't know. I started writing another story the other day when I should have been working, and four or five pages just flowed from my fingertips. That felt good. I'm wondering if I can do this again, or is this a fleeting phase and I'll give it all up at the first chance to look at something shiny and new, or take a nap and forget all about it.</div>
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All I know is that I love it when the vampires keep me up at night. It's Halloweentober, after all.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9z-LvItH_U4h-HdKxW1iRXqTBp2VoLfgWxvIlD3llauWAsoak2SlJXs8PG5a_0z4d2G9I8aIQ5A2oRJr9wb3p7S4ZmhcJ2mmkjPhaUpx-5epUiVGcFSAMaagZ2WboudQXCwx76-ENTzVYr2wrgt_eMjHFlAcZqo_XCYQVrJ_JMWYDsIr5OZYPVsuETc/s1512/jackwindow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1089" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9z-LvItH_U4h-HdKxW1iRXqTBp2VoLfgWxvIlD3llauWAsoak2SlJXs8PG5a_0z4d2G9I8aIQ5A2oRJr9wb3p7S4ZmhcJ2mmkjPhaUpx-5epUiVGcFSAMaagZ2WboudQXCwx76-ENTzVYr2wrgt_eMjHFlAcZqo_XCYQVrJ_JMWYDsIr5OZYPVsuETc/s320/jackwindow.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>
Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-90265446092054145152013-08-07T20:30:00.002-04:002013-08-07T20:30:23.423-04:00Deep HiatusI don't know if I'll keep this journal any longer. I have given up writing about Evander, Tammie, and his vampire nightmare. The angels, vampires, werewolves, magicians and the supernatural world of UNIQUE has left me feeling a bit of a failure, and I haven't even attempted to edit the story or pursue publication for months now. There came a point when I looked back and realized I really was not the writer I had thought I was. I am not talented. I cannot create a deep universe based on gothic demons and it weighed heavily on my soul. After all, that's what I put into this story. But the story was never complete, going in any which direction with the change of my mood, and there was simply no direction most of the time. I look back now and wonder if I was in so much of an painkiller haze that I actually thought what I was writing was any good.<br />
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I truly feel like I am leaving something to rot, to fester in my imagination like mold through bread. And I am completely heartbroken. Perhaps I had just invested to much emotionally into THE UNIQUE DESTRUCTION OF AN ORDINARY SOUL and it was never going to be good enough...Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-38563933864390397402013-02-06T10:30:00.003-05:002023-11-10T09:13:49.396-05:00Champions<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br></div>For the past three days I've been celebrating. The Baltimore Ravens are Superbowl XLVII Champions and I have been blissful since 11pm Sunday night. We, my nephew and I, waited in the cold city for four hours yesterday for the Ravens parade, and it was worth all of the potential frostbite! Coach Harbaugh actually said "I love you, too," to me, and I nearly fainted like a school girl! This was also Ray Lewis's last ride, and I'll be honest, I got extremely emotional. I haven't been able to read or write since the big game. I'm just overcome with happiness! It may be weeks before things get back to normal in Baltimore...<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-39434317664819280762013-02-03T12:35:00.003-05:002013-02-03T12:35:56.995-05:00Superbowl XLVIIWell it's Superbowl Sunday. My Baltimore Ravens. The City of Baltimore on edge, excited, and I'm high on two cups of Caramel macchiato. This is not just a game, no matter what my girlfriend keeps telling me. This is the height of civic pride. And I find it hard to explain what it means to be so fervent about a team to her. She should know by now that those are hurtful words after our seven+ years together. Orioles baseball and Ravens football mean the world to me.<br />
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And today will monumental, one way or the other. I literally prayed last night for a win. I just can't take a loss. I'll be back later tonight to let you know what I'm feeling...<br />
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Go Ravens!Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-52786424215123835132013-01-16T14:00:00.000-05:002013-01-16T14:00:21.402-05:00So Long 2012!So this is what happens when you miss the opportunity of a lifetime...?<br />
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No job, for over a year; ample opportunity to workout at the gym; had the time to write, write, and write some more, but what do I do?<br />
<br />Sulk. Lay in deep depression most of the time. It's unbelievable what depression is capable of on the human psyche. I finally got what I always wanted: the chance to stay at home and write, and get paid mildly for it, and I blow it! But alas I'm only human. And I can't do anything about the past.<br />
<br />But the past year wasn't all that bad, really! My Baltimore Orioles broke the curse of 14 successive losing seasons and went to the playoffs; they were one game away from a Championship game. I got to visit Fenway Park and watch the Orioles beat the Sox--how great is that?!--I waited a lifetime, it seems, for this to happen. The 2nd annual Grand Prix of Baltimore came and went, with some rain, and I'm looking forward to the 3rd race. Star-Spangled Sailabration brought tall ships to our harbor and Blue Angels to the skies over Baltimore! My girlfriend and I saw Dave Matthews Band twice and finally in Baltimore, which I've waited for forever... Went to Disneyworld. And now my Baltimore Ravens are in the AFC Championship after stumbling in the entire latter half of the season. We're one game away from Superbowl XLVII. My dog and I have spent every day together and I love the lil sonofabitch.<br />
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And recently I've been having a great time writing Blood and Argyle, a new sequel to UNIQUE. Instead of destroying the world at the end of the first book I decided it should take a little longer, maybe a trilogy of books before I set into motion the next era for the protagonist. I'm enjoying writing again.<br />
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Goodbye, 2012. Fuck you. Hello 2013. Don't fuck with me. Look at what happened to '12 when it disappointed me. I made it go away.Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-46859583112351359882012-10-29T12:56:00.006-04:002023-11-11T10:44:10.060-05:00A New Life in New OrleansChildren's vampire book synopsis:<br />
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Count Dracula leaves behind the foggy woodland hills of Transylvania for the humid, narrow streets of New Orleans. Dracula's wife Caramella has been seemingly abducted by his arch nemesis, the French nobleman Le'snot, who has whisked her away to the Garden District to be married on Halloween. Le'snot's friend, Edvard, is brooding and glittering (he's bitter that his fangs will not develop) and agrees to help Le'snot when he falls in love with a beignet waitress named Cookie at Cafe Du Monde.<br />
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And finally there is the small brown wolf-like puppy Wolfie who is burdened with a particular affliction for turning into a human boy during the full moon. It's his curse to bear, and while in human-boy form for those three days he searches old books on ways to destroy the human curse, not immediately seeing the hypocrisy of his quest.<br />
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Dracula and his son Devon arrive in New Orleans at a pier in front of Jackson Square, with St Louis Cathedral looming in the background, and immediately search for Le'snot. They hire the help of local vampire experts to seek him out. The father and son, along with Wolfie, are whisked out of the French Quarter and head for the oak-lined streets of the Garden District via the St Charles streetcar line and head to 1st St [formerly Anne Rice's home] to the corner house Le'snot calls home.<br />
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During the quest to find his mother Devon is constantly trying to kill other vampires, including his father, with tiny sharp wooden stakes, but is thwarted inadvertently and humorously throughout. Either Wolfie will catch one sailing in the air trying to play fetch or he will hit a bat swirling around the Count instead, ending in a wisp of smoke. The stakes never quite reach their intended targets... Lil D, as his father calls him, has grown angry since his mom left and he blames his father for caring more about growing the "Count Dracula brand" around the world than keeping his momma happy. The misguided Count tries inform his son that his mother did not leave--she was kidnapped by the despot Le’snot--Of course she would never leave them deliberately. But it is the Count who is wrong.<br />
<br />When Lil D and the Count are attacked in Lafayette Cemetery by the father-daughter vampire hunting duo, the infamous Blake and his fellow slayer Bunny. The little would be vampire hunter Lil D abates his contempt for his kind. And when his father helps save him, the moment helps to bond Devon with his father again as they fight their way back against the vampire slayers and arrive at Le'snot's home.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLp6xX5pcOJRjlgWTioIjSPQIhbdT7FRPKXcHCvIshYVwglgTx3d1V_b730-pqZReQh1EDQmgudEAVUN_2A_n-6945emhXjXMfzgEGrPEKyYvavcrvfGIFCksbqKiKvaDoViK2bTlyOlosv3_sFpJqv0tKtX_yOpBZXmmVeMpLt3lc2oFpLBuJYzltTUk/s552/count.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="377" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLp6xX5pcOJRjlgWTioIjSPQIhbdT7FRPKXcHCvIshYVwglgTx3d1V_b730-pqZReQh1EDQmgudEAVUN_2A_n-6945emhXjXMfzgEGrPEKyYvavcrvfGIFCksbqKiKvaDoViK2bTlyOlosv3_sFpJqv0tKtX_yOpBZXmmVeMpLt3lc2oFpLBuJYzltTUk/s320/count.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I was woefully deprived of the gift of art, so I'm searching for someone who would want to tag-team the shit out of this story and make the children's vampire satire the youth of the America didn't know they wanted, and a lot of adults, too. I'm writing the script, and perhaps a finished draft will encourage some artists to jump aboard.</div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-16286280122295721652012-10-29T12:52:00.003-04:002023-11-11T10:45:35.115-05:00Happy Halloween!Happy Halloween, dear blog and friends. Hurricane Sandy is on her way and the flooding has begun around here. Wind gusts are extreme, too.<br />
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I began a strong edit of <i>Unique</i>. From over 140,000 words I'm working near to 100,000 words for a much more single direction. I hope to postpone the apocalyptic ending for another story so to keep the plot and setting in present day for the time being. I like it in Baltimore. I'll blow it up later.<br />
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The book 2 story is still in the works as I really like the story of Evan waking from a coffin in the earth a decade or so into this new world inhabited by tall, dark castles and vampire technology and mutants and a much quieter planet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZF_yDSazZunfzmXmoSMYNEAxaPfj7cVfxrg03oyfzRkyF2m3t1Uo36hBIuPQpLHXqEzf-ZmjlRfxOdjb1-lR6OU-4leOD9soFgk2Y3MKCVoiZVvBIsTEurTrp0L5LxSltZYZmYQeJCU/s1600/Hotel-Transylvania-Poster-1-650x520.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZF_yDSazZunfzmXmoSMYNEAxaPfj7cVfxrg03oyfzRkyF2m3t1Uo36hBIuPQpLHXqEzf-ZmjlRfxOdjb1-lR6OU-4leOD9soFgk2Y3MKCVoiZVvBIsTEurTrp0L5LxSltZYZmYQeJCU/s320/Hotel-Transylvania-Poster-1-650x520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
Saw Hotel Transylvania with my girlfriend and nephew over the weekend. Really cute flick, but eerily reminded me of my failures to get my vampire children's book (<a href="http://whitepillsandblood.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-new-life-in-new-orleans.html">A New Life in New Orleans</a>) done. I'll share a synopsis soon.Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-46767266386810963682012-10-14T18:03:00.007-04:002023-11-17T13:47:57.434-05:00Halloweentober Half-way!During this past year I've learned a lot about myself, and forgot a lot, as well. During this past year I reckon I could've had polished my book and had it published, twice. Instead, I burrowed deep into my depression, snuggled into it, cried that I wanted to find a way out of it, but like the barb of a cactus, the more you pull the deeper it sets.<br />
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During this past year I've missed a lot of opportunities. During this past year I watched my beloved Baltimore Orioles win 93 games and burst onto the Postseason stage and falter dramatically. That was the flipside to my deep despair. The boys in orange and black gave me a summer to remember while survived a summer to forget.<br />
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Today I started writing again, added a nice new piece to the first book and I have two pages in what is now the definite book 2. As the original book 2 became a piece for much later in the series.<br />
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Who knows, maybe I'll be back soon... It's Halloweentober, which means all I think about night and day (okay, other than my family) is All Hollow's Eve. Gorged on mini Reese cups and horror movies, I try to watch at least one Halloween movie/special every night. The depression seems to always let up around October, thank ye gods.<div><br /></div><div>I've recently started collecting these old 1980s Halloween sounds cassettes, simply for decoration and just to hold on to something close to those old days. Some came on hanging cards, which is perfect for hanging on the wall to display.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recently found my old McDonald's pumpkin pails, all three of them: McBoo, McPunk'n, and McGoblin. These three pails were such a treasure to 10-yo me. They were the personification of Halloween and came with McNuggets and honey! Who needs a toy when you can use these pails for Trick or Treating, toys storage, and just using them as a display.</div><div><br /></div><div>These were the first set of Boo Buckets, as some call them. These were for 1986 and I think 1987? I still remember getting them way back then at our local McDonald's on Wise Avenue. These things are my plastic soul mates.</div>Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3984222142217086817.post-6199698166804848102012-05-21T22:47:00.000-04:002012-05-22T11:54:44.650-04:00Yeah, so...Unemployment. Day 180.<br />
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Withdrawal. Pain. Agony.<br />
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The Displaced Vampire all but forgotten.<br />
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How can i fix any of this?Elton A.R. Alwinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096567239518920548noreply@blogger.com