It's October! LET THE EVIL BEGIN!!

We've made it to October! For me, it's like the start of a New Year. October 1st is the start of the best season on the calendar. We get Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Xmas! Plus my birthday is somewhere in there! 

LET START CELEBRATING!

THE 2019 HALLOWEEN MOVIE CALENDAR

So I decided to try something new this year. I'm planning ahead and marking down all the movies I want to watch ahead of time so I have something to watch everyday. Some days I may have to watch while on my commute, other days I may have to wake up extra early and watch a movie before class, and some days it will be after work. Will I be able to stick to it? Who knows! 

My first movie to lead me into the season was "Mad Monster Party?" from 1967. It's a slow paced stop-motion film, which leads me to believe this was made by adult monster fans for adult monster fans. This really isn't a movie for kids; there's not much slapstick or comedy they'd get.

The characters all have great designs, and the animation is top notch. I'm really glad I chose this movie as my first for the calendar. There's a bounce to it. It doesn't really feel like a Halloween movie, but it does have all the iconic monsters in it. 

DOLLAR TREE HALLOWEEN TREASURES

I decided to swing by Dollar Tree today while I was out grocery shopping. I went a little overboard with the candy, but hey, it's the season for it. I even got a trick or tree bag to carry everything home with. I was mainly looking for the Kool-Aid "Ghoul-Aid" pop rocks candy that was exclusive to Dollar Tree, and I'm happy to report that I got it! I did get other candies as well, like the candy blood, but I had to get the little bag filled with toy skeletons and fake bugs. Now it's starting to feel like the Halloween season.

CREEPSHOW AT NYCC

Shudder is really making it difficult for me as a horror fan because they somehow have too much stuff for me to view. Ideally, I would be home all day stoned out of my mind and watching nothing but sci-fi and horror films until the end of time, but sadly there aren't enough hours in the day for that. 

Ever since subscribing to Shudder I've really fallen in love with their original content. I know they're going to be at NYCC this year so I wonder what items they're going to have for sale, or, what freebies they'll have for fans. 

I'm going to do my best to make it to this CREEPSHOW screening, but I know it's going to be swamped with fans. I've got my fingers crossed though. 

UNKNOWN ANTHOLOGY HORROR

Speaking of CREEPSHOW; the first episode made me so hungry for more anthology horror I decided to seek out lesser known titles. I found these two on Prime.

"Dead on Appraisal" is a Lovecraftian horror-comedy with some fun practical and CGI effects. It all takes place in one location, and it is absolutely my type of movie. Cartoony monsters, gory and slimy splatter effects, and a deep dark undertone. I really enjoyed it and I would watch it again in a heartbeat.

"Terror Telly" is a horror host guided tour on a haunted channel that showcases different genres of horror stories. It's low budget and hokey, but not in a bad way. There's nothing within it that elevates it above your expectations though. I really enjoyed there being a host to it, just a guy who looks like a young Zacherly trying to act spooky, but I dunno, the whole movie kept losing me. It just couldn't keep my full attention. I'd watch a sequel though, but I hope if they do make one they set their ambitions a little higher. 

MISTER LOBO AND ALPHA VIDEO TEAM UP!

Speaking of horror hosts, the amazing Mister Lobo has signed a deal with Alpha Video and he is now working with them to officially release episodes of Cinema Insomnia!

I think this is an excellent partnership. Alpha Video has such a great library of movies and they've helped preserve so many films and television shows for fans that this alliance with Mister Lobo just makes sense. I look forward to ordering these DVD's soon!

DUCKTOBER

Also, this month is the start of Ducktober. While most artists are participating in "Inktober", I will be focusing my skills as a doodlist  on drawing various anthropomorphic ducks. Think "Ducktales" or "The Mighty Ducks" cartoon from the 1990's.

Below is the list created by my friend on Twitter.

And below is my first Ducktober duck! I didn't want to draw a normal witch, with a pointed hat and broomstick. I decided to go with a sort of frumpy goth-girl look. She's the kind of person who'd buy all of her occult items from the mall at like Spencer's or Hot Topic, and yet, she has a crazed and powerful look in her eyes; what powers could she be hiding!

I think this is going to be the best October ever!

Shows that care about their fans

We live in a strange time. For a long, long while it felt like most relaunches based on already existing media were simply cash-grabs. Big companies just out to get the money out from the wallets from complete and hopeless nerds, like myself, by just churning out a cheap product. But now, at least for the moment, we're getting heartfelt and sincere works of art based on classic properties from the 1990's. Mainly, The Dark Crystal, and Creepshow.

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has no real reason to be as good as it currently is. It's absolutely stunning. Every episode was genuine art. There were a few things here and there that did bug me about the story, but not enough for me to even consider them problems. The show is astonishing and I think Jim Henson would have cried from joy knowing how much love was put into this series. 

Shudder just released the first episode of Creepshow, and my hopes are high. It really does feel like the natural progression of the original two movies. I've been told to ignore the third Creepshow film because no one involved was involved with that one at all, but I may still give it a watch if just to watch and see for myself how terrible it is.

But yeah, the new Creepshow series is so far totally amazing. It's still an anthology series, and I believe it will be two stories per episode. The Creep himself is involved, but he does not speak; he just laughs a ghoulish laughs as he manipulates the worlds within his comic books.

For both of these shows they got amazing people to work on a project they feel passionate about and it totally show. I hope this inspires an era of more sincere media and less cash-grab bullshit. I'm truly in awe and I'm thankful for both shows right now. 

Hypnotize yourself into believing in your own sanity!

The media we choose is probably some sort of self-inflicted form of hypnotism. In a way, that's for the best I feel. Even if we're being hypnotized, at least it's by our own choosing. It just makes me wonder about how often we're hypnotized by other more diabolical forces that we're not aware of. There are for certain thousands if not millions of unseen masterminds trying to take over our minds. Usually, this is through the want of money; producers, advertisers, and of course the news media. 

I've lived my life without television for at least 3 years now, and it's been great. My smartphone still tries to get me involved in shit I don't care about, but I've grown pretty skilled at ignoring most of the nonsense that goes on in the world so I can better focus on my life and the lives of those who I care about. Petty political squabbles don't get me upset; what gets me upset are those who invest so much of their free time getting so angry over politics. They may as well be angry forever. And I say let them be angry; I'll enjoy life enough for all of them and reap the rewards of what is, without question, the dumbest and darkest timeline in human history. It's like we've been cursed by the Mandala Effect. 

In this difficult timeline, we have to hold onto what makes us who we are. Change is a wonderful process, but, if you keep letting the world determine who you are you'll end up becoming someone you won't be able to recognize. Change is great, but too much is chaos. Tread lightly and explode into your next mutation, but be sure that it's of your own doing. Don't follow trends, or take anyone's word that this or that may or may not be worth your time because only you can judge for sure. 

Shudder is GREAT

I don't really like Netflix. My girlfriend has a subscription, but there's not much for someone like me. I have a specific palate for the media I consume, and so I decided to try a few different subscription services. 

Shudder is, so far, GREAT. I love it. I love The Last Drive-In as a weekly semi-live program, but I also love the original content Shudder is producing. "Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich" was loads of fun and it took the material and lore of the Puppet Master series seriously enough. Plus, and maybe more importantly, the puppet designs are great and the kills are fun.

"Critters: A New Binge" is an interesting piece of media. Rather than a movie, it's 10 webisodes around a Critters reboot that feels like a kid-friendly Full Moon like series. It's not really "kid friendly" I guess, but kids could watch this. Even though there's blood and monsters running around, it's not scary at all (but I don't think the original Critters were either honestly). A New Binge leans into the humor and silliness of Critters, and I feel like it's worth checking out. I really hope they make more too. The cast is entirely likable, and their dedication to playing this series as straight as possible even though the premise is totally absurd is commendable. 

And I really can't wait for the upcoming Creepshow series. We got a peak of the Creep, who will be hosting this anthology series and he looks wonderful. As far as I'm concerned Shudder is doing everything right. 

Midnight Pulp & Night Flight Plus are also GREAT

So Shudder is great, no question, but so are Midnight Pulp and Night Flight Plus. They both offer some free content I believe, but I chose to pay my five bucks and subscribe to both to see their full power. I'm really impressed since both networks have a similar feel but still have their own specific focuses and energy. 

I should highlight that Midnight Pulp focuses more on what weird from any generation. Films, anime, and documentaries. Night Flight Plus has that too, but there's a heavy focus on music documentaries, videos, and also comedy. Also, Night Flight Plus feels like it's focuses more on a specific eras, which is a nice touch. 

I have happy to see a good deal of David Liebe Hart (DLH) content on Midnight Pulp. His show, "The Junior Christian Teaching Bible Lesson Program" is both fun and educational. The first episode deals with the connections between the Earth and the advanced Elder Masters on Star Korendor. I was even able to find the map that DLH was showing during the show. And of course, the music was as beatific as ever.

If you want to watch The Junior Christian Teaching Bible Lesson Program it's available on DVD, but I believe there are a few episodes also on YouTube if you search for them. 

On Night Flight Plus I watched for the first time the classic Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo movie, "Forbidden Zone", and boy, what a film to watch while absolutely stoned. It was like I was there with them in the sixth dimension. I have to say though; I've heard for years about how weird this movie was, and it is weird, but it isn't unintelligible. There's definitely a story, and clear character intent, but there's a lot of strange imagery. There's something almost classically Shakespearean about the plot too. Definitely worth a watch if you've never seen it. I'm really happy I finally found time to enjoy this cult classic, even if it was in color.

The Many Jokers

So that new "Joker" movie certainly looks interesting. There's something classically grind-house and Hollywood about it. I'm pretty stoked about it. No matter how it turns out, or what it looks like, I really plan on being there in the theater and absorbing this new interpretation of such a classic character. 

It's fun having so many different version of the same character. This new one specifically carries a soft murderous vibe not too disimilar to that of Marvelous Mervo from "Blood Harvest". Even the make-up is similar, so I wonder if that was intentional. 

I think it's a pretty interesting take on the Joker. It's not his psychosis or toxic chemicals that turn him into a murder clown, or even the mob and Batman, it's just society being shitty to him. It's not "one bad day" it's just his life that lead him to it. Or at least, that's what I gleamed from the trailer. 

There's also a new Joker on "Gotham" (the Fox television series) just called "J" and he looks very strange and sickly. I don't watch the series is about, or what the build up to this reveal was, but it looks pretty fun. Just another interesting interpretation of the Joker. I'm sure they've been working on this character for several seasons so I hope the fans have enjoyed the transformation. 

Not sure about this version of the Joker though...

TINY GIANT SPIDER INVASION

I met a little spider friend the other night. I think it was a Black House Spider, but I don't really know. I had planned on taking it outside in a cup or something, but my cat chased it off before I could. To my knowledge, this spider still stalks my home. 

Sons of the Desert Tent #1 Meeting

 So my best pal and lodge brother went to our first Sons of the Desert meeting this week. The Sons are an association of Laurel & Hardy fans who watch movies, cartoons, and talk trivia about the classic comedy team and other topics. 

We wore our fezzes. We thought there'd be more members wearing them, but we us there were three fezzes present. I think we inspired other members to get their own fez from Fez-O-Rama. It was a nice time. The films we watched were on 16MM print film (I think) and it was as clear as any blu-ray. We were pretty impressed by it. 

The location we met in was a beautiful church in midtown. The meeting room had this cabinet that was donated to the church by The Wicked Witch of the West herself. What an interesting artifact to bump into in this secret society meeting. 

You can't tell by this picture, but this room was packed with Laurel & Hardy fans. There must've been like 40 people in this small room. 

Afterwards, on my way home, there was pretty strong rainfall and I got caught in it. I ended up getting soaked. I took an accidental selfie since I had my smartphone in my hand as I was rushing to the LIRR train. 

Oh and I should also mention, my lodge brother got me a LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP  to the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. It's a nice thing to be a part of, but I haven't taken advantage of the online message-board yet.

Thrift Shop Gets

Some recent thrift shop purchases

Batman Forever Two-Face glass cup ($2)

Rudy Giuliani voodoo doll ($1)

Hula Girl with a spring waist ($1)

Sakura Matsuri Washington D.C., 2019

Some friends and I took a trip yesterday to Washington D.C. so we could enjoy the Sakura Matsuri festival. It was fine I guess. We were bummed that there were no cherry blossoms blooming. The festival may have been a week late or so. Still, the food was good and the company was better. Today I woke up sore and exhausted but I'd go again for sure. 

Putting Stuff Into Storage

The only bad thing about being a collector is running out of space. Like the changing seasons I often put some stuff away so that new stuff can take it's place for a time. I'm always rotating my collection to suit my mood. 

Below are a lot of the items that I own that are now currently in storage. Many of these items I have owned all of my life. 

Anyway, until next time!