Boo!

Good morning. Everyone sleeping in today?
I’m in the ‘never watch horror films’ category. And I hate dressing up for Halloween. That said, I’m going to a party tonight and I have to come up with a costume in the next 12 hours. I’m thinking of going as a teabagger (minimal effort). I’ll wear some sort of hat with tea bags hanging from it and carry a sign that says ‘Don’t be a maroon’ or ‘Keep the govt. away from my Social Security’.

Morning Hallowspups,

Ever since I moved into my current residence, I haven’t had a single trick or treat begging youngster. Might be the 1/8 mile gravel drive at the end of which is a crumbling old wood frame and log barn, nestled into the overgrown vegetation and winding wild grape vines. The little stone veneer house isn’t visible until one gets neaerly all the up to the old barn. Don’t need to do much scene decorating here.

Is everyone at the Sanity Rally?

Thanks, and no I can’t watch horror movies. I click away from the grim scenes in Sherlock Holmes on PBS, which I was doing last night. There’s enough horror on the news shows for me. When teabags are scary, that’s as far as it can go. No one trick or treats my house, it’s far back on an unlighted road. This year, I’m going down to Glen Rose, TX to see the dinosaur tracks for Halloween.

No, but don’t I wish.

For the ladies, a quick & E-Z costume idea – just affix some lemon slices to your crotch area – and presto, you’re a sourpuss!

In high school I had a summer job as an actor in a haunted house attraction. We made up in great costumes everyday and our only rules were not actually touching in any manner, the patrons. OK now some readers here, might know me. This was a competitive summer position and a lot of us tried out for it.

Otherwise, I mostly avoid the general craziness and crassness of the celebrating of the, ‘holiday.’ Not my cup of blood.

Me, too. I know I’m going to regret not going but it’s 7 hours away and I just couldn’t put the trip together. Mr. Solai couldn’t go and so my son stepped up and said he’d go with me. The problem is that he drives like a freeking maniac and 14 hrs in the car with him would have been too nerve-wracking. For example, he says it’s not 7 hrs away, it’s only 5.

Good morning, pups. In their infinite wisdom the town fathers of Savannah have decreed that tonight is for trick-or-treating. (This is called caving in to the local Talibangelicals who howl about Satanism…) It’s hard to gauge how much candy to have on hand here — the neighborhood crawls with kids and sometimes they come trick-or-treating and sometimes the doorbell never rings. The office LOVES those years — a candy orgy for them!

My feeling on horror movies is that most of them are crap, but seeing as I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of crap (Syfy movies anyone?) I’ve probably seen my share. For sheer creepiness I’ve never found anything or anyone to top H. P. Lovecraft. I’ve got to dash and get started on my errands. Have a great day.

I didn’t know about the dinosaur tracks. It makes sense though, as I have set numerous gas compressors around Glen Rose.

I need a new monitor

Good Morning, Karen, Elliot and all.
I’m one who likes the scary. I’ve read many Dean Koontz’s novels and I like Stephen King too. I even like to read horror stories right before I go to sleep.
We live in a manufactured housing community, so we get lots and lots of trick or treaters. The streets are jammed with kids and parents. We decorate the front porch and have scary music playing. I love seeing the little ones in their costumes. It’s always a fun evening and we have nice chats with the neighbors. Share hot cider drinks. Oh, boy.

Good morning, pups! Just checking in from NW Indiana. Wish I were going to the rally. I should have planned to, since I have friends in DC I could have stayed with.

I don’t get any Halloween “beggars” where I live, either, and it always surprises me. It’s a wooded complex of “villas” (called patio homes in some locales) and it backs up to a traditional subdivision that’s probably full of kids, but there’s no directly connecting street so the only entrance is off a busy road with no sidewalks. The first year I bought candy and wound up taking it to work so I wouldn’t scarf it all by myself.

I made my two granddaughters dresses and bonnets and they’re dressing as Mary and Laura Ingalls. The dresses weren’t difficult but were made to be authentic and each took about 12 hours, so I call them the Halloween costumes from hell!

I just put on roller skates and nothing else. I go as a pull toy.

The inimitable Steve Hayes recommends the original Dracula & the original Wolfman in his usual hilarious fashion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qf_PCbc8eQ

The scariest movie I think I ever saw was Jaws.

oh and I could barely watch Alien.

I never saw the Exorcist, my friends all had nightmares from that one.

Actually, I looked into flights last week, after talking with my son who said he’d love me to come. Too pricey for a couple of days.

Hah!

That’s probably how all the guys at the C Street House will be answering the door for trick-or-treaters ..

I visited as a little girl, when my father was working there for the gov’t doing some appraising. It will be a little bit of revisiting memories. Also, there are some well known rockhound places around the area.

No. They will affix potatoes to their manhood. A bunch of Dick Taters.

I live in an enclave of small houses very close together, making the effort-to-candy ratio very lucrative for trick-or-treaters .. people bring their kids here from miles around .. so at some point today I’ll go out and buy about $50 worth of candy ..

Wouldn’t they more accurately be described as, Mr Potato Heads?

Or the Dick Cheney Tater variation – comes with shotgun, and takes rather than gives the candy.

Good morning all.

My house is historic, and many folks have asked me if it is haunted. Not to my knowledge, is my A, but if a ghost appeared in front of me I’d probably ask it for evidence that it really is a ghost.

In any event, I once decided I should read some ghost stories, just to see if I could get in the mood. Nothing left me more bored, but as a result, my guest bedrooms all have ghost short story books on the bedside tables.

No trick or treating here. Road, cars, etc. Kids go into town, where there’s a parade, and then, I guess the town folk have to fill the bags of the kids who live in places where it isn’t safe.

Had dinner with my niece & goldpearl last night, who sends her regards. She lurks more often than comments, so *waving* in case she is checking in this morning.

Or tape some green plastic soldiers down there and go as Dick Armey

Anybody have a My favorite halloween costume story? When I was in 6th grade, my dad helped me fashion a large cardboard shoe around my baby sister’s stroller. We used television cable for the shoe laces, and we put all kinds of dolls coming out of “windows” and she sat in the middle of it. I dressed up in a long skirt and a bonnet and was The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe. That was for the costume parade at school. I think I was a hobo for trick or treating, though. :)

I love the costume ideas. I have none to contribute, but keep ‘em coming.

I haven’t done Halloween in quite some time but that’s really only because the opportunity hasn’t presented itself. Even if kids do trick or treat around here, (and I’m sure some do), they never make it up to the third floor. The last time I dressed up in a costume was about five years ago when my brother, his wife and I, along with several friends, dressed as zombies and invaded a Catholic church on Easter Sunday. Something the Catholics didn’t appreciate btw.

Horror movies: I always watch Night of the Living Dead on Halloween Night. It;s kind of a tradition. But I watch the Tom Savini version in which the Barbara character is much stronger than the George Romero version and is, in fact, the only survivor. She is played by Pat Tallman, one of my favorites. For anybody familiar with the old B&W version, I recommend this one.

Stories…where to start?I like Poe but I’m not a huge fan of the classics, I’m more of a contemporary reader. There was a book that was called 50 Great Horror Stories that I pilfered from my dad’s library when I went to boot camp that had some truly grisly tales in it. When I got to basic training, those a-holes took it away from me and I didn’t get it back! It had a colection of twentieth century horror from several authors and it had the charm of some of them being non fiction.

Good morning!

oh good one!

Hope my spelling and sentence structure has not been too scary, this moring. Coffe is redy and I have work today and need to be off. Thanks Karen, be well and be good, everyone.

There is a difference between “horror” films and “slasher” films. Slasher films serve a societal purpose even if their makers don’t realize it. They desensitize the public eventually allowing them to accept torture and endless war as nothing more than the normal order.

I heard this joke once. A couple is having a costume party, where the guests were invited to come dressed as their favorite emotion. The first guest arrived dressed in all red. She was Rage. The next guest was painted all green. Jealousy. Then, the next guest arrived at the door. Completely naked. He was holding a bowl at his groin and his dick was laying in the pudding there. He had to explain, “I’m fuckin’ dis custahd.”

Nice idea, leave boring stuff beside the beds. But I guess I’m extra excitable, can’t do horror.

SB thanks for that link to Steve Hayes, new to me, whatta treat, inimitable is the right word.

Laughing, but only because I’m not a guy.

My favorite part of that memory is having spent a good deal of time with my dad fashioning that thing. A wonderful memory of a great man. (tear)

Good Morning all….so glad that’s a joke.;) I lived for years in New Orleans….that’s where Halloween is taken very seriously…big turnout/big action in the French Quarter. There were times I really thought folks came up outta the graves…it was all so dramatic.

I thought you’d get a giggle. Sometimes I have to remind people that I’m not always a good little girl scout / pollyanna. Ha.

Morning, Firepups! I’m glad I’m not the only with who cannot watch horror films. For some reason, though, I can read grisly stories, though not about vampires.

That had never occurred to me;)

I could have gone to the Sanity Rally today with my daughter’s family, but I have to do two shifts tomorrow of GOTV effort and I didn’t want to overdo it this weekend. I’m trying not to catch a cold.

Yikes! Sounds spooky… you could have a haunted house.

I love Poe, I still remember the first time I read The Tell Tale Heart

I thought that joke fit in with the other dick costume entries here.
How are ya, dear? The rain woke me up early. That’s how hard it was poring. It’s settled down, now. But, after the lights flashed a few times, I made sure I knew where the candles and flashlights were. Whew. I guess my car’s not going to get worked on. Again. Oh, well.

Well, many people would not regard ghost stories as boring. Just my peculiar frame of mind.

One July 3, I was sitting in the downstairs parlor with a guy I had just started to date. My son was off at summer ski camp on Mt. Hood. There was a thump upstairs, which we both ignored. Then there were a couple more, so we stopped talking and acknowledged that we heard it. Listened. Several more, like some one stomping across the floor in the upstairs parlor.

Turns out it was the town fireworks reverberating off the front of the house that were a day early because it was a Saturday, i.e., not a night before a workday.

That’s as close as I’ve come to a ghost in the house.

Here, that’s a few days later, people come outta their graves to vote, it turns out.

Ours are scarier, see #47.

It’s all relative, I guess. :O

Do you ever ready any of Kathy Reichs novels? They’re pretty grisly… and there’s a TV show based on them “Bones,” but it isn’t very good.

We have been having our first real cool spell…different air. Cool in the am, still warmer in afternoon. Been a beautiful fall.

That’s pretty scary, too, isn’t it?

Sounds right to me. Know of any serious studies? Seems to be a number of psychologists interested (if that’s the right word, and not a euphemism) in torture these days.

Bloodcurdling. And head stomping.

No. The kind of scary I like is not grisly, but more unknown terror. I don’t watch tv shows.

Austin is having its own Rally on the Capital grounds….

Too bad that psychologists don’t have to go to medical school… they might turn out differently.

I rarely watch TV any more… ever since before the transition to digital, when we bought the converter boxes and our reception went south.

I watched “Bones” a couple of times earlier on, though, just to see what they would do with it. Cannot recommend it.

Did you read Lauren Valle’s response to the foot stomper’s request for an apology? Sam Stein’s got it posted at Huff.

How about those bogus ‘bombs’ from Yemen? That stupid psyops scare anyone?

First time I saw the movie “Cujo” had me crawling all over the sofa.

Oh, I watch tv, just not “shows”. I’ve never watched Oprah, or Idol or any of the reality stuff. Nor the comedy or drama shows. Mostly just news, documentaries, lots of music and history stuff and interviews. After working in the tv industry for so many years, I don’t know, I just had enough I guess.

The rejoinder is; “So that’s how you load those things?”

I had seen a shorter version of it, but I just read the longer one… and it was, indeed, a pretty generous statement.

Thanks, I’m going to go look at that. And now, must get some breakfast. Happy haunting, everyone. (and the wingers are totally wrong as usual – i’ts all hallows eve, a sacred holiday)

Oh, my gosh, Joel. I never thought of that.

LOL!!!

I thought so too. Bless her heart. She really nailed it, didn’t she?

She really did!

I was tricked into seeing Jaws, after avoiding it for years. I went to the drive-in with some friends… and that was the movie. Yikes!

I’ve never watched Alien, either.

I ROFLMAO during Jaws. I thought the ‘shark’ looked so bogus & stupid.

So glad to hear all this…just to say, me either. Ive worried it made me strange that I can’t get interested.

It’s a punch line from a grade school joke, can’t recall the joke. That’s how it is for my memories lately just the punch lines.

sure, once you could actually see it.

I’m just too squeamish.

I had to get some yogurt… but I’m back.

Anyone going to a costume party tonight or tomorrow?

I was pregnant with my daughter when I saw Alien. The scene where the alien popped out of the guy’s belly freaked the shit out of me.
I’m a baby about a different kind of horror movie. I’ve never watched Schindler’s List or Sopie’s choice.

OTOH, there was a movie with maybe Syl Stallone, who did some ‘rock climbing’ in the Swiss Alps, iirc. Scared the shit out of me because I’ve actually done rock climbing & I put myself emotionally into his shoes. My son, who’s never climbed however, saw through how fake the set was, and laughed at those scenes.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

I saw both of those and they were pretty grim.

I think I saw that film, too, and it scared the hell out of me.

Glad I’m not the only one.

That was another film I was tricked into seeing.

.

Lon Chaney informed my childhood and not in a good way.

A lot of people don’t believe in werewolves because you never see them. Duh, you can’t see them because when you are alone and it’s dark and you turn around quick when you hear a noise behind you they duck behind a tree. But it’s good you should always look because if you don’t they will pounce.

Why would people want to trick you into seeing movies that you don’t want to see? I don’t get it.

I guess they think there’s some humor in the situation, but it hasn’t happened to me in a long time. We rarely go to the movies any more, and I have a netflix subscription.

Good to know, joel… I’ll try to remember that if I’m out walking after dark. ;~)

Two nights ago, my neighbors called at 9p, saying there was this horrifying sound between our two houses, which are about 1/4 mile apart as the crow flies, 0.6 miles by road. So I went outside, and she was right. I’ve never heard such a screech of disaster. Never figured out what it was, but I’ve spent a lot of time reading in the gazebo at night & never heard anything like it. I was glad she alerted me to it because, as bad as it was, no actual disaster occurred, so if I hear it again, I won’t be scared.

I have Ethan Frome open in another tab. It’s been quite some time since I last read it. There’s always something inexorable about anything that Wharton wrote.

The newly weds? I was wanting you how the girls are doing. Did you say there were having a short honeymoon?

Oh, my fingers aren’t keeping up with my brain.

We haven’t bought any candy yet for tomorrow, but we’re going grocery shopping a little later and I’ll have to get some then.

We got the gist of it anyway.

I have never seen Schindler’ List either, same with Hotel Rwanda

Mornin’ All

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

That’s a wonderful motto for politics, too.

e, I never think of you as naive, but that’s they way they work, lull you into being careless….and then…it’s…too…late….

Yes, the newlyweds. I asked whether they were doing a honeymoon, and she said maybe later. They were actually legally married in MA several months ago. The 10/10 event was just the celebration.

I haven’t seen Hotel Rwanda, either. There is only so much horror one can absorb in a lifetime.

Knew you would.
I’m going out to the store later too. Just did the inventory for the stuff I need to make chili. Am entered in a chili contest tomorrow at church. I won last year and the prize was a free Christmas tree from the lot they have every year. Last year I donated my prize to some needy families in the neighborhood. Maybe I’ll win again. It’s 6:48 and still dark. I think I’ll wait until the sun comes up.

Heh. Don’t do that to me. It’s 70 steps between the gazebo & the house, and I don’t want to have to call a friend to escort me back to the house at 11p. *g*

Hotel Rwanda was excellent. Didn’t see Schindler’s List.

I have TiVo and can rent and download movies from Amazon and Blockbuster. I should find a good one for this weekend. I’ve seen the two made from Stieg Larsson’s “Girl with the…” novels and they’re excellent. Not scary, exactly, but the second one is pretty gruesome. The third one comes out sometime after the holidays, I think.

I haven’t seen them yet. I keep hearing that I should read the books first, and I haven’t yet.

That last comment was meant for msmolly! I couldn’t edit right afterwards.

particularly regrettable because I lovvvvve Don Cheadle – scary fine actor, but again, intentional inhumanity, cruelty – notgonnahappen

Demi, you should post that prize winning recipe in Food Sunday. Bet lots of us would like it, if it’s not a family secret or something.

Today’s job is pulling all of the plants out of the pots on my sidewalk and deck, tidying up the pots and stowing them for the winter. We had a couple of 70s surprise days the past week, but I think summer is finally over. SIGH.

Same here. I won’t be seeing that one in this lifetime.

I’m off.

Be well.

We had some really warm and humid weather this past week, too, and then it finally cooled off again.

Silence of the Lambs!

I went with a group of friends to Schindle’s List, lasted about 10 minutes. It’s a great puzzle to me how some can stand to see that stuff. Same with the gummint torture, lychings, etc.
Same with how many are able to abuse children. Perhaps the late Alice Miller is correct that you have to be abused yourself or it would never occur to you to abuse another. Many people in spite of evidence deny ever being abused as children. I wonder what happened to the gummint torturers.

Nope. Haven’t seen that one… and I have no intention of seeing it. Too bad, too, because I like Jodi Foster. It’s just her films… I can’t see most of them.

You take good care of your little self, girl.

The edit function is still broken after last week’s upgrade.

By all means read the first book FIRST (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), because there are multiple layered story lines and they inform the main story, and the movie concentrates on only one. It’s clearer with the background from reading the book. The challenge in the first book is sorting out the characters with their Swedish names. That takes at least the first 50 pages — you almost need to take notes.

The second movie, Girl who Played with Fire, is almost a replica of the book, including some of the dialog. You could see the movie first without a problem. A friend who has read all three says the second is like a bridge/transition between the first and the last one (Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest).

YES!!!

Have a great day, eCAHNomics!

Took a bike ride yesterday and it was only low 50s and windy and I cut it short. Bike ride days are dwindling, too.

Do you think so? Maybe I will. It’s no secret. I don’t usually use recipes. Just cook by the seat of my pants, so I don’t realize what others would like in terms of recipes.

I know… winter will soon be here. Nearly time to rake leaves.

Most everyone loves chili, especially when the weather starts to turn cold.

Uh uh, your ‘escort friend’ could turn out to be ‘one of them’.

she is wonderful.

I saw it on the small screen with frequent interruptions. As a matter of fact the phone rang at the most tense spot, much to our relief, we had to pause it.

I don’t make chili much, but I am really into soup making. I make my chili with ground turkey and it’s good but pretty mild. I have a recipe from a Cook’s Illustrated magazine that looks good and I might try it.

I have a recipe somewhere for White Chicken Chili that a coworker brought to a pot luck and it was yummy.

Fortunately our lawn service cleans up leaves, too (we pay a monthly fee to the homeowners association). Which is good because we have LOTS of tall old trees, and leaves are plentiful. Happy not to have to rake them, although I usually like lawn chores.

if she’s never heard from again, well all know what happened — or perhaps it’s that horseman from Sleepy Hollow they heard.

CBL has a white chicken chili recipe too, if I recall. My chili isn’t spicy and has vegetables in it too.

in grossly general terms, without discounting one’s past, I believe some of it can be tied to brain chemistry and wiring -

That would be great for me. I can’t eat spicy foods any more and I love vegetables in my chili.

Bite your fingers!

How can he even see where he’s going?!

ha ! made a huge pot of it a week ago for me and the kid – with plans to freeze some of it – it lasted a whole 3 days. the chili cheese cornbread lasted 2 :D

Ha. Another thing I hadn’t thought of before.
Okay, it’s light out, and the rain has taken a break, so I guess I better get out to the market. I suppose I should get enough ingredients to make more than one batch, if it’s going to be slow cooking all day, people here just might want some.
See you all. Thanks, Karen and everyone for a nice chat.

Have you ever baked your cornbread on top of the chili? It’s pretty good like that… a slight dumpling texture where the cornbread meets the chili.

Love you madly, cbl (no 2)

Enjoy your shopping, demi! I’ll be looking for that recipe. Or, you could always post it here in comments.

I have laundry and shopping to do today and I really need to wash my hair first.

Thank you to everyone who dropped in today…

love you too.

and yes, that wretched “2″ is finally gone, thank you MyFDL !

Oh, I’m just going to wear a hat.

BOO! indeed. harumph…

yestidie i decided to make 1st comment in a long long time. i read & read, but can’t find any pearls of wisdom to share, so i be’s stayin’ silent goin-on-long-time in me own personal miseries…

moral to the story: don’t do that.

my reward for sitting politely and silently in the corner all this time was that FDL log-in guardians forgot me, i forgot my password, my ‘puter forgot i’d told it to remember the password for me, yada yadah yaddahhhhhhhhhhhrrrg.

so.

errant password finally found in bottom of messy drawer.

cookies “ON” and saluting smartly.

i be’s here simply to announce i be’s here.

howdy folks.

my name’s Adie. (only i’m not supposed to capitalize anymore. go figure)

i’m addicted to FDL.

P. E. A. C. E.

oh. carry on, if u please. i’ll just sit here awhile, dunce cap slightly askew… ;->

Oh, Adie. You waited ’till I left to go shopping. I’m glad to see you here. I’ve been wondering where you had gotten to. Miss yakking with ya.
Hope your miseries are not too terrible. What’s up?

I always found The Shining to be extra spooky.

As for spooky movies that never made it into the limelight, I’d say Ghost Ship because of the timely storyline.

That’s what I should have done, demi… I never had time to wash my hair. Maybe tonight I’ll get to it.

Welcome, Adie! I hope you drop in often.

I know I won’t be watching The Shining, but the cast of Ghost Ship looks pretty good. Maybe NetFlix has it…

Oh drat the luck. Months out of touch, and then miss ya by 5 min. give or take.. Heh. Well, HI anyway. I hope you are hanging in there and doing o.k. We’re sorta in that category.

Such trying times. I always drop by the Lake daily to catch up on news I can trust, but just haven’t commented in a long while.

Besides. What magic words from a dweeb like meself could cope with these times!?!

Mightily depressed over mostly the thugs n’ repugs, & frustration over what might have been.

Our country COULD have clawed its way out of the Bush/Cheney trashing of life and hope. I swear it could have. But I will never get over seeing an entire half of Congress twittering their way thru Obama’s 1st major speech before the combined highpoohbahs of legislative flubbery. Go ahead and groan about the Dems and what they could have and should have done. But I never thought I’d see the day a whole party would see fit to stop governance and care cold in its tracks. Just quit.

We and our “kids” are scrambling but doing o.k. We ache for them, and for so many others. But we’re close, and that counts for a lot in our realm.

We personally are fortunate that life somehow limps along without any truly dire circumstances yet. But it wouldn’t take much… We try to plan, and stay on semi-solid ground, whatever that is these days.

Best to you and yours.

P.S., Thanks Karen. I’ll try to do that.

Somehow, I missed this one earlier today… otherwise, I would certainly have commented on your costume.

You provide such great jumping-off places in your comments, Adie!

We don’t care about spelling and syntax so early in the morning, especially before folks have had their coffee, tea or chocolate.

Great thread today, Firepups! I love to come back later and see who else has dropped by…