Halloween | dual personalities

November 2, 2016

“We could be confidantes. Confiding confidentially.”*

by chuckofish

It is November, but it doesn’t feel like it, that’s for sure!

I mean really.

We had a quiet Halloween. No one knocked at our door. I watched the Halloween episode of Angel, season 5–“Life of the Party”–the one where Lorne works around the clock to throw the ultimate Halloween party at Wolfram & Hart, but problems arise when he has his sleep removed. Then I watched two more episodes for the heck of it. Not a bad way to spend Halloween.

I guess it is time to put away my festive (and very vintage) Halloween candles.

I should note that today is the birthday of the great American pioneer Daniel Boone (1734-1820)

who…

Of all men, saving Sylla, the man-slayer,
Who passes for in life and death most lucky
Of the great names which in our faces stare,
The General Boon, back-woodsman of Kentucky,
Was happiest amongst mortals any where;
For killing nothing but a bear or buck, he
Enjoyed the lonely vigorous, harmless days
Of his old age in wilds of deepest maze.

Lord Byron wrote those lines in Don Juan, Canto 8. Old Dan’l was a pretty famous guy! Anyway, I will remind you that Boone spent those latter days in my flyover state in the appropriately named town of Defiance.

As Boone said, “I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatsoever state he is. This consists in a full resignation to the will of Providence; and a resigned soul finds pleasure in a path strewed with briars and thorns.”

I concur. Discuss among yourselves.

*Fred in the “Life of the Party” episode of Angel, season 5

The portrait of Boone is by John James Audubon.

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October 30, 2015

“One more murder may be one too many.”*

by chuckofish

Every year at this time I wrack my brain for a good movie recommendation for Halloween. I usually come up with something, but what is there new to suggest? As I have said many times, I am no fan of horror and I do not like gratuitous violence and bloodshed. So what does that leave?

How about some good old-fashioned Sherlock Holmes?

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson is hard to beat.

Holmes and Watson investigate the legend of a supernatural hound, a beast that may be stalking a young heir on the fog-shrouded moor that makes up his estate. Yes, fog-shrouded moors are a good choice for Halloween, don’t you think?

I seem to remember that The Scarlet Claw (1944) is also pretty scary.

When a gentlewoman is found dead with her throat torn out (!), the villagers blame a supernatural monster, but Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.

Of course, there’s always Jane Marple–and by that I mean Margaret Rutherford.

There are four of these movies, but Murder Most Foul (1964)–when Miss Marple joins a theatrical company after a blackmailer is murdered, and then several members of the troupe are also dispatched by a mysterious killer–is my favorite.

But come to think of it, Murder She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963) and Murder Ahoy (1964) are all wonderful and hilarious! One could have a wonderful night of binge-watching all four.

I have not seen it in a long time, but M (1931) with Peter Lorre, Fritz Lang’s haunting, German-language crime drama, in which the Berlin police are hunting a whistling killer of children, is a great film.

The criminal underworld is after the killer as well, since the police manhunt has put a damper on their activities. And Lorre as the creepy killer is almost sympathetic in the famous confession speech where he describes with anguish his horrible compulsion. And who does creepy better than the Germans?

Another movie I have not seen for a long time, but liked when I first saw it, is From Hell (2001). Johnny Depp stars as an opium- and absinthe-addled Scotland Yard man assigned to the Jack the Ripper case, Robbie Coltrane is his stalwart partner and Ian Holm is the creepy royal surgeon who offers his advice. I’m sure I recall gratuitous violence and bloodshed, but nothing’s perfect. And it is scary.

Well, these are just suggestions.

I may binge watch Supernatural…remember Garth from season seven?

Happy Halloween!

*Miss Marple in Murder She Said (1961)

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October 29, 2015

Running [a few] red lights on Memory Lane*

by chuckofish

It almost being Halloween, I thought I’d share a picture of the costume that epitomized the zenith of our mother’s costume-making endeavors.

In 1956 she made a Donald Duck costume for our older brother without a pattern and without all the add-ons that are readily available today. I think she even made the hat/mask. She poured all of her not negligible creative powers and seamstress-y talent into it. It was not easy to do and she was very proud of it.

I hope our brother was proud to wear it. Does he look proud? Somehow I think he would have preferred to have been armed and dangerous and Davey Crockett.

I hope our mother received lots of high-fives. Doubtful. This was mid-century California after all where I’m sure those newfangled rayon-taffeta store-bought costumes were all the rage.

A few years later she made a pretty awesome black cat costume for my brother and a clown costume for me.

But after that, she was done (except for a witch costume which we used for-ever after.)

Well, Sic transit gloria mundi…

On another note–happy birthday and a toast to Dan Castellaneta, who has voiced the character of Homer Simpson on The Simpsons for 28 seasons. Zut alors. Or should I say:

“Everyone knows rock n’ roll attained perfection in 1974; It’s a scientific fact.”

–Homer, aka the OM

*Dire Straights, Telegraph Road

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August 21, 2015

“I am a border ruffian from the State of Missouri.”*

by chuckofish

Today is the 152nd anniversary of the massacre in Lawrence, Kansas perpetrated by Colonel Quantrill and his Confederate Raiders. I won’t go into all that dark history, but I will suggest that we watch Ang Lee’s very good movie Ride With the Devil (1999).

Considered to be a box-office bomb, it is, I would assert, a very good movie. Why people didn’t line up to see it, I have no idea. There are lots of very good actors in it. It is an exciting, romantic and historically accurate movie filmed beautifully on location in Missouri. Furthermore, it is based on a very good book (Woe to Live On) by Daniel Woodrell, who is from right here in the Missouri Ozarks and knows whereof he writes.

“Our mode of war was an irregular one. We were as likely to be guided by an aged farmer’s breathless recounting of a definite rumor, or by the moods of our horses, as we were by logic. It was a situation where logic made no sense. So we slouched about in wooded areas, our eyes on main roads and cow paths, watching for our foe to pass in reasonable numbers. They often did.”

As the screenwriter prefaces the film, “On the western frontier of Missouri, the American Civil War was fought not by armies, but by neighbors. Informal gangs of local southern Bushwhackers fought a bloody and desperate guerrilla war against the occupying Union Army and pro-Union Jayhawkers. Allegiance to either side was dangerous. But it was more dangerous still to find oneself caught in the middle.”

Indeed, Louis Vogel, the 17-year old half-brother of my great-great-grandmother Mary Prowers Hough, was beaten to death in Westport in 1863 by Jayhawkers or Bushwackers (nobody seems to know which) who wanted his horse.

This movie is a good reminder of how rough it was back then.

As usual, I have no Big Plans for the weekend, but the OM and I are planning to take a pile of old computers to a recycling event in O’Fallon, MO. As you know, old computers are not so easy to dispose of, so when there is one of these free drop-off events, it is good to take advantage of it. Since we’ll be out and about, we may venture up to Clarksville (population 442) in Pike County.

This little city on the Mississippi River was platted in 1819 and named for the then governor of the territory, William Clark. Maybe we will drive up there and have lunch and look at old man river.

I can’t think of anything better to do, can you?

*”I am a border ruffian from the State of Missouri. I am a Connecticut Yankee by adoption. In me you have Missouri morals, Connecticut culture; this, gentlemen, is the combination which makes the perfect man.”
-Mark Twain (“Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims”) on December 22, 1881

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October 31, 2014

“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!”*

by chuckofish

I am certainly not a fan of horror films. I have never understood the human desire to be scared, whether it be at the movies or at the amusement park on a roller coaster. These are thrills I do not seek. Call me dull, whatever.

However, I do have a few suggestions for Halloween-y movies to watch tonight. If you are like me, you turn off the lights and pretend you are not home and spend the evening watching a movie. Call me dull, whatever.

1. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

In this romantic story set in the early 1900s, young widow Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) moves to the seaside English village of Whitecliff despite the fierce disapproval of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She falls in love with and rents Gull Cottage, where she takes up residence with her young daughter Anna and her devoted maid Martha. On the first night, she is visited by the ghostly apparition of the former owner, a roguish sea captain named Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), who “allows” her to stay. Eventually they write a book together which saves her from financial disaster. I say this a lot I know, but truly, they do not make movies like this anymore: low-key, touching and, yes, romantic. I watched this movie recently and it made me cry.

2. Signs (2002)

Signs is my favorite film in the M. Night Shyamalan oeuvre. Written and directed by the brilliant Shyamalan, it was scary the first time I saw it, but not so much now. However, it is worth watching over and over, because it is also a great movie about an Episcopal priest who has lost his faith. Yes, there is a lot more to this movie than extraterrestrials! By the end of the movie (spoiler alert!) the hero/minister has found his faith again and donned his collar, having saved his family from extraterrestrials in the bargain. Mel Gibson (not a favorite of mine) is really good in this movie, as are Joaquin Phoenix and, as the children, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. I saw this movie recently and it made me cry.

3. and 4. Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989)

In the first Ghostbuster movie misfit parapsychologists Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stantz (Dan Ackroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their jobs at Columbia University and establish a paranormal extermination/investigation service known as “Ghostbusters”. They go on to save New York City. In the sequel (which unlike most sequels, is pretty darn good) they save NYC again and all is once again well in the world. Also I should note that these movies are funny without being overly vulgar. There is a funny joke about a guy being “Dick-less”, but it is pretty restrained by today’s standards.

Venkman: Or you can accept the fact that this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.

Mayor: What do you mean,”biblical”?

Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff!

Venkman: Exactly.

Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!

Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!

Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!

Venkman: Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!

Mayor: Enough, I get the point! And what if you’re wrong?

Venkman: If we’re wrong, then nothing happens! We go to jail; peacefully, quietly. We’ll enjoy it! But if we’re right, and we can stop this thing… Lenny, you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters.

Please Note: This movie will not make you cry, unless you laugh ’til you cry.

Do you have any suggestions? Young Frankenstein (1973)? The Addams Family (1991)? What will you be watching? Personally, I may hunker down and binge-watch Angel, Season One.

Don’t judge me.

If you are not in the Halloween mood at all, you could choose to celebrate the birthday of the late, great John Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994), who is a particular favorite of mine, by watching one of his movies.

Recently I was channel surfing and found Uncle Buck (1989) which I watched for awhile. I laughed so hard I was literally (literally) weeping during one scene where Candy goes into the empty Men’s Room at an elementary school and finds a wall of mini urinals. The man was a comic genius. I should note that the OM watched this scene with the great stone face, never breaking so much as a smile. He was not amused. What can I say? To each his own.

*Bill Murray in Ghostbusters

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October 17, 2014

Things that go bump in the night

by chuckofish

I have had a crazy week, filled with rainy days and fire drills and the Cardinals tanking. And I have a busy weekend ahead, which includes a fancy dress-up party of the type I do not like. I am at a loss for a Friday movie pick!

So I leave you with this charming flashback photo from 1989 when the boy was a pumpkin and I was sporting some styling jack-o-lantern jewelry of the type young mothers wear to amuse their children. I’m sure you have something equally embarrassing in your jewelry drawer, right?

Have a good weekend!

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August 6, 2014

‘Tis the season, eh?

by chuckofish

Okay, now, it’s only the first week of August and this is what I saw in the grocery store yesterday.

Hello. Halloween is nearly three months away. I’m just saying.

I am so not ready for this, folks.

Trying to live in the present as usual.

7 Comments

October 31, 2013

This and that: toil and trouble edition

by chuckofish

Halloween really crept up on me. For the first time, I forgot to send cards to my loved ones. Not that it has ever been one of my favorite holidays, but without any little children around, it holds even less appeal for moi. I mean there are people in my neighborhood who put up fake cemeteries in their front yards at the end of September! Good grief.

Since I have sworn off candy corn, what does that leave?

Well, because I love my traditions, I did dig out my Halloween candles earlier in the month.

And here’s an adorable picture of the boy in toddler cowboy mode:

In other news, earlier in the week I picked up my finished needlepoint pillow from the Sign of the Arrow.

You’re impressed, right? The ladies at the SOTA were too. Allow me to bask in the light of this accomplishment for a little bit, please.

And in honor of our departed pater, who died on this day 21 years ago, let us read Psalm 90.

LORD, thou hast been our refuge, *
from one generation to another.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever the earth and the world were made, *
thou art God from everlasting, and the world without end.
Thou turnest man to destruction; *
again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday
when it is past, *
and as a watch in the night.
As soon as thou scatterest them they are even as a sleep, *
and fade away suddenly like the grass.
In the morning it is green, and groweth up; *
but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered.
For we consume away in thy displeasure, *
and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation.
Thou hast set our misdeeds before thee, *
and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For when thou are angry all our days are gone; *
we bring our years to an end, as it were a tale that is told.
The days of our age are threescore years and ten;
and though men be so strong that thy come to fourscore years, *
yet is their strength then but labor and sorrow,
so soon passeth it away, and we are gone.
So teach us to number our days, *
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

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October 31, 2012

Reposez en paix

by chuckofish

Twenty years ago today our father ANC III died. He was seventy years old.

We like to think of him as the happy three-year old on an Italian beach in 1925 (pictured here) where he lived with his ex-patriot parents, although to be honest, he looks nervous and contemplative.

According to family legend, the A.A. Milnes lived nearby and he and Christopher Robin were friends/acquaintances.

To be sure, Ernest Shepard’s illustrations of Christopher Robin look more like little ANC than the Milne’s boy. Well, whatever, our father was always a big fan of Winnie-the-Pooh and friends and enjoyed reading the stories and poems to his children. The first present he bought for his first grandchild was a hardback copy of When We Were Young.

And, yes, it is Halloween today, so I leave you with this:

Holy flurking schnit!

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October 24, 2012

My little gypsy sweetheart(s)

by chuckofish

Today’s fond look backward at Halloween costumes of yore: the re-cycled witch costume worn for the umpteenth time on daughter #2 and the first appearance of the “Gypsy” costume on daughter #1 circa 1996.

Daughter #1 does not look too happy to be channeling Lucille Ball! I am the Queen of the Gypsies! Gyp-gyp-gyp-gyp-gyp-gypsies! I ride along in my Gypsy caravan in the finest Gypsy band in the land. There are no kings in the Gypsies.

Now here is daughter #2 (pre-orthodontia) a few years later in the Gypsy costume.

Gyp-gyp-gyp-gyp-gyp-gypsies! You know what they mean when they shake their tambourine and I’m their Gypsy Queen!

P.S. Those dangling purple (wooden) earrings worn by both gypsies were worn by our conservative mother for real in the mod 1960s.

And here’s a bonus! Chico Marx plays “Gypsy Love Song” in Cocoanuts (1929)!

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