Weirdness is my Weakness

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse: part deux

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse

Halloween Songs

I've been trying to think of songs for Halloween that aren't along the lines of your typical "Monster Mash." Don't get me wrong, there's certainly a time and a place for "the Mash" but I'm interested in music that's a little less...commercial. I want something that wouldn't appear in a Google search for "Top 10 Halloween Party Song List." Something that communicates everything that Halloween is without even topically mentioning Halloween. Something that captures the spirit of an Edgar Allen Poe story. The essence of autumn leaves. The smell of frost thawing in an already-harvested corn field or that feeling you get walking past a cemetery at night.

Any suggestions?

About a "Ten" On My Weird Stuff-o-Meter

Go to this website and upload your photo.
(I know it's in Japanese but there's really only one button you can push and it will give you a prompt you will recognize--it's universal, really.)

Now, I know what you're thinking, this is just some gimmicky website that let's you put mustaches and corny stuff on your photo. Well, you're only half right! It's a gimmicky website that turns your 2-D photo creepily 3-D!

Try it out when you get a moment for a lark...a freaky-deaky lark.

Too Early for Halloween?

Here's some clips and trailers from some of my favorite Halloween movies/TV shows.
Some are listed because they're really good, scary, eerie, and bizarre. Others are listed simply for nostalgia's sake.
Enjoy and feel free to add to the list!

Lady in White (1988)
A slumber party/cabin favorite, which made cloakrooms into a scary place. From the looks of the trailer, the special effects haven't aged well, but, oh, the memories.


The Changeling (1980)
Another cabin favorite. A child's ball repeatedly rolls down an old staircase = plain creepy.


28 Days Later (2002)
Scenes of abandoned major cities have been copied in other movies, but never as well.


The Vanishing (1988) (Dutch/French)
Long, slow, and utterly terrifying because it could really happen. (Ali will never watch this one again)


Night of the Living Dead (1968)
No introduction required.


House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Fun with a great twist-ending.


The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)


Coraline (2009)
Bizarre, frightening, thoroughly entertaining, and masterfully crafted.


Fire in the Sky (1993)
Does for a pine forest what Jaws did for water...at least when I was 14.


X-Files "Home"
(this is the only clip I could really find of a truly repulsive Halloween treat--Ali will never watch this one again either!)


Amazing Stories: Season Two "Go to the Head of the Class"
This short film reeks of Halloween growing up in the 80s. Robert Zemeckis(sp) directs a fun, frightening, and slightly outdated--as far as special effects are concerned--romp.
(available on NetFlix Watch Instantly)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)


Throne of Blood (1957)
Kurosawa's masterful adaptation of Macbeth. The scene where Mifune chases an ethereal, white witch in the woods is amazing.



Onibaba (1964)(Don't rent this one but enjoy the trailer which alone conveys enough creepiness.)A cursed mask brings madness to any who wear it...or does it?

9-11

I had a film class in the MOA auditorium at BYU that morning and as I walked through the door, images of burning buildings were projected onto the big screen. I stood there dumbfounded as my professor told us that class was canceled, to go home and watch the news.

As I walked home across campus, I thought of how Jon had just left on his mission the day before and had an irrational fear that his was one of those planes.

It's hard to remember what life was like before "9-11." I know that I took for granted how safe our country was compared to other parts of this world and I guess I still do. For the most part, we have things pretty good.

It's tragic that something like 9-11 happened to us, but an important reminder of how tenuous something like national security and freedom really are.