Halloween Triple Threat

I had an eventful Halloween season this year. In fact, it was the best one I’ve had in a long time. Here’s a run down of the shite I did:

Saturday (Oct. 29th): Rue-Morgue Graveyard A Go-Go

Pros: stage events; costumes; music
Cons: crowded; costly

I hope to post some pictures from this night soon)

Sunday (Oct. 30th): Paramount Canada’s Wonderland’s Fearfest
Pros: elaborate haunted mazes; horror atmosphere; lightless rides
Cons: crowded; took costly to expensive new levels

Monday (Oct. 31st): Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D at The Royal

Pros: film was actually in 3D; cheap night out
Cons: blurry for about 20 percent of the movie!


Cons aside, these were three great events. The Graveyard A Go-Go was a great way to hang out with my friends, Fearfest allowed me to see Wonderland in a freakishly fun new light, and I was finally (after waiting 23 years) able to appreciate the third Friday movie the way it was meant to be appreciated.

What Mike Did Vol. 3

Holy crap, it's been over a week since my last post. I was working evenings last week and which means I had little time to myself. The week-end was full too. I was at a friend's place in Georgetown Friday night. His girlfriend and him are expecting a baby and just bought a damned fantastic new house, which meant we were up late celebrating (that is until all four of us passed out watching a crappy bootleg of The 40 Year Old Virgin).

On Saturday Jen and I went with some friends to see Nightmare Picture Theatre at the Rue Morgue office which is, fittingly enough, in a former funeral parlour. The show was a lot of fun. I have seen James Fisher perform before and am impressed by both his ideas and his execution. This new show however was lacking a little in the stage movement department. The concept was solid enough - put a live musical score atop some creepy, stop-motion, existential films (courtesy of the Brother’s Quay), while an ominous dark figure taunts a small child in between each clip. Although James' music was beyond effective and his performance as the dark figure was indeed ominous, I still could not help but want something more grandiose. Still, I am confident that Rue Morgue and Mr. Fisher will produce nothing short of brilliance in future endevours (no pressure though).

After the show, more beers found their way to our lips. I don’t know if it was the beers, the fact that we are getting older, or the fact that Jen and I are boring hosts, but we actually played charades. Scoff if you must, but it was actually fun. Of course that meant Sunday was spent proving to myself once again that hangovers and family gatherings do not mix. Jen’s family must seriously wonder why I am so lethargic when we get together . . .

A Disclaimer and Other Stuff

I just thought I'd take a second to point out that although my counter has broken the 400 mark, it is a false indicator of the number of visitors who come here :(
I was toying with a few things today and while there should be a cookie that prevents my visits from affecting my counter, it did not work today. Oh well, the counter should read 350 which is still pretty damn good if you ask me.

I have added a few new things, in case you haven't noticed. I changed the "Quote of the Moment", and added a countdown to my death day. Some people find the whole "deathclock" thing a little too morbid. Personally, I find it funny and it is a great way to kick me in the ass in order to achieve my various goals. Hell, I'll be happy if I live until 2038 (though ask me that same question in 2037 and I may have a different opinion). I have also signed up with audio blogger. It's cool, though I can't say I'm in love with my voice, especially when it's recorder over my cheap telephone. Still, this is a great function that will allow me to post even when I'm really busy or away or whatever. Also, it will be a fun way to get some guest blogging done at the drunken wee hours of the morning.

I finished the rough draft of my reviews tonight. I'll have to go over them tomorrow as it is close to being time for bed. Nine to five jobs sound good in theory, but they also get in the way of fun. Luckily the good folks at Exclaim! understand this is a volunteer gig and are flexible with deadlines (I'm always on time when it comes to my day job!)

I didn't listen to anything this time around that I found fantastic. Since I'm sick of actually writing about these albums, I'm just going to put my personal ranking out of five next to them. Wanna fight about it? If you want to read the full reviews check out exclaim.ca in November and my stuff should be on the website. You could check out the magazine too, but usually only the best stuff goes in there, and like I said, nothing really impressed me this time around so going online is your best bet if you want to know more about these discs.

Broken Spindles - Inside/Absent: 4/5 Mikes
System Syn - Postscript: 3.5/5 Mikes
Plastic Noise Experience - Noised: 2.5/5 Mikes
Ministry - Rantology: 2.5/5 Mikes
KMFDM - Hau Ruck: 2.5/5 Mikes

As always, thanks for reading . . .

SEX!

The Toronto Sun, one of Toronto's "news"papers, reached a new low yesterday. Their front-page headline read 18,000 Dead. Below was a huge picture taken from Saturday night's Leaf game questioning the Leaf's future in this years NHL season. The Sun has always been one to produce ridiculous and sensational headlines. When Ozzy Osbourne came to town during the SARS ordeal, the headline was *@!$# SARS . When serial killer Paul Bernardo was sentenced, the headline read Rot in Hell You Bastard. This time however their attempt at grabbing our attention is at the expense of 18,000 plus dead people. I understand this is a hockey town, but a disaster of this magnitude deserves a little more respect than the Sun seems willing to give.

A Puzzle

http://www.brainypuzzle.com/

Neato

http://www.jimwarren.com/illus_index_horror.html

T'anks

PAST: Thank you everyone for helping me break 300 hits. Keep on reading and I'll keep on posting.

PRESENT: It has been a week now since I moved, and I'm really loving the new place but Jake, my stumpy feline friend, seems to be loving it even more. He has a huge bay window to sit in (he's sleeping there right now in front of me) and he loves listening to the conversations of the many people below. Also, he can run on the carpets a million times faster than he could on the hardwood floor that covered my old place. In fact, despite his missing limbs, he has almost tripped Jen and me a few times trying to dash out the front door. If I ever have the ability to post video here, I must show you him running - it is quit an amazing sight.

Hank, the less mentioned cat, is also adjusting nicely. She wouldn't go near me for a week, but she is now letting me pet her again. I think she felt punished when we moved, but now she is seeing that this is her new home. She even slept on Jen's lap tonight (a first for her entire 2.5 years with us).

FUTURE: I have some music reviews due for Exclaim! on Monday so I'll let you all know if I check out there's anything worthwhile. Other than that, I hope to see this page break the 500 mark and will therefore try to post as often as I can. Until next time . . .

A Full Moon In October

A glow of moon lights the grey forest floor,
As you walk on to your home.
You think to yourself about warmth,
Think to yourself about love,
Think to yourself about far away dreams,
Think about sleeping in your bright, fluffy-bed,
And think about . . .

snap

A lightly cracked twig is enough for your thoughts to muddle a bit.
You remember the stories,
Of people killed in the woods,
Of people killed by animals,
And
by
other
people.

You quicken your pace,
Like good people should,
And you think about rapes,
And of crimes on T.V. ,
And you start to sweat,
(just a little bit though).

But the trees and the moon,
Seem so bright on this night,
And the forest is quiet . . .

So you stop for a moment,

Near a tree for a moment,

To catch your breath for a moment,

And stop the panic for a moment.

The moonlight subsides,
As the autumn clouds shift,
and
then
you
freeze . . .

Can’t step forward.
Can’t turn your head.
Can’t even really breath because,
Out of the corner of your eye,
You
can
see
us
in
the
shadows.

You can’t move.

Through the silence
You can hear
our raspy growl.
Your mouth is dry.
Your skin is pale.
And you dare not turn your head.

We move slowly closer . . .

You now can feel a warm, dog-like breath on the back of your neck.
We are behind you.
We can smell you.
We can almost taste you.

Do you sense the dancing hunger beneath our yellowed eyes?

But you are brave tonight,
You feel strong tonight,
And so, in one fantastic moment,
One amazingly heroic moment,
You leap ahead and run.
You run so very fast.
Faster than you ever have!

We lunge at you.

We miss.

And you run ahead with the power of fear,
With the desire to stay alive.
So very very fast.
You can hear us behind you,
But you run
And run
And run
And then . . .

You can see the edge of the forest!

You can see the clearing near your house!

You run even faster,
Faster than you ever believed you could,
You're almost at the clearing!
Almost made it home!
You realize you are crying,
as you run
and run
and run.
And
as
you're
almost
out . . .

You stumble.

Throw

out

your

hands

to

catch

yourself

but . . .

It doesn’t matter now.

In the end, we were faster.
In the end we were stronger.
In the end
you didn’t
make it
home.