Olive Street Cinema, no. 2 | Of Witch Hunts, Wacky Weed, & Alien Invasion

Season of the Witch (2011): I love Nic Cage. A friend of Wolfman's, during a game of Apples to Apples, once confessed that she finds Nic Cage to be the absolute worst; Nic Cage is to her as Kevin Costner is to me, i.e. an actor whose movies I will not touch with a ten foot pole. But I think Nicolas Cage is capable of amazing things. He absolutely broke my heart in Matchstick Men, and Raising Arizona is among my all-time favorite movies; there is not an actor on this planet who could do H.I. McDonnough like Nic Cage did H.I. McDonnough. Fact. Now, to Season of the Witch. As far as Plague & Witch Hunts go, this was not as good as Black Death which we watched a few months ago (and as much affection as I do have for Nic Cage, Sean Bean slays me in everything I see him in). Black Death was grittier, darker, scarier, and it left an imprint on my brain for days afterwards, its implications were so horrible. But, Season of the Witch is a truly entertaining movie. The makeup effects are squishy and cringe-worthy, the story kept me fairly riveted even while starting a knitting project, and aside from Nic Cage, the audience is granted the ever wry presence of Ron Perlman as his sidekick. Plus, I just happen to really love movies about this time period--so macabre by default. Also, one last note, every time I type "season of the witch", the Vanilla Fudge cover of that song starts roaring through my head, and that is a wonderful thing.

Smiley Face (2007): And again, I'm going to spend the first part of this review/summary discussing the lead actor and how wonderful I find him/her. I really love Anna Faris. I find her excruciatingly funny. I will watch categorically unfunny movies, movies in which the plot and writing are just terrible and cater to the lowest common denominator (House Bunny, Just Friends), because I love Anna Faris--she makes the unfunny funny. And, if you're going to make a movie based entirely around one actor's facial expressions, Anna Faris could not be a more perfect choice. She's wonderful and relateable and joyful and efforvescent and sends me into paroxysms of laughter. Directed by Gregg Araki, who's known for doing trippy, bloody little films like The Doom Generation (which I started watching once, and then had to turn off because it was making my stomach turn, but still intend on finishing one of these days); he likes to visually play with his audience and his character, producing strange, cartoonish little hallucinations, taking us on a journey with poor Jane, she of the accidental consumption of a plate full of pot cupcakes. This is funny, and fun to watch, and chock full of great cameos. Here is a list: John Krasinski, Brian Posehn, Adam Brody (with dreads), Jim Rash, Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, Rick Hoffman, Carrot Top, and John Cho and Danny Trejo as workers at a sausage factory. The movie lost me in its very last scenes, but was still thoroughly enjoyable.

Attack the Block (2011): FROM THE PRODUCERS OF SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It's printed on the poster and in movie summaries on every website known to man, so I figured I'd put that up front. Fun Fact: I'm not a huge Shaun of the Dead fan. I'm more a Hot Fuzz kind of gal. But, I digress. I really thought in the first fifteen minutes that I was not going to enjoy this movie at all. The kids we're supposed to be routing for, the ones who are going to save their block and, probably, mankind from an invasion of ferocious, neon-toothed, black as pitch, gorilla wolf aliens, are sort of assholes. In the opening scene, they rob one of their neighbors and then push her down in the street. But, then something happens as the movie progresses. These kids, yes, are still assholes, but I kind of forgive them that because they're so stout and bold and fearless--they are boys among boys, in a world that expects them to grow up and get tough really fast. This movie is often sold to people as being Goonies-esque, and it sort of is--it tugs at the heart strings in the same way while being ten times more brutal (spoiler: not all of these boys survive). The trajectory of this movie is such that, like movies like Independence Day, by the end of it, had you been drinking quite a bit, you might want to stand up on your sofa and cheer, or at least fist pump, or, as was our case, turn to the other people in the room while you all collectively say something to the extent of, "Wow, that was really good."

Photo Journal no. 5 | Sometimes, I am Startled Out of Myself

Sometimes, I am startled out of myself,
like this morning, when the wild geese came squawking,
flapping their rusty hinges, and something about their trek
across the sky made me think about my life, the places
of brokenness, the places of sorrow, the places where grief
has strung me out to dry. And then the geese come calling,
the leader falling back when tired, another taking her place.
Hope is borne on wings. Look at the trees. They turn to gold
for a brief while, then lose it all each November.
Through the cold months, they stand, take the worst
weather has to offer. And still, they put out shy green leaves
come April, come May. The geese glide over the cornfields,
land on the pond with its sedges and reeds.
You do not have to be wise. Even a goose knows how to finds
helter, where the corn still lies in the stubble and dried stalks.
All we do is pass through here, the best way we can.
They stitch up the sky, and it is whole again.

- Barbara Crooker

Photo Journal no. 4 | A Slow Weekend

Light filtering through burning incense in a certain, dreamy way. Starting a knitting project and piddling in the kitchen, sure, but lounging mostly. Saying goodbye to decrepit old Jack o' lanterns. Remarking on new habits of our cats. A slow weekend.

Your Weekend Mixtape no. 2, Nov 5/11 | Yogic Contemplations of Vikings in Space

1. "Primul Om," Negura Bunget; Om, 2006. 2. "Gravity Eyelids," Porcupine Tree; In Absentia, 2005.
3. "Whitewash," Buckethead; Colma, 1998.
4. "Take Refuge," Grails; Take Refuge in Clean Living, 2008.
5. "Closer," Vitamin String Quartet; Tribute to Nine Inch Nails, 2002.
6. "Running Battle," Kasabian; Kasabian, 2004.
7. "Battlestar Scralatchtica," Incubus; Make Yourself, 1999.
8. "Hit & Run," Kill Memory Crash; Ghostly Swim, 2009.
9. "'64 aka Go," Lemon Jelly feat. William Shatner; '64-'95, 2005.
10. "Al Doilea Om," Negura Bunget; Om, 2006.
11. "The Lotus Eater," Opeth; Watershed, 2008.
12. "Norilor," Negura Bunget; Om, 2006.
13. "Theme from Farscape," SubVision and Guy Gross; Farscape Soundtrack, 2000.

Olive Street Cinema, no. 1 | Of Zombies, Witches, Pumpkin Kings, Vampires, and Lucifer in Space

Oct 23/11: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I'd dug up my old VHS copy of this to watch while we carved pumpkins this year with Bobby and Sierra Dawn. Truth be known, while, yes, I am exactly the sort of woman you'd suspect of falling gaga gooey over this movie and owning at least one hair clip with Jack Skelington's face on it, I am, in fact, not such a fan of this flick. I've never been able to put my finger on exactly why this doesn't get my little fangirl heart lubdubbing. While watching it this year, I suspect that the problem may be that I've always debated whether this is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie. A) I shouldn't have to debate that at all and B) I think my most recent viewing proves it's a Christmas movie. After that first lovely "This is Halloween" scene, this is, essentially, a Christmas movie; this is a movie about the meaning and spirit of Christmas. And, quite frankly, I'm not so much interested in Christmas, certainly not while carving pumpkins anyways. This is a Christmas movie parading as a Halloween movie, and I am not so keen. Furthermore, I don't think Danny Elfman's music is all that wonderful. True, "This is Halloween," would pop up in my head every time I felt myself getting excited about any aspect of this most wonderful of holidays. But that "What's This?" song when Jack visits Christmas land is, frankly, grating. And the rest of the songs are forgettable. And the love story, all this "You're the Jack to my Sally" Hot Topic branding business? Jack ignores Sally throughout most of the movie. That's not a love story for the ages. I'm much more a "You're the Gomez to my Morticia" type when it comes to gothic loves.

Now, all that being said, watching the making-of, I was blown away. Do you know that every second of this movie contains 24 frames--as in, the puppets had to be moved minutely 24 times for every second, and when you're clocking in at an hour and a half, the work and craftsmanship involved in creating this is mind boggling. I am still a fan of this film stylistically, though not necessarily narratively.

Oct 26/11: Countess Dracula (1971)

A take on the Elizabeth Bathory story starring sultry, divine Ingrid Pitt. Hammer films are always worth watching, so lush and entertaining, with casts as cool as cucumbers.

Oct 27/11: The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Watched this with Metal Commander, Heather, and Selena K., and spent much time explaining to Selena the difference between the Return of the Living Dead series and Romero's Dead movies. Watching this and then watching Dawn of the Dead, though, these movies could not be more disparate--while Romero relies on social commentary and makeup effects, the Return movies are so gleeful and high energy, with ridiculous animatronic monsters. I think both series have their merits, but as Halloween approaches, the Return movies are more in the spirit of the holiday.

Oct 31/11: The Crimson Cult (1968)

The poster says it all. Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee. Bam! That is all. Oh, and a blue witch wearing an incredible horned headdress. Next year's halloween costume, perhaps.

Oct 31/11: Dark Side of the Moon (1990)

Boring, and all together forgotten, clearly, as it took me several minutes to google image some sort of visual representation that was not Pink Floyd-related. Bryan and Wolfman gave this movie 6 out of 10 stars, I'd give it more like 4 out of 10. First of all, in this posited future world not only do spaceship computers speak in sexy lady voices (like the Start Trek computers), but if you'd like to carry a conversation with the computer, you can visit a room where it's given the form of a sexy lady--a sexy, creepy lady, I should say, and I thought for sure that once El Diablo presented himself as the Big Bad, he'd somehow take advantage of the fact that there's a creepy mannequin robot computer on board, but no, alas for some reason, it was not utilized. I suppose I should give the movie props for trying to pull in the Bermuda Triangle and for putting the devil in space, but mostly this was just a yawn.

Domesticity Log, no. 1 | All Hallows' Eve Eve

Culinary adventures from this year's Halloween/anniversary party, on Sunday October 30th. Typically, for any gathering, I make the snacks, sides, and desserts, and Wolfman is in charge of the meat or main course. Besides what is listed below, I also made some hand-cut french fries and some sauteed carrots with dill. Wolfman grilled some brats and mixed up a toxic green sugary spiked punch.

Scarecrow Crunch

When it came down to Saturday afternoon, the house is clean, and next on the To Do list is grocery shopping for the next day's EPIC HALLOWEENVERSARY PARTY, my mind drew a sort of blank. I could not for the life of me remember what exactly I'd slaved away at the year before. I knew there was a dip the menfolk devoured within an hour of arriving, but how was it made again? A visit to Pinterest, however, gave me this Martha Stewart recipe for a sweet & salty snack mix. It got rave reviews, but personally, I was not so impressed. Also, I accidentally picked up mustard mini pretzels instead of regular pretzels, and after debating this (aloud, I might add) to myself, decided to go ahead. My exact reasoning was, "Well, I like mustard; everyone else can suck it." Let it be known that I love baking and cooking and mixing, but when I have a deadline, I get a bit grumpy about it.

4 cups crunchy oatmeal cereal squares
4 cups tiny twist pretzels
1 (22 ounce) bag candy corn or autumn mix honey candy
2 cups Reese's Pieces (or similar/generic)
2 (6 ounce) boxes Poppycock (or similar/generic)
1 (6.6 ounce) bag Teddy Grahams (or similar/generic)

Combine in large bowl and mix, or combine in large freezer bag and shake.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I'd made blueberry whoopie pies for my birthday gathering using a recipe I'd torn out of some mystery magazine (Good Housekeeping, or like), and got rave reviews. Though, at the time I thought the cookies were a little too spiced for a blueberry cream filling, and in my brain computer filed away the idea to use the cookies in a future autumnal way. Then, the week before the party, saw Shutterbean's pumpkin cream cheese recipe--Ding! Ding! Ding!

For cakes:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons molasses

1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease cookie pans.

2. In medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.

3. In large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until creamy. Add egg and molasses, beat until well blended. Mix in flour mixture alternately with sour cream (either on low speed with an electric mixer, or as I prefer at this point, by hand).

3. Spoon batter by heaping tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, 2 and 1/2 inches apart. Bake cakes, one sheet at a time, 11 to 13 minutes, or until cakes spring back when pressed lightly. Cool cakes completely before adding filling. Cakes can be made ahead up to 1 day; wrap tightly and store at room temperature.

For filling (recipe via Shutterbean):
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

I ended up using a little more pumpkin, maple syrup, and spices because I was using it as a dessert filling, not a breakfast spread. Of course, I can't give exact measurements because I never measure exactly. I'm more of a pourer/taster than measurer.

Dirt & Worm Cupcakes

So, fun self-epiphany, the reason I don't often bake cupcakes, even though I enjoy eating cupcakes, is that I kind of am impatient and annoyed by the decorating process. Also, I have terrible luck getting frosting the right consistency (I'm telling you, man, it's my lack of concern for exact measurements--it's biting me in the ass). So, here I've made this gorgeous chocolate cake batter, so delicious that I woke Wolfman up from a nap to make him taste some (he then got off the sofa, came into the kitchen, and cleaned the bowl for me--with a combination of spatula and tongue), and a slightly tangy, yummy frosting that keeps melting and dripping right off said delicious cake. And I am running out of time. And I am furious. Luckily, my new friend Selena (pronounced Solanah, unlike my friend-since-childhood Selena, whose name is pronounced Selena), has arrived early to help me set up for the party and takes over decorating duty so I can put my costume on. What a pal.

Cake & filling recipe via Lily Vanilli's A Zombie Ate My Cupcake:

For cakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/3 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons strong espresso*

* I used the morning's leftover coffee rather than espresso, because my husband roasts and brews a strong cuppa. And, a personal sidenote, when he found out his coffee was the secret ingredient, he was smug and proud in a way most adorable.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (f). Line muffin pan with paper cups.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add egg and vanilla, beat until fully incorporated.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

4. Add dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the sour cream. Slowly add cooled coffee.

5. Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon the batter into the paper cases, filling them three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.

6. Cool completely before decorating.

For frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons milk (full fat)

2 tablespoons sour cream*

*Recipe originally called for heavy cream, but as I did not have any, I substituted sour cream, and to be honest, I liked the tang sour cream adds rather than having a sickening sweet icing on my cupcakes.

1. Cream butter and cocoa until combined.

2. Add salt, vanilla, sugar, and milk, and continue to beat, slowly adding cream. Beat until very smooth.

For decorations:

Chocolate-filled Oreos (or similar), crushed

Gummy worms

Gummy mushrooms

Wolfpeople Library, no. 1 | of Archaeologists and Weirdos

The Night Country by Loren Eiseley, published 1947

"Directly stated, the evolution of the entire universe—stars, elements, life, man—is a process of drawing something out of nothing, out of the utter void of nonbeing. The creative element in the mind of man—that latency which can conceive gods, carve statues, move the heart with the symbols of great poetry, or devise the formulas of modern physics—emerges in as mysterious a fashion as those elementary particles which leap into momentary existence in great cyclotrons, only to vanish again like infinitesimal ghosts. The reality we know in our limited lifetimes is dwarfed by the unseen potential of the abyss where science stops. In a similar way the smaller universe of the individual human brain has its lonely cometary passages or flares suddenly like a supernova, only to subside in death while the waves of energy it has released roll on through unnumbered generations."

In need and craving some sort of instruction and inspiration in the habit of world-viewing. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but earlier in the year I’d read a gorgeous collection of essays by naturalist Craig Leland Childs titled Crossing Paths, and it made me feel refreshed and utterly new, like taking a dip in an icy creek. My life lately has not afforded me much time for reflection, so I wanted somebody else to reflect for me. The Night Country is among my grandmother’s used book store finds, and had been sitting neglected in a pile of books in her living room for at least a couple years before I picked it up on one of my bi-monthly book raids (believe me, she has books to spare). Inside, above my grandmother’s signature, is a message to a mother and father from their children, perhaps, in 1973. And the spine is crisp with age, each page I turned would crack at its binding; and because I was forced to be extra careful in my handling of the book, I was perhaps more inspired to be careful in my handling of its words.

At times, this was difficult reading. I found myself reading and rereading certain passages (two, three, four times) before I grasped Eiseley’s meaning. This could be due to the fact that much of my reading takes place on public buses, behind the counter at a convenience store where I pick up evening hours, in the living room while Wolfman watches his space dramas (Star Trek in all its incarnations). But also, the reading was at times inscrutable because Eiseley is a consummate intellectual and philosopher—science is not simply rote fact, but magic, and he cites Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Thoreau as his predecessors and colleagues in the inscrutable, nighttime alchemy of the patterns of life on this planet. This is a beautiful, emotional book, and one which should be left out on coffee tables for frequent rereading, rather than hidden away on a shelf.

Below, you see the bookmark the book came to me with--either my grandmother's or some stranger's before her.

My Crowd: A Delicioiusly Diabolical Collection of Cartoons Featuring the Original Addam's Family, published 1991

I'm sort of ashamed to admit that I was not aware that The Addams Family was based on a comic series until earlier this year. I'd always assumed the television show was an original incarnation. So, when I found this at my favorite used book store, Mr. Mike's (of Cary), I picked it up in order to educate myself and delight in the ooky, witty, macabre world of Charles Addams. The quality of the publication is not the greatest--some of the pages look a little faded or muddy, but the content itself is, of course, wonderful--full of one-off panels as well as scenes we hold dear of our Addams's, and quite a bit of visual humor to boot. This book happily had a home on my coffee table throughout the month of October, where it will continue to dwell for the indefinite future.