Why I Host a Halloween Party Every Year
I want to explain just why I host a Halloween party. I mean, I do love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday. It’s one of the few times in the year when fantasy and a belief in unexplained phenomena are socially accepted. It’s a time when we can all believe that the world contains at least […]
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Okay, I’ll admit it: this is pulled straight from an issue of Bon Appetit. I’m only willing to deal with a certain amount of complexity in a recipe, and this one is right at the far edge of what I’m willing to do. The cake itself is easy, though I usually go with boxed cake. […]
Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 5: The Old, Dark House
I’ve saved the best for last. I stumbled on this film on an internet search for classic horror movies. It was made in 1932, directed by James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Show Boat, The Man in the Iron Mask), and produced by the great Carl Laemmle, Jr. (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, […]
Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 4: The Mummy
Okay, this review is predicated on a surprise, but it’s a surprise that happens ten minutes into the movie. So I feel justified in explaining it, since it’s the core of what I liked about the movie. The classic The Mummy begins with a group of standard British archaeologists, enthusing over a new find: a mummy (Boris Karloff) and a sealed box, of which the former was buried alive, and the latter should contain the Scroll of Thoth, which […]
Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 3: The Wolf Man
Watching The Wolf Man was a strange experience for me. I first saw The Wolf Man in bits and pieces when I was in my early teens. I really enjoyed the tense mood and varied characters. I was in a phase of my life when I was watching a lot of black-and-white films, so I […]
Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 2: The Masque of the Red Death
Vincent Price. This is why Vincent Price is such a great horror movie actor. You may have read the original Poe story, in which a corrupt prince holds a party at his manor, despite the raging plague outside. Price plays the prince in this 1964 film version, which has been expanded into a study of […]
Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 1: The Thing From Another World
This week begins Classic Horror Movie Week, where every day I write about a classic “horror” movie, leading up to Halloween on Friday. Um, that’s Halloween the holiday, not Halloween the movie. Anyvay. I watched all these movies for the first time this week, so you’re getting a fresh perspective. I’m starting with Howard Hawks’ […]
O God Of Earth And Altar
As sung in my church last week: “O God Of Earth and Altar”, words by G.K. Chesterton, melody arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams: O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry, Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die; The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide; […]
There’s Nothing Like Apple Pie
I love seasonal food. Of course, I’m blessed with a society that provides all sorts of food at any time of the year. If I want blueberries in February, I can get them. But some food remains inextricably linked to certain seasons. Lemon ice cream just only tastes right in the summer. Beef pot pie […]
My Reaction To Tintin
So I’ve finally bought and read some Tintin, the iconic comic book character created by French artist Herge. Specifically, I read The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 1. I’d like to write that I loved it, that it was a work of genius. I can’t. It had fun moments, and inventive moments. It was certainly good, in a timeless sense. But it just didn’t come together for me. According to the Tintin Wikipedia […]