The Halloween Tag (Part 2)

Continuing from yesterday's post, here are the last 6 questions of The Halloween Tag --

8. Favourite Halloween costume?
I tend to vacillate on matters such as these.

9. Favourite Halloween store?
There are of course those pop-up Halloween stores that appear every autumn and only operate for a couple of months until Halloween is over. But I prefer going to Value Village for all my Halloween needs. They have a good selection of both used and reasonably-priced new costumes and items. That's where I bought our lovely rubber rats many years ago, Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop Fang. Here they are in rather blurry action on the front step in 2010 --

10. Jack-o-lanterns, yes or no?
OF COURSE, YES! Here's a selection of JoLs that My Rare One and I have carved over the years --

11. Bats or black cats?
No contest.

12. Is Halloween your favourite holiday?
It's right up there!

13. Pumpkin spice latte or hot chocolate?
I'm definitely a hot chocolate kinda gal.

Now I'm supposed to tag other people to do this quiz as well. But I'm not going to do that because . . .

LOKI COMMANDS ALL OF YOU TO DO IT!

Hahahahaha, trick or treat! How could I not have more Tom Hiddleston in Part 2 of this post, I ask you? Loki is The Trickster, after all.

The Halloween Tag (Part 1)

Guillaume of Vraie Fiction has zapped me with The Halloween Tag which consists (appropriately enough) of 13 questions. I'll answer 7 today and the remaining 6 tomorrow. Here goes:

1. Favourite Halloween song?
I've always loved The Monster Mash! And if I may, I dedicate this video to Dr. Theda and Stacey over at Dr. Theda's Crypt because no one loves the old classic monsters more!



2. Witch or Vampire?
Well of course witches are nearest and dearest to my heart, as you know. But I do also have a soft spot for the vampire Adam from Only Lovers Left Alive simply because I adore Tom Hiddleston. And that gives me an excuse to post this gif of Adam savouring a frozen blood popsicle --

Oooooo nice homoerotic lip action, Tom, even if not everyone approves.

3. Favourite thing about Halloween?
I love handing out candy at the door to little trick-or-treaters and seeing all their cute costumes.

4. Halloween party or scary movie marathon?
Oh, a Halloween party for sure! True confession time -- I don't actually like scary movies at all. But even so, I'm going to go see the new gothic romance horror film Crimson Peak. Because, you know, Tom Hiddleston is in it.



5. Skeletons or zombies?
Zombies do have a certain je ne sais quoi kind of charm,  I admit. But skeletons are more jaunty and fun-loving, even on the job.

6. Favourite Halloween candy?
When I was a kid, people still handed out homemade Halloween treats at the door and it was perfectly safe to take them. The Golden Age of Halloween Innocence, eh? Anyway, my favourite score was to get a homemade caramel popcorn ball. They were the BEST!

7. Favourite Halloween movie?
It's not really a Halloween movie per se but it is about vampires -- the aforementioned Only Lovers Left Alive. Because -- well, you know by now.



All the Tom Hiddlestud references in this post are dedicated to Dezzy at Hollywood Spy because he loves Our Tom as much as I do.

Tomorrow -- The Halloween Tag (Part 2). And I promise -- no more Tom Hiddleston!

That Old Black Magic

Calling all evil wizards, magicians and necromancers . . .

. . . along with the witchy, the weird and the just plain spooky!

It is time once again to concoct our secret spells and potions for all our nearest and dearest friends . . .

. . . and for our nearest and dearest enemies too, of course.

Young witchlets can put their extra-curricular activities to good use . . .

. . . while others among us can use the ancient magickal training to put everything in its proper perspective.

But always remember -- don't piss us off!

Fun Family Costumes

When Halloween rolls around, some parents go that extra mile . . .

The beard and pipe are a nice touch.

That's one tough little zombie hunter!

Freshly popped!

Other times, it's only the kid in costume but you know a clever parent devised the idea behind it, like this sweet little Calvin and Hobbes --

And isn't this the cutest little psychopath you've ever seen? Just drinking his milk-plus and waiting for his droogs to come by for a night of ultra-violence . . . .

When designing costumes, don't forget the pet's potential!

The human walking this next pet wouldn't even need a costume -- all eyes will be on the dog. And quite rightly so. Yikes!

MEOW!

Stop everything right now and watch this video! And listen until the very end, LOL!



You're welcome.

Witches in Fiction 2015 -- Death Rites and Remembrances

It's my first time contributing to Magaly's annual bloghop of wicked witchy fun! She gave people a lot of leeway with this year's theme -- "Your entry must focus on death rituals. Witches and magic motifs are optional." I knew immediately what I must write.

Alas, I'm afraid there will be no witches or magic in my entry. Just a lighthearted death-related ritual to honour a certain friend's life and personality when her inevitable day of departure arrives (hopefully not for many, many years in the future).

scattering

not for her a forlorn niche

in some forgotten cemetery

nor a staid and solemn scattering

in a wayside memorial garden

no, not even a canoe-and-backpack trip

to scatter her amidst the wilderness beauty

of a mountain lake

no, she will be released out of the open sun-roof

of a speeding van doing 140 klicks

down the yellowhead highway

across the canadian prairies

on a glorious summer day
under a flax blue sky
a golden sun
and a few fluffy clouds

with two . . . no, make that three . . .

screaming cop cars in hot pursuit

lights flashing, sirens blaring
tires scarcely touching the pavement

her ashes will stream backwards

floating over their heads

untouchable at last
a brilliant rainbow arc of glitter
for how could her ashes be
a mere dull pewter grey

yes, one final bit of scofflaw fun

one last defiant fist shaken at the mounties

and their devil hand-held radar machines

and unjust speeding tickets
which plagued her heavy foot
and cost her untold amounts of money
over so many many years

be it so

WOO HOO!!!

By gawd, I feel good today! I'm stoked! I'm pumped! You know why? Cuz I just checked off the oldest task on my to do list -- DONE! Dating from 1983, this item only took me 32 friggin' years to get around to doing!

Now, I don't know about you but certain tasks on my to do list can languish there for years, even decades. Hey, I'm a busy gal. And there's only so much time in a day to accomplish everything. The ever-changing crucial or urgent items always get priority of course and always get done in a timely fashion. But their priority comes at the expense of those other tasks that can, well, wait. And wait. And wait some more.

The next oldest item on my list dates from 1998, so it's only been waiting a mere 17 years for my attention. However, I think that doing it will have to be put off until I'm retired (whenever that may be). I'll have lots of time on my hands then.

So what's the oldest item on YOUR to do list?