Not that it means anything special, but this is the last Monday for the month of October, already. We're sliding, alright. Halloween on Saturday and November (along with the return of Daylight Standard Time) comes Sunday. Plus, I've got a newly minted 14 year-old who still wants to trick or treat (and says he needs a costume), a 9 year-old (who can't wait for next month to arrive so she can turn 10) who desires pumpkins for sculpturing and spider webs for decorating the house with, and a wife who is juggling so many projects at work and at home that the last thing she wants to see is any ghoulish creature coming to our door, at the moment. Add to this that she-who-must-be-obeyed cares little for the time change (winter blues), and we (kids and I) have our work carved out for us as the light wains. Good to know that it's another normal October at the insane asylum that is my home during this time of year. So, let's mention a couple sundry items and get them out of the way.First, the author of Big City Bad Blood and Trigger City, Sean Chercover, is having a diverting giveaway. His READING@WORK CONTEST:
I'm giving away prizes for the best pictures of people reading Trigger City in the workplace. So take a picture of yourself reading the book at work, and send it in.Send your photo to the author to get in on this. I sent mine in this morning (I should have shaved, though):
Prizes include Trigger City lapel pins, t-shirts, signed books, and one-year subscriptions to Crimespree Magazine. You might even win your name used as one of the characters in my next book. You could end up as a cop, a corpse, or even an arch criminal.
Since I'm in my seasonal movie mode (Silent Hill and 1963's The Haunting, already), there are a couple still I'm looking forward to teeing up on the DVD player. The new one is (from what I hear) the highly unrated werewolf movie, Bad Moon (1996). Eric Red (the writer of The Hitcher and Near Dark) directs this tale of a man coming to visit his sister and her son at their home. What intrigued me to this film is that it's told from the perspective of the protective family German Shepard (yes, I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories):
Of course, Halloween wouldn't be Halloween for me without my annual viewing of Tim Burton's Sleep Hollow. Whether it's how the director handles this period horror film, the startling visuals he employs throughout, the Hammer films that provided the inspiration for the design of it, and favorites like Christopher Lee and Christopher Walken giving chilling cameos in it, I have to have this fix this time of year (that and candy corn):
Who knew that my children would continue to amaze their father (and hand out gray hairs to their parents like it was candy on a certain holiday). I don't know if it's related to the solar system sculpture he recently completed and turned in for his 8th grade science class, but this is what my son wants his old man to play (and re-discover) in the car as we make our way to school:
And my daughter is no slouch as to enforcing her will on to my iTunes library. She's got her father scratching his head as to how he ignored (or missed entirely) this song:
I'm definitely getting too old too fast.
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Your son has really good taste, did I ever mention that?
ReplyDeleteI believe you have, Corey. I'll be sure to mention it to him. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI bet you're the first reader to send Chercover a photo of you listening to the audio book. Is that an iPod? No? What model?
ReplyDeleteI think your picture is cool, too. My mp3 player doesn't display a picture while I'm listening :( I need to figure out a good picture and send it, too!
ReplyDeleteGod, I can't believe next week is November already. I'm never going to be ready for Christmas this year!
Corey: Sean did send me a reply message commenting on the shot (very kind of him). That, is my iPhone (not the newest, though, 3G 2nd gen).
ReplyDeleteJen: yes, you and Corey need to get a picture in. Isn't this year slipping away... FAST!?! It's unreal.
Thank you both for your comments.
Ah, SLEEPY HOLLOW... excellent Tim Burton film... one I thought was intended to be his homage to Hammer horror films, esp. with the Christopher Lee cameo. I have fond memories of seeing this in theaters when it first came out. The mood and atmosphere of this film is so well done... amazing that most of it was shot on a soundstage!
ReplyDeleteSame here, J.D. Took it in on its first run at a theatre. Amazing work. And this year, I'll take a look at it on Blu-ray. Thanks so much for you comment, J.D.
ReplyDeleteYes, Corey - it is the first photo of an audiobook entered in the contest.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think it is a very cool shot.
Thank you very much, Sean, for your kind words and your visit.
ReplyDeleteSleepy Hollow - excellent Halloween viewing!
ReplyDeleteHaving a real soft spot for Hammer films I get a big kick out of this. I'm not a huge fan of Tim Burton but Sleepy Hollow is mightily entertaining.
Yes, the Hammer films were great. I have a real fondness for them, too. And, I always look forward to each year's Sleepy Hollow re-screening. Thank you for your comments and thoughts, Livius.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice re Sleepy Hollow. I'm another one who caught this at the cinema. Together with Ed Wood, this is my favourite Burton film, and perfect Hallowe'en viewing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Steve. And your choice of Tim Burton films is one I share. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDelete