Essential Halloween listening - Doomed on SomaFM

It's almost time.

If you've been a fan of internet radio for awhile, you may have heard of SomaFM, one of the best commercial free TOTALLY free stations online since they started in 2000. They have a genre for pretty much everybody - even those of us who like our music dark, creepy, and uncomfortable to listen to (looking at you, Throbbing Gristle's "Hamburger Lady") --

-- and for us, that station is called DOOMED.

    It used to run 24/7/365, but alas, a few years ago it got switched to being only seasonal. I think they only keep it going for the couple dozen die-hards. It seems as though it's not really updated much anymore, I don't recall the last time they played a song I hadn't heard at least 17 dozen times before. Still, the selection is large and excellently curated. I have been introduced to many musical artists via DOOMED. I used to start listening to it right around this time of year and through to the High Holiday; it became a critical part of the mood I seek during the dark half of the year.

    DOOMED season begins in October - we're almost there!

Now playing: Coldworld - The Wind and the Leaves

  

 Current mood.

From my archives: St. Michael's Cemetery

    Recently I had been going through some old photo albums and found a set of pictures I had taken at St. Michael's Cemetery in Springfield, MA in 1998. These are all analog photos, quite awhile before I got my first digital camera in 2003 or so. I can't remember what kind of camera I used for these, but I know it must have been some cheapo point & shoot, maybe even one of those disposable cameras. Wow, it's so weird to think about using those now, it seems so archaic. 

    I'm glad I was able to salvage these. One autumn years ago when I still lived in CT, our basement flooded about a foot deep and a lot of our things got damaged. Many of my old photo albums got wet, but I saved as many as I could. 

    As you can see, quite a few took considerable water damage, but in this case, I think they add to the aesthetic of these grainy old photos.

    My memories of this day are a bit skewed. I can't remember what season it was, although it must have been close to summer. I didn't write a date on these other than the year. 

    Also, it took me awhile to figure out where the location was, all I had written was the name of the cemetery, but there are a few St. Michael's cemeteries throughout the New England area. I know I have photos from other cemeteries as well, and I got these memories mixed up from another trip to another cemetery somewhere near the CT/RI coast. It's weird to get older and have your memories kinda start to blend together.

Finally, I figured out this is the one in Springfield, MA thanks to the Find-A-Grave website. I looked up one of the names on these graves and it brought me here.

    I really miss walking through New England cemeteries, honestly. It's just not quite the same vibe here in the Pacific Northwest. The graves here are nowhere near as old as oldest ones in New England.

    Back in CT, there were at least two cemeteries within walking distance of my home, and I'd sometimes visit them during my usual walking routines. So much is different here, and I get especially homesick this time of year. Hopefully, next year I can visit home again.

(all photos by Petrichor & Pumpkins)

 

Now watching: My Bloody Valentine

     Next up on my 80s horror movie lineup: My Bloody Valentine (1981)

    Once you get past the initial cheesiness of the earlier parts, like exposition and character dynamics (complete with cheesy dialog), the film quickly becomes rather intense, around the halfway mark or so. The first few killings are a bit formulaic and predictable, but once the party moves down into the mines, shit gets scary pretty fast. If you have claustrophobia and/or acrophobia (fear of heights), there are some scenes that might make you a bit tense.

    My Bloody Valentine is considered a cult classic, and I can see why. I give it about a 6 out of 10 jackos.

[🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ _ ]

Fall Fair Memories: The Big E - Part 2 - Crafts and Shopping

    Welcome to my second post about The Big E, past memories of the fair, and what I love about it. If you're just tuning in, you can read the introduction post here.    

    One good reason to enjoy The Big E is all the cool stuff for sale: everything from hot tubs to wine to shoe-cleaning kits to grandfather clocks, shoes, cosmetics, luggage, jewelry, beef jerky, saunas, candles, clothing, steam mops, toys, chainsaw carvings, personalized items, cowboy hats, every kitchen gadget you can imagine, and a zillion other things. 

    There truly is something for everybody at the Big E, and opportunities to shop are literally all throughout the fair grounds. There are the two huge exhibition halls, a crafts common, and vendors up and down every road. The individual state buildings have wares for sale as well.

2017 map of the Big E grounds. Image courtesy of Masslive.com

    One of my favorite areas to browse and/or shop is the Craft Commons. As the name suggests, the vendors there tend to sell things that have a seasonal, more hand-crafted aesthetic, although there are certainly more things like that to be found elsewhere on the grounds, too.

    

    By this time each year, I've already got Halloween on the brain, so going to the Big E has sometimes been the first Halloween browsing/shopping of the season. So many good and wonderful things!

    

    Three of my favorite vendors there have all retired in the past few years, sadly. The above spot, a jewelry vendor that my BFF & I visited so religiously that the lady who owned it recognized us every year. My other two favorite spots sold Halloween primitive-style decor. I'm glad I was able to purchase some of their things in the past, and I'm glad I took some photos so I have the memories of being there. I wish I could have collected more of these beautiful objects.

    There are still some great spots that remain, though - hopefully they will return for the 2021 season.

    I just learned that The Big E's website now lists a marketplace page where you can shop online from quite a few of their yearly vendors - I'm pretty excited to check it out. It won't feel quite the same of course, but it will help ensure that the vendors I love most will survive the financial hardship of missing out in 2020's fair. 

The Big E Marketplace

Old Autumn

I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand shadowless like silence, listening
To silence.

- Thomas Hood, English author (1799-1845)

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Halloween delivery

    Apparently, getting your Halloween shopping done via the Instacart grocery delivery service is a thing now.

    Not sure why you wouldn't just order through the Spirit Halloween website, as the selection here on Instacart is quite limited. I guess if you need something that day and need it delivered, this would be pretty convenient. Ahhh, the wonders and relative convenience of the modern world!

 

Spooked

     If you're in the mood to listen to some scary stories, I recommend the podcast Spooked, which describes itself as "true-life supernatural stories, told firsthand by people who can barely believe it happened themselves. Be afraid."

(click pic for link)

    Even if you don't believe in the supernatural, the stories are chilling and just plain fun to listen to. Once you start an episode, and the storyteller begins their tale, you can't wait to hear what happens next. The podcast asserts that these are true stories, so even as a skeptic you might find yourself thinking about an episode long after it ends.

    

    These stories are of the sort that you can imagine hearing while sitting around talking with friends by the campfire, or late at night after a party or gathering when most of the other guests have gone home and the conversation turns to things like "What's the craziest thing that's ever happened to you?" It seems like everyone has heard a story like this, and has one to tell of their own. 

    

    Spooked just began its 5th season about one month ago, so there's plenty of content to listen to if it's new to you.

Now watching: Blood Rage

(aka Nightmare at Shadow Woods and Slasher)

(image from IMDB)

But... is it cranberry sauce? 🤔

[Warning:(??) SPOILERS]

Make sure you have popcorn for this one bc you're going to have the urge to throw shit at the screen

5 OUTTA 10 JACKOS

[🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ _ _ ]

Halloween shopping at vintage party store!

     Champion Party Supply in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle, has been in operation for 80 years. Its website offers a little bit of the company's history, including its various location changes over time. The store managed to successfully survive gentrification: it was forced out of its former location of 20+ years after the building it had been in was purchased by real estate developers, reopened in 2015 and has been at its current spot ever since. Fortunately, their larger floor space and dedicated followers helped the store to thrive, where many small businesses who fall prey to gentrification do not, and Seattle has a LOT of it right now. But, I digress.    

    Because of the pandemic, I haven't been going out to the stores to see all of the Halloween stuff like I normally do each year - but I wanted to make at least a couple of trips. Instead of just going to Michaels or other big box stores, I'm choosing to save my excursions for smaller businesses and the hidden gems they always seem to have. A quick search for 'party supply' on Yelp brought Champion to the top of the list, and since we hadn't been there before, that was our Saturday destination.

    

    We got there around 5PM on Saturday. There is a dedicated parking lot there and plenty of spaces available. Face masks were mandatory, but that's not a problem for us. 

    The staff were friendly and greeted us when we came in. There weren't many shoppers when we were there, but it was great to not have to worry about social distancing.

  

    

    They had lots of Halloween props as well, of course, and one of the staff members mentioned they had two more pallets of stuff on the way. Not much in the way of animatronics, but there's so much other cool stuff, it isn't a letdown.

    One of the BEST things about stores like this is that hang onto the older, semi-vintage stuff that hadn't sold, and I saw quite a few things I recognized as being manufactured in the 90s - like this spider. I had one, possibly two of these. Amazing.

"And the skeletons are..."  "Part of it!"

    I wish we'd gotten there earlier, as one hour was not nearly enough to see everything - they have more costumes there than any other costume supply shop I've ever seen. 

Only a fraction of the costume selection.

    And of course they have a wide array of regular party supplies, too. Overall, a great small business to support that has probably everything you need and more for any party, Halloween or otherwise.

Rest In Power

    Needless to say, I bought a few things and will show off my haul in an upcoming post. You can read more about Champion and its history here.

Scents of the week - Bath & Body Works hand soaps 2020, part 2

    This week I'm trying out 2 more of my new autumn-themed hand soaps from Bath & Body Works.

    I chose these two because they seem to fit my current nostalgia for autumn state fair season, which has alas been canceled this year pretty much everywhere. Both scents are quite evocative of fall fairs, but for different reasons.

    

    Harvest Gathering is more of a foodie scent. It reminds me of an apple-cranberry mulled drink: sweet and fruity with a generous amount of spice.

    The Perfect Autumn evokes a craft barn, with the soft, sweet scents of hay, autumnal potpourri, and dried floral wreaths.

 

Now watching: Basket Case (1982)

 

    Low-budget heckle-worthy special effects and bad acting aside, this was actually a great, and actually sad, story. It's not very far removed from being more of a drama centered on family secrets, medical ethics, abuse, bigotry, and co-dependency -- and prompts the viewer to ask who the REAL monsters are. The plot was much deeper and more developed than I assumed a B-movie like this could be. I enjoyed it quite a lot, 7 out of 10 jackos.

[ 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃_ _ _ ]

Fall Fair Memories: The Big E - Part 1 - Introduction

    Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be writing a multi-part series dedicated to my favorite state fair, The Big E, also known as The Eastern States Exposition, that annually runs for 17 days during the latter half of September, beginning with the second Friday after Labor day, and into early October in West Springfield, MA. 

    Except, not this year.

    It was to be expected, and it's for the best, but still disappointing. 

    The Big E as a ritual is almost as sacred to me as Halloween itself. I have gone nearly every year for as far back as I can remember. Even though I now live on the opposite side of the country, I've made plans nearly every fall for a visit back home that includes a day at the fair. 

    To me, the day I attend the fair is the first official day of Autumn. What's so great about this particular fair, you might ask?

    Well -- there's LOTS to love. For one things, it's HUGE, one of the largest in the country - the 6th largest to be exact, and the only multi-state fair that exists. Last year it had 1,629,527 visitors!

It celebrates all of the New England states, each of which has its own special building to show off its local attractions, vendors, businesses, and food. And that's only the beginning.

    There are several large exhibition halls, rides, crafting vendors, a giant slide, hundreds of food choices, wine tastings, live concerts, farm animals, parades, historical spots, and more. One day is never really enough to see it all. Someday I hope to have the time and money to get a season pass so that I can take my time and really have a thorough enjoyment of everything. 

   When I was a kid, the ritual of going to the Big E went like this - my folks would pick up my brothers & I from Catholic school, and bring us a change of clothes (since we had to wear uniforms), then we would head straight for the fair. We'd stay til as late as we could, a special treat for us when our usual bedtime was around 8 PM. We'd share some food, go on a few rides, see the animals, maybe catch part of a live concert or ride the giant slide. 

    When I got to be high school age, I got the chance to be more independent and explore with my friends. I distinctly remember one Monday morning, it might have been my sophomore year of high school, when classes were unexpectedly cancelled due to a power outage or something. My mom asked if I wanted to bring a friend with me to the Big E and spend the whole day there, so I called up one of my best buds at the time. We rode together with my parents but were allowed to go off and do our own thing right up til closing time.

    When I got to be an adult, The Big E became a thing I did with my BFF - we'd pick a weekday to go, get there sometime in the morning, and stay til we were too tired to walk anymore. We've always had our specific things we have to do each year, like get a baked potato from the Maine building when we first got there, or go to certain craft vendors. 

    Anyway - this series of posts will be a love letter to the best and greatest Fall Festival ever! Coming up next time: CRAFTS AND SHOPPING AT THE BIG E