Last October I listed my ten favorite Halloween movies, so this time I decided to write about some Halloweeny films I’ve seen since then.
Universal Monsters
Jonathan Coulton’s Horror Songs
As we are closing in on this year’s Halloween, I wanted to share some of my favorite horror songs. Turns out, almost all of them were made by Jonathan Coulton.
The Acid Zombie
I decided to make a mixed drink for this month’s geeky recipe, and it is naturally Halloween themed.
It is a slight variation on a mojito, with extra lime and mint leaves, topped with a frozen “brain” containing water and blackcurrant juice.
For a single glass, you’ll need to mix:
4 centilitres of lime juice
6 centilitres of soda water
7 centilitres of white rum
1 whole pot of chopped up mint leaves
Norwegian Russ Celebration
The Russ Celebration in Norway is in many ways like the American Spring Break, with many partaking in an excess of sex, alcohol and silliness.
My Cabin Trip to The Planet Hoth
In 1997 I, my younger sister, my father and my mother all stayed at a cabin in Finse, a small mountain village in Hordaland county, Norway. Also known as Hoth.
Easter Crime
In Norway, one of our main Easter traditions is reading and watching crime fiction, which we will often sit down to enjoy after a long nice walk in the snow.
Valentine’s Day Sappiness
Today, seeing how it is Valentine’s day, I will write about my love for my girlfriend.
Sorry, but this is the day for it, and she is great.
We have been together for over six years now, our anniversary was almost a month ago.
I met her in the cash-register she was working in at the super-market, and proceeded to return to her register every time I went there since. In fact, I started going there far more often than needed.
One time, I bought a bouquet of roses, then handed them back to her once I had paid, saying “They are for you.”
At some point I wrote my number on my receipt and handed it back to her, so she could decide what she wanted to do. She messaged me later, we planned a date, and it went from there.
We have lived together for most of those years, and a year ago we bought our own apartment, and moved out of our rental.
We initially bonded over our mutual love of geeky popular culture and food, then later I found her to be a great travel companion, fun mountain-hiking company, interesting conversationalist, a shoulder to cry on, and =&0=&
Today we celebrated by having some wine and a meal with filled pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives and rucola.
We also ate chocolate and watched the movie Chocolat (recommended).
How was your Valentine’s?
Groundhog Day
It is February 2nd, so I sort of had to write this!
I was recently invited to take part in a time-travel movie blogathon, hosted by Silver Screenings and Wide Screen World.
The idea is that each person involved will write a blog-post about a movie that features time-travel in some way.
I immediately thought of making a combined post about Groundhog Day and Source Code.
But then I went on Twitter, figured out that the real Groundhog Day is actually today, and here we are.
So my entry to the blogathon will just be Source Code by itself.
Bill Murray is an asshole!
In the movie at least, I’ve heard he is great in real life!
He plays a TV weatherman named Phil Connors, on an assignment to make a segment about the Punxsutawney groundhog (also named Phil).
There is a real-life “belief” that if Phil (the groundhog) sees his own shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Due to it being February 2nd, he almost always sees his shadow.
Phil (the human) shoots the segment, while treating his coworkers and the entire town of Punxsutawney like crap. He then goes to bed. The next day, it is the same day. He is stuck in a time-loop, and cannot leave the town.
At first he takes advantage of the situation, doing whatever he wants, still thinking only of himself. But after many of these same days, he gets so depressed that he kills himself several times. But he just awakens in his bed, the same day every time.
After some time he starts to improve himself, noticing other peoples problems and helping them with his “powers”. He also falls in love with his female coworker, Rita.
With a combination of his self-improvement and knowing all about her from “using his powers”, he wins her hearth. The next day, it is the next day!
I think
the time travel in this movie is a metaphor for being in a rut
The Hits and Misses of the Doctor Who Christmas Specials
Many years ago, I noticed a trend in the quality of the Doctor Who Christmas specials.
From my perspective, they alternate each year between “very good” and “not so good”.
I will try to make my case below, by ranking each episode from 1 to 10.
Keep in mind that I rank these up against other Doctor Who episodes.
All of these are worthy entertainment, I just judge Doctor Who on a whole other scale!
1965s The Feast of Steven (part 7 of The Daleks’ Master Plan) – Disqualified
In Norway we Trick-or-Treat on New Year’s Eve
If you are ever in Norway on Halloween, and you (or your kids) try going out to trick-or-treat, you may be sorely disappointed.
My Top 10 Christmas Movies
Here is a list of excellent movies to watch around Christmas.
Like with my Halloween movie list, how I rank them may change based on mood but this is where they landed in the hierarchy this time.