Halloween Book Sale 2021

 

    One of my favorite aspects of the holidays is how they add just that touch of something extra to otherwise mundane activities. Walks and rides are more soothing when there’s decorations to awe at while shopping becomes an act of discovery with store aisles carrying seasonal surprises. It’s important to harness that energy in order to make each day feel satisfactory. That’s what leads to personal rituals like the Halloween book sale. For most folks it’s just a library book sale but when you make it a purposeful scavenger hunt for horror items it becomes a proper event. Tough this is almost universally ranked among my least read posts each year I still invite you all to come along for the fun.

    If you’re wondering why there’s no post about mood tables, or the planned bookcase, it’s because I haven’t finished em. Part of the issue is just how much has changed around the house. There’s been just enough shifting and moving to create new spaces while eliminating others that I’m sometimes left scratching my head as to what to do. Plus decorating a massive, and slightly incomplete, bookcase is a good deal different than any table. The upside is that I get to work on it little by little, keeping the mood of Halloween alive through creativity rather than simple admiration. All that said I think inspiration may have finally struck tonight.

    Finding decent horror goodies at this sale is always a challenge due to their overall rarity combined with the amount of collectors and flippers out there. This year felt even tougher thanks to the increased floor space as the sale moved to a nearby church. A massive spread meant great eyestrain that further compounded the usual difficulties of this event. Not sure if any of you have ever noticed but there’s this weird phenomenon where a lot of romance novels, mainly the hardcover ones, look like horror titles thanks to vague titles, fancy font, and sometimes Gothic covers. Then there’s the usual array of mystery novels to toss aside. And while it may seem counterproductive, I don’t take every horror item I find. Some get left behind due to not sounding interesting enough plus it only seems fair to leave something behind for other horror hunters.

    Naturally I don’t restrict myself solely to scary stuff though it’s always wise to not go over the top when already months behind on the personal reading list. This sale however had a decent amount of R. A. Salvatore stuff on offer. Had a small share of these years ago and always enjoyed the adventurous tone and boss ass violence the man conveys through his writing. There were more in paperback format but if I was gonna take this chance to rebuild a little Salvatore library then it’s gonna be proper hardcovers. The Legacy and Passage to Dawn are the real highlights here since these copies still fetch new prices online. What stinks is these are the 1^st and 4^th of that particular series meaning there’s some hunting to be done. The Orc King and The Pirate King however are a series or two later in continuity and at least are in order with a lower price point for part 3. Even if you’ve zero interest in Forgotten Realms D&D media these are fun books when you need a spot of adventure which is usually how I feel come November.

    Our first horror item showcases precisely what makes this hunt so fun. Came across this hardcover of Bless The Child by Cathy Cash Spellman. Flipped it over only to see a brief excerpt with folks talking about a cult. Cults are cool, this could be good, then I check the inner flap where the quick explanation something along the lines of such and such is a forty-two year old grandmother. Also she’s about to face off against the devil… only she doesn’t know it yet. Yes!!! Paydirt! Not only does this sound delightful but it took me down a total rabbit hole since it reminded me that there’s a movie that was made by Chuck Russel of Dream Warriors, The Blob, and The Mask fame. Even stranger is that Russel most recently made a Bollywood movie. Chalk that up as a project for next month.

    Way back when I was sampling mystery subscription boxes I received a Cliver Barker Tortured Souls figure. Knew very little about the line but it turns out that when bought brand new each figure came with a little booklet detailing their backstory and role in Barker’s overall lore. Sometime later; all these pamphlets were collected in hardcover form called Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordia. Not a massive fan of Barker but this seemed interesting enough at first glance and even better is the resale value with this thing frequently fetching forty bucks online. Not bad for a rando one dollar book.

    Came across two paperbacks that are apparently linked written by Sarah Langan. Never heard of Langan before but there’s plenty of praise blurbs from Peter Straub though I’d hope she’s better than his junk. That’s right Straub, I’m calling you out. Also nabbed a dvd of The Innocents. Never seen this thing in full, always kinda feared it to be overrated dribble. Guess I’ll find out real soon.

    Overall a very streamlined and straightforward book sale this time but that’s sort of the point. You’re never sure what’s gonna pop out of those endless rows of books so you make the most of it while maintaining a clear enough head to not go overboard. Left behind some vampire anthology paperback along with some F. Paul Wilson material that was war too far into his massive backlog to likely make much sense. Still a fine small outing for the season.

    In order to drive home the whole idea of little moments making the season so much more let’s add a little unrelated tale from the following night. As much as possible I like to take the moped to work. It’s fun, relaxing, and saves a shit ton of gas. Problem is this has been one swampy ass year in this part of Michigan. While Friday’s ride in was just fine, closing up shop was a whole different story. Getting rained on is perfectly acceptable since a shower is the first thing on the agenda yet upon locking the door and turning around I was treated to a strike of lightning right across as the street, the sound of which rattled and bounced off of nearby buildings. After forcing my skeleton not to jump out of my mouth of anus I got rolling on the moped. The following one and a quarter miles were spent making waves with my feet, cackling to the sounds of some great thunder, and spitting out a bunch of rainwater at every stop sign. Admittedly this all sounds like a massive pain in the ass but it’s in that moment after pulling into the garage where you’re standing their, soaked down to your undies, that you really feel alive. Much like we embrace scary things all season it’s nice to take on a sudden challenge. More so in current times were a lot of what we used to take for granted is still a bit wobbly.

    With a good amount of time to go before the big night I advise any and all of you to find those little things of your own. Maybe it’s a sale, a convention, a town tour, or maybe build up the guts to watch a movie you were always scared of. A wise man once advised peeing into the wind. You all face that wind and let it roar.

The Beast Within Book and Film Comparison

 

    Most everyone has favorite seasonal films. Usually it’s the holiday variety, say Christmas or Halloween. Other times it’s something more obscure and flexible like a season or birthday. Years ago I wrote about a Springtime obsession of my own, a little monster movie called The Beast Within. Originally introduced to me via the wonders of Monstervision the film’s atmosphere along with themes of a boy blossoming into a twisted sort of manhood always come to mind during the brightening days and first thunderstorms of Spring. Like a good many horror flicks from back in the day this one was based on a novel. Problem was the book was nowhere near complete by the time a script had to be put together resulting is two divergent tales built on a pile of very similar bones.

    The novel was something outside my purview for a the longest time. I’d seen some slight debate online about how it compared to the film with many folks labeling the movie counterpart as an abomination without much in the way of meaningful comparisons. Eventually I manged to snap up a cheap paperback copy at a local book store. The first attempt at giving it a read didn’t make it very far but guess what… it’s Spring again. Taking a break between comics I finally went dove in and completed the book. If you wouldn’t mind indulging I’d like to do something of a civil service and detail the differences between source novel and a favorite flick of yesteryear. Naturally you should expect a certain level of spoilers though I’m gonna leave some mystery for newbies.

    Many people report the movie as only being an adaption of the back end of the book and this is sort of a half-truth. The basic premise of an assault leading to the birth of a boy named Michael who goes through some violent changes is intact but the angle of approach is far different. See the novel is divided into four parts with each covering a particular era of the story. Part one concerns the Scruggs and what happened to Jimmy Connors, part two details the relationship between Eli and Carolyn and her assault in the woods, part three is all about a difficult period in Michael’s Childhood, and part four is the return of that problem in his teenage years. The film builds everything around that final quarter while showing portions of the first two and only making a mention of the third. The details of those earlier acts are augmented further with different backgrounds, names, extra characters, and a new origin for the monster. Those last two items makes the biggest difference but let’s go into a bit more detail.

    Part one was easily my biggest hurdle when first tackling the book as reading about the miserable marriage of Henry and Sarah Scruggs in Pea Ridge hardly gets the blood pumping. Henry is a wretched bible thumper whose god-fearing nature goes so deep as to shun the notion of procreation with his own wife. This, along with severe isolation, makes Sarah more than eager to stray when flim-flam salesman Jimmy Connors shows on their doorstep after his car breaks down. In this take Henry find Sarah and Jimmy taking a literal roll in the hay only to lock Connors in the cellar and murder the wife. Henry is so far gone he actually believes Connors to be the devil made flesh and must keep him imprisoned and alive. Over years of inhuman treatment, Jimmy becomes more beast than man and gains an opportunity to escape captivity once Henry finally succumbs to a failing heart

    In the film version of these events the Scruggs do not exist nor does traveling salesman Jimmy. Instead Billy Connors, a local boy from Nioba Mississippi fools around with Sarah Curwin which gets a woman killed and the boy likewise locked in a cellar. It’s not just years of torture changing his mind and body that results in the monstrous form he takes on either. Billy happens to know some old native magic based on Cicada that allow for a shot at revenge at the cost of ones humanity. Right away these changes have huge ripple effects. Not only does skipping past this part add an air of mystery but, unlike Henry Scruggs, Billy has several opponents who live on which makes for a supernatural family feud. Where’s Richard Dawson when we need him?

    Part two is largely about the relationship between Michael's parents, Eli and Carolyn. Both simple small town folk, her a spunky waitress at first and him a hulking lumber worker with little education. We get to their first meeting and see their day to day existence up to the point when it is thrown out of whack as the creature murders their dog and rapes Carolyn. As the pair were trying to conceive a child anyway she chooses to believe the resulting baby is Eli’s. Adding a weird layer to this take is that the creature soon dies of a snakebite leaving none the wiser as to his existence.

    In the film these two are newlyweds driving through the country. Carolyn is attacked while Eli is searching for help with their car. They both suspect the kid might be from that night but love their son all the same. The characterizations are vastly different here with Eli in particular being more of an everyman urban type which makes him bristle at dealing with all the hillbilly nonsense in town later on. Their living situation also solves a lingering mystery from the book as that version of Michael wonders if getting away from the woods might solve his condition. In the film his location merely changes the symptoms. While not explicitly shown we learn that this version of the beast was shot not long after assaulting Carolyn.

    Part three is arguably the most interesting portion of the novel and is difficult to compare to the film since it’s pretty much entirely skipped over. It concerns Michael’s upbringing and childhood from his affinity with animals to his troubles at school. Eventually the kid begins to have nightmares that manifest as violent behavior where he runs out to the wilderness at night to hunt and kill. For the movie there’s just a few hints of a time in his childhood where he suffered from “terrible nightmares” along with a brief mentioning of his affinity for nature.

    Finally part four is where the real meat and potatoes of the story come to a head with Michael’s problems returning to an even worse extent as a teenager. Well sorta. The film makes it that he’s deathly ill and his parents return to this small town in order to learn whatever they can about the kids potential father. In the book this resurgence kicks off at the end of part three when Michael enters puberty and receives a saliva handy-j from a classmate. Yes you read that right.

    Contrasting this final section is total night and day as each version has made such different recipes out of roughly the same ingredients. In prose it’s about a family who has lived and worked in this same town while Michael has two ladies of interest, the lovely Susanne and easy patty. In movie land the family are total strangers to this location with Michael finding romance with a girl named Amanda Curwin. The supporting cast feels much larger even though the actual headcount is likely the same. That’s likely due to the number of book characters who factor into the equation for maybe a chapter or even just a few pages whereas film characters feel like they get a bigger piece of the screentime pie. Events move even further from the source novel as Michael’s final transformation and fate and are vastly different, though I won’t spoil those for you except to say the movie is much more slimy.

    Getting to my take on the which is better debate I obviously have some bias for the movie. I’ve found it to be a great source of gross comfort viewing for decades whereas I finished the novel just this past week. That being said I’m still quite confident the movie takes home the prize thanks to a variety of solid choices. First off is the mystery aspect. The novel leaves nothing to the imagination, telling us everything in linear fashion leaving zero question as to what is happening. Not only does this leave zero room for surprises but it actually makes it so the reader is better informed than the characters so our feelings are somewhat ditched from theirs. In the film we see a horrifying incident and move on to a family with a sick teenager and a need for answers. Not only are we eager to learn about the assailant but we’re immediately drawn in by a parents need to save their which doesn’t even factor into the book until halfway.

    Another winning factor for the movie is atmosphere. It’s got that sort of odd tone some 80s horror flicks had in that it felt like an old 50s drive-in flick only with a level of sleaze and gore afforded by the era of excess. Add to that the setting of wet and foggy southern United States complete with cold nights and dead, spindly trees just makes it all come together. While the novel is likewise centered on the south there’s not much characteristic of the area save for poisonous snakes and some lingo. Much of the environment is very bland and almost too comfortable since the characters have spent their entire lives there. On the hand this helps the themes of the story since it’s about the dangers in your own home, there’s just not enough detail to make it stick. And I won’t go into a full paragraph on this but the monster element in the film is so much nastier than the mental lycanthropy stuff in the pages. The last round that might hold any weight is that of comparison to other works of this kind. The movie holds up quite well alongside gross-out stuff from the 1980s whereas the book seem really generic when contrasted with horror literature of the time.

    Each version still makes for solid entertainment and make for a fun exercise where you pick which pieces you’d include for your own optimal variation. I’ll leave you with that and the advice to at least sick out one of these versions. The movie is out-of-print stateside but there’s a nice European blu-ray out there for those with means. Otherwise it sometimes pops up on weirder streaming services. Meanwhile the book is slightly rare but not so much as to be unobtainable. You just might have to put in moderately more work than normal depending on the current crop of online auctions and such. And for those of you who’ve taken in one or both of these formats do share your thoughts on what works about each of them.

October Snack Report and Halloween Book Sale

 

For a born and breed night owl there are few things more repulsive than waking up at any hour with AM attached to it. One of the daffy aspects of current life however dictates that I must be up bright and early on the first Saturday of each month for one of my classes. Not sure if anyone on the zoom meeting realizes they’re speaking with half a pot of coffee more than there are with me but this past weekend the ordeal of dragging my corpse outta bed offered a nifty extra. For years the local library book sale has been a fixture of my Halloween celebration, one that didn’t seem likely this year. Outside of a small booth at the weekly farmers market there seemed to be no way of recreating that event. That is until the library decided to throw together a one day outdoor version marking a big change from the classic 3 day affair. I know from past experience these are incredibly unpopular posts so that’s why I’ve mixed in a snack report to keep you buggers here.

Now let’s talk books. There wasn’t much in the way of solid horror paperbacks this year, hardly any in fact. I did managed to come across multiple novels involving ghostly or magical cats which almost seems insulting given recent events though I did bring home one called Shadow by Joyce Sweeney that looks decent enough. I was very pleased to come across one of Clive Barker’s anthologies, The Inhuman Condition. Barker is far from my favorite but short stories are a godsend during busy periods like October so I’ll chalk it up to a victory all the same.

Next we enter the world of supposed non-fiction with Hanz Holzer’s Haunted America. If the name seems familiar that because Holzer is one of many authors who wrote about Amityville, namely Murder in Amityville which was the basis for the best film in the series (the second for those of you not paying attention to my Amitville articles). Haunted America is a guide to various famous haunting across the U.S. if nothing else it might serve as a fun travel guide should the world ever straighten itself out.

Finally we have the biggie from Time Life’s Enchanted Realm series. These hardcovers were guidebooks to all manner of magical topics from giants and Camelot, to ghosts and ghouls. This particular volume titled Night Creatures was the one I most often borrowed from the library to thrill at descriptions and paintings of child-eating hags and the like. If ever a series of books embodied a lazy afternoon camped out with a blanket over the furnace vent then these are it.

For whatever reason the media area was crazy well-stocked this year, to the point I actually left some items behind. Someoe either had a Dickensian burst of generosity, or merely lost their marbles, and donated the likes of Midnite Movie double-features, Tartan Asia Extreme Releases, and even a Scream Factory title. While initially excited by the prospect of an area stocked with Vincent Price multi-features I was quickly brought back down by the knowledge I already owned most of these save for Scream and Scream Again. Admittedly far from the man’s best work, and it was paired with The Oblong Box which I already own but that only makes the dollar asking price all the more sweet. Then there’s a Dark Sky Films double with some weirdo sci-fi flick called Creation of the Humanoids and the reason I got it, War Between the Planets which is part of the endearingly silly Gamma 4 series. I believe it’s often cited as the third installment of the franchise but that depends on who you ask, it’s a complicated topic. My final movie pick-up and one I’m most excited for is Doppleganger directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. This is the second time in a month that I’ve been able to nab one of us movies for a buck which either means society is starting to mature or we’re officially past the point of no return. At least when the idiocracy fully cements I’ll have a full stash of quality J-horror to sustain me.

Definitely not the biggest or most comprehensive book sale experience yet it helped things to feel both more normal and a little unique. Not only could I carry on a tradition but I got to do it in a new setting, chilling my feet on a wet lawn. But enough about moldy old books, some of you are just here for the fresh, chemical-filled treats.

Crush Sour Patch Kids Berry Soda

Sometimes you come across a new item in the store that must assuredly be some kind of holiday-linked stunt food only to discover zero trace of spider-webs, Christmas tress, or fireworks on the packaging. Such is the case with new Sour Patch Kids Berry Crush, a product that must be a Halloween inspired bit of indulgence yet suffers from bland presentation. If you were to stroll past the soda aisle and fail to notice this, it’d be a completely forgivable oversight since there’s little more than than the obnoxious blue color and image of a candy person to set this apart from anything else.

Regardless of the Crush group’s inability to latch on to the obvious link between candy and Halloween the thing that really matters is flavor, so how is this Windex looking concoction? Honestly… it’s pretty wild. There’s not much in the way of berry taste and the sour aspect, while there, is slightly watered-down. All that being said there’s still the sugary burst one expects from a soda like this only now it comes with an extra pop which leaves your mouth and tongue feeling a little fuzzy like you just ate a few Sour Patch Kids. It’s not a perfect translation of the candy into a soda instead feeling more like one was infused with the other. On a personal note the stuff blends pretty nicely with gin so… consider that a bonus for any booze hounds out there. I’m gonna he nice and give this a 3 out of 5, a rating that would be higher if they’d had the foresight to put something spooky on the damn bottle!

St. Julian Head Games Wine

While nowhere near as prominent as the west coast of the country, Michigan has a fairly notable selection of wineries to choose from. This time of year it’s common to see plentiful displays of Leelanau’s Witch’s Brew crowding the shelves but this year I took a different route. Seeing as I don’t pay anywhere near enough attention to the wine market I’ve no clue how recent a development St Julian’s Head Games is. Then again who am I to turn down a bottle of spiced red wine with a sparkly skull on the front?

As far as presentation I give major props for the label. It’s tacky enough to be fun without going overboard into ugly territory. Unfortunately this is a screw-top bottle so there’s none of the alluring sensation of popping out a cork. Still; the colors and shelf presence are to be commended.

Taking the first sniff is quite frankly sweet for any wine, let alone a spiced red. I hadn’t paid attention to the back of the bottle which features a handy-dandy dry to sweet scale. Guess where this thing ranks? Naturally I was in no way prepared for the liquid-candy shock headed my way. I mean this shit is like diabetic blood which makes it easy to keep in moderation. It doesn’t earn my highest recommendation but for anyone looking for something different than pumpkin ale this is a nifty treat. Let’s give it around 3.5 outta 5.

Vampire Kisses

When it comes to new Halloween editions of established candy it’s natural to expect one of the three key flavors, pumpkin spice, caramel apple, or the more divisive candy corn. Some ballsy folks at Hershey decided to forgo the standard tastes and incorporate Strawberry into their seasonal offering with Vampire Kisses. I’m gonna come right out and declare these an absolute win by the way.

The packaging itself is a total win. Not only is there a fine three-way combo of blood-red, dark chocolate brown, and a bit of purple but it only gets better once you dig into the bag. The traditional Kisses wrapping is now purple with bats. That’s the sort of attention to detail we love.

The taste is smooth and balanced with the strawberry element toned down enough to work with the chocolate without being overpowered. The fruit goo itself is thankfully smooth, not chalky or lumpy. It’s a satisfying treat that you can just pop a couple and be good with. You should get these… like go put on your mask and go get get some this instant. As for a rating I’ll put it at 4.5 to account for personal tastes.

That’s all for tonight folks. I appreciate the patience with my spotty update schedule. It’s part of the problem with balancing volunteering, regular school, life and this place. For the sake of entertainment I’m gonna try to fit in more small updates to spice up the season a little more. As for you all out there please share in any surprise events or snacks that are helping to keep this Halloween up to snuff for you.

Star Wars Book Club: Kanan and Duel of the Fates

In the time since the last proper Star Wars book club feature the franchise has changed dramatically. The Mandalorian proved to be much different than many people were expecting but still lots of fun, Resistance has come and gone, The Clone Wars has returned for a final season, and Rise of Skywalker got a lot of peoples panties in a bunch. While I've managed to watch and enjoy the majority of this content, I've largely neglected the written word wing of the series. That is until discounted reading material fell into my lap and a certain alternative script for Episode IX leaked online. Suddenly I've been thrust back into that galaxy far far away. With all this content at my fingertips why not revive the old book club feature with a double review of Star Wars: Kanan from Marvel Comics and the script for Duel of the Fates from those guys that brought us the dreadful Jurassic World films.

Kanan

Back when I made a point of keeping up with SW novels I still had a general rule of not getting sucked into the stuff coming from Marvel Comics. Not for any deep reason mind you, I adore Marvel, but simply because I could barely keep up with the traditional books. Adding comics to the mix would have been impossible at the time which means this complete hardcover collection of Kanan marks my first venture into this wing of modern continuity.

As you might expect given the title, this comic centers on Kanan Jarrus of Rebels and New Dawn fame with the focus on flashbacks to his time as a Padawan and his survival of Order 66. Fans of the show will get to see his Rebels crewmates in the framing scenes just don't expect much from them save for the final issue. This is about a budding Jedi and his strange master. Even at that this is very smooth and breezy entertainment, not dense emotional reading which is largely why it succeeds.

If I recall correctly this series was originally meant to be only 5 or 6 issues before receiving an extension. This shows in rough transition from the first story into the second with the flashbacks from the second arc being earlier in continuity than the first. Essentially it’s an ouroboros of a story but maybe that will make for a stronger reread later on.

While the framing device concerns a basic Rebels mission that returns to a planet from Kanan’s past the main action is in his past. For the first arc we see a little of his time in during the clone wars learning under master Depa Billaba. He’s got some clonetrooper buddies and a good relationship with his master due to their shared questioning nature. Depa is one of those characters you can see in the margins of the films and she even had some appearances back in the Dark Horse Comics. As for her personality here I wish she’d gotten more attention overall as she seems like one of the few Jedi with half a brain.

As I’m trying to avoid spoilers I won’t mention the particulars of how Kanan is seperated from his teacher but the remainder of that first arc concerns his introduction to the world of smugglers and criminals that shapes his identity moving forward. It’s well-balenced tale concerning his personal struggles alongside some fun interaction with different underhanded types.

The second arc moves back to how Kanan originally met his master to be and became her Padawan. While it benefits from more Depa it isn’t as memorable a story to the point that I’m blanking on a few details.

The writing from Greg Weisman is very snappy with some excellent interplay between characters and speedy pacing. As someone with a fairly passing familiarity with the title character I found myself caring more about him during these adventures than I have in the past. Seeing as Weisman has a background with animated shows it makes sense that he knows how to keep things straightforward without becoming boring. What helps immensely is the killer artwork Pepe Larraz. This guy knows how to make a killer pretty comic book. Every page is gorgeous and cinematic with just the right touch of cartoon aesthetic. Thankfully he’s the artist for nearly the entire run with only two issues featuring fill-in artists. One of them does a decent job of keeping the look consistent, the other is sadly too rough, kinda like a rough sketch with less interesting panel work.

So yeah this was the most fun I’ve had reading anything Star Wars in quite some time. There’s nothing all that surprising or vital about the story but it’s just solid, attractive comic goodness. In a way it’s much like The Mandalorian in how it exists as a fun adventure that doesn’t overreach or outstay its welcome. It’s a very short read as well but if you come across an inexpensive copy I’d definitely advise picking it up. Thing was good enough to get me considering more of the Marvel material. God, just when I think I’m out they pull me back in.

So let's chat about this Duel of the Fates thing. When this original script for episode IX by Colin Trevorrow and Drek Connoly first leaked to the net everybody started talking about how much better it would have been than what we got. Before even getting into a review let me firmly establish that is not true. Rise of Skywalker may have a wealth of issues but this thing is a goddamn dumpster fire of the first order… see what I did there?

Reading this script makes it very clear why these original writers still got some credit for the finished film as the two projects share a lot of the same beats only to achieve far different results. Take for example how in each story Kylo Ren obtains a device on Mustafar that leads him to an elderly Sith master on another planet. In the films case it is Palpatine on Exegol who marks the main conflict of the story. In this script is is some asshole we’ve never met before on a planet called Remnicore in a sub-plot that lasts like two scenes. There are countless other similarities such as rebelling stormtroopers, force-sucking powers, a fake-out character death, the wasted potential of the Knights of Ren. Yet the script manages to make even worse twists and turns as events unfold. When retelling the plot to my brother I initially forgot the revelation of Rey’s name simply because it was such a none moment.

Character placement and development make little to no sense. General Hux really wants to wield the force, a practice that leads to him commiting suicide with Mace Windau’s lightsaber. Poe and Rey have an awful romantic sub-plot that goes nowhere. Maz Kinata isn’t even mentioned. Everyone is seperated more often than they were during Last Jedi. And then there’s our force users. Kylo Ren barely interacts with anyone and isn’t a threat. Sure he has an evil scheme but it amounts to nothing as if the whole universe would have been better off ignoring him. As for Rey, yikes… these guys can’t write a woman. The developments they’re most interested in for Rey are her new tighter costume, fancy new lightsaber, and her assuredly more mature body, it’s a little creepy honestly. They even take the Falcon away from her, and people say Abrams was feeding negative fanboys. The final duel has no actiual reason to happen and resolves with decision from Kylo that had no build-up.

Even worse than the bonkers characterization and atrocious dialog (no one is no one) is the simple fact that this doesn’t even feel like an ending to this trilogy, let alone the primary saga. The key conflict pretty much amounts to restoring cell phone service while Rey tries to stop Kylo from reaching a fan-service planet. There’s less happening than in the film and yet there’s somehow less action and character development too. Lea is reduced to being kind of cowardly and apparently nothing changed for Lando who I believe is in two scenes total.

While doing my best to avoid major spoilers about the film I can probably sum up the scripts lackluster nature with one vehicle. Much like the movie there are super-powered Star Destroyers in this script. While the ones in the movie are convenient to say the least the audience is given enough information to make up their own origin. In this script there is only one such ship. It’s title is the Finalizer, actual spelling. Hux has it, it suddenly appears, has no point of origin, and despite being capable blowing up planets it finds ships much harder to deal with. Rather than have this thing appear as a sign of how desperate the conflict is they simply use it as a set piece where our heroes fly through chunks of exploded planet and shout quips at each-other. Probably not the best way to showcase a deadly tragedy but that's just how these gents operate.

For as awful as this script may be I honestly encourage anyone who can track it down to give it a read. Being entertainingly bad in a text format is a tough feat to pull off. With all the rubbish descriptions, putrid dialogue, and silly ideas there’s bound to be something that will give you the giggles. God, did I even mention when R2 plays a clip montage from the old movies? That shit totally happens. Lucasfilm made a smart move in canning this project and thankfully this script will linger as a relic of the weaker ending we could have been stuck with.

Thus marks my slight return to the realm of Star Wars written material. Actually I've got another post of two's worth of content to cover in this field but for now this will have to do. It's nice to find something like Kanan that provides solid entertainment alongside the likes of this dreadful script as it showcases all the folds and permutations of a franchise in flux. An announcement for a new wave of High Republic content focusing on the era 200 years before Phantom Menace come out recently. I'm curious to see what can be done once the pool of writers are allowed more freedom to craft stories without dancing around current movies. That's a topic for another night however. Right now it's Saturday night and I need me some horror movies. Ta.

Happy New Year from CosmicSparky and the Loose Threads of 2019

It's a brand new day, friends. Well technically it's always a new day but I'm trying to be poetic here. We are taking our first steps into a new decade. Maybe we'll get a new musical genre, perhaps curry will become the go-to food item, maybe folks will stop dressing like fucking morons! A guy can hope right? Before marching boldly into this new era, which admittedly my first few days have been pretty spiffy, I thought it best to take care of loose ends. Let's look back at dangling threads and unfinished topics along with a little of the best bits of last year and what I'm hopeful for in this one.

One should always pause around this time to think back on what they've been doing. Obviously the key accomplishment of late, one that continues into the new year, is my education. Currently it looks like I'll be ringing in next Christmas with a better degree and a moderate amount of debt but I think it's gonna be worth it despite all the endless papers and assignments needed to get there. It's important to note this shouldn't change my online presence all that much, it might even increase it as I'll be glued to word processors that much more often. Now seems like a good time to invest in eye drops.

Outside of that I got massive amount of excellent slacking done throughout 2019. I actually keep lists of every book read, game played, etc and you'd best believe some of the numbers for the past twelve months are staggering. The usual range for new to me movies viewed in one year is anywhere from 120-170. 2019 ended up with over 220, there's more than twenty video games from different eras, plenty of television, only reading went to the curb since homework largely took the fun out of it. I don't imagine repeating these numbers with a full 12 months of courses to go. I'll admit it sounds kinda nice to maybe have a break from being this lazy as it was starting to get a little stale. On the plus side those deep dives into pulp culture have only provided more potential topics for this year.

Not everything was quite so upbeat however. This household lost two dogs in less than two months. Both were excellent furry friends whom I still find myself missing despite some of their less desirable habits. My finances have been... strained to say the least. Had to spend a month contending with a cats ear-infection. And then there's the matter of my irritated eyeball, which from seems to stem from sinus inflammation causing extra pressure. As challenging as each of these issues were there was still enough strokes of good luck along with some quality experiences to help keep life bright and interesting. No doubt it was a tough year on several fronts but I'm primed to keep moving and make this new decade really count.

Much like reminiscence, it's usually customary to go over the annual haul of Christmas presents though not in the spirit of showing off. No it's far more preferable to share in whatever weirdness or surprises came to light during the traditional gift-giving routine. What stuck out as bizarre this time is that the family was supposed to be on a fairly tight price-restriction which everyone flat-out ignored. Add to that a very festive secret Santa along with some store credit usage during an after xmas sale, and damn did I ever get spoiled. Unsure if I've got a photo featuring the entire stash but trust me there's enough to make me feel guilty.

As for the most surprising gifts, and those that may provide some entertainment for you all down the line, well there are three tapes from secret Santa to begin with. Santa knew my love for VHS oddities and managed to send a few along, one of which is totally unmarked, Ringu style. Expect something on those in the coming month or so. My brother surprised me with a Funko Pop of The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers. Not only did I not know about this lil guy but I initially thought it must be a great custom job since I couldn't imagine the company taking on such a controversial subject (and turns out some folks threw a fit over it). Haven't had anywhere near the time to fiddle with even half of the haul which means I'm set with survival gear for the long dark of January.

As always happens during the holidays I've fallen way behind with the Super Sentai reviews with the catch-up being next on the blog charter. Beyond that I'd hoped to start coverage of past shows in the form of best episode countdowns, or individual articles for stellar episodes from otherwise lousy series, which is the only way to talk about shows like Ohranger. There's an idea forming for how the review format can improve though that won't make itself known until the next show begins. Speaking of which the next Sentai is looking pretty wild and has some interesting talent behind it. Best of all after enduring a total sausage fest with Ryusoulger the franchise is bringing back a proper two-lady approach. As this will be the first true season of the Reiwa era let's hope for something big.

Oh the star wars book club, you were a fun if infrequent feature on the site. Let's face it though from both a financial and time standpoint I simply couldn't keep up with all the SW novels floating around. Even with that failure to keep up I still intended to bring in one more more installments before calling it mostly quits. Which is where Rebel Rising comes in. I read it, I planed to review it, but nothing ever came of it. That's partially my fault for finishing it right in the midst of Halloween coverage but we can also blame the overall lacking quality of the book itself. Many folks have accused the current SW novels of playing it safe and doing very little, a complaint that is both somewhat true and a bit misleading. While not a symptom of all the new novels, inactivity is the hallmark of bad SW books which is sadly where this one belongs. What makes it difficult is that all the technical merits of a decent novel are here, the prose is solid, pacing isn't all that bad, only nothing of actual importance happens. It's simply the early years of Jyn Erso. She's brought up by Saw, ends up separated from him, finds love, loses love, you can guess most of it as you go along all the way to the end. Sure it provides a little more insight into her character. Just not enough to warrant reading a full novel.

The garage can be scary this time of year.

While books fell by the wayside I still largely enjoyed the other Star Wars content this year. The Mandalorian was good fun that was surprisingly secretive even after the season wrap. I found The Rise of Skywalker mostly successful from a thematic viewpoint even though the storytelling was more than a little sloppy. Most of all I'm just excited to see where the franchise can go from here now that the mysteries of this trilogy are largely dealt with allowing creators to go wherever they want from here on.

Conclusions and evolution were the defining factors of a lot of entertainment in 2019. Whether it was Endgame clearing a path for whatever comes in the next phases of Marvel films, countless shows closing up shop, even Supernatural is in it's final run. Hell, the year kicked off with Glass, a trilogy wrap-up nobody saw coming even a few years ago. One of these conclusions provided hours of twisted pleasure as I watched folks get pissed at Game of Thrones. Yes for as much as I like to aim towards positive fun on here, even I have a major weakness for schadenfreude. I'd disliked the series early-on which made for too much fun when family members were shouting at the television on a weekly basis. Plus I had the joy of correctly guessing who'd be on the throne by simply pointing at the person who was already sitting down, though my theory of how they'd get there didn't pan out.

It's a tough year to pick favorites since I'm still very far behind on many fronts. Let's point out a few things that have at least stayed with me. In movies there's Glass (sorry if you hate, but you;re wrong), Serenity (ditto), Avengers : Endgame, Missing Link, and I'm sure some others but I'll know more once I complete the usual catch-up during these early months. Games wise I dunno, just finally got Ni-No-Kuni Remastered and Judgment and have barely touched em. Honestly I think my biggest gaming memories from the year stem from the retro titles I played, even the lowly ones like Resident Evil: Survivor. When it comes to music it's all goodness from the past, namely the discovery of Loudness. That one dollar record has launched a love affair with Japanese hair metal.

Video Games look primed to take over much more time in 2020 started with a tidal wave of Yakuza games in both the remastered collection featuring 3-5 and the release of 7. Then there are new releases for all my favorite RPG series with Final Fantasy VII Remake, Tales of Arise, and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. Then there's all the stuff I still want to catch-up with like Kingdom Hearts III, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Ace Combat 7, Bloodstained, you get the picture. Basically it's a race to see what gives out first, the controller or my thumbs. Movie & TV wise I'm looking forward to many of the usual suspects such as all the new Marvel offerings, Star Wars, then there are a smattering of items like the third Conjuring, that new Underwater flick hails from one of my favorite sub-genres, and I'm very interested in seeing both Halloween Kills and the assured strangeness of Chris Rock's Saw reboot. Mostly I just want to ride this year at a nice casual pace and see what new items might sneak into the pop-cultural landscape.

So I've been at this CosmicSparky gig for over six years now and honestly I wouldn't change a thing. It may not be a huge success but there's comfort in knowing there are folks out there soaking up musings about breakfast cereal, old VHS tapes, and international superheroes. There's also the pride of maintaining one more spot on the internet that exists for fun, rather than ramming negativity, true fan pieces, and editorials that fail to understand their own topics down the collective throat of humanity. Next year I really want to broaden that reach a bit and bring this sort of content to a wider audience. Heck I haven't written for another platform since a certain horror site started tinkering with my opinion pieces last spring. So once again I thank every reader, be they silent or talkative, for making this little speck of the net one of their points of interest. I'll do my best to keep you entertained for years to come.

Halloween Book Sale 2019

If there's any kind of universal force among bloggers it's that each of us has a recurring feature we write more for ourselves than any attempt at gaining fans. In all seriousness if one were to look at the site statistics there's a noticeable dip every time the annual fall book sale pieces pop up. Metrics be damned says I! The local library book sale has been a fixture of my Halloween celebrations for around a decade as it provides the perfect chance to seek out old horror novels and there's no way I'm gonna stop sharing it now. Besides my overall stubbornness this particular sale was a total oddball worthy of posting. Preamble out of the way let's dive into this years experience.

The usual process for visiting this event involves making a small party of family members before heading over in the late-afternoon or early-evening. This time was much different with only two of us and our abnormal sleep-schedules planning on staying awake and heading in as soon as the doors opened at nine in the morning. Upon arriving I witnessed a sight I'd never before encountered in life... a line, a line outside my local library! Some of these folks were hardcore book bugs but a handful were that most dreaded of shopper by which I mean resellers. I failed to notice them initially though my companion encountered a couple of them riffling through books at lightspeed while scanning each for their online value. Combined with how some of the major readers also had their own systems for quickly searching through books and loading anything of interest into their bags, yes they brought their own bags, and the atmosphere was hectic to say the least.

In those early morning hours space is a luxury few can afford which changes the act of browsing into some kind of four-headed tango with different shoppers artfully switching places all while keeping their eyes focused and scanning for treasures. At one point I felt sympathy for a mother who had to juggle caring for her toddler at the same time. Still; emotions for others have little breathing room when the threat of being trampled by the elderly is at its peak. The whole thing felt like a fever dream granting the passage of time a totally ethereal quality. Our usual browsing speed at night is close to an hour yet we found our our trip only took twenty-minutes despite feeling like only a few moments and an eternity. Before this week I never believed shopping for books could be an adrenaline sport.

Given the madhouse vibe of the morning I took a shot at returning to the library in the evening and was a bit perturbed at how much the inventory had shrunk, much more so than in past years. Even with how hectic things had been I was still able to notice individual titles that were missing and major chunks that had been shrunk down by half or more, and this event has to hold on till Saturday. As if to add insult one of the resellers was back as well, cross-checking items using three cellphones. I know times are tough and selling off stuff on ebay and the like can be a nifty way to stay afloat but there's a point when you cross the line into being a pest. Even so this second trip allowed me to view a few sections that were inaccessible earlier which let me bring back two more items.

So how about the bounty itself? Honestly the first haul wasn't half-bad on its own. Not the greatest in my history with this event but far from the worst and the revisit gave it a nice extra bit of gravy. The first title to pop out at me was Night of the Moonbow by Thomas Tryon. He may not be a household name these days but this former actor obtained a decent level of success in the 70s when he authored thrillers like The Other and Harvest Home. His main style was period-piece Americana thrillers often featuring people in small towns encountering hidden terrors. This particular book apparently focuses on an outbreak of violence at a christian boys summer camp in the 1930s. Probably not the sort of thing to read in October proper but when the need for camp themed thrills inevitably returns during the winter months I'll be glad to have this around.

Not certain if The 6 Messiahs totally qualifies as horror though it definitely has the look of it and hails from Twin Peaks co-creator, Mark Frost. Guess this one's a sequel to a previous work where Arthur Conan Doyle teams up with another character who's something of a real-life Sherlock Holmes so the pair can deal with doomsday prophecies and other outlandish threats.

The Curse by John Tigges stands out as likely the most stereotypical horror novel of the whole endeavor with a standard set-up. Stressed-out family moves to the country, awakens something evil, pure comfort food. This is the sort of book that keeps me coming back to these sales with the tacky cover art and statements about unrelenting terror.

Reliquary is a sequal to a book I've never read. The trick however is I've seen the movie of part one, The Relic more than a few times. Since Hollywood never saw fit to bring this second installment to the screen this gives me a shot to dream one up. On the downside I recall my brothers complaining about this one sucking big time back when it was new.

The Revelation is the first novel from author, Bentley Little. Never bothered with his work before but the overall promise of an Arizona town besieged by dark forces is enough to draw me in. The last horror find came during the second visit with Haunted America, a collection of short stories with one for each state in the union.

It's not all scary stuff though as evidence by a blu-ray of Kubo and the Two Strings. Been meaning to see this for years with a recent burst of extra interest as I wanted to seek out more decent animated fare after a relative clumsily accused me of disliking animation due to my seething hatred towards Pixar films. Unfortunately a good deal of the good looking animated films out there are difficult to find on streaming services while some seem to be going out of print which made this a great score. Bookwise I also nabbed First King of Shannara. Only ever read a few installments from the larger franchise, some I adored while others took a big shit on all the good that came before them. Clearly I'm hoping this standalone outing will be on the better side of the series.

Lastly we have an outstanding find from the second trip, The Kelloggs Cookbook. Hailing from the late 70s this book consists of mostly normal, though very outdated, recopies until the addition of cereals comes into play. There's some freaky shit in here like one I believe was called Corn Custard Surprise. Then there are those that seem like they should be ok, Tiger Cookies for instance utilize crushed up Frosted Flakes. Expect a couple of cooking posts coming in the next few months thanks to this baby.

Much of the day went along fairly normal with leftovers for dinner and a gleeful viewing of Godzilla: Final Wars, god is that ever a silly film. Nighttime arrived and was so perfectly autumnal even Washington Irving himself would have struggled to imagine it. Everything from temperature, light, and wind was exactly what a person could want from October. Thus I went out on a moped ride cruising for other Halloween displays in town which was a good-enough time until I came upon a peculiar sight. A house had some decorations oddly close to the road, and upon closer inspection one of them was hanging off of public property. After looping the block I found this to be a classic case of curbside freebies alongside the likes of fishing rods and coolers. Surely I didn't have the room to properly transport medium-sized ghouls on my bike but a car was unavailable, so I returned home to get some bags to make it easier. 15 minutes later I'm in the road wearing my helmet and a reflective vest waving at a passing truck as I struggle to pack up free, and dirty, seasonal décor. Finding the bags weren't up to the task I ended up transporting the items between my legs like a pregnant woman all the way home.

All in all it was a fine day in October though it's not something I mean to rub in your face. No instead I'd prefer it stand as a further example of how this season can make otherwise normal activities into something special. So hope online and find yourselves some goofy local event or maybe go for a walk in a different neighborhood. We're twenty days for the main event which means there's still plenty of time to make the season unique.

Goodbye 2018

Normally I don't bother with end of year articles as I find them tacky. Let's be honest though, 2018 was hardly a normal year. Right now it seems impossible the year is over already as there are still so many things to talk about. At the same time I'm relieved to have it over with, and hopeful for a fresh start. For every achievement and bit of enjoyment that happened these last twelve-months there were just as many baffling and frustrating developments so I decided for once we'd take a look at what went down all while taking a look at what's to come.

Real-Life:

Here's the area where everything seems sort of like a draw. I began the year by losing my security job, possibly the only employment that didn't drive me nuts. This created a financial black hole for the entire year but also opened up the option of returning to school. That in itself was a profoundly challenging task but here I am fresh off my first two classes and signed-up for the next four. During those months of set-up I worked towards expanding my online footprint with work for horrornews.net, made great strides in my interest in board game development, made a few home improvements, and had a decent number of adventures like my weird trip to Madison Wisconsin. On the flip side the family had to contend with constant health issues on both the human and animal front. One cat nearly died from bladder blockage while the older one developed thyroid issues. The brother-in-law had some mystery illness that turned out to be a rare dental condition. My mom likewise had hospital stays resulting from a mystery issue that turned out to be an inner-ear problem. If anything We've earned the right to celebrate a new year simply because we survived.

Moving forward my main personal goal is just to get through more school. Of course I wouldn't mind finally finding a spot that will pay me for some written content cause I really do need money. I'm still gonna work on board game development and novel writing when I can. I'd like to upgrade my transportation situation as well but that's a bit down the line.

For the first time in probably a decade I have an honest-to-god resolution. It's an achievable one as well. Ya know those big 50 packs of public domain movies? I've got a bunch of em that I've only taken s few bites out of. Starting in January I'm going to make them a regular part of my viewing habits. Even then I'll likely only finish one or two of them, but at least it's a start. This plays into another thing I'm considering which is restarting my cable-access show. There's still a lot to study and work out before this could even be a possibility. At best the show could launch in the Summer. I'm hesitant to bring it up should the project flatline but if it does come to pass then it could crossover into the site and possibly lead to a few improvements on that front.

Gaming:

If nothing else this year offered plenty of opportunities to fit in a lot more video games than usual. In fact a good bit of fun came from furthering my classic gaming interests and fitting in plenty of oldies but goodies like Super Metroid, and loads of old-school beat-em ups. I made time for big modern games as well and few things did more to keep this year on track than Yakuza 6 and Dragon Quest XI.

I don't even want to think about video games for next year as there are already so many from 2018 I've yet to play. And that's on the consoles I own. If I'm ever lucky enough to get a switch I'll likely grow into my chair.

Tabletop gaming was sadly not as much of a draw for the past few seasons. To a certain extent this was due to lacking funds and space but it also felt like companies were getting sort of lazy this year. Sure there were tons of games, too many actually, and some really interesting ones like Keyforge and Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra. By and large most stuff that came out just felt sort of hallow and standard issue with bloated mechanics and boring themes. Honestly the best doses of fun came from titles that came from before 2018 like Yokohama or La Isla. Not sure where this hobby will end up in the coming months, possibly it will quet down even more as school demands more time.

Movies and TV:

There were a surprising number of actually decent films this year ranging from some major Marvel efforts to the first decent Halloween sequel in decades. As usual I've yet to find that one film I'd label as my absolute favorite, far too many still to see before making that choice. Yet of any movie going adventure the most memorable was possibly going to see Solo. Unlike the last few Star Wars movies I saw this one a few days after it's release due to my returning home from the Madison trip. It was still a day or two before getting the kitty back from the emergency vet and a trio of myself, brother-in-law and nephew went to check out the flick on a quiet Monday night showing. Unlike those massive shared experiences of the other films this felt intimate and cozy. Heading to Steak n Shake for fatty intake afterwards made a perfect therapy to counteract the stress of travel and near cat loss. It may not be a beloved film but that night was a solid time at the cinema.

Television was more of a mixed bag with me cutting ties with several shows to save time for school which felt even bigger with Agents of Shield going on an extra long break and The Originals ending. Thankfully there were still a few highlights to warm up too. We're all aware of how much I've enjoyed Lupinranger vs Patranger even if it has wasted too much time on filler. Then there was the excellence of Daredevil season 3, the joys of Hulu picking up King of the Hill after Adult swim lost it. Legacies has so far been a fine continuation of CW's attractive monster universe. And of course there's the best show of the whole year, Joe Pera Talks with You. Can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen a show this wonderful and comforting. It's the sort of thing that helps restore your faith in the world. God, we never got into my fairly recent obsession with Tubi and all the treasure hiding on there.

In the new year I'd like to write more overviews and tributes to old TV favorites along with the Sentai recaps which should finally get a new format. Movie wise I'm looking forward to vast supply of movies tailored to me from the three Marvel efforts, Episode IX, two new Godzilla efforts, Glass, US, gonna be spending a lot of time in theater seats.

Music and Books:

2018 Christmas Haul.

Two areas that suffered a bit this year, one from finances, the other energy. I feel blessed to have the moderate record set-up that I do but I'm beginning to fall behind on releases because they cost too damn much. On the other end of the spectrum I haven't read a book for pure entertainment value since our last Star Wars review. The sheer amount of reading and writing for classes totally removed any urge to crack open a book for fun. Should I be able to return to reading those books I have found a way to keep that feature running. A good thing as I'm intrigued by the oncoming batch of pre Phantom Menace era novels. Hopefully some easier classes and aims for more cash will restore these two hobbies.

Overall:

As I said earlier, this year has been a challenge with a few highlights and achievements but the real excitement is 2019.Perhaps nearing the conclusion of major pop-culture movements like Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars IX along with more serious matters like hopefully getting better leadership will make people work a bit more towards the future. My primary focus is school and getting finances restored but there's a good dozen other projects on the table. That's going to make judging the success of the coming year difficult as there could be anywhere from a couple to a crap-load of changes.

There's a ton to look forward to in 2019. This site will have its sixth anniversary and breach the 300 post mark, I'm gonna try and wrap up as many long-term goals as I can. The hope is not only that I can improve over the year but that this place can grow and continue to bring a little fun to you all out there. And take this opportunity to offer some advice on what sort of content you'd like to see in the future. Are there any items you'd like to see covered? Anything you'd like to see dropped? Whatever the case I'm glad to have you all as a readership. Hope you survived the madness of 2018 and are pumped for everything to come. Happy new year to you all.

Halloween Book Sale 2018 and Body Augmentation.

It's no secret that I go on and on about holiday traditions. Partly this is just me enjoying the few opportunities to boast but there's also the joy of sharing personal traditions that aren't universally available. Some people make a habit of visiting Halloween Horror Nights, others hold house-parties, I personally like to visit the local library book sale. This has been major fixture of October for maybe six or seven years so far. Mainly I use it as a chance hunt down out-of-print horror and pulp novels but am glad to include any interesting relics that cross my path. Some years are full of great finds, others require a bit more effort to bring home something decent. This time the sale had the added benefit of making up for an unexpected bit of body augmentation. I suppose celebrating the month of fright in a manner befitting Frankenstein isn't such a bad idea but I sincerely hope it doesn't become a regular occurrence. Sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of teeth and books.

Lately I've been staying up far too late before getting to bed and today was no different. It was nearly eight in the morning when I decided to brush my teeth and hit the hay. Near the end of scrubbing the old purely whites I hit something between the upper front incisors. After applying additional pressure something came loose, leaving a hole in the back of my tooth. Turns out a filling was loose and took the opportunity to pop out.

At first I thought I'd get some sleep and then get up and call some dentists but wouldn't ya know it's incredibly tough to get to dreamland when your body has turned into a Cronenberg movie. Imagining myself as the next Brundlefly I got on the phone and called a nearby dental clinic that accepts my terrible insurance. Problem is nobody would answer the damn call. Next I decided to call my former dentist who had installed these fillings in the first place.

Given the chance to to come in and get fixed up I headed over on this perfectly crisp and cloudy full day. Upon getting in the chair I asked the dentist to check another spot I was concerned about and it turns out there was a second missing filling. Actually heard the phrase “why won't these stay in there?” Nice to know my mouth can mystify a professional. Mercifully they stood by their work and put in the replacements for free. Now I can break in these free new chompers with some Halloween candy.

After some late and much-needed sleep I was finally able to check out the book sale. While far from the biggest selection this year had some real treats. Everything's so crammed together that you always walk away thinking you missed something important. This feeling is even worse when you only have so much cash on hand, which is why I have to return for a tome of local history and maybe the biography of Michael Cain. For now let's just entertain ourselves with the primary haul.

In paperbacks there are three solid looking horror tales. The Vamphyri! is the second installment of Brian Lumley's Necroscope series. I've only ever read about a quarter of the first novel before getting sidetracked by something else but what little I'd taken in has stayed with me since. The whole franchise is a mix of international espionage with ghosts, magic, and monsters. Wouldn't be surprised to see it transformed into a show at some point as peak TV mines ever deeper for new content.

Witch Child is the one that has me really excited. Didn't have to know anything about it after seeing that cover and the Zebre publishing logo. They were one of the biggest pushers during the horror paperback boom of the 70's and 80's which makes anything like this an item of note. Likewise have very little clue about Animals but a cover like this isn't likely to let me down.

When it comes to hardcovers I was lucky enough to stumble across some Time Life Enchanted World books. These were a big deal for kids of a certain age. Personally I used to take them out of the library before I was even able to read thanks to the amount of badass art contain in each volume. Of the three available I stuck with Tales of Terror as the other two were more bright and romantic subject matter.

Next we have The Vampire Hunter's Casebook, a collection of vampiric short stories that had to come home for one reason. Among the selection of unknown tales, and public domain outings is The Night Stalker. That may not stand out to everyone but as the first story of Carl Kolchak, famously brought to life on screen by Darrin McGavin, I had to have it. Out of everything I picked up this is the most likely to be read this month thanks to its short length. Otherwise I have to read stuff for school which is just so boring.

Yes, I decorate DVD racks too.

I was also lucky enough to get a few dvds for a pittance. One is a collection of drive-in trash, some of which I already own, but for a buck who's gonna complain about a few repeats? Then there's Wolf, the big-budget Jack Nicholson werewolf flick. I've somehow avoided routinely forgotten about this one over the decades and had considered buying a blu-ray to finally check it out. Now here it is well-ahead of the full-moon when I regularly view a night of werewolf cinema. Lastly is the infamous remake of The Wicker Man which I'm stashing for use as a Thanksgiving cinematic turkey.

Any day when you can get some good books, cheap movies, and a few new body parts is pretty successful in my book. Time to relax and attempt to finish Super Metroid, watch something spooky, and maybe do a little schoolwork. There should be an update during the weekend and maybe another early next week. As for you Super Sentai fans, recaps will resume though it may not be until after Halloween depending on a few factors. That's all for tonight folks.