happy halloween!

even when the jokes on you
some times
you've just got to laugh

i know
i've been there

It's Warren Zevon Day 2008!

I am tempted to play Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London today - but that would be kind of an obvious thing for me to do on this special day. Warren had a talent for creating wounderful macabre tunes. Here's Warren doing another song from his brilliant EXCITABLE BOY album.

Matthew 5:30

Bruce Campbell got his start in the horror franchise EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II. I had never heard of these movies until my friend Jerry came over to my place in the late eighties with both of these movies. He sprung for the movies and I probably sprung for the pizza. I recommend eating a sloppy pizza when view horror flicks.

EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II were brutal to watch but also funny. The third installment was the best of all - THE ARMY OF DARKNESS. Yes, it too was brutal and gory as well - but funnier than the first two.

You'll need to do what I do when watching movies of this kind - lock the kids in the closet so they are not traumatized my the fabricated mayhem.

creepy crawly

Danny Moon up at MoonSong has invited anyone with a favorite spooky song to drive up and play it this Friday evening. Several songs come to mind - this is one of them. This is THE WHO playing Boris The Spider. The late great bassist John Entwistle is singing this one.

It's a busy week this week. I will probably be making the rounds with the kids. Probably won't make it to Moonsong. It sounds life fun though.

help meeeee!

The original The Fly was made back in 1958. I am sure you can find a copy of it real cheap somewhere. The 1986 version is enjoyable as well. This Halloween is an excellent time to watch some good ol' horror flicks. Like I mentioned in a previous post - I saw most of these old classics on Tom York's Dialing-For-Dollars. Have fun!

little old lady got mutilated late last night

An American Werewolf In London came out in 1981. It came out when I was working at that sweat shop silk screen place in Southside. Back then I would often pick up a fast food dinner on the way home and catch a double feature at The Rebel Drive-in. I didn't really care what I watched. I just wanted a break in the day before having to go home and go to bed and then to get up again and go to that sweat shop silk screen place again. It was during one of those nights that I saw An American Werewolf In London. There weren't many patrons at the Rebel that night - so the lot was kind of sparce and creepy to watch that kind of movie. The movie was great - John Landis peppered his creature feature with a little levity. Great movie, but like I said before, I didn't hang around at the end of the show to watch the credits. The doors were locked, windows rolled up tight as I sped that bug on home.

- so don't go out tonight
it's bound to take your life
there's a bad moon on the rise

it caught on in a flash

Bobby 'Boris' Pickett's dad ran a movie theater - so young Bobby got to take in a lot of old classic monster movies. He was a big fan of the genre and had a knack for doing impersonations. Among his stronger voices was that of the late great actor Boris Karloff. Pickett was already throwing a monologue into a song called Little Darlin'. He and a friend decided to write a spooky song to start a dance craze featuring his Boris Karloff mimic - it caught on in a flash.

Elvis said that the Monster Mash was the worse song that he'd ever heard. I can't help it - I liked the song ever since I first heard it. Bobby 'Boris' Pickett died April of last year. His web site is still up at www.themonstermash.com - that is if any of you have enough courage to file by his cybergrave.

what's the big deal?

Remember Halloween Carnivals? I remember the only time I wanted to go to school as a kid was when R.A. Mitchell Elementary held the Halloween Carnival. It was a blast! A retired teacher told me not to long ago that the school actually owned the casket they used as part of their haunted house. It was kept backstage, behind the curtain in the lunch room. How cool is that? I remember as a kid venturing behind the stage one day and seeing the coffin there. It was a pretty creepy thing for a kid to discover at his school. It wasn't even October. I remember thinking - "Is somebody in there?" I dared not look. The R.A. Mitchell casket was used once a year - for the Haunted House extravaganza that took place behind the stage. When the teacher told me that the coffin was school property - it reminded me of my discovery those many years ago - and it all made sense.

Do you remember Cake Walks? These were real cake walks when a winner won real full-sized two layer cakes? Today you get a Twinky or a cup cake or something. Back then we won real bona-fide cakes.

All the kids came wearing their Halloween costumes. I usually wore a Frankenstein mask. We came home with our Halloween bags full of cool lute. The R.A. Mitchell Halloween Carnival was just as much fun as Halloween night itself.

Today kids have churches offering Trunk-O-Treats and elementary schools offering Fall Festivals. Some anal retentive grown-ups freaked out about Halloween and ruined it for the rest. We were told that Halloween was devil worship and we should turn the night into something else. I admit that Trunk-O-Treats are nice and so are the Fall Festivals - but - they are nothing like the Halloween Carnivals of yesterday.

I don't remember exactly when Halloween Carnivals at elementary schools were spirited away from us - but I will never forget them and don't compare to what we have today. I liked dressing up as Dracula, Frankenstein, or The Werewolf. I enjoyed the spooky as a kid. What's wrong with spooky?

haunted bank

Our family had the sweetest neighbors living next to us on Scenic Hwy. Cindy and I made many trips to and from Bud and Marcella Lawley's homw. Cindy seemed to almost adopt them as her second parents. They didn't have kids and loved on her down through the decades. They were sweet folk.

During one of our trips next door, the Lawley's had purchased gifts for Cindy and myself. I don't remember what gift they gave Cindy, but I do remember what they gave me. I happened upon the above haunted bank. Still to this day Cindy talks about that cool bank. She wanted it and was quite upset at the time that I got the bank and not her. I can understand the haunted bank envy. It was incredible. You put a coin at the door step of the bank - a porch light comes on and a tiny spectre comes to the door and snatches it. It was so very creepy and cool.

Cindy mentioned that gift the other day. I don't know what I did with that old bank. Wish I still had it.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum

the mod fashion are pecular
the young men are no longer
everything that was once
and seeming at the time
forever ageless
now aged
yellowed and dated
but the sound
will never fade
never yellow
always fresh
always young

hey good looking

Don't get the wrong idea about the 70's. This was just as cheesy and stupid of a commercial back then as it is now. I remember people using the phase "Hey good looking, we'll be back to pick you up later!" These were the kind of commericals that would primarily air on Ted Turners WTCG out of Atlanta. There was Mr. Microphone, The Ginsu Knives, Pocket Fisherman, Handy Steamer Cookware, and Wacky Pack T-Shirts.

Wonderful World of Disney

COLOR-color-color-color

Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color!

I looked forward to every Sunday night and watch young Kurt Russell, Tommy Kirk, or Ron Howard face many spine tingling adventures. I didn't care for the wilderness shows (The Living Desert / Vanishing Prairie). I know of many who did. I liked the historical adventures or the full length feature films and animation. There's nothing that Disney Channel can put on television today that can equal the greatness and goodness of The Wonderful World of Disney. Someone needs to thaw out good ol' uncle Walt's head and let him set them straight!

little blue car

This cartoon is Susie the Little Blue Coupe created in 1952. I don't remember when the first time I saw it. It might have been on the Sunday night Walt Disney show. I seem to remember seeing this as a cartoon feature shown on the big screen before the feature presentation. This is one of my favorites of Disney's short cartoons.

I'm going to show it to Kelsey (5yrs) because she loves to play with cars.

the Jesus Movement

The Jesus Movement was part of my experience as a boomer. It was a very real and intense moment in time.

It's Larry Norman soundtrack but you'll see other artists of that day - including Fred Field (of Love Song). Fred came to play at our fall's festival (No Jive Jesus Is Alive Fall's Festival) and hung around for a while - singing here and there and checking out the antique shops here in the south.

Family and friends were pursuing Jesus and doing everything we could to get the good news out. Music, laughter, and revelation. It was a brief era but I have a lot of memories that will last me a life time. God just happened - that's what happened. Maybe the video here will stir some of your own.

ULTRAMAN!

This is the English version of the television show UltraMan. UltraMan preceded Power Rangers but not Godzilla. In fact Eiji Tsuburaya - creator/director of the early Godzilla movie (1954) came up with this series for television as well (1966-67). A boyhood pal of mine, James Harp, was a big fan of the show and got me in to it. I'd head home after school and turn to WTCG 17 (Atlanta) and watch anime episodes of Speed Racer and ULTRAMAN - real men battling each other in robot outfit and rubber monster suits.

The Science Patrol never lost to the attacking creatures because Captain Shin Hayata could always pull out his Beta Capsule and turn into ULTRAMAN!!!

Back then Mr. Microphone commercials would come on during the show and I thought it funny that the Mr. Mircrophone bore a close resemblance to the Beta Capsule. "Hey One-Eyed-Green-Monster-From-The-Sea - I'll be back to pick you up later!"

Naturally all the voices of the show were dubbed from Japanese to English and hokey as all get out. James Harp was into Karate and all the fighting between the giant robot and rubber monsters were done karate style. The show was made in the mid to late sixties but don't think the series made it's way to the U.S. until the early seventies.

Hey Monster! - KARATE CHOP!!!!

funny

Mr. Potato Head

I was telling Katie a while back that Mr. Potato Head originally didn't come with the plastic potato body. Kids had to raid the pantry for a real potato to stick the plastic appendages into. Katie had a hard time believing me. This video should prove her pappy right.

I think the old school way is the best way. Just take a regular baking potato, stick the desired Mr or Mrs. Potato Head appendages on, coat with oil, generously spinkle with salt, then wrap in aluminum foil. Take a fork and poke multiple holes in Mr. Potato Head. Bake 360 degrees for 45 minutes.

Back in the 60's there was only one exception for playing with your food. Mr. Potato Head was that exception. There was a short time when a Mr. Macaroni Cheese and white rice toys came out on the market - but they didn't go over like Mr. Potato Head. As market research turned out - the potato was the favorite starch toy of the baby boom generation.

lucy in the sky

Here's another song Willima Shatner mutilated. This one's for my pal Jerry.

Secret Sam by Topper

Here's another secret agent toy. I didn't have one but remember the commercial. Did anyone out there have a Secret Sam? I didn't play secret agent when I was a kid. I focused almost all of my attention somewhere in the European Theater of Operations - killing Nazis.

GUNG HO!

Here's another Marx toy that was pretty cool. Brook found a discarded machine gun from this set and we mounted it on the back window of Dad's Kingswood Estate Station Wagon - the station wagon with the rear facing bench seat. I think it was Brook's idea and a great one at that! No way was a road trip going to be boring when all other cars and pedestrians were fair game. I tell ya folks - you just can't have fun like that these days and not get pulled over. What's this world coming to?

007 briefcase

This old James Bond toy gun/double naught spy kit looks a bit too real. I think my childhood friend Mark Condra had one of these. I know that he had the radio that turned into a sniper rifle. This briefcase was pretty darn impressive. I don't think this item could be sold in today's post 9-11 times. Imagine little Jimmy being held over at airport security. Wasn't it cool when toy guns looked like real guns? Man, those were the days!

The Lady In White

This movie was a sleeper back in 1988. I discovered it in the $1.00 rental bin back in the early 90's. The F/X don't really hold up to today's standards but the story is unusually good. The story takes place in the Fall and the colors are brilliant. I enjoyed the recreation of growing up in the early to mid-nineteen sixties. Are you are in the mood for a good haunting tale with a great characters and suspense?  Hunt down this movie and watch it this Halloween Season.