"If my dreams came true, I'd be living in a horror movie"
~Marty Rubin
Okay, so Blogger is acting up again, so no new photos today, but if you liked the movie I posted a couple days ago, you'll love this one. From 1985, also an ABC made for TV movie, I bring you, In The Midnight Hour. It's a lighthearted take on all things, Halloween, and includes some good music, a few laughs, and yes, what would a horror movie be without some chills? Anyway, it's one of my favorites so sit back and enjoy some fun.
Cast
Shari Belafonte-Harper
DeDee Pfeiffer
Dick Van Patton LeVar Burton
Enjoy!
Update!
Oh look, Blogger is letting me post photos again. Sigh. But I already wrote this post and added the video. Oh well, enjoy the film and I will be posting some new photos tomorrow... I hope. Check back then.
"The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen."
~Shannon L. Adler
Isn't that a pretty moon? When I stepped outside tonight, to photograph the, Full Corn Moon, I was surprised to find that it had a light orange appearance to it. I had completely forgotten that there is still just just enough smoke in the air, from the Northern California wildfires, to change the moon from it's usual bright white color, to a shade that is almost pumpkin color. Strange how a situation so scary and so sad, can produce something so beautiful. I am hoping that when all the fire is finally extinguished, we in California, will be done with "fire season" at least unofficially.
Of course officially it will be well into November. It used to be from May thru October, but with Climate Change, that has all changed. Scientists believe that "fire season" is now year round. I remember as a child there being maybe one or two good sized fires in California, mostly over the summer months, but I also remember my teachers saying that if we don't start taking care of the Earth, we would end up with unprecedented weather and climate events. And here we are!
Here is a look back at how the moon appeared
in the night sky during the Camp Fire,
in the town of Paradise, California.
Our vacation begins in about 6 weeks. Hopefully, all the fires will be extinguished. I am looking forward to some long car rides, and a lot of autumn leaf peeping!
"I am like a small creature swallowed whole bu a monster, she thought, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside."
~Shirley Jackson
The Haunting Of Hill House
Well, I said I might be showing a movie or two this year, and it seemed like a good day to do just that, especially in that Blogger isn't allowing me to upload the picture I would have been posting. Shrug. It happens. I don't know, maybe it's a good thing. Movies are a big part of my interests, especially horror movies, and this one is definitely one of my favorites, since childhood.
It first aired as the, Saturday Movie Of The Week, on February 5th, 1972, although this recording is the, Tuesday Movie Of The Week. I suppose it was a repeat of the original broadcast. But that's fine, because I remember loving it so much, that I am pretty sure I would have watched the rebroadcast, and I am fairly sure dad was sitting on the couch right next to me. Watching scary movies with my father, are some of the most rewarding memories I have of being a little girl. Dad and I had a difficult relationship, but he and I shared a lot too. We had the same sense of humor. We both loved horror movies, and we both enjoyed cooking. He loved autumn as much as I did. His birthday was in early autumn, and always included the first pies of the year.
My father passed away, August 29th, 1995, and while I don't watch for the date on the calendar, I do tend to miss him a bit more. He loved the color of the early autumn sun, and I finally saw that autumn light coming through the bedroom window yesterday. It's here. Autumn is here, and it's just a matter of the official hand-off from summer to autumn in a few weeks! I just wish dad was here to enjoy it with me.
Dad would be the first to say, don't look back, just enjoy where you are, right this moment, so I am excited to immerse myself into the season, and vacation this year, and look for as much beauty as can be found. I feel a bit more optimistic, but I am not being naive, I know that positive outlook will probably come and go. So, for right now, I am going to roll with all the happiness a favorite old movie or book can bring. I have never read the book, so maybe I will do some looking around, perhaps I can find a copy of it at a used bookstore.
When Michael Calls, is based on the 1967 book of the same name, by John Farris. It's equal parts ghost story, and detective story, but more than anything else it's just good all around storytelling. A few twists, that might be a bit predictable, and would otherwise leave me cold, is negated by the excellent acting of Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, and Ben Gazzara. The story was sufficiently spooky, but not so much that it would have given me nightmares as a child. Of course I learned at an early age to see the story through, so I could arrive at the explanation of what was actually going on, because, after all, there are no such things as ghosts, right?
Having watched the film, I know whether or not there was a ghost, but you don't, so you will just have to sit back, hit the play, and enjoy a really good film that will put you in the mood for autumn. 2020 has been a truly dreadful year so far, so it owes us all one. I am hoping that autumn, as it leads us into the last couple weeks of the year, will have gently corrected everything that has gone wrong, or caused pain. Perhaps I am pinning to much on autumn, but I think it's okay to embrace a little hope.
"It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer."
~Dorothea Lange
If you look in the sky, right over big storms, you can sometimes see the most amazing things. I spotted these "angels" last January, after a brief lightning storm, that made it's way across the Central Valley, with just enough intensity to make things interesting. I don't usually spend too much time looking for cloud angels, because why, when it's just as easy to see a mermaid, or a horse, or like my friend Stephen once told me, bunnies. I, personally, have never really settled in on one shape. I see letters, numbers, I even once saw the unmistakable shape of Snoopy's pal,Woodstock. But the last couple years, without trying, I have seen more angel shapes than anything else, and frankly, I am not sure what to make of it. With no real evidence to go on, I can't realistically take it as any kind of sign, after all, it's my interpretation of what an angel might look like... right? They haven't scared me, so that's a good thing. I think. I suppose if that winged thing in the sky is an angel, and it hasn't zapped me for being a complete heathen, at least it let me take it's picture. And if that's true, then I can't be all bad!
Carly Stockton, California August 31st 2020
Photo: Stockton, California January 18th 2020 Nikon
