Welcome to the Hellmouth: The 20th Anniversary of Buffy

Exactly 20 years ago, I was 14 years old and halfway through my freshman year of high school. It wasn’t a great time for me. Junior high had been pretty terrible, and I didn’t recognize at the time that much of it had to do with my first severe bout of depression. I also had a lot of social anxiety and difficulty figuring out how to behave around others, which came off to others as being overly sensitive, shy, awkward, cold, and sometimes, a jerk. That isn’t to say I didn’t have friends, but I felt very lonely most of the time. My home life was filled with a lot of movies, music, video games, and of course, television.

Turkey Day Terror

Tradition dictates that Thanksgiving is a time for family, and turkey slaughter. I say the latter with joy in my heart, as I harbor a grudge against all turkeys thanks to one biting me when I was young. I've been biting back with pleasure ever since.

Whether you're planning a traditional full-course turkey dinner with parents and kids and aunts and uncles and cousins and hobos (give that turkey an extra stab for me) or spending your day with the MST3K Turkey Day Marathon (Ahem... hi) it's certainly a time that gets you thinking about family. For better or for worse.

On the other hand, if yours is too much of a headache, you could always think about someone else's family, especially ones that make you more grateful for even your own potentially wacky kin. On that note, here are some of my favorite horror films featuring creepy relatives and terrified families.

Book & Brew: End of Days

During September my library is featuring a display I put together where I pair up books with beers based on a theme. We're using it to help advertise an event we're having in October on home brewing called You Can Brew It! I had a lot of fun coming up with the pairings and lists, and I'm sharing a handful of them each week here on the blog.

This week's topic is the source of some of my greatest nightmares: The Apocalypse. The End, Game Over, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200, Go Straight to Hell. Whether it's zombies, robots, demons, nukes, or demon zombie-robots made of nukes, might as well have a drink cause The End Is Near.

(See the end of the entry for thumbnails and links to the brewmarks!)

10th Anniversary of Buffy TVS's "Chosen"

Usually when we say "I remember where I was when..." it's a reference to a historically important event. I could never compare something like an episode of a television show to an event like that, but I can't deny that I have strong, vivid, emotional memories of media that has touched me on a deep level. Many of those memories are about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Fun With Keywords

As a blogger (ha ha ha! I'm a blogger.)
...Sorry. Some days it's just... weird to realize that. In an I'm-proud-of-it, it-makes-me-happy sort of way. It's like when I first moved out of my parents' house into my own apartment, some nights I'd lie there on the couch looking around thinking: "This is mine." I feel that way about this blog, too.

Anyways, where was I??

As a blogger, I like seeing what keywords bring people to my site. Once in a while they make me laugh, other times I have no clue. So just for fun, let's have a look. I'm pulling these from various time periods, since I've never done it before and I've missed out on some good ones-- maybe this can be a monthly thing from here on out, though.

Buffy the... Guilty Pleasure?

And this weeks Thing That Makes The Least Sense To Me is... Netflix's "Flixie Awards."

Specifically, their "Best Guilty Pleasure" category. Among other such things as 90210, Pretty Little Liars, Bady Boys II, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you can vote for... Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Buffy vs. The Mayans

A new weapon against the undead...

I had never heard of Clown Shoes up until last week, while having lunch at a restaurant near work. I was prepared to go with a bottle of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale because it's a current favorite, but I like trying new beers so I took a chance on their draft of Clown Shoes Tramp Stamp, which is a Belgian IPA. I felt pretty safe with that, I like IPA's, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Since I can't help but start researching things (how I ever got along without a web-enabled smart phone is a mystery) I looked up the brewery on RateBeer's app and my jaw dropped:

They have a beer. Called "Vampire Slayer". And I have not drunk it yet.

Truth be told, my palate isn't quite sophisticated enough for imperial stouts. Yet. It's a little intimidating, but I have to try this beer. I'm making it my mission to track it down soon. Merry Christmas to me, indeed. 

I'm sorry to say I won't be reviewing it, but I don't think I have much talent for reviewing beers. I'm much more in the "Mmmm.... itsss goood" camp when it comes to that. But if you want to see some reviews, I'd recommend RateBeer's Vampire Slayer page. Plus, if you click on "Locate Sellers" on the right hand side you can find someplace to purchase it from. Dear Binny's in Arlington Heights, we have a date with destiny approaching. Hearts, me.

Clown Shoes Beer from Ipswich, Massachusetts

Try RateBeer or Beer Advocate for your boozy researching needs

Or Untappd to feel your boozing is accomplishing something. I'm there (rachelsstorm)!

A Random "Buffy" List

Yeah, alright. So I teared up by the end.

115 Reasons Why We Love Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

It's wise not to agree to watch the series finale with me, it would be embarrassing for us both. So many tears.

And don't worry, it's 115 photos. You're not making a serious long-term commitment if you decide to jump in and read the article!

Merlin

Okay, this may a little bit of a stretch for my theme. But this is Arthurian legend, and Le Morte D'Arthur is a major piece of literature in that realm. So there is some twisty side logic that creates a link. Besides, the reason I started watching MERLIN in the first place was because I had read somewhere that it was similar to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. And BUFFY is highly relevant here, I will eventually talk about it a great deal.