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.

To Induce Terror

It's no secret that I love words. I love them so much, that the way a person uses words can be a major factor in not only what I think about them, but how I feel about them. Am I saying that I fall in love with the way people talk? A little bit, yeah.

It's the words they choose, how they string them together, how creative they can be creating new words, what type of slang they use; and of course, basic spelling and grammar.

A Little Too Close to Home

from http://k12onlineconference.org

I'd like to have a bit of a "fireside chat" moment, if I may.

Not that the image above is what most of us think about when I use that phrase, but it's an incredibly soothing image to me right now so I'm going with it. For all my creepiness, at heart I'm a simple person, comforted by simple things.

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.

Home again, home again...

I had an amazing time in D.C. last week, and I have some great photos to share with you guys! In the meantime, enjoy my very stupid sense of humor. What can I say, watching camp counselors get slaughtered sounded like a good way to unwind after all that travelling and sightseeing.

Easter! It's a Thing!

On Easter, I personally just go where I'm told and eat whatever animal carcass placed in front of me. But the most effective way to renew my interest in a holiday is to make is creepy as hell. Thanks to HappyPlace.com for making my Easter nightmares come true:

The Creepiest Easter Bunny Photos Ever Taken

God, that's terrifying. The best part of their article is the captions, so check it out for your holiday larf!

I Take My Coffee Dark, Like My Nightmares

[from Cut Out and Keep]

To be more precise and less clever, I take my coffee black. And yes, I can hear you wiseacre Airplane! fans finishing that sentence for me. I'm a big fan of almighty caffeine and the wonderful ambiance of the coffeehouses, diners and cafes that it especially calls home. I hope that in some tiny way that appreciation was, before I was old enough to drink coffee, once influenced by a little TV show on NBC that was cut down before its time: NIGHTMARE CAFE.

Moments from my Creepy Childhood

All together now, readers: "That explains a lot!"

I doubt it was my parents' intent to fill my childhood with creepy things, but as you can deduce from this blog, I gravitated towards them on my own.

This particular item is not just any book about ghosts, monsters and ghouls in a dank castle. This is a *pop-up book* about THE GHOSTS OF CREEPY CASTLE.

"The Cruel Sting" in Sirens Call Ezine #7

I have a new short story in The Sirens Call issue #7, their Women in Horror Month edition filled with short horror fiction entirely contributed by female writers! My story is called "The Cruel Sting" (it's towards the end) and you can download the whole issue for FREE from their website. Be sure to check it out!

Horror Decor

Finally, something for the Librarian of the Dead who wants her apartment looking like a bloody haunted nightmare ALL year round! ...Which I currently accomplish by a few permanent Halloween decoration installations. Don't judge! I know some of you do it too...

Fangoria is/was holding a contest to win some merchandise from Horror Decor, more information on what they're giving away can be found here.

Joe Hill and Stephen King on Richard Matheson's "Duel"

After posting about the Horror Comic Awards last month I've been playing catch-up on all the great titles I've missed. One that I've gotten really into, ROAD RAGE, is not my usual fare, but because I'm a big fan of the writers involved I couldn't help being curious.

Things over in the Library of the Dead have been a little hectic, so I may not get anything new written until tonight. Planning things tends to make your Librarian just a little nuts, and I'm having people over this weekend. Add in lots of meetings and things going on at work, preparing for a collaborative graphic novel genre study by re-reading Maus I & II and Watchmen, the general weirdness of life, completing another short story and an attempt to finish up Star Trek: The Next Generation... well, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to reflect on the darker side of life.

I do have a review of The Apparition upcoming, I'd love to write about the Stephen King/Joe Hill graphic novel version of DUEL along with the film adaptation of Matheson's story, I'm strolling through the art book on ossuaries and charnel houses, I've got two more movies waiting for me at home, I've got games on the brain so I really want to talk about horror themed tabletop games... I'm not lacking for ideas, just the time.

So stick with me, kiddies! Your Die-brarian will be back with more content soon!

Dinner for Five & Roger Corman on Gore

I've mentioned on Facebook and Twitter that lately I've gotten mesmerized by Jon Favreau's "Dinner for Five." I sadly never saw this while it was running on IFC, so if you're unfamiliar (as I was), the show is Favreau inviting all types of celebrities to hang out, eat dinner, drink and swap industry stories. It's amazing, especially if you're super into film and/or comedy. Funny, insightful, interesting. You hear from actors, writers, directors, producers, comedians, musicians, all sorts of people who have done amazing work. So that's why I've been watching back-to-back episodes night after night. 

S-VHS Trailer

About a week ago I posted my own review of of V/H/S, and now we've got a trailer for the sequel-- S-VHS. Same premise, new round of filmmakers. According to Entertainment Weekly, Simon Barrett (You're Next) will do the wraparound, while the videos will come from people like Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale (Blair Witch Project), Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid: Redemption), and Adam Wingard (You're Next).

Film review: V/H/S

I have nothing against found footage style films as long as they're done well enough. As a lover of both horror and fantasy I am not only willing and able, but eager to escape into many unrealistic scenarios. I don't need a 100% airtight line of logic to justify it, I'm fine with accepting that yes, in the world you present to me that every blade of grass in the world is really a conscientious being that's fed up with being trampled on, beginning an epic revolt, Plant Vs. Man, in which 90% of the population is annihilated via tripping. I am on board, let's do this. When I read the first trade volume of Marvel Zombies, my biggest problem was that I didn't buy Thor being zombified. When I mumbled "Oh come on, there's no way that could happen!" to myself, I had to stop reading and have a reality check. Then I continued, because it's fucking Marvel Zombies and I'm going to read the hell out of that.

I say all this in my review of V/H/S to demonstrate that I am not hard to get on board with whatever kooky plot you may have.

Time Enough At Last

The first minute or so of this part of The Twilight Zone's "Time Enough At Last" are how I feel working in a library every day. But Mr. Bemis' bad eyesight is my lack of time. Oh, my ever-growing reading list.

It is strange how much everyone absolutely despises reading and privacy in this odd world Bemis lives in. "How dare you keep up on current events in the newspaper! Literacy is an abomination!" That truly would be quite a nightmare.



Time Enough at Last on Youtube

The Pursuit of Uncoolness

(I got into this line of thinking after reading All the Real (Geek) Girls by Sarah Kuhn, which I highly recommend checking out for yourself. It and my reaction below are mainly not about dead things, however.)

(Me with my award-winning story, in the back row, next to the principal.)

If you went back and asked ten-year-old me whether I was a geek, I'd probably have looked at you as if you'd grown a second head and said, "I dunno, maybe?" If you then told me that in twenty years people would be fighting over who was a "true geek" and who was a "fake geek," I probably would have replied, "What? Why??" Then I would have realized you were from the future and freaked, exploding with joy and endless questions about your time travel experience.

Invasion of the End of Year Lists

It's that time of year where millions of "Best Of..." lists scatter across the vast wasteland that is the internet.

For many of my friends, that means compiling lists of their favorite albums of the year. While music is like oxygen to me, I have never done this. For one thing, I don't keep up on current music. My other issue is that I'm not an "album" listener. I prefer my playlists to be made up of a variety of individual songs played in no special order at all. The age of on-demand streaming music is a good time to be alive if you're like me.

I also don't make any sort of BEST HORROR OF WHATEVER YEAR THIS IS list because frankly, I don't get to see most of the movies that come out during a given year. I wait for the sites I follow to make their lists, then I embark on a quest to find any that sound good to me. It's gotten a little easier to find new horror movies within my library system over the years, so some are ordered through interlibrary loan, others I find on Netflix and the rest are put on a shelf until they otherwise make themselves available to me.

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)!

Is it over yet?

Hold back your shock, but I'm not really into Christmas. I don't even decorate. I can't stand holiday music. I do the family thing, I do the presents thing, I appreciate friends and family who send cards. I have my own little batch of Christmas movies that I may or may not toss on near the... what is it, the 25th? But overall I don't get very much out of the holiday itself, and like many people the world over, I often find it a very stressful time of year. 

With the stress, and the business of preparing for the holiday, it's been a little more difficult to keep up with blog posts, but I'm chugging right through, looking forward to that light at the end of the tunnel that is 2013. I've got a lot in mind for this next year, so here's to gaining a little momentum out of the ashes of 2012.