frytwopia

[repost from frytopia]

Over the next 13 nights (or days, or when we get around to it), Pam and I will be posting the 13 Nights of Halloween.  Join us if you feel so inclined!

On the first night of Halloween
My true ghoul gave to me
A vampire bat in a cave.

Let's get into the mood with some spooky music!

Want to scare some trick-or-treaters (known amongst the haunter crowd as "TOTs")?  The kings of haunted house music are undoubtedly Midnight Syndicate.  The Syndicate gathers the best spooky sounds and develops them into creepy soundscape that will frighten and delight.  I love this stuff, and listen to it all year.

Nox Arcana and Chad Savage also create some lovely, dark atmosphere.

A couple sources I haven't listened to: Music to Die For has several soundtrack CDs, and the HP Lovecraft Historical Society offers An Even Scarier Solstice, their followup to a Very Scary Solstice. 

If you'd just like to get your creep on, Neverendingwonder and 13th Track both serve up Halloween radio.  If you subscribe to a service that includes streaming radio, you probably have a good station available to you.  I'm listening to Yahoo Music's version right now, and it's delish.  I don't have to listen to Monster Mash.

One of the most exciting things I've found this year is Forbidden Crypts of Haunted Music.  They've reached their bandwidth limit at the moment, but be sure to check back later for full downloads of classic Halloween albums that aren't available anywhere else.

Finally, just looking for ideas?  Metafilter asks: what is your must-have Halloween music?

Tuneful haunting!

What are 5 things you'd like to accomplish in the next 5 years?

1.  Have a cool yard haunt running through the back yard.
2.  Get and stay organized--stop being behind on stuff.
3.  Travel outside the country somewhere I haven't been before.
4.  Christ, this is depressing.  Stopping now.

Do you like surprises?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.  But only good ones.

Watched a movie last night ("The Irrefutable Truth About Demons") and there were two co-workers who had an ongoing contest as to who could do a better job of scaring the crap out of whom.

I like to be scared, but that would not be a good surprise.

I just received Star Wars eps IV, V, and VI DVDs, original theatrical versions.

I feel like doing a victory lap.

What was the highlight of your summer?
Submitted by ladym.vox.com.

    HEYYYY!  SUMMER ISN'T OVER UNTIL SATURDAY!  NOT! NOT! NOT!

*cries*

Hiking was fun.  Now the trails will be all muddy.

*cries more*

But Halloween is coming!  There is hope!

If you could watch any movie on the big screen right at this moment, what would it be?

I don't have a lot of irrational fears, but here's one: tsunami.  I cannot stay at the coast for more than a few nights without staring at the beach for the tell-tale signs that the big wave is coming.  Just thinking about it is making my stomach flip.

So naturally, I'd watch the director's cut of The Abyss, because I believe in facing my fears, because I like to be scared, and because it's a cool movie.

Stuff-and-otherwise critters currently on my desk (at work, mind you):

Psychadelic Cicada
Pink Cat
Pink Hamster
Koala
Chipmunk
Penguin
Green tarantula
Sockbunny
Stitch

And I'm not counting pictures, picture frames, and various other adornments.  I have a style, and it's fuzzy.

Ever have two of something, so you give the first one away thinking you can use the other one, then years later you forget that you gave the first thing away, and you give away the second thing, leaving you with no thing?

*sigh*

Looks like I have to buy something.

What's your middle name?  Is there a story or history behind it?

Mom couldn't spell. She tried, it just wasn't in her genes. She used to spell "I'm" as "I'am." Kinda defeats the whole purpose of the contraction.

Ma's middle name was Lourene. She was named after her maternal Aunt Lourene, who was a nun. In turn, she gave to me her middle name. She showed me my birth certificate and carefully taught me the unusual spelling: L-O-U-R-E-N-E. Pronounced Looreen. I was proud of my unique middle name, and used it as my primary name for a number of years. Lou for short.

When Mom passed away, it fell upon me to go through her legal papers. This sad duty was punctuated by a stunning bit of humor. Among her things I found her birth certificate, her name clearly spelled out by her own mother, Elizabeth. Phyllis Laurene. L-A-U-R-E-N-E.