Got to cut out the fried food, y’know?
Maybe you’ve seen this in your part of the world, but there are reports of a pumpkin shortage here in the US. After a summer with heavy rains and turbulent winter, the crops have been either rotted out by disease or washed away by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
Depending where you go, you might see your prices increase. Last year, I got two medium sized pumpkins for about ten bucks. They were going for about five dollars a piece at a Stop and Shop (New England represent, punk.) They weren’t really too big, nothing that I would think for a large piece of work. But for five bucks, they were big enough for what designed I wanted.
These pumpkins were outside an organic grocer, so I assume they are organic themselves. Ergo, ten bucks a pop. They were about a reasonable size. If I were to buy one pumpkin this year (likely) then I can see myself paying that much. Not to mention I currently live in a city. I don’t know where the nearest farm would be, and how many subway transfers t’ll take for me to get there.
Considering how warm it has been, it probably has been hard to keep a pumpkin. With your http://www.ZombiePumpkins.com membership, you get access to their forums and all the tips on how to keep a pumpkin from rotting. Using petroleum jelly on the inside (or outside?) will keep the pattern, though check zombiepumpkins for all the info.
I’ve noticed a Key Foods here offering pumpkins for about five bucks a pop and some really decent sizes are available. I wouldn’t buy a pumpkin for another five days. Really, my preference when it comes to carving is about around the 28th, so maybe next Friday, I’ll have another photo essay up. I might take another design from the Zombie Pumpkins site. If you have any suggestions as what I should pick, I’d be happy to hear them.
My cat Jack won’t be with me this year, as he passed away this prior March. He was an old cat with a variety of health issues. I miss him a lot but I was lucky to have as many years with him as I did. Thankfully, I have the Mascot for Halloween 2011, TALLULAH, here to help me out.
It’s Friday and things are winding down for the weekend. So here is the Mascot for Halloween 2011: TALLULAH
TALLULAH (all caps)
TALLULAH’s color scheme and general attitude makes her the perfect mascot for this Halloween season. If you have any contenders to the throne, post links in the comments or over at our Facebook page.
My plans have deviated. Instead of having a snarky, stream of consciousness review of Critters 2 up today, I’ve decided to take a short trip of my own. I’ve moved recently, leaving Crown Street Cemetery and the rest of New Haven behind. I’m currently situated in Northern Brooklyn until I find a permanent arrangement.
Halloween, from what I’m told, is insane in this part of the world. Unless the Witches In Bikinis are having a float this year, I’m going to follow the advice and avoid the parade in Manhattan (due to traffic and tourism, which I am still of the latter until I get my own billing address.)
A local tattoo parlor has gotten into the spirit.
This isn’t the part of the boroughs known for kids and families. I’ll have to travel south for that. However, the lack of kids hasn’t stopped some from getting into it. Seeing the three pumpkins below reminded me the news that due to the constant rains and bad weather of the summer, the Harvest this year is going to be a paltry one. Smaller and more expensive pumpkins. Shame.
One place has gone all out, already.
Though not for Halloween, I did find a car that was oddly appropriate for the season.
I think I’m going to enjoy this town.
When I think to myself “I better go down to the basement. I have two that I need to take the knives to, today,” I realize it’s thoughts like those are why I wouldn’t be a good schoolteacher, but a great one.
Photos by Jonathan Matthews, jon (at) krative.com.
Located in Wallingford, Connecticut, The Trail of Terror (www.TrailofTerror.com) celebrates its 16th year of operation in 2010. Thankfully, haunt expert Bertram Bertram invited me to come visit and partake of the Trail’s spookiness.
This year celebrates ‘Sweet 16,’ marking the anniversary of the Central Valley Hospital massacre that saw the gruesome results of what happenes when you combine madness and teenage girls.
Halloween is for the kids.
[This is going to be a long one.]
Providence, Rhode Island was and remains the home of H.P. Lovecraft. It was a town I had been to only once before I ventured north to see the Deadbolt show at Club Hell back in May 2010. The last time that Deadbolt came east was a year before, playing down in NYC for the Psychobilly Luau. The second-hand account said that it was that the band lived up the image presented on all their recordings. Sparks. Snakes. Voodoo. Of course, they had to come East on the one weekend when I had to go West. Still stinging from my bad luck, I don’t know if I could have bought my ticket any harder than when I did after finding out that Deadbolt were coming back.
Initially, I was going to catch one of the shows down in Brooklyn but I got the heads up about the Providence show because John from The Crimson Ghosts said his new band, The Evil Streaks. Forget Brooklyn. I was Rhode Island bound.
Providence was a short drive in a rented car, a tomato red sedan that was chosen for me out of availability, not because I wanted to be putting 200 miles under the wheels of a cop-catching blur. I wouldn’t roll into town in a car the color of electric-ketchup by choice, but it was all the rental had. My own car had been dead and buried a good six months before. It doesn’t really stand for a stellar endorsement but if you need to go to Providence, go rent a wreck. No need to go all out.
My town of New Haven holds a Grove Street Cemetery, which I wrote about before. The gates beckon that THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED. While walking there recently, I decided to snap a few pictures. You’ll find that there are a couple plaques on the welcoming lodge up front.
New Haven isn’t the most spooky of New England Towns, though it’s getting pretty scary due to the rising random-death-by-murder rate. Fuckers be dying around here for no real reason. I keep asking “what the fuck is happening to New Haven?” but I guess it’s always been like this. Dei Gratia.
At the Grove Street Cemetery, you’ll find some plaques. The first one isn’t all that special, more or less establishing that this graveyard is important to the town. There are some other gravesites out on the edge, more towards Westville, East and West Haven. If you want your body buried right in New Haven, Grove Street is where you want to go.
*
By the grace of god, or ‘Dei Gratia.’ When I have some free time and the weather isn’t miserable, I’ll have to snap some pictures of the actual graves. It’s a nice site that’s well kept.
.jpg)
*
Here’s the real reason I took some pictures. New Haven is home to Yale, which in itself has enough freemasonry/Skull and Bones/Secret Society cultism to keep any person busy. Walking by, I happened to spot some chalkings that seemed interesting enough.
.jpg)
*
I didn’t bother to take any pictures of the Latin above it, since it said the same thing.
IN ORDER TO BE COME IMMORTAL,
FIRST ONE MUST DIE.
Eh. I wouldn’t really lose my shit over that. Yeah, the coupling of opposites – yeah, big fucking deal. If you want to be spooky, but out some fucked up opposite-coupling, like so:
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.
.jpg)
*
.jpg)
So what we have here is seven size-10 footprints outlined in chalk in a half-circle with some vague crypto-cultish bullshit in front of a cemetery that has THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED welcoming you. Either I smell some drama-club level initiation bullshit or some kids decided to be some level of deeeeeeeep which in our world, deep is only measured on how far down you want the body.
My home town. Spooky and fucked up but I love it.
Sometimes, I just love my town.
The Grove Street Cemetery has a wonderful entrance, with the words “The Dead Will Be Raised” carved across the gate. It adds a little spooky to the town, which can be kind of a bore.
Of course, the locals also contribute. This is a husk of bark that bears a resemblance to a horned demon (or you could see your favorite uncle) that one of the locals decided would look great hanging off of a steel bolt from a telephone pole.
Fantastic.
Follow Us
Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.
Designed by 