"There are certain themes of which the interest is all-abosorbing,

but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction."

-Edgar Allen Poe, The Premature Burial

A Lonesome Road

Are YOU Afraid of the Dark?

Growing up in the 90's made for some pretty wonderful television. SNICK, (Saturday Night Nick), was the highlight of the week for me. Mostly because my siblings and I weren't allowed to watch TV during the week, and Saturday meant staying up late.

One show in particular captivated me. There was nothing quite like "Are You Afraid of the Dark?". Not only did some of the episodes absolutely TERRIFY me, I was enthralled with the story telling and the act of gathering around the campfire with friends.

Today, when I went looking for clips to share, just the intro alone gave me a serious case of the heebs. (I frighten easily. Thanks, Adam!) 








Some of my favorite episodes, and the ones that scared me the most, were:

"The Tale of the Phantom Cab"

"The Tale of the Lonely Ghost"

"The Tale of the Prom Queen"

"The Tale of the FInal Wish"

"The Tale of Locker 22"

"The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner" --> Note: Don't watch this if you're afraid of clowns! :-/

"The Tale of the Unfinished Painting"

"The Tale of the Frozen Ghost" --> Note: This one guests Clarissa Joan Hart! Always a favorite! :)

Did you ever watch AYAOTD? Which episodes kept you up all night?

And thus, on Saturday, I watched the last episode of Series 6 of Doctor Who.  Spoilers may ensue.  So is it just me or has River Song over the course of this season gone from "badass" to "Mary Sue"?  I mean yeah she's cool, but it's like he's trying to outdo the RTD companions.  Series 5 may as well have been called "The Amy Pond Show" and nobody would have noticed.  Now it's "Time Travelling with Amy and River".  I have never seen the Companion role get soooo much attention as it has under the auspices of one Steven Moffatt.  Anyways.

After a week of nearly losing my job, my apartment, and my mind, I have now reached a place of peace.  Remember, whenever things seem dark, there is always a sensible way out.  It may require some sacrifice, usually of one's own ego, but it's there and help is always available.  I am a college graduate and I have an interview with DSHS for the food stamp program.  Was it a blow to my ego?  Sure.  But it's what I needed to do.  That's the essence of making magic.  Letting go of the familiar, taking a chance, putting heart and soul and a good helping of hope into whatever you're doing, and watching awesome things happen.  So, whatever life decides to throw at you, throw a bit of magic back at it.  If it helps to toss a handful of glitter, so be it.  Sprinkle that fairy dust.  Just remember, it's a beyach to get out of your hair and carpet.  Vacuum cleaners won't touch that crap.  Yes, I used the vacuum cleaner hose on my head.  Shut up.

The Shortest Horror Story Ever Written

Knock

by Frederic Brown

The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.

Little Bit of Housekeeping

Hello Lovelies-

It seems that some folks are having trouble leaving comments on here and across blogger. If you're having this problem, try two things: delete your 'cookies', and make sure that third party cookies are enabled. Apparently the people experiencing the most trouble are those using Firefox and Internet Explorer. 

Hopefully that helps! 

<3,

Lucy

When the Moon Howls

"Work, Job, and Play" or "Don't Skimp On the Magic"

Carlo's Magenta Wig=Magical Work Uniform

October 1 marks the beginning of Halloween Season for Carlo's One Night Stand, a costume-rental and vintage clothing store for which I work. Halloween Season proves to be an interesting time. People come in the door and characters go out. Sometimes characters come in and sanity goes out. It is a shiny Magical season.

My job, and the jobs of the other girls working at Carlo's during Halloween (aka Carlitas), is to make sure that everyone who comes in the store leaves with something that makes them happy (and of course make money for the store).  Sometimes a person will come in looking for a costume to a character so obscure you'd have to have been alive at a certain obscure time period, at a certain obscure town in a certain obscure city, wearing certain obscure clothes to even get the obscure reference. More than likely that person will have to make said obscure costume at home because the Carlitas and I have scoured the thousand-costume-countryside and come up with "not exactly" what the person was going for. BUT. We will make sure that we give them ideas on how to make their costume and suggest pieces of clothing and accessories they could use to make that obscureness shine just a bit brighter than all the other obscure costumes this Halloween.

Carlo Really Does Have 1000s of Costumes

It's a fun job and at Carlo's we don't skimp on the Magic of Halloween (think eclectic, electric-colored, multi-decadal, playhouse crammed from ceiling to floor, wall to wall, front to back with costumes, vintage clothing, and accessories). I love running around the store putting things in their place, pulling out the perfect hair piece for Jane Austen, showing Gonzo the perfect Hawaiian shirt, getting the bride of Frankenstein all decked out, finding Waldo and Carmen San Diego talking in a corner next to the assassin capes, and helping someone decide on a costume they love. I love dressing up, and costumes, and playing. It's a pretty awesome job.

But it is a Job (a Job that I love, that is fun work, and for which I am grateful, mind you). It is not my Work. My Work is writing and making art. My Job pays the bills, makes ends meet, and makes it possible to do my Work. But too many times I make more time for my Job and skimp on my Work/Magic-Making hours. Too many times I have forced myself out of bed to get to a Job I didn't like but then slept through the hours I could have used for my Work/Magic.

Carlo's reminds me that if a Job can be fun work then Work can be a fun job. Set the hours, force yourself to get to that Work you love on time, and Don't Skimp On the Magic.

Guest Blogger: Elizabeth Austin

Hey Folks- we have a guest blogger for this week. Elizabeth Austin hails from rural southside Virginia, but has made waves all through the great states of North Carolina and Tennessee where she now resides. A student of the Vanderbuilt University graduate divinity program, she's one smart cookie! And cute, too! Granted, I might be be a bit biased, as she is my baby sister. ;) Enjoy!

The sun is setting here in Nashvegas, and I find myself enjoying the beautiful weather as the
seasons change. I survey my kingdom from my apartment’s balcony—and by kingdom I mean
the Logan’s steakhouse across the street.

Now, besides the beautiful weather here, the arrival of Fall means one very important thing for
us Nashvillians*: FESTIVALS. There is the Crafts Fair, the National Folk Musical Festival,
the state fair, Oktober Fest, and of course Shakespeare in the Park. There’s a Blues and Jazz
Festival, Fried Food festival, as well as the Comic Book and Horror festival.

However, the most important festival is the Greek Festival. Oh yes, the Greek Orthodox Church
in Nashville hosts a weekend long event: everything from merchants to dancing to ouzo to
bakalava.

This year, right when I was in need of a particularly fantastic bit of magic, the Greek Festival
rolled around. After a long week of work and papers, topped off receiving the wedding
announcement of your ex from this time last year (there’s a bit of magic for ya--bullet dodged!),
I was in search of an adventure with just me, myself and I.

So, I took off to the festival. I walk in, excited to be lost in a crowd of strangers and seeking out
the baklava tent.

Not even 3 minutes into the gate, I hear someone calling my name. Friends of mine from my
graduate school, and by friends I mean three of the couples from my program. Couples—on a
day when I was decidedly allergic to all things cute and paired.

I put a smile on my face, and begin to wonder if any chance for a magical night of recovery is
possible.

An hour later, as the couples are talking to one another, I spot a sign. It is a very important sign.
It is a sign that proves that God love us unconditionally.

“BAKLAVA
SUNDAES”

So I think, “Hey baklava and sundaes. Too bad I have to choose.” So I mosey over to the line,
and wait anxiously for 15 minutes for my baklava. My friends follow me, deciding they also
want baklava. They chatter away, and I keep anxiously shifting in place like a 5 year old in a
candy store.

As I finally reach the front of the line, the woman at the cash box asks me what I’ll have.
“Baklava!” I say, a little too intensely. She rolls her eyes, and the man reaches to grab the
baklava. As the woman hands me my change, the man hands me a cup.

Only it doesn’t contain just baklava. It is a BAKLAVA SUNDAE. The sign was not either/or,
but both/and! Vanilla ice cream on top of a piece of baklava with baklava crumbles mixed in the
ice cream. This is a cute pairing to which I am decidedly not allergic!

I take a bite, and all I can say is this: pure magic. It was just baklava and vanilla ice cream. Joy
abounding, joy that should not be contained. This, this is the concept of homooúsios incarnate—
forget that Jesus dude—with the plain vanilla combining with the divinity of baklava and thus
be equal to God’s self! And yes, such magic does warrant the formulation of a Baklava
Christology.

So, I share good news of great joy:

“Baklava. And Sundae. Together. Every existential crisis I have had, am having, or will ever
have has just been resolved. Come friends, find salvation.”

And thus I shared the Baklava Gospel through texting.

*1 Sidenote (technically footnote I guess): I love how villain is part of Nashvillian. Tickles my

dark and quirky humor.

Stroke of Luck

What I love about this video, and what Guggi has to say, is that it isn't always about "the great stroke" of the paintbrush. Painting, and any creative discipline, requires so much more than what we see as the end result. How many times have you drafted a story only to throw it out halfway through? I can't begin to count the number of times I've had to put a painting away for a while and go on to something else. ...Probably has something to do with the fact I can't seem to count higher than 10. ;)

We seem to take for granted how much work goes into our craft. Too often there will be that one person who says that they wait for creativity to strike before they begin their work. Personally, those are the kind of people I really want to punch in the forehead.

For the rest of us it's hard work. It's exhausting. The hours are long, the pay is measly, and the critics are hounding. But the end result is always worth the effort. As Creatives we have no choice but to show up and do the work that is demanded of us. Sometimes I'll be in the studio arguing with a painting for hours. After a while I get up and pace the floor. Occasionally I'll engage in a Mexican Standoff with the canvas. Usually it wins.

The good news is that the only reason that I'm even arguing with the painting in the first place is because both I and the work want it to come through completely. The work wants to exist, and I want to get it right. So while we argue, really it's a collaboration. I've learned that you have to communicate with the piece in order for anything to go right. And yes, I'm well aware that makes me sound like a fruitcake, but just trust me on this. Eventually, miraculously, everything comes together and when I step away from the easel I see something I didn't know I was capable of doing. I am sure this is true for more than a few of you as well.

So when that one person eventually says something along the lines that you're so lucky, you can smirk at them and think, "Oh if they only knew."