Final Destination: Bike Edition

So for the past few weeks I have almost been hit by a car; whether I was walking or biking. I mean the rate at which it has been happening has started to make me feel like I’m in Final Destination

Woah! Close Call!

Like did I miss something here? Was I supposed to die and the universe and death is trying to remedy that? (Just kidding I do not think I am meant to die)

I mean close encounters with death is not something new to me, I mean I have actually had quite a few near death experiences/narrowly avoided massive pain/situations that could have gone much, much worse. I will have to create a series of posts on that now.

Anyways, so a few weeks ago a woman was making a right turn, and totally decided she wasn’t going to look to the right, in case you know a pedestrian WAS CROSSING AS IT WAS THEIR TIME TO GO!!! Seriously I hate every one who makes right turns. THEY NEVER LOOK FOR PEDESTRIANS!!! Anyways, so I’m about to cross because I finally got the walking sign, and you know those don’t last long, I step out and this lady tries to drive forward because she was looking to the left. I scream and jump back, and she gets this horrified look on her face as if I scared her. AS IF I SCARED HER!! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO ALMOST HIT ME!!! So I end up mad dogging her the whole time I walk across.

Shame on You!

Then there was the day that I almost got hit by a right turn person while I was biking across because a girl was on her STUPID CELLPHONE. THERE IS A LAW BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU!!! PAY ATTENTION!! Eyes should always be looking at where you are going, not down on your cellphone. Ugh. Some people make me sooooo mad!

ARRRRRGH!!!!!!!

Then there was another person who almost hit me making a right turn (seriously you right turning people WATCH OUT FOR PEDESTRIANS!!) And so on, and so on.

There is this one area where you try to cross the street, it takes forever to get by as you have to wait for both opposing sides to be clear. Usually I wait until the cars going right are clear and move into the crosswalk to the wait for the cars going left to clear/stop for me, as it is impossible to have a time when both are clear. So I do this and a car going left CLEARLY SEES ME WAITING and has plenty of time to stop, so I start moving. Only one problem, they NEVER INTENDED TO STOP! This stupid person had decided they could make it and nearly crashed into me. STUPID JERK!

II will end you

That brings me to yesterday. I was biking home and it was night, so I go very, very slow. Let me say the two worst times to bike or walk is when it is 1) Raining, and 2) Night/Dark. People then are CA-RA-ZY!

You are insane

So I’m biking and I reach an area where I have to pass apartment complexes. Now, I’m biking on the sidewalk, as I don’t really like biking in the street at night. So I stop because this car is turning, and I’m under the light waiting for the car to clear the crosswalk. She does, and I move forward, when this crazy soccer mom barrels forward nearly crashing into me. Luckily I caught this in time and turned my bike and hit the brakes. She brakes, quickly glances at me, and takes off. UGH! SOME PEOPLE!!!

THEY JUST MAKE ME SO UPSET!

So that brings us to today. Yep, the very next day I have another encounter. I was biking to school and going through the parking lot and this person almost backs into me. Now I know it can be hard to see someone coming, BUT YOU ARE BACKING OUT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING IN THE BACK TO SEE IF YOU ARE GOING TO HIT ANYTHING!!!!!

Luckily, I made it through ok. Jeez, its like people remember how to drive. Look for pedestrians and bicyclists. Let them go when they are supposed to. Practice safety.

If you liked this post, you might want to check out Doors of Death in which automatic doors almost crush me

and/or

Read about my demon possessed/poltergeist TV, They’re Here

and/or

Read about the time that I had a nightmare on Elm street, Krueger Town

and/or

My 31 horror/suspense/thriller film countdown to Halloween, Horrorfest and its sequel Horrorfest II

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope you all had a fun new years eve and safely enjoyed yourself. I went to two parties; both of which bored me :(, oh well there’s always next year. 🙂

Anyways, I thought it might be fun to do a year in review type thing as I start out with the great things that happened this year and what I hope to bring in the future! 😀

1) The Views

So according to WordPress I received 2000 views on my blog this year. Wow, that is more than I thought I would get and I would like to thank all of you for being a part of this. It really makes me feel as if I am doing something special to see that.

2) #1 Post

Also according to WordPress, my most popular day was October 31st . Surprisingly; instead of the number one post being Everyone’s Entitled to One Good Scare: Halloween (1978), which I posted that day; I Bid You Welcome: Dracula (1931) took the lead. It still remains the number one viewed post. #2 was A Fright on Halloween Night: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949), #3 Grimwood Ghouls’ Gym Teacher: Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988), #4 A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988), #5 Quite A Horror Story: Agatha Christie’s Poirot Hallowe’en Party (2011), and #6 being By George He’s Perfect.

3) The Followers

I just found out that I know have fourteen followers! That’s amazing! I want to thank each of you that chooses to come back and check out my blog. It really puts a smile on my face to know that my thoughts and views interest others.

Now that we have reviewed some stats lets move on to reviewing the highlights of the past posts!

The many handsome men who have played Mr. Darcy

4) Mr. Darcy

I also started the first of Mr. Darcy filled posts. There will be many, many more to come as there is just so much to say about him. My favorite Darcy filled posts were Darcy’s Dream Date and The Beauty of Darcy. I recommend reading both, but especially the second!

5) Character Sketches

I wrote a post of a literary/film characters I really like and admire. George Knightly from Emma. I hope to do more later on, as it is something I enjoy doing.

6) Horrorfest

For the month of October, I posted a blog everyday that reviewed/had to do with a monster/horror/suspense movie. It was an enormous feat and took a lot of time to do. There were many days when I almost gave up, but I ended up completing my goal and posting all 31. This is something I plan to do again next October, along with possibly doing something in February for Valentine’s Day. The films I reviewed were The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949), The Bad Seed (1956), The Giant Behemoth (1959), Carnival of Souls (1962), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), Poltergeist (1982), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Black Cauldron (1985), Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988), Scooby-Doo and the Reluntant Werewolf (1988),  Arachnophobia (1990), The Addam’s Family Values (1993), The Cable Guy (1996), Phantom of the Megaplex (2000), The Secret Window (2004), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005), Perfect Stranger (2007), Aliens in the Attic (2009), and Agatha Christe’s Poirot: Halloween Party (2011).

The days I didn’t review a film I talked about Universal’s classic monster films, the internet movie Butterfinger the 13th, the Even Stevens Halloween Special, Archie’s Weird Mysteries: Attack of the Killer Spuds, and the Austen men in Halloween costumes.

7) Christmas Failure

I tried to do 12 posts of Christmas reviewing Christmas films, but I just became too sick to continue it. I was only able to do five posts about Christmas films-The 12 Men of Christmas, The Santa Clause, Borrowed Hearts, Holiday in Handcuffs, and The Bishop’s Wife. I did one Jane Austen birthday post that I tied into Christmas, a post I know you Austenites would love. And I did a final post listing off six of my favorite songs of Christmas to “equal” 12 “posts”. I’m sorry I had to disappoint you.

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts of this past year, I loved writing them. Here’s to a new year full of new surprises, ideas, and adventures. I wish you all the very best in the upcoming year; may it satisfy you all and me a memorable time. Happy New Year!

I think it will be one lucky year, no matter what the superstitious say!

For another holiday post go to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Everyone’s Entitled to One Good Scare: Halloween (1978)

It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.

Let’s face it, you all knew this was coming. I mean how could I not end Horrorfest without ending on Halloween, literally.

I saw this movie during my quest to view the Big 3. I saw Nightmare on Elm Street first, which I was very disappointed in. Then I saw Friday the 13th, which wasn’t bad, but not super scary. Needless to say, when I got around to watching Halloween I thought it was going to suck. I had seen one of the many sequels before when I was flipping through channels, and that one was absolute rot.

I LOVED Halloween though. I thought it was pretty creepy. I mean some parts are a little silly, like the fact that you can’t kill Michael Myers, because you “can’t kill the boogeyman”, but overall it was a very well done film.

The story is of a young boy, Michael Myers, who murders his sister. I hate how they never explain why he murders her. There are “theories”, but John Carpenter really should have given us a reason why. What was his stressor? What triggered him to this kind of response?

He is sent to a sanitorium, where he is taken care of by Dr. Samuel Loomis. On October 30, Loomis and nurse Marion Chambers are preparing to take him off to be tried at court, but Myers gets away and Loomis heads to Myers’ hometown, Haddonfield, to track him down.

Carpenter really liked Alfred Hitchcock movies, especially the film Psycho. He pays homage to the film throughout this movie; two of these being the names Dr. Samuel Loomis and Marion Chambers. In Psycho, Marion Crane is played by Janet Leigh, the poor women who ends up not living through her night at the Bates Motel. The man she loves and is hoping to marry soon, is Sam Loomis, played by the very handsome John Gavin.

We now are transitioned to the cute ’70s suburban town of Haddonfield. There we are introduced to straight A, good girl, Laurie Strode. Laurie Strode is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and this was her first film and it really made her career. The only reason why she got the part was because Carpenter thought it would be awesome to have Janet Leigh’s, the star of Psycho,  daughter be the star of his film. Janet Leigh had been known as the “Queen of Scream”, a title that her daughter Jamie went on to also carry.

Laurie is planning on baby-sitting that night, watching scary movies, and carving Jack-o-Lanterns. Her two friends Annie and Lynda are much more wild and eagerly hoping to have wild nights with their boyfriends. While Annie’s plans fall through and she is going to be baby-sitting a girl down the street from Laurie, neither are as serious about it as Laurie.

From Laurie, we see that she has a problem connecting to others. She is quiet and reserved. She is also very wistful that she doesn’t have a date to the dance on that Friday, the night after Halloween. Her friends eagerly make plans for Friday, plans that will get changed by Myers.

Laurie spends the days leading up to Halloween in a fog, as she keeps seeing someone watching her, but can’t tell if it is in her head or if someone is out there. No one else manages to see him, as just like in the Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, he always slips away.

I totally relate to her in this film. When you are out walking around all the time like her, a lot of weirdos come around and you never quite know whether one is a safe weirdo, or one who might possibly do something.

Loomis meets up with the local sheriff, who is also Annie’s father, and the two search for Myers. They spend most of their attention focusing on the Myers’ old house. Neither is aware that Myers has already chosen his victims and is stalking them right now.

Laurie gets to the house and is a good baby-sitter, paying attention to Tommy Doyle. He is pretty much focused on the upcoming monster movie marathon. Two of the films he watches that night are The Thing From Another World (my favorite horror movie), and Forbidden Planet (my favorite scifi film). I recognized the scenes from them right away when I was watching it. Carpenter redid The Thing From Another World, titling it The Thing, in whichKurt Russell stars in it as he was a fan of the original film.

Myers’ bloodbath begins! I don’t want to ruin the film for you guys, and say too much more as I think it should be watched. It is really good and has some definitely creepy music, which Carpenter wrote himself. I’m serious when I say that the music sends chills down my spines. It totally creeps me out.

I really like how Laurie’s character fights back. She is pretty tough, and usually women don’t have that role in a horror film. Definitely worth checking this out!

Also Carpenter references another Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window, when the boy witnesses something, but Laurie fails to believe him.

The only thing I wish we had to make the movie better is why Michael kills and why he choose those specific people to be his victims. Alas, we may never know.

Sadly this ends my Horrorfest. There are now 31 Tales of Terror and Woe, which I suggest you read and watch.

I’m so sad that it is over, but it has been a lot of fun. I already can’t wait until next year to do it again.

Have a scaretastic, terrorific, horrifyingly amazing night. Eat candy, watch movies; just have fun. And be safe in anything you do. I just started getting readers and would hate to lose any of them. Happy Halloween! 😀

Here’s a facebook cover page I made for my facebook as part of my countdown to Halloween.

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong in the World

For the previous post, go to When the Itsy-Bitsy Spider Is No Longer Itsy-Bitsy

For more on psychopaths, go to I Can Be Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy

For more slasher flicks, go to Camp Blood

For more films that have spanned sequels, go to They’re Coming to Get You Barbara

Whatever You Do Don’t Fall Asleep: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 Whatever you do don’t fall asleep

Like a mentioned in the Friday the 13th post, I had wanted to watch the Big 3; Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Three classic horror films that changed the whole genre, generating countless sequels. While Friday the 13th and Halloween were actually good, Nightmare on Elm Street sucked. It was so, so, so, so bad. I was so disappointed in Wes Craven the Scream King, I thought it had so much potential to be better.

Shame on you Wes Craven

The beginning was awful as they tried to mimic Psycho, having the first character we are introduced to die off, but it was just done poorly. We never really had a sense of her character, so we never connected to Tina like we did to Janet Leigh’s character Marion.

The main lead character Nancy was just annoying. To be honest, I didn’t care whether she lived or not. I just wanted her off the screen.

Fred Kreuger was gross looking but not that scary.

But he does look and act like a child pedophile. It fits him perfectly. It’s really funny, but Freddy’s name was inspired by a bully who used to pick on Wes Craven all the time. I guess Wes got the final punch in that as he is now associated with a psycho-killer and pedophile.

The only really thing that is really good about this film is Johnny Depp.

Much better hair here than in The Secret Window

This was the first acting job he had and the only reason he got it was because the producer’s daughter thought he was hot. Thank you for that, as this movie would have completely sucked without him.

When you watch the trailer it actually looks like it will be creepy, plus they have the freaky song; but to be honest the only creepy part is when Freddy comes through the phone and french kisses her. It was so gross, my friends and I all started screaming at the top of our lungs!

I’m your boyfriend now Nancy!

I felt the end was just a terrible choice. Wes Craven’s original ending sounded so creepy and freaky; but he changes it for the dumbest thing ever; a dream which we know by all the unnatural fog.

I heard the newest film was pretty creepy and in that version Freddy isn’t a pedophile they kill, but he is an innocent man and that is why he is back to get revenge. I might check that one out later and see if it truly is better.

That’s our post for today! More to come! 2 Days ‘Till Halloween!

Here’s a cover page/poster for my facebook page as part of my countdown to Halloween

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong in the World

For the previous post, go to When Horror Doesn’t Stay on the Screen

For more on psychopaths, go to I Can Be Your Best Friend Ot Your Worst Enemy

For more on Johnny Depp, go to The Only Thing That Matters is the Ending

For more films that spanned sequels, go to They’re Coming to Get You Barbara

Camp Blood: Friday the 13th (1980)

“He neglected to mention that downtown they call this place Camp Blood”

Well last year I decided I was finally going to see the big 3; Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Each of these movies impacted their generation and spanned a multitude of sequels and remakes.

I wish I could post this on Friday the 13th, but unfortunately there is no Friday the 13th this year in October so I will have to settle for the 12th. I know, bleh. 😦

Camp Crystal Lake has been closed ever since a boy drowned. They are going to reopen it this year and all the teenage counselors arrive (except one who dies en route) early and decided to have a little party before their work starts. However, someone doesn’t want the camp to open and is killing the campers off one by one.

So, I actually thought this film wasn’t that bad. I mean I’m not really into slasher flicks, but I thought this was pretty good. I really loved the camera angles they used, as it helped make it look like someone was watching them.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Kevin Bacon in the film as I love Kevin Bacon.

One of the parts I didn’t like was stupid Annie riding around with a strangers; as she was hitchhiking to the camp.

Hey I’m going to be dumb enough to get a ride to the middle of nowhere with a stranger. Nothing will happen to me.

Also all the sex scenes, that was not for me.

The strip-Monopoly idea was kind of dumb too. Who plays that? It almost as dumb as strip chess in Two Weeks Notice.

I was sad when Bill died. I liked Bill.

Well I don’t make out alive. Must have been too much strip monopoly.

The end I think would have been better for me and more creepy  if Scream hadn’t ruined it. Although Mrs. Voorhees was still creepy; in fact she was downright freaky.

Pamela Voorhees: [high voice] Kill her, Mommy! Kill her! Don’t let her get away, Mommy! Don’t let her live!
[normal voice]
Pamela Voorhees: I won’t, Jason. I won’t!

And then when Alice is in the boat and Jason jumps out, that was really unexpected.In fact at this point I jumped out of my seat

Alice: The boy. Is he dead, too?
Tierney: Who?
Alice: The boy. Jason.
Tierney: Jason?
Alice: In the lake, the one – the one who attacked me – the one who pulled me underneath the water.
Tierney: Ma’am, we didn’t find any boy.
Alice: But – then he’s still out there.

The very last scene, when Alice is in the hospital and wakes up screaming she is being killed made me think of the newest When a Stranger Calls when Jill thinks the stranger is after her in the hospital. They must have copied Friday the 13th for that part.

All in all it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t amazing either, a definite fun to watch on a Friday the 13th.

Here’s a cover page I made for my facebook this year as part of my countdown to October.

To read Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong in the World

To read the previous post, go to A Squashed Mess