Hi there. Before we get into the usual preamble, I just want to talk about something that's way too short to devote a blog post on, but too longwinded for a tweet. Singer/songwriter Dua Lipa, who I have heard all of one song from prior to today, dropped a music video for a song called "Levitating" the other day. It's an animated music video which takes obvious aesthetic influence from 90's anime and Sailor Moon, but also has a couple of sly homages to Dirty Pair that I caught. Often, in posts on media important to me, I will refer to the concept of my "internal landscape". The music video for Levitating somehow manages to be a perfect representation of my internal landscape, circa September 2018. The visuals, the sound, the mood... This is pure Freznocore as I existed back then! It's wild, and it's like looking back at a past version of myself, but through this weird audiovisual pool. Anyway, check out the video down below. Visuals are rad, and the song's good too. Past that, on with the main show.
It's that time of year again. Fall beckons, and my fingers tremble in fear; not from the spooky season rapidly approaching, but for the sudden marathon of writing they will now endure every day for the next two months or more. Between this and NaNoWriMo, fall is my most productive period. So, we're announcing the start of that once again. It's almost time for another Halloween marathon in which I write about spooky and spooky-adjacent media during October. The astute among you will notice a change. Previously our spooky marathon was called "31 Days, 31 Screams" and had a post a day during the month of October. I am making the executive decision to cut things in half this year, for two reasons. The first is that I actually have some more writing I need to set aside some energy for during the fall. I don't want to reveal anything just yet, but it's one hell of an opportunity for me and I hope and pray the results are up to par. The second is that I'm running out of ideas for things to do in the spooky months. Last year was a hell of a stretch. I think we can make one post every two days an easy thing this year. 16 days, 16 Screams. Sixteen Screams For Halloween. You like it?
Well, I hope you like it. Of course, as always, even 16 might be a stretch. That's where you all come in! I always open up the request line this time of year for spooky media that you think would result in a good post from me. I am but one individual with my own tastes and focus, and opening the floor to others helps broaden my perspective and cover shit I might never cover otherwise. So, do feel free to suggest some things in the comment section below! I will give you some helpful bullet points for ease of selection on my part:
-I have access to Canadian Netflix and Youtube rentals, and am debating a one-month resub to the streaming service Shudder for the month of October.
-My only real trigger/phobia, beyond a very specific case, is wrist or throat slashing. If such scenes are signposted in the movie such that it's obvious they're going to happen, I can avert my eyes in time. If there's only one or two such scenes in the movie, it's fine with a warning. If it's something like a Friday the 13th or Sweeney Todd, where such things are the main method of murder, that's a hard pass.
-I am open to other media, like brief forays into TV shows or comics or what have you, but it's not my main area of expertise and I'll need a relatively affordable or even cost-free way of access to cover it.
I think that's everything. I look forward to your suggestions, and we'll see you in two weeks for some more screams and spooks and scares. Until then, get some hot chocolate at the cafe, watch the leaves fall from the trees, and wait safely for my return. Then we'll delve into the world of the macabre. Together.
