Twisted Mix Tape Tuesday: Something Wicked

This week Jen asked for scary songs.  Hmmmm, well my nonconformist attitude will not allow me to include Monster Mash (I hate that song, sorry) and I’m sure at least half the lists will include Werewolves of London.  I kinda hate Kid Rock for ruining that song for me.

 

This week, I’m off to NOLA on Thursday for my annual Voodoo Experience trip with my bestie.  So much music, so little time.  I’ve found it hard to focus on any tunes this week outside of the set list, though I did make a bit of time to listen to some Velvet Underground yesterday at work (RIP Lou).  So of course, some of the Voodoo performers made it onto the list of terrifying tracks:

Twin Peaks Theme- Angelo Badalamenti

This song still gets under my skin.  This show was so twisted.  When I rewatched it a few years ago, it was just as insane as I remember.

Twisted Nerve-Bernard Herrmann

I also included this on my Tarantino post, but it bears repeating.  Try walking down a hallway with this playing and not freaking out.

O Fortuna- Carmina Burana

If ever I’m to be sacrificed, I’m fairly certain this cacophony of terror will be the soundtrack.

Lullaby- The Cure

A song with the lyrics, “the spiderman is having me for dinner tonight” is always going on my list of scary!  Also, Robert Smith can look a bit terrifying.   Plus, I’m thinking about The Cure, because I get to see them this week!

 

See?!

Cemetery Gates- Pantera

Can’t have a Halloween list without a little bit of metal.  I love this song for running.  AND I’m visiting the House of Shock this week!

Bugs- Pearl Jam

Bugs are gross; thus this song is gross.  Also, I get to see Pearl Jam this week.  Hey, did I happen to mention that I’m going to NOLA this week for Voodoo?

And finally, no Halloween list would be complete without:

Mr. Crowley- Ozzy Osbourne

 

A gem from Voodoo 2010.

 

Stay positive & love your life!

 

-Melissa

 

Today:

Listening to:  Nine Inch Nails – Lights In The Sky

Eating:  Salad

Drinking:  Water

Random fact:  I’m getting a little anxious about going in House of Shock.  I actually cried in a Universal Studios haunted house.  Bring on the stress sweats!

Trifecta: Boo! (The Guest Part VIII)

Last week’s episode of “The Guest” , written for Lance’s 100 Word Song Challenge, left us witnessing Matt freak out a bit after finding their tank destroyed and their guest missing:

Matt took in the scene on the floor; eyes flashing with confusion coupled with fear.  He turned from me and walked out the back door.  From inside, I watched him pace the length of the yard muttering to himself.  It was clear that I’d have to be the strong one here.  It was only fair; I’d gotten us into this mess.

Returning he said, “Well we’re not staying here trapped with this thing, prisoners in our home.   Maybe we can burn the house down?  Be done with it?  Shit, this thing is probably fireproof.  For all we know it’s invincible!”

And now, this week Trifecta asked for:

It’s our last Halloween-inspired prompt of 2013, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for us. Please remember that we are looking for the third definition of our prompt word. Please also note that we need the word exactly as it appears below. No tense changes allowed. Good luck!

boo

1 (interjection)
used to express contempt or disapproval or to startle or frighten

2 (noun)
a sound that people make to show they do not like or approve of someone or something

3 (verb) to show dislike or disapproval of someone or something by shouting “Boo” slowly

Here is Part VIII of  “The Guest”, enjoy:

“Just take a moment to breath.  We don’t even know what this thing is or exactly what’s happened here.” I soothed.

“Exactly my point, crazy!  We don’t know what is loose in our house, if it hasn’t already escaped into the neighborhood.  Would you open your eyes and look at the floor!”  he shouted pointing at the empty pod.

“Yeah, I saw it.  Look, let’s just get this mess cleaned up and go from there.  We’ve got a lot to do before our guests arrive tonight.”  I started carefully picking up glass.

“Are you shitting me?  Did I just hear you say that the party is still on?” he said, his face contorting in a mixture of pure confusion and growing anger.

“You sure did.  I’m not cancelling something we’ve been planning for months over this, this, well whatever all this is.  Just grab the mop and start helping me.”

“Boo!” he shouted, sloppily mopping in circles.

“That’s the spirit!”  I said smiling.

“No, not that boo.  I’m booing you.  I’m booing you for keeping this stupid thing.  I’m booing you for acting like absolutely nothing is wrong when we have an escaped creature or something lurking around.  And I’m booing myself by being a world-class idiot and standing here cleaning with you.  You know, this is the shit that happens in horror movies.  Right now someone is throwing popcorn at the screen and screaming,  ‘Get out of the house!’”

“You’re not an idiot babe!  You’re my fearless boyfriend who is death-defyingly helping me clean up the great tank disaster of 2013.”  I joked,  ending with a little homage to the Friday the 13^th theme music.

He didn’t laugh.

“Matty, grab me a few garbage bags would you? I’m gonna pick this thing up.” I said poking it with a glass shard.

As he left the room I quickly moved the orange hair clumps I’d just discovered under the debris pile.  Maybe his dream about Cubbie wasn’t so crazy.  Where was that damn cat?

Stay positive & love your life!

-Melissa

Today:

Listening to:  The Velvet Underground – Venus In Furs

Eating:  Bean burger and baked beans

Drinking:  H2O

Random fact:  I do have a boyfriend name Matt and a cat named Cubbie, but that is purely coincidental.  I don’t even own a fish tank!

Five for Friday: My 5 Favorite Halloween Candies

My dear readers, this week’s Five for Friday brings us to yet another confession.  I feel like I’m really getting comfortable with letting you in on my deepest, darkest secrets.  I mean, it really doesn’t get any deeper than My Love for Yoga Pants or My Secret Power and it doesn’t get any darker than 5 Guys I have an Odd Crush On.  But this week I’m really dropping a bomb of a secret on you in honor of Halloween.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of year.  Festivals, costumes, pumpkins, hay rides, haunted houses….the list of awesome is endless.  But let’s be honest, the best reason for Halloween is the candy, right?  “Hell yeah!, ” you’re thinking.  “The houses with the Snickers/Reese’s Cups/Butterfingers are the best!” you chant.  Well, that’s exactly where I’m going to stop you.  Yeah, I like all of those things.  But my favorite candies, those ones I look forward to all year, are probably the ones you groan about.  They’re probably the ones that make you consider egging a house or two.  They’re the ones that come from the “uncool” house on the block.  So get ready, here come my:

5 Favorite Halloween Candies 

Number 5:  Bit O’ Honey

This delectable treat is a gift from our tiny buzzing friends, the bees.  Originating in 1924, it’s a chewy honey flavored taffy with tiny bits of almond.

I could eat enough of these to employ a small colony of bees, thereby helping to save the declining population by putting their fuzzy butts to work.

Trade:  One Twix bar for two of your Bits O’ Honey.

Number 4:  Necco Wafter and Smarties

I’m including Smarties because these yummy wafers are true rarities on the trick-or-treat scene.  First produced in 1847, each pack contains 8 different flavors:  lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, chocolate, and licorice.

Trade:  One for one trade of anything in my bag (excluding numbers 1-3).*

*Two for one if you’ll agree to remove the licorice flavor prior to the trade.  Yuck!

Number 3:  Sixlets

Because what is better than chocolate?  Chocolate-flavored!  These tiny, round sleeves of yum came to us from our neighbors to the north in the 1960s.  The chocolatey flavored center is a combination of cocoa and carob.

Trade:  One pack of my fun-size M&Ms for two sleeves.

Number 2:  Candy Corn

These waxy kernels have been as much a symbol of Halloween as the pumpkin since their creation in the 1880s.  As much as they are loved for their seasonal appearance in candy dishes nationwide, they are still on the bottom of most kids trick-or-treat wish list.  I, on the other hand, believe that just like their kindred spirit the pumpkin, these gems of delish should flavor damn near everything imaginable in the fall.

Trade:  A pack of candy corn entitles you to the pick of any chocolate confection.*

*A pumpkin shaped version gets you two picks!

Number 1:  Mary Janes (preferably the generic ones)

I can feel you rolling your eyes.  That’s cool; I’m not ashamed of my love for these bastards of the trick-or-treat game.  Made in 1914, these peanut butter and molasses flavored chewy wax creations take the Bit O’ Honey treat and make it a bit mo’ better.  They possess a chewiness so powerful, it is able to remove loose dental work in a single chomp.

Trade:  All of your black and orange bombs for the contents of my entire stash once I remove numbers 2-5.

Honorable Mentions:

Milk Duds

Tootsie Roll Assortment (minus the abomination known as Dots)

Well there you have it.  I’m a sucker for the old school cheap stuff.  I suppose that makes me the ideal trick-or-treat buddy in a way huh?  What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Stay positive & love your life!

-Melissa

Today:

Listening to:  Youngblood Hawke – Rootless – Commentary

Eating:  Salad

Drinking:  Water

Random fact:  I haven’t eaten one single candy corn this season.  That needs to be rectified soon!

Trifecta: The Guest (Part II)

Last week during the 100 Word Song Challenge, I started a month long story called “The Guest”.  Check out of the first 100 words here.

This week, the story continues with the weekly Trifecta Challenge.  Our prompt this week:

Make sure you’re using the THIRD definition of the word, as always. Good luck and bottoms up!

ZOMBIE (noun)

1 usually zombi a : the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body b : a will-less and speechless human in the West Indies capable only of automatic movement who is held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated
b : a person markedly strange in appearance or behavior
2
a : a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead;especially : automaton
3
: a mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice

Remember:

Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.

You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.

The word itself needs to be included in your response.

You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.

And now, the continuation of “The Guest”:

Is it a snail?  It still resembled plant life, but it really didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen. 

I peered into the water looking for animal-like qualities.  Is there a mouth?  I didn’t see one.  Eyes?  The little knobby bumps seemed to be oscillating, but I wasn’t sure. 

“Matt, come in here and check this thing out,” I hollered upstairs.

“What the hell do you think it is?” I asked as we both stared through the water.

“I have no clue.  But if we don’t clean it out of there soon, the fish are going to run out of room,” he said.

He was right.  Our fish had relegated themselves to the far corners.  They hadn’t even surfaced when I’d sprinkled their morning flakes. 

“They’re terrified.  That’s proof enough that this thing is no good.  Just look at it,” he said, his face contorting with disgust. 

“Well it’s clearly alive; I’d feel bad just killing it.  Besides, my curiosity has gotten the best of me.  I want to see what, exactly, this thing is.” I said, my eyes wide with amusement.

“Okay crazy,” he laughed.  “But just remember what they say about curiosity.  And don’t come crying to me when your precious fish bite the dust.”

“Fine.  It’s just some sort of snail thing.  What’s the worst that can happen? Now, let’s talk about our Halloween party.  We need to get planning.”

“What’s to plan?  We need booze and food,” he said smiling.  He knew my propensity for planning every minor detail.

“Hardy har-har,” I said,  punching his arm.  “Seriously, I want this to be the best party ever.  I was thinking maybe a “Walking Dead” theme. You know, we could make some body part decorations, a grave yard out front, and there’s even a drink called a zombie!”

“Sounds fun, as long as I don’t have to dress up,” he replied.

I had given up long ago on getting him to don a costume.  It was never going to happen. 

Stay positive & love your life!

-Melissa

Today:

Listening to: Real Estate – It’s Real

Eating & Drinking:  Not much.  Busy day.

Random fact:  Must like this character, my Matt really does hate dressing up for Halloween.

Trifecta: Dead End

Halloween decorations started going up at my house
yesterday.  I love this time of year.   The leaves are
are changing and the air is starting to get a little cool bite to
it.   Chilly fall nights are great for a fire with friends or
perfect for snuggling up and watching a scary movie.  So it is
only fitting that my flash fiction start to reflect some of the
sinister feel of  Halloween! October
28^th Driving slowly by the
house for the fourth time that week, she drank in each detail.
Driveway:  gentle slope, not too long, ends in a side-facing
garage. Street ends in a dead end. Tall bushes obscure the front
entrance. Trees block much of the street view. She moved her neck
side to side yielding a rewarding couple of cracks. “Stupid bitch
and her fancy-ass house,” she
muttered. Reaching the dead end, she managed to turn the small car
around with ease. “Practice makes perfect,” she said smiling toward
the house.  “It won’t be long now, bitch.” A tiny voice in her
mind piped up, You know, it takes two to tango.  She
didn’t force him to cheat.  She didn’t coerce… “Shut
up! Shut up! Look, everything was fine before her.  We were
fine.  He was all I had.  She has everything.
 Everything!” she screamed, tightly gripping the steering
wheel. October
29^th Another pass through the
neighborhood revealed billowy ghosts being strung from trees and
fake tomb stones lining driveways. Stupid bitch had cobwebs and
spiders decorating her mailbox. October
30^th She looked in the mirror
admiring her long black cloak and mask.  She was completely
disguised.  The flowing sleeves totally obscured the glint of
the knife she palmed. October
31^st She waited in the
shadows as the last of the stream of trick-or-treaters made their
way down the driveway.  She calmly walked toward the
house.  She could see stupid bitch at the door dressed as a
sexy witch. Last chance to turn back.  Are you sure
you want to do this? “Yes!” she screamed. Stupid bitch
turned around and looked at her. “Umm sorry, I mean
trick-or-treat.  I get excited,”  she said from behind
the mask. “You seem a little too big for trick-or-treat,” stupid
bitch challenged. “Well you seem a little too calm for someone who is about to die,” she said quickly shoving her back into the house and
turning off the porch light. 328 words of twisted,
Halloween craziness written for the Trifecta
prompt:

This week’s prompt word is inspired by a
less-than-inspiring few weeks in the life of at least one (no more
than three) Trifecta editor(s). If this type of language is not
your thing, don’t worry. There aren’t too many more swear words
with third definitions in our dictionary, so we can guarantee
Trifecta won’t always be not safe for work. If it is your thing,
well, give us your best. ASS 1. (noun): any of several hardy
gregarious African or Asian perissodactyl mammals (genus Equus)
smaller than the horse and having long ears; especially : an
African mammal (E. asinus) that is the ancestor of the donkey 2.
(noun): a. often vulgar : buttocks —often used in emphatic
reference to a specific person b. often vulgar : anus 3.
(adverb/adjective) often vulgar—often used as a postpositive
intensive especially with words of derogatory
implication

Stay positive
& love your life! -Melissa
Today: Listening
to:  Eagles
Of Death Metal – Poor Doggie Eating: 
Salad Drinking: 
H2O Random fact: 
My parent’s neighborhood attracts so many trick-or-treaters, that
cars line the entire block.  They can easily spend several
hundred dollars on candy.