13 days of Hallowe'en: Day 9, Handy Spooky music.

Haunted house sounds. Below is an image - don't try to get the sounds by clicking on it. Or do, I would find that hilarious!

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Other Haunted house sounds.
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Spookhaus.

13 days of Hallowe'en: Day 10, Central Ontario Events I am interested in

Meet the Ghosts of S.S. Keewatin.

The Keewatin is a 111 year old ship that was built in England and sailed across the Atlantic. Then, because it wouldn't fit through the locks, it was cut in half and brought through then rebuilt. It is a cool ship with features that would later be reused in the Titanic - not the vulnerability to icebergs but the elegance and luxury. The tour looks pretty cool.

Pumpkin Inferno at Discovery Harbour

The pumpkins in these photos look pretty cool, don't they.

Too bad they're fake! I was impressed with the craftsmanship that went into the carvings until I found the 'pumpkins' were some plastic material like expanding insulation. The event is still good, but not as great because of the materials.

Coldwater had its Witches Walk already and I missed it. But I have heard great things about it so look at going next year! It's Steampunk Festival was fantastic.

13 days of Hallowe'en, Day 11. Tim Burton

I am of the right age that Burton's movies probably shaped my views of Hallowe'en, but of course I figure it is the other way around; His movies best fit my Hallowe'en expectations.

 Tim Burton (Wikipedia)*

Burton's own website. Requires updated Flash Player and may be the first good reason I have seen to update!

Image from IMDB.

Image from Mt Rushmore Podcast's episode on Tim Burton, which I only just found for the image for my blog and will shortly listen to.

Naturally, this means that Johnny Depp was one of my favorite actors. I don't know much about his recent troubles but enough that I do not say he remains a favorite.

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* In preparation for Nanowrimo, I recently donated to Wikipedia. During Nano, I often have five to fifteen different Wikipedia tabs open. The detail there is perfect for me; enough for a general familiarization but not so much I get bogged down.

13 days of Hallowe'en: day 12, Trunk or Treat

In South Korea, few Koreans understand the Canadian -and probably American - concept of Hallowe'en. Typically, they learn that they can wear masks and get candy.
As a youth, I would visit several dozen homes, walking several kilometers, in the process. In Korea, you could visit a hundred homes or apartments without leaving a single building. That would bankrupt the families offering treats and overload the kids with sugar even from a Hallowe'en perspective. So it would be strange to knock on doors in Korea and expect people to know why you were there.

So one my fellow ex-pats in Korea created an event, Trunk or Treat, for the local foreigners. There were problems with ESL schools visiting and cleaning us out or expecting ESL assistance so we had to make the event on Facebook private.

But when it worked, it worked very well! Images from 2014's Busan Trunk or Treat event.

We all met early enough to park the cars in good light and not threaten the children we had brought with us. Then we decorated the cars. I always arrived too late for the games but before dark the kids had a few games and then when it was dark enough, the kids went car to car, having their costumes admired and asking for and receiving candy.

Here is a how-to, if you want to organize your own. Or ask me in the comments for details.

13 days of Hallowe'en: day 13

My big holiday is Hallowe'en. In part this is because Koreans don't really do Hallowe'en and so my friends and I needed to work hard to fit the meaning - scary but also fun - into classes.

This is the first of 13 scary but fun, or in this case funny but a parody of horror, Hallowe'en treats.




You don't tend to see hospital directors carrying shotguns that often.

Old News; Coldwater's Steampunk Festival

I'm just going to skip excuses and reasons for being to quiet on the blog and simply offer a post about Coldwater's Steampunk Festival that took place about six weeks ago.

Ya know what? I am still feeling sick from a cold I caught a few days ago. Maybe I'll extend this post. Maybe.

In the meantime, Nanowrimo is beginning to set up for this year's event. My entry won't be steampunk but I am sure many will be.

Flight of the Butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Bracebridge animals)

They take off in the face of danger; is this bravery? Those long wings seem to make the beautiful creature largely at the whims of wind. As with poker, how much is choice and how much is chance?

The monarch, big enough to be seen at a distance, is on a dandelion. The air stills and the butterfly takes off. It briefly appears controlled and there seems to be purpose. Even now, in air that is to me unmoving, there are climbs and dips for which I can assign no motive.
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The whole flight was a mystery. It pushed steadily to my right then raced to my left, exceptionally fast, climbing as it went. Upon reaching trees, it climbed even more steeply, eventually passing over their tops at 12 m height.

As with poker, how much is choice and how much is chance? As with us?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly