Introducing "Hitch Park"

Good bye Holiday Hollow and hello "Hitch Park". Inspiration finally came when I saw that cartoon in the header. It was originally a spoof on the game Angry Birds and I couldn't resist.

Please notice the blog url stays the same http://holidayhollow.blogspot.com/. I've found from past experience that changing the URL invariably causes more trouble than it's worth, so there's no need to update bookmarks or links if you like to follow the blog.

There's a new background with grey brick, new colours and a tweaked layout. I'm still thinking about content and have some ideas in that direction. In the meantime, I like the look and feel of "Hitch", as I call it.  I hope you will too.

Ali

Advent

Here in the Park, it isn't always about Autumn or Halloween. I love Christmas too and look forward to this Winter celebration with as much pleasure as the night of tricks 'n treats. Today is the last Sunday in November and marks the beginning of Advent; the time of preparation and expectation for the celebration of the Nativity.

I'm always surprised to find out how few people seem to be aware of this date. But it's important to know if, like me, you know Christmas is much more than one day.

So welcome Advent and let the anticipation begin!

Casket In The Elevator

Many thanks to my cousin Karen in Ottawa who sent me this hilarious gag. What a cool idea for a Halloween trick eh! You can SO tell by the look on people's faces, they DON'T want that coffin in the elevator with them. LOL! I only wish they'd had one or two men as victims because I wonder if the reaction would have been the same.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving & A Very Black Friday To You

To all my American blog buds

Now see this is my kinda Black Friday!

The B Movie Weekend

The regional MGM channel did a B movie weekend this week so I caught a bumper crop of really bad horror movies;

Once Bitten (1985) - with a very young Jim Carrey. I'd forgotten how awful 80s fashion was. The late Cleavon Little as the camp Sebastian is my favourite character in this slapstick movie.

Squirm (1976) - mutated worms eat residents of backwoods Georgia town, vastly improving property prices I'd have thought.

Monster Dog (1984) - Alice Cooper plays a pop star who nuts up to a pack of killer dogs in his hometown. I didn't know Cooper had ever been in a movie until I saw this. He's actually quite a decent actor.

Grave of the Vampire (1974) - Half vampire, half human finds and takes revenge on his vampire father. Wasn't as awful as I thought it would be, though I've seen better.

The Loves of Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) - was as awful as I thought it would be. All though Robert Quarry as the vicious fiend gave a good performance. The poster for this movie is a hoot too.

Swamp Thing (1982) - one of Wes Craven's better flicks in my view. The effects look really dated by today's standards, but the story is excellent. Adrianne Barbeau, Louis Jourdan and Ray Wise are fun to watch.

A Sunday in Autumn

It's a wonderful mid-Autumn day out there today. A heavy mist is keeping it damp and just chilly enough you need a coat, but its not so cold you don't want to go out. Perfect walking weather too. It keeps the local idiots indoors so that what little public space there is can be enjoyed, undisturbed, by those of us who really appreciate this time of the year ie: Autumn!

view on Beacon Hill

There's still plenty to be seen in the Fall gardens and in the small woodlots and fields. Trees are nearly all leafless now. A few still have some stragglers hanging from brown, dripping branches. Mist beaded spider webs hang on houses, gates and bushes. Rowan and holly trees are full of berries. The seed heads of grasses and shrubs are dark and curling with damp.

beaded web

While Halloween may be over for another year, the Spirit lives on with a B-movie weekend on the MGM channel. Last night I set up the old satellite box to record such gems as  "Count Yorga, Vampire", "Squirm" and "Grave of the Vampire".

Isn't this poster for Yorga a scream! Hope your having a great weekend.

This Old Blog

So while doing a bit of housekeeping around the old Hollow blog, I noted it's been going since the Spring of 2009. Methinks it's time for an overhaul in both look and to some degree, content. I need to give this a lot of thought before making any significant changes though. I think the first thing to consider will be the name as I tend to sound like a Christmas site rather than a Halloween/horror themed one.

No disrespect to any Christmas bloggers out there, I hasten to say. I'm a massive fan of the Man In The Red Suit.  I don't want a lump of reindeer poo in my Chrimbo stocking on December 25th!

Only 348 days until Halloween so stay tuned.

Grampires!

I know I said no more posts until next Autumn but I came across this little gem and had to share! Billy Crystal and Helen Mirren ........

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal      

Coming to a scream near you, Fall 2012.