An open letter.

Dear Sir,

I am sure we have a lot in common. For instance, we both appear to be human. I will take a guess and say that we are both probably within the ages of 18 to 55. And both of us certainly like music. This, though, is where we part.

I say this because I would not park in front of a set of apartments with my music blasting. I do appreciate being able to hear my music when in my car, but not at quite the same decibal level as you. No, if I have to scream at the top of my lungs so that my friend may hear me, as you were clearly doing right outside my apartment this evening, I would probably have turned it down. Also, if my vehicle was vibrating because of the bass notes that were eminating from the speakers, I have to say that would have been a clue that the music was too loud. However I do know that some people like vibrating sensations, and who am I to judge you on your more personal likes and dislikes?

I will be honest with you. I did not actually wake up because you were screaming at the top of your lungs. It wasn't because I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was finally being abducted by aliens when my walls and bed began to shake. No, I was renched out of a comfortable stupor because my cat began to cry every time the bed lurched to your bass-heavy rap. Yes, I mean it. He wailed every time.

In closing, I'm going to beseech that you please, please learn to turn down your dial. There are many beneficial elements to this. Not only will I be able to sleep and you won't scare poor, defenseless critters, but you may have better hearing in the years to come. So go ahead; turn it down. You'll thank me later.

Yours,
Brenna

Phobia!

I went to Phobia tonight, and I must say that I was impressed for several reasons. I like being scared, and this definitely did it for me. They had good jumps and a couple of things that were truthfully unnerving enough for me to be scared. It was quite easy to get trapped in the moment and become frightened. Plus, it was in a huge, empty Linens N Things building. How creepy is that?

There were two 'haunts': Voodoo and Asylum. The way that they were described to me by the ticket lady was as so: "Well, Voodoo is more of the outdoors elements as well as inside, you know, graveyards and that kind of stuff. Asylum is an asylum, it has patients and doctors and clowns." Because, you know, all hospitals have demonic clowns. I must say that while I despise clowns, Voodoo scared me more. It had the advantage of being longer, and it seemed much better coordinated. The first thing you saw upon turning the first corner was a black-shrouded figure walking past you and disappearing into a black wall. The tricks and chills went on. You never knew where to look; at one point some guy started screaming at me, and it took me a second to realize that he was actually squatting above me on a fence. One of the creepier effects involved a blood stained bride walking towards me in a dark hall lit only by a strobe light. She had the perfect evil face, and because of the strobe, it didn't look like she ever moved, she just got closer.

Because I am who I am, though, I did manage to make a couple of the actors break character. My favorite break of character was the cannibal cook. The room was blood splattered and there were body parts all over the table. This equally bloody cook came out clanging a pan and cleaver and screaming. He got right in my face (they like to do this, especially to someone who looks scared) and screamed, "DO YOU WANT SOMETHING TO EAT???" to which I replied, "No thanks. I'm a vegetarian". I don't think that this guy had ever had a response like that, because he paused (stopped clanking around and everything), chuckled a little, and just said, "Really?" Then tried to get back into character. He got me back at the end, though, because I had just come through a dark maze to the exit and he popped up and said, "DARK IN THERE, ISN'T IT?" To which I jumped, because I hadn't seen him appear.

Payback is hell.

We have such sights to show you!

I just finished what can only be considered a "Clive Barker-a-thon". By this, I mean I watched both Books of Blood and Hellraiser II: Hellbound in one night. I had no particular purpose in watching these movies, other than the fact that I felt that I needed a break from reading Let the Right One In, which is probably what I would have done. Not that this book isn't amazing; it's just...well, let's just say that one has to be in a particular mood to stomach it.

This is not to say that either of these movies were big ol' pick-me-uppers, but whatever. It's October, and nearing Halloween...I hope I can get some leeway for my morbid tastes. Speaking of morbid, here's probably the only picture of me that I will ever post up on my blog!

I couldn't sleep a few nights ago...so I became a zombie. Sassy, no? Tucson has an awesome zombie walk on October 24th (http://www.myspace.com/tucson_resurected) that I will be missing (damn you, work!), but as you can see from the above, I obviously belong there with my people. Anyone who can make it definitely should, and take lots of pictures for me. I WILL be going to Nightfall (http://www.nightfallaz.com/2009/) this year, though. I have heard it's delightfully cheesy. Huzzah! Another haunt that I'll be observing is Phobia (http://phobiatucson.com/). Ah, Halloween! My favorite time of year. And Tucson really gets into the spirit of things, no pun intended.

Ok...it's been a real scream, but I should go. It's almost 9am, and I've yet to sleep. :D

P.S.- Robin, we must Skype soon, no?

Yes, I did see that door.

I saw Paranormal Activity yesterday. The movie was horribly undermined by all of the screaming and hysteria coming from the crowd. I probably would have found the movie to be more frightening if there had been a marked lack of "OOOH SHIT!" and "DIDJA SEE THAT DOOR?!?!" commentary. The part that really struck me as funny, however, is that everyone in the theater actually thought that the movie was real. Doesn't anyone else remember the Blair Witch Project? Same thing. The movie was supposed to seem real, and people truly believed it until the presumed dead college students began showing up on various tonight shows to talk about their present fame and what it's really like to be dead.

On another note, I recently watched a music video that has been in my iTunes for a while. I've seen it before, and I remember having an equally confused reaction to it before. It has continually baffled me...so I would like to present for your viewing pleasure "Looking Glass" by The Birthday Massacre. Please take a moment to watch the link below and potentially get back to me with commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrcpgIo_9I

Note: I really do like The Birthday Massacre. I just have no idea what is going on here.