Ghosts, Witches, and Vampires ( #BOTB )

         It's October!  Time for Halloween and all the scary stuff that comes with that day of the year.  Are you ready for all the ghouls and other assorted characters who will be soon be tap tap tapping at your door in search of handouts?  But before that happens, are you ready for another Battle of the Bands?

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Halloween Inspired Battle

         Being as such that Halloween is such a popular time of each year--one of the biggest retail events of the year--why don't we have Halloween anthems and songs like we do at Christmas?   There are the traditional favorites like "Monster Mash" or "Thriller" but nothing that seems to equal the huge quantity of songs we get inundated with during the Christmas season.  And I can't think of any scary songs we sing as a group.  Isn't it time for some seasonal songs of Halloween?  With that in mind, I've decided to make this Battle about spooky songs that fit well into a Halloween theme. 

        Every year new innovations in costumes or character themes enter the marketplace.  Possibilities for dress-up run the gamut of every kind of superhero imaginable to all sorts of horror creations to career depictions like medical or law enforcement personnel.  You name it and someone probably will be dressing like it.

         Then there are those perennial favorites that have been around since the earliest times of dressing up for Halloween.  In this Battle I will focus on three of the biggies in costumes:  ghosts, witches, and vampires. I offer you one song for each character and you pick your favorite song and favorite costume.  Will they be the same choices or different?  It's up to you, so just have some fun and play along.  And even if you don't like any of the songs, hopefully you'll like one at least a little bit better than the others.

         Are you ready?  Let's go!

Rebecca & the Sunnybrook Farmers   "Ghost"  (1969)

Jim Stafford   "Swamp Witch"  (1973)

Roky Erickson   "Night of the Vampire"  (1981)

Time to Vote!

         You can be scared of these songs, but don't be afraid to vote!   Which scary song do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Streampebbles (Diedre Knight)



Winner of this Battle Announced on Saturday October 8

         

           Are you ready for Halloween?   Will you be dressing up this year?   What has been your favorite costume that you have dressed up as in the past?  

Halloween ( #AtoZChallenge )

Halloween is that peculiar time when "this is me" is me trying to be someone or something else.  At least that used to be me...





           When I was a kid I loved Halloween.  It was my third favorite holiday after Christmas and Thanksgiving.  Candy was the big draw, but dressing up was fun--often creative fun.  When I started working on the touring shows I was dressing up all the time as part of my job.  Dressing up and performing before audiences was like trick or treat come to real life.

           Some of you might recall that my blog Tossing It Out started in September of 2009 as a Halloween blog.  Since my job of 18 years managing a wholesale costume warehouse in the Los Angeles area had ended and no new job was appearing before me, I decided to take up blogging with the intent of writing about what I knew--the Halloween industry.  That direction soon changed as I became more interested in writing and chasing down eclecticism.

         When the recent blackface controversies arose I started thinking back to see if I could recall whether I had ever seen anyone I knew made up in blackface.  I couldn't recall ever seeing anyone other than on TV or movies in blackface.  I was positive that I had never done it.  Then I came across a photo from around 1993 which I have reproduced below.  Yes, this is me with my two youngest daughters all dressed up for Halloween. 

         I don't see any problem with my black and white themed costume and I certainly didn't have any racial intent in dressing this way. Actually I had a pair of white pants that I never wore so I decided to use them for Halloween.  At my workplace we sold the black shirts, white suspenders and ties, and the make-up so I combined them all for my study in black and white.

          But, yes, this is me...

       Pictured alongside me are my daughters (left to right) Emilee and Angelina.  Emilee is now a star real estate agent in NJ and Ange, also in NJ, is a mother of two children as well as an amazing pastry chef who turns out some spectacular cakes and other goodies that I love to eat even though I probably shouldn't.

       Do you see any problem with my costume as pictured?   Aren't my daughters adorable?    Did you like Halloween as a child and do you like it now?  If you had children did you ever dress up in costume to take them trick-or-treating?

     

Good Morning Little School Girl (#BOTB)

      The best way to avoid controversy is to never say anything.  Of course, if you're known for being opinionated then not saying what you think can be a controversy in itself...

Private School Costume by Leg Avenue

         Halloween used to be mostly a kids' holiday when I was young.   Now adults celebrate bigger than the kids.   Adults spend billions on costumes each year.  A popular trend with younger women has been the sexy costumes.   These costumes are themed in occupational or character roles.  One of the recurring trends is the "sexy school girl" costume.  Often each costume company in the adult market will have more than one style of sexy school girl.

           What does this say about our society?  Do you dress up for Halloween?   Have you ever seen a Halloween costume that offended you?

          Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on the 1st of the month.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.


Good Morning Little School Girl

      This song is among the earliest that I placed on my BOTB someday queue and now after a few years in waiting someday has arrived.  My introduction to "Good Morning Little School Girl" was the 1969 recording by blues rock group Ten Years After.  My initial intent was to use their version, however due to its length I decided to go with two shorter versions.  If you'd like to hear the Ten Years After version you can listen here, but please don't vote on this version.

      First recorded in 1937 by "Sonny Boy" Williamson with attribution to his authorship, he apparently derived the melody from an older blues song.  "School Girl" has become a blues standard and has been recorded numerous times by a wide range of artists.  When looking for cover versions I had no difficulty finding them and most of them are quite good.   Hope you enjoy the versions I have chosen for this Battle of the Bands match-up.


Johnny Winter  "Good Morning Little School Girl"  (1969)

          One of the more well-known versions of the song comes from albino rock and blues man Johnny Winter.  This hard rocking version is rooted in the traditional blues, but updated for the audiences of the hippy dippy sixties.  Get ready to boogie and bop...







Taj Mahal "Good Morning Little School Girl"  (1969)

        Taj Mahal has had an ubiquitous presence on the music scene for the past fifty years.  Not hugely popular with the masses, Taj has become a respected artist among his peers and students of blues music.  His mark has not only been left on many albums, but also in a number of film and television appearances.   Here is a loping take on the song by a legendary blues man...






Time to Vote!

        How's this pairing hit you?  Do you have a preference between these two choices?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. Which version do you like the best?   You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts (though this round I might be the only one):

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside 


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday September 22

        Please check back next Friday to see which version gets the most votes.  And please make sure that your vote is included.  If I get fired up with writing between now and then I might have another post as well.  I make no promises for now.  Blogging is not conducive to promise making.

In Honor of Great Explorers

       Halloween doesn't particularly inspire costumes depicting the great explorers of history.  For that matter, historical figures are generally excluded.  Perhaps there is the occasional president like Abe Lincoln.  And Richard Nixon probably still tops the list of most popular presidential mask. There are the American history generics like cowboys and indians. But great explorers are not typically thought of as dress-up fodder.  Then again when has there been a great explorer movie that has been a huge hit.  No licensing opportunities there so far.
       Actually a Christopher Columbus costume might be kind of cool.  And Hernando Cortez or any of the other conquistadors would make fine costuming with the metal helmets and all.  Lewis and Clark would be a bit more rustic and less exciting I suppose, but it would be a good buddy or couples costume selection-- or add Sacajawea and you got a group. Then there's Marco Polo.  Astronauts could probably fit with the explorers crowd, but I think that costume is fairly regularly represented each year. As for me, I think I might go for Cabeza de Vaca (Google him if you're curious), but maybe I'll go into that on some future post.
       So why in the world am I pontificating on famous explorers?  Well, I have spent a goodly portion of the past several days exploring the blogosphere.  It could take more than a lifetime to adequately check them all out. There is really a lot out there-- so many people, topics, styles.  What I want to do is figure out as much as I can about this whole realm of the internet.  What works?  Who reads?  Why do people come to your site?  How do you keep them coming back?  It's really a lot to deal with.  No wonder there are so many "courses" on how to do the various internet things.  I find myself going in circles in my research at times.  But I shall persist.  Please if any readers have any suggestions, recommendations, or comments toss them out to me.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.
         Oh, and by the way, don't forget:   Halloween is coming!

The Mystery of Alley Oop

       Halloween costumes have become rather complex in many cases.  Costume licensing is a huge business and each new movie release requires a new envisioning of a costume that in past times had been pretty traditional.  Adding muscles, newly designed logos, or variations in colors and style design means the old costumes might be considered passe.  When I was a child you could just tie a piece of cloth-- like a towel say--around your neck and with a little imagination and your say so you were Superman.  That day is gone. Now check out costumes on the web or in the store and you will find many styles and quality variants of the Superman garb. You can be the Superman from the comic book, the cartoon, or any number of movies. The towel and the imagination are part of an impoverished past.
      A major turning point came about with the 1989 Batman movie.  The various degrees of costume quality in part heavily directed to the adult costume wearer were a hit with the dress up crowd.  The licensing entities of the motion picture industry quickly caught on and it was no longer business as it had been in the past. The license became bigger than ever and more expensive as well.  But there was and is money to be made.  Now you don't just dress up like Batman, you are Batman --"as seen in the movie!".  It's all become a little too slick and in some ways taken away some of the fun.  It's hard to compete in the local costume contest with your homemade slapped together duds when you're up against a professional outfit rented from the costume shop.
        But thinking about the topic of licensing based on popular movies, it got me to thinking about one of my favorite comic characters of my younger days.  Where the heck is Alley Oop?  Granted a lot of people don't know what you're talking about when you mention Alley Oop.  Basketball fans might say that it is a pass of the ball.  Or it's also the name of a football play. Other people might recall the song from about 40 or 50 years back called "Alley Oop".  But where did the name Alley Oop come from?  Well, he was one of the greatest comic book characters of all time as far as I'm concerned.
         For those unfamiliar with Alley Oop he was a caveman who rode around on a dinosaur named Dinny and had an adorable love interest named Ooola.  He was transported into the future by a couple of eccentric scientists who then proceded to bounce him around through hero.  Alley was a muscle-bound guy who was practically naked most of the time, but he was funny and smart.  Great movie material.  And talk about sequels -- the possibilities are endless. 
          For years the Flintstones have been among the most popular Halloween costumes.  People like cavemen and women.  With today's special effects you can really do the dinosaurs good.  The Alley Oop movie would have everything needed for huge money-making licensing opportunities -- action figures, imprinted items, and Halloween costumes.
       Back at the beginning of August I took a road trip to Houston and on the way back to L.A. stopped at Iraan, Texas-- the "birthplace" of Alley Oop.  There is a park there dedicated to his honor.   I had heard of it many years ago and decided that this time I would make a side trip to visit.  Iraan is in the rugged, arid desolation of West Texas.  The country has a stark beauty that is such a striking part of the American West.
With temperatures in the 100's I was certainly thankful for comfortable cars with good air conditioning.  We arrived in town midday.  It didn't look like the sort of place where one would want to spend much time let alone live in. Then we came to empty parking lot for the empty "Alley Oop Fantasyland" park. I saw a couple of lizard and that was about it. It was Monday, but even on weekends this was probably a pretty non-happening place.  The park was well maintained.  There was a small museum that appeared to deal more with prehistory, indigeonous people, and history than Alley Oop, but the museum was closed.  But I was glad that I was there to pay homage to a sadly neglected American icon.  We took some pictures and moved on--that was as about as much as we could do.  However the sidetrip for the scenery alone was worth the detour off of I-10 and I would highly recommend it if you have the time if ever you are passing that way.
         So in closing I want to put my emphatic vote for a big-budget, full blown special effects laden, decent and respectful big screen feature treatment of Alley Oop.  If done right I think it would be a tremendously entertaining film that would could be a franchise with legs to keep it going for years to come. And the licensing potential could be huge.  Hear that Hollywood!  You could make a lot of money.

  

Here I am at "Alley Oop Fantasyland" park in Iraan, Texas posing with the giant bust of Alley Oop himself and with Dinny the Dinosaur.