Starbody

Northampton State Hospital, originally uploaded by Kirkbride.

With Halloween only weeks away, I’ve been putting up decorations on the house and planning some of the festivities to come. In keeping with the spooky atmosphere, I ask you, what could be spookier than an abandoned insane asylum?

Awhile back I’d seen a movie called Session 9 which was actually pretty crappy (you can’t expect much from a movie with David Caruso in it) except for the fact that it was filmed in the decaying ruins of Danvers State Insane Asylum in Massachusetts. Just the idea of being there gave me the chills and led me to the eerie and beautiful photography of John Gray. His talent is clearly capturing abandoned buildings and spaces that seem to take on a life of their own in his images.

And if you haven’t given yourself enough of the spooks, head over to Ethan McElroy’s Flickr stream for more fantastic shots of asylums and other architecture including a beautiful set documenting The Great Western Staircase in the New York State Capital Building. Who knew?

Get your spook on

I love fall and especially Shocktober. It’s the perfect time of year. School is starting and you cannot deny that ingrained feeling of clean white notebooks and fresh possibilities (I know, I say it every year). Besides that, it’s that perfect time in the year when it’s cold enough to wear sweaters, but warm enough to do so without coats. Pumpkin patches, cinnamon doughnuts, cider and Halloween decorations … shall I go on?

Aah and so here we are again. The absolute best month of the year, Shocktober! Although just to teach me a lesson, Shocktober charged in this year with a sickness that has kept me horizontal for almost a week. My co-workers believe it’s the plague, but I think it might be the worst sinus infection EVER. My sinuses have taken on a life of their own. Despite that, we’ve still managed to usher in the month with a couple of horror movies already and as usual, our Netflix queue is stocked. And I have to say I’m impressed by the fake enthusiasm the husband has managed to muster up. When he inherited this ritual (my best friend and I owned it for years before) Mark was pretty in to it … but over the years (and I do mean years) it’s lost its allure for him. As this year approached, he even said he wasn’t going to participate but at the last minute decided that he would make it work because THAT’S what kind of husband he is.

And so, we’ve managed to watch The Midnight Meat Train, based on a Clive Barker story (from the Books of Blood, I believe) that ended a Barker binge I was on because it was THAT disgusting. Seriously, it made me feel physically ill. The movie was okay for what seemed like a made-for-cable movie and it had Bradley Cooper (of Alias fame) and the silent guy from Gone In Sixty Seconds (yes, I know, it’s a guilty pleasure okay? I have no defense). Tonight it was From Beyond (based on an H.P. Lovecraft story) which was super 80s and so bad it was fun to watch anyway. Who can fault a movie with brain sucking through eye sockets? I also watched <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220806/”>Tell Me Something</a>, a well done (though predictable) Korean horror movie with a great soundtrack littered with the likes of Nick Cave and Placebo. And I almost forgot, The Descent was the pre-Shocktober warm up. We also watched Vampyr, which was is a fantastic and legendary horror movie made way back in 1932 and it still manages to be creepy! See, we’re making the first three days count.

Next up? I’ve got Devil’s Backbone from Guillermo Del Toro (of Pan’s Labryinth fame … and weirdly enough the writer for The Hobbit) which is a bit classier than most of the movies we’ll see this month, but we’re not discriminating I saw this movie when it came out and really loved the cinematography. All of the usual suspects will be covered (Prince of Darkness, 28 Days Later, Return of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, The Beyond, etc.). I’m looking forward to watching Dog Soldiers (from the director of The Descent) and the Day of the Dead remake (with Mena Suvari … really?). I’m searching for more to add to the old Netflix queue, so by all means send recommendations my way.

Well wishers blow bubbles to the bride and groom.

The long awaited event finally occurred two weeks ago on a sunny afternoon out on Whidbey Island. My little sister (though, admittedly, not so little anymore) was married to her boyfriend of 2+ years in a small, simple, beautiful ceremony in the garden of the farmhouse they had rented. There was the usual chaos that comes with a wedding (especially since there was lots of help) from figuring out where the food should be placed, to putting together flowers, to realizing that the groom has just been stung several times by bees (another story).

Thankfully, amidst the chaos, my sister and I managed to steal an hour or so of solitude up in her room. I have to say it’s funny how easily we slip into our younger selves. When we were younger, we would spend hours lying in bed together laughing at things that no one else would think were funny. Our father died when I was young (12) and she was clearly younger (6), so we spent a lot of time leaning on each other. My sister is a very private person and has always struggled with talking about deeper feelings, but this is something she has always done with me. And through the years, though we’ve changed and we don’t spend as much time together, the talking and the laughter is something we continue to do. It’s a connection we have that says more than just the topic we’re laughing about. In many ways, it’s an understanding and acknowledgment of how well we know each other.

And so we found ourselves lying in the giant bed together, talking and laughing about the days events and pretending that she wasn’t going to get married in one hour’s time until her friend Jessica (her other bridesmaid) joined us and continued in the laughter. If it hadn’t been for the fact that time was whizzing by, I do believe we would have laid there for hours. Instead, I did her hair and makeup while Jessica and I both fended off random questions and well-meaning photographers (”No, you will not photograph her in her underwear.”). There was quite a bit of running back and forth and a little bit of eyelash application under pressure (which is a lot like parallel parking … if you don’t get it right the first time … it can be the death of you). And suddenly, voila, it was time and we were all standing on the patio waiting for our cue to walk down the aisle. I have to add in that as I walked down with Nathan’s brother, D (who hadn’t seen me all day) had yelled out a very plaintive “Mama!” to the amusement of the guests. 

Sunni and Nathan walk towards their new life.

The ceremony was quick and charming and the reception was filled with dancing, speechmaking (myself included!) and the general enjoyment of celebrating together with family and friends. And now, my sister is officially a married woman!