Amazing Costume!

Wow! That is an amazing Halloween costume. In fact, it's more like an embodiment. You become the Halloween characters you create; you are a world-class costume designer (among your other talents), and I'd love to know what inspired this year's choice. Also, the location: is it one of the old Broadway district theaters in DTLA, by any chance? I've been to many concerts at The Orpheum, The Mayan, Ace Hotel, The Belasco. The interior looks like one of those. Anyway, I hope your night was as great as your costume, and we lucked out because, as predicted, the rain didn't amount to much. I was out and about for almost 4 hours and my hair didn't even get wet enough to wring out (I refused to bring an umbrella). Saw lots of trick-or-treaters in Reseda & Northridge, not quite the swarm I expected for a Halloween on Saturday night, but a steady flow...

I voted a little while ago, though I must admit I wasn't thrilled with any of the candidates. Here's a confession (which you probably already know 'cause I've probably mentioned it) : I'm not really a Democrat anymore. I'm still registered as one, but (and don't kill me for saying this) ("he said, cringing") the Dems have run California into the ground. Neither the State nor Los Angeles is what they once were. The main thing I'll be glad for (and don't kill me again!) is that Gavin Newsom will be gone. He is, without question, the worst Governor we've ever had, by a mile. If he runs for President, he'll lose because all his opponent has to do is show what happened to our state under his watch (okay, I'll shut up now).

I mean, I used to be so far left (in my 20s) that I was almost a commie (not really, but very far left). Now, I'm hard-core to the right (I don't like terms like right-winger). Or maybe I'm just a centrist with a strong law enforcement stance. On a side note, you should be very proud of your history with the Reagan Library. Another confession: I didn't like him when he was President because I was a far-left (near commie) in my 20s. Now, I think he was one of the best Presidents we ever had. You could say I've lived and learned.

Ideally, I'm a John F. Kennedy/Bill Clinton Democrat. But I moved to the right when (don't kill me!) the Dems ran Kamala two years ago. That was the worst election of all time, because you had Harris on the one hand, who would've destroyed America had she won, and you had Trump on the other hand.

I was the #1 Anti-Trumper in The World in 2016 (a scientifically proven fact). But then I actually voted for him in 2024, because of the alternative, and because his daughter-in-law Lara Trump (who was also his campaign manager) did an image-makeover on him, where she turned him into Friendly Trump who hands out fries at McDonalds, and who does a pie chart showing how he'll bring down grocery prices.

But he didn't. Instead, he broke one of his main campaign promises not to start any wars, and prices are higher than they were under Biden (who I voted for but didn't know he had dementia).

Anyway.... More Halloween! There's a house on Plummer just east of Yolanda that was decked out all through October, and then on November 1, after The Big Night, the owner lit up only two or three ghosts, with a sign that said "Every Day Is Halloween". I thought of you, and me too. 💗💗

I love you. 💝💝

Halloween Cheerleader (11pm Update)

Hooray for the Morning Pumpkin Walk! I love it, beyond cool, and I've gotta go next time (hint hint). 💗💗 As your Halloween Cheerleader and Weather Watcher, I've been keeping a close eye on tomorrow's forecast. The hourly version is now available, and though some rain is predicted for the late afternoon and evening, it's intermittent, and only 0.03 inches, which (hopefully) won't be more than a drizzle or a few drops on and off. Not enough to ruin the evening, in other words (fingers crossed).

And we won't let it stop us anyway! Even if it's a full-on downpour thunderstorm (um...don't say that, Ad).

Back later tonight with more. I love you! 💗💗

11pm : I'm back, just finished watching "The Magnetic Monster" on Tubi. Last night : "Them" (the giant ant movie with great L.A. River locations). The night before that: "The Thing from Another World" (not as scary as John Carpenter's 1982 remake, but classic nonetheless). As you can see, I'm on a sci-fi kick this week. Had a great walk tonight, up to the Granada Hills Ralphs and back. That's part of my grocery shopping routine; when I go there, it not only saves gas but accounts for my nightly miles. I have several different routes I take; one of them goes past Northridge Park, which tonight brought back memories from the Days of Yore and gave me goosebumps. It was positively Halloweeny, I tell you.

I'm liking what I've heard from the new Tony Iommi solo album (ultra heavy), and looking forward to Steven Wilson's upcoming release "Requiem from a Village", the previews of which sound fantastic. SW's band features an incredible musician named Randy McStine, who's known mostly as a guitarist (and a great one) but he can play anything. I shout him out here because about 16-18 years ago, when he was just a wee lad (probably a teenager), he used to frequent the King's X chat board, and occasionally chimed in on some of my comments about various bands, including Roxy Music. Well, tomorrow's the big night. I'll be kind of all over the place: Reseda, Northridge, all around CSUN. Mostly on foot (though I'll drive to Reseda). Gotta hit all my spots. People would be surprised at how haunted the area is...👽👀 (I'm a good tour guide)

I hope you have an amazing day and night with no rain. Happy Halloween!

(and if you're up late, come join me in the Pumpkin Patch. We'll wait for the Great Pumpkin).

I love you!💗💗 (thinking of October 31, 2014...)  

I Hear Ya (No Rain!) (short 11pm update)

Yeah, I've been checking the forecast over and over. Just the ten-day, the hourly forecast doesn't yet extend to Saturday. It can't rain on Halloween! It's against the law. Right now, on Accuweather, it says "cloudy and cool, with a passing shower in the afternoon." It says "Total Hours of Precipitation: 0.5" Okay, fine. A little afternoon sprinkle...no biggie. But no major downpours, and no rain AT ALL after 4pm. Period. That's how it's gotta be.

It can't rain on Halloween night. I've been praying, and I'll continue. We'll have the hourly forecast by tomorrow. Hang in there and have faith (putting on Blind Melon "No Rain" for our theme song)...back later tonight with more. I love you. 💗💗

11:00pm update: I agree with you about the first Simpsons Halloween Special (there are many good ones, but the first is best). In a similar vein, were you a fan of "King of the Hill", and if so, have you seen the episode entitled "Hilloween"? Here's a preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO2_bhBr9AQ

(you'll probably have to cut and paste, I don't think it'll become a clickable link)

Anyhow, in the episode, Hank does battle with a neighborhood lady who thinks Halloween is evil and tries to ban it. It's a total crackup and will have you cheering. I loved "King of the Hill" (one of the best animated shows from the 90s)...I miss the days when network TV ruled, and the sitcoms all had Halloween episodes.

Bring back the 1990s!

Right now, I'm trying to find something watchable on Tubi. The other night, I found a flick called "The Houses October Built", a mockumentary in which a group of young people go on a cross-country motorhome tour in search of the ultimate Halloween Horror House, the kind with live actors and hard-core scares. It was pretty good, not great (and the sequel wasn't good), but it was an eye-opener as to the extreme nature of some of these "attractions", many of which try to blur the line between scary and assaultive (which isn't cool). Anyway, a lot of indie filmmakers in the DIY age are doing "found footage" films; I haven't seen any that matches "Blair Witch", still the champ after 27 years (despite the shaky camera and the overabundance of swear words). The first four "Paranormal Activity" movies are good, too.

That's all for now. (no rain!) (giant love!) 💗💗

You Are So Right (updated Friday night October 23)

 You are so right in everything you just said (music included). And you've got me and we can't be stopped. I love you so much that even God can't measure it. (back later tonight with more) 💗💗

9:00pm : I'm back, having finished my walk out to Super King for 49 cent avocados (yipee!) Looked for Halloween Houses, too, but didn't see many. There's a ton, though, on Rathburn between Sunburst and Rayen, the block I lived on from 1970 til March 1995 (the quake destroyed our house). Lots of good HHs all around the Northridge Vons area, too, and in the vicinity of Northridge Library. Man...I miss decorating Pearl's house. We didn't do much; just put up our Spider Lights and our Mailbox Ghoul, and lit up the two pumpkins I carved every year. But I loved doing that stuff (especially the pumpkin carving, always on Halloween Afternoon), and I would put on my orange silk shirt, and Kobi would put on his Pumpkin Poncho and spangled collar. We'd hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters (in 2014, we got a couple of older, taller ones).💗💗 Man, I haven't been able to decorate a house since 2019. Me and Pearl had an awesome Halloween Walk in 2020, though. It was during Covid, and Halloween was kind of cancelled (boo! you can't cancel Halloween!), but some folks did up their houses anyway, and I pushed her in her wheelchair all around The Tract (as we called the Meadowlark Park sector of Reseda). We went all the way to Lorne Street School, my elementary alma mater (and the subject of a future book).

Anyway, that was my last Full-On Halloween. 2019 was my last one at her house with trick-or-treaters.

I can't wait to do a traditional Halloween again. Since then, I just go for Major League Walks (all by myself), to enjoy the night vicariously. Last year I went to Reseda, to recreate my walk with Pearl. I really miss her.

Anyway...how about you? Are you going to any Halloween parties? What are you doing on the Actual Night? I'll be on foot, trying to cover as much ground as possible. On a side note, last night I did my walk at CSUN (I do five miles, every night. Gotta stay in shape, and it only takes about 80 minutes), and when I got near the gym, I thought I saw something glowing in the darkness. As I closed in, sure enough, someone (or several someones) had carved eight pumpkins (8!) and set them all in a row on a bench by the volleyball courts. It made my night.

I saw a good Witch movie last night, an Indie flick called "The Beldham" (on Tubi). I've seen a couple more: "The Witch in the Window" and "The Book of the Witch" (all on Tubi), and they were well done, but all were scary. That's expected, right? And cool. But I'm also looking for Good Witch movies, which are harder to find, and on another side note, I know which (witch?) movie will be the first one we watch together (hint, hint). 💗💗

On a musical note, Al Jardine of The Beach Boys played at The Saroya last night at CSUN. He uses Brian Wilson's old band and they're supposed to sound fantastic. He's 84, and now that Mike Love may be done touring, it might've been my last chance to see an Original Beach Boy. But the tickets were pretty expensive, so to paraphrase George Bush, "it wouldn't have been prudent" for me to do it. Glad I got to see Love and The Beach Boys last July at The Bowl. I also saw a Beatles tribute band called Ticket to Ride last Friday night at the Our Lady of Lourdes Fall Carnival. That was free, and not far from my apartment. If you like The Beatles, don't miss them next time they're in the area. I've seen 'em at least a dozen times.

I'm listening to the new CD by Rick Wakeman, called "Return to the Red Planet", but that's progressive rock (maybe not your thing?). Anyway, I've been listening to Rick (who was a member of Yes) since 1973, when he made the all-time classic "Six Wives of Henry the 8th", and he's Still Got It musically, even at 77. I saw Rick Wakeman at the Hollywood Bowl on September 27, 1974. I was 14. It was my third concert. 

That's about all I know for tonight (though my life is as weird as ever). I still say this could be The Best Halloween of All-Time (I just get that feeling), and I hope you're having a great start to the weekend. I'm with you In Spirit round-the-clock, and I love you with all my heart. 💘💘 (back soon) 

Gigantic Love (and great pictures!)

I'm glad you had a blast at Disneyland! It's kind of required, right? (and impossible not to have a blast). I love all your pictures and am wondering where some of them were taken. Downtown Disney? (the Pluto pic with the Halloweentime blocks in the background). In one pic, I see the Disneyland Hotel. Did you stay there? Did you do the three-day pass? Anyhow, lovelovelove! When I went with my sister (four weeks ago today), I got there before she did (seven minutes after Rope Drop) and I headed straight for Star Wars Land, as I think I mentioned in my Disneyland blog. But even then, right after the park opened, the wait was close to an hour for Rise of the Resistance and I didn't wanna wait that long.

Did you guys go on it? Either way, it's awesome just to walk all the way to that end of the park, and awesome just to see Star Wars Land itself (even if the lines are long).

I loved the pic of you and your friend on the Mark Twain Riverboat! One of my favorite rides! And the Carousel...💓💓

Every picture was great.

Man...I can't wait to go back. Are you going at Christmastime? (if so...canIgowithya?)

What are your favorite rides?

I like your orange sunglasses and (again) your purse, but is it the flip side of your purse from Knotts Berry Farm, or is it a different purse?

Gigantic love and fun. 💗💗

I've been Working on My Work, doing The Things I Do, while getting deep into That Halloween Feeling. Hey wait a sec...that could be a song. But on second thought, maybe not. We could never lose the Halloween Feeling, so there would never be a need to bring it back cause it's always with us.

(you see what I did there, right?)

But yeah, I'm working on my stuff, and that incident I wrote about in one of my recent blogs (The Mysterious Prank) down on Eddy Street turns out to be a lot more involved than I thought. Several more walks through that area have triggered more astounding memories for your Psychic Detective, including the identities of two other musicians who were with the main prankster I mentioned.

I'm watching one episode of "Dark Shadows" every day and looking for scary movies at night.

This is an amazing time, and I love you beyond measure. 💖💖 

October/You (plus Harmony Vocals)

I promise to think of you in October, but can I also think of you in January, February, March, April, etc? Truth is, I haven't stopped thinking of you since my dream in early July.💘💘 In fact, since we've been talking about music, our theme song for today can be "You Were On My Mind" by We Five (1965). 

Let's list some great Harmony Groups, starting with the best and most famous: The Everlys were the first, as far as the broad spectrum of rock music is concerned. (side note: we aren't doing doo-wop, a great genre but not what we're talking about).

The Beach Boys took it to the next level in the early '60s, even before The Beatles (though the opening harmonies to "Please Please Me", may be the first I remember hearing). The Turtles and The Association added complexity. The Mamas and Papas mixed male/female voices before Fleetwood Mac (and were smoother).

The Moody Blues may not come up on everyone's list, but check out the vocal mix and the four part harmonies in many of their songs over seven classic albums. You may or may not like the music, but you won't find better singers. For a poppier sound with great harmony, try The Hollies or The Zombies. 

Or, for harder (and extremely polished) rock, try Boston. Listen to their power ballads like "Holly Anne" and "Amanda". Off the charts vocals.

Getting back to the '60s, you can't beat The Supremes. They didn't have that name for nothing. Other than The Beatles, The Supremes were the first group I remember hearing (when I was four) that had incredible singing and one great song after another.

From 1978 to 1984, one of the greatest harmony groups was Van Halen. Fans might not think of them that way, but listen to the vocals behind David Lee Roth. That's Michael Anthony and Edward Van Halen. Listen to them on "Dance the Night Away". They elevate that hook into an earworm, and they did that on so many VH songs.

To show the power of harmony vocals, contrast that style with the Lead Singer Model; groups with one front man with a gigantic voice, but no backup. This was the classic model of the Big Three of hard rock/heavy metal: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. There were no harmonies in any of those bands (maybe some doubled vocals but that's all). But then check out the amazing three-part harmonies of Uriah Heep, a group I believe should be included with The Big Three (making them Four). Not only did Heep have great songs with precision harmonies, they also had the best singer of all the above-mentioned hard rock groups. David Byron isn't as well known as Ian Gillan, Robert Plant or Ozzy, but listen to him sing "July Morning", or anything from Uriah Heep's six classic albums, then tell me what you think. 

I'd love to know all your favorite music groups and artists. I think we could have great conversations about so many different things. That's because we're on The Same Wavelength (which would be a great name for a group if we ever decided to start one).

Last song for now: "Like to Get to Know You" by Spanky and Our Gang (1968)

You have to see the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMGnTpByLM

I mean, I already know you, and more than a little, but...well, you know what I mean.

I love you so much!! 💗💗 

Great Pics!

I loved today's pictures and I also like your dress, hat and purse. It's super cool to see M with you. You guys are not only longtime friends but also two-thirds of the 2014 Halloween Crew (or 2/4ths if you include me). I've never been to Knotts at Halloween, but........(er....um)...canIgowithyounexttime? 😁

I noticed you've made a couple of Mamas & Papas references in your posts (one just yesterday), and it rang another memory bell. Did your Mom say she played you their music when you were little and they became a favorite of yours? Do I have any part of that right? (on a side note, I came out of Ralphs tonight and walked toward my car. I was parked in the same area as always. You can see the sign of the pizza place across the street, and I never gave it much notice before, but tonight I thought "that's perfect" Why?

(drum roll please).......Because it's Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria.

Your summer concert got me thinking about all the great vocal groups of the '60s. I was gonna do a list (I'm still working on it), but in Googling for research, I came across BMI's Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century. You probably already know what BMI stands for (Broadcast Music, Inc.), and that they are to music airplay and publishing what Neilsen is to TV ratings. Anyway, by their Top 100 Songs, they mean "the most played by radio and TV stations". Guess what the most-played song of all-time is?

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers.

#2 is "Never My Love" by The Association

Pretty cool, eh? You know you some good music! One last question for tonight: Did your Mom mention Denny Doherty as one of her favorite singers? Or one of yours?

I Love You and hope you're having a great week so far. 💗💗