The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Well, it's September 22nd and the first official day of fall! As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been leaning into the autumn (and more importantly spooky Halloween) vibes for some time now, but now summer is definitively in the rear-view.

One of the things that was important to me in launching this new blog was that I wanted to be more casual and personal. This isn't about producing (capital C) "Content". I was inspired by the chronicles of Kenna Rae, which is much more introspective than anything I've ever written.

That doesn't mean I don't have plans to just geek out about some games I'm playing or some movies I've been watching. That's an important thing to me, too! I'm just not interested in trying to sell you on "reviews" (or something like that) to get those ever-important serotonin-producing clicks and metrics.

So yeah, this post might feel more like a "dear diary" journal entry and that's on purpose.

I had big plans for today. Well, big plans for me. There's a new alien abduction horror film out today - dropping on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in Canada - No One Will Save You. I only first heard about it on Bloody Disgusting a few weeks back, but I've been eagerly anticipating it since then, so I thought it might a nice spooky flick to take in on this day of days.

But how to make it appropriately autumnal? Well, that step was easy! First, a nice hike after dinner to take in the foliage. After that, I'd get some apple cider and maybe a pumpkin spice flavoured treat; some of these Great Value pumpkin spice cookies were what I had in mind (I've been decrying the virtue of Great Value sandwich cookies for years now - don't sleep on them). Then I'd enjoy my snack with the aforementioned scary movie.

It wasn't meant to be, though. I'm sick. Big time sick. My kids picked up a bug earlier in the week, so I knew my time would come, but for all my extra hand washing, disinfecting, and avoiding of runny noses, this virus has found me and gave me a well-placed smack on the back of the head.

Am I bummed? Yeah, for sure. But I've really got to learn to let these things roll off my back more. I put so much mental headspace into ensuring that I "make the most" of this time of year, that if I don't enjoy some sort of fall/spooky activity whenever I have a free moment I feel like I've somehow - I dunno - failed? Wasted my precious time? It's hard to describe.

My wife has complained about me during this time of year before. Every single night from the end of August up to October 31st I'm trying to watch a horror movie, or play a scary video game, or take in an old Halloween special or something. There's no casual watching of unseasonal TV or a laid-back rom-com.

I've tried to be more chill this year. Instead of just ignoring anything that isn't categorically "spooky" I've been trying to keep up with shows like Only Murders in the Building and The Wheel of Time. Any other year and I would've let these stockpile until after Halloween.

And why? I'm not sure. But I can tell you for sure that the strain I was putting on myself to enjoy all the things I wanted to between the end of August and end of October was just ruining my indulgence of the season. A real catch-22.

So tonight... I sleep. But soon enough I'll be celebrating the true start of autumn properly. And until then? I'm going to try my best to just let it be. It is what it is and if I don't enjoy something seasonal tonight it'll be okay.

Although I can't lie - I'm definitely going to watch this creepy-looking alien movie, even if it's in bed on a tablet, while I'm downing something medicinal. Wait... do they make pumpkin spice NeoCitran!?

Are you enjoying your spooky season? Do you take it chill - like I'm striving to - or are you over-focused on "getting it all in"? Let me know on your preferred social platform!

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Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!

One thing I look forward to every fall is the Turner Classic Movies October schedule.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to watch any sort of monster movie you likely had to turn to late-night television to get your fix. With the advent of video, more options became available, but for the vast majority of horror and sci-fi films, you still had to keep your eyes on your local TV guide.

Those days are most certainly gone. With streaming and so many rare and forgotten films getting Blu-ray releases you can pretty much find anything you want to watch, when you want to watch it.

There's still something about watching an old horror film on broadcast TV that is so appealing for me, though. It's the nostalgia talking, I know. I have lots of black-and-white monster movies on DVD, but I kinda prefer letting TCM do the programming for me!

Also, there are still lots of films that you would think would easily be available on streaming or video that just aren't that accessible, unless you're willing to shell out the big bucks or have a region-free player at your disposal.

And so, every year around mid-September I start frequenting the TCM website to see what offerings they'll have available during October and, let me tell you, they rarely disappoint!

In the years past there have been very definite themes. One year, it was all kaiju films from Japan. For a few years TCM was exhausting the Hammer horror archive, much to my delight. And there have been many, many years that I can recall classic Universal was the focus.

The last few years it's seemed like a smorgasbord of all these films. I've also noticed that they've started including more (ahem) "contemporary" works from the 70s and the 80s.

It's hard to tell what the theme - if any - will be this year, but as of today I was able to view the first few days of TCM's October schedule and I thought it would be fun to share some of the upcoming horror films you can check out on Turner Classics, provided you still have a cable TV package!

Let's consult my handy-dandy spreadsheet. /me adjusts his glasses...

Stylish, I know!

As an aside, let's start with the purple section at the top. Although the focus of this post is the October horror films that TCM is known to offer, I couldn't help but draw your attention to a block of giant bug movies coming up on September 15th! TCM posted a blog about the special theme night, which mentions six films and includes Mothra, but I couldn't find it on either the US or Canadian schedules. That aside, the are some fun sci-fi monster films coming mid-month that you may enjoy!

The October proper schedule shows a veritable dog's breakfast of options and I can't say that I'm upset about it!

We've got a pair of giant kaiju films, some classic Universal, a Hitchcock, a few sci-fi monster flicks carrying over from September, a Hammer Frankenstein, and even some Tony Scott!

At first glance, it doesn't look like there's a cohesive theme here, but honestly there still could be down the line. It may come in the form of nightly blocks dedicated to different production companies, actors, or time periods. We shall have to wait and see!

And I know that unless you're in the Pacific or Central time zones these airings would have to be firmly programmed into your PVR, but there will very likely be more prime time slots dedicated to the horror genre as we get closer to Halloween.

If you're looking for one more little adventure to try during the spooky season, you might find something fun on your TV guide! I find it more and more difficult to find anything in the horror genre freely playing on broadcast TV, but TCM will certainly hold the line this October, if you want to give it a shot!

You can even relive those nights long past of waiting up until the late night monster movie played on TV, while you hid under a blanket and thought up your escape plan back to your bedroom once the movie was over!

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There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.

If you yourself are - or you at least know someone who is - a "Halloweenie", you'll notice that the All Hallowed celebrations don't start in October or even September. No, things really ramp up in August!

I've found myself wondering in years past, why that is. What is it that gets into our psyche at this time of year and makes us yearn for those glorious cool and creepy fall nights?

I've considered the possibility that it's the brands; you'll see the Autumn Yankee Candles and Monster Cereals start to show up on shelves this time of year. The thing is, companies that cater to people who love fall and Halloween follow our lead. If we weren't starving to buy the stuff in August, there'd be no need to stock it.

This year I took notice of something I hadn't before. It was ever-so slight and almost imperceptible, but as I took a quiet moment to myself, sitting on the porch with a coffee, I could see that the birch trees were turning the slightest bit more yellow. On the periphery of the maples, there were tinges of red in the leaves. And, even though we had just escaped the throes of a brutal heat and humidity wave, the nights were getting just a little cooler. Heck, one morning while I was out playing with the kids I actually had to throw on a hoodie!

I typically associate August with the hottest months we experience in Nova Scotia - and it is - so I assume the changeover from summer to fall doesn't happen until later in September, when the cooler temperatures start to creep in.

But this year, I saw it. Again, so minute you would easily miss it. Just enough, though, that maybe our subconscious picks up on the cues.

Whatever the reasoning, it's been easier than ever to get excited about the upcoming fall and Halloween season. Usually, I don't kick things off until the end of August, and even then only slowly. My usual nod is when Dinosaur Dracula kicks off his yearly Halloween Countdown, which dropped on September 2nd last year.

In Canada, we don't really get the early barrage of Halloween that Americans experience. Honestly, it seems like things get going in July down there! The rule of thumb up North is that you'll start to see Halloween stuff hit shelves after Back-to-School has had its time to shine.

Over the last few years, I've excitedly noticed this street date moving back a bit, having found a few Halloween treats around the mid-August timeframe.

This year is popping off, though! Our local Spirit Halloween store, which never opens before the first or second week of September, kicked things off on August 7th! I haven't been yet, but I'm planning on my first Spirit trip at the end of this week.

You'd think that there wouldn't be any need to start celebrating the spooky season in August, but honestly you can never start too early! Much like the Christmas holidays no matter how soon you begin you likely won't get to take in all the traditions and celebrations you'd wished you could. I don't know about the rest of you, but there's always something I complain I didn't get to do or missed out on by the time October 31st rolls around.

So raise your pumpkin beers and PSLs, throw on your favourite scary movie, and let's ring in Halloween 2023! This year, I'm going to try and take in more outdoor events, like hayrides and maybe a haunt. It isn't all about watching horror flicks, and the fresh air will do me some good!

Are you a fellow Halloweenie? Do you have any resolutions for this years celebrations? Let me know on my socials! You can find me here. I'd love to hear from you!

Keep it creepy,
R

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Lemonade! That cool refreshing drink.

A few years back I stumbled upon a new seasonal release, for us Canadians at least, called Sprite Lemonade... and it was delicious!

We had a local soda growing up made by the company Big 8 called Sparkling Lemonade. Oddly enough - and well before Sprite ever conjured up their version - my friends and I called that drink "lime-o-nade". Not sure why we decided on that nickname. Anyway, Sprite Lemonade reminded me of my good ol' "lime-o-nade", so I really enjoyed it.

From what I can tell, Sprite Lemonade soda was released in the US as Sprite Lymonade. Why ours wasn't branded the same? I'm not sure. I assume it's the same drink, but I could be wrong! Either way, it phonetically shares a name with one of my childhood faves, so that's cool!

I was excited the other day when I happened upon a Coca-Cola Freestyle that had Sprite Lymonade on tap! It's hard to compare fountain pop to bottled, but my assumption is still that Sprite Lemonade and Sprite Lymonade are the same product.

Side note, I did try Sprite Lymonade Cherry Zero (whew, what a mouthful) and it was really good! I couldn't really detect the zero sugar at all. I was really impressed. I don't think this is getting bottled and only exists in the Coke Freestyle machines, because they're always mixing everything with the cherry syrup that's already in there, so if you stumble upon it, give it a shot!

I was really excited the other day when I was in a corner store and saw that they had Sprite Lymonade Legacy in stock! Seeing as we don't even have regular Sprite Lymonade on shelves, I assumed this variant would pass us by in Canada, but here it is!

As far as I'm concerned, this is the best of the Sprite Lymonade/Lemonade versions I've had the chance to try. The strawberry flavour curbs the tartness of the lemonade really nicely and makes it a much smoother drink! This is definitely a great summer drink, so I hope it persists into the season.

In summary, Sprite Lymonade Cherry Zero Sugar and Sprite Lymonade Legacy are both great and you should check them out!

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Nachoooooooooo!

I was out the other day at the gas station and I noticed a display near the cash register. Much to my excitement, Lay's Canada have their seasonal promotions out!

The theme last year was Flavour Mash-up. There was Lay's Dill Pickle + Smartfood White Cheddar, Lay's Ketchup + Cheetos Puffs, and Lay's Bar-B-Q + Doritos Sweet Chili Heat. The first two weren't all that great, but the Lay's/Doritos was absolutely stellar. So much so that Lay's Canada actually brought those back for a little while.

This year's theme is Lay's Flavour Icons! They're taking some of the top flavours from other Frito-Lay brands and putting them on Lay's potato chips. There's Smartfood White Cheddar, Miss Vickie's Spicy Dill Pickle, and Dorito's Nacho Cheese.

And lemme tell ya somethin', brother. These Lay's/Dorito's Nacho Cheese chips are no joke. Holy SMOKES. They are top shelf!

I'm admittedly a Doritos guy. My top flavours are Spicy Nacho and Jalapeno, but I would say Nacho Cheese is a close third. But you put that flavour dust on a Lay's potato chip and woooo-eee, you've got something special.

If you really like White Cheddar Smartfood then you might love the Lay's version. They taste the same. I just don't find that flavour jives with a chip myself.

I actually really enjoyed the Spicy Dill Pickle Lay's! I say that, because I've had the Miss Vickie's version and it didn't do much for me. I just found the spice had no flavour. On the Lay's, though, there was a subtle spicy flavour along with the zing of the Dill Pickle and a decent amount of heat. I was impressed!

So, all-in-all I'd say this year's Lay's, summer promo is a hit. Honestly, the Nacho Lay's were enough to seal the deal!

If you can get your hands on them, I'd say they are all worth a try! You can get them in grab n' go or family size bags at just about any store that sells Lay's in Canada right now!

Munch on!

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John, stick your head out!

I feel like I've started and ended more blogs and websites than most people even consider in a lifetime.

But yeah, here I am - at it again!

I kinda wanted a fresh start and with the upheaval surrounding all the social media sites lately I thought having an anchored space on the web was a good idea.

I'm keeping it very simple here. I might write about a new soda I've tried, maybe a movie I took in, or a game I'm enjoying.

No hang ups!

If you're reading this, thanks! If not, you're blissfully unaware. Lucky you!

Take care,

R

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