"At the Happy Haunted Sunshine House, we can groove!"

  Happy Holidays, everyone! I am on brief hiatus, for exciting reasons. Alaska and I closed on our new home on the 12th of this month, and we have been, literally, doing nothing but packing and moving. (We did take a break to enjoy Christmas with the families, then it was back to packing/moving) I was taking a YouTube break early this a.m. and came across the source of this blog name- a song from the cartoon network short:

 If you have never seen this delightful bit of animation, then you should do so, immediately:

song starts at 5:10

 Wasn't that awesome?! This never fails to bring a little cheer to my heart, particularly Velma and Johnny colliding in the hallway (Velma: "My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!" & Johnny: "My glasses! I can't be seen without my glasses!")

 Anyway, I hope to be back up and posting in the next month, both here and over on THREES  (sooner if I can find my notebooks:-)

 Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2014!

Funko Horror Classics Mystery Mini: Sam!

 

  I learned of the Funko Horror Classics Mystery Minis a little over a week ago, and when I saw that they had Sam (from Trick 'r Treat, of course) I knew that I must own him. Admittedly, I cheated and bought an opened box, knowing that it would be a Sam figure, and I am neither ashamed of myself nor disappointed in the figure. I mean, look at him:

  He's just so cute! And tiny! And well done! A perfect addition to my (growing) Sam collection.

Prized Possession: Creepshow

  It was in my Junior year of High School that I acquired this book, and it has been one of my prized possessions ever since. On February 19, 2012, I had it signed by Stephen King himself, when he gave the closing speech at the Savannah Book Festival (tickets were $10, they sold out in under an hour)

  The first 150 people in line that purchased his (at that time) new book 11/22/63, had the opportunity to have the book autographed. Alaska and I purchased two books, got one of them signed for my dad, and I got Creepshow signed for myself:

  Alaska managed to snap two pictures on his phone:

That's my black jacket on the right side of the pic.

And him signing my book.

  It was a great time for me (quite honestly one of the best gifts I have ever received) and it just so happens Steve's entire speech is available to watch on YouTube. Enjoy:

  Check out Three Of My Favourite Scenes From Creepshow over on my Threes blog.

Happy Anniversary To Me!

  October 20th marks one year of wedded bliss for Alaska and I, and we have rented a cabin in NC to celebrate (a Cabin in the Woods, if you will) Along with that wonderful gift, I recently received another in the mail. The newest addition to my Trick 'r Treat collection:  Animated Sam!

  I've wanted one of these adorable things since I first learned of their existence, but an original price tag of about $70, shipped, definitely turned me away. I kept an eye out for a price drop, and recently picked this guy up for about $25, shipped (his price is still fluctuating on Amazon.com, fyi, so it's possible he will drop even lower than that)

  Here is Sam in action. I did not take this video, as I soon discovered that the sounds Animated Sam makes scare the hell out of our dog, Oliver Queen.

  Animated Sam joins the ranks of my other Sams:

The larger book is about the movie,

the smaller, softcover is the graphic novelization.

This is quite a fantastic book on the ideas behind and the 

making of the movie. And it includes all kinds of extras:

A little graphic novel of Season's Greetings.

Some really cool postcards (8 of them, I believe)

Stickers!

Jack-o-lantern stencils.

Sam mask.

Sam poster! (that I totally forgot was in the book until this post,

but which now hangs beneath Laurie in our office)

  If you enjoyed this, check out Three Things I Love About Trick 'r Treat over on my Threes blog!

  

The Find

  This week's topic from The League:  The Find!


  I had a pick for this topic almost immediately, since one of my all-time favourite finds sits right on the mantel in mine and Alaska's office. Allow me to introduce you to:

"Machete Phil"

   To start this off, let me first explain that I am not a collector, or even a "fan," of rabbits.  So what first drew me to pick this baby up was the weird, curled feet.

   Pretty neat, still not anything magical, and then, I flipped him over:

   A machete. This clothed, wooden rabbit with the curled toes is packing a goddamn machete! It was just so wonderfully bizarre that I had to bring him home with me. $4 later, and Machete Phil was mine.

   I've tried finding other rabbits like this online, but have thus far been unsuccessful. I would love to find out something, anything, about this machete wielding bunny. (I did see a rabbit like this in a horror movie a few weeks back. A girl walks up a winding staircase, and there is a more elaborate example of "Machete Phil"  hanging on the wall, with what looked like legs made from some type of animal horn)



   Item number 2 also resides in our office. Please meet:

"Fluffy"

   Fluffy is a wonky-looking, hand-carved fish about the size of a watermelon. I ran upon Fluffy in a local consignment shop, and was immediately in love. His $25 price tag, however, scared me away. Several months later, I went back to the shop for another round-about, and there was Fluffy, now marked down to $5. Obviously, he came home with me that day. And when he did, I saw this:

   Yes, that states that Fluffy was originally priced for $110. I was gobsmacked, since, despite my immediate love of him, I had balked at paying $25. Anyway, Fluffy is obviously hand-made, but with no artist marks that I have been able to find.

   One last find:

   I love this vase. It's got pomegranates and bats on it. Bats!

   I honestly thought the pomegranates were bloody, gaping mouths when I first saw this. It was just another "too weird, too unusual, too cool" object that I had to have. And I got it, for $1. I have seen other "fruits and bats" vases, but usually on Ebay and for rather large sums of money. So, I'm pretty sure this is just a knock-off of one of the more expensive vases, but I love it anyway. (So did Alaska. We both actually wanted to purchase this vase, I simply beat him to the punch. It's been at least 4 years since the purchase, yet Alaska still occasionally refers to this as "The bat-vase you stole from me." And I still just laugh at him, because all's fair in love and yard sales)


Check these guys out!

http://smokingnome.blogspot.com/2013/09/12-ashtrays.html (My husband, joining The League!)

http://erikjohnsonillustrator.blogspot.com/2013/09/loeb-find.html

http://toyriffic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-find-league-of-extraordinary.html

http://nerdoutwithmeblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-greatest-garage-sale-flea-market.html





 

Local "Blues"

  This weeks League topic : BLUE!. Upon reading that, the first thing that popped into my head was this:

 After I got that out of my system, I considered that my town is chock full of "blue" things, and set about making a list of them. This is what I came up with:

Our state flag, for starters.

Blue skies.

The Blue Angels. They do not reside here,

but put on a show at our Air Station most years.

It's always been a big thing.

Great Blue Heron

Blue Jay

Blue Crabs

Blue Tail Skink

Blueberries

Blue Hydrangea

Bluebonnets

Bluegrass

The Gullah people and their culture are quite fascinating, 

our town hosts a "Gullah Festival" every year.

Gullah Festival

 Blue bottle trees

Based on superstition, it's said that the 

bottles trap evil spirits at dusk.  The spirits are held there until

morning, when they are burned away by

the morning sun. This is another Gullah tradition that has been

scooped up by Southerners. Most of the people in  my

family have bottle trees in their yards.

More on Bottle Trees

"Haint Blue"

"Haints" are spirits, trapped between our world and the spirit world.

They are not pleasant, "just want to see my family" ghosts, these

are "I'm angry and I want revenge" type of ghosts. Because they cannot cross

water, the slaves used to paint porch ceilings, window and door frames in

a watery blue-green colour, that supposedly confused the ghosts, tricking them into

thinking that they could not enter the abode. This practice is still alive and well today 

(so much so that Sherwin Williams came out with their own version of "Haint Blue.")

A couple of examples. I did not take these pictures, but

later I will be taking and posting some photos of a

few houses around here. (In certain areas, all of the houses,
including the newly built, have their frames and sills painted blue.)

  The South is a fantastic place full of ghosts and superstitions. And blue things.  Hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for reading!

Check these guys out!

The Goodwill Geek

Thirtyishyearoldboy

Miss M

Hello, My Name Is....

  I've been reading Cool and Collected for some time now, but until a nice guy who goes by The Goodwill Geek suggested that I join up with The League of Extraordinary Bloggers, I simply skulked around in the background, reading but never commenting, flying under radar. But that ends today! With the current topic in place, and a 2 week deadline, I made up my mind to do this. (Although I still almost missed it) But, I am here now, so let's get busy!

Hello, my name is… Tell us a little about yourself — even if we all know who you are, there are plenty of new folks wondering if you’re in fact a dog.

  Hi, everybody! I am Natural Blonde Killer, although that isn't what my parents call me. They named me Robin, which means that I have spent my entire life listening to Batman "jokes." (If I had a nickle for every time someone said, "You're Robin? Where's Batman?" my husband and I would be retired on a sailboat right now) I also go by Rogue, which a friend dubbed me with about 14 or 15 years ago, and is the name that I normally use online. 

  I live in SC, in an historic coastal town that has been used in many movies throughout the years. I've met several celebrities thanks to that, but I'm not one to get all crazy-excited over people who I see on a big screen. They're just people, after all, some of them a hell of a lot nicer than others.

  I grew up with a love of horror, something that my parents always supported, and a passion for books. I was almost cripplingly shy for the first 10 - 12 years of my life, and to this day I still sometimes have anxiety when walking into a crowded room, or having to make conversation with someone I don't know.

  I'm married to fantastic guy whom I call "Alaska" in my other blog (cuz, he's from Alaska) and we share a mutual love of books, superheroes, and plundering through flea markets, antique stores, and the Goodwill (I envy some of you and your fantastic Goodwill finds, our store sucks eggs) We have an American Staffordshire Terrier named Oliver Queen (yes, named after the Green Arrow. Alaska is a huge comic book fan and collector, although I was the one who named the dog) 

  A couple of years ago, I set up a few blogs as a way to help me keep up with some writing. Unfortunately, those blogs just sat there, getting moldy and stinking up the joint. Then, one day, I was thumbing through one of my many notebooks and came upon a bunch of lists I had made, dropped the number of items from 8 to 3, and wham! bam! Threes was born. It's mostly movie lists, but I do veer off into books, toys, and music, at times. I have one other blog, "Mario Goes....", which I'm not linking here since there is only one post. I am happy to say that Mario should be back to posting within the next month. 

  Now, here we are at the Happy Haunted Sunshine House, which I set up primarily to join The League. There will be other things posted here, eventually. Things that don't fit the format of Threes . Random things. Happy things.

  So, there you go, a little bit about me, and mine. I thank anyone and everyone for reading!

Check these guys out, too!

The Goodwill Geek

The Trash Man

Miss M