objects in october

This month, we made it out to First Friday in Oakland:

And we celebrated Buster Keaton's birthday:

I got to go see Garbage with best friend:

And then we saw the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girl championships:

My family came for a visit. Our first stop was the town of Sunol, famous for their dog mayor and a beer dispenser shaped like him:

The next stop was Boonville. They are known for their special town language that is now dying out. One example is "Buckey Walter" being printed on every public telephone. Phones were dubbed this after the name of the first person to own a phone in the area:

Then we passed a 60 ft tower made out of bicycle parts:

Last year, we did a road trip with 7 people and a cat. Apparently everyone thought that was too easy because this road trip was with 8 people, 2 cats, and 4 dogs:

Our destination was Mendocino:

I guess it was pretty nice:

We went to the Tattoo Museum:

Then I ate candy cap mushroom ice cream:

Brothers sharpened their skills:

And we finally beat the toxic mall:

We visited childhood memories at the Skunk Train station:

We took a stroll past Jessica Fletcher's house from Murder, She Wrote:

And the street James Dean walks down in East of Eden:

Brother emerged from the fog:

There were fishing mishaps and no fish:

There were lighthouses:

And tide pools:

Confusion Hill lived up to its name:

Brother had a Smooth Criminal moment:

Addie was excited for the living chimney tree:

And we wandered the ruins of Hobbiton:

I did my first attempt at knitting letters:

And killed monsters like it was no big deal:

We got to see Sea Glass Beach:

B is for Basil assaulted by bears:

Burt Macklin, Janet Snakehole, and Champion met up for Halloween:

And then set off to sea for criminal activities aboard a ship with Fred and Wilma Flintstone:

much love,
hedgie

trucker ghost stories review

I finished reading Trucker Ghost Stories just in time for Halloween.

I bought this book a few years ago because I was really intrigued by the concept.
Unfortunately, it was this exact thing that made me disappointed with large sections of the book. Despite being named Trucker Ghost Stories, the collection is not limited to trucker stories or even just ghost stories. There were a number of stories that were just people driving around and a few out of place alien tales. I feel that the book could have been a much tighter and stronger one if it had been cut down to just stories that fit the title description. Annie Wilder was able to find more than enough of those.
These paranormal yarns are collected from average people and little editing has been done to them, if any. While some stories are creepy and well told, a lot of them read like business emails or someone just telling their story quickly during a break so that they can get back to their lunch. The book could have used more editing. It got difficult to read stories where every other sentence ended with "you know". Last lines would ruin the story as the narrator felt the need to sum up the story and spoon-feed the creepy part to the reader. There was a number of times where I was taken completely out of the story when I reread the same sentence over and over, but could never make sense of it.
It is hard to judge a book with so many different authors. There were a lot of fun stories and myths, but there were others that didn't seem all that paranormal, such as one where a trucker saw a man wearing all black walking alongside the road. And that was it. Just a guy wearing black being nearby. And there were some stories that just sounded like someone was repeating the plot of a horror movie. They were so over the top, it would be hard to take it seriously even if you are the kind of person who takes ghost stories seriously.
With these stories being put down in print, it loses a lot of the fun of swapping ghost stories--the ability to watch someone's face as they excitedly launch into their tale, being able to ask questions and get more details, reading how much that person believes in it as they talk, and finding out what happened after the ghost disappeared.
Overall, the part I found scariest was getting detailed accounts on how many truckers fall asleep behind the wheel. A large percentage of the stories involve crashes and innocent people dying because a trucker was asleep or not paying attention to the road.
From now on, I will definitely be less at ease if I'm driving behind a big rig late at night. This is probably not the thing Wilder meant to make me feel scared of in the dark, but she did get results.






much love,
hedgie

my dog is a t-rex/ghost/monster

Last week, I was playing around with the different video settings on my phone and was intrigued by how low and ridiculous laughter sounds when playing in slow-mo.

I wanted to hear what Addie’s German Shepherd groan sounded like in this state.

I took her on a long trip to the park and then waited until she splayed out on the concrete floor to cool off and rest. I rubbed her back and recorded her letting out a sigh and moan. 

What I ended up with when I played the recording is horrifying. 

Guys, I think my dog might be haunted.





much love,
hedgie

literary roller derby team

Yesterday, Best Friend and I went to watch the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls championship. So, of course, I spent a lot of time coming up with names for an entirely female writer derby team.

Derby Roll Call:
1. Charlotte Brawn-te
2. Zelda Fists-gerald
3. Dorothy Puncher
4. Sylvia Wrath
5. Hurting-ya' Woolf
6. J.K. Brawling
7. Pain Austen
8. Ayn Ram
9. Scary Shelly
10. Edith Gore-ton
11. Harriet Bruiser Stowe
12. Toni Where-ya-goin'-son
13. Harmer Lee
14. Louisa May Blood-clot
15. Maya Hit-down-low
16. Malice Walker
17. ZZ Pack-a-punch
18. Em-melee Dickinson
19. Agatha Crush-die
20. Flannery O'Cutter

Come join me.




much love,
hedgie

nick and the mac

Remember how Nick got a MacBook?

Guess who has TWO now?

much love,
hedgie