Ramblings and webcomics from LeEMS
Hello! I hope y’all’s Halloween was as lovely as mine! As the first of the feasting holidays (in my house), I busied myself making seasonally appropriate meals with in-season foods and baking. One of the bakes I have been slowly perfecting for myself is barmbrack. The recipe I have is rather old and super spare so I went online to find something a little easier to get a good product out of.
What I found was a lot of recipes for yeast-less ‘barmbrack.’ That sounded great and much easier, but then I found this post by the Irish American Mom pointing out what is and is not actually barmbrack. I love her soap-box (delivered in a completely enjoyable way) and the history she provides on this bake, so I wanted to make sure and share in case anyone else is becoming as obsessed with variations on fruitbread/fruitcake as I am.
This is a tiny taste of the playlist the Schmidts have going all October (sorry to share so late). Happy Halloween, y’all!
The Prelinger Archives are far from new, but I haven’t checked in on them recently. The impending spooky season is as good a reason as any, I think.
I drew a comic about Ursula Southeil, aka Mother Shipton, for my contribution to the Four Corners Halloween zine. Aren’t you lucky, you get to see it here!
Four Corners
The Four Corners Halloween zine is still available for purchase in both print and digital edition. In addition to my comic it has recipes, costumes, crafting, tarot, crystals and more.
I was inspired by images from road-side America, and went digging through more photo collections to find more magic in Florida. I really hope that this mini-golf course still exists, though I imagine it’d be awfully faded by now.
I am not alone in being absolutely delighted that a line of merchandise from Hocus Pocus (1993) is available at my local Halloween store. And, I’m sure I am not alone in being disappointed that the merch makers have neglected to make the movie replica I would most like to have: the Black Flame Candle. I was disappointed enough to make one for myself.
I gathered together as many screenshots as I could find from the movie that showed the artwork on the candle. After some unsuccessful searching on the internets for block prints that look like they inspired the original, I decided to wing it.
Step One
Protect your surface and gather all your materials: large flameless candle, permanent markers, carving tool, and reference photo.
As in, all the best of what that I spend time with every October.
Rocky Horror Picture Show is always on the list. When I was a kid in Dallas, TX, Rocky Horror would start running on broadcast television all through October. My mom loved the movie, so, of course, I loved it too.
I said list. Every year Richard of Doomedmoviethon.com and I have a list of movies and specials that we have to watch throughout October. I could’ve sworn I have blogged about this list before, but it doesn’t look like I have. I will correct that. For now, just know that Halloween isn’t Halloween without having seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show and also, Martha Stewart’s Halloween special and Slumber Party Massacre.
We also have a special USB drive mix of music for the car. Henry Hall is starting to feature more and more prominently, and it wouldn’t be complete with a few versions of “Mr. Ghost is Going to Town.”
There is a list of movies and specials that ritualistically get watched during the Halloween season in our house. They range from common place (for most people) and, dare I say quality like Halloween, to slightly off the wall and maybe a little bad like the Paul Lind Halloween special. Somewhere in the middle is Martha Stewart’s Halloween special compilation.
“Oh, Charlie!”
The compilation features Halloween themed segments and episodes from the full range of Martha shows over the years including early episodes typifying her soothingly monotonous line delivery as well as episodes from shows later in her career where she obviously has become more comfortable in front of the camera. A couple of segments repeatedly provoke debate in our house on whether she’s under the influence. Oddly enough they seem to all deal with make-up. Perhaps make-up makes Martha high, or transports her to a grandmother’s closet she is five and trying on all the high heels and the lipsticks without knowing that the shoes go on her feet and the lipstick goes on her mouth. They are hilarious watching. One of the best is when her ?nephew? gets done up like a vampire while Martha alternately plays with make-uping her own face and falls into fits of giggles (the gif is only a hint).
The zines are in! I posted a little bit ago about getting to work on a zine project with some amazing ladies. Well the zines are in from the print shop and live in the store. The pre-order sale may be over, but you can get your copy faster than ever.
Hey ya’ll! I got to work on a collaborative zine with some lovely ladies. Check it out!
Now available for pre-order: The Four Corners Halloween zine features insights, articles, recipes, and how-tos on all aspects of magical living to help you celebrate the season. Four Corners is a 7x 10.5 in., 24 page full color zine.
All pre-orders are the sale price of $7, shipping included, and will be sent out at the beginning of October. Secure your copy now, on sale, before rates go up!
Four Corners can also be purchased as a digital edition. If you are proudly paperless, you can get your digital print today!