Happy Halloween 2023

for those who celebrate.  Back in Chicago, it was rare that Halloween --  or the Halloween season once
Halloween became more of an adult holiday  -- had good weather.  As a kid, I recall many a Halloween where I had to wear a coat over my costume.   

Well, it looks like the South is trying to make me feel at home.  We had great weather last week, and last weekend and will have good weather after Wednesday.  But yesterday, today, and tomorrow are COLD.  We actually have frost warnings.

According to Facebook, it is snowing in Chicago today.  It also snowed 9 years ago on Halloween.  I remember our decorations being covered in snow and trick-or-treaters showing up with coats.  

We have discovered that going to my in-laws' subdivision for trick-or-treating is the best option.  The houses are closer together and there are sidewalks.  Our subdivision is comprised of homes with 1-2 acres of land and no sidewalks.

Our first year my Brother in Law Jethrow told us that no one trick-or-treat until after dark.  Unfortunately, he didn't tell us until the last minute.

****

Last Friday we went to Marshall's Steakhouse to celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary.  The planning had been in the works for quite some time.  We did a last minute switch from the Bass Pro Shop to Marshall's because 1) ostensibly the food is terrible there and 2) Memphis at night is scary for some white people.

My belly isn't this big, camera angle I swear!

Today's Southern Town Drama

Every Wednesday I have to take Boris to his OT at 8 am.  I've worked out that I need to leave here by 7:50 to comfortably be in the parking lot waiting for the therapist who walks to the car by 8:03 (this is their protocol, although now we can go into the building if we desire).

While I'm doing that, Grandpa Cartwright is taking Natasha to school.  He does this every Wednesday unless we cancel OT or there is some other conflict.  

Today he didn't show up and by the time I realized it, it was really too late to do anything about this potential scenario.  Luckily Nightingale and I talked about this and we decided that if that happens, Natasha comes with us to OT and she goes to school late as well.

Fortunately, my SIL was able to come to the rescue and meet us at OT and take Natasha to school on time so she doesn't have an unexcused tardy on her record (oh the horror).

The offer

   I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

I heard back from the recruiter today.  They want to offer me a contract position that could transition into FTE if I gel with the team.  They are also offering me less than we initially discussed.  

On the one hand, I have the luxury of being able to take $50/hr and not worry about making the rent.  On the other hand, the Job Description has not changed.  So they are trying to get Prime Rib at Pub Burger prices.

Update from the future:  The recruiter, who is jaunting around Europe right now came back with the following:

We are still getting some ducks in a row, but these are the details being discussed:

$60/hr

6-month contract (with option to promote to full-time after 3 months)

40 hours per week (minus holidays)

Exclusively working for us, but this is our preference (J thinks he will be able to keep you busy 😊)

I should know more on Monday.

10/12/23 1:39pm

The exclusive thing is because I asked about taking on a side gig if the work was anything like the contract job I had 2 years ago where I literally just earned money by pushing a button every hour.  It's telling that they don't want me to do anything like that even if it wouldn't interfere.  

Third and final Interview

   I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

|The 3rd interview with No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company came and went.  The only timeslot was not ideal because it comes at the time I normally get in line to pick up Moose and Squirrel at school.  But since all these interviews have had Hard Stops after 30 minutes (this one should too) I decided to risk it because I should still be able to get in line before the school starts releasing students.

The interview wasn't as good as the first two.  We finished early and she asked the usually bullshit "what are you passionate about and what motivates you to come into the office" type interview question.

The obvious answer is "a fucking paycheck" but they don't want to hear that.  They want you to give them some bullshit bougie answer.  It's on par with asking "why do you want to work here".  They want a virtual blowjob and a pony.  

  

The Second Interview

  I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

So the 2nd interview with No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company came and went.  As with the first interview, it was painless as far as interviews go.

And as with the first interview, as far as I can tell, it went well.  I don't recall if I grabbed the lead or let her ask the first question but she asked me why I got into technology.  That tells me that she, like many people, don't consider interviews as the primary part of their job.

Labor Laws are a bit lax down here

It's certainly better than the old guy who was going over my resume line by line and asking me things about my college major and who was my boss at a job almost two decades ago.  

I have  3rd and final interview today.  The only timeslot was not ideal because it comes at the time I normally get in line to pick up Moose and Squirrel at school.  But since all these interviews have had Hard Stops after 30 minutes (this one should too) I decided to risk it because I should still be able to get in line before the school starts releasing students.

10/5/2023 11:26 am

Every Movie In The Halloween Series, Ranked

While going down an Internet Rabbit hole, I came across this piece by Alexandra Ramos: Halloween: Every Movie In The Horror Series, Ranked

I'm delighted to find a writer who is into Horror and Sci-Fi as much as I am since it seems the two
genres rarely cross (and please don't bring up Jason X).

Halloween Movie Source, the Halloween fanboy I follow on Twitter (@sourcehalloween) often asks people to rank their moves and it's cumbersome to do in the character limit constraint.  So I think I'll take this opportunity to do my list and schedule it for October.

I pretty much agree with Ramos' list but with some slight exceptions.  So working backward from



Worst to Best 

• Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009)
• Halloween Kills (2021)
• Halloween Ends (2022)
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
• Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
• Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995)
• Halloween (2018)
• Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• Halloween II (1981)
• Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
• Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later (1998)
• Halloween (1978)

Note: My criteria are mostly would I watch it again and perhaps that is what I should call this list because I find myself watching everything from #3 down over and over.

13.  Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009)

In all (un)fairness, I have not seen this one from start to finish.  I've read the Movie Pooper script and have seen enough clips to justify putting this at the end.  This was a missed opportunity, but then again so was the 2007 remake as well.  I might try to watch it to give a more complete review but for now, I think they should have gone with the alternate ending.

12.  Halloween Kills (2021) 

Even the most casual viewer has to ask, just how long is Halloween night in Haddonfield?  I didn't like the First Responder slaughter scene or the subsequent murder of the interracial couple who did nothing wrong (breaking rules I'll get to later).  And while I really liked both the "Officer McCabe Down Flashback Scene" and that Tommy, Lindsay, and Nurse Marion from the original are back, their roles were wasted.  

11. Halloween Ends (2022)

Like Resurrection, this is really two movies in one.  We have the anticlimactic end of Michael and the tragic story of Corey's descent into evil.  It would have been better to introduce Corey's arc in Kills, perhaps replacing that awful Haddonfield mob scene at the hospital.   Allyson has now lost both her parents to the Shape, yet there is barely any acknowledgment of this.  Karen died for nothing.

10 - 8. Halloween 4, 5, 6 (1988, 1989 and 1995)

These three movies are the same three movies with different actors and slightly different plot lines. They rely more on gory kills than the Cat and Mouse game that Michael is famous for.   They are failed attempts at rebooting the franchise while exploring the Samhain mythos behind Michael's power and his terrible family reunions.  

7. Halloween (2018)

As far as retconning goes, this one really retcons.  Nothing after Halloween 1978 exists in this universe.  And so the premise that Michael Myers is a serial killer worthy of a visit by British Podcasters seems a bit far-fetched since he only killed 5 people in this timeline.

Also, Michael and Jamie are not siblings.  So it begs the question, why would he bother coming after Jamie after 40 years?  And while I respect that PSTD does things to a person, after the first couple of decades, wouldn't you breathe a little easier?  

6. Halloween (2007)

One of the things that bothered me about the original Halloween storyline was Jamie being Michael's sister (obviously and admittedly retconned).    But looking at the timeline, Judith was a teenager, Michael was six and Jamie was apparently one.  That's a lot of Oops Babies.  Zombie reboot attempted to smooth the edges with a more plausible backstory.  And yet, I'm not likely to rewatch this one anytime soon (see my tweet).  

5. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Should we even include this one-off?  It only ranks this high in part because the previously listed were that bad.  This was an attempt to resurrect the concept of the Halloween anthology series and as far as early 80s sci-fi/horror goes, it wasn't half bad.  They should rebrand and reboot this as simply Season of the Witch, with a slightly more pausable plot.  

4. Halloween II (1981)

Remember that broken rule I mentioned?  In this movie, Michael breaks the Don't Kill Innocent People rule.  Michael only kills teens who are having sex and thus are horrible babysitters, or people who get in his way of killing horrible babysitters.  But in this movie, he kills an innocent babysitter and several nurses who did nothing to him.  

3. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Like Halloween Ends, this was also two movies in one.  This movie gets a lot of hate from fans because it had some horrible acting.  But if you can look past that, the plot was unique and innovative for the time.  Watching Michael kill people on the internet in real-time.  If you skip the last 10 minutes, it's a decent movie.  

Notes: Tyra Banks must have a hella of an agent to get an offscreen kill.  Also, Busta Rhymes.  

2. Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later (1998)

This is the movie that brought Jamie Lee Curtis back to the franchise.  Its reconning ignores all the previous sequels and is a direct sequel to Halloween II.  It also brings back Nurse Marion (briefly) and had a cameo by Jamie's real-life mom, Janet Leigh.  It too has a rapper.

I recently re-watched this movie and what I noticed is the Three Acts Rule.  In the First Act, Michael kills, just like in the original.  In the Second Act, he has the opportunity to kill but doesn't.  He steals car keys from a mom with a child in a roadside rest station but doesn't kill them.  He also passes on killing the Rapper Security Guard even though it would be in his best interest to eliminate this threat. 

1.  Halloween (1978)

Naturally, this would be Numero Uno.  It's the movie that launched the slasher genre.