The witching hour draws nigh...

Ah, The Night of the Hunter
All Hallow's eve
Devil's Night
Samhain
Harvest Tide
Halloween

My dearest and most treasured of holidays.

 

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A uncanny night for ethereal and unearthly beings to drift across the surface of the earth.

An evening for chilling, blustery, midnight picnics in secluded spots beneath dark and cloudy shapeshifting skies.

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A twilight of safe refuge for the mismatched,

 

 Laura Tomasic

for those viewed as "different"

for those alienated for being so.

A night for green and gold flashing eyes,
and figures shining white.

 

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An evening for tricks,

treats,

and bloodlusting.

A grand affair of carousing like no other,
with haunty, accompanying theme songs of the Danny Elfman sort.

The dead leaves have taken flight, the cats sparkled, the pumpkins carved and ready for the night's flickerings.

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All is set to ride upon the seductive tail of the blood red moon on this enchanted eve.

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Happy Halloween my thirsty nightcreatures. 
I do hope it’s a spooktacular evening. 
Enjoy the candied confections and the hair raising spirits. 

Above all, make certain to have a safe and wonderfully wicked devil's night.

x
            

For unto the aliens, ninjas, and cowboys, a fire breathing babe was born

I invite you to please read the following in your finest Spaghetti western voice

The West is alive and well,
even today.

 

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 And while living beneath the open blue sky can certainly have its hardships for us here down on the Western frontier, we've gots us a mighty fine troop of fellow comrades on this here fire-spinning ranch.

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We've the kind of team that work and sweat together by the light of day, and feign sleep by night to ensure a smashing-good performance for the good showgoers and onlookers.

Together in cahoots, we charmed up a twisty-tale of adventure, mystery, love, and some good old slapstick funnies. All to ensure an epic storyline for the rousing crowds that we gave a lick and a promise to this year.

Then we took that faithful journey, the kind of journey where you don't exactly know if everyone will make it home in one piece. 

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Yes, that sojourn was made way back in August, all the long while to the Burning Man Festival for we had some big nuts to crack.

Yessir, my fellow brothers and sisters set forth to burn the breeze and deliver one helluva fine show to those nice citizens of Black Rock City, the namesake for the fleeting city admist the normally desolate region.

We've a fine story to tell.

A tale of plot and characters like rowdy, ruthless, goodfernuthin' cowboys about as crooked as a Virginia fence, playing both sides of the law for riches and a fist full of dollars.

A fable of fearless ninjas hard pushed enough to let nuthin' come between their undeniable love,

and a memoir of hell-fired, noble aliens in a relentless and untamed search for justice by good rights.

 

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And so the story goes, that late one Saturday eve just before the sun slanted down in the West, us ash-hoppers gathered to show those nice folks how a fire-breathing lovechild, born out of true, unrestricted love, and free from hate, was brought unto this here world.

Yes folks, once upon a time, when the air was thick with mesquite and dust storms, on a night that can only be wrapped up in one which-i-ma-call-it... declarative sentence.

Gawddamn!

Many thanks to my fine as cream gravy, fellow teammates and conclave staff, and 'specially to our fearless leader, the "Jenneral" for making sure that no one ever hung up their fiddle, and fer getting us to the flinders of that there playa.
 
 Ladies and gents, courtesy of Kp Wedman at Black Rock City, Nevada, I give you your 2012 San Diego Fire Conclave performance.

x
           

The soft ripened cheeses, and science!

The October installment of the Queso Diego monthly meetings included an intimate gathering between the fromagophiles and the bloomy rinds.

It didn't take long for us to become well acquainted with the soft and velvety bloomed cheeses, spanning the course from Bries, Camemberts, Bucherondins and Valencays.

Member Jennifer aged this fresh goaty for ten days before we swallowed it up nearly whole.

Heather made a couple contributions including this here divine, bloomy blue chevre.

A double cream camembert was a much welcome treat to our spread. This was handmade by member Charles using all geotrichum candidum, because we're curdy and nerdy!

Mary Palmer of Taste Cheese was aboard and brought these here lovelies: 

Torta - a vegetarian, Spanish sheep cheese made with cardoon thistle in lieu of traditional rennet, an animal enzyme. 

-and-

 Banon de Chalais - Hailled from France, this tasty is steeped in Brandy and beautifully wrapped in chestnut leaves.

A member's tasting plate.

Lining up the cheese samples

Special guest presenter Aurelio Fernandes from Fytozimus, a specialist Biotech company, joined us to discuss some new plant-derived enzymes for cheesemaking. 

Four artisanal, milk custard glorious, soft-ripened varieties for sampling to include: Brie de Meaux, Explorateur triple creme, Humboldt Fog and Monte Enebro were also generously supplied by Mary Palmer.

The award-winning, Monte Enebro was a featured highlight of the evening. This Spanish, goat-milked beauty is made unique by the use of mold inoculation typically used in making Roquefort varieties.

Member Laurie, delivered a fantastic presentation covering the soft ripened cheeses. Including the cheesemaking process, characteristics and aging profiles.

While member and award-winning cheesemaker, Horace Bixby shared his homemade camembert with us. We reaped the rewards of his cheese expertise.

Yet another delicious eve for the cheese books. 

Thanks to all who attended!

x

             

Hideous Halloween Decorations and Epic Fails of the Season

Because nothing says Halloween quite like pink flamingos.

Be on the lookout for spine-chilling apparitions of the Hulk and Homer Simpson kind

a bloodcurdling combination of Snoopy and Hello Kitty

red, white, and boo

inflatable anythings with lights, sound and animation

a macabre inflatable pooh bear to instill fright and curbside appeal 

don't forget the bounciest, trounciest, pounciest, and most eeriest creature to make it out of the 100 Acre Wood alive

a pumpkin-studded, Autumn moose

*heebie-jeebies*

Dr. Frankenstein the Snowman

take a load off and relax in the shower with this seasonal curtain

under no circumstances should you ever dress up your sweet child as Hannibal Lecter, 

even if you do wish for silence

I think we must expect great things from you Mr. Potter. 

Things such as giant-sized termites.

 this is just all sorts of wtf-ery?

a living misshapen ethereal being made entirely from a neon light string

Hoppy Holloween!

Don't forget to step over those black cats today.

x

         

This must be a Wednesday... I never could get the hang of Wednesdays.

Oh it's you again, Wednesday.

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The average value of the week's bell curve distribution.
The Mount Everest of our seven days of succession.

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Just hovering there, smack in the middle of the week.
Not very Monday, and not quite yet Friday.

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The past weekend a distant memory,
the upcoming weekend not yet within arms reach.

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But it is a good day for reaching that middle ground,
and a fine occasion to decide that it's going to be an extraordinary week.

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A divine day for dreaming,
and for forgetting what day of the week it is.

x
            

My riches

vi.sualize.us

You can tell how rich you are by counting the things that money can't buy.

For life is rich with possibility

rich with glowing friends

rich with health and growing older

rich with bloodlines and family fleshums

rich with warm comfort and love

rich with diversity to show us we're unique

rich with emotions to tell us we're alive

Check your gratitude inventory

For imagine being so poor, that all you had was money.

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants. 

~ J. Brotherton

x