SPOOKFEST 2012: Cooking with Tim and Devin: Ghost Jizz Cookies
Oh what’s that? you want the recipe? well you can’t have it SUCKER, it’s OOOUUURRRRSSSSS.
A Review of “IT” by Stephen King
Stephen King’s IT, is a story of seven friends who are tormented (along with their home, small town Derry, ME) by a creature most often seen as a clown that shape shifts to it’s victims worst fear. IT is a basically perfect book, with rich and vivid characters, mind numbingly scary writing, and a simple elegance that can only be found in books by Stephen King. The book is a whopping 1090 pages so it might seem like a daunting task to read, but once you get started you’ll wish it was twice as long.
Characters Probably More Real than People You Know
One of most evident traits of IT is the vividness of it’s many characters. All though the 1000+ pages takes a long time to read, with out them you wouldn’t get the character development that is so prominent in this book. All though most of the characters are slightly common archetypes, they are genuine ones that you more than likely know. There’s Bill, the leader, the one with charisma, the one that for whatever reason you respect and honor so much that you would die for him. There’s Richie, the funny guy who has a large array of voices, but never seems to shut up. There’s Eddie, the overly cautious one who had an overprotective mom and relies on medicinine. Etc. Etc. Etc.
By the end of the novel, these characters will feel so real to you, that they WILL be real to you. You will care about them just as if they were real people.
“Balls-to-the-Wall, Keep-the-Lights-on Horror”
Before reading this I was under the ridiculous pretense that a book couldn’t scare me. “Words? HA. I laugh in the face of words. HA.” But oh was I wrong. Here is a choice passage from “Derry: The Second Interlude”
“then I saw that I had had company in the night, as I slept. The tracks, drying to faint muddy impressions, led from the front door of the library (which I locked; I always lock it) to the desk where I slept. There were no tracks leading away. Whatever it was, it came to me in the night, left its talisman . . . and then simply disappeared. Tied to my reading lamp was a single balloon. Filled with helium, it floated in a morning sunray which slanted in through one of the high windows.On it was a picture of my face, the eyes gone, blood running down from the ragged sockets, a scream distorting the mouth on the balloon’s thin and bulging rubber skin. I looked at it and I screamed. The scream echoed through the library, echoing back, vibrating from the circular iron staircase leading to the stacks. The balloon burst with a bang” (King 298).This book is scary. This book is terrifying. A great many times I have let out a little scream and jumped just cause someone knocked on my door while I was reading. But don’t get me wrong, those who say Stephen King is JUST a horror writer are dead wrong. They are
Perfect Introduction to the God that is Stephen King
Complete idiots. Complete idiots are people who deny the fact the Stephen King is an author capable of so much that it could make your head spin. This is obvious in the fact that Stephen King has written FIFTY TWO NOVELS! THAT’S 52! 5! 2! I haven’t even written that many pages!
All though not all of his books are masterpieces, even at his lowest point he’s still extraordinary. After reading IT, the ones I would recommend are the following:
The Stand
The Stand is a story of the apocalypse told in three parts, each part growing increasingly more crazy than the last. It is similar to IT in that it is very large, and densely populated with extremely real characters. Many consider it to be the best King novel, and that’s why it’s at the top of this list.
The Green Mile
Stephen King himself has said that he writes two different kinds of novels: Large ones, which are like you’re viewing the story from a telescope, and small ones which are extreme close ups, like looking through a microscope. This one (unlike IT and The Stand) is the latter. The Green Mile is a story of a Jail and it’s inhabitants, and all though it is mainly drama, it has supernatural elements. Along with the story itself, it was released as a serial novel, meaning about 100 pages were released at a time, over the span of a few months, which makes it especially fun to read.
The Dark Tower Series
Stephen King’s self described Magnum Opus is a series somewhere between Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, and Western. It is the tale of a Gunslinger and his trek towards the titular Dark Tower, and the people he meets along the way. Not only is this simply one of the best stephen King stories, but it has 8 installments, so you’ll have plenty to read.
IT is a truly magnificent novel, and is easily one of my favorites. I can’t recommend this book enough, and that’s why I give it 5/5.
5 Free (but good) eBooks that You Should Get and Read and Love
I recently got a Kindle, and due to my being very poor, I have been trying to get as many free (but good) books as I possibly can. The ones I most recommend are listed below.
The Time Machine – H. G. Wells
This was the first book I got, and it is fantastic. Known by most for being the first book to put forward the idea of time travel as we know it today, it is regarded by as a Sci-fi classic. It tells the story of a man (just called the time traveller) who goes to the distant future where the world is entirely different. This book uses some very unique narrarating techniques, and at roughly 100 pages, it’s not a huge task to read it.
Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne
Now I’m sure most of you recognize this from the awful Brendan Frazier movie adaptation, but don’t let any negative feelings about that stop you. It’s an interesting story about people going to the center of the earth, and having some wacky sci-fi adventures. Also it’s Jules Verne so you can’t really go wrong.
2 B R 0 2 B – Kurt Vonnegut
All though this is the shortest story on this list, I still have to recommend it. Kurt Vonnegut is probably on the top of my list of “authors I want to check out” and this is what brought him to that list. Similar to Harrison Bergeron, it’s a dystopian story that takes place in the future where old age, disease, and population control have been conquered.
The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka (Only iBook store)
This book is rather short, but I definitely think it is interesting enough to read. It is about a salesman who wakes up as a human sized cockroach and has to deal with it. On the Kindle store and Nook store it’s about 99 cents, but I would still recommend you get it.
The Invisible Man – H. G. Wells
The second book by H. G. Wells on this list is a story of a scientist who turns himself invisible, but cannot turn himself back. Something interesting about many of these novels is that they are simply a “what if” scenario, and then the characters dealing with the situation. H. G. Wells is a great author, and this is another great read.
So there you go. If you know of any good free books out there please comment below!
Don’t Fight Change… Learn to Accept it (a visual essay on evolution)
Started in 8th grade, finished only a few minutes ago
Timothy’s Thoughts on Angel Season 5 (and the entire series)
Over the past while I have been watching and giving my thoughts on the show Angel, which is a spinoff of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just finished the 5th and final season, so I’ll be giving my thoughts on that, and the entire show in the text below.
It’s All Over
Right after I finished this season, I went back and watched the first episode of Buffy, just to see the characters at the beginning. It’s amazing to see how Cordelia was a whiny popular girl, Angel was a complete stranger, Fred was a helpless captive, Gunn was a gangster, and just how different all the characters have become. I think the characters in Buffy/Angel are some of the best examples of dynamic characters in any media.
He literally has one facial expression
The reason I have a section called It’s All Over is because for me, Buffy is actually over. Timeline wise, this is the last thing that is put out in the form of television. I probably won’t read the comic continuations of the story so it’s the last I’ll see of these characters.
Fred/Illiria
I think that easily the best part of the season was Illyria. I thought that Fred’s death was done perfectly, and I wanted Fred and Westley to ship from the beginning so it really hit me emotionally. Then Illyia jumps in, and the thing with Holtz, and maaaaaannn that was a HEEELLLLAAA tight story arc.
Ah man look at those burning blue eyes
Another thing to bring up is Amy Acker’s god damn acting. I completely believed the changing between the two characters, and everything from her voice to her eye movement is just perfect. One more thing about Fred, why does her Texas accent just go away? Devin said this isn’t true but I AM RIGHT.
I said before that I wouldn’t read any Angel comic probably, but if there’s a series centered on her I will probably check it out.
Note: I also read that there was one centered on Spike being a puppet like in the episode “Smile Time” and JESUS I would read that so hard.
The Finale
Overall I think that this was a GOOD season, but it was not GREAT (probably good.4). I remember I was on the penultimate episode, and I was thinking “How the BALLS are they going to close this all up in a single episode????” and boy DID THEY. It was just really COOL to start with, just with them all going after single members of the club, and them teaming up with Lindsey (and killing him) was very interesting. But beyond all the strong points it has, nothing sticks out to me as much as the Westley/Illyria scene. I loved how she became Fred just to comfort him, and on that note it was just nice to see her gradually start to care for him. Then there’s the part where she simultaneously turns back into Illyria and CRUSHES HIS ENTIRE HEAD WITH A SINGLE PUNCH. All though the head animation was somewhat laughable, it was the perfect way to show what she was feeling.
So overall I think that Angel is a terrific show that I would recommend to any Buffy fan, and I rate the five seasons as follows.
Timothy’s Thoughts on Angel Season 4
In case you somehow hadn’t realized, we here at Get Geek loooooooooooooooove Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all associated media. Devin, being a Geek 2 or so levels higher than me, has seen all of Buffy and Angel, and while convincing me quite a while ago to watch Buffy, I only recently got around to starting to watch Angel. My report for the fart(h) season is: Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh pretty good…. I will elaborate below in three main parts.
Connor (Reprise)
In my season 3 thoughts I talked about how much I hated Connor, and how I feared that he would only get worse. I am hear to say that he gets mostly better! I think after he realizes how much he ballsed up with Angel, he kinda matures a little bit. He kind of gets better through the first half of the season, then has a gradual decline for the second half (along with the show itself). Most of it revolves around Cordelia and his obsession with her, and I think that if she hadn’t banged him then he would have been great.
Timothy’s Thoughts on Angel Season 3
In case you somehow hadn’t realized, we here at Get Geek loooooooooooooooove Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all associated media. Devin, being a Geek OVER NINE THOUSAND levels higher than me, has seen all of Buffy and Angel, and while convincing me quite a while ago to watch Buffy, I only recently got around to starting to watch Angel. My report for the th-th-th-third season is: INCOMPREHENSIBLY AWESOME. I will elaborate below in three main parts.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a Work of Art
Ages and ages ago, in the far off time of 2008, I watched a movie called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought it was cool, but because I was only like 12 I had no idea that I was watching an absolute masterpiece. One that at the time of last week, I would watch again and have my life changed. Below, I will list all of the reasons The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an amazing work of art.
Timothy’s Thoughts on Angel Season 2
In case you somehow hadn’t realized, we here at Get Geek loooooooooooooooove Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all associated media. Devin, being a Geek at LEAST thirty levels higher than me, has seen all of Buffy and Angel, and while convincing me quite a while ago to watch Buffy, I only recently got around to starting to watch Angel. My report for the SECOND season is: Even More Awesome. I will elaborate below in three main parts.
Much better arc
Probably the biggest flaw with season one in my opinion, was the more or less lack of a story arc. That was probably my favorite thing about Buffy, always keeping me wondering what would happen next, so when a show doesn’t have one it kinda falls flat in my eyes. Obviously he was moving into LA and meeting the people that would eventually become characters on the show, but this season really had a proper one. I really enjoyed seeing Darla and Drusilla again, and the Wolfram and Hart bunch are very interesting in themselves. Add on top of that, the protagonist becomes very unlikable for a long while. Overall, a much more fluent and better written season.
All the new ballsing characters
We got the host, Fred, Gunn, and not to mention the Hotel, I had no idea what I was signing up for.
The Host
The Host is very easily my favorite character through all of season 2. For those who don’t know, The Host is a demon who runs a demon-friendly, non-violent, karaoke bar. His use to Angel investigations, is that he can read peoples emotions and tell peoples futures, but only when they sing. (Which means lots of hilarious clips of David Boreanz singing) He is flamboyant and hilarious and I love him.
Fred
All though she is only in the show for about 3 episodes this season, you can already tell that she will be a loveable and valuable character. She is something that frankly the show should have had ages ago, a sciency character who knows stuff and stuff. (See Willow Rosenberg)
Gunn
Gunn is a badass, nuff said. He is like the super cool tough guy who messes up EVERYBODY’S balls if he has to. Gunn is the balls. Gunn. Is. The. Balls. I understand that he isn’t neccesarily introduced in the season, but he doesn’t really become a full member until 2, so I’m throwing him in this list anyways.
The Hotel
Not actually a character, or that pivotal of a piece in the show, but it would just be SO cool to live in a hotel. I’ve actually been looking for old decrepit hotels for sale recently, just because of how awesome it is in angel.
Whedon’s Unconventional Protagonists
I am genuinely sorry for this
Something I’ve noticed in my look at Whedon material, is that he tends to have very unusual protagonists. What I mean by that, is that he tends to kinda break the rules for for main characters, making all of his shows particularly interesting. For instance.
Buffy
Buffy in herself isn’t that strange, she’s a girl with a somewhat typical situation where she finds out she has a lot of power, and has to accept that her life will never be normal. That’s not the strange thing about her. The strange thing about her is that for a fair amount of the show named after her, she is entirely unlikable. She is selfish, bratty, entitled, and incredibly self absorbed.
Echo
In the series Dollhouse, Echo is a character, who isn’t really a character at all. At her normal resting state, she has no personality. None at all, she’s programmed that way. And then in just about every episode she becomes an entirely new person. A singer/bodyguard, a simple housewife, or even multiple people at once! She is the main character, and she is about 20 characters.
Angel
Angel is in this list because he is the good guy only some of the times. Not only is he capable of becoming more evil than most of the villains in the show at any given time, but for a sizable amount of season two, he becomes an enemy of all the other characters, and to a degree, the viewer. During this time he tortures a friend, obsesses over Wolfram and Hart, and sleeps with Darla, one of his biggest enemies of the season.
I think that Season 2 was an immense step up from Season 1, and I can’t WAIT to write my thought on season 3.
Until next time,
Timothy’s Thoughts on Angel Season 1
In case you somehow hadn’t realized, we here at Get Geek looooove Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all associated media. Devin, being a Geek at LEAST ten levels higher than me, has seen all of Buffy and Angel, and while convincing me quite a while ago to watch Buffy, I only recently got around to starting to watch Angel. My report for the first season is: Awesome. I will elaborate below in three main parts.
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