Categories: Holidays

The Minor Keys: Christmas for One

Categories Holidays, Music

I’m the holiday-type. It feels weird to need to say that, but I have met people who really do not welcome date-specific times of celebration. I enjoy an excuse to be merry and put up bright lights, but this year I am a bit at odds with Christmas. I find myself alone and living in an in-between town, squared center from where I was to where I am going, and that is not conducive to cheer. I’m doing my best though, I made a couple of people happy and that always warms me for a bit, but sometimes I just want to read a book or listen to music with people like me.

This post may come off a little bit Microwave Cooking for One, but there is a season for everything and everyone.

The Right Music

Joni Mitchell’s song, River, opens with a minor key contrast of Jingle Bells. Wouldn’t it be nice to get away from the loneliness of the season and skate down a river?

The Right Socks

Keeping warm during the holidays extends well beyond what you feel in your heart. Ground yourself with some special socks, even a single pair. Sometimes when we feel down, we forget

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Chills and Thrills: My Spooky Movies

Categories Holidays, Movie and Series Talk

Picking movies to match the season becomes most essential to me during October, with December a modest second. So I present to you my movies as either Reese’s or Peeps. Are they rich with something delicious in the middle or are they a travesty of all sweet and no substance? Read ahead for spoiler free thoughts.

The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods is Directed by Drew Goddard and produced by persona non grata, Joss Whedon, with shared writing credits between both. It is a flick that almost did not get released and when it did it was years late. Yet this film has garnered a cult following for its unique take on meeting genre tropes and poking fun at them. At times things get dark, but overall it is a masterful balance that makes college-kids-going-on-vacation actually fun. Hold tight in the final 20 minutes, because it is a roller coaster.

The casting is also great, with a special nod from me to Fran Kranz as the stoner friend, Marty. It is hard to not want to name off a bunch of the cast, Like Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as Sitterson and Hadley, because I think a lot of the films strength rests in its dialogue. If the movie did anything, it made me miss Whedon’s writing. It is a shame that people mostly know him artistically for his blunders and even more so that he has not shown any sign of appreciating why people have been upset with him personally.

The person aside, this film is one I have seen before and I suspect I will see it many more times in the years to come.

This movie is a Reese’s.

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