Netflix

2014 Netflix Halloween Playlist (3rd Annual!)

Everybody now: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Ahhhh. Don’t you just love Halloween? I know I do.

Fall season creeps in: candy apples and carved pumpkins, cardboard tombstones and plastic costumes, counter culture and scary movies. What I really love about Halloween is that it can look different to everybody. For me, even as a kid, I grew up watching horror. Really, I’m not sure how I got away with it. Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers were as familiar to me as Mr. Rogers and Big Bird.

As I have aged I have got away from the horror genre a bit. So, now, when Halloween comes around, I enjoy packing in as many nostalgia-filled frightening flicks as I can (especially since my wife doesn’t usually watch them. Her childhood was NOT filled with grotesque, slasher movies… whatever that’s about).

Not sure what to watch this Halloween?

I made a Netflix playlist for us to enjoy. As usual it’s a mix of campy, fun, classic, horror and X-Files. I would love it if you joined me. We can discuss it on Twitter and have a ball.

So never fear (or should you? Mwahahahah). I got you covered.

Note: This list is good for either a spooky, all night marathon or spread nights before Halloween. Your pick.

Check out last year’s list too!

The Number Kevin’s 3rd Annual Netflix Halloween Playlist

paranorman2012-poster-wideParaNorman (2012)

It is always good to start out light, and I love kid-friendly Halloween movies. Monster House, Ernest Scared Stupid, for instance. ParaNorman has been on my Netflix List for quite some time. I have NOT seen it. This year, I plan on getting to it.

The Twilight Zone: Mr Garrity and the Graves (S1. E32)

TheTwilightZoneLogo

From friendly kid movie, we’ll move into classic TV shows. The Twilight Show was a favorite of mine as a child. I watched both the new and old editions (does anyone know how the newer version holds up?), as well as The Outer Limits. “Mr. Garrity and the Graves” is highly rated, and looks quite spooky: an unknown traveler who brings a small town’s deceased back from the dead.  (more…)

Advertisement

Kevin’s Ultra Hip (Hella Sick) Summer Book Club

Recently, I made a pact with my brain. That over summer I would spend more time reading than Netflixing. Netflix, my best fake friend, is a great tool for relaxing, especially after a 23 credit semester, say, by me. And, oh, I wanted to veg-out on Netflix more than my hipster neighbor wanted rollerblades. But I made a pact, and pacts are serious.

Previous post-semester breaks have included many veg-out TV series marathons (8 seasons of 24 and 9 seasons of How I Met Your Mother come to mind). To be Frank, I’ve still been enjoying Netflix in moderate occasions: a Sherlock episode here, a Comedy Bang-Bang there. But moderate is where I’m trying to keep it.  It’s time to take a break from marathon Netflix summers and, instead, marathon some books.

And the readings have been excellent so far.

If you are looking for some great books to read, then please, read these. We can talk about them together and start a cool kid reading club. Maybe you’ve read a few. Maybe you’ll have a little catching up to do. Maybe you can pick and choose. Either way, join my club. It will be ultra hip and hella sick. We’ll watch The Pagemaster together at the end of summer, and it will be fun.

Kevin’s Ultra Hip (Hella Sick) Summer Book Club

 The_Stand_cover1. The Stand by Stephen King – Completed

I just finished this one the other night, and I had never felt so accomplished. 1200 breathtaking pages. Technically though, it’s sort of cheating. I started the book back in December. The Stand is super long, and I had to wait till my semester was over to read most of it. But it was worth it! Also, Hollywood making a big budget movie. You could be ahead of the curve! (more…)

Holy Matrimony, Batman!

Holy matrimony, my friends, is a booby-trapped obstacle course full of perilous challenges. Think Legends of the Hidden Temple (my greatest childhood regret, oh how I wished to be a Blue Barracuda!). Last night, Megan and I overcame the single most formidable hurdle of our marriage. That’s right. We finished our first marriage book. And not just any marriage book, a Christian marriage book, one we started over three years ago.

Consistency is overrated.

Well, anyhow, we did it. We got through it. Ironically, we almost quit on the book, a year or so ago, while in a chapter labeled “Perseverance.” But we didn’t! (I have a feeling the author intended that chapter to be the book’s longest).

It’s called Sacred Marriage and is written by Gary Thomas. The book is pretty great, really. The speed at which we read is not indicative of the quality of the work or the messages in the content: we’re just lazy and watch a lot of Netflix and fall asleep way too early for mid-twenty-year olds. But I do recommend it. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much of the content (hey, I liked the ending; that’s got to count for something right?).

Best yet, I have another book on my shelf. Inquisitive friends will ask me about it, and I’ll look up and say, “Yeah, it was good.” They will nod their heads, and I will feel smart.  (more…)

Media-Thon Monday (6)

Hey, remember these? Media-Thon Monday has returned! What is Media-Thon Monday? Good question! Now, next time, raise your hand. MTM (as the cool kids call it) is a compilation of pop-culture finds that I think are interesting and worth sharing. So, without further ado, here… we… go!

That is a picture of a Drive-In theatre screen, FYI.

That is a picture of a Drive-In theatre screen, FYI.

Boy & Bear

My friend, Travis, sent me a link the other day (he lives in Australia). He likes to share good music when he comes across it. The band is Boy & Bear (from down-undah), and they are really, really great, especially their album Moonfire. For three days I thought the band was called Moonfire and the album Boy & Bear. Moonfire is the coolest name ever, so it was a little hard to get over.

I digress. Here is the first song off of Moonfire, “Lordy May.”

The Battle of Blockbusters

No, this isn’t about Blockbuster closing all their stores (though that is worth noting). It’s an interesting article I came across about similar themed movies coming out at the same time (think Armageddon and Deep Impact).

(more…)

Kevin’s Halloween Netflix Playlist, 2013

Halloween is here, that magical time! Awww. I love it. I don’t know why. It’s just something about spookiness and scary movies and darkness that just makes me feel so happy on the inside. Is that weird?

Regardless, here are my top five Netflix pics for your Halloween marathon/partay/spookaville. BOO-ya. Get it? Boo-ya?

Side note: I meant to post this last week, but school has been crazy! I hope to get back on track next week. Thanks for sticking with me.

Check out last year’s picks here!

thefrightenersr1artpic11. The Frighteners (1996, R) Michael J. Fox, Peter Jackson. Oh yeah. This movie is so fun, and it holds up really well, too. For the most part. The opening sequence is a bit cartoonish and over the top (the special effects are atrocious by today’s standards). But it gets better; just stick with it. This movie is a really underrated Halloween flick. It’s fun, spooky, and generally creepy!

The_Post-Modern_Prometheus_TXF2. The X-Files: The Post-Modern Prometheus (Season 5: Episode 5) There are enough spooky X-Files to last me a few years of Halloween/Netflix posts. Last year’s episode was one of my all-time favorites. “Post-Modern” isn’t too far behind. It also makes for a great pairing with Frankenstein.

Unknown3. Ghostbusters (1984, PG) I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, we’ve all seen Ghostbusters. But, come on. Halloween is a great excuse to re-watch it. Some argue that one needs no excuse. Well, it’s a classic! It’s also a light hearted alternative to stupid, boob filled modern horror movies, or any horror movie for that matter.

zelda4. Pet Sematary (1989, R) File this one under “almost ruined me for life.” I was a child when I first saw it. Yeah, a kid. Who was watching me? Shame on them. Shaammme. Anyway, this movie is freaky-deaky. I haven’t actually watched it in sometime, but I saw Netflix put this up the other day; it’s on my list. If you’re looking for a generally really freaky older flick, look no further.

2-LMS-01045. Last Man Standing: Last Halloween Standing (Season 1: Episode 4) Megan and I have been really getting into this show. It’s super funny! I mean, you know, Tim Allen on ABC Family. How could you go wrong? Okay, some of the jokes are dumb, and the laugh tracks are super cheesy, but you know you want it. If you’re looking for a light-hearted “pick me up” after Pet Semetary, then put this episode on your Halloween Netflix playlist. There’s a fun, old-school Halloween cameo, and a Toy Story reference too!

That’s all for now. I hope you have a wonderfully spooky Halloween. Any suggestions to add? What’s your… favorite.. scary movie?

Eat, Sleep, Repeat

There’s this album I used to listen to named Eat, Sleep, Repeat. It’s a downer record, for sure, as you can imagine by the title. Lyrically, it explores the cyclicality of life and also the meaninglessness of it.

(I was emo when this came out so BACK OFF!)

The thought of a single human-life being summed up by the words

“Eat

Sleep

Repeat”

can kind of be frightening.

Life can be like that though, so cyclical it often feels purposeless.

Eat, Sleep, Dance!

I’ve realized since the album’s release that the singer (or character of lyrics, maybe) wasn’t condemning routine; he was just down. He was in a valley. He was also an artist.

(Foolish, I feel now, after adopting his outlook as doctrine).

Artists tend to overanalyze life (or under-analyze life) into whatever they want it to be. If they want to be stuck in a hamster wheel, they will build themselves a hamster wheel or color the world as such. There’s an obvious temper of youth which cloaks the music and message; it’s crazy what you identify yourself with when you’re a kid.

I’ve since discovered that life is naturally cyclical, and that’s alright. We can have good days and bad, good years and bad. Many of us see the big picture and can sail steady through it all. I look back at myself and wonder why I couldn’t. I was hyper-responsive, I guess, the type to get stuck in valleys and curse them only to later summit peaks and praise them, all the while missing meaning, missing the purpose of creation, missing consistency.

How are you holding up these days?

One day, I want to write and record another album. I think I’ll title it

Eat. Coffee. Poop. Netflix. Work. Eat. Blog. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. 

And it’s going to be a happy record, one that sees the good in the bad, one that can sail. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” Yes. Yes, I think so.

Departing Queries:

  1. Are there any outdated doctrines from your youth that you’re still holding on to?
  2. Do you focus on what is true and noble, or are you living only in response to the temporary?
  3. What are the routines in your life that color your identity, make you who you are?

Copeland_-_Eat,_Sleep,_RepeatP.S. I still really like this album.