It’s Friday. Looking for something to switch up your weekend, or to give you an excuse to relax a little? That’s what the Weekend Reset is for. Each week contributor Tim Johnstone pulls together five things to get your weekend started. Could be something to read or watch, something to eat or listen to, or even something to do. Enjoy the weekend fellas.
SHUDDER: If this was a pop song it would be a”banger!”
Except it’s not. It is classic creature feature. It’s bad ass and nasty. It’s Grade A John Carpenter and like my recommendation for “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” this is the best version of a film that has been made a few times (including an early adaptation with a different title). That film is The Thing and Carpenter’s 1982 remake remains a gruesome joy to behold. Kurt Russell leads a terrific cast of actors through some seriously effed-up arctic alien shenanigans with actual special effects which hold up surprisingly well.
CARVE: It is time for our annual assault on the hapless orange squash.
Chances are, we could all up our carving game. Even if you’ve got a knack for cranking out prize winning Halloween veggies, I would imagine you could brush up some skills. Having said that, I apologize for the music in this video. I was ready to snap after 30 seconds BUT, and yes, it is a capitalized but, this is a great resource for those who want to carve more than the most basic of jack-o-lanterns. This video? Perhaps cinema’s finest moment in the category “scene with squash.” By the way, the Swedish word for pumpkin is pumpa so that one’s on me. That tidbit should come in handy this weekend.
It is not my intention to make you give up before even setting knife to pumpkin, but you should check out this article on some people who are ridiculously talented at doing just that. If you’ve already developed some decent carving skills, I would point you in this direction as well.
SIP: A toasty cider for your halloween party.
Hot Caramel Popcorn Bourbon Apple Cider. I know. I KNOW. My first thoughts when I read this were actually just alarm emojis exploding all up in my grey matter. SO. MANY. ALARMS. However, If I stop to think about everything that goes into this concoction, I actually enjoy all of the individual ingredients. And yes, it’s a sweet drink, but most hot alcoholic beverages are. So, yeah. Upon reflection I decided that I would very much like to try one of these. Just the one, if all goes to plan. I will leave open the possibility of a second on the very good chance that my discipline pulls a no-show. So, three it is.
ROCK: Mongolian Throat Singers Metal is everything!
I mean, if you had told me that I would be enraptured by a Mongolian hard rock band featuring traditional instruments and throat singing I would have laughed – out loud – much too derisively. So I guess I suck. Because that is exactly what is going on with The HU. The band is working from thousands of years of history and culture in bringing their regional instruments and khoomei, the art of throat singing. Add their love of Metallica, Rammstein and System Of A Down and this is by far the most interesting music I’ve heard in a while. And this is their video for “Wolf Totem”:
This is a good introduction to the band and how they view their music.
SCREAM: Tis the season after all.
Grab some pals, maybe swill some liquid courage, and go get skeered poopless. Because it’s a hoot. And after you are done, you’ll have stories to tell while you’re settling down and warming up. Also, every older brother in the history of mankind has suggested that this was the greatest date destination ever. Here’s a site that lists Haunted Houses in your state. Or, you could just go find a field of corn and just go wade into that in the middle of the night. Because that would be enough for me. Meanwhile, on Halloween I’ll be channeling Betsey and going as a random neighborhood bush monster because what could possibly go wrong?
Tim Johnstone is Dappered’s music correspondent as well as our resident gatherer of all things interwebs related. He’s pretty sure about some of the things most of the time, but totally clueless about everything else all the time. This guy is currently on his list of people that don’t suck.