HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

WOOHOO! All Hallow's Eve is upon us; I'm about to head out to Kutztown to pick up my best friend and then we're headed to a Halloween party later this evening. I hope you all have a fun, happy, and safe Halloween. But before you go out and have a good time, be sure to watch the following commercial from my sponsors as Silver Shamrock Masks Inc. And be sure to wear your official skeleton, witch, or pumpkin mask while you watch this commercial for an EXTRA special surprise.



And here is an apparently horror film that we may never ever see on the big screen (what's the big deal Warner Bros?!). Enjoy the trailer for "Trick R' Treat!"



I have some stuff in the works for the Vault and should have some of it up tomorrow night. I was hoping to get it all posted for Halloween but my time was spent on other projects (Guitar Hero World Tour cough cough). So have a great night all you vamps and ghouls and I'll see you back at the Vault soon!

The Dance of the Harvest, Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Muertos

If you live in the city, you may not appreciate the change of seasons as much as those of us who live outside an urban area.

While I've always enjoyed the change of seasons (as a gardener, even in the city I paid attention to their passing), I especially notice them nowadays.

On my drive from Hoopeston, IL to my shop in Urbana this morning, I saw one of the huge harvesters just pouring down a shower of golden corn into a trailer. A glorious sight that brought home to me what all the acres of corn and soybeans are about.

Mind you, I tend to favor smaller, organic gardens and the concept of organic farms. Nonetheless, there is beauty in seeing the dance of the harvest on such a grand scale. Yet to produce this harvest, corn, soybean and other plants must die.

Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), All Souls, are all holidays that, in their own way, celebrate the concept of harvest. The seed of the grain harvested this Autumn will not only feed people, cattle or fuel cars, it will give us future harvests when planted. Even in the death of the corn (or wheat) is found life. These holidays, which celebrate the dead, also acknowledge the living and our connection to the circle of life and death.

Many blessings to you and yours during this harvest season.

Evil Dead II.... Mentos Commercial

I didn't post anything Halloween-oriented yesterday, so here's the consolation prize: A short Mentos commercial parody made with footage from "Evil Dead II!"



I started cleaning up the house for my eminent (post) Halloween party and my god.... I lived in this filth for the last few weeks? My DVD collection had an inch of dust on it and that is inexcusable! In any case, I should have this place whipped into shape in another day or two, then I've gotta get some junk food and beverages for my guests on Sunday. This task will be a little hard to accomplish as I have Guitar Hero World Tour and the new MST3K boxed set arriving via UPS tomorrow, but I shall persevere and be 100% ready to watch some horror flicks and chow down on some copious amounts of chips, candy, pizza, wings, and whatever else I can get my hands on.

There's only a few more days left until Halloween, so you best be ready b-movie fans! Blog ya later!

The Life and Death of a Pumpkin plus other Halloween-oriented Youtube vids.

From the guys who came up with CHAD VADER comes this very odd and somewhat creepy tale of a pumpkin's sad and short lifespan.



Weird stuff eh? And here's a little clip from National Geographic explaining the origins of our favorite holiday:



Though I am against having Christmas-ish lights for Halloween, I have to admit that this is cool:



Well that's enough stuff for tonight. I need to get some shuteye because..... TOMORROW NIGHT IS MONDO MOVIE NIGHT AND THEY'RE SHOWING "DEEP RED" ON THE BIG SCREEN! WOOOOOHOOOOO! And yes, I will be writing up an article about that at the Vault... just in case you were wondering. Interested in going to the show? Tickets are $6.00; showtime is at 10 PM on Saturday, October 25th at the Endless Mountains Theatre, located on the Scranton-Carbondale Highway in Scranton, PA! Hope to see you there! Blog ya later b-movie fans!

Beads N Botanicals Class Schedule for Fall/Winter 2008 in Urbana, IL

BEADS N BOTANICALS Fall/Winter 2008 Classes in Urbana, IL

Please feel free to pass this information on to whomever you think might find it of interest. Please remember I am also offering tarot readings, herbal consultations, hypnotherapy for relaxation, behavior modification and past life regression, as well as Reiki energy heali
ng....Catherine

P.S. We will also be hosting a reflexologist, a Medium and other psychic readers by appointment.

Body/Mind/Spirit Classes Fall/Winter 2008
Held at Beads N Botanicals
117 N Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
217-365-9355
Please pre-register and pay for all jewelry making and craft classes
at least two days in advance of the actual class.

Wednesday, October 29
Basic Wire Working: How to Make Earrngs: A great starter class! You’ll make two pairs of earrings. Cost: $15, materials included. … 6 p.m. Please Note: This class is a pre-requisite for our Wire-Wrapping Pendants class.

Meditation for Relaxation … Cost: $5. Calm your mind and let go of stress, easily & effortlessly. 7:15 p.m.


Wednesday, November 5
Basic Stringing: Necklace Design: Want to learn how to put together a necklace, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? Cost: $18, materials included. … 6 p.m.

Crystal Healing… Cost: $5… … 7:15 p.m.

Thursday, November 6
Introduction to Aromatherapy: Learn about aromatherapy--its historical and modern development. Discover the therapeutic uses of essential oils for healing, and why they work. Gain confidence in your own abilities to evaluate, purchase and blend essential oils.

Cost: $10… 6 p.m.

Saturday, November 8
Basic Wire Working: How to Make Earrings. Cost: $15, 1 hour, materials included … 11 a.m.

Making Solid Perfumes: Solid perfumes are spill proof and make great gifts, especially when they are made in nifty little containers
. Learn how easily basic solid perfumes can be made, for personal use and for gift giving…Cost: $18, materials included.…1 p.m.


Wednesday, November 12
Basic Stringing: Bracelet Design: Want to learn how to put together a bracelet, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? $15, 1 hour, materials included. …6 p.m.

Basics of Psychic Protection … Cost: $5…7:15 p.m.

Thursday, November 13
Building Immunity Herbally: Find out about alternative approaches to building immunity. Learn how to fight colds
and flus. Includes information not only about appropriate herbs but also essential oils and other natural aids. Cost: $10…6 p.m.

Saturday, November 15
Basic Stringing: Necklace Design: Want to learn how to put together a necklace, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? Cost: $18, 1 hour, materials included. …11 a.m.

Making Dream Pillows: Get a good night’s sleep by using herbs and oils to enhance sleep and dreaming…Cost: $10…1 p.m.


Wednesday, November 19
Basic Wire Working: How to Make Earrings. A great starter class! You’ll make two pairs of earrings.Cost: $15, 1 hour, materials included. … 6 p.m. Please Note: This class is a pre-requisite for our Wire-Wrapping Pendants class.

Tapping into Your Intuition … Cost: $5…7:15 p.m.

Thursday, November 20
Overcoming Stress Herbally: Find out about alternative approaches to overcoming stress. Distinguish between types of stress: resulting from overwork, physical injury or emotional upset. Includes information not only about appropriate herbs but also essential oils and other natural aids.… Cost: $10…6 p.m.

Saturday, November 22
Holiday Home Fragrancing Techniques …
11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: free

Wednesday, December 3
Basic Bracelet Design … Cost: $15, 1 hour, materials included… 6 p.m.

Meditation for Relaxation …Calm your mind and let go of stress, easily and effortlessly. Cost: $5… 7:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 4
Secrets of Herbal Teas & Tinctures: Tasty and healthy brews. The differences between a cup of tea, medicinal teas and herbal tinctures. How to prepare a medicinal herb tea. Cost: $10…6 p.m.

Saturday, December 6
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: Stop by for hot cider and holiday goodies.

Spicing up the Holidays: Mulling Spices for flavoring hot seasonal drinks …
11 a.m.,1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Cost: free

Wednesday, December 10
Basic Stringing: Necklace Design: Want to learn how to put together a necklace, but not sure how to begin? Or, how to end it? Cost: $18, materials included. … 6 p.m.

How to Work with Pendulums... Cost: $5…7:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 11
Introduction to Chinese Medicinals: This class highlights the differences between Chinese and Western descriptions of body systems. Learn about some commonly used Chinese herbs. Find out about the concept of Yin/Yang as it relates to health. Discover how easy it is to incorporate Chinese herbs into your everyday diet.

Cost: $10…6 p.m.

Saturday, December 13
Basic Wire Working: How to Make Earrings …. (See Description listed above)… Cost: $15, materials included.11 a.
m
Basic Bracelet Design … Cost: $15, materials included…1 p.m.

Halloween Horror Mega Mix!

The Halloween hijinks continue with this very cool Halloween MegaMix I found on Youtube. Many of the classics are represented here, and the editing is pretty damn good. It's seven minutes long, but kept my interest throughout, so those of you with ADD should be able to sit through it. ;-)



Only a week left until Halloween! I just ordered my costume (a bit pricy... but that's because I had the shipping expedited so I would get it in time) and hope that the damn thing fits. I can't wait to put it on and shock my friends (and coworkers). What exactly is my costume? Well... unfortunately I cannot say (some of my friends actually do swing by here apparently) but here is a hint:



Yeah... that's pretty much a dead giveaway but I still won't SAY what the actual costume is. ;-)

Here's what Halloween means to Stephen Lynch.

Stephen Lynch is certainly not for all tastes, but I think the man is a comedic (and musical) genius. Here is a twisted little number by Stephen about All Hallow's Eve.



Woohoo eight more days... damn, I really need to get ready for my party and get a costume while I'm at it. Got any suggestions for the latter folks? Because this video didn't really help me out all that much:

Scent of the Week: Crackling Firewood

Told a friend last weekend that I just got a "Crackling Firewood" oil in and she went gagga. For anyone who has ever attended a festival with a great bonfire...like Sirius Rising or Starwood, when you can't make it one year (or, in my case, several years), the scent of flaming wood can be rather nostagic.

Never mind that wood burning fireplaces can be so romantic, anyway!

The special at Beads N Botanicals this week (well....we're extending it through next Saturday November 1st because I'm just kicking it off) is....CRACKLING FIREWOOD incense sticks and Reed Diffuser Oils. Here at the shop (brick-and-mortar) it will be discounted.

We'll be featuring a new scent each week

Scent of the Week:Crackling Firewood

Special Discount

Incense Sticks

$2.50 per pack

Reed Diffuser Oil

$4.00/ounce $7.50/two ounces $11.50/four ounces

Halloween Theme Song

HAHAHAHAHA! I've seen the Jaws Theme Song these guys did and it is hilarious. But this is just as good, if not better.



Why are so many people wasting their obvious talent on Youtube when they can be putting their skills to work, saving sketch comedy shows like MAD TV or Saturday Night Live (both of which, in my opinion, have gone down the toilet in recent years)? I guess we'll never know.... in any case enjoy this vid.

OH, and just in case you weren't counting down the days to Halloween....only ten days to go! Woohoo!

Happy Halloween from CHAD, MATT & ROB!

I was scouring Youtube for some fun stuff to watch the other night and accidentally discovered the manic comedic brilliance of Chad, Matt, and Rob. These three guys are hilarious and have made some very cool videos. (Visit their Youtube Channel Page HERE.) Please enjoy their Halloween "episode" and make sure to check out the rest of their videos afterwards.



You just gotta love the "Headless Horseman" gag at the 53-second mark!

Beads N Botanicals Takes Urbana by Storm!

Okay, maybe that headline is a little bit of an exaggeration ;*)

Just been sooo busy that I forgot to post our new address and contact information here at the blog. Silly me.

Beads N Botanicals
117 N Broadway Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
217-365-9355

Business Hours:
Tuesdays: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wed-Fridays: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
And by appointment

Got the best phone call this morning from a customer in North Carolina. Lisa called me up all excited about the sample of Black Amber Musk I had sent her. (She'd ordered African Musk from my webstore).

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Lisa'd been living in North Carolina for about nine years. She'd found that finding the scents she loved so much was much harder down there than up in New York. So she'd googled "African Musk" and decided to try mine, scent unsmelled. And was delighted when she received her order the other day.

Then...she smelled the Black Amber Musk....."It's killing me," she said. "Killing" in this instance being a good thing! LOL She was also delighted to find out I had a "killer China Rain" and wonderful patchouli oil.

Asking if I made this into an incense....I told her, "not yet, because it's new, but sure can." So, she ordered oils and incense...and then found out I can also add scent to unscented body wash, hand creme and shampoo, as well as make glycerin bar soaps.....So, that's on her list for the next order.

Lisa's enthusiasm was just what I needed this morning. She reminded me of what I've always said about my business...we're boutique, NOT Walmart. You can get almost anything you want here ("'cepting Alice"....for Arlo Guthrie fans who get the reference from "Alice's Restaurant.")

The Vault Master shall "Fear No Evil!"

Well I've survived round one of "Torture the Vault Master" and have posted a rather lengthy review (with screencaps!) for FEAR NO EVIL. This movie turned out to be a cakewalk and wasn't nearly as bad as I had previously recalled. However, that doesn't mean that it is a good film by any stretch. There's plenty of homosexual undertones in this bad boy, but they are easy to ignore because there is so much weirdness going on in this movie.

We get one bloody baptism, one death by dodgeball scene, a dude who magically grows breasts, an effeminate transvestite Antichrist, a small horde of zombies, heavenly animated death rays, and an awesome 80's soundtrack! So head on over and read my review and stay tuned for more updates at the Vault!

Oh and just in case you weren't paying attention.... 11 more days until Halloween! WOOHOO!

Update on "Fear No Evil" review + other Vault related updates.

Well now I've gone and done it... I've come down with the flu. SO, that means I'll be staying home today and tomorrow, which means that I have time to work on the Vault. Here is what I currently have in the works:

UPDATE: October 20th, 2008 @ 11:30PM Eastern Standard Time.....
I am now approximately 99% done with my review for "Fear No Evil." This bad boy will have screencaps, plus the "Fear No Evil" theme song available for download! I just have to finish up the DVD review and EXTRAS portions of the review, spellcheck & proofread it all, then get it uploaded. I'm very excited about this, and hope all of you readers will enjoy it. Stay tuned for the new review; I'll post about it here as soon as it is up!

I am in the process of upgrading my forum software from YaBB 2.1 to YaBB 2.3. Thus far, things seem to working OK with the latest version of my forum (which has yet to go public) but I'm having some issues. (i.e. Images and graphics not appearing on webpages; mods I installed on version 2.1 don't seem to work on YaBB 2.3) Hopefully I can get all the bugs worked out soon.

I have decided that I will install a Wordpress Blog onto my server, and use that to write up my monthly Genre Watch articles. It seems pretty easy to use and will neatly organize everything for me. Since October is pretty much over with, you can expect the first Genre Watch report to show up in November.

My remaining goals for this month are to do capsule reviews for "The Ghouligans! Super Show" and "Night of the Demons," as well as a full-length review for "Slugs." That line-up is subject to change, but I feel that I can pull it all off within the next two weeks.

So there's the update folks! Stay tuned for the b-movie goodness you love and rejoice for Halloween is less than two weeks away!

"The Dark Knight" coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on December 9th!

WOOHOO! "The Dark Knight" is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray. I'll give you a minute to rejoice before I continue with this post......

Done? Great! Here are the DVD and Blu-Ray specs on this upcoming release, which you can pre-order today from Amazon.com!

The single-disc edition is pretty much bare bones, but the 2-disc has quite a few extras. Here's what you get:

* Gotham Uncovered: How Christopher Nolan and his team developed the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod and composer Hans Zimmer musically characterized the Joker’s reign of chaos.

* The Dark Knight IMAX® Scenes: View these 6 action-packed sequences--shot on the largest format possible--in their original IMAX framing, just as they were intended

* Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable's premier news program

* The Galleries: Poster art and production stills

* Digital Copy of the feature film

And besides having better sound and picture, the Blu-Ray disc comes with some great extras not found on the two-disc DVD:

* Movie with Focus Points (picture in picture) BD Live

* Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene: Director Christopher Nolan and creative collaborators unmask the incredible detail and planning behind the film, including stunt staging, filming in IMAX®, and the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod.

* Batman Tech: The incredible gadgets and tools (in HD)

* Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight: Delve into the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the world of Batman through real-world psychotherapy (in HD)

* Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable's premier news program

* The Galleries: The Joker cards, concept art, poster art, production stills, trailers and TV spots

* Digital Copy of the feature film

Needless to say, my copy of this amazing film is pre-ordered. So what are YOU waiting for? Blog ya later b-movie (and Batman) fans!

They Raped Indiana Jones! (Tell us something we don't know.)

I swung by South Park Studios to watch the latest episode of South Park and I have to say, I haven't laughed this much since I saw Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "Major Boobage" episode that parodies "Heavy Metal."

Here is a clip from the episode in which Kyle has a nightmare about the "raping of Indiana Jones." This clip is pretty timid; the next three Indy-rape flashbacks in this episode get a little graphic. (Serves Spielberg and Lucas right for ruining a cherished film franchise with f*cking aliens, wussy Commies, nuke-proof fridges, and CGI vine-swinging hijinks!!!)



You can watch this and every other episode of South Park for free at www.southparkstudios.com! Enjoy!

Amazon.com's Halloween DVD sale!

I'm not sure how long this sale is going on for, but DAMN, I have gotten some amazing friggin' deals over the last two weeks. Click on the image below to go to Halloween deals webpage and select from over 600 different DVD titles!

I have ordered almost two dozen flicks from the list including Dark Sky's amazing two-disc ultimate edition of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (only $7.99 AND it's in a tin case!!!!), the infinifilm release of "Nightare On Elm St.," and many more cult faves! So enjoy the sale horror fans, and don't forget to purchase movies through my (Amazon hosted) DVD Shop, or through any of my Amazon affiliate links! (Comission made from these links will help keep the Vault online for many years to come!)

Stay tuned for a new review within the next few days (FINALLY!), plus several capsule reviews over the coming weeks. And, expect a nice treat at the very end of the month, where I will be giving you (hopefully) two brand new reviews that are part of an all new fright-themed roundtable.

I'll blog ya later b-movie fans!

Torture the Vault Master - ROUND 2!

As of my typing this, I am currently in the early stages of writing my review for "Fear No Evil." I'm going to work hard to get it completed and uploaded sometime this weekend and truthfully, I ended up liking this movie a lot more than I could have imagined. But as the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

That is why an all new "Torture the Vault Master" poll is set up in the Vault forums! I've kept two of the more popular choices from the last poll, but overall, this is a whole new list of bad movies for you to choose from. CLICK HERE to begin casting your votes, and seriously, pick something that could cause me considerable pain.

Voting will end at midnight on Halloween night; the review for your bad movie of choice will follow soon after. Happy voting b-movie fans; I'll blog ya later!