All Hallow's Eve

Sometimes, even on holidays, my plans fall apart on me.  This morning I was invited to go have cocktails with some friends, including Ruth.  Because some other friends and I were talking about going to see Rocky Horror, I declined.  And when those plans with the latter didn't happen, I was sad I didn't say something to Ruth.  Not that I am fond of cocktails, but I do enjoy the occassional drink, and I was thinking an amaretto sour was in order for tonight. 
So, planless tonight on All Hallow's Eve, I've decided to enjoy myself anyway.  The hell if I'm going to be completely without fun. 
But as all my other friends were already out, I found myself struggling for what exactly to do.  I don't like drinking alone and I don't like going out to drink alone as I suspect that is asking for attention I don't want.  But what?
Scary movies.  It's Hallow's Eve, yeah?
I don't ususally think of myself as a horror fan, but recently I was thinking of what I watch, and I realize that I do watch a lot of horror stuff.  I think I got into it because I like science fiction and there's a fair amount of crossover.  And, in general, I like genre stuff. 
Tonight's playlist:

1. "The Five People You Meet in Hell" from The Night Stalker. 
Tony Curran totally sells this episode playing a blind cult leader with mind control powers.  (His makeup, especially the eyes, helps too.)  Stuart Townsend and Gabrielle Union are their adorable selves. 
2. "Lonliest Number" from The Inside.
So many good actors on this show (Adam Baldwin, Katie Finneran, Neslan Ellis, Peter Coyote) makes this short-lived series a good idea just in general.  This particular episode is all about suicide, and Danny to be a little more sensative and not just a badass. 
3. Possession
A creepy little film about a guy who may or may not have switched bodies with his brother and then is trying to mend things with his wife or sister-in-law.  I still haven't decided what was the real story here or not, which I guess is a sign that it does a good job at arguing either answer.
I have a whole night of enjoying myself and being creeped out. 

Some Thoughts on Halloween

Today has been one of those days where I find myself running a lot of errands.  I first walked over to a Halloween shop to pick up a couple of things for my Halloween costume this year.  I still don't have it done, but I'm thinking it'll be ready soon.  I've decided to do something relatively simple this year, just because I've been so busy.
A lot of my female friends talk about how Halloween is sort of an opportunity to dress slutty without anyone saying anything about it.  (At least not to their face.  As much as I hear people talk about dressing slutty, I hear just as many complaints about the slutty dressing.)  Although I have problems with the whole concept of slutty, I decided years ago that Halloween would be another opportunity for me to be a feminist and express myself through fantasy. 
You know what my fantasy is?  To be admired and noticed, but not for being slutty, or even sexy, but for being strong and powerful.  Usually that's what my costumes are all about.  Strength and power.  I am demanding your gaze and I'm also demanding your respect.
This year, I decided to go for something more utilitarian, because I'm expecting to move around a great deal, so comfortable shoes, something I can potentially run in, but still have fun.  It's going to probably end up being more cute than about strength and power, but I'm okay with that because of my limited time this week and because of my circumstantial constraints. 
I digress.  I was in a Halloween shop, and of course I want to buy everything.  I love spooky things, I love black, I love all the Gothic stuff, I love a cute pumpkin.  I went in and looked around a little.  They had cups that said "Zombie Potion" and candelabras.  They had this giant spider with hair covering it, and it looked so adorable I just wanted to give it a hug.
I wish that Halloween was a longer holiday.  As much as I enjoy giving gifts to friends, I wish we'd switch it so that Halloween was a long holiday and Christmas was short.  I want to have a whole week to wear costumes. 
I also wish I had money now to just splurge on lots of things for all year.  I like clothes as a way to express oneself artistically, and I was thinking that maybe I should consider costumes.  Costumes are usually made of cheap material, but in wearing something meant to be a costume I redefine what clothes means, making all clothes seem like ultimately some kind of costume.  Which could be cool.
I'm thinking of investing in wigs.  Apparently dying one's hair changes it forever and the color isn't as rich anymore.  I don't want to dye my hair, but I do want to change it occasionally, and I was thinking maybe I should buy the occasional wig.  Something fun, something I could wear to a club even. 
I finally stopped daydreaming about Halloween and bought what I needed, then I hightailed it over to the post office.  (Got stuff to send.)  And then went over to do some shopping for things for my place.  (Don't rely on roommates to get stuff.) 

Patriotic Poets

Today I'm reading up on some poet biographies.  Given that it is the 4th of July holiday still, I thought I would concentrate on a couple of American poets.  Things I've learned so far:

-Phillis Wheatley was from what is approximately modern Senegal in West Africa.  
-Even though Wheatley was "discovered" as smart early on in her life, they still made her work.  She wrote poems about how she wished she could stop being a servant and live the life of an academic.

-Wheatley published broadsides, which, for those of you not totally obsessed with the literary world, is a poster version of a poem, usually printed so that the words are indented into the page, so you can "feel" the word.  Broadsides are sort of a lost art in our culture, but I can assure you they're really cool.  

-Wheatley had asthma.  I honestly wasn't even sure people back then knew what it was. 
-When most Americans wouldn't publish Wheatley's work, she turned to a publisher in London. 
-Wheatley got to meet other famous people, including Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. 

-A lot of Wheatley's poems were written in couplets, including iambic pentameter (that's what much of Shakespeare is in) and heroic (which is the form favored by epics.)  This indicates to me that she must have been educated in the classics.  She also wrote about death, which everyone knows is a favored topic of poets. 
-Many British readers were uncomfortable with Wheatley's slave status.  They often criticized her "family" and owners for keeping her in slavery.  However, as a house slave, she got to avoid many of the worst aspects of slavery or the tough life of being a free slave in an overtly racist country. 
-Her husband was John Peters, who was a free black.  He may have been a lawyer.  Since he was ambitious, a lot of white Americans hated him. 
-"Refugee" slaves were slaves that were considered too sickly to work on things like sugar plantations in the Caribbean, so they were sold off as house servants in other parts of the world, including New England. 

-Walt Whitman's father was a admirer and friend of Thomas Paine.   
-Whitman was part of the first generation of American children. 
-Whitman's brothers and sisters were given patriotic names, including Andrew Jackson, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. 

-As a child, Whitman was apparently picked out of a crowd by the Marquis de Lafayette (who was instrumental in providing French support during the Revolution.) and carried young Whitman on his back. 
-Whitman's relationship with his father was imperfect; he respected him but they were never close.  There is some indication that his father may have been an alcoholic.  Whitman had a close relationship with his mother. 

-Like Shakespeare, Whitman didn't have a lot of formal schooling.  He spent six years in a public school in Brooklyn, and at around twelve began working. Whitman continued his education by spending time renting books from a library. 

-Whitman liked Sir Walter Scott and James Fenimore Cooper.  He liked Shakespeare's Richard III, which I also love. 
-Whitman was not just a writer but a publisher, beginning with become an apprentice printer as a young man, at around twelve or thirteen.