February 2023, my birthday month

What I'm...

Yes, I celebrate the whole month. Life is too short not to do things like this.

Reading

Audio: I am enjoying the definitive work on the Slenderman case, Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale. Hale had unprecedented access to documents such as the girls’ medical records, and she has spent seven years researching this work. The narrator on the Audible exclusive audiobook, Therese Plummer, is excellent. (You know how particular I am about my narrators.)

Paper: For my Classic a Month challenge on The Story Graph (feel free to follow me: theremightbecupcakes), I will be reading The Collected Stories of William Faulkner. Looking forward to giving a rose to Emily again. (That’s really the only story that Norton’s anthology served up to us in high school. Why that one? :D)

Ebook: William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism by Robert D. Richardson Jr. The James family…they were a wild trip.

For the podcast I am reading:

Ebook: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Myth, Metaphor & Morality by Mark Field. Looking forward to starting the Buffy rewatch series.

Paper: Of course, continuing with House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielwski. The next episode is coming right up.

And, my new treasure for the future: Bowie's Bookshelf: The Hundred Books That Changed David Bowie's Life by John O’Connell. I cannot wait to dive in and to create episodes from it, to write and write and to talk to you about it. My count as of now is 20/100 authors read, 9/100 books read. It’s such a fascinating list! (my Instagram for the pretty cover)

My choice for Audible this month was the Slenderman book. I’m fascinated by this case by not only the age of the perpetrators, but also the behaviors of the parents. Not medicating and under-medicating Morgan when she developed childhood schizophrenia, the mother’s videotaping almost everything Morgan did…and now I am learning even more about the kids, such as how emotionally and socially immature they were. Anissa, in fifth and sixth grade, would hit other kids when they didn’t follow the rules. That’s a kindergarten and first grade behavior, from my experience as a child and teen therapist. Yet she was fixated on bullying in her emails, chats and journaling, I guess not realizing she was a bully. If you’re not familiar with the case, here’s the Wikipedia version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_Man_stabbing It haunts me. Expect it to show up in my fiction, I suppose, the way Casey Anthony did (episode 2 and episode 8).

Watching

Television: I have to stop watching 90 Day Fiance while I knit, y’all. It’s rotting my brain. LOL

I have started watched, and really enjoy, The Holzer Files. Hans Holzer’s daughter, Alexandra, has gathered a team of a researcher, an investigator, a tech manager, and a psychic to reinvestigate Hans’ original ghost hunting files, those that he had felt were unfinished or those that he kept returning to. They try to keep it as simple as possible to honor his methods. It’s truly interesting, and they gather intriguing evidence.

As I have said, I am going to rewatch Buffy, and I am planning to rewatch Twin Peaks, since I haven’t seen the latest season 3.

Last four movies on my Letterboxd watched list:

Rewatched The VVitch—bought the 4K for an early birthday present for myself. Gorgeous transfer. Going to do an episode on the case Eggers based his script upon. Must research.

Another birthday present to myself: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. What an experience in the theater that was. The audience was lit up.

Hellhole (2022)—intriguing Polish horror movie. I don’t normally watch dubbed versions of movies; I like to hear the original actors’ voices and cadences. But the dubbed actors did an amazing job, and the prior’s voice in English was quite spooky. This movie is worth is purely for the imagery of the final three minutes: absolutely haunting.

Old People (2022)—another foreign horror movie; German, filmed in Poland. Grief-based, as much horror is, and based around how we treat our senior generation. Terrifying, and beautifully filmed.

Going to see the Titanic anniversary for my birthday this week, because I am maudlin and weird. Crying at the Alamo Drafthouse, that’s a postmodern country song for you right there.

Yeah, my birthday is the 16th. I’ll be 51.

Writing

My anthology, aka the anthology Monsters with my horror short story “Holly Jolly Christmas” in it (episode 75), is still up for preorders. Unfortunately, my publisher’s website has been hacked. so orders are postponed right this second. Frustrating. Working on claiming my author page at Goodreads, but my first attempt was rejected…because the publisher’s page is down. Doubly frustrating. But it does look like they added my website, so there’s that. Please add the book as “to read” on GR and The Story Graph and follow my author page on GR; that helps visibility for me and my fellow authors.

I’m working on getting my poetry chapbook published and entering it in contests as well.

I’m also writing a short story with my wonderful horror author friend Bob Ford. I have an idea to develop it into an anthology of its own.

Listening

Taylor Swift, naturally. I love her new album. Crosby, Stills and Nash—listening to my favorite, “Southern Cross” repeatedly, and messing up my Apple Music algorithm. Prince, always. Introducing myself to older Bowie from before I was born. Lana Del Ray—her voice is like slowly drinking tea and having nowhere you need to be.

Playing

I play Words with Friends; please feel free to add me, I’m Carla21672.

The Sims 4, as usual. My EA/Origin name is CarlaCupcakes. Add me and check out my gallery. I have created a few things, including my own version of the Brown family (the Purples) from Sister Wives (I have to stop with the reality tv + knitting thing. More audiobooks, less bs.)

I’ll leave you with an apology for my hiatus (I’ll explain tomorrow or so, it’s a doozy) and my SimSelf (that’s her workout/active outfit). I think I did well translating myself.

Comment and let me know what you are up to, or check the new chat out! Sent an instructional message earlier today.

Love,

Carla