Full disclosure — there is no ghost train in Roanoke, Virginia … at least as far as I am aware. In our Propaganda Era, I am loathe to start even a harmless urban legend. (Santa Claus is quite real, however.)
Christmas card, Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, 1899. Commercial color lithograph.
I hope that my friends near and far have lovely Christmas.
Photo credit: By aussiegall from sydney, Australia – Merry Christmas, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24660654
Roanoke, Virginia.
And by that I mean I’m gonna cross the kitchen to fit more pizza onto that microwave dish.
(I told this joke on Facebook and people really seemed to enjoy it.)
My friend Wednesday Lee Friday commented, “Well, you’re already telling everyone about it. That’s a good start.”
Think of what Stephen King’s “The Stand” would be like if you removed Randall Flagg and all of its supernatural elements — then told character-focused stories with an intertwining mystery in the manner of “Lost” (2004-2010). And then maybe peppered it with a little “Dead Poets Society” (1989).
I know that sounds weird, but if you pay attention, it totally works.
If you’d like to check out the work of 64 writers from around the world (including my poem “The Rough, Violet Stone,”) you can order the book right here.
Happy holidays!!
I hate to spoil anything for the next episode of “Hawkeye,” but I just came in from the rain and discovered that apparently *I* am the damn Ronin.
From time to time I’ll find an artifact from the old days of broadcast television on Youtube, and I’ll share it in a Throwback Thursday blog post — people really seem to enjoy the clips. (And the credit for that belongs to the Youtube users who originally uploaded them, not me.) One of this blog’s readers asked me about the intro for WOR-TV’s (Channel 9) “Fright Night” movie series.
Here it is below, courtesy of FrightNight7387 on Youtube. (Unless I’m mistaken, this would have been seen only by viewers in the New York metropolitan area between 1973 and 1987.)
I’m … actually not sure I remember this program. The music feels more familiar than the (pretty neat) visuals, and I think I’d recall a montage like that. I’m running it here for those who do remember “Fright Night” and might enjoy the clip.
Anyway, if you want to know more about Channel 9’s show, Jim Arena developed a terrific rundown on it over at DVD Drive-In.
It should not be confused with that other “Fright Night” of 80’s lore, the 1985 film starring Jonathan Stark, Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowell. That movie also depicted an in-universe movie series named “Fright Night,” which … apparently bears no relationship to the very real eponymous series that ran in New York. (Kinda weird.) The 1985 movie was a lot of fun back in the day, though if it feels mostly forgotten today — even after it spawned a a damned cool 2011 remake.
But I probably couldn’t get it right. Emil Cioran totally rocked the mad philosopher look. It’s a wonder he could be so dour with hair so goddamned awesome. If I had hair like that, I would celebrate right along with it.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 