blerd – Page 7 – Dahlia DeWinters

Blogtoberfest – Mulled Hard Cider

You can always count on me to be the liquor to your parties. That was me with the Long Island Iced Tea and the Vampire Sangria. So, I’m back with hard mulled cider. Plain cider is nice, but adding a kick is even nicer. Prepare to enjoy. Ingredients 2 quarts apple cider Dried apple slices Thinly sliced orange 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg (pinch) 1 cup dark rum cinnamon sticks for stirrin’ In a large pot, combine all ingredients except the rum and bring to a simmer over low heat. Allow mixture to remain for about ten minutes. Remove from the heat, add the rum. Serve in mugs with a cinnamon stick and enjoy. If you want to make ahead, put the mixture in a slow-cooker on “keep warm” and add the rum just before serving.

Uncategorized

Horror Movie Review: The Houses October Built

Title: The Houses October Built Genre: Horror, Found Footage-ish Director: Bobby Roe Writers: Zack Andrews Stars: Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1958043/ HERE MAY BE SPOILERS Portions of the movie may or may not be revealed. Synopsis: Beneath the fake blood and cheap masks of countless haunted house attractions across the country, there are whispers of truly terrifying alternatives. Looking to find an authentic, blood-curdling good fright for Halloween, five friends set off on a road trip in an RV to track down these underground Haunts. Just when their search seems to reach a dead end, strange and disturbing things start happening and it becomes clear that the Haunt has come to them… Today we have the found-footage (i.e. some of the film was shot with a hand-held camera) movie. The Houses October Built is quite a creepy movie. The gist of the movie is that five friends travel in an

Uncategorized

More than 28 Days

More than 28 days is a hashtag that caught my attention on Google+ during the month of February. The poster, Kymberlyn Reed, took a unique approach to Black History Month. Instead of using the #blackhistorymonth tag, she used her tag to hammer home the fact that Black History Month should certainly be “observed” longer than twenty eight days. Ms. Reed has the right idea. While Black History Month,(just like Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and other months/observances I’m sure I’m missing), serves to highlight some the achievements of Black people, it shouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb. Black people helped build the United States, and often their achievements were either swept under the rug or stolen by whites. When I had a classroom of eager to learn fourth and fifth graders, I certainly didn’t wait until February to tell them about what is basically the history of

Uncategorized

Blogtoberfest – Weird New Jersey

It’s only fair, since I’m writing about scary stuff this month, is to highlight some spooky places in New Jersey. Despite being the Garden State, there’s a ton of mysteries surrounding some of the horse pastures and lovely farms. So light the lantern and let’s take a closer look behind the cobwebs. The Jersey Devil From Wikipedia: The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flyingbiped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings,horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a “blood-curdling scream.”[1][2] From Me: I’ve seen some pictures of the

Uncategorized

Blogtoberfest – Urban Legends to Keep You Up at Night – Part 1

We all know ’em, don’t we? The friend of a friend of my cousin who….they all start out that way and always end badly for that sort-of person we kinda know. They even made a movie (or three) about it, then there was that television series that acted them out (badly) for you. Let’s talk about a few of these, shall we? And remember to leave the light on…. The Clown Statue Murderer: An Urban Legend The story of the clown statue murderer is an urban legend. It is not a true story but can spark fear in anyone who reads it. It has been passed around as a chain letter online since 2004. Here is the story: “A girl in her teens is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house – you know the sort, with a ridiculous

Uncategorized

Blogtoberfest – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

In another life, I was an elementary school teacher, which meant nearly every holiday was a par-tay. Valentine’s Day parties were the most stressful, because, as a teacher, you really had to sit on the “who likes whom” bit and keep it all nice and friendly. Christmas was nice, but the overabundance of cookies was a little much. The party that hit the perfect spot (besides the end of school party) was Halloween. Between the Halloween-themed worksheets, coloring sheets, Halloween parade and Charlie Brown, the whole day was a whirlwind of costumes and candy. The best part for me, and I hope the class, was when I read from Scary Stories to Read in the Dark. First of all, take a look at this cover. It’s the stuff of nightmares, sorry. I’d keep the book face down on the desk if I had a softcover, and remove the dustjacket if