I just went to the used bookstore that is close to my hood,
Myopic in Wicker Park, and picked up two Halloweeny sort of books, "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin and "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson. I am always way into this time of year. I love the chill to the air and the holiday spirit that occupancies it that is a mix of neighboorly kindness and horror... free candy bars and morbid decorations for the benefit of those people around you that rarely talk to otherwise. I like the parade of little kiddies getting to dress up for once any insane or cute way they want to express themselves. I love doing the same if I find a place to show off the tremendous amount of thought and work that I put into every excuse to do so.
I find it really interesting that topics that normally I find really discomforting become temporarily something I want to examine and even, in a way, embrace and celebrate. Death, horror, the supernatural, creepiness... Like Dio de los Meurtos is embracing that life is made wonderful because of death, I think that it's healthy to recognize the morbid for a month too. By thinking not only about death but also about murder, horror, serial killers, and all the things that give us nightmares we can reflect that most of us have it pretty good, not to have these things as a part of everyday life.
Sorry, I am getting a bit deep.
I am not a fan of the organization of
mentalfloss.com but they have some really cool posts if you can figure out how to navigate through their site. Here is one Halloweeny one on
post-mortem portraits that I can't stop thinking about. It makes sense that at the time photography was availiable enough that nearly anyone could have their photo taken but not as easily available that you would likely have had your photo taken before a sudden death. Still, it is creepy and hard to understand a family propping up a dead family member for one last Kodak moment.
neighborhood. It reminds of what a tour guide had casually told me about herself in Rome. She said that she loved her city because everywhere you go there is something old and interesting around every corner. While Chicago is pretty daisy fresh and young compared to Rome, I love walking around and looking at the old buildings that are all one of a kind. I love seeing old faded ads on the sides of buildings. I like the newer signs that mimic old signs, or are badly painted updates? I like the haphazard buildings that could either be someone's apartment or someone's garage. And I like the different trees here. I am used warmer climate plants. A lot of the trees I walk by I have no idea what they are. I think that this tree might be a cherry tree?
