Good Stuff

I'm always surprised just how scary Bram Stoker's classic Dracula is. I started reading it again last week and it hit me on the very first page that this is a scary book. There are hints of menace in every paragraph, no setup necessary. As a whole it isn't perfect, but I'm not complaining: Dracula delivers a tall October order that can be sipped slow and to great effect.

I also read the most recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. I'm going to have to start admitting that orange is my favorite color, because nearly every page of the thing had me gaping at textures and table settings of the most satisfying hues. I just love love love fall and chilly weather and crisp apples and mushy pumpkins and all that stuff.

Furthermore, in my class today I surprised my students by enexpectedly showing Rudy. It seems like every scene it that film is a cold, wet one. No, I mean really cold, like standing-on-the-street-in-New-York-on-Thanksgiving-morning-in-longjohns-and-pants-and-two-shirts-and-a-hoodie-and-a-coat-and-a-hat-and-your-still-cold-from-the-sleet-and-the-wet-tips-of-your-jeans-but-it's-all-worth-it-to-maybe-catch-a-glimpse-of-Al-Roker-(if you're Jon)-Julie-Andrews-(if you're Drew)-or-the-cast-of-High-School-Musical (if you're one of my nieces) cold. It's a totally great movie.

So here's to great things: scary books, orange stuff, and cold good movies.