Candy Cane: A Tribute to Jesus

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Candy Cane, Christmas, Jesus, story

This little Christmas gem comes courtesy of my mom — in the form of a single sheet of printed paper that she shared with one of her friends in a card many, many years ago.

The paper is titled “Candy Cane: A Tribute to Jesus”, and on the back my mom wrote the message: “Found this article in the paper. It’s interesting. Hope you enjoy it. Pass it along to a friend.” The writer of the story was Marjie Smith.

O Come, All Ye Faithful & Behold Our Lord

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Art, artist, Bible, christianity, Christmas, God, hope, Jesus, love, Nativity, Painting, peace, Sunday Scripture

O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s Holy Word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Be Vigilant and Beware of Bitterness

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adversary, Bible, Devil, faith, God, hope, Jesus, prodigal son, religion, Sunday Scripture, vigilance

Be self-controlled and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

~ 1 Peter 5:8-9

Creepy Cartoons: The Flintstones, “A Haunted House Is Not a Home”

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A Haunted House Is Not a Home, cartoons, creepy cartoons, Halloween, Hanna-Barbera, horror, The Flintstones

We’re headed back to the Stone Age again today, ghouls, for the final installment of Creepy Cartoons this Halloween season.

The episode is “A Haunted House Is Not a Home“, from The Flintstone’s fifth (and my personal favourite) season; episode 7. It premiered 55 years ago today, on October 29, 1964.

Fred receives an interesting letter in the mail — it’s from a lawyer. His uncle, J. Giggles Flintstone, has died, leaving Fred sole heir to his estate up on Nightmare Hill.

Creepy Cartoons: Scooby Doo, “A Halloween Hassle At Dracula’s Castle”

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#ScoobyDoo50, A Halloween Hassle At Dracula's Castle, creepy cartoons, Halloween, monsters, mystery, Scooby Doo, The New Scooby Doo Mysteries

It’s Halloween night, and our modified Scooby gang is out shopping for tricks, treats and costumes! Scrappy Doo can’t wait to get into a creepy costume; maybe he’ll be a werewolf, or a vampire, or an alien from outer space! And Shaggy can’t wait to get into his Halloween goodies. (And these goodies include candy corn, btw, so haters of candy corn — me AND Shaggy are disowning you right now. ;P)

I say “modified” Scooby gang because today’s Creepy Cartoon feature is the spook-tacular “A Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle”. It’s S2E8 of “The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries”, a series that for the most part features a four-some gang of Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne and Scrappy. This episode first aired 35 years ago today, on October 27, 1984.

Creepy Cartoons: The Flintstones, “Alvin Brickrock Presents”

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Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Alvin Brickrock Presents, cartoons, creepy cartoons, Halloween, Hanna-Barbera, horror, spoof, The Flintstones

Holiday episodes of cartoons are just the best, aren’t they? And this Halloween season, I’m going to introduce you to a few more spooky and kooky classics.

When I think classic cartoons, of course, Hanna-Barbera is what first comes to mind. And after my beloved Scooby Doo, I think of “The Flintstones”.

The modern stone-age family from the town of Boo-rock, er, I mean Bedrock, premiered in 1960, ran for 6 seasons and a total of 166 episodes. Not surprisingly, the Christmas episodes are my favourites. But there was also a Halloween episode, as well as The Flintstone’s version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents — and both are positively fang-tastic.

Today, we’ll feature “Alvin Brickrock Presents“, the fourth episode of season 2, which aired October 6, 1961.

Collector Review: 50th Anniversary “Scooby-Doo Where Are You” Complete Series Blu-ray Set

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#ScoobyDoo50, 50th Anniversary "Scooby-Doo Where Are You" Complete Series Blu-ray Set, Blu-ray, collector, opinion, review, Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo 50th Anniversary

When you’re deciding whether or not to buy a product that you don’t really need, there are always a few basic things to consider.

Can I afford it?

Is the product worth the price it costs?

How much do I really want it?

Am I at least getting some type of value for my money?

Earlier this year, when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced that they were releasing a special limited edition Blu-ray box set containing the “Scooby-Doo Where Are You” Complete Series (it’s not really the complete series, but we’ll discuss that later), my first thought was, “YA — er, wait a minute, I don’t have a Blu-ray player.”

And that’s the truth. I don’t have a Blu-ray player, nor do I intend to purchase one in the near or distant future. But as regular readers are well aware, I collect all things Scooby Doo, and so it will come as no surprise that when I saw the fun way this 50th anniversary set was packaged… I wanted it regardless of my inability to play the discs.

The saving grace of this set — which, even if you have Blu-ray capabilities, is STILL a bit overpriced in my opinion — is the unique and quality packaging… and the extra goodies it comes with.

Ferocious Feline Frenzy Horror: “The Uncanny”, 1977

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cats, death, Halloween, horror, horror films, killer cats, October, Peter Cushing, The Uncanny

We suggest to you that while felines may look cute and cuddly and playfully mischievous, our suggestion is that you feed them a bit of milk and get rid of them, because cats are and always have been Satan’s familiars.

~ Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, “She’ll Be Company For You”

In a fantasy world rich with exotic and terrifying creatures, there’s a reason that cats are the unofficial mascots of the entire Halloween season…

They’re evil.

Plain and simple.

They do what they want, when they want, how they want, for whatever reason they want. They knock things over just because they feel like it. And one second they’re all rainbows and cupcakes, purring and rubbing their face against your palm… then in the blink of an eye, you’re left nursing 37 bleeding lacerations on the back of your hand. For no good reason at all.

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m not a cat person. As Serling said, sure, they can look quite cute and cuddly, but when it comes right down to it, they can’t be trusted. I suppose no animal can entirely, but cats are something quite different than dogs. It’s in their very nature to be a**holes. Sorry, but it needed to be said.

They have no interest in pleasing anyone but themselves, they have zero respect for life, often catching and torturing smaller animals when they have no intention of eating them. This is something that goes beyond “instinct”. Animal instinct is to kill and eat to survive. Cats kill because they can and because it’s fun. They choose to behave in the manner they do, and because of this, *I* choose not to like them.

Which brings me to today’s horror-ific Halloween feature, fiends: A horror anthology/portmanteau film from 1977, this time coming out of Canada (yay, us!), called “The Uncanny”.

A Haunting We Will Go

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Betty Boop, Dracula, Ghosts, Halloween, horror, Monster Mash, scary, Skeleton Dance, spooky, Vampires, werewolves

It’s October already, boils and ghouls! And right now, the most famous movie monsters are off and busy preparing for the Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle. The Mummy is all wrapped up writing out the party invitations. Frankenstein and the Bride are getting a real charge out of the twinkling orange lights they’re hanging. It’s already getting a little hairy in the backyard where the Wolf Man and Mr. Hyde are spinning “Monster Mash” on vinyl and howling up a storm. Fangfully Dracula himself is at the ghos-cery store picking up the food: Stakes for the BBQ and — ick — tomato juice for the Bloody Marys. (Substitutes, always substitutes!)

But this classic monster menagerie isn’t the only spook game in town. No, while they’re otherwise occupied, I’ve scared up a few other Halloween hauntings!

Blessed Are All Who Fear the LORD

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Art, artist, Christ, christianity, faith, God, Jesus, Painting, religion, Sunday Scripture

Psalm 128

Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways.

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.

May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem, and may you live to see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel.

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Today’s Sunday Scripture is a bit of a hybrid post. It’s both a Scripture post and a Gallery Feature post.

The above painting is one that I completed in 2015… and have been meaning to post about it ever since. Oops. I’ve always loved the aesthetic of illuminated manuscripts and have been fascinated by the intricate, painstaking detail that goes into their design. And I really wanted to replicate the style in a piece of my own. I was very pleased with the result!