November 1, 2013 - Bee Inspired Cocktail Book Movie Music Recommendations

Bees – They Fly, They Sting, They Buzz, They Make Honey – Let’s Celebrate the Bees.

Autumn has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. The Harvest of summer fruits and vegetables is over. And all that delicious nutritious abundance was brought to us by Nature’s most necessary creation – the Bee.

Bees may have nasty stingers but why not. They need to protect themselves. They are tiny in size but awesome in design and function. They pollinate the flowers and plants, which in turn feed us and our livestock and all other Earthly creatures great and small.

Our existence depends on the bees pollinating the flowering plants. Take away the bees and the whole interconnected system of life will collapse. As Martin Short’s character Ed Grimley might say - without the bees we are as doomed as doomed can be.

So today let’s celebrate the bee. Let’s learn more about the bees and appreciate their significant contribution to our world.

NOTE: the study of honey bees is called apiology. Melittology is the study of all bees.

~~~~~

Bee Cocktails

A classic but often overlooked cocktail:

Stinger

Served in a rocks glass w/ice
1 1/2 oz. brandy
1/2 oz. white creme de menthe


A real Prohibition cocktail:

Bee's Knees

1 oz. Gin
Juice of 1/4 Lemon
1 tsp. Honey

Shake with crushed ice and strain

~~~~~

Bee Books

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses
A wonderful book that describes the basics of beekeeping, harvesting honey, making goods like making candles, furniture polish and beauty products. I'm adding this to my own holiday wish list.

Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies
A fascinating book co-authored by Dr. Marla Spivak, an expert on bees (see link below). Great book for gardeners and anyone interested in a healthy environment.

The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore (Dover Books on Anthropology and Folklore)
I love books like this. I think finding out the meaning behind symbols and the allegory hidden in folktales and fairytales is fascinating.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen (Mary Russell Novels)
A great piece of fiction and a wonderful extension of the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed this one.

The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations
Because life is not complete if you don't have homemade mead!

~~~~~

Bee Movies

Bee Movie (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
A very funny movie written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld.

The Secret Life of Bees [Blu-ray]
A wonderful movie starring the very talented Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Dakota Fanning. Special, nice.

~~~~~

Bee Music

Flight of the Bumble Bee / Scheherazade
Yes, this was an obvious choice. But a great recording by Kurt Masur.

~~~~~

Here’s a really interesting NPR/TED Radio Hour interview with “bee scientist” Dr. Marla Spivak. She talks about the importance of bees and the steady decline of bee populations in the United States since the end of World War II.

Read more about bees in this Smithsonian.org article “The Secret Life of Bees” by Carl Zimmer. Follow Carl Zimmer on Twitter at @CarlZimmer

This post was inspired by my fellow Twitterer @GarlanGlave who, for some reason, has a giant bee atop his head. Follow him on Twitter and be sure to visit his blog.

Special thanks to Dylan A. Kent for all her help with the cocktail recipes. Follow her on Twitter @DylanAKent

If you found these Library of Ghosts recommendations useful, please use the links above to purchase the items from Amazon. This helps support my blog. Thank You.

Comments encouraged. And don't forget to subscribe to get email notifications of new posts.

Have a great day!

Keywords: book, movie, film, music, cocktail, cocktails, bee, bees, honey, Stinger, Bee's Knees, Dr. Marla Spivak, apiology, melittology, beekeeping, Laurie R. King, entomology

Where the Ghouls Are

Dark Shadows Halloween Special

I couldn't let Halloween and a Red Sox World Series pass without
a little New England fun!

Do you yearn to strolling on a rocky coast after twilight against
a crashing sea?  Do you wish someone would pay you well to live amongst
vampires, werewolves and witches in an old mansion?  Where do all the
cool ghouls and gals hang out anyway?

I suggest popping into The Blue Whale in Collinsport, Maine
and ordering their signature drink, it's in a Collins glass, of course:

The Blue Whale

Collins glass w/ice
1 oz. vodka
2 oz. sour mix
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao

Give it a short shake
Fill with club soda
Orange & Cherry garnish

Carolyn Collins loves what's on the jukebox!




I secretly dream about owning this, what Dark Shadows fan doesn't?

DARK SHADOWS COMPLETE COLLECTION:

 My Name is Victoria Winters t-shirts, mugs, hats & more at Way of the Vampire on Cafepress

October 23, 2013 Halloween Cocktail Book Film Recommendation – CLOWNS!!!

Scared of clowns? A lot of people are.

 If you want to indulge your fear and have a little fun this October 31st I’d like to suggest a cocktail, book and film to enhance your Harlequin Halloween night.

     First, let’s start with the cocktail. It's called an Opera. I present this as a tribute to that sad and murderous clown Pagliacci of Puccini's opera by the same name.

Opera

Ingredients:

Dubonnet
Maraschino Liqueur
Gin
Lemon Peel
Cracked Ice
Cocktail Shaker

Add cracked ice to cocktail shaker.
Add 1 part Dubonnet, 1 part Maraschino Liqueur, 4 parts Gin.
Stir and strain into cocktail glass. Add a twist of lemon peel.

     Ramsey Campbell’s book The Grin of the Dark is a scary, moody, unforgettable novel. Film critic Simon Lester is writing a book about a silent-film era clown comedian named Tubby Thackeray. But when Lester sets out to find a long lost Tubby film, well, things turn rather nasty. Very nasty. Tubby’s performances were known to drive people mad. Literally. After a while Lester begins to wonder if he himself isn’t headed for Bedlam.

The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell

     The film is, of course, the classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Not too many spoilers here but let me whet your appetite with visions of a space ship shaped like a circus tent and weapons shaped liked toys. This is a fun and frightening movie. But if you really are afraid of clowns I wouldn’t recommend watching Killer Klowns alone.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) Written by Charles Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo and Edward Chiodo. Directed by Stephen Chiodo.

     One additional suggestion.

     If you decide to have a Killer Klowns From Outer Space Halloween Viewing Party don’t forget the delicious piping hot popcorn, properly salted and buttered. To make the serving of this movie house and circus favorite even more fun why not present the popcorn to your guests in these very retro popcorn bags.



     For additional reading regarding the fear of clowns have a look at this Smithsonian.com article The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary. According to the article it may have been Charles Dickens himself who created the image of the scary clown when he edited the memoirs of the comic pantomime player Joseph Grimaldi .

Special thanks to DylanAKent for all her help with the cocktail recipe. Follow her on Twitter @DylanAKent

If you found these Library of Ghosts recommendations useful, please use the links above to purchase the items from Amazon. This helps support my blog. Thank You.

Comments encouraged. And don't forget to subscribe to get email notifications of new posts.

Have a great day!

Keywords: Halloween, clown, clowns, The Grin of the Dark, Ramsey Campbell, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, popcorn, popcorn bags, circus, cocktail, cocktails, Halloween Party, gift, birthday gift, holiday gift, film, movie, book, recommendations

October 22, 2013 Halloween Cocktail Book Film Recommendation

Halloween is the time when portals open between worlds.

It’s that one particular night of the year when spirits, faeries and more than a few ghouls mingle with the humans and exchange stories, dark spells and perhaps a kiss or two.
          If you’d like to relax and snuggle with a few revenants this Halloween or if you’re planning on a more intimate human get together, I’d like to suggest the revenants come in the form cocktails, books and films.

Let’s start with the cocktails. We have two recommendations.

For the Gin lover:

New Moon

1 1/2 oz gin
1 1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz lime juice
2 1/2 oz tonic water
Lime Wedge

          Pour the gin, triple sec and lime juice into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice cubes.
          Stir well. Fill with tonic water, or add to taste.
          Stir again gently.
          Garnish with a lime wedge, and serve.

For the Vodka lover:

Vampire Kiss

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz chilled Vodka
1 1/2 oz chilled Champagne or Cava (we recommend Freixenet from Spain)
3/4 oz Chambord black raspberry liqueur
Red sugar for rimmed martini glass

Directions:

          Rim the glass with red sugar (use red food coloring or red sugar from the baking aisle).
          Into a martini glass pour vodka and 1/2 of the Chambord raspberry liqueur.
          Top with Champagne.
          Drizzle the remaining Chambord into the glass over the back of a spoon. This allows the Chambord to make it float.

Drinking Glasses for Your Party:





Now to the books:

          This year let’s take a step back in time to the first decades of the 20th century and peruse the works of three groundbreaking writers. They are known as the big three of the pulp magazine Weird Tales:

H. P. Lovecraft
Robert E. Howard
Clark Ashton Smith

          Lovecraft, Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian) and Smith all knew one another through voluminous amounts of letter writing. They played off each other’s works, creating tales of chilling viscous gods and weird cosmic worlds that plague the nightmares of human beings.
          These three authors created worlds and characters of true horror. They make Harry Potter’s troubles seem like an excursion to a Hello Kitty store. You might not want to sleep with the lights off after reading a few of these skin tingling tales.

Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: The Best of H. P. Lovecraft
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
The Tsathoggua Cycle: Terror Tales of the Toad God (Call of Cthulhu Fiction) by Clark Ashton Smith

Movies:

          For the films I’d like to recommend first a documentary called Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown . John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro, Neil Gaiman, Stuart Gordon, Caitlin Kiernan, and Peter Straub discuss the life and work of the forefather of modern horror. Good stuff.

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2009) Directed by Frank H. Woodward

          As for the horror stories on film I must recommend several movies starring the dashing Vincent Price. The first, called The Haunted Palace , is based on stories by Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. It is directed by the legendary indie film maker and teacher Roger Corman.
          Another Corman classic is The Tomb of Ligeia . Price gives one of his best performances as a troubled, possessed man who cannot get over the death of his beloved Ligeia. Creepy and darkly romantic.
          Last is one of my absolute favorite movies. It’s called The Tingler . This gem again stars Vincent Price and was directed by the great movie showman William Castle.
          Price plays a scientist obsessed with discovering the source of fear in humans. What he finds will shock and surprise him and the audience.
          This movie includes some audience participation which you can do at home. I won’t say what. Also, when the movie was originally released in 1959 the director William Castle had the theatre seats wired so that when The Tingler made an appearance on screen the audience members received a low voltage shock. I was lucky enough to see this movie in a revival house that did wire some of the seats. Sizzling fun! But I don’t suggest you try this at home.

NOTE: A must read is Castle’s autobiography called Step Right Up!...I'm Gonna Scare The Pants Off America . It’s a riot. The version of the book that I own has a forward written by the fantabulous director John Waters.

The Haunted Palace (1963) Directed by Roger Corman
The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) Directed by Roger Corman
The Tingler (1959) Directed by William Castle

Snacks:

          Popcorn is always an ideal food for reading or movie watching. But in keeping with the early 20th century book theme I liked to recommend Deviled Eggs, a food craze of the 1930s. Perfect for Halloween. Here are a couple of recipes:

Classic Deviled Eggs
Alton Brown's 4 Pepper Deviled Eggs

Special thanks to Dylan A. Kent for all her help with the cocktail recipes. Follow her on Twitter @DylanAKent

If you found these Library of Ghosts recommendations useful, please use the links above to purchase the items from Amazon. This helps support my blog. Thank You.

Comments encouraged. And don't forget to subscribe to get email notifications of new posts.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Keywords: cocktails, books, movies, film, H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Vincent Price, Roger Corman, Halloween Party, gift, birthday gift, holiday gift, recommendations

Strange Angel - Book Recommendation - Non-Fiction Science Occult Must Read

Title: Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons

Author: George Pendle

Media Type: Book

Type: Non-Fiction

Genre: Science, Occult

The most important element of any book is a good story. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or non-fiction. What matters are the characters and their actions. Strange Angel is full of intriguing characters whose interactions make for one damn good story.

     John Whiteside Parsons was literally a rocket scientist. He forever changed our civilization. Along with his team, known as the Suicide Squad, Parsons helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and helped develop a solid rocket fuel that shifted space flight from a science fiction daydream into a reality.

     Science and fiction are two halves of one coin. You need only watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory to understand that the life of a scientist can be dictated as much by observations and facts as by fantasy and imagination. And why not? A strong mind that dares to dream is also strong enough to transfer that dream from thought to reality.

October 18 2013 Friday Cocktail and Book Recommendations

Washington DC and the Case of the Beltway Circus

P.T. Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was one of the most famous and infamous showmen, businessmen, promoters and scam artists that the United States of America ever produced.  He is well known for founding what would become Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.

He is also credited with having said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

What you might not realize is that P.T. Barnum was also a politician.

Considering the past few weeks of brain-numbing shenanigans that have been going on in Washington, D.C. you will understand why the great hoaxer and self-promoter P.T. Barnum came to mind.

To celebrate the fact that thousands of government employees can go back to work, that much needed government programs will once again be open  - including the National Zoo - and that the United States won’t default on its debt I would like to offer my cocktail, book, music and movie recommendations for this “sigh of relief” Friday.

Let’s start with the cocktail recommendation. It’s called “Barnum Was Right.” The recipe is as follows:

Barnum Was Right

What you need:

3 - 6 oz. cocktail glass-Nick & Nora Cocktail Glasses or Stork Club Champagne Coupe
Cocktail Shaker

Cracked Ice

Apricot Brandy

Dry Gin

Lime Juice
Angostura Bitters

Bartender's Note:  Many modern recipes on the internet list the wrong amount of liquor for this drink.  The end result of this recipe will give you a little under 3 oz. of alcohol.  Do not start with 3 oz. of alcohol.  Follow this recipe and you will get perfect results!

Directions:

Fill the stainless steel bottom of your cocktail shaker with cracked ice

Add 1/2 oz. Apricot Brandy

Add 1 oz. Dry Gin

1 dash Lime Juice

3 dashes Angostura Bitters

Fit the glass top of your cocktail shaker tightly into the stainless steel bottom and shake for 10-20 seconds.

The shaking and warmth of your hands melts the ice slightly and produces more liquid.

Carefully remove glass top, place strainer on top of stainless steel shaker bottom and strain/pour cocktail into 3 - 6 oz. cocktail glass.

Serve and Enjoy - Cheers!

As for the book recommendations I think political thrillers and mysteries set in Washington, D.C. are appropriate.  The first book is suggested with love and appreciation for the great writer Tom Clancy. Mr. Clancy died on October 2, 2013 at the age of 66. He will be missed.

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy
Murder on K Street by Margaret Truman
Jack & Jill by James Patterson

                There’s one other book I’d like to recommend you purchase as a gift. Rather than making a political donation you might consider sending your current representatives in the House and Senate the following:

Congress For Dummies by David Silverberg

The obvious film recommendations would be:

All the Presidents Men Screenplay by William Goldman; Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Network  Screenplay Paddy Chayefsky; Directed by Sidney Lumet

But for much needed laughs I would also suggest:

Dick (not a porno but a hilarious version of the Watergate saga) Screenplay Andrew Flemming & Sheryl Longin; Directed by Andrew Flemming
The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie Screenoplay Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt; Directed by Stephen Hillenburg

               The music is easy. When you need something to sooth the soul and make you smile:

Quiet Village by Martin Denny

This weekend forget those barkers and bastards in DC. Make a cocktail, put on some music, grab a book and sit back and relax in your favorite comfy chair. Later watch a great movie. And have some chocolate. You can never go wrong with chocolate.

Special thanks to DylanAKent for all her help with the cocktail recipe. Follow her on Twitter @DylanAKent

If you found the Library of Ghosts recommendations helpful, please use the links above to purchase them from Amazon. This helps support my blog. Thank You.

Keywords: Friday, October 17 2013, books, music, cocktails, film, movie, recommendations, P. T. Barnum, politics, politicians, Washington DC, Republicans, Democrats, government shutdown, national debt, Barnum Was Right Cocktail