Alyson

First flight, sat next to a young man holding a bouquet of flowers. Yellow roses, orange and yellow lilies. Hope whoever gets those flowers in Kansas City appreciate the journey they went on.

Adventure mode, activate! On my way for a week of debauchery in New Orleans!

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Instead of saying Identity Thief my kid said Personality Stealer. Now I imagine hackers as a mime mocking your every move.

It's fun how my mini-me kid and I lose track of time writing and drawing together every morning only to scramble to make lunch and get to the bus on time. If Marvel is interested, here's a look at his new Fantastic Four movie:

Alyson’s profile Alyson uses Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists. 2,219 films watched. Favorites: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Fantasia (1940), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Close Encounters of the Third Kind...

Hell yeah I am! letterboxd.com/TerribleClaw/

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Gave Fantastic Four another watch. I love the dumb sci-fi lines like, "It's the cosmic rays!" "The wormhole is bending the beam!" And my 7 year old had a very pressing question, "Does Galactus clean his teeth?"

Me- I should clean up and put away Halloween stuff.
Also me- This bullshit ain't gonna write itself! Another 3891 words today! #Nanowrimo

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I've never seen a more beautiful mix of joy and chaos than a gym full of little kids zooming around on skates, singing the whole K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack. So fun to skate with them!

K-Pop Demon Hunters is even better in a theater full of little kids singing and dancing along. This cute little Saja Boy was so into it! ❤️😭❤️

Not sure yet. Ghost story/body horror at a yoga retreat where the peace and love vibes go all wrong. Or turn my last project into a screenplay, maybe.
Any writing goals this month?

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November is and always will be #Nanowrimo. 1069 on a new project today. Need to find a new tracker, just cause I enjoy seeing my progress become a graph.

How I know my husband drank too much last night: he accidentally sent me a meme on the group text that included me and his mom... Thank goodness it was a tame one. 🤣

Don't mean to brag, but Thing and I got so many compliments while trick-or-treating tonight.

Frankenstein (2025) When I heard that Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein would only be showing at a few select theaters around the US, I didn’t have high hopes. I live in Indianapolis, not exactly a Hollywood Mecca. But my local indie theater got it! And I pounced on tickets before they sold out and was so grateful to see such a lush, dark and beautiful film in a proper theater, rather than my home.

Happy Halloween! As a treat, enjoy my review of Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful new film, Frankenstein:

The Phantom of the Opera – 100 Year Celebration My local indie theater, the Kan Kan, had an event celebrating one of my favorite films: 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera. Over the past 30 years I've probably watched this film many times, but never have I ever had a chance to see it in a theater and certainly never with live music accompaniment! For my nerdy heart, this was a rare and exciting treat I could not pass up.

Seeing my favorite silent film performed with live music was a dream come true! Celebrate 100 years of The Phantom of the Opera with me:

So I had my first experience being an extra in a film last night. The best part was watching my friend's idea jump off paper and come to life.

Our DJ needs a name.

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Instead of saying "grave robbers" I said "grob ravers" and now I'm entertaining the idea of skeletons having a grave robbing rave in my front yard.

The last few days of October are the best. You go out looking for bones and vampire teeth, as you do, and come home with a new right-hand man.

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The fact that an excavator sat in my yard overnight and I didn't go put a skeleton in it for the crew to find is only because I was tired and my husband wouldn't let me.

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You have no idea what a luxury it is to take a dump in your own home until you go 4 days without it. Anywho, we got plumbing again.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – 50th Anniversary Tribute I first experienced The Rocky Horror picture show at a midnight showing in 2004, my freshman year in college. I had no idea what I was getting into. My friends agreed to meet there in shabby Halloween costumes. Finding the right room on campus, I got lost in the student union and ended up in a tiny service elevator with a handful of young men complaining about the cold while wearing corsets and fishnets.

To celebrate the film's 50th anniversary, I wrote about my love and personal connection to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Virgins beware:

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At my niece's Halloween birthday party:
Dad- Here comes The Sandlot!
Me- I'm a Sandworm!
Dad- Isn't Sandlot where they shoot giant worms.
Me- You mean Tremors?
Dad- So you're from that movie?

My kid and I ran in a Halloween Fest race (he won the 1 mile!), got lots of treats around the fest and now I'm waiting for Frankenstein to start at my favorite indie theater!

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So we have no water for the weekend, but that gives us an excuse to ditch the kids with their grandparents, stay out of the house and go to see Frankenstein! #alwayslookonthebrightside

Something's all jacked up in my pipes, so the basement is all wet, the water is shut off and I took the kids to the store down the street to pee before bed. 🫠

Trunk or treat. My kids were dressed as Freddy Krueger and some Fortnite character. Everyone recognized lil Freddy. The other was called Iron Man, Transformer, and Ant Man. I think he's regretting the costume choice.

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7- Where's my movie?
*movie=pile of drawings
Me- Which one?
7- My Friday the 13th movie! You were supposed to bring it to the movie theater, put in the camera and show the grown ups!

Last night I had one of the best film experiences ever: Phantom of the Opera, 100 year anniversary, with live music accompaniment! Amazing band bringing one of my favorite films to life in a whole new way.

Black Phone 2 Black Phone 2 expands on the original film’s story of supernatural horror with calls for help and vengeance from beyond the grave. This sequel gives us a new frozen setting, focuses more on the sister’s visions and adds some classic possession elements. Best of all, Ethan Hawke is back in the mask, this time hunting Finn and Gwen in his cursed afterlife.

Chilling supernatural horror with vengeance from beyond the grave, again! My review of The Black Phone 2