Sorry, kids, I really flaked on this year’s countdown. It started off on a decent note, but the general state of affairs led me to call time on the spooky stuff halfway through the month and opt for more cozy comforts. It’s not doomerism. Just a general sense of distraction. Thanks to those of you […]

Two weeks back from yesterday, I went to urgent care to get some antibiotics for a tooth infection. Part of the process involved having my vitals taken, which resulted in being told that my heartrate and blood pressure were at IMMEDIATE HEALTH RISK levels. They wanted to call an ambulance then and there, but I […]

It’s not as if things could get any worse out there, so why not? Recommended listening:

If you don’t associate catsup with utter horror, try telling someone from the Chicago area that you like to put it on hot dogs and see how they react. Recommended listening:

“With a cold shiver he could not control, Polen was suddenly conscious of a single fly loose in the room, veering aimlessly for a moment, then beating strongly and reverently towards Beelzebub.” – Isaac Asimov, “Flies” (1953) Recommended listening: Alien Sex Fiend – Buggin’ Me (from a 1986 single) I wish I’d held back the […]

Figure Two: And this pattern is always the same? Figure One: With few variations. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find…and it’s themselves. And all we need do is sit back…and watch. Figure Two: Then I take it this place…this Maple Street…is not unique. Figure One: [Shaking his head.] By no means. Their […]

“We tell ourselves that pestilence is a mere bogy of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away. But it doesn’t always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away.” – Albert Camus, The Plague (1947) Some virulent flu-like disease has been my go-to Horseman of Speculated […]

“And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of […]

Nostalgia is all about counting the hits while ignoring the misses. This is especially true with childhood nostalgia, where youthful affections gain intensity over the temporal distance and blot out less pleasant memories. The gap between “what was” and “what we choose to remember” has been a recurring theme over AT’s decade of posts. My […]

“On the evening of April 16, 1917, Comrade Kermit stepped onto the platform and addressed the awaiting crowd. ‘Down with global capitalism! We are defenders of the Rainbow Connection, comrades! The lovers, the dreamers, and myself know that we have finally found it! We have nothing to lose but our slightly visible strings!’ He then […]