The Friday Link for 10/16/26

Hi all! 

Last night I went out to look at the pumpkin display at the Minnesota Zoo!

Great fun! So tonight I decided to embrace the October spirit! 

Let's start off with the very underrated SNL Skit with Bill Hader as an exasperated Vincent Price trying to put together his annual Halloween Special. When Hader pitched the idea of a 1950s Vincent Price skit to Lorne Michaels, Michaels said, "Why now?"  Whatever was Hader's justification, I'm glad he pitched it. Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, and Fred Armisen join Hader. Everyone in this is PERFECT! "Save your sassy asides for your windowless bars!" 

Next up is Tom BetGeorge and his wild Halloween light show.  I am actually doing the 2025 light show, because I didn't think this year's was as good as last year's.

Click on his account if you want to see the 2026 version.

Finally, tonight is a series of five ghost photos which seem to be more legit than fake.  I know in this day and age, the amount of AI and edited pictures has ruined scary images, but these photos are older, on film, and many of them come with a pretty compelling case for what they might indeed be real.  Nuke's Top 5 has the details. 

That's it for this Friday.  Have a safe and fun weekend.

Make sure you get your flu shots, COVID shots, and stay up to date on your vaccinations. Only a fool would think intentionally getting measles would be a good idea. 

The Friday Link for 10/9/26

Hi all!

This week, we start with the scariest roadside attraction of all time! The Largest Ball of Twine! 

Okay, there is not much to it (it's a huge ball of twine), but Patton Oswalt got obliterated drunk and did his own Drunk History on the Biggest Ball of Twine controversy (yes, there was a weird controversy)/

Next up is the first ten minutes of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. 

What makes the best Marvel movies work is the commitment to the source material as much as possible.  This opening is spectacular.  It picks up in the wake of Spider-Man: No Way Home and fast-forwards four years, recapping his time on his own without his longtime friends. 

They recreate so many classic Spider-Man comic book covers in this quick opening; it makes it so worth it for the long-time fans (guilty as charged).

And TV on the Radio's Wolf Like Me blasting in the background doesn't hurt either. 

Finally tonight, a classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 short, from way back when, Mr. B Natural. You will have more questions than answers after this one.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Try to get out and enjoy the changing colors! 

Make sure you stay up to date on all of your vaccinations, including your flu shot.

The Friday Link for 10/2/26

Hi everyone!  Welcome to October! 

With it being October, let's look at some of the better scary movie scenes.  I generally do not like slasher films or films based on gore for gore's sake.  I do like films that build their suspense and fear without cheap tricks.

One of the best things Marvel Studios has done was Werewolf By Night, a one-shot based on their horror comic books of the 60s and 70s. This was released on the Disney streaming platform in 2022, back when the Marvel Universe was going down the path of creating some of the better horror comics (they did do Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but the Blade reboot and the Black Knight movies never came about). 

It's a simplistic story.  Gael García Bernal is Jack Russell, a man who infiltrates a meeting of monster hunters to help save his friend, even though he himself has a dark secret, and he ends up encountering the stunning Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone. 

I would highly recommend getting Disney Plus just to watch this gem. Here is a great scene.

Next up is my favorite horror film of all time, The Thing. 

An alien shapeshifter crash-lands in Antarctica, gets woken up, and chaos ensues.

This long clip I will share is remarkable for one reason.  This does not feature the alien creature at all.  What it does feature is the crew realizing something bad is happening, realizing the Thing is loose and could be any one of them; they start to lose it, quickly turning on each other, and John Carpenter ends up creating the all-time "you can trust no one" scenario.

The last clip tonight is a quality clip from Jaws, where they see the shark for the first time. 

Watch Robert Shaw's eyes when he sees the shark. They get big, and for a brief second, you can see his character Quint display something he usually never shows: fear. It could be the greatest moment of acting I've ever seen. 

I know I have posted that scene before, but it is just such a good one.

Have a great weekend.  Good luck if you are running in the Twin Cities Marathon!

Make sure you get your flu shot and stay up to date on all your vaccinations!