resurgence

In the weeks leading up to Halloween this year, it was pretty common to see a classic horror movie playing in the living room. Though my horror obsession mostly lay in my high school years, there will always be a special place in my weathered heart for them. Any chance I get to sit down and watch one of my old favorites - a rare thing nowadays - I still always come away not only entertained as ever, but pleasantly surprised just how much most of them have held up for me. Friends and I went through some great standbys this year (Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, The Shining, etc.) but one that really caught me by surprise was Day of the Dead. It had probably been at least 10 years I'd seen it. I'd say it is the most slow-moving of the trilogy, but I love the dark and gritty feel of this one. It is very psychological and claustrophobic, and though the gory scenes are few and far between, when they do arise they deliver nicely. I could see why I might not have enjoyed this as much in high school, perhaps a lack of patience - this is not the wild mall-romp that is Dawn of the Dead. But while it lacks in fun, it does succeed at painting a frightening picture of humanity nearing the end of its rope.

In September 2008 I lived in Worcester, MA temporarily; and a great memory of that era is skateboarding and exploring the city. I spent a good amount of my pre-employment time there doing just that - there is nothing quite like having an unfamiliar and sprawling city at your disposal when you have a skateboard, willpower, and free time. These 2 Nate Keegan parts, which were still somewhat recent at the time, were pretty much my exploratory guides. Both are almost exclusively filmed in Worcester, and while it was awesome to see some familiar spots get slaughtered (Clark University, DCU Center, Vocational High) what was really memorable was hunting down and/or stumbling upon some of those unknown spots. These parts still very much hold up for me especially as my interest in East Coast skating grows and grows. Big trick selection and style for days, skating harsh spots and making it look easy. 3 classic tricks that come to mind:

1. Bs nosegrind at a snowy DCU Center.

2. Downhill line outside the parking garage: switch 180 up the curb, crooked grind tall-as-fuck ledge, ollie street gap.

3. Shoveit nose manual fs big spin out on the long ledge at the DCU Center. First off, no one skates that part, it's long, narrow, has big ol cracks in it, etc. and also, it's just done perfectly.