Halloween night

I know having inflatable Halloween decorations in the yard seems like a sin but I have a 6 year old and sometimes he is the decorating boss, and with the new clinic and my scarecrow contest entry I had no time to work on anything for our home haunt this year.

More to come

I know that I have been lax in my blogging but I have been working rather hard to keep my right eye.  I've been fighting a nasty infection since Halloween night.  Infection is gone and my eyesight has mostly returned and I will be back to the blog in no time.

Post Halloween Illness Strikes again

Due to a pretty severe double eye infection its been a while since my last post.  Halloween has come and gone and it was one of the best.  It was reminiscent of  Halloween from my childhood, our street was impassable by car because of all of the trick-or-treaters  we saw close to 300 and ran completely out of candy it was an absolute blast.  Gabe wanted to be a ninja this year and insisted on handing out the candy when we got back from his run of trick-or-treating.

Win number three

 Three wins in a row!  I am considering retiring from the competition. I still plan on setting up a scarecrow next year, but I am thinking about not being part of the contest.

Winers Announced tonight!

The winners of this years Scarecrow contest will be announced tonight at 5PM.   Hoping for three in a row.

Grunt and Grundle

Daylight pics of Gunther

Meet Gunther

 Got Gunther set up last night.
 Not a great pic but the conditions were lousy.  Below is the original sketch of the concept for this years entry.  Gunther is a combination of techniques including latex corpsing, and paper mache.  The total cost to build this scarecrow was under $10

LAst post before things are set up

Progress

 

Scarecrow progress

There is every possibility that I am being over ambitious in this years scarecrow design.  I've not had time to take any pics the build has been fairly time consuming. But here are a couple of pics. The single skull is the one that I did last year, I was never happy so I skinned it and am starting over, it will be the head of the scarecrow.  The purpose of the others will be revealed later.

Tools Of the Trade

Screwed by humidity.

Anyone who has ever worked with paper mache knows that it is a cheap, durable and light weight.  It usually dries fast and is fairly quick to work with, unless the humidity is up.  My pumpkins are taking forever to dry.

Made a little progress this weekend.

Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead by Ed Justin

Keep away from Pumpkinhead,
Unless you're tired of living,
His enemies are mostly dead,
He's mean and unforgiving,
Laugh at him and you're undone,
But in some dreadful fashion,
Vengeance, he considers fun,
And plans it with a passion,
Time will not erase or blot,
A plot that he has brewing,
It's when you think that he's forgot,
He'll conjure your undoing,
Bolted doors and windows barred,
Guard dogs prowling in the yard,
Won't protect you in your bed,
Nothing will, from Pumpkinhead.

Just thought this would be appropriate

I made the paper today.

Chandra Harris-McCray: Two-time scarecrow winner ponders this years creation

• By Chandra Harris-McCray
• Posted October 4, 2011 at 6 p.m.

Vic Zanoni should have been born on Halloween, not Christmas.

Santa Claus never had to worry about Zanoni because he has always been consumed by all things Halloween — pumpkins, trick-or-treating, superhero costumes of the plastic and homemade kind.

For the past two years, he has called on his inner ghoul and claimed the first-place prize during the "Scarecrows in the Park" contest at New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Lane.

What is quickly becoming a favorite fall tradition of Knox County Parks and Recreation is already a favorite outlet for Zanoni, who has been trying to figure out what type of scarecrow he will craft for this year's competition. It is open to individuals, organizations schools and families, and an application form is available at Knox County Parks and Recreation's website, www.knoxcounty.org/parks. They are due by Oct. 17. The entry fee is $10, and each participant will receive a coupon for a bale of straw from The Home Depot.

The Scarecrow Trail will be placed along the greenway loop at the park, and will open during New Harvest Park Farmers' Market's Third Thursday event 3-6 p.m. Oct. 20. The quarter-mile walking trail will be open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the public can vote for their favorite scarecrow through Monday, Oct. 24.

The winners in the adult and student categories will be announced at the Farmers' Market Oct. 27. The $100 first prizes will be presented by Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union. Second prize in each category will receive a free shelter rental at any Knox County park.

Zanoni's winning scarecrows have been anything but a straw figure in a flannel shirt. The first year — scarecrow Loomis — was crafted "from things around the house," said Zanoni, who lives in South Knoxville with his wife, Ashley, and their son 6-year-old son, Gabriel. "I was out of a job at the time and I was at the library looking for job postings when I saw the flier for "Scarecrows in the Park," he said.

Using dryer lint to make the skin of Loomis, the skeleton-like figure was put together in a matter of days. "I wanted to see what I could put together with as little money as possible," he said.

In 2010, he challenged himself again by creating Ivan. "One night I went to bed with a headache and the next morning I woke up with the idea for the scarecrow," he said.

Using PVC pipe and "plain ol' water and flour" to create a paper mache pumpkin head, Zanoni said the scarecrows "take on a life of their own once I start making them."

And he hopes this year will be no different. Trying to top last year, Zanoni said he is all about going bigger and better.

"If I win or lose this year, I will still keep doing it," said Zanoni, who works long hours as a medical professional at a clinic in Sevier County.

For more information about "Scarecrows in the Park," call 865-215-6600.

Astro Zombies!

Freaks

Was flipping channels last night and found this Disturbing classic on TMC. The movie used actual side show performers instead of costumes and make up.

My Scarecrow is on paper

I finally Got my scarecrow drawn out. Cant wait to start construction. If I am able to pull this off It should kick much ass.

New Car(to us), New family Stickers

The Skeleton family has been replaced by the Zombie Family.

More pics from my visits to haunted places in the area

Vampire Graves

The story is that these two unnamed slab covered graves are the final resting places of two vampires. I've found nothing to support this but Stone slabs were often used to cover the graves of suspected witches. The purpose was to keep them from coming back.

Haunted Places Around Knoxville

Another Day With No Ideas

This time of year I am asked, "What is this years scare crow going to look like?" and I have to honestly answer, "I have no clue." What usually follows is a look that implies that I am keeping it a secret. So here is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... I have no earthly idea what this years scarecrow is going to look like. I really wish I did so that I could start working on it.

My other Deal

Black Feather Survival Bracelets

Watched my favorite horror mover the other night.

John Carpenters, The Thing may be the scariest movie ever made.

A little classic horror

One of my all time favorites. Most people don't know that The Fly was released in color and the sequels were done in Black and White. You can't go wrong with Vincent Price. This was a time when directors had to rely on story instead of computer FX.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Just in case anyone didn't know today Is International Talk like a Pirate Day. http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html