FEELIN' GHOULIE
Tap-O-Ween Throwback, Full Moon/Harry Houdini, and A Witchy Encounter
Hiya Friends,
It’s been a very ghoulie weekend around here. I attended a séance on Friday night, then the Nick Cave show on Saturday night which coincided with the full moon (The Hunter’s Moon with a lunar eclipse), and today at tap, we warmed-up to some seasonal numbers like Ghostbusters and The Witchdoctor.
This might be giving you the impression that I’m into Halloween. The truth is, I’m not really. I usually spend this weekend eating a bag of mini SweeTARTS until I feel sick because we never get trick-or-treaters. This year, I decided to skip buying candy and I’m worried the universe will rebel by sending some kids to my door. If that happens, I’ll be the kooky lady handing out quarters.
While we’re on the topic (or shall I say tap-ic?) of Halloween, I thought I’d throw it back to our Halloween-themed tap show—Tap-O-Ween in 2017—where I danced in several choreographed and costumed numbers, including one to Herb Alpert’s Spanish Flea. The story behind the routine, as invented by our instructor, Howard, was that we tappers were a bunch of cut-throat marauders and only the music of Herb Alpert could tame us. This storyline is so very Howard—an education reporter/tap dancer/instructor/dad/pun lover. If you enjoy silly dances with meat cleavers and/or the song stylings of Herb Alpert, click the video below. Howard introduces the number and I’m stage right, in the brown fedora and glasses. DISCLAIMER: I started taking tap a few years before and never tapped as a kid, so don’t expect much in the way of skill.
HARRY HOUDINI AND THE PHONY MEDIUM MAFIA
As I mentioned above, I attended a séance on Friday night. This was my 3rd séance in the past five years. If you’ve never been to one, I highly recommend giving it a go. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts (I’m definitely a believer) you’ll certainly be entertained. For instance, here’s an actual quote from a medium describing a spirit on Friday night: “There’s an Appalachian woman here in an apron, plucking a chicken and smoking a cigarette. She’s really angry about something.” For the record, nobody in the room claimed this spirit as their kin.
I plan to write about this experience in greater detail at a future date, but in the meantime, you should absolutely read Will Dowd’s latest installment of the Lunar Dispatch, which he sends out every month on the day of the full moon. His Stack is always chock full of beautiful writing and delightful anecdotes about fascinating historical figures, science, the stars, and more. In this issue, Will reveals that Harry Houdini, who started out as a fraudulent medium before he found his calling as a magician and escape artist, pissed off the phony medium mafia and it possibly cost him his life.
Houdini knew something about fraudulent mediums—he had started out as one.
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THE SEASON OF THE WITCH
I know that magic and metaphysical stuff might seem freaky to some, but I’ve mostly had positive experiences with it. There was only one time when things got a little scary and fortunately, I lived to tell. With the season of the witch upon us, it seemed like an ideal time to reshare that harrowing tale here. This piece was originally published in Los Angeles Magazine in 2021.
Bewitched: My Close Encounter With the Oracle of L.A.
”I felt confident that, as far as witches go, Amanda was the real deal.”
NOV 3, 2021
Back in January 2020, an acquaintance mentioned that she went to see a witch for a ritual meant to boost her confidence. Dealing with my own spate of ennui about turning 50, which was hard enough, I’d also been sharing an apartment with my convalescing mother-in-law who fretted about imagined catastrophes 24/7. Needless to say, these were stressful times, so I googled the witch’s name for more info.
Some people might snort at the idea of witches casting spells for self-improvement. Not me. I’m open to most unexplained phenomena and to pseudosciences like astrology and feng shui. If my computer freezes, Mercury’s probably in retrograde again. If a check arrives in the mail, I water the lucky bamboo in the “prosperity corner” of my house.
When I was growing up in the ’70s, my single mom kept a collection of woo-woo books on the shelf including Linda Goodman’s Love Signs and Wayne Dyer’s Your Erroneous Zones. She believed in numerology and she says that she named me Hilary because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Eight, you see, is a power number, and a sideways eight is the symbol for infinity, which means my initials—HH—equal double infinity, and therefore my name will go on and on forever. Or something.
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ACOUSTIC NICK CAVE
Some of you may have read an earlier post where I wrote about my late introduction to the wonder of Nick Cave. Here’s an excerpt:
I showed up late to the Nick Cave appreciation party. In 1998, I heard his beautiful ballad, “Into My Arms,” during a scene in the quirky/excellent movie, The Zero Effect. Afterwards, I purchased the movie’s soundtrack and played that song over and over again, usually with tears welling in my eyes. That was the extent of my exposure to the artist, apart from hearing an occasional song on the radio. Then, six years ago, my friend, Leigh scored some cheap tickets to see Cave live and invited me along.
At 6’2, with a bony frame and jet-black mane, Nick Cave cuts an imposing figure. He loomed over the crowd that night like a vampiric preacher in a three-piece black suit sans shirt. His deep voice thundered through the speakers as he strutted across the stage, one hand clamped around the mic, and the other fist punching the sky.
Last night, Cave, dressed in a natty blue suit and tie, played piano accompanied only by Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood on bass. He explained at the beginning of the show that he wanted to reconnect with his lyrics and asked that we, the audience, do the same. It was a phenomenal show and I’m still processing it. I’ll write about it at some point, but for now, I’ll let Cave serenade you out of this post. Big thanks to Leigh for the ticket and for shooting this video.
Okay, that’s a wrap for this week. If you enjoyed any of my musings, hit the ❤️ button or leave a comment. I always love hearing from you.