This Counts towards the Countdown.

I've had an extremely busy week of which I'll elaborate in a separate post. For now, I need to get in my inaugural post for the annual Countdown to Halloween! Click that link to see all of my fellow Bloggers and/or Instagrammers who participate. (You'll have to go to the Tabs link at the top of the page. It's a tad inconvenient so I'll link to some of my favourites along the way. Such as...Wonderful Wonderblog.) As usual, my entry will be a hodgepodge of Halloweenish stuff that I find around Japan and the world at large. Starting off with a toast!

Kanpai everyone! I rarely drink at home, though I have taken this opportunity to break out my new Shawn of the Dead mug to quaff a beer while I type this.

Just an ordinary glass from Winchester Tavern.

Pour a beer and see what happens. (Oh, that's a lot of head.)

That's better, a nice blood-red glass of ale! Let the Halloween festivities ensue!

Next, let's take a look at some Halloween decorations I came across while shopping in a couple of Nerdy stores in Fukushima/Koriyama.

That was at the Mandaiesque store in Fukushima. Sadly, these Used goods stores have undergone an overhaul and are no longer called Mandai or Mansaido but have been bought up by some Corporation and all renamed U-Pura. Now it's mostly UFO Catcher and Gatcha machines. That sounds like a good thing, but a lot of the store space has been devoted to these coin-grabs and the chance of winning has NOT improved. Ah well.

Moving on to the Koriyama location, the decorations went up a notch...

I decided to see if I could score.

Most action I've had in months.

Movie review time. I watched Twice Told Tales AND The Fly before I went to bed last night. I had never seen TTT and I thoroughly enjoyed the first entry with Sebastian Cabot. 

Of course, Cronenberg's epic remake is the definitive version these days, yet the original does have its charms. (Click that link for a 7-year old Countdown link to that movie.)

The "Help me" line has been mimicked to death though it still creeps me out.

REVISION! I'm an idiot! Why didn't I have my first two beers in my Fly Tiki Mug?

I'm going to take a Wee break and grab another beer. The colour of my glass is beginning to fade.

What else am I hoping to do daily for the next month? Ah yes, a student gave me a small paperback book of Yokai so I'll feature one a day until I run out. BUT, there needs to be some explanation, so I'll elaborate forthwith.

Here's the cover.

and first page. 

The Table of Contents shows the categories dealt with within. 

 

Whoa. Google Lens Translate worked better than I expected. (You may need to click and embiggen.)

 

Here's the Index.

Let's screengrab that Translation.

Ah, the first section is 襲う=おそう=ATTACK!

So let's take a peek at our first Yokai.

I'm too busy (and lazy and getting drunk) to parse this translation, so click on this and learn for yourself.

We don't see enough flaming wheel monsters these days. (Maybe Ghost Rider?)

I hope to link to a UFO Catcher/ Gatcha Capsule daily. For now, this one caught my eye and was I ever disappointed in what I scored. I like Scar as much as the next guy, but I was hoping for a much bigger bag for my 400 yen. This is merely a coin pouch, which will now remain in my car door side pocket when I need coins for parking.

 

I have far more Venom paraphernalia than anyone is supposed to have. So I'll present a Venomized picture daily (until I run out.) Here's Iron Man under the influence.

 

Finally, here is yesterday's snack. I'm trying to cut down, so usually I'll just snap a photo at the supermarket. This particular bag, I did consume. Very orange. Very cheesy.

I have the day off tomorrow, so I think I'll continue drinking beer and catch up on the latest "Walking Dead" Spinoff with Darryl (Warning: a tad dull!), Murder in the Building, Jeopardy, Continental and whatever else is streaming of late. Oh yeah, Lower Decks!

Ciao for now! Welcome to the Countdown, future episodes should not be as long.