Halloween costume ideas with Julie Newmar

You can dress like hard-rocking mime for Halloween. That's what Julie Newmar will be coming to the Shades of Gray Halloween party as.

Musical Monday with The Jaded Heart Club

The Jaded Heart Club is a rock band with a classic 1960s sound with a hard modern edge, and they have several videos supporting their singles that make them perfect guests for Musical Monday. Few, however, are as perfect as the video for "I Put a Spell On You" with its 1960s horror film sensibility. 

Check out "I Put a Spell On You" below. It's a great way to awaken the Halloween Sprit within you!

Bones Coffee's Frankenbones

Halloween is two weeks away... so it seems like a great time to review one more coffee blend with marketing inspired by a classic literary horror character and a whole slew of movies: Frankenstein's Monster.

 

 

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: FRANKENBONES

Some of the flavored Bones Coffee blends I've tried over the past few months filled my home with delightful aromas as they brewed. Sometimes that aroma matched the expected and/or advertised flavor,  other times it was something of a misdirect. Sometimes the tastes of the blends are subtle, sometimes they're so overwhelming so has to barely be drinkable.

With Frankenbones--a blend that, according to Bones' sell-copy is "here to delight your taste buds in ways that science never thought possible"--the Florida-based company delivered medium-roast with flavors so subtle I had to look them up, because the "Frankenstein"-inspired cartoon and text on the packaging didn't give any hints as to what I was to expect, nor did the aroma as the coffee brewed.

The flavor of Frankenbones, according to the Bones Coffee website, is hazelnut and chocolate. I picked up on the hints of chocolate and perhaps a faint hint of nuts, but the overall effect was of coffee that goes down so smooth that it was as if I'd already added some milk or creamer to it. Once I added unsweetened almond milk, the nutty flavor came out a bit stronger (maybe hazelnut plus almond... even if almond milk doesn't really taste like almonds to me?), but when I tried the blend with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the chocolate flavor seemed like it was more noticeable. 

In all three cases--whether I drank Frankenbones straight, with unsweetened almond milk, or with the creamer--the coffee flavor was at fore with the other tastes mixing in and adding smoothness. Even as the coffee cooled to room temperature (which it almost always does for me, as I drink slowly), the tastes remain consistent and stable. Hot or at room temperature, this is a fabulous tasting coffee.

Cold and over ice, the hazelnut flavor seems to come out a bit stronger whether unsweetened almond milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer is added--although the chocolate once again popped with the Italian Sweet Cream in the mix. I also tried it iced with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which mixed nicely with the chocolate and brought to mind something you might get at a place like Starbucks (only far cheaper and far more convenient).

Whether you drink Frankenbones hot or cold, or somewhere in between; whether you drink it with milk or creamer added, this is another offering from the Bones Coffee Company that I think you'll like. I certainly did!

Look Kids! Creepy Comics!

 A comic to get you in a Halloweenish mood!

Death sings about Death

The Grim Reaper is back to perform another creepy folk song while playing the banjo. (He is mixing things up a bit this time out, as he's got back-up singers.)

We hope this performance helps stir the Halloween spirit within young and old!

Happy birthday to Katy Manning!

Katy Manning, best known as Jo Grant to long-time Doctor Who fans, turns 75 years old today. Here are some photos from the '70s in celebration!

The Avengers: What the Butler Saw

What the Butler Saw (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Thorley Walters, Denis Quilley, Ewan Hooper, and Kynaston Reeves
Director: Bill Bain
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

In an effort to find and eliminate the person responsible for leaking government secrets, John Steed (Macnee) enrolls in a school for butlers while Emma Peel (Rigg) sets out to get close to (literally and figuratively) one of the prime suspects--a playboy R.A.F. pilot (Quilley).

The central mystery and threat in this episode is so simple that it's hardly worth of the talents of England's greatest spybreakers--some of the particulars are tricky, but the overall effort would have been very easy to trace to its source once detected--but all the stunts John Steed pulls while trying to ferret out the villains, excellent supporting characters, and a grisly murder and body disposal make this episode a lot of fun.

"What the Butler Saw" is also elevated by a fantastic supporting cast. Thorley Walters (as the stern master of an academy geared toward educating gentlemen's gentlemen; Denis Quilley as the dashing pilot ladies can't get enough of; and Kyanston as the old general who may have crossed the line from eccentric to crazy all play their parts brilliantly. Of course, it helps that they were working with a script that was full of banter and humor. It all added up to  mixture that excused the fact the assignment was almost two simple for our two heavy hitters. (Steed's showing off his disguise skills and his butlering antics are contribute in major ways to this.)

Although, that said, the writers of the episode did make the effort to establish the politically sensitive nature of the investigation, as well as taking a very clever approach to giving Steed a little bit of a personal stake in the case. The writers also did an excellent job with the character of the playboy pilot, making him both a excellent sense of merriment as Emma Peel first pursues him so she can get close to him for the investigation, and then later has to take steps to avoid ending up in bed with him. The ultimate twist to the subplot involving him and Peel catapulted him to the status of my favorite supporting character in all the episodes I've seen of "The Avengers".

Halloween is coming...

 ... and this year, Vampirella is insisting that we celebrate the Big Day as they do on her home planet of Drakulon. To that end, we're all practicing leap-frogging over tombstones in the nearby cemetery.

If you don't hear from us for a couple days, assume we've been arrested for trespassing and/or desecration of graves. Please send bail money.

The Art of Gorilla Warfare

A few months ago, I said that you don't find many straight-up art films posted here at Shades of Gray, nor even reviews of them. But here I am again, posting an art film for you to take a look at. It's also a student film, made at the University of Toledo in 2014.

I found "Gorilla Warfare" fascinating and it kept my attention from the opening scene through the end credit. A single quick Google search did not reveal any signs that the creator of "Gorilla Warfare", Kate Crowley, is working in the film or as either an editor, cinematographer, or director--although what I assume to be her Twitter account is restricted, so she might be. I certainly hope she is, because there's a lot of talent on display in this film.

Take a few minutes (4 to be exact) to watch "Gorilla Warfare" and let me know if you find it to be as fascinating as I did.

Gorilla Warfare (2014)

Starring: Kara Cronley

Director: Kate Cronley

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Brigitte Bardot is a Little Tramp

In 1965, Orlando Suero, a photographer who worked as a still photographer for film production companies and in taking portraits of actors and other celebrities, did a shoot with Brigette Bardot dressed up like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character. Why? Because he could!

Here are some photos from that shoot. Why? Because Halloween is approaching, and if Bardot can dress as Charlie Chaplin's signature character, then maybe you can, too!