Thrills and Chills

Despite being immune to such influences in my tween, teen, and young adult years, last night I realized that I’ve spent more time in a state of “scared by creepiness” these last 12 months than I have for the entire rest of my life. Is this something that happens as we get older? Are children simply immune to creepiness? I swear to god that “Elephants On Parade” sequence in Dumbo was plain old fun when I was a kid, instead of the disturbing creepfest I interpreted it as when I finally saw it again in my early twenties.

When I’m talking about the scare factor of creepiness, I’m talking about the sense of unease we get from things that are abnormal, off kilter, but in a seemingly understated/innocuous manner. It’s the sense of not knowing more, of only having a glimpse of the story. It’s finding a human-shaped burn mark on a wall. It’s the sound of a crying child when there is no child to be seen. It’s inanimate objects slowly following your movement through an empty room. Seemingly innocuous, and no harm done, but maybe... what if...

It’s the not knowing that creates creepiness.

But there’s actually a fine line between creepiness and wonderment. No one freaks out when Lucy finds the random lamppost in Narnia, that’s because the book is written with a sense of childlike curiosity. Tone and mood are huge influencers on whether something is plain odd or forebodingly odd.

The one thing that creeped me out as a child and that continues to creep me out to this day: the moon. I mean the full moon, especially when it’s low on the horizon and looks larger than usual. I have no idea why the low-hanging full moon creeps me out so much, it just does. SHUDDER!

Vegetarian Deliciousness On the Fly

So I just pulled this recipe out of my ass when I realized I had tomatoes and mushrooms in my fridge that were about to lose their prime freshness:

• Fry tsp minced garlic and green onions in canola oil at medium heat, cook until garlic is golden
• Add one chopped tomato and 1 tsp chopped fresh basil, continue cooking until tomatoes break down
• Add one package sliced mushrooms (I used cremini)
• Add 1 tsp dijon mustard
• Add 1 tsp veggie stock powder with 750 ml water
• Simmer on low heat until mushrooms are tender (8-10 minutes)
• Add 1 tsp cornstarch (mixed with tiny bit of cold water)
• Add al dente pasta (I used about 3 cups uncooked aka quite a lot)
• Toss with a sprinkle of dried oregano
• NOM WHILE HOT!

Flavourful as fuck with a lot less salt/sugar than bottled pasta sauce. I already love mushrooms as is, but I wish someone had told me earlier that fresh basil is basically HERBED MAGIC. :D