Halloween and a September Memory

I found this meme online, at the beginning of the month. I wanted to share it today before it gets too deep in the month. My wife would agree that this is very me. It also reminded me of an anecdote from my childhood. My brother PJ's birthday is in October. Because of this, we prepared his birthday during the month of September. When we went to the shop to buy decorations and accessories for his birthday party, we often took the opportunity to check and buy Halloween decorations too, as they had starting getting on sales. One Saturday after lunch, around mid-September, before going to the shops, my brothers and I first stopped to talk to my best friend, who lived on the same street as me. I was all enthusiastic about the afternoon's plans, so I told him we were going to go Halloween shopping. My friend looked at me disdainfully and said: "It's way too early for Halloween!" His father had the same disdainful reaction, using the exact same words. I changed the topic, but the conversation felt awkward and my friend remained cold and aloof, borderline rude at times. After a few minutes, we excused ourselves and went shopping. Years later, we ended up growing apart. It's nothing dramatic, it happens to a lot of childhood friends, they rarely all survive teenage and adulthood. But I always suspected that it had started that day. My friend had no interest whatsoever towards my favourite holiday. Fair enough, but he didn't have to be so dismissive about it.

Tarte aux pommes (parce que septembre)

Mon frère PJ a cuisiné une tarte aux pommes il y a peu de temps, "parce que septembre" (je le cite). Je partage la photo ici. La pomme, c'est le fruit de l'automne, c'est le temps des récoltes de pommes, donc c'est le temps de la tarte aux pommes. Je vais faire un aveu: je n'ai jamais été fan. Pour PJ, c'est je crois sa tarte préférée. Moi pas. Oh, je peux en manger! Mais ce n'est pas mon premier choix de dessert. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi. Cela dit, j'essaie autant comme autant d'apprécier la tarte aux pommes un peu plus.

25 Years of 9/11

In case you haven't noticed, today is the anniversary of 9/11.We tend to forget, what with what is happening in the US or because of the US at the moment, but there you are. Once upon a time, Islamofascism was the greatest threat Western civilisation seemed to have. Nowadays it is still a major threat, mind you, but Christian fundamentalism proved to be at least as dangerous. But I digress. For my memories and thoughts (rambling?) on the subject, read this post from 2008 and that post from 2009. This post from 2024 isn't too bad either. So yes, I commemorate it every year on Vraie Fiction.

Un champignon

Autre photo de champignon prise par ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe. Si ça ne vous met pas dans une ambiance automnale, je ne sais pas ce qui le fera. L'automne, c'est beau partout.

The Blue Flame

I have some good news for crime fiction aficionados like myself: The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos has finally been published. You may remember that I was impatient for its release. Pelecanos is now busy with scriptwriting for television, so we don't often see new books from him. It's as rare an occurence as it is welcomed. Now I will not read it yet, as I am in a spooky mind until November. However, the novel will be perfect to start #Noirvember. Otherwise, it features PI Derek Strange, a long-time regular of Pelecanos' universe, but who hadn't been seen in his most "recent" (who were no long recent) publications. It was about time.

Salon du livre (prévente et rappel)

Photo prise sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Ce billet est un bref rappel: l'évènement aura lieu du 1er au 4 octobre et les passeports sont présentement en prévente, jusqu'au 14 septembre, alors vous avez encore quelques jours.

The Eark of Warwick's Revolver (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series and is actually about a real signature weapon. So we went to Warwick Castle during our last holiday. And I saw the Earl of Warwick's revolver. Revolvers belong to westerns, most of the time, it's a rather old-fashioned firearm. We don't see them often in crime or spy fiction anymore. They mostly belong to vintage stories, old adventure novels, these sort of things. But hey, the Earl of Warwick once had a personal revolver. It's worth nothing and it's worth a blog post.

Un loup blanc

Photo prise par ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe lors de sa visite avec sa petite famille au Zoo de Falardeau. J'adore les loups et celui-ci est vraiment superbe.

Farewell to the local gift shop

There's some sad news I have been wanting to share: one of our local gift shops, an independent shop, has closed down recently. At first, I thought it was temporary, but no. It's completely shut down. I seldom went there, but I always enjoyed my time there and it was one of my go-to local shops when I wanted to buy birthday presents, especially for my wife, sometimes also for Wolfie. So this is really not good news. Especially since both their birthdays are fairly soon. Tragically, the gift shop it had been here for at least twenty years. It was open when we first move to this town. So yes, this one hits hard.

Un paon au château

 J'ai pris cette photo au Warwick Castle. Il y a des paons sur le terrain. Enfin, il y avait celui-ci. Pour une raison quelconque, dans ce pays et ailleurs, on y trouve des paons dans bien des châteaux et des résidences luxueuses. Je ne m'y fais pas: ce sont des oiseaux à l'apparence tellement exotique pour moi, avec un plumage coloré et élégant. J'imagine que c'est la raison pour laquelle on aime les faire résider dans les jardins des châteaux.

First Sign of Halloween

Last Sunday, we went to town. As we were walking on the high street, we saw the window of the local Cancer Research UK shop. And it made me very happy. See for yourself. It's full of pumpkins, leaves, it has a few small Jack O'Lanterns and, well, it's just a great display. The first proper sign of Halloween to come since the beginning of September. I love the attitude: whatever some people may say about autumn starting only with the equinox, the season truly starts with the month of September. And now is not too early for Halloween.

Un champignon dans les bois

Ma cousine Amy, l'artiste photographe, a pris des photos il y a quelques jours dans les bois. Elle m'a donné la permission de les partager. Je partage cette photo-ci, parce que c'est vraiment une photo parfaite et parfaitement automnale d'un champignon. Je le dis souvent, mais c'est parce que c'est vrai: les champignons sont un signe de l'automne. Alors j'aime en voir dans la nature, ça indique que ma saison préférée est en chemin, ou est arrivée. Bien entendu, je ne capture pas les champignons en images comme ma cousine le fait, raison de plus pour partager cette photo.

Sachertorte

 I took this picture somewhere in Salzburg last year, I can't remember where. It is the classic Sachertorte, a chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam in the middle, If I have this right. We ate all sorts of indulgent desserts during our holidays in Austria,and of course we had to try the Sachertorte. I think I never ate desserts as delicious as in Austria, even in the most ordinary places. Classic ones of course, but also plenty of new inventions and variations on classics. The Sachertorte wasn't even my favourite, but it was still up there among the best.

Les mardis aux Catacombes

Je blogue encore une fois sur les "Catacombes" du Cégep de Chicoutimi.QUi sont aussi celles du Centre socio-culturel, où se trouvait (et se trouve encore) l'École de musique. Enfant, j'avais des cours à l'école de musique le mardi soir, parfois aussi le jeudi. Alors je passais souvent le temps entre deux cours dans le restaurant des Catacombes, ou alors je marchais dans le corridors et je laissais aller mon imagination. J'ai souvent blogué sur l'endroit, je l'ai revu plus souvent une fois au cégep, mais dans tous les cas, ça m'est revenu en tête aujourd'hui, que je passais beaucoup de mes mardis soirs là.

The Summer People (Shirley Jackson)

Today is Labor Day and, at least it is on the other side of the Atlantic. And I associate Labor Day with one horror story of Shirley Jackson. I first read it in the anthology of her short stories Dark Tales. Since then, it is part of my early countdown to the countdown to Halloween, a staple I try to read every Labor Day. It's called The Summer People, about an elderly couple from New York, the Allisons, who spend every summer in their lakeside cottage in the country, always leaving on Labor Day. Except one year, when they decide to stay longer because of warm weather. And this is where their nightmare starts. The locals start getting passive-aggressive, warning them in vague terms that no "summer people" ever remained there after Labor Day. They stop providing the couple with kerosene and groceries, then their phone line is cut and their car won't start. I don't want to give more away, but it's a brilliant and subtle (well, it's Shirley Jackson after all) tale of eerie unease. You can read it here. As for my take on the story, it's this: never think it's still summer when September starts. Also: autumn comes faster than you think and you should respect that. You're welcome.

La Fête du Travail

 C'est aujourd'hui la Fête du Travail en Amérique. Je n'ai pas pu profiter de la Fête du Travail (en tout cas pas en septembre) depuis des années. C'est dommage, car un congé férié en septembre, autant dire en automne (oui, oui, septembre c'est l'automne, bon), même d'une seule journée, même un lundi, ben c'est pas mal idéal pour moi. Non seulement on peut profiter du début de la saison, mais ça adoucit un peu le retour au travail (ou à l'école). Bref, si je le pouvais, je l'importerais ici.

Isola in September

 I blogged about it last year, but I thought I would do it again for those like me who like to read seasonally. And who love crime fiction. Anyway, the second novel of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, The Mugger, is set in September. So it's a very autumnal novel, as well as a neat little suspense. Important recurring characters as introduced, such as Detective Meyer Meyer, Monroe and Monaghan, Fats Donner, also Eileen Burke. And Bert Kling is the main character of this entry, for the very first time. But yeah, for the anecdotal history and for the seasonal readers, it is a crime novel for September. The seasonal is beautifully rendered.

Prévente pour le Salon du livre

Je fais une annonce pour ceux qui peuvent et ceux que ça intéresse. Oh, et j'ai pris cette image sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Enfin bref, les passeports pour le Salon sont en prévente du 1er au 14 septembre. Moi, je n'ai pas besoin: j'ai mon passeport à vie. Pas que je puisse en profiter, mais qui sait, un jour peut-être, sait-on jamais. Enfin bref, c'est mon Salon du livre préféré, pour pleins de raisons. Allez-y.

The Autumn D&Dr Special Day

First, a disclaimer: this image is the front cover of a fantasy novel I absolutely loathe. That said, the artist Larry Elmore gives really nice atmospheric pics, if nothing else. And it suits this post. Today is a special day for Wolfie and me: a few weeks ago, he told me he wanted a special father and son day, in early autumn, where we would go to a café, eat and drink autumnal stuff, then play Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft. I'm not sure how he came up with this idea, but it's a day to celebrate the new season doing our favourite seasonal activities. As meteorological autumn has started, we decided that today would be the day. If it's a success, it might become a family tradition.

Le Viennois en automne

Même si je suis de Chicoutimi, je n'ai jamais mis les pieds à la boulangerie et pâtisserie Le Viennois. Parce que j'étais déjà un peu expatrié quand ils ont ouvert en 1997, d'abord pour les études. Ce qui ne m'empêche pas d'être curieux à son sujet. Je me suis rendu compte qu'ils ont une section spéciale dans leur site pour les desserts d'automne. J'étais déçu de voir qu'elle était vide. Cela dit, après des recherches sur internet, j'ai pu retrouver une page qui présente un gâteau appelé Délice d'automne, décoré d'un tournesol. Je ne sais pas s'ils en vendent encore, mais ils devraient mettre à jour leur site et garnir cette section. Automne et pâtisseries, ça va bien ensemble.