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Sunday, October 29, 2023
Trick or Treat
'There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.' Robert Brault
Holidays have us looking back, usually to simpler times when we were young, and holidays were about fantasy more than just a day to get through. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, not because of the costumes and candy, but because it's not a family holiday. There are no family meals to get through, no gifts to buy, except for ourselves, and no relatives, that you only see once a year, that you have to endure while chatting over canned cranberry sauce.
Halloween isn't about love, it's not a February 14th, when you have to wonder why you're still alone, or why you're still hanging onto a loser. Halloween can be anything, or everything, you want to be. It can be a holiday you decorate for, or a holiday you don't. It can be filled with great food and parties, or just a movie, or a good book.
No one judges you for not going to a Halloween party, or not having your house lit up with orange lights. No one pressures you buy a witch hat, or to call your grandma, and send her holiday wishes. Halloween can be anything, or nothing, it's totally up to you. That's why I like it so much, I like having the control to do exactly what I want.
Now it shouldn't surprise anyone that I go all out. I decorate my house, I light the porch with orange lights and I carve more than a few pumpkins. I also dress up. I have a costume for a party if there is one, and usually a second costume for work that day. I don't dress up to give out candy, but I do wear a silly hat, or a black cape to answer the door.
Usually I slip on my costume and do my trick or treating like everyone else, on the evening of the 31st. This year however, I'm a little early. The last week of October on FH is always filled with witches, ghosts, black cats and demons. This year, however, I'm putting them back in their boxes a little early.
This is my last Halloween themed day for the month, but not my last post for October. I have what I think is a creative surprise for the 31st. The theme, might be a little Halloween adjacent, but not directly connected. If you're not too busy, or hung over from too much sugar, come back for a visit on Tuesday night to check it out! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Party Scares:
If you missed the annual FH Halloween bash last weekend, don't be boo disappointed. As usual our reporters captured most of the action, including the winners of the costume parade. Check out the highlights on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
Lightning from Heaven: Alejandro by Immortal Form
Revelation 20:10.
Although most of us concentrate on the fun parts of Halloween, the costumes and candy, for some, it has much darker roots. Samhain is also a Wiccan holiday, and an old Celtic harvest holiday marking the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season. It also signaled the beginning of winter, which they associated with death.
It is the celebration that is the origin of Halloween. and was first observed by Celtic Pagans. On this day, the Celts believed the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin. This allowed spirits of the dead to visit the living. Some believe that medieval Christians dispatched the saints in defense, establishing November 1 as the day in their honor and a way of mending the annual rift into the land of the dead.
One can't discuss the battle with evil without mentioning Satan, the ultimate Demon. Satan, or Lucifer, was cast from Heaven and sent to the depths of Hell. Lucifer became so consumed with pride over his God-given splendor that he became corrupt and violent, no longer willing to serve under God. His sense of superiority led Lucifer to use his free will to scheme to be greater than God, and to assemble an army of angels to help him carry out that plot.
Many of you know the work of Dave from Immortal Form from his previous appearances on FH, including his Canada Day shoot from earlier this year. (HERE:) Dave always shoots a Halloween theme, and last year captured model Jason as a dark figure with a jack-o-lantern head. (HERE:) The shot in an underground parking garage with added to the mood that Dave wanted to set.
This year, when Dave brought up a possible Halloween theme, when discussing ideas for an upcoming shoot with the devilishly tempting Alejandro. Alejandro responded that he'd always wanted to do a Halloween shoot, and mentioned to Dave that he owned a rather sinister looking pair of Demon horns. This generated the seeds for the idea, the battle between good and evil, that they ended up creating.
'The shoot itself was great. It did go long, over 4 hours. In addition to the Halloween shoot, I also wanted to get some figure shots, which we did at the end. Alejandro was a trooper through the whole thing while I ran around moving lights, climbing step ladders or crawling up to get a different angle. I was exhausted after it ended and needed an hour before I could build enough strength to make dinner. '
It wouldn't really be Halloween without at least one sexy, little Devil. Alejandro is sexy for sure, but his long horns also add an element of danger. Dave also helped create an especially sinister mood and feel with his use of lighting, and the red hues that glow eerily in the background, and cascade over and across Alejandro's naked skin.
One of the most interesting images, and one of the most erotic, is the final shot in this series. The digital created piece was inspired by images that Dave found on the web. Given the theme, and the Demon's banishment to hell, the image evokes Lucifer's last stand, before being pulled by the hands from Heaven, into his everlasting underworld inferno.
'The hands were mine. It's multiple shots combined. I set the camera up on a tripod, crouched down behind Alejandro, out my hands on him and then used a remote to trigger the camera. Problem was I couldn't use my hands so I had to put the remote in my mouth, and I still couldn't trip the button that way, so I put a cap on top of the button to make depressing it easier and wrapped that in electrical tape to hold it in place. The cap would slide out from under the tape so I put a second piece across it the other way to keep it in place. Didn't quite work; the button was still difficult to depress and took multiple "bites" to set off.
I needed a direct line of sight to the camera to trigger it which required a lot of "yoga" to crouch, get my hands in place, then point at the camera. The cap still had a habit of sliding out anyway while I was madly biting and trying to trigger the camera. Three times it almost went down my throat into my wind pipe! We kept going until I figured we had enough shots though. We had a lot of un-usable shots because of other technical issues but fortunately there are enough to make the piece work.'
Revelation 12:9
Up To No Good: Taylor by The Male Form by CP
'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'
Harry Potter
Like all holidays, Halloween, both the meaning and the activities, change as we move from child to adult. When we're really little, the costumes aren't really that significant, they're usually chosen by our parents anyways. At this stage, the focus is the trick or treating, visiting our neighbors, and seeing what goodies they'll put in our plastic pumpkin.
When we get a little older, old enough to trick or treat with our friends, not our parents, candy is usually still in focus. We move from plastic pumpkin to pillow case, and it's all about the haul. One of my favorite parts of this stage of the holiday was getting home, dumping the candy on the floor, then separating it into categories. Mini-bars, chips, cheezies, rockets and candy kisses. It was also always fun opening the treat bags, and seeing what was inside.
Once we hit 12 or 13, Halloween transitions again. You still love the candy, and head out with a pillow case, but now in addition to the treats, we also add eggs, toilet paper and other trick related items, and sneak them out, hoping our parents don't notice. I wasn't a mean kid, and never stole candy from smaller kids, but I did cause my fair share of trouble on Halloween night.
I think the worst thing I did with my friend, besides egging houses, was the invisible rope trick. Some of you may remember this dangerous and stupid prank. When it was dark, you and another kid would stand on opposite sides of a street, then pretend your pulling a rope when a car approaches. Most cars whizzed by, but occasionally a driver would slam on the breaks. Then, we'd run like hell into the nearby woods, scared shitless, and laughing the entire time.
Once we turned 18, Halloween changed yet again. Then, it was all about parties and sex. Costumes were now a priority, something eye catching and sexy, or something incredibly creative. Which ever choice you made, the goal was the same, to attract the attention of others.
At some point, and it fluctuates from person to person, Halloween changes once again, sometimes, for the last time. Once you start having children, have a full time job, or just are busy with responsibilities, Halloween is no longer about you. It's either about your kids, and they're costumes, and their fun, or it's about answering that damned front door. Thankfully, I haven't hit that stage yet, and given my love of the holiday, doubt I ever will.
With each stage of the holiday, the costumed dramatically change. From dressing up as cute devils or comic book characters, to naughty nurses and skin baring outfits that don't require a shirt. When you're kid, your superhero costume is all about the mask and cape, as an adult, it's sometimes more about the tight spandex and showcasing your butt and crotch. Not everyone of course, wen through the 'sexing' up of our costumes, but many of us used the holiday as an occasion to spread our tail feathers.
No movie character, or actor for that matter, better sums up these drastic changes than Harry Potter and Daniel Radcliffe. When Radcliffe first put on the glasses, picked up his wand, and donned his Hogwarts uniform he was a cute 12 year old kid. By the time the film franchise ended 10 years later, Radcliffe was 22 year old man, exploring his acting chops.
It's hard to remember that Radcliffe was just 18, when he appeared nude in Equus on the London Stage. He was still appearing as Harry at the time and it was hard for many to get their head around the young kid from the wizard movies, as a sexual, and naked young man. The weaving of a childlike innocence with a more adult sensuality, is very central to many holidays, especially the ones rooted in elements of fantasy. We grow out of believing in Santa, big bunnies and flying witches, yet many of us try desperately to hold on the spirit as we get older.
I can't think of a better model to embody these dual, and often contrasting elements, than Taylor from The Male Form by CP. Taylor has that twinkle in his eye, and that youthful sweetness, blended with a very adult, and sexually mature side. Taylor has been a part of The Male Form by CP for the last few years, and certainly a favorite of many. When I was thinking of the costume theme for this year, and contrasting elements of innocence with naughty, I knew the perfect visuals, would be CP's shots of Taylor as Harry Potter to represent the theme. As you can see from the shot below, Harry's certainly up... to (no) good.
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