Salem Happenings

Gaming for Charity

All Hallows Eve, a day with a long history of treats and an even longer history of tricks, has come to a close once again. However, if you are one of the “fine, upstanding” individuals that took part in more of the mischief than the merriment this past Halloween, you may be looking for a way to improve your overall karma. Fortunately, if you’re looking for a way to improve your cosmic standing, there is no better way than supporting a charity, and it just so happens that there are a couple of interesting charity events in the Boston area this weekend. In fact, these charity events are specifically designed for gamers, so if you’re a gamer looking for a way to help out, look no further.

First, for all of the video game fans out there who are just dying to take part in a Local Area Network (LAN) party, the Cambridge Innovation Center has you covered. This is because the Cambridge Innovation Center, in partnership with the American Video Game League (AVGL), is hosting the Children’s Miracle Network Extra Life Fundraiser from 8:00 A.M. tomorrow (November 7, 2015) to 8:00 A.M. Sunday (November 8, 2015). This event will give you and your fellow video game fanatics the opportunity to play a full 24 hours of video games without the feelings of guilt that usually occur when you play that long because each player is required to find sponsors to donate money to charity. All of the proceeds from the event will be donated to Boston Children’s Hospital, and it really doesn’t matter how long you play or how much money you raise ($100 per person is the suggested amount) because in the end, it’s all about the charity. For more information on the Children’s Miracle Network Extra Life Fundraiser, please visit the American Video Game League’s Events page.

Secondly, if you’re more into board games than video games and you don’t mind losing some of your blood to something other than a vampire, you may want to check out the Boston Blood Drive and Board Games Event. Knight Moves, in partnership with Eureka Games, is hosting a board game event right down the street from the bloodmobile’s blood drive at Coolidge Corner. The hope is that there may be some gamers out there who are willing to donate some of their blood before they dive into some games at the Knight Moves Board Game Café. This event will not only allow you to help the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital collect the vital fluids they desperately need but will also allow you to get free cookies, play games at Knight Moves for a discounted price, and potentially win some prizes. For more information on the Boston Blood Drive and Board Games Event at Knight Moves and/or to register for the event, please visit the Knight Moves’ Registration Page on the SignUpGenius website.

Photo credit: ** RCB ** / Foter.com / CC BY

Halloween in the Witch City

Controlled chaos is probably the best term to describe Salem on a Saturday Halloween. In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s got to be a dictionary somewhere that has a picture of downtown Salem next to the term because on an average Saturday Halloween, you can expect there to be in excess of 150,000 people in the Witch City. Now, to put this into prospective, 150,000 people is over three times the number of people that actually live in the city on a regular basis. That’s a lot of people, and that number can be even higher when the weather is really nice. This means that if you live in Salem or you’re planning a trip to Salem on Halloween night, you need to be prepared to embrace the madness.

However, in order to truly embrace the madness, there are a few things that you need to remember:

1. Choose Your Costume Carefully

There’s never a shortage of people in costume in Salem during October, and Halloween is, without a doubt, the peak of the costume season. However, most people just go with the first idea that pops into their head, and they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what they’re wearing. Unfortunately, the temperature in Salem on Halloween night can range anywhere from 35 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the year, so it’s always a good idea to have a costume with some layers (especially if you can easily remove some of those layers and throw them in your bag or your car when you realize it’s warmer than you thought it was.)

As a result, if you decide to dress-up like an Arabian princess, a Chippendale dancer, a gladiator, a mermaid, a naughty nurse, or some other similarly scantily-clad individual, you may find that it can be pretty cold on a chilly fall night. It’s also important to consider what emergency personnel may think of your costume if the unthinkable happens and you need medical attention because, trust me, the nurses at the local hospitals are not going to find your naughty nurse costume as entertaining as you do. In addition to considering the warmth and emergency implications of your costume, it is also important to make sure that you wear comfortable shoes (you’ll be doing a lot of walking), make sure that you do not have any weapons of any kind (real or fake because the city prohibits both costume and real weapons), and avoid long trailing items like capes or gowns (because they may get caught on things and trip you, trip other people, and/or just get torn to shreds.)

2. Take Public Transportation If You Can

As page 5 of the Haunted Happenings Guide states: “Traffic in October can be scary!” This is certainly true for Halloween and is especially true for a Halloween on a Saturday because, weather permitting, there will be somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people trying to get into Salem tomorrow. This means that trying to drive into the city and find somewhere to park may be worse than and, quite possibly, more expensive than your worst nightmare. As a result, taking the Commuter Rail or the Salem Ferry can be a much easier way to enjoy Salem’s All Hallows Eve festivities because these services will allow you to avoid the traffic and the enormous parking fees.

If you feel like you have to drive into the city because public transportation just isn’t going to work for you though, try to come in early. The earlier in the day you come, the less traffic there will be.

3. If There’s Something You Really Want to Do In Salem, Book It Now!

The one thing that is absolutely, positively guaranteed on Halloween night, regardless of whether it is a Saturday or not, is that everything in Salem will be packed (unless the weather is horrible.) This means that if there is something that you really want to get into on Halloween night, try to see if you can get tickets for it now. Some places in Salem will not take reservations for Halloween night because they are guaranteed to fill up their seats from foot traffic alone. However, some places will take reservations and/or sell advance tickets, so it is always a good idea to see if you can book what you want to do now because it will give you a much better chance of getting into the restaurant or show that you want to check out.

Photo Credits

Hippie Girl Photo Credit: jramspott / Foter / CC BY
Broom Photo Credit: nanaow2006 / Foter / CC BY
Necronomicon Photo credit: liftarn / Foter / CC BY-SA

It’s Time for Some Hocus Pocus

I have lived in the area north of Boston for most of my life, but before I lived on the North Shore, I really didn’t know the Witch City all that well. In fact, I had come to Salem a fair amount as a teenager, but usually only for a day here or a day there during Haunted Happenings. As a result, when I first saw the Disney film, Hocus Pocus, I knew it was set in Salem, but I really had no idea how much of the film was actually shot in Salem. I figured some of it probably was, but I really didn’t know how much of it was because, quite frankly, I couldn’t identify most of the landmarks that were used in the film. This, of course, has changed by this point, and I can tell you (with some help from my wife) that most of the film was, in fact, shot in a studio in California. However, there is a good chunk of the film, especially the scenes that take place during the day, that were actually shot in Salem.

This means that if you are familiar with the area you can have some fun identifying the various locations that appear in the film, and if you know absolutely nothing about the area, you can at least enjoy the Salem ambience. Now, if you would like the opportunity to see the film that has become a local favorite and a cult classic throughout the world, you’re in luck because the final film of Magic 106.7’s 2015 Haunted Movie Series is Hocus Pocus. This, of course, is quite fortunate because it means that you can see the tale of three bumbling sisters who are accidently resurrected on Halloween night to spread mischief throughout the world 300 years after they were executed for witchcraft, and you can see it in the city that the film takes place in. Best of all, the film is being shown free of charge, so you won’t have to pay a thing (unless your kids compel you to buy everything in sight.) For more information on the free showing of Hocus Pocus, which is scheduled to take place on Salem Common tomorrow, October 24, 2015 at 8:00 P.M., please visit the Magic 106.7 Haunted Movie Series page.

Photo credit: Alan Light / Foter / CC BY

Edgar Allan Poe Rises Again

If you have been having a long interval of horrible sanity and you haven’t had a chance to get into the Halloween spirit just yet, you’re in luck because The Scarlet Letter Press has the perfect opportunity for you to peer deep into the darkness. In fact, The Scarlet Letter Press is hosting An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe tomorrow night (Saturday, October 17, 2015) from 5:45 PM to 7:00 P.M. This event will give you the opportunity to experience a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and “A Tell Tale Heart”.

Each of these stories will be read by an actor, but the tale will be told as if the actor was the author himself, which, combined with the eerie ambience of Whynott’s Wands (located at 127 Essex Street in Salem), will make the stories even creepier. Even creepier still is the fact that some believe that “A Tell Tale Heart” is actually based on a real event that occurred in Salem in the 1800s, so you will never find a better place to hear the tale than here. Best of all, you will receive a special gift if you attend, so you will remember the occasion for evermore. For more information on An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe and/or to order tickets for the event, please visit The Scarlet Letter Press’ website or call The Scarlet Letter Press at 978-741-1850.

Photo credit: vidalia_11 / Foter / CC BY

Don’t Fear the Walking Dead!

WARNING: Spoilers for “Fear the Walking Dead” may be present in this post. If you’re more afraid of having the plot spoiled than you are of zombies, it may be a good idea to stop reading this post now.

I’m a big fan of the AMC series, The Walking Dead, and it should come as no great surprise that I was pretty excited when AMC announced that they were making a spin-off series called Fear the Walking Dead. In fact, I made sure to set my DVR to record every episode, so there was no way I could miss a single zombie-filled moment. Unfortunately, I have to admit that once I finished watching the first season, I realized that the series really wasn’t as good as I was hoping. I mean I don’t hate the show, but it definitely doesn’t capture the suspense and emotion of the original series. Now, it is completely possible that some of my feelings in regards to the show are the result of the fact that there are very few things in life that are ever as good as the original, but Fear the Walking Dead is a series about people surviving the early days of the zombie apocalypse. How could something with a premise like that possibly go wrong?

Well, the answer is that pretty much any premise will fail miserably when you take a group of characters that are difficult for people to relate to and place them in a situation with plot holes big enough for you to drive the main character’s pickup truck through. Let’s face it. The most interesting characters in Fear the Walking Dead are the Salazar family, and they don’t even have a chance to really catch our attention until halfway through the season because the spotlight is focused on the Clark and Manawa families who are too busy trying to figure out which end is up to accept the fact that the world is ending.

The biggest problem with the show, however, is not the characters, but is instead the situations that the characters are placed in and how those situations unfold. The worst of these plot offenses actually occurs when the National Guard is deployed to aid the survivors of the zombie outbreak in Los Angeles. The deployment of the National Guard is, of course, a perfectly reasonable direction for the plot to go because the National Guard is always ready to respond to a crisis and zombies eating their way through a major city would definitely constitute as one. The problem is, as Matt Fowler from IGN says in his review of the first season of Fear the Walking Dead:

I thought the Clarks trying to battle gross army negligence and abuse would breathe fire into the show. But it was never handled right. There was no central character on the army side to focus on, or to play the enemy. And while the military seemed to be actively trying to help the wounded, they were also, like, shooting people for crying too much. And shooting people for sending mirror signals (did we ever even find out what happened there?).

-Matt Fowler, Fear the Walking Dead: Season 1 Review, IGN

No, we did not. The writers never actually explained why the military was randomly killing people outside of their quarantine zones even though it would have only taken a single scene before Travis hears the shots fired at the mirror signaler’s home. In fact, a scene in which we actually see the mirror signaler saying something along the lines of “You’ll never get away with this. When the people find out what you’re planning to do after things get really bad, they’re all take up arms and rise up to stop you” would have been enough to tie up everything nicely. It would have created the implication that the military was trying to stop an uprising consisting of people who were more than a little upset with the “humane” way in which they were planning to handle survivors after they pulled out. And, there is always the possibility that a scene like this is sitting on a cutting room floor somewhere, but without it, the whole season becomes one giant convoluted mess.

As a result, if you’re looking for something zombie-related this weekend, I highly recommend that you forget about checking out Fear the Walking Dead and check out the Zombie Walk at Collins Cove in Salem, MA at 4:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday, October 10, 2015) instead. The Zombie Walk will give you the opportunity to see over 400 people dress up as zombies and shamble through downtown Salem as a somewhat unruly hoard of brain-eating fiends, which as much as I hate to say it (because I really want to like Fear the Walking Dead), is probably going to be a whole lot more fun than watching Fear the Walking Dead‘s dysfunctional leading family.

Photo credit: Dustin Coates / Foter / CC BY-SA

Halloween: Resting in World Peace

The Witch City’s Annual Halloween Parade was last night, and this year’s theme was world peace. Now, I have admit when I first heard about the theme for this year, I thought that “world peace” is certainly a noble goal and something that everyone dreams of achieving (well, almost everyone, world peace would probably be the worst nightmare of some of the arms dealers out there), but it is sort of a strange theme for a Halloween parade. I mean Halloween is typically a time for people to embrace their darker sides and dress-up as villains, monsters, and every creature that goes bump in the night. However, this got me to thinking, and I realized that most of the villains that frighten us from fallen angels to zombies all, in their own dark and twisted way, seem to have the singular goal of creating world peace themselves. The only difference is that they want to do it by removing humanity from the Earth. As a result, I’ve decided that world peace is actually the perfect theme for Halloween, and if you’re looking for a way to get into the Halloween spirit before the zombies rise from their graves and make us all rest in world peace, I highly recommend you check out the lanterns at Pioneer Village.

The Second Annual Lanterns in the Village Event, which is scheduled to take place from 6:30 to 8:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday, October 3, 2015) at Pioneer’s Village, is a charity event for Collins Middle School in Salem, MA. This event will allow you and your family to hear spooky stories as you see over 100 Jack ‘O Lanterns carved by local Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other similar organizations. Best of all, all of the proceeds from the event will go to helping the students of Collins Middle School. For more information on the Lanterns in the Village Event, which is $4 for children 10 and under, $6 for adults, and $15 for families of four or more, please visit the Haunted Happenings Online Guide or pick up a print copy of the Haunted Happenings guide in downtown Salem.

Photo credit: spencer77 / Foter / CC BY

Can’t Stop the Serenity

“You can’t stop the signal, Mal.” Truer words have never been spoken because almost every show has some diehard fans, but there are very few shows that have the cult-like following of Firefly. In fact, Firefly fans are so dedicated that there is actually a widely accepted and recognized term for fans of the show, Browncoats, which of course comes from the show itself. However, these fans are not your typical television followers because they are not only interested in preserving the memory of a beloved show that was cut short before its time but also interested in trying to use their beloved show as an excuse to help others. I know using a show to help others may sound sort of strange if you’re not familiar with the event that I’m talking about, but if you’re a Firefly fan, someone that just wants to see what everyone else is so excited about, or someone that just wants to help a good cause, I highly recommend that you check out the 10th anniversary screening of Serenity at the Can’t Stop the Serenity Charity event.

Can’t Stop the Serenity is an annual charity event organized by Firefly fans that allows people to purchase tickets to see the Firefly movie, Serenity, as it was meant to be seen – on the big screen. All of the profits from these screenings, which take place all over the world, are donated to Equality Now. The charitable work of the Browncoats does not end there, however, because in addition to the $1,000,000 they have raised for Equality Now over the last 10 years, they have also collected a variety of donations for local food banks and other charities. As a result, if you’re looking for a way to have some fun while helping people this weekend, please think about attending the 10th Anniversary Screening of Serenity at the Coolidge Corner Theatre tomorrow, Saturday 26, 2015 at 11:59 P.M. For more information on Can’t Stop the Serenity and/or to order tickets, please visit the Can’t Stop the Serenity website, the Can’t Stop the Serenity Boston Facebook page, or the Coolidge Corner Theatre website.

Photo credit: W10002 / Foter / CC BY-SA

International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2015

Arr ye mateys! To’morrow be a fine day indeed. For that magical occasion in which every lad and lass can speak like a scurvy dog is finally upon us! Now, what be this magical time I speak of? Well, it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day of course, which means if ye seek to go on account (or, in plainer speak, seek to become a pirate) fer a day, thar be no better day than this day. However, in th’ interest ‘o not scaring off them who not appreciate th’ tongue of less reputable men and women, th’ remainder ‘o ‘tis missive will be in a more common tongue (or, in other words, standard English.)

Now, the first thing that every pirate needs to know is how to use a sword, but what do you do if sword fighting is not in your skillset? Well, fear not, for if your sword skills could use some work, the Boston Fencing Club has the perfect way for you to sharpen your abilities. This is because the Boston Fencing Club is offering free fencing sessions from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, September 19, 2015.) These sessions will teach you the basics of Olympic fencing, including how to thrust and parry. For more information on the Free Fencing Sessions at the Boston Fencing Club, please visit the Boston Fencing Club website, e-mail info@bostonfencingclub.org, or call 781-891-0119.

Once your sword skills are in order, you can then move on to speaking like a pirate. However, if you’re not quite sure how to talk like a scurvy dog or you are in need of some new pirate phases, here are five websites that you should definitely check out:

1. The International Talk Like A Pirate Day Website is filled with information about how to be a better pirate, including an explanation of why it is important to talk like a pirate and how you can actually do it.

2. The Pirate Translator on the Post Like a Pirate website is an excellent tool if you’re trying to figure out the pirate equivalent of everyday words.

3. Google and Facebook both have features that will allow you to change some of their menus into pirate speak. This can be an excellent way to get your brain into a pirate-talking mindset, and you can do it simply by going to the language settings in Google or Facebook and choosing the “pirate” option.

4. Another great option if you’re looking for a pirate translator is the Online Pirate Translator on Pirate Monkeyness. This translator is very similar to the pirate translator on the Post Like a Pirate website, but it has a much larger vocabulary.

5. If you’re really trying to get your pirate speak just right, you should definitely check out the How to Talk Like a Pirate Guide on WikiHow. This step-by-step guide will teach you a series of tricks that you can use to make sure that you’re talking like a real pirate in no time.

Photo credit: Dr Stephen Dann / Foter / CC BY-SA

Game On This Weekend!

My brother’s birthday is actually this weekend, so I decided that this week’s post should be about something that he truly enjoys. In fact, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to meet my brother, you probably wouldn’t have a lot of trouble figuring out what today’s post is about. However, since there’s a pretty good chance that you haven’t actually met him, I should probably just say that today’s post is about gaming. And, if you’re looking for an opportunity to indulge in some video games, board games, and card games this weekend, there are a couple of events in the Boston area that you will definitely want to check out.

First, if you’re a Minecraft fan or you really want to learn the basics of creating video game mods in Java, the Minecraft Modding Workshop at Parts and Crafts in Somerville may be the event for you. This is because the Minecraft Modding Workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. every Saturday for the next four weeks is designed to teach you how to use Java to program your very own Minecraft mod. This four-week series will teach you to how to write and rewrite Java source code to create mods with new blocks, items, recipes, and more. For more information on the Minecraft Modding Workshop and/or to register for the event, which is $80 for the entire four-week series, please visit the Parts and Crafts website or the Parts and Crafts Registration Page.

Please Note: You do not need to know Java to take part in the Minecraft Modding Workshop, but some knowledge of computer programming and the ability to read and type are required.

Secondly, if you’re looking for the next great game that no one’s ever heard of, you should definitely head over to the MIT Johnson Athletic Center tomorrow. This is because the MIT Johnson Athletic Center is hosting the Fourth Annual Boston Festival of Indie Games from 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 12, 2015. This event will give you the opportunity to see and/or try out over 45 new tabletop games and over 55 new video games all from independent developers. The festival will also give you the opportunity to see a live musical performance by the Videri String Quartet (who are known for their video game-oriented musical arrangements), a keynote speech by Susan Gold (creator of the Global Game Jam), and an awards ceremony. For more information on the Boston Festival of Indie Games or Boston FIG for short, please visit the Boston FIG website.

Photo credit: blakespot / Foter / CC BY

Labor Day Weekend in Boston 2015

Another summer has come and gone, and the time to wish the warmer weather and your kid’s vacation a fond farewell is upon us again. In fact, I don’t know about you, but it seems like this summer went by at a scorching pace (both fast and hot.) As a result, it’s even more important to find a way to make this weekend, the unofficial end of summer, a memorable one because it’s your last chance to take advantage of all the things that the summertime has to offer. Fortunately, if you’re looking for a way to make this Labor Day Weekend memorable, you don’t have to look very far because these events are sure to help.

First, if you’re looking for a way for your kids to have some fun and beat the heat one last time before they go back to school (if they haven’t already), you’ll definitely want to check out the Watergun Wars. Cortège Fitness, a group dedicated to promoting exercise through social activities, is hosting an event entitled the Watergun Wars at the Water Fountain in front of the Christian Science Center in Boston from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Sunday (September 6, 2015.) This event will allow kids of all ages (regardless of how adult-like they may look on the outside) to grab their squirt guns and join the biggest water battle you have probably ever seen. For more information on the Watergun Wars and/or to RSVP for the event, which is absolutely free and open to the public, please visit the Cortège Fitness website.

Please Note: The Watergun Wars are a bring-your-own watergun event, so the event is free, but you will have to supply your own squirt gun. It is also important to note that for the purposes of safety, you should bring a squirt gun that does not resemble a real weapon in any way, shape, or form.

Secondly, if you’re looking for an event that will let you end the summer with a bang, you may want to head over to Boston Harbor on Saturday. This is because the 3rd Annual Labor Day Weekend Fireworks are scheduled to take place at approximately 9:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 5, 2015. This event will allow you to listen to music as you watch two barges loaded with fireworks duel in the sky to see which barge can light up the skyline in a more impressive fashion. For more information on the 3rd Annual Labor Day Weekend Fireworks, including the best locations to watch the fireworks from, please visit the Boston Harbor Association’s Summer on the Waterfront website.

Photo credit: Graham S Dean Photography / Foter / CC BY