Freddy’s coming for you… again

Kari Williams

by Kari Williams, Alestle reporter

I remember sitting with my parents and older brother when I was around 7 or 8 years old being afraid to sleep at night after watching “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Scary visions of Robert England decked out in that cunning fedora and red and green striped shirt danced in my head.

But a couple years ago, I revisited the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series with my cousins and brother, and we viewed the movies in a completely different light — a comical one. The killings weren’t scary. The final words Freddy spoke to his victims weren’t menacing and dreadful. They were witty and brutally humorous.

At the time it was made, “Nightmare on Elm Street” most certainly did its job in scaring both children and adults alike, but as we grow up and are exposed to “horror” movies like “Saw” that go for the gross out antics rather than actual terror, we look back on Freddy and think, “Man, that was a good line!”

For instance, in “Nightmare on Elm Street 2:  Freddy’s Revenge,” Freddy is with one of his victims, Jessica Walsh, and says, “I need you, Jesse. We got special work to do here, you and me. You’ve got the body… I’ve got the brain,” as he removes his fedora to expose his brain. A classic scare tactic turned into a laugh riot.

Yet again, Freddy’s cut and dry absurdity emerges in “Nightmare on Elm Street 3:  Dream Warriors.” Victim Will Stanton cries out, “In the name of Lowrek, Prince of Elves…demon, be gone,” while thrusting magical beans at Freddy, who simply stops Will and matter-of-factly claims, “Ahh, sorry kid. I don’t believe in fairy tales.”

Nothing compares to sitting around mocking what was once scary  as it transforms into a sharp and calculating form of dark humor. With the upcoming release of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in April 2010 starring Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger, I can only hope that Haley delivers one-liners as well as England.

After all, what else am I supposed to do when I watch a scary movie? Cower in fear?

Eckert’s Farm gives city and country families fall fun

by Karina Swank, Alestle chief copy editor

Karina Swank

Even though costumes will soon hit the discount racks and orange and black will be replaced with red and green, fall is not over. Fall still has some vitality in it yet, so go enjoy the traditions of the season.

Last weekend, my fiancé and I did just that with a trip to Eckert’s Country Store and Farm in Belleville. Having never been there, I was in for a surprise and a fun evening. The farm is most definitely centered around children, but if you are young at heart or are looking for a light-hearted evening, this is a great place to go.

The farm set-up was quaint and offered a variety of activities like watching the pumpkin launcher or a movie, walking through the family workshop of gizmos and gadgets and eating so much amazing food.

We had to wait a while for the kettle corn and even when it was finished, the registers were down, and we had to go to another stand to buy it, but it was amazingly worth the wait and trouble. I’m not a big kettle corn fan, but this was divine. They also had a country store lined with shelves of cider, apple pies, treats, caramel apples and more. The prices were a bit high, but it was quality you won’t find other places.

The most interesting part of our journey to the outskirts of St. Louis was the entertainment they offered after dark. Technically, the park closed at 6 p.m., but after that, the lights went on even brighter and warmer as families and friends huddled around campfires roasting marshmallows. This did not seem entirely thrilling to a girl from a small town where bonfires were common, but these children were from St. Louis. I’m assuming most of them rarely have the opportunity to start a bonfire in their backyards without a permit. They were literally having a blast. We also saw a group of international students who had never been outside of St. Louis to a real life, American farm. What a wonderful service the Eckert family is doing for these children and visitors. They get to experience another cultural facet that makes our community and nation unique.

So this weekend, or some weekend in the future, make it a point to get out of the city or your dorm to experience the outdoors and this fall season.

Reminiscing the good ol’ days

by Derrick Hawkins, Alestle photographer

Derrick Hawkins

I know I’m not old. I’m only 21, but I do remember the good old days — back in the 90’s that is.

It may be that I’m just not into kids’ stuff anymore,  but things kids have now are just boring. Kids now also expect too much. They need the newest iPod, Wii game or cell phone. A lot of people my age and older remember the day when there were no iPod’s. You had to walk around with a case of CDs (compact disc for people who have forgot) and a portable CD player. If you had one, you were the best thing walking. Having a VCR was a luxury; now it’s Blueray.

Kids now want to have the latest fashion from top designers. We were simpler. Remember LA gear?  You know the shoes that will light up when you walked.

Remember when playing tag, hide-and-go-seek, and red light, green light were just games, not weight loss activities, or when Reading R.L Stine’s “Goosebumps” series and waiting anxiously for the new one was the cool thing to do, not this “Twilight” vampire craze? Who didn’t enjoy playing with Nano Pets and Furbies all day, then forgetting to feed them so they died, but all you had to do was just press the reset button?

Once upon a time, Disney movies were not all in CGI but were actual drawings. Nickelodeon had all the great cartoons and shows, like “Rugrats” when they were still babies, or “Hey Arnold,” “Rocko’s Modern Life,” “Aaahh! Real Monsters,” and of course, “Ren & Stimpy.”

Remember the times when a friend moving away was the end of the world? When summer lasted forever, and when time did not matter?

I remember. I know there’s a lot more I can reminisce about, and  I hadn’t realized what fun things escaped us. Where did that time go?

What a load of hocus pocus

by Lindsey Oyler, Alestle reporter and photographer

Lindsey Oyler

Six Flags Fright Fest is the ultimate Halloween festival that is actually easily accessible to teenagers during the fall season. Costumes and faux cobwebs decorate the alleys throughout the Six Flags parks, and children watch “in fear” as gory goons strut about the entrances to rides.

However, I was unsettled when I found out one of the number one rules of Fright Fest. Teenagers and older are not allowed to wear any sort of costume in the park. In addition to this rule, there are no masks allowed in the park worn by anyone above four feet tall.

I grew up loving Halloween. I watched “Hocus Pocus” at least five times each year when the season arrived. An author in my hometown, Frederic Durbin, wrote a book called Dragonfly centered on a Halloween-esque environment, and I would begin reading it Oct. 1 and finish it the day after Halloween. I have my rituals, and they continue to this very day.

However, I wonder if we have lost the spirit. Halloween is no longer magical, it is a system. When I would watch my Halloween movies, I believed them to be as true the beating of my heart. I wanted so much to have some of their enchanting lifestyles or to run into some “good” magic.

Instead, the closest I got to their spells and witchcraft were the commercial orange and purple M&Ms and my Janis Joplin Halloween costume from last year. Maybe that’s why people are so drawn to the Harry Potter books. It permits them to think outside of our realm and into one of curiosity, wonder and simplicity.

Teenagers are drawn to magic and enchantment in this era of down-to-earth business, CEOs. We live for convenience, money and technology, and crystal balls, magic wands and silver bullets simply don’t fit into this way of life. Let us have our month of escape simply for our sanity.

At the very least, I’d like to wear an Obama mask while I ride on The Batman this year.

Get the facts straight, TMZ

by Catherine Klene, Alestle Online Editor

Catherine Klene

On Saturday, celebrity gossip Web site TMZ announced that author and poet Maya Angelou was hospitalized in Los Angeles after collapsing before an event. Rumors began to viral that she was near death or that she died.

On Sunday, Angelou spoke to a jam-packed Meridian Ballroom at SIUE.  Aside from needing some assistance to cross the stage, Angelou seemed to be a picture of 81-year-old health.

Talk about a quick recovery.

In reality, Angelou was never scheduled to appear at the Los Angeles event. She wasn’t even on the same coast.  Angelou was on her coach bus somewhere between her home in Winston-Salem, N.C., and St. Louis.  Alive.

There is a saying in journalism: “When your mother says she loves you, check it out.”  Confirm it with someone else.  When someone says Maya Angelou didn’t show up to an event, don’t assume it’s because she’s dead.

Instead of broadcasting information without any backing, call someone who might actually know what’s going on.  Find out what this person’s name is.  (For the record, “a source close to so-and-so” is not a name.  It’s a cop out.)  Get concrete information you can stand behind.  Don’t rely on the tip from an obscure e-mail, or the gossip Tweeter who likes to stir up trouble.

It may take a bit more time than just tossing the rumor up on the Web site.  Competition from other news organizations will bite at your heels, and the pressure to be first and fastest will bear down.  Still, the deadline crunch is no excuse for shoddy work.

People rely on news sources for accurate information the first time, and no matter how hard you try, you’re going to have a hard time convincing everyone someone came back from the dead.

Don’t scramble for excuses, TMZ. “We have no idea why the organizers told us she was a no-show because she went to the hospital,” and “Our camera guy on scene was told that Angelou would not be there because she was taken to the hospital,” don’t make it better. Get your facts straight the first time.

Maybe then you won’t write a woman’s obituary before she actually dies.