Happy Halloween everyone!

Hope everyone had fun this weekend and stayed safe.  Since it's Sunday, I'll be home tonight waiting for the kids to come for candy.  all the festivities were on Friday and Saturday.   I never know how many to expect in my neighborhood, so I always wonder how much candy I'll have left, along with the candy I won.  I made and distributed the bags like I said I would.   

It's been fun participating in the Countdown to Halloween.  Will be back next year.  

A Trick and Some Treats

On either Wednesday or Thursday, the yearly phone directory was delivered to my neighborhood. I noticed it on one of my neighbor's doorsteps before finding my own copy.  I suspected they'd dropped it on my porch that I had decorated for Halloween.  The door on that porch doesn't work (long story), but the fact that it's there makes a lot of people try to knock on that door, and they often leave  the phone directory and some of my newspapers on those steps.  Sure enough, when I went to look for the directory, there it was in an orange bag (because it's almost Halloween?) that almost blended in with my jack-o-lantern bags as seen in the photo.  I felt tricked,  though I know no one intended it! It was kind of funny seeing the orange bag against the pumpkin bags!

Last night I went to a party put on by a local restaurant that also serves as a venue for local bands. A man from this band turned out to be a resident of the mobile home park where I live, and one of the residents nearest me. He gave a free copy of his band's CD.  A very nice treat. They put on a good live performance.

Some neat costumes were worn by the many guests.  Lots of devils, maids, witches, and other common and unusual fare,  but one that seemed funnier than all the rest was a man in the old lady with a baby costume. I've seen this one for sale on the Internet, but last night was the first time I actually saw someone wearing one.  It's quite hilarious.  And wouldn't ya know, he won the best costume overall.  I believed that he was most worthy of that prize.

After this party I headed over the bar on the next block to find out the results of their 

contest to guess how many candy corns were in a plastic jar.  The karaoke DJs had sent out an email saying that three people had come close to guessing the right number on the first night (October 8) they'd  begun the contest, and that they would be announcing the winners  at midnight on October 29.   I made sure to get over by then to hear the results.   Turned out one of my guesses was the third-closest, and as result I won the the jar of candy.  Along with the candy corn, there are also some gumballs and Mellow Creme pumpkins.  I knew I could not eat all this, so I put a handful of them on pieces of plastic wrap and tied then with ribbons to share with the family.  I plan to deliver them some time tomorrow.  

Only two days left

...till Halloween and not much to put up on the blog for today.  No time to look for candy at the last minute, but will have to get some on Sunday afternoon for the kids who show up that night. 

Tonight I will be attending a party at local restaurant with a  local band playing.  I received the invite via Facebook.   And tomorrow night is the Halloween Karaoke contest at a bar in my town. Usually they have this only on Fridays and that was the case last year when the holiday was on a Saturday.  I'm now wondering what they will do next year when the holiday is on Monday. 

Today I saw a sign in the window of an empty carpet store building advertising the upcoming seasonal See's Candy Christmas store in Gilroy, CA.   These are like the Spirit Halloween stores, opening for two months in a building left empty by some retailer.  Oddly, this abandoned carpet store is just across the way from the building left vacant by Linens and Things, when that bed-and-bath chain went out of business in 2008.  The former Linens and Things is currently housing the Spirit Halloween store.  I guess this building is too big for  seasonal candy store.  

And even though it's still not Halloween yet,  Christmas has already been coming in at the store where I work since September.  Only a few Halloween items are left and they have all been moved to the front of the store.  We must have sold a whole lot of it since it began coming in the second week of August. 

And last night on the news they were predicting Black Friday to come early this year, right before Halloween. Usually it's the day after Thanksgiving.  As far as I have seen today, there is no news of this being true.  

And today I on the way home from work, passed by a house several blocks away from my residence with a Halloween decoration in their front yard, another decoration I really liked. Unfortunately, since I was driving, I was not able to get a picture, and I was  a little too lazy to stop.  

Random Thoughts on Seasonal Candy, Pretzels and Chips

I wasn't looking for either of these things, but I could not help noticing them today at Walmart. I'd never seen Doritos or Cheetohs in large  boxes with Halloween designs on the boxes, and pretzels in a bag with a pumpkin in them.  I had no compulsion to buy them and have a feeling that people will say not to hand these out to trick-or-treaters.  Just the same I could not help noticing them.  Not much else to say, however, as I have not been a big pretzel eater, though I enjoy them sometimes.   Looks like these kinds of snacks comes in holiday-themed bags or boxes, something I've noticed mostly with candy.  Oddly, I did see a customer pick up a bag of the pretzels to buy. 

I could not find any Halloween Marshmallow Peeps, which I'd been hoping to find for a blog entry (perhaps this blog idea occurred to me a little too late).  Though I have noticed how the Peeps candy has found its way into other holidays besides Easter. One year I bought the chocolate black cat Peeps.  I found this image of the different Peeps made for Halloween.

I hope to get some if I can find any over the next three days.  I just did not think of this until now.  But I know the Christmas ones will be on the shelves soon.  I really liked the gingerbread cutouts Peeps when I bought these one year.  And one year I came across the Valentines Heart ones (the only time I recall seeing those particular ones.

From the wikipedia entry on Marshmallow Peeps"

Peeps are produced by Just Born,^[1] a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Peeps were introduced nationally in 1958 by Pravin Pant Sr., a Nepali immigrant. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process (originally the chicks were formed by hand) and mass-produced them.^[2] The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad shapes in which they are now produced.

Just Born has expanded its product line to include bats,pumpkins, and ghosts for Halloween; hearts for Valentine's Day; eggs for Easter; trees, gingerbread men, snowmen, the word "JOY", and stars for Christmas; and red, white, and blue chicks and stars for the 4th of July.

Wow, I've never noticed the July 4th ones.  That holiday seems to  overlooked when it comes to seasonal candy. Has anyone ever seen red, white and blue candy corn?  Speaking of which, I saw some of that at Walmart, both the Halloween one and the Indian Corn (darker-colored) version.  This candy seems to be made for most other holidays. My store has already been getting the Christmas version, Reindeer Corn. 

And would you believe that such a holiday as National Candy Corn Day exists? It's the daybefore Halloween, the holiday for which most candy corn is purchased. 

Earlier this month, Rite Aid had bags of Mellow Creme Pumpkins for 0.99. This is another Halloween candy favorite of mine. I bought one that day.  While Googling these, I came across this blog.  

And with Halloween in just three days, it's time to start getting candy to hand out to the kids. I suspect I will wit until that afternoon to get it so I will not feel compelled to eat any myself until the kids stop coming for the night.  I know not to hand out unwrapped stuff, so if I get to buy some candy corn or Peeps in the next three days, it will be for me. 

"Time Warp" from "Rocky Horror Picture Show"

In honor of last night's episode of "Glee," one of the few current TV shows I regularly watch, I have uploaded this video of the song "Time Warp." 

I as really excited to see this episode last night, after  one week worth no new episode of the show.   Overall, I thought the episode was not too bad. 
 

I only once ever saw "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on VHS around 1991.  After admitting to this, I was chastised by two different people in college for not watching at a midnight showing.  Had that been the case, however, I would have gone to the showing totally clueless about the audience participation.   And As far as I know, no movie theater near me, including the one in my town, has ever done one of these midnight showings.  

Quiz: Are You Spooky or Kooky?

You Are Kooky

You are all about sweet treats on Halloween. You don't mind if people get a little scared, but no one should get PTSD from a haunted house! You believe that Halloween should be about fun not fight. You love to dress up in an amazing costume and go out to show it off. You've even been known to take in a scary movie or haunted house, but only if it's well done and not too freaky. You'll pass on anything too gruesome. Your favorite thing about Halloween is watching the tiniest kids have fun. Looking at them makes you feel a little bit younger too!

Are You Spooky or Kooky?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Neighbors' Haunts--and Political Signs

For a mobile home park with over 235 units, it may seem hard to imagine that so few

people have decorated for Halloween.  But such is the case with the said kind of dwelling in which I live. Today I took a walk around the park today and shot a few photos of some of the few that were decorated with more that a mere pumpkin or two on the window ledge  or a just a fake spider web hanging from the porch coverings.  

Some were limited to mere pumpkin decorations in the window as seen in the photo at right, but the porch (below right) of this same unit was more somewhat elaborately decorated with the skull face, mini-pumpkins, the witch 

hanging from the covering and the big pumpkin hidden behind the brass-looking cowboy boots.  I've never met the owners of this home, but I'm guessing that the boots are always on the porch along with the brass-looking cowboy statues.  And that other decoration hanging above the porch--its back is to the camera so I have no clue what it's supposed to be. 

Not a very fancy decoration, but I could not resist taking a shot of this  the green skeleton on the railing of this unit.  

Now this next unit (in the photos below) had a very interesting decoration: a fountain surrounded by a pirate skeleton, several skeleton head stakes, a large  fake spider, a skeleton with a sign reading SPOOKY.  Indeed.   This was the most elaborate decoration I could find.   Granted, I didn't expect to see every single unit decorated, but there were very few that did not even had a pumpkin in the porch or decal in the window.  

I then took a walk across the street and went to view some of the homes behind the 

grocery store across the the park.  I was a bit tired and did not walk very  far, but did manage to get some shots of a graveyard setup in one front yard.  The yard was surrounded by a metal fence. The graveyard included light-up pumpkin stakes and RIP headstones.

In that short walk, I seemed to see fewer Halloween decorations than political signs promoting candidates for the upcoming election. As you know, there is an election every year on the second Tuesday in November

 and there always seems to be  a lot of 

campaign signs up.  Promoting an upcoming in November election seems to be the next biggest thing in October after Halloween.  Being in California, I have over the last month been inundated by TV ads for the California gubernatorial race.  I vote by absentee ballots, which I received three weeks ago and filledout and mailed the same day.  And in the photos are signs promoting several local candidates for sheriff and the school board of San Benito County.  Strangely there were none of these signs in the trailer park.  When it's a presidential election year, the election seems to 

overshadow Halloween, though the then-current candidates sometime seem to inspire costume ideas for Halloween.  This was so the case during the 2008 presidential election. There seemed to be more talk about the race than about Halloween that year.  The Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was said to be a popular costume idea, though I did not

see anyone in this disguise. I never see the supposedly popular ones, not that I really wanted to see that one. 

This was the most  was able to get, as I was a bit tired from work and from not having slept very well last night.  I'd been meaning to write on this and even though I was home all day Sunday, rain kept inside the house most of the day. 

Quiz: Are You Black or Orange?

You Are Black

You are a serious and thoughtful person. You spend a lot of time in quiet reflection. You are a friend of the honesty, and you don't sugar coat anything. You prefer the truth in all its complexity. While you may relate to the color black, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a dark person. You just don't hide from the dark side of life. If anything, you tend to be sophisticated and classic. You don't follow trends, and you have your own style of doing things.

Are You Black or Orange?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Quiz: What Crappy Halloween Treat Do You Hate Most?

You Hate Toothbrushes

Not every day of course, but there's nothing worse than getting a toothbrush for Halloween. You believe that Halloween is a time for fun, and you don't want it be ruined by a severe slap of responsibility. Of course you'll brush your teeth. You don't need a stranger to remind you of dental hygiene. But before you brush your teeth, you'll eat enough candy to give a dentist nightmares. Hey, it only happens once a year... so you'll treat yourself.

What Crappy Halloween Treat Do You Hate Most?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

This is one of those times I actually agree with one of the results. I so would have hated receiving a toothbrush in my bag and as a grown up I have not attempted to ever hand out toothbrushes. And you can be assured I will never do it.

This actually came up in my local newspaper last year at Halloween time. I wrote about this on my blog then.

13 Halloween Costumes That Have No Business Being 'Sexy'

13 Halloween Costumes That Have No Business Being Sexy

I agree with a lot of those

Why must everything for women at Halloween be sexy?  Even male characters (see link)  are being made into sexy versions for women to wear.  I guess that's what costume maker have  to resort to once nurse, firefighters, and the like have already been repeatedly made sexy.  A coworker of mine today said she got a Ninja Turtle costume for her son.  I then told her about the sexy Ninja Turtles for women that are shown in the link above.  She reacted with disbelief, thinking that the Turtles were just a men's thing. Yes, they are male characters, but I have nothing against a woman donning a man's costume.  I personally would not want to be a Ninja Turtle, but I see no reason why I could not wear a beer can or a banana costume.  I tried on one of each of these at both my local Kmart and Target stores, as well as a hot dog though I went with none of them.  Another year, perhaps.  And I see no reason why a woman has to have a "tank-dress" version of a bag of Skittles or M&Ms,  Crayola Crayon,  a game board or dartboard.   Google any of these costumes or click here to do a search and you'll see examples of these along with men's versions that fully cover the shoulder.  I'm getting the men's version if I ever decide to be one of those one year.  Or better yet, I'll just make one out of  colored cardboard or fabric, or paint the M&Ms logo on a trash bag.  Sounds much better, don't you agree? 

An interesting quote from that link:

Yeah, it seems that it's illegal for women to wear Halloween costumes that aren't "sexy."

It's kind of like how women now have to wear pink versions of university shirts rather than school colors.
Sometimes it feels like the entire feminist movement was erased from history...

I cannot even begin to give all my opinions on the whole sexy women's costume trend that has been going on for several years now.  I've read numerous articles on this subject, including how this trend has spread to young girls as well.  That despite not having children; if I did I do not know what I would do if they wanted these sexy costumes.  Then again, I have made my own costumes in past years, something I would likely do if I have kids. 

Last year I ordered the Pumpkin Spice costume. It was rather shoulder-exposing, but not too short on. This year I settled on a Dorothy (Wizard of Oz)  dress from Kmart.  It lacks the high-neck feature on the dress from the classic film, but at least the shoulders are covered.  It also has the faux-corset feature on the chest, which I had to unlace to get the dress on.   The lacing is supposed to make the thing sexy, I suppose.  Kmart also has a similarly constructed costume for Little Red Riding Hood.  Just glad not to have gotten stuck with something like this one.

The hottest costume of 2010?

"Our guess is Lady Gaga will be the hottest costume of 2010.  Who dares to disagree?" The website Costume Pop   asked this on its Twitter page today. I then retweeted this message to my followers.  I'd been wondering about this myself having seen several Lady Gaga costumes at the Spirit Store last week.  Oh my god, I'd thought, and suddenly I decided to snap some pictures thinking I could blog about this.  I took the pictures a week ago, but just thought of this now.

Will Lady Gaga be hot? I don't really care for her, but I still wonder how popular she will be.  I wondered the same thing about Michael Jackson last year, but I did not see one person in that disguise.  Where were they all?  Not in my neck of the woods. I also wondered the same thing about Billy Mays, the Oxi Clean guy, but the same was true of him--not one Oxi Clean guy in sight. I really hoping to see someone as Billy Mays, since it did not seem like he would be as common a disguise as Michael Jackson.  I obviously live in the wrong part of the country to see such things. I now wonder if I will see any Lady Gaga, not that I really hope to, but I'm curious just the same. 

For Pets Only

As someone who doesn't have either kids or pets, I certainly find myself strangely curious about what stores have for both kids and pets at Halloween time.  Every year, I hear stories abut parents complaining about inappropriateness of  costume available for kids. And have several first cousins (all younger than I am!) who already have children.  I wonder what they have to (or will have to) go through. 

But for this entry I'm going to focus on the pet stuff.  I just happened one day to wander into the Halloween section at Target one day and noticed some of the Target brand costumes for dogs, with the warning "For pets only."  Most of them would be too small for a person anyway.   And because dogs come in all sizes,  the pet costumes are made in varying sizes, based on the dog's weight.  I went into Target again today to shoots some pictures for this blog story and, please pardon the focus of each as one year when I tried to take pictures inside a Target and was told not to be taking pictures inside the store.  No one caught me this time, however.   But I chose to stop as soon as I could just in case.

OK, back on track.  The first time I passed through the Halloween section at Target this year, I

noticed several pet costumes that caught my interest.  One was a bunch of grapes (in the photo at right).  First of all, I as a person, have wanted to try this classic and fun costume idea, but have been reluctant to do so.  Almost every guide I see on the Internet to making this says to use balloons for the grapes.  Makes sense, but there's always the problem of the balloons popping before the day is over.  And how are you supposed to drive with a bunch of balloons attached to you?  And how difficult will this make going to the bathroom?  The bunch of grapes costume seems to be one of the ideas the writer of  this article describes as "The Sacrifice." Anyone who's ever done this, how did you do it?   I have the same feelings for the bag of Jelly beans costume idea. This bunch of grapes for dogs, however,  is made of stuffed material.  This got me wondering why they don't make something like this for people too.  This would keep us from worrying about balloons popping.I would like to see something like this for people  and I don't mean something like this one. Even a bunch of grapes had to fall into the "sexy" costume category!

At left is another dog costume that caught my attention, a banana split. I have never seen one of these for people, as far as I know and it seems like a fun idea.  Again, I had to shoot the pictures as quickly as I could before someone in the store caught me so this was the best  I could get.  any ideas how you could make a banana split costume for people? Has anyone ever come up whit this idea and if so, how did you do it?  I only wonder, though, if there were such a costume for humans,  would be made with stuffed material like the grapes and would be make it too difficult or uncomfortable while driving or sitting?  

And a hot dog for dogs--how funny does that sound?  I'd noticed this one in previous years, again, while  wandering the Halloween aisles.  At left 

is one sold by Target (once again, difficulty shooting pictures clearly in such a hurry!)  Below the hot dog in the photo you can see  submarine costume for dogs. Now that one really struck me as weird.  Would anyone who has pets ever think of that one?  And is there a  submarine costume for humans?  Seems like a pretty bizarre idea for either species!    I certainly wouldn't think of that 

for a person, anyone else?  The submarine costume can  also be seen in the photo below the hot dog photo, alongside another display of the grapes.  There were certainly a lo of those grape costumes at the store.

Unfortunately, I did not get shot of it, but there was yet another bizarre dog costume on display at Target called a Princess Unicorn Rider.   It comes with a princess doll and saddle that is placed on the dog's back and a unicorn hat.  Click here for an image. 

Every year at Dollar Tree (where I once worked) I see cheap dog costumes of classic characters--vampires, clowns and such--with a label that says "Fits cats too," with picture of two tabby cats (a large grey one and small orange one).  I have joked with my mother about getting these for her cats, though I know her cats would never keep these things on!  At Home Goods, where I currently work, we've gotten pet costumes as well, everything from banana to pumpkins to and even witches for dogs.  I saw all these at Target as well. I have even seen bumblebee dog costumes.  

Yes, for someone without pets, I am strangely curious over what is available for them at Halloween.   And I'm not sure that if had pets I would want to out them in costumes for Halloween

Quiz: Are You a Vampire or a Werewolf?

You Are a Vampire

You are charming, sensual, and even a bit manipulative. You can't help but get people to do what you want. You have sharp senses and a strong predatory instinct. You go after what you want, without mercy. While you have the heart of a killer, many people are drawn to you. You are elegant, timeless, and mysterious. You are the ultimate fantasy object.

Are You a Vampire or a Werewolf?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Funny Halloween videos

I came across these videos today as a recommendation on Youtube.  Both are quite funny, though I kind of feel sorry for that one dog always getting picked on by that man.  

Quiz: What is Your Halloween Personality?

Not all this is exactly true.

You See Halloween as Fun

You are an outgoing person who's a bit of a showoff. It's likely that you dress up for Halloween every year. Sneaky and devious, people should really watch out for you. You are usually underestimated and forgotten. Your inner child is full of wonder and very sweet. You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope. You're logical, rational, and not easily effected. Not a lot scares you... especially when it comes to the paranormal. You are a traditionalist with most aspects of your life. You like your Halloween costume to be basic, well made, and conventional enough to wear another year.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

"Spooky" by the Atlanta Rhythm Section

Remember this song? Another song sure to get you into the Halloween spirit. It was originally recorded in 1968 by the Classics IV,  several of whose former members went to to the Atlanta Rhythm Section, who recorded their version of "Spooky" in 1979.  

"Ghostbusters" song on Youtube

Here's a little song to get you in the Halloween spirit: the theme song from the hit movie "Ghostbusters."  I saw this when it was first released in the summer of 1984 and caught it a few times on TV afterward.  I had the pleasure of seeing it again--in almost 20 years since last seeing it on TV--this past summer when my town's movie theater showed "Ghostbusters" as part of their yearly kids summer movie series.  Each week on Monday through Thursday in the summer, they present a different family-friendly movie, charging only $1.50 for all ages. When I saw on their website this year that this would be one of their kids summer movies, I hoped I'd get a weekday off so I could see this classic again.   Seeing it on the theater  screen was almost like being back in 1984.  

Halloween Episodes: Friends: "The One With the Halloween Party"

Back to my episodes posts.  I've been trying to locate this on Youtube, but can't find it the full episode.  I guess I'm gonna have to put the disc in the Netflix queue, nearly a year after I first rented it.  I only queued Disc One of Season 8 (2001-2002) and am not sure if I want to queue all the discs, pushing everything already in the queue back four spaces.  My local Fox station airs "friends" reruns in a late-night slot.  Needless to say, since I have to be at work early in the morning I never get to see them unless I wake up in the middle of the night.  They passed Season 8 awhile ago.   Last year, on the early morning hours of October 31, they reran the Halloween episode along with Halloween eps of "Malcolm in the Middle" and "South Park" (both of which the station no longer carries as far as I have seen).  I'd been out at the karaoke bar and got home when they were halfway through the "Friends" episode, making me glad I'd rented the DVD just 11 days earlier.

Meanwhile, here is the synopsis from tv.com.

I loved seeing Rachel giving out the candy because she's beginning to have motherly instincts and how she showed up as "a woman who bought an expensive dress she won't be able to wear in a few months" (when her pregnancy started showing).  Monica had asked everyone to wear costumes.

Monica thinks Joey didn't dress up either, but Joey says he's dressed as Chandler.

Below are images from the episode:

EDIT: I just added Disc One of Season 8 to slot one of my Netflix queue.

Back to the countdown today

Sorry for no post yesterday.  Got a little busy on a rare weekday off.  

Have little to say right now except that I have decided to go as Dorothy, in a costume from Kmart. Yes, I still have one of those stores in my town, and it will have been there for 20 years next month.  All costumes at Kmart are 30% off this week and the cashiers have coupons that give an additional 105 off.  Now I need to figure out how to make ruby slippers. I'm planning to use some old slip on shoes that have been worn out by painting them red and adding glitter.  

I'm not that great a  "Wizard of Oz" fan, but I did go to see the play put on my my county's stage company when the opened in 1999 ("Wizard" was their first production).  My decision came from performing karaoke at a neighborhood bar.  For Halloween, they have a contest for best song and costume combination, and one song I've done quite frequently is Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."  This is what prompted my decision.  I plan to be there that night to perform that song.   I'd also though of this earlier this year while listening to my "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" CD at home one day.  

I just received via Facebook an invite to a Halloween dinner dance this coming Saturday, which gives me only two and half days to get my slippers made, if I'm to go.  I'm sure I can find some glitter at Walmart after work today or tomorrow. 

Time to go now, as I have to get ready to leave for work.  Will be back this afternoon. 

Halloween Episodes: The King of Queens: Ticker Treat

I didn't watch this show when it first aired, but have caught some reruns on TBS.  I first caught this one earlier this year in April.  Doug (Kevin James) wants to decorate his house for Halloween at the urging of his friend Deacon (Victor Williams), but Doug's  live-in father-in-law Arthur (Jerry Stiller) forbids it.  Arthur later has a heart attack after seeing that Doug has decorated the house for Halloween anyway.  Arthur then reveals that he  hates Halloween and explains why.  Meanwhile, Deacon worries that his son might be gay when his son rejects a Darth Vader costume his father has purchased for him in favor of a Powerpuff Girls costume. His son had wanted to be a superhero, but Deacon did not know of any African American superheroes, and rejected Doug's idea of his son going as Shaft.

Halloween Episodes: Family Matters: Dog Day Halloween

I was really upset to see this episode removed from Youtube as it's a very funny episode, and so far Season Two of "Family Matters" has not yet been released on DVD (Season One has) or I would queue it on Netflix. The title refers to the 1975 film "Dog Day Afternoon," and the plot involves Urkel and Laura being held hostage during a bank robbery on Halloween.

Here is a screen shot of Laura (as Tina Turner) and Urkel as Superman.  

Halloween Episodes: Frasier

I have been looking for and watching Halloween-themed episodes of different TV shows.  I just watched the  Halloween episode of  "Frasier" from 1997 on You Tube.  This is the episode in which the cast attends a literary-themed party at Niles's house as well as the episode in which Roz discovers she might be pregnant.   I thought it was funny how Bulldog showed up as Waldo. I'm guessing Frasier's son never read those books, if Frasier was not aware of the character.   For those not aware, here is some info on  "The Story of 'O.'"

Unfortunately, the user doesn't allow the episode to embedded, so here is the link to that episode.  

Something I didn't know existed

I came across this while looking on You Tube today for the Woolworth Halloween commercials:


More than likely I never looked for such a thing.. But having remembered the Pass Easter Egg Dyeing Kits and Easter basket grass, this struck me as unusual. I had no idea Paas ever did any holiday products outside of its signature Easter products. Now that's an interesting find, IMO.

Quiz: What is Your Halloween Horoscope?

No, not gonna do this!  

You Should Be a Naughty Nun or Priest for Halloween

Your friends see a whole other side of you on Halloween - brash and bold. You make be reserved and conservative most other days, but on the 31st... look out! Costume suggestions: A stripper or naughty priest / nun Signature Halloween candy: M & M's Scary movie you should celebrate Halloween with: Bram Stoker's Dracula

What's Your Halloween Horoscope?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

80's stuff for Halloween

What is it with the '80s for Halloween?  There are a lot of 80s costumes and accessories for sale both online and at the Spirit stores.  I got some pictures at the Spirit store in Gilroy, California after work today.  Naturally they have accessories to look like Madonna or Cyndi Lauper  or an 

'80 rock groupie and a whole endcap of Michael Jackson accessories.  I only shot a small part of that endcap because

 personally I think that was quite enough.  I did not see  single person dressed as him last year even though it was predicted it would be a popular costume then.  And there are the colorful wigs, the leg warmers  and the gel bracelets--all very '80's. 

This is certainly not something I would consider for Halloween, not right now at least.   I grew up in the 80s and I graduated from high school in 1989,  so I was a true 1980s child.   Not to sure I want to relive the decade just yet, at least not for Halloween this year. 

Oddly enough yesterday from Netflix and I received and watched the 1989 film "Earth Girls Are Easy."  I missed this the first time somehow, not that it really mattered to me.  It was an OK film and very definitive of that decade.  

Quiz: What Treat Should You Give Out For Halloween?

You Should Give Out Candy Corn

No one really knows what to make of you. You're kooky but also abnormally normal. You tend to be really square, and that throws people for a loop. They can't tell if your really old fashioned or pretending to be that way. No matter what, you have a heart of gold, and your generosity really shines through. You're the type to stock up on candy and hand it out until the every kid has gone home for the night. You're very dedicated.

What Treat Should You Give Out For Halloween?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Halloween at Goodwill

in my hometown of Hollister, California.  As always there are the racks of used costumes and Target-brand costumes normally priced at $24.99 selling for $2.99 to $5.99 and clothing that the store workers think can be used for costumes such as old graduation robes and dresses and other articles of clothing that look like they could be transformed into something but you're just not sure what it could be made into.   Besides all this usual stuff,  both this year and last, the Goodwill has  scary decorations in the store as can be seen in these photos.

Sorry not to have gotten any photos, but this year they have a rack of colorful wigs that say

 "Jump back to the '80s."  Looks like the '80s are expected to be popular as a costumes this year. They are also carrying fingerless fishnet gloves.  Perhaps all this on the '80s can be another blog post later.  

The Halloween stuff has been up at Hollister Goodwill for a month now.  I plan to hit a few other thrift stores during this season to see their offerings and look for stuff for myself.  I've already been to the Gilroy Goodwill once since they've had their Halloween stuff up and their offering are pretty similar to--if not the same as--those in the Hollister store.   I really want to get to the Savers store in Salinas, since they always have a large Halloween selection. 

And about the decorations--there are several of the pumpkin-head creatures (in the photo above) placed at the edges of different clothing racks, strangely not on any of the Halloween racks.   But it sill adds to the spirit of the season.    And I'm wondering just how many kids have been scared by that large devil decoration.   And a headless pirate--how strange is that? It was difficult to photograph the pirate without getting the devil in the background.

Quiz: What Halloween Treat Are You?

You Are Candy Corn

Your Halloween personality is whimsical, colorful, and creative. You see Halloween as a time to get your creative juices flowing. Each year, Halloween can't start soon enough for you. You tend to go all out for Halloween. You decorate like crazy and always dress up.

What Halloween Treat Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

Quiz: What unique costume should you wear?

Your Unique Costume is Mega Demon

Be the afterlife of the party!

What Totally Unique Halloween Costume Should You Wear?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

As often is so, I don't quite agree with the results of these kinds of quizzes, but still find them fun. And this was a totally different result that what I got last year.

How I decorated my house for Halloween

These went up last Saturday and Sunday in order to be up for all of October.   The bag spider and pumpkins are stuffed with crumpled newspapers.  In the window are plastic ghosts that can be hung by stuffing the heads. I'd tried that when I first got them, but a few years ago,  I got too lazy for that so I decided to tape them to the windows, which I think works just great, if not better than stuffing and hanging them.  I also have in the window some papier mache ghosts made by placing pasty strips of newspaper over paper bags.  

Notice how I took pictures of the lights hanging in the windows both with and without the camera flash on.  It looks rather spooky without the flash!

Let the Halloween Countdown Begin!

This is my second year participating in the Countdown to Halloween with my blog.  I've been busy with work all this week and have not been able to gather a lot of stuff just yet.  Yet, I will have some  Halloween-related posts over the next month.  I've been looking for  Halloween episodes on Youtube and will  blog about some of them soon.  I was really upset to see the "Family Matters" Halloween episode from 1990, "Dog Day Halloween," removed from Youtube.  It's a very funny episode.  I have some post ideas in mind and get them up each day.

I already decorated the outside of my house last weekend in order to get the stuff by the first, since that is today--a Friday, and I work all weekdays.  It's still very hot unfall-like weather in my part of California.  But it was like this just a year ago and both times I had to endure hot weather to get my decorations up by the first.  

Will be posting and reading what other participating blogs have come up with.  It's gonna be fun!