Happy Halloween. It’s pouring rain and we’re supposed to take the boat out of the water today.
At least it’s not cold.
But we were out late last night — Devil’s Night, meh heh heh heh heh — and missed my blogging time. Just a couple things today.
First, some of you have probably heard about Movember, the annual prostate-cancer awareness event in which men spend the month growing mustaches, perhaps in the hope of turning a few worried and/or exasperated glances (“You, Bob? A pornstache? YOU?) into a productive discussion about a disease that kills roughly 30,000 men in the U.S. every year.
Well, this year NN.c has a preferred mustache, and if you are so inclined, you can give to Bernie Mulvey, who is my BFF’s brilliant son, a first-year med student at Wash U. in St. Louis. Here’s his donation page. Here’s his statement:
BY GROWING UNKEMPT, PATCHY FACIAL HAIR, I WILL SYMBOLIZE THE BODILY DISARRAY OF PROSTATE CANCER AND ITS TREATMENT. IN SOLIDARITY WITH CANCER PATIENTS, I WILL ENDURE ANY EMBARRASSMENT AND SOCIAL OR PROFESSIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF APPEARING UNTIDY AND PERHAPS UNHYGIENIC.
I’m sorry it’s in all caps. His mom’s an editor, and he should know better, but perhaps the topic REQUIRES THIS SORT OF EMPHASIS.
Anyway, the money will be pooled with other Wash U. first-year med students, and it’s worth it. Bernie adds, in upper and lower case:
For those of you weary of research philanthropy groups, fear not; the PCF spends over 75% of its money on the research it exists to support! Plus, your donation is tax deductible (and really, would you rather that money go towards the NSA reading your Facebook, or towards keeping people alive and well?).
So that’s today’s cause: Fighting the disease that killed Frank Zappa and Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
Here’s a snap from last night, Alan and Kate gazing upon the blazing carcass of a house in Detroit a bonfire:
Alas, the event at the Lincoln Street Art Park, aka the Ghetto Louvre, was rained out before we could see the dragon:
We saw it before at Maker Faire. Here it is, in action, defending the Detroit Institute of Arts.
With that, I must rush. Happy Halloween, and I hope all your trick-or-treaters are sweet as candy.
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 31, 2013 at 8:39 am
Rain here tonight, too. Meh.
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Deborah said on October 31, 2013 at 8:48 am
Rain in Chicago too.
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coozledad said on October 31, 2013 at 8:55 am
We’ll be getting your rain tomorrow, if we’re lucky. beautiful weather today, which means I’ll be scraping old paint off the house with a heat gun.
Are there any studies linking lead exposure to lazy-ass adults?
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Dorothy said on October 31, 2013 at 9:19 am
High winds and rain and very slim possibility of a tornado or two. It’s very Halloween-y kind of weather but not conducive to little kids going door-to-door. Poor things. All that build up and then they get rained out.
Anyone here have any experience with radon mitigation system installations? I”m meeting a contractor between 11 and 4 at my home because we had a reading of 40 at our radon test last Friday. Installation will be on November 12, 9 days before we close. Hope it goes well. It’s the only real glitch we’ve encountered through this whole process so far. We found a house last weekend in Beavercreek which I’m over the moon about. If I get a call to come in for an interview for one of the jobs I’ve applied for, I’m going to buy some lottery tickets on the way there because you just can’t plan for this kind of steady good luck.
Happy Halloween to all of the lovely NN.C gang!!
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 9:39 am
Speaking of Detroit, here is something I didn’t know, and which my “This Day in History” calendar points out: on Halloween in 1926, Harry Houdini died in a Detroit hospital. Apparently he had given a lecture in Montreal to a bunch of students, and afterward remarked to some of them about his very strong stomach muscles – whereupon one of the kiddos suddenly hit him twice in the stomach – before he had a chance to brace himself – and this burst his appendix.
I had it in my brain that Houdini drowned in a trick, or some such…but no. And, I betcha he’s haunting that Packard plant right now!
Anyway – Happy Halloween, y’all. Rain and wind and all the rest aside, the 8 year old and I will make the rounds tonight, while the teenagers hold the fort and dispense the goodies to whatever hearty souls show up
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Dave said on October 31, 2013 at 9:45 am
No, Houdini died as described, Brian, and IIRC, he had a agreement with his wife that if he could, he would contact her from the spirit world. Though she spent years trying via seances and what-not, she never made contact, if I recall my Houdini history correctly. Makes for a good Halloween story.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 31, 2013 at 10:04 am
Dorothy, we scored a 240, so we got one here in Granville. They put a hole in your slab, run what looks like drain pipe PVC up and either through a garage or whatever is least damaging, with a heavy-duty muffin fan inside of it and the end sticking out of your roof somewhere by code high enough (looks like a sewer/toilet vent pipe). They usually install a wonderfully simple gauge which is a piece of clear tubing and some red fluid in a “U” and if you want to check to make sure the fan is maintaining negative pressure in the system, the “U” should be uneven. If it’s level, the fan ain’t runnin’.
The point is, assuming you have a fairly solid slab, to create enough steady soft pressure to pull from beneath the slab up through the house and out for dissipation, because the radon hazard is quickly dispersed in open air. The danger is when the seepage fills your basement and house, and with modern structures, the movement of air tends to not be enough to keep the radon isotopes from concentrating enough to start to have their potentially carcinogenic effects. But even in a spectacularly high radon area (and Granville & Licking Valley east of Newark have some of the worst in the country), once it gets into the general atmosphere, it breaks down to harmlessness quickly.
Anyhow, radon mitigation is basically a whole lot of keyhole saw work through your walls and ceiling/roof, and a bunch of sealant fumes from the PVC joins, and one small bit of wiring for the fan. And a bill for $400 to $800!
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 31, 2013 at 10:05 am
Oh, and from my FB feed: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0324.html
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Julie Robinsonth said on October 31, 2013 at 10:09 am
Rain here, and at 8:30 it was still dark enough to feel like the middle of the night. Combined with a cold coming on and a big project finished yesterday at work, I think I’ve earned a lazy day at home. I may even take a nap.
Dorothy, glad to hear your almost-all-good news. Are you packing frantically?
It’s also Reformation Day, which we Lutherans don’t make too big a deal out of anymore, but we do use the occasion to crank up the organ and sing A Mighty Fortress with great gusto.
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 10:23 am
Julie – I stumbled into a book about the Council of Trent (14th century Catholic response to the Lutheran breakaway) which was surprisingly entertaining and informative. (it never got old reading about this or that Pope fixing up his grandsons[!] as bishops or cardinals, etc etc)
And Martin Luther exerts all sorts of gravity from the edges of the narrative.
Aside from that, I like your “th”! (as in – ‘Julie Robinsonth’!).
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Mark P said on October 31, 2013 at 10:23 am
We’re supposed to get rain, but it doesn’t matter up where we live. We have never had trick-or-treaters in the eight years we’ve been here. Unfortunately, that means we have to eat all the candy we buy in preparation. And we make sure it’s good candy, too!
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coozledad said on October 31, 2013 at 10:25 am
The right has picked some strange stuff to be batshit about before, but this time there’s a special ugliness to them. I get chest pains just thinking about the utter shamelessness of the bastards. Tell me this is the fucking nadir, please:
http://wonkette.com/533041/blogger-may-wish-to-rethink-calling-rep-john-lewis-disgraceful-slaver-who-turns-fire-hose-of-obamacare-on-america#more-533041
Rebecca Schoenkopf has transformed that site into an indispensable thing.
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Deborah said on October 31, 2013 at 10:34 am
Julie, you brought up old memories with the mention of that hymn. One of my favorites is For All the Saints (don’t know the official title) also sung around this time, since All Saints Day is tomorrow.
Dorothy, you certainly have been lucky, good for you.
My daughter is having a Halloween party in Santa Fe, she’s made so many friends since she’s been threre. It’s a costume party, should be fun.
Starbucks is nearly empty this morning due to the rain and ick. I come here nearly every morning these days.
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Charlotte said on October 31, 2013 at 10:36 am
Supposed to snow here tonight — but it always snows on Halloween. Parents know to nix all costumes that cannot be worn over a snowsuit.
And Cooz — I had a real old-lady moment in the Minneapolis airport during the last Dem. convention — John Lewis was on the TV, and there was a very young German girl I’d struck up a conversation with (she was on her way to Milwaukee to be an au pair, and was terrified). I got all choked up pointing at the TV and explaining that that man, that one, there on the TV, is a hero. A real hero. Not a fake hero. She indulged me because, I think, she was so petrified she was just glad someone was talking to her. Nice girl. Her new family met her with balloons in Milwaukee.
And for everyone’s amusement — Ellsbury’s rundown last night, set to Yackity Yak: http://www.boston.com/news/source/2013/10/gif_jacoby_ellsbury_rundown_escape_mashed_up_with_benny_hill.html
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Connie said on October 31, 2013 at 10:48 am
A Mighty Fortress is now thundering in my head. Lots of rain here. I am always reminded of Halloween of 1991. The day before I had flown into Minneapolis for a conference. By late afternoon on the 31st a heavy duty snow storm had started which turned into what is still the largest single snowfall in Minneapolis history, 36 inches by morning. We were snowed in at the Hyatt Regency downtown for three days. It is still referred to as the Halloween Blizzard.
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 10:50 am
Cooz – the article you linked was excellent.
And indeed – I’ll have to keep an eye out for Ms Schoenkopf’s work
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Julie Robinson said on October 31, 2013 at 10:56 am
th was a mistake that put me in moderation yesterday and didn’t get noticed today. Where is that dang edit button?
For All the Saints is way up there for me, too, and we’ll sing it this week in church. We have a rather lovely way of remembering those who died in the last year, with a reading of their names and tolling of the bells. You can also come forward and light a candle in remembrance, and both are deeply meaningful to me as I think about the lives of those who’ve gone before me.
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nancy said on October 31, 2013 at 11:16 am
That GIF of Ellsbury only proves my long held belief that everything’s funnier with “Yakkety Sax.” Jon Stewart agrees with me.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 31, 2013 at 11:54 am
Deborah – “Sine Nomine.” Give me a second . . .
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Joe K said on October 31, 2013 at 11:57 am
Weather is crap, Washington is a joke on both sides of the aisle, don’t like or trust any of them so lets do something fun today.
Your going to stranded on a island and can only take 5 albums with you, what would they be? Here are mine.
Live from the Fillmore -the Allman Brothers
Live Bullite – Bob Seger
You had to have been there – Jimmie Buffet
Srgt Peppers- the Beatles
Blow your face off- Jay Giels band
Making it a bit harder how about only 5 songs?
Johnny be good-Chuck Berry
Get Back- the Beatles
Long cool woman- hollies
Whipping Post Allman Brothers
Green River-Credence clear water
Enjoy thinking this thru
Pilot Joe
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 31, 2013 at 11:58 am
Lyrics by an Anglican bishop named How (Abbott & Costello never got around to this one), and music by the incomparable Ralph Vaughan Williams:
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
[This is about half of the stanzas Bishop How wrote in the original; they had stamina in those days…]
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Mark P said on October 31, 2013 at 12:01 pm
My mother loved A Mighty Fortress so much she wanted it sung at her funeral. And it was.
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James said on October 31, 2013 at 12:03 pm
That’s the word for John Lewis – hero. Around here we also call him congressman.
I got to meet him awhile back, and he’s one of those folks I had to meet, shake their hand, and tell them how much I admire their life’s work. A real honor.
The others? Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, and Joel Hodgeson.
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Dorothy said on October 31, 2013 at 12:14 pm
My niece, the Athens bookstore owner, met John Lewis just a couple of years ago. I am sorry I cannot recall why. She was at his office – I saw the pictures. She was over the moon happy to have met him!
No frantic packing for this gal. The relocation covers all that crap so we only packed up what we needed to in order to make the house look “de-cluttered.” I can’t wait to get into my new house and make as much clutter as I’d like. And then I can pretty it up to whatever standards I’d like, too. Guess what – they found radon in our new home in Dayton this morning! Only 12 so it hardly seems worth it to put all that equipment in. And the sump pump is not working. Only those two things in a house built in 1986? The good luck continues!
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Joe –
I’d bring Pearl Jam’s album Ten; Ghost in the Machine by The Police; Florence and the Machine’s Lung (or Lungs?); and then whatever on the other two(!).
Singles?
Evenflow, Every Little Thing She Does (is magic), something by Herb Alpert, something by Blondie, and something by Fleetwood Mac
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/fleetwood-mac-cancels-tour-john-mcvie-cancer-treatment_n_4167945.html
… the band explained, “John McVie, one of the co-founding and original members of Fleetwood Mac is now scheduled to be in treatment for cancer during that period of time.”
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Kirk said on October 31, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Mark P,
My mom, too.
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Julie Robinson said on October 31, 2013 at 1:09 pm
My five would be almost anything by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Sondheim & Bernstein.
Mark P, my Dad’s Methodist family always insisted on A Mighty Fortress at their funeral services, so much so that as a very young child, that was what I thought of when I heard it.
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LAMary said on October 31, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Comic book fan James?
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 1:28 pm
It’s very unusual for a baseball player to escape a rundown, or as oltimers say, a pickle. But Red Sock Jacoby Ellsbury is one very fast and resourceful baseball player. Makes the Cardinals look very foolish, or bush-league, as the old-timers say. Best video deployment of Yakety Sax in some time.
Five albums is too few. Everything in excess. I’d have to have Astral Weeks and Gasoline Alley and lots of drugs if I was stranded alone. Kick Out the Jams, all SRC albums, A Love Supreme (Trane), Blonde on Blonde, Clash Singles, Never Mind the Bollocks, Lou Reed’s New York and Ecstasy. Live in the Air Age (Bebop Deluxe live).Muswell Hillbillies, Shine on Brightly by Procul Harum. And Remembrance of Things Past, Proust, the box set. I’ve read Swann’s Way and have always meant to read the rest. That thing could last a lifetime. And a Bible, so I could figure out where Jesus defined marriage. Oh, and Born to Run. Singles? Persecution Smith, by Seger and the Last Heard, with Seger playing lead guitar, and Love Me Do, first single I ever bought. Eat a Peach.
I met John Lewis years ago at a Maynard Jackson fundraiser. Very impressive and very cordial. Andrew Young and Julian Bond were there too. Impressive group of men.Too bad Detroit didn’t get some latter-day version of Maynard when it elected a great big black guy mayor.
On the sad news about John McVie, and the tour cancellation: some smart promoter should look into getting Danny Kirwan, Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green onboard and honor the tour tickets. I’d be buying, and everybody that has been subjected to Secondhand News over the years would get to hear real Fleetwood Mac music, like the Mick Fleetwood inspired Rattlesnake Shake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8HusRcsR3g
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Deborah said on October 31, 2013 at 2:33 pm
I wish A Mighty Fortress had been played at my mother’s funeral, then I might remember it. I was 14 and all I remember were depressing dirges. I have no idea who chose them, not me. I was in a fog 49 years ago nearly this time of year.
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jcburns said on October 31, 2013 at 2:48 pm
As long as Bernie doesn’t use secret research chemicals tested on mustachioed white mice to enhance his facial hair, I too am cheering him on.
Broke? Have a habit for pricy restaurant food? There’s an obvious path to happiness, at least if you’re self-described as good looking. And Canadian?
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Do y’all realize that the great organ-thumping Mighty Fortress is now a standby favorite at probably half of all Catholic Masses on any given Sunday. Particularly if the church has a Virgil Fox quality organ. Choirmasters cannot resist the urge. I’ve always thought this was kinda humorous, but ther is no denying how much fun it is to bellt that song out. Sort of like singing along with Burton Cummings. I first heard it at Mass at St. Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills, A very beautiful stone building built by a Michigan millionaire (back when a mil was real money) adman.
http://www.sthugo.org/stone-chapel
The organ Mr. McManus had installed is every bit as grand as the structure. I served Mass there many times, and funerals and weddings too. I have also ventured down the creepy stone steps into the crypt beneath the church. If you’r in the Detroit area, this place is worth a visit.
JPMorgan is currently negotiatng a $13 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for mortgage lending abuses they allegedly committed during the housing crisis. However, taxpayers could end up underwriting more than $4.5 billion of that settlement. That’s because JPMorgan is likely to claim the settlement as a tax deduction. Even though settlements like these are thought of as punishment for corporate wrongdoing, companies claim their settlement costs as tax write-offs all the time. They treat them as just another business expense. Does anybody think that is right? Anobody think the deliberate malfeasance on a grand scale JPMorgan pulled should be rewarded with a tax break. Ya know, BP will do the same thing with their fines for trashing the Gulf of Mexico, if they actually pay any taxes in the USA at all in the first place.
Wasn’t there a book by a famous TeeVee producer or somesuch called I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can? About her experiences with bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic-depression). This GOPer Congressman makes that bipolar lady look like she’s HS slow-dancing he’s dancing so damned fast on the subject of immigration reform. WaPo false equivalency as fact reporting notwithstanding, this is not a “both sides did it” issue by any stretch of anybody’s imagination. Fox won’t touch this with a 10-ft. poll, or Pole, because…immigrants bad. So it’s left to maroons in the so-called Liberal media to make this fabricated case. Pisses me off royally.
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Neko Case in gorilla costume for hogamany. I’ve scene bictures of her actual breasts on the internet and they are much more attractive. The all-time great Halloween movie is Trading Places, which gorilla costumes always remind me of. And Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy playing those sporting gents, the Koch Bros. That’s scary.
The Stooges played their first show at a Hallowe’en party in their rented house on State St. in Detroit.
My desert island Stooges song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SD-uF8uisA
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Peter said on October 31, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Pros, much as I liked Trading Places, I liked the costume party scene and subsequent car chase in the Pink Panther (50 years old – whoa!).
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Julie Robinson said on October 31, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Prospero, with all due respect to you and whatever you’re imbibing, unless you’ve lived with a loved one who has bipolar, you don’t get to make fun of it.
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 5:13 pm
Well, I meant Samhain, not Hogamanay. Samhain is the night of the sidhe, the Wild Ride of all supernatural creatures in very old Celtic mythology. There is a Canadian writer of fantasy novels named Charles DeLint that uses this mythos as a backdrop for some excellent fantasy stories set in modern-day Ottawa, of all places, called the Jack of Kinrowan trilogy. Very well written.
The Faery Ride
Forget the hearth,
Forget the roof,
Set the wheel aside:
Leave your weaving,
Warp and woof,
Steal out to us this Samhain-Tide.
Steal out to us, our tossing hair
Sets sun and moon and stars aflare.
The racing winds are hounds beside
The cloud-maned horses that we ride.
Come ride with us, have heart to dare
The plunging steed; the steeps of air;
The swirling, high, tumultuous flight,
The aery hooves – this Samhain Night!
–Ella Young
Julie Robinson@35: How do you figure I’m making fun of bipolar disorder? I didn’t do anything of the sort. Nothing to drink today but Zhena’s Gypsy Mint Tea. And I do live with somebody who’s been diagnosed as both schizophrenic and bipolar by different doctors, leading to a variety of improper medication incidents that I’ve had to deal with. I believe the schizophrenia diagnosis is probably correct, and the condition is difficult to deal with. And we’ve been in love for nearly 20 years. I was making fun of the madly tap-dancing GOPer Congressman.
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coozledad said on October 31, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Oh fuck.
http://www.wral.com/officials-israeli-airstrike-inside-syria/13060701/
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Basset said on October 31, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Who was your first foot last Hogmanay, Pros?
Meanwhile and unrelated, this:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=US7xP2o8Wp0
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ROGirl said on October 31, 2013 at 6:21 pm
A few kids out trick or treating in my neighborhood, but none have come over to my side of the street. It’s been raining all day, a lot of leaves have come down today and stuck to the streets and driveways, it’s warm (around 60), and it’s not dark yet.
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LAMary said on October 31, 2013 at 6:27 pm
We’re set for trick or treaters with the giant bag of “fun size” chocolate stuff. This is the second bag I bought. Certain members of the household did some serious quality control testing on the first bag. I also bought one of those Costco mega boxes of Nature Valley oat and honey bars for kids who might prefer them. There are actually kids who do. No rain here, just nicely cool enough to feel like autumn and Halloween.
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 7:06 pm
We get hardly any Trick or Treaters, because the homeowners association frowns on a bunch of little Mexican ghoulies and goblins roaming the place and security sens them home. At east that’s my excuse for having full-sized Snickers and Nestle’s Crunch. Leftovers present no problem at all, and the look on kids’ faces is much fun. Tin five year old girls in fairy princess costumes (you can tell by the (in this case) opalescent wings) are our first of the night. With all of the Latin tenants here, skeletons are inevitable. I’m going to watch Under the Volcano later, a favorite Día de Muertos movie. I’ve got a vintage Polaroid camera that I found a source of film for, so I’m making portraits for the moms and dads. Somebody is bound to call the cops. We did Fruit Roll-ups one year, but I find those things too gross to consume the overage, so now it’s the world’s best candy bar and a close competitor. We bought some good vanilla to break the Crunchbars over, if we have some left.
cooze@37: Officials say Israeli warplanes attacked a military target inside Syria. Israel, amazingly, has never bombed a non-military target, nor killed any body that wasn’t a terrorist. It’s uncanny. I know Israel is the key to the Second Coming and the Rapcha and all, but the US should cut Israel loose.
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basset said on October 31, 2013 at 7:17 pm
while I was working for the Nashville school district a few years ago… where our “English Language Learners” students speak close to 100 different languages… a middle school principal sent a recent Cambodian immigrant girl to the office on some errand or other. she saw the Halloween skeletons in the hall, thought she was being sent to her execution, and, as you would expect, needed some serious calming down.
windy & raining here, several communities have postponed trick or treating till tomorrow night… we don’t usually get more than one or two anyway, despite living in a starter-house neighborhood with a reasonable number of small kids.
Another non sequitur link, I’m gonna keep tossing them out there till I get a comment:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/05/02/a-long-strange-trip-grateful-deads-studebaker-truck-found/?refer=news
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MarkH said on October 31, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Prospero, the book ‘I’m Dancing As Fast As I Can’ was written by documentary producer Barbara Gordon, and she did not have bi-polar disorder. She was neurotic, high strung and suffered anxiety disorder. The book, and film starring Jill Clayburgh, dealt with her dependence on and withdrawal from, Valium and other drugs as a way of coping with the stress of her life, mostly her job, and resulting institutionalization.
This reminded me how I still can’t believe Jill Clayburgh is no longer with us.
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Prospero said on October 31, 2013 at 7:23 pm
Anne Rice is on the Craig Ferguson show tonight. Sounds like a good interview. I liked Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire LeStat quite a bit but ner read any of her other books. Two Vincent Price classics are showing also: Masque of the Red Death (Jane Asher is in this) and Abominable Dr. Phibes. The Others is on to, pretty scary and one of Nicole kidman’s better efforts.
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James said on October 31, 2013 at 7:34 pm
Mary:
Yes. A bit of a fanboy.
And a comics creator.
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deb said on October 31, 2013 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for the shoutout for Bernie, darlin’. We love you over here in Cheeseheadland.
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Deborah said on October 31, 2013 at 8:34 pm
No tricker treaters here in our high rise, at least I have never seen any. There are a few families with small children, but not many. Mostly empty nesters and single people live here. Still raining and traffic is way backed up on Lake Shore Drive.
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Joe K said on October 31, 2013 at 8:45 pm
We had break in the rain right at tricker treat time.
Had 50-75 always fun to see the little ones. One little guy saw my Golden retriever and ran in the house asking can I pet him.
Pilot Joe
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basset said on October 31, 2013 at 9:47 pm
And of course the golden was all for it…
http://www.rescueagolden.org
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 10:18 pm
Chloe and I made the rounds – we were out for 90 minutes or so, and the rain went from mist to shower and then back to mist and then back to showers….but it wasn’t cold, although it became gusty.
She had a pretty full bag of goodies as we approached home, and I asked her if she wanted to cut across and get 6 or 8 more houses before calling it a night, and she said “nope; we’re done”….and I couldn’t have agreed more completely!
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2013 at 10:25 pm
Basset – I liked your Grateful Dead Studebaker pickup truck link. The photos pull you right in, and then the text – especially including:
The truck is currently being stored out of the elements in an environment that keeps its condition intact.
is worth a chuckle or two; the thing appears to have ivy growing through it’s wheels and past the engine hood!
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basset said on October 31, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Ahh, but not just any ivy…
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Connie said on October 31, 2013 at 10:56 pm
There was a big trick or treat and kid craft event at my library tonight. We were prepared to handle 150 kids and required pre-registration. We had about 20 slots left when we opened on this rainy morning. And the phones began to ring. And ring. Those slots were filled within an hour, we let a few more sign up, then had to stop. We probably turned away another 100 kids. Frantic mothers looking for a rainy night option.
We have an automated phone answering setup and I am the last option on the list. For administration press 6. That means we get all the calls from people who could not figure out which dept they actually wanted to talk to. I probably handled 30 or so calls myself. Sorry Mom, we’re full.
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Sherri said on October 31, 2013 at 11:09 pm
The government may be having trouble rolling out the web site for the ACA, but at least they aren’t censoring comments about it: http://www.zdnet.com/apple-censors-lawrence-lessig-over-warranty-information-ios7-mess-grows-7000022533/
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LAMary said on October 31, 2013 at 11:10 pm
I have a friend in Colorado who breeds Goldens, Labs and Corgis. The recent floods in CO hit her town in a serious way, and the National Guard was kind enough to evacuate one of her Goldens who was about to give birth. My friend posted a photo of the pup on facebook (it was a one pup litter) and his name is Chinook, named after the helicopter that rescued his mom.
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Dexter said on October 31, 2013 at 11:42 pm
The old Auburn, Indiana golf course is closing forever, and to commemorate the event, a couple old timers were featured in a front page photo and story. I retired 11 years ago and have not seen many of the people I used to work with, so it was heartening to see one of the gents in the photo was a guy from work I used to talk sports with. Fifteen years ago he contracted prostate cancer…it appears he has beaten it! S(up)2C .
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Dexter said on October 31, 2013 at 11:52 pm
basset, I’d pay a buck just to sit in Owsley’s Studebaker truck.
It wears a much less radical paint job than Further does, or did. Even when Kesey was still living, Further sat rusting on Kesey’s Oregon farm…who know what happened to Further when Kesey died.
http://www.nofurthur.com/images/furthur_inswamp.jpg
Nobody influenced the California music and culture scene back then like Owsley did…oh wow, man.
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