No Halloween Would Be Complete Without:

Boo!

It's finally here! My favorite holiday, All Hallows Eve. Although, it does seem a little strange this year. I already celebrated Halloween on Saturday with Jen-nay and Julia's party, so my festiveness is done. But, I thought it would be fun to do some reminiscing about Halloween and what made it my favorite holiday of the year!

My parents were very into the holiday when I was growing up, and I think that transferred to me. Both my mom and dad were pretty awesome pumpkin carvers. We always carved about a dozen or so every year to display during Trick-Or-Treating. (Note: my last pumpkin of the season, Herman Munster at right) In particular I remember my mother always did a very intricate wizard and a two-pumpkin haunted house which had one smaller pumpkin inside the other. We always took them to my grandparents house during trick-or-treating because our house was in the middle of nowhere. I also remember instead of candles we put old school big colored Christmas lights in the pumpkins which made them a bit spookier.

In addition to the pumpkins, my family usually had some sort of display set up in my grandparents yard for the trick-or-treaters. Some of the better ones I remember are a vampire (my dad) jumping out of a coffin, and another year a mad scientist (my mom) eating the brains out of a head on a platter (me). I also remember a Halloween party my parents threw for my friends my sophomore or junior year of high school. They transformed our entire house into a sort of haunted house. The basement was the location of the party, and it was covered in gauze and lights and other spooky things. In the basement bathroom there hung a mutilated body in the shower and bloody hands floated in the punch bowl. Upstairs, the guests had to come through the kitchen where my mother dressed as a witch stirring a huge pot of guts on the stove, and pulled cookies out of the oven shaped and decorated like body parts. My father lay in a coffin in the living room (which was decorated to look like an abandoned and scary funeral home). My mother ushered the guests into the living room and made them just sit there with the "dead" body in silence until all the guests arrived. (Occasionally my father would open his eyes or jump up to scare the shit out of my friends.) I also remember someone standing outside chasing people with a chainsaw. My parents always kicked ass, but especially during Halloween.

Some of my past costumes have been (from most recent back):

• Pimpin' Pope Drewby the 69th
• Ben Franklin's gay lover
• Julius Caesar
  
• Judge Judy
• Out of work Parisian artist
• Zombie professor
• Chucky (from the movie)
  
• Disco dancer
• Carrie (again, obviously from the movie)
• Hippie
• Juan Valdez (Colombian coffee guy)
  
• Old Lady
• Cat in the Hat
• Clown

When I was younger, our town was a great spot for trick-or-treating, and we had the evening schedule down to a science. You always knew what houses to hit and which to skip so the two hours would be most efficient. I always skipped the old lady who made every child come in her house, take off your mask and tell who your parents were before she gave any candy, and the house that made you sign a prayer list and the treat was a prayer book. (Usually the house to get toilet papered and egged at the end of the night, thank God.) I never missed the houses that handed out the full candy bars or cans of pop, or the house with the homemade peanut butter and chocolate. (We lived in a small town where homemade wasn't really an issue). After the candy run, I made my way back to my grandparents house where the was always hot apple cider and glazed donuts (usually homemade).

And there it is, a not so condensed version of Drewby's Halloweens past. What are some of your favorite Halloween memories?

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Manic Monday

The Best Cover Ever:

Or at lest one of the best.

Pun-kin Carving Part Deux

I was going to wait and let this one be a surprise, but it turned out to be such a masterpiece I couldn't keep it to myself until then.

I really had no idea I was such a punk-in artiste!

This Is What I Do When I Don't Have To Work On A Thursday Afternoon:

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

As Halloween quickly approaches, I'm reminded just how much I love this holiday. One of my favorite parts of the season is the sit-com Halloween specials. Although it's becoming more rare, some of the best Halloween episodes are currently playing on Nic At Nite. (Does anyone else remember when Nic At Nite was "Mr. Ed" and "I Dream of Genie"?) Growing up I used to look so forward to the Halloween episodes of some of my favorite shows, because they always had the coolest costumes, completely transformed their homes and had the best Halloween parties. I think the best sit-coms for Halloween shows were "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement". "The Simpsons" and "South Park" also have to be the best animated Halloween specials out there. Well, the best animated anything, really.

My personal favorite is the "Roseanne" episode below where Darlene is missing half an arm.


I also really enjoy this Halloween special from "Roseanne" season 4.


It's really a shame that this Halloween mania is becoming somewhat scarce. Although shows like "The Office" did a Halloween special, nothing quite compares to the intesity of the early 90's. (Nothing really compares to the sit-coms of the early 90's in general.)

What are some of your favorite Halloween TV moments?

Ummm, Dreby, It's Only Monday.

So yesterday I invited some work friends over for a beer or two and some snacks. About halfway through the Oktoberfest case, I pull out a bottle of ApfelKorn apple schnapps, which I had bought to make spiked apple cider. (The helpful man at liquor store informed me when I bought it that if I bought plum brandy "the girl's panties would fall off faster". Ok, thanks.) When the ApfelKorn came out, my friend who teaches German, just started laughing. Not understanding the laughs as disapproval but encouragement, I proceeded to pass out several rounds of the schnapps then moved to Southern Comfort. By that time everyone was feeling pretty uninhibited and began salsa dancing in my kitchen. But, I guess I had the last laugh, since I found my head in the toilet at 7:30pm. Nice.

Manic Monday

White And Nerdy

I just finished reading Stephen King's book "Cell" which I enthusiastically give two thumbs down. I lost interest somewhere in the middle of the novel, but felt obligated to finish. (I started the book sometime in early August, if that's any indication) . The premise is a little creepy, yet completely unrealistic. Someone, somewhere created some sort of sonic wave that transmitted through cell phone currents so that whenever anyone answered or spoke on a cell phone, they turned into a nocturnal zombie like creature with no regard for anyone else and is lulled to sleep with soft elevator-esque music. The three main characters travel from Boston to northern Maine to flee for safety. Oh, did I mention the zombies can read minds too? The ending was sappy but didn't tie up any loose ends and never really explained the origin of the "boom". Maybe it's because I'm just not into science-fiction type reading or movies, but this book was a snooze. I used to be an avid reader of Stephen King, and especially loved "Dolores Claiborne" and "Misery". (Both movie remakes, by the way, are flawless). "Cell" seems to be a throwback to King's earlier book "Desperation" or even "The Regulators" (written under Richard Bachman). Both of which have a similar world-ending science-fiction feel.

But, with the completion of this book, my summer reading pile is officially completed (with the exception of a book about atheism, which reads more like a textbook than a novel, so that was just skimmed for ammunition).

My newest book is somewhat of a classic by Nobel Prize winner Herman Hesse "Siddhartha", which is a story about a young boy in India who meets the Buddah and eventually becomes enlightened himself. It's a short book, and was recommended to me by a colleague. I also saw it on a list of "life changing books" somewhere, but I think that might be a little too much pressure for me in 120 pages.

After "Siddhartha" I plan to start "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. I never knew much about Kerouac until earlier last month when it seemed almost every magazine or newspaper I picked up had an article about the 50th anniversary of this book. Kerouac became big with the "Beat" movement in the 50s, along with Allen Ginsberg. ("Howl" by the way is probably one of my most favorite things ever written). I always thought the Beat generation was very interesting, and actually, when I was in Ecuador got to meet an author who was big there at that time. A very cool experience. (Insert finger snapping here).

General Musings

Since I have been gone for a while, and don't have anything particularly interesting to post, here are a few things that are on my mind/happened to me lately.

• First, and sadly probably most exciting, a middle aged man called me a "greedy bastard" from his pickup truck yesterday. No matter how true that may be, he was a complete stranger and has no right making such assumptions without ever seeing just how greedy or bastardly I can be.
• I'm very excited to see the new movie Elizabeth:The Golden Age. I can't remember the last time I went to the theater to see a movie, and it always seems like a fun novel thing to me. I need to get out more.
• I broke a very solemn vow I made to myself this weekend and watched Evan Almighty with my mother this weekend. Every time I see my her she brings up the movie, as a sort of insinuation that she wants me to watch it with her. So I broke down and watched it with her. Not bad, but I lost interest and fell asleep well before half way in.
• Along with the movie, I discovered a new decadent delight, Ben and Jerry's Crème Brûlé ice cream. A completely intense experience.
• After some heavy coercing and a guilt trip by my grandfather, I accompanied my parents to church on Sunday. The first time since Christmas at least, and quite possibly the last. Just when I thought I had survived the worst of the service, the pastor pulls out the "anointing oils" and "praying chair" and turned the quiet little church into something off of the Cornerstone Broadcasting Network. Suffice it to say, I do not plan on going back for quite sometime, and my mother is well aware of that fact.
• Work is still currently nonexistent for me, and it appears it will stay that way for quite a while.
• My new favorite seasonal beer is Penn Brewery's Oktoberfest, thanks to a fellow alchy out of work colleague.
• I'm currently watching the Law & Order SVU where Mark Paul Gosselaar is "gay for pay".
  

I think that's enough droning for now. More updates soon.

I'm Coming I'm Coming.

Please be advised my life has been ultra hectic lately and my internet has been a bitch to boot, so stay tuned for some blogging soon. Mostly when I sober up...

Manic Monday (Un Jour Enretard)

Sorry, my internet has been out. Please be manic with this thought:

Gafas Nuevas

I picked up my new glasses today. Let me know what yinz think.

Mr. Brightside

As someone who works with people all day everyday, I can appreciate the occasional grumpy mood or sneering look. But when you deal with complete strangers, I feel it only polite to have the facade of a happy person. When an internet repairman showed up at my door this afternoon, instead of a traditional greeting, said "You havin' problems with the internet?". Why yes, you havin' problems with the router cable up your ass? For the rest of the visit in my home, I responded to monosyllabic orders and questions. Why do people, especially when your job requires you to enter stranger's homes, feel the need to express the anger or malaise so visibly?
I read a very interesting article a while back in a Smithsonian magazine titled "What's behind a smile?" which broke the codes of the simple smile and might have changed my mind a bit on the matter. It states that according to research, people who were not happy or uncomfortable were put in a slightly better (although mostly false) mood when they smiled or were around someone who smiled at them. The physical act of smiling isn't exactly what makes people feel better, but it's contagious. I totally agree. I can be the most miserable and pessimistic person when I want to be, but find it almost irresistible to not smile at someone passing me if they flash their teeth first.
Although, sometimes it can feel too cumbersome to act so happy, which is maybe why Mr. Repairman just wasn't havin' it, even though I was trying to kill him with kindness. This article also talks about companies that make their employees constantly smile and be polite. It mentions McDonald's and WalMart amongst others. (However, I have been treated rudely at both establishments on more than one occasion). People can become miserable by pretending to be wonderful. Barbara Held, author of the book Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching says "There's nothing wrong with smiling, I do it. It's the insistence of others that everyone smile, and have a nice day, and look on the bright side, no matter what, that's tyrannical, because it denies the psychological fact that people cope in different ways." What a real statement. Not everyone is having the time of their lives serving you 600 calorie sandwiches and listening to Jibbs. Held talks in the article about a middle aged woman who works in a store she frequents who always asks "how are you". "I give her my standard answer, 'I hate everything'. Because I want people to know that there are other answers besides 'I'm fine.'" says Held. I love this woman. She says that her answer to this woman "I hate everything" actually cheers her up. "I go home and think about it and laugh to myself".
Maybe being a jerk does have it's up side.

Manic Monday

I Forgot How Much I Love:

This Song
This Video
Soundgarden
Chris Cornell

Culinary Delights For All The Senses

It both amuses me and disturbs me that last weekend while watching "Everyday Italian" with my mother, we both screamed at the TV in perfect tandem: "OK, we get it, you're a Dago!" when she started talking about her bisCOOHti and amaREHTTi cookies for the third straight time. Also, if I hear my girl Ina Garten say one more time that she really likes food to look like what's in it while throwing quartered limes on a platter I'm writing both Food Network and the East Hampton City Council nasty letters.

In my own culinary adventures, I've been all over the globe this week. Started out with an awesome 3 cheese 3 pepper enchilada at Mad Mex. Tuesday was $5 carry-out day at a local pizza place, so I couldn't pass that up. Wednesday I met a friend at a Japanese steak house where I had spicy tuna and cream cheese sushi (which sounds repulsive but really kicked ass). The highlight of my Japanese experience (besides the Saki) was the fact that in the middle of dinner, bright disco lights came one and a Japanese-pop version of "Happy Birthday" started blaring while our waitress brought out a half-empty bottle of Grey Goose with a sparkler in it for a 9 year-old boy. Tonight was Quiznos, the real American treat. And tomorrow I'm going out with Jen-nay for my first Ethiopian dinner. (I've decided I'm not eating out at all next week) When I told a colleague today that I was going to an Ethiopian dinner, she asked how it was possible to have an entire restaurant based on a country that doesn't eat. I do love subtle racism in the work place.

In other work-related news, I overheard another colleague saying that Lifetime movies should be shown in school to teach students real life lessons.

This weekend should prove to be interesting and very indie, so I'm sure I'll be blogging that.

Natalie Merchant And Other Riders

So, I've temporarily/maybe permanently abandoned Travel Tuesdays. It's become arduous and boring for me.



I rocked out on my way to work this morning to the 10,000 Maniacs version of "Peace Train" which I did not know existed. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the band. Partly because they hail from the neighboring town of my hometown. I also discovered Dolly Parton also covered my favorite jam, which I have never heard. Call me a Purist, but nothing compares to Cat's original.

Also, a big YELLOW to my new reader Katie, and an equally large YELLOW to old reader Rasputin.

Manic Monday