Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This article about a farmer in Ohio who grew creepy pumpkins with human faces on them was apparently in the January 1938 issue of Popular Science.

Funny Halloween Prank

I've seen this everywhere this past week...

"Sandy, can't you see, I'm in misery..."

I am keeping an eye on my neighbor's large, dead pine tree.  Our town is mostly dry, sandy soil.  The high winds predicted would make it seem possible that the tree is coming down.  We are in the northern edge of the "LIKELY power outages.



At least we will miss the rain this time.  I do not think I could handle the property flooding like it did last year during Irene.



Sandy (or her remnants) is predicted to be over us on Thursday, November 1st, at around 8:00 AM....

This made me __________.

My Birthday Haul!

I think I may have neglected to mention my birthday was this past weekend...and this was what I got!

Three new Marvel Eaglemoss mini-statues:

Black Widow 

Invisible Woman

Medusa

Plus 100 comic bags and boards!  SCORE!

Busy Weekend

We had last Thursday and Friday off from school....remnants of the old "Teacher's Convention" of yesteryear.  The convention is gone but the days off remain.  Thursday was slotted as Parent Teacher Conferences, but my team tries to be flexible and hold them mornings and evenings the week before and the week after the Thursday...all to get the day off!

My wife and kids still had school.  The town we live in went through a Teacher's Strike several years ago.  As a result, they missed a lot of school days that year and ever since the calendar has been different from the surrounding districts.

I didn't do much on Thursday as a result of a REALLY late night on Wednesday.  Dinner with my teaching partner and then some late night prowling with my cousin as he waited for a flight to arrive.

Thursday was my wife's birthday.  The kids and I gave her her presents before they all left for the day.

The rest of the day involved a long nap and a re-watching of "Serenity".  The movie grows and grows on me with each viewing.

# 84 on my flickchart list

After picking up the kids and dropping them off where they needed to be, I put an episode of The Mike O'Meara Show on to my iPhone and mowed the lawn.

We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants that night and then settled in for the night.

Friday was rainy and cold, so we settled in for a mini-film festival.

# 3 on my flickchart list

 

# 34 on my flickchart list

# 240 on my flickchart list

Plans got a bit screwy for our family and I ended up seeing "Looper" by myself.

# 139 on my flickchart list

It is rare these days where I care enough to pay to go see a movie but this one had enough buzz and an intriguing concept.  It is also rare where I avoid all spoilers and can be truly surprised by a movie but I did my best with this one.

I left slightly underwhelmed but it is growing on me in retrospect.  I think I need to see it again at some point. I won't spoiler it for anyone who may be waiting to see it.  Needless to say, if you think this is your sort of movie, it probably is....some action, makes you think, sort of a twist ending....

On my way home, I stopped at one of the few video stores still in business and bought four movies.  One for the kids, two for all of us and one for me.

Saturday involved breakfast out after a few episodes of "Law and Order".  We also played a game of Monopoly.  Nan got kind of bored after an hour and "killed" her player (we don't tend to use the Monopoly pieces....usually there are HeroClix or MiniMates or the like on the board).  We then proceeded to play "Haunted Monopoly".  The rules got weird, but we swapped Nan's figure for a ghost and had to pay "Exorcism Fees" and deal with "Fright Attack" damage.

The night ended with a game of poker.  The Armchair Squid was there and will probably do a better job of writing things up.  There was a LOT of Texas Hold 'Em when I was hoping for a variety of games, but it was a fun night.  I left with about $12 more than I arrived with!

Today's highlight was watching one of our new movies..."Unstoppable".

# 38 on my flickchart

If you've stuck around this long, I'll give you the short version.  I really liked this movie after I first saw it.  It kind of stuck with me.  I'm not so good with the reviews but this was a fun flick.  The characters got established quickly.  The writing was crisp and the interactions were believable.  The story is credible and edge of your seat tense.

Much longer post than I usually do.  I erased and rewrote it a few times but will leave this babbly version.

And I realize I left out so much! Part Two tomorrow?

Spoiler: It’s Jerry Orbach.

Happy Birthday, Jerry!  Your portrayal of Lenny Briscoe remains a favorite of mine!

from Our Cereal, It Is Warm

Happy Birthday, Nan!

Wherein The Tick establish his new battle cry!

I am the Arthur to your Tick!

As My Birthday Approaches...

xkcd posted this a while back....it explains itself...I'm at the start of the list...my kids are so far down it isn't even funny!

For the first time in a long time the hover text didn't do much for me...so I shall not include it!

Neil! Neil! Where's your hat?!?!?

I'm sure you've all seen this by now....but it still makes me chuckle.

Apparently they are still playing baseball...

from si.com

I would SO love a Nats-Os World Series!!

As Lee said on The Facebook, for Phillies fans, "Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth win games on back to back nights with game-ending homers. It's 2009, right? RIGHT?"

This Day In History: October 6, 1969

For the first time in Beatles history a George Harrison song got the A side of a 45, "Something"/"Come Together."

 

(I hope the video is still available!)

Finally...

via Joy of Sox

Keep Calm and Carry On

via xkcd

Something about this picture resonated with me this morning and I thought I would post it.  Even though my school year has started well and everyone in the house is healthy, there are just enough confusing and frustrating things swirling around.

I had a chance to chat with The Squid this morning to try to clear up one thing.  He made things better but also made things worse because he is just so darn nice and understanding. ;)

I've noticed smacky comment a few times in a few different places that a lot of folks seem to have hit the pause button on their blogging.  I think I've fallen into that trap.  I'm trying to read and comment but am once again so far behind...which compounds some of the guilt and frustration.....

I am so desperately trying to live by the bumper sticker on the back of my jeep...