Candidate masks for Halloween

I said before that I'm going to make this week Halloween week. Well, why not combine both the election and Halloween? Below are masks from Amazon.com. I didn't see a Joe Biden mask, however. Maybe they couldn't get the hair plugs down right. ;-)

Halloween

I think in the coming week, I'll try to have a Halloween theme. Today I want to ask all of you this question:

If money were no object, what costume would you wear?

For me, I'd like the classic Lon Chaney Wolfman. I always thought that it was cool.

Possibly the most controversial topic that I've discussed on my blog!

Okay, folks - I've discussed a few controversial topics during my time blogging, so I feel that you all are ready to touch upon a particularly thorny topic.

See, it's bigger than the current financial crisis. It's bigger than pondering the possibility of whether we're going to elect a bona fide socialist into the Oval Office or a genuine redneck moose hunter as a vice president. It's more controversial than the gay marriage issue and whether the states should allow it. It's bigger than my Madonna-Induced Career Implosion Theory (MICIT, formerly the Madonna Implosion Theory, or MIT)! Heck, it's even bigger than whether college football should stick with the BSC system or go with a playoff system! What is that thory topic, you ask? It's this:

What sorts of songs should I have on my Halloween playlist for my MP3 player?

Monster Mash for sure, and Ghostbusters. Gotta also have Thriller, and Werewolves of London. However, I don't like Love Potion #9, even though it's often on most Halloween playlists. Anyway, those are some of the classics for Halloween. My question is, what other songs could go on such a list?

I have Nightmare on My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince on mine. Also, Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers Band, Hotel California by The Eagles, and People are Strange by The Doors. From Santana there is Evil Ways and Black Magic Woman. The rest of my Halloween lineup shapes up this way:

* The Purple People Eater
* Lil' Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham
* Somebody's Watching Me
* Theme from the Addams' Family
* Theme from the Twilight Zone
* Theme from Jaws

So with that, I ask you all: What else could go on this list?

Today is talk like a pirate day, matey! YAAAR!!

Ye ever wanted to talk like like a pirate, matey, but ye couldn't getcher yohoho mojo goin'? Then this website is fer ye scruvy seadogs! Yaaaar!!

Now go out an' "yaar" with the likes o' ol' Long John Silver himself!

(why do pirates say "Yaar!" so much anyway?)

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, officially the day that we remember our soldiers who have died in the service of our country, but also as the unofficial start of summer. However, I won't be dealing with the start of summer for this blog entry.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have always been a history buff. I especially enjoyed reading about World War II. WWII was also something that me and my brother had in common in regards to interests (among others, although we certainly had our differences). For some reason, WWII and the 1940's in general have always fascinated me, and still do. I even write short stories of a 1940's private eye character named Benny Baloney. But I digress.

When reading about the soldiers and thier experiences, I've often wondered how I would have done had I been drafted and gone to fight in Europe or the Pacific. Even though I read a lot about war, I'm no warrior. I'm not sure that I can kill anyone, even in self defense. As far as the warring part, I'm not sure that I would have made a very good soldier. And yet, consider many of the young men who were drafted. Many of them were 18 or 19.

That's just out of high school for most of us. And many of those young men were simple folk - basically country bumpkin farm boys with very little sophistication, as agriculture was a much larger part of American life back then than it is now. And yet, they were thrust into battle to fight in the largest, most expansive war that the world has ever known. Consider that these simple, unsophisticated country bumpkins were made to shoot and kill other men. What does doing something like that do to one's psyche - especially doing that same difficult act repeatedly for years? I'm sure that you get to a point that you just accept it - that it's either "kill or be killed".

Some soldiers may be able to handle that, but others may not. A lot depends upon how well the soldier is prepared for that. Shooting to kill is not like playing soldier when you're a kid. The other guy doesn't just go down for a few seconds and get back up again. The other guy is not only down, he stays down. Not only that, unlike the kid version in which the other guy simply goes down, the real version "other guy" is hit with a real bullet, in which there may be blood splattered, followed by a very real cry of pain. Imagine someone's wail of pain filling your ears, and then thinking that "I caused that. I caused that guy to be screaming in pain like that." That's got to damage you psychologically - especially the longer and the more often you do that, and especially if you weren't properly prepared for the very real results of making war.

Since I've never been in battle, the closest I've been is a video game called Call of Duty, in which you play a soldier first from the U.S., then Britain, and then the Soviet Union. It is played in a "first person" format in which you are looking at the battlefield from the eyes of a soldier. In this game, you hear the bullets whizzing by your head, and you see the "other guy" lurching from being struck by bullets, and you even see them being tossed in the air like rag dolls when something explodes near them. You even see the haunting images of death on their faces as you go by them.

However, ultimately, Call of Duty is as real as the version of war that I used to play as a kid. When I'm "hit" by bullets, I feel no pain. All that's affected is my "life meter" that gradually goes down the more I get hit, and the longer I go without finding a "medical kit". If my life meter goes down too far, then I "die". Then I can reset and pick up where I last got "killed". The medical kits are simple boxes or bags with a red "+" on it. When I make contact with it, I'm miraculously "healed" without ever having to take out bandages or disinfectants. I'm not even slowed down in my pursuit of the German soldiers, even if my life meter shows me as being "close to death", in which I am so wounded that the next bullet takes my life.

There are no smells of death. There are no large pools of blood. There is no suffering the long periods of boredom, or the effects of staying in a trench for days on end in freezing weather. None of that is felt in Call of Duty. How could the programmers include something like that? I get no psychological scarring, in which I involuntarily flinch at the sound of loud noises, or dive under tables whenever a plane or helicopter buzzes too low. And yet, that's what our soldiers endured, and continue to endure. I can't imagine what they've gone through, even with a game like Call of Duty. I just have to admire and appreciate that someone did answer the call to duty. I'm not sure that I could have done the same. God bless our servicemen and women who paid dearly for their service - some with the ultimate price. It's for such dedicated people that this holiday was made, so that we would never forget their sacrifices.

I believe that it was General George S. Patton that said it best. I don't know the exact wording, but it goes something like this: "Don't so much mourn that such men died in battle; instead, appreciate that such men lived."

When Holidays Collide...

If you haven't checked a calender lately, today is St. Patrick's Day. AND, Sunday is Easter! It's not often that these two holidays come this close to colliding with each other. At my workplace, we had to decide which holiday we wanted to decorate for. It wasn't long before we decided that we're going to decorate for both holidays!

Note the pics below:






Have a Happy St. Patrick's Easter!

Words to Auld Lang Syne video

If you've ever wanted to lead the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" but didn't know the words (kind of a requirement, wouldn't ya think? You can't exactly hum your way through it if you're going to be leading the singing!), then this video's for you. Practice a few times so that you get pace and beat correctly, and then have at it! And while you're at it, have a Happy New Year!

You know, I'm glad that we can wish each other Happy New Year without someone getting their underwear in knots like saying "Merry Christmas" upsets some people. ;-)

With this video, this completes "Post a Video Every Day" month. I missed one day, but I still posted more than 31 videos when you count out the final total. And with that, I'm taking a break for a few days, but I shall be back to posting on Friday. By then, you should have shaken off the effects of celebrating tonight, anyway!

Thanks for your interest and readership in my humble little corner of cyberspace. I wish you all the best in the coming year, and I look forward to what the new year brings. See you on the other side of midnight!

Assorted Thanksgiving Goodies

Just a quick note that I'll be away celebrating Thanksgiving with the family tomorrow, and I probably won't post again until Monday to get caught up on other stuff. In the meantime, enjoy the Thanksgiving-related goodies below.

John A.

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http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=GM26534313

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Subject: FW: Turkey Poem-

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,
My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,
Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
And he told me there was something that I had to know;
His look and his tone I will always remember,
When he told me of the horrors of..... Black November."

Come about August, now listen to me,E
ach day you'll get six meals instead of just three,
"And soon you'll be thick, where once you were thin,
And you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin;"
And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,
In'll burst the farmer's wife, and hack off your head;"

Then she'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald 'n pink,
And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink;"
And then comes the worst part" he said not bluffing,"
She'll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing."
Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,
And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
I'd have to lay low and remain overlooked;
I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola.

And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes;
I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;
But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death;

And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
I was the last turkey left in the entire compound.
So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;
I haven't a worry, so I eat and I nap;
She held me today, while sewing and humming,
And smiled at me and said: "
Christmas is coming..

HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y'ALL!



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http://www.mindfully.org/Heritage/2005/Wild-Turkeys-Attack23nov05.htm



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http://downloads.raileurope.com/holidayCard/06_christmas_card.html

Hey, maybe I was wrong about "ho ho ho"

Maybe I was too quick to judge those people yesterday wanting to ban "ho ho ho".

Remember that song, "Santa Baby"? Below are a few of the lyrics:

Santa Baby,
Just slip a sable under the tree
For me
Been an awful good girl
Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby,
a '54 convertible too
Light blue
I'll wait up for you, dear Santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you'll check off my Christmas list

Aha! See that one line? "I'll wait up for you, dear Santa baby". What's going on there? Why would she wait up for him - unless she knew for sure that he was coming? Sure, Santa may be delivering toys for the most part, but - what's he doing on the side??? That song just might be giving us a clue!

But also, consider the song, "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"! Some lyrics of that song:

Wow! mommy's kissing Santa Claus!
I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night
She didnt see me creep
Down the stairs to have a peep

She thought that I was tucked up
In my bedroom, fast asleep
Then I saw mommy tickle santa claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night

So! Santa's also fooling around with married women! Boy, this just explains a lot, doesn't? I wonder of Mrs. Claus knows about this? Surely there's an elf private eye who can get the goods on Santa and his - extracurricular activities - so that Mrs. C can nail him for everything he's got!

In light of this, ol' Santa make Bill Clinton look like a choir boy by comparison!

Sidney Santas told not to use "ho ho ho"

Read this story! It's hilarious! PC run amok!

Apparently, in Sidney Australia, the Santas there are being asked to not use "ho ho ho" because it can scare little kids, and also because "ho" is a slang American term for whore.

For one, Santa's been saying "ho ho ho" for generations, and only NOW are these people concerned that this greeting would be scary to little kids? And I don't think ANYONE ever believes when Santa is going around saying "ho ho ho", that he's soliciting for prostitutes!

Aren't there better things for these people to worry about?

Christmas season starting VERY early

Some of you regular readers know that I love Christmas, and that I'm the kind that says "Merry Christmas" instead of the generic "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" (What kind of greeting is "seasons greetings" anyway? Why the hell are we greeting a season? I never understood that). I've had columns and blog entries on this very topic, but in short I've said that, just as I can wish a Jew "Happy Hanukkah" or a Muslim "Holy Ramadan", a non-Christian can say "Merry Christmas" to me. None of us have to belong to the faiths of those holidays in order for our wishes to be sincere.

However, this year I noticed that many stores had already put up Christmas decorations when it wasn't even Halloween yet. It made their displays a scene right out of the movie, The Nightmare before Christmas. I love Christmas, but even I have to admit that this is too durn early! Yes, retailers need to make their money, and the Christmas season is their season to make their money. But how much more money are they going to make by starting the season before Halloween as opposed to starting it at least closer to Thanksgiving? Traditionally, the Christmas season started the day after Thanksgiving, in which at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santa Claus would appear in his sled and reindeer.

I suppose that retailers would reply by saying that, with all the time, planning, and investing it takes to set up the Christmas season, they need more time to get things going, and with so much depending upon a successful season, they need to maximize the duration of the season so that they can maximize their profits. It's all about money, in other words. Christmas didn't use to be the big deal that it is now - the familiar hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is largely their doing.

But it's not just the retail outlets that are starting too early. Radio station KVIL in Dallas is already playing Christmas music 24/7! See, 24/7 Christmas music is another issue altogether! How many times can you hear the many variations of "White Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" before going nuts? And I do not wish to hear "Frosty the Snowman" (what does he have to do with Christmas anyway?) and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in any way, shape, or form for many, many years to come.

So by the time you're bombarded with holiday decor at retail outlets and from holiday music on the radio (not to mention all the holiday specials on TV), one gets a case of Yuletide Overload - by which time that one is tired of Christmas - and it's not even Thanksgiving yet! Part of me thinks that there is a conspiracy out there by the anti-Christmas crowd to give us too much of what we want, so that we get tired of it, but then I think, "Well, they're being bombarded by all that as well - and why would they put themselves through more of what they don't want?"

Nope, the profit theory makes the most sense. So put up with the blinking lights and cheese holiday songs, folks. It won't be over until - gasp - next year.

And here I am talking about all this! ;-)

Happy Halloween!

And all of a sudden, it's Halloween day!

Sorry I haven't posted in the past few days, but I've been rather busy. Later today, I'll post a pic of my costume. I think it's cool. :-)

Halloween fun

Here's some Halloween fun for you, from a wise-crackin' skeleton. I may post other Halloween goodies as they come to me.

http://dedge.com/flash/hangman/hangman.swf?a=300

A Halloween feelgood story

This is the kind of feelgood story that restores faith in your fellow man - and woman. In Fort Worth, there is a little girl who has an inoperable brain tumor. Currently, due to some steroids that she has to take, the poor girl is swollen everywhere. And yet, despite all this, the neighborhood that she lives in decided to give her an early Halloween because the girl loves Halloween. So this past week, they all got together, wore their costumes, and went trick-or-treating. All for this little girl. Here's a video clip from a local TV station about the same story.

Nowadays, it's rare to see that kind of cooperation among neighbors. Usually we are lucky if we can talk to other members of a household, much less someone who lives next door. We have so much to distract us, such as our TVs, video games, and computers. And yet, these people got together for this little girl because she likely would not live to see October 31.

And during the research for this story, I just found out that this little girl died. Below is her picture before she got the cancer. Please pray for her and her family. I also hope that this lesson on neighborliness goes beyond that one neighborhood. Hopefully the young girl's life will teach us all a lesson on the beauty and fragility of human life. The girl wears an angel costume in the picture below. I like to believe that she is wearing the real thing now.