HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!

On October 31st we celebrated the ever-famed holiday, Halloween.

Halloween being one of my favorite days of the year, I decided to right an article covering most everything about this wonderful, and sometimes scary day:

Origin:
Traces of Halloween date back to a holiday called All Hallows, a Celtic celebration of the dead. All Hallows , otherwise known as All Saints Day, was a very busy holiday. However, the night prior to All Saints had the most intense activity, human and supernatural both. People still celebrate All Hallows Eve as the night of the wandering dead, but now people tend to think that the supernatural beings are evil. The people continued to propitiate the masked impersonators of the spirits by leaving different foods and drinks out for them. Before you knew it, All Hallows Eve became Hallow Evening, to Hallowe'en--an ancient Celtic, pre-Christian New Year's Day in contemporary dress.


Movies:
There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting around at my house and watching fun Halloween movies. Here are some timeless, Halloween classics that aren't too scary:

• Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Tim Burton's Sleepy Hallow
• Tim Burton's Beetlejuice
• Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands
• Stephen King's Cats Eye
• Charles Addams's The Addams Family Movie
• Disney Pixar's Coraline
• J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter movies
• Charles M. Schulz's It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein

So after a long night of trick-or-treating you can relax and settle down with these great Halloween flicks, eat all the Halloween candy you earned, and remember the true meaning of Halloween. 

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088889/
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/movies.html
http://abcfamily.go.com/specials/13-nights-halloween?cid=afm_psg_comsearch_13NOH&kmed=ppc
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101272/fullcredits#writers
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060550/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/

Really Stupid Warning Labels...

Recently I saw a warning label on my jar of peanuts: "Caution: May contain nuts" and I was inspired to make a list of all those stupid warning labels out in the world. Hope you enjoy!

• On a bicycle: "Removing the wheel can influence the performance of the bicycle"
• On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness"
• On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: "Product will be hot after heating"
• On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap"
• On a bottle of dog shampoo: "Caution: The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish
• On my Revlon Hair Dryer: "Warning: Do not use while sleeping or unconscious"
• On car sun shield: "Do not drive with shield in place"
• On a product called Rubber Band Shooter: "Caution: Shoots rubber bands"
• On a novelty rock garden set: "Eating rocks may lead to broken teeth
• On a hammer: "Misuse may lead to property damage and bodily injury"
• On a can of self-defense pepper-spray: "May irritate eyes"
• On the manual for a heated seat cushion: "Warning: Do not use on eyes"
• On the manual for a microwave oven: "Do not use for drying pets"

There is more where that came from at LUCKY PUPPY

or at http://www.rinkworks.com/said/warnings.shtml, and remember read your labels everyone! ...Because you never know when they will be this stupid! :)

COUNTDOWN TO 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH!!!

In about 13 days Earth will hold seven billion people; an awfully neat fact, but not quite surprising seeing as there is a birth about every second. The world reached six billion people in 1999, and has doubled in only 40 years, in 1959 when the population just reached three billion people.

We are expected to reach seven billion people on Halloween! So keep checking up on the population, and other cool statistics at worldometers.

"Instead, its a nightmare"

                    A couple and their new-born baby got the Halloween scare of a lifetime when they got lost in a corn maze near Salem, Massachusetts, and had to call 9-1-1. Danvers police say they got a call from a distressed mother at about 6:32pm on Monday, who had told them about her situation in Connors Farm in Danvers;

                    The exchange:

Woman: "Hi, I just called. I'm still stuck at Connors Farms. I don't see anybody. I am really scared. It's really dark and we've got a 3-week-old baby with us."


Dispatcher: "Just relax. Calm down. Your husband is with you right?"

Woman: "Yes, but my baby?"

Dispatcher: "OK. I understand and the police officer is on the way."

Woman: "We thought this would be fun. Instead it's a nightmare. I don't know what made us do this. It was daytime when we came in. And I never take my daughter out. This is the first time. Never again."

The family's frightful journey was reported by the Danvers Herald first, then picked up world wide. Bob Connors, the owner of the farm, told on Wednesday that the maze was created so that people would get lost in the 7 acres of the mighty stalks; and says that it can take up to an hour to navigate around the headless horseman, carved into the maze.

If you think you're up to the challenge than try it out yourself at Connors Farm, near Salem, Mass..

PENCEY PREP!!!

Pencey Prep, a band that originated in Belleville, NJ, consists of Frank Iero (Lead vocals, Guitar), Shaun Simon (Keyboards, Moog), John McGuire (Bass, Vocals, Hambone), and Tim Hagevik (Percussionist). Pencey Prep got its name from The Catcher In The Rye; it was the name of the school that the protagonist, Holden, got expelled from. They came out with their new album, Heartbreak in Stereo, on Eyeball Records in the fall of 2001. They soon after broke up and on their own paths to musical fame. For instance, Frank Iero is now a successful rhythm guitarist for My Chemical Romance, who just performed in the Honda Civic Tour! Some good songs from their album include:  Fat and Alone, Attention Reader, Yesterday, and P.S. Don't Write Back.

Honda Civic Tour 2011: Part 2: Blink-182

After exerting all my energy to My Chemical Romance, we had a break while waiting for the next band to get set up. The lights were on, and my eyes were adjusting horribly. I got up and sat on the back of my chair, so I could examine everyone behind me, which was a lot of people because we sat near the front. To be exact we sat near the front, a few rows behind the pit, and a little to the left.

After about an hour of waiting around, watching people, and getting pictures with a kid dressed up like a banana, Blink-182 finally set stage, to the excitement of us all! Blink-182 (or Blink for short) really had  good stage presence.  They also had very bright and flashy lights which was hard to get used to but still thoroughly fun.

Blink jammed through all their hits and more, including: All the Small Things, The Rock Show, First Date, I Miss You, What's My Age Again, Dammit, The Party Song, and Family Reunion. They even played a song or two from their new album (Neighborhoods): Up All Night. I thought the graphics were zany and random enough to be enjoyed, including the ones of: a well dressed man clapping, a banana peeling and un-peeling itself again, and of course, a dog peeing. The stage antics of the three men {Tom DeLonge (Vocals, Guitars), Mark Hoppus (Vocals, Bass), and who could forget Travis Barker (Drums!)} were delightfully playful. They made fun of each other, jokingly, talked directly to specific people in the audience, and even showed us one of the drawings an audience member made for them, beautiful :). 

I wasn't the only one who went to the concert though, here's what other people thought:

"Favorite part? Obviously when Travis was playing drums above the audience!" She's right, Travis was rigged to a platform, then rose into the air while playing a huge and epic solo!

"I wished they'd played 'Adam's Song'"
"Totally appreciated 'Happy Holidays', and 'Family Reunion'
"Those had to be the best graphics in the world!"

A special thanks to (again) Ariel Friedlander, and Emily Allen for their wonderful opinions!

Honda Civic Tour 2011: Part 1: My Chemical Romance

(Gerard Way)

On Saturday, September 17th I arrived, not too late, for the best day of my life. It was about 8:00, Ariel, Chloe, and I had just stepped into the Susquehanna Bank Center. After about 25 very long minutes of stepping on broken glass, and being pushed around by drunk freaks, we finally were in the building, and  more importantly, we were safe. When we came in we immediately headed for the merchandise shack, where we purchased three t-shirts, and two posters. We thought we arrived on time, even though the concert started at 7:00; We just figured that it would take an hour for the stage to be setup, and for the opening act to perform. But, unfortunately, we were wrong. After leaving the merchandise stand we glided to the doors, like flies to light. "Wait? Is that MCR!?!?!? LET'S GO! GO GO GO GO!!!" We all thought in unison. 

When we walked in My Chemical Romance was playing The Only Hope For Me Is You. 

Other songs included: Mama, The Black Parade, Helena, I'm Not Okay (I Promise), Give Em' H*** Kid, The Kids From Yesterday, Teenagers, S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, Look Alive Sunshine, Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), and then finally Cancer.  The stage was complete with eccentric lighting, delightfully unusual graphics, and, of course, the band: Gerard Way (vocals), Ray Toro (lead guitar), Mikey Way (bass), and Frank Iero (rhythm guitarist).

You've already heard the concert from my perspective, now here is what other people think: 

        "So Amazing!"

                                                      "The lights were pretty cool, I liked when they showed the                                  Black Parade logo and the Three Cheers logo"

"My favorite part had to be during 'Mama' when Gerard and I had a little connection.

                   He totally looked at me!"                                     

                                                       "I thought the lights were good because they weren't too distracting"           

                                   "FREAKING AMAZING!!"

                       "It was the most inspiring thing of my life and I will never forget it!"

A special thanks to Ariel Friedlander and Emily Allen for the input!