I'm helping plan to the menu for a Halloween bash this year. I'm really pushing for this spooky witches brew that was featured in the October 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living. Doesn't it just look amazing?
It's a green curry coconut soup, and I feel like it really captures the creepiness of the holiday while still looking delicious. Taste is something that seems to be sacrificed way too frequently in Halloween cuisine. I'm hoping to see more recipes like this in the future.
Halloween was not one of my favorite holidays as a kid. My mom would always make me these amazing, creative, homemade costumes and I hated them. I just wanted to fit in with all the little girls in crappy, store-bought polyester princess costumes. One year I had this awesome spider costume. Made of black felt, it had six false legs (three on each side) that were connected to each other with fishing line. The top leg on either side had an elastic band that went around my arms. When I moved them, the legs moved as well. The costume was undoubtedly one of the best I'll ever have, probably one of the best in the history of all costumes, but my youthful insecurity kept me from fully enjoying and appreciating its weirdness. Thankfully, as I've grown, I've learned to accept and enjoy weirdness in costumes, in myself, and as I've done so I've learned how to enjoy Halloween.
I am really looking forward to Halloween this year, as it is on a Saturday. My entire weekend is already filling up. The night of Friday the 30th the UO Cultural Forum is organizing a free concert by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Nate is a pretty big fan of NPSH because they have a song titled "Beard Lust". He might have some other reasons he likes them but I think it is mostly just that they share his appreciation of a good beard. Here's a fan video for "Beard Lust".
I'm not holding my breath that this concert will take place after the disastrous cancellation of the Passion Pit concert earlier this month, but I'm hopeful that this concert will happen and that it will be good. NPSH will be a free concert and open to the public, so if you are in the Eugene area on Friday the 30th, you should go. It will be on the U of O campus in the EMU ballroom.
Saturday night I will be going to a costume party, where I am hoping to influence the DJ with my wiles until he/she plays some songs by Dead Man's Bones. I posted this video on facebook a few days ago, but I feel like it deserves to be posted again.
Dead Man's Bones is made up of Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling (yup, of The Notebook and Lars and the Real Girl fame). The band was created to showcase their mutual love of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and Doo Wop music. Some of the songs are spookier, and thus more suited for Halloween, than others, but I enjoy them all. I will definitely be playing "My Body's a Zombie for You" at my bash this year. In fact, I'll probably just put the album on repeat.
One last thing I would recommend that you check out before October 31st rolls around is this new collection of scary stories titled Half Minute Horrors. It features short stories from a variety of well-known authors and artists, including Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket and (shout out to my childhood) R.L. Stine. You can get a glimpse of the insides of the book at the link. It is currently only $9.35 on Amazon.com, and part of the proceeds go to an organization that gives books to children. I'll be picking up a copy when I have a chance.
I'm always looking for good, regularly updated web comics to read. Something about cheesy puns and wacom tablet drawings just tickles my fancy, I guess. Right now, my favorite comic has to be Pictures for Sad Children. It's drawn by some guy named John Campbell. I don't know anything about him besides that he draws this comic. I've been reading it for a while now, although I don't remember how long. Maybe a year. I don't know.
Links to some of my favorite comics from Mr. John Campbell:
Something about his combination of dry humor and depressing truth just gets me. I guess I love this comic because, when I read it, I never know whether to laugh or to weep. Also, feel free to buy me his book (autographed please) and/or this t-shirt.
If you don't already read it, click on over to Pictures for Sad Children, dang it. Also, if you have recommendations for web comics I should add to my RSS reader, leave a comment!
