MY KINDA HALLOWEEN, AS SEEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS OF THE PAST

What do you think of at Halloween? Candy and trick-or-treating? Costumes? Ghosts and goblins and bats and vampires and witches and werewolves? Not me, man, not me! I think of... ...bras... ...beer... ...smokes... ...Crisco... ...and sugared cereals that may in fact be bear poop. Combine these things and you have a PARTY! There's only one thing missing, tho...

AN HONEST SEATTLE WEATHER REPORT FOR THE NEXT TEN DAYS

Hire me, weather.com. ...

BATPAY NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA BATPAY!

I figured out quite some time ago that the full picture of my personality is best represented by a mix of the Batgirl and Catwoman characters from the '60s surrealist action comedy "Batman." Now, if I just looked that good in a skin-tight crimefighter/villain costume, my life would be complete. Oh, well. Surely my political leanings were influenced by this awesome Public Service Announcement, as Batgirl schools Batman and Robin about the Equal Pay...

RECYCLING HALLOWEEN COSTUMES: THE TOPICAL TWIST

It just takes a little bit of creativity to turn old things into new things, especially enjoyable at Halloween. Why buy a new costume when you don't have to, right? Enjoy! An "Occupy Oakland" Protestor Respected Actor Steve Buscemi Not-Respected Actor Tori Spelling Speaker of the House John Boehner The FOX News "Wisconsin Palm Tree" Adorable actress/musician Zooey...

TODAY'S CAR CONVERSATION ABOUT HALLOWEEN

(In the car after school today, a conversation about Halloween.) MissNine: Halloween! Mr13: What about it? MissNine: I'm so excited for it! What costume are you going to wear? Mr13: I'm not wearing a costume. I'm too old to go trick-or-treating. MissNine: Oh, that's not true! Even 38-year-olds go trick-or-treating! Mr13: They do not. MissNine: They do if they're drunk! Mr13: (exasperated) Mom... Me: It's possible, I suppose. MissNine: Every...

IT'S LATE, SO HERE YOU GO

What a strange day. From the terribly depressing news of the Occupy Oakland police actions last night that critically injured a peaceful, unarmed protestor (a veteran and fellow Wisconsinite), to the good feelings in helping out a local Seattle musician by helping to rebuild his record collection lost in a house fire, it's been a real rollercoaster. I've had a big beer and a big cider and a big pizza, I'm sleepy, and my mind is full of piss and...

IRONY, IRACKY, WHATEVER

(Today's after-school sibling exchange is as follows.) Mr13: You know what's irony? A fire station burning down. MissNine: That's not irony! Irony is a country! ...

WHEN IS A REVIEW NOT A REVIEW, OR, HOW TO RILE RYAN ADAMS FANS

I write here every single day, write for some other sites on occasion, and often with some pretty strong opinions, wedged in-between the all-important YouTubes of yelling goats and photoshops of Herman Cain, of course. My "style" is conversational, I suppose -- I write just how I think and talk. I am perfectly able to write "straight" pieces of journalism, but so can a million other folks, and they do. What a million other people can't do is filter...

IPHONE PHOTO ROUNDUP: THE 43-YEAR-OLD BUNNY

A few simple photos today of this lovely bunny. I received it from my Grandpa Ollie on Easter of 1968, just a few days after my 6th birthday. It's one of those bobble-head ones where the head hangs from a little hook inside the neck, with a kind of plush bristle-y synthetic fur, and it sports the palest pink bow on the neck. From a distance and at the right angle, it looks pretty darn real. On Easter Morning, 1968, I woke to find Brown Bunny sitting...

VIDEO: "BEST NAPKIN I EVER HAD," BLACK LIPS

Man, these videos are fun to make! I love this mental surf mess by the Black Lips, which came out on a Scion/AV split 7" single with Oregon's Pierced Arrows. As you can see, a chili dog at the beach go-go party just doesn't go so well. Enjoy! Black Lips, "Best Napkin I Ever Had" ...

FALSE FREEDOM: DECONSTRUCTING RON PAUL

A good summation of the U.S. political climate in the Fall of 2011: Everyone is pissed off. You'll have to forgive my plain language there, but it's the most accurate way to describe how everyone is feeling, from the grungiest, hairiest Occupy The Everything hippie to the most hardcore gun-totin', values-votin' Hank Williams, Jr. fan. A big chunk of Dems have been unhappy with President Obama's performance, and a big chunk of Republicans facepalm...

WANT TO BE A 2012 GOP CANDIDATE? PASS THIS SIMPLE TEST!

Please use a #2 pencil, and per GOP rules you are allowed to cheat but must make somewhat of an attempt not to be caught. OK? Begin! SCORING: 1/5: You are either a Communist or a Socialist, and are a disgrace to the United States of America. 2/5: You are a Democrat, and should go join your liberal hippie friends who got 1/5 and go back to Africa or France or Vancouver. 3/5: You are a Libertarian, and might...

2011 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Just in time, too! "Auntie" Ron Paul Marcus and Michelle Bachmann, "Happily Married Straight Couple" Herman Munster Cain "Mitt-Flop" Romney Adolf Rickler ...

HEY MAM

It’s a bit unnerving, the waiting room: a small square box rimmed with chairs and a single wide opening to the hallway in the busy medical clinic. Its tight quarters and lack of privacy are made worse by the fact that I am naked from the waist up, save for a loose, untied-at-the-back, light blue hospital gown. I’m not particularly uptight about this sort of thing, or about doctors, hospitals, blood draws, peeing in cups, or having assorted strangers in...

DEVIL EGG

Wordlessly, MissNine hands me this drawing, then walks away. Thank you, dear. ...

PHOTOS: OCCUPY SEATTLE, WESTLAKE PARK, 10/15/11

Sorry to be late with the daily update! I was fortunate enough to be able to head down to Occupy Seattle late this afternoon, part of the larger Occupy Wall Street movement, which has now spread to cities throughout the world. My participation today was as an observer and documenter, and I have just a few things to tell you from my experience there: -- At all times, it was an entirely peaceful protest. All discourse was held respectfully. -- Westlake...