Classic Halloween & Other Holiday Links

This slideshow of mid-20th century Halloween photos is great.

I always love reading about food in other cultures, so this feature on what's eaten at Diwali was fascinating.

Want to escape for the holidays? How about a nice cottage rental?

In honor of the October snow, an old favorite: Make your own virtual snowflakes.

Halloween Reads: "The Fall of the House of Usher"

I've read plenty of Poe stories over the years, but had somehow never read this one, and when Sarah Rees Brennan recapped it in her first Gothic post, I knew I had to give it a try. And it was delightful, really, equal parts creepy and absurd, and just good. I'd forgotten what a good writer Poe was, although he obviously had some Issues, and was probably not a barrel of laughs to be around. It's amazing how much plot he gets into a story of less than twenty pages, and his language is extremely rich - "encoffined" and "clangorous" are my new favorite words. Since this story is so old, it's out of copyright, so give yourself a Halloween treat and read it online right now.

Haven, "Sins of the Father" - Recap at TheTelevixen

Sorry this is so late, but my recap of the Haven season finale, "Sins of the Father," is finally live at TheTelevixen.

This Week's TV News: Caffeine for 10/30

Renewals! Pick-ups! All sorts of stuff! Catch up with my column at TheTelevixen.

Happy Halloween!

I rather like the random Muppet videos this movie is prompting. Saw this one as a commercial during the morning news:

Friday Link Potpourri

On Friday afternoons I'm going to start doing a roundup of links that haven't fit in with any of the themed link posts. Enjoy!

Hey look! A simple and useful way to think about the Euro crisis!

NYMag has a fascinating profile of Carlina White, who was kidnapped as an infant and figured out who she was later on.

If your tagline is going to be "Not Science Fiction," you should probably check that it, um, actually isn't.

HP pulls a Netflix; doesn't split itself after all.

Apparently they are "close" to finding Sir Francis Drake's body. Well then.

Yoga and Vitamins: Worthless

Picture of the day: End Galactic Corporate Greed

Headline of the week: Man Caught Having Sex with Donkey Claimed It Was a Shapeshifting Hooker

Music Break: "Snow" from White Christmas

It snowed last night, which means, in my world at least, that Christmas music is now fair game. I'll try to hold out a little while before going all-Christmas-all-the-time on you, but I had to mark the occasion. I was going to find the clip of this song from the movie, but then I found these obviously amazing people who reenacted it in their dining room. May I be friends with them?

Candy Economics & Other Halloween Links

Head over to TheTelevixen and vote for your favorites in the Celebration of the Supernatural on TV!

A Semi-Microeconomic Analysis of Halloween Treats

Awesome: Women Laughing Alone with Salad: The Costume.

What Your Halloween Candy Says About You

This site creates a horror movie starring YOU and apparently people actually want this. I do not understand people.

Stuck for a last-minute costume? Here's a huge list of printable Halloween masks.

Halloween Reads: The Horribly Haunted School by Margaret Mahy

I loved Mahy's YA The Changeover, so I figured I'd give some of her kids' books a try as well. This isn't specifically a Halloween story, but it is about ghosts, so it seemed seasonably appropriate. It's a really cute story about a boy who is allergic to ghosts - he sneezes when one is around, and can only stop when it shows itself. His parents don't believe him and send him to a special school to make him "sensible," but of course that school itself is haunted - by a former headmaster who was much less strict than advertised and just wants to make sure that his students turned out all right. This book is hilarious, and also has some really nice things to say about the balance between sense and imagination and how to encourage that balance in children. It's perfect for an upper elementary age group. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print in the U.S., but check your library!

Tonight's TV Premiere Reminders: 10/28/11

We're past the first few weeks, so let's just say that whenever there's a TV premiere, I'll try to let you know. Remember, you can see my regularly-updated TV spreadsheet here. (All times Eastern.)

8 p.m.:
Chuck season 5 premiere, NBC
Last season! I'm way behind on this show, but actually really like it, so I have vague hopes of catching up in time to watch the series finale with everyone else.

9 p.m.:
Grimm series premiere, NBC
A homicide cop starts seeing fairy tale characters. Honestly, I haven't heard great things, but I like the premise so I'll give it a try.