***Nostalgia Warning***

Best Halloween Ever
1997 or 1998
My closest friend Helen was home for a brief time. It was just after she graduated from college and just before she moved back up north. We went to a party at my friend/coworker Marcia's house. She lived in a really cool house and white lights were hanging everywhere. Everyone was there. I went as a housewife/attackee from The Birds. Picture an oven mitten, pearls and fake birds- the works. Helen went as a starlet. Holly and then boyfriend Mark were nurse and doctor. She had a gag oversize shot to go with the ensemble. Matthew went as Sylvester. Jamie spent the entire day leading up to the party frantically looking for the perfect costume and settled on a corset. The look wound up being very Chicago. She and Danny (Austin Powers channeling Prince) won the cutest couple award, in my book. Cece went as a French maid and was kissing the French architecure major (who went as a cowboy and was quite foxy) until he bit her. She got hysterical and then started her physics homework at the party. The whole thing was so neurotic and typical and perfect. We spent quite a bit of time sitting on the lawn. They played the best music. I specifically recall dancing to Depeche Mode and dancing with this cute guy, who went as one of the members of the Rat Pack. It was such a funny night. We dropped a sloshed Matthew home and called it a night.

Runner-Up
2001
Halloween weekend with Brooke and Katie in Santa Cruz. Highlights included the flashlight tour at Winchester Mystery House, a midnight screening of The Haunting and a quick jaunt to San Francisco.

Honorable Mention
3rd Grade
The bread truck guy gave out mini loaves of bread that were so cute. They were so mini they could fit in the palm of your hand.

Worst Halloween
1999
My car stereo was stolen and I witnessed an intense role playing game in session at a party with a decidedly Rocky/Ren Fair-ish crowd.

Tonite I saw some guys doing an obvious "Sabotage" ripoff. It was sweet. If there is one thing that never fails to amuse, it is guys acting like smartasses.

Happy Halloween Everyone

I Love the 80s is back. I'm a nostalgia junkie, grew up in the era of neon green and enjoy witty observations from the likes of Michael Ian Black, so this show is too fun.

Highlights:
=Fashion plates!
=Little Darlings
=Discussion of Human League's "Don't You Want Me"
=Freaky Freeze gloves
=Discussion of Loverboy's "Everybody's Working For The Weekend"
=You Can't Do That On Television
=Elvira without the makeup, which I've never seen before. She looks like Ginger from Gilligan's Island

North Country was good. It made me so mad. Those guys were such complete pricks. That's the point, I know. At times I found myself making fists at the screen. I was wearing a sweatshirt and my friend was wearing a bandana so the joke was that we were dressing like characters from the movie- like 1980s Northern Minnesota lady miners.

I had the not so enviable task of defrosting the freezer tonite. Why yes, I am a 1950s housewife. Later on I'll be taking out some t-bones from the icebox for Jimmie and little Sally.... One thing is for certain, that fridge is from at least as far back as the Eisenhower administration. My landlord is too cheap to purchase a new one. I started out the ladylike way with patience and a small spray bottle. That worked to a point. And then I had to get native on the thing. At one point I pictured myself as a wolf, very primal. The real bitch was the tricky back panel, from which it was nearly impossible to pry the sheets of ice. There were small victories along the way. I found some vanilla soymilk that is still good and I was able to use the phrase "hey ese" for the first time ever. Ultimately the fridge won, as a pancake flipper (used as a scraping device) was forever mangled and the number of towels needed to soak up the mess sent me to the laundromat, which was quite dicey tonite. Fun was had by none.

I love this time of year. I like the nip in the air at night and the way it gets dark so soon and the fall decorations, whether it be a pumpkin or that scary headless stuffed body thing I walk past everyday. Not like a lovely Wisconsin fall, but still.

Work: Still the neverending tupperware party from hell, but that's okay.

Music:
Wolf Parade's "Apologies to the Queen Mary" Look into it.
TNP's "Twin Cinema" Listening to it like mad. Love it!

Tube: Veronica Mars Netflix good.

"I wish I knew how to quit you" or Countdown to Brokeback Mountain/Seeing Jake Gyllenhaal make out with a guy!: 52 days

Pudas, Joseph Pudas

ElaborateLies Mailing List
Please email me with your mailing address. Halloween and Christmas cards galore await. I love this kind of thing, so please indulge me. Let me know if a Hanukkah card is in order.

Joe's Latest

My hairstyle has been elevated from Klute to Mullet status. And climbing.

Hairstyle Matrix

Cojocaru
The Rachel
Bay City Roller
Mullet
Klute

The moon looks a little like a wonton or an empanada. Time for a snack.

Word of the day. Feeling hostile today.

I went to the hair salon today and went for something different. Unsure at this point. I was told that it looks like Jane Fonda's hair in Klute. Klute? I guess it kind of does..........

Good Grief/WTH Moment of the Day:
Neil Cavuto's new book cover is semi-mortifying to me.

High/Hee Point of the Day:
I usually don't go in for the whole celebrity thing. (Insert collective eyeroll/sigh here) Don't care. Not a bit. Yet I do find the recent report of new couple Lauren Graham and Marc Blucas to be too cute. Not only is she on one of the best shows, but she is very funny and smart on all those Conan appearances. And Marc Blucas has that clean-cut/dashing thing going. What a lovely pairing.

Use Google to look these various things up. Too lazy for links.

Let's see a movie.

ATP 2006

I'll swim if I have to. Pipe dream.

Joe's Serenity Article

Reminder:
Go see Serenity

Words to bring into popularity:
=snarkastic- courtesy of Gilmore Girls
=fubarific- quite fitting unfortunately

I liked the hot coffee race on The Office.

Movies to See:
=Match Point **New Woody Allen
=The Family Stone **New SJP

Sloane Tanen's new book is out. Ecstatic! It is called Going For The Bronze: Still Bitter, More Baggage. It is a follow-up to the utterly charming Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same:The Life and Times of Some Chickens. Tanen's books depict miniature scenes/shadow boxes with tiny fake chicks going through a number of neurotic crises. The details are amazing and the captions that accompany the pieces are hilarious. My favorite one features one of the chicks looking out a rainy window from a nearly demolished art studio. The caption reads: "Paige was devastated to learn that Sarah Lawrence was not one of the Seven Sisters. So what was the $90,000 for? Her first lesbian experience?" Tanen's work is so quirky and right up my alley. Look into it if you'd like.

****
The new one has more bite and a wonderful nod to Dorothy Parker. Hee!

I was just a member of a socially awkward and visually impaired audience seeing Serenity. And I loved it. It was so witty, interesting, fast-paced and included a couple of major shockers. A rollicking good time was had.

The nerdy teenage girl aspect of Stacie says: "Cute boys."

The nerdy teenage boy aspect of Stacie says: "Fucking awesome!"

See it many times and buy extra seats. If this thing makes enough money they might make more. Yes please.