Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I used to have a ball putting on the gruesome makeup when I was a kid, the plastic pieces that look like poorly stitched up and gangrenous scars on the face, and lots and lots of fake blood. Good times, good candy. This year, I’m renting a costume for the first time ever. I had wanted to get a monkey suit, but I didn’t make it out there until last night and they were out. No Chewbacca either. I ended up trying on a Adam West style Batman suit. It looks hilarious. I was pretty concerned when I had the tights on, since I don’t want to spend the whole night with people looking at the outline of my junk. Fortunately, Batman wore a pair of black speedos over the tights that softens the edges quite a bit. I’ll make sure to get some pictures. Happy Halloween! Don’t eat too many fun size Krackles.

Just got off the phone with Jeff. He didn’t need to go under the knife, so no need to worry. His condition is otherwise, and hopefully when the situation is, er, relieved, he’ll describe it in gross detail.

The most interesting article I’ve read in a while is this: The Hard-Livers Guide to the Liver. I learned a lot of stuff reading that. And I already have yogurt in the fridge and milk thistle in the medicine cabinet, as well as a supplement containing glutathione. Now I just need to swing by GNC for a big bucket of whey. Next time you see me, I just might be MOSSELLED.

It’s less 1968 and more 1984. Er, do I really mean that? I REALLY REALLY REALLY wish I would have bought Symantec 6 months ago like I’d considered.

Last night’s Blues at Wings game was probably the craziest hockey game I’ve seen since the Blues came back from a five goal deficit in the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 9th, 2000. (Can’t BELIEVE I found a recap of that game!) The score last night was 6-5, with the good guys on top. Doug Weight had his second career hat trick and we broke the ‘Dwings fifteen game home win streak. Thing of beauty. Joy to behold. Also we got Alexander Khavanov back, so our D gets a bit better. Bryce Salvador should be back soon, and we need him bad. He’s got the second hardest shot on the team, after MacInnis, who will probably be out and retiring this season. He had a good career, and I don’t blame him if he doesn’t want to play anymore. Being the difference in a few close hockey games isn’t worth losing your eyesight over.

My mom came up to visit on Tuesday and left this morning. We had a pretty good time, went out to dinner a few times. I took her on a date Tuesday night: dinner and a movie. The movie was Mystic River, and I can’t recommend it more highly. Sean Penn was absolutely fantastic in it. I rented Carlito’s Way last night, on a recommendation from C-Bot that it’s Penn’sbest movie. Only got halfway through the movie, but so far, so good. You have to wonder about the casting in Mystic River. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins were both people who have actively advocated not prosecuting the war on terror, and I think the hollywood lefties who had been so inclined were complaining about being blacklisted from the industry or something. Clint Eastwood, who directed Mystic River, was the mayor of Malpaso with the Libertarian party. He hired two of the most far left guys in Hollywood and made them put on the best performances of their lifetimes. All’s forgiven with those two as far as I’m concerned. Fantastic movie.

I’m pretty ill again. My lungs feel like they’re full of cheese. I can’t breathe when I wake up. But I think I’m getting better. Hopefully Jeff is OK today too. Wish him well.

Here’s a fun halloween game: Bowling for Cats. I’m kinda busy with my mom visiting, so I only played it once and only scored a 52. Requires more patience than I got.

If Mortenson’s revised picks play out, that would make for a fantastic superbowl. Rams-Chiefs? Potentially explosive.

I’m with Spoons 100% on this one: Lt. Col West should get a medal, not 8 years.

Read this article and then start scrolling up. I haven’t checked out that blog in a long time, but it’s outstanding writing.

I have to say that this Chomskybot is very funny.

I turned my cable off a few days ago because $45 a month is a little steep for an hour or three of history channel every week. It’s kind of a shame, because Chief Wiggles will be on MSNBC tonight at about 9:50CT during the Scarborough Country program. I’m more than a little tempted to go hijack a bar TV to watch it.

The rockets used to attack the al-Rashid hotel in Baghdad the other day were of French origin, and post-sanctions models, according to this British tabloid. (Link from Andrew Sullivan) The tactics employed by the terrorists over there have gotten pretty sophisticated: the missiles were launched from a homemade MLRS made to look like a towable power generator, and the carbomb outside the Red Cross/Red Crescent had used an ambulance to get closer to the building. Hopefully that’s all they got for now, and won’t be of this earth long enough to plan many more attacks like that.

Also, I was pretty stunned to hear a CBS television news reader in the middle of last night (insomnia) recite word-for-word, the article mentioned here. Word-for-word, man. Even describing Dep. Def. Wolfowitz as having “scurried to safety” after the al-Rashid missile attack. And just in case you think I’m giving the terrorists too much credit here, they did miss the hotel with 23 of the 29 missiles fired. Oh yeah, also in the same report on CBS late last night, they showed footage from 1968 Vietnam and compared the recent horrific terrorist attacks to the Tet offensive. It was remarkable.

A delightful conversation between the Dissident Frogman and his mechanic.

I just got done reading this article discussing the health benefits of coitus. Then on their suggestion, I read this terrifying article on a condition that I’d never heard of called Priapism. I’ll start timing myself from now on (discreetly). But after reading it, I finally understand what the “sorcery” was all about discussed here. At this point, I’m knitting my fingers, having diagnosed a number of people half a world away; and I set this matter aside. Now I’m gonna go have sex, without a condom to help regulate her hormone levels, to the next suitable girl I see. But if it seems to be going on too long, I’ll chug a bottle of decongestant. Screw that whole “apple a day” business–this is better than the Atkin’s diet.

Updated some links, 10/28/03

According to the meteorology department’s webpage, there’s a chance of snow flurries here tonight.

I’m watching 28 Days Later. Five minutes into it and I’ve already concluded that it’s derivative and consciously so. Homages to A Clockwork Orange, Day of the Dead, and The Quiet Earth. This better not keep up, or I’m gonna be real disappointed. First off, if everyone disappeared because rage caused them to kill each other, there’d be bodies stacked everywhere. Who would clean up such a stinky mess if enraged and eager to kill?

Update: Rest of the movie was much better, although the portrayal of the British military was wholly unfair.

SENG AS IMM RILLY INT3REST3D IN MACHIEN TRANSLATION MAH FREIND SENT ME THIS USEFUL SCRIPT

!!1!11!! LOL

I linked to this map of Springfield quite a while ago. Go and admire.

You absolutely HAVE to watch this movie. It’s video of a schoolbus tipping over, shot from inside the bus. (You might have to right click, copy shortcut, and paste it into realplayer, I don’t know how to force RealPlayer to open it.)