High Tech Pumpkins

 Tech Tuesday is a place for all things technology.  Here we will discuss both low tech and high tech thing-a-ma-jigs.

Technology often makes life easier.  Some may say that technology makes us lazy.  If this is the case, I am so glad that I can be lazy while making my jack o'lantern each Halloween. Let’s compare these higher tech alternatives that have revolutionized pumpkin carving to their low tech counterparts.

1. Candles vs. LED Lights

The low-tech candle could make for a hot mess inside carved pumpkins.  And if you had a windy night, there would be no way that candle could be lit or stay lit.  

With an LED light, you never run into that problem and you can also have any color light you can imagine.  You also could get a light that flickers like a real candle or you could even get a strobe light to make for a real spooky pumpkin.

2. A Sharpie and a Knife vs. a Pattern and a Specialized Pumpkin Carver

I have created lots of jack o’lanterns in my forty-three years on this planet: some good, some better and some amazing.  Technology has made it so I can, without that much artistic ability, make a work of art out of any squash.  Back in the day, I only had a sharpie and a scary, cut-off-your-finger kind of knife( manned by my father, when I was too little to carve).  The marker would smear all over the face of the pumpkin and the cut edges would always come out jagged or parts would get cut off that I didn’t intend to have cut off. Today, you can search online, print off a template and then use your fancy cutting kit to punch holes around the design and then cut in the exact shapes, with your specialized pumpkin cutting knife, creating your desired design..

3. Spoon vs. Pumpkin Scooper

I think the worst part about carving pumpkins is hollowing out all the slime and seeds from the center.  It is so gooey and moist, which I can only handle for a short time.  With the spoon, not only does it take longer, but it also makes you more susceptible to rubbing into the slippery sides of the pumpkin.  With the Scooper, you are able to get more guts out and with it’s shorter handle, you do not risk getting sticky from the sides.

So, the moral of this post is that we should be very thankful that we have technology.  We should not just be thankful about the compex sort of technology you are reading this on, but we should also be thankful for the little tech things that help us enjoy the best of holidays.

Are you looking at Meme?

 Media Mondays is a place for all things media.  From social media to news media we will cover everything concerning communication.

This is the first virtual meme that hit the internet in the 1990s.  It is simple and cute(and maybe a little obnoxious), but do you know exactly what a meme is?  Do you know how the word meme is actually related to biology?  It doesn’t seem like little pictures and videos posted to the internet and shared over and over could have anything to do with the science of biology but actually it does.

The word meme was actually introduced in the book entitled The Selfish Game written by British Biologist, Richard Dawkins(1976).  In the book, Dawkins uses the word and defines it as “cultural information spread by imitation.” This culture can include things like fashion, behaviors and ideas.  These things are copied, imitated, altered by bits and shared over and over, much like our pop culture internet memes of today, the memes you probably are familiar with.

The culture of the internet is where these ideas, videos and pictures are shared. The most popular thing to share are pictures with words written on top of them. The picture below is a very popular background for memes.  You, like me, may have seen “the success kid” used for various messages.

Image found here: https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/140427-best-stupidest-and-most-famous-internet-memes-around

This one talks to my soul lately:

Image found here: http://memegenerator.net/instance/56916256/success-kid-late-to-work-boss-was-even-later

Now that you know more about memes then you ever thought possible, please enjoy ten of my favorite Halloween based memes:

Image found here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/213991419770781414/?nic_v2=1a3wx8AJf

Image found here: https://redtri.com/19-hilarious-halloween-memes-that-perfectly-sum-up-parenting/

Image found here: https://redtri.com/19-hilarious-halloween-memes-that-perfectly-sum-up-parenting/

Image found here: https://www.care.com/c/stories/17018/funny-Halloween-memes-for-parents/

Image found here: https://www.entertainmentmesh.com/35-funny-halloween-memes-photos/

Image found here: https://finance.yahoo.com/photos/15-funny-halloween-memes-dont-191700829/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMJsbbUf1zJ97uOFRL4KAbbUH67dD9Xz_UZFxv7b-nvwZWgKVtH8kI1adKs5mAULSA_Bn2nfj-dlKin20odb0umziEr9RZ2GtA5ZGZZqRn7a4_1XX1daqyc3GgMF35ou9E8ZqKfbMl65WEqhaRXfJqLGA3cr6eLuz5aGzO8JdN5w

Image found here: https://memecentral.org/halloween-meme/

Image found here: https://memecentral.org/halloween-meme/

Image found here: https://www.askideas.com/funny-halloween-eggs-thrown-houses-getting-trashed-picture/

Image found here: https://www.bluemailmedia.com/blog/the-25-funniest-halloween-memes-2015/

You now have my permission to go down the rabbit hole that is Halloween memes.  Do a good google search, find something pumpkin spice to enjoy while browsing, and enjoy.  You should go ahead and share your favorite meme in the comments below. I dare you! 

Halloween Candy Flashback Friday

 Flashback Friday is a place for all things reminiscence.  Flashbacks can be personal recollections or they can also be looks back to the “Good Old Days” of our collective past.

As an adult, Halloween is an entirely different experience than celebrating it as a kid. The movies are different, the costumes are real different(don’t get me started on the stupid sexy nurse costumes)and after a certain age it just isn’t socially acceptable to go trick or treating anymore.  I guess it makes sense, instead of taking candy from older people, we have become the older people, and now give the candy to the younger people.  It’s like a full-circle infinite, candy cycle.

As for the actual candy, it is probably one of the biggest differences between Halloweens past and Halloweens present.  Don’t get me wrong, there is some good candy today, and I do gladly “share it” with my children and “test it for poison,” but I do miss the classics that I received during my 80s adventures as a clown, and in the numerous other costumes I wore.

Here are the top three candies I miss from the 80s:

1. Bottle Caps

    I have always been a soda fan and these candies always got me wondering how Wonka figured out how to make them taste and feel like soda without having any liquid.  I guess he was a genius, after all, just watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so maybe it isn’t actually much of a wonder.  I think my favorite Bottlecaps in order are: root beer, cola, and grape.

2. Fun Dip

What kid is going to say no to pure flavored sugar?  I loved scooping out every last granule of this sugary snack.  Of course I loved the grape most and the lime least.  Why do they even make lime flavored candy for kids? Do any of them actually like it?  The truth about Fun Dip though is that the stick you licked and dipped was actually the best part.  I always had to practice supreme self control to not eat all of the stick before I polished off the sugar.  I wish they would have just sold the sticks individually.  Hmmm...future marketing tip?

3. Pop Rocks

The draw to this candy isn’t 100% a flavor thing for me. When I first tried this candy and it started to fizzle and pop in my mouth, I was mesmerized.  It was a whole new experience and one that I obviously haven’t forgotten.  On occasion, I’ll spot Pop Rocks in a gas station and the sight takes me right back to my childhood and the rich memories I have of walking around the neighborhood for hours, impatiently knocking on neighbor’s front doors in hopes of receiving the best of the candies.

Now, in all that knocking and waiting on doorsteps, there were more than a few moments where I had to try and hide my disappointment as I saw what was being dropped into my open pillowcase.  I will just leave this one here for you to mull over...

So, what about you?  What are some of your favorite candies from your childhood Halloween adventures?  Which candies did you despise?  Feel free to get a Halloween candy dialogue going in the comments below!

Blood-Sucking Thirsty Thursday

 Thirsty-Thursdays are a place to talk all things thirst. Thirst can be actual, physical thirst and direct us to the subject of tasty drinks, but it can also drive us toward a mental thirst, the thirst for information.

 This piece is the first of a five-part series dedicated to Halloween.  It is October, afterall, and why not celebrate all month long?   We all especially need some Halloween celebration this crazy year!

“Blood thirsty, blood suckers” is a very appropriate subject to start this holiday series. (And I am not even talking about the two blood-sucking schmoes running for the highest office in the land.)

Secret confession here: I actually get more excited about Halloween than I do about  Christmas.  There, I said it.  Orange and black run in my blood just as strong as Packer green and gold does.  My decorations have been up for weeks and it has just turned October.  I just love this season.  Fall colors, cool crisp air, pumpkins, and the undead are really things that get me going.

Speaking of thirsty, bloodsuckers are always thirsty.  You know, vampires. You’ve heard of them, right?  I’m sure you have a favorite vampire and I hope it isn’t Edward. (Twilight fans don’t quit reading, I was mildly joking.  There is a place for Edward, but let’s start a little more classical and traditional.)  

For centuries, there have been myths of vampires and all the things that these undead beings do. In the Middle Ages, oral tradition passed on ideas about the undead creatures that would roam around during the middle of the night and suck their victims’ blood.  The plague of the mid 1300s only added to this mythology, because people who had the plague would often start bleeding from their mouths. The people of that era were so worried about the dead actually being undead that they dug up the graves of suspected vampires and stabbed them with wooden stakes, hence the modern ideas about how one would kill a vampire.

But is the idea of vampires just all myth and folklore?  There are actually real groups of people today who do label themselves vampires.  They may not actually be going out and killing people (at least let’s hope not) but they are actually drinking real human blood for perceived “health benefits.” 

Let’s pretend I didn’t say anything about real life vampires and get to the top five most famous vampires.  (Of course, these are the five most famous to me and are in no particular order).  

Count Von Count

Picture found here: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19409960

Counting along with Count Von Count was one of my favorite childhood memories. Sesame Street was a daily tradition in my house and The Count was certainly a favorite character. 

“One. One Bat. Two bats. Ha Ha Ha.”

Count Chocula

Photo found here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/84953/elect-your-favorite-cereal-monst

Besides the delicious candy from a good trick-or-treat outing, this tasty treat from this popular trio was a special indulgence around Halloween. As a kid, I didn’t get sugary cereal too often, so this was a cherished celebration!

Count Dracula

Photo found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula

Probably the most famous and actually the first fictionalized vampire, Count Dracula appeared in the famous Bram Stoker novel entitled Dracula in 1897.  Dracula is considered to be the example from which all modern fictional vampires originate.  From his cape to his incisors, he is the ultimate vampire blueprint. 

Edward Cullen

Photo found here: https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2020/05/05/2011960/midnight-sun-new-twilight-book-12-years-retold-edwards-pov

You’re welcome, Twilight fans.  I highly enjoyed reading this trilogy and cannot wait to read Midnight Sun which gives us the story from Edward’s perspective.  Although I feel this story is majorly cheesy and the acting in the movies was a bit subpar, I too, like millions of teenage girls, fell in love with the story and with this particular vampire. Oh to have a smokin’ hot vampire fall in love with me and agree to make me a vampire, truly making our love immortal...mythical magic dream come true.

Grandpa

.

Photo found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandpa_(The_Munsters)#:~:text=Grandpa%20is%20a%20fictional%20character,Grandpa%20is%20an%20undead%20vampire.

My brother and I watched The Munsters reruns together most days after school.  It was one of the only shows we could agree on, and I am sure it was either followed or preceded by The Addams Family.  Grandpa’s humor, cool old classic car, and the fact that he slept in a coffin were all endearing characteristics.  Also, who doesn’t love a show with a family filled with  vampires, a werewolf, a normal girl who looked like Marilyn Monroe, and a Frankenstein?

If you happen to be thirsty for more information on vampires, here are a few sites that I found interesting:

https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history

https://www.mentalfloss.com/search?term=vampires

https://www.britannica.com/topic/vampire

If you are thirsty for more counting with Count Von Count, here is a good list of videos on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=count+von+count

May you fill October with all things undead and be sure to include some vampires in your Halloween watch lists.  But run if you hear, “I want to suck your blood!”

Writing Wednesday: Haikus

So.  Here I am in the middle of a stay at home and it is weird.  Do you ever sit back at some point in every day of this and say "This is weird?"  If you don't, please send me all your secrets.  If you do, just know you are normal and we are in this together.  Like all things "this too shall pass."  It may seem like an eternity, but in few months(fingers crossed), we will look back at this time and laugh. Or cry, or whatever.

I am trying very hard to be in the moment and to enjoy the time.  Yes, I have a lot of things I miss, like my students and coworkers, and mainly routine, but I also have a lot of things that are very nice.  Like sleeping longer, and having more time with my kids(sure, sometimes this is very hard, but mostly it is way fun, and I get lots more mommy cuddle moments)

I have been writing lots of haikus lately.  They are quick little poems with a 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable pattern.  Usually, they are about nature and beauty, but I bend the rules on occasion.  Or often, whatever.

So here are a few of my favorites:

Honey Badger inspired Haikus

1. Whose honey is this?
Never a honey badger's
He's always stealing.

2. Bernie the Badger
Surely not a socialist
But just as ruthless.

3. The Honey Badger
Doesn't ever make his bed
Doesn't give a s**t

Day Dreaming

Dreaming of dreaming
Some things are overrated
Sleep not being one.

T-Rex Inspired Haikus

1. T-Rex hates push-ups
His arms are just too little
No Army for him.

2. T-Rex hates push-ups
Tiny, tiny hands, long snout
No exercise please.

COVID19 Inspired

1. Corona Virus
Cancel, cancel everything
You're ruining my life

2. With Covid19
No baseball or basketball
What will I do now?

With Covid19
No toilet paper or food
Good!  They correlate!