In honor of Halloween, I thought it might be fun to cast my mind back on some of my costume highlights. I don’t always dress up, but when I do I try to have fun with it. The thing about growing up in the middle of nowhere is that there’s not a lot of impetus to dress up, since it’s not like you’re going anywhere.

Alas, I couldn’t find any pictures, which would have been entertaining for us all, I’m sure.

Elizabeth I

I went as the Virgin Queen in high school. I managed to rustle up an amazing Elizabethan gown which was insanely heavy, and also whaleboned so that I got the classic tapered look one associates with that oh so excellent era in history. I improvised an incredibly stiff ruff, painted my skin bone white, and found a sweet contrasting underskirt to wear so that I could flash it while dancing. Alas, my hair was dyed black during that phase in my life, but it was still a fairly excellent costume, especially with all the gaudy costume jewelry I found. It’s pretty amazing to look at vintage jewelry from the Elizabethan era; it really was awfully garish.

Alas, being a nerd, everyone made fun of me. Especially in second period geometry up on the hill. And I’m afraid I lied about the pictures in this case; I do have photographic evidence, but you can’t see it.

Vampire’s Victim

Everyone goes as a vampire. I thought it might be more fun to go as a vampire’s victim, because it would be so much more awesome. I found a vintage dress which belonged to my great aunt at one point, used white face power to make myself pale, and made a rather excellent set of puncture wounds with makeup. Not being very talented with makeup, I’m always amazed when it works out. A set of ballet slippers and some wild hair completed the outfit; alas, no one got it and everyone thought that my fake bite marks were a hickey.

Catholic Schoolgirl

Speaking of dressing up like a slut. I consulted some actual Catholic schoolgirls, and got a loaner skirt and a Peter Pan blouse. In true Catholic Schoolgirl style, I rolled the waistband of my skirt up to make it shorter, the better to contrast with my patent leather flats and bright white tights. A set of demure pigtails completed the outfit. Alas, after that night, the tights were never seen again. I suspect foul play.

Indian Princess

I have a sari. Have I mentioned that? Saris are insanely hard to drape and wear gracefully unless you are an authentic Indian princess, but I gave it a go anyway, with help from a Pakistani friend who is good with draping. And such. At any rate, that costume was rather fun, what with abundant bangles and jingly stuff and huge earrings. Sufficiently exotic that people more or less got it, and not so weird that people would make fun of me. (Don’t think I’m paranoid. Just practical. And, much like a cat, I hate being made fun of.)

Saris are also handy for other things, in addition to wearing. Three meters of fabric is a lot of fabric. My sari is pretty awesome.

Hippy

Oooh, this one was fun. I borrowed a hideous tie-dyed dress, a bunch of love beads, and some patchouli. I also discovered that I am allergic to patchouli, so I settled for a big empty perfume bottle labeled “patchouli.” I blew bubbles and handed out flowers all night. Good times were had by all.

I hope that you have excellent Halloweens all, my gentle readers, wherever they may lead you.

I was at the Bistro the other night and I noticed that they were celebrating Halloween with a vengeance, so why not me? Out of respect for this most excellent holiday, an assortment of spooky/macabre/Halloween links!

It’s Haunted Horology Week at the Watchismo Times, and it is well worth scrolling through for some fabulous and eerie timepieces. Like Queen Mary’s watch. That girl had some issues, man.

Death-The Last Taboo is a sweet site about, er, death. There’s anthropology, a virtual autopsy, and all sorts of other awesome stuff. You can call it educational and surf with impunity.

Speaking of autopsies, here’s an interactive autopsy sponsored by HBO. It’s really neat. No, really. It is.

A brief article about Samhain if you’re on an educational binge.

An excellent photoset of Day of the Dead celebrations on Flickr.

The remains of Doctor Bass is a fascinating article about the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee, also known as the Body Farm.

Paul Krugman had an interesting op-ed in the Times yesterday about the nature of fear and elections. I promise I’m not going to link to and comment on every Paul Krugman op-ed, it’s just so novel at the moment since the Times has finally dropped its stupid paygate that I am giddy, restless, and filled with happiness and excitement about it. Also, he’s just a damn good columnist, and I can’t help that, now can I?

At any rate, I think he makes some great points about fear and the history of fear in politics. You really ought to read the article because Krugman is a tad more eloquent than I, and because it points out a major shift in American politics, especially among Republicans. Fear is now a major campaign strategy, rather than something more concrete and useful like establishing a campaign platform and supporting it with action.

Essentially, a lot of the candidates are running campaigns that are based on fear. “Vote for me or the terrorists will win,” and that sort of thing. Maybe this is because that tactic worked so well in 2004, or maybe it’s just because most of the candidates are unimaginative pussies who don’t want people to actually pay attention to their politics, voting records, or abilities. Therefore, they are trying to cow us with fear.

They are also trying to win a war of language, with talk about Islamofascism, Eurabia, and other such nonsense. This is about rhetoric, about grossly simplifying concepts and exploiting our natural desire for safety and security. It is also, in some senses, an election debate about color and religion. An us vrs them mentality has been created, complete with a huge divide which cannot be crossed.

As Krugman points out, this would be funny, and kind of ludicrous, if it wasn’t so scary. There’s a lot of crazy talk, as Krugman calls it, among Republicans; but I think it’s also present among Democrats as well. Fear is paralyzing our government and political process, to the great detriment of greater society. Instead of being rational, practical, mature people, our government is running around like a gaggle of geese without gizzards. Or something. And we’re buying it. Eating it up, even, like a delicious chocolate cupcake with a mild marzipan frosting and a fruit garnish.

What we should be afraid of, as Winston Churchill once said, is fear itself. And I think this gives us cause to be very, very afraid at the moment, because fear is being used to manipulate us, to force us into acquiescence with insane policies, to dictate the terms of the election. The question is; are we going to stand for it, or are we going to fight back?

Women tend to be less depressed when they carry more weight, according to a Canadian study. Too bad the news decided to cheapen the headline by calling fat women “jolly.”

Chris Matthews of “Hardball” is interviewed by the Shepherd Express, and there’s some interesting content in there, whether or not you like Matthews. Things like “They didn’t like me raising those questions, and I got a lot of people coming after me on at least three different cases. We know that Scooter [Libby] came after me. Two others did. And it was very rough treatment. I will not forget it. It was very tough.”

Big BART is watching, so no more shenanigans in BART stations, my San Franciscan friends! The authorities will be alerted. With an alarm. Have I mentioned I’m glad I moved lately?

Oil wealth in Canada comes with big strings attached, and not just for the environment.

Lost America chronicles the abandoned West before it disappears. At night. There’s some really amazing photography here.

Jen writes about food. And her website is pretty. And she writes about other stuff. Also, she’s a NaBloPoMoer, so go check her out.

I’ve been drinking tea throughout my life. I went through a brief coffee phase, but even then I would drink oolong after big meals, herbal tea on cold winter nights, Lapsong Soochong to wake up on bitter mornings. Tea of all shapes and forms has been a part of my life since I could consume liquids, so it should come as no surprise that my very first purchase when I moved into a studio apartment of my very own over the alley near Laurel Street was a tea kettle. I remember I had about $30 to my name after paying the rent, and I had almost no food, but by Pete, I needed a tea kettle, so I walked over to Coast to Coast and bought one.

It was a cheap tin job, enameled with white paint. $12.99.

Almost immediately, it acquired a thin layer of grease from resting on the stove top, and the paint started to bubble a bit. Over time, soot deposits formed, from where things dropped on the burner burned while I heated tea water. Every now and then I would cover it in Bon Ami and scrub it, and it would look respectable for a few days before fading again. That tea kettle followed me through three other houses, to the house on Franklin Street, and then the house in San Francisco, and now here.

Recently I have noticed that my back burner plate, where the tea kettle sits, is rusting out. It took me awhile to realize the truth, a realization confounded by denial: my $12.99 tea kettle was leaking. Badly. Crusty mineral deposits had formed on the bottom, but I could clearly see that water was trickling out, and last night, it came to a head. I reluctantly deposited it in the recycling bin and heated water in a pot on the stove.

Now, given that I have more than $30 to my name, I set out this morning to find a nice, mid-range tea kettle, preferably solid steel, no enamel or paint to bubble off, something simple and solid that would last. First I went to Coast to Coast. There was my old painted friend, along with an even cheesier $9.49 tea kettle (don’t ask), and then a really nice Oxo Good Grips tea kettle, solid steel, silicone handles…$80. Not pure steel, so not exactly what I wanted, but a nice tea kettle. You can see it here if you want to know what I’m talking about.

Ok, so, not. I don’t mind spending a lot of money on products of good quality, but that tea kettle simply wasn’t worth it. I’d scanned the Internet to get an idea of reasonable price ranges last night, and I had estimated that I would find a solid tea kettle that met my specifications for around $40. No biggie, I thought, I’ll swing by Headlands, they have tea kettles.

Yes, they do. One. A very nice copper bottomed one, for $110.

I even considered electric tea kettles, which are more energy efficient and way faster. However, they aren’t as cheery and friendly and solid as regular tea kettles, and the good ones cost over $50, which is more than I want to spend.

I poked around a bit more before I admitted defeat: despite my ardent desire to shop locally, I couldn’t. My local stores did not carry what I wanted. The one thing that I found that sort of met my specifications was extremely overpriced; $20 over the manufacturer’s recommended price, in fact. Now, I’m all about buying local. I think it’s really important to support local stores, and I do so wherever I can.

But I was stymied today.

I got home, went on Amazon, and found exactly what I wanted, so I ordered it. It should be here in a few days, and soon my stove will have a cheerful kettle sitting on it again. I started to feel mildly guilty about not shopping locally, but then I decided that it’s not my responsibility. I tried to shop locally. I was even willing to pay a small markup to shop locally. But local stores were unable to help me to help them survive.

I get a lot of lecturing about buying local, complete with signs in the windows and exhortations from business owners. But I can’t buy clothing that fits me here. I can’t find bras locally which accommodate my personal needs. I can’t find the sheets and towels that I want here. I can’t buy the digital camera I want locally. The only consumer product I buy here is shoes, because Northsoles is awesome.

The only other thing I buy locally these days is food, and I happen to think that’s the most important thing to buy locally, so that’s a good thing. But it’s really frustrating that I can’t support my community by shopping in it, that my own community has essentially tied my hands. I’m not a demanding shopper, and I’m willing to make reasonable accommodations, but I won’t buy something I don’t want just to shop locally, especially if that something is insanely overpriced. Fortunately I can support my community in other ways, by donating to charities and volunteering my time, for example, but I would like to put money into the hands of local business owners, and people I know, rather than faceless companies.

Come on, people. You want people to buy local, put your stock where your mouth is, and give me a reason to shop locally. I already want to do it, I just need you to enable me. Try having polite, friendly clerks who are helpful rather than surly. Try spending less time bashing me over the head with your “buy local” rhetoric and more time paying attention to what people want.

You know why Cowlicks succeeds? Because the Jensens realized that people wanted ice cream, so they built an ice cream store. You know why Understuff stays in business? Because they realized that people were driving to Santa Rosa to buy panties. Now, Understuff doesn’t quite carry what I want, but it does carry what lots of other locals want, and that makes them a valued local establishment. These businesses found a niche and ran with it. Makes me want to start a sheets/towels/plus sized clothing/tea kettle store, maybe on the corner where Mendocino Vintage used to be.

Our town cannot survive if I am forced to order tea kettles over the internet.

The United Nations lists 20 reasons why the human race might not survive. The comments in this Times of London article get lively.

The BBC’s website is 10 years old; here’s an interesting retrospective.

Congratulations to Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina’s first female head of state.

Is Rumi too popular? As Iran celebrates his 800th birthday, scholars wonder if Rumi is being destroyed by pop culture.

Cardboard tube fighting makes it into the Chronicle. It sounds like a good time was had by all.

My Life in Spain is a neat site about an American expat living in Spain. Make sure to go through the “Foto Friday” archives.

I just finished reading two interesting food related books, Good Calories, Bad Calories and Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant. Both totally different, but very interesting; I would recommend them highly if you have any interest at all in food, which I assume that you do, since you probably eat food on a fairly regular basis. Although Good Calories, Bad Calories is a pretty meaty specimen; it’s more for readers who are interested in nutritional politics.

Let’s start with Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant, which was a compilation of essays (and a piece of fiction by Haruki Murakami) about eating alone. The book was birthed in the mind of the editor when she started wondering what other people ate when they were alone, and she wrote to a bunch of authors to solicit essays on dining for one, cooking for one, and so forth. She also excerpted a couple of pieces, like one from MFK Fisher.

The star-studded list of authors was interesting in itself, since a couple of them happen to be personal favorites, so it was interesting to read about what they eat at home.

What was more interesting, for me, was that the book made me realize that most people don’t cook for themselves. I do. I had assumed that this was normal, that everyone actually cooked meals when they were hungry and alone, but apparently that’s not true. Other people throw pasta in a pot, eat saltines and peanut butter, or make other makeshift meals, which seems very alien to me. I make stir fries, roast things and serve them with fluffy mashed potatoes and delicately sauteed vegetables. Invent new pasta sauces, experiment with Indian curry, put together kebabs.

Most of my cooking I learned from my father, who more importantly taught me about the interactions between different foods, and the tricks which could be used to make something out of nothing. Both of us can open a seemingly empty fridge and produce a three course meal with some backup from the cabinets. It’s taken me a long time to learn that most people do not have this ability, which makes me kind of sad. Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant made me sad, thinking of all these people who wouldn’t make a glass of eggnog for themselves because they felt like it. How depressing.

Good Calories, Bad Calories wasn’t much cheerier, to be truthful. It’s a close look at the evolution of official dietary guidelines and policies, looking at the interaction of fats, protein, carbohydrates, and so forth. It’s sort of complicated to explain, but well worth reading if you’re interested in nutritional politics at all. The author provides some very interesting and convincing evidence that our current dietary guidelines are wrong, which makes sense given the rising number of people who are overweight. It takes a profound dietary imbalance to go dramatically over one’s set point, and he argues that this imbalance may actually be encouraged in dietary guidelines, which is a pity.

While explicit dietary advice is not offered, it is clear that the author thinks that two major culprits behind weight gain are complex carbohydrates (white rice, white flour, etc; highly refined foods with reduced fiber, in other words) and white sugar. He’s got a serious beef with sugar, and he might be right, given that we all eat way more sugar than we should probably be eating.

I’ve been thinking of embarking on a project next year where I catalog and review every book that I read. It might be overwhelming, because I read a lot of books, but I thought it might be interesting. The rule, of course, is that I must be strictly honest, which means admitting cheesy popcorn novels right along with War and Peace. Does this project sound interesting to you, gentle readers, or horribly dull?

The history of the bra is a complex and fascinating journey. It’s too bad the history doesn’t include an explanation of why the things are so damned uncomfortable.

A writers’ strike in Hollywood could have far-reaching impact.

Meet Ming the clam. Ming is really old. Really, really old.

Slave laborers are discovered working for the Gap. Not that the Fisher family has a good name anyway, but this certainly doesn’t help.

A parent writes about international adoptions, open adoptions, and tracking down birth mothers.

Wheelyfast is an Australian NaBloPoMo participant who writes about her life with cerebral palsy, among other things.

The big news in the Potterverse this month is that Dumbledore is gay, and everyone has their own two cents on the matter. Some people want to use it to warp the parent/child relationship between Harry and Dumbledore, for example, while others use it as further evidence of the “gay agenda,” and some people, many people, actually, say that it doesn’t really matter. That the sexual orientation of the characters is certainly part of who they are, but it doesn’t change the books for them.

I have mixed feelings on the matter. As Dan Savage points out, if Rowling thought it was no big deal, why wasn’t it in the books? Why not let readers see a positive portrayal of a strong, fatherly, wise, wonderful gay character? And, for that matter, why aren’t more characters in the series gay, given the statistical likelihood of being homosexual? I have my suspicions about Lee, but no character is explicitly gay, which I think is interesting in the English public school environment; Savage points out that this environment is notorious for being rife with homosexual undertones.

Rowling says that she didn’t put it in the books because it was crucial to the plot of the last book, what with Dumbledore’s great lost love and all. And perhaps she’s right. But one of my favorite things about this series is the lessons that it contains; social responsibility, caring for others, the existence of strong female* characters. Why not put in some awesome gay characters in addition to all of the other great role models in the books? And would it have ruined the plot to make it clear that Dumbledore was gay? I think not. It’s interesting to see that all of Dumbledore’s faults and follies came out in the last book, making him a rather flat character until the very end, which is a great pity, since he was obviously a complex and very interesting man.

Dumbledore’s sexual orientation would have mattered to me if he had been out in the books. As it is, I think it’s just an irrelevant add-on. If Rowling thought it was important, she should have included it in the series, not announced it at a reading. She keeps delivering dribs and drabs about characters in interviews, which is really frustrating to me, because I think that information should be in the series for future readers to know about. Unless she wants to write another book with all of this information, which would be nice, since I would like to know more about what happened to the characters than what was in that poorly written piece of fan fiction appended to Deathly Hallows.

Furthermore, I think it’s interesting that Rowling outed Dumbledore, when that sort of thing is severely frowned upon in the gay community. Outing someone is a pretty serious act of betrayal…how come no one is talking about that?

*Speaking of strong female characters, would someone please explain why the end of the last book has Ginny and Hermione both happily married and pumping out kids? Not that motherhood isn’t great, and an admirable pursuit, but both of these women were painted as strong, smart, independent, confident characters, and now they’re stuck behind the Aga with their wands? Or did Rowling just “leave out” the bit about jobs at the ministry, professorships at Hogwarts, and so forth? What kind of lesson does that teach young women? Sure, be confident and awesome all through school, but once you graduate, you’d better hook up with the hunky boy and start making babies.

Cocks in the news! And I don’t mean roosters.

Recruits talk about their decisions to enlist in the middle of the Iraq war.

Speaking of soldiers, undiagnosed brain injuries are a major concern for military doctors.

Ghost prisoners are disappearing from the records…so where are they all ending up?

Creative Loafing has an op-ed on hate crimes, talking about a subject dear to my own heart: our personal responsibility to speak out.

Bamboo is totally green, right? Actually, this miracle wood comes with a few surprises.

We’re drying up in California, and the agricultural industry is feeling it.

Mmmm, Brains is another great NaBloPoMo blog.