Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Tuesday Top Ten: Fun Facts About Purdue University

It's Old Oaken Bucket week.  This Saturday (3:30 EST; BTN), Purdue makes its bi-annual trip by pack mule down to Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers and see what the sun looks like.  For the 4th time in the last 6 years, the Hoosiers and Boilermakers will be playing in a "this is all we have" equivalent of their bowl game, before they respectively go to their homes and shanties for the holidays.

In case you have been sleeping under a rock for the last eight years –- in which case, hello, things are marginally better now, although Tupac is still dead –- I went to Indiana University.  Indiana University's arch-rival is Purdue University, a school comprised of men, eunuchs, and gargoyle-esque women who all stink as bad as the effluence of the livestock they aspire to one day breed for a living.  I do, have, and will always hate Purdue, and I wish their athletic teams nothing but continued failure and dysentery.  I have written about this hatred and about how Purdue stinks (both literally and figuratively) on many occasions.

In response to my 2007 magnum opus, "I Hate Purdue" -- referred to by IU fans as "Grade A+ screed" and "the most fantastic rant of hate that I have ever read," and referred to by Purdue fans as "buncha words all next'eachother" -- an anonymous idiot with no stake in the rivalry, who was apparently just trolling the internet for IU/Purdue-related content, recently posted a comment putting forth the proposition that "[r]ivalries are suppose[d] to be fun."  That's the dumbest fucking think I've ever read.  Orgies are supposed to be fun.  Rivalries are not.  The only two things that are supposed to be fun about a rivalry are beating your rival and talking shit about your rival. 

With that in mind, here are 14 "fun" facts about Purdue University, as much as facts about a two-year technical college that sits in a fetid, post-apocalyptic wasteland can be considered fun:

1.  People affiliated with Purdue consider what they refer to as "The World's Largest Drum" as a source of -- get this -- PRIDE.  However, their drum, despite the words that are clearly written on its face, is, in fact, not the world's largest drum.  In fact, it's not even the largest collegiate drum in the United States.

2.  Since Purdue was founded in 1869 by a horse fetishist who was unable to obtain a professorship at IU, a grand total of 16 attractive women have matriculated to Purdue.  Of those, 12 transferred to IU by the beginning of their sophomore year, 2 were force-fed various grains by their sorority sisters to "get up to weight," and the other 2 don't know what the word "matriculated" means.  All 16 developed restless leg syndrome.

3.  IU's Little 500 is rightfully ranked among the best college parties in America. Purdue's annual Poo Throwing Jamboree is not.

4.  After his car broke down on a desolate, pungent stretch of I-65, forcing him to spend a single night in West Lafayette, Trent Reznor wrote "Hurt."  Said Reznor about the song, "I wrote some words and music . . . as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in . . . ."

5.  Darrell Hazell has more Ls in his name than the combined number of NCAA team championships Purdue has won across all men's and women's sports.

6.  While in college, my then-girlfriend (now wife), who also went to IU, once went to Purdue to visit a friend.  They were out at the bars.  She was wearing what would be considered normal, contemporary, female attire.  A male Purdue student, presumably wearing overalls, approached her and asked, I kid you not, "Are you from Europe?  You're sure not from around here."  This supports the findings of a 2001 Department of Education study showing that 78% of Purdue students believe Europe is "a place located approximately 30 minutes south of Fort Wayne."

7.  The original terms for the school colors, chosen by John Purdue himself, were Piss Yellow and Crow's Anus Black, but the school had to change them to the simpler gold and black in 1951, after it was discovered that the vast majority of Purdue students had been peeing on their clothes to show their school spirit.  Legend has it you can still smell the overwhelming stench of urine while walking through campus.

9.  On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain found out that Nirvana's next tour included a stop in West Lafayette.

10.  I know I've linked to this many times before, but it bears repeating.  The women at Purdue are so physically repulsive that they inspired a letter by a male Purdue student, presumably wearing overalls, to the Purdue student newspaper entitled "Purdue doesn't have enough quality women," in which the author correctly noted, "Women at Purdue are too fat."

11.  The last time the Purdue men's basketball team went to a Final Four was 1980.  That's just a straight fact that's not supposed to be funny.  Actually, it's pretty damn funny.

12.  The position of Purdue Pete, the school's dimwitted and child-scaring mascot, is given out each year to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative GPA who does not have foot-and-mouth disease.  It is considered the most prestigious job a Purdue graduate can attain, even more so than making boilers.

13.  Matt Painter masturbates to Nickelback.  While looking at pictures of Gene Keady.  And wearing overalls.

14.  In a recent AP/Ipsos telephone poll, 94% of current Purdue students answered "yes" to the question, "Is there a basement in the Alamo?"  4% were unsure, and the remaining 2% were unable to communicate verbally.

In sum, fuck Purdue, go Hoosiers, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Undefeated After Week 13

Well, so much for bowl hopes this year.  What seemed like such a promising year and a favorable schedule for the Hoosiers ended like they always do:  with disappointment and a Bucket game with only bragging rights on the line.  Sure, the Hoosiers beat the 35-point spread against O$U and left another 20 points on the field thanks to missed field goals and failed fourth down conversions in Ohio State's red zone, but that is of little solace.  Maybe next year.  Fuck.  I'm sure you're thinking "GMYH, IU sucks every year, so you should just accept it."  To that I say, I will never accept losing, even if I have come to expect it.  Kansas State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Virginia Tech used to be laughing stocks and now, for the most part, they are perennial bowl teams.  There's absolutely no reason IU can't be too.

On the national scene, we are down to five undefeated teams after Baylor laid a giant egg against Oklahoma State.  Alabama, Florida State, Fresno State, and Northern Illinois all cruised to easy wins.  Northern Illinois leapfrogged Fresno State in the BCS rankings and now sits at #14.

To remind you about the rules for non-AQ schools (i.e., schools not from the Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, ACC, Pac-12, or AAC) as far as getting a BCS bowl berth, here (again) is a refresher:
-The highest-ranked non-AQ conference champion will receive an automatic BCS bowl berth if it is: (1) ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings; or (2) ranked in the top 16 of the BCS standings and ranked higher than at least one AQ conference champion.
-Only one non-AQ team can earn an automatic bid.
-A second non-AQ team can earn an at-large bid.  To be eligible for an at-large bid, a team must have at least 9 wins and must be in the top 14 of the BCS standings.

Right now, both Northern Illinois and Fresno State are ranked higher than UCF and Louisville, one of which will be the AAC conference champion, so whichever team ends up higher will likely get an automatic bid to a BCS bowl.  

In the meantime, War Eagle and, as much as it pains me to say it, go Blue!

Here is a breakdown of the undefeated teams and each team's remaining games (rankings are BCS rankings):

#1 Alabama (11-0)
11/30 – at #4 Auburn (10-1)
12/7 - SEC championship game (Atlanta) – TBD (either #5 Missouri (10-1) or #10 South Carolina (9-2))

Remaining opponents' combined record:  20-2 (.909) or 19-3 (.864)

#2 Florida State (11-0)
11/30 – at Florida (4-7)
12/7 - ACC championship game (Charlotte) – TBD (either #24 Duke (9-2) or Georgia Tech (7-4))

Remaining opponents' combined record:  13-9 (.591) or 11-11 (.500)

#3 Ohio State (11-0)
11/30 – at Michigan (7-4)
12/7 – Big Ten championship game vs. #11 Michigan State (10-1) (Indianapolis)

Remaining opponents' combined record:  17-5 (.773)

#14 Northern Illinois (11-0)
11/26 – Western Michigan (1-10)
12/6 - MAC championship game (Detroit) – TBD (either Bowling Green (8-3) or Buffalo (8-3))

Remaining opponents' combined record:  9-13 (.409)

#16 Fresno State (10-0)
11/29 – at San Jose State (5-6)
12/7 - MWC championship game (at higher-ranked team's stadium) – TBD (either Utah State (7-4) or Boise State (7-4))

Remaining opponents' combined record:  12-10 (.545)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

28 Greatest Dad Jokes

I am a dad.  It is a dad's duty to make jokes, especially bad ones.  One day I hope to make jokes to my children not unlike those in the following post, entitled "The 28 Greatest Dad Jokes of All-Time."  Thanks to Gregerson for the link.

Retro Video of the Week: "Don't Be Cruel" by Cheap Trick

I forgot to post a Retro Video of the Week yesterday, so please accept this Cheap Trick Elvis cover as my apology.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

New Book: I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman

I finally finished reading Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick.  It was a very interesting read.  I have always been a fan of Sam Cooke, but I didn't know all that much about his personal life, other than that he died under shady circumstances.  The book painted a conflicting picture of Cooke.  Obviously, he was a great talent, and he was also a voracious reader, a civil rights campaigner, and very generous to his friends and family.  On the other hand, he was a mysterious, quick-tempered philanderer, who seemed to have gotten married only for the sake of getting married to the woman with whom he had a child, and he kept his thoughts and feelings close to the vest.  As for the subject of his death, I was hoping to get a clearer picture of what really happened, but after reading the book, I don't think that is really possible.  What we know is that, after a night of drinking, he picked up a girl (who turned out to be a prostitute and a swindler) and took her to a motel.  While he was in the bathroom, she left and took his clothes (including thousands of dollars in his pockets that was never recovered), except for his suit coat.  She went to a nearby pay phone and called the police, claiming Cooke kidnapped her.  Cooke got out of the bathroom and was livid, so he went to the motel manager's office (wearing only his suit coat), thinking the girl was going to be there.  Instead, the female motel manager was there.  She and Cooke got into an argument about the girl's whereabouts.  The motel manager claimed he attacked her.  She shot him and killed him.  A coroner's jury didn't charge her with anything, deciding that it was a justifiable homicide because she acted in self-defense, although Cooke's lawyers were not given much of an opportunity to cross-examine her or any other witnesses.  Of course, it was later determined that the woman who stole Cooke's clothes had a history of taking men to hotels and stealing their clothes and money while they were in the bathroom, and accounts of Cooke's body at his funeral suggested a struggle greater than what the motel manager testified about, which some have suggested means Cooke was set up to be robbed.  A private investigator hired by Cooke's manager and business partner stopped his investigation at the behest of Cooke's widow.  Thus, unfortunately, the book didn't close any holes about Cooke's death, but that's not the author's fault, since there does not appear to be anything out there to close those holes.

I have now started reading I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman.  Klosterman is one of my favorite authors, and it's been a few years since I've read any of his non-fiction work, which I generally find to be very interesting, more so than his fiction (which I think is good too).  So far so good, even if Klosterman admits early on that he no longer hates The Eagles.

Books read in 2013:
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Tuesday Top Ten: American Public Restrooms

It's World Toilet Day, which is apparently a thing.  In case you need to drop a deuce in public, USA Today has gathered a list (with pics) of the nicest public restrooms in the US.  I think I know what my next road trip is going to be.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Undefeated After Week 12

My beloved Hoosiers have now put themselves in a position in which they must shock the world in order to go to a bowl.  The mission is simple:  go to Ohio Stadium and beat the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in front of a national audience.  Tune in to ABC or ESPN2 (depending on your locale) at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday to watch national title dreams get demolished.

This past weekend, all of the undefeated teams that played won.  Alabama didn't look overly impressive in its 20-7 win over Mississippi State.  Florida State murdered Syracuse, 59-3.  Ohio State pulled away late to a 60-35 victory over lowly Illinois.  Baylor throttled a decent Texas Tech team 63-34 and, as a result, inched closer to Ohio State in the BCS standings.  Northern Illinois beat a feisty Ball State team earlier in the week on the back of Jordan Lynch, quite literally.  Fresno State had a bye week.

This week, Northern Illinois again plays Wednesday night (8 p.m. EST ESPN2), going to 7-3 Toledo, who shouldn't be overlooked, as the Rockets' only three losses have been at Florida, Missouri, and Ball State.  Alabama, Florida State, and Fresno State all have laughers, against Chattanooga, Idaho, and New Mexico, respectively.  Baylor has their biggest remaining challenge, playing #10 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.  And, as discussed above, Ohio State is playing in the ultimate trap game at home against Indiana, who will most certainly score 45 points on the Buckeyes en route to a 45-0 victory.

With Fresno State and Northern Illinois at #15 and #16, respectively, in the BCS standings at the moment, here's a refresher on the rules for non-AQ schools (i.e., schools not from the Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, ACC, Pac-12, or AAC) as far as getting a BCS bowl berth:
-The highest-ranked non-AQ conference champion will receive an automatic BCS bowl berth if it is: (1) ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings; or (2) ranked in the top 16 of the BCS standings and ranked higher than at least one AQ conference champion.
-Only one non-AQ team can earn an automatic bid.
-A second non-AQ team can earn an at-large bid.  To be eligible for an at-large bid, a team must have at least 9 wins and must be in the top 14 of the BCS standings.

Here is a breakdown of the undefeated teams and each team's remaining games (rankings are BCS rankings):

#1 Alabama (10-0)
11/23 – Chattanooga (FCS) (8-3)
11/30 – at #6 Auburn (10-1)
12/7 - SEC championship game (Atlanta) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  18-4 (.818)

#2 Florida State (10-0)
11/23 – Idaho (1-9)
11/30 – at Florida (4-6)
12/7 - ACC championship game (Charlotte) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  5-15 (.250)

#3 Ohio State (10-0)
11/23 – Indiana (4-6)
11/30 – at Michigan (7-3)
12/7 – Big Ten championship game (Indianapolis) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  11-9 (.550)

#4 Baylor (9-0)
11/23 – at #10 Oklahoma State (9-1)
11/30 – at TCU (4-7)
12/7 – Texas (7-3)

Remaining opponents' combined record:  20-11 (.645)

#15 Fresno State (9-0)
11/23 – New Mexico (3-7)
11/29 – at San Jose State (5-5)
12/7 - MWC championship game (at higher-ranked team's stadium) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  8-12 (.400)

#16 Northern Illinois (10-0)
11/20 – at Toledo (7-3)
11/26 – Western Michigan (1-10)
12/6 - MAC championship game (Detroit) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  8-13 (.381)

Friday, November 15, 2013

Midwestern Eavesdropping

Twentysomething female to male friend on train: "You can't seriously say to a kid 'yeah it's okay' 'cause now he has like twice as many goats."
--Chicago, Red Line train
Eavesdropper: GMYH

Listen to Hair Band Friday - 11/15/13

Hair Band Friday - 11/15/13 by GMYH on Grooveshark

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Awkward Pregnancy Photos

Call me old fashioned, but I don't think it's ever necessary to get professional photographs taken of a bare pregnant belly, unless you are posing for the cover of Vanity Fair.  Jester is currently carrying our third spawn, and, other than in relation to the pregnancy fetish sites that will put our kids through college, at no point during any of her three pregnancies has she said to me, "Honey, if there's one thing I think this pregnancy has been missing, it's that I just don't feel like people have been noticing my belly at all, so I'm just gonna go ahead and take my shirt off, paint my belly like a basketball, and I want you to pretend to dunk my belly, while Daugher and Lollipop pretend to play defense.  Each of you will be wearing basketball jerseys.  Yours will say "Daddy," and theirs will both say "Big Sister."  There will also be fake placenta on the ground.  And I want the woman who did the Griffins' wedding to take pictures.  Her photos had a really nice photojournalistic feel to them." 

It's not that I'm uncomfortable with pregnant bellies.  I'm quite comfortable with them, although I'm not one of those assholes who will just go up to a pregnant woman and rub her belly without asking.  I always ask.  But there are some people out there who are a little too comfortable with their or their spouse's pregnant bellies, such that they want to share their bellies with the world.  Chances are, you even have some Facebook friends who fall into this category.  I know I do.  "Hey Woody, congrats on the pregnancy.  I never would have know Kelly was pregnant if you guys hadn't posted a picture of her at eight months wearing nothing but a sports bra."  What is unfortunate for them is fortunate for the rest of us because it breeds things like this post entitled "The 50 Most Akward Pregnancy Photos Ever" (thanks to Gregerson for the link) and this other post entitled "50 More Extremely Awkward Pregnancy Photos."

On another note, here is a video of Jean-Claude Van Damme doing the best splits ever recorded.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Retro Video of the Week: "Song For The Dumped" by Ben Folds Five

Sorry for the lack of a Tuesday Top Ten this week.  I attended a live musical performance last night, so I didn't have time to write anything.

This week's Retro Video of the Week is "Song For The Dumped" by Ben Folds Five, which came across my iPod a few minutes ago, which made me remember how much I love this song.  This is probably the best angry break up song of all-time.  Of course, in the video they mute out the "fuck you too" part.  Thanks, Tipper Gore.  But the video does include a verse in Japanese, so that's an added bonus.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Undefeated After Week 11

Despite the Hoosiers' 52-35 dismantling of the hapless Illini this past Saturday and despite the fact that, technically, the Hoosiers still have a chance at going to a bowl, that bed-shitting-after-a-magnificent-comeback loss to Minnesota last week pretty much guarantees that the Hoosiers' "bowl" game will be for the Old Oaken Bucket when those mouth-breathing shit stains from West Lafayette visit Memorial Stadium on November 30.  I like to be optimistic about these kinds of things, but IU sits at 4-5 right now, and our next two games are simply unwinnable, barring some sort of historic effort.

First up, this coming Saturday, the Hoosiers travel to Wisconsin, where IU hasn't won since 2001 (a resounding 63-32 victory, thanks to 280 rushing yards and 5 TDs by Levron Williams).  Since then, IU has gone 0-4 at Camp Randall, scoring a total of 54 points, while Wisconsin has averaged 54 points.  At least Bret Bielema is no longer the head coach, so the Badgers maybe won't try to score 83 points against us.  How's the SEC working out for you, dick bag?

It goes from horrible to apocalyptic, as the Hoosiers' next game is a trip to the Horseshoe to battle tO$U.  IU hasn't beaten the Buckeyes since 1988 and hasn't won in Columbus since 1987.  The only hope is that Urban Meyer's team of paid criminals comes down with the flu the night before the game.

Anyway, as in years past, I'll be breaking down the remaining undefeated teams each week for the rest of the season.  It's both painful and pleasurable for me.  As a college football fan, I enjoy talking about the best teams and how I hope they fail.  As an IU fan, it's bittersweet, since the Hoosiers are a long way away from ever making this countdown. 

This past weekend, Oregon, who I generally love to watch, doomed their national title hopes by only playing for the last 13 minutes against Stanford, leaving us with a mere six undefeated FBS teams –- all from different conferences.  This means that we could potentially have six undefeated teams heading into bowl season.  On the bright side, this is the last year of the BCS, so undefeated teams from non-BCS conferences and one-loss teams not named Alabama will actually have a shot at winning the national title in the future.

Looking at the remaining games, Baylor looks like it has the toughest road to remain unbeaten, but I think they will have a pretty strong argument for playing in the BCS Championship game if they win out. 

Meanwhile, Florida State should cruise until the ACC Championship game, and will probably cruise in that game as well, since there is no one in the Coastal Division with a realistic shot of beating the Seminoles at a neutral site.

It looks like the two non-BCS teams –- Fresno State and Northern Illinois –- should make it through the regular season and their respective conference championship games unscathed.  If you're looking for a mid-week football fix and a chance to see the best player you've never heard of, Northern Illinois QB and Heisman dark horse Jordan Lynch play on Wednesday night this week and next week, and then Tuesday night the following week.  This Wednesday night's game against 9-1 Ball State (8 p.m. EST on ESPN2) is the Huskies' toughest remaining game.

Alabama has the toughest remaining game out of the six undefeated teams, playing at #7 Auburn in the Iron Bowl on November 30.  If Auburn wins (assuming it doesn't lose before then), Alabama would not go to the SEC Championship game and, as I understand it, would not be eligible to play in the BCS title game.  Go Tigers!

And let's not forget about Ohio State.  Fuck Ohio State!

Here is a breakdown of the undefeated teams and each team's remaining games (rankings are BCS rankings):

#1 Alabama (9-0)
11/16 – at Mississippi State (4-5)
11/23 – Chattanooga (FCS) (8-2)
11/30 – at #7 Auburn (9-1)
12/7 - SEC championship game (Atlanta) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  21-8 (.724)

#2 Florida State (9-0)
11/16 – Syracuse (5-4)
11/23 – Idaho (1-9)
11/30 – at Florida (4-5)
12/7 - ACC championship game (Charlotte) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  10-18 (.357)

#3 Ohio State (9-0)
11/16 – at Illinois (3-6)
11/23 – Indiana (4-5)
11/30 – at Michigan (6-3)
12/7 – Big Ten championship game (Indianapolis) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  13-14 (.481)

#5 Baylor (8-0)
11/16 – Texas Tech (7-3)
11/23 – at #12 Oklahoma State (8-1)
11/30 – at TCU (4-6)
12/7 – #24 Texas (7-2)

Remaining opponents' combined record:  26-12 (.684)

#14 Fresno State (9-0)
11/23 – New Mexico (3-6)
11/29 – at San Jose State (5-4)
12/7 - MWC championship game (at higher-ranked team's stadium) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  8-10 (.444)

#15 Northern Illinois (9-0)
11/13 – Ball State (9-1)
11/20 – at Toledo (6-3)
11/26 – Western Michigan (1-9)
12/6 - MAC championship game (Detroit) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  16-13 (.552)

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Sharts On a Plane

There are few situations on Earth that are more terrifying than the imminent threat of diarrhea in a public setting.  Bringing together my worst fears, DBH sent me a link to an article described as "the most embarrassing plane pooping story ever."  Read it.  Empathize.  Pray to whatever deity it is that you worship that you will never come close to the agony that this guy endured.  This is why you should always carry Imodium with you when you travel.  Always.

Retro Video of the Week: "Funky Cold Medina" by Tone Lōc

Probably better than Boring Warm Riyadh.

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Tuesday Top Ten: Halloween Costumes 2013 Edition

It is undisputed that Halloween is the best holiday of the year.  This year, because Halloween was on a Thursday, it seemed to stretch out for a wonderfully long period of time.  People were dressed up the weekend before, the week of Halloween, and the weekend after.

I took full advantage of the situation.  The Friday before Halloween, several of us went to Rocks for some karaoke, in costume.  I was feeling a bit randy and you know I have a grim reaper robe, so I went as death.  Ghost B.C.'s Papa Emeritus II's face paint served as the inspiration for my face paint.  
I hovered over Jester's bed silently for an uncomfortably long amount of time.
I have to say, dressing up as the grim reaper is very empowering.  People were freaked out by me.  While walking to and from the bar, when a car would approach as I crossed an intersection, I would pause briefly, look at the car, and then continue walking.  I saw a couple people mouth "oh my God."  Of course, I was also riding a white horse -- well, a white Shetland pony, anyway.

It has always been a dream of mine to dress up as the grim reaper and sing "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" at karaoke, so I did.  It was instantly referred to as "poignant" and "terrifying."  I later sang "Heaven" by Warrant.  It was instantly referred to as "out of my range."

Saturday night, we went to a party at Gregerson and Colleen's place, where Chandler, Bonham, and I went as KISS of Death.  Of course, I was Ace.  This time, however, Ace Frehley did not drink any contact lenses -- allegedly.

Chandler had the Paul lip pouting down to a T, and of course, Paul and Gene fondled Miley Cyrus while The Creature watched.
Sunday, we carved pumpkins.  I went with Homer Simpson this year.  Jester went with a standard jack-o-lantern.  Daughter went with a cat.  Lollipop went with a ghost.  To be clear, Daughter and Lollipop played no part in the actual carving of pumpkins, despite their repeated requests to play with knives.

On Halloween proper, it was rainy, but that didn't deter my kids from going trick-or-treating -– because if it had, I would have disowned them.  Daughter was Wonder Woman, despite the fact that she had no idea who Wonder Woman was when she chose the costume.  Thanks to YouTube, however, she has now perfected the Wonder Woman spin, and she even made her own makeshift Lasso of Truth out of yellow felt (not pictured).  

Lollipop was Mighty Mike –- an alligator she recently saw at the Newport Aquarium just outside of Cincy –- not to be confused with Magic Mike.  Due to Lollipop's inability to do anything without sprinting, this was the least fuzzy picture I got of her in her costume.

I gotta say, I was thoroughly impressed with the efficiency of Daughter's trick-or-treating.  A year removed from her sophomore slump, where she consistently chose non-chocolate options over chocolate options when presented with a bowl of candy, Daughter methodically made her way from house to house, indicating forcefully that the homeowner could choose between a trick or a treat.  All chose treats.  Daughter cleaned up, as a result.  Nearly her entire bag was chocolate-based candy.  Lollipop tried to keep up, but grew tired of the game, often choosing to eat a piece of candy rather than going to another house to get more candy.  Next year, I'll expect better dedication.

But anyway, as I have done in years past, I will share with you the ten best Halloween costumes I saw, other than my own, of course.  These were costumes that I either saw myself or that were posted to Facebook by friends of mine.

Honorable Mention:

Spartan Cheerleaders

Energizer Bunny

The Price is Right Wheel
We found this in an alley.  It was homemade, with metal piping.  Very impressive.  I'm not sure why anyone would throw this away.

10.  Parrot
Jester gets the nod at the 10 spot because she made her own costume.

9.  Walter White and Hank Schrader

8.  George Michael
Earlier, he had a sweet dangling cross earring on.  If there had been an accompanying Andrew Ridgeley, this might have been #1.

7.  Jack Burton
I've never seen Big Trouble in Little China, so if I had, this might be higher on the list.

6.  Kurt Cobain
Too soon?

5.  Bikers
"Oh, biker.  I'm an idiot."  I love random costumes that only a few people get, as long as I'm one of those few people.

4.  Slutty Pumpkin and Hanging Chad
As a How I Met Your Mother Fan, I enjoyed this one.  There had been a man in the Hanging Chad costume earlier in the night, by the way.

3.  Baby Elvis
My nephew will never live this down -- or have a better Halloween costume.

2.  Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus.
I saw pictures of several people attempting to do this, but no one quite pulled it off like Daniel did.  He even got his hair cut -- and a blow-up doll -- for it.
I thought this was going to be my #1, until I saw...

1.  The Royal Tenenbaums
This was one of my former co-workers, and they nailed it, aside from the noticeable lack of Mordecai and mescaline.

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Midwestern Eavesdropping

30-something mother to a group of female toddlers at a four-year-old's birthday party: "Follow me if you want a tramp stamp."
--Chicago
Eavesdropper: Sheboyganette