While driving through Dunmore tonight I spotted some trick or treaters... and I must say that this is one Halloween costume I've never seen before, and is noteworthy for creativity & originality, especially in its simplicity...
A young man trick or treating dressed as a toll funnel on Halloween night in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
When I first spotted him on the street, I immediately thought of the collars that cats have to wear after surgery. That's what got my attention in the first place. And then I saw the sign he was wearing... and I thought -- oh, a toll funnel! pretty clever!
Of course dressing as a cat with a post-surgical collar would've been pretty funny too. I may do that next year, and it wouldn't be stealing of an idea, it would simply be inspiration, right?
And no, he didn't charge me a toll for the photo...
After a hot summer of way too many days being over 90°, so that it was too hot to do much of anything outside most of the time... Now we swing right into near-winter like conditions.
I literally went from wearing sandals & short sleeves with the air conditioner running, skipping right past long sleeves and having the windows open, straight to sweatshirts, sweaters, coat, and having the heat on.
It's already cold and dreary and rainy... And there was already some snow falling in the higher elevations this week.
I really feel like I've been short-changed on the mild seasons this year.
I was forced to take my plant in from the porch this week.
I've had the plant since the summer of 2004. And I now see that it's grown a great deal since then.
Plant, July 2004
Plant, October 2005
However, it doesn't fair quite as well inside, under the skylight as it does outside on the porch. But under the skylight is pretty much the only reasonable place that it could reside for the winter.
I had one plant from 1997 until 2003. By far the longest I'd ever kept a plant alive. Watermelon Punch - Photo Album - 06 Sep 2001 - Plant on porch
It took me awhile to find another plant that was similar, because I had liked that plant so much. But I finally did. And I hope it does okay again this winter.
I have a feeling it's going to be another cold winter.
Recently when I was chatting with someone, they were telling me about various conspiracy theories.
Among them were some wild and outlandish tales of intrigue and dastardly collusion. And then some were were simply seemingly exaggerated conclusions drawn about the connections & power shared by certain prominent people in the world, and what they might be up to.
I'll say that I do believe that money can buy power, and I'm certain a great many wealthy families and prominent people have always had a lot more influence than they probably should have in an ideal democracy, and I know goverments get up to some pretty naughty stuff and are definitely not always forthcoming about providing information to the people they're supposed to be representing...
However, I really have to say that a lot of the conspiracy theories this old guy was telling me about what's going on in the world, were, quite frankly, a hodge podge of illogical allegations, bizarrely contradictory political gripes, with extreme & judgemental attitudes about human social culture.
But one of these conspiracy theories that he related to me, struck me as being rather... interesting and amusing.
This particular conspiracy theory is that the Corning company has an undercover corporate division -- it's very own secret agency of international super spies.
The old guy was very specific about this being not simply about industrial espionage counterintelligence. But that Corning's secret agents are linked to global world governments, and specific conspiracy theories involving U.S. politicians being in cahoots with the British Monarchy.
Now of course the first thought that generally comes to mind is... Corning Glassware? The dishware people?
But it is true that the Corning company has had a major role in a wide variety of glass related technological development. So I can see how, maybe, since it's a rich company, with important advanced technology, some conspiracy theory could be woven around it.
But I didn't think this old man could've come up with this wild theory on his own.
So I searched the web... because I always figured the internet for being awash in conspiracy theories, from probable to possible to unlikely to downright ridiculous.
However, all I could find, in regards to Corning+spies, were some allegations that foreign spies of some type had been after Corning's trade secrets, or the like. But no actual conspiracy theories involving Corning Glass as a major player in world domination.
Now I'm wondering where this guy got this idea. I think it's unlikely he came up with it himself.
I suppose it could be that Corning has it's secret powerful ways to stomp out the publication of this conspiracy theory on the web. Maybe Google's in cahoots with them. And sometime after posting this, and it gets indexed by Google, Powweb and epix will abruptly be cancelling my accounts. And heed! Then you who had read this will know the horrible truth!
And I will wind up like 'Max Fenig'. Although I hope my trailer is more like that of 'Jaye Tyler', frankly. I'd rather a camper full of plush animals & figurines talking, than one full of videos of myself talking fast & crazy.
But seriously...
or not...
I now have a hankering to go tour the Corning Museum of Glass again. I've been on the tour a few times in my life, but it's been many years since I last visited. I believe the last time I was there was when I was a student at Mansfield University, just an hour south of Corning, New York. When I was a student there, I made many trips to the Corning, Elmira, Horseheads area.
Apparently right now the Corning Museum of Glass has a Glass Workshop for Tourists where you can make your own glass pumpkin! Sounds like fun to me! Perhaps I might go on a little field trip soon, since the road trip is less than 3 hours from Scranton.
(Of course this could be part of their plot to disperse microchips with dossiers & homing beacons amongst the masses, for tracking by their super spies!)
Last week (October 9th 2005), was the annual Christopher Robinson Memorial AIDS Walk in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Harold, Dawn, & Michael T.
Despite the threat of rain, many turned out. And it didn't rain, after all.
I was thrilled that instead of just snacks & lunch, this year there was a breakfast... many bagels. And the band, M80, was quite entertaining.
I've been mentioning this book a lot lately to friends, for reasons which may occur to some, so I thought I'd just strongly recommend it here, for those not familiar. Or for a trip down nostalgia boulevard, hopefully only in entertainment fantasy for most.
I can't say enough about the eerie realistic quality this story has about the breakdown of civility due to lack of consistent societal rules and restraints.
Lord of the Flies, By William Golding
"Lord of the Flies is a thought-provoking novel authored by William Golding in 1954. The book describes in detail the horrific exploits of a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric. Lord of the Flies commands a pessimistic outlook that seems to show that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery."
I read the book many years ago when I was in school.
I've never seen any of the movie versions that I can recall.
I imagine there's an updated version too. I wonder if it might involve a dirty white monlith.
The interesting question is... do the Jacks of the world know they're Jacks...?
superficiality >>If the facade is what's important to you, all you wind up with is an illusion. Disillusionment is the gift of substance.
-- Chloe<<
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