Author: Head Candy Corn

Posted on

Witches Give Columbus the BIRD and that’s not all for Gothtober DAY 8

Which Witch tells Columbus Day to go fly a kite? ALL OF THEM!

Hold onto your falsies, Gothtober Pumpkin DAY 8 (courtesy of Ian MacKinnon of GayHistorgy.com) is about to OPEN YOUR MIND with a fierce and immersive bitchy witchy (PG-13, parents, pay attention please!) ritual aimed at saving the world by helping it “get more gay” while also chasing away the false pageantry surrounding Columbus Day!

Join Witches Lady Guya Magique Oshaughnessy, Lady Mary Juana and Lady Ass Majick in a comprehensive drag-magical anti-columbus observance! As spiritual muses of visibility and bravery, drag queens know a thing or two about the stinkers in high places trying to rewrite history, attempting to shut many of us into obscurity with the purpose of keeping our unequal power structure in favor of existing dominant forces. WELL SCREW THAT! There are no better experts than these three gorgeous glittery enchantresses to lead us away from the curse of complicity and toward getting off our asses to learn the truth about the world and our nation and ourselves, claiming our power and flipping Columbus Day THE BIRD.

Instead, celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, which is, coincidentally: October 8th, 2012!

Ian McKinnon as your Gay Historgy Leather Daddy Professor – Photograph by Don Tinling

George Orwell wrote:

“Who controls the past controls the future. And who controls the present controls the past.”

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” This is pretty much what generations of school children, including myself, were told about Christopher Columbus. We were never told anything else about it, and we tucked it away in the back of our minds as one of those “nothing holidays” where we get to stay home from school or work.


(This ad is from Columbus Day in 2010, but it might as well be for EVERY Columbus Day)

If you haven’t already… It’s time to rethink Columbus Day. If you don’t know much about it, or never bothered to really delve into what really happened, take some time today and take a look at these resources:

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas has a very detailed eye witness account of what the Spaniards did to the Indians. Of the Arawaks, he wrote:

…of all the infinite universe of humanity, these people are the most guileless, the most devoid of wickedness and duplicity…yet into this sheepfold…there came some Spaniards who immediately behaved like ravening beasts…Their reason for killing and destroying…is that the Christians have an ultimate aim which is to acquire gold…

The Banning of “Rethinking Columbus” by schools in Tuscon, Arizona – Article by Bill Bigelow – January 2012

“Rethinking Columbus was never just about Columbus. It was part of a broader movement to surface other stories that have been silenced or distorted in the mainstream curriculum: grassroots activism against slavery and racism, struggles of workers against owners, peace movements, the long road toward women’s liberation—everything that Howard Zinn dubbed “a people’s history of the United States.”

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years – Edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson

We need to listen to a wider range of voices. We need to hear from those whose lands and rights were taken away by those who “discovered” them. Their stories, too often suppressed, tell of of 500 years of courageous struggle, and the lasting wisdom of native peoples. Understanding what really happened to them in 1492 is key to understanding why people suffer the same injustices today.

And last but not least: Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States 

In a letter he wrote to one of his Spanish patrons, (about the Arawaks, or Tainos as they were also known) Columbus said: “They are very simple and honest and exceedingly liberal with all they have, none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it. They exhibit great love toward all others in preference to themselves.” But then, in the midst of all this, in his journal, Columbus writes: “They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

“In his quest for gold, Columbus, seeing bits of gold among the Indians, concluded there were huge amounts of it. He ordered the natives to find a certain amount of gold within a certain period of time. And if they did not meet their quota, their arms were hacked off. The others were to learn from this and deliver the gold.”

And that’s just the beginning, if you read Zinn’s book you’ll be rethinking all kinds of stuff, but one thing’s for sure: you will enter into a consciousness that is no longer one of “sleepwalking.” And you probably will think that Christopher Columbus was a Grade A dirtbag and tell his holiday to go suck an egg.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Surfer Girl Meets Little Mermaid for Gothtober DAY 7

A brightly colored school of yellow fish swimming in the deep blue sea in Stephanie Abler’s version of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”

“This is just the kind of stuff my mind makes up when I’m listening to the Beach Boys” said Steph, Illustrator and Animator of a romantic seaside adventure you can watch by clicking on Pumpkin #7 of Gothtober. Hans Christian Anderson’s original The Little Mermaid involves a young mermaid who gives up her tail and life in the sea to become human and live happily ever after with a human prince. Stephanie Abler’s version of the story is that this mermaid has a huge crush on a surfer girl and wishes the surfer girl would become a mermaid and give up her human surfer life and come live with her in the sea. It’s like The Little Mermaid in reverse, with lesbians. You can see Steph’s home made animation apparatus and find out what it was like to spend 4 months making this wonderful piece by visiting her website.

We had a phone conversation about the piece, how this story has always felt like such a naive and vulnerable interpretation of love and relationships, that it’s a crush-fantasy story of the most unrealistic kind, and how weird that it has resonated so loudly with so many for so long.

I thought Steph’s version of this classic fairy tale was a big fat departure from the creepy aggressively heterosexual subtext of a woman giving up her life for her “man” the usual stereotypical interpretation of the story, the strange and naive perception that marriage is supposed to solve everything, staying in abusive relationships for “love”, suffering pain and loss to enter another world, fairy tale crap, blah blah blahhhhh…

And then I found out, from not digging terribly deep, that the story of “The Little Mermaid” is a really really really GAY STORY.

This is a sketch of Edvard Collin. Hans Christian Andersen’s unrequited love for Edvard Collin sparked the fairy tale of “The Little Mermaid.”

The Little Mermaid’s inception came from a love letter containing Hans Christian Andersen’s metaphor for his deep and abiding love of his close friend, Edvard, who didn’t love Hans romantically and took pains to remain removed and distant. It was 1836 in Copenhagen, not a good era for any bisexual or gay stuff, in fact, official government discrimination of gays and bisexuals began in Copenhagen in 1830. Hans Christian Andersen was strange and eccentric for the time, a failed singer, dancer and actor, he was huge and gangly and awkward, he had a flair for the dramatic, and was often in a state of heartbreak. When the love of his life, Edvard, was married, it sent Hans into a tailspin of devastation and angst and The Little Mermaid was born.

Andersen came from poverty, he never actually learned to spell or write in Danish, which set his stories apart from others in that they read in the cadence of the spoken language, which still resonates today in it’s “freshness” unlike other written pieces of that time. The success he gained from his writing eventually had him co-mingling with the “upper crust” so to speak. He was sensitive and ashamed of his background, and was constantly proving his nobility and virtuosity in a society that was obsessed with such things. He was never quite accepted within the aristocracy, despite his worldwide fame, and he resented it. He was also annoyed with himself for giving a crap about the upper classes in the first place, and developed a detachment and disdain for the rich. He was a shrewd observer of high society in 19th century Denmark, and was aware of the motivations, limitations and cruelties of human nature.

He was a little light in the loafers…

Hans Christian Andersen’s outsider working-class background combined with his entire litany of unrequited relationships with both men and women inspired many famous fairytales involving stoic characters who are tortured by desperation, longing, evil, scorn, hardship or tragedy, and who are challenged to overcome these adversities through a relentless and optimistic stoicism. He didn’t believe in happy endings either, the original ending to The Little Mermaid is completely wrought with wildly bizarre anxiety-inducing drama that would keep anyone up at night. Andersen believed that fairy tales were the poetic form of the future, containing both comic and tragic aspects of life.

The “mermaid” was Hans, you see…

Stories like The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Match Girl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Little Mermaid, are tales that “Stick it to the MAN” and are quite subversive once you understand how hard it was to be someone like Hans Christian Andersen near the turn of the century. There weren’t a whole lot of outlets for “drummers of a different beat” back then, yet Andersen found storytelling and fantasy as a way to deal with his pain and anger by making incredibly complex anecdotes created for both adults and children. Knowing what you now know of Hans Christian Andersen’s experiences, read some of his stories today, and you’ll find that his fairy tales are more than meets the eye, each is packed with powerful and intricate layers of meaning. You’ll find that his unabridged, unedited stories contain careful and adept implementation of satire, philosophy and social critique. The highest award that is bestowed on children’s books today is the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

The statue of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen was placed in the bay in 1913, the mermaid’s original face was that of Ellen Price, a prima ballerina who danced in a ballet version of The Little Mermaid.  The body of the little mermaid is that of Eline Erikson, as the ballerina refused to pose nude, and ironically, the sculptor’s first name was Edvard. The statue is a major tourist attraction, it’s small and unimposing, and gets vandalized so often that Denmark is considering moving her further out in the bay to prevent subsequent antics by locals and tourists alike. She’s had her head sawed off a few times, been blown off her rock with dynamite, had her hand sawed off, been covered in pink paint, draped in burqas and other outfits, and a dildo was affixed to her hand on International Womens Day in 2006.

Imagine Hans Christian Andersen’s passionate yearning for Edvard Collins who didn’t share the same feelings!

Thus, Hans is still taking part in subversive activities even today, inspiring all sorts of wild opinions and behavior he could never express in an outward “in-your-face” way during the immensely vigorous oppression of his time.

For me, I like to think that Steph’s version of The Little Mermaid finally allows Hans to be with Edvard (or anyone, for that matter he was a solitary figure all his life) they are reunited in a very loving and romantic way that I think Mr. Andersen would’ve liked. And I think that the choice of earnestly singing Brian Wilson’s tunes and lyrics (another genius outsider of his time) and pairing it with the animation contributes to this sweet and  thoughtful piece that could serve as homage to a remarkable author who, were he alive today, would’ve made an excellent punk rock radical fairy.

 

Posted on

Spooky Postage Stamps for Gothtober DAY 6

Bill Parr surrounded by nature in either the late 60s or early 70s.

Visit Gothtober’s Pumpkin #6 for a special symposium on true tales of mystery and intrigue!

“Dad, do you have any spooky stamps?” I said.
“Hmmm… I don’t think so, I tend to only collect pre-1945…”
Me – “Oh but that’s PERFECT! I bet you have stamps commemorating weird buildings, or mysterious historical figures, unsolved mysteries, stories, authors…”
Dad – “Well… now that you think of it…”
Thus, a Father/Daughter collaborative Gothtober project began, where my Dad went through his extensive pre-1945 collection of stamps, and then went online to sleuth out even more excitingly spooky stamp story possibilities. He found everything, he found all manner of fascinating subjects, he is nothing if not thorough.
My Dad is a philatelist.
Since the age of 16 he’s been studying and collecting postage stamps.
He also worked for Sonoma County as a Senior Systems Analyst for about 34 years, which means he appreciates a good flow chart and believes in inventing creative solutions that process assorted types of information in a practical and workable order.
When I was a little kid, computers were louder and larger than our refrigerator, and I spent a lot of time drawing on the leftover punch cards filled with holes that Dad would sometimes bring home for me when he came home from work.
Fast forward to this day and age where my Step Mom, Ma Peg, watches Dad prepare to go to stamp conventions, and she says “I’m not goin’ to that, it’s a big ol’ NERD FEST!” And she heads for the antique exhibits, and I don’t blame her one bit. Stamp conventions (from what I remember from visiting a couple with Dad when I was a kid) aren’t exactly a rousing hootenanny of extreme excitement, involving chiefly a lot of hushed voices, hunching over tiny engraved and gummed pieces of paper with magnifying glasses and glassine paper and special dorky binders that hold ever more collections of… stamps. Stamp collecting isn’t just nerdy, it’s the outer limits of nerdy, it’s “original nerd” classification.
But you see… the apple doesn’t fall from the tree, and I myself love POSTCARDS and did a show of over 1,200 hand painted postcards in 2008 called TimeStamp. We seem to have an appreciation for various types of paper ephemera in my family which cannot be explained. But if you can’t explain it, give it a whirl, right?
Here then is the best of Bill Parr’s stamp library in regards to Halloween-themed concepts, the unsolved mysteries, the freaky miracles, the gothic, horrific and strange tales that can be told through amazingly small squares of interesting prized postage stamps! Enjoy!

Posted on

The Pop Ups & Friends Sends you a Swingin’ Gothtober Day 5

Who or what is an Elephant’s Gerald?!? Find Out! Visit DAY 5 on the Gothtober Countdown Calendar!

Coming to you from the heart of Brooklyn, NY are The Pop Ups and Friends! Click on Pumpkin #5 on the Gothtober Countdown Calendar to experience a catchy trick-or-treat tune!
We’re sure you might pick up on this phonetic tribute to The First Lady of Song, but there are also some other jazztastic tributes that don’t mention whats-her-name directly but um… instead through the medium of song, puppets, babies, graveyards, cardboard saxophones and yep… elephants.
The Pop Ups are Jason Rabinowitz and Jacob Stein, and they are the composers and performers of some of the most rockin’ kids music in the world! Seriously, if you can’t make it out to NY to see one of their high-energy hilarious and danceriffic shows, do yourself a huge favor and get their albums which are available on iTunes, Amazon and at other fine locations, you can hear song samples and purchase their music here:

These tunes will make ANY road trip become instantly fun, it’ll make you want to bounce and sway and sing along, I can’t recommend it enough to kids, families or anyone who wants to have a seriously good time. Find out all about The Pop Ups from upcoming shows and albums to full biographies, photos and more here at their site: The Pop Ups. 

Jacob and Jason “The Pop Ups” holding one of their awesome outdoor concerts in NYC

The excellent spooky tone of this Fall Pop Ups piece comes not just from wondering just what this “Elephant’s Gerald” might be all about (no spoilers here, not a one) but take a good look at the scenery of this little music video. It was shot on location right outside of National History Landmark: Green-Wood Cemetery!!!

Leonard Bernstein was buried at Green-Wood, as well as Jean-Michel Basquiat, William S. Hart and Alice Roosevelt. The highest point in Brooklyn, which is 200 feet above sea level, is on cemetery grounds, it’s called “Battle Hill” and right at that spot is a statue of Minerva. It was commissioned by Irish immigrant Charles M. Higgins and sculpted by Frederick Ruckstull and unveiled  in August of 1920. Minerva, as you know, sprung from the head of Zeus and was the goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. She is considered the guardian of civilization.

But the coolest part of this statue is that she always faces The Statue of Liberty, she was built specifically for that purpose: to watch over and pay homage to Lady Liberty. In fact, a real estate developer wanting to build a structure in Brooklyn that would obscure the view between Minerva and The Statue of Liberty has been denied, which is all the more meaningful since the view between “liberty” and “medicine, wisdom and commerce” should always be shared indefinitely (guardian of civilization indeed!)

The building was going to be called “The Minerva” and if that’s not ironic, I don’t know what is! This warrior goddess statue’s official title is “Alter to Liberty: Minerva” and may Minerva never be out of a job due to commercial interests, but always be eternally seeking and searching the bigger lady that takes care of our “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Hooray for Historic Preservationists!

Goddess Minerva looking out at The Statue of Liberty in NY Harbor

 

Posted on

Brains are Not Enough: A Delicious Recipe from DAY 4

Pumpkin Illustration from “Jack & Jill” magazine 1953

Visit Gothtober Pumpkin #4 on the Gothtober Countdown Calendar and download a Zombie Recipe Classic from Artist and Designer, Yuki Okada!

It’s true that after awhile, even something as exciting as an entire plate of fresh brain curds can get tiresome. Yuki steps in today to steer you gently away from the same old boring gourmet brains to try something a little different, even, dare I say, refined. You see, Halloween doesn’t have to be all foil-wrapped mini candy bars, nor does it have to be triangular-shaped tri-c0lored candies masquerading as maize.

Halloween can get highbrow, it can be nimble like pointy spider legs or the claw of a rat’s foot. No matter how thin you slice it, it’s still mystery meat and it might as well be delicious. Zombies might at first be a little confused by this sumptuous dish, but give it about 30 seconds, and their senses will be overcome with this delectable alternative to the customary brain dish they usually demand.

This recipe is actually vegetarian, but very far from vegan, it involves seasonally appropriate ingredients suitable for placating your Jekylls or your Hydes when hosting gatherings. If you enjoy decadence, this is your jam.

The recipe also calls for a “sugar pumpkin” which is different from your everyday pumpkin that you see in the bins sitting at the entrance of your local supermarket. The main difference is that “carving” pumpkins are grown specifically for that purpose, and are more hollow inside. Sugar pumpkins, on the other hand, are grown for their taste, thus they are smaller, sweeter, a bit darker in orange color and packed with pulp to be used for things like soups, muffins, pies and breads.

You can find GREAT sugar pumpkins out at Lombardi Ranch, which is a trek, but worth it for the petting zoo, bands, scarecrow alley and all of their other seasonal produce. Take a look at their calendar, and get there early if you decide to go on a weekend, it gets pretty crowded. You should also make sure you have a “corn on a stick” there, as they serve possibly the best I’ve ever eaten at their farm stand. I discovered Lombardi Ranch in 1990, and it’s my go-to pumpkin patch for family fun.

Another favorite, from what I’ve heard but not seen, is the Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patch out in Santa Paula, which has hay rides, pony rides, face painting… and something called a “Pumpkin Chucker” which sounds very intriguing.

Here’s a list of ALL of Los Angeles Pumpkin Fun, from Hay Rides to Corn Mazes! 

Other possible locations to find sugar pumpkins could be Trader Joe’s, Bristol Farms and Whole Foods. There you have it, now go get your sugar pumpkin and get cookin!

 

 

Posted on

A Gloriously Bleak Needlepoint for Gothtober Day 3

Decorate your lair or crypt with this dainty and ornate cross stitch design!

From world famous internationally known and celebrated graphic designer for film and television comes Dianne Chadwick’s excellent downtrodden and hopelessly gloomy needlepoint project! Is your mausoleum feeling too cheery? Are lighthearted and gleeful sentiments seeping into your sarcophagus? Well banish the warmth and joy once and for all with this absolutely capricious and morosely lovely craft project! This wonderful design contains a “down home sophistication” with its swirls that harken back to a more ornate time period, while also staying focused on the important things like skulls, crows and bats.
We made sure to launch it on the Calendar on the 3rd, to give you plenty of time to download the pattern by clicking on Pumpkin #3 on The Gothtober Countdown Calendar, then geting your supplies and sewing your heart out before Halloween!

We’ve even given you enough time to make this if you’ve never done needlepoint before. Now is a swell time to try a new hobby, start today! AND if you want to see more of Ms. Chadwick’s awesome Halloween-oriented art, take yourself to October Shadows on October 13th Mountain View Mausoleum, 2300 N. Marengo Avenue in Altadena, CA 91001 It’s a big fat showcase of artists from the worlds of fine art, comics, film, TV and animation! The show will run each Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 3pm through November 3rd.

And, speaking of Halloween, it’s time to start thinking about your Halloween costume! Have you been brainstorming? While you sit and work on your needlepoint, have a conversation with yourself about what you’re going to wear at all those costume parades you’re sure to march in this autumn.

The hot ticket predictions (According to the National Costume Prognostication Society) you’ll be seeing this October 2012  will be (of course) Obama and Romney lookalikes, followed by PSY, the Korean Rapper who hit the big time with “Gangam Style” and you’ll probably see a lot of Lady Gagas, Nicki Manajs or Kim Kardashians. If you’re looking for big cash at the costume ball, avoid these, they’ll already be everywhere. Of course, if you’re going to rock Gangam Style, show up with the entire cast of characters (or even just the dude in yellow with the bowl cut) from the video and blow everyone away with your awesome dance moves. Bring 12 blowing fans to make it authentic!

It is also a fact that pet owners nationwide spend about $370 million on costumes for their furry friends. If you have somehow gotten yourself embroiled in a high stakes pet costume contest: steer away from the hot dog, devil or pumpkin, as those are the most popular. Go for robot, taco or “Alpine Girl” and you’ll have more luck.

Anyway, get back to your “Gloom Sweet Gloom” needlepoint, and we’ll discuss this more later…

Posted on

How Nightmares Can Transform Your Life (DAY 2)

A Cross-Dissolve frame from “Sir’s Bad Dream”

Gothtober’s DAY 2 features Sir who is trying to sleep.
Who is sir?
Seems kind of like a hairy dude, intent on getting a good night’s rest until… oh dear, guess that’s not going to happen. Sir’s worldwide sleeping tour of recorded vinyl treasures is sure to inspire a myriad of personal emotions for you. From the very first frame of the movie, you get a sense of the main character’s somnambulistic nature, a sure clue that a sleep-induced adventure is about to take place, and it won’t be disappointing. You can hear the voice guiding him to “take the right boat” and “beware of zombies” my recommendation is to watch it a few times so that you can really grasp just how totally weird Sir’s dream is!

In the waking life of comic book and old-fashioned vinyl record sales, Mr. Canyon Fisher is a king, and the fact of this Gothtober movie is: he has sold every one of these titles featured in his store at PixelBiscuit Records and Comics. While Mr. Fisher didn’t play the main character in his movie, you can be rest assured that he empathizes with him greatly.

In other news, did you know that they have recorded the weight of the biggest pumpkin EVER?
It weighs more than a “Smart Car.”

Posted on

Bob Baker Marionettes Kicks Off The Gothtober Countdown Calendar!

Bob Baker himself with some of the stars of “Halloween Hoop de Doo” opening October 6th, 2012 at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater

Everyone, start your pumpkins, and beginning with pumpkin #1 on the calendar is short film by Alex Evans (film maker and marionetteer at Bob Baker Theater) featuring a very dashing and debonaire vampire calling you to see the unearthly, eerie, fun and wild “Halloween Hoop de Doo” at Bob Baker Theater starting October 6th! I can’t endorse this enough, as a puppeteer myself, you should know that this theater is an incredible Los Angeles treasure not to be missed. GET TICKETS! (Currently, their show Fiesta is being dismantled and stored, so it might say that no upcoming events are on the roster, but rest assured, the new show IS opening in less than 5 days!)
You will see the expertly nimble talents of puppeteers Eric De LaCruz, Victor Munoz, Alex Evans and Adrian Rose (as well as more marionette performers) bring Bob’s hand made puppets to life in a madcap series of captivating vignettes ALL having to do with Halloween!

  • You will see the Purple People Eater!
  • You will see the Invisible Man!
  • You will see skeletons wearing lipstick!
  • LIPSTICK?!? You heard me! It’s possible!
A macabre group of “party people” from the roaring 20s, courtesy of Bob Baker Marionette Theater

Bob Baker’s legacy is absolutely incredible, he is a master showman, artist, craftsman and expert puppeteer. He turned 88 this year, and he’s been working puppet strings since age 8. His theater holds over 3,000 hand made puppets, and I’d be doubtful about that claim except that I saw them all myself and my eyeballs almost fell out of my head in disbelief. This place is hands down one of the most wonderful places in our gigantic city of angels, and it has helped shape the inspiration and imagination of countless kids and adults for the last 52 years. Bob has also worked with Walt Disney, Stephen Spielberg, Elvis, The Three Stooges, Angela Lansbury, the list goes on and on, it’s nuts.
Here are some clips of Bob’s fascinating and remarkable contributions to stage and screen.
But here’s a little Halloween tidbit that people don’t know: Two of his hand crafted marionettes live in special cases at Disneyland in Paris! If you know anyone who is a little scared of the queen and her evil antics, you can show them this link and tell them that she’s very far away and posing no threat to anyone, thanks to Bob. That’s right, the Evil Queen in her “before” and “after” stages are on display, and you can see close-ups of these beautiful works and find out more about Bob at this 2011 exposé on Filmic Light’s Snow White archive.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater
1345 W. 1st St. (under the bridge where 2nd. St. turns into Glendale)
Los Angeles, CA. 90026
(213)250-9995
TICKETS! BIRTHDAY PARTIES! FUN!

Posted on

Gothtober 2012 is LIVE!!!

The step-by-step sketching process of illustrating the Gothtober 2012 interface, launching on our 10th Anniversary!

Eeeeeeaaauuuuuggghhhh!!! It’s GOTHTOBER TIME, we are LIVE!
Presenting another 31 selected autumn varietals for your discerning visual appetite, please visit www.gothtober.com this instant and tell me if you thought that scare crow stuck its tongue out at you. It did, right? (I hope so!)

More details about DAY 1 posted soon, but for now, let’s give a hat’s off to Jesse Albini, Cristin Pescosolido, Josh Fielstra and yes… me, because we were all clenching our butt cheeks getting this one out the door! There were technical difficulties, but thanks to quick thinking, ingenuity and common sense, you now have the calendar, and it’s time for the countdown!

Posted on

Pumpkin Pumpkin Who’s got the Pumpkin?

Seen Here: Organic Canned Pumpkin, Pumpkin Butter, Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix, Pumpkin Bread and (NEW!) Pumpkin Soup! Photo taken by Lori Meeker

The pumpkins are coming the pumpkins are coming!

No wait… the pumpkins are HERE! On Saturday, September 22, at 10:49am it will officially be Autumn! Our hours of daylight shall ever so sneakily begin to recede, and you will start to sense the cinnamon and clove scents in the air from the crazy “fall mania” that hits stores this weekend.
Leading the pack with a delicious assortment of fall pumpkin items is Trader Joe’s! No, they didn’t pay me to write this, it’s just great that you can go somewhere that won’t cost an arm and a leg to get yourself some easy-to-make pumpkin treats for all your equinox needs. It is absolutely NO JOKE that I went to a fancy culinary website to see how much their lil’ bag of pumpkin bread mix costs and almost lost my mind that it is a whopping $21.00. Who is fool enough to buy pumpkin bread that costs TWENTY ONE CLAMS?!?

I don’t care how many “roasted Texan pecans” are in the bag, that’s a hell of a return when you consider that Trader Joe’s pumpkin bread is only $2.99 and even if you purchase pecans separately at TJ’s you’re not going to get anywhere near $21.00!!!

Takes my breath away, land o’ goshen the times we live in, they’d sell you your eyeballs to you right out of your own head if you let them! Shop smart, dear consumer!
Anyway, stock your pantry this fall, get into your cords and dust off your light jacket, time to go a hunting for classic fall flavors like nutmeg, allspice and hot apple cider.