Halloween recap

We had many trick-or-treaters last night, shattering previous records. We kept track of costumes: bear, turtle, vet, Joy (from Inside Out ), just a kid (no costume), lizard, princess, T. Rex skeleton, witch, cheerleader. And then a group of ten teenagers arrived, by which point Elaine was off playing in a pit (orchestra, not snake) and I wasn’t about to inventory ten costumes in the dark.

Number of trick-or-treaters, number of treats, number of leftovers:

2022: 9, 18, 22 (Reese’s Cups)
2023: 6, 14, 22 (Milky Way)
2024: 20, 31, 19 (Milky Way, Three Musketeers)

Some of the younger visitors this year took just one item from the plastic pumpkin. Maybe they were following orders that had been given in advance.

“I sure love garlic”

[Nancy, November 11, 1955. Click for more garlic.]

Me too, Nancy.

Yesterday’s Nancy is also yesterday’s Nancy.

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[This week is shaping up as a very long week. Come Tuesday!]

A WPA Halloween poster

[“Halloween Roller Skating Carnival.” Poster by Martin Weitzman. Federal Art Project, New York, 1936. From the Work Projects Administration Poster Collection, Library of Congress. Click for a larger view.]

I know that M&Ms are reported to be the most sought-after candy this year, but we could find only variety packs, with plain, peanut, and peanut butter varieties. No thank you. We are prepared instead with fifty “fun-size” Milky Ways and Three Musketeers. There’d better be kids showing up.

The WPA Poster Collection resides here.

An honest editorial

From a Las Vegas Sun editorial, “Donald Trump’s cognitive decline becoming a troubling concern” :

Donald Trump’s racism, sexism, xenophobia and penchant for corruption have long made him unfit for any public office, let alone the presidency. But as he continues his bid for a second term in the White House, there is an unsettling and undeniable shift that is leading many experts, observers and even some Trump supporters to conclude that the former president’s mental acuity and sharpness are also in decline, that his physical health and stamina are waning and that his frustration and anger are boiling over.

Americans from both sides of the political spectrum should be alarmed by Trump’s words and behavior. The nation must confront the fact that beyond his hateful character, he is crippled cognitively and showing clear signs of mental illness.

[The URL appears to be working only occasionally, even if one clicks from the paper’s front page. Maybe too many people clicking from too many links. Or maybe there’s been a denial-of-service attack.]

An apostrophe in the news

Here’s a Washington Post gift link: “Did Biden call Trump supporters ‘garbage’? It comes down to an apostrophe.”

My 2¢:

If Joe Biden was speaking of the infamous comedian’s remark, supporter’s, the singular possessive, would make the most sense. If he was speaking of various vile things spoken by various vile speakers at Madison Square Garden, supporters’ would make sense.

Or Biden could have said something like this instead: “The only garbage I see floating out there is the demonization of Latinos. It’s unconscionable, and it’s un-American.” And that would have been that.

Gift links will continue until they don’t. I have ’em, so I’m gonna use ’em. I have about six months left on my subscription.)

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“A child's stupid longing”

Guy de Maupassant, Alien Hearts. 1890. Trans. Richard Howard (New York: New York Review Books, 2009).

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A musical Illusionist

Or an Illusionist musical: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next musical is titled The Illusionist, inspired by the movie The Illusionist, itself a very loose adaptation of Steven Millhauser’s story “Eisenheim the Illusionist.” Not clear how much of Millhauser’s story will remain — the musical, like the movie, seems to lean heavily toward love story.

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To-do

I like the prospect of a president with, as Kamala Harris says, a to-do list. Not an enemies list. And certainly not a Project 2025.

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Truncated? No

On NBC Nightly News tonight, Lester Holt spoke of Kamala Harris’s “truncated campaign.” No. Truncated is about the end, not the beginning. If you start late and run the course, your effort has not been truncated.

Merriam-Webster defines truncate: “to shorten by or as if by cutting off.”

The Harris campaign has been a shortened campaign.

Thanks, Elaine, for having your radar on while the news played.

Goodbye, George Washington’s signature

Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland is changing its logo to something more readable. So it’s goodbye to George Washington’s signature. The school’s vice president for marketing and communications explains:

Because cursive writing is no longer taught universally in K-12 education, the script — especially this highly stylized version — was difficult to read and not immediately recognizable for many prospective students. This was counterproductive when it came to name recognition and identity.

Granted, the signature logo is not especially venerable — it’s been in use since 2013. And granted, it might not be easily readable at reduced size. But still. It think it looks, or looked, pretty cool.


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[Follow the link above to see the new logo.]