f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

.. Presidential Pumpkin Patterns ..

— from Zombie Pumpkins. com (via Don Weeks at WGY radio) —

election day
jack-o-lanterns
in trash cans

… by dagosan

If your sensibilities are at all like mine, you passed your political-ad nausea threshold weeks ago, and need a barf bag next to the sofa or la-z-boy in your tv room, as we enter the last week of pre-election advertising. And, it hasn’t helped at all that our campaign to rid the pundit lexicon of the term “battleground state” has had no noticeable effect. I’ve been watching the public television network even more than usual to avoid the effluent electoral flow of mud and misleading claims, while relying on Obama Girl again for my political fix.

If all the angry ads leave you wanting to grab a knife and stab something, the f/k/a Gang suggests you sublimate those feelings and have some fun at ZombiePumpkins.com, where you’ll find a bounteous crop of ghoulish and topical patterns for carving surprisingly sophisticated jack-o-lanterns. The presidential pumpkin patterns shown above are among the selections. You have to join to download their amazing patterns, but you can do a lot of looking and reading for free, or get full access to 183 patterns for as little as $5, and a sampler of any two patterns for $2.

halloween mail
a bill arrives
from the plastic surgeon

devil’s night
father john’s profile fills
the confessional screen

autumn emptiness
i leave the pumpkin
just as it is

halloween
the government issues
a report on the war

……………………………………..ed markowski

At Court-o-rama, Anne Skove is in the Halloween spirit this week. Among other posts, check out her coverage of:

• Haunted Courthouses
• scary: the worst Supreme Court decision ever

• trick or treating at courthouses

battery weakened
the low, slow laughter
of a demon

…. John Stevenson from Some of the Silence

Other quickie treats:

• Bob Ambrogi at Legal Blog Watch tells us about a Harvard Lawyer in D.C. named “Jack”, who has turned to a Life of Voluntary Simplicity, and recently took a match, not to a jack-o-lantern candle, but to his Harvard Law degree.  Bob’s commentors disagree about the significance of the gesture.  Click for Jack’s weblog post about the burning, and a YouTube video of the event.

• Raising issues similar to ours in the post “doubts over debt-negotiation fees“), the Wall Street Journal column “Debt-Relief Firms Attract Complaints” says there’s been a large increase in complaints about the so-called debt-negotiators, and “Regulators, consumer advocates and industry groups are taking a closer look at debt-settlement firms.” (by Eleanor Laise, Oct. 14, 2008)

At the WLJ site, you’ll find links to related podcasts, too: John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com, talks with Eleanor Laise about the growth in debt settlement companies and whether they deliver on their promises.

pumpkin patch
this one is big enough
for my son

………….. Yu Chang– Upstate Dim Sum (2005/I)

perched on
the sumo’s belly –
one large pumpkin

…. by dagosan – Nisqually Delta Review (summer/fall issue 2006)

halloween twilight
again this year my son waits
alone by the door

…… by Roberta Beary, The Unworn Necklace (2007)
1st place, Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest 2006

p.s. Many thanks to Lissa and James Giacalone, who introduced their old uncle to the joys of Hoops and Yoyo over the weekend.  We laughed and laughed over the free H&Y e-cards at Hallmark.com.  Check out their Halloween BOOgie.  For me, the scariest e-card was the morning they only had decaf coffee. (“What is the point of decaffeinated coffee!? it’s just brown water.”)