Happy Halloween! Here is a picture of Ann and I from the grad student halloween party:

What month is it again?

We had a great homecoming weekend. Liz and Reggie came on Thurdsay from San Fran and Houston respectively. We introduced them to Sadie and the hilarity that is Anchorman. Friday I had to go to the lab, but at lunch we went to Poverty Lane Orchards in Lebanon, went for a walk around the orchard and tasted some heirloom apples and delicious hard cider.

Scott and his girlfriend Shannon joined us on friday night and we went to the bonfire. It's always fun chanting "Worst Class Ever" at the freshmen and yelling at them to touch the fire. Then we went home and played Trivial Pursuit (the original version from 1981 with questions about the USSR and the like), with Liz and I being in the lead at with 4 pie pieces when we all went to sleep at 1AM. Saturday we went to the football game, and Dartmouth actually won. Granted, it was against lowly Columbia, but we'll take what we can get at this point. Sadie also got to see Aunt Jenny and her friends at the young alumni tent, and was in fact briefly kidnapped by them. After the game, we were on a nostalgia kick, so we went to EBA's and got some breadsticks with ranch dressing. Sounds kind of gross, I know, but for some reason they became a Dartmouth staple.

When we got home, Lolly and James were there waiting for us - well, mostly waiting for Sadie. They brought a great gift with them - the Family Guy movie. Hilarious stuff. After they left, it was time for a four-way Scrabble battle (yes, this is how lame we are - two board games in two days) - Scott and Shannon had gone home. Ann was the winner (of course) but she only beat me by one point. Then we all watched Reggie's Astros lose the first game of the World Series. Aside from that last hiccup, a good time was had by all. On Sunday, Reggie and Liz left, and Jenny and her pals came for one last visit.

If anyone out there is a Netflix subscriber and wants to be my "friend," send me an invite. Send Ann one too, since we've split up our queue.

I was surprised to see Stephen King include "I Summon You" (link goes to demo version) by Spoon on his iTunes celebrity playlist. Even more surprising was when he wrote this about the song "The best, most achingly beautiful ballad of the year. I've listened to it a hundred times and still have no idea what it means." I feel the same way. Just an all around great song.

This is all over the web right now, but in case you haven't seen it: The Shining, remixed. The use of that Peter Gabriel song is perfect.

If you liked it, check out these remixed trailers for for West Side Story and Titanic. Not quite as good, but still pretty funny.

Sadie is ready for the postseason, are you?

I guess I would have rather the Sox won the division, but I'd also rather the Sox be playing the somewhat sturggling White Sox than the solid Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California USA North America Planet Earth. We'll see how it goes. I'm not holding out too much hope because of the woeful state of the pitching staff, but I do believe in miracles, because I saw one with my own eyes last year. We should start getting ready for some late nights. I remember last year just being utterly exhausted and emotionally spent during the ALCS. It was good training for the first couple months of Sadie.

Also, if there is anyone who may want to watch the playoffs, like someone who doesn't have cable, my doors are always open. And we have a guest room for those extra inning games. Just bring beer.