Halloween in New Zealand has a patchy history. Apart from it being completely the wrong time of year, our migrants pretty much shed all the old traditions for All Hallow’s Eve – Scottish guising, for example, didn’t survive over here with our Scottish migrants. Nevertheless Halloween, and trick or treating in particular, has crept upwards in popularity since everyone went to see E.T. in 1982. It’s still an uncommon pursuit over here, though, and lots of people really don’t like it for all sorts of reasons (which is completely fine of course).
I do like it, though. Kids in costumes is just fun. It can be a lovely, lightweight way to build community, if the conditions are right. And I happen to live in a place where the conditions are right – lots of children in a very walkable suburb with quiet, safe streets.
So for the second year in a row we’re welcoming trick or treaters. If I had my way, shops in NZ would sell “Trick or treaters are welcome here” signs so that people who want the visit can let it be known, and everyone else can happily be left alone. In the absence of that – I’ve made my own.
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Gangnam juggernaut continues. Amazing Big Trouble in Little China riff:
And, even better, legendary dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei does his own version:
Dangerous Minds, who have been supplying Friday Linky with content for years now, has blown up big with a massively-shared post about Facebook’s (frankly insane) monetisation idea that breaks the core functionality of their own service and makes you pay to get it back. I fully expect it to be rolled back almost entirely before the year is out, but FB is experiencing financial pressure for the first time so maybe they’ll double down on this craziness? It ain’t like G+ is gonna take all the users away…
Speaking of Facebook, that’s where Pearce has been sharing a horror movie a day. Here’s one to share, 1979’s ‘Zombie’. Sayeth Pearce: “If you don’t want to watch the entire movie, go straight to 33:30 and watch one of the most legendary scenes in horror movie history.”
So I was going to link to some of the trolling & bullying stories that are unfolding at present. Then I decided I just didn’t want to. There are some tricky and interesting issues embedded in the stories, but the stories themselves are so unpleasant that you are almost certainly happier not knowing. Instead I will just link to The Art of Controversy (Schopenhauer).
(That has been sitting in the linky folder for about a year… so have the next two.)
Now, fresh stuff. This academic mansplaining tumblr has been tearing up the place in the last week. Check it out. Some of the stories are amazing – but, and this is crucial, they are all entirely believable.
Salon article “Burning Man is on its last legs” is actually not about Burning Man being on its last legs, but it is a really quite effective description of what it feels like to be kicking around at the infamous desert festival.
As Halloween approaches, here’s a creepy short film. (via Craig Oxbrow) Really very nicely done. Gave me a shiver.
HackerTyper was suggested by @nzben for use during @keith_ng’s TV appearances about his adventures in leet superhacking (apparently he used a little-known exploit called File > Open)
One switched-on couple I know have been making a real effort over a long time to bias their daughter’s media consumption towards stuff with gender equality. Here’s a sign of the fruits of all that work: her reaction to Star Wars. This, right here, is a glimpse of a different and better world. Much respect, you guys.
Still not convinced this isn’t a brilliant satire, but – via Lev Lafayette – a video that will totally convince you to vote Romney. Fantastic, right to the end.
(I’ve embedded a lot of video this week. That’s made the blog hiccup in the past – if anyone hits problems loading the page, give me a comment or email and I’ll turn some of the embeds into links.)
The AVClub lay out the 50 best films of the 90s. (Part 2) (Part 3) I remember the 90s. It was a time when I went to a lot of movies. I have seen most of these films. Though I still haven’t watched their pick for #1 film, mostly due to my longstanding (and mostly irrational) aversion to the subject matter.
Wow, I just learned about the Bloop. How did I never hear about this before? The world is full of weirdness. (via someone named Jason B, in conversation with the delightful Sophie O’Doom)
Lost scene from Lilo & Stitch – progressed as far as black-and-whites with full voice work. (via Gail Simone) Lilo & Stitch was a great film.