October Stuff

October 13, 2026

Halloween Stuff

We're going to a concert for Halloween. We usually do, always an EDM show. This year it's a DJ I've seen at least four times despite not knowing any of their music. I do enjoy these shows, but once or twice a year is enough for me these days.

My little Halloween group is being Princess Peach (me), Mario (my husband), and Waluigi (his BFF). We like to do a group costume, but it is hard to get everyone to agree. I wanted to do Napoleon Dynamite but Waluigi vetoed it on the basis of not liking that movie (rude). My idea to do Austin Powers was also out. I think they could be convinced next year, though.

If you have three-person costume ideas for two anime-loving gamer dorks and one woman who just wants to look cute, let me know.

Name Stuff

It feels weird to call him "my husband" all the time. He comes up a lot, and I don't really like that word to begin with. But he's gotta be called something, so I'm just gonna call him Art from now on. He doesn't love that nickname, but this is my website, isn't it?

Food Stuff

Our wedding anniversary was a couple of weeks ago. We don't usually make a big deal about it (to be honest, I sometimes have to look up the exact date), but we decided to go out for a nice meal this year. We went to a movie with a friend beforehand (our favorite theater was playing Monty Python and the Holy Grail), and then showed up for our reservation.

When we walked in, the restaurant was totally dark. The only light came from the phone flashlights on almost every table. The host informed us that the power was out but we could still eat there. On the one hand, it looked like a cozy way to enjoy the meal. On the other, the staff seemed stressed as hell and we didn't want to add to that.

We ended up just going to Korean BBQ instead. It was great, but it definitely wasn't the flavor profile Art (lol) and I had been anticipating. But at least the lights were on.

Fashion Stuff

What might be my favorite Michael Simon set ever sold on eBay a few days ago. Look at this thing:

I love it. Though I know I wouldn't have worn it (I don't even play tennis), so I'm glad it wasn't in my size to tempt me.

Zine Stuff

Sometimes I get in the mood to buy a bunch of random zines from the internet. That happened, and I got all these:

They're all delightful, but my favorites were probably Tom Petty: Fashion Icon and The Lost Art of Free Will.

The corn pudding recipe zine are really inspiring for me too. I have a lot of my grandma's and great-grandma's recipes sitting in my closet. It would be sort of fun to compile them in a fun way like this.

Making Stuff

On the topic of zines, I made a new one. It's for expecting parents looking for the perfect unique baby name. Name your kid (or your pet) after a pellet-stuffed purple platypus, I dare you.

Let me know if you want one of these stupid things.

Photo Stuff

I got one of those Kodak Charmeras. They come blind box style, and I happened to get the one I wanted (white with primary colors, Mondrian style).

Anyway, the image quality is as horrible as expected. It's been fun to play around with. Here are some random shots from this past month:

Stray Observations

• I don't eat fast food a whole lot, but I'm here to tell you the unassailable truth about McDonald's breakfast: the breakfast burrito is the only thing worth getting. Everything else is shit.
• One time everyone at work took the StrengthsFinder test. It's basically corporate astrology that determines your top five workplace strengths. I can't remember all of my strengths, but the top one was Input. That feels accurate to me. Most of the editors got Input as one of their strengths, actually, which also seems fitting. I was the only editor who did not have Intellection as a strength, which seems both hilarious and accurate, lmfao.
• Waluigi recently insisted that in terms of levels of disgust, three farts is equal to one burp. Personally, I think he's got it backwards. Three burps is one fart. Welcome to fart math.