Halloween Costumes: Classics & Favorites

It's always fun to dress up for Halloween, no matter what age you are. There are always classic options to choose from, and they are often easy. Ghosts, pirates, zombies, vampires, princesses, black cats and pumpkins are costumes we tend to see every year. There are also some great creative options. Some of our favorites from the past are a haunted house made of cardboard, a mobster, a bunny that sits on your head, and a dalmatian. Whatever your costume, just make sure to have fun!

Margaret as a dalmatian with VSA friends

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite Night Gallery Episodes (2021 Edition)

 

1.  "Hatred Unto Death/How to Cure the Common  Vampire" (May 27,1973).

2.  "You Can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan/Smile, Please"(November 12,1972). 

3.  "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" (October 1,1972).

4.  "The Waiting Room/Last Rites for a Dead Druid"

(January 26,1972). 

5.  "Green Fingers/The Funeral/The Tune in Dan's Cafe" (January 5,1972).

6.  "House-With Ghost/A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank/Dr. Stringfellow's  Rejuvenator/Hell's Bells" (November 17,1971).

7.  "The Diary/A Matter of Semantics/Big Surprise/Professor Peabody's Last Lecture" (November 10,1971).

8.  "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar/The Last Laurel" (January 20,1971).

9.  "The House/Certain Shadows on the Wall" (December 30,1970).

10.  "Room with a View/The Little Black Bag/The Nature of the Enemy" (December 23,1970).

Crystal's Bow Blog: Single Bow with Braid

 This week Crystal is sporting a single purple bow with a beautiful braid, styled by Candice.

Halloween Decorations

It's that spooky time of year, and some people are going all out with decorations. There are so many options out there, so how do you decide how to make you space spooktacular? It can be helpful to develop a theme each year, like a graveyard, haunted house or horror movie themed. You can also have a lot of fun with homemade decorations, especially if you have kids. If you have a large property, creating zones can narrow things down. And you can always just pick your favorite items and go with a Halloween Hodgepodge!

Pumpkins

Scary pumpkin patch

Practical pumpkins

 

Haunted pumpkins

No carve pumpkins

Minion pumpkins

Fancy pumpkins

Ghosts 

Pumpkin ghost

DIY float ghost

Scary ghosts

Skeletons

12 ft skeleton

Drunk skeletons

Shallow grave skeleton

Skeleton door decoration

Skeletons ironing

Attack of the skeletons!

 

Haunted House

Keep out haunted house

Victorian haunted house

Raven haunted house

Graveyard haunted house

No trespassing haunted house

 

Zombies

Zombie-vampire babies

Keep Calm and Zombie On

Zombie House Party

Zombie Garden

 

Halloween Hodgepodge

Dragon crash decor

Inflateable decor

Monster house decor

Neon Halloween decor

New Orleans style decor

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite Twilight Zone Episodes (2021 Edition)

1.  "The Bewitchin' Pool" (June 19,1964)

2.  "Number 12 Look Just Like You" (January 24,1964)

3.  "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" October 11,1963)

4.  "The Bard" (May 23,1963)

5.  "I Sing the Body Electric" (May 18,1962)

6.  "Once Upon a Time " (December 15,1961)

7.  "It's a Good Life" (November 3,1961)

8.  "The Night of the Meek" (December 23,1960)

9.  "Eye of the Beholder " (November 11,1960)

10.  "Time Enough at Last " (November 20,1959)

 

Will's Book Nook: Sandman Act II Scribblings

"Scribblings" are Will's first impressions of a book. In this case, we're talking about Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. Specifically, the second installment of the audio book. 

 

Dream (Morpheus) from The Sandman comic

Will says he was hooked from the very beginning, which he attributes to the amazing cast of voice actors. The new actors joining the series made it particularly interesting, because he wondered where they were going to go with it. Joining James MacAvoy as Dream (aka Morpheus), Michael Sheen as Lucifer Morningstar, Kat Dennings as Death and Jeffrey Wright as Desiney, among many other powerhouse actors, are David Tenent as Loki, Bill Nighy as Odin and John Lithgow as Emperor Norton. Will wasn't expecting to be as involved as it was, but he found himself rooting for some of the characters who storylines got a lot complicated (in a good way) in the second half. Some parts were weird, but he expects that having read the first part. It was cool how much the world of The Sandman expanded, including real history and the world of the novel. Particularly impressive, was the way the French Revolution was depicted. While it was the most bloody chapter, it was amazingly visual, despite being in audio form. And it described really well the differences between the haves and the have-nots, and painted an interesting picture of the tyrant, Robespierre. Will highly recommends this book, and in particular the audio book. Neil Gaiman Pro Tip: look at the comic while listening along for the visuals.

Crystal's Bow Blog: Two Different Shades of Purple

 

In honor of Taco Tuesday. Crystal is wearing two different shades of purple! Is purple the official color of Taco Tuesday? No. But that's what Crystal is feeling today.

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite Soul Train Performances

1.  Stevie Wonder 

2.  The Jackson Five

3.  Aretha Franklin 

4.  Gladys Knight & The Pips

5.  James Brown 

6.  Barry White

7.  The Commodores

8.  Whitney Houston 

9.  Destiny's Child 

10.  New Edition

 

Crystal's Bow Blog: Flowers!

In our new weekly blog series, Crystal will show off her fabulous bow style. Crystal is known for her bow fashion, and sometimes she wear more than one! Today Crystal is rockin' two large blue flower bows.

Will's Crash Course: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a British author, who got his start with comics in the mid-1980s. With his book Coraline, he broke into writing books for kids. He wrote several more children's books, including The Graveyard Book. His popular adult fantasy novels include American Gods and the Sandman series. Some of his works have been turned into movies and TV shows. Including Tim Burton's animated feature, Coraline and American Gods on Starz. He now resides in the US.

I first got into fantasy when I listened to the audiobook Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams as a teenager. I then found Gaiman's children's books, which I liked because of the weird and fantastical elements. Then I moved on to his adult stuff. I'm currently reading the second release in the Sandman series, which came out last week, on my best friend's birthday. I'm excited to review it in my new blog series, Will's Book Nook.

Just a preview of my thoughts on The Sandman, Act II: in the world of audiobooks, casting good voice actors is ESSENTIAL. One of the actors, David Tenant (a veteran performer of the Gaiman Universe) is particularly fun and creepy. I look forward to sharing more about Neil in the future.

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite McMillan & Wife Episodes (NBC, 1971-1977)

 

1. "Have You Heard About Vanessa?" (April 24,1977)
2.  "All Bets Off" (December 5,1976)
3.  "Point of Law" (March 7,1976)
4.  "Guilt by Association" (December 8,1974)
5.  "The Game of Survival" (October 20,1974)
6.  "Reunion in Terror" (January 27,1974)
7.  "Death of a Monster ...Birth of a Legend" (September 30,1973)
8.  "Cop of the Year" (November 19,1972)
9.  "An Elementary Case of Murder" (March 1,1972)
10.  "Murder by the Barrel" (September 29,1971)

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite Columbo Episodes (NBC,1971-1978; ABC, 1989-2003)

 

1.  "Columbo Likes the Nightlife " (January 30,2003)

2.  "Ashes to Ashes " (October 8,1998)

3.  "Agenda for Murder" (February 10,1990)

4.  "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine" (February 6,1989)

5.  "Last Salute to the Commodore" (May 2,1976)

6.  "Identity Crisis " (November 2,1975)

7.  "By Dawn's Early Light" (October 27,1974)

8.  "Swan Song" (March 3,1974)

9.  "Dagger of the Mind"(November 26,1972)

10.  "Murder By the Book" (September 15,1971)

 

Top Ten: Mark's Favorite Upstairs Downstairs Episodes

 

1.  "Whither Shall I wonder?"  (UK: December 21, 1975; US: May 1,1977)
2.  "On With the Dance" (UK:  September 7, 1975; US:  January 16, 1977)
3.  "Peace out of Pain". (UK:  December 7,1974; US:  March 28,1976)
4.  "News from the Front " UK: September 21,1974; US: January 11,1976)
5.  "Goodwill to All Men" (UK:  December 22,1973; US: December 29,1974)
6.  "Rose's Pigeon " (UK:  November 24,1973; US: December 1,1974)
7.  "Miss Forrest" (UK:  October 27,1973; US: November 3,1974)
8.  "A Family Gathering" (UK: January 19,1973; US: March 31,1974)
9.  "For Love of Love " (UK:  March 5,1972; US: January 20,1974)
10.  "On Trial" (UK: October 10, 1971; US:  January 6,1974)

Radio Leftovers: Mark’s Favorite Radio Shows, Part 2

1.  Monitor (NBC, June 12, 1955-January 26, 1975)

2.  Duffy's Tavern (CBS,March 1, 1941-June 30, 1942; NBC Blue Network/ABC, October 6, 1942-June 27, 1944; NBC, September 15, 1944-December 28, 1951)

3.  Crime Classics (CBS, June 15, 1953-June 30, 1954)

4.  Cathy and Elliott Lewis on Stage (CBS, January 2, 1953-September 30, 1954)

5.  The Six Shooter (NBC, September 20, 1953-June 24, 1954)

6.  Welcome, Travelers (ABC, June 30, 1947-July 8, 1949; NBC, July 11, 1949-September 24, 1954)

7.  The Life of Riley (CBS, April 12-September 6, 1941; Blue Network/ABC, January 16, 1944-July 8, 1945; NBC, September 8, 1945-June 29, 1951)

8.  America's Town Meeting of the Air (Blue Network/ABC, May 30, 1935-July 1, 1956)

9.  Fathers Knows Best (NBC, August 25, 1949-April 25, 1954)

10.  Invitation to Learning (CBS, May 26, 1940-December 28, 1964)

Radio Leftovers: Mark’s Favorite Radio Shows, Part 1

1.  Suspense (CBS, June 17,1942-September 30, 1962)

2.  Family Theater (Mutual, February 13, 1947-September 11, 1957)

3.  The Amos 'n' Andy Show (Sam 'n' Henry, The Amos'n' Andy Music Hall) (WGN, January 12, 1926-December 18, 1927; WMAQ, March 19, 1928-August 16, 1929; NBC, August 19, 1929-December 31, 1937; NBC Red, January 3, 1938-March 31, 1939; CBS,April 3, 1939-February 19, 1943; NBC, October 8, 1943-June 1, 1945; NBC, October 2, 1945-July 6, 1948; CBS, October 10, 1948-May 22, 1955; CBS, September 13, 1954-November 25, 1960)

4.  True Detective Mysteries (CBS, May 16, 1929-May 8, 1930; Mutual, September 8, 1936-August 31, 1937; Mutual, April 5, 1938-March 28, 1939; Mutual, April 29, 1944-June 2, 1958)

5.  The Big Story (NBC, April 2, 1947-March 23, 1955)

6.  Wendy Warren and the News (CBS, June 23, 1947-November 12, 1958)

7.  The NBC University Theater (NBC, July 30, 1948-February 14, 1951)

8.  21st Precinct (CBS, July 7, 1953-July 26, 1956)

9.  Nick Carter, Master Detective (Mutual, April 11, 1943-September 25, 1955)

10.  The Greatest Story Ever Told (ABC, January 26, 1947-December 30, 1956)

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things...

The members of Blogging Class love all kinds of things, so we thought we would break it down by category and share our favorite colors, movies, TV shows, music and food.

Colors:

Mark's favorite color is green. He particularly likes bright and dark shades of green. He wears a lot of green. In fact, he is wearing his favorite shirt right now, which is bright green.

Rachel's favorite color is red. When she thinks of the color red, it reminds her of love, because the heart is red. 

Joseph's favorite color is blue. He even has a blue light in his room. When he turn it on, the whole room becomes blue.

Crystal’s favorite color can change based on her mood, but lately she’s really into pink and purple! She’s wearing a hot pink bow right now!

Movies:

Rachel's favorite movie is Moana. She loves singing along to the music and she loves the beach.

Joseph's favorite movie is The Lion King. Simba is his favorite character and he thinks the song Circle of Life is beautiful.

Mark's favorite movie is Titanic, because Leonardo DiCaprio is King of the World!

Crystal’s favorite movie is Mary Poppins, but she also really enjoys Mrs. Doubtfire. So basically, she loves movies about nannies.

TV Shows:

Joseph likes the show Bubble Guppies. because it's funny. He also enjoys watching his church service on his Ipad.

Mark's favorite TV show is The Love Boat. He has watched since he was very young. He has a lot of nostalgia for Aaron Spelling shows.

Rachel's favorite show is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She likes it, because it's funny. and her favorite character is Splinter.

Crystal loves tv shows about animals, particularly Dr. K’s Exotic Animal Show and Critter Fitters. She also enjoys watching shows about house renovations, like Fixer Upper.

Music:

Mark appreciates jazz music. His favorite musician is Norah Jones and he loves her song "Don't Know Why".

Rachel loves pop music, particularly boy bands. She likes The Backstreet Boys the best. Her favorite song is "I Want It That Way".

Joseph likes classic rock and his favorite band is The Eagles. His favorite song is "Hotel California".

Crystal likes all kinds of music, including country, rock, pop, hip hop, but she doesn’t care for heavy metal. 

Activities:

Joseph likes to spend time going out to eat with his sister.

Crystal loves going on rides to the mountains, and boating with her grandfather.

Mark’s favorite activity is shopping. He particularly likes buying supplies at Staples and Office Depot, and shopping for books at Barnes & Noble.

Rachel enjoys a good nap!

Food:

Crystal’s favorites include spaghetti with marinara and chicken Alfredo. She loves McDonalds!

Rachel enjoys vegan food, particularly pasta. Her favorite restaurant is Thai Vegan in Albuquerque.

Mark's favorite food is pizza with ALL the toppings. He likes Little Caesar's the best.

Joseph loves the cheeseburger, fries and onion rings from Applebees.  

 

Blog Class Bios

We are the blogging class of the OT Circus Arts Connections program. We are individuals with disabilities who meet weekly to blog about our interests and issues that affect our community. We would like to introduce ourselves.

Mark is a 45 year old Albuquerque resident. His birthday is February 27 and he was born in Georgia. He has lived in New Mexico for 28 years. Mark likes to read entertainment books and has a well of knowledge about television and film trivia. He attended the day program at the N 4th Arts Center for 14 years, and is now participating in our program virtually.

Rachel is 31 and has lived in New Mexico her whole life. She currently lives in Los Lunas, just south of Albuquerque. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys coloring, drawing and reading. She also loves listening to music, especially Taylor Swift. Rachel found our program during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are happy to have her!

Joseph is 41 and was born and raised in the Santo Domingo Pueblo. He has lived in Albuquerque for 5 years. He loves to read and attend church on his Ipad. He watches movies and tv, and listens to music. His favorite band is the Eagles.  

Top Ten: Mark’s Favorite Radio Journalists

1.  Ed Herlihy (August 14,1909-January 30,1999)

2.  Paul Harvey (September 4,1918-February 28,2009)

3.  Edward R. Murrow (April 25,1908-April 27,1965)

4.  Lowell Thomas (April 6,1892-August 29,1981)

5.  Robert Pierpoint (May16,1925-October 22,2011)

6.  Douglas Edwards (July 14, 1917-October 13,1990)

7.  Charles Kuralt (September 10,1934-July 4,1997)

8.  Edwin Newman (January 25,1919-August 13,2010)

9.  Walter Winchell  (April 7,1897-February 20,1972)

10.  John Cameron Swayze (April 4,1906-August 15,1995)