By Robert Herrick
The Hag is astride,
This night for to ride;
The Devill and shee together:
Through thick, and through thin,
Now out, and then in,
Though ne'r so foule be the weather.
A Thorn or a Burr
She takes for a Spurre:
With a lash of a Bramble she rides now,
Through Brakes and through Bryars,
O're Ditches, and Mires,
She followes the Spirit that guides now.
No Beast, for his food,
Dares now range the wood;
But husht in his laire he lies lurking:
While mischiefs, by these,
On Land and on Seas,
At noone of Night are working,
The storme will arise,
And trouble the skies;
This night, and more for the wonder,
The ghost from the Tomb
Affrighted shall come,
Cal'd out by the clap of the Thunder.
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I had a very fun Halloween! In the morning I wrote a review of "Family", knowing that I had to get it done before I could start celebrating. Then PerkyPaduan and Gblvr came over, and we went out to Momo Taro to get sushi. Then we came back to my house to eat it and watch Doctor Who and Torchwood -- "Blink" and "Something Borrowed," which Gblvr elected as the most appropriate Halloween episodes. Then they both departed for various events of their own, and I swept the front porch and put up decorations and brought the jack-o-lanters outside. I felt gratified when the young daughter of my next-door neighbors, who moved to the U.S. from China only a couple of years ago, said, "Obama!"
Here's the Yes We Carve Obama jack-o-lantern lit and on the porch for Halloween.
And here's the silly warty one!
Here is younger son showing off his costume and scythe in the house...
...and here he is with his best friend about to go trick-or-treating...
...and here's the best friend with both my kids heading out to scare the neighbors.
This is my front stoop with both jack-o-lanterns and the hanging candle marking the end of the path.
And this is Rosie's Halloween costume.
The Friday Five: What's your favorite holiday...
1. Song? "Ma'oz Tsur" ("Rock of Ages," often sung at Chanukah).
2. Movie or TV special? Xena: Warrior Princess's "A Solstice Carol," which sends up the Bible and Dickens as well as traditional American cheesy Christmas tradition without ever being mean-spirited.
3. Memory? Playing dreidel with M&Ms with my mother's mother, who kept eating hers.
4. Baked good or dessert? Donuts, since foods fried in oil are traditional for Chanukah.
5. Each year, what's the one moment that lets you know it's officially the holiday season? Seeing the Santa display in the mall.
Fannish 5: Name 5 episodes or movies that would be most appropriate to watch on Halloween.
1. "Catspaw", Star Trek -- dungeons and black cats.
2. "Thirst", Smallville -- sorority vampires.
3. "Living Dead Girl", Dawson's Creek -- old movie ghosts.
4. "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost", Scooby-Doo -- good Wiccans and evil horror novelists.
5. "Halloween", Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- become your costume!
The total loot is appalling...dozens and dozens of Milky Ways, Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit-Kats, Hershey, Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger, Three Musketeers, M&Ms, and my personal favorite, Almond Joy, plus lots of Smarties, Sweet Tarts, hard candies, and a few pretzels, graham crackers and the like. And there's no school for four days to get rid of it. Aigh! Paul took the kids to my parents' so they could see their costumes, then we all watched Crusoe together, which I am still really enjoying. Spoilers: This week -- in addition to more Sean Bean in a different wig -- we get a woman who goes to sea disguised as a man, and Friday laughing at Crusoe for praying to a dead man while Crusoe tries to explain that he's not really dead. Given all the problems with the source material (glorification of the slave trade, vilification of Africans and Native Americans, and I don't remember any women of note -- Crusoe wasn't married in the novel when he was stranded, was he?), they're doing an interesting job.
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