The Simple DudeA Simple Dude in a Complex World

Here it is kids… my new blog.  Well, not really new.  Same address, same Simpleton writing it and same snarky nonsense being thrown at you.  But the look is new.  All you Blogger peeps.. Welcome to WORDPRESS.  I know it doesn’t look like much yet – it’s a work in progress and I’m sure it’ll be tweaked over the next few weeks.

If you’re a WordPress blogger and have tips or widget ideas I’d love to hear from you!

I love Halloween and I love wearing costumes.  I tweeted the other day that it’s great to be someone else for a day – so it’s the one day each year that I am not a jackass.  Ha! That’s BS of course.  I’ll still be a jackass.  Just one who happens to be wearing a costume.

This might not be a costume.. I've seen uglier babies.

I always get dressed up, whether going to a party, multiple parties or even just a bar.  There is a suburb on the northern edge of the Minneapolis area called Anoka.  It’s pronounced ah-NO-ka for anyone who gives a damn.  And Anoka is… wait for it… The Halloween Capital of the World.

Seriously, it really is.  Here is PROOF.

Sure, they are the SELF proclaimed Halloween Capital of the World, but hey, no one else had claimed it!  They were the first city in the country to have organized, city wide activities celebrating the holiday – all the way back in 1920, so they have been claiming it for a LONG time.

Originally they did it to give kids something to do and keep them out of trouble.  All this past week they have had parades, haunted houses, plays, festivals and tons of other scary crap.

Each year a few of the Anoka drinking establishments (dive bars) have huge tent parties out in their parking lot on the weekend leading up to Halloween.  It’s always a blast, and I have seen some crazy stuff up there.  I haven’t been to Anoka’s celebration for a few years now… maybe I am getting to old for all that drunken nonsense.  I prefer my drunken nonsense to be a little more low key these days.

As I have the last few years, this year I am going to a big party this year that a friend of mine puts on – and he goes BIG.  His party is tonight and he spends weeks getting his house ready with hundreds of decorations, lights or other spooky stuff.  He really gets into it and his parties are talked about all year so I am looking forward to it.

I wish I could send a picture of my costume but it would threaten my anonymity.  This year I am going as a hippy.  By the end of the night I intend to be a drunk hippy.  Wish me luck.

And if you’re feeling Halloweenie (that sounds unintentionally dirty) and want to read about something creepy and crawly… check this out.  It’s a post from one of my latest followers who lives in Switzerland.  She’s writing about 143 live tarantulas who are now up for “adoption” as pets after being confiscated by some ding-a-ling trying to smuggle them into the country.  Eek!  It makes me want to jump on a chair just thinking about it!

Check it out:

Gydle – A Blog Of Many Flavors.. and Apparently Tarantulas.

SD