Worst Halloween costumes?

Okay, maybe these six Halloween costumes are not the worst Halloween costumes ever, but they come pretty close.

First up, from the "Sexy Sesame Street" line, which is just plain wrong, Sexy Cookie Monster:














Also from the Sexy Sesame Street line, whose tagline should be "Turning Tricks for Treats," Sexy Big Bird:














(I drew the line at Sexy Elmo.)

Sesame not your flowering plant of choice? How about dressing up as medicinal marijuana this Halloween?






















Though dressing up as medicinal marijuana beats going trick-or-treating as a(n unused) condom wrapper...






















or a vibrator, which maybe the worst Halloween costume ever. (And yes, this is a real costume, for sale on Amazon.com.)






















Though this Borat in a mankini costume may be a close second.



















Think you know of a worse Halloween costume? Leave me a comment -- and a link.

My kind of exercise video

I had totally forgotten about this video of a walrus working out with a trainer (which my mother sent me a couple weeks ago) -- until this morning. When I went to work out at the gym. And there was this enormous sweaty guy with a mustache working out on the stationary bike in front of me, working up quite a sweat.



And while at first I was incredibly impressed with the trainer (and the walrus) for getting the walrus to do all those exercises, I realized the only reason the walrus was doing those leg lifts and sit-ups was because the trainer was constantly rewarding him with fish.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm guessing that a lot more people would exercise if every time they did a set of reps someone was tossing them a handful of M&Ms or a doughnut or a brownie or a beer. Just saying. Of course, that would probably defeat the purpose, but... ooo Halloween candy!

Teachable moments, courtesy of The Social Network

So on Sunday, the spouse and I took our daughter (who is 12) and a male friend of hers (also 12) to see The Social Network (aka The Facebook Movie). Now before you start to gasp, please know that I told her and the spouse that I did not feel The Social Network was appropriate for 12-year-olds and was very hesitant to take her and her friend. But the spouse had already told her we would take them, so I caved, though I insisted we chaperone.

As predicted, the movie was wildly inappropriate (definitely not PG-13 material, though we all thought it was a good film). And I spent much of the two hours practicing my apology to the boy's parents for scarring their son for life.

Of course, me being me, I used the rest of the time trying to come up with "teachable moments." You know, life lessons that the kids could use and benefit from, gleaned from watching The Social Network. But all I could come up were things like, "don't snort cocaine off your friend's naked stomach, especially at campus parties," "don't drink and code," and "if you're going to have random sex people you barely know, make sure you/the guy is wearing a condom." Which, upon quick reflection, while good advice, did not seem like things one should be dispensing to a 12-year-old.

That said, we did all discuss the movie afterward, particularly the Mark Zuckerberg character (i.e., the guy who founded Facebook), and whether we thought he was a sympathetic character or not (not) and why (he was a jerk and betrayed his best friend, at least in the movie version); if we thought he stole the idea for Facebook (we all did) -- and if that was a crime (undecided); would you betray your best friend for fame and/or fortune (no); and did the kids now want to go to Harvard after seeing the movie (they did not, amazingly, in fact quite the opposite).

So maybe we did all learn something from The Social Network after all, though I still apologized (profusely) to the boy's father, who, much to my relief, told me his son had probably seen much worse (not totally comforting, but let me off the hook). Still, it is going to be a while before I agree to let my daughter go see another PG-13 movie -- and really really do not want her to get a Facebook account. (I know: Good luck with that. Though we will make her wait until she is of legal Facebook age, i.e., 13, which is still waaaaay too young.)

Inside the playboy bunny photo shoot

Being a playboy bunny is hard work, people! The paparazzi constantly getting in your face. Having to constantly look cute and wiggle your assets. Always being on guard against those who are jealous of your talent -- and would stop at nothing to destroy you....



Now that's my idea of a Playmate of the Month. Work it, Bunny!

(Though every time I see that clip I get a wee bit concerned about the way that cat is looking at the bunny. Hope Bruno Bun is OK.)

Speaking of bunny rabbits, in case you hadn't noticed, I have a new addition to the Blogroll, Disapprovingabbits.com, home of the world's most disapproving bunnies. Check it out when your face needs to smile.

[And no, J-THREE-O, we are still NOT getting a bunny. Though thanks for sending me the link to "Bun Bun Bunny Bun."]

The great BlackBerry experiment, Day 3

So a few months ago, the spouse goes to this BlackBerry user conference up in Boston and comes home with a brand-new BlackBerry Torch. Which he offered to me as he already had a smart phone (an HTC Android) and didn't need the BlackBerry Torch.

Now most people would have snapped up that offer -- and smart phone -- in a nanosecond. But I am not most people. Indeed, as I like to tell people, just because I write about technology for a living, that doesn't mean I have to use it.

I proudly used the same IBM ThinkPad laptop for six years, still use a paper weekly engagement desk calendar, and still have the same Rolodex I used at my first job. And I was doing just fine, thank you, with my old mobile phone (which I had only, reluctantly, relatively recently upgraded to because my previous phone didn't have a keyboard for texting).

Don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciated the offer (and agree that the Torch is pretty cool looking). I just don't need a smart phone (as I spend all day sitting in front of a computer for work).

Our daughter, on the other hand, who has been using a computer since she was 2.5 and can type rings around me on a BlackBerry, was dying to get a mobile phone that could text. Actually, she was dying to get the BlackBerry Torch, but the spouse nixed that, fearing our monthly data bill would go through the roof. So we decided that I should take the BlackBerry Torch (no fear of using up the data plan there!) and give the kid my mobile.

And so, as of this past Wednesday, I am now the owner of a shiny new BlackBerry Torch. Which the spouse already integrated with my Gmail account -- and threatens to add mobile apps for Facebook and Twitter. Me, I view the Torch much as the passengers aboard the Galactica viewed the Cylons (and jump, literally, every time I see the glowing red eye go off, even though I know it's just telling me I have a new email message).

Also, a note to Research In Motion and AT&T: Being on a perpetual roller-coaster, getting bumped by other cars, and being whirled around in a giant teacup is not my idea of fun.



P.S. We are currently taking bets as to whether I will actually wind up using the BlackBerry beyond answering the phone and clearing email messages off my computer. Care to make a wager?

Christine O'Donnell, Delaware's gift to late-night comedy (and YouTube)

I personally think Jimmy Kimmel and the rest of the late-night talk show comedy crew should send Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell flowers on a weekly basis, along with a thank-you note, for giving them so much fodder.

Here's the latest Christine O'Donnell bit, courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel Live, which was inspired by her recent quip that the United States Constitution does not call for the separation of church and state (which, technically, if you are a purist, it doesn't):



Note to Jimmy Kimmel: There already is a show like that on TV. It's called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

And while the Jimmy Kimmel bit is cute, my current favorite Christine O'Donnell spoof, of her "I'm Not a Witch" ad, has got to be this one by Elvira:



Personally, I like to think of myself as Elvira, just with smaller t!t$. ;-)

Glee does the Time Warp, I am Rocky Horror-fied

While I am a fan of Glee, I think the show is wildly uneven -- one week great ("Duets"), one week UGH (see "Britney/Brittany"). But I was excited at the thought of Glee doing an ode to The Rocky Horror Picture Show for its upcoming Halloween episode (October 26, for those of you who still get Fox). That is, until I saw this clip of the Glee cast performing the "Time Warp."

'Glee' Does The 'Time Warp' @ Yahoo! Video

While once I was Glee-ful, after seeing the cast of Glee's take on the "Time Warp," I am slightly Rocky Horror-fied -- and quickly went online to check out the original cast version, to see if I was being a bit too harsh.



Nope. Though I do think Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel on Glee), did/does a good job at playing Riff Raff.

So fellow Rocky Horror Picture Show and/or Glee fans, what do you think?