Luna and Pop-Pop time

      Normally, when my wife takes the kids somewhere and I am left alone at home, it only takes about an hour before I start going stir crazy.  One would think that I would revel in my alone time, read a book, write, or even take a glorious, glorious nap.  I may do one of those things from time to time, but the fact is that once I pass the hour gap, my alone time is terrifying.  Sure, for that first hour I feel as free as a 1950s space chimp, floating around the house on my own terms.

                                          "So....the moon is made of bananas and has a giant
                                           tire swing?  I'm in!"    

During that time, I can be found listening to loud 70s punk music, watching boring political shows, leaving the toilet seat up or doing all those things at once, all without the fear of feminine reprisal.  Once that hour mark has passed and I realize that I am the only person in the house, instead of celebrating and sliding around on the kitchen floor in my socks and underwear like a fat and hairy Tom Cruise (Risky Business 2!), I start brooding.  I usually will find myself listening to some sad indie song, then I'll mope around the house, looking for laundry to clean.  I'll start picking things up and washing dishes until the whole situation quickly turns into a very boring version of Omega Man. 

                                          "Omega Man: The last man on Earth and he's here....
                                          to make the bed....or die trying!"

Last night, things were a little different.  My wife and the 14 yr old went gallivanting about town (or they were attending the grand opening of the Touch Point Church computer lab...take your pick.) and I was home all alone with the wee little baby.  I actually prefer having my mini sidekick with me.  First on our agenda was to watch the late showing of Dinosaur Train.  After watching such gripping drama, it is customary to crawl around on the floor on all fours, shouting "Dinosaur!  Grrrr!" while pretending to eat one another.  This game lasts about thirty to forty minutes before I tire out and collapse on the living room floor.  Of course, Luna knows that this is the time when she jumps on my wheezing Dino carcass.
     Later, when I discovered the garbage can was overflowing, my mini-intern and I ventured into the wilderness of Alhambra.  The sun had begun to set as we ran across the front grass.  Being the tallest of the two, I walked face first into a spider web, accidentally inhaling the arachnid resident while the baby laughs... I threw the trash in the garbage can and I was treated to a solo clap and a loud squeal.  "Yay, Pop-pop!"  I've never felt prouder about throwing the trash.
      The trashland adventure ended and bathtime commenced.  When I say Bath time, what I really bean to say is "Lets see how much water Luna can spill all over the floor, causing Pop-Pop to slip and break his tail bown."  That is not a fun game.  Luna does not see the bath as a place where you go to get clean, as much as she sees it as a place where she can pour a large pitcher of water into a smaller cup 47 times in a row.  She was fascinated by the fact that her fingers and toes had become pruney and weird looking.  How does one respond to such a strange phenomenon?  How about licking your foot and shoving a finger up your nose all while yelling "Eeeew!  Yucky!"  That's one way, I suppose.
      Once the bath and all of its assorted rituals are finally complete and the froggie pajamas are slapped onto the wriggling, giggling toddler, we ran around the house singing the Fantasy Man theme from "Noel Fieldings Luxury Comedy."  The bizarre British comedy isn't exactly baby friendly, but the songs are baby safe....for the most part.  Don't you judge me!  Bed time came and I walked Luna to her crib...singing.

                                          For most kids this is the stuff of nightmares...for ours
                                          it's a lullaby.

She laid down, singing the song as I left the room.  It was a great night for my little Dino and I.  Sure beats being a lonely space chimp.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2012

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

NERD ALERT: Happy thanksgiving!

  Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!

Please tell Power Girl to wear a freaking bra...it's the holidays, show some class.... 

NERD ALERT: MARVEL NEW! The latest issues.

      In the last installment of NERD ALERT I gave a rundown of the Marvel Now! books that have been released so far as well as a review of the Marvel Now! line as a whole.  Well, today two new Marvel Now! books have been released...Captain America (Volume 7, Issue 1) and The Indestructible Hulk (Volume 1, Issue 1).  As I mentioned in the previous installment, I am looking forward to almost all of the Marvel Now! books, I am just really annoyed that the launch cannot occur all in one month like DC did with the New 52.  I just don't see any valid reason for staggering the new books.
    I promise I will stop ranting on the subject and just review the books...

                                                           "Cap-Zilla destroys Tokyo....
                                                             Marvel Now!" 

Captain America:  If you are a fan of the Ed Brubaker run of Captain America and you are looking to this book for the same type of storytelling, you will not find it here.  There is no espionage, brainwashed assassins, or plots to overthrow America.  You won't find any stories that could be ripped from the journal of a conspiracy theorist...well maybe.  With that said, this is one of the coolest takes on Captain America that I have seen in a very long time.  The book starts out with a very real, very stark opening in which a young Steve Rogers is forced to see his father beating the crap out of his mother.  Mother Rogers (?) stands up to her husband and refuses to take anymore of his brutality.  This moment instills Steve with his trademark courage and his refusal to let anything keep him down.  With that very harsh, realistic moment, we move to Cap tackling crazed Eco-terrorists, who attempt to use their Omega Fertilizer (Yes, that's what it's called!) to convert the human race (Starting with Manhattan, naturally) into trees.  Yeah, it sounds really kooky, but not only is this a very fun action story that depicts Cap as the bad ass action star he is, it proves that the character can be taken out of his comfortable element and still be very enjoyable.  We move on to Sharon Carter, who is helping a very square Steve Rogers celebrate his 90th birthday in style...by infiltrating a secret subway car that leads to another dimension.  Of course, we soon learn that this dimension is the domain of a very old Cap villain who has some crazy, B-Movie Sci-Fi ideas in store for our hero.  The overall series pitch is made and we are left with Captain America stranded and alone with all of the odds stacked against him.  Monsters, genetic experiments, Nazi Mad Scientists and the greatest super soldier of all time, what could be better and more fun...how about John Romita Jr. art?  JRJR really outdoes himself here.  Romita blends his style with that of Jack Kirby and really channels the insane stories that Kirby wrote and illustrated in the 70s.  Take a look at these stories if you can...the main villain in one of the tales is a sinister mutant named Mister One who lives inside a wrist watch. 


   "Believe it or not, he buys his micro
    shorts at Ross."   

 The series also introduced Arnim Zola who plays a big part in this issue.    This is one of those books for people who are yearning for the good old days of fun comics.  Take a look and you will not be disappointed.

                                                           "Marvel and Disney finally cross:
                                                            Hulk is WALL-E!"

Indestructible Hulk:  I have liked Mark Waid for a very long time.  From way back to his days on the Flash and Kingdom Come, he has been one of my favorite writers.  He writes in a way the is very relate able, even in a world where characters can turn green and pulverize you in a heartbeat.  With this book , we can actually relate to Bruce Banner.  He is sick and tired of being cast aside when it comes to the history books.  While Tony Stark and Reed Richards are regarded as world changing geniuses, he's only seen as a menace and a walking weapon.  The "Indestructible" part of the title comes from the fact that Banner learns there is no cure for the Hulk...he has comes to terms with the fact that the Hulk cannot be destroyed and he must live with him and control him.  This puts the Hulk and Banner in a relationship that we have yet to see.  Banner has accepted the Hulk as a somewhat positive force in his life that can be used in his favor.  We see Banner/Hulk "audition" for a role in S.H.I.E.L.D, promising to grant the U.S.  as many brilliant ideas that he can churn out.  The art by Leinil Francis Yu is some of his best.  I have to admit that while he has given us some great art in the past, there have also been some glaring examples of art that looks rushed and incomplete.  (Secret Invasion is a good example.)  Yu was made for a book like this, he can draw the exaggerated beast that is the Hulk, as well as some Manga influenced technology while still giving us some characters with depth and emotion.  There is a lot of room for this book to grow and expand, I am looking forward to what Waid and Yu have planned.

Please take a look at these two books and let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  It's great to have some fun and exciting books to look forward to again!  Happy reading!         

Nerd Alert: Marvel Now! A look at what we have so far...

                              A raccoon with a machine gun...deal with it...MARVEL NOW!


    As much as I hated DC rebooting their entire universe and starting their stories over with the New 52, I have to admit that they sure knew how to launch new products.  In July and August 2011 all of the old books ran their last issues...some ending record setting runs like Action Comics with its 904th issue.  In September, DC began rolling out all 52 of the new issues, each book starting with a new number 1.
      While I didn't like starting from scratch, I have to admire how organized and professional the New 52 launch was.  Sure most of the books were flat out garbage, but they launched when they were supposed to.  All your garbage was on time!  I wish I could say the same about Marvel and their Marvel Now! launch.  Granted, Marvel Now! Is not a reboot, the continuity is unaffected and decades of storylines will remain untouched, however the initative was meant to relaunch old books with new #1 issues and set the whole universe in a new direction that spun out of the Avengers Vs. X-Men crossover.
      I am excited about almost all of these books, but they are all coming out in small little smatterings.  Where the first issues of the New 52 books rolled out every week in September of 2011 (we are up to the 14th issue of the remaining New 52 books, by the way), the Marvel Now launch seems so scatter shot and unorganized that it is hard to keep up with the release schedule.  The first Marvel Now! issue was Uncanny Avengers which arrived in October.  The second was a very disappointing anthology book called A + X (Get it?  Avengers plus X-men!  We are all one big happy family now!  Yay!) that also released in the last week of October.
      The rest of the books are arriving in inconsistent batches.  In November we will see 9 new/relaunched books:  All-New X-Men, Captain America, Deadpool, FF, Fantastic Four, Indestructible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor: God of Thunder, and X-Men Legacy.  December brings us 5 new/relaunched titles:  Avengers, Avengers Arena, Cable and the X-Force, New Avengers, and Thunderbolts.  The new #1s don't stop there either, they keep rolling out into the new year!  January brings us five more books:  Morbius: The living Vampire, Savage Wolverine, The Superior Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Force, and Young Avengers.  February will see the last five of the new #1s: Fearless Defenders, Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Secret Avengers, and Uncanny X-Men.  Whew!  The only books to survive the relaunch/renumbering are Avengers Assemble, Daredevil, Journey into Mystery (Thor's original book), Red She-Hulk (Formerly Hulk then Red Hulk), and Wolverine and the X-men.
    So if you are keeping count (I wouldn't blame you if you weren't...it's confusing!)  that's a total of 26 new books all being launched over a space of 5 months.  (I didn't even count the excellent five issue "Avengers Vs. X-Men: Consequences." mini-series!)   DC launched 52 new books in one month!  One month!  What's the hold up, Marvel?   I understand that Marvel has taken time and is carefully wrapping up storylines before launching into the new titles, but there is no reason this couldn't have been done in November and launched the whole line in December.  I could do with out Brian Bendis' self serving "End Times" storylines in Avengers and New Avengers.  After reading these two presumably connected stories so far, I can't help but get the feeling that Bendis wanted to wrap everything up himself without letting anyone else play with his toys.  I won't give anything away if you haven't read them yet, but the "End Times" stories are basically mini-event based stories that make sweeping changes, clean house and tie up threads that have been hanging for a long time. Couldn't these matters have been taken care of months ago?  Rather than getting a billion dreadful "Avengers Vs. X-Men" tie-ins, we should have been seeing these issues.  I loved Bendis' early run on Avengers with Avengers: Disassembled and New Avengers, but his last story with the two books is just sub-par at best.
     Ranting and raving aside, let's take a look at the Marvel Now books that we have seen so far.  Are they worth your time and money?  Our Scale:  Marvel Wow! = A must read, can't miss book. Marvel Now! = A good read Marvel Maybe! = Not bad, not great Marvel No! = Don't read this crap!

Uncanny Avengers #1:  The first issue was set during the end of Avengers Vs. X-Men and the beginning of Consequences.  We basically see Captain America admitting that he didn't handle the war with Cyclops and his crew well.  Cap decides to create an Avengers team with an emphasis on Mutant relations.  The lineup will be led by Cyclops awesome brother Havoc and include Captain America, Rouge, Scarlet Witch, Thor and Wolverine.  So far, the build up was great.  We get to see lobotomized mutant villains attacking our new team!  So far, I like the idea of a merger between the Avengers and the X-men, it seems natural since more than a few X-men were also avengers at one time or another.  The first few pages show a mystery villain doing some mutant brain surgery...the final page reveals our villain is a great classic Marvel big bad who is going to use the brain of a powerful/dead classic marvel character to "Eradicate the mutant menace!".  I've never seen this guy fight mutants before. (Maybe in crossovers or when he/she teamed with Magneto, but never solo) So this should be a fun new team book, it carries a lot of A Vs. X baggage with it, so it's not the best jumping on point, but it does a good job of recapping what previously went down.  The only sad thing is that we will probably never see a movie version of this team.  Fox has the X-men film rights and Disney/Marvel Studios has the Avengers film rights, keeping this pairing a comic book only delight.  MARVEL NOW!

A + X #1:  I like anthologies.  I am a frugal person, so when I see two stories for the price of one, I am all over that book.  The problem is that most anthologies aren't that great.  Some stories are good, others are hit and miss and some are just flat out horrible.  This book gives you the latter two story types.  The whole idea of the book is to feature mini tales that pair Avengers characters with X-Men characters.  There just isn't any rhyme or reason for the pairings.  The introduction basically tells us that the stories may or may not be in continuity.  "Turn your brain of and enjoy!"  That would be easy to do if I enjoyed crap.  The first story pairs Captain America with Cable.  Remember when you were 12 and you really wanted to see that story.  Here it is and it's not that good.  Cap meets Cable during WWII.  Cable is on a mission to destroy time traveling Nazi Sentinels (Yeah, you read that right!).  Cap helps him destroy said robots and Bucky wishes he had a robot arm like Cable.  (A not too subtle hint at Bucky's Winter Soldier fate.)  The next story has Wolverine and Hulk argue over a piece of cake...yes.  A piece of cake.  Never mind that these guys have ripped into each other for decades.  Never mind that Wolverine first appeared in the Marvel Universe to KILL THE INCREDIBLE HULK...forget all that.  They want cake.  Then all of a sudden an old grizzled Wolverine (Possibly from Days of Future Past) and old grizzled Hulk (Possibly Maestro from Future Imperfect) attack the present day duo.  The future versions disappear and we learn that they were sent by the Future Red Hulk to kill his past self?  What the Hulk?  At least the first story made some sense and had a full story.  The second story didn't even have an ending.  Dreadful storytelling by Jeph Loeb, a writer who should know better.  The art was good, but who wants to see detailed art featuring a two usually brutal men eating cake.  MARVEL NO!

Iron Man:  This issue starts off the way a relaunch should.  We are introduced to the core players in a way that doesn't seem awkward or over explanatory.  This look at Iron Man gives us a character that is closer to the movie version than the previous series.  He even decides to stop making weapons (forgetting that he operates a walking, flying, shooting-everything-that-moves weapon) just like he did in the first movie.  This of course leads into a deadly weapon, the living technology known as the Extremis virus returning.  The storytelling is very solid and is a great jumping on point for new readers.  I loved Warren Ellis' original Extremis story and I hated when the Extremis was written out.  The techno virus turns its victim into a living super computer.  When Tony Stark was infected in the previous series, he was able to control his suit and other tech with his mind.  He basically had super powers for the first time.  We don't know if Extremis is going to be re-introduced into Stark's DNA but since the virus is tied into the story for Iron Man 3, I think it is safe to say so.  The art is very crisp and true to the characters.  Tony doesn't look too much like Robert Downey Jr. like some of the previous artists have done.  It's worth checking out as the story develops.  MARVEL WOW!

Fantastic Four:  If you read my Avengers Assemble review a while ago, you know I love Mark Bagley.  I love seeing him draw more than just Spider-Man, so this new Fantastic Four title is a visual treat.  Matt Fraction is just the luckiest, lack luster writer this side of Chuck Austen.  For those of you who don't know, Chuck Austen was a critically panned, writer who fans seemed to loath and yet the guy wrote the X-Men, the Avengers and Captain America.  I actually liked some of Chuck Austen's work.  His Avengers run was fun.  I do not like anything that Matt Fraction has been writing.  I just can't see how he is getting all of these amazing writing jobs.  Just look at how awful Fear Itself was....he "killed" Thor for the one millionth time...only to replace him with a troll and bring him back a few issues later.  Now we see a Fantastic Four where their powers are fading and killing them and Mr. Fantastic must take his whole crew (For a book called Fantastic Four, there are about 50 supporting cast members) in a time/space ship/floating school in order to find a cure.  While they are gone from our universe they will be replaced by a new team...The FF which debuts later this month.  I am looking forward to that book, this one was a by the numbers....changing the status-quo story that Matt Fraction is known for.  Nothing revolutionary here.  The art is brilliant as usual.  If you want a great story look into Mark Millar's Fantastic Four run or the recent Johnathan Hickman run.  Both are brilliantly told on different levels.  This book is dangerously close to boring.  MARVEL MAYBE!

Thor: God of Thunder:  I didn't like Matt Fraction's Mighty Thor title.  It was just boring and not at all the type of Thor story that hooked me in.  I was happy to see the book go.  While I wasn't a huge fan of The Avengers Vs. X-Men series, I loved the issues written by Jason Aaron.  He can tell a big story while still holding onto character and substance.  God of Thunder builds up a cool mystery.  Some force is killing ancient Gods and Thor needs to crack the case before his Asgardians are next.  Yeah, stories like that have been told before, but it is the way the story is unfolding that makes for an interesting book.  We see young Thor in the age of vikings...a hotheaded jerk, not unlike the Chris Hemsworth movie version before Odin banished him.  Young Thor encounters a murdered god and centuries later his contemporary self encounters more slain gods on an alien world that has forgotten their elder gods.  It's also cool to learn that Thor actually hears prayers made to him and answers them.  I have never seen that touched upon before.  The issue ends with the mystery deepening in the far future where a one-eyed, one armed grizzled Thor sits on the Asgard throne.  He arms (literally!) himself with his metal replacement arm and fights weird god killing dog like beasts.  The stage is set and I am really looking forward to the rest of the story.  The art is very good and depicts all three eras in unique ways.  There is no confusing the timelines.  The story is strong and doesn't reveal too much, but enough to keep me interested.  MARVEL WOW!

X-Men: Legacy:  This is a book that just doesn't need to exist, let alone be part of the Marvel Now! relaunch.  The story follows Legion, the son of the late Professor X.  The art is choppy and the storytelling is even choppier.  The story is all over the place and the only character we remotely know or have any history with is Legion himself.  He isn't even a character that anyone can relate to or root for.  We are talking about the guy whose only claim to fame was accidentally killing his father (How many times has he "died") setting off the awesome Age of Apocalypse storyline.  Being the catalyst for a nearly 20 year old event is not enough to warrant your own book.  Just avoid this.  It won't last long.  MARVEL NO!     

All-New X-Men:  I am not sure what the pitch meeting was for this book, but I was excited to see Brian Bendis branch out and write a book with characters he hasn't really worked with before.  The premise is just a little ridiculous...even for an X-Men book.  We meet Cyclops and his new revolutionary/extreme crew co-captained by Magneto.  They avenge mutants who were harmed by anti-mutant groups and rescue a young mutant woman who can alter time and space.  The whole mission is broadcast on television and The X-Men are not amused.  Ice Man wants to arrest Cyclops which would undoubtedly start another Marvel Civil War.  Beast comes up with a "brilliant" plan.  Time travel to the past, before Cyclops became such a dick.  This way, past Cyclops can talk some sense into current Cyclops.  Of course, from the cover and all the previews we know that the whole original X-Men team will come to the present day.  Yeah, the story will have a lot of interesting meetings between old and modern teams, and it will be cool to see Jean Grey react to a world that has seen her die twice, but this just doesn't seem like a plan Beast would actually come up with.  "Hey guys, I know we are risking damage to the space time continuum, but the old Cyclops was much cooler than our current jerk Cyclops...maybe a chat would set things in order!"  Not a smart idea from a supposed super genius.  There was even a woman who was manipulating time at the beginning of the story!  She could have accidentally brought the old team to the present day, that would have been more believable (for the comic book world) than the Beast thinking this was a great plan.  I hope the time altering woman has some kind of part in this premise.  The foundations of this book just seem to weak to last very long.  It's not a bad book, just a very limited idea in a field that usually has no limits on storytelling.  MARVEL MAYBE!

Deadpool  I am a huge fan of this character.  In the 90s, writer Joe Kelly took the idea of Deadpool and added "Lunatic" to his profile.  Yes, he still has a healing ability and kills for money, but now he is insane and often breaks the barrier by talking directly to the reader.  The book was very funny but was mishandled many times after Joe Kelly left.  Brian Posehn is a stand up comedian and comic book fan who you may be familiar with from the Comedians of Comedy tour.  As the new Deadpool writer, he is breathing a hilarious new life into the character and giving us a crazy plot involving the resurrection of great American presidents as evil zombies.  Deadpool is hired by SHIELD to double kill the zombie presidents and avoid chaos.  This ends badly in this issue...it is sure to be a riot.  I highly recommend this read if you are not easily offended.  MARVEL WOW!

Well, there you have it, those are the books we have so far, I will keep updating my reviews as the books hit the shelves.  Happy reading!
   

Going Downtown...Disney style.

      Over the weekend my wife and I went to meet a friend at Downtown Disney.  For those of you unfamiliar with the wonders of Downtown Disney...picture a giant shopping district with inflated prices and blatantly shameless advertising that is designed to make your child mug you and buy a 20 dollar, 2 inch tall mickey mouse toy that cost 25 cents to produce.

                                                  Pictured:  The CEO of Disney.

 Luna accompanied us on this pilgrimage to the temple of the mouse and was instantly convinced that her last name was Romney.  She thought we could get her everything...fortunately, she's only 21 months old, so an empty paper Mickey Mouse holiday cup ($5) can impress her.   The 14 year old knows better...that's why she was imprisoned at home...well that and she would rather not be seen in public with anyone over 20 years old.  The most mind assaulting aspect of the Downtown Disney experience has to be the World of Disney, it is basically the mother ship of every Disney store in existence.  You know that Disney store in your local mall...it was birthed from this behemoth.  The genius/evil jerk who designed this store should either receive an award or a slap in the face.

                                                 "Look, this guy didn't bring his wallet...
                                                  Fire the torpedoes!"

        With its Disney Character carvings and displays it tramples all over the line between exhibit and over priced gift shop.  This of course appeals to the baby..."Hello little baby, while you are looking at this carving of Eeyore, also look at this 40 dollar Winnie the Pooh doll...don't forget to scream for it!"  Of course, being responsible parents we did not buy her the over priced Winnie the Pooh doll...we bought her an overpriced Mickey toy.
     I can't act like children are the only ones effected by the corporate brain assault.  As Luna was running through the store like a toddler version of Ewan Mcgregor in Trainspotting (Mousespotting), I passed by the Wreck it Ralph museum/display-to-reel-in-suckers, I was immediately intrigued by the giant Wreck it Ralph hands.  You just slip them on and pound them together and they yell..."I'm Gonna Wreck it!"  I didn't even question the fact that hands should not be talking and the toy made no sense what-so-ever, or the fact that they were just re-painted Hulk hands...I just knew that I wanted them!

                                                       "I'm Gonna Wreck...your debit card!"

     After meeting our friend we also tried Beignets, they are a luscious french pastry that is quite possibly the best breakfast treat that you have ever had.  Apparently Beignet is french for "Fried dough covered in powdered sugar that you would fight someone for."

                                                         "You will slap yo mama...Beignet
                                                           Mickey commands it!"

I am not to proud to admit that I licked the sugar off of Luna's fingers.  Yes it is a sad, sad place to be...but utterly delicious.  Now please excuse me as I eat a Beignet and smash things with my Wreck it Ralph hands ($30).     

Note:  I recently learned that there are a few (3) people from Sweden who have viewed this blog....I thank you!  Or...jag tackar dig! 

A few days late...but...Halloween 2012

    Okay, we have all been pretty busy here...as have all of you, I am sure, so there has been a lot going on that I never got around to writing about, that's just what seems to happen, sadly.  Life moves by on a conveyer belt while your "Want to Do" list gets passed up by your much more important "Must Do" list.  So, we have all been doing what we must do.  And now I have a few moments to write...yay!  So this was Luna's first mobile Halloween.  Last year she dressed as a Bee and was as mobile as an 8 month old could possibly be.  Which is crawling on the floor when she is given any chance and eating whatever she could get her hands on...candy, wrappers, hairballs, bandaids...whatever.
     Now she is a runner...and a screamer.  The baby's gracious godmother (she's not a fairy godmother...but she did dress as a ladybug for Halloween...close enough) bought her a sparkly pink cupcake costume.  Picture a small screaming cupcake fueled by sugar and stolen sips of soda running up and down the sidewalks demanding candy...by screeching joyfully.  The fourteen year old dressed as a hippie and took joy in begging for candy.  Lousy candy loving hippies! 

                                          "You get this one and I get the rest...so speaks the
                                             cupcake!"




She seemed to have a sense that her trick or treating days are woefully numbered.  14 is safe for trick or treating...maybe even 15, but once you turn 16 the world of Halloween shuts its collective doors on you.  If you can legally drive, you can go get a job and then go buy your own damn candy.  From 16 to 20 Halloween sort of looses its luster.  Once you're 21 though....woohoo!  Halloween is back, baby!  I wonder what the statistics are on people mixing candy corn with Grey Goose Vodka.  I am sure they are pretty high.
     The funny thing about the pink screaming cupcake baby is that she didn't have any concept on why these people were giving her candy.  She seemed a bit reluctant at first...giving each person she came to the evil eye.  Once that candy hit her Scooby-Doo bucket, her face lit up and she was on her way.  Not even the wrappers stopped her.  There was more than one jumbo tootsie roll that her little sharp teeth tore into.  By the end of the night parents, the godmother and 14 year old sister were all pooped out, but the hyper screeching cupcake seemed to vibrate in her car seat, hopped up on high fructose corn syrup.  Once she reached the house though, that sugar crash happened and she was out.  We peeled off her costume and put her in her crib.
    As the days after Halloween passed, Luna seemed puzzled by what had happened.  She constantly asked to wear her costume and once we obliged, she wanted to run outside, hoping that Halloween would magically restart.  When My wife and I went to vote on Tuesday, our local polling place was in a nearby garage.  I held the baby as we walked to the polls.  Her face lit up and she started saying "Trick or Treat"  and "Candy!"  Sadly, we received no candy that day...but I did wear my "I voted" sticker with pride...until Luna took it off my shirt and tried to eat it.