“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. – Jim Davis.

It looks like Jim Davis has the right idea. Cake, bread, and pie included in a diet (and pumpkin pie at that).

I love fall. I love the swirls of orange and yellow that the trees have so graciously welcomed. I love dragging out last season’s sweaters and jackets (and finding money in the pockets). I love taking refuge in a warm bed with heavy blankets. I love candles that smell like some wonderful dessert that just emerged from the oven. Speaking of desserts and ovens, this leads me to my favorite thing about fall: FOOD.

The cooler weather emerges and so does a rush of a wonderful crop: Pumpkins!! Here are some quick and easy ways to get the most out of your pumpkin!

Pumpkins  

Each year, over a billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the United States. Americans literally take advantage of every inch of this popular seasonal fruit (yes, it is a fruit which completely disproves the quote at the beginning of this article).

• Pumpkin Carving

We have the Irish to thank for this popular Halloween tradition. According to legend, a drunken Irish farmer, Jack, made a deal with the devil which resulted in being turned down from entering Heaven or Hell. Jack was then forced to wander the darkness of purgatory. To guide his lost soul, Jack made an o’lantern from a turnip and lump of burning coal. Subsequently, Irish communities would create their own turnip lamps to scare away Jack and any other evil spirits. The Irish then traded turnips for pumpkins after discovering an abundance of the crop growing in North America.

But wait…don’t throw away those seeds and pulp!

• Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted pumpkin seeds are a quick and easy snack that can be prepared a number of ways to suit your taste buds.

(Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and Crystal Hot Sauce)

My personal favorite, it gives the seeds a slight kick. Plus it leaves a nice aroma in your kitchen!

• 1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Remove the seeds and wash them thoroughly with water, washing away any pulp. Drain.
  3. Place the seeds on a baking sheet lined with foil.
  4. Pour Crystal’s Hot Sauce generously over the seeds.
  5. Lightly sprinkle Lawry’s Seasoning Salt on top of the seeds.
  6. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  7. Let cool. Enjoy!

• Pumpkin Pulp

There are many wonderful recipes that you can use with pumpkin puree. If a recipe calls for 15 ounce can of pumpkin, just use 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree instead.

Here is a personal favorite of mine: Pumpkin Cheesecake

(Thanks to Kori for making this wonderful dessert and sharing a slice, and the recipe!)

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin (Or 2 Cups of fresh pumpkin puree)
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

***If this recipe sounds too good to pass up, but you aren’t quite the baker, don’t fear! Olive Garden offers a wonderful version.***

• Pumpkin Spice Latte

I personally think that it’s easier to just run to Starbucks and grab one, but with Starbucks’ rising prices, you may find it cheaper to make one from the comfort of your own home.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger brewed espresso

Directions

1. Brew your espresso. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together the pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and milk. Warm over medium heat, whisking constantly, until hot and frothy. Do not bring to a boil. Pour the espresso into a mug and pour the pumpkin spiced milk over it.

Halloween may be over, but pumpkins are still in!

*If you have a favorite pumpkin recipe that you would like to share, I would love to hear about it! Comment below or drop me an email at Justasherrs@gmail.com*

by Ashley Justice

Remember the tales of Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and the Frog Prince?  When I was a child, I wanted to be a princess that wore a golden sash around my waist and carried a sword, hacking through the woods like some kind of jungle trail blazer.  I know my stories are hopelessly mixed together, and indiscriminate hacking would damage my sword, but that’s what I wanted to do.  There’s a darker side to these fairytales, though, that children today rarely hear.  Ever since Wilhelm Grimm penned his multiple editions of the stories Jacob had collected, there have been alterations on the original form to make them more appropriate for children.  There was too much scholarly information clustered within the stories, and grim happenings.  Wilhelm, and later Walt Disney, (as well as all the editors between) revised these stories to center around morals and make everything lighthearted and gay.

It may be a surprise to realize this, but these were not originally meant to be children’s stories.  These were the stories that folks told around the campfire at night after the children had been sent to bed.  Of course there would be sex and ribaldry in them.  And these Europeans knew the world to be a capricious and sometimes cruel place.  These worries are reflected in the text.  The only reason these stories began to evolve into something for kids is because the Brothers Grimm decided to put the name “Children’s Tales”  on their compilation of the stories.

Snow White

The queen in Disney’s Snow White used to be no less a personage than Snow White’s own mother.  When she hired the huntsman to kill her daughter, she asked he bring back her heart and her liver that she might “dine on them tonight,” to which the huntsman readily agreed.  Later in the story, after Snow White’s “death” in the woods with the dwarves, they put her into a class coffin so that people could gaze upon her dead body.  (There must have been some magic in that coffin, because she didn’t start decomposing, but lay as though in sleep.)  The prince came by and decided she was so beautiful he must have the body. (… possibly to decorate his next haunted house?  What would anyone want with a dead body?)  It was only as he carried the coffin away and hit a bump in the road that a bit of the apple in Snow White’s mouth became dislodged and she awoke, frightened in disoriented.  The prince decided to marry her on the spot.  There was no kiss, no courting; he didn’t even give her a chance before he popped the question.  And then they invited her mother to the wedding where they presented her with a pair of iron shoes hot from the fire and bade her to dance the night away.

Cinderella

Again, Cinderella’s “step-mother” was originally her biological mother, changed so that people could more readily accept her cruel deeds.  Since the oldest version of the tale I have still has her as a stepmother, I will use that version here.  She had no fairy godmother. Rather she had an affinity with the pigeons that rested in the garden outside- that is they provided the dresses for the three balls.  The king’s son devised a ruse to find Cinderella, for she had disappeared so quickly the previous two nights he was unable to discover who she was.  He covered the stairs in pitch so that when she ran down them, her shoe was left behind. Then the king’s son went with her father the next day to his home to see if the slipper fit any of his daughters.  It didn’t fit the first daughter so her mother gave her a knife and told her to cut off the two because she wouldn’t need to walk once she was a queen.  So first daughter swallowed her pain and tried to fool the prince, but the birds alerted the prince to her tricks.  So he went back and asked for another daughter.  The second cut off her heel to fit her foot into the shoe. This second round of trickery worked and she thought she’d be off to marry the prince.  Again, the birds called the alarm and the prince saw the blood, and he came back to the house.  Were there any other daughters? He wondered.  The father said only, “There is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the bride.” (This he said of his own daughter, who had allowed the abuse his wife had heaped upon her!)  And so Cinderella was brought out and she tried on the shoe and it fit her like a glove.  So off they went to get married, and the birds flew one on each shoulder, and when the stepdaughters attended the wedding they flew from their mistress’s shoulders like avenging harpies and pecked out their eyes.

by Stephanie Miller

I’m sure you’ve heard of Dethklok.

If your a fan of Cartoon Network’s late night program Adultswim you’ve at least seen the commercials. This cartoon is based off of Brendan Small’s ideas that led to an extremely fruitful show filled with incredible amounts of violence, blood, and drug use that society loves to see on the T.V. The show focuses around the band’s inability to do simple tasks or really anything that isn’t related to music. This incredible lack of life skills in conjunction with the ridiculous things the band does manage to do (like summoning a lake troll) make for an amazing 15 minute program.

There are few ongoing stories in pop culture that I won’t read.  I didn’t read any of the incriminating details surrounding Michael Jackson’s death.  I find everything about Jon and Kate to be extremely annoying and sad.  Finally, the massive natural disaster, otherwise known as Lindsay Lohan’s life, that I used to find nauseating has taken such a massive death toll that it’s finally coming back around to being interesting.

In Hollywood almost everything is carefully calculated of what gets out to the media.  Even something as insignificant as getting photographed eating ice cream was pre-meditated to some degree.  Celebrities like Madonna and Angelina Jolie have managed to control how they’re portrayed in the media to certain extents.  Even if they’re accused of plagiarism or infidelity, they always manage to come out the same or better!

What about Lindsay Lohan?  Her life seems to be plagued with one bad PR stunt after another.  Are those pre-meditated?  I’d say, “No!”  Lohan has probably gone so far off the deep-end that she’s wading in ’07 Britney’s spilled Red Bulls.  Like every unique starlet before her, Lohan has managed to build her own mold of crazy.

If it wasn’t a story about alcohol abuse, drug usage, or late-night shenanigans, then it was constant quips about her relationship with Samantha Ronson, fame-hungry sister and mother, and estranged father.  While Britney’s “blackout” lasted the latter half of a year, Lohan’s has lasted the latter half of her dwindling career.

She was once an upcoming Hollywood A-lister who starred in major motion pictures!  That’s not easy to come by in a dog-eat-dog industry!  She was (might still be) talented and hungry!  While her acting career was red hot, she shot for a successful singing career, which turned out to be yet another success.  What happened?

Somewhere along the yellow brick road Lohan stumbled into the wicked witch of West’s lair and hasn’t been able to escape.  The redheaded beauty can’t seem to let the clutch of fame let her go, and no one around her can release her.  It took Britney’s family (however ethical) to force themselves into her life once again to get her back on track, but Lohan’s family is noticeably absent in her life.

Lohan is constantly praising her single mom, Dina, who has received almost as much discrepancy as her famous daughter, but it’s obvious Dina isn’t strong enough to control her daughter.  Lohan’s father, Michael, has been an omnipresent bane for her.  If he’s not wrapped up in his own questionable life, he’s exposing Lindsay’s.

Should we feel sorry for Lohan?  We placed her on a tier all her own and watched as she stumbled down it.  It’s obvious that she has a warped and jaded idea of fame, as her idol is Marilyn Monroe, who stands as a warning to all Hollywood starlets.  Revere in Marilyn; don’t be her.

by Adrian Garcia

As a kid, I hated nap time. I could never find comfort in going to sleep while the rest of the world was still at play. I think everyone in college could agree, though, that things would be a lot easier if we could somehow incorporate this long past act into adult life.

This week, I’ll get a chance to recapture some of the dreamworld in my childhood (however, not in the realm of sleep). “Where The Wild Things Are” opened on October 16th and I hadn’t been looking forward to something so much since W.’s term was coming to an end. The monsters look incredible (costumes combined with CGI facial expressions), the soundtrack is delightfully offbeat (performed by Karen O and The Kids), and the story is a classic.

To conclude, I’m really pumped, enough so that I decided to do Wild Things themed photos.

by Jessie Weaver

With 2009 almost over and done with, I thought I would go ahead a make a brief list of a few of my favorite albums that were released this year. Now, I know that we still have two months to go, but really, I don’t think anything coming out later is going to beat what I already have (unless Say Anything and Motion City Soundtrack totally deliver). 2009 was, and is, a fairly great year for music, at least for me. With that said, let’s get started!

Kevin Devine’s previous album, Put Your Ghost To Rest, remains a staple in my road trip library, so it’s no surprise that his latest effort ended up in my top five. I grabbed the internet leak when it hit earlier this year and loved every second of it. The title track packs so much emotion that it alone is worthy of recognition, but luckily the whole record delivers. This is one of those rare albums that I want to pick up on vinyl and just hold on to for years and years. It may take a second to grasp his though provoking lyrics at first, but once you do its fantastic.

3. Daisy – Brand New

This album may have had the chops to take over my number two spot, but, unfortunately, I haven’t had enough time with it. The record was just recently released on September 22nd to split reviews; either you hate it or love it. Fortunately, I fall into the latter category. Admittedly, the album is extremely polarizing. Dynamic shifts lurk around every corner, but that’s just what Brand New does; that’s no surprise, really. Jesse Lacey and company delivered one of the best and freshest records of the year, and I’m positive I’ll still be listening to it a year from now.

2. Aim and Ignite – fun.

fun. is the current project of Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format (one of my all-time favorite bands), and this concoction of indie pop is just infectious. The album is guitar driven, but is no stranger to strings and horns, and the band really shines when all of the elements work together. The opening track, “Be Calm,” is possibly my song of the year and definitely one of the best opening tracks to come off of a record in a very long time. This band may not be for everyone, but if you give Aim and Ignite a chance I’m sure you won’t regret it.

1. Mean Everything To Nothing – Manchester Orchestra

Here it is – my number one record! Man, with all of the internet hype surrounding this album around the time of it’s release I fully expected to be disappointed, but it completely lived up to all of that hype. This record came out on April 21st and no other album has even came close to touching it’s greatness this year. Andy Hull, lead singer and songwriter of Manchester Orchestra, has perfected the art of songwriting, and that fact shines on tracks like, “Shake It Out” and “I’ve Got Friends”. These Atlanta natives know how to craft modern Southern rock masterpieces, and they let it all hang out on Mean Everything To Nothing. If you’ve yet to give this one a listen then do so immediately!

Sex. Music. Bad special effects. Yelling. Food fights. Pajamas. Reanimation of the dead. Love-triangles. Aliens. Incest. Dancing. Flamboyance. Cannibalism. Drag shows.

All of these things are fun in-and-of-themselves, but in combination – and yes, they do all have something in common – they make up my favorite Halloween ritual. Some say it’s ridiculous, some say it’s worn out, and some simply have no idea what it is. I say that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is not only a classic movie, but also a timeless tradition.

The movie, created in 1975, was based on a play written by Richard O’Brien that started with rough beginnings and mixed reviews. The movie itself met the same hurtles when first released, but is now considered a cult classic. Not only was it the first movie from a major production company to become a midnight movie, but it is also one of the most financially successful and long-running midnight movies in cinematic history.

The plot is a cockamamie story about a prudish couple that suddenly decides they just have to hit the road on a stormy night in order to announce their engagement to the professor who introduced them. In a twist of fate they end up stranded at a castle in the woods where they are stripped of clothing and become the sexual prey of an alien drag queen who has just discovered the secret to creating life and has used this knowledge to create the ideal sex slave. But, upon first viewing, it just seems to be roughly one hundred minutes of people singing about sex in underwear and heels (not that there’s anything wrong with that, to quote Seinfeld).

Within years it had become more than just a movie, though. Theaters in big cities and college towns began to show it at midnight on the weekends, and people would show up dressed as the characters. The audience began to participate with the movie, yelling dirty jokes at the screen, dancing in the aisles during the famous “Time Warp,” and throwing “props,” including toilet paper and rice, at each other. In fact, it’s been almost thirty-five years and audiences are still showing up on Halloween dressed in corsets with their bags of toast, playing cards, and newspaper. I count myself among them, although I usually wear a less scandalous costume of men’s pajamas and Mickey Mouse ears.

Word amongst local Rocky Horror fanatics is that Birmingham’s Alabama Theatre has the best audience participation in the area, although Tuscaloosa’s own Bama Theatre does the show justice. Also, the Alabama Theatre cheats and shows the movie on the Thursday before Halloween, whereas the Bama Theatre follows tradition and shows Rocky Horror on Halloween night.

I grew up watching Rocky Horror every Halloween on VH1 with my mom. When they stopped showing it on television, we bought the VHS. When I was fifteen, mom drove me and a few brave friends to the Alabama Theater so we could see it as it should be seen. I’ve gone every year since then, and although there are plenty of nay-sayers who claim that Rocky Horror is an old joke and it isn’t worth the time, I know I personally have enjoyed it every year. Halloween and Rocky Horror are almost synonymous to me now; I can’t imagine one without the other. October rolls around and I have to make the momentous decision of whether I’ll put the original soundtrack or the punk rock version into my car’s CD player.

I think the reason Rocky Horror is so important to me, and to everyone else who shows up year after year, is that it appeals to both the child in us as well as our more sinful nature. Gay men go all out with their drag outfits, and even more conservative straight men feel free enough to sport fishnets, stilettos, and lipstick. Women who may normally have body issues put all of their neuroses behind and strut around in nothing but push up bras and panties. People do there best to out-dress each other. Some audience members are, admittedly, strange people who merely go the extra mile Rocky Horror, and other are John and Jane Doe who let themselves become freaks for the night.

And although it’s blatantly vulgar, all of it is kind of childish. As we get older Halloween looses some of its fun, just as it happens with every other holiday, if we’re honest with ourselves. First we’re “too old” to trick-or-treat, then there are high school and college parties, and eventually we get to an age where either we think it’s inappropriate or less thrilling to decorate and wear a costume. Maybe I’m reading into it too much, but it feels like Rocky Horror is a solution to this problem. It’s something completely adult, to say the least, and includes science fiction and horror elements, while ultimately boiling down to silliness and nonsense. There’s dressing up and making a mess and yelling embarrassing things at the top of your voice. Social institutions like manners and introductions go out the window. You find yourself in a fervor, taking in everything and yelling and telling strangers that you absolutely love their take on Frank-n-Furter’s costume. Is it really all that different than kids running from house to house, getting to yell threats (“trick or treat!”), showing off their costumes, and excitedly checking out the neighbor’s outfits?

I’m sure when Richard O’Brien, Susan Sarandan, Barry Bostwick, and Tim Curry filmed “The Time Warp,” they had no idea that decades later people would still be watching it, let alone could they anticipate that the audience be singing along to the movie at the top of their lungs.

by Katie Fraley