All Hallow's Creeps Near

Perhaps it is just me but I think that Halloween has lost all of its meaning. Over the years the great holiday has lost its roots, lost its tradition, and now is loosing its day. Halloween is still October 31st on the calendar, but somehow in past years the day when children go dressed up as monsters and princesses from door to door has fluctuated. When I was small Halloween was Halloween. It was on the 31st of October and you got dressed up and went trick-or-treating on that night. If it was a school night, my mother made us finish up at 8:30, 9 if we were lucky. But nowadays they can’t even consider letting them out on a school night! “Oh no, what if they have homework?” What 8 year old child has homework on Halloween?!!!?!!!? Halloween used to be one night a year around the country; you never had to check when you were allowed to go out. The day before Halloween was “Mischief night” and Halloween was Halloween. Now there are schedules. Some counties aren’t letting their children out until a certain time on a scheduled day. If you start trick-or-treating before then you could be fined! But who really cares, it’s not even on Halloween.

Since I was finally too old for trick-or-treating (and I was probably one of the reasons they have now limited the age you can be to trick-or-treat) I have noticed a change in the youth that is running around asking for candy. I was taught the tradition of “If you want the candy you have to say trick or treat.” But in past years as I am now the candy giver, so many children come up to the door and just hold out their bags. I have to stand there and ask what they want. There have been years where they just say “candy”. Have these kids no respect for traditions? No I shouldn’t blame them because no one taught them the trick-or-treating rules. Parents are the ones who made the mistake.

In conclusion, teach your kids the magic words “Trick-or-Treat” and help convince the government that they don’t have to change the day the holiday belongs on.

Feghoot of Love!

Up and coming this fall is a funky band by the name of Meat Rainbow. Lead by singer and guitarist Daniel J. the band’s style has morphed from silly fun parodies into a full scale flood of imagination and creative genius. The humble band began purely as a joke at the Upattinas school and resource center in Glenmoore, PA. The band soon flew off making a stunning debut album “Not Intended for the Public”. The album contained such songs as “Sauce” and “350lb. Stack’ O ’Love”. In those early days their songs were short and histerical, usually recorded live before an audience. The oddly mixed up lyrics of Daniel J. along with the astonishing guitar riffs of Zach Theis and the falsetto backups/off beat drumming of Sam Brams gave the band it’s first leg to stand on, and a pillar of fans to build on.

With the Debut of their second album, “Meat Rainbow Fights the IRS” The band tackled issues such as abusive band members (“Dan He Hurts Me All the Time”), sad Zombies as well as sad Robots, Stealing people’s women, the IRS and angsty teens. The band became a little more experimental in it’s style and more expressive in it’s lyrics, only making it’s fans love to hate them more. Recording “Meat Rainbow Fights the IRS” at House of Theis studios created a building pressure from fans for the new material. When it was finally released in February 2005 the flood gates opened and the band was shown they would have to continue putting out records to sate the growing appetite of fans.

Fooled once again into thinking the band would keep it’s word and release on it’s scheduled date the long awaited “Feghoot of Love”, in the making since the beginning of summer, has been postponed once again due to “pressing affairs” otherwise known as editing qualms. Even though, loyal fans still wait with anticipation furling on their brows, for the next installment of the Meat Rainbow saga. Teasing tidbits released onto the airways through their my space page (http://myspace.com/meat rainbow) reveal tantalizing new, louder lyrics, and an even more professional feel to the still unrefined humor that is Meat Rainbow.