Frog on the Pumpkin

Google Scholar is a lot of fun - you should check it out when you get a chance.  So, as the Halloween person that i am, I typed in Halloween, and look what I found: The halloween genes are a set of genes identified in Drosophila melanogaster that influence embryonic development . All of the genes code for cytochrome P 450 enzymes in the ecdysteroidogenic pathway (biosynthesis of ecdysone from cholesterol ). Ecdysteroids such as 20-hydroxyecdysone and ecdysone influence many of the morphological , physiological, biochemical changes that occur during molting in insects. [ 1 ] Steroid hormones control many aspects of reproduction, development, and homeostasis in higher organisms. [ 2 ] In arthropods, steroid hormones play equal or even more vital developmental roles, especially in controlling the patterns of gene expression between developmental stages. [ 1 ] First elaborated by research groups led by Wieschaus and Nüsslein-Volhard in the early 1980s, the name was...

Well, like most things it is long and complicated.  But for now, the short version is that my world got turned upside down a little over two years ago. Started with losing the job that I had for over eleven years.  Did not love working with my boss, so parting from that relationship was pretty okay by me. But what I did not see was that I would stay unemployed for over two years. So, I spent the majority of my time looking for a job, feeling sorry for myself, looking for a job, volunteering way too much, wandering aimlessly, designing Halloween props, working on both HAuNTcon and West Coast Haunters Convention...and looking for a job. I currently have a job - it is not a great job, it is not even a good job, but it is part time, and I am no longer at home. So here I am again.  We will see if I can make this work, and pick it back up.

Let It Shine: Not your Grandma’s Kitty…. :   Here is a super simple, kid-friendly Halloween project.  You know those ceramic collectable cats everyone had in the 80’s?  This is a way Halloweenify them!

http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/toyota-is-recalling-more-than-800-000-cars-because-spiders/280694/ Toyota Is Recalling More Than 800,000 Cars Because of Spiders Shutterstock/ Chris Godfrey Photography Toyota has announced that  it is recalling  870,000 of its vehicles , among them Camrys, Venzas, Avalons, and hybrids with owners  spread across  the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and 16 other countries. Airbags, it seems, have been spontaneously deploying on some of those vehicles across makes and model years—a state of affairs that can range from the merely annoying to the legitimately life-threatening. Power steering, even more ominously, may also be affected. As may cars' warning lights. The difficulty stems, Toyota believes, from a problem with a part included in the cars' elaborate air-conditioning systems. Water from the cars' condensers has been leaking onto the airbags' control modules, which seems in ...

If anyone remembers my abandoned haunted ride run....this is in the same vein.  I love this Facebook page that features abandoned places in Japan. This one really creeped me out. It is a temple, that turned out to be a scam.   They were taking money from people to protect the souls of the dead, rooms filled with "spirit tablets"  They promised to pray over them and protect them....then he disappeared. Here is what is left of the shrine and the pictures are nothing short of beautiful.  I know it is not technically a graveyard.  But it is close enough for me. Here is the link to the photo gallery . Definitely like the Facebook page, so many amazing photos.  Haikyo.org   Here are some amazing pictures!

We have started to put pictures in of the 2013 display .  More to follow!

50 Shades of Gray costume.....I think I have to go throw up now :D