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PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 11, Movies That Scare Us Silly
by Tracy V. Wilson | October 31, 2011
Halloween is Holly’s favorite holiday of the entire year, but she’s not so much into the scary movies. I, on the other hand, have a hard enough time really suspending disbelief that it’s rare when a movie really, truly frightens me. So, we decided to put our opposite-ends-of-the-spectrum heads together to come up with a list of movies (and some TV episodes, too) that really, truly scare us.
Conserve Brain Power, Download a Halloween Mix
by Robert Lamb | October 28, 2011
In Stuff to Blow Your Mind’s recent episode Decision Fatigue: Death by 1,000 Choices, I mentioned that one way to cut down on the steady attrition of your decision-making faculties is to trust in a good DJ or mix podcast.
This Halloween, I recommend exactly this to save yourself the anguish of formulating your own paranormal party playlist or macabre mixtape. Because really people, the pros have got you covered on this one — and you won’t have to endure “Monster Mash” in a single one of them.
Oh yeah, and they’re all totally free.
I was in Manhattan recently and waiting for the train back to Brooklyn when Umi pointed out three girls about ten years old standing on the opposite platform also waiting for a train, entirely on their own. It’s so strange to see that, three girls moving around arguably one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. without any adult. New York is something of a loner in this respect. Kids travel unaccompanied in small towns, sure, but not in larger cities.
Victor Frankenstein’s tortured and brooding creation has become an avatar for scientific anxiety and horror. How far will we push and what are the existential ramifications? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I explore the neurological, magical, alchemical and mechanical roots of Frankenstein’s monster. You’ll learn all about golems, homunculi, automatons and the future of science-gone-wrong.
Doing this podcast on literary landmarks was a labor of love. I love to read and I love to travel so what could be better than combining the two? We had so many other writers that we had to leave out, that I thought I’d provide a list in case you’d like explore some other [...]
It was the Quakers who came up with the concept of solitary confinement. As Brooke Shelby Biggs, the author of a fine Mother Jones article on the subject tells it, when the Quakers built their Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia in 1791, it was revolutionary, the first prison designed to not only house inmates as they awaited execution, but possibly to rehabilitate them as well so that they could return to society once more.
Holly and I got into the studio Tuesday to record a podcast episode about the Muppets. The episode will publish in a couple of weeks, closer to when the movie debuts. The latest trailer just hit today, and when Holly saw it, I heard her cackling from my office.
If you’re lucky enough to have your own garden, then you know the full joy of planting, tending to, picking and then preparing the fresh fruits (or veggies) of your labor. Sadly, I’ve not got anything resembling a green thumb. But I can (happily!) rely on the kindness of gardening friends, farmer’s markets and pick-your-own places for just-picked goodness. And, loving to cook and bake, I know some pretty tasty ways to put all this good stuff to use. Mouth-watering apple pie info after the jump …
We can’t all be Atticus Finch or the Huxtables. “We” being “people other than Holly and me,” since she and I aren’t parents. We’re just bystanders dishing up which fictional TV parents are the worst of the worst, based on our years of experience being horrified at make-believe family dynamics. Here’s the breakdown of things that came up, and the episode itself gets into our analysis of what makes these particular parents so, so bad.
Last year, the Stuff Mom Never Told You Halloween episode discussed the ubiquitous and ridiculous “sexy” costumes, and we asked listeners to let us know what they donned for the Best Night of the Year. It’s getting down to the wire yet again to come up with a costume, so I culled a list of ideas from listeners and historical figures and female characters we’ve discussed on the podcast.
If Caroline and I hit up any Halloween happenings together, I might insist on us going as that mother-daughter duo mentioned below.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Have a Coke and a Smile
- The Latest in Frugal Lodging: Camping in Somebody Else’s Backyard
- The Painted Beauties of Bucovina
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
