The United States presidential election of 1789 was the first presidential election in the America. George Washington was elected for the first of his two terms as President of the United States, and John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States. It wasn’t until 1870 that African American men got the right. And women had to wait until 1920 for the right.
Voting defines our democracy. Exercise your right America!
Life 101 – Vote!
Gossip! – Football Talk
American Pets – Granddogs
American Fun – Punkin Chunkin
If you’re not lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a bunch of marauding teens that find a use for your our old jack o’ lanterns (read: smash!), the residents of southern Delaware have solved the problem of getting rid of the molding gourds through FUN! Every year, thousands of people converge on a cornfield in rural Delaware for the World Champion Punkin Chunkin Festival, a massive contest/tailgate party in which spectators watch as contestants pit their pumpkin-launching machines against each other, attempting to set a new world record for the farthest pumpkin “chunked.” The contraptions range from catapults to pneumatic cannons, and the current world record is 4,483.51 feet! Now that’s using science for a good cause. How do you dispose of your pumpkins once Hallow’s Eve has come and gone? Just wait ’til you hear what you can do with a fruitcake!
Dinner Party Talk – For your weekend

What's on the plate this week?
Here are my spooky predictions: Old ladies in your neighborhood will still think raisins are a suitable treat. There will be at least 5 Lady Gaga meat dresses and 15 Jersey Shore variations at every party. And someone (you know who you are) will don a long black wig, mascara and lip liner waaaay outside the natural lip line, and call it “Cher.”
Here is the NY Times spooky prediction: someone will die by Halloween egging. Since 1984, egg-throwing confrontations have led to at least 24 people being wounded or killed in stabbings, shootings, beatings or accidents. That’s no yolk!
If you fear death by egg, perhaps you want to stay in and quiver. For you nice people, I’ve thought of a dozen movies that have left my knees knocking: Alien, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween (the original!), The Shining, The Exorcist, Jaws, The Changeling, Hellraiser, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Silence of the Lambs, Rosemary’s Baby, and Amityville Horror. (The last of which led to my sleeping for a week under my parent’s bed.)
Speaking of SCARY… President Obama was told this week that U.S. defense forces lost complete command and control of one-ninth of America’s nuclear arsenal last Saturday. Holy-atomic! That’s a little more discomforting than losing your remote control.
Marie Claire’s fat lip. “Should Fatties Get a Room? (Even on TV?)” was the headline of a controversial piece on the mag’s website this week in which writer Maura Kelly pondered the sitcom Mike & Molly about a couple who meets at Overeaters Anonymous. She wrote: “…I’d be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other.” And more! “I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room.” Oh-ffensive! Definitely a classless move from a classy magazine. Maura has already apologized; so don’t go egging her house.
Now, eat your dinner!