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48 - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, October 25, 2001
Patriotic costumes selling well following national tragedy

The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazir

ELITE ENTERTAINMENT, ExPoSITI(

By Jenni Glenn
Daily Arts Writer
Orange and black streamers and a
large American flag war for attention
in the window of Little Caesars at
3000 Packard Road.
Next door, devil and angel cos-
tumes dominate the displays at
Fantasy Attic Costumes. Here
Halloween is in full swing, but
according to the owner, Monica
Ladd, there are still lingering effects
from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on
the Pentagon and the World Trade
Center.
The Halloween rush began later
and slower than in previous years,
Ladd said, but business is picking up
now. Customers are starting to feel

ready to celebrate the holiday.
"We're looking for something to
take our minds off school and every-
thing that's been happening," said
Business School junior Rebekah
Wolfman, who was shopping at
Fantasy Attic Costumes last week.
The terrorist attacks have inspired
some customers in their costume
selections, Ladd said.
"We're out of our Statue of Liberty
(costumes) for rental," she said.
"They're gone."
Other costume stores are experi-
encing similar problems. Gags and
Gifts Halloween USA manager Eva
Cruz claims the number of customers
searching for patriotic costumes has
increased. Uncle Sam and Lady
Liberty outfits are a popular way to

display patriotic sentiment during
the holiday, believes Cruz.
Her store, which has locations at
3430 Washtenaw Ave. and 357 North
Maple Road, also is offering army
soldier and stealth pilot ensembles in
response to the increased demand for
patriotic costumes. The army soldier
is currently one of the store's biggest
sellers.
Soldier costume sales also are up
from last year at Harry's Army
Surplus, on East Liberty Street
according to store manager David
Krupin. The store offers full
fatigues, boots and camouflage t-
shirts, pants and jackets. Krupin said
the flag patches for the uniforms and
medic bags have also been selling
well.

events tend to impact the sales of
celebrity masks. The O.J. Simpson
murder trial, the Mike Tyson-
Evander Holyfield fight in -which
Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear
and the Monica Lewinsky scandal in
the Clinton White House all resulted
in demand for masks, she said. She
added that she expects this year's ter-
rorist attacks will be no exception,
even though she thinks it may not be
appropriate considering the scope of
the tragedy.
Fantasy Attic Costumes also
stocks a number of the faces
involved in the Bush administration,
such as Secretary of State Colin
Powell, Vice President Dick Cheney
and First Lady Laura Bush. But sales
are down this year and customers
prefer to look at alternatives, includ-
ing George and Martha Washington
costumes.
"I think (the situation) is too seri-

ous for people to make fun of Bush,"
Ladd said.
Demand has also declined for
sheik costumes after the government
identified the terrorist attack sus-
pects as Arabs, although Arab head-
dresses and harem costumes still are
selling well according to Ladd.
For those who aren't planning to
wear patriotic costumes, Halloween
will remain true to tradition, said
-LSA senior Elizabeth Wiener.
"Halloween is fun," Wiener com-
mented. "That's the point. Everyone
should have a good time, especially
after Sept. 11."
Ladd, gesturing to a long rack full
of costumes already rented for
Halloween, said there is little doubt
people will be celebrating the holi-
day in spite of the national tragedy.
"1 think that people are trying to seek
normalcy - something that's regu-
lar."

Fear factor: I smell
death and candy

Halloween itself doesn't scare me
at all. It's just a bunch of little kids
running around in generic Optimus
Prime masks begging for candy. I

mean, who can
be afraid of a
horde of four-
foot nothings
bouncing around
the neighborhood
without a care in
the world 'cept
the razor blade
shoved into their
Reece's Peanut
Butter Cup.
'You're thinking,
"c'mon Luke,
people don't put.
razor blades in
candy in the real
world. just the
movies.'

Luke
Smith
Less Than~
Zero

FMMA FSDICK/Daily
Firemen costumes have become popular sellers in light of the events of Sept. 11.


You're damn right, and it's not the
real world that scares me.
It's the movies.
I have major fear issues in film.
(Read: I cried during "Nightmare
on Elm Street".) The cheesiest hor-
ror drives me to shivers and cold
sweats. I completely can't deal with
it. Everything, from the campy
themes to the mood music, which is
always indicating the imminent
death of our sexually engaged pro-
tagonits, scares the crap out of me.
Oh, hang on to this.
In Friday the 13th Part II, unsus-
pecting camp counselors Jeff and
Sandra are making whoopee (yeah,
like screwing), when the Hockey-
masked horror himself stealthily
creeps in (which of course cues the
creepy-ass music.) This Randy
Meeks dude was right on target
when he warned the perils of
promiscuity and libidinous indul-
gence. Jason is creeping across the
room, the bed is squeaking, my eyes
are squinting and I'm clutching my
pillow (hell, this isn't in the theater
or on video; I'm watching "USA
Up All Night" and shaking from
fear.) So Jason plunges the spear
thru the both of them, making a
tasty corpse kabob and a swift exit
(Guess who has a complex about
being on the top now? Yeah, sad.)
And I can't avoid watching them
either. They're like a train wreck;
I 'm driving by with my controller in
hand and I have to watch; I can't
shake the rubberneck'd attraction to
horror and fear. I don't like to
sweat, shake and cower in fear, but
for some reason when I see a horror
flick I can't change the channel.
It's the same way in the movie
theater. The ladies love the horror
movies, and so I have gotten
dragged (or conned with the
promise of sex afterwards) to arm-
loads of horror movies. And then, to
make it even worse, I get offered a
choice when it's time to go the

movies. I don't understand why
girls enjoy horror movies in the
first place; you guys are all sup-
posed to be afraid and shit. Instead,
you're the instigators in this fearful
fiasco and I'm caught in an uncom-
fortable chair shuddering. A
"scary" movie, or a romantic come-
dy. Granted, both are scary in their
own right, but the lesser of the two
evils? Unfortunately, its probably
watching camp counselors get
handed their own innards, the alter-
native being watching of the stars of
"Friends" bumble around in a 93-
minute romantic comedy.
The theater goes dark, and I'm
trapped. The canister of Coke, (half
Coca-Cola, half Diet, of course) is
in the movie chair cup holder
between us, (two people, one straw)
and she's got the popcorn -- I'm
stuck.
I'll do anything once I'm in the
theater to escape or distract myself
from the gore.
In high school, Jennifer Gilbert
asked me out. She wanted to go on
an industry standard date (dinner
and a movie, she drove.) When we
got to the theater after an obscenely
overpriced dinner (this girl wanted
Zanzibar and I wanted Mickey D's),
I pushed and pushed for "That
Thing You Do" and instead got
stuck with "Scream."
Drew Barrymore gets slaughtered
in the movies' open.in moments. I
quickly realized I was about to wit-
ness a bloodbath and spent the rest
of the movie chattering nervously in
her ear and staring at the theater's
aisle-lights.
She never asked me out again.
The female response to horror is
the only reason I still go to see
"scary" movies. Yeah the snuggling
part is pretty good, but the main
reason is because if I went with my
friends, I'd be exposed for the pussy
that I am.
I certainly couldn't sit in the the-
ater with my friends squirming and
cowering in my seat. But when I'm
with a lady, I can close my eyes (in
the name of passion of course)
when she's snuggling into my arm.
When she screams next to me, I can
whimper softly beneath the shroud
of complete anonymity. When she
jumps out of her chair, my desper-
ate lean forward to cover my eyes
will be completely unnoticed.
Thankfully, when she spills the pop
in my lap, it won't make that much
of a difference, as I've probably
already leaked through my Depends
for the collegiate student.
Don't crap yourself on
Halloween.
Or ever.
-- Luke is hoping to catch "From
Hell" sometime in the next couple
of weeks. If you care to join him,
e-mail lukems@umich.edu

Figures in millions of dollars.
1. From Hell (11.3) Your mother's
down here with us, Karras. Hey, spit
that out.
2. Riding in Cars With Boys (7.1)
I want the time I spent typing that title
back.
3. Training Day (9.5) Ethan
Hawke's best movie since "Gattaca."
4. Bandits (8.4) Looks like Jolie has
sucked too much of Billy-Bob's blood.
5. The Last Castle (7.1) Harder for
you to knock that ball's cover off on

Billboard
1. Pain is Love, Ja Rule -Ja Rt
blew off the Manifesto. No one does th
No one.
2. A Day Without Rain, Enya -'I
more we hate, the more you buy. Stop.
3. The Dark Days and Bright Nig1
of Bubba Sparxxx, Bubba Sparxxx
This fat slob wasn't any better the fi
time he came around when he v
Everlast.
4. The Blueprint, Jay-Z - Cc
Let's stab someone and get probation. It
real hard knock life.
5. Silver Side Up, Nickelback

Courtesy of BMGI
Usher will make you wanna ... puke.

WHAT'S NEWS IN
ENTERTAI NMENT

Special Malloween
Edition
ATTACKED WOMAN FINDS
REFUGE IN PICK-UP TRUCK - A
Texas woman was found yesterday
greatly fatigued and-partially muti-
lated in the flat-bed of a pickup
truck. She told police that. her
friends had been allegedly tortured
and killed at a presumedly aban-
doned house in the woods. While
there is no evidence that any crimes
have occurred, police are still inves-
tigating. The alleged "cannibal fam-
ily" of the girl's story have not been
located, but the search continues.

Weekend box office

If you live in a Residence Hall,
pick one up in your lobby.
One per room, please.
Other students can get a Directory
at the following locations:

Tony Soprano's watch, eh?
6. Serendipity (5.8) Feel Amer
getting dumber as it laughs at anotl
poop joke.
7. Corky Romano (5.3) Poop.
8. Don't Say a Word (4.4) L
"The American President" only wo
than that piece of shit.
9. Zoolander (3.3) Remember "1
Cable Guy?" Yeah, that wasn't fur
either.
10. Sinuin Wong Fei-hung
titmnalau (3.2) Less fun than a bat
of dead monkies. Ded 'uns.

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INCESTUOUS LANDLORDS OVI
POWERED BY IMPOVERISHED Ti
ANTS - Members of a local lo
rent housing project congregated
the home of their landlords
protest the allegedly unliveable co
ditions of the project. Upon arriv
the tenants found several decompc
ing people and corpses locked in
cage in the landlords'(a couple w
also appear to be brother and sist
basement. A youth, who pol:
identified only as "Fool" was app
ently being held prisoner in 1
house, but was unharmed.
MAN ARRESTED IN SECO
FLOOR OF HOUSE - A man v
arrested for breaking and enteri
as well as harassment after plagui
a babysitter with threatening phc
calls from inside the hou
According to police, after seve
calls, the girl called the police
complain, but when she hung up
phone, the policeman who answei
the call stayed on the line and hea
another click. The officer sent
patrol car immediately.
U.F.O. SPOTTED OVER FIELD
A small boy reported seeing
strange object floating over a fi
on the night of Halloween. The b
who refused to let go of his tatter

Wednesday, 10/24, at the corner of South U & East U, 10am-2pm
Thursday, 10/25, on the Diag, 10am-2pm
Friday, 10/26, in the lower level of Michigan Union, 10am-2pm
One per student, please present Mcard.

Alleged cannibal.

Co~urtesy ofVortex