HALLOWEEN 2025

Today, all about Halloween.  Rather than repeat what I've said in the past, you can click on my 31October2021 posting for a history.  You will need to scroll down to reach this info.  One topic I included was:

DID YOU KNOW THAT 25% OF ALL CANDY SOLD IN THE U.S. IS PURCHASED FOR HALLOWEEN?  #1 is Reese's Cups, followed by Skittles and M&Ms. We spend $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the second largest commercial holiday after Christmas...which is something like  more than $700 billion!!  (Google AI says this value is now more than a trillion dollars.)

I checked today if anything had changed, and the order now is Reese's, Peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms and Kit Kats.  There is now a pumpkin flavor.

What channels should you watch for Halloween films?

• AMC really features Halloween.  This must be Pacific Daylight Time, as Hawaii is three hours behind, and now playing is the 1978 Halloween.

6:30 am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
8:30 am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
10:30 am: Halloween (1978)
12:30 pm: Halloween II (1981)
2:30 pm: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
4:30 pm: Halloween (2007)
7 pm: Halloween (1978)
9 pm: Halloween II (1981)
11 pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
1 am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
3 am: Halloween (1978)

• 
  That 1978 Halloween is the top-rated Rotten Tomatoes Halloween film, with a reviewers' score of 97. 
• Audiences scored it at 89. 
• On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims. 
• Directed by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it.

• 
  Stars Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis, in her film debut.  Her parents are Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.  She was 19 years old in this film.

• 
  Six actors were used to portray Michael Myers in this film.
• He appears in 13 franchise films.
• 20 actors have been used as Myers.
• 20 weird facts about this film you didn't know.
• I found a You Tube site that plays the entire 1 hr 29 min film.

• 
  #2  Halloween 2018, RT 79.  Jamie Lee Curtis appeared in 7 Halloween films, including this one.
• #3  Halloween H20 1998, RT 54.
• #13  Halloween:  The Curse of Michael Myers 1995, RT 8.  The others can be found by clicking on this.
• In 24 minutes, every Halloween trailer, from 1978-2022.

Of course there are other Halloween films not linked to the Halloween franchise.  Here is a list of the 21 best:

• However, Halloween 1978 is still #1.
• #2  Hocus Pocus (1993), RT 41/72.

• 
  #3  Trick'r Treat (2007), RT 82/99.   Hmmm...99, perhaps I'll watch this next year.  Can be found on HBO Max, which I'm adding with Hulu and the ESPN streaming channel, for they being added for free to Showtime at 15 Craigside.
• You see the rest of the list here.

What are the top Halloween songs?  Billboard has its 25 biggest Halloween Songs of All Time.

• #1 of course is Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Crypt-Kickers' Monster Mash, from a 1964 American Bandstand.
• Written by Bobby Picket in 1962, and became #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, just before Halloween.
• Interestingly enough in 2021, 60 years after the original release, charted back on Billboard at #37.

• 
  Song has been generating $1 million annually in royalties.
• Picket in 1962 was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called the Cordials.
• One night, he did a monologue imitation of Boris Karloff, while performing Little Diamond.
• Audience loved it.
• So he and band member Lenny Capizzi composed Monster Mash.
• Recorded with five others as the Crypt-Kickers Five.
• 
  Producer was Gary Paxton, who also sang back-up, and who already had the hit Alley Oop, as well as Mashed Potato. during the dance craze era.
• The sound of a cauldron bubbling was simulated by water being bubbled through a straw, copied by the Beatles for their Yellow Submarine.

• 
  Picket impersonated Bela Lugosi in one line, and Peter Lorre as Igor.
• In 1962, the BBC banned the record for being too morbid.  But re-released in 1973 and hit #3.  Reached #1 in Canada that year again, made it down to #10 in the USA.

• 
  #2  Ghostbusters (1984), Ray Parker Jr.
• #25  Witchy Woman (1972), Eagles.
• The whole list.

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ARE WE AGAIN ENTERING A STATE OF NUCLEAR INSANITY?

But first some good news.  Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met this morning in Busan and came to a workable understanding.  Said Trump:

“I guess, on the scale from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after the meeting. “You know, just the whole relationship is very, very important. I think it was very good.”

No details were released, but you can read that article for more.

An hour before his meeting with Xi, Trump fired off the following social media missive:

After Russia Conducts Nuclear Weapons Tests, Trump Announces U.S. Will Restart Its Own

A tariff is one thing, but to re-enter a state of cold war where one incident can cause Armageddon, or the end of Humanity, is just another in a string of Trump's intentions regarding dictatorship and retrogression in dealing with global warming that have never before been voiced by past U.S. presidents.  Of course, he was in his mind just retorting a response to President Vladimir Putin bragging about super nuclear weapons.  What exactly did Trump say?

• 
  Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.  That process will begin immediately.
• And, by the way, in case you missed it, Putin hinted about an underwater drone designed to evade interception and to create a potentially devastating tsunami at its target, plus tests of nuclear superweapons.
• Trump falsely claimed that the U.S. has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country.  Why he says these kinds of things and lose face is inexcusable, for Russia has more.  The Atlantic has a more serious concern.

• 
  The U.S. ended nuclear testing in 1992 AFTER our 1,054th test.
• There is the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, signed by 187 countries.  However, China (#3) and the U.S. (#2) have not.  Russia did in 2000, but withdrew its ratification in 2023.

• 
  Only North Korea has conducted nuclear tests in the 21st century.
• And, by the way, Congress has to first approve testing before Trump can do it.  Of course, he can, he will say.  And do it. And no one will be able to do anything about that.
• However, this article ends with this:

He (Trump) also said that his ultimate goal is to slow the arms race. “I think deescalation—they would call it denuclearization—would be a tremendous thing,” Trump said. “We are actually talking to Russia about that, and China would be added to that if we do something.”

Coincidentally, I last night watched the #1 film on Netflix, A House of Dynamite.  Only got 78/77 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.  I would rate it lower and will explain why.

The movie is a just-released apocalyptic political thriller directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow (for The Hurt Locker in 2009, and scored 96/84 on Rotten Tomatoes).

I will start with my personal experience, for on Saturday, 18January2018, Hawaii was placed in this same predicament.  My posting that day was titled:

BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I had only 20 minutes left to live.  This was frightening.

So my take on this film, and I do give away details, so skip this portion if you don't wish to read too much.

• First, I was confused.
• I thought I was seeing a rerun after 20 minutes or so, but what was happening was that the same scenes are being shown three times from different perspectives.  Sort of like Rashomon.
• 
  So anyway, a normal day becomes chaotic, then potentially cataclysmic.  Potentially because the end does not occur.  What?  This will come.
• What happened was that the SBX-1 golf ball in the Pacific suddenly detects a missile in the air heading from the general direction of North Korea to the USA.  

• 
  Except there is uncertainty about exactly where was the origin.
• Was this just Kim Jung-Un losing his mind and deciding to attack the U.S.?

• 
  Or was this a coordinated attack from the evil axis (Russia, China, Iran and North Korea) starting World War III?  A  quick call to Russia got feedback that it wasn't them, but that person had to check with his superiors.  In other words, more uncertainty.
• But the story is less about the origin, and more to test out human reactions and decision-making under extreme pressure.  Everything exaggerated because of the suddenness with limited information.
• 
  Then, it is determined that this missile is headed for Chicago, and would destroy the city in 20 minutes.  Remember my story above?
• Timing is a problem, because quick decisions need to be made.

• 
  The three segments are the White House Situation Room, where this all started, then the site in Nebraska where there are defense missiles to stop incoming ballistics, and finally from view of the president of the U.S., played by Idris Alba as what appears to be Barack Obama, for his wife surely looks like Michelle.

• 
  Two interception missiles are sent out, but they both miss.  As is mention, this is like hitting a bullet with a bullet, and the chances of success are not that good.  However, I asked Google AI:

The 

Minuteman III missile is highly accurate, with an updated guidance system providing a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of about 120 meters. This means that, on average, the missile is expected to land within 120 meters of its target. Older versions of the missile had lower accuracy, such as the Minuteman I which had an accuracy of about 2.4 kilometers. 

• 
  At the end, the attacking ICBM has not quite destroyed Chicago yet, and the President is mulling over about what to do, for allowing our B2-bombers to drop bombs over those countries and send out our own ICBMs would only surely start a World War III.
• That's the film.  Your guess as to what will happen, except that Chicago will be destroyed.

• 
  Reminded me of Dr. Strangelove, which was a much better film with 98/94 scores from Rotten Tomatoes.  However, in this one, we do drop the bomb over the Soviet Union and they have a Doomsday Machine to totally wipe out the USA, destroying the entire planet.

• 
  Nowhere close to Threads, the best movie I've ever seen on the apocalypse caused by nuclear warfare.  Click on this to watch the entire movie.  Got 100/92 scores from Rotten Tomatoes.  Hint:  Humanity survives.
• Why was this move called A House of Dynamite?  Because we are surrounded by 12,000 nuclear weapons, in a combustible environment, awaiting World War III, or an accident.  Watch what happens if they are all detonated.

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MELISSA vs KATRINA

Before my hurricane comparison, a few international developments.  I begin with President Donald Trump, here with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.  From Time:

Like other political and business leaders around the world, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung looked to lavish the U.S. President with a gift, a thinly veiled attempt to get to his heart. While some, like Japan’s Prime Minister who met Trump on Tuesday, have lavished him with golf clubs, and others have flattered him with honorary medals and trophies, Lee presented the man who earlier this year proclaimed himself “king” on a fake TIME magazine cover with a gold crown.

• 
  That photo above is gift of gold crown to Trump to commemorate a golden age of the Korea-U.S. alliance.  Note Lee's special gold tie.  A replica of a 1000-year old Korean kingdom crown.  Symbolizes the divine connection between authority of the heavens and sovereignty on earth, as well as the strong leadership authority of a leader.
• Lee also conferred Trump with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea's highest honor.

• A No Kings protest was held as Trump arrived.

• 
  A trade deal was not signed, but all signs look favorable.
• Tomorrow, Trump and Xi Jinping of China meet in Busan, South Korea.

• 
  This is day 29 of the government shutdown.  Almost a million workers have been furloughed (but will later get paid for not working) and 2 million are working without yet getting paid.  However essential services are continuing, so this is not a crippling problem for the nation.
• In fact, the stock market is continuing to break all-time high records.  Yesterday:

The S&P 500 rose 0.23% to close at 6,890.89. It had surpassed the 6,900 level for the first time on an intraday basis earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.80% to finish at 23,827.49, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 161.78 points, or 0.34%, to settle at 47,706.37. In addition to their closing highs, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and 30-stock Dow scored new all-time intraday highs alongside the broad market S&P 500.

• 
  Today, the Federal Reserve cut rates to the lowest level in three years. It's benchmark interest rate was lowered by a quarter point to between 3.75% and 4%.

The Dow closed lower by 74 points, or 0.16%. The S&P 500 closed flat. They both earlier on broke intraday record highs.  Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a gain of 0.55% and closed at a record high.

No doubt Melissa was a damaging hurricane, but good information is lacking to appreciate what happened.  AccuWeather estimates preliminary damage at "only" $22 billion. 

• Landfall yesterday at around 1PM at 185 MPH over the south coast of west Jamaica.
• 77% of island without electricity.  But is recovering quickly.
• So far, an uncomfirmed death toll of seven.
• However, Haiti, which was largely missed by the hurricane, reported 40 deaths from flash flooding.

• Melissa made landfall over Cuba at 9:10PM as a Category 3.  
• Over 735,000 (national population of 11 million) evacuated.
• No reported casualties.
• Now threatening the Bahamas, which consists of 3000 islands, cays and islets, only 30 inhabited.  Has a population of just over 400,000.

• Speed of Melissa is now up to 14.5 MPH, and strength could increase as she heads for Bermuda.  At this time, the track is projected to be just west of Bermuda.  Is an archipelago of 181 islands, although the most significant islands are connected by bridges with a total land area of 21 square miles and population of 64,000.

• 
  The waters where Melissa formed were 2.5 F degrees warmer than average.
• Was the third Category 5 hurricane of this Atlantic season.
• Melissa is now a Category 1 at 90 MPH.
• It was a year ago when we were in George Town, Cayman Islands, next door to Jamaica.

In comparison with Hurricane Melissa, Hurricane Katrina:

• On 5August2025 first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north of the Broward-Miami-Dade county line of Florida.  Knocked out power for a million residents and caused $630 million of damage.
• Katrina then entered the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm.

• 
  However, on 28August2025, strengthened into a Category 5 at 160 MPH.
• On 29August2025, Katrina made landfall around 60 miles southeast of New Orleans as a Category 3 with winds of 125 MPH and a track moving at 12 MPH.
• Weakened into a Category 1 over Mississippi, but storm surges of 28 feet devastated much of Biloxi and Gulfport.
• 80% to 90% of the New Orleans' population evacuated.

• 
  However, 100,000 were trapped when the storm hit, with 25,000 escaping into the Ernest J. Morial Convention Center and 25,000 filling the Superdome.
• Half of New Orleans' 350-mile-long protection system of levees and flood walls was overwhelmed.
• 12,000 National Guard and 7,000 U.S. military troops were deployed to help.

• 
   1,833 were killed by Hurricane Katrina.  The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 killed between 8,000 and 12,000, while in 2017, the death total in Puerto Rico of Hurricane Maria was 4,600.
• More than a million people became homeless.
• Total damages of $170 billion, the costliest U.S. hurricane on record.

• 
  In 2000, the population of New Orleans was 484,674.  But this dropped to 230,172 after Katrina.  By 2020, New Orleans had 390,000 people.
• A little more than two years later, after Katrina struck, I attended the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome and took a tour through New Orleans.  There was still considerable devastation evident.

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