A Normal Halloween for Once

Last night we took my daughter trick or treating with a friend and my son went out with his friends. Both my son and daughter have done trick or treating prior to this with a group of people, but it was always family.

Then 2020 happened. My daughter was five and my son was eight. The past two Halloween's have been very downsized. We did a family thing in 2020. We had the kids go from room to room in our home and had them tell jokes to get candy. We did as much as we could to give them as "normal" a Halloween as we could. 2021 was not much different. We let the kids trick or treat, but it was just within our neighborhood. They did go to other houses, but they were masked, as were we, and we only hit, maybe, a dozen houses before calling it.

This year was different though. My wife and I recently got our Omicron boosters. Our kids got them last week. My folks have theirs, although we did not see them last night. Most of our school family friends have their boosters. What I am trying to say is, this is probably the most normal Halloween my kids have had in their short lives. My son might remember some Halloween's pre COVID, but I bet he will remember this one for a long, long time. We let him go out with friends last night. He went with a big group of kids he goes to school with. He got to do his own thing. He went to a friend's house, all the other boys met there and they went out on the town on their own. When I picked him up he was thrilled and exhausted. He kept talking about his great night and would end each story with how tired he was. He was in one of the best moods of his life to this point. He was on cloud nine. My wife and I took our seven year old to a friend's house and we stayed to hang out with the parents. The parents are friends of ours and our kids are as close as it gets. So we went over there after dropping my son off. We had pizza together. My wife made a fun drink for the adults, minus me, to have. The kids helped hand out candy before we took them all over the neighborhood. They hit a ton of houses. I usually take Monday off of running, and I did yesterday, but I was still well over 12,000 steps for the day. These girls had us going everywhere. And we saw so many kids out and about. Some were with folks, others were with friends and some were just doing their thing. It was wonderful to see. I fully understand that we are still fully in this pandemic. The winter is probably going to be rough. But last night was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was so cool to see kids out and about. It is made easier since Halloween is generally an outside holiday. You trick or treat outside. Haunted houses are outside. Theme park Fright Fests are outdoors. It is much easier and safer to be outside. I was just happy that my kids got to do Halloween right. It made me happy. It felt like old times last night doing things I used to do pre COVID.

Again, I fully understand we are not out of this, we may never be, but things seem to be returning, or finding some kind of new normal. I was almost as happy as my son last night. Almost. Halloween was a real success last night. The first real successful holiday since COVID came along. I hope we can ride this momentum for some time now because it makes me happy.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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What is the Iconic Halloween Decoration?

spoiler

I know a few days ago I promised an NFL midseason review, filled with new picks and predictions, but that was before I remembered that today, Thursday, is Halloween. Each year I try to do something Halloween themed for the site, and even though I have my new picks, that will have to wait one more day. Sorry to all my football fans out there, but I do want to do a holiday theme thing.

With that being said, I have mentioned many times how Halloween isn't the same for me anymore. I used to love it when I was a kid, didn't care in high school, used it as a reason to go to house parties in college, cared less about it when I got married and now, that I have 2 kids, it has come full circle. I am nearing a point again when I am able to find the fun in Halloween again, through my kids eyes. Getting them ready for trick or treating, having friends with kids come over to the house so they can trick or treat with my kids, seeing the excitement in their eyes when they are out getting candy, it has brought back the joy in the holiday.

That is not the point of my piece today. This morning, when taking my son to school, we were talking about the Halloween decorations we saw, and he asked me one of the tougher questions I have been asked in my life. While in the car, he asked me, "what is the most popular Halloween decoration?". I was stumped. I immediately said a ghost, but he pushed back and mentioned pumpkins. We then saw some tombstones and various monsters and bats and your random Halloween stuff. We then talked about what we thought was the most popular decoration for the rest of the car ride. I dropped him at school, and I am sure he forgot, but I have been kind of thinking on his question for most of the day. I instantly took off zombies. They may be popular now, but it is more of a recent decoration. I know that the original "Night of the Living Dead" was made way back in the 60's, but no one, for the most part, my age knows that movie all that well. Most people that know zombies are fans of "The Walking Dead", "Shaun of the Dead", "Zombieland" and the like. So that is too recent. I then shifted my focus to the Halloween monsters, and while cool, not the most popular. I see some yards that have a Frankenstein or Dracula in their yard, but that is few and far between. I also see the black cats with witches hats on, but I'm a dog person. Then there are witches, and for me, they didn't really become popular until "Hocus Pocus". That movie came out in the 90's. The tombstones are even a recent development. What with the punny names and all. The tombstones are more of a joke now.

So that left me with 2, the pumpkin and the ghost. I really cannot figure out which one is more popular. On one hand the ghost is synonymous with scares and jumps and spookiness. What time is spookier than Halloween? But the pumpkin, especially the carved ones, are EVERYWHERE. Hell, I have three of them in my front yard, my son's, my daughter's and mine and my wife's. And all throughout my neighborhood, I'd say that about 80-90 percent have, at the very least, a pumpkin on their front porch or in their yard. So, I do think, after much thought, that the pumpkin is the most popular Halloween decoration. If we are going for straight up scares, yes a ghost should win, but you can carve a spooky pumpkin if you are a talented artist. Also, pumpkins go into another holiday. Pumpkins are almost equal with Thanksgiving as they are with Halloween. I'm sure a lot of that came from people simply not wanting to ditch their old pumpkins, but now, pumpkins, and gourds, are just as acceptable for both holidays. Also, for the hooligans out there, you cannot smash a ghost, but you can smash a pumpkin. Side note, if I catch anybody trying to smash our pumpkins, you better hope you are faster than I am. I don't think the same could be said about a cut out ghost.

So, while I have been sitting on my son's question for a few hours, I think I have cracked it, and I cannot wait to tell him when I pick him up today. Anyway, pumpkins are the most popular décor, and Happy Halloween to everyone out there. This was fun.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty is a man that loves his holiday puns, so a happy boo-tacular Halloween to all the little ghouls and ghosts.

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"Get Out" and "The Cabin in the Woods" Should be on Your Halloween Movie Watching List

I am not a fan of Halloween as you all know by now. I don't like being scared, I don't like dressing up, I eat too much candy, I grew tired of trick or treating by the time I was 10, I just don't enjoy the day. I also loathe the puns, as I stated on a podcast last year, and still complain about it to this day. Stop with the "spooktacular" bull shit. That's not a word. Every holiday does this, but for some reason, Halloween puns really bug me.

With all this being said, I do love movies and TV shows. Just listen to our recent podcast about great Halloween TV shows. These are fun shows for me, especially when they are of the comedy variety. So, for today, since it is Halloween, and we didn't touch on movies in our recent podcast, I'm going to give you 2 movies that I think are perfect Halloween movies to watch tonight.

The first movie I just saw recently. By recently, I mean a week ago. My wife and I just watched "Get Out", and that movie is incredible. What makes it a great Halloween movie you ask? Well, for one, it is horrifying. It is scary, but not "The Shining" scary. "Get Out" is a slow burn. There are very few shock scares too. You know what shock scares are. It is when something jumps into frame and loud music plays. "Get Out" has one, maybe 2 moments like this. "Get Out" doesn't have to go for cheap scares. The movie's premise is scary enough. I mean, white people taking the brains out of hip, young black people, spoiler alert, that is frightening. But, "Get Out" has comedic moments, it has action, it is very well written, incredibly acted and perfectly directed by Jordan Peele. It isn't just a straight up horror movie. Lil Rel Howery plays the main character's best friend, and the scenes of him figuring out what is going on with his buddy's girlfriend and family, it is very funny. Also, the scene where he shows up at the police station to tell the cops what is going on, and they all laugh at him, just perfect comedy. The final scene, where Daniel Kaluuya escapes the house and fights off the whole family, it has as much action as "Die Hard" does. It is awesome, and exciting. "Get Out" has it all. It is not only a great Halloween movie, it is a great any day, any time movie. I'm mad at myself that I waited so long to see it, but now that I have, I'm so happy. This movie stayed with me for days too. I kept thinking about it over a week after I had watched it. That is the sign of a quality movie.

The other movie is a bit older, not too much, but so awesome and so off the beaten path. Everyone needs to see this movie. The movie is "The Cabin in the Woods". Funny thing about the 2 movies I mentioned today, Bradley Whitford is in both of them. That dude is a good actor. Anyway, "The Cabin in the Woods" is very scary, but it is also hilarious. This movie takes on the trope of 5 friends going on a trip to a creepy cabin. It is in the same vain as an "Evil Dead", if you will. But, "The Cabin in the Woods" had a lot more money put into it than "Evil Dead". I only saw "TCITW" after hearing a ton of people talk about it on podcasts, and in general conversation with friends. I also heard that Chris Hemsworth was in it, and I am a fan of his. I avoided it because I thought it was a straight forward horror movie, but was assured that I would enjoy it, and that it was like nothing I had ever seen. Those people were right. "TCITW" is very different from a classical horror movie. The movie has scares and it very gory, but I would consider this more a comedy with horror elements. I personally think it is funnier than "Evil Dead", or any other horror movie that tries to go full comedy. The kids in the movie are hilarious. The stuff they go through is crazy, wacky, bizarre, but above all else, funny. The way that some of the characters meet their fate is downright laugh out loud funny, especially Hemsworth's character. Then you have the people who put these kids in this situation. I already mentioned Bradley Whitford, but there is also Sigourney Weaver, in one of her most underrated roles, and Richard Jenkins, who is an amazing actor. They are so god damn good, and very funny in this movie. As I said, "TCITW" is unlike anything you will ever see. It is so different and bizarre and scary, but most of all, funny. 

So, while I may not be a fan of actual Halloween, I do enjoy movies and TV shows, and "Get Out" and "The Cabin in the Woods" are 2 incredibly solid choices if you are looking for great movies, that also may up your heart rate a bit. Go check both of these movies out. I think you will really like them, especially during Halloween.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also recommends watching "Young Sheldon" if you need a good scare. The fact that the show exists is one of the most frightening things ever.

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The "Monster Mash" is a Bright Spot in the Halloween Season

Even the Fremont Troll is in for the "Monster Mash"

Happy Halloween. Please enjoy this post from holidays past. The article was originally posted on October 31st, 2016.

I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween. I think that I've made that pretty clear on this website and podcast. Halloween died for me the day my parents told me, at 13, that I was too old to go trick or treating anymore. I couldn't argue with them, they were right. Who was I fooling by going out there with my football jersey on, that's right, it was my jersey, not some NFL or college players jersey, and trying to get free candy from strangers. It felt weird doing that, as a teenager. I've also never been one for dressing up, be it in costume, for a party, a funeral, a wedding, basically any fancy occasion. I like to wear t shirts and jeans, cargo shorts or athletic shorts. That is what is most comfortable, so that is what I feel like I should wear. So, the idea of putting on a costume or makeup or both, that is unappealing to me. Since 13, I have not been a fan of this "holiday". I also don't like being spooked, I hate scary movies, I don't like haunted houses and the puns made around this time of year are atrocious. Even with 2 small children, I still do not get into the spirit. Call me a curmudgeon, an old man, an angry old man, whatever, I just do not get excited for Halloween. I do go out and trick or treat with my children, I'm not a monster, but I'm always happy when it is over.

But, there is one thing, and probably the only thing, that I do like about Halloween. I like, neigh, I LOVE the song "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett. First off, I love the 50's/60's music sound. I love how genuine and nice and kind of dirty that it can get. I'm a big Buddy Holly fan. I love all the old time blues guys, think Robert Johnson. I'm just a big fan of that older sound of music. "Monster Mash" is the perfect representation of the goofy, yet extremely catchy sound of the 50's/60's rock/pop music.

The song is hilarious first off. The singer sings the song in a very deep, trying to sound scary but not pulling it off, voice that is unforgettable. The song also has background singers doing some of the best background work in spoof music history. The "ooh ah ooh"'s that sprinkle that song and the hushed vocals during the chorus are glorious. The music is trying to be spooky, but it comes off kooky, in the best possible way. The instruments and sounds are great. The bubbling cauldron at the beginning is great. Then, it's your typical 4/4 groove with 3 chords. The "Monster Mash", in its simplicity, is so much better than any Ramones song ever, and I will debate anyone for the length of time why I'm right about this.

Then there are the lyrics, my goodness, what a hilariously ridiculous song. Pickett sets the table beautifully from the start. He paints a very real depiction of a goofy Halloween story. The first line, "I was working in the lab, late one night/when my eyes beheld an eerie sight/for my monster from my slab began to rise/and suddenly to my surprise". Perfect. He is a mad scientist that had a late night, and Frankenstein I'm going to assume, awakes from his slumber. But, instead of attacking this scientist, the chorus lets us know that Frankenstein just wants to do the monster mash. They never tell us how to do the monster mash, but we do know that it is a graveyard smash, so I guess all the monsters at the graveyard can really boogie, but they can only do the monster mash. In the second verse, Pickett talks about how all the ghouls and monsters and vampires and the like come to him to get a jolt so they too can do the monster mash. It is so silly, yet so damn catchy. I'm humming it in my head as I type this. Then, after all the monsters get their jolt, they all proceed, along with Frankenstein, to do the monster mash, and we are led to believe that it is still a graveyard smash. In the third verse, we hear that every monster is there, including, the Wolfman, zombies, Dracula, and even Dracula's son. This dance has turned this graveyard into party central. And now, not only are they dancing the monster mash, they are singing it as well. These monsters are having the time of their lives, thanks to the monster mash. But, in a stunning twist during the fourth verse, Dracula wants to know why no one is doing the Translyvania Twist? Well Dracula, I'd like to know as well, and Pickett explains why in the next verse. The other monsters let him know that this is a strictly monster mash party, and at the next party they have, they will all gladly do the Translyvania Twist. Instead of getting angry and biting necks, Dracula is cool with this arrangement and goes back to the party. The "Monster Mash" ends with it's unforgettable chorus, and the song is over.

I really do truly love this song. I love the goofiness, the music, the vocals, everything. I think this song is great. It is an undeniable classic as well. Everyone spoofs it to. From the "Comedy Bang! Bang!" podcast to "The Simpsons", someone somewhere has a "Monster Mash" spoof that they are waiting to unleash. So, while Halloween may not be for me, at least I'll always have the "Monster Mash" to get me through it. Thanks Bobby Pickett.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not quite as high on the sequel to "The Monster Mash", the unfortunate "Monster Swim". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Monsters Live on Charlie Brown's Street

Give this as a treat on Halloween and expect it to go through your window as a trick

Happy Halloween. Please enjoy this post from holidays past. The article was originally posted on October 31st, 2015.

Today is Halloween.

I expected that many of you already know this. Ty has talked about what he  likes about Halloween (The Simpsons) and what he generally dislikes (everything else). We even had a great conversation about the good and bad on Halloween (beer good, puns bad). What I think many people can agree with is that the entertainment around the spookiest of holidays is pretty darn good. I may not like haunted houses, but they are very impressive pieces of theater. Cracked.com writer Adam Tod Brown does a much better job describing the experience of haunted houses better than I could (read his latest piece on an intense experience). The best horror and slasher movies tend to be campy, innovative, or just plain scary. It is a genre that covers all of the human emotional spectrum. Television also gets in the Halloween act, and there have been some timeless television mined out of the spirit of All Hallows Eve.

In my humble opinion there is not a better, or more timeless, piece of Halloween entertainment than "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". First airing in 1966, this special has been going strong for almost 50 years now. I always feel like the fall / winter holiday season has started when I see Linus and Lucy Van Pelt come out their front door and the Vince Guaraldi Sextet breaks into the jazz number "Linus and Lucy". That is the sound of the holidays to me, and I hate jazz. The characters set the mood with very little dialogue. In the first five minutes you get Lucy being snobby, Linus being emotional, Snoopy being innovative, and Charlie Brown being put upon. The animation and artwork are magnificent. You can easily see that it is fall in this community. The colors give off a feeling of briskness. During the Snoopy - Red Baron sequences the art work starts to resemble surrealistic paintings. Watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" is like taking a stroll through the best art museums of the world.

The actual story is as timeless as the animation. Linus has an incredible belief that all the other kids ridicule him for. Linus does not waver from his belief, coming back stronger after his eventually disappointment. Sally has a crush and just wants to be with her beloved, but even she demands justice (restitution) when the night was taken away by a crazy belief. Snoopy's imagination is educational (look up all the spots he walks through in France during World War I), and exciting. The kids may be mean to each other, especially Charlie Brown, but they still all do everything together.

The kids are definitely cruel to poor Charles, but the adults in this town are psychopaths. I know the adults never appear as main characters in the Peanuts universe, but the actions attributed the grown ups paints a picture of horrible people. Who in their rational thinking mind would give a kid a rock on Halloween? If that had been me, the rock would have gone through the givers window. What gets me is that Charlie Brown did not just get one rock, he got a bag full of them. The adults all decided to pick on this one, bald, chubby, little kid. Charlie Brown may not be good with scissors, but he still deserves some candy. Give him the Mounds bar or Whoppers, or even candy corn. 

Surprisingly this is not the cruelest thing done by the adults in "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". The Van Pelt parents not only let their young son go hang out in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night, in Minnesota no less, they leave him there all night. Lucy has her alarm set for 4:00am to get her shivering little brother and put him to bed. Were the Van Pelts too drunk and could not be woken up? Were they still out drinking? Monsters, the whole lot of them.

"It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" is the greatest piece of Halloween entertainment ever created. I hope your holiday festivities include a viewing of this classic. It has everything one wants in Halloween entertainment. The joy of the children, the imagination of the creative, the belief in mystical creature, and the terror of a group of adult monsters. Do not miss or you will have just wait till next year. You and Linus will just be waiting for the Great Pumpkin.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head editor for SeedSing. While he was writing this piece his wife used RD's bald head as a model for her pumpkin carving. Good grief. Come tell us what holiday entertainment is the best by writing for SeedSing.

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Happy Halloween from SeedSing

The end of October is upon us. The trick or treaters are getting ready with their store bought costumes to come fleece the neighborhood of it's fun sized candy bars. In honor of the holiday, we here at SeedSing want to present a treasure trove of Halloween related content. Read, and listen, if you dare.

The Monsters Live on Chalie Brown's Street. 

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown has been a Halloween staple for fifty years. The show has delighted generations of readers and views. What is hidden in this classic is a horror story of children without supervision, and the monstrous adults who feel like it is ok to bully a bald, and maybe depressed, kid. There are monsters hiding everywhere.

Treehouse of Horrors is One of the Only Good Things about Halloween

The Simpsons has been going strong for over twenty five years, and in that time the show has presented a triumvirate of Halloween stories every year. Revisit some of the greatest THOH episodes and see what the greatest show on television does with our spookiest of holidays.

Ty says Boo-Urns to Halloween

Pop Culture editor Ty is not a big fan of Halloween. Nothing gets him more annoyed than the terrible puns associated with the holiday. He does not care for "spooktacular" savings or listening to the dulcet tones of "Rocktober". Oh, and adults dressing up, that is not Ty's favorite thing either. Maybe next year the Halloween fad will fade away.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode XVII: Strip Clubs, Hangovers, and the Innocence of Halloween

Ty and RD talk about the scary real life consequences of Halloween. Did you know that strip clubs do not always let you enter when you have a mask on. Even on Halloween. Many adults like to dress up and drink on Halloween too. Most of the time, these adults end up forgetting the night's festivities and spend All Saint's Day praying in front of the toilet. Who says kids get to have all the holiday fun.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode LXVII: Trolls and the Other Monsters Who Live on the Internet.

The X Millennial Man was doing some internet research on Mad Max: Fury Road, and we learned that there are some men who are not happy with the movie. It seems these fellows do not like a movie that portrays women as strong, or stronger, than men. It also seems many of these upset men can not find dates. In order to express their frustration, these gentleman go to the internet and write about their troubles. It is frightening. Join Ty and RD as they read some of these tales of MRAs and MGTOWs.

We hope you enjoy a cavalcade of Halloween scares. If you really need a good fright, go ahead and read anything we have written on Donald Trump. That will keep you up at night. Have a fantastic All Hallows Eve. 

The Writers of SeedSing

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Ty says Boo-Urns to Halloween

AHHHHHHH

Today is Halloween eve.

I don't care for Halloween as I mentioned in my blog yesterday. Today, I'm going to give specific reasons why I dislike this "holiday" but, I'm also going to tell you things that I do enjoy about this time of year.

Let's get to the annoying stuff. First of all, adults dressing up in costumes. This is fine if you have kids and you dress as a family, I get that. For example, my three year old is going as the Hulk this year, so my wife is going as Catwoman, she's wearing kitty ears and will have a bit of face makeup, our three week old is going as a mini Catwoman, she has a sleeper with cats on it, and I'm going as the Punisher, I'm wearing a Punisher t shirt. This is fine in my opinion because, this holiday is for kids, and more specifically, toddlers. Toddlers like dressing up, going house to house showing off their costumes and getting candy. That's what Halloween should be about and parents dressing up with their kids is totally acceptable. The problem I have is the people in their mid 20's and early 30's, kid free, using Halloween as an excuse to dress slutty, offensive or down right stupid. I'm sick of young kids dressing like "sexy kitty cats", or "nurses". Look at the movie "Mean Girls", and you'll know what I'm talking about. These teens use Halloween as an excuse to dress inappropriate. Or, take Julianne Hough last year thinking it was okay to dress in black face because she went as Crazy Eyes from "Orange is the New Black". That's so wrong and extremely offensive on so many levels. Don't use Halloween as your excuse for being a racist Ms.Hough. And guys with their dumbass " God's gift to women" costumes or their "sexy firefighter" bull shit, give it a rest. You're all a bunch of douchebag wannabe frat boys and you make me sick. Halloween is for kids and candy, not for dumbass Millenials that need another excuse to get drunk and act like morons. Grow up.

I also am completely fed up with the stupid Halloween puns. If I have to hear one more time about"spooktacular" savings or "prices so low they'll frighten you", I'm going to destroy my television. I don't understand the marketing for this. Do they want me to be afraid that I'm going to save money? I thought that was a good thing. I've also been watching a lot of Food Network with my wife who's on maternity leave. They have a show called "Chopped" and instead of sticking with this name, which is a pretty good name for a cooking show, they've been calling it "Choppedtober". That doesn't make any sense. Why add tober because it's October? Why don't they call it "Choppedgust" in August or "Choppedcember" in December? Why does October and Halloween only get this treatment? It's totally baffling and pretty god damn stupid.

I also don't enjoy being frightened and I hate scary movies. I've been to one haunted house in my entire life and I had to remove myself from the situation almost immediately because a worker dressed as a clown scared me so much, I thought I was going to have a panic attack. I'm terrified of clowns and during Halloween, people dressed as clowns, especially creepy clowns, scare me more than anything I've ever encountered in my life. I don't like that people prey on other people that are scared of certain things by dressing in a costume as someone's fear. That's the worst thing about haunted houses. They're designed to startle you, and who really likes being startled? It doesn't feel good. And scary movies, no thank you. This is pretty much the same thing as haunted houses. I know that they're fake, but it doesn't change the fact that they scare me. I saw the "Shining" once, at a sleep over when I was a teenager and that movie still haunts me to this day. My wife suggested we watch it during the day on Halloween and I immediately said no. There's no way I'm going to watch that movie because I know the consequences that will come afterward. I'd much rather watch something like "Cabin in the Woods" or "Evil Dead". Sure, those movies are scary, but they're also campy and hilarious. I don't like straight up horror movies. Never have and I never will.

Now there are some good things about this time of year. First of all, the candy. My god it's everywhere, and 90 percent of it is delicious. Give me a Reese's pumpkin or any kind of chocolate treat and I'm happy as a clam. I love all candy this time of year except for the most foul, grossest shit ever created, candy corn. I also really like pumpkin seeds and I love pumpkin pie. Those are two great things that come out this time of year. My wife loves the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks and that's only available through November. I love the season. Leaves are falling, there's a nip in the air and it's a good time to be out doors. We get a new "Treehouse of Horror" this time of year, as I explained yesterday. We also get to turn back the clocks one hour, gain that extra sleep, and have shorter, colder days. I like this.

There's a lot of bad, but there's also some good. I may hate Halloween, but at least Thanksgiving, Christmas, cold weather and family gatherings are right around the corner. As a lady on a recent "Chopped" said, "my favorite part about Halloween is November 1st". I whole heartedly agree with her and I love this sentiment. Only two more days until this dumb "holiday" is over.

We've almost made it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His fear of clowns was reinforced by a bean bag toss board painted like a clown and a faulty laser tag gun. Ask him all about by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Treehouse of Horrors is one of the only good things about Halloween

No trick or treating for me. The Simpsons is on.

With Halloween only two days away, FXX has been showing all of the "Treehouse of Horrors" episodes of "The Simpsons".

It's been quite nice.

I wasn't a big fan of the first iterations of these Halloween themed episodes, but since I met my wife, I've grown to enjoy them quite a bit. She has always been a fan and she has turned me into one as well. When they first started to show up, around the second season I believe, they took them too seriously, in my opinion. The first "THOH" was and still is a classic, but the three stories were pretty dark, especially the "Raven" segment. They took Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem , made Homer the main guy from the story and had a raven that had Bart's head super imposed on it. He recited the poem as Homer went crazier and crazier. It was funny in some parts, but for a "Simpsons" episode, it was dark. Homer went insane. This became a tradition after the huge hit that was their first "THOH". They do one every year, usually airing them the week after or a week before Halloween. Today, I'm going to tell you about some of my personal favorites and some of my wife's favorites. I'll pick out mainly segments because sometimes the whole episode isn't great, but of the three segments, one is usually a home run.

I want to start with a recent "THOH". Season 26 had a great second segment with "A Clockwork Yellow". Barney, Homer and Moe played the cronies from "A Clockwork Orange", with Moe playing the Malcolm McDowell character, Alex. This was a fantastic spoof of a classic movie. Moe went through all the same things Alex did, but played it for laughs. For example, when Alex was being reprogrammed, they forced his eyes open and made him watch horrific videos of heinous crimes. In the "Simpsons" "THOH", they did a close up of Moe, eyes pried open like Alex's, but he says, "this is the only way I can sit through terrible Fox programming". It was genius. My favorite part of the segment was when Homer, playing the oafish thug, meets Marge and they play the scene where, in "A Clockwork Orange", it's very sexually graphic and pretty gross, "The Simpsons" played it with Homer eating massive amounts of food, sleeping and totally ignoring Marge. They pulled it off like only "The Simpsons" can.

Season 12 had a great opening segment to their "THOH". It was entitled "G-G-G-Ghost Dad" and it was about Homer's death being for told via a newspaper horoscope. Despite the family's hesitance to let Homer leave, he does anyway, not scared of death, and awaiting a comment from a "handsome" co worker, he presumes it will be Lenny. On his way to work, Homer gets hit by a pick axe, nearly misses being crushed by a metal structure, has an unexplained growth thing and gets bitten by a rattlesnake. He arrives at work and gets his compliment from Lenny, saying," if I may compliment you Homer, that's a mighty nice rattlesnake biting your arm". He arrives home and is fine, but then he eats one single piece of broccoli and immediately dies. He becomes a ghost, eats the broccoli again, dies again and becomes a ghost once more. He has to do one good deed before he can get into heaven, and all his attempts end in failure until he saves a crying baby from going into a busy intersection. Unfortunately, the angel doesn't see this and Homer is banished to hell where Satan gives him noogies and weggies while saying "ha ha" the whole time. It's hilarious.

One of my favorite "THOH" of all time is from season 10, titled "Hell Toupee". In this segment, Homer gets a hair transplant from newly dead convict Snake. At first everything is all peaches and cream and Homer looks great. But, prior to dying, Snake tells the three people that ratted him out that he was going to get them. After the hair transplant, at night, the hair takes over for Homer and controls his actions. He gets revenge on both Apu and Moe, two of the three guys that ratted him out. The third is Bart. This is where the conflict begins. Homer and his new hair do trap Bart is his room, and Bart does everything in his power to convince his dad to not hurt him. Homer finally rips the hair off, thus saving Bart, but the hair comes to life and tries to get him. They get the hair off Bart and while it's trying to escape one of the funniest moments on the "Simpsons" occurs. The hair, that has sideburns, lifts one of the sideburns, a la a fist, and wags it in anger before Chief Wiggum guns it down. It's a classic "THOH" segment.

My personal favorite "THOH" is from season 8 entitled "Citizen Kang". This one is great from top to bottom. We get Bob Dole and Bill Clinton impressions. Kang and Kodos become Dole and Clinton. While dressed like Dole and Clinton, Kang and Kodos hold hands to " give each other protein strains", speak in their typical monotone voice and are together constantly. We get great lines like, "abortions for none, BOO!, ok, abortions for all, BOO!, ok, abortions for some, miniature American flags for all, yeah!" or, " well, I guess I'll just vote for a third party candidate. Go ahead throw your vote away, ha ha ha" and, my favorite coming from Kent Brockman, " Clinton's contributors credited his attitude to an over tight neck tie" when talking about Kang disguised as Clinton saying something very wrong. This is, by far, the best segment of any "THOH" that "The Simpsons" has put out.

I know that my wife loves any "THOH" that has Kang and Kodos involved. She really liked the new one where Sideshow Bob finally gets Bart and keeps killing him over and over again, she's a big Sideshow Bob fan. I know she likes the segment where you find out Maggie is really Kang's daughter and they go on "Jerry Springer". Those three are just off the top of my head. She likes them all, but she talks to me about those more than others.

For all the flack that I give Halloween as a "holiday", I truly despise it, at least we do get a new "THOH" every year. I know that they will always be good because it's part of "The Simpsons" universe and pretty much everything they do is great. "THOH" may be one of the few things I like about Halloween. I still have to deal with the stupid puns and people in their 20's and 30's, with no kids, dressing up like it's a real holiday, but at least I get one thing that I know I'll enjoy and that I look forward to every Halloween.

I guess I'm trying to say, Halloween will always be lame, but "The Simpsons" will always deliver with a great new "Treehouse of Horror".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He likes people and thinks clown make-up is ok, but people wearing clown make-up are the worst. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.