Everybody's got a pumpkin or two or a bazillion decorating their porch, yard, or business. I mean, really, what are they good for besides jack-o-lanterns? I've cooked many a pumpkin, and I've come to the conclusion that it ain't worth the effort. A can at the grocery store is rather cheap, easy to measure, and has the consistency you don't find in home cooked pumpkins. So we carve them, display them, take their pictures, and send them around the world on the internet.

A new phenomenon I've noticed this year is inflatable pumpkins. The regular 12-inch diameter vegetable is not good enough anymore. Sriving at night, I see many many six-foot inflatable pumpkins with lights inside and ghosts that pop out of the top. Now, THERE's the way to celebrate the harvest and appease the souls of the undead!

Carving a pumpkin is easy, carving a GREAT jack-o-lantern takes skill. First, take this quiz to find out what kind of face you should put on yours. Or you may decide to put something besides a face, like this Chinese Fu (luck) symbol. (Thanks, Kirby!) Maybe you'd prefer these Star Wars Jack O’Lantern stencil.

If you've never done this before, you may want to look up some instructions. Or not. For inspiration, check out Extreme Pumpkins (warning: some of these involve chainsaws). Or if you just want to feel like an inferior pumpkin carver, look at the works of art displayed at Pumpkin Gutter. Turn a regular pumpkin in to something special with Ray’s pumpkin-carving tutorial, featuring wonderful 3-d carved images. If you can recreate these works of art, you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood. (via J-Walk Blog) Get your pumpkin envy juices flowing with a look at the amazing Jack O'Lanterns at Pumpkin Way.

Or you can find instructions on this pumpkin blog on how to make a fake pumpkin, 20 feet tall. And no discussion on pumpkins would be complete with mentioning the World Punkin Chunkin Championship. You still have time to make plans to attend, and proceeds go to charity, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Then just give up and carve a virtual pumpkin (OK for kids). Aristotle has one you can animate! But this one you can animate and then smash! Better yet, one you can send to your friends and family.  The Pumpkinizer puts your picture onto a virtual Jack O’Lantern!

The Life and Death of a Pumpkin 

Here’s some really wild but kid-friendly pumpkin craft projects, including Jack O’Lantern Carving, at Family Fun.

Defend yourself against ghosts and ghouls by throwing pumpkins in the game Pumpkin Toss. Mindless but cute.

See the World’s Largest Jack O’Lantern, big enough to hold 3 million gallons!

Marti has more pumpkin links and fun at Pumpkins.

If you've come this far, here's all you ever wanted to know about pumpkins

WHEN PUMPKINS PARTY

PUMPKINS IN REAL TROUBLE

(from Extreme Pumpkins)

Please don't bother to explain to me that the following story is not true. Its a joke. I have seen at least a dozen versions, and they all have different locations.

Pumpkin Patch

The police arrested Patrick Lawrence, a 22-year-old white male, resident of Dacula, GA, in a pumpkin patch at 11:38 p.m. on Friday. Lawrence will be charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, public indecency, and public intoxication at the

Gwinnett County courthouse on Monday. The suspect explained that as he was passing a pumpkin patch he decided to stop.

"You know, a pumpkin is soft and squishy inside, and there was no one around here for miles. At least I thought there wasn't," he stated in a phone interview.

Lawrence went on to say that he pulled over, picked out a pumpkin, cut a hole in it, and proceeded to satisfy his need. "I guess I was just really into it, you know?"

Patrol officer Brenda Taylor pulled over and approached him.

"It was an unusual situation, that's for sure," said Officer Taylor. "I walked up to (Lawrence) and he's...just working away at this pumpkin."

"I just went up and said"... "Excuse me sir, but do you realize that you are screwing a pumpkin?"

"He froze and was clearly very surprised that I was there, and then looked me straight in the face and said, 'A pumpkin? Damn... is it midnight already?'"

While we are on the subject of Halloween, I need to throw this in...Most people are familiar with Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking video for the song Thriller. Lately, we’ve also seen the video in different forms, such as the Thriller in Legos, Thriller in Second Life, and the Bollywood style (although its a different song). But nothing beats a live public recreation! Every October, Mecca Dance Studio and Gallery stages a resurrection of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video in the streets of downtown Lexington, Kentucky. See a video of last year’s performance here, and a Flickr photoset here. This year’s event is set for October 22nd. Participation is free and open to the public. However, they would like you attend the rehearsals.

Thought for today: I've learned there are three things you don't discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin. -Linus

The original version of this updated post appeared on October 16, 2005.

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