* Signs of a werewolf are a unibrow, hair palms, tattoos, and a long middle finger.

* If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved on watching over you.

* Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters wearing sheets aren't going as ghosts but as mattresses?

* One Halloween a trick-or-treater came to my door dressed as "Rocky" in boxing gloves and satin shorts. Soon after I gave him some goodies, he returned for more. "Aren't you the same 'Rocky' who left my doorstep several minutes ago?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, "but now I'm Rocky II."

* The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year at Salem. Over two million copies of the Ouija Board were shipped.

* An intense and persistent fear of Halloween is called Samhnainophobia Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

* According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.

* Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

* “Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.

* Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.

* Halloween originated in Ireland over 2,000 years ago Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.

* Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween. Other girls believed they would see their boyfriend’s faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight on Halloween.

* According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at midnight.

* Dressing up as ghouls and other spooks originated from the ancient Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits. The Celts believed that disguising themselves this way would allow them to escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.













You can find me back at my personal blog:
Natascha's Place or
Twitter-account: Natascha_ROOB

Sex and the City – Which girl are you?

Somewhere last week, a Sex and the City special was aired on our cable-TV, and I absolutely loved an evening with these four girls. Ever since the show started airing here in the Netherlands I’ve been hooked on it and couldn’t wait to see what the girls in New York were up to next. It got me thinking however, why did this series appeal so much to me? Was it the setting? Well to be honest New York is not my thing. I am a bling bling girl but Manola Blahniks don’t get my hormones raging, I’m no big fan of designer clothes and the partying scene. But if this all didn’t do it for me, what was?

To be honest the guys playing in the series were nice eye-candy (most of the time, I mean Alexsandr Petrovsky – Carrie girl, you can have him anytime, he’s not my cuppa tea, but then again, if the shoe fits…) but that was not it, the topics discussed were fabulous ofcourse, but coming from the country housing the all-time famous Amsterdam for all it’s… uhm… attributes… not shocking. Although I have to admit I just love the fact us woman were able to shock the unknowing guys out there. These four fabulous woman outted us in that way. All over the world men were stunned to see what we all talked about out of their earshot. You thought your talks about the “next-door-neighbours-sexy twins” was a hot topic in the gym’s dressingroom, wait till us girls get out to lunch, diner, walk in the park, on a shopping spree or just at home!



What appeals to me so much is that four completely different girls, brought together in friendship, sticking with eachother in the good, the bad and the ugly times, is what really got me hooked onto this series. The humor in dialogues, incredibly funny, and for those who know me… I just got to have the laughter in whichever I do.

But looking at the four totally different personifications I got to look at myself as well and started thinking, which one do I resemble the most? That was a difficult question! I’m not sure really, because looking at the characters of Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Carrie I see some of them back in myself. On one moment I would like to think I’m as out-going and open like Samantha, however I used to be very carreer-driven (BCA (before car accident)) like Miranda, I am old-fashioned and a romantisist as Charlotte and I can be pointy and spot on like Carrie and definitely as frivolous as well. Hmmm self-analyzing, I’m wondering is that a 30-y.o. thing? I don’t remember doing so in my twenties, but ever since that big 3-0 hit me it’s a total shift in thought-prosessing, anyway, enough said about me, I was wondering, which of the SATC-girls do you resemble most?

SAMANTHA JONES
Samantha Jones is a powerful, uninhibited public relations executive and probably the most outgoing female character in television history. Samantha loves men and sex and doesn't care who knows it. She boldly goes after any man she finds the least bit attractive or appealing, but only to have sex with him. Throughout most of the series Samantha does not believe in the conventional relationship. She believes monogamy is unnatural and makes it her business to have as much sex as she possibly can. She describes herself as tri-sexual ("I'll try anything once!"), she brags about the fact that she can "have sex like a man", without getting emotionally involved. The number of sexual partners she has had throughout the show is way up there.

SATC: The Movie - quote
Samantha Jones: Jesus honey! Wax much?
Miranda Hobbes: What? My marriage is going through a rough spot. I dont have time to wax!
Samantha Jones: Don't blame marriage. She's married and she's not growing a national forest.

SATC: Series - quote
Carrie : I'm not going to replace a man with some battery-operated device.
Miranda : You haven't met The Rabbit.
Samantha : Oh come on, if you're going to get a vibrator, at least get one called The Horse.

MIRANDA HOBBES
Miranda Hobbes is the feminst of the group, a career-minded lawyer at a New York firm (bordering on a workaholic personality), she is firm in her belief that men and women should be equal, and has cynical views on relationships and men. She eventually finds a way to balance career, being single, and motherhood. Of the four women, she is the first to purchase an apartment (an indicator of her success), which she gives up when she moves into a Brooklyn townhouse in the final season to make room for her growing family.

SATC: Series - quotes
Miranda Hobbes: I'm in the woods in my negligee and my cell phone only has two bars left. HELP!

Miranda Hobbes: Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?

CHARLOTTE YORK
Charlotte York is the daughter of Dr. Stephen Foster York and Sandra Whitehead York. She is an art dealer and Smith College graduate (where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma) with a Connecticut blue-blooded upbringing. Charlotte is the more laid back girl of the four characters from Sex and the City and she is the most conservative and traditional of the group, placing more emphasis on emotional love than lust, she is always searching for her "knight in shining armor." Presenting a more straightforward attitude about relationships, usually based upon "The Rules" of love and dating, she often scoffs at the lewder, more libertine antics that the New York dating scene entails (primarily like Samantha’s life). Despite her conservative outlook, she has been known to make concessions that surprise even her sexually freer girlfriends (such as her level of dirty talk, oral sex in public, etc.).

SATC: Series - quotes
Charlotte York: Allow me to get right to the point, guys. After careful consideration, I have decided that I am getting married this year.

Charlotte York: Everyone needs a man. That's why I rent. If you own and he still rents, then the power structure is all off. It's emasculating. Men don't want a woman who's too self-sufficient.
Samantha Jones: I'm sorry, did someone just order a Victorian straight up?

CARRIE BRADSHAW
Carrie Bradshaw is a New York Times columnist with an extreme case of shoe-fetishism and designer-clothes. She is the frivolous one, and cannot stop thinking about the love of her life (who she has an on-off relationship with). When she is not writing about her relationships, sex, men, women, careers, etc. for her column, she is shopping (mostly for designer shoes) or chatting and going out with her three best friends; Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte.

SATC: Series - quotes
Carrie Bradshaw: Modelizers are obsessed not with women but with models, who in most cities are safely confined to billboards and magazines, but in Manhattan actually run wild on the streets, turning the city into a virtual model country safari where men can pet the creatures in their natural habitat.

Carrie Bradshaw: One woman's Titanic is another woman's Love Boat.

You can find me back at my personal blog:
Natascha's Place (still a work in progress, so bare with me for a week or two before it's finally up and running)
or
Twitter-account: Natascha_ROOB