Getting in the Halloween Spirit

[cranefly]

Okay, so I'm two holidays behind. Stab me with a fork.

This is Contestant #3 in a live audition for Horrorfest Queen or whatever.

A sweet little thing, part Bettie Paige, part Betty Boop.
She's got a soft voice, so you might need some volume.

http://www.youtube.com/contests_layout?n...LF4&goto=3

--cranefly

[Drunk Monk]

...but she's undead so age doesn't really matter, right?

[Drunk Monk]

This struck me as quite funny.

San Francisco prank artist turns 'ghost town' Google office into a Spirit Halloween store
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Dan Gentile, SFGATE
Sep. 20, 2021Updated: Sep. 20, 2021 6:19 p.m.
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[img=598x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/21/76/35/21489503/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Conceptual artist Danielle Baskin temporarily installed a Spirit Halloween sign at the Google offices on Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Like many other San Francisco tech companies, Google has yet to return to its offices. With its campus on Embarcadero going largely unused, conceptual artist Danielle Baskin got to thinking about what type of business might swoop in on that kind of vacant real estate.
Given that Oct. 31 is just a little over a month away, the answer was obvious: Spirit Halloween, the costume store that moves into strip malls every year in the months proceeding the holiday.
Baskin, best known for her viral fake website Blue Check Homes or her app that connects strangers for phone conversations, happens to own a commercial-size printer from a previous sign-making business. So she put it to use by printing out a 10-foot vinyl replica of the Spirit Halloween logo, then ironed it onto fabric purchased from Mission Fabric Outlet. There wasn't vector art of the logo online, Baskin said, so she hand-rendered it.
[img=598x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/21/76/35/21489500/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Conceptual artist Danielle Baskin temporarily installed a Spirit Halloween sign at the Google offices on Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Then with the help of a few friends, she installed the banner over Google's logo at the company's San Francisco office. The group also put up official-looking construction signage and other Spirit Halloween ephemera, such as job flyers. It was largely done for a laugh, but the prank does have broader significance.
"Right before the pandemic, I had a studio space on Market Street and we got kicked out because they were changing ownership of the building," Baskin told SFGATE over the phone from outside the Google office. "I've spent a lot of time thinking about unused real estate in San Francisco. So many people wish they had a wood shop, or space to make things. And there's just so many empty weird lobbies with chairs that no one sits in, and offices where the employees don't even come to work because they're welcome to work from home anytime."

A prop used by conceptual artist Danielle Baskin while recreating a Spirit Halloween store at Google's San Francisco offices.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Once they had installed the sign, Baskin and her crew of 10 pretended to be Spirit Halloween staffers. Dressed in construction uniforms, they carried around boxes and pretended to argue about their manager, hoping to have some silly interactions with pedestrians.
"We thought we would be doing a lot of interaction with people who work in the area, but it is a ghost town here. Which is actually where Spirit Halloween comes in. It's like the grim reaper of dying industries," said Baskin.
After about two hours, Google finally caught wind of the prank and a security team arrived ... in the middle of our phone interview.
"Oh ... someone with a walkie-talkie is approaching the sign," said Baskin, while standing next to a dolly and stack of boxes. "OK great, I get to watch this unfold in real time. I wonder if they'll come up to me and think that I did it. We should probably leave. OK, we've got a lot of security coming. I'm going to get off the premises, just casually."
[img=598x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/21/76/35/21489504/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Conceptual artist Danielle Baskin temporarily installed a Spirit Halloween sign at the Google offices on Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
Corresponding later via direct message, Baskin said that Google took down the sign and reported the incident but took no further action. She tried to convince the eight security guards on the scene to let her keep the sign to repurpose it, but as of time of publication, the location of the sign is unknown. Although the sign may be lost for good, the prank lasted longer than Baskin expected.
"It's just a joke to point out all the empty space that sits here," Baskin wrote. "It's in a beautiful location too, this building overlooks the bridge and its such a beautiful area, but it's totally unused. No one's even in this courtyard, because I don't think people feel welcome to hang out at Google headquarters."
[img=598x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/21/76/35/21489502/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Danielle Baskin and the team of artists behind a temporary installation at Google's San Francisco offices.
Courtesy of Danielle Baskin
As for the actual Halloween holiday, Baskin isn't yet sure how she'll celebrate it, but the experience at Google was a nice teaser for Oct. 31.

"I feel like I got to dress up with friends and pretend to do a load-in. So, that was like a mini Halloween," she said.

[cranefly]

Mr. Puzzles -- wants you to be less alive (2021)

Arguably the first horror movie written entirely by bots.

Just 4+ minutes long.  DOOM recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

Last night was wild. On a whim, DM got together with one of his Iaido classmates who is also a writer (for the Sentinel) for drinks downtown. They close off the streets and it was packed with revelers music and magik. DM donned his full Shaolin long robes, complete with cassock, as a transition to the Shaolin zone which starts tomorrow. DM lent his trusty lightsaber to my classmate, who was a dark Jedi. Well over $100 in bar drinks, cocktails, fyne whiskey and cider was drunk. DM ended up dancing with Harriet Potter who kept trying to cast a spell on him - something about the robes made him a flirt target, which was mischievous fun. The iaidoka picked lightsaber fights with every other lightsaber wielder he found. 

DM now has chronic hiccups. So cliche. Great night tho. So worth it.

[Greg]

I was going to ask if it is really 'going in costume' if you dress as a monk.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, I'm not a monk.

[Drunk Monk]

2023 HALLOWEEN OVERVIEW 
Santa Cruz PD is pleased to announce that Halloween 2022 transpired without any significant incidents of violence downtown.
SCPD deployed patrol officers throughout city neighborhoods and a contingent of officers on foot in the Downtown corridor. At the peak, SCPD estimated the crowd size to be 15,000.
The Downtown Deployment reported the following activity for Halloween Night 2023:
41 CITATIONS
33 TRIPLE FINES - various alcohol violations, trespassing, litter, etc
5 MISDO ARRESTS - public intoxication and warrants
2 FELONY ARRESTS
A documented Watsonville gang member fled from a parking garage when officers attempted to conduct a compliance probation search. The subject was detained, and a firearm was located during a search of his vehicle.  Photo attached.
A subject was arrested after he threw a beer bottle at two officers. The subject fled on foot and was located on the levee near the Broadway Bridge. He was booked for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and assault with a deadly weapon on a civilian victim who was nearly struck in the head with the bottle.
By comparison to 2022, the estimated crowd size, citations and arrests were up in 2023. Officers maintained a visible presence early on, contributing to a safe and successful evening.

We did see two cops chasing some dude on foot as we were enjoying some cider. There was a strong police presence and we were grateful for it.