Dispatches from NYC: Halloween (better late than never)

I realise that the details of my adventures have dried up a little recently, and so I shall adjust that now. Tales stretching all the way back to the tail end of October mean that I have become slovenly and also that there should be some good stuff to tell.

First of all was Halloween! I was in Target a day or two beforehand (Target is a department store with food, sort of like a Waitrose Food & Home only minus any fresh foods) and was admiring their Halloween products, when I saw a 'Flaming Grim Reaper' which sounds insane. I wonder just why America came bottom in UNESCO's report of what were the best countries in the developed world to bring up children when there is scary-ass shit like this floating about all over the place...
Target also appears to sell the steel chairs that wrestlers use to knock each other out:
They also have something called 'Butt Paste', but I shall let the product speak for itself:
Halloween itself is... well a little weird to get used to coming from England, but pretty cool. It is a little odd at first when you go out of your house and you can hear Thriller playing from about 20 different places. If you have never been and only seen it on the television, then let me tell you: American's take this shit seriously. Pretty much everyone dresses up and there is a massive parade at night in Manhattan. People were trying to tell me that the parade was as big as the Notting Hill Carnival... well I don't agree with that, but it is pretty big. Plus wanton consumerism just as you are going into a recession? Good for a small boost!