Joy and I are cord cutters. If you’ve never heard the term, that means we no longer subscribe to cable TV. It was getting too expensive and we didn’t feel like paying big bucks for the garbage that’s on TV now. To entertain ourselves, we still watch a few shows which we buy from Amazon Instant Video or Apple TV but we also love to watch YouTube videos. I find links throughout the day and click on the “Watch Later” button at the bottom of the video (looks like a clock) and we watch ’em at home on the Apple TV or on our Chromecast (THE best way to lean back and enjoy YouTube at home).
There’s so many talented people and great content on YouTube if you know where to look. I thought I might start a thing here on my blog called “Fave Five Friday” where I post my favorite five YouTube videos from the week. So, in no particular order, here are my five favorite videos from this week. Enjoy!
Another Comic Con joint produced by the fine folks at Beat Down Boogie.
Every year for Halloween, Joy and I get together with some friends to carve jack-o-lanterns. We usually eat take-out, chat for a bit, then jump right into the carving. If we finish early enough, we’ll play some board games.
In years past, I’ve always just picked up one of the $4.99 stencil kits you see in the grocery store. You know the ones… they have the tiny jig-saw blades with the handles on them and a guts scraper/scoop. Over the last couple of years, I’ve started going “off the rails” as they say and coming up with my own, often more complex patterns. One year I even did what I call a “partial carve” pumpkin where you carve into the pumpkin but not all the way, so that the candle inside causes the flesh to illuminate.
I didn’t have a candle, so my Grump-o-lantern is actually being illuminated by the LED flash on my Moto X.
This year I decided to carve internet superstar “Grumpy Cat” on our pumpkin. I would have loved to do a partial carve and just cut the eyes all the way through, but our pumpkin was WAY too thick! I can’t take all the credit for how well it turned out since I pretty much copied someone else’s pattern.Our friends’ pumpkin was also pretty amazing. He did “Doc Hudson” from the Cars movies. I would probably guess his design was a little harder to cut. He probably also had a time getting the pattern transferred.
After we finished and cleaned up our pumpkins, we played a round of King of Tokyo with the new Halloween expansion pack I got for my birthday. It’s a pretty cool mod that adds 2 new characters: Pumpkin Jack and Boogie Woogie. There’s also 6 orange dice to replace the green ones and new costume cards. We even managed to get a game of 7 Wonders in before Joy and I turned into pumpkins around 11:30.
Now, if Grumpy-o-lantern can just last until the Friday without molding or shriveling up too much, he will gladly proudly adorn our front porch welcoming trick-or-treaters with a healthy dose of disdain and contempt for their candy collection.
Here’s some step-by-step photos of the carving process.
Begin by cutting a circle and keyhole in the top of your pumkin. Be sure to care it wide enough to fit you hand (with a tool) and a candle later.
I always cut a “key-hole” or notch so I know which way to put the lid back on.
With the top cut and off, remove all the juicy guts and discard.
Cut out your patter and leave about 1″ all around the edge. I always photocopy my pattern in different sizes to make sure I have the best fit.
Wet the back of the pumpkin pattern and let the water soak in for about 30 seconds before applying it to the pumpkin.
With the wet pattern on the pumpkin, smooth it out to contour to the shape of the pumpkin.
Use the pounce wheel to trace your pattern onto the pumpkin
Carefully peel back the pattern to see if you got everything.
With the pattern transferred, all you have to do now is connect the dots with your carving blade.
