Happy Halloween. Just thought I’d let you see the Jack O’ Lanterns we made to keep the vampires at bay tonight.

Just stumbled across Mame Room. This is my kind of site. They sell plans, and assemble-yourself-kits for making Arcade Cabinets. I particularly like the Ultimate Arcade II Cabinet. I’ve always wanted to have my own Mame based Arcade system, and this site brings me one step nearer. Still might be cheaper (and easier) to buy a second-hand broken arcade game to gut and use, but this site offers some other alternatives. Oh to hear the steady thump of Space Invaders ringing in my ears once again…

OK.

I admit it.

I love Most Haunted.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, Most Haunted is a cable show shown in the UK on the Living Channel. It’s hosted by Yvette Fielding who used to be on Blue Peter and who once slept with one of James’ mates. Her and her team (of more later) investigate the ‘Most Haunted’ locations in Europe and spend hours trying to capture evidence of ghostly goings on.

If ever there was a show to prove that there are no such things as ghosts this is it. Each show follows the same formula: a bit of history about the location given by Yvette or resident historian Richard Felix (some bloke from Derby who owns Derby Gaol and thus is an expert in paranormal history).

This is followed by (my favourite bit) spiritualist medium and scouser Derek Acorah who struts around getting info from his spirit guide Sam - the accuracy of which would be breathtaking if you assume he had no prior knowledge of the location or merely average if you assume he gets half an hour Google time between takes.

Next comes the midnight vigil where the lights are turned off and everyone splits up into groups (apart from Yvettes hubby/producer Karl who tends to go somewhere on his own) and everyone gets really scared by the dark, ‘orbs’ (dust to you and me) and creaky wood.

Every once in a while Derek will get possessed by a former resident and will march about talking in a funny voice, and sometimes the team will hold seances or table tipping where they promise us no-one is banging the table or leaning on it.

This is all fantastically camp and dreadful TV, and I just can’t get enough of it. AD18rnrn

Billy saw one of his teachers in the supermarket buying food.
Billy: “I’ve just seen Mrs X.”
Me: “Really, I haven’t heard of Mrs X. before. Mrs Y and Z teach you in class 2, so where does Mrs X come in.
Billy pauses for a few minutes and says with a look of incredulity “The same door as the other teachers I should imagine.”

Next Saturday at 8:10 on BBC2 there is the start of a new six part series tracing the history of magic; here’s what they say:

“The definitive guide to the history of Performance Magic from Ancient Egypt to 21st century Las Vegas, and why it has played such an important role in our social and cultural history.”

The first episode looks interesting:

“Prepare to be amazed by mind reading illusions which seem to defy rational explanation. From the oracle of Delphi, through the age of Spiritualism, to today’s psychological trickster, Derren Brown, it also features a modern version of a mind trick which mystified millions of British radio listeners in the 1950’s.”

I can’t wait.