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  • the geese have made actual plans

    the geese have made actual plans

    crafts, icebox pie, and two actual dates on the calendar. meet silly goose girls night, with upcoming gatherings at hilltop public house… Tune in & read →

    the geese have made actual plans. there is a calendar and everything.

    silly goose girls night is a project built around crafts, food, friendship, and making room for a little more play. their feed moves between projects you can try at home and real-life gatherings in montgomery, alabama. the name sets a fairly manageable dress code for your personality.

    their mission statement puts the emphasis on creativity, laughter, and an inclusive community, with women giving themselves permission to play. not every hobby needs to become a small business. sometimes scissors can just be scissors.

    first, the dates that have not already happened

    if you’re around montgomery, there are two things on their published calendar:

    • saturday, october 31, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.: find their table at the hilltop halloween market at hilltop public house, 3 north goldthwaite street. their latest announcement says they’re making things for the market and will have candy for the kids. stop by and meet the geese.
    • saturday, november 14, 2026, 10 a.m.–noon: make & mingle at hilltop public house. the calendar announcement describes a laid-back social: everyone is welcome, and you can bring a craft or project you’re working on and meet some new people. your unfinished project has been invited out.
    Silly Goose Girls Night calendar: October 8 pop-up at Lorraine's, October 31 Hilltop Halloween Market, and November 14 Make & Mingle at Hilltop Public House.
    the organizers’ calendar, which also includes the now-past october 8 pop-up. graphic: silly goose girls night.

    those details are from their public announcements, checked october 22. follow the account for updates before heading out; the november listing doesn’t specify a ticket price or registration requirement.

    they have already put the scissors on the table

    their first official event was the october 8 modgepodge collage night at lorraine’s bake shop. the event listing supplied the practical part: collage supplies, a canvas, and time to make something together. their next-day recap shows people working around the craft tables and thanks lorraine and bill for hosting.

    this is the useful thing about the photos: you can see the activity rather than being asked to imagine an abstract concept called community. paper, scissors, glue, other people. an unusually literal way to make connections.

    photos and original recap: silly goose girls night. the october 8 event has already happened; this is a look at what they’ve been making, not a current ticket offer.

    the stickers can finally stop waiting for the perfect surface

    one of their at-home projects takes a familiar problem—stickers too good to commit to anything—and turns it into a miniature gallery wall. their july 19 carousel walks through framing favorite stickers, including travel souvenirs, in little frames.

    a small project, an excuse to sit together, and something to put on the wall afterward. the sticker collection has received a promotion.

    and yes, there is pie

    the food side is similarly approachable. their cream cheese icebox pie reel uses a graham-cracker crust and a blended filling, then lets the refrigerator do its part. the full method is in their original post below. leave time for chilling; the pie does have one scheduling requirement.

    between the craft projects, recipes, and local gatherings, there are several ways into this particular flock. try something from the feed, send a project to the friend you’d make it with, or put one of the montgomery dates on the calendar.

    start with @silly_goose_girls_night on instagram. their official link page also connects to facebook and tiktok. at the time of writing, its eventbrite button still points to the october 8 event, so the instagram announcements above are the useful place for the next dates.

    featured image: the sticker-framing project, silly goose girls night. all embedded posts are credited to and linked to their original account.

  • five halloween movie nights, depending on the damage you want

    five halloween movie nights, depending on the damage you want

    the fog, house, scream 2, jennifer’s body, and rocky horror: five picks from my shelf for five very different halloween evenings. Tune in & read →

    the halloween shelf · 6 / 6 · movies
    five picks from my Trove movies shelf.

    halloween movie night can mean several different things. sometimes you want the room to go quiet. sometimes you want everyone arguing about the killer. sometimes you want tim curry to arrive and take responsibility for the entire evening. these are all reasonable uses of october.

    the five films on this corner of the halloween shelf cover those moods pretty well: coastal ghost stories, psychedelic houses, college slashers, hungry best friends, and a musical with very loose ideas about hospitality. pick the evening you actually want. there is no prize for choosing the most punishing option.

    the lights-off evening: the fog (1980)

    From my media collectionThe FogDirector: John Carpenter • Genre: Horror • Year: 1980View on Trove

    john carpenter’s the fog starts from the oldest horror arrangement available: someone tells a story, and the world begins behaving as though it heard. a strange fog moves into a coastal town, carrying the vengeful victims of a century-old shipwreck. the weather forecast has become unusually personal.

    this is the slot for a dark room and a ghost story with saltwater in its lungs. the appeal is that compact setup: a place, an old wrong, something arriving to collect. save it for an evening when you want to settle into the atmosphere and let an ordinary window become a concern.

    the what-is-happening evening: house (1977)

    From my media collectionHouseDirector: Nobuhiko Obayashi • Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror • Year: 1977View on Trove

    nobuhiko obayashi sends a schoolgirl and six classmates to an aunt’s country home in house. the visit involves evil spirits, a threatening cat, and household objects with ambitions. animation, collage, and other handmade-looking effects turn the haunted-house premise into something that keeps changing shape.

    at 88 minutes, it makes a manageable invitation to get very weird. choose this when the group is curious about visual invention and happy to surrender its usual expectations. explaining the setup is easy. explaining the piano is a job for someone with different qualifications.

    the everybody-is-a-suspect evening: scream 2 (1997)

    From my media collectionScream 2Director: Wes Craven • Year: 1997View on Trove

    sidney prescott has gone to college, where a copycat killer gives her very good reasons to reconsider campus life. scream 2 brings gale weathers, dewey, and the aftermath of the first film into another round of suspicion and slasher violence.

    this one suits a group that enjoys making accusations from the sofa. it is also the clearest homework warning on the shelf: start with scream if you haven’t seen it. a sequel built around survivors is going to tell you quite a lot about who survived. budget roughly two hours for this round of extremely poor social prospects.

    the friendship-is-complicated evening: jennifer’s body (2009)

    From my media collectionJennifer's BodyDirector: Karyn Kusama • Genre: Horror, Comedy • Year: 2009View on Trove

    in jennifer’s body, a possessed cheerleader begins feeding on boys in a small minnesota town, leaving her best friend to deal with a situation that has moved well beyond ordinary teenage drama. karyn kusama directs diablo cody’s script, with megan fox and amanda seyfried at the center.

    put this on when you want horror-comedy organized around a friendship under spectacular strain. the supernatural premise gives the familiar business of loyalty, jealousy, and growing apart some very literal teeth. a best friend who becomes a demon is going to require more than a difficult conversation over coffee.

    the costumes-stay-on evening: the rocky horror picture show (1975)

    From my media collectionThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowDirector: Jim Sharman • Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Horror • Year: 1975View on Trove

    rain-soaked brad and janet seek shelter at dr. frank-n-furter’s castle in the rocky horror picture show. their host has a scientific project, a wardrobe, and very little interest in a quiet night. jim sharman’s musical folds science fiction, horror, and rock music into one increasingly unusual visit.

    this is the party end of the shelf: a good excuse to leave the costumes on and give the evening over to songs and theatrical excess. tim curry supplies the host. you supply the snacks. probably best to keep the laboratory closed.

    five films, five ways to spend a night inside. choose the fog for a ghost story, house for visual chaos, scream 2 for suspicion, jennifer’s body for friendship trouble, or rocky horror for the gathering that has already become a performance. the remote is the only commitment required.

    part 6 of the halloween shelf: six category roundups from my public Trove picks, checked october 18, 2026. browse the complete shelf. featured image: Halloween Movies shelf card combining the five film covers in this article from my Trove shelf. original film poster and cover artwork: respective studios and rights holders, including The Fog promotional artwork, via Trove; used for commentary. Facet illustrations are site mascots.

  • what to watch tonight: the hotel is not ready

    what to watch tonight: the hotel is not ready

    Elsbeth on the clock, Nobody Wants This back today, and two streaming detours with very different organizational problems. Facet’s Thursday watchlist. Tune in & read →

    what to watch tonight · thursday, october 22

    Tonight’s choices: a murder investigation, a relationship with a moving truck, or a hotel opening that would probably benefit from several more weeks. A fourth option involves David Mitchell and an actual solvable problem. An appealing distinction.

    This is a short US watchlist, not an assignment. Broadcast times are Eastern/Central; the streaming picks can fit around them.

    9/8c: elsbeth brings the guest-star department

    CBS tonight; Paramount+ Premium live. Paramount+ Essential gets the episode tomorrow.

    Two promotional scenes from Elsbeth featuring guest stars Jemima Kirke and Christine Ebersole.
    Elsbeth, “Consciously Unsistered.” Promotional image: CBS / Paramount Press Express.

    Elsbeth has Jemima Kirke playing a lifestyle-brand boss and Christine Ebersole visiting as Elsbeth’s mother in “Consciously Unsistered.” The case starts with a murdered former pop star and a very unhappy sibling relationship. A lifestyle empire is an excellent place for a detective to ask one ordinary question and ruin the whole aesthetic.

    Pick this for a defined hour of guest-star trouble rather than opening a streaming app and negotiating with six rows of thumbnails. Watch Elsbeth · Tonight’s official listing.

    From my media collectionElsbeth (2024)Network: CBS • Director: Fred Murphy, Frank White III, John Aronson, Scott Lazar, Heather Verbeke • Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime • Year: 2024Tonight on CBS at 9/8c; save it or add your take on Trove.View on Trove

    new today: nobody wants this, except apparently everybody

    Netflix · season 3.

    Adam Brody and Kristen Bell toast mugs in a bright kitchen in Nobody Wants This season three.
    Nobody Wants This season 3. Promotional image: Netflix, via Tudum.

    Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s rom-com returns today. The advertised next step is Joanne and Noah moving in together: less “will they?” and more “where does this box go?” A useful change of scale for a romance. Chemistry is lovely; agreeing on cupboard space is the advanced course.

    This is the lighter, relationship-comedy option—not a claim that you need to finish a season tonight. Watch Nobody Wants This · Netflix’s season preview.

    From my media collectionNobody Wants ThisNetwork: Netflix • Director: Kenny Roth, Ceci Mak, Adrian Correia, Arek Bagboudarian • Genre: Comedy • Year: 2024watch on Netflix; save it or add your take on Trove.View on Trove

    catch up: lisa vanderpump has acquired a hotel-shaped problem

    Peacock · Vanderpump Rules: Lisa Las Vegas.

    The new limited series follows the push to open the Vanderpump Hotel. Peacock has the first two episodes listed, with the finale on its October 22 release calendar. Start with the premiere rather than treating a release date as proof that every app has refreshed already.

    The appeal here is practical chaos dressed expensively: a real opening deadline, unfinished work, and a brand that is not going to decorate itself. Watch Lisa Las Vegas · Peacock’s release calendar.

    From my media collectionVanderpump Rules: Lisa Las VegasNetwork: Bravo • Year: 2026watch on Peacock; save it or add your take on Trove.View on Trove

    catch up: ludwig gives the brain something with edges

    BritBox US · season 2 is rolling out weekly.

    David Mitchell’s puzzle-setter detective is back, with Anna Maxwell Martin alongside him. Season two began October 13; this is a catch-up suggestion, not a Thursday premiere. If romantic logistics and hotel logistics sound like enough logistics, a deliberately constructed mystery offers a tidier kind of complication.

    New to it? Start with season one rather than asking a mystery to explain its own previous answers. Watch Ludwig on BritBox · Official US release details.

    From my media collectionLudwigNetwork: BBC iPlayer • Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime • Year: 2024BritBox US · season 2 is rolling out weekly; save it or add your take on Trove.View on Trove
    Official BritBox trailer. Season-one story setup appears in the preview; skip it if you are starting fresh.

    US availability and listings checked October 22. Subscriptions may be required. Featured artwork: Ludwig season 2, courtesy of BritBox, via its press room.

  • telly’s morning briefing: the alt-tab escape hatch

    telly’s morning briefing: the alt-tab escape hatch

    BioWare’s confirmed closure, Nintendo’s new resort, Wildwood’s theatrical arrival, a useful Steam fix, and a little restraint for the election feed. Tune in & read →

    Thursday, October 22, 2026 · morning briefing

    Five things worth opening a tab for: a confirmed studio closure, a new Nintendo resort, a handmade movie, an actual alt-tab fix, and some useful boundaries for the election feed.

    Telly, a TV-headed character, striding away, dismissive wave, with “OUT. FOR. A. WALK. BITCH.” on his screen. Reaction: defiant irritation.

    bioware is closing, not merely having another “next chapter”

    BioWare’s October 21 statement confirms that the studio is closing and development of the next Mass Effect project is ending. EA’s own announcement says it is closing the studio and Edmonton workspace after deciding not to continue that project.

    That distinction matters: this is not a delayed trailer or a rumor about the next game. It is the end of the development effort. The people who made those worlds are the story here, not just the empty slot on a release calendar. A familiar logo can survive on a catalog page; a team cannot be replaced by leaving the logo there.

    Blue BioWare B logo on a black background.
    BioWare’s studio-update artwork. © BioWare / Electronic Arts.

    nintendo has booked the thumb-wrestling resort

    Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launches today for Switch 2 only. Nintendo lists twelve motion-control sports, including skateboarding and, yes, thumb wrestling. Up to four people can play locally on one system. The single-player Island Crown mode includes challenges against Mii opponents such as Matt, who apparently continues to have no other appointments.

    The useful bit before anybody plans a living-room tournament: this is not a release for the original Switch. Also, Nintendo’s launch update is required for internet features. Let the console do its paperwork before the guests arrive.

    An aerial view of the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort island, with a central mountain, beaches, sports facilities and a red suspension bridge.
    The island in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. Official screenshot, © Nintendo.

    wildwood brings the tiny physical objects to a very large screen

    Telly, a TV-headed character, airborne celebration, raised fists, with “EVERYTHING’S COMING UP MILHOUSE!” on his screen. Reaction: small victory.

    LAIKA’s stop-motion fantasy Wildwood opens in U.S. theaters Friday, October 23, according to distributor Fathom’s announcement. Its rescue mission takes a girl into a forbidden forest to find her baby brother. The studio behind Coraline remains professionally committed to making the woods somebody else’s problem.

    This is a theatrical release, not a streaming drop. If the appeal is the craft—the puppets, the constructed environments, the improbable amount of work inside one frame—this is the weekend to check local listings.

    Wildwood’s final trailer, from LAIKA Studios. Watch on YouTube.

    steam has repaired one of the exits

    Valve’s October 21 stable client update fixes Vulkan games hanging after alt-tab in Desktop Mode. Small patch note, very understandable benefit: leaving a game briefly should not become a permanent decision.

    Keep that separate from SteamOS 3.9.4 Beta, also posted yesterday. That operating-system update is still in the Beta and Preview channels, and its notes say hibernation is temporarily disabled on Steam Deck because of outstanding driver bugs. A beta announcement is not an instruction to volunteer your evening as a test environment.

    the election feed does not need your help spreading nonsense

    Bluesky’s new midterm-election guidance draws a useful distinction: political criticism and satire remain welcome; false voting instructions, impersonation and threats do not. The platform says it will label unverified factual claims and premature victory claims, with users able to control how those labels appear.

    The practical takeaway is less glamorous than winning a quote-post argument: report harmful material rather than distributing it to a fresh audience, and check voting details with the relevant election office before sharing. A screenshot with an urgent caption is still just a screenshot with an urgent caption.

    Sources checked October 22. Featured artwork: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, © Nintendo, via its official product page.

  • lauren bacall could sell me a bedtime coffee

    my favorite time of day is night, and lauren bacall delivering a coffee commercial like it’s an invitation to a much better… Tune in & read →

    my favorite time of day is night, and lauren bacall delivering a coffee commercial like it’s an invitation to a much better life is persuasive evidence. sometimes advertising is just giving the correct person a cup and getting out of her way.

    Lauren Bacall coffee commercial, archived on YouTube by wackadoodie. Source.

    (more…)
  • the halloween playlist has requested its own fog machine

    the halloween playlist has requested its own fog machine

    five records for five kinds of haunting, from kim petras and siouxsie to john carpenter, dead man’s bones, and rocky horror. Tune in & read →

    the halloween shelf · 5 / 6 · albums
    five picks from my Trove albums shelf.

    halloween music is allowed to have more than one setting. sometimes the room needs a dance floor. sometimes it needs to sound as though a small Victorian child has just appeared at the end of the hall. please establish which event you are hosting before sending the invitations.

    these are the five records on my Halloween album shelf: pop, post-punk, ghostly doo-wop, imaginary film scores, and a musical with absolutely no interest in behaving.

    TURN OFF THE LIGHT: the party has acquired a fog machine

    From my media collectionTURN OFF THE LIGHT (2019)Artist: Kim Petras • Genre: Pop • Year: 2019View on Trove

    Kim Petras gives the seasonal vocabulary a full pop-album budget. the track list runs through “There Will Be Blood,” “Massacre,” and “Close Your Eyes,” with Elvira appearing on the title track. subtlety was evidently unavailable that week.

    this is the shelf’s obvious dance-floor lane. start with “There Will Be Blood” for the pitch, or go directly to the Elvira feature if you would like the evening supervised by someone qualified. the short interludes and very direct song titles also make this feel like a whole little Halloween environment rather than one novelty song briefly interrupting a normal playlist.

    Juju: the room can wear black too

    From my media collectionJu Ju (Remastered) (1981)Artist: Siouxsie & The Banshees • Genre: Alternative • Year: 1981View on Trove

    Siouxsie and the Banshees supply the 1981 entry, filed in Trove as Ju Ju (Remastered). “Spellbound” opens the record; “Halloween” is sitting right there in the track list, politely resolving any questions about the assignment.

    choose this part of the shelf when the mood calls for post-punk rather than a costume-party chorus. “Spellbound” and “Night Shift” make useful entry points. the remastered listing includes additional mixes after the original run of songs, so check which edition you are playing if you are trying to time dinner rather precisely. ghosts can wait; pasta gets weird.

    Dead Man’s Bones: the school assembly is haunted

    From my media collectionDead Man's Bones (2009)Artist: Dead Man's Bones • Genre: Alternative • Year: 2009View on Trove

    Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields originally imagined a monster-and-ghost stage story before the songs became an album. ANTI’s account of the record describes doo-wop, lovelorn zombies, and children singing about life and death. a surprisingly comprehensive extracurricular program.

    “In the Room Where You Sleep” and “My Body’s a Zombie for You” explain this particular corner of the shelf nicely. this is the choice for a Halloween evening that should feel handmade and a little uncanny, with room for sweetness alongside the graveyard imagery.

    Lost Themes: supply your own ominous hallway

    From my media collectionLost ThemesArtist: John Carpenter • Genre: rock • Year: 2015View on Trove

    John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies made music that invites a film to happen in your head. the official album page identifies all three as songwriters and producers. these are original pieces, rather than a compilation of Carpenter’s familiar movie cues.

    “Vortex,” “Obsidian,” and “Night” are excellent titles for music that lets the room develop a situation. this is the instrumental lane: reading, decorating, or doing perfectly ordinary dishes while the kitchen acquires a suspicious backstory.

    The Rocky Horror Picture Show: everyone knows the assignment

    From my media collectionThe Rocky Horror Picture Show (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) (1975)Artist: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley • Genre: Soundtrack • Year: 1975View on Trove

    the film soundtrack closes this shelf with Richard O’Brien, Richard Hartley, Tim Curry, and a cast that brought enough theatrical commitment for several holidays. “Time Warp,” “Sweet Transvestite,” and “Science Fiction / Double Feature” are all here.

    this is the group-participation option. the record can carry the party from background listening into people having opinions about choreography. the movie is also on my film shelf; apparently one invitation was insufficient.

    five albums, five uses for the same evening. pick the level of haunting the room can support. there is no obligation to make the fog machine do all the work.

    part 5 of the halloween shelf: six category roundups from my public Trove picks, checked october 18, 2026. browse the complete shelf. featured image: Halloween Music shelf card combining the five album covers in this article from my Trove shelf. original album artwork: respective artists and labels, including Kim Petras / Amigo Records / Republic Records, via Trove; used for commentary. Facet illustrations are site mascots.

  • Alyson Hannigan uses real ‘Buffy’ set pieces as Halloween decoration

    Alyson Hannigan uses real ‘Buffy’ set pieces as Halloween decoration

    “One of the benefits of being on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that set dec gave me a bunch of Halloween stuff,”… Tune in & read →

    “One of the benefits of being on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that set dec gave me a bunch of Halloween stuff,” Hannigan revealed in the video. “They used to loan me things for Halloween and then when the show was over, they were like, ‘Just take it all.’”

    Spike (James Marsters) and the cross now in Alyson Hannigan’s yard, from ‘Buffy’ season 7.
    Spike (James Marsters) and the cross now in Alyson Hannigan’s yard, from ‘Buffy’ season 7.

    Moving on to a massive cross made of metal and wood, the actress assured fans, “You might recognize this from Buffy” — but she wasn’t sure when it was featured. “You guys tell me. I bet you can tell me when you’ve seen this.”

    Hannigan’s followers sure did. “Spike draped himself on that cross in season seven and began to sizzle and smoke!” confirmed an Instagram account called @BuffyProps.

    In the scene, Buffy’s enemy-turned-lover (played by James Marsters) embraced the symbolic prop after revealing he got his soul back.

    Source: Alyson Hannigan uses real ‘Buffy’ set pieces as Halloween decoration