LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

New word:  Emaul
As in, "I received another emaul from your mother about missing the Bris." or

"Don't delete those psycho emauls from the contractor, because I might need to show them to an attorney." Also a verb; to emaul, emauled.

Mythic referent:  Eris, the Greek Goddess of Strife, tossing the Apple of Discord into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

Specific Halloween referent: The erroneous assumption that, on most days of the year, the Gates of Hell are a one-way portal.

SQUIRREL TROUBLE

The squirrels and our dog Callie are at war.  I almost lost my thumb in a suicide squirrel tie-down, when I got crisscrossed with Callie, a squirrel and an erratic zipleash.  Annoying.

The squirrels seem to be increasingly aggressive.

The dogs in the neighborhood are finding various ways to cope:

Unconfirmed sightings of supposedly extinct proto-Sciuridae have local canines on edge.

However, we have some unexpected allies in our pursuit of homeland security.

UP IN SMOKE

Thank you to the patrons and supporters of my "Discard Your Outworn Ideas" enterprise at yesterday's San Anselmo Fair. We tossed out old notions, sent up some fine vibes and successfully celebrated the moment.

How do I know?  Because I was THERE, and I had a GREAT time.  The transmogrification of those pieces of paper containing your statements is captured in this video.  Don't miss it.