There Goes the Fear Again

So last night I worked at the Lansing Jaycees Haunted House. People who know me understand how busy my life is and wonder how I manage to fit something else in. Well this was one of my few free nights and so I decided to put some time in, and I had a good time. The attendence was pretty ho hum, but it is still 2 weeks before Halloween. Anyway I was part of the "Electric Chair" room. Basically I was dressed in black (hey, anyone remember my pseudo-goth days?) and I had a black head cover on that showed only my eyes and mouth. There was a button on the chair that, when pressed, set off a lound buzzer and a strobe light. I would then act like I was getting electrocuted. It took me awhile to perfect my role. I started out by yelling things like "please save me, I didn't do it" or "you kids look just like the onces I killed by slitting their throats" and then hitting the button. I realized I got a better effect if I just sat there motionless, in a slumped position. I could hear people say "is he real?" or "he's gonna do something." Then I would wait until the last possible second and hit the buzzer and writhe around. That worked a lot better. I definitely enjoyed scaring the crap out of people. I worked in tandem with a guy who was in a "spook spot." Basically these are hidden doors where workers can jump in front of/behind the "victims." There was a scare spot in the rear of my room so once the victims went past, the monster would walk up behind them and get them. We had a nice little team going. I am quite sore today, however, from banging my body on the wooden chair. My elbows and my external occipital protuberance (bump on the rear of the skull just above where the neck starts) are especially sore. But hey, no pain no gain, right?

So I'm walking down Grand River the other day. I pass the purveyors of trendy college-chic known as Urban Outfitters. There is an empty storefront next too it and it is plastered with posters saying "Coming Soon: American Apparel." I let out a collective "Ugh." I first became aware of their existence through a link on Pitchfork. Being somewhat of a t-shirt junkie, I was curious. I went to their site and my first impression was "all you sell are solid colored shirts/pants/underwear." I was highly unimpressed. Then I read this (make sure to read the comments) by Mr. Alex Blogg. I have a link to his blog, but I'm not sure which of you read it on a regular basis. Anyway, I enjoyed his commentary on AA and their "mission." He also did his version of one of their ads. Apparently they are also opening a store on Coventry. Can we do something to stop these guys? Seriously though, I feel like printing out about 1000 copies of Mr. Blagg's opinion and doing one of the following: posting them in the near vicinity of the store; hand them out out to people leaving/entering the store; or going into the store and "accidently" dropping them all over the store.