Get a Head

I'm toying with doing my next Charmed Pot segment on parties, and plumbed ol' Martha Stewart's site for ideas. You've very likely seen this before, but it's still such a cool, creepy touch to a party for the "Muggles!"
Head Waiter how-to on Martha Stewart's website.


Oh, and here's to hoping this year's Hallowe'en Handbook from Martha includes a bunch of new projects not recycled from the last ten years of her magazine. I'll have to write another rant like this one, if that's the case! (Martha, don't make me write you another letter! I'm watching you!)

Martha, Revisited

I just wanted to let everyone know, I'm sending my note of disappointment in to Martha Stewart on Friday. If you wish to comment on my original post about the latest Halloween edition of Martha Stewart Living, please do so in the next couple of days. I'm hoping a few more of you will post your opinions, either good or bad, before I send off my note, so that maybe next year, we can look forward to an actual new Halloween edition, rather than the recycled drek we've been getting the last few years.

My "I Tilt At Windmills" bumper sticker will be arriving in the mail shortly.

Martha, I am VERY Disappointed in You!

Stewart, casting a "Look! It's Elvis" spell, and taking your money while you're distracted.

During Friday's shopping marathon for my new shop space in Rancho Cordova, I, at last, spied Martha Stewart Living's Halloween Edition. Although I am not an avid follower of Martha Stewart, I eagerly look forward to this edition every year, and have used some of the ideas to good and creepy effect in my haunt.

This year, though, I was warned. Mr. Macabre's post, aptly titled: Nooooooo! Betrayed! I've Been Betrayed! Martha Stewart Living Halloween Handbook Review revealed Stewart's dastardly plan to re-package old ideas in a new cover and call it good. So I took a moment to page through the magazine.

I could have wept, I was so disappointed.

While there were a few (very few) new (to me; they may have been from issues I haven't seen, yet) ideas, about 98% had been regurgitated from Stewart's Halloween archives. If I were to be charitable, I would say that the magazine was aimed at catching new readers who had never seen the old issues. The fact that she completely abandoned us, the Halloween aficionados and her Halloween followers, makes me feel used and abandoned. And angry. After all, we know she has minions to search the web to rip our ideas off the boards and blogs, so what gives?

Generally, when I get angry, I rant at Mr. ShellHawk for awhile, and he either offers suggestions or (wisely) makes sympathetic noises and nods in the appropriate places. This time, I've decided to take action.

I would like ALL of my readers who are familiar with past issues of Stewart's Halloween Magazine (and as someone once said to me, "All means ALL, that's all all means!") both followers and lurkers alike to go out and look at this magazine on the rack. Leaf through it, and make up your own mind.

If you agree that the bulk of this edition is recycled content from old issues, I want you to do four things:

1) Leave a comment expressing your disappointment in the Halloween issue on this post. Please, keep it classy and only about the Halloween issue! I intend to write a letter in a week or so and include the link to this post. I would like Martha's minions to see a lot of comments! Hundreds would be good. Seriously. It only takes a minute, and you can leave your comment anonymously.

2) If you have a blog of your own, please blog about your disappointment and leave a link to that post here in my comments section. Please let your readers know about this post and include a link for them to follow, so they can join in and comment, too. Make sure to tag your post with Martha Stewart and The Best of Martha Stewart Halloween Handbook, as well as any other useful tags so that if others do a search, they'll see your post and not waste their money. I'll include a list of blogs in the letter I intend to write to Martha.

3) "Digg," Tweet, Buzz up or otherwise promote this post, so it starts to create a buzz.

4) Write a letter to Martha, expressing your disappointment and letting her know that we will not have the wool pulled over our eyes. Again, keep it articulate and classy. (No, "Martha! You suck!" Okay?) Use your spellcheck and grammar check, so we all look intelligent! ;o) Here's the email page link: http://www.marthastewart.com/askmartha

Yes, I am aware there are more important issues in the world to be upset about, and I'll post about one of those very soon.

Humor me, anyway!