Maybe they'll get it right this time! From Flickr user Stefan. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

Update 11/1/09 by Alex - Stefan has the whole Storm Trooper photoset here.

Internet memes make great Halloween costumes, although they are usually only clever for one year. The exception is cats, because their popularity (at least on the internet) goes on and on. Here are some clever LOLcat Halloween Costumes.

Jacki was Spaghetti Cat in 2008. You don't have the time to make a better costume for this year, unless you have been working on it a while already. In case you've forgotten, here is the origin of Spaghetti Cat.

Brad O'Ferrell showed up at the "A Night To ReMEMEber" internet meme party in a Keyboard Cat costume.  All it took was a cat costume and a keyboard.

Matt Cutts is a LOLcat. Or he was for Halloween last year. The cheeseburger was a nice touch!

This LOLcat costume is perfect for trick-or-treating. You won't get the full effect until you see the back of the t-shirt.

This Ceiling Cat costume should be easy to do, depending on the size of the ceiling. If you are going to sit on the porch and hand out candy, this would be OK. It might be a problem if you are a cab driver.

You can buy Hello Kitty costumes of all kinds, but making your own is a real accomplishment. Pink Daisy at Craftster made her own version of Hello Kitty for Halloween 2008.

This costume was posted earlier on Neatorama, but this collection wouldn't be complete without Lime Cat, Melon Cat, Helmet Cat, or whatever you want to call this. Flicker user Alida Saxon’s brother put this costume together at the last minute. The helmet is a basketball painted green, and the fur was salvaged from a stuffed toy.

A warning: if you dress as an internet meme for Halloween, be prepared to explain yourself. Unless you're meeting up with your online group, you'll probably have to tell the whole story of your costume. If you're willing to do that, the few who will "get it" will make the entire effort worthwhile.

(YouTube link)

Professor Matthew Weathers went the extra mile for his math lecture Wednesday at Biola University. Who says math isn't fun? -via Cynical-C

Time is tight if you are just starting to make Halloween decorations, but this one can be ready in a day. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has instructions for making your own concrete tombstone! It might not be fancy enough for an actual grave, but it is sturdy and customizable for Halloween. Link

People have deducted swimming pools, breast implants, and body oil from their income for tax purposes -and the IRS allowed it! You can deduct anything if you can justify it as a legitimate business expense. Eleven people did just that in this article from Kiplinger.

1. Pet food. A couple who owned a junkyard were allowed to write off the cost of cat food they set out to attract wild cats. The feral felines did more than just eat. They also took care of snakes and rats on the property, making the place safer for customers. When the case reached the Tax Court, IRS lawyers conceded that the cost was deductible.

Link -via Digg

(image credit: Flickr user play4smee)

Will at A Journey Around My Skull asked readers to create bookplates in the style of the early-20th century magazine Der Orchideengarten (previously at Netaorama) for a contest. They were to include orchids and other flowers, corpses, giant insects, monsters, or diseases. The entries are quite interesting! Memphis artist Michelle Duckworth was the overall winner. Pictured is the bookplate by Ellis Nadler. Link

Newsweek presents a pictorial history of birth control methods. We've come a long way since the Greek philosopher Aristotle recommended olive oil as a spermicide! http://www.newsweek.com/id/220089 -Thanks, Steadyburn!

A Dutch medical magazine asked its readers to send in their stories of strange medical cases. One respondent told the tale of Margaret Daalman, who came in to the hospital 30 years ago complaining of a stomach ache. An x-ray found 78 forks and spoons inside her!

When she went in for her surgery, Ms Daalman, a secretary in a local estate agents, told doctors: 'I don't know why but I felt an urge to eat the silverware - I could not help myself.'

Medics also revealed it was not the first time that she had been treated for eating the cutlery.

They said she had been diagnosed as suffering from a borderline personality disorder that left her with an urge to eat forks and spoons.

She never ate knives, however - and could not explain why not.

The photos and x-rays were not made public until now. Daalman went into therapy after the surgery and is said to be doing well today. Link -via Unique Daily

Remember Dave Carroll of the group Sons of Maxwell who wrote the song United Breaks Guitars after seeing his guitar abused? He flew United Airline again on Sunday on his way to speak to a group of customer service executives. Then he spent an hour at the baggage claim because United lost his luggage!

In an interview, Mr. Carroll said that for more than an hour on Sunday, he was told he could not leave the international baggage claim area at Denver International Airport, where he had flown from Saskatchewan. He said he had been told to stay because his bag was delayed, not lost, and he had to be there to claim it when it came down the conveyor belt.

“I’m the only person pacing around this room,” Mr. Carroll said, recalling how he was caught between an order from United staff members to stay and collect his bag, and a federal customs official telling him he had to leave the baggage claim area. The bag never showed.

Carroll got his bag back on Wednesday. Link -via YesButNoButYes

Natania had already planned to make slime and ectoplasm for Halloween when she came up with an idea for crystal-encrusted Halloween decorations. Get some pipe cleaners and some borax and make your own with her recipe. Link

(College Humor link)

 

What if all our favorite pop culture vampires got together in the same room? Pretty much what you'd expect.

Perfect for Halloween, this dish is a regular meatloaf made into the shape of a hand! Not Martha has the instructions for several different versions, depending on how badly you want to creep out your dinner guests. Link -via reddit

The Haunted Mansion attraction at Walt Disney World features tombstones inscribed with the names of real people. This series of posts called 13 Tombstones tracks down who those people are -mostly Disney employees whose names are now enshrined in the parks for posterity. Link -via Boing Boing

A church group staged a murder mystery dinner theater in Yeovil, England on Saturday night. They spent the evening looking for crime clues, but failed to notice that thieves had taken a large TV, laptop computer and the contents of a safe the night before. Elim Pentecostal Church was the victim of a break-in that went unnoticed until Sunday, despite the crime-solving party. The crime was finally noticed by Reverend Howard Davenport, whose car had been vandalized at the church earlier in the week.

Revd Howard Davenport said: “In situations like this you have to laugh really!

"We were obviously disappointed that the church had been targeted twice in a week, but when I heard that it hadn’t even been noticed I had to smile.

"You’d have thought that eight wannabe detectives might have noticed a real crime a few metres from them only hours earlier!”

Link -via Arbroath

The 7th Annual Asana Yoga Competition was recently held in New York. New York Magazine has a glimpse at the extreme poses competitors used to impress the judges. Link -via Buzzfeed