Halloween plans, and speaking of podcasts to listen to...

Happy Thursday everyone! I'm in a good mood today, as you may be able to tell, because once again, as Anne would say: "I sleeped!" We had some pre-bedtime sassiness, but overall we've developed a nice routine of getting her ready and soothingly talking about hugging her new stuffed dog (whom Anne has christened "Dan") if she wakes up when it's still dark out. So far, so good. I'm hoping that I haven't set forth an avalanche of tantrumy activity by writing that outright, but I'm choosing to live dangerously. ;-)

Tomorrow is Halloween, and also 7 Quick Takes Friday, so I'm planning a themed edition. I have photos of both children in their costumes to include - I always secure those before the day itself, since there is no guarantee that the toddler/preschool aged child will willing put their chosen costume on their actual body prior to trick-or-treating. We've been burned by this in the past. :0 I also have a link to my favorite Halloween post of all time (think: Anne taking out an entire porch row of potted mums and a poor fiber optic vampire), and amusing details of the way Mike and I handle doling out candy duty vs. taking the kids around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat (think: specific alcoholic selections). As well, I have an All Saints Day dance performance update, and some information about an upcoming Catholic YA fiction title that I am tremendously excited about!

So, good stuff ahead. But going back for a moment to my post from yesterday, in which I mentioned a podcast that I listen to faithfully, Catholic Vitamins. I listen to a slew of Catholic podcasts, most of them affiliated with SQPN, but not exclusively. I adore them.

I do, though, listen to a few secular podcasts, one of which is new and I have become so obsessed with it that I thought I'd mention it. And that is the new spinoff of This American Life, (which I also listen to) called Serial.

 As the name implies, it's a single story told week-by-week, and so the episodes are designed to be listened to in order. Season 1 chronicles the following story, as excerpted from their website:

"On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t.

Sarah Koenig, who hosts Serial, first learned about this case more than a year ago. In the months since, she's been sorting through box after box (after box) of legal documents and investigators' notes, listening to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talking to everyone she can find who remembers what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee fifteen years ago. What she realized is that the trial covered up a far more complicated story, which neither the jury nor the public got to hear. The high school scene, the shifting statements to police, the prejudices, the sketchy alibis, the scant forensic evidence - all of it leads back to the most basic questions: How can you know a person’s character? How can you tell what they’re capable of? In Season One of Serial, she looks for answers."

Oh my goodness. It is SO GOOD. Fascinating, fascinating stuff. If true crime and legal cases interest you, take a listen, you won't regret it. The new episodes come out on Thursdays, and this morning I was tripping over my own feet to synch my iPod and download the new one.

All right, talk to you all tomorrow with all of the Halloween-y details. :) Have a good day!