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this is thriller night

There are three big haunted adventures in Boise every year around Halloween.

For the last several years I’ve gone to the Haunted Woods, a fundraiser for the Eagle Volunteer Firefighter Association .

For ten bucks a pop, the firefighters do a great job with their scare fest. But supposedly it is the least scary of the three haunts.

I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to flying surprise props and crazed actors attacking me in the middle of the night on a moderately worn path. But after a couple of years of the Haunted Woods, I was ready for a more frightening experience. [more]

Maybe the vegetarians are on to something

I only eat chicken if it is hidden or disguised. I know, it’s kind of juvenile to be a finicky eater, but I just can’t stomach looking at meat, especially if I have to eat it.

I like General Tso chicken because it is hidden beneath gobs of fry and sauce. I like chicken burritos because they, too, cloak the meat. This is also why I love flaky, creamy, covered chicken pot pies.

But there is bad news in the chicken pot pie arena today. Eight Salmonella infections reported in southern Idaho might be related to frozen store-bought pot pies containing poultry meat.

Banquet pot pies or the generic store-brand name with a code number “P-9” on the side of the box are the specific pies in question. Consumers shouldn’t eat them.
[more]

words the world is coming to

Last week’s popular comic strip Tom the Dancing Bug mocked hip, ironic catchphrases.

The cartoon charted the cultural parabola of “don’t tase me, bro,” the tag made famous by a University of Florida college student.

Similarly, and perhaps the next hip, ironic catchphrase in the series, another popular saying recently made famous enough for grandma to utter is making news worldwide: “wide stance” by Idaho’s own Sen. Larry Craig after his arrest in a Minneapolis restroom.

A story by the Associated Press asks if wide stance will last in popular vernacular. What do you think? My guess is that it will last longer than “don’t tase me, bro.” [more]

Update: Missing Skydivers

Officials searching for the missing plane with up to ten passengers that dissappeared on Monday are further investigating wreckage of a small plane found Monday night in Washington state. Only the front part of the plane has been found so far.

CNN reports that at least seven bodies were discovered after a wrecked plane was found south of Mount Rainier. No signs of life were detected and the story notes that officials believe that the three people whose bodies had not been found probably did not survive the crash.
[more]

Rescuers search from Air and ground

Officials are looking for a missing plane with up to 10 passengers that departed from an airport in Boise suburb Star on Sunday evening.

A search for the plane began early Monday in the central Washington Cascades for the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan that was supposed to reach Shelton, Wash., but did not arrive as scheduled.

One of the ten people scheduled to be on the plane, returning from a skydiving trip with Skydive Snohomish, was former Boisean Michelle Barker, 22. [more]

Celebrities getting arrested in Idaho

Hip-hop rapper Lil Wayne was arrested in Boise on Saturday morning.

After his concert Friday night at Qwest Arena in downtown Boise, the 25-year old known for his 2005 album “Tha Carter II” was booked on a charge of felony fugitive to Idaho and sent to the Ada County Jail.

His mug shot is listed on the Ada County Sheriff’s web site of weekend arrests.
[more]

Boise Events We Like

Saturday, Oct. 6
Meridian Chili Cook-Off – It’s getting cold outside, which is perfect time for a hot bowl of chili. Starting at noon, 11 local businesses will fight for the “Best Chili” title in the 14th annual fundraiser. Food is served in the parking lot of the Chapel of the Chimes. $5 gets you bowls of all 11 chilis. It’s $4 for seniors and children 6-12, free for ages younger than 5. Last year there was no vegetarian chili – so if you don’t do meat, expect to fill up on Fritos and saltines.

See Spot Walk – Idaho’s largest community dog walk is in its 16th year. The fundraiser benefits the Idaho Humane Society. Participants earn prizes for the amounts of cash they rake in, but all families and dogs are welcome to walk with the group through downtown Boise and participate in all the other activities during the celebration, including dog contests for best singer, best hair and best costume. Registration is $15 for kids, $20 for adults.

Oktoberfest in the Garden — October, the traditional month of beer and German grub, and no place in Boise can resist the urge to host their own Oktoberfest, not even the Idaho Botanical Garden. Check it out for more than the beer – for all the culture that comes with the suds, including music by the Edelweiss Band, folk dancing and traditional food like brats. The fun begins at 5 p.m. and costs $6 or $4 for members and kids 4-12.

Sunday, Oct. 7
Sum 41 – The popular Canadian punk rockers from 2001 are back with a new album. Last time they were in town they brought chicks from the audience to make out on stage. That was years ago; they are all grown up now, the lead singer is married to fellow Canadian chanteuse Avril Lavigne and their new album, “Underclass Hero” has a picture of said lead singer spitting. See them for $20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Big Easy.

Monday, Oct. 8
Columbus Day – Don’t go to work or have a parade or protest it or whatever.

For more things to do, check out www.boiseevents.net.
[more]

a day to remember

Wedding crashers were funny in the movie with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. But in real life, wedding crashers stink. Just ask new bride and groom Sciara and Charles Dougherty, a Rigby couple who were victims of a hard-partying and thieving wedding crasher.

The female wedding crasher acted like a regular party guest at the Sept. 15 fete, dancing and dining and celebrating. It wasn’t until later, when the couple realized gifts, gift cards and cash were missing, that they suspected the stranger with a daughter was, in fact, a crasher and the thief.

The next day, authorities identified the culprit as Kimberly Cooper while she was cashing in the stolen gift cards at a Target in nearby Ammon. [more]

Feelin' hot hot hot?

Can’t make the three-hour drive to Jackpot, Nevada, often enough to calm your gambling needs? The Idaho Lottery has just the cure: another multi-state lotto game.

The Idaho Lottery today introduced Hot Lotto, the first new lotto game since Idaho Pick 3 debuted in June 2000.

Hot Lotto will offer jackpots at $1 million and higher, something in between the jackpots of the other lotto games the state agency offers, the ginormous Powerball and relatively-puny Wild Card. [more]

public transit, Detox center, more jobs, no graffiti, and jazz

Boise is going to launch an anti-graffiti program called TAG, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter announced at the annual State of the City address on Thursday morning.

Graffiti contributes to the degeneration of a city, he explained. And though it doesn’t seem to be a significant problem in Boise, he wants to fight it before it becomes a major issue. That kind of forward thinking was the general theme of the mayor’s speech given before hundreds of Boiseans at the Boise Centre on the Grove.

Like last year, the mayor ditched his notes and had no prepared speech for his State of the City. He meandered casually across the stage and spoke with passion about his stance on some of the issues facing the city and the residents.

Some of the highlights: [more]

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