Party like it's Nineteen Ninetysomething

"Life is long if you know how to use it."

- Seneca the Younger

We here at Bennett Media spend a lotta time combing through the past, but in reality we truly do live in and appreciate the moment. We are guided by tradition, routine, and nostalgia, but seasons change, wisdom grows, experience is accumulated, and if you know what you're doing, everyday is Halloween. 

What do I mean by that: spooky movies and seasonal coffee? Yes, but also very much no. Life can either be a trick or a treat? Also true, but I'm not actually trying to be that literal with the analogy. All I'm saying is that if you have the tools, you can celebrate any change in weather, you can decorate for any occasion, you can indulge in the food, films, music, and literature that excite you regardless of the calendar month. We assign certain fashions to certain dates to spread them out and keep them fresh - that & candy corn is only available in the Fall - but really the poetry and poisons of this bitter Earth are here for our pleasure, and so we (the royal "we" but all are welcome) participate in the dance.

We spent our entire summer this year in the narrow gutter of 1993 with tinted blinders on to anything that didn't jibe with that vibe. It was a fun experiment that was successful in that the time travel experience was fully realized and deeply felt - at least by me. This month we're sheltering into the entire decade of the 1990s, and all that mostly relates to is movies, music, TV, and books and magazines. But venturing into a little novelty excursion like this, we mustn't let ourselves relinquish our grasp on Halloween, in this current year of our Lord or any other. 

Those who damn nostalgia as a frivolous or even dangerous undertaking clearly do not observe holidays (or ever intentionally listen to the same song more than once). There's a growing trend whereby folks construct a Halloween Mood Table, a sorta seasonal shrine that can encapsulate one's observance into a designated corner. Of course if you have any motive for interior design you're gonna have trouble finding space for this transparent gewgaw what with all your everyday balloons already taking up so much room. And so amongst our weaponry we've adorned a newly acquired coffee table with the '86 McDonald's pails (which resemble the 1990 set just enough to stay in line).

Within these pails is Halloween candy ("Fun Size" if they're Mars, "Snack Size" if they're Hershey). But the most fun snack I've seen this year are the Reese's Skeletons - not because they're any kinda fancy new recipe (just chocolate and peanut butter) but they're individually wrapped in foil works of art that harken back to Palmer's Monster Munny that I so richly adored. 

The point of this year's rigid theme was to break out of some of our more recent holiday traditions. But in doing so, we nearly forgot it was Halloween: Suspiria, Snickers, Sangria, and the whole zombie parade of necessary necessities that have nothing to do with the 1990s. I do not yet feel deprived and if I feel the need I will indulge because the whole point is that there are no rules and that's what makes it exciting. However! If there's one timeless celebratory measure that anyone can take, it's decorating. Whether it's a cardboard witch, a rubber bat, an acorn-scented candle, a block of wood from Michael's, a 20 foot tall lawn skeleton, or a legitimate mood table, leave something around to remind yourself that everything's okay (but still spooky). If you choose to accept this mission (or it's already just second nature to you), comment with your photos on our Facebook or tag us on Instagram and X -- even if you just bought a mini pumpkin at the grocery store or your lock screen is a picture of Elvira, we wanna see your freak flags. And if not I'll still show you mine because that turns me on.

- Paul