Several years ago, a Flyer reporter (who shall remain nameless) got all dressed up for a Halloween party, and when that party got canceled, she and a friend sat at home and sulked about being all dressed up with nowhere to go. At one point, they got so bored that they walked outside and posed, in costume, on Madison Avenue for the passing cars. That was the highlight of the evening. Lame, yes. But it’s a true story.

Don’t let that happen to you. With all the parties, haunted houses, and spooky weekend events going on this weekend, there’s really no excuse. Kick off the night by taking the little ones trick-or-treating on Mud Island. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the island will feature a haunted river walk, hayrides, and a kid’s costume contest….

Skatelife Memphis reports that the city’s new skatepark will be at Tobey Fields.

Because it has outdoor lighting, the location will allow for night skating.

The giant fruit that once adorned the old Wild Oats Marketplace is gone for good, and the East Memphis health food store is finally transitioning into a Whole Foods. Celebrate the store’s grand re-opening tonight at the Whole Foods Pumpkin-Palooza, an Oktoberfest celebration with live music, a performance by New Ballet Ensemble, and plenty of grilled bratwurst (which isn’t exactly health food, but hey, it’s a party).

This is my favorite quote from yesterday’s joint City Council/County Commission meeting about the future of the Pyramid:

“Give us the building. Let us sign a deal with Bass Pro and live happily ever after.”

Is Janis Fullilove our Amy Winehouse?

Dear Bianca,

Some particularly hard times fell on him recently, and the drinking got worse. …

There are lines in The Glass Menagerie — now at Playhouse on the Square — that sound like they might have been written yesterday as a deliberate anti-venom for the disorder reigning throughout America’s politics and economy. The frequently produced play sounds brand-new, especially in its earliest moments when Tom Wingfield — a dramatic doppelganger for playwright, Tennessee Williams — summons up visions from a time when “the huge middle class of America was matriculating in a school for the blind.”

During these scary economic, war-crazed times, take a deep breath and think, “What Would Gandhi Do?” He’d probably head over to Christian Brothers University for the annual Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking. This year’s event features lectures by Democracy Now!‘s Amy Goodman, hip-hop activist Lennox Yearwood, and more ….