It's been a while since I checked in, but it's been busy. Many apologies to both of you who are reading this.

First off, Halloween came to Los Angeles. Steph's friend Tara McNichols was in town, checking out SoCal for the first time. Drinking was a major theme, as we headed to bars on the West Side (the World Cafe and Bar, the Arsenal), and then over to West Hollywood (Lola's, birthplace of the Apple Martini). We also tried out Pink's, one of them there hot dog stands that make people stand in line for hours upon hours to try its wares.

In general, I'm not a big fan of the hole in the wall eateries that make you wait in line around the corner. Witness Garrett's Popcorn in Chicago. A million degrees below zero and people wait in line for . . . popcorn. "This is the BEST POPCORN!" someone once told me.

"Fools," Indiana Jones would have said. "Bureaucratic fools."

Anyway, Halloween weekend also included the infamous West Hollywood Halloween Parade - really more of a street festival than a parade. Highlights:

1) A fat guy in a tight white T-shirt that said, "I'm what Mary Kate Olsen sees in the mirror".

2) French maid outfits.

3) The creepy old man from the Six Flags commercial.

Lowlights:

1) The naked guy painted silver with bat wings and antlers.

2) Batman minus the costume. That's right. A mask, a batsymbol on the chest, leather straps across the chest, and a speedo.

3) Jody Watley - no wait, she was part of the entertainment.

I went in costume as Richie Cunningham from Happy Days. My wife was a butterfly. Hans went as a Republican (blue blazer, red tie, US Ronald Reagan baseball cap), but a lot of people thought he was Michael Moore. Tara was a hippie. Good times. If I can figure out how to do photos, I'll put em up there.

Of course, a couple of days later, the real terror set in.