Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends for October 23, 2000

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Oct. 23, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

Guess who?

Stumped for a Halloween-costume idea? Not a problem. Let your fingers do the walking and mosey on over to Party411.com. The online event-planning service has compiled a dos-and-don'ts list of costumes for this year.

Batting for the don'ts: a "Survivor" castmate (especially naked Richard Hatch); bride-and-groom-gone-wrong Darva Conger and Rick Rockwell; Dennis Miller (as host of "Monday Night Football"); Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton; and, of course, Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Pitching for the dos: newlyweds Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt; any of the sirens from "Sex and the City"; former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight (as an anger management therapist); and singer-and-sperm donor David Crosby, dressed as Regis Philbin and holding a sign reading "Who Wants To Have My Baby?"

Re-mark your calendars

In case you haven't heard, there is a possibility that trick-or-treaters will start making their rounds a little early this year. Like on Saturday.

The Halloween Association, a group comprised of retailers offering products related to the industry, is tracking a trend that has some cities and towns celebrating Halloween on the last Saturday of October, rather than Oct. 31.

The reasons for the date switch are numerous. According to the association's website (halloweenassn.org), some jurisdictions hope to confine traditional late-night holiday activities -- parties, trick-or-treating and such -- to the weekend.

The argument largely focuses on children and how a weekend holiday would give youngsters an opportunity to start trick-or-treating in the late afternoon/ early evening and potentially avoid such nighttime dangers as traffic.

Theoretically, after junior makes his haul, Mom and Dad can go out and party into the night. The bonus: No one will have to get up for school or work the next day. In any case, the association says it will continue studying the issues.

Buggin' out

Count the Discovery Channel in. The channel (Cox cable channel 25) is starting its Halloween celebrations early with a slew of "creepy crawly" programing that, well, sort of relates to the holiday: the movie-magic behind horror films, an "ultimate guide" to ants and an expose about cannibal mites. Hey, at least it's educational!

The channel has also released some trivia about all sorts of varmints. Bet you didn't know that:

Now if that doesn't bring on the heebie-jeebies, nothing will.