Trends for Oct. 28, 2002

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 | 8:28 a.m.

Carving out a niche

So, this is the year you've decided to finally think beyond triangles and get fancy with your pumpkin carving.

Sure, you could pick up one of those books, on sale at every supermarket on the planet, which are full of spooky, tough-to-carve designs. But then, don't be surprised when a neighbor on Halloween illuminates the same style jack-o-lantern you spent hours perfecting.

If you really want to frighten the little beggars ... er, trick-or-treaters ... check out spookmaster.com, which features dozens of pumpkin-carving designs for the downloading.

'Cause nothing says creepy like President George W. Bush's big old head on a gourd. The commander in chief's mug shot is one of several patriotic designs that SpookMaster offers free of charge. Others include the Statue of Liberty and Old Glory.

The good designs more than 60 of them, including an alien "Visitor," "Detective Doom" and "Goddess of Fire" are available for a $7.95 "subscriber" fee. Unusual options include Mount Rushmore, Albert Einstein and the "Mona Lisa."

Subscribers are able to mix and match designs and personalize their pumpkins with patterns for numbers and letters. And for the carving-challenged, detailed instructions can also be downloaded.

Not-so-scary stuff

Who says census takers aren't any fun?

After all, somebody had to pound the pavement (or at least do the research) to round up the goofy data the U.S. Census Bureau is passing out this Halloween.

We'd have preferred a Snickers bar, but OK.

According to numbers from the 2000 Census, there are potentially more than 41 million trick-or-treaters, ages 5 to 14, in the United States more than the 40.7 million kids (now Baby Boomers) who were counted in the 1970 Census with California boasting the largest number (5.3 million) of would-be Halloween hell-raisers.

Last year the United States produced more than 831 million pounds of pumpkin, the bulk of it 319 million pounds originating in Indiana pumpkin patches.

Plan on hitting the road this Halloween? You may want to check out such spooky-named locales as Transylvania County, N.C. (home in 2000 to nearly 30,000 residents); and Tombstone, Ariz. (population 1,504). Meanwhile there's bound to be some serious partying among the 297 souls in Skull Creek township, Neb.

A big buf-"phoon"

No need to wear a costume this Halloween to look the part of a fool. Just strike a pose.

The "phoon," more specifically. Homage is paid to this silly human form on the website phoons.com.

John Darrow, a computer specialist in California's Silicon Valley, created the site and claims to have coined the term "phoon" in 1980 when he first struck the pose in family vacation photos. Nearly 20 years later, he began asking folks to forward photos of phooning. More than 750 phoon photos are posted on the site.

Wondering how to take a phoon photo? There are directions on the website, but here's a condensed version: Stand sideways to the camera and bend your arms at the elbows, lifting the rear elbow so it extends behind the back. Lean forward at the waist to help lift the rear ankle, and look straight ahead not at the camera.

Phooning has been captured in front of such landmarks as the pyramids in Egypt and, a little closer to Darrow's home, at San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square. It's even been depicted at a wedding at Bellagio.