Pumpkin Carving

September 24, 2001 12:33 PM

Simple pleasures. The beginning of fall means pumpkin carving to me. Try something new. Pull a prank. Roast some seeds. Visit the Mecca of pumpkins. Carve a pumpkin underwater. But for god's sake, please don't forward me this picture again in email. Be a kid again and share your favorite jack o' lantern story.
posted by machaus (20 comments total)

Livingin Los Angeles now, i'm already nostalgic for east coast fall weather. that was my freshman year at Cornell that the pumpkin appeared on McGraw Tower. If anyone remembers the incident, and cares to hear how it happened, this article in the cornell daily sun explains it. Last time I had checked, the pumpkin still existed at Cornell, suspended in some kind of preservative, alongside the brain collection that used to be used when phrenology was considered a science.
posted by chacal at 12:54 PM on September 24, 2001

i always enjoyed picking pumpkins on the farms by my girlfriend's parent's house, and then painting them on the back porch of their house (ok, not technically a jack o'lantern story, but close right?). one year in college i had one last over 6 months without rotting. it was simply amazing. it's a lot of fun, and is definately a tell tale sign that christmas is near. the hay ride out to the field, the crisp autumn air, the little kids with their parents looking for the perfect pumpkin. it is a wonderful time of the year.
posted by mich9139 at 1:19 PM on September 24, 2001

I'm totally doing one of the emoticon pumpkins shown at the jack-o-lantern.com site.
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:28 PM on September 24, 2001

Pumpkin carving to me means five weeks to my birthday on Halloween...and yes, I've heard all the jokes...
posted by feelinglistless at 3:13 PM on September 24, 2001

Not to be a smartass about these things but when you refer to a "mecca" these days you begin to catch yourself and note that mecca reserved only for Muslims and references of such kinds that slip out with no bad intent now take on a new way of viewing things, as Bush found out when he referred inadvertenbtly (or through igorance) of a Crusade against terrorists, crusades being the holy war the Christians used when they went to arab land to kill the Muslims (and Jews while down that way).
posted by Postroad at 3:18 PM on September 24, 2001

no story, just:

monogrammed pumpkins

(I woke up this morning nostalgic for autumn; how I wish I lived in a place that has seasons!)
posted by rebeccablood at 3:37 PM on September 24, 2001

Autumn is great but then it's winter. At night, the ice weasels come.

(Sorry for the fatalism, I live in Minnesota)
posted by norm at 3:42 PM on September 24, 2001 [1 favorite]

I love fall and I love carving pumpkins. Pumpkin Masters makes my tools of choice, and as they do every year, they offer a free pattern online.
While I don't profess to be as talented as some, i do think my family and I do a good job carving. Enjoy!
posted by jazon at 4:16 PM on September 24, 2001

Postroad, I think someone would benefit greatly from a good pumpkin carvin. And I think that someone is you!
And while you're at it, save me the seeds. I love roast pumpkin seeds.
posted by Doug at 4:17 PM on September 24, 2001

At night, the ice weasels come

mmmmm... ice weasles... sounds a bit like love to me
posted by jazon at 4:17 PM on September 24, 2001

Fall (Autumn to LeftPonders) is my favorite season.....and when I was a kid, Halloween was my favorite holiday, ranked over Christmas, even.

We still carve a pumpkin every year, and I make my husband cringe when I occasionally munch on the pumpkin "guts" as we scoop 'em out...can't help it, tastes good to me. Then, of course, is the ritual roasting of the seeds...mmmm....
posted by Oriole Adams at 4:42 PM on September 24, 2001

my grandma used to scare the shit out of me singing this song:

I'm a jack-o-lantern with a great big grin
I'm a jack-o-lantern with a candle in
See my big and scary eyes...
Look out!
A big surprise!


BOO!

My grandma is freaky. She has this Charles Manson impression that's the creepiest thing I've ever seen...
posted by meep at 5:52 PM on September 24, 2001

Man, in that picture of the pumpkin on top of McGraw Tower, the first thing I noticed was the plane flying in the background. That sucks.
posted by UrbanFigaro at 6:38 PM on September 24, 2001

those of you from around CA's east bay might remember the (copycat?) prank pumpkin on the u.c. berkeley campanile a year or so back. Articles here and here. Unfortunately the pictures aren't working for me -- but perhaps you'll be more lucky.
posted by fishfucker at 8:06 PM on September 24, 2001

when you refer to a "mecca" these days you begin to catch yourself and note that mecca reserved only for Muslims

i refer to anywhere that takes a while to get to as a "mecca." like, "you parked where?! man, that's a mecca." bah, pardon my bad slanguage.
posted by lotsofno at 8:51 PM on September 24, 2001

I lived in Keene for 3 years, and I gotta say the Pumpkinfest is a sight to see. A huge scaffolding of candlelight (well, they're switching to fake candles now so they don't blow out,) all of downtown lined with pumpkins, the mass carving and decorating on the quad at KSC... the 3 hour lines at the bars, the biting cold wind, the wall to wall people... okay, so it wasn't all great, but it's still impressive to behold. Anyone want to go this year?
posted by fizgig at 8:52 PM on September 24, 2001

Your post reminded me of this tender gem. I remember wishing my sibs and I could actualize such a festive, adult-free holiday meal (popcorn, jellybeans and toast) served on a ping-pong table.
posted by katexmcfly at 9:40 PM on September 24, 2001

Yeah all of you guys who don't have to shovel driveways with 2 feet of snow ontop of 2 inches of ice are all "I'm so nostalgic" or "I wish I had seasons"...
posted by geoff. at 9:42 PM on September 24, 2001

Families are going mushrooming in the woods these last few weekends before the frost. And something yesterday, perhaps the right tailwinds and a clear spray of stars the night before, told the geese to start south in their wandering V formations.
posted by pracowity at 11:55 PM on September 24, 2001

ah, the great pumpkin mystery. Thanks, chacal, for posting that sun explanation. It was my freshman year too, but by the time that article was published, I had long since stopped going onto campus for classes and reading the paper :) I don't think I read one Sun after I stopped eating at okenshields...

I graduated early because I was sick of the place, and now all I want to do is go back... :(

Some friends and I had an idea for a similarly impressive prank but never could get the resources for it... maybe I'll have to go back :)
posted by Bernreuther at 3:54 AM on September 25, 2001