pumpkin carving = a perfectionist's worst nightmare

If there are any perfectionists out there looking for some form of punishment (perhaps you allowed yourself a handful of candy corn today... a plague on your house), stop by your local farmstand* and pick up a pumpkin.  Next, be sure to refuse to purchase any sort of 'specialized' carving product, because you've got plenty of different sized knives at home, and gosh-darn-it, you "refuse to be one of those people."  Now make sure to hollow it out indoors, for fear of any sort of bug/woodland creature/psycho lurking in the woods (long story...) becoming enticed by the scent of fresh pumpkin, and wandering your way.  Finally, here comes the fun part... you are FAR TOO TALENTED to resort to any type of stencil, so you choose to copy a picture from the computer free-hand, with a black sharpie marker... may some higher being have mercy on you, oh perfectionist.

Needless to say, I somehow managed to create this little darling after 2 hours, a handful (or two) of candy corn, a few sporadic glue gun burns (only to realize that little mistakes can't be glued since the pumpkin is moist), and hands covered in sharpie smears...

I LOVE my siamese kitty... or any Disney cat for that matter (Christmas hints, anyone?)  In case you somehow missed Lady and the Tramp as a child (I'm sorry for you...), take a look at this... Siamese Cat Song Video Link

After watching the video, I was reminded of how many racially-charged stereotypes the cats portray (teeth, eyes, accents, and the ever present 'ba-domp bomp bomp' of the gong...), and I couldn't help but wonder if any of these opinions reflected a general mentality of Americans in 1955.  I didn't realize until afterwards that I actually misinterpretted what I believed to be a tongue in the photo I copied this design from... in all reality, it's a big ole' set of buck teeth!  It's also interesting to note that in the video, the cats are doing everything in their power to be intentionally bad, and get the dog (all-American reference) in trouble.  Interesting political stance, Mr. Disney!  Around this time, the Korean War had just finished, and the Vietnam War would begin later that same year.  I'm curious as to whether a general discomfort with Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia at the time was manifested into a mistaken reference to Thailand  (or if I just think way too hard, and they simply found it funny and politically correct back then). 

Regardless, I'm amazed at how much has changed since the movie's 1955 release, and how society's views on culture and international relations have changed.  And to think, now we live in a time where Cookie Monster eats veggies, since "cookies are only for sometimes..."
  
*...festering boils and a swarm of gnats are coming your way if you went to stop & shop in lieu of supporting a local farmer.  :)