Thanksgiving is right around the corner ... don't tell me consumption of your vice-of-choice hasn't increased.

It has. 

As this, often the most family-charged event of the holidays approaches, a lot of us are eager with anticipation, but more are experiencing anxiety spikes. Whatever your family's dysfunction - and everyone's has at least one, so no one is excluded here, either - T-Day is going to put a high-powered microscope on it and serve it up with a side of mashed potatoes. 

I was reminded of this last night while re-watching Jodie Foster's Home for the Holidays , starring Ann Bancroft, Holly Hunter, and Robert Downey Jr. Never has there been a better representation of Thanksgiving: a cornucopia of joy, neuroses, laughter, tears, jokes, arguments, blessings, bad behaviors, and turkey. 

It's a good primer for the season, especially if your gullet can't handle the tequila like it used to.

Leave your favorite Holiday Therapy Flick in the comments. Another favorite of mine is The Ref -  you better believe it's in the Netflix queue.

"Well, that was absurd, let's eat dead bird!" 

On this, the day of my birth - and in the spirit of GiST, I decided to take stock of the last year in photos and posts.

The highlights:

October 09: Reunited with the old band for Rob's wedding

September: Went camping, saw a moose.

August: Made some lemonade.

July: Discovered the joy and horror of the Happy Lamp

Got a live music fix

June: Had my first bacon-flavored cocktail  

Returned to good old Jockey Cap

May:  Hung out with Abe

Watched The Love blossom

April: Entered the age of Airbrushed Obama

Busted in pride over PodCamp

March: Met Marilyn Monroe

Survived Montana, Hot-tubbed with Jill Adler

February: Hosted the 12th annual Oscar Party

January: Spoke at a media conference, lost my neck

December:  played with a 16mm movie projector

November: Ran the Chatham Turkey Trot

Hey, Oprah gets to pimp her Favorite Things, so why not me? 

I'm not much of a material girl - I'll take a trip over a tiny box any day, and  while I can appreciate and savor a five-course meal, I also understand the subtle merits of the White Hut cheeseburger. 

That said, I am a girl, and things catch my eye now and again. Here are a few items off the Mad Money Wish List this month: 

Pandora wood beads; Plasticland patent purse; flor rake; Hot Chilly's Pepper base layer; iRobot Roomba; Veho neg scanner; VooDoo Rossi SC74 skis

1. House of 1,000 Corpses

2. The Wicker Man

3. Wicked Little Things

4. The Cottage

5. Brainscan

6. The Blob

7. Haunting in Connecticut

8. The Burning

9. Feed

10. Snuff: The Documentary

11. The Nun

12. The Abandoned

13. Murder Party

14. An American Haunting

15. Devil's Rejects

16. Resurrection Mary

17. Severed Ties

18. Return to the House on Haunted Hill

19. Halloween 

20. Documentary: The Villain

21. Primal Secrets

22. The Omen (Remake)

23. Clown at Midnight

A wedding in October ... great friends, great food, many toasts, and good times. What could be better?

Not much. Sara and Rob 's wedding at the Dennis Inn (<-amazing folks and food, hi Brad!) was one of the best I've ever been to, and celebrated some of the finest things about fall.

Things like bright colors and soft light...

Sweet treats... (a red-velvet cupcake tower as a wedding cake)

seasonal touches reminiscent of home...

bits of whimsy...

 ...and most importantly, a reminder: some of us have new bags of tricks these days. But we can always find each other at the old haunts. 

Singer Bad Dancer 1997 - 2001

(Pete - drummer turned Boston-based AV professional; Jon, bassist turned certified arborist, Rob, software engineer, rockstar, and new husband, and me. I hang out here.)

What is a good playlist if not seasonal? I give you my Rocktober Playlist - feel free to add to it in the comments. Let's make an uber list! 

Stop Dead, Duran Duran  

Superstitious,  Stevie Wonder    

Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band 

Frankenstein, Aimee Mann

The Ghost Of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen 

Dig Your Grave, Modest Mouse

The Ghost of You, My Chemical Romance 

Harvest Home, Big Country 

Haunt You Every Day, Weezer 

Hoodoo Voodoo, Billy Bragg & Wilco  

Monster Man, Soul Coughing El Oso 

I Want Candy (Kevin Shields Remix),  Bow Wow Wow

Purple People Eater, Judy Garland 25th Anniversary 

Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings,  Lucinda Williams 

Season Of The Witch, Donovan 

Slippin' Into Darkness, War

Treat Street, George Winston 

I See Monsters,  Ryan Adams

Spiderwebs, No Doubt 

Werewolves of London,  Warren Zevon  

X-Files Theme, The Dust Brothers 

Halloween, Siouxsie & The Banshees