Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 31, 2011

Factoid:

Jack-o'-lanterns trace their origins to an Irish folktale, where a man named "Jack" put a lit piece of coal in a hallowed-out turnip to light his way during the night. Irish townspeople later placed candles in the turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts. Apparently, four-leaf clovers alone weren't strong enough.

Healthy Halloween:

Kids will be trick-or-treating, and parents will be looking for clever new hiding spots for all the candy they bring home.
Health experts suggest in order to avoid a sugar overdose on Halloween, start with a full dinner before the costumes go on. It's also a good idea to set limits before the plastic pumpkin starts filling with goodies. Let kids know ahead of time how many pieces of candy they'll be allowed to eat while they're out. Too many "fun size" and "mini" candy bars can really add up.
As soon as you get home, put the candy away. Parents can pack a piece or two in their child's lunch box for the week.
A Cleveland Clinic dietician suggests if you want to help like-minded parents, you can always hand out raisin boxes or oatmeal packs for Halloween. (Page)

Halloween Trivia About Your Favorite Celebrities from CINDY ADAMS of the NY Post:
--EMINEM is scared to death of owls
--ANDIE MACDOWELL is so superstitious she flicks light switches off-and-on three times
--BILLY BALDWIN once dressed up as his big brother, ALEC, and says he "acted very rude" to make it believable
--MARK WAHLBERG once used his sister's tutu for a costume
--JOHN LITHGOW is a hands-on dad that made his daughter an Energizer Bunny costume --too bad it was so heavy he had to carry it himself! (Lee)

By the way, for those of you who missed it, Kim Kardashian's Halloween costume this year is Poison Ivy, the villainess from the 1997 "Batman and Robin" movie. Green dress with leaves sewn on, fire-red wig and high heels. Picture HERE.
   And while we're on the subject, the NY Daily News said husband KRIS HUMPHRIES was nowhere to be seen at the party Saturday night.

Guilty Pleasures:

No winner in Saturday night's drawing for the Powerball Lottery. That means Wednesday night's drawing is valued at $245 million ($146.2 million cash value). Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, DC and the U-S Virgin Islands. Chances of winning the grand prize (all five numbers plus the powerball) are 1 in 195.2 million.

Designer Update:

Hanky Panky is a lingerie maker famous for its designer thongs. And they’re celebrating 25 years of making really uncomfortable undies for women. They’ve partnered with ANNA SUI to create an “Anna-ver-Sui” collection of flower-print lingerie. [Insert groan here.] Prices range from $25 to $97 bucks People magazine says they’ve also released a special line of silver thongs and camisoles that start at $28 dollars, and a do-it-yourself thong kit. That also costs $28. The D-I-Y kit includes one white thong and “all the trimmings, like ribbons, bows and laces.” (Bartha)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Looking for a Halloween thriller to watch tonight?
   --Check out AMC, which is doing a scary movie marathon all day, from 9:30 am till midnight (and includes "Halloween," "Halloween III," "Halloween 4," "Halloween 5," "Halloween H20," etc.)
   --Turner Classic Movies is also doing a fright-fest from 7 am to midnight (and flicks including "The Reptile," "The Gorgon," "Dracula, Prince of Darkness," "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave," "The Curse of Frankenstein," "Frankenstein Created Woman," "The Mummy," "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb," "Village of the Damned," "Night of the Living Dead," "The Horrors of Stephen King," "The Innocents", etc.)