Costume parties and other opportunities to dress up as someone else give people the chance to explore other parts of themselves. Maybe a more powerful aspect of their personality or someone who is quieter. Some choose to pick a costume that is someone they admire but insist that they could never be like that athlete or celebrity. Deep down, though, they must identify with the person on some level or they wouldn’t feel connected to them.

For those who want to intentionally play with different parts of their identity there’s no better way than to choose a costume that is their exact opposite. One example of this is people who choose to cross dress as part of their costume. This gives men a chance to explore a softer, more emotional expressive part of themselves and women, with the help of a tuxedo rental , the chance to experiment with masculine assertiveness and power.

There are other ways to explore an opposite quality than just changing genders. A klutzy person could dress up as a gymnast. Someone who is feeling old might dress up as a child or someone who’s known for being the life of a party might choose the costume of a librarian or other quiet and studious persona. By taking an evening or day to dress as something opposite themselves, they can tap into qualities they are scared to express and bring them closer to the surface.

Opposite Costumes is a post from: WTVS News

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Relatively soon, the end of October will be approaching and bringing with it the year’s spookiest holiday, complete with families dressed in child and adult Halloween costumes , walking from house to house, which are, in turn, decorated with fake spider webs and cardboard skeletons and pumpkins carved into Jack O’ Lanterns.

How and when did the custom of Jack O’ Lanterns come to exist? It began centuries ago in Ireland, with a myth about a man known as “Stingy Jack.”

The story tells how Stingy Jack invites the Devil to have a drink with him, but as his name implies, Jack doesn’t want to pay. Instead, he asks the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack might use to make the purchase. When the Devil agrees, Jack changes his mind and keeps the coin beside a silver cross, keeping the Devil from transforming back. Eventually, though, Jack frees the Devil with the condition that he not claim his soul when he dies. Throughout the years, Jack continues to trick the Devil and lives in an unsavory manner.

At the end of Jack’s life, he finds that God doesn’t want to let him into Heaven, and the Devil refuses to let him into Hell. Instead, the Devil sends Jack out into the night with a piece of burning coal.

People from Ireland and Scotland simulated Jack’s fate by carving frightening faces into turnips or potatoes, placing them in windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack . By the time this custom came to America, pumpkins became the favored fruit to ward off wandering spirits like Stingy Jack.

Stingy Jack and Halloween Jack O’ Lanterns is a post from: WTVS News

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Lots of people understand very well that Washington, DC is the center of politics in the United States, being the place where all the decisions get made.  It’s got an enormously vibrant energy to it, with a very lively urban population.  It’s a very diverse place, with many cultures, perspectives, and economic backgrounds, that make it an ongoing conversation that’s always in process.  It’s been that way for quite awhile.  Checking into a DC luxury hotel is just the beginning of the introductions to this rather fabulous place.

It’s a pretty splendid introduction, too.  There are plenty of opportunities to be blown away by conveniences, amenities, and excellent hospitality.  Then it’s time to dig into DC culture.  Learning the history of the place is as fascinating as any place, but it’s rather surprising to some to discover that so many influential people have lived here, or live here now.  The usual suspects, always, are the politicians, but there are a number of artists and actors, including the movie veteran Alan Hale, Sr.

He’s from DC, and his career may have been a second mate, but his legacy is first-rate.  He is the character actor who played alongside Errol Flynn in dozens and dozens of films.  He’s one of the old-school greats, that generation of distinguished gentlemen to make films about swashbuckling heros.  He played alongside Humphrey Bogart, Douglas Fairbanks, Clark Gable, and James Cagney.  He was one of the big players in making the notion of hearty men being naturally brave heros an icon for generations to come.  He died of liver failure before he was 60.   He was also famous for his role as Little John in the Robin Hood films of the 30s.  He is also remembered by later generations as the father of Alan Hale, Jr., who is remembered by many as the captain of the SS Minnow on Gilligan’s Island.

Swashbuckling DC is a post from: WTVS News

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There is always a great deal of major cultural events and entertainment options to attend and or take part in, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Actors Theatre of Charlotte is one of the main cultural institutions of the city and provides its audience members with season after season of incredible and relevant stage offerings. In addition to some of the standard favorites from the theatrical canon, the theatre also continually presents some major regional premiers and supports the development of new plays and musicals. This is the case with its current production Black Pearl Sings! as well as an upcoming production of the musical Five Course Love. Many of the luxury Charlotte hotels are located near the theatre and also some great restaurants, which makes accessing great entertainment and fabulous dining relatively easy.

Black Pearl Sings is a dynamic tale of musical talent and personal strength and endurance. It is a rags to riches tale and it is set during the Great Depression. It tells the story of Susannah Mullally who makes a great discovery while working as a folk song preservationist for the Library of Congress. Her discovery is Alberta “Pearl” Johnson who happens to be in a Texas prison. The story unfolds in a dramatic way that causes major life examinations as Johnson makes some difficult decisions. Music is the tool that brings together two strangers and addresses racial divisions and issues of the times. The show is running now and will continue through March 6.

Five Course Love is a new musical written by Gregg Coffin. It is a comedic examination of love and the dating scene and the story takes place in five restaurants and covers five different dates. And while musicals are known for having large casts and lots of characters, this show has an interesting approach to this structure. It does have a large number of characters, fifteen total, there are three actors who play all of these roles. The musical will run from June 16 to July 3 of this year and previews for it will begin on June 11.

Actors Theatre of Charlotte is a post from: WTVS News

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Even though there are places that are closer, Singapore is still the most interesting place for travel.  Very few cities have the same charm as this unique island city state, which is always growing and always changing.  And it is a very lovely place to spend some time looking after any of your favorite pop culture obsessions, from vampires to mermaids, it’s all here.

Here is the most exciting place to be, too, because there is a spectacular food culture that is always coming up with new tastes, and new offerings.  Any time you have a chance to eat at a vegetarian restaurant in Singapore, it is good advice to take the opportunity.  Most people don’t understand that life is short until they are well out of their twenties, and even then, they might miss the best things on the plate.  I would bet that this is a lesson that Eva Longoria would have learned by now, and by all accounts, and her stunning good looks in Singapore’s Harper’s, she’s got some wisdom in her design team, too.

Like many celebrities that get a taste of the good life, Eva has learned that the truly wonderful things in the world are not necessarily of the world.  Too many times there are reasons for famous people to get caught up in a kind of Lacanian mirror stage, where they are stuck forever looking at their own image, and self-obsession can turn to self-destruction.  On the other hand, sometimes there is wisdom in fame.  Neither fame nor fortune, however, could deter Eva from coming to Singapore to know herself, to know the restaurants, and to know what lovely really means, and why it’s necessary for some painful obsessions to go on forever, because of their ability to nurture porch conversations in other lands, and other rabbits that look like her.

Evenings in Singapore is a post from: WTVS News

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