Shout Factory - Halloween Spook-tacular

Are you tired of all the gory, real-imaging DVD's that are put out around Halloween?  Bring your little ones back to a time when cartoons weren't in 3D and the ghosts were actually cute, not scary.

Shout Factory brings you Casper The Friendly Ghost the complete collection from 1945-1963.  This set has over seven hours of "spooky" cartooning fun.  Plus, it includes a never seen before Casper adventure, commentaries, interviews, a 20-page book and comic book cover gallery.

Delight you children this Halloween with Casper, Wendy the friendly witch, his cousin Spooky and the antagonizing trio of ghosts.  This collection is sure to bring hours and hours of fun, not nightmares.

Check out Casper the Friendly Ghost and other DVD's at Shout Factory

Tips on Halloween Candy and Avoiding Tooth Decay

By Dr. Margaret Mitchell

Kids love candy and Halloween is a great time to celebrate that love. However, what is a parent to do if they are worried about tooth decay from all this candy consumption? Candy usually contains sugar, which the bacteria that cause tooth decay dine on. So eating a food loaded with carbohydrate or sugar feeds the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Consequently, to avoid negative impacts from candy, we have to do two things: 1) Avoid excessive consumption of these sugary treats and 2) Lessen the amount of time the sugar is present in the mouth.

As the owner of Mitchell Dental Spa, a dental spa facility in Chicago’s Water Tower Place, I’d like to offer the following tips to for protecting your kids teeth at Halloween.

· Examine your child’s candy to see if it meets your approval.

· It is okay for your child to eat any candy that you approve of, but to help lessen the chance for tooth decay, have them brush as soon as possible (after eating the candy). If a child or adult brushes right after, the impact of the candy on the teeth is minimal.

· Avoid sticky candy such as taffy, gummy bears, caramel, etc. Sticky Candy adheres to teeth and causes decay

· Kids can eat candy ANYTIME, there is not a good time of day/night to eat candy

· Prior to Halloween, visit your dentist to have sealants put into the child’s teeth grooves. 

If brushing soon after eating is not possible, then try the following:

· Consume the candy with a meal. The increased saliva production while eating will help wash the sweet off the teeth.

· Rinse the mouth with water.

· Chew a sugarless gum (especially those containing xylitol) after snacking on candy. The increased saliva from chewing will help wash the sugar off the teeth and xylitol gums help control the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

· Eat the candy quickly in one sitting to decrease the amount of time it is contact with the teeth. Avoid eating any candy slowly over an extended time or over multiple sittings. Recent studies have shown that length of time eating a sweet can be more harmful than the amount of sweet consumed. This means hard candies, breath mints, etc. (long residence time in the mouth) can actually be worse for your teeth than a chocolate candy bar (shorter residence time in the mouth).

· Avoid sugary sodas. They are: 1) Loaded with sugar (often over 10 teaspoons per 12 ounce serving), 2) Are acidic enough to dissolve away tooth enamel, and 3) Are often sipped for long periods of time, resulting in teeth that are being bathed with sugar and acid almost continuously throughout the day.

For more information, please visit http://www.mitchelldentalspa.com/.

About Mitchell Dental Spa


The philosophy of the Mitchell Dental Spa is over-the-top dentistry combined with over-the-top amenities. Unlike other cosmetic dental offices which only have dental services, the Mitchell Dental Spa is a full-service facility offering dentistry along with massages, facials, and skin rejuvenation. Complimentary 10-15 minute spa treatments are included with every visit and this is offered up along with refreshments, a friendly staff and world-class professional service. The Mitchell Dental Spa is located at 845 North Michigan Avenue in Suite 922 East in Chicago’s Water Tower Place. For more information, please call (312) 642-1014 or visit http://www.mitchelldentalspa.com/.

Tips on How To Include Your Dog this Halloween

Written by Stacy Braverman, Founder of BNYdogs.com

Have you bought enough doggie biscuits to give out to trick or treaters this Halloween? That’s right, doggie biscuits. But whatever you do, don't give them to the kids – it may anger some parents in the neighborhood! You should be prepared, however, to have some biscuits for those four-footed ghost and goblins that may bark at your door this Halloween.

We mustn't leave out our pets when celebrating special occasions – and Halloween is no exception. Ever noticed the glare and stare from Fido when everyone is getting dressed up for Halloween, laughing, having a wonderful time – and he's left out just because he's a dog?

B**ch New York (http://www.bnydogs.com/) has one thing on their minds -- our doggie loved ones – and they have created fun ways to involve your pet in every special occasion.

Here are just a few suggestions from B**ch New York to make this Halloween season the best ever:

Watch Fido's eyes light up when you put on the this latest tiger costume. WARNING: don't be surprised if you notice some new found courage or larger than life roar while in costume.

Can you say food? One of the most popular shows on cable TV these days is The Food Network. I love the competitive nature of the male chefs; the warm personality of the female chefs. This year you can dress up your doggie after your favorite Food Network personality! Don't tell Paula Dean, but doesn't this beautiful doggie chef resemble her a bit?

Sports are a favorite past time for people and doggies too! Halloween wouldn't be the same without a football costume... Check out this cool costume for Fido. If you have teenage boys, they might throw the dog though, so this football costume would probably be a safer choice while still keeping with the football spirit.

We are a country of proud Americans and that is demonstrated by millions across this great country every day. Well, this may be news to you, but our doggies are proud Americans too and they want to support this great nation this Halloween by dressing up in her colors. Check out this Uncle Sam Costume for Fido and Lady too... They will look great this Halloween and will walk tall and proud in their patriotic costumes.

Don't forget to stock up on special doggie treats this Halloween Season... Don't worry, if you have left-overs, all doggie treats will be gone in no time and Fido will love you for it!

If sweets are not an option for your pet, be sure to spoil him with an unforgettable Halloween dinner. Check out these scrumptious meals they will remember until next Halloween: Chicken and Fried Rice, Organic Bison or a Veg to Bowl for our vegetarian friends - we aim to please all of our doggy appetites.

If you haven't started brushing your doggie’s teeth, this Halloween would be a great time start. Clean teeth and fresh breath are essential for your doggie’s love life and a welcome response from you with all those wet kisses he loves to give you! Regular oral hygiene will ensure your doggie’s teeth are healthy, fresh and white.

What a great Halloween it's going to be for you and your pet this year! Make sure to take lots of pictures of your doggie in costume - there will be many Halloween memories to share together for many years to come and BNY wants to put a few of our best doggies in costume in the spot light! All you need to do is send in your pics and we're going to pick the top three doggies to profile in a story and give him or her their 30 seconds of fame. The top three winners will also be able to pick a gift of their choice from our doggie accessory store. Good luck to all and we hope this year will be the best Halloween ever for you and your beloved companion.

BNY is proud to make contributions to benefit the welfare of animals. We regularly donate merchandise and proceeds to charitable events that surround the animal community. Check out BNY to read more about our charity work or if you would like to donate something to the cause.

What's Happening at the Cafe? The Whispering

Check out our latest fiction addition at Imagination-Cafe Magazine  After that read a bit more about the author, Caroline Waszek.   Here's a sneak peek of her story...

THE WHISPERING

by Caroline Waszek

Oh no! There it was again. It went away for a while, but it was back. Jake couldn’t stand it anymore. He jumped off his bed and onto the sea of clothes that covered his bedroom floor. Dodging the army of trucks and cars and stuffed animals, Jake made a dash for the kitchen.

“Mom, it’s started again, the whispering, and it’s louder that ever before,” he said.

“Jake, would you look at yourself? Your clothes are all wrinkled and messy. Did you just pick them up of the floor and put them on? How many times have I asked you to clean your room? Besides that, the whispering noise is probably the wind against your window shaking the old frame. Now, go and clean your room,” his mother said.

Jake opened the front door and looked outside. No wind. Not a single branch was moving. Slowly he walked back to his room. He had to find out what was making that noise. Just then his sister came into the hall.

“Sarah, you’re big and smart and can solve anything right?”

“So I’ve been told, now what do you want?” his sister asked.

“There is a whispering sound in my room that won’t go away. Can you come and listen to it?” Jake asked.

“No way. Your room smells like old stinky socks and there are moldy crumbs all over the place.”

“Come on, just have a quick peek?” Jake pleaded.

"I’ll stand in the doorway but that’s as close as I get,” she replied as she stood in the doorway and slowly leaned into Jake’s room.

“That’s not whispering. It sounds like singing to me. You probably forgot to turn off your radio and good luck finding it under all that mess. Plug your earphones in next time so the rest of us don’t have to listen to your awful music and your problem will be solved,” and away his sister walked holding her nose.

Jake rummaged through his room and couldn’t remember having so many empty boxes of strawberry puff cookies lying around. Finally he found his radio and earphones but the radio wasn’t on. He sat and listened. The whispering was still there...

Read the rest of The Whispering at; http://imagination-cafe.com/weekly/wspecials/whispering.asp


About Caroline;

I am the mother of two wonderful children, ages 5 and 7 and they are the inspiration for my writing and in life in general. I am a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature's basic and advanced courses and I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English and History. By day I am a Registered Massage Therapist, which is physically demanding and I needed something to keep my brain going so writing children's stories has now become my passion.


Writing has always been part of my life. In grade school I kept journals and diaries and I even wrote and bound my first book back then, which I still have tucked away on a shelf. Majoring in English and History kept me writing in university but I stopped for a while until I had my children. I began reading children's books and thought what an honour it would be to be able to do this and help children learn and grow and foster their imagination. I have been writing stories for children for about 6 years, but it has only been the last year that I summed up enough courage to start submitting my work. Since then I have had a little success in the online world.

'The Whispering' began as an assignment at the ICL, that revolved around an idea created from a single word "whisper", but the backbone stems from my childhood days of living in an old house that was full of creepy unexplainable noises.

My hope and dreams for the future are to have a picture book (or two or three...) published, I have about 10 of them circulating around the publishing world, and I hope to complete and have published my many middle grade and young adult novels that I have begun but are stuck in my head.