"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is easily my favorite Halloween special (because I'm soooo not a fan of any of that spooky, scary stuff).

The annual airing was Thursday on WEWS-TV 5, but don't worry if you missed it: The entire special is available on Hulu. You can check out the "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" page on Hulu, or watch the Peanuts gang celebrate Halloween in the video below:



What's your favorite part? I'm torn between Charlie Brown's proclamation of "I got a rock," and when he makes his Halloween costume: "I had a little trouble with the scissors."

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

Looks like the suave cat from the Shrek franchise can hold his own. He easily fended off the latest in the thriller "Paranormal Activity" series of movies and the super handsome Justin Timberlake in "In Time." I hadn't heard much about the animated feline's solo flick, but now I might have to hit theaters to catch it.

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Puss in Boots,” $34 million. (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
2. “Paranormal Activity 3,” $18.5 million.
3. “In Time,” $12 million. (Review by Lemire)
4. “Footloose,” $5.4 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
5. “The Rum Diary,” $5 million. (Review by Coyle)
6. “Real Steel,” $4.7 million. (Review by The AP's David Germain)
7. “The Three Musketeers,” $3.5 million.
8. “The Ides of March,” $2.7 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
9. “Moneyball,” $2.4 million. (Review by Lemire)
10. “Courageous,” $1.8 million.

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

A band is eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after its first album.

KISS debuted in 1974, which means Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Co. should have been inducted in 1999 with no questions asked. It wasn't until 2009 that Kiss was even nominated.

Instead, KISS continues to be the odd band out. It's a fact that continues to question to legitimacy of the Rock Hall in Cleveland.

Sorry to highlight a few bands that are already inducted, but it must be noted that if the likes of ABBA (is ABBA even a rock band?), the Bee Gees, Aerosmith, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Genesis and Van Halen are in, KISS surely deserves a spot right next to them.

So what's the deal? It's laughable to think KISS isn't Rock Hall worthy because the band's history, popularity and stats don't lie. Consider:

- According to Wikipiedia.com, KISS has been awarded 24 gold albums, the most of any rock band in history.

- The band has sold over 40 millions albums in the United States. Worldwide, it's more than 100 million.

- KISS was voted No. 1 on Hit Parader' "Top 100 live bands."

Maybe KISS isn't in because the band promotes itself too much. Maybe there is too much KISS merchandise on the market. Maybe voters can't forget the campy KISS Army promotion from the 1970s or the comic books, action figures, posters, T-shirts ... you name it.

Whatever the reason, the Rock Hall continues to be and will remain a shell of what it truly should be until one of the greatest rock bands in history is enshrined.

Love KISS or hate it, there is no denying the bands place in history, and that's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

- Mark Podolski

I wouldn't exactly say it was on my concert bucket list, but getting to check out Joe Walsh Wednesday night at PlayhouseSquare's State Theater was undeniably cool.

Here was one of Cleveland's own -- a member of the Eagles -- playing before an incredibly enthusiastic crowd full of decades-long fans. Walsh ripped through a fan-friendly set that included "Rocky Mountain Way," the James Gang tune "Walk Away," fellow Cleveland rocker Michael Stanley's "Rosewood Bitters" the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane" and the tune I knew I'd enjoy the most, "In the City."

Here's the beginning of "In the City." (I didn't notice any signs at the venue strictly prohibiting recording ... but I didn't look for them either. Hey, this kinda thing is all over YouTube, right?)



In case I've left you hanging, but concert bucket list includes The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and, to some degree, Walsh's Eagles.

Hmmm, that's a pretty short list. I feel pretty good about the progress I'm making. 

-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

If you enjoyed it when Tom and Donna treated themselves on "Parks and Recreation", check out some deleted scenes of more Treat Yo Self (embedded below).



-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

I guess "Real Steel" didn't have much competition this weekend. After all, I'm not sure I'll be rushing out to the theater to see "Footloose." So I guess the fact that it's made it to the top of the box office two weekends in a row will be blamed on little competition (even though "Ides of March" is really good!). I am shocked "The Big Year" debuted so low. It looks like it's supposed to be awful, but it's probably actually halfway decent.

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Real Steel,” $16.3 million ($23.3 million international). (Review by The AP's David Germain)
2. “Footloose,” $16.1 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
3. “The Thing,” $8.7 million ($1.5 million international). (Review by Germain)
4. “The Ides of March,” $7.5 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
5. “Dolphin Tale,” $6.3 million.
6. “Moneyball,” $5.5 million. (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
7. “50/50,” $4.3 million. (Review by Lemire)
8. “Courageous,” $3.4 million.
9. “The Big Year,” $3.3 million. (Review by Lemire)
10. “The Lion King,” $2.7 million ($5.2 million international).

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

When I blogged about "Work of Art" yesterday, I neglected to mention that one of our area's own is on the show.

Sarah Kabot, a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art and a Cleveland Heights resident, is one of 14 competing to be the next great artist. Cleveland Heights Patch interviewed Sarah Kabot and got some insight on the artist, the casting process for the show and taping the first episode.

"Work of Art" airs at 9 tonight on Bravo.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

On Wednesday, Bravo TV premieres the second season of "Work of Art" (I somehow completely missed the first season). I previewed the first episode earlier this week to see what to expect from the cable network to which I devote most of my TV-watching time.

I was pleased and intrigued by the show. A lot of interesting work is going to come out of it, and I've gotten so used to the reality competition format that I'm not so annoyed by the excessive production, interviews, background music, commercial breaks, etc. that go along with it. The first challenge is pretty neat too: The artists have to take kitschy art and make it world class.

The host and cast of Bravo's "Work of Art" season 2.

 I enjoy looking at art, but I am not an art person. So while I might be able to tell you if something is good or bad, I'd never be able to tell you why something is good or bad. This particular challenge highlighted that so well, and the comments from the judges and others viewing the art help to explain WHY the art succeeds or fails. (The results of the first episode: I liked the pick for winner but not so much for the person going home. I didn't think that artist's piece was the worst, and I wish that artist would get to stick around longer for more than one reason, though I don't want to spoil the results.)

The cast of Lifetime's "Project Runway" season 9.

When I was considering what I enjoyed about the show, I was reminded of what I liked so much about another Bravo show, "Platinum Hit" and what I'm loving about "Project Runway" (which I'm tuning in to for the first time this season because of contestant Joshua McKinley, a Willoughby native). These shows take some incredibly talented people and push them to do their best work every week. The contestants are creative in ways I can only dream about, and the competitions give us talentless folks a front-row seats to their creative processes every week.

During commercial breaks of "Project Runway" in recent weeks, Lifetime has been promoting its new show, "Project Accessory," and I'm now really looking forward to another show and several more episodes of peeking inside some creative minds to learn how they do what they do.

Related links:

• Preview "Work of Art"
• Preview "Project Accessory"
• Jean Bonchak's "Project Runway" diaries

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

I'm disappointed at how the top two movies at this weekend's box office finished. I saw "The Ides of March" last week and loved it. I read the review for "Real Steel" and thought it sounded terrible. What is the movie-going public thinking????

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Real Steel,” $27.3 million ($22.1 million international). (Review by The AP's David Germain)
2. “The Ides of March,” $10.4 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
3. “Dolphin Tale,” $9.2 million.
4. “Moneyball,” $7.5 million. (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
5. “50/50,” $5.5 million. (Review by Lemire)
6. “Courageous,” $4.6 million.
7. “The Lion King,” $4.55 million ($7.3 million international).
8. “Dream House,” $4.5 million.
9. “What’s Your Number?”, $3.1 million ($2.8 million international). (Review by Germain)
10. “Abduction,” $2.9 million ($4 million international).

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

Just got a news release from G4, which will be airing "G4 Special Report: Steve Jobs" several times tonight and tomorrow.

From G4:

G4 will celebrate the life and career of creative genius and technological visionary Steve Jobs with “G4 Special Report: Steve Jobs” which chronicles Steve’s historic impact on modern technology. The special aired two years ago but now includes updated information. Airtimes are as follows:
Tonight (Oct. 5)
12:30am - 1:00am ET
2:30am - 3:00am ET
4:30am - 5:30am ET
Tomorrow (Oct. 6)
1:30pm - 2:00pm ET
3:30pm - 4:00pm ET

More on Steve Jobs:
Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies (from G4)
Steve Jobs dies (with video, timeline)

Videos:
Attack of the Show reacts to Steve Jobs' death

Video Game - E3 2012 - AOTS Exclusive

G4 remembers Apple founder Steve Jobs

Video Games - E3 2012 - The Loop

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

This, folks, is my final "Stuck in My Head" post. I hope a few of you out there weren't terribly annoyed by my silly song suggestions.

As a parting gift, I'd like to leave you with this delightful ditty I'm sure some of my colleagues here will appreciate.



Danielle Capriato | DCapriato@News-Herald.com