Death and I are old dance partners, and he knows I won’t play hard to get when he eventually comes to claim me. – “Halloween”
October is Halloween season for me, and that means I try to work in as many horror-themed columns as I can (I know this year I didn’t manage any, but I think I can be forgiven under the circumstances). In 2012, I published “That Old Black Magic“, “Red in Tooth and Claw“, “My Favorite Halloween Stuff” and “Eros and Phobos“; the fictional interlude was the three-part special “Pandora“, and even “Dear Parasite” (the sequel to the previous day’s “Parasites“) had a Halloween component. The month started with another observance, Banned Books Week; my column for it this time was “Thought Control“, and the harlotography was “Thaïs“. The month also featured several sequel and series columns, namely “More Hooker Humor“, “Book Reviews (October 2012)“, “The Price is Right” (a songs column), and “Q & A (October 2012)“. And in a sense, “My First Million” was the start of a series, though the others were simply news-column entries. Rounding out the month was an essay about the “Pathologization” of normal behavior; my recipe for perfect “Popcorn“; a complaint that the writings of would-be allies are often “So Close and Yet So Far“; the revelation that government actors hiring whores is “Standard Operating Procedure“; an analysis of the “Smoke and Mirrors” that often surround “sex trafficking” stories; and an explanation of why sex for women can be like “Ice Cream in the Hand“.