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This month has been designated Breast Cancer Awareness month, and with that in mind, Pelf has written a brilliant post listing the symptoms of this awful disease which affects an estimated 1.5 million women every year.

Without wishing to generalise, it is probably safe to say you either own a pair of boobs or have an interest in them, so please take a few minutes to read Pelf’s post and don’t forget to share the information with your family and friends.

If you recognise any of the symptoms, don’t panic! Many of the symptoms, particularly lumps, can also be caused by completely benign conditions. I had to undergo tests myself 7 or 8 years ago, and to say it is worrying is a bit like describing Mount Everest as a big hill, but please, please don’t let your fears put you off seeking medical help. The chances are high that you have nothing to worry about, but even if the worst does happen, early detection saves lives!

If you would like to blog about the subject, you can join the Blogging for Boobs campaign. And if you live in the UK and would like further information about breast cancer, treatments and benign breast conditions, just go here.

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Diddums is discussing some strange additions to the Halloween displays in shops, and remarks that it’s “Odd what spooks some folks…”. I agree with her because often people can be completely freaked out by totally non-threatening objects. For example, despite the fact that clowns are supposed to be jolly, a lot of people do find them incredibly creepy, and my friend’s daughter was terrified of Father Christmas as a toddler. I can see why, to the uninitiated he is a big, hooded man who breaks into houses when the occupants are asleep.

Many of these odd fears develop in childhood, and although they never develop into fully fledged phobias, they can make the sufferer behave in some strange ways. My own personal odd fear is an example of this. Ever since I was tiny, I have been unable to sleep unless my ears and feet are completely covered because, as a little girl, I was convinced a monster would crawl out from under the bed and bite them off if they were left exposed. Of course, I no longer believe that, but, I still have to sleep with my ears and toes covered and feel really uneasy if they aren’t. As a result, even on the hottest nights of the year, I will be lying in bed with the covers pulled right up to my head and tucked tightly under my feet.

OK, yes, you can laugh, but not until you tell me about your own illogical fears. Go on, you know you have one/some.

ps: For more information about the development of genuine phobias, you might like to read about James Watson, a rather sadistic man who deliberately induced a fear of fluffy, white objects into 11 month old Albert – now that is truly scary! You need to scroll about halfway down the page, or not, the rest is worth a read too.

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The results are in for the top horror films poll! As you can see from the image to the left, the top three (in ascending order) are:

3) The Devil Rides Out
2) The Exorcist
1) 28 Days Later

I was a bit surprised that The Omen and An American Werewolf in London didn’t do better, but the top 3 are all very good films, and it is great to see that 28DL is so popular. It’s a brilliant film, scary and a bit gruesome, but not in a hack and slash way.

On the other hand – nobody voted for Nosferatu. Ha, and you call yourself horror fans

If you glance to the right, you will see another poll is up and running. There were so many suggestions that I thought it was only fair to give this poll a second part. This one will run until October 30th and I’ll announce the results on Halloween. Once again, you can vote for three films, and I’d love to hear why you made your selections, so don’t forget to leave a little note in the comments.

Some of the films in the new poll were suggested by Mr Blogs, so anything that involves animated corpses or madmen with power tools probably came from him. Of course, if any of those films win, it will lend weight to his argument that they are good, and further our endless debate on the subject. We also have a long running discussion which I call De Niro vs. Pacino – I’m cheering for Bob, Mr Blogs prefers Al – which a friend described as the funniest argument he had ever seen.

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