Before the Parade Passes By  The horse is wearing a Halloween costume. He seems to be wearing it ironically. As you will be able to tell by this page, the Editor attended a parade recently. Parades are fun things: you see all manner of exuberant oddness passing by as you sit sipping your drink, eating your fast food, and hiding from the autumn sun under your baseball cap. It leads to musing: life on our small planet is a bit of a parade sometimes. The panoply of interesting Stuff can be very entertaining. It can also teach us things, if we pay attention.
This week, the Post's contributors invite you to share in what they've noticed in the parade recently.
- Willem's spotted some Sable Antelopes. They're pretty. He knows a lot about them, as always, and he'll share some facts with you. He also muses on how internet communications have improved the quality of wildlife art. Well worth a look.
- Icy North's sharp eye pounced on this garage sign in Wales. Help him caption it. Captions in Welsh and/or Klingon receive Extra Credit.
 - Once again, Awix has bravely ventured over to the cinema. This week, he reviews The Mountain Between Us, an epic thriller with,
apparently, lots of snow. We know how much Awix enjoys outdoor activities, so we're sure he had a great time with this mountain-climbing flick. We gave him a few tips about dealing with mountain lions, in case he wants to retrace the journey of Winslet and Elba. - Bluebottle takes a week off his day job, which is teaching us to talk Isle of Wight. He moonlights as a long-distance runner, but there's no loneliness involved, as all his running takes place in a crowd. Besides, this race took place on his beloved island. He'll tell you about it, and there's a helpful map (with smileys).
- However, there are still quizzes. The picture quiz is seasonally appropriate, and involves agricultural equipment. The regular quiz will challenge you – but also, we hope, introduce you to some truly awesome younger citizens of our shared world.
 - The issue develops serious. . . er, issues. . . when the fiction writers get started. And law, have they got started, children. They're driving each other to new heights (depths?) of inspiration. At least, that's their story, and they're sticking to it. Cactuscafé has an imaginary near-drowning experience in a very bizarre ocean, which of course FWR and I had to come up with duelling illustrations for. And then CC, I, and the autocorrect pushed FWR right over the edge, at which point Elves entered the picture. . . things took a serious turn for the surreal during the Vegan Monster Debate, so there was another story. . . you're going to enjoy all this literary mayhem, promise.
- Sanity and an end to topic drift return with Minorvogonpoet's lyrical evocation of a childhood winter. Read, and remember to send in your contribution to the October Create theme, which is 'Be a Kid Again'. Seriously, the kids are more focussed than some of the grown-ups around here.
 - What with all of this 'marching to the beat of different drummers', do we actually pay attention to what's in the parade? Do we ever! We know a hawk from a handsaw when the wind's in the right direction. Minorvogonpoet kindly tells us about her experiences garnering fruit in France, because we all asked her so nicely. Milla shares her amazing photos from Berlin, because the Editor hounded her relentlessly. So it goes. You will enjoy the products of our persistence.
 - In between all these wonders, we crack wise with pictures, offer useless advice, etc. The usual. While it is true that you cannot wrap fish in back issues of the h2g2 Post – unless, of course, you use your printer first – we do include enough ephemera and filler to qualify as a genuine example of what one Researcher is wont to call a 'noozlepaper'. (Note to self: get FWR a printable copy of his Press Credentials for the next time he runs into security guards while ghosthunting.)
So there you have it: a really full issue. Who said, 'Full of. . .?' Quiet in the back. Enjoy this all week. Comment, start more arguments, snark away, and send more copy. Remember: Halloween is in two weeks! If your horse already has his costume, and you have enough candy, think of a scary story or snap a picture and send it on!
The approach of Samhain means that the other autumn regularity will also soon be upon us. We refer, not to the hoped-for end of hurricane season, but the arrival of November and NaJoPoMo. Have you planned your journal project yet? We know several who have, and it's going to be an interesting month.
 Which might be a good time to announce that yes, you heard right: The h2g2 Post will have its very own NaJo blog this year! It will be based on contributors' photos. Want to participate? Just mail your photo to postteamhg-at-gmail-dot-com, with your usernumber and a brief description of the photo. We'll feature one photo a day: supernumerary photos will end up in the Post quite quickly, too. Show us what you noticed at the parade.
Have a great week out there!
Cat Challenge: There is a cat in this issue. We leave you to find it.
Dmitri Gheorgheni
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