In honor of Halloween, here are two creepy pictures of a statue in the middle of Florence. Not exactly sure what's happening in the pedestal, but the statue itself is Perseus holding up the severed head of Medusa. He's standing on top of the rest of Medusa's body.

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My disdain for Halloween is a matter of public record, but the good news is that it's not really celebrated here in Italy. (But I kind of remember my Italian teacher from high school celebrating Halloween with candy – but she unwrapped some of the candy, replaced it with charcoal, and resealed the package. It was either an Italian tradition or she was an awesome and sadistic woman, or maybe both.) There are a few children dressed up here and there, but they're wearing normal costumes like witches or ghosts or devils, and nothing retarded like Harry Potter or any of that mass-marketed Halloween crap. No one's getting dressed up as a pun, or trying to be clever; it's Halloween, quaint and pure. I still don't think it's cute, but I can at least tolerate the combination of dress-up, candy, and children.

The adults are playing along, but they're not getting all dressed up and shit because here adults act like freaking adults. It's a classy place. The exceptions – prepare to be shocked – are the American students, who I apparently didn't have enough contempt for earlier. I want to single out one jackass in particular who just put on a cowboy hat and went from one Halloween party to another. What, no boots, no bandana, nothing? How archetypically American: puerile and half-assed.