Barz Eye View: Pumpkins

By
ABC News
November 4, 2005, 1:54 PM ET
3 min read

Oct. 27, 2005 — -- Mike Barz got ready for Halloween on Thursday with the "pumpkin lady," also known as Lisa Berberette. Berberette is known for her jack-o-lantern designs and had some pumpkin carving tips for Mike Barz:

Use a stencil to outline your pumpkin design.

Rub flour on the pumpkin to make the pattern pop out.

If the pumpkin breaks, use toothpicks to hold it up.

Carve the design from the inside out.

For more pumpkin carving tips and free patterns, you can visit the pumpkin lady's website by clicking here.

For more tips and pictures of the pumpkin lady in Times Square, Click Here.

Oct. 21, 2005 -- Mike Barz tried out some dance moves with OK Go, a four-member pop/rock band from Chicago. Although Barz was a step behind the synchronized group, he still did pretty well.

OK Go has one of the hottest music videos around right now, and it cost less than $25 to produce. Shot in a backyard, it's become an Internet sensation -- with already more than two million downloads. It's set to their song "A Million Ways," which is about a femme fatale and how she has a million ways to be cruel.

The group says the clever choreography in their video was inspired by "The Matrix" and "West Side Story." A sister of one of the members, Damian Kulash, is a professional ballroom dancer and oversaw their efforts.

It was supposed to be just a routine to finish their live performances, but friends encouraged them to hand out DVDs of the video at concerts.

To learn more about OK Go, click here.

Oct. 18, 2005

Mike Barz met up with a world-class pumpkin chucker, Ray Tolson, in Culpeper, Va.

Tolson, who competes annually at the World Championship Punkin' Chunkin' in Millsboro, Del., has a personal best punkin' chuck of 4,434.28 feet.

Tolson's punkin' chunkin' device can toss an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin almost a mile. He spent 5,000 hours and $200,000 to build the 100-foot-long black steel "Second Amendment Too" to fire at this year's competition.

One hundred people are expected to compete at this year's World Championship Punkin' Chunkin' on Nov. 4-6. All entry fees go to charity. Last year, the pumpkin chuckers raised $80,000 for charities, college scholarships and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.