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• Meet Ben Franklin
  The portly inventor left his mark on the world in surprising ways, as seen in an enlightening new exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.
  
• Free entertainment for holiday fun
  There are plenty of free options for family holiday fun. Here is a sampling of activities in the metro area.
  
• CP's holiday train set for NY, Pa., Midwest runs
  The Canadian Pacific Railway's annual holiday train is set to start its U.S. run this week, with several stops scheduled in Minnesota and Wisconsin in early December.
  
• Tour governor's house
  Holiday tours at the governor's residence on Summit Avenue in St. Paul have been scheduled for three consecutive Tuesdays next month.
  
• Disappearing act
  Though it may seem as if the goldfinches are long gone, there are more of them around now than there were this summer. You just may not notice them.
  
• Ball, Big Wheel, Game Boy make Toy Hall of Fame
  Bounce it, kick it, catch it. Chase, throw or smack it. The ball, arguably the most popular plaything of all time, has finally earned a place inside a glass case at the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York.
  
• DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: Traditional Day of the Dead celebration
  DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: Traditional Day of the Dead celebration with Aztec dancing, traditional foods, music, exhibit of student and community ofrendas, the offerings to honor dead souls.
  
• Is it time for Miley to move on?
  With "Hannah Montana" looming in the rearview mirror, we offer Miley Cyrus some suggestions for her post-tween career.
  
• 'Brütal Legend' rocks - kind of
  REVIEW A new heavy-metal video game starring Jack Black has a killer story but middling game play.
  
• Reader query: Celebrating the season
  What’s the story behind your favorite holiday decoration?

  Send a brief description and photo, if possible, to: kim.palmer@startribune.com.

  
  
• 'Where the Wild Things Are' a crowning achievement
  'Where the Wild Things Are' turns a masterpiece of children's literature into cinema magic.
  
• Mattel lead settlement could add up to $50M-plus
  Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to settle a consumer lawsuit for what could total more than $50 million over the 2007 recall of millions of toys made in China that were found to contain high levels of lead.
  
• What makes a masterpiece?
  A rare show of objects from the Louvre will give Minneapolis museumgoers an opportunity to sharpen their vision.
  
• Halloween/Fall options
  TRAIL OF TERROR: Ghoul-infested haunted hayride, Vampire Chambers, 3D Circus, the Halls of Horror, bonfire and livemusic, food, dancing and contests in Club Scream and the Terror Tavern.
  
• Technobabble: Snow White Blu-ray/DVD for $10
  Amazon is selling the Blu-ray/DVD combo of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, due Tuesday, for $10. Now that's a deal on the high-def animated classic, which retails for $40.
  
• Oh, sunny day!
  After 80 years, Winnie-the-Pooh and gang are back in the first authorized sequel, "Return to the Hundred Acre Wood." The book is due out Monday.
  
• TCF Bank Stadium open to public Oct. 4
  The University of Minnesota will show off its shiny new football stadium to the public next month.
  
• Spotlight: Frightmares at Buck Hill
  Ongoing: If you thought Buck Hill was just a place to hit the slopes, you're dead wrong. It would seem the venue has dark secrets.
  
• Spotlight: Rain Taxi Twin Cities Book Festival
  Polish your reading glasses and get ready for the biblio-bonanza of the Rain Taxi Twin Cities Book Festival
  
• Minnesota's cool summer means fewer pumpkins
  Pie makers and jack-o'-lantern carvers may want to nab a pumpkin while they can. A cool summer in Minnesota, and much of the Midwest, could result in fewer pumpkins for sale this fall at farmers' markets and retail outlets.
  
• Play set can be re-used but not recycled
  Q We have a plastic outdoor play set for our children that they've outgrown. How do we get rid of it? Can it be recycled?
  
• Michael Jackson's ferris wheel touring Midwest as part of carnival
  From the top of the Ferris wheel, one could once see acres of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, the ride's 5,000 lights aglow in a carnival-like frenzy fit for a performer who never quite grew up.
  
• Not for kids: Parents object to ads during games
  Ads for erectile dysfunction drugs, beer and not-for-children films abound on pro football and baseball telecasts, upsetting parents and politicians worried about harm to young viewers — though a new wave of complaints doesn't seem to be swaying the leagues, networks or advertisers.
  
• Rare chance to see Dead Sea Scrolls
  Fragments of ancient Hebrew writings are rarely displayed for general public.
  
• Idyll hours
  There are two ways to do Lanesboro in autumn: on the weekends, when there's a bevy of activity, or during the week, when the mood is one of reflection and tranquility.
  

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