The Monday briefing: The '91 Halloween horror story

Flashback: If your kids complain about how far they have to hike to fill their trick-or-treat quotas, remind them that this is the 25th anniversary of the 1991 Halloween blizzard in which you fought your way through 12 feet of snow in flip-flops and all you got was a one Tootsie Roll that fell out a hole in the bottom of the old pillow case your mother made you use. (That might be a slight exaggeration, but a little enhancement is what makes these stories so legendary.) The point is: If the kids start griping, point out how much nicer they have it with this year's weather and refer them to this photo gallery of Star Tribune photos from the storm: strib.mn/2fbHDJd

PICK OF THE WEEK: Blending music, comedy and a scintilla of sci-fi, the indie film "All in Time" sets out to answer this question: How much would you be willing to give up to follow your dream? Rachel (Vanessa Ray, who has recurring roles on both "Blue Bloods" and "Pretty Little Liars") is the epitome of support when her boyfriend, Charlie (Sean Modica, you'll recognize his voice from the "Grand Theft Auto" video games), decides to give up his well-paying job as an investment banker to manage a rock band — at least, until Charlie decides to organize a rock concert for time travelers. The movie has been making the rounds on the international film festival circuit, including being voted the audience favorite in Milan and getting the directing award in Amsterdam. It's playing closer to home when it debuts at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lagoon. Tickets are $10.

Cheat sheet: With Halloween here, it's time to scare up some tasty tidbits about the day.

• Americans spend $2 billion a year on Halloween candy. There's no breakdown on what percentage of that is given away vs. how much ends up being eaten by the purchasers.

• Instead of pumpkins, the original jack-o'-lanterns were hollowed out turnips. They were believed to scare away evil spirits, although they probably didn't do much for people who don't like turnips, either.

• When surveyed by the National Confectioners Association, 75 percent of parents admitted to sneaking candy from their kids' trick-or-treat bags. The other 25 percent lied.

Day by day: Knock, knock. Who's there? Wooden shoe. Wooden shoe who? Wooden shoe like to know that Monday is national Knock Knock Joke Day?

recommended reading: Forget meat raffles. Designer purse bingo is the new trendy pastime. Check it out in Thursday's Variety.

JEFF STRICKLER • jeff.strickler@startribune.com