Take a look at this month's edition of Opening Statements!
OPENING STATEMENTS OCTOBER 2020 WWW.LAWYERSREADYTOFIGHT.COM 317-934-9725 | INFO@RDLAWOFFICE.COM
FROMTHE DESK OF
John Razumich
Halloween is nearly upon us, and while it’s still my favorite time of the year it’s hard to deny that 2020 has been a bit more trying than most years. By the time this hits your mailbox, normally my friends and I would have a preliminary plan of which haunted houses we would be hitting this season, but given the continuing health issues it’s likely that this will be more of a stay-at-home October. Fortunately, there are still LOTS of great horror movies that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your couch. I’ve been rewatching the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” movies with a friend who, despite having been on this planet for more than 30 years, had NEVER seen any of them. Talk about a sheltered youth! And, of course, at some point this month I’ll watch one of my personal favorites, “Halloween III: Season of the Witch.” I hope that everyone out there is able to find some way of enjoying as many of the normal, spooky activities that you would have in more normal times, and that your
THE FEARWE ALL LOVE Haunted Houses: Past, Present, and Future
H alloween is a time to enjoy the things that send a jolt of fear through our bodies. Nothing brings out the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve like putting on your favorite horror flick, dressing up in a terrifying costume, or heading to your local haunted house. Haunted houses have been one of the most popular October activities for decades. In the U.S., haunted houses were first created to keep young people from “running amok.” Boys were known to take to the streets on Halloween and cause mischief with harmless pranks like scaring pedestrians, ding-dong ditching, or even stealing neighbors’ gates. However, after the Great Depression, their antics grew more serious. Halloween of 1933 is often referred to as “Black Halloween” because hundreds of teenage boys went on a rampage across the country, flipping cars and sawing off telephone poles.
In order to redirect these boys’ actions, many communities began setting up activities for them to participate in, such as Halloween parties, costume parades, and haunted trails or houses. However, this wasn’t the world’s first haunted house appearance. In the 1800s, London’s Marie Tussauds wax museum had a frightening display of decapitated figures from the French Revolution, dubbed the Chamber of Horrors. In 1915, a British company built one of the earliest haunted houses, which featured demonic screams, shaking floors, and dim lighting. Since then, the allure of haunted houses has taken the world by storm, appearing in countless countries, cities, and communities. Haunted amusement rides and houses from all over the globe draw thousands of guests each year, but Japan is known for some of the most frightening haunted houses in the
season is filled with fun, candy, and scary movies. See you next month!
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world. One of the country’s most renowned haunts is the Labyrinth of Fear, located at the amusement park Fuji-Q Highland. Not only is it one of the scariest haunted houses in the world, but it’s also one of the largest. The Labyrinth of Fear is set up in a former hospital, and it takes about 40 minutes to walk through the two-story building from start to finish. Japanese people and visitors can usually enjoy these frights year-round. During a typical summer, many cities across Japan open haunted houses for the sheer enjoyment of visitors who travel from all over to get their scares in early. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses had to shut down across the country this summer, and things were looking bleak. However, there was one production company, Kowagarasetai, that did not give up. Kenta Iwana, a Kowagarasetai producer, decided the company could still offer a haunted house while practicing safe distancing by setting up a drive-thru haunted house. Although this
may sound dangerous at first, the car itself remains stationary throughout the production. In this attraction, guests sit in a car and watch as horror opens up around them — zombies crawl across the hood of the car and press their faces against the windshield, and visitors can hear the shrieks of terror through the radio as an unlucky soul is trapped outside.
This new and innovative way to enjoy these annual frights could be just what everyone needs this Halloween. No matter what’s in store for the spooky holiday this year, be safe, have fun, and enjoy Halloween!
THE SPOOKY‘STARWARS’ SHORTAGE OF 1977
A long time ago … in October of 1977 to be exact, Halloween was fast approaching and many parents faced a major dilemma. That year, kids didn’t want to go trick-or- treating dressed as vampires, witches, or ghosts. The classic costumes simply wouldn’t do. That Halloween, almost every child in the United States wanted to dress as their favorite character from the new hit movie, “Star Wars.” Today, you can walk into a Halloween City on Oct. 30 and easily pick up a costume for Rey, Darth Vader, or Princess Leia. But in 1977, less than five months after the release of the first movie in the popular franchise, getting your hands on “Star Wars” merchandise was a bit more difficult. Ben Cooper, a costume company in Brooklyn, had the foresight to license “Star Wars” for costumes right after the movie came out. Unfortunately, they didn’t foresee how great the demand for these costumes would be.
lucky. But kids who arrived at the store to find the costume shelves empty didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, they went and found some brown towels to make their own Chewbacca costumes. In the current age of cosplay, homemade costumes based on movie characters are commonplace, but in 1977, this was uncharted territory. Kids searched for white dresses to be Princess Leia and bathrobes they could cut short to mimic Luke Skywalker. Moms everywhere broke out their sewing machines and created costumes using only action figures for reference. It was grueling work, but it showed how much kids wanted to spend Halloween in a galaxy far, far away. The “Star Wars” costume shortage marked a new era for Halloween — one where making your own costume was just as cool, if not better, than buying it.
Retailers across the country were selling out of “Star Wars” costumes as fast as they came in. Some stores reported selling more “Star Wars” costumes than pumpkins. Kids who got their hands on an authentic Han Solo or C-3PO costume were considered
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Meet Winter, a 4-Legged Hero of Vaccine Research
COULD A LLAMA SAVE US FROM COVID-19?
T hroughout the COVID-19 Peanut, cheered up nursing home residents through their windows this spring, while in Pennsylvania, an award-winning golden retriever named Jackson starred in videos that kept thousands laughing. Pets like these have given the national mood a boost, but another four-legged critter deserves just as much recognition. Her name is Winter, and she’s the 4-year-old llama whose antibodies could help us beat the coronavirus. pandemic, people have turned to their four-legged friends for help and comfort. In Nebraska, an 11-year-old girl and her pony, At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Llamas? Really? What will these scientists think up next?” But in fact, Winter wasn’t an outside-of-the-box discovery during the COVID-19 vaccine scramble. Llamas have been helping scientists battle viruses for years. That’s because, along with her fuzzy brown coat and long eyelashes, Winter has a
unique virus treatment hidden in her blood: llama antibodies.
to be used in a similar way to convalescent serum, effectively stopping progression of the virus in patients who are ill” when given to those patients in a transfusion. They also suggested that a cocktail of llama and human antibodies could be even more successful at temporarily blocking the virus. Studies of the latter are in the works, and scientists around the world have their fingers crossed for success. In the meantime, Winter will continue peacefully grazing in Belgium, unaware that she just might play a role in saving the world.
According to The New York Times, Winter has participated in past studies for both SARS and MERS — diseases also caused by coronaviruses — and her antibodies fought off both infections. Llamas have also helped out with research for HIV and influenza. It turns out llama antibodies are smaller than the ones found in humans, which makes it easier for them to wiggle into the tiny pockets in virus- carrying proteins. This superpower gives them the ability to “neutralize” viruses, including COVID-19. Studies are now showing that using these llama antibodies in humans could potentially keep coronaviruses from entering human cells as well. At least two separate llama studies have shown the effectiveness of these antibodies on coronavirus infections. This summer, a team of researchers from the U.K. discovered that llama antibodies “have the potential
Take a Break!
SPOOKY STRAWBERRY GHOSTS
Inspired by Candiquik.com
These adorable chocolate-dipped strawberry ghosts will be the stars of your Halloween party!
Ingredients
• • •
16 oz white chocolate, chopped
24 strawberries
1 package mini dark chocolate chips
Directions
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the white chocolate at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove it and stir, then repeat the process until melted.
2.
Lay out a sheet of parchment paper.
3. One by one, dip the strawberries into the melted white chocolate and set them on the parchment. Allow the extra chocolate to pool to form a “tail” effect. 4. Before the chocolate coating fully cools, add three mini chocolate chips to each berry to form two eyes and a mouth.
Apples Calendula Candy Halloween
Horror Masks Opal Popcorn
Scary Scream
Treat Trick
5. Let chocolate set, then serve your spooky snacks!
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desks of Razumich & Associates PAGE 1 Get Your Fear On PAGE 1 When ‘Star Wars’ Invaded Halloween PAGE 2 Could a Llama Save Us From COVID-19? PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Spooky Strawberry Ghosts PAGE 3 The WeirdThings Celebs Tried to Trademark PAGE 4
CATCHPHRASE! 6 THINGS CELEBRITIES TRIED TO TRADEMARK — AND SOME WHO SUCCEEDED
Celebrities love to trademark all sorts of things for one simple reason: People associate certain words with the celebrity’s brand, and the celebrity wants to protect that. It makes sense from a business perspective, but sometimes, it can get a little silly. Read on to see what the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office gave its blessing to and which trademarks it outright refused to create. Blue Ivy Carter Just days before their first daughter was born in 2012, Beyoncé and Jay-Z filed for a trademark on her name. The problem was that a wedding planning company called Blue Ivy was already using the name. Plus, Jay-Z mentioned to the media that their intention was to prevent others from using it. The trademark was denied.
intention was to use her trademarked name for marketing purposes. The trademark was denied, and Jenner even ended up in a brief legal battle with singer Kylie Minogue. ‘Let’s get ready to rumble!’ One of the most well-known catchphrases of all time was successfully trademarked in 1992 by its creator, boxing announcer Michael Buffer. Even better, it’s made Buffer a very wealthy man. To date, he has made nearly $500 million dollars by licensing the trademark. ‘Rock Star FromMars’ Back in 2011, actor Charlie Sheen had a very public meltdown. During the episode, he rambled off countless phrases such as “Duh, winning,” “tiger blood,” and “rock star from Mars.” In the end, he tried to trademark a total of 22 phrases, but all were rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
‘You’re fired!’ Donald Trump is known for many things, including emblazoning his name on everything he owns. Long before he was president and while host of “The Apprentice,” he filed a trademark on the show’s catchphrase. It was denied because it was too close to a preexisting (and trademarked) board game called You’re Hired. ‘BAM!’ TV chef Emeril Lagasse was a pioneer in the world of cooking shows. He popularized cooking on TV and captivated audiences by exclaiming one simple phrase every time he added an ingredient to whatever he was making: “BAM!” Naturally, he trademarked his signature phrase, but he doesn’t discourage people from using it as long as they keep it in the kitchen.
Kylie This generic trademark was filed by Kylie Jenner (of the Kardashians and Jenners). Her
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