With Halloween fast-approaching, Take This Lollipop is praying on the fears of Facebook users everywhere. The Facebook app mines profiles for personal information that it then incorporates into an interactive video. Online user beware: you're now the target of your friendly neighborhood psycho-stalker. It will make you think twice the next time you accept a Farmville request. So far, takethislollipop.com has over 222,000 "likes" on Facebook, raising an even creepier notion—just how many people are willing to risk their privacy for the sake of a thrill? I know I'm guilty. Are you?

Halloween is just around the corner, which means it will soon be time to shamelessly exploit the cuteness of our children. We'll dress them as baby animals and baby vegetables, and some of us may even dress them as baby Gagas. As a new mom, I am determined to create the perfect costume for my 2-month-old daughter. Of course, it will have to be something fairly simple considering I don't actually know how to sew yet, nor do I own a sewing machine. But what costume could possibly capture my baby's essence, her personality, her unbearable smushiness? (My husband and I have dubbed our baby girl "…

It seems like nothing gets a conversation going quite like food. Earlier today, I noticed the Town Center at Cobb Facebook page had a status up asking patrons which restaurant they would add to the mall if they could. Almost 40 comments later, it seems Moe's, Five Guys and The Cheesecake Factory are among the top choices. Personally, I'd like to see a bubble tea spot somewhere in the mall since I've been craving some milky, tapioca-filled goodness for some time now. Seriously, where can a Patch editor get some bubble tea in this town? I'll keep this edition of Night Owls short and sweet. I'd …

My parents' refrigerator is covered in family photos–pictures of ballet recitals, Florida fishing trips, family reunions and more form a visual patchwork of all things Pipia. The photos overlap each other, held up by an assortment of magnets, and are arranged in no particular order. It's all rather symbolic, really, and captures the family dynamic quite well–colorful, often times chaotic, but somehow, closely held together. In one photo, my younger sister, my mother and I are all dressed in white. Mom holds a distracted Victoria in her arm while I grin from my stroller, dressed in a white …

My cat, Sushi, is curled up in the corner, her eyes closed contentedly and her whiskers upturned in a hint of a smile. This, I think, must be the look of complete and utter serenity. Of course, what does Sushi have to complain about? She eats and sleeps here rent-free, and thanks to my baby shower over the weekend, she currently has plenty of bags, boxes, ribbon and tissue paper to explore, claim and conquer as part of her kingdom. Do I sound resentful yet? I should. It’s been one of those days. I wish I could say I’m one of those people who thrive off of stress – that when everything seems …

There is something special about an out-of-home experience. Whether it's a weekend trip to the mountains, an island getaway or an epic backpacking journey through Asia, most of us, at some time, feel a call to leave home and escape our own realities to experience something different. Last month, I spoke with Kennesaw Police Officer Scott Luther as he made final preparations before heading to Greece to represent the state of Georgia in the Special Olympics torch run. Now, Luther's journey is well underway, and he's sharing his travel memoirs with supporters back home via a Facebook page. …

As thunder rumbles nearby, white flashes of lightning seem to shake the silhouettes of tree branches outside my window. It's a miserable, stormy night here in Kennesaw. A perfect night for cozying up with a good book. Today, our Moms Council discussed ways to keep kids' minds sharp over the summer break. We also ran an announcement about the Cobb County library system's summer reading challenge, which will reward children for their reading efforts. This, along with the introspective weather, has me thinking about my own childhood relationship with books and reading. For me, memories of …

Thursday, Kennesaw State University announced the approval of a new Interdisciplinary Studies Department, effective fall of this year. The department will encompass existing academic programs, including African and African Diaspora Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Environmental Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Latin American Studies and Peace Studies. Earlier today, the Marietta Daily Journal published an article entitled "KSU approves controversial new department of race, gender," citing critics of the new program, including state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, who told the MDJ the courses…

Balut is a Filipino delicacy, a high-protein snack known as an aphrodisiac and component for a long, healthy life. It is, essentially, a fertilized duck embryo, boiled alive, then eaten out of the shell – liquid, yolk, chick and all. While it's a favorite food of my mother's, balut is hard to come by in Kennesaw. (In fact, if you know of any hidden balut suppliers around town, please let us know.) Personally, I've only tried it once. To eat balut, first crack open the egg and sip out the liquid broth. Next, indulge in the nutritional richness of the yolk sac (which had only shortly before …

Earlier this week, our Kennesaw Mom columnist, Kristi Vinson, reflected on the meaning of Memorial Day from the perspective of someone who is both the daughter and mother of veterans. In her column, Kristi stressed the importance of teaching our children about the significance of the holiday. "Out of curiosity, I polled a dozen kids ranging in age from 5 to 14. I asked them what they knew about Memorial Day," she writes. "Interestingly, their answers ranged from 'getting out of school,' to 'a day my mom doesn’t have to work,' to 'celebrating some old guys who died in battle.'" Kristi has been…

Today, we reported on the death of a 5-month-old girl who was left inside a vehicle for more than five hours in the parking lot of a Kennesaw day care center. This is reportedly the first such death in Georgia and the fifth in the nation so far this year. Whether you judge the incident as an unfortunate accident, a horrible case of negligence or something in between, the fact remains that a child has died. Such losses can shake the core of a local community. "How could this happen?" we ask. While we've certainly all heard about similar cases in the news, perhaps it strikes a certain chord …

School is officially out, meaning graduating seniors throughout Kennesaw will soon be taking that next step into "the real world." Ah, the real world – there it is, kids, peeking over the horizon of your youth. One more step, and there you'll be, staring into the black abyss of adulthood and all the stress, bills and endless responsibilities that come with it. From this point forward, life is no fun. Commencement speech over. Now, breathe. And forgive my Patchy sense of humor. In reality, graduation signals the beginning of another phase of your youth. A transition into more responsibility? …

Today, we featured an article on Palmer Middle School student Brynn Cochran. The 12-year-old's short story recently received first place among sixth grade entries in the statewide Georgia Young Authors' Writing Competition. Brynn's story, "Harder than Corundum," is set against the backdrop of the Chernobyl disaster and is told through the eyes of a search and rescue German Shepherd on her final mission. You can read the story here on Kennesaw Patch. Brynn's story immediately took me back to my own childhood and the pleasure I found in writing poems and stories. I dreamed and created, …

Today, we reported on the arrests of two suspects (one of whom was only 15-years-old) in connection with the burglary of Ambush Boarding Company earlier this month. Police say they got a lead in the case when the mother of one of the suspects discovered "very expensive looking things" in her home and called the cops on her son, who later turned himself in. Police say up to $100,000 in skateboards, video cameras, clothing and sunglasses were stolen from the store, and that so far, they've recovered about $37,000 worth of the missing items. As a mom-to-be, I have to wonder: would I have done …

I've always been a night owl. When it's just me, the darkness and the light of my computer screen, somehow my mind functions better. While I've been heading to bed a little earlier lately (a side effect of pregnancy, I suppose), I still prefer the calmness and clarity that comes to me late in the evening. Whether you're currently in bed and checking your e-mail before calling it a day, or a fellow insomniac whose nightly internet browsing has just begun, I'd like to invite you to join me each evening at 9 p.m. to comment, muse and reflect on the day's events, the day ahead or other stuff that…