Ten Things to Talk About

Babies, Mitt Romney, and So Many Tourists

1. Babies and Mitt Romney: According to The New York Times, Republican PACs have a new advertising strategy: using babies to appeal to independent female voters. Ethical? Interesting? Ingenious? You decide.

2. Halloween costumes, decorations, candy, face paint…Frankenweenie? This Friday, Disney releases its latest holiday picture: a black-white-and-spooky version of a boy and his dog—directed by Tim Burton.

3. The power of painting, and more importantly, the painting of power: On September 29, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston opened a new exhibit featuring the work of Daniel Rich, who uses acrylic paint to examine the relationship between physical structures and political influence.

4. Cheating: No, not the type that involves plagiarism, the type that involves Arnold Schwarzenegger. The former politician and body builder, sometimes known as the “Governator,” appeared on the season premiere of “60 Minutes” last Sunday to discuss his new memoir and old extramarital affairs. “Terminator” marathon, anyone?

5. “Babel”: Yes, babble about Mumford & Sons’ new album.The “Princess Diaries” finally gets its happy ending.

6. Eight years after Anne Hathaway/Princess Mia dumped Duke Andrew at the alter in "The Princess Diaries 2": Royal Engagement, she finally said “I do” to fiancé Adam Shulman last Saturday.

7. Elephants—always adorable, but increasingly endangered: National Geographic just released story and a large photo spread about elephants and the ivory trade entitled “Blood Ivory.”

8. Enjoy the new iPhone iOS 6 update, if you can find it: Apple replaced Google Maps with its own “Maps” app, prompting considerable customer backlash and a letter of apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

9. Forget Dental School, the cavemen had it figured out millennia ago! According to The New York Times, scientists in Italy have discovered a 6,500-year-old tooth with what seems to be a beeswax filling.

10. So many tourists (and locals) that even the tourists will be complaining about the number of visitors in the square: This Sunday is Cambridge Oktoberfest, complete with the HONK parade and seven stages filled with any number of bands that you may or may not recognize.