It's still October, and that means there's still more spooky stuff haunting the iTunes Store, and I'm just the guy to stake it out, bring them out into the sunlight. So, let's see what we got this week.

First up; Strange signals from a strange alien society (Canada) have invaded my iPod. It's scary how much fun they are having. It's horrifying how they get to talk to celebrities... and the celebs talk back!!! It's odd, it's strange, it makes me think that even my grandmother can make a podcast. It's Galacticast!

A group of Canucks put on sketches, canvass scifi related events interviewing folks, and just having a old good time in general. In the episode titled ATTACK OF THE 50 FT. DOUBLE BILL, intrepid reporter Stephanie Bryant briefly chats up Stephen Furst, who, if you'll recall, was the Man Friday-come-emperor in the acclaimed scifi series, Babylon 5. It isn't much of an interview, Stephanie seems new at it, but it's nice to know Mr. Furst is keeping busy.

Scene from Galacticast: 28 Second Later

Did I mention that the Galacticast crew also do skits? All based on anything scifi, horror, or geeky, these SNL-ish sketches are funny. My favorite is the episode titled 28 SECONDS LATER, a send up of the horror/scifi zombie movie series that started with 28 Days Later.

There are plenty of episodes to keep you busy, so check it out free at the iTunes Store.

Ever wonder if there are ghosts in Da Hood? Black folks die all the time, so there has got to be some mean spirits hanging out at your local Martin Luther King Boulevard, but you never see any of those ghost-busting shows take on African-Amercan after-life.

Man! A Brotha can't get no respect in this life or the next!

Well, that's all about to change if Tyrone has anything to say about it. Tyrone is the star and (only) ghost-buster in the podcast Ghetto Ghost Getta.

Tyrone fixing to bust a ghost in Ghetto Ghost Getta

Unlike his Caucasian counterparts, Tyrone actually smacks down the restless spirit brothas. Ain't no whispered voices and crappy video here (though Tyrone could use a good sound tech). We see real ghosts doing real ghost stuff, like playing XBox.

Tyrone won't stand for that kind of stuff. After all, his clients pay him top dollar to rid the crib of ghosts.

In this first episode Tyrone encounters a couch-loving spirit in a client's apartment. You gotta see what happens.

Check out Ghetto Ghost Getta, free in the Podcast section of the iTunes Store.

They are here among us. They move with a halting, jerking motion. Their bodies are so emaciated that some look like the walking dead, They stare with no emotion, as if their very souls have been ripped from them.

No, I'm not talking about a new zombie movie, I'm talking about fashion models, those skeletal ghouls of New York and Paris runways. We see them switch and twirl themselves in designer jeans, but do they feel? Do they think?

Such is the question asked by the new reality show, America's Most Smartest Model. (You read it right.) I suppose the theory is that we Yanks have more than a few smart models, enough of them to compete to see who is the smartest, that person being the most smartest.

Make sense is a strange, almost perverted way.

Anyway, the iTunes Store is offering the casting call episode where the show's producers ask a variety of models some fairly standard questions. See how well you do with these (no cheating):

1. How many states are there currently in the United States America?
2. How long does it take the Earth to make one complete circle around the Sun?
3. What did France give the U.S. in 1886 to symbolize friendship between the 2 countries? (tough one, huh?)
4. Who is our current Vice President?
5. Who was the first man on the Moon?

Think you got the answers? Well, don't rely on any of these models to help you, it's downright frightening how little they know. Makes you wonder if they enough grey matter to remember to breathe.

Scary and yet, comforting in an obtuse way; many average looking pre-teens go through a period of self-brutalization brought on by our society's obsession with beauty. Show your tweens this casting-call and they can't help but feel good about themselves, even if they have one eye, a hump, and zits that put the Himalayas to shame.

Anyway, the Most Smartest Model: Casting Call episode is a hoot and well worth the price.

BTW: answers are at the bottom of this article, below the big Free on iTunes image.

That's going to do it for this week.

More freebies on the iTunes Store:

---

Answers

1. 50
2. 1 year, 365 day (approximately)
3. The Statue of Liberty
4. Dick Cheney
5. Neil Armstrong (notthat Lance and Neil are not related)