Breathing life into boring ol' death.

Byline: Best of . . . The Register-Guard

Halloween is dead. This year, we're observing Dia de Los Muertos instead. It's a holiday that's so nice, you get to celebrate it twice.

The party begins with All Saints Day (Wednesday), which marks the return of the souls of the dead children. What sounds like the makings of an M. Night Shyamalan movie is actually a much brighter affair.

The idea is to honor the dead, to celebrate their lives and to remember what they stood for. You can even leave them a little offering, preferably something they enjoyed while they were alive. Wouldn't you want the same if you were stumbling around eternity with no earthly possessions, just trying to find a good time?

Toys are given to the souls of the kids, aka "los angelitos." The adults (`los Diablos?') get bottles of tequila, but we'll get to them later.

Offerings often are left on altars, along with candles, bread for the dead and flowers. They're known as "offrendas," which is Spanish for "can of Pringles."

That's what somebody left on one Day of the Dead altar at the Maude Kerns Art Center's art exhibit, which is where we recommend you start your celebration.

If you're squeamish about death or don't like skulls and bones or have triskaidekaphobia, well, you should go here for some aversion therapy. Skeletons appear in prints, masks and sculptures, and this is the 13th time the exhibit has been held.

And for the second half of our celebration, we're choosing to interpret the party our way.

All Souls Day (Thursday) is the day the adult spirits return. And we've got something better to offer than tequila, mezcal or larvae of the agave snout wee- vil.

How 'bout some Dead Guy? Dead Guy Ale, that is. And what better place to enjoy this Oregon-brewed beer, which originally was made to com- memorate the holiday, than right at the source, the Eugene City Brewery.

Technically, this beer's not made here - the mothership brewery in Newport makes the 40,000 barrels of Dead Guy that are sold annually - and there's nothing remotely Mexican about it. It's actually a German miebock.

But we like Dead Guy, which contrary to popular opinion, has nothing to do with the Grateful Dead. And although you won't find any candlelit altars or masks or sugar skulls at the Eugene City Brewery, you can find other stuff.

Stuff such as Morimoto soba ale cheddar cheese, beer crust pizza, chocolate stout floats and happy meals for adults that come with a toy and a glass of beer - which all sounds to us like "offrendas" that anyone, living or dead, can enjoy.

Best of ... ain't dead yet. Don't believe us? Take a stroll through our graveyard, er, archive at www.registerguard.com/bestof.

BEST WAY TO CELEBRATE THE DAY OF THE DEAD Maude Kerns Art Center/Eugene City Brewery Art: The Dia de los Muertos exhibit runs from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 3 at the Maude Kerns Art Center, 1910 E. 15th Ave.; admission is free, suggested donation of $3 Beer: The Eugene City Brewery is at 844 Olive. St., open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday