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Rob
(phew!)

Book Recommendation

Completely out of left field, let me recommend No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It’s an amazingly detailed yet human portrait of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt and their time in office. I read it a few years ago, and loved it.

Universal Monster

So, who’s your favorite Universal monster? There are basically seven pics from the old Universal Studios horror movies – Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I’m a fan of the Gill-man. I even have a little stuffed animal of him.

I'd go back in a second.

One of the best places we went on our honeymoon was this little town south of Paris called Nolay (not an auspicious name for a town to visit on your honeymoon, I know). This town was wonderful. It was the perfect little French village. We took a twelve-mile walk around the countryside with wine and cheese in out backpack, and relaxed at this Tabac (a tabacconist shop/café) and drank great wine and was introduced to one of my all-time favorite sandwiches, the chevre chaud. It’s goat cheese, ham, gouda and tomato on a baguette, warmed in the oven. Delicious doesn’t cover it. I didn’t know comfort food came in other languages.

I just remembered...

I think the second time I saw Picasso, Jon Stewart was playing the title role. I might have even interviewed him beforehand.

Wow.

Wild, Crazy

Steve Martin is one of my favorite writers. He’s had some clunkers, but ever since LA Story, he’s had this sad whimsy about him that really draws me to his work. And happy news, his fantastic play Picasso at the Lapin Agile is in pre-production to be a movie. I've seen this play three times, and loved it every time.

Kathy & I stopped at the Lapin Agile when we were in Paris. Sadly, we never got there when it was open – hopefully we’ll have a chance to go back someday.

Rob

Myth! Myth! ..... Yeth?

I figure I’d cheat a bit, and continue the modern myths thing here. I remember something Peter David once wrote which struck a chord in me. It was an idea that said that myths are fictional characters that we think of as real. Not in the sense of being living, breathing people, but in the sense of being able to see them without their fictional context.

The example he gave was Captain Kirk. If you asked a dozen people on the street who Captain Kirk is, most of them will tell you he’s the captain of the Enterprise... instead of saying he’s the lead of the Star Trek tv show, and was played by William Shatner. They’ll know those things too, and probably give them to you right after, but the foremost thing in their minds would be he was the captain of the Enterprise.

I was thinking about this on the train today, thinking about characters that have this same resonance with us – that we think of their reality first, before we think about what they are in our own reality (fictional characters).

I think Charlie Brown meets the criteria. So does James Bond. I’m not sure about Indiana Jones – I think he’s probably too closely associated with his three movies (despite appearing in other media, including TV, novels, and comics) to be there yet. But I think the Simpsons certainly have made the grade. I think constant exposure is important, and that’s where Indy falls down, but Homer and his family certainly qualify.

Can you think of any characters created after the Simpsons that have reached this point? I have a couple ideas, but I want to hear your thoughts.

Good Grief!

I’m reading the first volume of The Complete Peanuts. Fantagraphics is publishing the entire strip, in order, in a huge series of classy volumes. Most cover two years of the run, but the first also covers the tail end of 1950, when it began.

And it’s fantastic. Reading the later years of the strip, I forgot how funny it once was. And it’s a joy to see Charles Schulz inventing the characters, one by one. Did you know that Schroeder showed up before Lucy? Fact. And Snoopy is a great character, even better without speaking/thinking. I don’t know if I’ll pick up all of these books, and I’ll certainly look for discounts, but they’re worth keeping an eye on.

Because Charlie Brown is one of our modern myths.

If I had pets…

I’d talk about ’em here, because I’m seriously running out of things to say.

So here's to Texas, Brandy, Sam, Felix, Sproing, and Mazey. Were you here, you'd probably do something cute or infuriating that I could write about.

Month of agony

It’s been about a month since Kathy & I joined the Y and started working out. I haven’t lost much weight, but I’ve been much less out of breath when I’ve run to catch the train, so I guess that’s something.

Seriously, things are going well with it, and I’m feeling more fit because of it. Not that you could tell with any mass-measuring scientific instruments. But that’ll come, I’m sure.

Speaking of Stripping…

The other night, Kathy & I were watching Action, tivoed from around 2:30 or 3 in the morning on Comedy Central. It’s a great show, cruelly funny in all the right ways. But as I was fast-forwarding though the commercials, one caught my eye enough that I went back to it later.

Yes, it caught my eye because it had strippers on it, and cheap graphics. It said “sleaze” loud and clear, and really, can you blame me for being curious? But what I found was pure entertainment gold.

It was a help wanted ad for strippers. Some show bar in NJ is so desperate to get quality dancers that they’re advertising on Comedy Central. Because all the hotties are watching Jay Mohr at 3 a.m.

Stripping on the Weekends

Kathy & I have been stripping on the weekends. It’s a lot of work. I really did a number on my shoulder last week – heck, I was sore all over. But how else are we gonna get the paint off this wood?

Oh… what did you think I meant?

Actually, we’re using white disposable surgical gloves to keep the paint thinner off of our hands. And I have to say, whenever I snap a glove against my wrist as I put it on, my brain gets a signal that something frightfully kinky is about to happen. “All right.. bring out the gimp!'

Rob

Bush’s bulge

Chris clued me in to a bit of a tempest in the online news sources—it seems like the Hand Puppet is wearing a wire. An article on Salon.com has the skinny on Bush’s bulge, and what it might be. It might be so that he can get answers to debate questions, or maybe he needs help from some GOP Cyrano to practice his love like an OBGYN. Heck, maybe he’s just listening to smooth jazz—reason enough to boot him from office.

Me, I prefer to think of it as an endless loop of Mark Wahlberg saying “I’m a star. I’m a big, big star!”

Clobberin' Time

The debates are just about to start. Go get 'im, Big John.

It's astounding...

I just changed the time back. Otherwise, I'd have to remember to change the time for EVERY post I made, and I'm just not willing to make that effort to remember. So keep in mind, this is all happening 3 hours later than what the clock says it is, or 3,000 miles east of where you think I might be, or something like that.

Let's do the time warp again, baby!

Batterbatterbatterbatter SWING batter!

Kathy just called me downstairs because she had some angel food cake batter. I can't convey how yummy it is, but let me try:

Lick your computer. Seriously. I'm trying here. Lick your computer.



(I'm waiting.)



See? It's like that, only a hundred million times better. Because what you did was just gross. And this batter is divine.

Batter. Truly chicken soup for the blogger's soul.

Tivo wears his war wound like a crown

I have to say, I’m really digging this Tivo contraption. I can watch Celebrity Poker, Family Guy, or Good Eats whenever I want. Plus, I’m not missing Smallville, Jack & Bobby, The Daily Show, The Venture Bothers, or any other cool shows. Of course, this means that TV is taking over my life. But I can look away! I can look away!

Oh, and I changed the time. It's 8:06. I think this is why my brother asked me if I was posting blog entries from work.

Rob

Time flies

I didn’t just say hi to Kathy for hours. I just realized that my blog clock is about three hours wrong. So I’m resetting it now. Or actually, the next post, so you’ll know when I came back.

My Wife Just Got Home

So I’m gonna kiss her and say hi. Be right back. With a more insightful post than this.

Another question

Who’s the scariest movie villain? The AFI says it’s Hannibal Lecter, but Darth Vader and the hunter from Bambi were also in the running. But since the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, I know who I’d pick.