K.C. and the Sunshine Band

The joy of conference hotels...

Marie's Night of Horror

I have a special fondness for doll shows on home shopping channels. Much like dog shows and ice skating competitions, they offer a blend of unsettling fanaticism and mesmerising spectacle. Doll shows go a bit further though, since they feature tiny, weirdly deformed human replicas, dressed in unearthly get-ups, that are handled in ways that seem sexual and violent. Marie, like many of the people who headline these shows, seems to move in a world of pilled-up comfort, truly delighted to talk with callers who say things like "I have all nine from the muffin series, and every time I look at them I cry". Last night, she was talking about invisible friends from her childhood.

Karla

Another denizen of the weird world of vintage game shows -- this time from Password Plus!

Fawg II

More goodies from the land of lovely rust:

Fawg

I visited Duluth this past week. The city was enshrouded in eerie fog for all but the last few hours of my stay. No complaints here.

Illuminations 3

skipping towards enlightenment

Illuminations 2

More light

Illuminations 1

Things aglow

Summer 1

I have been unspeakably delinquent in maintaining this blog. In lieu of a genuine post of fresh material, I'm copping out and sharing some of my favorite video clips with you sweet folks. Original content will follow soon -- really!

Do You Have Iron Pour Blood?

A Celebration of Spring

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Bye Bye

What will you miss most about winter?

Listplay

I've been experimenting with YouTube playlists -- check out "My, How the Sound Aches!", "TV Damage", and "Signs and Wonders" in the list of links to the right, and explore some of the deranged and beautiful crap that I've trauled from the depths of YouTube. Let me know what you think.

Do Not Remove This Tag, Under Penalty of Law

I've just been tagged by Anjou Wu.

It seems that I need to share three little-known things about me in a variety of categories. Read into these what you will...


Three places where I had near-death experiences:

The Outer Banks of North Carolina
St. Paul, Minnesota
Lagos, Nigeria


Three songs that inevitably bring a lump to my throat:

"Here Come the Warm Jets" -- Brian Eno
"Lights" -- Victoria Williams
"Pale Blue Eyes" -- The Velvet Underground


Three habits that routinely get me into trouble:

Trusting my memory
Reading news instead of engaging in more productive activities
Falling out of touch with much-loved friends


Three weird traits of my body:

My hands are unusually double-jointed.
Even though I am calm and collected, my blood pressure will plummet to dangerously low levels if I know that I am getting a shot or having blood drawn.
I experience occasional visual migraine symptoms without the accompanying pain.



Three things in my office:

Hell banknotes
A 100-year-old chair perched atop a file cabinet
Rooibos tea



Three things I'd love to do:

Open a bizarre little museum
Live in Bali for a year or two
Learn to build interesting furniture



Three things that make me panic:

House centipedes (the long-legged ones, even though they are actually beneficial)
Stark, freshly-carpeted, off-white-walled spaces
Large crowds of white people


Three folks I've tagged:

The Thyroid
Storm

The
Haunted Mansion-- Northside

Whispers
in the Loggia

St. Modomnoc's Day!!!

Tired of the ridiculous over-commercialization of Valentine's day? Why not make some Modomnocs for your friends?

St Modomnoc (6^th C.) is the patron saint of bees. Born in Ireland, he traveled to Wales to study for the priesthood. He became caretaker of the monastery's bees, and loved them very much. When the time came to return home, the bees followed him onto his ship, and sailed with their friend to Ireland. There, they took up residence in a garden by the church at Bremore. February 13th is St. Modomnoc's Day. Enjoy some honey, and give thanks for pollination.

(images borrowed from www.honey.com, an amazing site for all things honey-related)

http://www.honeylocator.com/

Forbidden

A few moments from one of the most astonishing films ever made:

The Joker is the Only Fool...

...who'll do anything for you.

By special request.