"You Fucked Up! You trusted us!"

On this, the last day of the year, let's celebrate the 60th(!) birthday of Tim Matheson, whose greatest role was as Eric Stratton ("Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet ya!")
in
Animal House!

Enjoy!




Tip o' the cap to the loverly Lela Dowling on this, her birthday, as well. Go! Give her some business!

Oops, a Day late, sorry man!

A belated birthday tip o' the cap to Saint of the House of Fun, Oscar Levant:

Wow, he'd be a 101! Like he'd have lived that long anyway...

Fairytale Redux

The other day, Camie posted the very sweet video of "Fairytale of New York", the classic Xmas song, that was briefly "edited" (ahem) by the BBC. The Pogues played the song at their annual Dublin show, with Sinead O'Connor(!!) filling in for the late, beloved Kirsty MacColl.


(from TMZ.com)

How this crazy interweb works...

...is beyond me! For some reason, I'm getting a lot of hits on Google image searches for pics of Scarlett Johannson. Was this triggered by my post of the other day? But for some reason, the page that gets referred to is a much older one. Why? Oh, who knows? But since the wheel is squeaky, let's put on some more grease!


I know, it baffles me too!

Yes, it is kind of funny....



Eh? What's that? Well, sure I'll go get eggnog...

Merry Christmas to you all out there, and Scarlett as well...

Come To FluffStuff!

Come visit the little city I have...each visit increases the population...and when enough visit you get to change other things....

http://fluffstuff.myminicity.com/

Alfred Hitchcock

There are so many reasons Hitchcock is a Saint of The House of Fun, but I have a very particular one in mind. What's interesting about it is that it's not just about film, or even just about artistic creation generally.

It's really about what you do when you get to the top. Top of what? Doesn't matter. It's about how you deal with things when everyone around you acknowledges that you are the best, the peak, the go-to guy. Most people coast; some pontificate, some simply repeat what got them there, even if that won't work to move them any further.

Alfred Hitchcock in the late '50's was in such a glorious position. His work in the '50's is a string that anyone would envy: To Catch A Thief, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest. All of these, North by Northwest in particular, are in the center of what the studios would want to make over and over; great leading man, great soundtrack, story, direction. I think they would have wanted several 'North by Northwests' if Sir Alfred were willing to grind them out. And, mind, I'm not saying these films aren't great, they are. Let's check out the super cool intro to North by Northwest, thanks to the animation of Saul Bass and the music of Bernard Hermann; watch for Hitch at the end of the clip!


But as great as all these films were, for Hitchcock it simply wasn't enough! He wasn't going to be content to just make product, even really, really good product. He had follow his fetishistic, voyeuristic impulses all the way, past what he had started to show us in Rear Window and Vertigo. He had to give us... Psycho.




Here's what Entertainment Weekly has had to say about it:

There's no way around it: Psycho cut movie history in half. When that knife came sawing past the shower curtain at poor, sheeplike Marion Crane(Janet Leigh), Alfred Hitchcock announced that from now on all bets were off. No one was safe; a heroine could be butchered 45 minutes into the movie; a nice young man(Anthony Perkins) could turn out to be a psychotic killer with his mama's embalmed body upstairs...To be truthful, there's a little bit of Psycho in everything we watch nowadays. What Hitch wrought with his little TV crew marks the line of demarcation, in our culture, between the age of sentiment and the age of sensation. It's to pop culture what Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is to fine art: the arrival of a loud and jagged modernism.

[my emphasis] Yes, yes, I know that's a bit much, but it's just to give you the idea!

My point is not about whether you like this particular genre of film or not; it's to give Alfred Hitchcock props for doing what we wish all people at the peak of their profession would do. Spending their hard won cultural capital on not merely vanity or maintaining the status quo, but raising the bar even further! Doing only what someone in that position could do! Just for this alone, Alfred Hitchcock will always be a Saint of The House of Fun.

As Camie can attest...

Scarlett Johansson has been to the House of Fluffy...the paneling gives it away...

Following Suit...

How lazy am I? I even steal the prose from Camie!

as the condition of Cynnie's blog states, here it is!

A game:
Everyone who has a blog is welcome to participate:
The first three persons who leave a comment on today's post will have a gift from me within 365 days. But there is one condition they will have to do the same on their own blog and do the same promise. It's Pay It Forward.

Just like Cynnie, the gifts will be silly, and will be sent out...soon as I can!

My Blogosphere Xmas Present

If I could get something I want here in Blogola, I would love to find out what happened to the cool Sundries blog. Victoria had one of the most fun, readable sites out there, and she has up and disappeared since May. She did say she was taking some time off, but 8 months?!? I sometimes fear the worst, but like Lord Nelson, that's just my nature.

If you're out there sweet Ms. B, we all want you to return, even some of the Althouse commentariat as well! Otherwise, we'll be picturing you in sequels to Midnight Express....


We hope to find your prose again, under the proverbial tree this year...

Bogie and Hepburn?

Really if you think of it... more like myself and Camie, the prequel right? Half the people around here I have to treat like Elijah Cook, jr. in Maltese Falcon, and we have to somehow get a picture of Camie in the Breakfast at Tiffany's getup (maybe in front of Tiffany's!!!) Well, we can dream...

Merry Christmas, Herr Dinners!

Really, what wouldn't we give this fine gentleman for the holidays? Kegs, of course, and all the Russian Lesbian Warblers he could eat, but this should be in the front of the house to ward off any and all Evil.

His mate for next year, perhaps?

"Look, look,...

At those crazy people amongst the living who don't get what a comedy life really is! I should know -- I direct mighty fine comedies!"

Billy Wilder, Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn (and an unknown shutterbug!) on some set in the Afterlife shooting a mighty fine comedy, no doubt... and finding us even funnier!

Could this be...?

La Chat du Vog? Maybe...looks like him, except the hat would drive him SullyBonkers. No, this the front graphic for a cool site, Yousaytomayto.com

So go there and check stuff out...

Has it been 202 years already? My, my how time flies...

Here's a note from Nappy on the 202nd Anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz:

Proclamation of Napoleon I. Bonaparte

Soldiers!
I am pleased with you. Everything I expected of your dauntlessness has been fulfilled by you today, at Austerlitz. You have crowned our colors with immortal fame. The enemy army, comprised of a hundred thousand men, led by the Russian and Austrian emperors, was pulverized and crushed in less than 4 hours. Those who escaped the brunt of your weapons were drowned. Forty battalions, Russian Emperor's Guard flags, one hundred and twenty cannons, twenty generals, and more than thirty thousand captured - this is the outcome of this monumental day. Despite its superior size, the reputed Russian infantry was not able to withstand your assault, and you need not fear any opponent anymore. The third coalition was defeated and destroyed within two months. Peace is not far in the future. However, as I promised my nation before I crossed the Rhine, I will establish only such a peace that would provide me with an assurance and ensure our allied with compensation.

Soldiers,
When my nation placed the Emperor's crown upon my head, I trusted that you would maintain it in the brilliant lustre of fame, which is the only value it holds for me. But at the same moment, our enemies wanted to destroy and debase it. They wanted to force me to place this iron crown, tainted by the blood of so many of our people, on the head of our most cruel enemy. You have suppressed and ruined those arrogant and senseless efforts, on the anniversary of your Emperor's crowning. You have proved that it is easier to threaten and hold us in contempt than it is to defeat us.

Soldiers,
When I have completed everything that is necessary for ensuring the happiness and prosperity of our fatherland, I will lead you back home to France. There you will be treated to my most kind and generous care. My nation will welcome you with open arms. It will be enough to say: I fought at Austerlitz, in order for everyone to rejoin: this is a hero!

Napoleon

In our Emperor's tent at Austerlitz, 12 Frimaire of the year XIV.

Situation at 3-4 p.m. on the 2. december 1805

Have a nice Sunday! Invade the various Austerlitzes in your life!

Aiiiieeeee!!!! Rice Cooker down! Rice Cooker down!

Yep, it's true, the ol' zorichi (sp) bit the farm today....done overcooked the rice and made the stuff stick (and blacken like road tar) on the bottom... Throw it on the Christmas list...

Let's answer Chiot Mort's question

Dead Puppy asked what would I like for Xmas...ok, here goes.

We need many things at The Stuffin, but let's try and sort things out.

1.) Furniture. I have nothing but uncomfortable stuff!

2.) Clothing. Most everything is shot to hell, and I'm a tuff fit!

3.) Car Repair. Nothing major, just lots of small stuff let's harass Camie about it!

4.) Vacation. It's been far too long since I've been outta town, but I think Camie may need one more than even I, so let's send her to London, shall we?

5.) Kitchen stuff. It's old, in bad shape, and not much fun to use.

Just a few thoughts here, maybe more as I think about them.

The Current Tree, Part Deux

All right then!

What does my readership want for Xmas? Go ahead and tell The Jolly Old Fat Man who runs The Stuffing! We'll see what we can do!

It's here...

Turkey. more stuff....ugggg...I'm full and I haven't eaten yet!

Time to pass out in preparation!

Merry, happy to all y'all!

The Post of the Beast

The other day ("What does 'other day' mean?", asks Little Man) on the redoubtable Althouse blog, She wondered who be her 11,111,111th visitor. I was visitor 11,111,110 so I can't answer that question, but I am the 6,666 visitor to 'Stuffin! It's only fitting really; someone has to come here and it might as well be me!

I do note that as Thanksgiving draws near, I do get more hits from people searching for 'Stuffin'! So, turkey, turkey, turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, football...anything to make my SiteMeter happy...

The Current Tree

I have posted pics of the tree right in front of my house in other seasons...but isn't fall the best season for this sort of thing?

Did you know...

That Camie and I were in several bands? Oh, yes...


Here we are in our Grand Ole Opry phase...

Our Devo-soundalike band almost had a hit with "Flog it", but things went awry...

This is from our glam period...I can't tell which one of us is which, this being 1973 and all... I love our subtle uses of color, don't you?


Fluffy and Camie: Absinthe Police. Christ, don't ask, it was the '70's!



I went on to do a solo gig as a Rouge Supercop for JC Penneys, searching for value like Caine in Kung Fu, while wearing my Chia Chest Hair, lookin' all bad ass!

All those lessons for Fluffy Jr. finally paid off!

Once again, pajama clad bandits are foiled by the house WatchCat!

I am a bitch without my coffee...

And I take it out on the world...

Bears need no wasabi!

Camie, Little Man, Beanie at Halloween

Camie and I went out trick or treating with her chillin's last night; none of my 'ween pics came out very well, but a good time was had by all. Here we have a pic before going out at dinner. Little Man insisted on starting outside the frame and racing into the shot!

Don't Like Notre Dame? No comment!

Oscar Levant

Smart ass, depressing, talented, hypochondriac; that's Oscar Levant, the "enfant terrible" of America in the 40's and 50's. It's hard not to like a guy who "made insanity America's favorite hobby." And just at the point he starts to get good at something he quits. Pianist, Movie Star, Talk Show Host, you name it, he quit it! Christ, this is a man who is clearly 50 years ahead of his time! Really, he's effectively a bhodisatva for half the people I've ever met! A defining archetype of The House of Fun.

Quips and Quotes:

• Upon meeting Greta Garbo: "Sorry, I didn't get the name."
• To George Gershwin: "Tell me, George, if you had to do it all over would you fall in love with yourself again?"
• Of Leonard Bernstein: "I admire Leonard Bernstein, but not as much as he does."
• Of Elizabeth Taylor: "Always a bride, never a bridesmaid."
• Of Perry Como: "Perry Como's voice actually comes out of his eyelids."
• Of Debbie Reynolds: "She's as wistful as an iron foundry."
• Of Minnie Guggenheimer: "She's a good friend. As long as you're on top she'll stick by you."
• Of Grace Kelly: "She just married the first prince who asked her."
• Of Doris Day: "I knew Doris Day before she became a virgin."
• Of Richard Nixon: "He swings a big mouth and carries a little stick."
• Of Zsa Zsa Gabor: "Zsa Zsa Gabor has learned the secret of perpetual middle age."
• "Someone once asked me where I lived and I said, 'On the periphery . . . '."
• "I paid thousands of dollars to psychiatrists to forget my childhood."
• "My psychiatrist once said to me, 'Maybe life isn't for everyone'."
• "I was thrown out of one mental hospital because I depressed the patients."
• "There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and I have erased that line."
• "Happiness isn't something you experience, it's something you remember."
• "A pun is the lowest form of humor – when you don't think of it first."
• "It's not what you are, it's what you don't become that hurts."
• "I've given up reading books. I find it takes my mind off myself."

Here's the cool Wikipedia link on him. Read and be edified!

Unmotivated Saturday

Nuthin's goin' on, got no funds, and things are kind of blah in my head. The weather is great, though, and I heard good news from my doctor about my ticker the other day... it's in fine shape! Amazing! Is the Little Man well? Probably off careening around....

I may go downtown just to check out the city... that's fun....


I hope you good activities planned for your weekend.

Put your dancing shoes on!

Go on, find someone you love, er, like, er don't hate that much and dance with them today! It'll be good for your mental health, and somewhere Fred & Ginger will see you and approve....

Go Forth and Knock Yourself Out!

Giant Bubbles!

Good stuff!

take 1 lb of cherry tomatoes, divide them in half.

put some olive oil on the bottom of a good size baking dish.

spread the tomatoes in the dish, add salt, pepper, more olive oil on top, some garlic, and some chili flakes and bake for 30 minutes at 375.

boil an lb of rigatoni noodles.

combine finished tomatoes -- don't forget the juice! -- pasta, and feta cheese to taste.

Eat!

Thanks to City Cook for the recipe!

My Personality Recipe!

Thanks to Cynnie!

Fluffy - 2 heaping tablespoons of crazy - a scoop of charm - a heaping teaspoon of wealth Combine all stirring until smooth.

'What is your personality recipe?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Marshmallow Fluff -- We Salute you!

Hey, it's the 90th anniversary of Marshmallow Fluff the stuff not that dreams are made of, but for which this dippy blog may well be named!

Here -- edify yourself with the History of Fluff!

(kudos to Slashfood for pointing it out!)

Ok, so I didn't get...

one of these. But I did get an oil change, and even some gas! For me, these days, I take what small victories I can.

The Ol Fat Man -- back in the day.

The guy with the hat is my dad...and that's Young Fluffy, just about the time the Beatles landed in America...we're sittin' in Harry Truman's Presidential Lincoln.

Just for your enjoyment.

Thursday Morning

I'm in a good mood this morning, how's about yourself? I wish I had some bacon, which I don't, but, hey, I've got good coffee, and I even had a decent amount of sleep! Shocking! Ideas for the novel came to me in my sleep, so they will be written down soon....

Let us know here at the Stuffin', how life is treating you!

Wolverine Farts

Sorry all, been neglecting the ol' blog a bit too much, so here's a nice Football Saturday post for you. Around my house, 6 Saturdays a year, 100,000+ drunks show up and lock me in for the day. This is the 4th straight week of this nonsense, and it's gettin' to me....

Ah....the coffee's done...hang on a second, whilst I pour a cup.

Thanks for waiting...I'm back.

There's been some company here lately, as my old friend Evan showed up with wife and baby in tow. Evan was a grad student here for 10 years, and he was one of a crew that hung out here on the weekends for many years. It's was good to see him all adult-like and everything! He brought me a coffee cup (now being used) from near his work, the Nevada Test Site. It's nice and black with a glowy nuclear fireball on it. Good work!

Health update: At present all is well, medications are being taken, and I've even lost a pound or two. Many more to go on that front!

Work update: ummm...there is none. The dude I worked for briefly didn't get the funding he said he would, so I am back to struggling.

I have gone to writing bits again, and am trying to integrate these in the ol' novel still kicking around my head.

My friend Bob is now in London for the next year. His wife may visit in Jan, perhaps to teach a course on London theatre. We'll see.

Good friend and all around swell person Lela (Art Gurl) will be getting married soon. I'd love to see if I could swing the Northern California trip needed to see that!

I'll write more frequently; I've just been a bit of a skunk! Mea culpa.

Yes, this pretty much sums me up!

You're Les Miserables!

by Victor Hugo

One of the best known people in your community, you have become
something of a phenomenon. People have sung about you, danced in your honor, created all
manner of art in your name. And yet your story is one of failure and despair, with a few
brief exceptions. A hopeless romantic, you'll never stop hoping that more good will come
from your failings than is ever possible. Beware detectives and prison guards bearing
vendettas.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Beep! Beep!

Teen struck by train while text messaging.

Oh, baby then it fell apart...

This I do vow! ...and go see the bourne ultimatum, as it kicks ass...

Thumbs up on those sexual options!

Yes, I want to give up Scarlett Johannson as 'sloppy seconds' to a friend!

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Good enough for me!

"I'm ready for my closeup Camie Vog!"

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I guess I wind up upside down in the pool...

"Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny"

Oh, dear has my blog become like the Zappa quote above? My sitemeter thinks so! Sorry, a lot has gone on here.

1.) The foot is what it is. My doctors haven't been much help for which they will get a buttkicking soon.
2.) Exercising will also commence. I'd like to get a recumbent exercise bike, which is around $350. I have one spotted.
3.) The big news is that I have some biz that I have now started. The first two months here funds will just cover my existing, but starting in Sept., much more will be arriving! I'd say more, but I have to discuss how much I can say with the new employer. I'll still be working mainly out of the house.
4.) One of my good friends will be working for an entire year out of London, so this may be my chance to come and see English blog-friends! For various reasons, it wouldn't be until January, but he's place that he's staying is only a block and a half from Harrod's!

Camie and Cynnie and I have been playing around on Facebook a lot, another reason for much of my absence.
But hopefully that will change.

Golightly!

Tonight I was running "Dr. Ron's Film School" again, this time with to friends neither of whom had seem an Audrey Hepburn movie! So I will be having a small Audrey festival with them, probably showing them 4 or 5 films. We started with, of course, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I had forgotten how much sadness there is in it! The friends both enjoyed it a lot, and hopefully, Roman Holiday will go over equally as well....

Hey, maybe I was dead!

Sorry for the delay in posting because of this horrible mess with my foot. I can't even really write about it at length for the moment, but I will be starting some more of an exercise program than I had done in the past. Hopefully, I can procure a recumbant exercise bike for use here in the house. I am in some grief, but I guess I will deal for the rest of the life and all that.

I aint dead yet

Sorry about not being around much; foot wrestling is still occurring. The short version of that is that my health is actually much better on paper than I thought it would be, but the foot is more swollen than ever. I'm now on a new antibiotic, so we'll see in a week. My friend Kim says she will help me get a recumbent exercise bike, so if I can I will be using that.

I've been running around on Facebook lately, with Camie, (amongst others!) and that's been fun like watching squirrels chase each other in the yard. I'll be back posting more at length later.

I hope my friend Victoria at Sundries returns soon; come back Shane!

Foot Follow Up

Well, things are still a bit undecided foot-wise. It has swollen again, and my doctor seems to think it's a 'venus incapacity', which means a vein problem of some sort where I'm not getting rid of enough fluid. I go back next week and see if I have high blood pressure and perhaps diabetes. Right now, I have a pressure sock on the bum foot, but it's not helping much, is uncomfortable and the leg has stiffened. Getting around is sort of difficult. This also puts pressure on me to work in some fashion to make a bit of cash so I don't get the boot come July 1. At this point a bit of weight loss becomes imperative, and I'm seeking a recumbant exercise bike similar to Camie's! I liked that one, and will try and find a similar device. I'm trying to find some way to sustain a long-term interest in exercise, which I've never had and have never liked. But we'll see now... (thanks to 4D for his concern!)

Foot Update

Drugs have been taken, and the leg is much better. The foot is not as good, and I'm running out of drugs. So I go Thursday to see what's what! Hopefully, all will be well.

Fixin' things

For those of you who've follow the saga of my foot, things came to a ,er ah, head this past weekend. I finally went into the emergency room, even though I have no funds. To make matters short, I've had an infection in the foot called cellulitus. It wasn't broken, nor did I have a circulatory problem, it was infected and the infection started to go up my leg. I first got an antibiotic, but I had such a negative reaction to that (some of the worst few hours I've ever had!) I went back to the ER. This time I had IV antibiotic, and am now taking a different one. It will take 3 days to see if it has fixed things totally, but I do notice the swelling is down. I am still quite drained, and am still in bathroom most of the day, but I'm drinking juices like mad,so hopefully, all will be well. I even found a good social worker who will help with the healthcare to pay for this.

Much thanks to Camie, LK, and M.Morrow for their much appreciated goading and support. You're the best of the best...

Now if I could just sleep...

Favorite Ginger Ad of the Moment

Movie Stars plug products -- always have, always will. But why the accordion maker thought the dancer would sell accordions....we'll never know.

Linkage for You!

I love finding new links, either through different feeder sites, or just stumbling across them on my own. So, let me pass along a few I hope you like!

Cool Food Blog: Tigers & Strawberries.

Wanna know about every snack food known to man?: Taquitos!

As a general purpose food review site, Chowhound is like riding a wave of questions, and responses about food. I love just watching the topics and posts fly by!

For those of you here in the US who want to bring back the Pure Funk of '70's basketball, there is no better site than Remember the ABA.

I grew up with a cartoon magazine about cars called CarTOONS....and, of course, there's a site about it.

Need to know about Soviet Calculators? Here ya go!

It hasn't been edited in 13 years, but if you need to know how to make a blowtorch out of a Strawberry Pop Tart, this is where you go.

Need an agent?

A really cool blog by a woman who drives a cab in New York. She now has a book coming too! Excellent writer!

Is that guy dead or not? Find out here!

The Mother Lode of Audrey Hepburn knowledge!

More pearls as I find them...

A splendid time was had!

While Camie was having the cool breakfast, the Stuffing household was preparing for the Pistons-Bulls Game 6 tong war! Cable is lacking now-a-days in la maison du fluff, but LK in Seattle sent us her rabbit ears which got us some mighty snow reception for local Pistons coverage. LK herself called with here time-delayed ESPN coverage blow-by-blow commentaries. Linda W. (know to Camie and I as "Linder") was coming by after work, around 9:30, Mike M. stopped by with videos and snappy comebacks (we seranaded LK with our duet of the Patty Duke Theme Music), and Mike P. finished his radio show, heard our ruckus and came downstairs from the back apartment, so the house was rockin'! Fortunately, Linder showed up with a $5 pizza, and an icepack for my foot. I told her if she were also wearing an evening gown while frying bacon she'd be the perfect woman....

There's little that can match 4 screamers at the TV and a long-distance call to boot for sheer entertainment...Mike M. fiddled with the short cable for the rabbit ears, but lacking an F-to-F connector (an "Indigo Girls" connector, he calls it) we could only go so far, but we did get color.

We finally cast the Bulls back to the hell-pits whence they came, and we probably get to duke it out with Bron-Bron from Cleveland, but hey, maybe Jersey! 5 straight Eastern Conference Finals for this crew of 'stons; Mighty Damn Impressive.

Lilacs

Here we have the prime view of the lilac bush that runs parallel to my house. It's May, and they're in bloom.


This is the view directly opposite my bedroom window.
And here we have the view across the street, looking into a portion of a golf course.


The lilacs won't last long, and I thought I'd share them before they go.

2 down, 1 to go

As regular readers of Fluffy Stuffin know, we having nothing but the bestest, deepest love for all of Family Vog over at Perfect Blue Buildings. Today, if you go and check it out, is a great series of milestones of accomplishment there -- a new home, Baby Vog, new wheels even! These are sublimely cool events, and in months to come, will get the support and care of us Fluffsters in all things cool....
But this is a post to show by comparisons, where the House of Fluff is at. Things aint too good.
In many ways, I'm getting overwhelmed here, much the same way Camie was last year. And now I'm having difficulties with my foot which makes things even worse. I have been in this state for a long time, and I'm sick to death of it.

I wanted to mention specifics here, but I find I can't do it. It's just all too touchy right now; I'm a roil of a variety of feelings and those feelings are keeping me from acting as best I can. But something that is different and positive is that I'm slugging through things a lot better. A few years ago I actually had some temporary respite financially, but I wasn't acting on that! That's because my mind was not in that good place it should have been, which just goes to show how bad things have been for a very long time. The base of the change from then to now, is really Camie, and being able to help with The Little Man as he has been growing up. They are as much family as I have ever known.

There are many, many problems remaining, but with love and support I will work through them as best as I can. Maybe next year a house of my own.

Sinko de Mayo

Ok, I did this yesterday....just like I was supposed to...


...and what? What happens? It's been a day...does Pancho Villa come down the chimney? Are there presents under the cactus tree?

Man, what a ripoff holiday...

Meanwhile, back in Dealey plaza...

Check it out!

It's not every day you find a Texas School Book Depository Building just the right size for my Lego re-creation of the Zapruder film! This is, of course, after I amass the huge quantity of Pez heads needed to reshoot Triumph of the Will!

(BTW, I love how in the Wikipedia article, Mick Jagger tells Leni Reifenstahl at his wedding that he's seen Triumph at least 15 times...What is Leni Reifenstahl doing at Mick Jagger's wedding?)

This place is really cool if you're into building models;
I want the Empire State Building -- with Blimp!

This place is just way cool also!

HobbleJones McGurk

Ok, the foot has bothered me into trying to take some kind of action. I think we will have another go at trying to lose a few of the excess pounds of Me, so we can at least take some of the gravity pressure off. As to how I'm going to do this...well, I plan on getting a stationary bike AND a recliner! The stationary bike has to be just so, and I do like Camie's which is a recumbant. This is what I would prefer. Does any of y'all have a lead on such a thing, as cash around here is as rare as eyebrows on eggs. The recliner serves another purpose. Ideally, it should be able to get the foot above my chest, minor experiments with here, have been successful. Another purpose is that there is no truly comfy furniture here at Fluffy Central, and this would be a first. Diet is another issue which I will work through, but in a way, that should be easier.

The key may be my ability to keep a positive tone about the process. For the most part, past efforts were grim affairs, which frankly were doomed to failure. Nor will scare tactics help the process. No, I've got to want to do this, and keep doing 6 months from now. I am intrigued by the prospect, and will rely on my friendly readers for support.

AL: Plot Concept -- The Band

In Almost Lynched the constant sub theme, besides Frank's development, is what happens to the band over the course of the film. The short answer is: Not much good. They eventually break up (duh!), and after trying to change styles -- What if CSNY went Glam? or Punk? -- they fall apart airing their idiotic childish grievances, as if they were the "cause" of the bands breakup, when they are really the end after effects. But in this film, failure isn't as evil and harsh as it might be in other venues. There are always comebacks, if you ever built a fan base to begin with. You can usually find some ground to work with some members of the band in some way. Hell, even Paul and John had moments of non hatred. Paul and George even held on briefly to work in 1994-5. The great lesson that Frank could have learned from hanging out with the band is that you can be a total fuck up and somehow have everything still work out. He never gets that. Many of us don't!

Sunday Morning Tableaux

First: pot of coffee, near the end of the Trader Joe's French Roast. Must somehow get some from Porto Rico coffee in NYC, while their sale is on! (first pound is $0.85!) with cream and sugar, Before and After Science playing in the background.

Second, hashbrowns with onion and a lot of black pepper, topped with a fried egg, well, ok two fried eggs, each loaded up with hot sauce, mucho slices of bacon, (baked in the oven!), sourdough toast. A ginger scone for later, as a digestivo! It's too early for grappa...

Third, That Darn Interweb. It used to be the Sunday Times, at first just reading above the fold, but plowing through most everything. Now, blogs, blogs blogs! It may be a good idea to organize my blog bookmarks that way: "Above the fold/ below the fold." Were I not a lardy carcass, I'd do that; as it is, I assign it to my Invisible Personal Assistant to do for me.

Fourth, sunshine? Eh, maybe...

Fifth, writing. Oh, yeah baby...

Find what bliss you can on this, the day of freedom from your corporate masters.

Don't worry, I ain't ferget ya!

Sorry about not posting for a bit, but it's been a mess of small things holding me up, most of them not so good.
To wit:

I've again been having trouble sleeping, which this time is leading to panic attacks that last all night and into the morning. These are terrible; I feel like a leaf in the wind, and just trying to calm down is difficult.

My left foot is sort of swollen and sore. Every answer for 'why' I bet won't cheer me up.

I'm running around doing a lot of small tasks to try to make sure I'm not thrown out of the house at the end of the month. So far, only about 25% good. Panic sets in.

My lungs are having a very hard time breathing, and they hurt in a raspy way, such that I have zero breath. I feel like I'm a 100 year old man.

But still....All this writing about AL has gotten me to start writing scenes, and filling out the plot more this week. That and watching all my Kubrick movies.

When I'm not panicking, I'm oddly centered. I think this is because I've been making a lot of efforts to connect to people lately, and these have tended to be women with small children, whom I'm enjoying more as I get older. I've also been a help to people lately, and have had some help come my way as well (Camie's futon!)

I've actually had 3 interviews this last week; not a job yet, but this is more progress than I would have thought.

Except for the lungs and the foot, I feel surprisingly good, physically! I've seen this in myself before. Once I can clear up the lung problems somehow, I get quite a bit of good energy.

I have to get The Little Man a birthday present soon...suggestions?

Send what vibes you can.

AL: Characters -- The Women

I find it interesting that the only person who really changes over the course of AL is Frank, and this change is not in a good way. The two major female leads think that they can interact with Frank and transform themselves through this interaction, but this does not become true. They both underestimate how much they determine their own fates, through their own actions, and not through what might be called a traditional female "supportive" role.

Eva, in particular, is a person who is stuck in a particular moment. It's as if achieving a personal "nirvana" means that's it, you'll not need to change anymore. Eva senses that she will fall behind the times soon, and thinks Frank is a 'divining rod' for the future, but Eva will see that 1.) he is not, and 2.) she still likes the self she has established so she couldn't get rid of her defining traits.

Evil Mrs. Partridge, (EMP) despite constantly hanging around artists, doesn't really like them. She hasn't seen one whom she doesn't think is either slow-witted or gullible, which are terms that arouse a lot of disgust in her. She realizes that Frank is neither of those and yet, she perceives his artistic temperment, and latches onto him in an effort to create a more sensitively attuned version of herself. She can't grasp that Frank may have a sensitive sense of perception, but this doesn't make him any more caring about others than she is.

Still more to come about these two.

Transition

So, I was doing the dishes, using the very end of a bottle of soap, and having to use quite a bit of it to cut through the grease I had in a pan, when I broke down and opened up a new bottle of the soap, same kind, and this new bottle? It really worked, much better than the old one, and I had to use only a fraction of it for much better cleaning. Not too mention that nice apple scent! But it got me to thinking; do even our cleaning products weary of things? Are they bored at a certain point, and just phoning it in? Yeah, yeah, science, I know. But perhaps ennui sets in in your Palmolive, and it would tell you about it -- like you'd listen! -- but it knows the end is coming soon and it bravely suffers in silence... Would a soap named Weltschmerz sell to arty types? Could be a market!

Camie's Getting Married Today!!!!

Today, of all days, my best friend Camie Vog (and Mr. Vog) are getting married! Geez, I had to write this down because I can barely believe it myself! L'incroyable! What are there like, only a few of those crucial life markers to worry about, Birth, Death, Marriage, stuff like that? Hell, the House of Vog has two of those in the last month or so!! Old Hat really, how can the encore compete? Well, perhaps if the Fluffster scores one or so we can celebrate those then. Make no mistake, though; these are the good times and we should savor them better than any wine you'll ever drink.

So if you love Camie as we here at Fluffy Stuffin' do, go on over to her blog, and give it up! Don't hold back! Say great things, things you and everyone who reads it should remember the rest of the day! There aren't a lot of these days, days where you actually encouraged to say your heart of hearts praises, sing 'em if you must, make 'em rhyme, make 'em crazy, obscene, delightful, personally yours, just be, as the Manolo says, SuperFantastic!

It's Friday -- to hell with work. Do this!

See the little yellow sliver? That's you. Don't fall off. Have a good weekend!

Yeah...that's about right!

Over at sweet Cynnie's she was running one of those quiz thingies...But rather than just put my answer up here, I tried one about answering this question:

What is the best trait of your perfect girl?

Intelligence Intelligence is most important in a girlfriend. You like to be able to talk about everything that is on your mind, and if your partner can't keep up, well, you know. You are very attracted to someone who can challenge you, and make you see things in a whole new way. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I throw myself on the mercy of the blog populi!

It's Monday. Get back to work!

Do not doubt for one second that Sparky Godzilla here is unaware that you are probably asleep at your desk this morning. He's coming over to your office to A.) describe a fish he caught this weekend, B.) Brag yet again about his sexual prowess compared to yours, or C.) Consume your very soul with his razor sharp fangs that are designed to improve workgroup productivity. No matter how you slice it, thus begins another hellish week!

AL: Characters -- Frank.

One of the things I like about the central character of Frank is that he is the only character really internally driven. Everyone else is driven by what they do in life; Frank, by what's in his head. Have you ever met someone who has a remarkably clear set of life goals, but who is never happy? No matter what they accomplish, it always turns out to disappoint them. This constant disappointment never, I repeat never, causes them to think the problem may be them. Here is how they learn how evil the world is! Frank is like this.

What interests me is what his mind set inspires in others. Eva thinks he can be "saved", Evil Mrs. Partridge thinks he just needs to "learn what reality is." Both approaches are doomed to failure, even though they couldn't come from more different premises. This never stops people from trying...

More on the ladies next.

Almost Lynched, the first Couch Buddha film

This first film idea was inspired by both Almost Famous and Blue Velvet. I like Cameron Crowe's sweet story of a young lad who follows a band around gets those Valuable Life Lessons, but I've wondered this: What if the boy who gets exposed to Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll doesn't come out all sugar-spun and happy? What if he comes out like....Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet? Perverse, angry, totally messed up inside and willing to blame his being in the wrong place (with a band) at the wrong time, (late '60's, early '70's) rather than admit that it was him. Almost Lynched is our story. In this post let's just describe our characters.

The Band

Our band is a kinda of 3rd rate Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young clone. They think they're striving for social relevance, but they haven't really thought about things that much. They're in it for the money and chicks, really, but they bring themselves to admit that. In the band are:

The Lead Singer -- Handsome, but as much as he thinks he is, and he can sing, but not as good as he thinks he is here either. He can play the guitar, but he's a poet and thinks that that's beneath him, despite counter -examples like Dylan. He's the object of desire of the groupies.

The Rhythm Guitarist -- The most talented member of the group, he thinks if he's just great that rewards will come his way. Yes, he believes that.

The Bass Player -- Been with the two guitarists forever, but hates rock and wishes he were a jazz soloist. Not enough guts to leave the band or be a soloist, so here he is!

The Drummer -- Implacable, inscrutable, kinda like Charlie Watts only more laconic.



The Others

Evil Ms. Partridge -- She drives the bus, she manages the group, and is taking them for every penny. Take every story you've ever heard about corrupt band management, and put it here.

Frank -- Our lead. Nervous, anxious, he just knows in his heart that the right combo of drugs, women and music will bring him to a higher state of being. He's a great guitar tech, and makes the group sound better than they are. He could care less.

Eva -- Sublimely beautiful lead groupie of a pack of groupies who define themselves in a pack hierarchy. Eva sets the aesthetic character of the group, and symbolically represents a truly sexually powerful woman whose great flaw is that she is eternally stuck in 1968.


This is just to start us off. I have a lot of this in my head and more will emerge.

25 years...

Today was the 25th anniversary of Zingermans, the deli I have described at length in previous posts! I went down to the deli for $5 reuben sandwiches, a special treat for Camie and I! Let's see...is it crowded?
Oy! maybe not so bad around the corner?...

Double Oy! Well, I was in line for some time...Fortunately, the ZingerVolk kept us pleased with many free samples, and Cappuccinos for only a $1! (I later enjoyed their awesome brownies, also only a $1!) We enjoyed 4 kinds of potato salad, a very nice turine, gingerbread, a spicy kind of cream cheese, all just for waiting.

When we got to the front of the deli what awaited us in the window? A model of the deli in gingerbread!
In the front of the model are the two Head ZingerNauts, Ari and Paul!

They look like they were done by ala Wallace and Gromet in marzipan!

I must include some of my infamous cheese porn for fans of same!

The wheels of Neal's Dairy Yard cheese were especially nice looking in their gold wrappers:
Here we have a tip o' the cap for the many who have been to/worked at the deli, like Camie! Note that 'soccer ball' patterned cake which looks like the deli floor!


When you got sandwiches today...you got a piece! Whoops I'm eatin' mine already!