Halloween thought

I was driving to work this morning, listening to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, as I do every Halloween and several times throughout the year. All well and good. Then, it struck me, this is the first Halloween since the 10th grade that I didn't have my friend Erin around. True, since I moved to Harrison almost five years ago, I hadn't seen Erin that much but I could always call her. Now, though, she's living in Ireland with her hubby Alan. Calling her is a bit more complex now.

Why is Erin relevant to RHPS? Well, it was Erin who introduced me to the subtleties and true wonder of that delightful movie. I had seen the film before, in fact, I bought a copy of it on VHS at the Unicorn music store that used to be in Harrison. That was many years ago. (Odd how I've come back so much later.) Erin had me over to her house around Halloween in '94 to catch the live showing of RHPS on VH1 and she taught me the audience particpation lyrics and prompts. Now, I think of Erin any time I listen to the music or see a refrence in a book or movie and I'll be thinking of her tonight while Robin and I watch it. While watching it with Robin will be wonderful, I'll feel a little sad that Erin won't be around to sing Columbia's parts or to laugh at me mimicking Rocky's facial expressions.

Some have questioned my orientation because I enjoy this movie and other musicals. Any one who doubts my preference has but to ask my wife. She has to fend me off almost constantly.

Later!

My addiction

Robin and I are both habit-minded individuals (not the nun's clothing, though that is provoking) so it comes as no surprise that we not only collect things, we collect hobbies. But our DVD collection is surely no longer a hobby but an addiction. We are both movie buffs and have our own tastes: Robin is into vampires, Milla Jovovich, anime and odd horror movies. I'm into comedies, sci-fi, fantasy and odd horror movies. Go figure...

In the last couple of years, we have really been drawn to amassing a horde of DVDs. We don't even actively seek new DVDs anymore (no, really) but we somehow gain them anyway. I swear, they just jump into our hands or cart. Wal-Mart has really been the enabler here. Since our local store started having those damned bargain bins, we can't help ourselves. Now, we look for the bargain bins at other stores. It really is pathetic.

So, in an attempt to validate our sickness, we started having movie marathons, complete with themes and holiday connections. Our Halloween marathon is coming up fast and we had to track down some new movies to put on the list. Our theme this year began as funny vampire (Love at First Bite) movies, then morphed into unintentionally funny horror movies (like Dracula Rising, don't ask) and now is hovering around an odd combination of both. It's weird, I know.

We also plan on having a Christmas marathon again this year, replete with all the classics (except for It's a Wonderful Life, I hate that movie!). We usually buy a bunch of goodies and bundle up together and just really lose ourselves in the films that shaped our young minds. Laugh now, if you wish.

So, our out-of-control addiction now hovers just below 500 DVDs but we have around 25 on various layaways and a few just waiting to be released in the next two weeks. So, 500 will be topped very shortly.

I don't really know why I started this post, maybe to brag or I'm hoping for an intervention. To truly appreciate our weakness, check out my online database. Be sure to look under the ordered tab to get the true effect.

Mock us if you wish but for God's sake, don't encourage us....OK, you can egg us on if you want. Or, at least, point us in the direction of a DVD sale!

Later!

Because I like punishment

No explanation....
Later!

I so suck

Been gone too long, sorry. When I started this blog, I promised myself and others that I would keep it current. It's evident now that I am a liar. So many of my side projects are neglected these days. I remember when I was single that I did nothing but work on my hobbies.

This is not the fault of my wife, no sir! I think, really, I find more satisfaction in spending time with her more than organizing my comic book collection. She has curves, after all. I'm a geek but not that big a geek.

I've said it before and I'll say it right now, too. I am inspired by a blog I visit religiously. Colter is a friend of my wife and, hopefully, by extension, my friend as well. Colter, if this isn't so, let me know and I promise I'll be contrite. We had Colter over for dinner recently and I was just astounded by his seemingly limitless knowledge of pop culture and other worldly things. I just can't compete.

I've noticed recently that I'm beginning to act my age. I find myself trying to make better choices and I don't drive as fast anymore either. Of course, I now have a wife and three cats to provide for. Trust me, I don't want to upset the wife or the Trinity.

Speaking of cats, Robin (oh, how I love her!) and I seem to have gained a new cat. Orange Cat, as we call him, wandered into our sphere a week ago and has been a steady presence since. We know better than to try to add him to house proper but he seems content to be an outside cat. We have been feeding him and petting him every day. At first the other cats would sit in the window, indignantly, glaring at us while we showed him some affection. Now they sit in the window and seem to want him to come in. This may be a catricidal ploy, however. For now, we'll just keep them seperated. Here is O.C.:


Later!

I'm so cat-whipped

Quick post!
Anyone who knows the wife and I knows that we love our cats, almost pathetically so. We also like to look at other people's cats and ooh and aah over them.
Enter Stuffonmycat.com.

Here we get to see other cats having really cute things done to them. Sometimes it seems to be for the amusement of the cat's person, others it looks to be actual cat mischief.

I heartily recommend that you check it out. Even if you have a dog, you can see what a really cool pet can do.

Egads, won't someone silence Tom Cruise?!

Far be it from me to judge anyone, especially someone I've never met.

But I have had about enough of Tom "Perfect Thetan" Cruise. Bully for him and Katie, if their "romance" is legit. It's great that he has had such a successful career.

I was reading, somewhat against my will, a transcript of his recent interview with Today's Matt Lauer. (If you've haven't read it, track it down. It's entertaining. ) Suffice it to say, Tom took Matt to task for not being an expert on pharmacology, psychiatry and post-partum depression. ( Isn't it ironic that Cruise doesn't have any natural children while Lauer has at least one with his wife?)

I'm no expert on Scientology but I've done some research and I have to question any "religion" that believes that aliens came to earth 75 million years ago and are a threat even today. Also, I think I read that Cruise is a high school dropout, not a highly-regarded authority in the same fields that he accused Lauer of being ignorant of.

One has to wonder if Cruise reads anything that isn't published by the Church of Scientology. With that strategy, it's no wonder he stopped making enjoyable movies and became a pedophile.

I wonder how movies like Risky Business, Interview with the Vampire and Legend square with his church?

In any event, I would really like to wish Katie Holmes good luck, if not a quick analysis of her career's suicide.

Later!

FInally saw Episode 3

Robin and I went to see Star Wars: Episode 3 last night, for our 3-year annniversary. Time flies, don't it?
All I can say, besides that it was freakin' awesome, is that karma's a bitch and anything you inflict on others comes back to you three times over. Poor Anakin.
Later!

I'm back!

I've been absent but I have a good reason, I promise. Robin and I have finally moved into our new house. No, we didn't buy a house; we moved into Robin's mom's house. Glenda got married in December but never committed to moving her stuff out. Robin and I had planned on moving in by June but were hampered by the aforementioned lacksadaisical attitude towards leaving and cleaving.

After deciding to take matters into our own hands, much covered in latex gloves and anti-bacterial cleansers, we managed to pack up all of Glenda's things and clear the house. We then proceeded to move our multitude of sh**, I mean treasured possessions in.

This endeavor was accompanied by many curses, grunts, arguments and myself being nearly crushed by a toppling refrigerator. No worries, I caught it...on my forearms. Oh, the bruises....

Now, we are completely moved. All that's left is the unpacking....I'll never move again.

Later!

Catster rules!

Robin and I have always thought that cats are underappreciated in the mainstream world. We love to tell people about our cats but we don't often get to share pictures of them.

We take so many photos of them, but they seem to be for our pleasure only. No more!
I discovered Catster (www.catster.com) and now we can post pictures for other cat lovers to enjoy.

We always make up dialogue for our cats (don't pretend you don't do it, too!) and it's nice to know that we aren't alone.

So, if you enjoy cats, check it out. (There is also a dog site. www.dogster.com).

Later!

It's been much too long....

I realized today that it's been much too long since I last had anything to say, much bitched about those trillion things that really chap my ass.

I'm inspired by a good friend of my wife's, Colter McCorkindale, and the amazing presentation on his blog, (http://www.pointedstick.net/colter/). We recently had him over for a visit and though I had never really spoken with him, I was quickly impressed with his vast stores of knowledge. He makes good use of it when he writes, no matter how short the blurb. Anyway,....

So, let's see...what pisses me off right now? Where do I begin? The Pope, Terry Schiavo, gas prices, the shortage of cool toys at my local Wal-Mart, my wife's (oh, how I love her!) crappy job... If I wanted, the list could go on forever. So, I guess, in actuality, I'm not going to bitch about anything. What a rip, right?

Later!

Re: I hate Disney!

In my quest to curtail false information, especially on my own blog, I feel the need to follow up my previous post with some clarification.

While I still hate Disney (contemplating a quasi-boycott) it seems that the Muppets line also suffered from lackadaisical support from larger retailers, thus making the cost of production impossible to justify. Bummer....

I am truly disappointed in these retailers' poor choice in regards to what they call "toys." Cheaply-made Barbies, G.I. Joe knock-offs, the latest, lamest Japanimation tie-ins, "re-imagined" vintage lines (y'know, all the familiar earmarks, none of the original charm and appeal), cheap-o toys that break in a few hours and all the other terrible things that kids just have to have. None of which promote using one's imagination. When I was a kid, I would actually push my Hot Wheels around with my hands, making the noises myself (car sounds, crash noises and little voices between all the characters).

God, how I loathe what society has done to children these days.

Later!

I hate Disney!

Ok, I know it's been a while since I posted and I don't really have an excuse. But I had to say something about an issue I was made aware of yesterday.

I realize that there are much more important issues to be concerned with, but I wanted to bitch about this one especially.

Robin (I love this woman!) and I collect toys. By that I mean we rabidly acquire toys from several different lines, either with sentimental value or pieces pertaining to favorites of ours. We collect Muppets, Star Wars, Star Trek, Superman, Batman, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Transformers (original generation only), DC Direct, Marvel Legends, PEZ, Anime characters, Spawn, the list goes on and on.

To the point, please....

I was aware that Jim Henson's family sold the muppet rights to Disney. It irked me then, but I was oblivious to the ramifications at the time. Disney has the tendency, as we all know, to buy well-established properties and mangle them in the interest of making money. But in the end they remove all the qualities that attracted customers in the first place.

So it goes with the Muppet franchise. As my readers may or may not know, Palisades Toys (palisadestoys.com) has been producing action figures based on the various Muppet endeavors for the past couple of years. Robin and I are great admirers of the line and own many of the figures. We delight in seeing the skill with which the accesories are designed not to mention the meticulous attention given the figures themselves. Kermit is the exact shade of green and Animal has that cuddly, ferocious look that made him so appealing to children everywhere.

Well, it seems that Disney has put the kibash on the latest line of Muppet figures that Palisades had coming. The items were already promoted, produced and in the warehouse. But Disney has halted the mass distribution of the figures. And although Palisades has the rights to produce this Muppet entity until the end of 2005, they can't fight Disney.

This really aggravates me. I know that there are many more collectors out there that we hoping to see a huge universe of Muppet items and now who knows?

Now that I've riled myself up some more, I'm going to end here and go find a corner to grumble in.

Later!

We decided to introduce the cats to snow the other night. Robin brought some in on a paper plate, put it on the floor and let the cats discover it. Callie was, of course, suspicious; Tori was eager to eat it and GoGo was willing to fight the other two to possess it. It was rather like catnip to them.  

This is how we spend a lot of our time. Watching the cats sleep and taking pictures of them for our amusement. 

Snow, snow, snow

Well, we had a bunch of snow dumped on us last night. And unfortunately, Harrison is full of hills, including the one we live on. We had no trouble getting down the hill, but getting back up will be fun this evening.

I had a thought this morning, as I was getting ready for work. I noticed Tori lounging at the window, as she so often does, and it occured to me that Tori may not know what snow is. Would a domestic cat who has never been outside know what all this lovely white crap is?

I know that cats can't see all colors, but snow (unless it's yellow) is white, so they can see that, right?

Also, would a cat like playing in the snow? Personally, the allure of playing in the stuff always escaped me. I often had to work in it but I didn't see the point in rolling in it.

I am in full on ramble mode today it seems. I'll spare what few readers I have the pleasure of that and end this here.

Later!

The answer to everyone's question...

I suppose I should take the easy route and use this space to answer everyone's question.

The question: What did I get for my birthday?

The answer: Robin got me a lifetime membership to Palisades Toys Collector's Club, the Special Edition Jim Henson Muppets figure from Palisades; Robin's mom gave me $50, which I put towards a new drill; and my co-workers used my special day as an excuse to have a mini-food day.

Then, Robin treated me to a weekend of special meals and, of course, the most awesome Superman birthday cake.

I've said it before and I'll say it here, too: Man, I love my wife!

Later!

This is the Superman cake my wife, Robin, made for my 27th birthday. She made a two-layer yellow cake, iced it with buttercream icing, then covered it with white fondant. The shield was printed from the internet, cut out for a pattern, then transferred to colored fondant in two layers, for the two colors. Man, I love my wife. 

Big surprise

Well, it's the Friday before my birthday and in my neck of the woods, the forecast calls for snow. I swear, every year, my birthday gets the worst weather.

I "talked" to an old friend this morning. I remember when Jason, Phil, Erin and I all promised each other at the end of high school that we would never lose touch. Now, Erin is married to a great guy and living in Ireland, Phil and I haven't talked since I moved to Harrison and Jason and I don't see each other but maybe once a year.

Don't get me wrong, I want them to be happy, have their own lives and do their own thing but it still makes me sad. Especially since Erin, Jason and I all have our birthdays about the same time. BTW, Happy Birthday Jason and a belated Happy Birthday to Erin and say hi! to Alan for us.

I'm going to cut it short today so I can enjoy the food day my co-workers put together for me.

Later!

Que paws?

Que pas?
Originally uploaded by bluefox75.

This is Callie, or Calliope 'The Muse." You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but she is the most neurotic lifeform I know, besides my wife.

Something different

I'll be the first to admit that my wife and I discuss some really odd things. And the range of topics we manage to cover in the course of a simple conversation can sometimes be a bit frightening. I usually don't recall the catalyst of our weird dialogues, but I imagine it usually stems from the random thoughts I experience a million times a day.

I remember once discussing comic book characters with Robin, who, strangely enough, finds an interest in my collection of trivia, backstory and nuances where the alternatively empowered is concerned.

Anyway, I think we were discussing the powers of several different characters when I burst out with a few odd powers that I would like to see in a book. Something along the lines of others students at Xavier's or possibly the rejects from the Legion of Super-Heroes, like Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, which I remember seeing in a Legion origin story from a book published in the late 70s.

I do ramble, don't I?

In the conversation, I apparently produced a few characters with very wierd and incredibly useless abilities. For instance, a man whose sole power is that he can produce, from his tear ducts, puzzle pieces which, when assembled, create the backs of cereal boxes from the late 70s. I also may have added or considered that he could also cry pieces which formed the subscription cards from magazines, however the vital address info was always incomplete.

Wow, I am so long-winded.

I guess my point of all this is that my wife, the incomparable Robin, still remembers that and still finds it fascinating. She will sometimes bring it up to people we visit with or sometimes complete strangers. She seems to take pride in sharing what she calls my "brilliant mind," but I think she is easily amused and a little prejudiced.

I wonder what will finally convince her that I'm merely a complete flake...

Later!

GoGo Boots

GoGo
Originally uploaded by bluefox75.

I found GoGo lounging in my pants. Sorry about the mess beneath her.

resting cats

resting cats
Originally uploaded by bluefox75.

Here is an older picture of our three cats, from left, Calliope 'The Muse', GoGo Boots and Tori Nibbler. I swear this wasn't posed!

Robin

Robin
Originally uploaded by bluefox75.

Here is my little goth, Robin. We've been married almost 3 years. I couldn't be more happy, even though she often confuses the hell out of me.

Robin has her own blog now, too. Check it out at opheliadreaming.blogspot.com.

Welcome to Get Lost!

I stumbled across this at work today and thought, "I'm getting paid to be here, why not do something to entertain myself?"
So, I now have a blog. Who knows where this will go and who knows when I'll lose interest and forget that I have this thing and wander off?
But, I guess since I took the time to set this up, I might as well use it. Besides, there might be some poor sap out there that will find my ramblings amusing and start a cult based on me.
Later!

A thought

I had a disturbing thought last night. (I actually have many disturbing thoughts throughout the day, but let's focus on one for now.)
My birthday is coming up in a few days and while I'm excited about it, I realized that my brother is a lot older than I am. We are separated by 7 years, so that makes him almost 34. I know that 34 isn't old and he won't be collecting Social Security for a while yet, but I somehow feel even more removed from him.

I suppose it doesn't really separate us, but man is he old....

But seriuosly, I think my little goth girl is more excited about my birthday than I am. She has made it her mission to ensure that my birthday is something special every year, since I apparently had a "lousy" childhood. Thing is, don't we all have terribly depressing childhoods? Sure, we can have everything handed to us or we can really have a BAD childhood. But doesn't every adult look back and wish things had been different? I personally think, and I try to convince Robin of this often, that the events of childhood shape us into the adults we eventually become, whether good or bad.

If I had, for instance, been blessed with more toys as a little boy, would I feel the need to fill up my house with toys as an adult? Probably not.

Why did I start writing this?

Sorry for waxing philisophical on you....

Later!