weapons of massdistraction

Like many others, I will now resume my “usual flow of frivolous links and commentary” - because that’s what I do. So. To start with. I nearly wet myself when I saw this Gamagon Kaiju Beast, and these others, by Tim Biskup…and others. But I really can’t drop $55+ on a toy just now, especially for myself…beautiful though it may be.

And with the little man’s birthday right around the corner. But I did splurge on the more practical/functional Kaiju Beast t-shirt (and I was tempted by many others from Gama-Go (hopefully that list bit will be missed by the husband, who only skims my posts anyhow). Speaking of the little man’s upcoming birthday…he has been light saber obsessed as of late, so I would consider getting him this, but he’d probably be disappointed that it doesn’t actually, you know, light up. Or make sounds. Or do, well, anything at all. That and I don’t have an extra $60,000-$80,000 laying around.
Bonus: The weekend after next is the world-renowned San Diego Comic Con. A delegation from the rather newly formed E-Ville press (comprised of artists from Pixar) will be in attendance. Neat.
Plus: Been meaning to post this for days…but LaLaland has decided to call it quits after a good run of 33 themes in 33 months. I totally understand, even if I’m a bit bummed…but I have to say it was one of the first collaborative web projects I got hooked on (and regularly contributed to) and a favorite. So thank you LaLa, for all your hard work, and for never jumping the shark.
And: After some googling, I’m still trying to figure out what this Kaiju Big Battel business is all about…

Yesterday went as expected. The Taste of Minnesota was populated by people alarmingly attired in red, white & blue, or clad in too few items of clothing, or a terrible combination of the two. But the people-watching is part of the appeal, I guess. The main draw, however, has to be the rickety carny rides. My alter ego, Captain Safety, frowns upon this…but the little man and I risked life and limb to ride on the ferris wheel. Afterwards he boarded a mini-rollercoaster dubbed the Dragon Wagon. There were only two other occupants. A scared little girl…wailing and clinging to her mother. My child knows no fear, which is almost more worrisome. Today is a bonus day off and one I’ve mostly wasted. I have been incredibly unproductive, save for a load of laundry, the preparation of a hot lunch and a bit of IMing with a co-worker. But I do have many exciting errands ahead of me this afternoon.
Bonus: I absolutely adore Kid Ethnic. His latest dispatch, The Nihilist Who Knew What’s Up, does not disappoint.
Plus: The documentary about Low, entitled Low in Europe, will be screening tonight at the Varsity. And sorta Low/Duluth-related…Starfire’s latest vlog posts have been lovely, in a bittersweet sort of way that I quite like.
And: Our trip to San Francisco is just over one month away. Weird. And I’ve just realized that I’ll be able to go to the Giant Robot Store, which opened there recently (on my birthday, in fact). Yay! Maybe I’ll try to find the Zoetrope Studios Building, while I’m at it.
And another thing: Too lazy to resize and upload at the moment…so you can find photos from our fairly quiet Fourth over here.

Recently I rediscovered a tape, of the cassette variety, that an old friend had made for me. A friend who moved to Seattle years ago, and one I haven’t kept in touch with very well. But the tape brings back all kinds of memories of him. On it are classics from old faves like Texas is the Reason, Lifetime, Cap’n'Jazz, and Propagandhi. The songs so vividly recall a very different stage of my life and listening to them is, well, more than a little bittersweet.

Speaking of getting older…last night the husband made me a third birthday cake (this is getting ridiculous). This time it’s a chocolate almond midnight cake, from The Millennium Cookbook, and to be eaten after a family dinner tonight at Everest. My birthday celebrations started on June 8th this year, with the Neko Case show, and will likely wrap up this Friday night, when Zophia and I finally get together to exchange gifts.

Bonus: Haven’t posted about the show yet (I’m getting to that, honest) but I’ll post about the Andrew Bird posters, by illustrator extraordinaire Jay Ryan. I was tempted to buy ‘tables and chairs‘ (the only one they had available that night), but thought artwork depicting fuzzy farm animals on fire might not be the most little man-friendly. So I bought a t-shirt instead.
Plus: And Nike admits to making a “poor judgment call” with a full apology to Dischord Records and Minor Threat.
And: Below, the little man’s first lost tooth. It’s so twee.

Today is my Dad’s birthday. And mine as well. This morning I called to wish him the best, but I couldn’t help wishing he were here…with my little fam, in Madison. The best birthdays I’ve had were ones we celebrated together. And my Dad would have gone with me to The House on the Rock in a heartbeat. Unlike certain husbands who can be sticks in the mud. Ahem. But we are having a good time, even if we aren’t doing exactly what I want, and I had an excellent birthday dinner at Lao Laan Xang. Photographic evidence to be posted upon our return (we brought the laptop, but forgot the USB cable). For now I’m leaving the boys behind at the hotel, and heading to the Andrew Bird show. Be still my heart.

The little man’s loose tooth, it hasn’t come out yet. I fear it’ll pop out whilst on our trip this weekend (not in the waterpark, please), and we’ll have to secure it for its safe return home. Or does the tooth fairy do road trips?

I’m on a few email lists for local movie theaters, mostly for the freebies. Today I skimmed an announcement that came in from Crown Theaters. The way my brain initially parsed it…Herbie Fully Loaded contains partial nudity. Whoops, wrong film. Weirder still, that was actually in reference to the update/remake of Bewitched. Samantha must be a bit saucier this time around.

In local-ish movie news…The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg has a few film scores under his belt already, but now he’s slated to do one of the voices…in Open Season, a full-length feature being made by Sony Pictures Animation. How odd.

Some neat movie news, via MNSpeak…

Cultural detritus and found object fans, you probably already know about Search and Rescue — screened selections from MN Film Arts’ 6500 title archive of 16mm films. City Pages has the story behind the collection in their profile of archivist Matt Bakkom. I hope these goodies end up online alongside the Prelinger archive someday. Until then, the next screening is June 28.

In movie news I meant to post yesterday…the McLibel documentary is showing at the Bell Auditorium, and local advocacy group Compassionate Action for Animals marked the occasion by supplying vegan cheesecake (from Muddy Paws). That may have been one night only, but the film is still showing tonight and tomorrow night. A little background…”McLibel documents the long-standing trial in the 1990’s between McDonald’s and two British activists who exposed, among other things, the cruelty to animals caused by McDonald’s practices.”

Bonus: Today the lovely Zophia returns to us from her sojourn in the Virgin Islands and it’s her birthday. Happy Birthday my dear!
Plus: And plus-sized. This article (from the New Yorker) is fabulous for two reasons. One, Leonard Nimoy, of all people, takes on Kirstie Alley’s abysmal Fat Actress show. And two, it clued me in to the fact that the man has been exhibiting his fine-art photography since the early seventies (who knew?) and his most recent models, in his “Maximum Beauty” exhibition, are what he refers to as “full-bodied people.” Fascinating, but not necessarily work-safe.
And: One week after opening day, and I still haven’t seen Batman Begins. So I guess it hasn’t begun for me yet, dammit.