Flashback Friday: Wanna take her to the movies...

Are you one of those people who can watch a movie hundreds of times and never get sick of it? I'm not. A movie has to be really, really good for me to even watch it a second time. Now SuperHusband, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. If American History X, the Deer Hunter, Braveheart, Taxi Driver or Buffalo 66 is on...even if it's on TNT with a shitload of commercials...he's watching it. (And that list is by no means inclusive...I could name about 20 more off the top of my head).

I wasn't always against re-watching movies. Growing up, I could watch the same one every day. This is totally my grandparents' - with whom I lived - fault because I didn't wear them down enough to get cable until I was in 8th or 9th grade.

Of course, I loved all the cheesy movies most girls growing up in the 80s did - any John Hughes movie, Footloose, Dirty Dancing, etc. etc. etc. But the five that my VCR wore out were by no means smash hits. They were, however, pretty awesome.

I had a thing for horror movies and April Fools Day is one of the best. Not only is the "twist" pretty great, the so-bad-they're-good special effects, that were the hallmark of 80s horror, are pretty stellar as well. And by stellar I mean obvious and cheesy. Bonus: The actress who played the main character, Buffy, was also in Valley Girl and guest starred on TJ Hooker. It doesn't get much more 80s than that, folks.

G-I-R-L-S! Oh. My. God. I freaking loved Girls Just Want to have Fun. I actually owned this one and probably watched it at least twice a week for a year or two. Of course, I also dreamt of being a Solid Gold dancer...or a Dance Party USA regular...or a contestant on Dance Fever (even though hosts Deney Terrio and Adrien Zmed were both kinda skeevy). If you've seen this, you must check out the YouTube video for Dancing in Heaven. Hearing it will totally make you smile (and remember how badly you wanted to be on DTV).

I have three words for you - Wendy O. Williams. Ok, two words and an initial. Long before I even knew who the Plasmatics were, I knew "Charlie" from Reform School Girls. Nevermind that she was, like, late 30s playing a teenager - she was a scary, bullying badass and I thought she was great. Of course, being a movie about a bunch of chicks locked up, there was the requisite nudity and girl-on-girl action, so this one was probably more popular with teenage boys than girls. I'm sure SuperHusband - at 12 - could've told you exactly when in the movie the first set of boobies appeared.

Night of the Comet was every teenage girl's dream. No, not the part where the earth passes through a comet and almost all life is extinguished. I'm talking about when the sisters go on a shopping spree in the deserted mall. Of course, they only get to do that because almost everyone else is dead. Still...all the Camp Beverly Hills clothing and Swatch accessories you could grab...what 80s teenager would've minded fighting a few Zombies for that motherload? Not this one.


As far as 80s horror movies go, Sleepaway Camp is the pièce de résistance. Remember how I said April Fools Day had a great twist (If you don't your short-term memory is even worse than mine)? Well SC has the best. Ever. Plus Angela's aunt is super-fucking-creepy. Add that in with the whole "summer camp factor" which has always fascinated me, and you have what is possibly the most entertaining movie no one has ever seen. I am the embarrassed proud owner of the entire SC series on DVD, but the first is by far the best.


Here's where we turn to the audience participation portion of today's post. Which not-so-popular movies did/do you love enough to watch again and again?


Today's title selection: She Wants More - Slaughter

Same old, same old situation...

You haven't met my friend SBC yet, but I've gotta tell ya, her initials could stand for Super Badass Chick just as easily as they do for her real (soon-to-be-married) name.

SBC and I were sorority sisters back in the day and roommates one summer break during college (although I had a boyfriend and wasn't there at all much). We got along great because we shared a love of cold beer, 80s hair bands and drinking games. Of course, now that we're "grown-ups" we don't see each other as much as we once did. But when we do, it usually involves the same trifecta of greatness that bonded us to one another in the first place....more than 11 (!SHIT!) years ago.

Of course, our tastes have evolved a little bit. Instead of whatever "ice" beer (i.e. Icehouse, Bud Ice, etc. for you young 'uns) was available on "$1 Ice Night," we're now known to drink decent light beer and maybe even an import from time to time. And we've found something to satisfy our 80s hair band needs:

Poison Cherry

You may not realize this, but Dallas is the cover band capital of the world. Seriously. And these guys are awesome. Seeing them perform is like being at a Warrant, Motley Crue, Aerosmith and Poison show (except with only their best, most sing-along-worthy songs...and with more real hair).

So it was at one of these shows that SBC introduced me to the "drinking game" that would replace Three-Man, Asshole and Up the River, Down the River. It's called Slamouflague and it is greatness.

You can click on the link above for the whole story, but it's pretty simple: You rack up points by "accidentally" bumping into people wearing camouflage and saying something like, "Oh sorry...I didn't see you there." Get it?! It may sound a little lame now, but after a few beers and a shot of Patron or two, it's seriously funny. It's even better when the slam-ee realizes what you are doing. It's guaranteed to get a smile. Almost every time.

So, it may've been 11 years since SBC and I hung out all the time, but neither of us has grown up too much. And that's a good thing.

Today's title selection: Same Ol' Situation - Motley Crue

Hallelujah, everybody say cheese. Merry Christmas from the Family

Can you believe it's only 3 months until Christmas?? Seriously. Where does the time go?

If you're like me, you promise every year to buy early AND have your gifts wrapped and ready to be placed under the tree before the last of the Thanksgiving turkey and green bean casserole is eaten. Perfect gifts that are, without a doubt, wrapped so creatively (handmade tags, perfectly executed bows, maybe even a theme!) that Martha herself would be jealous.

Now if you are really like me, you will do a little Windows shopping early, but not order anything because you want to purchase everything at once to save on shipping. Or you may see something at the mall and decide to wait because it will surely go on sale in three months, right? Next thing you know, it's December 23rd and you're paying to valet at the mall because you can't find a space to park and you almost get into a knock down drag out fight over the last roll of crappy poinsettia gift wrap at Target.

So I'm putting this out there now, so I will be accountable to all of you:

I will shop early. Wrap early. And find perfect gifts for everyone on my list.

And, as luck would have it. I came across my first purchase this morning, and it's SO CUTE I have to share it with all of you:

Is that not the cutest place mat ever?? DoodleBug isn't super into pirates, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. And this is so darn cute that I HAVE to get it for him!

They have super-cute ones for little girls, too:


Check out the selection at Two Sisters Ink*. They'll even do custom orders! Just don't wait until the last minute....I know how you are.

*In the interest of full disclosure, my friend and former boss is one of the two sisters. But I would totally buy these even if I didn't adore her. It's not like she signs my paychecks anymore.

Today's title selection: Merry Christmas from the Family - Robert Earl Keen

...And fall on my ass, faster than a fat bitch who sat down too fast

On my three hour flight to San Diego last month, my ass started to hurt. Not like, "Oh, I've been in a tiny seat for too long" hurt...I'm talkin' it really hurt. All week, when I wasn't at a convention session or dinner with vendors, I was in my bed at the hotel (which was super-comfy and made every day...I felt like the Hilton sisters when they lived at the Waldorf back in the pre-sex tape days).

So, I've had this pain off and on since then and it's progressively gotten worse. It's like being stabbed in the ass anytime I sit down or stand up. It's been so bad that I've even been using one of those donut thingies at home. (I was watching a Matlock rerun and sitting on my donut the other day and I totally laughed out loud at myself. To my credit, there was no black licorice in sight, nor did Wal-Mart call and offer me a position as a greeter...)

Anyway...I have a pretty decent pain tolerance. And I can deal with it during the day just fine. But when the ass pain started fucking with my sleep last week, I decided I needed to get it checked out and see if the doctor could prescribe something to at least help me get 6 hours or so of shut eye at night.

Since my regular doctor doesn't have an x-ray machine, I decided to go to my local urgent care center (that three-hour ordeal could be a post in and of itself, but I'll save it for another day). I thought my tailbone was probably bruised from falling at derby practice. But it isn't. The damn thing is broken. Yep...I have a broken damn ass bone. Thankfully, the break (in the tee-tiny-tip-bone) pushed that bone outward, not inward (which would make bathroom time very, very painful). Still...a broken ass bone is a broken ass bone.

But the doctor was nice enough to prescribe a painkiller to help me sleep. (I'm sure those 10 pills he gave me will last at least three days.) And I don't fly again until Sept. 29. And roller derby assessment isn't until October 1. I'm sure I'll be better by then...right?!?

Today's title selection: My Name Is - Eminem

Flashback Friday: Did you see your inspiration in my latest collection...

When I was a kid, I collected a lot of crap. I'm not going to tell you about all of it right now (I have to have something to write about later), but I will say that around 1983ish - for at least 2 months or so - I was quite the novelty eraser collector.

I can still totally remember coming upon a new one at Coach House Gifts or whatever other random store I was at. I always had a limited amount of money, so I'd spend ages deciding which to buy. I'd feel them. I'd smell them. I'd decide on one, only to put it back when I came across a better one. If I only spent half as long buying clothes, I'd have a lot fewer items in my closet that still have tags on them.

I thought about the erasers today when I saw a picture of an ice cream cone. It reminded me of these:


Which led me to:
Iron Lace's Photostream, where you can view tons of erasers from the 80s.
Joe Woodworker's collection of more than 2,600 erasers from around the world.
Neptune Beach's blog about her erasers.

Yeah...I had a little time on my hands.

In comparison to these folks, my little collection was pretty pathetic. I even *gasp!* actually used them to erase things! But I had a few that are pictured on those pages and it was pretty fun to reminisce about them (remember cigarette erasers??). Check it out if you're bored.

And, yeah. I realize it's not Friday.

Today's title selection: Harajuku Girl - Gwen Stefani

No song title today.

SuperHusband's beloved grandfather passed away last Sunday night. It's been a tough week for us all and things are just starting to get back to "normal" - or as normal as can be expected after losing someone you loved very much.

"Dad" was such an amazing person - a fighter pilot in WWII, a businessman, a real estate developer, a rancher. He is responsible for creating the most amazing family I've ever known (and am lucky to now be a part of) and he will be dearly missed, not just by us, but by the many people whose lives' he touched over the years.

I'll be back to my normal darling self tomorrow, but I just wanted to let y'all know why I've been MIA.