Trash Bash: Celebrating (and Berating) Stinky

 

In the spirit of revisiting the nostalgia and wisdom of TV shows from my childhood, I finally took a gander at The Pursuit of Grouchiness: Oscar the Grouch's Guide to Life, which is a gift book I got last Christmas.  Now, there are only three other famous Oscars that I can think of: Oscar from The Office, Oscar Mayer, and that gold statue that everyone in Hollywood covets come award season.  Needless to say, this book isn't about any of them, but the not-so-loveable character who lives on the seamier side of Sesame Street.  Everyone knows that Oscar the Grouch is a misanthrope in Muppet's clothing, a naysayer of the first order who's probably been kicked by life even more than his trash can.  

This would probably be a good time to reveal that I've spent most of my life as a pessimist -- in other words, a better-smelling Oscar, but an Oscar all the same.  These last few years, though, I've turned a corner into optimist territory, and I'll be the first to admit that it's a much brighter, more beautiful, and all around easier place to live.  Nevertheless, the snarky ghost of Tracy past couldn't help cracking a smile at some of Oscar's less-than-sunny-sentiments.  Here are some of my (her?) favorite parts.  Even if one is the about the author page.  

"We're grouches, we can only be happy when it rains."

Whoa.  A garbage can dweller who's only happy when it rains?!  Is it me, or was Garbage front woman Shirley Manson inspired to name her band and first hit single after the original Dumpster diver?   

"Morning people annoy me.  So do all other people."

I think this one speaks for itself.

"Oscar the Grouch doesn't need to explain himself to you.  

He lives in a trash can on Sesame Street."

I like this one because I still struggle to not explain myself.  

And finally, here's the incongruously upbeat bookmark I used to mark the aforementioned Oscar and friends (enemies? frenemies?) page.  Tricked out with the neon peace sign, yin yang, and happy face that were the poster child trio of '60s-turned-'90s pop culture, it stands for pretty much everything that Oscar doesn't. 

That said, the, ahem, Oscar (Emmy?  No, just go with the bit) goes to . . .

. . . Oscar the Grouch for his portrayal of a curmudgeon on Sesame Street! 

 Because anyone who expends that much enthusiasm for being miserable is, deep down, loving life.  

Halloween Scene Scream

This year, Halloween looks a little bit different.  For one thing, there's no big bowl of candy (sorry, kiddies), just a few token treats for the husband and me.  They're Reese's cups in the shape of, yes, bats.  Which is as fitting as it gets, I guess, when it comes to pandemic eats. 

Another thing that's different is that the husband and I are showing off our costumes on House Party instead of at my parents' Halloween party.  This morning, I scarfed down an extra large dry (thanks to that no-show Walmart grocery delivery order) bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch to empty box number 2.  (It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.)  It was the husband who had the idea to turn the boxes into masks.  He's been harboring empty box number 1 in the pantry for weeks.

Something that hasn't changed this year is our favorite festive amphibian.  Corona can't stop Kermit.  Even if he is stuck in a spider web instead of wedged in a wine glass.  The husband and I think that it's important to mix things up.  When crisis strikes, it's the children who suffer.  

And that, as the mummy said, is a wrap!  Compared to greeting trick-or-treaters and crashing a monster mash bash, it's a subpar way to celebrate spooky.  But all in all not so bad when the creepiest thing going's a cough.  So, sit back, eat more than your fair share of candy, and enjoy the silver lining of not having woken up to a tp'd yard this year.

Happy Halloween!  

Drumroll/Jellyroll Please . . .

 Fruit Fete Necklace

 Great Scottie Dog Necklace

Top: Bongo, Sears

Skirt (a dress!): JCPenney

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Jacket: BCBG, Macy's

Sunglasses: JCPenney

Red Bow Rainbow Barrettes

Top: Bongo, Sears

Skirt: Modcloth

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Jacket: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Sally Starfish Bow Barrettes

Top: Bongo, Sears

Skirt: Material Girl, Macy's

Shoes: Penny Loves Kenny, DSW

Bag: Nine West, Marshalls

Jacket: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Sunglasses: Target

 Abbie Apple Bow Barrettes

Top: Lily White, Alloy

Jeans: Bongo, Sears

Shoes: Payless

Bag: Marshalls

Jacket: Hot Kiss, Marshalls

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

 Haute Tropics Gumball Necklace

 Polly Pink Hearts Necklace

Top: Bongo, Sears

Skirt (a dress!): Kohl's

Shoes: City Streets, JCPenney

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Jacket: Abbey Dawn, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Candie's, Kohl's

 Too Hot Teapot Necklace

Top: Bongo, Sears

Skirt: Forever 21

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, DSW

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Jacket: Decree, JCPenney

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: Candie's, Kohl's

Because on New Year's Eve we're still in pa-rum-pum-pum-pum territory, which means a bounty of drumsticks -- chicken, ice cream, and anything else hanging by the buffet.  (Also, candy, as represented by the above bargain basement tree garland.)  On the subject of drums, every outfit in this week's post includes a Bongo item from Sears.  Because I've had the pleasure of rediscovering Bongo lately.  If you were a child of the 1990s, then you may have picked out a pair of Bongo jeans for the first day of school.  Back then you could find them at JCPenney, sometimes in a funky pattern befitting their namesake, that most exotic of the percussion instruments.  Then it all disappeared for awhile, only to reemerge as a fashion phoenix at the retailer best known for wrenches.  New and improved, the brand has moved beyond denim to infiltrate every nook and cranny of the wardrobe spectrum.  It's good stuff, fun and affordable with just a hint of rockabilly retro, and I'm so excited about it that I think that "The Walker" by Fitz and the Tantrums  ("I walk to the sound of my own drum . . .") should be its theme song, a comeback anthem that boldly proclaims so what if it's cousins with Kmart?  Which is fitting, what with drummers being known for their off-beat behavior.  You know.  Animal from the Muppets, Travis Barker from Blink-182, Ringo Starr from the Beatles --  also, that other, lesser-known Ringo from Los Lonely Boys.

So let's have a listen, shall we?  I'll provide the lyrics if you hum along in your head, or, if your head isn't earworm friendly, then if you zip on over to iTunes.  Fitz and the Tantrums' drummer, by the way, is John Wicks.  Not to be confused with the title character in that Keanu Reeves movie.  Which, now that I think of it, was John Wick.  Still close enough for the poor guy to get some weird fan mail, though, don't you think?

"Ooh, crazy's what they think about me
Ain't gonna stop cause they tell me so
Cause 99 miles per hour baby,
Is how fast that I like to go.

Can't keep up with my rhythm
Though they keep trying.
Too quick for the lines they throw.
I walk to the sound of my own drum,
It goes, they go, we go, hey yeah yeah yeah"

Prose like that deserves some pastry (figuratively speaking, of course, as I'm certainly not going to box up a pie for Mr. Wicks after that bit about fan mail).  Indeed, dessert and drums: no sweeter way to roll.

The Rainbow Collection . . .

Playful Parrots Necklace

Top: Alloy

Skirt: Xhilaration, Target

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: Loop, Marshalls

Belt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Cloud Nine, Ocean City

 Splashy Seahorses Necklace

Top: Decree,  JCPenney

Camisole: So, Kohl's

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Nine West, DSW

Bag: Marshalls

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 High Hair and Heels Necklace

Top: So, Kohl's

Skirt: Modcloth

Shoes: Betseyville, JCPenney

Bag: Nine West, Boscov's

Belt: Wet Seal

Scarf: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: JCPenney

. . . is a title that I could assign to many a post, not to mention one that would do Kermie proud.  But it seems especially fitting for this week's ROYGBIV-banded trio.  Each necklace features charms purchased from Etsy seller Bohemian Findings, a shop as full of fun as its pun of a name promises.  And there's more where that came from!  As ever, I got a little carried away with supplies and have three more kawaii-tastic creations to unveil next week.

Getting back to the post name, I almost didn't use it for fear that I had, horror of horrors, used it before, rainbows and pop culture puns being spokes in my whimsical wheelhouse. Now that I've been blogging for years, I constantly fret about that sort of thing, having not once but twice likened myself to one of those dreaded repetitive relatives who corner you at birthday parties with rehashed stories of departed pets, conspiracy theories, and other relatives who've stolen their antique gold watches, seats on town council, and/or husbands.  Although I seem to be getting better at this whole Internet thing, that is, social networking and having the tech skills to maintain said networks, it sometimes still baffles me.  Which is just one of the reasons (watch out for the sneaky segue) that I can relate to Bridget Jones in Helen Fielding's latest installment, Mad About the Boy.

Set fourteen years after Bridget and Mark Darcy get together, the novel pits Bridget against all sorts of new sticky situations, one of which is navigating Twitter.  She struggles to upload pictures, gets blindsided by spambots, and obsesses over her followers only to amass a respectable number and then lose most of them by insulting, of all things, a bird, Twitter's beloved mascot.  (Being Bridget, she ends up garnering even more followers, many of whom log on just to read of her latest mishaps.)  It's very funny, and I'm enjoying it hugely, in no small part because it makes me feel like it's okay to be more lax about life.  And also to eat more cookies (case in point, I had four today).  That having been said, the head shot of Fielding on the back cover is sophisticated and glamorous, not at all the sort of woman who would seem to be at home writing about the joys of delousing one's children or eating grated cheese straight from the bag.  The lice bit really threw me for a loop.  I thought, if Bridget can find the fun in that scenario, then I can stop worrying that every backyard BBQ is going to end with a deadly mosquito bite.  (I could've inserted a lot of neuroses there but felt that it was important to stay consistent with insects.)  In this sense, the whole book is a non-preachy illustration of that saying, "life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but about learning to dance in the rain."  I usually hate that one, especially when scrawled on some shabby chic plaque or embroidered on a don't-drool-on-me pillow.  But part of the reason I hate it is because I know it's true, just like I know Brussels sprouts are good for me even though I don't eat them.  Fielding makes the whole thing more palatable, serving it up with the proverbial spoonful of sugar, even at the darkest hour, say when Bridget enrolls in an obesity clinic or is forced by studio execs to turn her screenplay, which is a rewriting of Ibsen's feminist tragedy Hedda Gabler, into a comedy that takes place on a yacht.  (There's even worse stuff going on, but as a recovering spoiler, I'll refrain from going there.)  At first that part made me mad, as I didn't want "the Man" messing with Bridget's masterpiece.  But then I realized that the whole incident was a metaphor for Bridget herself and the way she turns even the bleakest of circumstances into something that is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, emerging even stronger than she was before.  Studio exec-manipulated or not, that's more moving then some one-dimensional tearjerker, proving that laughter truly is the best medicine.

Maybe I should embroider that on a pillow, or better yet, glue it on a necklace (a really big necklace).    

Movie Moment: The Muppets

About four months after its Thanksgiving weekend debut, the bf and I finally succumbed to Muppet mania.  Like most people, I'd been looking forward to The Muppets for its color, comedy, and all-around craziness.  But I was a little disappointed, which made me feel curiously guilty (I mean, this was the Muppets!), so much so that I defensively chided myself, "Well, maybe that's because you're not five."

Speaking of being a kid, "The Muppet Show" was a little before my time, but I saw The Great Muppet Caper, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and of course, that hallowed mecca of Muppets, "Sesame Street."  Miss Piggy was my favorite.  Her wardrobe was so dazzling that it outshone her bad attitude.

But back to the movie at hand.  Sweethearts Gary and Mary (Jason Segal and Amy Adams) travel to LA to celebrate their anniversary with Gary's kid brother, Walter, in tow.  Walter, it should be mentioned, is not a man, but a muppet (the philosophical ramifications of which are examined to song later on).  Loveable but odd, Walter has been unknowingly driving a wedge between the two-cute-for words Gary and Mary for the better part of ten years.  Mary, like so many women before her, has had it but is too sweet to say so.  As a result, romance is tossed out the window as the trio sets off to tour the old Muppet studio only to find that it's fallen into the clutches of an oil-hungry opportunist (Chris Cooper).  Stricken, Walter leads the way in rounding up his heroes, finally persuading Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the gang to reunite to perform one last show to save their studio.

Despite a star-studded cast comprised of Kristen Schaal, Jack Black, Rashida Jones, Alan Arkin, and several others, the storyline falls slightly flat.  Nevertheless, highlights include Amy Adams's retro-cute outfits (her inaugural one is in Ronald McDonald-worthy red and yellow), Emily Blunt as secretary to Miss Piggy's Paris plus-size Vogue editor, a la The Devil Wears Prada (red wig and all!), and Bret McKenzie's Oscar-winning song "Man or Muppet," during the course of which "The Big Bang Theory's" Jim Parsons makes an appearance as Walter's alter ego.  As a side note, "The Big Bang Theory" in general and Jim Parsons (as Sheldon) in particular are growing on me.  But more on that later.

Happy Halloween!

The bf likes Kermit. We were at my parents' house once when my mom was cleaning out the attic, and he got the biggest kick out of this tiny stuffed Kermit I had when I was a baby. (It sits on our living room bookshelf even as I type this.) So, I bought him one of those tiny gift books all about the beloved Muppet, appropriately called It Isn't Easy Being Green. (If you squint, you can see it crammed in the bf's pocket in the picture above.) All of this explains why, at 2:00 a.m. one night last week after enduring many false leads in the wily game that is costume hunting, I picked out Kermie and Miss Piggy. They went over pretty well at the costume party we went to last night. Even if I did let it slip out that I'd eaten ham for dinner.