Weekness

A full week, indeed! Last Sunday we returned from Brooklyn to the simmering heat of Middletown.

Monday night was a screening of Remember The Night with none other than this man,




in attendance. Well, ok, he looked more like this, but he was there, drumming up support for the Middletown Foundation for the Arts. We're not members, but we are supporters, plus it was a chance to see Richard Gilmore in person. He did a nice spiel before and after the film, which was good, and he answered an odd assortment of questions from the audience about the film, the era from whence it came, and whatever else was thrown at him.

Tuesday night we attended the free screening of Safety Last at the campus chapel, complete with live organ soundtrack!

Wednesday night we headed north to visit the Botaknist and make pizzas and watch Project Runway. We crashed there and headed back the next morning.

Thursday evening was low key, but we did head out to Eli's to meet some folks for a drink.

Friday morning I hastily drove Mrs. Cupcakes to the airport so she could catch her 12 hour long, two connecction, 11:30am flight to Montana. She called my cell phone before I had even gotten as far as Hartford on the way back to say her flight was delayed by a few hours. She ended up on a delayed flight to Chicago, further delayed, and by the time the 12 hours were up, she had only made it as far as Denver. Our good friend the Botaknist had done the phone work and arranged for a hotel, but the clearly marked hotel shuttle took her to the wrong hotel. Let's make sure we're clear on that last part. She had a reservation for the Embassy Suites Airport, so she got on the Embassy Suites Shuttle, which took her to an Embassy Suites where they didn't have a reservation for her and told her "Nope. You want the Airport Embassy Suites, that's where your reservation is." She was able to flanagle a room at the shuttled Suites, which ended up being cheaper, but what an end to an already craptastic day! She was in Montana by 11am the next morning, 12 hours later than expected, and almost a full 24 hours after she left CT. Sheesh! She's having a good time there at last report, and she even bought yours truly some yarn. And I won't spoil it in case she's gonna blog it up, but there was also an afternoon of celebrity yesterday as she was roaming the town.

Speaking of yarn, as I sat still and watched back to back Harrison Ford movies on cable last night, I finally managed to work in all the ends on my fingerless gloves.




"More drama Buckles, MORE!"


"THAT'S IT!"


This post is getting pretty long for me, but now, as promised, I must share with you all my $2.70 bounty from the strange land that is the toy isle at a 99¢ store in Brooklyn. It all started with this angry cat toy...



...which I thought was kind of cute, despite having an unfortunately placed wheel...



...but the design and the color was kind of cool, and that unfortunate wheel actually facilitates the cat's "push down and go" action.



It's angry, it's on wheels, it's aquamarine, what more could you ask for? I promptly took it to Mrs. Cupcakes to point out all these positives, but she was ready for me. In the housewares aisle (I think?) she had found this:



And before you ask, there is a handy diagram:



You get, not only the functionality of a laser in a tiger, but also the added functionalities of Light, Sound, & Pencil sharper, all in the same tiger. Let's get it outta that box!


And if you thought Angry cat on wheel's third wheel placement was unfortunate, bear witness to Multi-functional laser tiger's Pencil sharper placement.



Also, I think it's just the batteries, but the laser doesn't seem to be working.



Although I might be missing something, since the laser seems to be in French.



OK, so we had two winners so far, and I headed back to the "toy" aisle, where we saw this:



"Of course! A cat head on a can of orange juice on a skateboard, carrying an orange and a pair of sunglasses! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" you say outloud, to no one in particular.

The bizarre-ness drew me in, but the resemblance to a certain someone didn't hurt either...




These findings all pale in comparison, however, to the ultimate item, Beer Baby:


...



...



...



...



...um, ok, so, "THE BEST WELCOME GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN", "Best-selling Good toys", AND HE'S WEARING A TIE! Words fail me now as they did then. You can wind him up, just below his ass, and his little legs move as he pushes the dolly with the beer can on it.

Yes. Right. He's wearing a tie.

I need to go lie down now.