Last minnit tree and cat

Holy infant, so tender and wild

"Thank you for this new toy"

Foulard got a late craving for an Xmas tree last weekend, so we got a fake one (discounted) at the drug store a block away from our apartment.  Now our place is very jolly!

***
And here's a little Christmas song:

More Xmas picks

I watched all 81 minutes of this last year, despite a stuttery video feed on the cable channel where I DVR'd it.  Luckily for Foulard readers, it's now available on Netflix--in HD, yet.

More normativity than you can shake a stick at

It's the story of an implausibly quaint small town in Alaska that does Christmas big time every year, until the heaviest Baldwin, Daniel, comes to town and starts cramping their style by invoking a little thing called separation of church and state.  What a cad!  He's a local boy who moved to the big city and has now returned to town to corrupt them with his "cosmopolitan" ways.  Ted McGinley plays the mayor, a solid family man who is weirdly fixated on setting up elaborate holiday displays in the town square, or any place that's city property.  He has a colorless wife, son, and daughter (she's the angel on the poster).  My favorite character is the guy played by "christian comedian" Brad Stine.  I originally thought he would turn out to be Jesus, because of his beard, but instead he's just some doofus brother-in-law to McGinley who does a "hilarious" rant against "the PC police" which was the highlight of the movie for me.   (He also has a concert video called "Tolerate This", which should show you where he's coming from)

Manic for Jesus

SPOILER ALERT:
It turns out that Daniel Baldwin is just causing all this trouble because he doesn't have a family to spend Xmas with.  That's right, he's the grinch.  And then he changes his mind and lets them put up their giant manger scene, or something like that.

Recommended for:
Masochists and people with an irrational paranoia about "the war on Christmas".

Foulard's holiday gift giving suggestions

You will be astonished at the looks on your loved ones' faces when they unwrap these little goodies on the holiday of your choosing.

Happy Valentine's Day from Foulard!

How are you gonna spend your Christmas?

It's that time of year again

[Edit: I liked it so much that it's now the blog header]
Beebo and I still haven't bought any Xmas cards to send out yet.  But we're eying a few candidates.  You want to get these things just right.  here's one I'm thinking of-what do you think?

Christmas on the Beeb 1979!

It's that time of year!

 

 

 

Guy Foulard, Christmas-Style

 

 

My Brilliant Halloween Costume Idea

A group of people dresses up like failed dot-com era logos and mascots:

 Make sure to give me credit when you do this!  And send photos.

Hallowe'en Costume Shopping Tips

With these costumes, you can recreate one of my favorite Star Trek - The Original Series episodes: To Walk With the Feet of Giants (from Season Three).

With Ted McGinley, how can it go wrong?

Gee whiz...this direct-to-DVD movie looks like it'll be crack for snarky, mocking people (like me).  I won't feel like it's really Xmas this year unless I get to see it!  I can't imagine it letting me down the way DC 9/11: Time of Crisis did.

My prediction: the guy with the beard turns out to be...Jesus.

Hallowe'en movie time begins

Beebo and I kicked off the season of watching scary movies last night--kind of a day early, but it was a dark and rainy night, so I didn't want to squander it. We watched City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel), a nice, efficient little witchcraft story from 1960. It's about a cursed Massachusetts town called Whitewood, where it's apparently always nighttime, and they have a serious fog problem. It was filmed in England, but most of the cast does a passable American accent.

The big name star is Christopher Lee, playing a college professor teaching a course in witchcraft. This is the kind of course you can only take in the movies, from my experience.

It also stars lovely blonde Venetia Stevenson, who was married (at different times) to Russ Tamblyn and Don Everly. The funniest (non-scary) scene in the movie has her lounging in her room (at the creepy Raven's Inn), in a big quilted robe. Hearing that there's a dance going on in the lobby, she decides to take a break from her witchcraft research and join the fun. When she takes off her robe, she's wearing a baroque and ridiculously sexy merry widow with stockings and garters. If you've ever known a woman (or are one), you know that the first thing a girl who's just sitting around by herself does is get into the most comfortable lounging clothes possible. I could buy the part about the 300 year-old witches, and the cursed town, but this is where my suspension of disbelief was stretched a bit too far!

But it's a great movie--highly recommended!

It's Foulard's Birthday!

Whoopee!

A somewhat forlorn picture from a craigslist apartment ad

Structurally, this looks like a really nice apartment--it's clean, has the much-fetishized hardwood floors, and some built-in shelves. But they've chosen to show it on the context of a lonely xmas scene.

Look at that little tree-not one present under it! Those cold floors without a nice rug to cheer them up. The small TV shunted off into a corner, far from the couch--a prescription for eye strain. A peek into a similarly spartan bedroom. It's like George Clooney's apartment from Up in the Air.

(Or the cover to the Bummed Out Christmas! album from Rhino Records)

Will Do, Vic!

4.20

On a suggestion by Beebo, I'm honoring the "dopey" holiday of 4.20 with one of my favorite songs from Hair:



...and here's a counter-argument from Joe Friday. Listen to his advice, kids!

Las Vegas insulted that Obama says people shouldn't blow all their money in Vegas

..because, obviously, that's the best way to spend your money when you need to pay your mortgage or save up for college tuition.

Obama responds to ire over 2nd anti-Vegas remark

By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS – President Barack Obama is known for having a way with words, but some lawmakers from Nevada wish he would pipe down about trips to Sin City. After sparking a firestorm of criticism from Nevada's elected officials for suggesting that people saving money for college shouldn't blow it in Las Vegas, Obama told U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a letter that he wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas.

It was the second time since taking office that Obama singled out Las Vegas as a potential example of spending excessively.

"I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun," Obama said, according to the letter released by Reid's office. "There is no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country's great destinations."

Obama said he always enjoys his visits to Las Vegas.

A White House spokesman referred to Obama's letter to Reid and said the administration had no further comment.

Perception and reputation are sensitive issues for Sin City as it struggles to find footing amid a two-year meltdown of foreclosures, bankruptcies and unemployment. Tourism is the Silver State's backbone, and several lawmakers said they were shocked that Obama singled out Las Vegas again after commenting last February that bailed-out banks shouldn't go to Las Vegas using taxpayer money.

"When times are tough, you tighten your belts," Obama said, according to a White House transcript of his appearance Tuesday at a high school in Nashua, N.H.

"You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage," Obama said. "You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices."

The comments quickly sparked a flurry of reaction in the Silver State, which supported Obama in the 2008 election. Nevada had an unemployment rate of 13 percent in December.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said during a hastily called news conference that Obama is no friend to Las Vegas and would not be welcomed here if he visits.

"I'll do everything I can to give him the boot," Goodman said. "This president is a real slow learner."

A Jolly Time at Brighton Pier

Merry Christmas from Chez Foulard!

Most oppressive Xmas album cover ever

Includes the songs:

• Everybody Act Like You Believe in God
• Looks Like They're Feeding You Plenty at That College
• Pretend Grandpa Didn't Just Say Something Racist
• Tommy's Not Gay (He Just Hasn't Met the Right Girl)
• Even a Vegetarian Should Like This Nice Pot Roast
• Try to Find a TV Show Everyone Will Want to Watch
• I Bought This Present and Said It Was from You
• When Are You Coming Out of Your Room?