Tiny Pineapple

ananas comosus (L.) minimus

The Same Movie Twice

// 13
Finding Neverland (One Sheet)
Spanglish (One Sheet)

I saw the same movie twice last night. The first time it was called Finding Neverland; the second, Spanglish.

Update: OK, OK… After receiving numerous requests for clarification, here are the similarities as I see them:

Finding Neverland Spanglish
A hard-working artist… Check Check
…laboring in a field in which, “They changed it — the critics — they made it important”… Check Check
…is trapped in a loveless marriage with a rigid, frigid, philandering, social-climbing wench… Check Check
…played by a fabulous babe. Check
Radha Mitchell		 Check
Téa Leoni
Enter a warm-hearted, grounded, single mother with child(ren)… Check Check
…who develops a close relationship with the artist… Check Check
…and teaches him about love and life… Check Check
…and even spends the summer at the artist’s summer home… Check Check
…but leaves before the relationship is consumated. Check
Dies of consumption.		 Check
Consumed by guilt.
The hard-working artist gets four-star reviews… Check
Eventually, for Peter Pan.		 Check
For his restaurant.
…but still wants seats set aside for special guests. Check
Orphans.		 Check
Walk-ins from the neighborhood.
Supporting characters are subjected to too-tight outfits… Check
Smee’s and Nana’s costumes.		 Check
Bernice’s school clothes.
…and there’s a large dog that chases balls. Check
Porthos, a Newfoundland.		 Check
Chum, an overweight Golden Lab.

Did I miss anything?

Have A Hobby Blobby Christmas

// 4

With only two weeks left until Christmas, you may be asking yourself, “What special something should I get for that especially special someone?” The answer, of course, is a canned meat gift box. But for everyone else on your list, might I suggest one of Maria Samuelson’s Blobbies.

Acknowledgement of Blobby Bias: Maria is my sister-in-law. But even if she were not, there’s no way I could browse her beautifully-designed site without giggling. She deserves some sort of an award for the names alone:

And their descriptions are as delightful as their names.

I am the proud owner of two of the amorphous plushes myself. I purchased one of the very first Blobbies, Whale Dog w/Spotted Trousers, shortly after I enthused about them back in June. Then, a few weeks ago, a Bubba Tatuman, Jr. arrived unannounced in the mail. (A gift for helping get Maria’s online shop up and running.) But it wasn’t just any Bubba Tatuman, Jr.; it was a Limited Edition Commemorative Tiny Pineapple Bubba Tatuman, Jr.:

Bobblies.
Whale Dog w/Spotted Trousers & LETPBT, Jr.
Blobby (Detail)
LETPBT, Jr. (Reverse, Detail)

They now watch over my desk like a red-billed oxpecker on a rhino, reminding me of the symbiotic relationships that nurture and sustain me…and of the importance of checking myself for ticks. And they will soon be joined by two more, as there will be one for Emma and one for Zoë under the tree on Christmas Day.

So, go visit Maria’s site. Even though they’re selling just about as fast as she can make them, there are still many to choose from and there’s a promise of new ones in the coming days. If you’re enchanted but strapped for cash, there are freebies like desktop wallpaper and buddy icons. And you can even send a Blob-E-Gram, Holiday Picnic, starring Señor Pooglins and Sir Cutlet, which poses the timely question, “What if Che Guevera had been a Wheat Thin?”