Fadz R Us

I think sometime in my misbegotten youth I owned a mood ring which, of course, turned my finger green and therefore put me in a foul mood which was, perhaps, its intended purpose. You never know when the diabolical is part of someone’s motivation. After that I became immune to most fads, including Hula Hoops, Pet Rocks, Beanie Babies and Facebook. I did, however, own a series of Frisbees; a fad that has never really died out has it?

I am never, or almost so, in the company of pre-pubescent children so I pretty much relegate them to background noise in my kindly but curmudgeonly way. This afternoon, however, I bumped into a neighbor who has two little girls, I think about 6 and 8, and both of them had a bunch of colorful rubber bands around their wrists. Upon inquiry I was informed in no uncertain terms (by the younger one) that these were “Silly Bandz” (with a “Z”!) and it seems they are the latest thing in childhood tomfoolery. The older of the two whipped off a light blue one and gave it to me and, once it was removed from her wrist, reverted to its manufactured shape, being in the shape of a penguin. I said the proper wows and woohoos and tried to return it to her but she insisted I keep it. I thanked her sincerely and put it on my own wrist, where it still resides as we speak.

I was properly overwhelmed by her generosity but not as much as her mother was. Although exceptionally low-tech these “bandz” have evidently become prized possessions and they are collected, hoarded and traded and, since school districts are starting to ban them from the classrooms, they have become contraband and therefore even more prized--as a good craze should be. Unlike other fads Silly Bandz are really, really cheap and even when they break they are easily (and cheaply) replaced.

They come in numerous configurations: pet shapes, princess shapes (shown here), rock bandz, wild animals, sea creatures, western gear, baseball stuff and piratez with, I betcha, a lot more to come. Some even glow in the dark! WooHoo! So far Silly Bandz seem to be an east coast phenomenon but it ain’t gonna be long before you’ll be noticing them at a bandztand near you. You have been warned. Hey, wait a minute, is my wrist turning blue?

Update June 21, 2010: I attended an art fair over the weekend and, instead of the normal ink-stamped wrist to attain in/out privileges, we were givin a silly band to wear. Mine was a shark. Very clever, very cool.

'Twas brillig...

Okay, I’m on board. Tim Burton is a friggin’ cinematic genius. The latest page in this book is the current Alice in Wonderland, which is still playing at a movie theater near you. Of course Disney has jumped on board the current 3-D craze but, frankly (unlike Avatar) it is pointless in Alice. In fact it is kind of annoying to have to reflexedly duck something-or-other that comes whizzing past your ear.

Alice is a combination of artistry, cleverness (and campiness) and some jolly, crazy tongue-in-cheek good times. Oddly enough, amid the general mayhem, some real sweetness (honest) comes through that actually gives ones sentimental hard heart a tug. At one point I was reminded of the band of diverse stalwarts from The Lord of the Rings going on their long and dangerous quest, in that Alice surrounds herself (well, through no fault of her own really, it just happens) with all kinds of supporters and advisers, all eventually aligned to thwart the dastardly deeds of the cruel, evil and ultimately vanquished Red Queen. There’s even a bandersnatch with a figurative thorn in its paw (see Androcles) who later helps Alice overcome insurmountable obstacles, mostly for the sake of some fast transportation. Even the hedgehog who is saved (by Alice) from the flamingo wielding Queen in her whimsical game of croquet, lends a tiny hand. Once the Queen’s ultimate weapon, the Jabberwocky, is satisfactorily vanquished (was there any doubt?) everybody drops their weapons, including her pack-of-cards army. Another reference to that Ring movie.

It is all predictable but still very satisfying and I really liked the Victorian setting of everything but, after all, it comes from the fertile mind and imagination of Alice’s character, who is on the run from the staid and limited minds of England’s gentry of that stifling period. The only clinker in the movie, for me, was the ultimate ending (which comes after the ultimate ending in Underland) where Alice, reborn, seems to be single handedly embarked on an enterprise to open the trade routes to China and, therefore, become a captain of industry and commerce. Say, what? Hmm…maybe I need to look at that last chapter of Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Oh, yeah, one more word about that 3-D process. Personally I’m over it. What was good for Avatar is not necessarily so otherwise. The coming attractions shown before Alice, however, seemed to be full of it, deeper in it and, I think starting to exude a fishy smell of it. It just might be unnecessary exploitation, with the use of 3-D permitting the ching-a-ching of cash-register greed, since distributors are adding some major bucks for the privilege of having the audience wear those uncomfortable glasses. Even the Wednesday early-afternoon senior rates are getting slapped with it. And, no, fair it is not!

Play Ball!

Here we go into another season of baseball!
I always enjoy the first part of the season because one can get reacquainted with the team(s)-of-choice, and their stars--but my interest starts to waver and wane as the weeks and months go by. I know the reason for the length of the season is economic (read greed) but I totally believe that 162 games is just nuts. A nice compact 80 games or so, like professional basketball, would probably have the same results (losers/winners) as 162. Part of my seasonal declining interest is also economic (read my own). I am basically priced-out of actually going to games anymore and, since I only have basic cable, I am blacked out for a good number of them--which influences my interest, or disinterest, until the Play-Offs start in the fall and then pretty much only if the teams I follow have a chance of at least participating in them. Frankly, I’m such a fair-weather baseball fan that I only start building a modicum of loyalty in about mid-September when it all starts to have meaning, leading up to the World Series. It’s probably a good thing Major League Baseball, and all their commercial sponsors, has as much, or as little, interest in me as I do in them since my age and economic status throws me into the dark corners of being a desired target audience; so it all seems to work out for both of us. So, hello again, Mr. Jeter...batter up!