grooming aids of the Elder Gods

The “Dark Horse” Christmas present. You know the one: the one that looks like the throwaway afterthought, purchased hastily at the last minute, perhaps grabbed from the “Under $5” bin in front of the lineup for the cashier. The cheap potpourri. The tiny stuffed animal. The itty-bitty flashlight keychain.

Which promptly becomes the Present of the Year, for no reason which could have been predicted.

Many a mother, upon receiving a boring set of pots and pans, has realized later that they are the delight of her obviously Charlie Watts-inspired offspring, as they ignore their expensive video games and limited edition books to bash happily on the bottoms of the Le Crueset. Many a father has realized that, however much the young ‘uns like their new Playskool Mixmaster DJ Phunk set, they prefer to use the box to slide down the front steps in.

And so it is even with us adults.

This year, as explained, I got quite a haul. The presents were many; the presents were varied. As always, the presents were welcome.

But one stood out, even among such rarified company as two Squid tees, DKNY Red, and an MP3 player .

The Soap of Cthulhu.

Cthulhu Soap

Incidentally, Margarita glasses make excellent soap dishes for bachelorette pads.

This soap, this soap is truly astonishing. It never shrinks, seeming instead to expand with every wetting. Perhaps it is immortal. Pastel olive green itself (with a purple sheen, as you can see from the photo) when moistened it gives off a thick, dark green slime, the dregs of which can be seen all around the edges of the glass. I believe that, when my back is turned, these shoggoth-like agglomerations of soapitude actually creep. Its scent is a cross between pencil erasers and lardons, with a faint whiff of the polluted sea.

Thanks must go to Metro and Mistress Cowfish, who knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this soap, designed for very specialized tastes indeed, had my name all over it.

In slime.

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

Christmas: it ain’t over till the fat lady uses up the last of her Sears Gift Card!

Alas, that would be me, the fat lady. I usually have curves, but the past couple of years I’ve gotten rolls instead. Not what I’d call a fair trade, but then, I could get off my plushly-upholstered butt and get some exercise, yes? Speaking of which…

I’m not sure if the Cybergypsy intends it to be a Christmas present, but I can see the stationary bicycle that was in the garage is now out on the patio; the unfortunate thing is, unless I remember to buy a tarp, it will simply rust there, same as everything. I know he has no intention of using it, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, until he gets his own space, there’s not enough room in the apartment to put it in here; well, not and use the bathroom.

I could use the patio. It’s a Chinese building: I’d hardly be the first. We really should give new members a user’s guide that includes the words “just because it has a drain doesn’t mean it’s a bathroom.” Urk.

In any case, the Christmas haul now includes a pressie I bought for myself, one upon which I have had my beady little eye-stalks for some time. This:

Sacred heart of cthulhu!

Yes, it is the famous Sacred Heart of Cthulhu tee, about my longing for which I have previously blogged. It was, of course and naturellement for this is the way the Universe works, in strange ways, particularly relating to me and Cthulhu-themed casual wear, the only thing in the store not on sale, but a sigh, a wistful “oh, I guess it’s not on sale?” and a twisting of coppery-blonde locks resulted in a meagre 10% markdown. What the hell, I was going to buy it come Nodens or Ragnarok. At my age the mere idea that hair-twirling could cause a twentysomething salesboy to give me 10% off is itself worth 90% of retail.

This was, of course, purchased with the complete aggregate of all my Christmas money, leaving me just enough to pay my bills and live off CG’s food for the next week or so. At least I’ll lose weight: right now, he’s soaking some seaweed that looks like sheets of green, striated rubber. It is his intention to use these sheets to make nutburger buns… although if the final product isn’t a helluva lot more appealing than the ingredients you’d have to be a nutburger to put the damn things anywhere near your mouth.

As well, I got a deck of trick cards, two books on true crime (one a how-to), one book about death, a squid tee, a bottle of perfume (a public service as much as a gift, and thank GOD; if my perfume level drops below a certain point, the scent of fish becomes overpowering and you may make of that what you will), one book about health, one book about snobbery, an MP3 player, a Sears gift card, an AT&T card which I hope I can use in Canada but am not sure, and three restaurant gift cards. So I will be fat, fragrant, and funky.

So, no change.

I also got lei’d, but that’s another story.

And, as I am a known Christmas nut, I am determined to keep the holiday going until the last of the gift cards has been drained dry. If I find myself at Milestone’s in the middle of June spending a few Christmas bucks, you’ll find me requesting the calamari with a side of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Giant Squid Tee

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

raincoaster. flake.

Flake
I believe this model to be suitably tentactular-spectacular enough to represent the ol’ raincoaster blog. You can make your own over at Make-A-Flake.

en vacances

Fresh new content coming, just as soon as I run out of eggnog. And beer. And wine. And vodka (although thanks to my offer to mix everyone cocktails, that particular horizon is in sight).

I got my Christmas wishes: snow, a pony, an opportunity to snowshoe, an offer of a free surfing lesson, and home-made plum pudding with brandy butter. What did you get?

Merry Christmas, Mister Kubrick

Brian Atene is here, with a special Christmas message for Love Bug fans, deceased Hollywood figures, and your whole family.