V-Day Roundup

Fosco and Oz had some elaborate Valentine's plans, but got doubly ambushed by the icky "winter" storm plowing through the Bay Area and Fosco coming down with a head cold on Friday night. Fosco's cold is something of the CDC equivalent of a traditional locked room mystery, considering that Fosco literally had not left his apartment for seventy-two hours before he started getting sick on Friday evening. Very weird stuff.

However, we still celebrated a bit yesterday by exchanging gifts. More accurately, Oz lavished elaborate gifts on Fosco, while Fosco reciprocated with uninspired gifts that he felt too sick to wrap.

Oz always knows the perfect gift for Fosco: books, books, books.

I can't wait to read about this guy called "Barack Obama." I've heard he's a good author. I wonder if he's written anything else...

But Oz is much too creative to stop there. After opening the books (each of which was individually-wrapped, natch), Fosco was sent on a scavenger hunt to find the next gift that Oz had hidden (under the bed, it turned out) the night before.

When Fosco unwrapped the hidden gift he was puzzled. It was a thick hardcover trash novel by one of those "popular" authors who write using a text generator. Think Tom Clancy with less writing skill and no movie contracts. Now imagine a completely laughable cover and a snicker-worthy title. This is what went through Fosco's mind, in order:

1. Does Oz think that I would read this?
   
2. If he does think that, whither our relationship?
   
3. It must be a joke. But why?
   
4. [seeing the price tag] Oh God, did he really pay full price for this?
   

Oz's card offered only a little help: "read the Prologue for a hint as to your next gift." Fosco dutifully read the prologue (which was terrible--all about hunting for German U-boats), not quite knowing what he was looking for. (And let me tell you that Fosco was unrealistically hopeful for a second or two after reading the words "Lufthansa" and "BMW.")

Finally, after ten long pages, Fosco turned the page to discover the secret:

It's a hollow book! Oz made it himself with a book he found in his office's lost and found ( and yay, he didn't pay full price). Fosco has always wanted a hollow book, even though he doesn't really have anything he needs to keep inside one. Except his blow.

But wait, there's more! Inside the hollow was a ring box. And in the ring box was a nice solid tungsten carbide band with a celtic design. Fosco loves big, thick, chunky, nearly indestructible rings and this one is gorgeous. (Sadly, the ring has resisted our efforts to photograph it. We'll keep trying.) Need I add that it fits perfectly? Oz had done his homework.

Compared with this giftapalooza, Fosco doesn't really want to say what he got for Oz. Regular readers probably can guess (hint: it's eight inches tall and made from plastic... And no, it's not that. Don't be a filthy gorgon.)

Toys of the Day

Fosco has mentioned before that Oz has caught something of a collection bug right now. And it's only getting worse, as Hasbro expands its Mighty Muggs line to include Transformers and GI Joe (yes, we're pretty much getting them all). No word yet on Battle of the Planets, but it's surely only a matter of time.

But Oz isn't the only one in this relationship who enjoys a nice plastic toy. Fosco has been smitten as of late by the creations of Miami art collaborative Friends With You. They've imported something of the Japanese toy aesthetic to the US, while playing up the sheer absurdity of it all by creating an accompanying bizarre metaphysics and cosmogony (think Hello Kitty crossed with Hinduism). Whatever it is, it's a hit at the international art fairs.

Fosco own a few of their plush creations (which are strangely cuddly; plus they have the added benefit of being completely inexplicable). But even better (and easier on the wallet) are their smaller plastic figures called "Wish Come True." Here's part of the lineup:

Each "Wish" figure is approx. 2-3" high and has a nice heft to it (we are not talking Happy Meal toys here--these are satisfying to touch and to hold). Each one has a bell embedded inside to make a variety of pleasing tinkling sounds. Each one also comes with a sticker!

Remember the part about weird metaphysics and cosmogony? Here are some samples:

POPA: Popa is little and he holds the key to your wishing potential and human ancestry.

MR. TTT: Mr. TTT is a shape shifting mystery! From wormholes to black holes he keeps making history. This cute little Mister is always a hit, whether shaped like a burger or a galactic peppermint.

COCO: Zozo is the universe and Coco is too. With all that power, what will you do?

This may seem annoying, but then again: what if it's charming?

The best part (especially for "Friends With You") is that the "Wish Come True" toys are sold "blind box"--meaning that you have to keep ordering to get complete your full set (and you will end up with some duplicates). There are also some secret figures that are not pictured anywhere. However, that's all part of the metaphysics of luck that reigns in the land of "Friends With You."

Two Armies Clash in the Mushroom Kingdom...

Oz's flatmate has an eleven-year-old daughter who comes by on weekends. This past weekend, she was working on a project (for junior high) that required her to create her own chess set (Fosco's junior high never assigned creative projects like that; and I'm not sure any of the teachers knew what "chess" is.). She came up with the idea to make an all Super Mario chess set. She and her dad spent much of last week sculpting the characters out of clay. Oz pitched in and sculpted one of the Yoshi figurines. Fosco's contribution was to doubt from afar that the whole thing would work (he's an eternal pessimist).

It turns out Fosco was wrong, because it came out totally cool. Here are the "good guys":

The "bad guys" are a little trickier: who would you pair up as the King and Queen? Oddly enough, L chose to make a cross-species evil romance between Bowser and Donkey Kong. And no, I'm not sure who's the top and who's the bottom. But it's still cool.

The Bishops there are Mario and Luigi's evil doppelgangers, Wario and Waluigi (for those of you who stopped following all of this sometime around Super Mario World). Here's the detail:

Remember: this is done entirely with clay and poster paints (no molds or models)! Impressive, no?

Wow, Loot!

Despite the lack of fatal viruses, Christmas in Santa Cruz was wonderful, especially as it was Fosco and Oz's first Christmas spent together (last year, Fosco was in Snow Town). So what did Satan Sapna Santa bring us? I mean, besides joy and peace...

Remember how Oz has a bit of a collection going? Well, Fosco spent some quality time on eBay and came up with these beauties.

Yes, that Iron Man Mugg is a limited edition that was sold only at the San Diego Comic Con. And indeed, it does appear that Admiral Ackbar is saying "It's a trap!" (N.B., Admiral Ackbar knows when something is a trap.)

Fosco got a Mighty Mugg too! Remember Marvel's Vision? No? Well, that's why Fosco didn't have any friends in junior high. Well, at any rate, Vision was an android and a member of the Avengers (still not sounding familiar? Really?). Anyhoo, Fosco likes Vision and thinks he looks cool:


Look what Oz got for Fosco! Fosco loves this game, but had been holding off on owning it to prevent it from totally preempting his work. Is this the end of Fosco's academic career? Or does another, more lucrative, career beckon (viz. Rock God)?


Oz got a big present, too: does he know what it is?

Why, it's the IKEA Poäng Chair!

[See Isis skulking around behind it? She likes it for hiding.]

Fosco and Oz hope that, recession be damned, all of your material wishes came true this holiday season.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

Fosco knows that plastic is evil and dangerous and unsustainable, but at Christmastime it's also a bit cheery (and we all need some cheer...). And that's where Christmas figurines/knickknacks/tchotchkes/ornaments/decorations come in.

(BTW, if you want to see some really gorgeous Christmas knickknacks, check out this post on John Mackey's blog. Not only are his photos breathtaking, but we also have a great deal of taste overlap. John Mackey is who Fosco would be if he had a good camera and a steady hand. Alas.)

But anyway, Fosco wants to share with you his annual Christmas display (atop his Theory bookshelf). In case you're wondering, that giant white-ish glacier behind the figures is another row of books seasonally camouflaged with "snow."

Yes, it's the stars of the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation Christmas special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1964). For some reason (and it's not really the plot), this special has become a Gen X holiday touchstone, bringing ironic joy to millions of aging hipsters every holiday season.

Let's have some closeups:

That's abdominal abominable snowman Humble Bumble with aspiring homosexual dentist Hermey. You can see that Hermey has already defanged Humble Bumble.

Here we have famous polar explorer (and Bear icon) Yukon Cornelius. And yes, that's the snowman narrator, an ice-crystalled version of the legendary Burl Ives (who is holding both and umbrella and a banjo!). Oh, and that's some random elf nerd. I think he's the one who sexually abuses Hermey in Act I.

Finally, we have the stars of our show: Santa, Rudolph, and the polka-dotted Misfit Toy Elephant (were children in the '60s so unimaginative that a polka-dot elephant would have been a misfit?). Why isn't Rudolph's nose red, you ask? Because, as you may remember from the show, he covers it with dirt to make it look normal. And sure enough, this figurine actually has a black nose cover that can be removed to get to the red light-bulb nose (not pictured).

And for your enjoyment:

Boyfriend Oz's New Obsession

Fosco's boyfriend Oz has a new hobby: toys! And by toys, Fosco means adult toys. No, not that kind of adult toys. Rather, a kind of adult toy known as Mighty Muggs by Hasbro (they also make kids toys). Mighty Muggs (as you can see to the right) are chubby plastic things (made from 100% recycled awesome, and they come in both Star Wars and Marvel varieties (as well as Indiana Jones, but I mean really... who cares!).

Oz started collecting the Star Wars Muggs (admittedly, at Fosco's suggestion) and has now moved on to the Marvel characters. He now has 12 or so. So far, our rule is to only purchase the Muggs at retail establishments (like Target and Toys Russe) and not on Ebay (at collectable-prices). But at some point, Fosco may have to shell out some big bucks on the internet to get Oz's beloved Darth Vader.

Here's a pic of Oz trying to look tough alongside two of his recent acquisitions, Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress:


Now if Fosco could get Oz to actually take them out of their boxes...