Category: Amy Sedaris

I LIKE YOU and SIMPLE TIMES

~ Wendy-Marie ~ 1 Comment

If I ever need to feel like it’s the 1970s again I don’t have to rummage through Blacklight’s lair using all his electrical bits and bobs to build a time machine. I just have to pick up I Like You and Simple Times because between the hardcovers is all the 1960s/1970s goodness you can imagine. It’s like the senior center gift shop, church rummage sale, school craft fairs and Woolworths had the most awesome babies ever!

And who do I have to thank for this flashback? The very talented and crafty Amy Sedaris. Not only are there recipes that look majorly wrong and gruesome just like in certain blogs (I’m thinking a Wendy McClure blog and possibly a Vintage Ads thread or two) but whole themes along with projects. And ways to turn your gathering into a money making venture…now why didn’t I think of bundling up random items and selling them along with cupcakes at Blacklight and I’s holiday party? Maybe for Blacklight’s birthday? 🙂

Once your world has been opened to the awesome of the I Like You life, why not keep the fun coming with a book of crafts. No crazy expensive Martha Stewart things here. Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People brings back all those crafts you learned in Bible Camp or Girl Scouts and takes it to the next level. That nifty needlebook you wanted in third grade can be yours!

My mad glue stick and construction paper skills aside, when it comes to my own entertaining, I think I’ll stick to my nice white brocade tablecloth and napkins or everything red from the dollar store. Unless I’ve decided to channel my own thrifty and crafty mother. Then let’s see what I can create out of posterboard, construction paper, staples, crepe paper and tape (for example, a 3-D holiday wreath). Otherwise I LIKE YOU and SIMPLE TIMES will always have a place in my circa 1972 heart…

WIGFIELD

~ Wendy-Marie ~ Leave a comment

Think the college age Stephen Colbert is a total hottie? <scampers off to remind Blacklight that the twinkly eyed, bearded and grinning 1970s Stephen Colbert bears a strong resemblance to a certain nerd boy playing TRON 2.0…and Dr Strange but I’m NOT about to tell a certain nerd boy THAT!> How about Stephen Colbert in fishnets and a black wig as Raven, one of the lovely ladies of Wigfield’s many gentleman’s clubs? Then you need to get your hands on a copy of Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Mr Colbert’s Wigfield: Thhe Can Do Town That Just May Not.

The basic premise of Wigfield is that a writer/con man (and I use the term writer very loosely) named Russell Hokes, a former Department of Transportation worker without any talent, or plan and his advance almost spent runs off into the night. Thanks to car trouble on the interstate, Russell ends up in the tiny hamlet of Wigfield will boasts more gentlemen’s clubs per square inch than Montreal (Sibling Tichy “Dammyyyyyyynnnnnn”). Now unless a miracle happens, this charming little slice of life straight out of a John Waters movie is going to be leveled when a looming dam is torn down. Our writer decides to make his book the story of Wigfield and sets out to interview the shall we say interesting residents including the three mayors. Yes, I said three mayors. It’s a long story (read the book!) Will Wigfield gain recognition from the state and be spared destruction?

Like many Sedaris/Dinello/Colbert collaborations, Wigfield is an acquired taste. At best it follows in the tradition of Patrick (Auntie Mame) Dennis’ Little Me and First Lady. Scattered through the Russell’s journey in Wigfield are  photos of the various Wigfieldians played by Sedaris/Dinello/Colbert in disguise. Our narrator Russell Hokes layers a thick coating of “innocence” over his adventures. Of course, Russell doesn’t realize what the town fathers have planned for Wigfield just like Little Me’s Belle Poitrinedidn’t had no idea what caused the tragic fate of her various husbands. At worst, it’s just another excuse for Amy Sedaris to haul out her stash of costumes and make funny faces. Wigfield is certainly worth a read…but you might not be rushing to order your very own copy off Amazon…

Library Raid! Plainville Public Library

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This morning’s errands: pay Comcast bill, pick up the decorations for Saturday’s holiday, raid the Plainville Library. Okay, so maybe not raid, but I did want to pick up a Christmas CD and a few books I just could not wait to have sent to me via inter library loan. Head still reeling from the prices at one of my favorite used bookstores ($5 for the Dover edition of my beloved Lovecraft’s Supernatural Horror in Literature? I think NOT!) I pulled into the Plainville Public Library with “Christmas CD! Meaning of Sunglasses! CHRISTMAS CD!” running through my head.

As I was checking out the new nonfiction, I noticed a librarian giving a tour to a group of adults detailing the who/whats/wheres of checking out books and your library card. And then something the librarian said triggering something in my brain. The librarian was telling the group how their library records of what books they’ve checked out is kept completely private. If I’m not mistaken, the Plainville Public Library was part of Library Connection v. Gonzales (http://www.aclu.org/national-security/librarians-nsl-challenge).

The library tour group went downstairs to explore the children’s department and I found a Christmas CD that hopefully will not make Blacklight and our guests roll their eyes too badly. And then my library bag, which just had a CD and a single book into began to scream for mercy…

The books:

  • Echoes Maeve Binchy
  • 101 Places NOT To See Catherine Price
  • Mildred Pierce James M. Cain
  • The Thoughtful Dresser Linda Grant
  • Shelf Discovery Lizzie Skurnick
  • At Large Anne Fadiman
  • Snark David Denby
  • Yeah, I Said It Wanda Sykes
  • A Guide to Elegance Genevieve Antoine Dariaux
  • Scroogenomics Joel Waldfogel
  • The Big Book of Irony Jon Winkour
  • A La Cart Hilary Carlip
  • My Mother’s Wedding Dress Justine Picardie
  • The Meaning of Sunglasses Hadley Freeman
  • I Like You Amy Sedaris
  • Wigfield Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert