I'm razzled AND dazzled!

loss of appetite, nausea, weakness, and possibly death.

Which is not to say it's not an impressive film. This is one of the most Gilliamy of Terry Gilliam's films. Just...disturbing on obvious and subtle levels.

Difficult film to describe. You might start with "10-year-old girl left alone in her mindscape," but that really doesn't do it justice. Alice and Wonderland references abound. I don't think I caught them all.

And creepy as all heck.

AAAnyway--did any of my friends send me an entry for an e-scrabble game under the name "Fox"? I love scrabble, and foxes have their uses, but I don't recognize the link or the sender, so...

But hopefully not that box of chocolates.

An adorable little boy selling door-to-door junk to work his way through camp/school/a ski trip/the real world/I don't know stopped by last night. He caught me in a weak moment, so I bought a box of chocolates, for $5.

I don't mind contributing to a good cause bad cause someone's cause, and I wasn't expecting Girardelli's, but I wish I could find the wee blighter and, kindly, ask if he'd like to share the chocolates with me, I wouldn't wish them on my co-workers.

Scary part one: Grease stains showing through the cardboard box.

Scary thing two: The little quilted wax paper layer had some horrible brown crush on one corner.

I never really got to analyze scary thing three, the box leapt from my hands to throw itself to the floor. A lot of the chokkies were brittle and shattered like shrapnel. Others had that pale, buff-tan-matte color of chocolates that have been around a long, long time. Others had raspberry filling, which is inexcusable on its own.

In short, don't eat the chocolates.

This is more of a "pride in product" gripe than anything else, and a mild frustration at not being able to gently explain the joys of customer satisfaction to Mr. Entrepreneur.

Helpless in the Face of Chocolate,
Spotty

You know what they say--guests and toilet paper both start to wear thin after a few days...

Mother (holding one side of a wishbone): "I'm such a loser. I never win at these things."

Her boyfriend (holding the other side): "Me too."

(bottom of wishbone snaps off entirely, lands on the ground)