I was home last weekend at my parents house in suburban Maryland. This is the same house that I grew up in so, over all this time, some things have changed (the Danish modern furniture and satellite chandelier are long gone) while some things remain the same (the basement is still decorated like an English pub). Yet one thing you’d except should change quite often is the food in the pantry. Well, while foraging for ingredients to make dinner one night, I found some Vintage Food that, no joke, was from the mid-1970’s. Check out this old school box of Shake 'n Bake, with no standard nutritional labeling and no UPC code!
This was not the only item I found. There was also a box of Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix (29 cents!) which actually had a picture of “Betty Crocker” on the side panel. Granted, it was the 1970’s working woman update (no apron, hair up), but when was the last time you actually saw Betty Crocker as a fake-real person pictured on a box? If you are under 30 you might be going, uh, Betty Crocker is a real person? Yeah and so was Duncan Hines.
Granted, I found the Vintage Food way up on the top shelf where only someone who is 6'4" can easily reach. So I honestly don’t think my mom even knew it was there. I mean, the last time I can recall she was shakin’ and bakin’, I was in high school. I suggested she call the Smithsonian regarding these items but, in the meantime, I think I might put them on eBay. I'll let you know what happens...
It's official....after 400-some years, we now know that this is what William Shakespeare really looked like. And you know what? He doesn't look that bad. Certainly a lot cuter than that pic in my high school English text book which basically had him looking like my high school English teacher. Yeek!
But seriously, the thing that struck me the most was that, confirming all those rumors, Shakespeare looks kinda gay. Maybe some of that is because he is sporting the classic look of the Williamsburg hipster homosexual. If you remove the frilliness of ole England and just consider the face, the guy's a total mod Mary. Check it out; he is ridiculously pale, he has a huge geeky forehead, and, most importantly, he is sporting some trendy facial hair.
I mean really....I think I saw this guy at Sugarland last Saturday, wearing a skinny tie & dancing his ass off to "If You Seek Amy". Maybe that's why they call it Wiliams-burg?
While I was visiting my folks last weekend, my dad told me he has started reading the obituaries. He says you never know who you might see. So I decided to give the local Obits a glance and this picture caught my eye. Now I don't know if this dearly departed lady is an actual relative to the Jonas Brothers. But at least God showed some grace by calling Mother Jonas "to her greater rewards" (as the Jesuits used to say) in 2002 while the boys in the band were still in grade school, thus sparing from seeing her surname sullied in her lifetime by association with Jonas Brothers cheesy brand of quasi-Christian. Disney-fied "rock".
Yes it's true--I am no fan of Jonas Brothers. This puzzles those who've assumed these popstar teens, with their beautiful hair and hyper songs, would be totally up my cultural alley. I mean, I loved the Cassidy Brothers and the Carter Brothers so why not JB? Well, here's the deal; they've been on my Shit List ever since they covered this really awesome Brit-pop single called "That's What I Go To School For" and censored the original lyrics about lusting for your teacher. In the Jonas version, Joey have a crush on a senior! Whaaaaa?!?
So they're, like, totally and seriously forever banished to teen pop star purgatory for that one. In fact, I hope that one day they'll meet Mother Jonas at the pearly gates and she'll scowl at their skinny jeans, so-called purity rings and rocked-out hair and send them straight to hell for ruining her good name. And God Bless her for it!
Hi all and a hearty welcome to my little corner of the blog-o-sphere. After years of being told by many of my friends that I know way too much about way too many random things and should probably find a more creative outlet for my interests than their ears, I've decided to do something about it and start up a blog. The name Hi-Fi Bri is childhood nickname that is still popular in some circles. The donuts come from Dunkin' and don't they look delicious!
So-what inspired me to finally take action? As I work on both a new book and my next film, I figured I might have a lot to report about those things as they develop. I used to have an Amazon blog but that was just about book stuff and (I can admit it!) was kinda boring. This blog will be more dynamic, informal and interesting and funny. :) Also, I realized having a blog would be an awesome way to procrastinate! Now, whenever I'm on the internets, I can say I'm just doing "research". Sounds much better that way, right?
So, other than my own stuff, what will I be writing about? Pretty much what it says at the top. Things that interest me, like good indie movies and noisy studio pix, roller coasters and the subway, television and a healthy serving of pop culture, all things New York and, of course, occasional items about donuts. Seriously. And whatever the hell else strikes my fancy. . . because it's my blog and it's freakin' me out! If you can name that film reference, you should subscribe to Hi-Fi Bri immediately. If you can't, you should still subscribe because, well, you've got a lot to learn. :)
I was home last weekend at my parents house in suburban Maryland. This is the same house that I grew up in so, over all this time, some things have changed (the Danish modern furniture and satellite chandelier are long gone) while some things remain the same (the basement is still decorated like an English pub). Yet one thing you’d except should change quite often is the food in the pantry. Well, while foraging for ingredients to make dinner one night, I found some Vintage Food that, no joke, was from the mid-1970’s. Check out this old school box of Shake 'n Bake, with no standard nutritional labeling and no UPC code!
