Thanks, everyone, these suggestions are great. This party has been weighing so heavily on my mind for weeks that I guess I forgot the obvious thing, that kids like the games and running around more than anything else. I love the bubble wrap idea, TedW!
As for the magician- that's a promise I made almost a year ago, so I can't really wiggle out of it (although the 'magician' may end up being a neighbor in a funny hat.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 11:29 AM on April 19, 2008

Slaughterhouse Five
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 2:37 AM on March 11, 2008

Thanks zadcat! That's exactly what I was looking for!
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 8:08 PM on March 8, 2008

Not bills or necessary expenses

Ah, to be young again...
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 9:42 PM on March 2, 2008

There's some similar action in the Fleischer short Bimbo's Initiation, but no staircase.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 9:37 PM on February 27, 2008

Four words: Honeyed Orange Ginger Muffins. Good use for your pupl, your rinds and your juice and man oh man, are they ever deeeeeeeee-LISH.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 8:15 PM on February 26, 2008

Tina Turner in 1984 with her Private Dancer album, although you could argue that she was only a has-been in the US before that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:18 AM on February 25, 2008

(oops, I just reread your question. Tina Turner may not have been much of an actress, but as comeback stories go, hers is pretty extreme.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:36 AM on February 25, 2008

Marlene Dietrich had a huge career turnaround in the early '50 when she started doing caberet.
It's hard to find actresses that have had turnarounds as dramatic as certain actors, like Travolta or even Leslie Nielsen. I think that says more about commercial fimmaking in the US than it does about actresses here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:44 AM on February 25, 2008

Well, in that case I'd always go with the plural: There are two oranges and a bunch of bananas in the fruit bowl.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:15 AM on February 25, 2008

I should have mentioned that gnfti's image is a crop of a bigger illustration from the Dutch daily de Volkskrant. I was hoping to see a clean version of the whole painting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 6:08 PM on February 24, 2008

Thanks null terminated! You rock!
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 6:45 PM on February 24, 2008

When I'm in that spot, I slice the leftovers as thinly as possible (easier to do with cold meat, btw) and simmer them in a 1/2 cup of beef broth for a few minutes on the stove. You might add a little heavy cream to the slices and broth to make a sauce, then season it to taste. Makes a nice sandwich or pasta topping.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 6:29 PM on February 24, 2008

I'll second Monty's, but I suggest you phone first. There's also a Ruth's Chris Steak House ((818) 346-1005‎) at the Topangs Promenade South, and I really like Charlie G's on Ventura in Tarzana ((818) 344-1191), although their prices are a bit steep. Amazing crabcakes, tho'!‎
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:39 PM on February 23, 2008

lemuria, that sounds like it could be right, except that I remember this story being a stand alone book- maybe one in a series. I'll google the author and see if I can find more info. Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:11 AM on February 11, 2008

Well, after some hardcore googling, t turns out that the book I'm looking for is called Christophe in Egypt: The Odyssey of Pharaoh's Cat by Inge Fischer. Ridiculously similar plots, and both books were published around the same year! Thanks to everybody for the input- Time Cat sounds like a lot of fun too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:46 AM on February 11, 2008

And there's a nice audio version of the story in this Selected Shorts collection. Some day there may even be a movie.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 11:10 PM on February 7, 2008

Absolutely Fabulous, Good Times, Murphy Brown, Our Miss Brooks, Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Kath and Kim
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:45 PM on January 26, 2008

Maude?
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:47 PM on January 26, 2008

I apologize for not reading your 'more inside.' All of my examples are dated.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:52 PM on January 26, 2008

Ah, the stealth baptismal! My Catholic mom was obsessed with dunking my boy. She never got her chance (although I'm pretty sure she did douse him with Holy Water while I was shopping at Ralph's- I can still smell the burning) (I kid!) The thing is, her desire to have him baptized meant nothing to me other than a perceived power play and I jumped right into the fray, fool that I am. But it never meant a thing to my son; the whole baptismal drama belonged entirely to my mom and me, and it was... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 4:00 AM on December 31, 2007

Another option is to make a big bowl of brown rice (TJ's and most groceries have nice brown and wild rice mixes) and use that as a base for fried rice dishes. You can add anything, but man, I love chicken fried rice with thai peanut sauce.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:16 AM on December 29, 2007

As far as somewhat little known/read books that ended up having a big impact on popular culture, I'd add the ReSearch titles, esp. "Incredibly Strange Films", "Modern Primitives" and "Pranks". Also "The Book of the SubGenius", every issue of Raw, and, to second Sourwookie, back issues of the National Lampoon. ("Eat My Shorts" was a direct lift from Doug Kenney, for heaven's sake.) Oh, and "Army Man", too, as long as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 5:46 PM on December 26, 2007

I'm not quite sure if this is really cult or not, but Geek Love was one of those books that bookstore geeks like me liked a lot in the late 80's that seems to have developed a wider readership.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:22 AM on December 27, 2007

One more book comes to mind, but again, I'm not sure if it can really be called a cult book: Cold Dog Soup by Stephen Dobyns. I read it years ago, and was utterly stunned to see an indie film adaptation on IFC a while back. Is anyone else familiar with this one?
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 9:49 PM on December 28, 2007

I should have mentioned that I do have dough hooks- that was a basic requirement for me. Caddis, that bums me out. A friend told me that I could safely mix meatloaf with a couple quick pulses of the dough hooks. (Then again, I've never tried her meatloaf...) Thanks for the recipes, DC and Lyn Never, they sound delicious. I'm making a light rye bread right now, and the mixer is rattling in a way that's making an upgrade to a KitchenAid a more attractive idea by the minute...
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 11:36 AM on December 27, 2007

wryly, I set my 'other' brand mixer at "fold", a slightly lower speed than "knead". The bowl on this mixer revolves, and heavier loads make it clatter. I hope this is just a design flaw and not an indication that the motor is under too much strain. The rye dough I mixed up earlier seemed much too sticky to me at first, but I just folded it for the second rise and it was suprisingly smooth and elastic. I totally winged the recipe but here's what I have so... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:30 PM on December 27, 2007

One of my big problems with clearing out our place has been my attachment to the idea of clutter. I come from a pretty undemonstrative family, so as a kid I always What a wastefelt like an archeologist exploring all the junk drawers/cabinets/basements of my little clan. Novelty Holy Water decanters! X-rated swizzle sticks! Strange booze decanters and mystery hinges! But that's not my junk drawer. My junk drawer is quite literally crammed with junk, although it's taken me a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 1:02 AM on December 27, 2007

(please excuse that first inappropriate 'what a waste'- clearly, typing will never be something people describe as one of my 'gifts')
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 1:10 AM on December 27, 2007

Puzzle Zoo in Santa Monica carries an interesting selection of toys and games, as well as some collectible figures. Gets crowded fast, though. Tom's Toys in Beverly Hills and in Montrose (just north of Glendale) is a terrific toy store with a great selection of Playmobil and Bruder trucks. The Montrose location on on the wonderful Honolulu shopping street- get there early on Saterday for the Farmer's Market and you might even run into an antiques vendor with an old manual typewriter!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 5:53 PM on December 20, 2007

Can he mean Leo Ryan? It's a strange reference, though, because Ryan visited Jonestown (and was murdered there) on behalf of families who had lost members to the cult.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 11:10 AM on December 18, 2007

Pollomacho , the quoted line is
A candidate who followed the "Rev." Jim Jones to a Kool-Aid resort in Guyana (don't forget that this did actually happen)
I'm sure he meant a specific candidate, but didn't fact check himself. I also really doubt it was Dymally, but I'm sure when and if Hitchens responds to the question he'll use that as his source. Like desuetude, I suspect he actually meant Brown but misremembered the gov.'s relationship... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 2:42 PM on December 18, 2007

Megafly: Again, here's the line in question-
A candidate who followed the "Rev." Jim Jones to a Kool-Aid resort in Guyana (don't forget that this did actually happen)

If he hadn't made a point of reminding his readers that this was an actual event, then there would be no reason to ask who he was referring to in the first place.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:13 PM on December 18, 2007

And I somehow discounted the parenthetical as Hitchen's typical hyperbole.

Hyperbole or not, he made an assertion that an actual, not hypothetical, candidate "followed the "Rev." Jim Jones to a Kool-Aid resort in Guyana". That's the point of the OP's question- Who was this candidate?
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:35 PM on December 18, 2007

My dad is very much in the same boat as your grandfather. I sent him a bonsai last year and he's really enjoyed it. It's just labor intensive enough to keep him focused, and caring for a living thing (that doesn't need to go for walks) has meant a lot to him.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 9:18 PM on December 17, 2007

Yes, for soaping up my nether regions in the shower* prior to rinsing. I also use the nylon scratchy thing for exfoliating, and a Wonder Cloth for my face over the sink. Raised in Chicago, live in Los Angeles.

*and then they go straight into the wash- no poopy washcloths hanging around my shower stall thankyouverymuch
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 7:36 PM on December 17, 2007

amro, my dad called them 'washrags' too. He also called hankies 'snotrags', because he was super-classy that way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 7:39 PM on December 17, 2007

The Pretenders, 2000 Miles
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 4:12 AM on December 16, 2007

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to thank you, paulsc and a robot made out of meat, but your responses shook me up quite a lot. I was taking both dilantin and phenobarbital during those years, and I'm pretty sure I was misdiagnosed. The effects that robot quoted cast a light on the haziness I went through during grade school. Very unsettling... but thanks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 6:39 AM on December 11, 2007

I'm not sure this would exactly fit your criteria, but Brave Combo and Tiny Tim's album Girl has a jazzy hipsterish cover of "Stairway to Heaven" and a bossa nova styled "Hey Jude" that always cheer me up. I know the pairing sounds like the lamest novelty act ever, but it's actually a really charming record- scroll down for musical samples.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 9:12 PM on December 7, 2007

This is purely anecdotal, but I've known 2 people who tried the hypnosis route and found it to be a temporary solution, at best.
Have you tried Chantix? I'm a bit wary of any course that includes prescription drugs, but my husband tried this (I believe you're required to also take weekly classes under a doctor's supervision) and it's been quite effective for him so far. Raging constipation appears to be the big drawback, though.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 12:32 PM on December 3, 2007

The Kappa Mikey character looks like an interpretation of the fat outline Cartoon Network style (think PowerPuff Girls, Two Stupid Dogs, Fairly Odd Parents) that became popular in the 90's with Hanna Barbara-influenced CalArts animators like Genndy Tartakovsky.
BTW, thanks for that facefault link, interesting stuff!
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 11:49 AM on December 3, 2007

Well, what if the twins are by nature prone to Devil's advocacy, they expect moments of profound irregularity, and they tend to talk to themselves anyway? You might end up with a person who is completely comfortable with yakking away at him/herself.
You didn't ask whether the conversation would be dull and painfully, eternally self referential. Hell might be other people, but hell with your parallel universe twin would be MetaHell. Talk about your tedious flameouts.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 2:45 AM on December 2, 2007

Nothing beats DListed for good, snarky fun.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 3:43 PM on November 28, 2007

Go read this comment. I'll wait.

.....

There's something about the inexplicable appearance of the overly calm stranger in an inappropriate context, who knows you're aware of them, maybe even inviting your gaze, intent on carrying out... something. It's that sociopath idea, I think. Someone perfectly normal appearing, but to whom none of the rules apply.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:42 PM on November 26, 2007

I'm not sure I understand your question. Do you want blogs by writers who are car/child/pet-free by choice & who write about that choice, or do you want blogs that avoid mention of cars, kids and pets because the writer(s) don't happen to have those things in thier lives?
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 5:17 PM on November 23, 2007

When I was growing up in Chicago, it was usually on the table by 2:00. And the typical Sunday 'dinner' was always eaten at noon. I still don't understand why, except that tradition demanded it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:07 PM on November 22, 2007

Oh man, 5k? Really? The site you linked has a full calender of 'seminars', which looks very multi-level marketing to me, and the homepage is jargon central. I'd be very, very wary.

Which is my way of saying I'd run away screaming. This might be worth reading to your wife.
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 7:58 PM on November 20, 2007

I use these on my son all the time.

Eat your lunch, honeybunch.
Put on your jeans, butter beans.
Shake your bacon, Howard Chaykin! (meaning, let's get going. sorry Mr Chaykin.)
Outta bed, logeyhead!
Off to school, vestibule!
Brush your teef, Keef!
What's your bummer, Joseph Strummer?
Chew your food, Evinrude!

Huh, I just realized that most of those are commands. The rhymes are a sugarcoat, it seems!
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 2:50 PM on November 12, 2007

There's an added bonus to buying a crockpot with a good removable ceramic insert: you can use the insert with the lid to bake amazing crusty bread in your oven. Put the ceramic insert into your oven and preheat at 500 degrees. Drop your risen dough into the insert, give it a few squirts with a spray mister, and plop on the lid. After about a half hour you'll have a spectacular round loaf. The crock pot works like an oven within your oven, providing even heat and locking in moisture while... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by maryh at 10:03 AM on November 11, 2007