The Bawdy Cloister

My Incrediburgable Birthday

I can't remember the last time I had a themed birthday party.  I know when I turned 5 I had a Muppet party.   I had a party at Burger King when I turned 6.  When I turned 8, I had a Ziggy cake.  On my 10th birthday, my mom bought a generic rainbow cake we shared with the movers.  We moved from Texas to Georgia the next day.  I think that was the last of my childhood birthday parties.

Throughout my 20s, birthdays were late night parties, drinking caipirinha and dancing to samba.  The last few years, birthdays meant camping trips on the beach or a trip abroad.  But this year, with my mom and Mrs. T's mom both in town, an old-fashioned birthday party was inevitable.

I returned home from work to find my dining room completely covered in Burger Chef confetti and a giant Burger Chef cake on the table.

 

Mrs. T went to town on the cake.  The hat was strawberry shortcake and the face was apricot shortcake.  The eyes and mouth were chocolate chips, and the tongue a strawberry slice.

The presents were great too, including a Call Upon Yoda from Mrs. T and a bottle of Metaxa Private Reserve from my Evil Little Brother.  The mother-in-law even brought me a Rin from Japan.  Hurray for family!

  Yoda meditates beside the Rin.

What's a metaphor if you don't use it?

I was in the bookstore the other day and noticed Clive Cussler on the shelf.  His books will always remind me of my trip to Greece some ten years ago.  At the time, my friend Guy was reading Cussler's Inca Gold....

Every morning at breakfast he would share the most entertaining bits gleaned from the previous day's reading....."Okay everyone, gather round and listen to this...

'The inside of her one-piece black Lycra swim suit was nicely filled by an hourglass figure with an extra twenty minutes thrown in for good measure.'"

We'd groan at the reading, finish breakfast, then head out to discover what the new day had in store (and on sale.)

Taking the Square Route

It looks like Wendy's is finally getting their marketing act together.

Most folks know the fate of last year's Mr. Wendy campaign.  You remember, the night stalker who'd break into your house and remind you that the Wendy's drive-thru was open until midnight or later...

   Hated by nearly everyone, especially Phil Nelson, Mr. Wendy's demise was welcomed and well publicized.  The campaign that followed was no less creepy.  They resurrected Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's, who died of liver cancer in 2002.  The new ads were pitched as reflections on Thomas' business philosophies, but resulted in sentimentally mournful 30-second memorial services.

I had just about given up hope.  Then tonight, I was watching TV and saw these little guys in a commercial....

Meet Smart Square & the animated circle people. 

According to Sharon Ehrlich, co-creator of Smart Square, the idea arose while pondering the question, "Where do Wendy's square-shaped hamburgers come from?"  The answer was simple: square cows.  They created a back-story about Square Cow who lived among a herd of round cows.  Of course, Square Cow liked to do things differently and that made him special.  But lessons were learned...people lose their appetite when they're creeped out, so having a masochistic Square Cow demanding from people, "Eat me!" would probably be a bad idea.  So, as Ehrlich succinctly states, "we decided to take the cow out of Square Cow."  And a new advertising character was born!

For more fun with Smart Square and the animated circle people, visit their website.

For my Readership in the Greater Chicago Area

Come see the Blue Moon Studio Theater cabaret! (And try to guess which of these great talents is my cousin!)

Harmony France, Eric Martin, Leah Morrow and Derrick Trumbly have started a new theater company called the Blue Moon Studio Theater. They are planning to do The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) and the Rocky Horror Show this upcoming year.

They are having their second Cabaret at Davenport's piano bar. This cabaret presents songs from the Broadway stage and the American popular song book.
Featuring the vocal stylings of:

Leah Morrow
Marleah Liddle
Adrienne Stoner
Jess Godwin
Nicole Pearce
Harmony France

When: Monday, August 15th
         9:45 pm (doors open at 9:30 pm)
         Cover: $10/2 drink minimum (this includes soda)
         VIP Members: $5/2 drink minimum (VIP? What's that?
         cabaret.bluemoonstudiotheater.com)

Where: Davenport's Piano Bar
          1383 N. Milwaukee
          Chicago
          773-278-1830
          www.davenportspianobar.com

***In order to sufficiently staff the bar to serve you, please call
Davenport's to reserve your seats.
     (Don't worry, you are still welcome even if you don't, but it is
strongly recommended!)***