Merry Trashmas

Yesterday, bethje and I went up to New York to see John Waters' Christmas show, which we did last year as well. I had wanted to go a few other places in Manhattan as well, so we arrived there a few hours early. First, we stopped at Books of Wonder, a children's bookstore that has a fair amount of Oz stuff. Honestly, it seems that they de-emphasizing Oz a bit (I guess it just didn't sell that well, unfortunately), but they still have a better selection in that area than any other store I've been to. I picked up a comic adaptation of "A Kidnapped Santa Claus," Donald Abbott's Speckled Rose of Oz (which got pretty bad reviews from other Oz fans, but it was the only Baum-consistent Oz book there I hadn't read yet), and Mark Evan Swartz's Oz Before the Rainbow. I also noted that they had some copies of Phil Lewin's The Master Crafters of Oz, which I didn't buy because I already have it, but it was nice to see a more recent Oz book getting exposure. After that, we went uptown to Nintendo World, which is located in Rockefeller Center, making for a rather long walk. We stopped along the way at the Sanrio store in Times Square, which has kind of become a tradition for Beth, even though it's been some time since she's actually bought something there. They seem to have decreased their stock considerably anyway, and don't feature very many characters. I can understand why most stores only carry Hello Kitty, as she's obviously the most popular by far, but wouldn't you think a specialty store would have a little more variety? Anyway, I like going to Nintendo World because they usually have some new Nintendo-related toys, and yesterday I bought a stuffed Hammer Brother. I wish I knew someone else who would appreciate a gift like that, as I feel kind of guilty buying stuff for myself so close to Christmas. I've made a bit of a collection of toys like this by now, but I have nowhere to display them. By the way, the store also now has stuffed Wigglers and Cheep-Cheeps.

When therealtavie got out of work, we met her for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. I had a small pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms. Pretty good, but the crust was a little weird for me. For dessert, I had the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. After that, the three of us met Tavie's boyfriend Sean at B.B. King's in Times Square, which is where the show was. That's the same place it was last year, as well as where we saw Peter Noone a few weeks ago. Thankfully, they gave the four of us a booth this time, instead of cramming us in at a table with strangers. The show was similar to last year's, but he did add a few things. For instance, he mentioned how he met Justin Bieber, who told him, "Your 'stache is the jam!" He also discussed his proposal for a sequel to The Wizard of Oz, which was prefaced by a story about asking a kid if he liked the movie, to which the child replied, "No, it's basically just walking." Just wait until this kid sees Lord of the Rings!

We hit a traffic jam on the New Jersey Turnpike on the way back, so we ended up getting back home much later than expected. And really, that's about all there is to tell. Well, except maybe that I retrieved all seven fyggs in Dragon Quest IX, and now I have to chase some guy on a black dragon. Happy Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Yule, or whatever else it is you celebrate! I'm not at all ready for Christmas, but what else is new?