Tinfoil + Raccoon

Candles that Smell Like Jesus

Here's one that I missed from a couple weeks ago. A couple makes and sells candles that smell like Jesus--myrrh, aloe and cassia. I bet Jesus smelled like a head shop.  Incense with a hint of unwashed hippie.

Goofus and Gallant: MFA Style

Posey Galore (yes...snicker if you must) came up with a very amusing Goofus and Gallant list for MFA students, and promises one for library patrons soon.  Certainly you remember Goofus and Gallant from Highlights for Children, from those long, terrifying waits in the doctor's office.

This is Broken: Amusing and Informative

Ran across This is Broken on Boing Boing today.  In addition to providing browsing enjoyment and flow disruption to the masses, This is Broken is an earnest:

project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it.

8-bit Raccoon minus Tinfoil

Have some goofy fun with this psuedo arcade game, Raccoon Attack, from rawkandorroll.com via lisamarie's del icio.us games page.  Much needed and appreciated after a full week of sinus infection and flu. 

What were they thinking?: Wacky Wax

Clergy around the world are a bit het up over this season's nativity tableau at Madame Tussaud's wax museum according to this CNN article. 

In the tableau, Australian pop star Kylie Minogue hovers above the crib as an angel while "Posh Spice" Victoria lays her shawled head tenderly on Beckham's shoulder.

Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh star as The Three Wise Men. The shepherds are played by Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson, British actor Hugh Grant and camp Irish comedian Graham Norton.

WTF?

Scam-O-Rama

Here's a fun, irreverant clearinghouse for all those silly emails promising you millions of dollars in exchange for a small fee and your bank routing numbers.

For you crafty gals out there

I know you've all been dying to find that tampon angel pattern that's all the rage these days. Look no further!  I think that this could easily be adapted to the holidays season with a bit of red ribbon.

Tip o' the keyboard to Ankah! 

Hats hats hats!

Without question, the way that most folks find their way to this site (who aren't trying to get here)  is by searching for "types of hats."  Really....dozens of people have stumbled onto the Raccoon wanting info on hats.  Being the library/search wonk that I am, I'm made to wonder exactly what these folks are looking for.  A lot of these hits come from non-US versions of google, which puzzles me even more than the search itself.  Any ideas about this hat mania? 

Here are some sites about hats--types, styles and history:
Wikipedia
That Hat!
Ample Hats History--a commercial site, but bunches of styles, current and historic, identified
Hats in the Belfry--also commercial, but a fabulous, lengthy, "hat list'
Big Hats and Eroticism--may not be safe for work, depending on where you work

I know what you're getting for Christmas

I put up a post titled "Spongebob Watch" a week or so ago, in anticipation of the SpongeBob movie, not thinking about wrist watches when I came up with the title.  Well, a good number of the hits I've gotten the past week are from people looking for Spongebob-themed wrist watches--it seems to be a hot item this holiday season.  I feel sorta bad that those in search of SB memorabilia have been led here in error.  I'm also puzzled at how Tinfoil + Raccoon is getting such a high rank--#4 when it's googled.  I've been surprised at the number of hits I've gotten since opening shop here, but it doesn't seem enough to warrant coming in significantly ahead of Vh1 and Burger King.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should be selling Spongebob ephemera here.

If you've made it this far, Burger King is your source for low-end SB watches.  Skymall has a nice SB watch for grown-ups, and there are plenty to choose from at Nickelodeon.

Which reminds me of my favorite character watch that I've never worn.  In the mid-70s, my dad bought a Budman watch.  I coveted that watch like you wouldn't believe. It was so tuff--with a 3" black suede band.  I begged to be able to wear it, but my dad said that he was saving it for the first grandson or that it would be worth money some day or one of the other reasons he had for not letting me have the really cool stuff he brought home.  That watch stayed in its original case in my dad's underwear drawer, and then in my mom's underwear drawer after he died, until earlier this year when my mom decided I was old enough to have it.  Finally!  It seemed a shame to take it from the box where it had been for almost 30 years, with all the orginal documentation.  But I did.  And I put it on.  And damn if that suede didn't rub off on everthing.  It was such a disappointment.  The watch that I thought was the coolest thing ever just seemed kind of cheap and cheesy and fragile.  I put it back in the case and tucked it in my underwear drawer where it will likely sit, unworn, for another 25 years.

Picking the right recipe

I am a bit of a holiday grump. Since my early teens, I have frequently found myself in light-to-serious funks in the days immediately surrounding major Hallmark holidays--Valentines, H'ween and St. Pat's being the exception.  I've never entirely figured out why.  The closest I can come is my adoptee status.  I love my family, but I've always been the odd girl out and have never felt fully integrated.  It continued even after I found my birth mother and sisters and massive extended family.  Even after I had my own family.  All the ingredients I've tried to put together to make myself  whole have never quite come out exactly the way I thought they should.  There's still something missing, like a pumpkin pie without cinnamon, or cookies without that tiny pinch of salt.  It's okay, certainly palatable, but not wholly satisfying. It's certainly no one's fault.  It's just...there.

No one owes me perfection, but it is up to me to work toward it.  And since I don't believe that perfection is a "doable" goal, my task is to move backwards from what I see as imperfection.  I can look for a recipe that is within my abilities--something that might stretch me, but not one that will set me up for failure.  You know...muffins rather than croissants.  Even with a basic recipe, I need to remember to read it through and make sure I have the tools and ingredients on hand.  Before that, I need to make sure that the ingredients are even available to me.  Despite all the prep, things can still go wrong if I don't take responsibility for following the recipe.  I think I know what's next, skip steps, do things in the wrong order, forget to preheat.  Sometimes I take a risk and try to embellish or enhance by experimenting with something I know is tried and true.  Occassionally, there is great reward, but there's a good chance for disappointment.  Ultimately,  it's my responsibility to get it right. I also need to be mindful of the fact that even when I am certain I've done everything just so--the right ingredients mixed properly and cooked to exacting specifications--there are unknown variables that could affect the finished product.  If it's a recipe that's failed repeatedly, I need to look for a new recipe.   Otherwise, I take what comes out of the oven, admire and appreciate the best qualities of an imperfect product, and try again.