WTF Wednesday - Groovy

James Lileks is hilarious.

He writes well, and is in fact an inspiration to me (my Princess Pantha posts being the best example of that influence I think).

His specialty is finding bits of antiquated American culture and...

Well...

Making fun of it for our amusement (and his).

He does so with reverence, though, and that's why I think his writing strikes such a chord. It's not like he actually *likes* the yellow plaid horror depicted in the 70's decorating photos he unearthed from God knows where, but he recognizes its cultural significance.


Hideous but noteworthy

I used to love flipping through old comic books and magazines at the resale shop I used to regularly haunt when I was about 10 looking for advertising. I often wondered what would happen if I were to send in one of the mail-in slips and request my very own X-Ray Specs or what have you...

I'd like to think there's a kind of time-warp mail service that those letters might enter, and that someday I'd get a curious package via USPS bearing a return address that no longer exists.

Yes, that *is* how my brain works, why are you looking at me like that?

Anyway.

I really don't remember how I stumbled across him, really, just one of those things that happens when you're link-following on the interwebs, but I do remember it being about 8 or 9 years ago and I'm still a regular visitor so that tells you something, huh? Websites come and go, but Lileks is forever. Or something.

The best stuff (in my person opinion) can be found in the Institute of Official Cheer section of his website... go look, but be prepared to spend some time. Make some coffee, get yourself comfortable and don't say I didn't warn you about the time suck factor!

Some of my very favorites (clickable!)...


I wish it still existed, I would go in a heartbeat


Did anyone really eat this stuff? Probably.


This had TR laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall right off his chair


Uh... sexy?

All this has inspired me... I think there might be a new theme in the offing...

Time Waster Wednesday.

Oh yeah.