Current mood:	tired
Entry tags:	eccentrics, family, kid fu, silliness

Family Events & My Old Mama
My family has a clump of birthdays in April/May -- six out of seven in the immediate family! My mom got her gift from me early when we went to a performance of THE LION KING on-stage at Bass Concert Hall.

So we've had birthday brunches for the past two Sundays. Last week, I blew my phlegmatic and eccentric brother Andrew away with a gift he was dying for but didn't even know existed. He's the guy who's a Vincent Price completist. It's his goal to own a copy of everything with Vincent Price in it. He's already got all three books written by the man, plus his daughter's biography. He's got about 25 DVDs or video tapes of various movies.

For this birthday, I went online to Movies Unlimited (who, despite their claim of the widest selection of old films, doesn't bother to actually produce them for sale -- always claiming they have to back-order because their blank VHS tapes are on order, and some things don't come on DVD) and got a DVD of an unholy piece of crap: THE BRADY BUNCH VARIETY HOUR. The Brady Bunch! He's watched it and claims it's the bestest thing evah. It has the family, with a fake Jan*, in glittering leisure suits dancing and singing. Vincent Price has a few minutes as an apartment neighbor who seeks ghosts (there seems to be a sitcom running through part of each show).

But the surprise Andrew got was a DollTV limited edition action figure I found on amazon.com. Who knew there was a Vincent Price doll? Andrew didn't until he opened his gift. It's VP dressed as the benign magician in THE RAVEN, with Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff, a story inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. Today Andrew showed me scenes from the movie (which of course he owns) and just how authentic the clothing on the doll is. White brocade shirt? Check. Purple, fur-trimmed cape? Check. Ornate brooch? Check. Funky, scarf-wrapped fez? Check. Prissy Vincent Price mustache? Check.


The Vincent Price action figure -- one of only 5000 made. Next to it is the Brady Bunch Comedy Hour DVD I also gave Andrew this year.

After the meal at TGIF off Slaughter Lane, my 13-year-old niece and 14-year-old nephew convinced me they really needed some shopping, and the Southpark JP Penney's was just around the corner....


New clothes. Heather models her new peach top. Shane, usually attired in a t-shirt and athletic shorts, is very dressed up, for him.

The itch to shop was satisfied with four babydoll tops (cute-ish, but I hate the cheap fabric that's popular) for the niece. And a dress-up Polo shirt, undershirts, long jeans and new belt for the nephew. Kids at this age are so whimsical in their tastes. Shane will not wear a t-shirt unless it has something sports-related on it. Then it has to be sports that he knows and likes of a team he likes in a color he likes. It's a big deal he got long pants -- he'll wear those nylon athletic shorts in 30-degree weather. He didn't want to buy the polo shirt, said it fit too tight in his shoulders (no, it was loose-ish). After we haggled about that, I off-handedly said, "That shirt makes you look like you've been working out for football." Whereupon he immediately said, "Okay, I'll take it."

So it was gratifying that as soon as they were back at grandma's house, both kids had to put on their new clothes!

*Brady Bunch Hour trivia: When Eve Plumb wouldn't commit to five seasons of this crappy show (It only lasted for 9 episodes anyway), they had to find a new Jan. Kathy Hilton, mother of Paris Hilton, was one of two finalists for the new Jan! The other girl got it...