Obsessions

Ah, DVD is so great. While eating my scrambled egg this morning I watched about fifteen minutes' worth of LOTR, selected from different points in the movie with the easy touch of a button. Chose:

- "Shortcut to Mushrooms" (hobbits, cliff, tumble!)
- "Pass of Caradhras" (Legolas walks on snow--very subtle but true to book; Aragorn cuddles Sam and Frodo, just to keep them warm I'm sure)
- "Bridge of Khazad-Dum" ("YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" *whip-snag*, *fall* "Noooo...!"--that was very Luke-Skywalker of Frodo, wasn't it?)
- "Departure of Boromir" (he's gripping Aragorn's shoulder, then he's not, then he is, then he's not, then he is; is this a film flub?)
- Subsequent near-drowning experience of Sam. I agree with reviewer on Salon.com who suggested that the shot of Frodo's hand plunging into the water and grasping Sam's wrist (and Sam's grasping back, after a moment) will enter the annals of "great and famous film moments."

Anyway, it's clear that Tolkien has catapulted near to the top of my life's obsessions so far, in a mere few months. This got me thinking about what my other serious obsessions have been. And by "serious" I mean that I talk about them way too much, and I sometimes get frustrated and start cursing the stars that I couldn't have been involved in them somehow. (Like the hopelessly enamored city councilman in 'Waiting for Guffman': "It's just so GOOD, I mean did you SEE--aaagh!! DAMN I wish I was in this production!")

So the other obsessions, what were they...( Oh, do tell. )

Vanity Survey

Lift, fill out, pass around...

1. Feature you like best about yourself: Torso
2. Feature you would permanently change about yourself: I would opt for a flawless complexion
3. If hair dye worked exactly like you wanted, your hair would be: A brown slightly lighter than chocolate, with a glint of red in the sun
4. If contact lenses weren't a bitch, your eyes would be: Lime green
5. Beauty item you can't live without: Eyelash curler
6. Beauty item you keep around but hardly ever use: Nair
7. Beauty item you will never ever use again: Rusk str8 -- I'm sure it works, but it smells horrible, like the cheapest, strongest perfume imaginable. (Thus I also veto any other product that smells similar.)
8. Celebrity you most resemble: Lea Thompson ("Caroline in the City"...)
9. Celebrity you wish you most resembled: Liz Hurley
10. Celebrity who needs to be publicly whipped for their fashion sense: Cher. Or Gwyneth Paltrow.
11. Tip about hair care you would like to pass along to the masses: Unfortunately, the expensive styling products and creams really do make a difference.
12. Tip about makeup you would like to pass along to the masses: Don't be like me and wait till you're 25 before figuring out how to pluck your eyebrows.
13. Tip about fashion you would like to pass along to the masses: Trousers that are several sizes too large, or hang from you as if they were, flatter nobody.
14. Worst fashion phase the world has ever gone through: This isn't the *worst*, but I really dislike that era in the Victorian years where women wore those dumb clusters of curls on top of their ears, and no makeup, and waistlines so high the skirts looked like maternity wear.
15. Worst fashion phase you personally have ever gone through: About 1988-1992: the Poison/Warrant/Bon Jovi years. Enough said.
16. Dream fabric you would always wear if the weather permitted: Cotton, silk, or cashmere.
17. Fabric you hate more than any others: Synthetics that crackle like a lightning storm when you take them off.
18. What feature of your appearance people compliment you on most: Hair
19. What feature of your appearance you think they ought to compliment you on: Eyes
20. At what point should parents step in and stop their child from looking unstylish?: Before formal events at least. I wouldn't recommend intervention on a daily basis; only if you're going somewhere special.
21. Have your parents ever done this to you, and if so, what was the offense?: Yes--Mom rightly enough warned me, my freshman year of high school, that to wear a ruffly, too-big, lavender prom dress from the 1970s to a homecoming dance in about 1990 would not be a good idea.
22. Is it better to be overdressed or underdressed? (i.e., too formal or too casual): Depends on my mood, but probably overdressed more often.
23. Style feature of the opposite sex that draws your eye first: Hair
24. Which is worse: overpowering perfume or B.O.?: Perfume. At least B.O. doesn't cause an allergy attack.
25. Insert your own question here...