I hadn't thought of that, some of your birthday presents you might have to leave behind.  That would be frustrating.  A Laforet gift card would be the best gift, hopefully you get a whole bunch of them!

Janine is the luckiest sister in the world!  Even though you did eat some of her cookies, that is totally understandable.  I've done it myself when I've bought food presents for people.  I prefer it when people like different things than me.  Like, if someone asks me to bring them a Mars bar, that's fine.  Mars bars…

Surprise pizza!  I'm relieved!  Maybe your cousin felt guilty about not going out the day before?  Did you have a really sad face?  Even if you were trying to look happy, its just impossible to hide a sad face that isn't getting any pizza.

That's sad you didn't get your pizza.  I'm glad you had chocolate cake, though, and your melon soda mix.  But still, once I've gotten hungry for pizza its very hard to make that pizza hunger go away with anything other than pizza. I wish you had a Taco Nite to look forward to.

I'm mostly curious about the ornately framed pictures against that otherwise utilitarian wall.  I'm envious of that nice open space.  Unusual for an office, isn't it?  Hopefully its used for lunch entertainments, puppet shows or old timey slideshows about trips down the Amazon.

Yes!  Demand life models!  There must be lots of students who would like to model. Do you have a room with a stage and lights and stuff? I love saying gouache!  Does it sound the same in Japanese?

You are president of the art club!  What did you decide the club was going to do after summer vacation?  Are you planning a show? I'm glad you were there to take care of your injured friend.

That's the first thing I think of with Archie, too!  When I doodle him, I can't really picture his face except the tic tic toes on the sides of his head, ha ha!  Anyway, YES I got the comic!  Its as thick as a phone book!  Some of the stories are old, some new, its a good mix.

When I worked in a hospital kitchen I would always make coloured pancakes with the leftover batter using this industrial food dye they for some reason had in a forgotten corner of the storeroom in dust-covered gallon jugs.  After you've cooked a thousand pancakes, the last dozen just have to be crimson or you feel…

Why did your cousin not want you taking plates off the conveyor belt because its summer?  Is she worried that the conveyor belt food has been sitting out too long in the heat?  I was still thinking about your french toast sundae this morning!  Ice cream and french toast is just such a perfect combination, I can't…

I was pretty excited to see a colour movie of his for the first time just to finally find out the colour of the mat his titles are played over!

Ozu's mastery of the cinematic fart is really neglected in his hagiography! You are so right about Good Morning, its just thoroughly sweet from beginning to end.  And the beautiful colour scheme, all the earthtones and pastels!

The rape scene in Marnie convinced me that Hitchcock was a scumbag.

Claudia, that is exactly what matters to me most about the cartoon, making the characters seem real!  Showing little details about how they go about their day is so important, like Justine fussing over her baking or getting caught up in a book.  Or Blanche so excited to show off her knife throwing skills!  You saying…

And it reaches such a satisfying conclusion when * SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER *  the sun rises and we see Charles Laughton with the trident-like fireplace poker, resolutely keeping guard over Lillian Bond and Melvyn Douglas.  He plays so many sinister characters, it was so nice to see his heroic side!  And it was a very…

People sometimes say you can get a cold from a draft, I guess from a fan, but I thought colds were viruses?  Unless maybe breezes blow viruses up your nose?  But you can't be in a 35 degree house with no fan!

You aren't going to school while sick, are you?  And its so cruel you can't enjoy Crunky cookies now so soon after discovering them.  Are you having lemon ice to keep cool?

I'm looking at pictures of Crunky cookies now!  Google first insisted on showing pictures for CRUNCHY cookies instead.  I typed CRUNKY, google, not crunchy!  Anyway, its finally showing me crunky now like I asked.  That cookie is such a great invention!  People think Edison was a great inventor, but did he ever think…

I've never been on a log ride!  Was there a big splash at the end? I love those giant ferris wheels.  Even they can be a little scary, like when they stop it right when you are on top and the carriage keeps swinging a little bit and while waiting you notice some of the bolts and they don't really look like they're…

Aren't summer afternoon naps the best?  I love getting home from lugging groceries all sweaty and exhausted and then having a quick shower and collapsing into my pillow nest and just lying there in the shade with a fan blowing on me.  I wish I lived in the tropics, I would nap under a big beach umbrella for most of…