Here’s the deal. Every day here at the Metro Times, our mail delivery includes CDs, books and all sorts of other promotional items. A lot of it we can use and review – local-interest music, DVDs, etc. But we also get a lot of weird and whacky items that just kinda build up. So that’s where this idea came from. Each week (or at least most weeks) I’ll gather up some of the more interesting, freaky and brow-furrowing promo pieces and offer them up here for you. I could be about to show you anything.
On that note, feel free to send us anything to Brett Callwood, 1200 Woodward Heights, Ferndale MI 48220.
I love it when we receive kids books, and Thyra Heder’s <i>Fraidyzoo</i> (Abrams) is wonderful. The illustrations recall the work of Roald Dahl’s partner Quentin Blake, and the story is lots of fun. We learn about Little T (presumably a child Thyra) and her quest to recall why she’s scared of the zoo. Her family dress as everything from bats to whales, dinosaurs to unicorns, in a bid to solve the mystery. There’s even a fun twist at the end. The book is beautifully written and illustrated by Heder, and it’s as much fun for a parent to read as it is for a child to hear.
We also received the first three episodes of Kirstie Alley’s new TVland show <i>Kirstie</i>, due to air from December 4. Honestly, don’t bother watching even a second. This thing is painfully unfunny. The fact that the promo package was all fancy (a box that lights up when you open it – woooo) only highlights the fact that not enough money was spent on quality writers. The fact that it stars disgraced Seinfeld man Michael Richards only highlights how far he’s fallen. The fact that it stars former Cheers lady Rhea Perlman just makes you feel bad for her (her husband is in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – did he not offer her any advice?). And the fact that it features guest stars like John Travolta and Jason Alexander just feels like they’re desperately calling friends. Every line makes you want to punch your own face until you can’t hear it anymore. Nuff said.
