Oddities and Weezer

FYI I'm writing this from the very comfy king sized bed in my hotel room in Fairbanks. I'm on a work trip. For a conference. I'm like a real grown up.

I don't think it's a surprise that one of the top destinations on my bucket list is the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia and I have a not-so-secret dream to be in the circus and my Great Grandpa had a carnival ride - I like weird stuff.

Carny by blood.

Recently I started watching a show called Oddities on Netflix. It's a reality/documentary show about Obscura Antiques & Oddities in New York City. They buy and sell all kinds of weird stuff: taxidermy, shrunken heads, medical tools, carnival memorablia, etc. But watching the show has reminded me how much I like weird stuff like the things they sell.

When I was little my family took a trip to the Appalachian Mountains. It was a rainy afternoon and we were in Gatlinburg, TN. (One of the most touristy places I have ever been.) Thanks to a mutual family love of roadside attractions and a dislike for standing in the rain, we went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. It's full of great stuff, like the world's longer gum wrapper chain, a wax model of the world's tallest man, cow hairballs, and Feejee [sic] mermaids.

Feejee mermaid - half monkey/half fish. All awesome.

Taxidermy, in general, gives me the creeps. But in Valdez, AK I found this mounted "furry salmon." It doesn't give me the creeps. I think it's the fur?

I like that a lot of oddities are a little bit spooky. Or at least unnerving. Double exposed photos, are just that, double exposed. It's nothing sinister, but that doesn't make the ghostly images any less creepy.

In contrast to last week, this week's hot jam is heartwarming rather than heartbreaking - it's (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To by Weezer. There are a ton of things I love about this song: the parenthetical title, the clapability,  and awesome lyrics like The rest of the summer was the best we ever had/We watched Titanic and it didn't make us sad and You told me stories about your chickadees/They didn't like BB guns or stupid archery. In the romantic comedy version of my life this would be playing in the "Will they/won't they" montage. 

(Unfortunately I don't live in a romantic comedy, so this is a more accurate depiction of my real life. *Womp Womp*)

Bonus! Duet with Sara Bareillis here.