The Lord of the Things

Woo hoo! Break out the microwave popcorn, the 99 cent Milkduds and the frosty mugs of Coke — Lord of the Rings is out!

Yes, I did just purchase the widescreen DVD (Shane, Target has it for $16.99 this time too, so don’t screw up and get the full-screen version like you did with Harry Potter.). Yes, I did go out of my way to purchase some Milkduds at the grocery store. Yes, I am the biggest dork of all time.

Speaking of grocery stores, do all of them put the candy right next to the cereal? Having an increasingly-independent child of my own who will one day peruse the cereals aisles with much joy (as I once did), I find this to be completely insidious. Those of you who are scoffing at my extreme naivete are no doubt looking forward to my outrage over toy commercials during cartoons, obvious product placement in kids’ movies, etc.

Why should I be surprised at the cravenness of the advertising industry, anyway? After all, I did butter my bread from the feet of its evil throne for two years, right? Plus, after witnessing the all-out, no-holds-barred marketing of infant formula over breastfeeding (my own breasts’ advertising agency went under some time ago), I should be ready for anything. Sometimes capitalism just surprises me with its industriousness.

Anyway, I’m hoping for a more enjoyable experience watching the Lord of the Rings tonight. The first time I saw it, it was on mine and Tim’s anniversary and I was out of practice seeing a movie. All the extreme closeups nearly made me ill. Maybe our little 27-inch screen will not be as overwhelming.