Potatoes in the Mist

Tonight D and I visited Rainer. He was quite glad to see me, and rubbed his head across the front of my jean jacket. He also looked at my hair as if he might want to eat it. He didn't, but some dogs actually do that (especially pugs). He stayed on my lap so long, snoring gently, that my legs fell completely asleep and I had to grab onto D's hand to get up. At the bookstore, D purchased Paddington on Top, a non-sexual book about Paddington Bear. He read me bits on the way home. I didn't know Paddington was from "darkest Peru," did you? Near our apartment, we saw a guy wearing a fluffy red felt hat with dice markings. It was probably inspired by Mystery; he recommends wearing unusual hats as a way to stand out. But if everyone takes his advice, the hats will become the norm, and presumably no longer effective.

By now, I'm sure you've all heard of Mystery, the bizarre pickup artist whose techniques include card games, top hats and insults. According to a friend, one of his "tricks" is to approach a woman and say, "I'm entranced by your beauty. Can I draw a picture of you?" Woman (bored): Yeah. Then Mystery draws a stick figure and writes beneath it: "Semi-pretty girl, Chicago [or wherever he is], 2007." This is supposed to ignite the woman's competitive nature -- "I'll make him like me," etc. I'm skeptical about this for any number of reasons. 1) Does anyone really like to be insulted to her face? I don't. 2) I thought men liked the thrill of the chase, not women. Do we really want to work that hard? 3) I don't like top hats. But I am a bit amused by the whole thing. For a very funny "fan" letter to Mystery, go here . Finally, I can't help but notice the plethora of "get him to marry you" and ...