Rats and Found
After throwing out ANOTHER useless glue trap, I have decided to shop for the most painful and dangerous looking rat trap I can find to kill the little monster that's been running amok in my kitchen. If Home Depot has one with poison gas, hidden knives or exploding flame-throwers, I'm buying it immediately. Twice now I have awakened in the morning to discover glue traps full of... gray fur.
Earlier I went to a very cool little art show at Covivant gallery in Tampa; the art itself didn't really interest me that much, but I really enjoyed the performance from the founder of FOUND Magazine (Davy Rothbart). For years he's been collecting bits of social flotsam: discarded letters, photographs, diaries, blackmail notes, tapes, to-do lists, lost pet posters, etc. These have been compiled into numerous magazine issues (and now a book) both funny and heartbreaking. His performance consisted of sharing some of the most interesting examples, some of which had us laughing hysterically
some of my favorites:
a math test where a kid answers all the questions with pictures and rhymes
a hysterically funny demo tape of some white kids making AWFUL rap songs like "Wave Yo' Booty in the Air", "Yo' Shit Be Up in My Face" and "Ass-Whomp Bustin' Out of Yo' Back Pocket" (I was crying)
a badly spelled letter from a son pleading with his father to keep in touch
a series of sarcastic class evaluations where students talk about how terrible the class was
a help wanted poster that reads: "Ever cut your skin for fun? sell your ass? sleep on the street? Do you like pain? Take heroin? If so LETS START A BAND call"....
a boy's poignant letter to his dead mother
a to-do list that includes "Get Baptized" and "Start Drinking"
I really got a kick out of reading the book since it presents such a fascinating and varied peek into other's lives. Now I'm tempted to pick up every stray piece of paper I find, just to see if there's something interesting on it...
Earlier I went to a very cool little art show at Covivant gallery in Tampa; the art itself didn't really interest me that much, but I really enjoyed the performance from the founder of FOUND Magazine (Davy Rothbart). For years he's been collecting bits of social flotsam: discarded letters, photographs, diaries, blackmail notes, tapes, to-do lists, lost pet posters, etc. These have been compiled into numerous magazine issues (and now a book) both funny and heartbreaking. His performance consisted of sharing some of the most interesting examples, some of which had us laughing hysterically
some of my favorites:
a math test where a kid answers all the questions with pictures and rhymes
a hysterically funny demo tape of some white kids making AWFUL rap songs like "Wave Yo' Booty in the Air", "Yo' Shit Be Up in My Face" and "Ass-Whomp Bustin' Out of Yo' Back Pocket" (I was crying)
a badly spelled letter from a son pleading with his father to keep in touch
a series of sarcastic class evaluations where students talk about how terrible the class was
a help wanted poster that reads: "Ever cut your skin for fun? sell your ass? sleep on the street? Do you like pain? Take heroin? If so LETS START A BAND call"....
a boy's poignant letter to his dead mother
a to-do list that includes "Get Baptized" and "Start Drinking"
I really got a kick out of reading the book since it presents such a fascinating and varied peek into other's lives. Now I'm tempted to pick up every stray piece of paper I find, just to see if there's something interesting on it...
posted by L at 9:33 PM
2 Comments:
I used to follow that Found site for a while, but it changed so seldom that it grew tiresome for me. Maybe I'll try it again if I can add it to my blog reader. I can't remember if it had an RSS feed.
If you try the rat traps, watch your fingers. If you happen to see a brand called Big Snap-E Rat Trap, it used be excellent (5 or 6 years ago when I was doing pest control). Keeps your fingers safe, pretty easy to set, it's strong, all that jazz. You can take a look at it at Big Snap E. As for who sells it, I see you can buy a 2-pack for $10--that price might sting a little, but it's probably worth it if you can get them in reasonable time. They do last a long time like the ad says. Or if you're a shopper, you might find it cheaper. Preferably, you do want 2 or more, anyway, so as to keep the rat jumping--they sometimes dodge the first one, then trip right over the next one! Use relatively slight dabs of peanut butter; though they like cheese, a hard cheddar can often be thieved from the mouse trap too easily. Peanut butter is a good bait because it has to be licked, licked, licked off, increasing the chance of a misstep! Whack!
Update: I caught the rat! yucko!
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