Birthday parties

About a month ago, I was knee-deep in planning a semi-surprise 30th-birthday party and simultaneously neck-deep in planning the launch of this site. The conditions were far from ideal for pulling off a once-in-a-lifetime affair with handmade decorations and party favors (although I did manage to pull off homemade cupcakes). Anyway, as I was frantically scouring the racks of the local party-supply shop just before the big day, I absentmindedly picked up a shiny-lettered Happy Birthday banner, only to find out when I got home that it was actually a make-your-own whatever-you-want-it-to-say banner. Now, perhaps I am easily excited, but I think this is just the kind of detail that is even more fun to mess with because it flies under the radar. You expect the shiny letters to say "Happy Birthday", and then when they say, "You're a real dinosaur now," or "Hope you wore some butt pads because you're about to get spanked," it's even more subversive. Read More »