Wow, I am having some trippy flashbacks to being a sad, skinny kid in Denver in the 80s. Except, thanks to this rad discussion on Boing Boing, I feel sort of happy and sentimental about it all. In fact, now that I think about, Denver was just the sort of weird, down and out place where really interesting kitsch and counterculture flourished like mold in a petri dish. Ah, petri dishes! Now I am thinking about the science unit in 4th grade, when we grew spores and did experiments with mealworms. I named my mealworm Ben, after my next door neighbor / boyfriend Ben Thompson.
I think I may have just this moment passed through some critical adult rite of passage when childhood memories suddenly go from being embarrassing and painful to nostalgic and bittersweet.
(Thanks to Chris for the link.)