Friday, October 13, 2006



This is a photo from 1991 or 1992, during my sophomore year of college. It is from inside of the apartment I shared with 3 other guys. We all thought the Simpsons was the coolest thing on TV and watched it religiously. The Simpson's, then, came on at 8:30, on Thursday nights. One time we left the TV on when the Simpson's was over and what was on? Fox's new hit television show, Beverly Hills 90210. We were stoned and thoroughly entertained by the extraordinary level of cheesiness that was 90210. We were mystified and dumbstruck. Thus, Thursday nights became a night to watch the Simpson's (a show we perceived as cutting through the cheese) followed by an hour's worth of the hottest show on TV, featuring, Donna, David, Steve, Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, and Dylan. Thursday's became known as Cheese Thursdays and we'd dress in orange and yellow (the color of cheese), eat cheese products (cheesecake, Cheetos, Cheezwhiz, etc), invite friends, and watch TV. (Even now, though somewhat blurred by time,I maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of the show since Cheese Thursdays went on, essentially, until the show went off the air...though you can imagine how it faded in the same way the hotness of the show did.) The image you see above commemorates the first, official, Cheese Thursday. This a picture of a framed Bob Dylan poster that has been decorated with cheese illustrations. Across the top, are some illustrations of various kinds of cheese, including American, Blue, Swiss, Cheddar, etc. In the middle of the poster is large, hand drawn map of Wisconsin, the cheese state. Directly below it is a note that reads: "If you'd like to look at a more detailed map of Wisconsin, just ask! Thanks!" In the bottom righthand corner are some dictionary definitions of the following words: Cheese, Cheeseburger, Cheesecake, and cheesy. What's extra great (for me) about this picture is the double-exposed image to the right of the poster, hovering on the wall beside the phone. This is an image of a very cheesy guy who was around then. He is just like the cheesiest guy you know. He was overly friendly to everyone and kinda just didn't get it.

My girlfriend at the time was, the following summer, busted by her parents for smoking pot and doing acid. They told me that I had to tell my parents about the dope and acid and everything. The phone in this picture is the phone I called my parents on. Not a fun time then, but all pretty hilarious now.