If you’re a fan of this site then it should come
as no surprise when
I say everyone here at the office is a lil’ obsessive.
Lulu will stay up
until 2 am on a school night rereading Nancy Drew mysteries,
Chris
will see some Old Navy commercial, then turn to me and say, “Put
your shoes on. We’re going to buy Performance Fleece NOW!!!” and
me, well, it seems each week I’ve got a new crush. On Tuesday I
can’t
stop talking about Vinnie and his tampon cases and then by
Sunday I suddenly
must know everything about Claire Grogan of
80’s band Altered Images. Whatever
did we do before Google?
Actually, I remember. When I was a kid I would go to the library
each week and
carry out mini research projects. I’d scroll through
the microfiche to
learn all I possibly could about Doug and Suzie
Tompkins of Esprit or check out
back issues of any magazine that
mentioned the CK model Josie Borain.
But I’d also have these weird fascinations with people in my every
day
life, like Alice the lunchlady who had the word “Elvis” inscribed
in her gold tooth. Those subjects were more difficult to discover, but
not really.
I’d simply interview them for my zine “Hurricane.” We’d
talk up a storm! Turns out working at a high school is the perfect
set-up for
Elvis fans. This way you’ve got summers off and never
miss your yearly
pilgrimage to Graceland to honor the King on
August 16th, the day of his untimely
passing...
Point is, you can learn a lot from a crush. Best case scenario, your
life will
completely be changed. Try to remember that the next time
you see some cute boy
or girl on the bus and then let shyness get
the best of you. I’m living
proof! I met Chris and Lulu at a birthday
party in 1996 and now can’t imagine
what I would be doing without
them. There would be no fredflare.com,
that’s
for sure.
This year for my birthday those two gave me my very own column
which you are
reading right now! (Thanks, guys.) This is where
you’ll learn about some
of my all-time fave people as well as a few
new discoveries. I’m actually
pretty shy myself but here you’ll find
me to be a real people person! I’ll
give raves, I’ll gush and every
coupla weeks I’ll tell you a secret
crush... Email me anytime at keith@fredflare.com and
tell me yours. I’d
love to hear from you! Xoxox, Keith
I can’t believe I’m beginning this crushed-out
column with Scarlett Johansson because we’ve hated her for years! (That’s
when you know you got it bad for someone... Just admit it!) The negative associations
began a while back. One week we’re at the newsstand and there’s
this girl on her cell yelling to her bank because she can’t get her ATM
card to work. The following week we’re at the newsstand and cell phone
girl is on the cover of a magazine! We’re all jealous, like who does
she think SHE is?
Well, she is Scarlett Johansson, my new girlfriend! We just saw Lost
in Translation and it is truly is a dream. I wanted
to begin here because this movie perfectly illustrates what this column is
all about: you meet some random person, you
share some strange/special times and then everything is different after that.
Is it so superficial to not say much more, other than I think Scarlett looks
great? Some crushes ain’t too deep... but Scarlett certainly is! In this
film there’s tons of great footage of her wondering and wandering. She
ponders out windows and does a lot of lollygagging, but somehow it’s
compelling. You watch her ride an escalator and find yourself wondering what’s
on her mind...
Her smile is super cute, too! Oh, I’m so crushed out I can’t articulate...
It’s a beautiful film. Go see it! And take a date. It’s a good
date movie. Go call up that cutie and see what she’s doin’ tonite...
Or email me at keith@fredflare.com and
tell me your fave part. Be sure and add your mailing address! The best response
will win a free copy of LIT director Sofia Coppola's new mini book of photos
of her favorite things. She's another super talent I swoon for!
