20th
I dug this up from the archives because tonight is the season premiere of Hoarders!
In anticipation of the premiere there have been a couple good reviews of the show and general reflections on hoarding in the news recently. I recommend Carina Chocano’s “‘Underneath Every Hoarder Is a Normal Person Waiting to Be Dug Out’” (NY Times) and Kathryn M. Ireland’s “Hoarding Versus Collecting” (The Huffington Post).
On the subject of of collecting and hoarding, of course, I would also recommend my first and only post in what should be at least a three-part series on the differences between hoarding and collecting. The texts from my courses “The Collector, the Killer and the Capitalist,” and “Fetishist, Collector, Hoarder” are also helpful for theorizing the distinctions between collecting and hoarding.
***
Mix Those Extra Extra Dirty Martinis…
…because tonight is the season premiere of A&E’s Hoarders. For those of you not familiar with the Hoarders drinking game, the rules are as follows:
Take a swig of your extra extra dirty martini (or any other drink) every time:
- You recognize something you own in the hoard.
- An animal carcass is discovered in the hoard.
- A cleanup worker, professional organizer, or psychologist gags.
- A cleanup worker, professional organizer, or psychologist claims that this is the worst case he or she has ever seen.
- You see a close-up of maggots.
- Threat of eviction is mentioned.
The discovery of a fossilized animal carcass merits two swigs.
I like to keep the game fairly simple, in part to minimize distractions, but also because I tend to puke fairly easily…. Visit The Mobtown Shank for a somewhat more complicated version of the game.
If you’re watching Hoarders in company—though one might argue that alone with your cats in a bed covered with newspapers is how the show should be watched—the recipes below might be appropriate.
Two more suggestions for Hoarding-themed dining from my mother, who, along with my father, is unofficially banned from posting on this blog:
- Twinkies, because of the urban legend that they were all made at once, then stored in a warehouse.
- Moose Tracks ice-cream.
- “Kitchen Sink Cookies,” which contain raisins, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, nuts, and whatever else you have around.
- Cat hoarder cake (right)
Please feel free to send along your ideas for Hoarders-themed parties!
