A Festive Art

It all started, innocuously, with an emailed request for a manual for one of our ancient products.  It was from Sam Lloyd, a man after my own spleen, although I didn't know it at the time.  I responded, as I always do, with alacrity and a price*.  The manuals for ancient products are themselves ancient.  Having been written long before the internet existed, they don't exist in PDF form, or even in many cases in anything but printed form.  To us, at least, they're worth their price in storage charges alone.  But Sam felt that under the circumstances perhaps he might get the manual for a discount.  I, not one to deny the imperatives of commerce, undertook to ameliorate his anguish at paying list.  (This anguish I would share if I ever bought anything for list price, or much of anything at all that didn't come from eBay.)  I tracked down his web site, Swell Sound Electronics, and searched for something I might be able to use to offset the putatively ruinous manual price.

It didn't take long!  My appreciation of art is eclectic, and the Chicken Bone Bagel (Now with POPCORN!) was an immediate and very reasonably-priced "must have" for the Rikl Collection.  Sam and I came to an arrangement, and now we are both enriched by this miracle of capitalism—the freedom of people, no matter how silly, to strike bargains amongst themselves.  Although I will occasionally try my hand at lit crit (Great book!  Loved the chapter on thin gruel vs. thick gruel!), I am hopeless at the art version.  Sam, however, appears to be adept, and thus I will let him complete this blogitem with words and a description of his own:

...From the Swell Sound FAQ

Q12: What's the story behind the BGP and CBB? Is it true that Richard Factor is in possession of the only CBB currently known to exist?

A12: The CBB and BGP, while constructed primarily of food-related components, have nothing to do with sustenance or nourishment, or even late-night gluttonous indulgence. They transcend all that stuff, and more. Basically, they're about life. And death. And everything in-between, before and after. Iconic and purely beyond mortal comprehension. And yes, Mr. Factor is the current keeper of CBB S/N002. He received delivery in April 2005, and was so overwhelmed with emotion that the extent of his response was to proclaim it, and I quote: "quite festive". His response is indicative of one whom is obviously versed in the language of appreciativeness. I wish Mr. Factor the best in his journies, and am proud to know that the CBB will help him flourish and prosper, both emotionally and spiritually.