Speaking of obsession...

My great aunt Loretto (aforementioned for her correspondence with Joan Fontaine) lives at a "retirement" home in Clarence, N.Y., outside of Buffalo. Recently the residents received pumpkins to decorate. Instead of carving or drawing a face on hers, Loretto simply wrote on it in marker: I LOVE CLARK GABLE.

Laces out, Dan; or, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan

Garrison Keillor — of the strained bulldog voice, of Prairie Home Companion both on radio and film, of this sensationally botched satire — now has a restraining order against a woman who allegedly mailed him an alligator foot, stalked outside his house and sent an e-mail in which she graphically described performing the sex act with him. The woman denied the allegations, but said she harbors the "transcendental love between a writer and a reader."

Wow. Now I'm trying to think if I'd ever have the capacity for that kind of love — the love that appears transcendent to the lover and obsessive to the lovee. I don't think I've ever truly obsessed over a writer, actor or other kind of artist. Have you? I have a giant poster of Julianne Moore above my bed, but it's for aesthetics, not worship. After their latest redesign, Entertainment Weekly started a feature called Obsessive Fan of the Week. Seems like there's at least one obsessive in the world for every artist.

The Keillor news item also got me thinking about person-to-person obsession in the movies. I can only think of five examples of true film obsession (meaning the obsessive is captivated to the point of relative insanity and ends up exacting some kind of pain on the obsessee), but I'm sure there are a ton I'm forgetting.

1. Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (above). Glenn Close has a tryst with married man Michael Douglas and ropes him in for some serious psychological lashings. Still via Movie Screenshots.
2. Scottie Ferguson in Vertigo. Jimmy Stewart gets wrapped up in Kim Novak.
3. Finkel/Einhorn in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The inimitable Sean Young plays a transsexual cop who used to be the place kicker for the Miami Dolphins. All she wants is to get back at Dan Marino for a botched snap.
4. Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Matt Damon tries to become Jude Law, or at least become those who are closest to him.
5. Sy Parrish in One Hour Photo. Robin Williams ambushes an all-American family.