Tonight, I discovered the identity of my dream guy.

And I mean that literally. Because he's been in my dreams since I was a child. In fact, he lent his very distinctive voice to BOTH of the top two nightmare-and-phobia-inducing borderline psychedelic mindfucks (for lack of a better term) of my early childhood...which, thanks to the magic of YouTube, you now have the option of viewing at your own risk:

Mindfuck 1: The "Heffalumps and Woozles" dream sequence from Disney's 1968 Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day

Mindfuck 2: Dr. Seuss's 1977 Emmy Award-winning TV special Halloween is Grinch Night.

Unfortunately, he passed away in 2005...but I guarantee that most of you will know his voice when you hear it, and if you've never heard his name before, here it is: Thurl Ravenscroft.

Some other stuff he's done:
-He was the voice of Tony the Tiger. For 54 years. That's probably how most people know him.
-He voiced and sang for a bunch of other Dr. Seuss TV specials, and having seen every Dr. Seuss TV special in existence (and memorized a bunch of them), that was how I recognized him, formerly referring to him as "ya know, that bass guy." For instance, he sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
-He flew courier missions across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. Winston Churchill was on one of them. Bob Hope was on another.
-He sang in a barbershop quartet called the Mellomen. They knew Lawrence Welk and Mitch Miller.
-He did voices for amusement park rides in Disneyland and Disney World...like "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a bunch of other characters and announcements. Even in Japan. HE'S BIG IN JAPAN!

Now you know EXACTLY who I mean, right? How could I have missed this before?

And there's that name. Thurl Ravenscroft. That's an EPIC name. It's so regal, but with personality, not pretentiousness. And no name could better suit a voice like that.

It seemed odd to me that I've only found out about Thurl Ravenscroft recently, since he was clearly a pawn of the animation industry's most warped minds...and as those close to me know, I'm one of those people who tends to fall in love with--or at least, develop a later-in-life intrigue regarding--the things she once found horrifying, or at least "off-kilter."  As such, I am thoroughly convinced that Thurl Ravenscroft was a key contributor to my recently identified "bass fetish."

That is to say, I've had things for guys who are basses (and in some cases they have been ones I found intimidating)...and I have also considered certain bass lines in rock/jazz songs and choral bass parts to be super, super hawtt.

All of this can only lead to one conclusion: OBVIOUSLY, I was supposed to have married Thurl. It's just too bad about the whole 73-year age difference, and the fact that he died just when I had reached legality anyway.

Oh well. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I can still relive the mindfucks...and make consensual love to some of his more peaceful works.

Love and low A's,

<3 ~ Ashley

Next Day's PS- I just found this HILARIOUS video from the Nostalgia Critic about the Top 11 Nostalgic Mindfucks, which includes Grinch Night, along with some other gems like the "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence from Dumbo and not one, but two brainchildren of Tim Burton...I'll let you find out what they are.  The Nostalgia Critic's catch phrase is, "I remember it so you don't have to," which is something I've often said to my friends when they ask me how I can remember X, Y, and Z.  Maybe I should take over for this guy when he retires.