I've never been good at doing posts in a totally timely manner, which is why I've ended up with stuff that I haven't shown you in the first place. In other words, it's not really that surprising that I went to the Derby City Comic Con last month, but am just now getting around to writing about it. Of course, given that the really biggie Comic-Con just happened in San Diego, I could argue that this is kind of timely, but I won't.
When I first started attending cons, I was really into the whole fandom scene. I'd go to panels and showings and all that stuff. Of course, I'd spend a lot of time on the con floor, browsing and shopping and what not. I even went to the San Diego con and worked booths a couple of times! Those days are long behind me.
Nowadays, I treat cons like the Big Flea--opportunities to shop. There are lots of comics to be had and lots of bargains to be found. Usually, my priority at a con is to fond stuff for me and my collection, or at least stuff I want to read and then sell. Finding stuff that goes right to the booth is a bonus.
Since I went on Sunday, I didn't take any pictures. There weren't that many folks in costume on the last day. I didn't see him, but I know Spider-Man was there, because I saw his van parked outside.
He must have been doing some serious shopping, since he's parked in front of the bank across the street from the convention center.
Speaking of serious shopping, this was my deal of the day.
Five HARDCOVER graphic novels for 20 bucks! The two in front retail for 35 each! There's a dealer there who buys things on clearance from the distributor and then sells them for five bucks each at the con. If you buy four, you get one free! Lots of interesting reading here.
By the way, I'm limiting this post mainly to the stuff I bought for me.
I always buy the original Classics Illustrated when I can find them cheap. I lucked into these for 50 cents each! I have so many of these now that I often end up buying something I already have. In those cases, the duplicates go right to the booth. This was one of the rare cases when I actually found a bunch of issues that I did not already have.
I picked up this series because it looked interesting. The covers did what good comic covers are supposed to do, grabbed my attention. You'd be surprised how rare that is these days.
Coverless comics from the sixties. Comics without covers are not really worth that much, so they're usually pretty cheap. I pick them up and use them as place holders in my collection, especially if they're from series--like the one of the right--that I don't have many of.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this one. On the one hand, I love, love, love the older, extra thick, 25 cent giant issues, from any company. On the other hand, I'm not really that wild about the old MGM cartoon characters. I'm much more of a Warner Brothers and Disney kind of guy when it comes to classic cartoons. This one might go to the booth.
Stuff I got because it looked interesting (and it was cheap!) A whole lot of the comics I got came from a dude that has a new shop in town that I hadn't heard of before. It's not far from the house. I need to get over there and check it out. Another dealer that I got some stuff from looked so familiar that it drove me crazy trying to think of who he was. Finally, I remembered that he's one of the guys I run into at every yard sale where they have comics. And that he annoys the living shit out of me.
A few issues from what I consider to be the greatest era of super-hero comics--the Silver Age! (roughly late 50-s to early 70's) I got all of these from a guy that I see all the time at the Big Flea. I was kind of surprised that he didn't recognize me, since he always knows who I am there.
ROMANCE COMICS!!!!! Be still my heart. Sigh! The cover of the one of the left is particularly striking.
One booth buy that I will show here is this lot of toys.
They were all in a box marked "Show Special! One dollar each!" I circled it all afternoon and plotted. And watched. And counted. And calculated. And waited. Finally, during the last half hour of the con, as folks were starting to pack up, I went back to that booth, picked up the whole box and asked about an offer for the lot.
I was a little taken aback when the dealer kind of defensively grabbed the large Batman out of the box before answering. He asked me what I was thinking as far as a price. I offered 12 bucks. I had been planning to go 10, but the way he grabbed that Batman made me think I probably shouldn't lowball. At that, he put the Batman back in the lot (whew!) and countered with 15. I took it, since I was figuring that was where we'd end up anyway. There's still plenty of room in that for me to make some money.
The Fantastic Four toys are mostly from the first FF movie. The Doctor Doom has two little spots on his back.
If you place your finger over them, you complete the electrical circuit and he lights up.
DOOM ON!
DOOM OFF!
The current is so mild that you don't even feel it. I used to have a Pikachu that would shout its name when you completed the circuit. Nerd stuff is fun stuff.
I'll keep a couple of the Robin figures, for my dresser top collection. They're all from the late 80's.
A plethora of Boy Wonders! (Boys Wonder?)
I'm calling this dude "Fashion Plate Hulk."
Waaah! Hulk rip Brogans!
This summer started off very slow for comics, and I was getting worried. With the Comicon, I was finally able to lay in a good stash for the booth. There was a sale last week at the comic shop that helped too. I came away from that with a large lot for the booth and, of course, some for me.
My stash includes this nice batch of 1970's Superman comics. For 50 cents each! What a deal. It always amazes me when I wade into a nerd herd and people are passing stuff like this up. It seems like most of the younger collectors are only interested in the most current stuff, so a lot of the older stuff like this gets passed by, even when it's dirt cheap. It's kind of sad, because these are some really great comics.
Apologies all, but there's no time to ramble this morning.
We've been without water since Friday (!), when our hot water heater gave up the ghost. Water was just pouring out of the bottom. It's so old that the valve on top that is supposed to cut off supply to the heater wouldn't budge, so we had to cut off water to the house.
We thought the new water heater was coming on Saturday, but apparently Lowe's plumbing department doesn't know how their installation department works--or doesn't on weekends.
I'm moving booths today (more on that later), so I have to run. I took a quick wash up using some of Keith's camping supplies. I'll do a proper ramble later in the week.
The worst part about having no water is trying to explain to Chiquito that the bathroom faucet isn't working. He doesn't seem to believe it.
I do hate it when the zebras are laying around all strewn about! "Nothing worse than a willy-nilly pile of zebras!" That's what Aunt Tilda always said!
One of those fun little thrills of junking happens when you find something that you used to own. I don't necessarily mean the exact item, although that has happened to several people I know, including me. (I once found several comics with my name on them at a local flea market when I was a kid.)
Most commonly, this involves finding something just like one you used ot have or another copy of a thing you had. Like this book:
When I was about 8 or 9, my tonsils were removed. My grandparents got me this book as a get well gift. I don't know whatever happened to my copy, but I think it probably was given away during one of the purges my mother did after my parents divorced. We moved a few times after that, but every place we lived was a lot smaller than the house my parents had bought. Some stuff had to go.
I found this copy at a book sale and just had to pick it up. I was immediately struck by the illustrations. Instead of the serene reverence of a lot of religious art, these figures all have an almost tangible sense of action and power.
Take these pics of some of the Minor Prophets from the Old Testament. I can just imagine the guys in these drawings giving the dishonest and corrupt of their era seven different kinds of holy hell.
This is Jonah raging at Nineveh. Is it any wonder the city repented? He almost looks fanatical here!
Next we have Micah, who appears to be getting ready to go to a Star Trek convention. Not sure what's up with the hand signs, but love the colors in this one.
I forget who this one is (I didn't take notes when I took the pics), but doesn't he look ferocious? It's all quite different from the tranquil images of saints at prayer that I'm used to seeing. I really like it.
Finally, for some contrast, we have Solomon, who was quite the snazzy dresser, it seems.
What kinds of things have you found that you used to own?-
I'm not hitting any sales right now at all, in an effort to work through some of my eternal backlog. It's actually starting to work. I plan on keeping this up until the October junk set out, with an exception for the Labor Day Big Flea and a Highway 127 stop in August, provided I can talk Keith into it. I will, however, be constantly on the hunt for freebies, since finding free stuff isn't shopping. I may have to bend the rules if I start to run low on specific stuff, like manga or comics, that are always good sellers for me.
As I'm digging into the stuff, I'm finding things that are quite blog-worthy, even if they aren't current finds. Since the current finds will be scarce for a while, I'm going to share these other finds in posts I'll be calling "Stuff I Haven't Shown You." Or "Stuff I Didn't Show You." Or something like that.
I found this puppy at Goodwill for a DOLLAR!
I
am now in B Movie heaven! I needed this too. It's good for at least a
couple oddball film festivals. You gotta have some downtime after working the booths, you know.
Super-cute kitty creamer. It reminds me
of something you would find in one of Linda's cubbies. With the paw
extended to form the spout like that, it also reminds me of a certain handsome furry fellow.
I fell in love with this Ike and Mamie plate, solely for the look on her face.
Doesn't she look like she's up to something, or at the very least knows something he doesn't?
The
scene in this little dish just cracks me up. Sorry about the glare.
The caption reads: "Sairey Gamp Entertains Betsy Prio." How can you
not love it? It's the kind of thing I would have put in my mother's
Christmas stocking.
I got several large pictures with religious themes mounted on
foamboard at a yard sale a while back. On the back, a lot
of them have the initials "CHF" on them, which stands for Cathedral
Heritage Foundation. I am thinking that these were some of the
presentation pieces used for fundraising for the renovation of the
cathedral here, which took place about ten or so years ago.
Backing
that shot up, since the pics are already at the booth, you can see an
aluminum lawn chair and an extremely large metal file box.
On
the way to a sale, I found what seem to be the busted pieces of an
old sewing machine in an alley. I salvaged the ones that were most
intact and interesting, including this one, which I'm thinking is the
logo for the manufacturer.
Finally, what do you do with your comics when you're through with them? Why, compost them, of course!
Just kidding. Actually, you send them to me. This oddity was a Free Comic Book Day find. It's a prime example of some of the really strange things that got published during the underground comix era. I love weird stuff like this!
That's it for this round. I'll try to do these once a week or so.
Well, hello again, friends! I've not had many opportunities for blogging lately, but I have missed you. There's lots to share, so let's get started. EDDIE UPDATE
I haven't talked a lot about the cancer stuff lately, because there really isn't anything changing. I get my treatments every three weeks, and things continue to go well. I had another scan at the end of last month, and everything still looks good. I qualified for an assistance program from the drug company, so my co-pays are now taken care of, which is nice.
I seem to finally have all the steroid withdrawal over with, so things are returning to normal on that front. The blood sugar is lots better, and I've dropped a few pounds. Not many. Just a few.
I had a sinus thing going on last week that kept me out of action for a few days. It seems to be clearing up, although I still have a head full of yucky stuff. I feel like all I do is blow my nose. And cough. A lot. I'm afraid that I may accidentally blow one of my lungs out my nose when I get on a coughing jag. Hate it when that happens.
I've always been prone to stuff settling in my chest, which then takes forever to clear out. I've actually coughed so hard before that strangers have come up to me and told me I need to stop smoking! And I don't smoke!
The sinus thing started last Tuesday, which was also a treatment day. Since I was already planning a stay-at-home low key week, I was in a great spot to just stay in bed and rest. Things really worked out well, and Chiquito liked it too.
BOOTH UPDATE
Well, sales are a little better this month, but not by much. It's very fits and starts right now. I did HUGE over the July 4th weekend, but then took the rest of the month up to this past weekend to double that amount. The crying of the blues will continue until further notice. I'm moving lots of stuff, but it's nearly all small, lower priced items right now.
It seems like on the days when I do sell a larger, higher-priced piece or two, that's all I sell. The mix is off in my sales totals. Still, they are higher than last month, for the most part.
I moved out of the booth with the pole smack dab in the middle of the entrance to a space right next to may other spaces. Less walking for me. I like having all my spaces together.
At the same time, one of my college roommates, who also had a booth in our mall, got a new job and had to give up his booth due to time issues. He gave me and another vendor about 75% of what was in his booth--FOR FREE! I've been kind of awash in stuff from that. Really nice stuff to boot. He does a lot of woodworking and repurposing kinds of stuff, and some of his projects were included in the items he gave us.
Slow sales are causing a lot of vendors to leave, but there's also been an influx of new folks. Open spaces in out store get snapped up pretty quickly, often by existing vendors. The manager told me at the beginning of the month that there wer so many vendors swapping out spaces that it was almost like a jigsaw puzzle.
This was one booth's closing sign.
I had been intending forever to get a pic of the "Buy from the BUNNY" sign to put in the blog, because I just love it. I never got around to it, until it was time to say "Bye Bye Bunny." Sad.
Of course, since I was out all last week, I'm planning on spending all this week at the booth trying to pull things back together. I'm hoping to take new pics, since an update post is long overdue. I just need to remember. That's the hard part. DVD OF THE WEEK
This is a favorite movie of mine and I like to pull it out and watch it from time to time. Martin Sheen and Trevor Howard work so well together and their scenes just shine throughout the whole film.
Religious politics and inner working fascinate me, especially with the Catholic Church. I am constantly reading up on various aspects of the way the church operates. One of my favorite subjects is the tension that exists between the newer course the church has taken since Vatican II and Catholics of a more traditional/conservative bent.
This 1973 TV (!) movie (based on a novel by Bryan Moore) examines that tension with Sheen playing a young priest sent to get a recalcitrant Howard and the monks of his monastery to update and move along with the times. The story is set in a fictional time after two more church councils have brought even more changes, and the monks have become steadfast and reactionary.
Like I said, the acting is exemplary and the story avoids any easy answers as the men strive to understand each other and seek a resolution. The ending is haunting.
Given the current tension that exists between the current, very progressive, Pope and many more conservative bishops and cardinals, this 40 year old movie is surprisingly timely. Well worth hunting down.
STUFF UPDATE
Since sales have been so slow lately cutting back on going to yard sales and such. I'm in "clear out the backlog" mode instead. I did buy a bunch of manga over the weekend, but I was really low on it. That was the first major purchase I've made all month.
Since that means I won't have any new things to share here, I'm taking a different approach to doing finds posts. Check in tomorrow for the first installment.
I highly recommend doing a YouTube search for this song. There are an amazing variety of covers by some awesome artists though the ages. You'd be surprised.
I just found out that someone wrote a book about my childhood.
I wasn't totally sure it was about me, until I saw the title of the second chapter. My friends and I formed a little club called "The Peculiar Views." It's what little nerdlings do. We referred to our meetings as "entertainments." If was going to a meeting, I would tell my mother I was going to "entertain peculiar views."
I am not sure how they got that picture of me.
If you all will excuse me, I need to go see someone about some royalties.
You probably noticed in yesterday's Retro Y'all post that Ralph Stanley didn't sing lead in any of the selections, not even with his own band, the Clinch Mountain Boys. He always had other lead singers in the band, and shared duties with them. I looked all over, but I just could not find a period clip of him singing lead.
Yet, to pay tribute without honoring that amazing voice--the epitome of the "high lonesome" Bluegrass sound--would not be right. However, I do have some rules for what I will include in a Retro post. I thought about skating by using the fact that the songs are old, even if the performances aren't, but I have nixed other videos of artists doing their classics in recent performances.
So I decided that there had to be one more look at this amazing talent, this time solo, doing the song from O Brother Where Art Thou? that brought him such recognition.
I tell you, it makes the hairs on my arms stand up.
We lost one of the greats...no...one of the powerhouses a few days ago. Dr. Ralph Stanley was one of the few remaining ties to the early days of Bluegrass music. When you remember that those early pioneers were the bridges to an even earlier era of traditional music (and even early country music), then you realize how incalculable this loss is.
I'm talking roots here--history and culture--the stuff that matters. The generation that was influenced by these folks has also started passing on. None of them are getting any younger. Even my beloved Emmylou Harris will turn seventy next year.
Thankfully, there's a generation after them still coming on strong. And one coming up after that. And so on.
And somewhere in one of those small rural Kentucky (and Virginia, and Tennessee, and etc.) towns, like the one I came from, there are boys and girls just starting to sit down with their instruments and learn to play the old songs. The connections are being made and the thread will continue.
Over a decade ago, one particular movie brought renewed attention and interest to this music and the musicians who perform it, including Dr Ralph. That kind of interest often fades when the next fad comes down the line, but there's always more than a few new enthusiasts that hop on board for the ride.
The next time that happens, we'll be short one amazing voice. Rest in peace, Dr. Ralph Stanley. You're going to be missed.
There's no way to pick just one for this post, so here's some prime Ralph Stanley.
First, with his brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers. (In case you don't know, that's Dr. Ralph with the banjo.)
As the banjo virtuoso that he was. (He's the one with the hat.)
With the Clinch Mountain Boys:
On a more personal note, I can't find out what kind, but several news sources are listing the cause of his death as "skin cancer." Of all the things to have in common with one of the greatest musicians in Bluegrass history!
I'm not sure what happened earlier wit the blank post, but I deleted it. I had been working on this post last night and went to bed with the post still up on screen. I had treatment yesterday, so I usually spend the next day or so dropping in and out of projects to lay down. My computer was off when I woke up today, so it must have crashed overnight. How that led to a blank post getting uploaded, especially when the draft had some content in it, is beyond me.
I guess every so often I have to prove, however unwittingly, what a low-brow, amateur production this blog is. I can cross that off today's "to do" list.
How about we look at what was in Mazda? Most everybody got most of the major bits, but there were some surprises here and there. For instance, the rusty cash box in front was full of bits of hardware that are destined for a jar or two.
I thought I got a pic of that bag of thread, but I guess I didn't. Still, everyone who said it was thread was right. Even though, I sure do wish it was a bag of wheels (especially roller skate wheels), because that would be cool.
Otherwise, it was Pairs Day, because most everything came in twos. Not necessarily matching pairs, but they were found in pairs. Except for the industrial look chair on the end, which is a repro, but a well-made one. All heavy-duty metal. The window (which is part of a pair) was a curb find on the way home from the yard sale. I've sold all the windows from our set out, so I really needed those.
Like I said on Sunday, I wasn't really intending to go to any sales at all on Saturday. Keith was going camping and making really optimistic proclamations about leaving by noon, which never happens, yard sales or not.
Then Friday night, I saw a listing for a sale that was not to be missed, camping or not. There's a woman who lives on a street not far from here who has a garage, attic, shed, basement, and house full of wonderful junk. She at one point tried to be a vendor, but told me she never got around to actually taking stuff to her booth. She and her boyfriend would buy a big batch of stuff at auction, bring it home, store it, then a year later, sell it cut-rate at their yard sale to make room for more auction buys.
Not exactly the most effective re-selling plan, I admit, but it worked for me. And I made sure the stuff I bought got to the booth. Regardless of any other issues, she had good taste and a good eye for stuff. Things from her sales have always sold fast for me and made good money.
So, when I saw the listing that said she was having a moving sale, my first response was: "Gotta go!" My second responses was: "Oh no! She can't move!" The third response was: "Really gotta go!"
And so I broke my "no sale" vow. But it was only for one. That turned into two, because we found another sale on the same street and went to it first thinking we were at her sale, but we weren't. That's where I got the metal chair.
In case you're wondering why I'm only showing one of each item when it was Pairs Day, I was trying to get the car cleaned out in a hurry, so Keith could load up and leave. This was my favorite of the two metal cabinets. I love the detail on the front. They were both shop/garage cabinets, so I did have some greasy grime to scrub off.
Now, on to the two items that perplexed nearly everyone. I actually bought these on Friday, while I was on my way to meet Keith for coffee. Because of their size, I had to leave them until Saturday, when Mazda was available.
It's an old metal file organizer thing for a wall. It's all one piece, instead of several joined together. Plus, a swinging door, but only one half of it. I loved the color though. It's more orangey in person.
Have I really only done less than a dozen posts this month? Odd's Bodkins!
I shall have to do something to rectify that. Jinkies!
I've decided that I'm going to divide Monday Rambles posts with headers from here on out. On weeks when I really ramble, the posts seem to be really disparate and jarring to read, so hopefully this will smooth things out a bit.
Now, if you don't want to read me babbling about toenails, comic books, Komodo dragons, or making mashed potatoes while dancing the Mashed Potato, you can skip those sections. Or at least you could if the headers made any sense. Chances are they're not going to. Not at this blog. But, hopefully, maybe, they'll at least be entertaining.
Now someone remember to email me on Sunday to remind me to have headers next Monday.
BELATED HAPPIES!
No, not "belated hippies" although that does sound kind of interesting. Belated Happy Father's Day to all the Dads, Grandpas, and people with Dads out there. I hope you all got to do something fun together yesterday. If, like me, your father has passed on, then I hope you had some happy memories to look back on.
HE WAS THE GREATEST!
Muhammad Ali's funeral was one of the biggest things to ever happen in Louisville. Outside of the Derby each year and visits by the President or candidates for President, I can't recall another event that stirred up this much attention for our fair city. The Queen came through once, but that was for the Derby. Usually, the only way to garner excitement around here is to either be a horse or dress up like one.
Anyway, along the procession route, people were given sidewalk chalk to express their feelings about Ali's passing. I was walking downtown a couple of days later and saw this one and thought it was cool.
HEALTH WOES
I'm having some issues right now, but I'm hoping they will pass in a while. It may take a few weeks, though. I've stopped taking the steroids. Between the effects on my blood sugar (sky high), my blood pressure (getting that way) and my weight (approaching aircraft carrier status), I decided that I couldn't take them any longer. I refuse to be known as "Fat Cancer Guy." (Although that could be an interesting super-hero concept.) Or, as I told Keith, "I'm beating cancer. I will not be taken down by Diabetes aggravated by the drugs given to me to help make the treatments more tolerable."
Of course, being me (and also my mother's child), I just stopped taking the damn thing. I never took the full prescribed dosage, so I though that one little milligram would be easy to step away from. Oh my galoshes! I've had muscle and joint aches like you would not believe ever since! At least the headaches have stopped. And the joint and muscle pain only flares up now when I've been busy for a while. At first, I would just sit there and throb and moan. (Yes, I did moan. I'm a man. That's how we deal with illness.)
Ibuprofen seems to keep things under control. I know some of this is from my body adjusting to life without Mother's Little Helper, but some of it is all the little aches and pains I've always had, but was not noticing thanks to the steroid. I'm also experiencing periods of weakness and major fatigue and seem to move awfully slow these days. Some of that last comes from being as large as a parade float. You never see one of those suckers tearing around like an Indy car either.
Of course, being me, I only did research about coming off steroids when the effects started getting really bad. It was then that I found out about tapering the dosage. Keith thought I should go back on them and then start taking them every other day or something, but I'm soldiering ahead cold turkey. My mother was a Campbell and this is the way that Campbells go about doing things. At least in my branch. Well, except none of the others would have bothered to research anything. I'm counting on mine being after the fact to help keep me in the clan. True to my family, I did not consult with my doctor either. (I'm not saying you have to do it my way, in fact, you probably shouldn't, but some things are genetically predisposed to happen.)
Right now it's all playing higgeldy piggledy with my life, but I think once it settles down, I'll be able to manage. I told Keith that once I'm down to just dealing with the fatigue from the cancer drug (which is the major side effect), I'll take it slower if I have to or add in extra days for rest or add in more naps. You'll never ever hear me complain about more naps.
OH THE HEAT!
Something else contributing to the sluggishness around here is the HEAT and its bff HUMIDITY. This one is not just hitting me, but everyone. Full blown Ohio Valley Summer is here. Staying in and taking more naps doesn't sound so bad.
OH THE KITTIES!
Especially when you can do it with these two.
This is Lacy.
Of course I'm his sitter! He's named after a Hobbit!
And this is Frodo who wouldn't sit still for a picture, so this is the best I could do. He did manage to photo-bomb Lacy's pic.
They're the two little friends I was pet-sitting most of last week and part of the week before. I've been sitting for Frodo nearly ten years now, whenever his Mommy goes away on vacation. The other pets that were part of the family when I started have all gone on. The year after my mother died, I spent the better part of two months over there while she was tending to her father in his final days.
Lacy's the new girl. She still hasn't figured out if it's okay for me to be staying there, but she did figure out that I give good head and belly rubs.
YARD SALES
So anyway, the reason that I didn't have a Mazda shot the other Saturday was that I had started having one of my weak and achy spells during the middle of the day. It was too bad too. This was the sale at the last gold standard church, plus the surrounding community. It's always good.
The church sale lived up to its reputation. They fill just about every room but the sanctuary with stuff, all organized by category. It's the same every year too, so if you're a regular, you know what is going to be where. They set a rule this year that nothing would be priced less than 50 cents, which kind of bummed me out. I imagine it bummed out a few of the old lady pricers too, because I still found 25 and 10 cent stuff. I think if i were an eighty year old chruch lady volunteer who had been doing this for years, I would go ahead and price it how I always did it. Silly rules!
The community sale was great too. We went to grab some eats at McDonald's first, so we went into this city from the opposite end we usually do. It's a pretty good-sized little community, full of all kinds of twisty little streets and cul-de-sacs. We do this every year and we've never been through all of it.
I met some sellers who were selling all their sushi dishes, because they finally realized that they love sushi a lot more than they love the idea of making it themselves. We laughed about that and I told them about the sushi making kit I bought with the same plan in mind and never used. I have no idea what they thought about me buying the sushi dishes. We just all kind of acted like it was natural.
At another house there were four or five different people set up selling stuff. The owners got the cool spot inside the garage, of course. They told me that their yard was "just like a mini-mall." I bought a vintage Bingo set from them and they threw in a stack of old game boards for free. One of the women in the yard was selling her mother's old books and magazines from the 40's. We talked for a long time about our love for old graphics and designs and she showed me a portfolio she had made of the ads from some of the magazines that had fallen apart. It was cool, but way too pricey for me.
My favorite spot was the one where two little boys--"going into third grade" they told me--were running the show, under the watchful eye of dad, who stayed at the top of the driveway. He let them do everything, and most of the stuff was theirs, but he was also close at hand to supervise and answer questions if needed. They also took the money to him and he kept it out of sight of any wandering hands and eyes. I bought a nice Wolverine race car from them, so of course we had to talk about Wolverine for a bit. Then Spider-man. Then Batman. I finally asked if they were brothers, and one of them said they were just friends, but he was helping so he could earn enough money to buy something there that he wanted.
Anyway, we don't have any pics, because we cut things short when I started feeling bad and I went back to nap with Frodo and Lacy. We just kind of unloaded in a hurry and I forgot to take any pics.
But I do have pics to go with the stuff from yesterday's Mazda shot, so check back tomorrow for the reveal.
LISTEN TO THE VENDOR MOAN
And this is the part where we (or rather I) wail about how bad June's booth sales have been. This past weekend was probably the worst one I have ever had. Wednesday was the strongest day last week, and it was a really good day. But it was bookended by one day that was less than five (!) dollars and one that wasn't much over that.
I know all the drill about slower sales in the summer, but I swear this is the worst summer I've had in seven years as a vendor.
Oh well. I'm heading over today with a Mazda load of crap lovely merchandise in hopes of turning this big ole ship away from the iceberg. I finally made next month's rent, but it's a good thing that I've done some bulk buys cheaply, plus snagging a lot of freebies lately, because I'm not looking at a big check for the other expenses.
If you happen to know a wealthy person named Penelope or Duke--you know the type, diamond-studded sunglasses and a Chihuahua with a designer collar--who's looking to drop several hundred on quality secondhand flea market merchandise, send 'em my way. If they buy enough, I'll even cut you in on the action.
Apparently, the elephants in these parts are quite prodigious.
I don't care how skilled they are, though. No elephant is getting near the parts of my anatomy associated with fertility with sharp needles. I'd end up having to get the treatment for stress after that, for sure!
NERDS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year coming up--DERBY CITY COMICON!!!!!! I got my pass the other day.
It has been a real pleasure to see this one grow and improve year after year. Homegrown cons by local folk are the best.
Of course, I go mainly for the shopping, but I've not had a lot of luck with the comic hunting this year. I've gotten small batches here and there, but not the big scores of great stuff that I'm used to finding. Hopefully, this will be a good con for that. I've already checked out the list of vendors and seen several that should be pretty good, including several of my regulars.
Failing that, maybe I can find another Batman shirt. Do they make them in blimpo size?
DVDS OF THE WEEK
Since I was pet-sitting in a house with no WiFi and none nearby to surf on, I had the world's longest and cheesiest bizarro film festival. I seriously must have watched at least two dozen DVD's. Me and Frodo had a ball. Lacy's not much for movies.
It was two hard to pick one favorite, so I ended up choosing two. First, from legendary Hammer Films, starring equally legendary Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing:
You seriously cannot have a cheesy film festival with that many movies and not include at least one Hammer Dracula film. This one is a total ball. Sure there are plot holes galore and a truckload of unanswered questions at the end, but it's a ton of fun to watch. Lee and Cushing are actor's actors and they give it their all, no matter how silly things get. And they do get a bit silly. Dracula has a bevy of vampiric women in matching outfits chained up in coffins in his basement for starters. Why? Because he's Dracula! They actually get nearly as much screen time as the big guy himself and all they do is writhe around and squeal and hiss.
It doesn't get much better than this. I am now hunting through my stash to see if I have any more films from Hammer.
My other choice was a cartoon show I had never heard of before.
Image from good old Amazon!
This show is kind of a mix between X-Files, Men in Black, and one of my fave animated shows ever: Ben Ten Alien Force. The basic premise is that aliens have been visiting Earth for centuries, giving rise to most of our myths and legends and monsters. Most of their purposes are less than benevolent.
An alliance of government agencies created the Roswell incident as a hoax in the 40's, to try and convince the world that aliens don't exist. Ever since, they've been fighting the evil creatures, while denying they exist. The plot definitely takes some twists and turns, and like most shows of this nature, you're never quite sure who to trust. The Wikipedia page for the show does a good job of breaking it down. (SPOILER ALERT!)
Plus, one of the characters is a Banshee! I am now on a quest to track down more of this fun show.
THIS MEANS YOU
WRAPPING UP!
Well, this was a rambly ramble. I had a lot stored up since last week. Have some Music for Monday to help it all go down.
Finally! A real Mazda shot. I know that I promised one last week full of awesome hauls, but we actually ended up cutting things short as I started feeling sick. I'll explain more about that tomorrow. It's actually got a little to do with why I didn't post as much as planned last week too. Don't worry. It's not serious and it's not the cancer, although it is treatment related. I'll be okay. I promise.
Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Mazda, not me. Here you go.
This was supposed to be a no sales weekend! In fact, We had Mazda empty so that Keith could go camping, hence the blue cooler in the lower right. Actually, this is still mostly from one sale, with one item from a sale we went to by mistake. (Yes, I can "accidentally" go to sales.)
So, what do you see?
If you're new here, feel free to play along! If you're unsure what to do, just watch Linda. She's a pro! (But no fair just commenting: "What Linda said." You have to use your own words.)
I came out at the height of the AIDS crisis. A good friend had passed away from the disease several weeks earlier. It was a scary and uncertain time to be gay, but (for me) it was even more scary and uncertain to keep denying it.
I don't want to talk about my coming out here, except to say that it was difficult and scary. Also, it was not something that I really chose to do at the time it happened. There were outside forces at play--malevolent ones.
If it hadn't been for my mother and Keith, I would not have made it. There were times that I contemplated not going on. It was just too rough and I was not sure at the time I could do it. Coming out cost me something that was really important to me at the time, and that something had given me a sense of purpose and direction for several years. Without it, I was nearly completely lost.
A few years later, Keith and I were on a Halloween cruise on the Ohio River, sponsored by a local gay group. We were on the top deck, watching the river, listening to the music play below us. Suddenly, the music switched to old school disco--Donna Summer, the Village People, and of course the ever-playful, subversive Sylvester.
I made a remark to Keith that it was kind of funny, but in the face of everything, we as a community kept finding ways to go on. Ways to endure. Ways to dance and sing and celebrate instead of closing in on ourselves. Ways to live without fear. Somehow, without even realizing it, I had learned how to it too. Those dark, ugly, early days seemed very far away.
This was still years before the medical breakthroughs with AIDS treatments. Years before the passage of anti-discrimination laws in Louisville and many other places. Years before presidential candidates even spoke the words "gay" or "lesbian."
A lot has changed since then. The world is completely different. We as a community have become a lot more inclusive in our understanding of ourselves. We speak of "LGBT people" as opposed to "the gay community." We've grown.
So had society around us. Same sex marriage is a reality. So is anti-discrimination protection in many places. The broader culture sees us as a part of the world--a vital, contributing part. This is a world that I could never have imagined all those years ago. Ever.
The old world still finds ways to rear its ugly head, however. I'm not just talking about the tragedy in Orlando with so many dead or wounded. I'm talking about what has gone on since the shooting. What still goes on. There is a real concerted effort to focus solely on the identity of the shooter to the expense of that of the victims. This crime has to fit in the box that is being designed for it, and to do that anything that doesn't fit is being left out. Like the LGBT identities of the victims. There seems to be this thought that this is a terrorist attack, but not a hate crime, as if it cannot be both.
The problem is the extra messages this attack carries with it--that our identities don't matter. Our lives don't matter. The prejudices that are still directed at LGBT people don't matter. The hurt we are feeling right now doesn't matter. Neither does the fear. Or the anger. Or our loss.
If there's one thing that the AIDS years taught us, it was to never take anything lying down. We don't have to be crammed into those "official" boxes. We don't have to let our truths be covered over to fit convenient theories. We can and we will make sure our stories, our voices, get heard.
We will go on. We will live without fear. We will find ways to live, laugh, dance and celebrate.
Much too much going on right now, with no time to ramble! Ack!
I'm going to be house and cat-sitting for a week starting on Wednesday. That means I'm leaving the house in the hands/paws of Keith and Chiquito. I'm mildly concerned.
I don't have wifi access at that house, so look for a bunch of silly season posts after Wednesday. I'll finally get those awesome smalls from set out up tomorrow and Wednesday.
There will be a Mazda shot on Sunday. Saturday is the church and neighborhood sale that led to the birth of the Mazda shots a couple of years ago, so there will definitely be one. I haven't been hitting a lot of sales lately, so there hasn't really been good material for a Mazda shot.
May finally ended with my lowest sales total in a while. I realized when I got my check that, in spite of it all, (1) I did get a check and (2) that check is still several times larger than the first one I ever got. I really don't have a lot to whine about in the end.
But that might not stop me.
Last week, I told you all that I was offered the chance to buy out a booth for 50 bucks, which I took. The deal was supposed to be for the merchandise only. The vendor had 10 or so sets of shelves that were not part of the deal. She was going to take those with her.
Well, last Monday, I went to the mall to start sorting out and moving the stuff out. The vendor was there with her husband to get the shelves. They had already taken a couple of plastic shelves out. The husband wasn't really too keen on the idea of moving any more of the shelves out. Every time she went to start moving a shelf, he would start hemming and hawing about how she didn't need that and they didn't have room for it and so on. After he did this for several minutes, she would offer the shelf to me. This process repeated over and over again until she had given me all the shelves at no extra cost.
On one hand, this is cool. I can always use shelves and free is good. On the other hand, now there's a lot more work to do. Some of the shelves are pretty crappy too. A couple have loose backs and one has no back whatsoever. I put prices on all of them right away--super cheap for the crappy ones and not so cheap for the rest.
It took me a couple of days to deal with all the stuff, and during that time, all the crappy shelves sold and so did a couple of the good ones. I made my money back just on those! I put all the remiaing shelves in my newest booth, replacing the tables I was using in there. This gave me a lot more room.
It ended up taking more time than I originally planned, but it worked out fairly well, I think. Out of the stuff in the booth, about three-fourths of it got moved to my booths. I'll leave the prices alone for right now, then reduce them a little later. I threw away about a third of what was left--broken, nasty stuff that should have never gone into a booth. Another third went into a free cart--stuff that was okay, but not anything I wanted to dedicate booth space too. It was gone in a day or so. The last third came home to go in my yard sale.
And that was pretty much all I did last week. Pretty dull, I know. I was even too busy to take any pics.
Let me make up for that with some Music for Monday and then I'll split.
Junk set out time always makes me contemplate this junking life I'm leading. I usually intend to share them on the blog, but never seem to get around to it. Consider this post to be a random look at some of the things rolling around in my head. Very random. Like that surprises anyone.
My long-suffering husband is fond of saying to me: "Just because it's free, that doesn't mean you have to take it." My typical response to that is: "What? I left some stuff didn't I?"
Right before I got out of the van to grab that metal box from last week's sneak peek, I told him: "You might as well go ahead and give me that eye roll. I know it's coming when you see this thing."
I wish I could find money, like the guy at Things I Find in the Garbage. I mean, I do find money, since I sell what I find, but just finding actual cash once and a while would be cool, even if it's only a buck.
I learn a helluva lot from other blogs that guides me in picking stuff. Sometimes, I pick something up and think: "So and so would make a project out of this." Or "I saw this used this way in a blog." Or the ever famous: "I know that such-and-so would really love this one." I match my finds up to people all the time. I even play a guessing game about what will catch particular people's eyes enough for them to mention it in a comment. I'm right a lot of the time.
On the nicer side of the neighborhood, where people have alleys and garages and off street parking and trash pick up, they tend to toss their junk out at any time. It doesn't get picked up, but it's out of sight, out of mind until the next pick up comes around. I've started taking Sunday evening "junk constitutionals" to see what's new.
People complain about the mess that gets left behind when people go through the junk piles. Scrappers are notorious for rooting through stuff and making a huge mess. I've learned over the years, however, that there are a fair number of piles that start out as a mess from the moment the stuff is put out. An awful lot of residents just randomly toss things out into huge, unorganized piles that cascade all over the place, at gravity's accord.
I'm not saying that to excuse junkers and pickers, but it is time to bring a little perspective to the issue.
Making a mess is something that I will go out of my way to avoid. Items I pull out of boxes go right back in the boxes or into other boxes. One time, I accidentally dropped some glass stuff and stayed until I had picked up every shard and carefully disposed of them. I'll even tell home-owners I see that I won't leave a mess.
One of the biggest contributors to the mess situation is clothing. People put out bags of clothing that get torn open and scattered, then it all gets rained on. I very rarely open bags, especially if I can tell they're full of clothes. We are not that far from a Goodwill, and there are several churches in the area that have clothing closets and do give-aways. We also have three or four of those for-profit thrift drop boxes for clothes scattered throughout the neighborhood. There are even several charities that pick up donations. Tossing useable clothing is something I just don't understand.
Seeing boxes of books at the curb always makes me sad, even when I know it's stuff that no one is going to want.
Queen of Fifty Cents coined the term "Taker's Remorse" the other day in a post. This is the feeling you get from picking up freebies that you really don't want or that really aren't what you need/want. Our junk set out periods easily resolve this dilemma. Typically for me, there's a flaw that I didn't see when I grabbed something. I work kind of fast and quickly shove things in to my bag. When I look at something later and realize that it's not going to work for me, I either leave it on someone else's pile or toss it on my own when I get home. Problem solved!
If something makes it to the booth and turns out to be a dud, it will eventually get a markdown or two, then head to a sidewalk sale, if necessary. After all, it was free.
This will pretty much wrap up the big stuff this time around. There is one thing at the booth that I need to remember to photograph. I can't wait to show you the smalls! There's some awesomeness there you have to see. I'm still tickled about it, because it's NERDY!
That will have to wait a few days, however.
There were four themes this time around. One was windows.
The smallest one has no glass. Every member of this cute trio has awesome hardware on it. The one in front has this amazing rusty knob at the bottom.
I forgot to get this pic until the window was already in Mazda. Those are eight individual panes of glass. This was the heaviest of all of them, so of course, it was (say it with me) at the bottom of the hill.
I actually did not find any windows until the very last day of the hunt. I was getting kind of anxious about it, because I really wanted to find some. I've been out for a while, and most local purchase options are way too pricey.
Another theme was outdoor side tables.
The thing on top is one of those fold up stools, but it's a similar concept. There's one more, but it needs a really deep cleaning. These needed some cleaning, but not as much.
Another theme was frames. There's a rustic-looking one in this shot, plus the one in the last pic, plus a few more to come.
The brown thing is a counter top that would make a nice sign or project. The wood is really super. There were several of them in one spot, and, of course, I only took one, then thought it over, went back for more, and they were all gone.
The vintage light fixture has these modern shades etched with western scenes. They are cute, but totally wrong for the fixture. I'm removing them to sell separately. The cute little doll cradle has some issues, but in the right hands is totally saveable.
Another frame. I took that nasty backing out of it. You can also see a photo-bombing vintage typewriter that was supposed to be in yesterday's pics, but somehow got missed. Oh well.
The fourth theme was chairs. One was in the first batch of pics, plus the blue stool from yesterday. There are three more, but I had to throw them on the Hillock due to lack of room at the house. There's one more at the house, but it'll show up in the next batch.
Now that I think about it, there was a fifth theme: Little Tikes, which is almost always a theme at set out time. I'll spare you the pics this time, but I found a table, two chairs, and my first-ever ride-in car! I'm kind of dreading taking that to the booth.
Look for the smalls on Thursday and Friday. I think they'll have to be two parts. There's too much awesome for just one post. Trust me on that one.
Saw that one while on a trash crawl constitutional during junk set out.
I have a feeling if everyone would take both bits of advice to heart, this world would be a better place.
Who says flea markets aren't classy?
C'mon! We got caviar in the salvage groceries! Top that!
I found my birthday present the other day in a showcase across from my booth.
That's the way cool 70's Batmobile, by the way. And it has both figures with it! Now, I just need to find someone who loves me enough to drop 50 bucks (!) on it. Well, we do have six months to save up.
Shara did a ramble last week, so I'm doing a phone dump this week. More to come in a second.
I have never been more glad to see a month end than this one. Barring a HUGE rush today and tomorrow, I'm going to have my lowest total for 2016, and the lowest one in a while. Sales have just been off. And it's not just me. Nearly everyone I know here is seriously crying the blues, no matter what mall they're in. Sigh.
I know that May means Derby, Mother's Day, the start of warm weather, yard work, yard sales, graduations and proms. I know that this is just a cyclical downturn and things will pick back up when it finally gets too warm for the wimpy somewhat less than hardcore yard sale shoppers. But, dammit, I'm overly dramatic! I wail because it's what I do. And right now, I'm having a good one. Wail, that is. Not month.
If you listen close you can probably hear me.
How slow has it been? Well, the last two times I've gone in to straighten up, there was nothing to do! Typically, when things are the slowest, that's when booths get the messiest. At least mine do. Counter-intuitive, I know, but that's been the pattern borne out by seven years of experience. This time around, they're almost spotless. Even the comic booth, which is always a wreck. Sigh.
I was loading the van yesterday, when I started hearing some murmurings from the stuff I was putting in. It seems I had promised them their moment in the blog, but had never gotten around to getting pictures. In the interest of peace and harmony, here are a few shots of some recent purchases.
Heavy, rusted antique snow shovel. I can see this baby in someone's porch decor this winter.
Painted bench and vintage metal kid-size folding chair. I got three of the chairs. If there had been more, I would have gotten more. This came from a church sale I like a lot. Every year, they bring out a few items from their defunct school. Usually, it's school desks. This year, it was these chairs.
Folding wooden chair from the same sale.
Two drawers from the same sale. I've been kicking myself for not getting more, as they had a bunch. I love those heavy metal candle holders. The big GI Joe ship came from a fund-raiser sale that a friend of mine puts on every year. I was looking through all the small toys on a table when she said "Don't forget the big toys too." And there it sat. My friends know me so well. I also got a huge box full of those big cardboard bricks that they use in nursery schools. I forgot to get a pic of it.
Speaking of forgotten pics, that photobombing blue thing in the back is a handmade child's stool from the junk set out. This apparently is the only shot I took of it. It flips over, so it can still be used as the child grows. It was completely filthy, but totally solid.
Speaking of the curb finds, they'll be back tomorrow. I'll be wrapping up the bigger stuff then and moving on the the smalls by the end of the week. The smalls are where the real awesomeness lies.
I hope everyone has nice plans for the holiday. I was intending to go to the Big Flea today in honor of my mother. The sixth anniversary of her death was Saturday. Memorial weekend has a slightly different meaning for me, I guess.
However, when I was dropping stuff off at the booth, a soon-to-be-departing vendor offered me her two booths full of stuff for fifty bucks. She's been running a sale all month to clear things out, but still had a whole lot left. There's easily fifty bucks worth of movies alone.
On Wednesday, I'll ask the mall to add her number to my account, so I don't have to re-tag everything. Having a separate number for the buy helps me track the sales easily as well. They can't do it until she gets removed from the system at the end of the month, or all of her sales for May will be added to mine. (Well, she did say I could have everything.)
So instead of the flea market, I'll be heading to the Peddlers Mall today to sort out that stuff. If anyone does want anything, I can re-tag it. Otherwise, I'll pull it off the floor and stash it until the first. The largest items (and there is a little bit of furniture) will go right into my spaces with new tags. She kept her stuff fairly organized, so it won't be a hard job, but it will take most of the day.
I think Mom would understand. I'll hit the Big Flea again in July, in honor of her birthday. She would be 74.
The only thing I was going to be hunting at the flea market was comics, since I am running short. However, there's already a sale for Saturday on Craigslist that advertises "thousands" of comics for 50 cents each. And there's a con coming up at the end of June. I think I'll be all right.
Yes, I do realize that I paid for the privilege of cleaning out someone else's spaces. It's good karma. The last two vendors to leave ended up just giving me tons of stuff they didn't want to haul out.
I can't play on the scale of some of the larger vendors, but I do okay for myself. The best stuff kind of falls into your lap, it seems.
Yes, I know this is why Sorrow Mountain is a thing. It is slowly coming down. I need to get some pics of that progress for you all.
Emmylou Harris has an incredible cover of this one. I'd love to here to two of them do it as a duet. That would be awesome.
One of the very first things Keith and I bonded over was a mutual love of Tracy Chapman. One day, I cut a pic of her out of Rolling Stone and taped it to his door with a little note that said something like "Hey Keith! Stopped by to see you. Sorry I missed you. Love, Tracy."
In 1989, we were bus captains to the Housing Now! March in Washington, DC. That was my first ever major national protest march. It was kind of a heady weekend. We rode the buss all night, got out, marched, got back on the bus and drove all night back to Louisville.
The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was on display at the same time, so we snuck off to see it for a little while. It was our first time seeing a large scale display of the quilt, and I remember how overwhelming it all was.
I ran into some friends from college there, which was cool. One of the last things that happened at the main platform before our group had to leave to re-board the buses was Tracy Chapman performing. It kind of made the whole weekend for us.
Stay safe this weekend folks! I'm planning to chill and watch anime all weekend.
