Eddie's Attic: The Early Days

Welcome to my new world!

I look at that pic now, and my first thought is "God, I'm fat!" But after that, I think of how much the booth has already changed. That photo was just a week ago, and since then, I've moved in a table and chair, a media rack and some more shelves, not too mention a lot more merchandise!

One of the things I've learned is that it takes a lot of stuff to keep the place running, especially at the pace things keep flying off the shelves. Not to brag or anything, but, in the week since I put stock out, I've already made most of the booth rent for next month. If things keep up at this pace, I will have the rent for next month by the end of the month.

Given that the thought in the beginning was that we wouldn't make the August rent in July because we didn't start until the middle of the month, that's pretty exciting. I had anticipated eventually being able to cover the rent with sales, but I thought it would take a couple of months.

Not to say, I'm turning a profit or on the verge of supporting myself, mind you. If you factored in my time, even at minimum wage, I'm bleeding money. But I didn't go into this to get rich, just as a hobby of sorts. If the booth can support itself by covering the rent, plus give me a little extra for new merch, then I'm happy.

Plus, it's kind of cool to see what sells, analyze sales, and plan based on that.

Anyway, here's a few pics of the early days for your viewing pleasure, if you like looking at fat guys stocking booths, that is.



It takes a lot of sorting to get it all just right.



Proper posture for applying price tags requires keeping both arms absolutely rigid!



I know it doesn't look like much here, but remember this was just the beginning. When I get the chance I'm going to do a video tour of the booth as it is now.



This guy sold right off the bat! Note to self: more Mickeys!



This was my favorite items from my first set of stock! I was actually working in the booth when the guy who bought it picked it up. He got the biggest kick out of it!

Some Emmylou...Just for you! (and me!)

Someone on the Emmylou mailing list shared this, and I simply can't resist sharing:



It's the poster from the Emmylou and the Nash Ramblers show at the Ryman, way back when. This is a legendary show and the live recording is one of my favorite Emmylou albums. Their version of "Get Up John" alone is more than worth the price of admission. Simply blows my mind every time.

Also, as is the case with shows at the Ryman, the print was done by the legendary Hatch Show Prints. We have two of their prints, from shows we got to see at the Ryman, hanging in our living room. Here's a gallery of their amazing work.

Stayed Up a Bit Too Late

Working on stuff for the booth and a few other projects and lost track of time. Got to get to bed like right now!

This should help:



Such an interesting group of performers there, but it's obvious who the star of the show is. :-)

See you tomorrow. Trying to post all week.

Let's just call it "Eddie's Folly"

In which your Eddie-tor decides to become a junk peddler.

It's no secret that I like to shop. You don't become a collector of anything without at least a tiny bit of longing for the thrill of the hunt. Of course, I've taken it several steps farther than that. Basically, as long as it's not groceries, I love a good shopping trip.

It's not that I'm necessarily super-materialistic, per se. I don't make a ton of money, and I'm not into having tons of stuff, or the latest and greatest of everything, but I've always liked to see what's out there. And if I find something cool that I can afford, so much the better.

Still, I do try not to be wasteful. I'll hang on to stuff until it literally falls apart. For that reason, I've always been big into second hand retail--thrifts, yard sales, etc. In fact, my birthday celebration each year is a mad orgy of thrifting, as we hit every store in town that sells second-hand.

A few years ago, a friend of ours expanded her eBay business into one of the local second-hand shops. She's been coasting through, making a pretty good go at it. She tried to talk me into taking the plunge a while back, noting that I'm running out of space in the house for stuff. We explored the idea, but let it fall by the wayside.

Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. One of the Peddler's Malls in Louisville moved to a new location this month. I went out there over the 4th of July weekend and saw that they had a ton of booth space available. After talking it over with Keith for a while, I took out a contract for a booth yesterday.

I know it's not going to be easy. Our friend works at hers every weekend and evening--going to auctions, attending yard sales, etc. I'm not looking to make a living at it, though. I'm just hoping for a past time that kind of pays for itself.
And, if I clear out some of my excess, so much the better. I'm hoping to bring the kind of focus to a couple of my collections that I brought to my comics when I sold off 3/4 of the lot a couple of years ago. (Best yard sale we ever had!)

Yesterday, we did the first round of yard sale hunting as junk dealers. It was kind of fun being able to buy interesting stuff I would have always thought was kind of cool, but nover bought because I didn't have a use or space for it.

My goal is to kind of deal in quantity. I want to keep the prices low as I can and sell a variety of interesting stuff. You can still find some great bargains at yard sales, and occasionally from other dealers as well. I'm hoping it's a pricing strategy that will work in a down economy for someone dealing in definite non-essentials.

I've been pulling my first batch of inventory together tonight. Tomorrow night, I'm going over to set up. It's going to be a lot of work, but I hope it will keep my mind off a lot of the unsavory things happening around me lately.

So, if you're in the area, drop by Eddie's Attic (Keith came up with the name): Booth 62 in the Shively Center Peddler's Mall on Dixie Highway.

Why I'll Never Drink Evian....

I'm sorry, but these hairless, toothless wheeled mutant beings creep me the hell out!



Gack!

Monday Morning Folk Music: One Woman with a Shovel!

I've written before about folk powerhouse Carrie Newcomer and the comfort I get from her music. This song is one that I find to be particularly empowering. It seems these days, I need reminders about the virtues of standing up for yourself and what's right, especially against impossible odds. I find myself playing this little clip a lot and humming the chorus to myself throughout the day. Sometimes it's the only way to cope in a place where the nationally recognized get fired, those with knowledge and experience get shafted, and the unqualified get repeatedly promoted.

Check out her guitar when you watch this. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use three capos before!



The video comes from the Wilderness Plots documentary about the album of the same name that Newcomer and a bunch of other Indiana folkies did, using stories from a book about the settlement of the midwest (with yet again the same titles) as their inspiration and starting point.

The documentary was airing on PBS through the spring. It's worth catching if it comes back around.

Thoughts on the new Days promo

I really love the new promo for Days of Our Lives, but it's also a little frustrating to watch. The things that make it a successful clip are the very things that the show could use a lot more of. If the marketing folks can get it, why can't the writing and production teams?

The show on display in this promo is one I would love to watch every day. The one I watch every day is nothing like it. If I were not watching Days, but decided to check it out based on this clip, I'd end up confused and a little disappointed.

First off, it's fun! The show has been so dark and dismal lately, what with babies dying and being stolen and people being kidnapped or poisoned and whatnot. It's just plain nice to see everyone smiling and laughing. It would be nice if that would actually happen on the show, just a little. After all, the clip does promise a "summer of fun!"

Next, the focus is on family and romance, the two key ingredients of any good soap, something Days has a hard time remembering at times. Not that the show is devoid of them, but we just don't get enough of the kind of light-hearted romantic sweetness that's on display here. People taking pleasure in simply being with each other comes from the characters themselves, not the plots. Too much on the actual show is plot-driven right now.

The clip is just full of all kinds of awesome little character bits that would enhance the show so much right now, simply by providing some counterweight to the plot-driven nature of the show. These little moments tell us so much about the characters and who they are that we don't get when we're watching them muddle through plot-decree number thirty-seven.

Simple stuff like this is what I'm talking about:

Maggie standing arm in arm with Nathan and Lucas
Brady stopping the swing by putting his arms around Arianna's waist
That little look between Nicole and Stefano at the end
Sami and Roman hugging at the table
Bo and Hope on the little bridge
Hell, even the little bit with Kate tossing the apple and catching it is a delightful summation of her character these days, and I loathe that whole story!

Instead, on the show, we get stuff like:

Maggie lying to Lucas about his accident
EJ the eternally angry emotionally abusing Nicole the eternally needy
Bo the psychic and his stupid visions
Kate trying to kill Chloe
Phillip making Stephanie lie about her kidnapping, a time when she was held captive in a drawer in a morgue, for god's sake!
Stephanie abusing pills to try and forget all of the above*
Rafe threatening to leave Sami three days after their baby dies because he's trying to keep some dumb secret about a dead woman we don't know or care about

My favorite thing about the whole clip is that every character is featured, except possibly for the babies (and Alice), which I totally love. Due to the economics of the business of daytime, the whole cast never appears in one episode any more. Of course, when you look at the whole group in one place, it's a little shocking how small the cast is these days. I mean, they're all gathered around two or three picnic tables! It's also a little troubling to be reminded how infrequently Roman and the Carvers appear these days.

Still, despite my mixed feelings, there are some aspects of this promo that are completely positive, with no downside. For one, the damn thing exists! NBC has spent the last ten years or so tearing their soap stable apart show by show, until the shadow that calls itself Days of Our Lives is all that's left. It's completely uncharacteristic of their attitude toward daytime that they went to the expense of shooting a special Days promo like this. You simply have to see it as a positive sign and hope for a few more.

Not only did they go to the expense of shooting the promo, but they went the extra mile with it and did it as a location shoot, adding a lush, realistic feel to the clip. That's the kind of luxury soaps never get these days. I can't remember the last time the show did an outdoor shoot. Maybe the promo is a sign we'll get some location shoots on the show soon as well. That would be nice.

You can't fault the network for making a super clip, that's for sure. I just want to see some of the things that make the promo so special happen to the show as well. Time will tell if that happens.

*Not that I blame her. I'm taking drugs to try and forget the whole stupid story myself.

Elementary, old chum!

Or maybe not?



I think the Boy Wonder's been neglecting his homework while on those late night anti-crime patrols.

My Fave YouTube of the Moment

In Honor of Comic Convention Season!

I haven't been to a comic convention in ages. The last one I made was APE in San Francisco the year my father died. In fact, I was there when he went into the hospital. Maybe it's about time to start thinking about that again. If I just knew for sure what was going to happen with my employment situation, the planning would be a little easier. Maybe next year? APE, MoCCA or SPX? Maybe WonderCon or Heroes World? Or NYCC? Hmmmm....

Stop It!

Went to a training for work the other week and the trainer used this video in his presentation. Don't know that I got much else out of the training, but this kind of made it worth it. I still laugh every time I see it. Bob Newhart has never not been totally awesome, you know?