Fun And Games

Last week found us spending a quiet night in, putting together a 60s Munsters puzzle that we'd just found at a monthly market sale. Surprisingly, it was complete and it even came in its original box. This also got us thinking about another game we'd purchased recently....

Realizing that this was worth the junk shop's $5 purchase price didn't require a lick o' clairvoyance. It's a shame that we still haven't played it.

Those of you who have seen the movie The Ice Pirates may already be familiar with Computer Perfection, as it played a supporting role as part of a spaceship's control panel. Valery found this'un a decade ago at some long-forgotten thrift store.

With fewer than 100 extant examples, Boredom (1994) is another obscurity in the Dan Clowes catalog. Who wouldn't want to spin the Wheel of Despair, if it meant achieving the likely success of suicide?

Good Friends

Showcasing the best trades I've made in the past 5+ years, November delivered a small stash that's really brightened our days.


Features and Filth were replacements for copies sold / traded years ago; Milk 'n Cookies was the absent member of the PS trinity; the Embarrassment 45 was a single I'd mistakenly dismissed as too indie rock in my youth; Skrewdriver's just a fave that took way too long to get here.

Not much else to say other than a big heap of thanks to all of the parties involved. A fitting way to wrap up an amazing year.

Little Lost And Innocent

Heard an unexpected clanking coming from the backyard this weekend and were stunned by what we found: a pitiful street urchin begging for alms. In fact, Valery and I were so moved by the sight of this grubby, mottled mess that we decided—in the spirit appropriate to this Yuletide season—to adopt and shelter the miserable little waif.

Better known as Sympathy For the Record Industry's unofficial mascot, Little Miss No Name was produced by Hasbro and available to the public for only twelve months, starting in 1965. Sweetening the pot even further, this vision in burlap was marketed w/ the following tag: "I need someone to love me / I am so tired and cold / Please take me home with you / And I'll be yours to hold." It's still unbelievable to us that execs gave the go ahead to mass-produce this Keane-eyed runt...and saw fit to unleash her complete w/ blue acrylic tear!

Never ones to pass up an opportunity for slave labor, we've already got her hard at work as our newest, most valued assistant. A special thank you to Valery for accomplishing the impossible: making this Christmas even more memorable.

From Home

Our apologies for the lapse, folks. Last week found us traipsing about my native copper state...and raiding every available thrift / antique store between Mexico and the Valley of the Sun. The pickens were uncharacteristically slim this time out; however, we did find a few things that struck our mutual fancy.

This blog's #1 fan (and our adopted baby boy) brought home the goods at $1 a (vintage) button. We just wish we could've been there when he asked the elderly store owner if she could reach in and grab the If It Moves, Fondle It pinback out of the display case.

My older brother asked us to deliver a pair of vintage Holt Howard salt & pepper shakers to my sister; apparently, he'd been holding on to them for the past four years, always forgetting to give them to her himself. Needless to say, Valery fell for 'em immediately and we were stoked to find an identical pair in a Tucson antique store later that same day.

This Danish pricklepuss came compliments of some nice folks in Phoenix. No idea who's responsible for the design. Also, not sure if its disposable quills are for hors d'oeuvres or toof-pickin'. Mmm, teaky.

Despite my initial objections, Valery insisted that we bring these home...and, as much as I hate to admit it, I've kind of warmed up to these little guys. Looks like we're planning to put these around the Christmas tree...a pictorial will undoubtedly appear in the not-so-distant future.

Warmest thanks to Genz for being an excellent host and for mailing out the remaining goods. Now where the fuck are they?!

Your Pickled Personality?

Ol' hawkeye spotted these a while back and we knew they were instant must-haves. Six personality profiles celebrating lowered inhibitions and ruptured psyches—and each with an appropriately Cubist backdrop.

Gremmie Out Of Control

Strange how the innocent perusal of Craigslist can turn into a nearly two month long saga...over a record I only wanted, and still only want, for its cover!

Here's the abridged version:

9.25.09: Record found mis-listed (it was retitled "Sounds of the Weird-Ons") in a batch of 78s.
10.7.09: Payment ($10) mailed because the seller is located 1hr away and I'm convinced that this record, like most kids records, is going to be trashed.
10.13.09: Record (allegedly) mailed out.
11.6.09: Record (allegedly) returned.
11.16.09: Picked up in person in a poorly coordinated parking lot rendezvous (8:30am).

So, not only was I totally off the mark on the actual condition of the record, but I would've also screwed myself out of an un-split and intact inner sleeve, had it been mailed. All's well, I guess.

Making Time

Available for a few, fleeting moments in 1967, the Duke and Duchess of Carnaby tapped into the booming Mod scene already underway in the UK. Moptops manufactured by the same company responsible for the (American) Slurp, the couple represented another attempt to cash into the thriving teen market. This shaggy duo—purchased from two dealers on opposite sides of the US—are prized googly-eyed fixtures in our subterranean record room.

Remake / Remodel

It's been a little over a year now since I bought my first home. Renovation has been a slow process, as I move from room to room, and as finances allow. Featured in this post is the house's Great Room—it's the most complete and satisfying room to date.

Luckily, this room required the least amount of work... although I would still love to get more original art in here. At least the saloon doors and hideous light fixture are no longer present.

Here are three photos taken before I moved in last September (2008):




Some shots of the room in its current state:

This is the view entering the room from the foyer.

Here we find Otis silently stalking all of the squirrels, birds, feral cats and rabbits that enjoy frolicking in our backyard.

Still not sure what I'm going to do about the doors to the fireplace. It'll most likely get painted.

Here's the dinette we found in Phoenix. It replaced a vintage Chromcraft set I'd owned for years. I did, however, recycle the Chromcraft's glass top—the one the Arkana set was sold with was beveled and way too small (I don't think it was original to it, anyway).

I initially wanted to do one big wall tile treatment for the dining room, but it ended up being way out of my budget. Ideally, I'd like a big piece of original art to go there instead. I've been spoiled by the awesome Screaming Lord Sutch painting my good friend (and favorite local artist) Tim painted for me—maybe I'll beg him to paint something else for me later on!

This shot leads you to one of the two entrances to the kitchen... which is halfway done. It's still in need of new flooring and counter-tops. Finances and me being new to doing my own renovation work means this is a really slow process. I'm at the point where I need to hire someone to help me with the counter-tops since they require a lot of attention.

The view from the kitchen.

You can see my covered deck that leads to a wrap-around patio through the wall of windows. One day I hope to replace the wagon-wheel-esque railing that is currently there to something more appropriate and modern. I've also neglected to change the horrible light fixture that's still dangling out there. It will get done soon!

I've reserved this little nook for my vintage robot collection. You can also see the spiral staircase that leads down to the finished basement. Painting the stairwell and ripping out the carpet are two big priorities on my checklist.

Finally, Sof' Boy stands guard over the entire house. He's also responsible for feeding the carnivorous plants in our terrariums. Thanks, li'l buddy!

Space Age Love

While visiting Arizona this summer, we took a day trip up to Phoenix to hang out with our good friend, Mike, and to do some record and antique shopping—we also ended up waiting for four hours (!) for some yummy pizza at Pizzeria Bianco (but that's another story...).

Most of the day was spent browsing and finding small scores here and there ...that is until we entered an upscale mid-century modern store and I couldn't believe my eyes! There sat a perfectly preserved vintage Arkana dinette—it was my dream set come to life! I'm sure Tony and Mike were amused to see me running up to and hugging its chairs like a complete freak. I knew right then that I needed to get it back to Atlanta.

So geography was the first problem ...and then there was also the matter of the asking price. The owner of the store had priced it far beyond my budget. There was absolutely no way I could afford to pay that much. I talked to Tony about it and he volunteered a possible solution: why not have his brother, a local architect and firm owner, talk to the proprietor to see if they could arrive at some mutually beneficial decision? Sure enough, a week later, his brother spoke to the guy—who, as it turns out, loves pleasing architects (future clients)—and he agreed to shave 1/3 off the asking price. Phew!

A few months and multiple rolls of bubble wrap later, we successfully transported it from Phoenix to Atlanta in a filled-to-capacity 17ft U-Haul. Miraculously, it survived the 60+hr trek across the states intact.

Stay tuned: pics of the dinette in its new home ...and more!

Freddy Brown, The Squirt: The Operator

Nothing signals the passing of a good year like the arrival of a vintage—this was made 20+ years ago—masterstroke by Daniel Gillespie Clowes. A quick convert since high school, I've spent the past decade down in the trenches, tracking down and collecting his original artwork. Its pursuit is maddening, wallet-detonating and (oftentimes) heartbreaking, but the overwhelming pride of ownership his pages confer make all of the hassles worthwhile.

This particular story, which appeared in the third issue of JD King's Twist anthology (a semi-continuation of STOP! Magazine), has always been a favorite, and I can distinctly remember reading it for the first time one afternoon while I was killing time at Toxic Ranch Records in Tucson, AZ. My teenage self never would've imagined that I'd own these pages someday.

I'm sure we'll post more photos once we've got these framed up and displayed in the house proper. Until then, please enjoy the pics below.

Eternal indebtedness and gratitude to Mike and Damian for their undying devotion to charity! Special thanks to Mitch O'Connell for having the foresight to pick these up when he had the chance. And an extra-special thanks to Valery for putting up with my fanboy slavishness.

TV Freak

Never having run across one of these in the southwest, I was really pleased when we walked into a neighborhood antique store and saw it perched atop an uppermost shelf. Flush with cash and eager to add this to our vintage electronics collection, I succeeded in getting the owner to knock 1/4 off the asking price. Although I still don't think it's superior to the JVC Videosphere, Panasonic's Orbitel makes an effective argument.

A period ad announcing the arrival of Panasonic's space-age classic.

Unfortunately, this one didn't come with a box, but we found an image online and figured it was worth including.

Here it is resting peacefully in its natural habitat: our den.

Taking The City By Storm

This past weekend found us visiting NYC, meeting up with friends and attending the annual WFMU record fair. Featured below are some of the mementos purchased and scores made over the weekend...and a few from a little earlier this month.

Handy record tote supplied by the kind folks over at Norton Records—showcasing the one-and-only Eskew Reeder Jr. Regrettably, the M- copy of the Alarm Clocks' No Reason To Complain 45 that Billy Miller had available for trade, was not included with its purchase.

Both volumes of TORTURA: The Sounds of Pain and Pleasure were finally picked up. Unlike most of the copies spotted over the years, these are in surprisingly clean condition. The Eric Stanton-esque covers are exactly what those insidious record frames were made for. Preparations are already being made to get these set up in the guest bedroom.

Two more volumes of Tim Warren's Garage Punk Unknowns series from the 80s. One more to go—which is currently en route—and a set of the original seven (with paste-on covers) will finally be completed!

Some record fair purchases, a few (Jimmy Jukebox & the Easybeats) provided by pals and one (Damned) found locally. It's nice to finally have Motor Boat, Sorry, Long Gone, Blood Splattered With Guitars, Die Trying, and Do You Wanna Know in their original forms. Although we finally found a Chantal Kelly single, we're still on the lookout for her Notre Prof D'anglais EP. Help?

Promo glossy of the Arrows in top form & two Drew Friedman prints depicting perennial household favorites: Don Knotts and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

Lastly, a couple of 60s Danish teak curios found in a small vintage shop in the East Village. The duo are complete with designer tags noting a Mr. Tonny Gerbsch. A quick internet search provided no results, so anyone with further details is invited to write us.

Totally Wired

A recent thrifting expedition to Tucker, GA seemed like a total bust... that is, until we spied a dilapidated antique shack and the five vintage Bertoia chairs sitting in its parking lot. A set of four white side chairs and this gray specimen beckoned us closer.

An enthusiastic proprietor informed us that we could have the entire white set for $265 and that he'd graciously toss in the gray chair gratis. Sadly, we'd quickly realized that all of the white'uns were contemporaneous knock-offs and that the only authentic piece was the gray loner.

A few minutes of haggling and fifty bucks later, we were on the road with a new addition to our master bedroom. So far, the chair has earned one big fan—a frequently napping Otis!