Hiatus

Hi folks,

I'll be taking a break from the blog for a month, while I do a spot of curio hunting overseas.

If anyone has any suggestions for great shops that I might find interesting in London, Paris, San Sebastian, and Madrid, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

à plus, hasta luego, and ta-ra!!!

Ringo Stalin

Moderne Enzyklopädie der Erotik

Pee-wee Herman Topps Trading Cards

2000AD Prog 923, 20 Jan 95 - Jason Brashill

I was going through my 2000AD weeklies collection (it's pretty impressive, if I do say so myself), and I found this cover by Jason Brashill, from January 1995. While it's pure coincidence, its similarity to events that occurred in 2001 is interesting nonetheless, especially with Dredd's detonator being reflected in his visor in that particular way.

I quite like Brashill's work. Find his wiki page HERE.

Royal Flushes - 9s

Louis Vuitton Australian Croquet Championships 1994 SA pin

Of all of the things I have in my collection of Curios, this one comes from the furthest areas of left field. I would hazard a guess that I acquired it through either my father or brother (fellow collectors of oddities), but I couldn't say for sure.

I don't think I've ever met anyone who has played croquet professionally, or recreationally at least in any capacity to take part in any championships.

Pee-wee Herman Topps Trading Cards

In celebration of Pee-wee Herman's long-overdue, and warmly welcomed, comeback, I will be posting all 33 cards from the 1988 Topps Trading Card series.

My friend, Tony, picked these up for me while he was visiting the United States. I really do love an unexpected gift, especially when it's preceded with the sentence "I saw this and I thought of you..."

Moderne Enzyklopädie der Erotik

Ringo Stalin - 3 Instrumentals

I've been sitting on these 3 tracks for what feels like ages. Generally, I'll put together the music of a song, and try to write some lyrics around it, and if need be, re-edit the music so the song is somewhat cohesive.

I sat with these tracks on repeat, on the way to work, at home, for hours, for days, just trying to think of some lyrics for them. I never could.

But I never got tired of listening to the music itself, so I'm happy to finally share them, as instrumentals.

Ringo Stalin - Bayou Exclamation
Ringo Stalin - Carapace Jazz
Ringo Stalin - Shattered Bone

By the way, I sourced the accompanying cover image from the Scandy Factory Tumblr (NSFW), who had reblogged it from where it originally appeared at Monster Movie Music.

Royal Flushes - 8s

Moderne Enzyklopädie der Erotik

What A Way To Go

Royal Flushes - 7s

What A Way To Go: Some Of The Strangest Deaths On Record

'What A Way To Go: Some Of The Strangest Deaths On Record' by Peter Bowler and Jonathon Green is one of my favourite books.

It's a collection of tales of the various 'odd' ways people over the years have shuffled, plummeted, or otherwise turned fouetté off this mortal coil.

I once found this book in the children's section in a local library, and I was pleased that the publishers, parents brigades or other watchdogs hadn't found it too 'morbid' to place on the shelves. I personally have found that Death should be embraced and enjoyed because, after all, we, each and every one, will be experiencing it one day. This book certainly takes a light-hearted look at the subject.

That is not to say that one shouldn't grieve in times of loss; it's never nice to know that you'll never be able to speak with a loved one again. And there are also times when Death is absolutely no laughing matter for those involved, but I digress...

I will add excerpts from the book over time.

Also, please note that any book that cites Kenneth Anger, or "word of mouth" as a source should probably be taken with a grain of salt...