So, it's December. They're playing Xmas music where I work. It's mixed up a bit, some regular songs, then holiday stuff, then regular stuff again. When I was younger I used to get really annoyed that stores would play religious songs around this time of year. As I got older I realized that that was very hypocritical of me... along the same lines as getting pissed off hearing songs about Rudolph the Reindeer because "he doesn't exist!" I'm just glad that so far we've been spared The Chipmunks and that everyone seems to have forgotten the Jingle Cats. I can deal w/ the Muppets' "12 Days of Christmas" because Beaker is awesome.
One thing that hasn't changed since I was a kid is that no place plays the good novelty Xmas songs over their loudspeakers. I still love "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer," Bob Rivers' "12 Pains of Christmas" and "Walkin' Round in Womens' Underwear" (the song, not the act itself.) I can't remember who sang "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas" [edit: sung by Gayla Peevey in 1952 or -3]
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Today is a memorable day, not because of any sales or "Black Friday" craziness, but because I finally used up the entire spindle of CD-Rs I'd bought back when I upgraded my CD burner to one that'd burn 80 minutes of music. Why'd it take so long? I had a bunch of old 74-minute blanks that my parents gave me to use first, so I used those when I had an album/bootleg that would fit. Time to start on the next spindle...
One of the problems of high-speed internet access is that I end up downloading way more music than I can organize and burn at one time. I guess that's part of the whole obsessive collector thing... whenever I do burn a disc I try to compile everything that'll fit from a band I like - rarities, b-sides, all that stuff.
Speaking of collecting stuff... There's a lot of stuff that should be for sale, but isn't. I'd love to have a leather/fake snakeskin wallet that reproduces the album art from Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies. There's hundreds of awesome album covers that ought to be on shirts, but aren't. Since I pretty much fit the stereotype of the collector geek, you can imagine my disappointment that the few shirts I do find tend to end at size Large. If I was rich, I'd start a company that would reprint classic/vintage album art shirts in the full range of sizes...
One of the problems of high-speed internet access is that I end up downloading way more music than I can organize and burn at one time. I guess that's part of the whole obsessive collector thing... whenever I do burn a disc I try to compile everything that'll fit from a band I like - rarities, b-sides, all that stuff.
Speaking of collecting stuff... There's a lot of stuff that should be for sale, but isn't. I'd love to have a leather/fake snakeskin wallet that reproduces the album art from Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies. There's hundreds of awesome album covers that ought to be on shirts, but aren't. Since I pretty much fit the stereotype of the collector geek, you can imagine my disappointment that the few shirts I do find tend to end at size Large. If I was rich, I'd start a company that would reprint classic/vintage album art shirts in the full range of sizes...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
procrastinate? maybe later...
Another day spent attempting to reorganize stuff... rediscovered my stash of spare CD cases plus some discs I forgot about from when I first had access to a CD burner.
I've been putting all my burnt stuff in those slim CD cases and labelling the edges with an embossing tape machine. Now I see why nobody really uses these anymore - it's extremely difficult to get all the letters to line up, and I keep overprinting them when the tape doesn't advance like it's supposed to. Judging from a high school-era Swans compilation I'd made for myself, I used to be much better at this, since I did the tracklist entirely in embossing tape. I'm not calling it "Dymo tape" since that company no longer seems to make it... and I'm one of those anal people that gets annoyed when brand names are used generically, like saying "Kleenex" or "Band-Aid" when you ask for a tissue or bandage.
I've been putting all my burnt stuff in those slim CD cases and labelling the edges with an embossing tape machine. Now I see why nobody really uses these anymore - it's extremely difficult to get all the letters to line up, and I keep overprinting them when the tape doesn't advance like it's supposed to. Judging from a high school-era Swans compilation I'd made for myself, I used to be much better at this, since I did the tracklist entirely in embossing tape. I'm not calling it "Dymo tape" since that company no longer seems to make it... and I'm one of those anal people that gets annoyed when brand names are used generically, like saying "Kleenex" or "Band-Aid" when you ask for a tissue or bandage.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
damn, November already?
Another awesome Goodwill score: found a signed copy of Elmore Leonard's Riding The Rap! It's a large print edition, dedicated to the Maximillian hotel, which according to Google is either in Prague, Czech Republic or Malcesine, Italy. Perhaps there's another hotel with the same name in the United States somewhere... The full inscription reads "To the Maximillian, a fine hotel, with thanks for a most enjoyable stay. - Elmore Leonard, 4-02"
At any rate, I think that's more interesting than a book that's simply signed to a random person that showed up at a book signing. "Dutch" himself either left this book there or presented it to the manager or someone who worked at the hotel, and in the years since it migrated to the shelf in the Midwest where I picked it up! I wasn't even looking for signed books, I just grabbed it because it was a hardback and one I hadn't read yet, and didn't notice the signature until I got home...
Speaking of books, I mentioned PaperbackSwap and SwapACD in one of the earlier posts on here... I can now say that I received several items successfully from these sites and can fully recommend them both. If anyone reading this decides to join, there's a "referred by:" field when you sign up for your account. Type in "obscure-reference" with a hyphen between the words, and I'll probably get some sort of credit for referring you! What you should know before you join any of these sites is that you need to post 10 books/CDs/DVDs (depending on which site you join) to get your first credit. Also, you have to pay for the shipping to mail any of the items on your shelf that other members request. When you request items, though, you don't have to pay shipping. Like anything else, you should read all the terms of use before you agree to sign up...
At any rate, I think that's more interesting than a book that's simply signed to a random person that showed up at a book signing. "Dutch" himself either left this book there or presented it to the manager or someone who worked at the hotel, and in the years since it migrated to the shelf in the Midwest where I picked it up! I wasn't even looking for signed books, I just grabbed it because it was a hardback and one I hadn't read yet, and didn't notice the signature until I got home...
Speaking of books, I mentioned PaperbackSwap and SwapACD in one of the earlier posts on here... I can now say that I received several items successfully from these sites and can fully recommend them both. If anyone reading this decides to join, there's a "referred by:" field when you sign up for your account. Type in "obscure-reference" with a hyphen between the words, and I'll probably get some sort of credit for referring you! What you should know before you join any of these sites is that you need to post 10 books/CDs/DVDs (depending on which site you join) to get your first credit. Also, you have to pay for the shipping to mail any of the items on your shelf that other members request. When you request items, though, you don't have to pay shipping. Like anything else, you should read all the terms of use before you agree to sign up...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
like the title says, misc. rambling
Spent most of my day off reading other people's blogs about "retro stuff," like TV shows, movies and advertisements from the '70s and '80s. This got me thinking about the random things I've kept from when I was a kid... not the toys and such, which are still mostly packed away at my parents' house, but the other stuff.
For instance, I still have two green plastic bag clips that advertise Keebler's Cheez 'N Chips. All I remember about these cheese flavored snacks is that the two bags my mom bought came with their own clip to reseal the bag with. (There's an ad for them at the 8:48 mark at the link, in glorious VHS-o-vision) Even after watching that ad, I still don't remember eating them, or even if they were any good! However, the clips were made well enough to last through umpteen years of junk food consumption, despite a springless design.
I've held onto a collection of pocketknives and lighters, even though I only ever carry one of the smallest knives to work and no longer smoke. I just like keeping this stuff...
For instance, I still have two green plastic bag clips that advertise Keebler's Cheez 'N Chips. All I remember about these cheese flavored snacks is that the two bags my mom bought came with their own clip to reseal the bag with. (There's an ad for them at the 8:48 mark at the link, in glorious VHS-o-vision) Even after watching that ad, I still don't remember eating them, or even if they were any good! However, the clips were made well enough to last through umpteen years of junk food consumption, despite a springless design.
I've held onto a collection of pocketknives and lighters, even though I only ever carry one of the smallest knives to work and no longer smoke. I just like keeping this stuff...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
update
still going through books... unfortunately, many of the ones I have are ones I can't sell since the 99-centers on eBay and Half.com have taken the profit out of it. Oddly enough, I've seen many listings on Half (by the same few sellers) that are priced astronomically high. I couldn't imagine anyone paying $120 or so for any book or movie unless it was both rare and signed... or some special limited item like that Stooges box set, or those early Beck records with the painted covers.
My guess is either these sellers listed the stuff back when they were the only one that had the item, or else they really don't want to sell them in the first place.
I have found a possible solution for those books and CDs that are too common to sell or trade in elsewhere... there's a couple of sites for swapping paperbacks and CDs that sound almost too good to be true. The same people have another one for DVDs, but I haven't bothered with that one since I don't have a ton of movies just sitting around. So far, both sites have only a few "catches" that I can see. Everything you post to your account has to have a UPC and be in their system... which some of my older books and random CDs aren't. If other people want stuff you've posted, you pay shipping to mail it to them. That part isn't that big of a deal since I've gotten used to mailing stuff on eBay... I'll update this once I get the few items I've requested through these sites.
My guess is either these sellers listed the stuff back when they were the only one that had the item, or else they really don't want to sell them in the first place.
I have found a possible solution for those books and CDs that are too common to sell or trade in elsewhere... there's a couple of sites for swapping paperbacks and CDs that sound almost too good to be true. The same people have another one for DVDs, but I haven't bothered with that one since I don't have a ton of movies just sitting around. So far, both sites have only a few "catches" that I can see. Everything you post to your account has to have a UPC and be in their system... which some of my older books and random CDs aren't. If other people want stuff you've posted, you pay shipping to mail it to them. That part isn't that big of a deal since I've gotten used to mailing stuff on eBay... I'll update this once I get the few items I've requested through these sites.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
too much time/not enough time
...for what I have to do/for what I want to do...
Not much to report... attempting to clear out/reorganize stuff with the goal of making room for the scanner. Next, learning to use scanner and imaging program so I can finally add images of the artwork of any music posted here. Plan to have more written in days to come.
Unrelated: Turned in the empty crushed cans I was saving for scrap... got enough back to pay for a pack of cigs (if using mfr coupon). Am limited since have no garage to store them in, so stuck with what will fit in car's trunk while leaving room for other stuff (groceries + whatnot). Feels better than just throwing away, anyway...
I'll probably write more on here if I don't try to make everything perfect... while I can't understand the appeal of "twitter"-style constant updates since my life is not exciting or eventful, I remember reading somewhere that the way to become a good writer is to write, not to obsess over every word and scrap everything b/c you hate it later - all you get with that is blank pages (or no posts, in this case).
Not much to report... attempting to clear out/reorganize stuff with the goal of making room for the scanner. Next, learning to use scanner and imaging program so I can finally add images of the artwork of any music posted here. Plan to have more written in days to come.
Unrelated: Turned in the empty crushed cans I was saving for scrap... got enough back to pay for a pack of cigs (if using mfr coupon). Am limited since have no garage to store them in, so stuck with what will fit in car's trunk while leaving room for other stuff (groceries + whatnot). Feels better than just throwing away, anyway...
I'll probably write more on here if I don't try to make everything perfect... while I can't understand the appeal of "twitter"-style constant updates since my life is not exciting or eventful, I remember reading somewhere that the way to become a good writer is to write, not to obsess over every word and scrap everything b/c you hate it later - all you get with that is blank pages (or no posts, in this case).
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