Thanks Guys

The last post you saw on this blog was an example of just the kind of stupid goofy story that I adore. They remind me of old newsreel stories or a page from the newspaper that carried 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not'. I ate that stuff up with a spoon as a kid. Anything post 1900 was best but all of life in Victoria's Empire (which Canada was a proud part of) was aces to me.

The 'Cave of Cool' reflect these interests to my own degree. Today I was shown a blog that replicates the way I saw much of the weird and wonderful when I was a youth.

'Futility Closet' replicates (which very little comment) the exact words and images found in advertising, human interest stories, new features and just plain weirdness of the early days of popular tabloid literature.

It's all beautiful stuff. I love the product and medicinal adds the most. Or the records of things like the big snowman that some goobers build in a cool arctic winter. That stuff is GOLD to a collector of cool like myself. Expect to see many reposts in the weeks to come.

Of course, my brother from another mother, my mentor, my Mr Myagi, My pop cultural Indiana Jones - DR. GOAT - sent me the link to the 'Futility Closet' sight because he knew how much I would enjoy the trip through it's archives.

But it's more than that. My father knew I loved action figures so he kept his ears and eyes open for anything action figure related - commercials, toy store catalogues, my talks with him about what I wanted, then he did his best to get me all the great stuff he could find. He is the reason I had TWO great action figure collections. He refused to let the loss of my first collection to kill my love for what I loved.

Dr. Goat has been that way with me since he first found me and commented on my site. He shared his life and his collections with me and after several conversations, surprised me with a box of things from his collections that became instant treasures in mine.


For example. I have maybe 100 baseball comic book cards. He send me 5 thick collections in plastic cases in such topics and PULP COVERS and MARS ATTACKS.





He somehow knew that these are 'holy grail' items to me, especially the complete set of the famous 'Mar's Attacks' trading card set. In the fifties these cards were a gross and visceral way to deal with the fear of alien invasion in the atomic age but to Tim Burton they were worth enough to inspire a movie, Mars Attacks, which he made is 1990. I loved that movie because it has the same sick sense of humor as these cards.

Dr. Goat made that entire set a gift to me. For no other reason than he is my friend and a decent soul who deserves to be able to teleport to the 'Cave' for punch and pie and cigars most nights.

Today I was laughing over the subjects of the pogs he sent me. Check out this goober. Magnificent. How do you thank a buddy like that? You have to live one more year my friend, so you can take me to one of the Disney complexes so we can have a terrific vacation together. I owe that to you as much as to myself.