HAPPY VLADENTINE!

And you thought Vlad only showed up during the Halloween Countdown. Like a stake through the heart, here's a group of Vladentines! (Be sure to follow Castle Vlad on Facebook!)

VALENTINE FELT SOUVENIR FROM THE 1940 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #87

Here's something perfect for the day before Valentine's Day.  

Last weekend, I attended an antique show and added some things to my 1939-40 New York World's Fair collection. The item I'm featuring today is a fun one, especially for this month. Interesting that this one is Valentine's Day themed, especially since the second year of the fair didn't open until April. I've seen examples of paper "school" style NYWF Valentines before but this is the first time I've seen a felt one.

Seventy-five years ago, Oscar and Bernice probably waited a few minutes at one of the many exhibits and had this souvenir  embroidered with their names. When I find personalized souvenirs like this I can't help to wonder who the people were. What was this couple's story? Young or old? Dating or married? Did they have a long life together? Always questions with souvenirs like this. One question that probably can be answered is that Oscar and Bernice apparently had a fun day being together at the 1940 New York World's Fair!  

PARTY ON DUDES, IT'S ABE'S BIRTHDAY

As we celebrate our greatest President's birthday today, let's remember one of his most excellent speeches. The one from 1988 at San Dimas High School.

"Four score and seven minutes ago we, your forefathers were brought forth upon a most excellent adventure conceived by our new friends, Bill and Ted. These two great gentleman are dedicated to a proposition which was true in my time, just as it's true today. Be excellent to each other...and party on dudes!"

THE JUNK ART CAR OF BRANSON

 

In Branson, Missouri there used to be an art car parked next to an Old Time photo studio and T-shirt shop on Highway 76. It sat across the street from the Grand Country Square, but in recent years it has disappeared.  I'm not sure when this jalopy of hodgepodge showed up on the Branson strip. I have no clue who the artist/owner was. I really don't know zilch about this car. But for whatever reason, it kind of fascinated me. To the chagrin of the First Lady of Neato Coolville, I always made a point to acknowledge it when we drove by. "Hey, there's the junkmobile!" Maybe it reminded me of all those goofy cars featured in the pages of SuperMag, that I used to read as a kid. Also, it reminded me of Memory Jugs from way back in the day. In April 2008, I hurriedly stopped and snapped some photos of this mosaic mess of a car. I always intended to go back and take some better and more detailed shots. These will have to do.

Doesn't it look like it crashed through a flea market and everything stuck to it? Or better yet, a flea market barfed all over it. Yeah, the last analogy seems to fit it better.

Like a nightmare scene out of Toy Story. Lots of toys and action figures sit permanently affixed to the car. Two He-Man figures, a headless Prince Adam and Leech watch the Branson tourists drive on by. (Uh...well... not Adam.)

I spy Pez, Happy Meal Toys, Hot Wheels, game pieces, dinosaurs, horses, He-Man figures and a panda. Where's Waldo? Nope, there's no Waldo in this jumble. So instead, lets play Where's the Wicked Witch of the West? Can you find her. Also, for bonus points see if you can find Batman.

You know that song One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash? Yeah, that song fits for this car!

I know Lucasfilm has licensed a lot of stuff through the years, but this is taking things a little too far! Also, I don't think license plates that came from a box of Honeycomb cereal is legal for use on a car. I'm talking to you Adam and Jim!

No souvenir plate for Branson? Missed opportunity if you ask me. 

Yikes! Are those rubber lobsters on the top or actual lobster corpses? Also, I'm guessing the shattered windshield wasn't the artist's original intention. Someone must not have been a fan of this car.

Oh, I get it! This art car is not really an art car but instead a hillbilly Transformer in the form of an art car. "Transformers, junk disguised as art! Transformers, ouch, I got something in my eye! Transformers...." Oh, sorry about that. I got a little carried away singing.

 

This car is the lizard king and chess master of art cars!

Now this section of the car is a tad bit creepy. That doll head looks a little crispy.

Wow, this car was loaded with advanced technology and powered by Radio Shack's TRS-80 computer! Maybe it talked like KITT.

God bless America and God bless this car in the unknown junk yard that it might reside in!

FOUND PHOTO: MS BROADSHOULDERS CABINET CARD

Remember the classic scene from The Carol Burnett Show? You know the famous scene! The one where Carol walks down the stairs with the curtain rod dress during the Gone with the Wind parody, Went with the Wind.

Click here for a short interview video about the dress from the famous skit.

This past weekend I found in an antique store a cabinet card photo of a real life Victorian curtain rod gal. I don't know anything about women's fashion from the 19th century, but I can say I've never seen a photo like this one before. When I discovered this photo in an antique booth, I had to laugh. So did the First Lady of Neato Coolville. Just the night before, we watched Gone with the Wind.  Then the next day, we discussed the film in the car in route to the antique store and of course the Carol Burnett spoof came up in our conversation. Just a short time after reminiscing about the classic skit, I found the photo.  Crazy-weird-funny!

Since the photo is not id'd, I've named her Ms. Broadshoulders. I doubt she had abnormally wide shoulders or a curtain rod under her dress, but my guess is that she's wearing a costume for a stage play. Anyway, this photo was just too funny not to share today.

FOUND PHOTOS: BABY GOT BACK

Recently, I picked up a bag of snapshots at a flea market and inside were these! I always get a kick out of seeing silly snaps and here we can share in some backwoods silliness from these two girls. Wait, did I say two girls? There's just one really tall girl posing behind a tree, right? Shh...just play along.

Sorry to break the illusion, but the head in the above photo belongs to the booty in the next photo and vice versa.  

Oops! Looks like the head is showing a bit too much leg. Let me fix that for her.

There you go! Now the illusion works much better with the aid of photoshop.

Unfortunately the snapshots are void of any identification. The photos that were in the same bag are marked Pocahontas, Arkansas. So, it's a good guess that these gals were goofing off over seventy years ago in the Ozarks.

NEATO COOLVILLE PSA: RECORD YOUR LOVED ONES

Here in Neato Coolville we're all about preserving the past. It's very important, because everything is temporary and everything changes. We now live in an age where things can easily be saved digitally. Images, sounds and writings can survive long after the physical material has disappeared. 

Last week, my grandmother passed away. She lived a long and fruitful life to the age of 101. She experienced and witnessed many wonderful things and overcame many adversities. She had a century's worth of knowledge and memories that she always enjoyed sharing. We're all going to miss her dearly. Fortunately for us and for her descendants we have audio and video recordings of her telling stories and sharing what life was like back in the old days. 

Today I just want to encourage everyone to preserve their own family heritage by recording interviews with your loved ones. It's nice to have video, but I find it easier and less intrusive to simply use the recording device on my smart phone. Before you start, make sure to have a list of questions to help keep the conversation going. Ask about regular daily activities, about their jobs, their hobbies, favorite foods, favorite movies etc. I always made a point to ask about major historical events and where or what they were doing at the time. Questions about past family members and friends always works as a fun conversation starter. I learned so much about relatives that came before me and now have a better understanding of who they were. Also, use photographs, props or things from their past to help jog a memory. 

By the way, this isn't just a thing to preserve the memories of grandparents. Do the same with your parents, yourself and even your kids. How many of us would get a kick out of hearing an interview with our childhood selves. I know I would!  

Okay, so get out there and have some fun and preserve some family history! Do it today, before all those precious memories are lost forever. Just hit the record button!!!

HAPPY 2015 WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

Wishing everyone a neato New Year!  Let's hope this is not the year when the robots take over.