what's worse?

Having diarrhea or hearing diarrhea?

Bars...

I know the picture is a month old, but it's something to look at.

dead systems...

I think my NES is finally dead after 19 years. Then again, that should be a good thing since all it does is make me anti-social and unproductive.

things...

Kraftwerk on vinyl
Trivial Pursuit Subsidiary Decks from the 1980's
comics not read
comics to sell to make space in the bedroom
christmas presents for little ones related to me
The Thin Man
Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law Vol. 2
an old broken TTC button promoting safety
Books bought from City Lights

Plowing...

Some parts of the field I'm working at I have no problem. The area where it's more of a pond and not a field begs the question if the underground tile is working properly.

A Corvette?...

I found this record player a few days back over in Sarnia... the name of the record player doesn't throw me off as what company originally sold them, Marshall Wells, which I recently found out that it was a hardware store that used to be a Hudson's Bay Company subsidary in the 1970's. I've never seen a Marshall Wells in Southwestern Ontario, or any remnants of that store in Southwestern Ontario.

Then again, things can be brought in.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back...

taken October 8th, 2006

My plate is full, there's tons of things going through my mind.

I had to make one last trek to Grand Bend before the flea markets close down for the winter. Fortunately, I took photos this time around for the people not from the area to see what the antique flea markets look like.


taken October 8th, 2006

I also took a few pictures of the Dam at Parkhill. It's the first time I ever stopped at the scenic lookout, and I knew that I would get a second chance with the weather going nasty now.

Now, I'm working on my campaign for councilor in my municipality, and so far its going as smooth as when I tried out for my high school junior basketball team, except the ball isn't bouncing off my foot and onto the stage, but more of my car's starter dying in the second level basement of the covent garden market's parking garage in London, Ontario.

The Fire Sale of WM. P. Morgan

This is one of many recent treasures that was found in the Hull House, a.k.a. "The Spooky House". What amazes me is how that this piece of paper has survived all these years. In a house where no one has lived in for nearly 18 years, in a room where part of the ceiling fell in.

This sale predates the birth of my grandfather by over two years.

The Bathtub from the Spooky House

I assure you that this bathtub won't be half buried in the ground with the virgin mary in it. I'm still trying to figure out how to get it out of the bathroom because of it's weight and size.

Flea Market Finds and Discoveries...

Purchased at the Pinery Flea Market in Grand Bend, Ontario.

Other things I noticed earlier this morning at the Antique/Flea Markets:

- there's a surge of cloth dolls being sold
- after twenty years, Gem isn't truly outrageous
- no one buys old books
- no one reads old books
- Coca-Cola's marketing has branched out to knives, so if I get stabbed in a dark alleyway, possibly the last thing I could see is a promo for a soft drink that eats rust.

A reply...

I was at the library in Strathroy, or as I called a smalltown library, doing research on local history for future projects when a "twelve year old" kid approaches my table talking like Eminem and looking like Aaron Carter. In short, this kid was pretty much bugging the people that weren't his age, trying to act like a thug. Was the kid twelve years old? No clue, and honestly don't care; really I made the comment on the twentieth of August (where the actions occured on the Friday the eighteenth) on the predetermined slam that :P Master would make, and the time it was made (which both determined actions I predicted were correct, and a chargin style after slam from him I will be expecting). Futhermore, I was hoping for a comment from Veritable Young Fogey because he has to deal with post-secondary students who oddly enough have the same mindset as that "twelve year old" kid, and that I haven't heard from him in awhile. The Cool Dozen slam is just sloppy and well, sad. For people that know me, I don't make snappy comebacks; they're not my style. The reason that I haven't made any postings lately because I'm busy with farm work, I was in Toronto for last part of August and I'm preparing for a funeral in the coming days.

To that punkass kid...

hey,

Punkass 12 year old kid who thinks he's acting cool in a smalltown library.
You're in a smalltown library.
You lost all your cool once you stepped inside the building,
Now go back outside and get your ass handed to you by a 13 year old who doesn't give a shit.

Viva la video store!...

Just heading to another stag & doe, but I wanted to mention this... beware of what you wear if it going to get you in a bizarre conversational gambit. Long story short, when you rent a shitty movie from a small town video store, don't wear anything with a communist symbolism on it (even though you wear a communist symbolism as a means of irony, but that beside the point)

My Knees...

what guy forgot to put sun screen on his legs when he was moving farm machinery around yesterday... this guy, and my knees are paying for it... nice and red like a potato from Prince Edward Island.

note for the future...

when exiting an automobile, make sure your head is down before you're fully out of the car. If not, you will have a large bruise on your head from the doorway.

I speak out of experience.

Douchebag...

Don't ask why, but I've been somewhat obsessed with that word.

One of my current reads...

I'm reading The Comic Book Holocaust by Johnny Ryan from Buenaventura Press, and the only place I can read it is on the toilet. The book is really gross and really disturbing, but has the effects of a car crash on a highway so I'm still reading it, albeit on the can.

not writing for a bit due to injury...

I injured my left hand this morning in a farming accident (long story short, hydraulic bottle jacks can fly pretty fast). Anyways, my left hand is my writing hand and won't see much in the lines of writing for awhile.

I'll try to get some pictures of it later, but now, I gotta go get pain meds now.

Fun with research...

In the past few weeks I've been buying books at City Lights Bookshop that came from the Kupolski collection which was quite unique.

These are some titles I've picked up so far...

The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
Man and His Symbols - Carl G. Jung
Symbolic Wounds - Bruno Bettelheim
The Observer's Book of Flags
Middle Eastern Mythology - S.H. Hooke
Prehistoric India - Stuart Piggott

Hopefully, I can put this stuff to something useful in the future.

Hair.

I have notice that my friends are getting haircuts.

I have chosen not to go that route.

Portugal vs. Netherlands... yikes!

Well, I'm not driving to Strathroy today.
The two major nationalities in Strathroy that are not English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh are the Dutch and the Portuguese.
Portugal and the Netherlands are playing today.
After the game is done, the town might be a bit hectic.
I'm gonna play it safe and avoid going east to Strathroy.

I cut hay...

This job I'm doing on the farm seems paradoxical. The job of cutting hay is boring as hell, but I don't have to deal with any asswipes.

the macbook...

I gots me a new computer. Already, the old iMac looks more and more like a piece of art than a piece of utility. I'd show you pictures but I've been playing with it constantly.

teehee.

The bookstore in Sylvan...

Sylvan is a "ghost" village in West Williams Township which is now part of the municipality of North Middlesex. There's not a lot happening in Sylvan, except for a bookstore that's open on the weekends. I had to check this place out because it's out of the way and in an unusual location for a bookstore.

The outside of the bookstore looked like it's in an old gas station office or general store turned into a diner, turned into a garden center, turned into a bookstore. The pumps were long gone. All the greenery was slowly taking over. Remnants of a diner survive on the windows as you can still see Coca-Cola ads stuck on the glass.

The inside was different. Its appearance was a cross between a decent flea market booth in Grand Bend and City Lights Bookshop from London taking a day-trip to parts unknown. When you first open the door to the store, the first thing you see are postcards of vintage paperback and pulp fiction novels cover art. I knew there was a scent of hipness in the air in the midst of a grizzled land, and the only people that can pull this stunt are the grizzled hipsters.

(Grizzled Hipsters don't have the metrosexual look like some urban hipsters have, but they definitely don't take in the Kentucky Waterfall look either.)

I scored some postcards and local history book on Vanished Villages of Middlesex County. I'll probably go back there in a couple of weeks.

bits and kibbles...

Farm work has made me become more antisocial again... so at some point I gonna be talking about something stupid I did.

...something struck me, six was afraid of seven because seven ate nine, but wasn't six more jealous than afraid of seven because six eats nine and seven was taking over six's turf?

beercan EXPORT man!!!

Now, Beercan50man has a buddy.

The Impulse Roadtrip to Novi, Michigan

I went to Novi, Michigan this past Saturday, because of this...

I would have got Adam West's autograph as well but the line ups for the celebrities that were there were crazy insane.

Make that 17...

My radar went off, drove to Grand Bend, found another Trivial Pursuit Subsidary Deck that I didn't have, drove home.

16 Trivial Pursuit games...

I finally picked up the Trivial Pursuit RPM (The History of Music) Edition on Wednesday for $2.99 at the south end Value Village in the second London (London, Ontario). I gonna stop collecting these for awhile.

for no reason, a photograph...

me at the arena parking lot in Strathroy, Ontario during the "Town Wide Garage Sale" on Saturday.

What I learnt from my trip to Toronto...

1. Carling's Black Label ain't that bad.
2. Do not eat 15 year old gum that was in a pack of hockey cards.
3. Never mix beer and sugar in your stomach.
4. I become more timid in unfamiliar surroundings.
5. The movie "Field of Dreams" isn't that good.
6. Sleep is good.

I'm in Toronto...

to see The Risk Commander and Madame Frisbee... and maybe The Chemical Dame and Madame Aura if they grace their presence. So it's gonna be a weekend of breakfast, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, beer, comic books, and things I'll probably either forgot or regret.

Ah the memories...

I remember when I was this irate. Now, I don't care.

Happy Birthday Mr. Moy

You gotta run now too.

Personal notes on a public setting...

Whymark: I scored a Trivial Pursuit Subsidary deck for you in a Chatham Goodwill store.

Zoomboy: You probably know that I took myself off the Tape Hunters blog and gave Greg more power.

Anyone who reads this blog: I've been busy but still reading your blogs, but unexplainably hesitant to post comments.

The Cornsheller at the other farm: I'm still avoiding you, even though you're an inanimate object with no sentinel thought.

Older older sis: Happy B-day, even though I saw you today and you don't read my blog.

foster sis: I'm finding out a lot of people born in the 1970's are getting pissed with poor revivials of their childhood memories, and yes, the new Holly Hobbie does suck (the great granddaughter of the original? someone at Hallmark needs to go through a job assessment).

Risk Commander, The Chemical Dame, and Madame Aura: Prepare yourselves for next week.

The Fabulous Mr. Moy: Good Luck this weekend at FITC.

A taste in my mouth...

The past few days I've been feeling like I should be eating something at all times. I personally don't like this feeling as I'm trying to figure ways to stop my cravings for food, and curbing my urge to snack.

more to follow in the coming days.

productive cleansing...

I just removed all the games off my cell phone. It got to the point that I was using my cell phone as a game system rather than a phone, and I'd be missing hours of a day just from playing puzzle games which tend to be quite counter-productive for me. I'll probably fill that space with something else.

I LOVE PADDLE BALL!!!

It's such a cheap toy but so much fun!

woken up abruptly...

This morning I heard the sound of drops of rainwater hitting the floor of my room. For someone who collects "stuff" that sound wakes you up faster than an alarm clock. Fortunately for me, there was no damage.

Napier

St. Mary's Church, near Napier, Ontario.

A head cold and what not...

Right now, I have the urge to clear my sinuses with pipecleaners. I know it won't do anything good but the thought of it sounds pleasing at the moment.

On Saturday, I went to Petrolia to check out the antique stores and the flea market... let's just say I like the cheap and the organized when I go to places like that. The only I should say is that you make sure you have change at all times, then you buy something that you're pretty sure you can't get rid of even if you tried.

For the next few days I suppose to be shelling corn. I might be doing that, along with the cleaning of the spooky house...



and taking pictures with a cameraphone.

Save the Red Squirrels!

It seems the Red Squirrels are having a bad go at life as the Grey Squirrels are invading their turf over in Scotland.

Now if only the someone would make a cheesy movie rendition of West Side Story with squirrels.

i was going to write something a little strange...

but in all reality, it's kind of dull.

I found an index card with a location and a phone number, but no name attached. This has become a bad habit I've been developing of leaving partial information, and it's really becoming a pain in the ass. However, I was fortunate find a the phone number again, this time with a name.

Taking Public Transit to the Next Level...

Look here, and shake your head.

living

Today I saw a dead bloated calf floating in water of a shallow grave that was dug for it last winter. What's even sadder is that was a highlight of my day.

I either need a lot of alcohol, or something very embarassing happening to a friend to get me out of this rut.

because you can't get enough of him online...

look at me

no words, just a picture...

monday, tuesday... ok, I'm a few days late...

This past weekend I was kidnapped, and taken to Niagara Falls.

For those who are curious, that's Aimee, one of my kidnappers, along with the Risk Commander and Rich, the happily unemployed bartender went to Niagara Falls for Booze, Cheesy Tourist Sites, and middle of the night gambling.

I found out the hard way that drinking and buying cheesy souvenirs don't mix... in short I bought roughly around eighty dollars worth of ... well crap. But to be honest, I don't mind because I won over eighty dollars at the casino in Niagara Falls. I think the outline I wrote about last weekend explains it best...
- stayed at a Best Western
- got drunk
- saw the Falls
- froze my ass off
- went in a fun house
- bought $80 of cheesy souvenirs
- ate at a Chinese Restaurant for supper
- Aimee lost her sunglasses (HA HA)
- won over $80 at the Niagara Casino
- ate at the Happy Wanderer for breakfast

Other notes on that weekend...

saw this Grab bag in Grimsby, Ontario... I had to buy just for the mystery of the contents of the bag.

On our way back to my place, we stopped in Cainsville for the Crossroads flea market. The Risk Commander can pat himself on the back for scoring a road map of Ontario from 1962 for $4. Later on, he told me that Highway 401 went from London to Kingston in 1962 with a dotted line pointing out where it would be in future years.

All in all, I must say it was a cool way to celebrate my 30th birthday.

See you Monday...

I'm being "kidnapped" today, but I'll be back Sunday night. However, I have no clue what's going to happen to me in the next 24 hours, so ... yeah.

Last Day of Giftcus...

This is the last day of Giftcus, so if you want to disappoint something during the Gifticus period, this is your last chance.

Sometime during the late summer or early fall, Dayokickass will occur. Details for that day will be ready around Late July/Early August.

2 days...

As I write this, there's a three month old in a rocker watching Forbidden Planet, well he has his eyes directed towards the TV and Forbidden Planet is on. Anyways, it looks cool.

The three month old is my sister's, not mine.

5 days...

Yesterday, Johnny Sixteen mentioned to me that I don't get out often enough, so I thought I should get out of the house. Well, this morning there was a farm auction in southeast Lambton County, but I woke up too damn late so I couldn't go. However, my cheap alarm went off* and I thought to myself, I have to go to Sarnia.

Got the farm car, drove to Downtown Sarnia, and went to the two stores that are worth going to... Future Pastimes and Cheeky Monkey. Future Pastimes was a bit of a bust, since they still haven't got the comic book boxes off the floor and in working order. Cheeky Monkey was better, I found Philip Glass CDs for the first time there and picked up The Photographer.

As I was heading home, the cheap alarm goes off again, this time I bit stronger. I realize that I haven't go to one of the antiques stores in Thetford in awhile and thought to myself to make the segway. When I got there, the first place I go is the board games; nothing tickle my fancy. I went to the book area; other than the comics, really there was nothing (and the comics were too 1990's). As I was heading towards the front of the store, I caught my eye on some Golden Key Digests. There were about thirteen books but I only had eight bucks on me, and with the digests worth a dollar, I had to go with the good stuff. I picked five digests: four from Walt Disney and one from Warner Bros.

As I got home, I check the prices of the digests. One of the Walt Disney books was priced as six dollars in good condition, and the all the books I purchased ranged from Very Good to Very Fine.

It's nice to know I got a deal.


* The Cheap Alarm goes off whenever I realize that something that is somewhat rare is on sale for cheap... and it works as good as a groundhog's prediction.

6 days...

Okay, I saw this on one of blogs I check on a quasi regular basis, and I seriously thought that people have to check this out.

Cereal Challenge

I can't do it, but I know you want to do it.

8 days...

Batman: Year One Hundred is the bee's knees.

Comics from Johnny Ryan are crazy.

9 days...

I don't know how to explain the current state I'm in. I could say I'm unemployed, but I work on a farm, however everything is caught up for the moment on the farm, so I'm doing nothing.

I like doing nothing, but the pay is terrible.

10 days...

I was thinking of a joke involving a wooden boy. I couldn't think of the proper spelling of the wooden boy's name, so I decided not to tell that joke. Then again, it wasn't that funny.

12 days...

I'm watching the movie Catwoman. Well, I am and I'm not. I can handle abuse but this is an ongoing bad music video by a band you don't listen to.

13 days...

You know when you got something you want to write down and when you get to the keyboard your mind draws a total blank. It bugs the hell out of me and it's coming more frequently. Maybe it might help if I didn't sleep in a room with wood paneling.

Fourteen Days until the Gifticus period is over...

I've been playing Dragon Quest VIII for about 248 hours in a 40 day period. In short, over one quarter of my time was invested into this game. Why? Well when it comes to role-playing video games, I'm a completist. Now, I'm trying to get back to a state of normalcy, or at least a normal where I'm used to.

I'm starting to do some clean up/ removal around my room now. I'm sending all my Sight & Sound magazines over to the Film Students I know at UWO. I still want to keep my textbooks for the time being, but I might need to find some boxes to set them in so they're out of my sight. I'm also back to pondering of selling a portion of my comic book collection; streamline it to the ones I appreciate, not the ones i've picked up from other people's collections. Furthermore, I'm running out of space on where to walk in my bedroom (For those who are curious, I have close to 4400 comic books).

The Gifticus gifts are truly getting disappointing. I got part of a martini shaker as a gifticus gift. That's one I never thought of.

Now, I have to prepare to run as I'm going to be hittng last soon. (and go watch the movie Logan's Run if you don't understand that last line).

Child Star Drug Addiction is Awesome!

When I read this, it made my day.

useless information about me

You know those quasi chain letter blog posting where someone posts whatever subject then tags three or four other friends. I'm usually the friend that wouldn't get tagged... kind of happy about it too....

Well, most people I hang out with never get suckered into doing that thing.

useless information for people who like useless information

Since April 20, 1968, the amount of time of all of the Canadian Prime Ministers representing a riding outside of Quebec has been less than two years.

It's The Period of Gifticus

In my last posting, I touch upon Gifticus without explaining what Gifticus is. For those who are curious this is a early draft...

Gifticus, The Period of Disappointment, or The "Holiday" That Doesn't Involve Family

Gifticus starts one day before New Year Eve's and ends nine days after Valentine's Day. [December 30 - February 23]

There's no feast for Gifticus, and there's no religious affiliation for Gifticus so all may participate, but participants must be over the age of eighteen in order to celebrate. There are two gifts are involved, where one gift must be three hangars. The gifts are not wrapped in paper but in a plastic bag. Furthermore, it's two gifts per household, not two gifts per person, so you can disappoint more people. The best place to deliver gifts is at a home, but not necessary your own. And most importantly, the receiver of the gifts must reply in a disappointed thank you.

Acceptable Second Gifts:
- small quantities of hard liquor (which should be all drank by the giver's presence)
- six pack of beer (which should be all drank by the giver's presence)
- box of chocolates without the guideline
- gifts that are re-gifted
- anything you own that you want to get rid of, but not to give away to complete strangers
- anything that would be ideal for a yard sale
- anything curling related
- anything bowling related
- bad or cheesy movies (the more obscure and obsolete the format, the better)
- Small Furniture
- cover music (Led Zeppelin, no; Symphonic Led Zeppelin, yes)
- fixing manuals
- books (all kinds, new and used)
- tacky tourist gifts
- velvet paintings

Unacceptable Second Gifts
- Pornography of any sort
- Food (except for the chocolates)
- Jewelry
- Clothes
- non alcoholic beer
- large quantities of hard liquor
- large quantities of beer
- anything team sports related
- anything golf related
- anything auto racing related


For any questions about gifticus, reply in the comments section.

three things...

1. if you are trying to catch a mouse, use raisins and peanut butter, and wedge the raisin into the metal.

2. that cyclops kitten is not cute, it's what happens when you have old cats screw around.

3. the proper gifticus gifts are clothes hangars and another gift in which the receiver of the gift replies with a disappointed thank-you.

almost there...

Today, I snapped and bought cds for myself after a two month self-imposed ban. As Dr. Disc is closing down in London (which is a bit of a bitch), I took advantage of picking up used cds that were 70% off and new ones 20% off. It's like going to a comic book store with a three for a buck sale going on. I score a single from Suede (or London Suede depending where you're from) for $2 and a promotional cd of The Verve for $3.

I haven't gone antique cruising for awhile because I do not have a proper car, and the car I am driving, excuse me farm car, seems like it should have been the one that should have gone down and not the Sunfire. This week's problem for the Cavalier is brakes with a potential gas tank problem for next week. I am very confident that the Cavalier will not make it by spring.

here but not talking at the moment...

There are some things I wanted to get accomplished before I go back to quasi-regular blogging, but I will mention this... the majority of suicides are commited in the month of February, and the majority of people that commit suicide are senior citizens and not teenagers. I found this out from a gas attendant when I was paying for nacho chips and gas.

Another thing, where is the word "nacho chips" located on a bag of Doritos?