Tuesday 20 January 2009

In the future....

Every show on television will be a home renovation show.

Friday 9 January 2009

The Delaney Turner Collection, Item #4

Ashtray from Walt Disney World, circa 1973

From an era of the pervasive and socially acceptable cigarette and before Disney and ClearChannel carved out the entertainment universe for their mutual gain, this almost quaint item was acquired from the home of his grandmother following her death. Though now clean, this item was no doubt a well-used receptable of many an Export A. Now it occasionally holds loose change.

Thursday 8 January 2009

The DLT Collection, continued

Item #GGHFFFFWXSS-3433w-s
Netsuke Figurines, Slightly Houndish-looking Dog and Hippo, era unknown.

Neither made nor purchased anywhere near Japan, the collector acquired them at a flea market on a day trip to Greenwich in 2007. He should have bought the leather bag at that other stall, too, but made amends with a much nicer one on a later trip to Quebec City in 2008. The dog figurine's expectant, somewhat puzzled expression reminds the owner of that of his real dog, Findley. The hippo is, well, just a hippo.

Truly Astounding

For those who think their tea isn't musical enough:


Theremug from Kyle McDonald on Vimeo.

The DLT Collection

Item #AAXTTF-556
Soviet-era Train Conductor's Watch, era unknown.

Purchased after minimal haggling at an outdoor flea market in Ljubljana, Slovenia, this well-preserved pocket watch features mechanical movement, cyrillic characters and bas-relief locomotive icon on reverse.  Plus, it's built like a tank and has a really nice feel to it.

     

Monday 5 January 2009

At the 2nd intermission

What's with all the sticks flying around? Don't the players hold onto them anymore? And what's with all the broken sticks? Aren't these, like, $300 jobs? for that money you'd expect them to stay in one piece, esp. when you're winding up for a one-timer. Sheesh.

Friday 2 January 2009

Happy New Year (and an observation)

The last day of my holidays finds me writing my first post of the last of the "oughts". Odd how nine years have gone by without humanity finding an acceptable name for this first decade of the 2000s.  How will we brand these 3,205 days? What will we call our retro nights to come? Will next year start the "20-10s?" Put it this way - if it's the biggest challenge we'll face all year i think it will be a blessing for all. But, the promise of beach bunny Barack notwithstanding, I think somehow it's a tad optimistic.

So I had planned to spend my last day quietly musing and reading in our newly relocated and Cloverrific coffee shop. Acting on one of this year's resolutions - to read the pages between the covers of the books i own and not just the spines - i had brought with me Fabrizio's Return, by former colleague and Ottawa resident Mark Frutkin. It would be a good way to close out the holidays, I thought, being one of those people straight out of central casting who populate coffee shops in the hours between 9 and 5. You know, those people who, when you see them on a quick jaunt between meetings at the office prompt you to ask yourself, Don't these people work? 

But no, dear readers, 'twas not the case. For you see, coffee shops are no longer conducive to quiet. Between the jackass on the cellphone,  the constant shuffling of patrons in and out (the only available table was near the door), the low-level fiddling with all computer cables of the woman beside me ("Oops, sorry."), it was sensory overload. Caffeine-powered cacophony. Were I John Cage i'd simply record 4 minutes and 33 seconds of it and call it music. But it was hardly conducive to a literary journey back to 16th century Italy.

Yuppie problems, I know. But I think there's something bigger, something telling about the whole experience. In any case, the clover coffee was really good.