Why am I here?

And I don't mean that in any sort of a philosophical way. Why am I here on blogger?

I started this blog over a year ago, in part to understand and examine my own urge to collect things. As you can see by the list of labels over on the right side, I have many, many interests. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become very frustrating when you're compelled to collect items from all those interests. And - you don't even know the half of it. I've barely mentioned comic books, and I considered myself a comic book collector ever since I was a little kid. I have a huge interest in original comic art, and zombie comics and movies right now, and they haven't even made it on here much. I feel like I have far too many interests, and I was tired of feeling compelled to buy something because it was cool, only to have it end up in storage - or, now, in a box in the garage. So writing here has helped me to deal with stuff I've collected, share and celebrate it, and feel like there's a use for it.

It has not helped me to stop collecting, however. I have developed a sense that just because something is cool, that doesn't mean I have to buy it, independent of writing here. I have actually bought a few things just because I wanted to talk about them on the blog, if you can believe it. Way back here I rediscovered my old collection of James Bond paperbacks, and I ended up buying a sort of rare copy of Live and Let Die to talk about there. And that's not the only time I've done that, either. I bought a stack of comic books I wanted to write about over a year ago. Now, with the move, it's going to take me awhile to find them, let alone write about them here!

Part of the problem with being a collector, for me, is I have a very hard time getting rid of things, too. This button above was something I wore at a trade show 18 years ago when I travelled around the country selling knee braces. It doesn't hold a lot of meaning for me, and has little or no value, but it's hard for me to get rid of. Good, bad, or indifferent, it represents a period of my life.

Something like this, though, is good for me to take a digital picture of, talk about briefly here, and actually throw away. This may not sound like much, but it's a step for me.

I have taught myself to have more focus in what I collect. Just because something is cool, doesn't mean I have to buy it. However, if it falls specifically in an area I collect on, it's fair game. I still collect animation cels - specifically, obscure or odd animation cels. One advantage in this is they rarely cost very much - most of my purchases were under 20 dollars apiece, like this original cel and original background from a Bill and Ted cartoon series. ( I say "a" series because there were two of them, believe it or not. One was better than the other, but now, I can't even tell them apart by just a cel). I really enjoy this piece, and the fact that they're reading a comic book in the image only makes it better for me.

I also am still really looking around for anything on or from Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel, the restaurant he owned at 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., "The celebrity end of restaurant row." My interest spilled out to the rest of the boulevard, too, largely because it was once such a big deal and now there's scarcely a whisper of "restaurant row" anywhere - even on Restaurant Row. I have a lot more to share both on the Lobster Barrel, the other restaurants that have occupied 826 La Cienega, and the rest of the boulevard. Why? Because I enjoy researching, that's why. (By the way, the mug here really has nothing to do with Alan Hale's restaurant, but come on - a lobster and a barrel - how could I resist?)
I've semi-seriously set out to get two items from every restaurant that I can on the Row, and I've had pretty good luck again without it costing much. Like from Ed Debevic's: Debevic's was a late entry on the boulevard, open when I came out here in 1990, and I dined there several times myself. It was famous for rude wait staff who dressed like 50's and 60's icons (my last waiter was Howdy Doody. Seriously) and danced on the tables and bars. they also had tiny, tiny sundaes which they gave you free for your birthday. I collected a menu and four of the tiny sundae glasses you see here, so that counts as two (different items to represent the restaurant for my collection).

So, I'm just taking a moment to reassess what I'm doing here: you'll see more of what I actively collect, what I used to collect, and what I can't believe I (or anyone) collected. More, of course, Big Bang Theory, and everything associated with being a fan of the show. And more of everything a fan, collector, or geek could want.

Your comments and questions are always welcome here; I appreciate nothing more than a good question I can do some research on. You can comment on the blog or write me at fancollectorgeek@earthlink.net - sorry, I don't know how to make that the kind you click on that conveniently pops open your email.

Also, follow me on twitter at fancollectrgeek (notice the second o is missing)! There, I post anything I'm watching that I recommend, and anything I come across that fits in the Fan/collector/geek categories. If you follow me, please just send a Horton hears a who type "We are here!" message so I know you're a real person.

Oh, and of course: we've got at least one more visit to the Michael Jackson auction to write up. It's a good one.

Thanks for listening - I'll see you in the funny papers.

Everything you Know is Wrong

As everyone who writes a blog knows, there's only one sure way to build your readership: stop writing for approximately five months.  With each day passes without an update, regular readers become frantic for more, and new readers are constantly hearing about your site and getting hooked in, waiting desperately for a new post.  That's why I haven't posted in so long.

This is, of course, ridiculous.  The actual reason I haven't posted in so long is in fact because I moved.  Back in December I had the opportunity to buy a condo much closer to my office.  This made the holidays a bit unusual this year - essentially happening while I was packing - and this year, I've spent most of my spare time working on fixing the place up.

Another interesting thing about this; I bought and moved into the condo that had belonged to my good friend, Bruce, who passed away as I wrote about here.  It is a little odd moving into his place, but it's also kind of nice to keep a little bit of his memory alive here.  In part, it's great to keep his pride and joy, the home theater he built himself, active and "in the family" as it were:

(It's very difficult to photograph, but you see here the "upholstery" he put on the walls; that's a menu from a Frasier DVD up on the screen).  I made the place my own a bit by adding the bookshelves along the sides to turn it into more of a theater/library, and also house and display some of my larger collectibles.

This move also means that everything I've said in the past about where collectibles are kept and displayed, or packed away, is totally invalid.  I have tons more room to display things now.  For example, the bar in the living room has become the main display area for Restaurant Row memorabilia - as well as the fictional beverages collection, and some other odds and ends:

The Scooby Doo van - previously reported as being on top of the bookcase in my bedroom is now sitting on the window sill of the landing up to the third floor - right above a shelf full of Scooby Doo toys previously packed away in storage:

I don't know if it's going to stay there, but for now, it seems like as good a place as any.  If anything, moving made me consider almost everything I have, as a collector; where it is and where I want it.  I rediscovered things I forgot I had (like those Scooby toys) and in some cases, started collecting something that I hadn't actively collected in years when I rediscovered it.

I'll be writing about all of this soon.  And more.  Just one thing you won't see anymore: Tales from Storage.  It'll have to be replaced with "It Came From the Garage" because that's where it has all moved to now.

I'm glad to be back to writing here.  As always, my mission will be two-fold: to examine the nature of fan-collector-geekdom, and also, to bring up those interesting little things from my collecting, fandom, and childhood that don't seem to have made much of an impression on the internet yet.

Also, coming soon - very soon: free stuff!

Before Lobster, Snapper

Returning to my current fascination with the history of Restaurant Row, and more specifically, Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel:

After stopping by the Melrose Trading Post looking for Restaurant Row memorabilia (but instead finding this great historic photo), I went down to Santa Monica to check out an antique mall I hadn't been to in a few years.  It is still there and was packed with tons of tiny items of interest to me, squirreled away in the shelves and tiny drawers of about 200 dealers stalls.

If you're a collector, often it's the hunt that is the most fun, and that afternoon, I was in the mood to go over the place with a fine toothed comb.  I was probably there at least 2 hours, and found many, many great items.  Like the matchbook for "Clif Herd's Red Snapper" on Restaurant Row, above.  As you can see, it's the same address as the Lobster Barrel - 826 La Cienega.  From the graphics I'd say this was in the late 50's or early 60's - just a guess - and sometime after it was "The Famous Restaurant."  I have no idea who Clif Herd was, but apparently he also had a Red Snapper restaurant in Monterey Bay (at least according to this auction).

A curious feature of Ebay for the masochistic collector is that you can search completed auctions too.  Though I found nothing currently offered from the Red Snapper, a completed search showed me that a mere couple weeks before I learned the place existed, another collector bought the menu above, unchallenged, with a bid of 10 dollars.  Well, at least I swiped this scan of it from the auction for free... but as I've said before "virtual" collecting isn't quite as satisfying as the real thing.

Generic, Yet Famous

As I said last week, I've become obsessed with the history of "Restaurant Row" in Los Angeles, and especially 826 La Cienega, home of the legendary "Skipper Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel."  (If you don't think it was legendary, check out the forward to Ben Stiller's "The Ecstacy and Agony," a book of Los Angeles photography, here.  The Lobster Barrel comes third in his list of childhood memories of California, after "Disneyland" and "sunshine."  Not bad).

I quickly turned up evidence of many, many other restaurants that had occupied that location at one time.  One of the first I turned up is this matchbook for "Famous Restaurant," serving Jewish Cuisine - probably the only restaurant I found in the history of the location that didn't serve shellfish.  It's also, I think, the only one with a "Bradshaw" prefix on the phone number, so that may help narrow down when it was there - looks like the fifties, probably.

By the way, the first time I wrote about the restaurant I got wrong what's actually in that location now.  It's really "The Spanish Kitchen," which I've now visited three times.  They have the best Steak fajitas I've ever had, and there are several features inside that just might date back to the "Lobster Barrel" days, like the wrought iron railings in the dining room.  (check out the gallery at the Spanish Kitchen site for a look inside).

More Lobster Barrel history coming at you soon!