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.

Back when Crunchberries would've been Magenta #F653A6

The Rose Bowl Flea Market is world famous as one of the largest places to buy used stuff.  It's also only about 20 minutes from my home.  As a collector, it's been tempting to go a few times.  On my first visit, I was in the middle of my cereal fixation, and I found this nifty coloring book from 1968.  

Once again the internet has made a cool connection by showing me a fellow blogger has the original art for this cover on his site here.  Very nice!  Well, while mine may be a run of the mill ordinary coloring book, I will point out the interior features one of a kind originals by an unknown artist, and it is Not For Sale.

Cap'n Crunch was always a favorite because, well, probably because it was very sweet, and because the commecrcials were essentially cartoons.  It's also the only cereal  I can think of that makes the roof of my mouth bleed if you have it too many days in a row.  I actually always liked waiting until it was on the verge of being soggy (I know, this is blasphemy, and I think the cereal company would have denied it was even possible).

My favorite Cap'n Crunch item is this cel, below, which if I remember correctly was the second cel I ever bought.  It was in a small animation art gallery on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, and it's one of the few I paid real money for.  I seem to recall I bought it to celebrate when I either got paid for a big writing job, or got a tax refund check.   It hangs on the wall to the right of the Rocketeer poster, over my computer.

I liked it because I thought the Cap'n looked like he was nostalgically remembering his younger days at sea.  A friend suggested he's waiting on the set in between takes while shooting a commercial.

Just sit right back, for surf & turf

I am not much of a matchbook collector.  If you've been reading you won't be surprised to know I have a few from Carrols restaurant, and a few other restaurants from when I was a kid.  But when I saw this on Ebay in a small group of matchbooks, going cheap, I had to get it.  It just arrived this morning.

I liked Gilligan's Island as a kid.  I watched it all the time, and even drew my own comic of it once.  (It was on a huge piece of stiff paper, so I'm sure it was destroyed long, long ago.  I only remember it involved the Professor inching his way along a ledge, probably because he was the only one I thought might get them off the island.

I'm not really a Gilligan collector, though.  I never got the floating island toy, with a little Gilligan, Skipper and Mary Ann (you can buy Mary Ann here), or any of the later dolls you can also see at that link.  But something about this matchbook spoke to both my childhood love of that silly show, and my current interest in long gone eateries.

Alan Hale Jr, famously, loved his role as the Skipper on Gilligan's island, and wore his trademark hat often after the show - as the illustration clearly attests to.  826 N. La Cienega is now the very swanky looking "Mark's Restaurant" - I wonder if they know about the history of the location?  I'm going to be on the lookout for a menu or photos from the place.

I do have a few other Gilligan things I've "collected: in my Itunes are audio files I pulled off of TV of all the songs from Gilligan's Island's version of "Hamlet."  They put the play on to convince  producer Harold Heckuba (Phil Silvers) to leave the island sooner, but guess what?  It was so good he stole it & left without them.  (Did you ever wonder if they ratted out all those people after Rescue From Gilligan's Island?)  I can never, ever hear Bizet's Toreador, En Garde from "Carmen" without hearing Hale belting out "Neither a Borrower or a Lender Be" in my head.

And last but not least, the pride of my animation collection is a cel of the walk cycle from "The New Adventures of Gilligan" with an original background painting.  

It's framed in bamboo.  What else?

Aw Shucks, Mom

Generally my animation collecting has been about finding one fairly excellent - or odd - cel to represent a character and never really looking at any more.  Tony the Tiger seems to be an exception to this rule.  Even though I already have a great one of Tony & Tony Jr. as I shared way back in March, I couldn't resist this shot of Tony with his Mom.  A little-old-lady-hair-in-a-bun-shawl-wearing character that was such an archetype in the 70's.

This is actually my third Tony cel - I already had a practically perfect one framed and hanging on my wall before I bought either of these two.  It's from a 90s commercial, a little later than I generally would collect, but he's got the classic look and you can't beat the pose.  He's right in the middle of "They're great!"  (Please note the box-colored matte.  Good attention to detail, eh?)

Probably the funniest thing about my Tony collecting is... I wasn't that crazy about Frosted Flakes even when I was a kid.  Sure I ate them when I was a little kid, but it's one of the first cereals that was just too sweet for me.  The super-sugary milk was not a fun way to end my complete breakfast.  But obviously, the character meant more to me than the product he was selling.

Nah, I already hit a Hi-C

Short post here today.  I had been toying with the idea of going as long as I could without repeating a collection - seeing how many different things I could turn up - but I'm already ending that idea today.  First, I was afraid I'd be wracking my brains finding more and more obscure things to list.  And second, it would be forever before I can list a second item from a favorite collection.

So here's my second animation cel: a great image from a Hawaiian Punch Pink Lemonade commercial:

This is a great one: truly the climactic moment of many classic Hawaiian Punch ads:  The Oaf has said that yes, he would enjoy a beverage of the brand that Punchy is the spokesman for, and Punchy is about to respond by going James Cagney on his face with a lemon.  Makes you thirsty, doesn't it?

I remember Hawaiian Punch being a big deal when I was a kid, which is funny, because even now I can clearly remember the sugar water and metal can flavor of all the Hawaiian Punches.  Maybe memory is magnifying the tinny quality, but there you go.  This was pretty much the only thing I ever used that triangle hole-puncher end of the can opener for.

As cels go, this is a nice one, both characters are full cels with only the ship, sky, and water being a color xerox.  Another Ebay find, of course.  I previously bought one from a "grape" Hawaiian Punch ad that I wasn't really happy with, so this is sort of a replacement.  (By my criteria any cel I buy should be very iconic, very odd, or both.  Grape wasn't really either, it was just cheap).  This was relatively inexpensive, about 30 bucks.  It currently is waiting in the great "to be framed" pile by the end of my couch.  I'll share some of the framed cels soon.

Oh, the beverages we drank as kids.  Anyone remember Wylers?

No, really. They're great.

So this represents what is likely my most active collection: animation cels. About ten years ago I started picking up cels from cereal commercials and old cartoon shows. At first, I found them pretty much only at the San Diego Comic Con. Later, of course, Ebay became the place to go.

This is my latest cel, just bought it online a week ago, just got it in the mail.  Usually, I only buy cels that have a certain importance for me - like from cartoons or ads I myself watched as a kid.  Black & White Tony here is from before my time, but he was just too cool to pass up.  And, a steal at only ten bucks with no other bidders.

One thing that may discourage investor/collectors from this

 purchase is that the cel is Tony's head only. and the rest of the image is a color copy of the rest of the setup - Tony's body, the Frosted Flakes (Frosties!) cereal box, and Tony Jr. were probably all separate cels, and the table a painted background.  But considering all that would cost several hundred dollars (or possibly more) for a piece that essentially looks the same once framed - I'm ok with my 10 dollars purchase.  (Note that in person, the color of Tony's head and body match very closely, unlike in the scan here).

One rule I have about the animation I buy is that it pretty much all has to go up on the wall.  The kitchen - dining room - office end of my apartment is pretty much filled with cels like this, all nicely framed.  This means that I either have to end my collection in only one or two more purchases, or move to a bigger place.  Hmm.