January 4, 2002
Greetings Accumulators!
And a happy, healthy and prosperous new year to you! On the occasion of a
new year, pundits of all stripe seem to want to take stock of where we are
and where we've been. This year I noticed a preponderance of writers who
devoted their time and space to discussing how we've all been changed by
the events of September 11, 2001. I prefer to ponder those things that have
remained unchanged. I've always counted myself lucky to be an American,
lucky to be born here, to have grown up here, and lucky to have enjoyed all
the benefits and opportunities that come with being here. That hasn't
changed and it will never change. I'll tell you what else hasn't changed:
New Yorkers. For one thing, we have our own language. No, I'm not referring
to the "New York accent". As all New Yorkers know, it is you, and not we,
who have an accent. I refer, of course, to our stubborn refusal to call
that avenue nestled between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue "The Avenue Of
The Americas", even though we know our government gave it that name eons
ago. New Yorkers simply do not acknowledge that which doesn't meet with our
approval. It's "Sixth Avenue", and that's that. We also refer to Central
Park as "the park", and to The Statue of Liberty as "the statue". And, we
refer to the borough of Manhattan as "the city", even though there are five
perfectly good boroughs within the city limits. There are subway stations
in Brooklyn that have signs pointing to the tracks, one track going to
"Coney Island" and the other to "The City". So, if two New Yorkers met one
morning in, let's say, Queens, and one asked the other, "what are you doing
today?", and the response was, "I'm going into the city. I have some
shopping to do on Sixth Avenue, and then I'm going to the park, and in the
afternoon, I'm going to the statue", the only logical question would be,
"Why are you going to the statue so late in the day?"
I've once again meandered far afield, so now for some news.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ALRIGHT KIDS, WHO DRANK THE FOYER?
In an obvious attempt to illustrate where the term "mad Russian" came from,
Alexander Afanasyev is building a home made completely of empty champagne
bottles, according to Pravda. He collects the bottles from dumps near
Vesely, where he lives. Afanasyev, who is unemployed, has already tried out
the bottle building technique by adding 9,000 bottles to his existing home,
tied together and grouted. He says it is strong and warm, and that his
family is comfortble there, so he is building an entire new house from the
bottles. He claims the bottle house requires much less fuel to keep it
warm. Talk about one man's trash being another man's treasure! No word on
whether the Dom Perignon and Clicquot labels are turned outward to impress
the neighbors. Also, no word on the rumors that those very same neighbors
have begged the Afanasyevs to "please put up some drapes, willya?"
FREE STUFF DEPARTMENT
Okay, if you're a student of people like me, then you can't have helped
noticing that Barbie has been wasting her life on that no-good Ken.
Actually, you didn't have to notice it yourself - I point it out all the
time. He's been stringing along this phenomenal woman for more than thirty
years, and has never popped the question. I'm so sick of miniature
commitment-phobic men! Now there's news and a free offer from some folks
who appreciate the guy with whom Barbie really should be. I refer, of
course to G.I. Joe. Now, that's a man! The Hasbro G.I.Joe Collectors Club
is offering anyone who purchases a membership in their club a free
collectible action figure. The Club is offering a "clear,"
super-articulated G.I. Joe to anyone who purchases a membership by February
10, 2002. All current G.I. Joe Club members (as of Feb. 10) will receive
the limited edition figure. Membership in the club is $36 annually and
includes 12 issues of "Master Collector" and the "G.I. Joe Collectors Club
Newsletter." Members also receive access to the club's members only website
and they get a free classified ad each month in "Master Collector." For
additional information on the G.I. Joe Collectors Club, call
817-448-9863 or visit www.gijoeclub.com. Now, we all need to pool our
resources and buy a membership for Barbie.
STRANGE ARTIST MEDIA
A Pennsylvania artist named Edward Shank has produced a sculpture as a
tribute to the heroes of the September 11th attacks. The strange thing is
that Mr. Shank's medium is butter. He spent 50 hours molding over 800
pounds of butter into a sculpture depicting a firefighter, a police officer
and a soldier holding flags. He worked on the sculpture, entitled "American
Heroes", in a refrigerator, for obvious reasons, and it will go on display
at the 86th annual Pennsylvania State Farm Show in Harrisburg this weekend.
No, don't tempt me. I'm not going to say a word.
So, Accumulators, time to make something nice for Artie's dinner. Tomorrow
we trek up to the frozen mountains to continue the interior work on the
house. I have a whole mess of radio interviews coming up. On this Sunday,
January 6th, I'll be doing the nationally syndicated show, "Clear Across
America", at 4:15 PM Eastern. On Tuesday, January 8th, I'll be on the Don
Weeks Show on WGY in Albany, New York (810AM) at 7:20 A.M. On Wednesday,
January 9th, I'll be doing "Talk Of The Town" on KORN (1490AM) in Mitchell,
SD at 8:40 AM Central. More coming! If you're within earshot of any of
these, please tune in. Some of these shows have call-in features, and I
would love to hear from Accumulators on the air. If you want details on
these and other near-future appearances, here's a link to the upcoming
events page of my website: LINK. One last thing: if you haven't yet bought my book,
please do. Sales of the book help me afford to write and send this
newsletter, which I dearly love to do. Have a great week, Accumulators,
full of great finds and great laughs. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
RIP George Harrison. Thank you for the many gifts you've given us through
the years.
© 2002 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #166
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
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