May 2, 2003
Greetings Accumulators!
A couple of announcements before we call this meeting to order:
1. I'll be on The Montel Williams Show again this Tuesday, May 6. in New
York City it will air on Fox 5 at 9AM. The rest of the country please check
your local listings for time and station. Those Accumulators outside of the
US, I don't know if you get the Montel Williams Show, but if you do, you
need to check your TV listings as well.
2. I'm thinking of moving this newsletter away from Topica (the list
server) to elsewhere. They are apparently connected to spamming. Each week,
more and more of your addresses are bouncing because various ISPs are
blocking email from Topica. I don't like the idea of them selling your
email address to anyone (they deny doing that), so I have to find another
provider. There are way too many of you for me to just send the newsletter
out from my regular emailbox. I used to do that years ago and, once you
grew to more than 1,000 subscribers, there were big problems. If anyone has
suggestions about where to take the newsletter, please let me know.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THEY SAY THE WIFE IS ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW, BUT
IT'S REALLY THE GOVERNMENT
Almost everyone who's done business on eBay or any of the other online
auction venues knows that online fraud exists. You've heard the stories;
maybe you've even been the victim. And the bad guys get more knowledgeable
every day. They are now beginning to combine auction fraud with identity
theft, and it's the fastest growing segment of the crime scene. Thieves
have even been able to utilize safety measures, like payment systems, as a
haven for their crimes. Now, the Federal Trade Commission, along with 33
state and local law enforcement agencies, has announced 51 criminal and
civil cases that have been filed as part of a coordinated effort against
auction fraud. The cases, coordinated by the F.T.C. and the National
Association of Attorneys General, are an important start. None of us wants
the Internet regulated to death, like everything else. And I never want to
see it in the hands of politicians - that'll kill it for sure. But,
something has to be done about people scamming other people over the
largely anonymous Internet. And certainly something has to be done to
prevent them from using other people's identity to do it. Oh, and it would
be great if they could solve the spam problem too.
GAFFES BY BIG GUNS DEPARTMENT
Coca Cola, of all companies, has issued a promotional toy robot out of Hong
Kong, and available in the UK at the moment as a purchase-with-purchase.
Too bad the action figure is adorned with two swaztikas on its chest. The
Robocon was designed by a Hong Kong design firm, apparently one who has
thus far failed to get a clue. "It's not simply a politically incorrect
symbol," Rabbi Kermaier of Ohel Leah Synagogue said. "It's an emblem that
represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews." Coca-Cola says the
figurines were made according to the original Robowaru design, but a
spokeswoman declined any other immediate comment. Animation International,
which sells rights for Robocon and worked with Coca-Cola on the toys, says
the symbols "did not have anything to do with any organisation or
religion." No word on whether they next plan to produce mini storm troopers.
THE DREAD DREADS
A four-inch strand of Bob Marley's twisted hair sold at a pop culture
auction in LonDon for approximately $4,000. The hair was cut off by Marley and given to a girl he'd met after a concert
in London in 1980, a year before his untimely death from brain cancer. In
Rastafarianism, dreadlocks symbolize a devotion to God based on references
in the Bible to the holiness of uncut hair. The young lady in question
apparently has lost interest in Marley's hair after 23 years of holding on
to it. Now, instead of collecting hair, she's decided to collect money. The
high price for the lock of hair was in stark contrast to the other Marley
lot in the sale - a 12-string guitar used on his 1978 Kaya album. It didn't
sell at all. No accounting for taste, is there?
SITE FOR SORE EYES
The Museum of Unworkable Devices: This is a fun place. It's a site filled
with the work of obsessed inventors who didn't let the laws of nature stop
their creativity. All of this stuff seemed like a great idea at the time, I
guess. http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/unwork.htm.
My Dear Accumulators, prepare yourselves to hit the yard sales and visit
the shops and malls. It is finally spring, and the bounty awaits you. He
Who Is The Light Of My Life and I are departing for the country house,
where we are once again in deep construction mode. We'll be tiling and
painting and building - when we're not out scouting. Have a great week,
Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
Best,
Judith
© 2003 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #215
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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