May 30, 2003
Greetings Accumulators!
Creepy thought for the day: Cornell University informs us that the beetle
is now the dominant form of life on earth, and that one in every five
species lving today is a beetle. And, that for every possible kind of food,
there's a beetle species that eats it. Which is why I keep everything in
the refrigerator. Actually, it's great to be writing about something other
than rain.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF OLD CLICHES AND COSMIC TRUTHS
If you've ever marvelled at the absurdity of the phrase, "like a bull in a
china shop", you'll be interested in this story from London. A bull, up for
sale in a livestock auction in Lancashire on Monday, broke loose and ran
wild, knocking down a woman. He then proceeded to the G & B Antiques and
Furnishings Store. G & B specializes in china, specifically, antique china.
The bull, who by now was in a pretty bad mood, ran amok in the shop,
destroying several pieces of valuable china, not to mention striking fear
in the heart of every nearby human and more than a couple of cows. A police
spokesman said that the bull's owner agreed that it was too risky to
attempt to capture it (think of the teacups!), and that "the bull
should be destroyed." The police cordoned off the surrounding area, trapped
the bull, and shot him dead. Although everyone is sorry the animal had to
be destroyed, after a long day of cleaning up broken china, they probably
won't miss him at all.
WISH I COULD GET MY HANDS ON ONE OF THOSE DEPARTMENT
Also from the other side of the pond: billboard posters for the second
season of American TV series "Six Feet Under" have been banned in England.
The ads are parodies of cosmetics commercials, and show corpses advertising
funderal service products like embalming fluid and wound filler. One of
the ads features a head and shoulders shot of a male model, made up to look
like a corpse, with an image of a bottle of "In Eternum embalming fluid"
beside him. The caption says, "Skin to die for", with more copy in the
corner of the ad saying In Eternum is available from Fisher & Sons funeral
home - the name of the fictional funeral home featured in the show.
Apparently the adverising standards board in the U.K. received complaints
from consumers who were upset by the ads. Heck, I'd love to have one of
them. It's a great show with a great sense of humor. Next week, eBay.
TREASURE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER - OR PERHAPS THE FOOT
Since eyewitnesses reported seeing many boxes being thrown into a lake in
Austria after World War II, a dive team decided it was time to bring up the
valuables. The 26-member team, headed by Gerhard Zauner, prepared for 18
months for the dive to the bottom of the 400 foot deep Hallstaettersee
Lake. Since the water temperature was only 4 degrees, they filled their
dive suits with a special insulating gas to keep them warm during the
five-hour dive. According to the Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten
newspaper, all they found on the bottom of the lake were piles and piles of
footwear. Mr Zauner said: "The piles of military shoes and boots were
several metres high." Now Mr Zauner and his team are planning to search the
bottoms of all the lakes in the surrounding area. After all, they're fully
trained and they have all that gas - so why not? No word on how
Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten can possibly fit their own name on their
masthead.
WANT TO BE AN APPRAISER?
Some of you may not know that I am the president of The Association of
Online Appraisers, a not-for-profit international association for personal
property appraisers who are involved in offering online written appraisal
reports (either as individuals or via an appraisal management company)
through the use of digital images and Internet online reporting. Our mission
is to promote and encourage professionalism and ethical conduct among
online personal property appraisers. Memberships in the organization are
low-cost, and we even offer an online course in personal property
appraisal. To learn more about us, go to LINK.
Accumulators, now that winter is finally over, you should get out there and
shop! He Who Is The Light Of My Life and I are in the city, at least for
Saturday, as my new improvisational comedy group, The Tall One Is The Mime,
is appearing at a club on Broadway. Sunday - who knows? Have a great
weekend, Accumulators, and a great week. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
Best,
Judith
© 2003 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #218
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
To subscribe to the free short weekly email newsletter, send a blank email to antiquescollectiblesnewsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RETURN TO INDEX OF NEWSLETTERS