Well, what the hell.

It's been a while, but Secondhand Jesus is finally ready to get back into the blogging game. Since I last reported in about a year ago, I've wasted plenty of my money on cool stuff, so I can get to some of that maybe later on. I also will be blogging about whatever I find in any store, not just St. Vinny's, because I don't live so close to a Vinny's at the moment, and I don't think anybody will care anyways. Is anybody even reading this? Let's get to it.

I got paid on Friday, and Secondhand Jesus was itching to spend. Spend I did, but have no regrets, as usual. Since I'm keeping Secondhand in the title, I figure I'll get to the secondhand stuff first. This stuff came from The Yard Sale, a store in Laurium, MI if you didn't know. I've spent a lot of time and money there, but it was all worthwhile.

Paperbacks!

I ended up with a lot of science fiction, and though it wasn't intentional, there's something really cool about old sci-fi paperbacks with their strange covers. These are books that feel great to hold in your hand, and they all have that musty smell that belongs in old books. They were a buck or two a piece, which is an acceptable price.

I've read and own the first three Dune books. This is my second copy of Dune and my third copy of Dune Messiah. After watching the Dune film by David Lynch last summer, I fell into a sort of craze, but I'll get to that in a future post. The third book on the top is ten short stories by the author of Dune, Frank Herbert. This is the book I was most excited to purchase, because it was the only one I didn't know existed. Discovery is a great feeling, and goes to show how much better it is to shop in stores rather than online, as I can find items I never knew I wanted until they're in my hand.

I need to read more Vonnegut, so that was a great find, and I've been wanting to read Brave New World for a few years now but haven't seen it secondhand until now. As for The Puppet Masters, I picked that up because I always thought the title was cool, not to mention that the cover kicks ass, and I know Heinlein is a big name in sci-fi books. Now I've got more great reading at my disposal.

I also found a DVD at the Yard Sale, but I'll get to that with the other DVDs. The rest of this shit I got from Wally World.

DVDs!

On the bottom is the first three Alien movies in one regular package, which I found at The Yard Sale for seven bucks. Three movies, seven bucks. You just can't beat that kind of price. The disks all look like they're in pretty good shape, so essentially it was the type of good deal I live for.

On top are two five dollar movies from Wal-Mart. For movies like these, five dollars is a triviality. North by Northwest is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films, starring Cary Grant in one of his most memorable roles. It's a must see film with everything from comedy to action to suspense to romance. Anyone who hasn't seen this film is seriously missing out. 12 Monkeys is a film by Terry Gilliam, well known for his crazy ass movies. I've only seen it once, but it's just the kind of crazy I like to have on my DVD shelf. After I saw 12 Monkeys I watched the short experimental film it was based on, La Jetee. Both recommended if you're into oddball cinema.

Legos!

As a youngling, Legos were some of my favorite toys, and in retrospect, probably the best toy of all time. Recently, I caught the Lego bug once again, so I came home with a couple small pieces.

 

 This is the Bunny Suit guy from the latest Lego Minifig line. Basically you get a small bag with all the pieces of a mystery figure inside, waiting to be put together. There are twelve or so in all and are marketed as a "Collect Them All" type of deal. I was hoping for a Space Marine, but this guy was like my #2 for obvious reasons. He's just a really crazy guy.

 Avengers Legos! I loved the Avengers movie so much I saw it twice in the theater, so of course I wanted some Legos to go with. This is the Captain America cycle set, which is currently the only Lego set to come with the Captain America minifig. That much alone makes it worth it, but it also comes with two different minifigs of the Chitauri, the villains of the movie.

Though Cap never rides this in the movie, it's still a cool little piece, and makes a great vehicle for Cap. The only downside to this set is the friggin' decals on the two different vehicles. Do they have to be impossible to put on straight? There are no marks on the platic pieces for where the decals should go, so it's up to the buyer to get them on straight on their own. Of further complication is the fact that the decals are clear, which means they pick up every bit of oil or dead skin on your fingers as you try to make it not so obviously diagonal. Decals suck, because they can make or break a toy. If you put them on shitty, you're stuck with that, no matter how cool the toy might be otherwise. Wash your hands before messing with them.

Well that's all I have for this time around. It's been great having something to think about other than my job, so I'll be back with more updates soon. Until then, take it sleazy.

Treasure Hunting on a Thursday Morning

You'd be surprised how many people are shopping in St. Vinnie's at ten a.m. on a Thursday. For some, it's a social gathering, sitting along the wall and chatting to one another. For others, it's an opportunity to torture people, like the guy who kept whistling through his teeth and driving me fucking nuts. For most, including myself, it's a way to get the good stuff before some less deserving cretin comes along.

Today was a day of randomness as far as finds go. There were a good amount of things I picked up and put back down, that if I were a richer man might be mine now. However, a budget can be a good thing. It leaves less room for mediocrity. So without further ado, here are some random little finds I came across today.

Wizard of Oz Drinking Glass!

"Sorry Dorothy, but yo' bitch ass is too damn slow."

Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz. You'll love him even more when you take a nice cool drink out of this vintage drinking glass featuring none other than the Oz-man himself! Anytime I see a glass like this with some sort of painted image, I grab it and take a closer look to see who's on it. They made a lot of awesome glass sets back in the day, one of which this glass is no doubt a part.

When I picked the glass up off the shelf, I couldn't tell if it was really scuffed up or just scummy. I picked at a spot with my fingernail and saw that it was flaking off, which was good news (I washed my hands when I got home). I turned the glass over in my hands a few times and saw that there were no chips or cracks, so I thought "what the hell?" When I returned home I gave it a good scrubbing (being mindful of the paint on the outside) and what do you know? A shiny, new Wizard of Oz glass.

There is very little wrong with this glass, which I am quite pleased about. The images and text is close to flawless, and other than a little minor scuffing on the bottom lip, it's quite perfect. So nice, in fact, that I'd hate to actually use it for risk of breaking it or wearing it down. This is the kind of glass best suited for a shelf.

I'm curious about this glass so I checked on ebay to see if I could find out any more about it. I found one immediately here for $10, which the seller calls "rare" and "vintage." I like those words, but they also mention it as being associated with the film, when to me it appears it's more likely associated with the book, as it says "c. Baum" on it. Here's another one that says it's from the 60's. I'm finding a lot more from the series as well, which I will link in case you're interested. There's Dorothy, Glinda, Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. Some of these are priced somewhat high, but whether they sell is another story.

From reading one of the ebay listings, apparently these are from something called Swift's Peanut Butter, which supposedly gave "more bounce per ounce." You can interpret that however you like.

Cost of Wizard of Oz Drinking Glass: $1.25

On a less serious note, what else did I find? Oh yeah.

Tamagotchi (Connection)!

 

A key-chain that lives, dies, and takes a crap.

I know some of you remember these things. They were the big thing on the playground for a while, after POGs but before Pokemon Cards. It was something I looked down on for a while, too low-brow for my 4th grade intellectual tastes. That is, until I visited the Toys R' Us in Green Bay and discovered they made a Yoda one, which I promptly bought.

Tamagotchi/Digi-pets/about a million other names and incarnations were basically little "life" simulation games where you raise your pet by feeding it, playing games, and cleaning up after it takes a dump. If you forget to feed it, it will die and forever scar your childhood with an image of a tombstone where your little friend now lies cold and dead. Of course, this led to plenty of kids getting in trouble for trying to feed their pet during class, which bears something of a similarity to today's 4th grade trend: sexting.

What I hold here is no ordinary Tamagotchi. According to the label at the top, this is a Tamagotchi Connection. Where the connection part comes in is an infra-red sensor at the top of the egg shaped casing. According to Wikipedia, the connection had a few capabilities to be used along with a friend's Tamagotchi, enabling you to 1)Play games, 2)Give presents, and 3)Have tamababies. Tamababies? You mean it's possible to get Tamagotchi laid? While the Tamagotchi may be a prisoner trapped in the key-chains of the human race, we don't mind sticking a couple of them together for a quick romp, which truly shows the lengths of human tenderness. I guess that gives a whole new meaning to Tamagotchi "Connection."

What surprises me is the year stamped on the back: 2004, long after Tamagotchi had fallen out of favor, at least on my playground. There's also a sticker on the back, reading, "CAUTION: Battery harmful if swallowed." Really?

What does Tamagotchi mean? Again, as claimed by Wikipedia, "According to Bandai, the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word tamago, which means "egg", and the English word "watch" (as in timepiece)."

Cost of Tamagotchi Connection: Unmarked, Cheap.

And last, but certainly not least...

Mario Shaped Ball! Or, Ball Shaped Mario!

Pure awesomeness. I uncovered this in a bin with a bunch of other random toys, grabbing it instinctively before my brain had a chance to fully process the greatness of such a find. Nintendo memorabilia is something I'm not sure I'll ever own enough of. It comes down to the simple fact that Mario rules, and if you don't think so, you're probably some sort of asshole.

Like the glass, I cleaned Mario up when I got him home and was much more satisfied with the purchase afterward. I did a little touching up on the black parts and the red M with Sharpies to enhance the spectacle of my Mario ball. He's looking pretty decent.

Apparently this was a Happy Meal toy back in 2006. Where was I and how the hell did I miss this? Oh right, I was a senior in High School. It wasn't cool to embrace my childhood yet.

I guess the most likely purpose of a Mario ball would be to throw at the wall after getting killed by the same damn turtle for hours on end. Just look at his face. He's ready for it.

Cost of Mario ball: Unmarked, >$1

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I suppose that about wraps it up for this week. As always, comments are encouraged and appreciated! Have a good weekend! Myself, I'll be turning 23 tomorrow.