JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

On Sunday, along with two intrepid explorers, I headed down to Buffalo to check out Doors Open Niagara. A full post is coming ( Squiddity has a nifty take on the day ), but here's one of the weirdest moments of the trip. While walking towards Buffalo City Hall, we noticed an odd combination of items on the sidewalk: One empty bottle of booze, one partly-squeezed lime, one dead bird. Coincidence or connected? If the latter, the line of tragic events is easy to follow: 1) The bird had a rough day and finds solace in a flask left behind on the sidewalk. 2) The bird notices a barely-used lime slice and decides it would add a nice twist. 3) Either the bird realizes too late that booze, lime and birds don't mix, or decides in his alcoholic haze to end it all by slamming into the Statler building at MACH 3. The fatal wedge of lime? I apologize to Leonard Cohen for the last words on this tragedy... Like a bird on a bender Like a butterfly in a fender He felt pain On h...

Once a year, Amy and I splurge at Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor. Thanksgiving weekend's summer-like weather provided a good excuse to devour high-quality sandwiches on their patio. Downtown Ann Arbor was awash in maize and blue. Almost all university-age people we passed were decked out in yellow and blue t-shirts, as the Wolverines battled their next door neighbours, Eastern Michigan. We drove into downtown via Geddes, a scenic route which conveniently dodged game traffic. A display of salads, which we were given free samples of. Our faves were the smoked trout salad and the chicken paprikash. I chose the #67, Jon & Amy's Double Dip: "Zingerman’s corned beef & Niman Ranch pastrami, Switzerland Swiss & Wisconsin muenster cheeses, hot & regular mustards on pumpernickel & rye breads." Basically two sandwiches merged into one, without extra bread in the middle. Heavenly. Amy went for the #76, Thad's "Yes I Can...

A few pictures of signs from the other parties hoping for votes tomorrow. Note that all of these parties lean towards the right - I never came across any minor left parties during my travels over the past month. Clockwise from the top left: * Family Coalition Party (near the Markham Fairgrounds) * Freedom Party (Hwy 8, on the edge of Sebringville) * Libertarian Party (near River Canard) * Reform Party of Ontario (Hwy 21, near Forest)

Nine-and-a-half hours on my feet - my key statistic for this year's Nuit Blanche. I missed last year's inagural edition, so I don't have the same sense of letdown that marks many accounts of the evening. My overall impression was that even if the art was a mixed bag, it was still a good opportunity to wander around the city in a nighttime party atmosphere and observe the reactions of others, at least until a combination of sore legs and non-existent streetcar service kicked in. One thing's for sure: crowds were definitely interested in checking out what was on view. Survival kit : * Notepad, to mark down where I was, in case I didn't get around to writing this post unitl Christmas * Official Program, to provide rough ideas of where to go * Multi-pocketed corduroy jacket, to hold the first two items * TTC day pass * Camera 9:15 PM: Hopped off the subway at Bloor and began my evening in Yorkville. My jaw dropped at the sea of humanity covering Cumberland...

I may be onto a new web trend with a recent series of posts spotlighting fake facial hair options for those dashing types who require a quick physical change before heading out for a night on the town. Other sites have joined the bandwagon. I thought this fashion statement was restricted to comic books and low-grade sports magazines...until I stumbled onto a three-page spread from a 1968 issue of Playboy , demonstrating how your clean-cut all-American guy could quickly change his appearance with fake fuzz to lure in the ladies. With these tips, would an average Joe make Hef proud? One thing's for certain: these fake hairpieces cost more those found in the funny pages. Left: the Zapata, to bring out your inner revolutionary or bad guy in a spaghetti western. Presumably named in honour of Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata , whose actual mustache bore a closer resemblance to a bushier version of the Britannia pictured on the right. As for the UK-inspired gem, a he...

The fall colours were out in force in Caledon over the weekend, as I took a quick drive with a friend north of the city before going on an IKEA run. All the vehicles parked along the road? Drivers checking out the Cheltenham Badlands , an alien-looking area along the Bruce Trail. At least we didn't face Thanksgiving-style crowds , just happy children and pets. From the Ontario Heritage Trust's website : The Cheltenham Badlands is one of the best examples of badland topography in Ontario, making it an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI). Around the turn of the century, land clearing and livestock grazing caused the erosion of the underlying red shale, leaving a hummocky network of exposed trenched gullies on the lower slopes of the Niagara Escarpment. The resulting unique topography has gained considerable public interest, attracting thousands of international and local visitors annually, including numerous high school and university students studying geology ...

Satanic slacks? Some of those bends look highly uncomfortable, given how unnaturally skinny the legs are drawn. The wide bell bottoms may have been the devil's subtle form of mischief, if the wearer tripped while wearing them. Towers was one of Canada's early discount department stores, operated by the Oshawa Group, who also ran the Food City grocery chain. Based on scant info I've read about Towers, it appears that locations included or were built next to Oshawa's grocery stores. This may explain why the Galleria now contains a Zellers (Hudson's Bay Company bought Towers in 1990 and converted many of the remaining locations) and a Price Chopper (one of the last chains launched by Oshawa Group before they were bought by Sobeys). I don't think Towers ever set up shop in Windsor, with London being the closest location I recall. The local competition to K-Mart, Woolco and Zellers in the late 1970s/early 1980s was Sentry, a store I know very little about other...

While visiting Windsor over the Labour Day weekend, I wandered through a section of the city I hadn't been through in awhile, Brighton Beach. The drive was an eye-opener. The history of the neighbourhood is covered on International Metropolis . Over the past decade, the city has purchased most of the residential lots, with the intention of building an industrial park. No progress has been made on this front, as the area is usually mentioned in plans for a new border crossing, such as this one . Most of the streets in Brighton Beach have been blocked to vehicular traffic. Most of the roads were never paved in my memory and now appear to be returning to nature. Most of the street signs have been removed, forcing me to identify roads based on memory or maps. Reed St (pictured above) is one of the few that retains its identity, though I'm guessing this is due to oversight. One type of vehicle the barriers don't keep out is the ATV, as I heard several roaming along the gho...

Augusta Ave, Kensington Market, September 15, 2007 - JB

Call this a sequel to last week's look at the '69 vintage of fake facial fuzz . Same drawings, same prices, but different comic book publisher and 'stache peddler. Perhaps "Man International" was a west coast branch of Honor House? Or was there a cartel of fake mustache, sideburns and Van Dyke producers that banded together to corner the market? The only thing I know about the address is that Ed Wood spent his final years living in a squalid apartment on Yucca St, being evicted shortly before his death in 1978. From the accounts given by Wood's associates in Rudolph Grey's book Nightmare of Ecstasy , the building was full of alcoholics, battling spouses, prostitutes and gunfights. Fightin' Army was one of the mainstays of the Charlton Comics lineup, lasting for 157 issues between 1956 and 1984. The series hit its peak with the lead feature in this issue, The Lonely War of Willy Schultz (1967-70). Written by teenager Will Franz and drawn by vet...

On strolls near the Annex, I often wander by the back of Central Tech. The dumpsters often provide good photo opportunities, with a strange assortment of well-used instructional aids, worn-out furniture and the odd toilet. The most recent discovery: the Turbinator. Feel free to insert your own Terminator/Turbinator joke. As for what these chairs might have been used for, a quick Google search makes me suspect they were used for hairstyling, as eBay had a few 1950s-era salon model Turbinators up for grabs. A pair of Turbinators sat by the dumpsters. The idea of taking them home briefly crossed my mind, until I thought of the vermin that may have crawled in, the marks they might make on my living room floor and the practicality of trying to stuff them into the official Warehouse mobile transport unit. Besides, the classroom chair looked like it needed the company. Other odd item seen that night: a child-size Jeep, which appeared to be from the company's AMC days. Al...

While driving back to the Centre of the Universe (TM) on Labour Day, I came across the first candidate sign not sitting in close proximity to a campaign office or left over from someone too lazy to remove one from their window from the last election. This candidate also appeared to be the only one I saw on my drive to have jumped the writ gun, with several signs sitting by the roadside around St. Thomas. Going by this sign, it appears John Tory will emphasize his name over the party brand. We saw how well that worked for Paul Martin in the last federal campaign, though his signs missed the crucial "Your ______ Candidate" portion. The toxic stench of Mike Harris lingers over the PCs, which may explain why the early Tory radio ads skip over his party affiliation (680 News loves playing them). Design wise, I like the white bars setting off the leader name and the party website. I suspect I would extend the bottom white bar to the edge of the sign to balance the top bar,...

Just over a month ago, readers were introduced to the newest member of the family . Recently, Amy discovered that Kira had pulled a trick on her...and was actually a male cat. Hence a name change to Charlie. He had grown considerably since the last time I saw him and definitely much more active, speedily roaming the house. He seems to like shaking hands with his paw and licking any exposed part of the body (usually feet). The speed at which he moves caught me off guard, though it may also be due to lingering weariness around animals still stemming from my fear-of-dogs days. I think the little guy is going to win me over. All pictures taken September 2, 2007 - JB

Another fine personal grooming product from venerable magazine advertiser Honor House. If you wanted to remove hair instead of add it, Honor House could also help you . Another previously spotlighted ad demonstrates there must have been a high demand for false facial hair pieces in the late 1960s/early 1970s. For me, unless I require several disguises for anything vaguely theatrical/Halloweenish, these items would be totally unnecessary, since I can grow any of them in a week or two. I'd be curious to see the suggestions offered up in the free guide for wearing these pieces "naturally". I suspect dim lighting is involved, so that your date cannot fully make out the seams or adhesive. Even that might not prevent their date from suddenly sprouting a 'stache after a good-night kiss. Metal Men was part of the DC Comics lineup for most of the 1960s, created as a last-minute emergency fill-in for the company's main anthology, Showcase . The series revolved ar...

This week's Warehouse back-to-school special: book covers of your favourite Marvel heroes. Whether these are as fascinating as the vendor's name is up to you, our humble customer. Disclaimer: As the dimensions of the covers are not specified in the ad, we cannot guarantee that these will fit every project. We are also not responsible if the book cover owner starts peppering their speech with "Sweet Christmas!" or "Hulk smash!" Source: Amazing Spider-Man #163, December 1976 - JB