Hello. Is this thing on? It’s been a while since I’ve been around these parts. It’s time to clear away some of the cobwebs — and would it be possible to get a vacuum cleaner in here?
Hello 2014. You haven’t been very good so far. Let me just say that I am now intimately familiar with the inner workings of our local hospital, and am on a first name basis with many new people — the kind who wear colored uniforms to denote their profession. I’m fine. My parents, well, they’re on the mend, but things are looking much rosier today than they have in several weeks.
Things have been a whirlwind around here. As soon as I receive the printed copies of the premiere issue of Cool & Collected, life did its darnedest to get in the way. I “think” I managed to keep up with the orders and respond to most of the inquiries I received, but I’m sure a few slipped through the cracks. If you are waiting to hear from me, I’m doing my best. Feel free to bug me again.
I had grand plans to recap what it was like to get the printed copies and post links to all the great reviews it had received (thank you for those!). I wanted to write about the process of the magazine production and publicly thank everyone who was involved — I really need to do that — and I was going to heavily pimp the issue (yes, even more!), but before I knew it, Christmas arrived and my work life took a back seat to family (as it should).
I was planning to show off some of the great loot that Santa brought me. There is no sane reason why this Lego Batman clock should bring me such joy but it absolutely does. It combines two of my favorite things and super sizes them. Thank you Santa.
There’s a a pile of books sitting next to me that I have been meaning to write about. They’re great, really, I just can’t seem to get around to review them — but I will!
Yesterday, I was able to do the first normal collector-thing, that I’ve been able to do in a long time, and made a visit to the D.C. Big Flea. I wanted to hand deliver copies of the magazines to some of the vendors there who I have been buying from for many years, and check out the items they have found since the last time I was able to attend the show.
It might sound strange, but it just felt therapeutic to be there, roaming the aisles and seeing what there was to see. Brent Stoke’s booth was filled with vintage robots (see photo above) and he even brought a Great Garloo which is always a fun toy to see in person. After being on a self-imposed buying embargo for the months prior to Christmas, I treated myself to an item from Mitch M.’s booth — a Planet of the Apes lunch box. This lunch box has been on my collecting radar for years, and now I finally have one to pair with the thermos I bought years ago.
Life seems to have calmed down a bit and I hope to get back to a somewhat regular schedule here on the site. Production of the second issue of the magazine is underway, and I’ve received many offers to contribute articles. I and am very excited about the future of the publication.
I hope you all had a less crazy holiday and that 2014 treats you well. Happy New Year! tweoot.
Happy new year! Glad to hear things are on the up and up. The big flea sounds cool. I’m itching to go to a show. Been months! Luckily a really good one is coming up on the 26th!
Thanks Rich! On 1/18-19, there’s a good toy show just north of Baltimore if you want to make the trek: http://www.davehartshows.com
(I’ll be there — I hope!)
Ill be at that Dave Hart show as well, I’ve really been looking forward to it. Always lots of under the radar finds there.
Awesome! Save some toys for me! I’m going to try to get there on Saturday morning but not sure yet.
Glad everything is looking better Brian. I still have to get my hands on that magazine. Ordering soon after we’re financially caught up from Christmas.
Hopefully there’s many more Batman, Lego, robots and King Kongs in 2014 for you and for all of us.
Thanks Kevin. Don’t order a copy! I owe you (and all the other contributors) an issue.
You are not alone in your troubles for 2014 Brian I share in the misery. Hope everything goes better further into 2014!
It’s also worth noting the magazine has been showing up all over, even had some recommend it to me on instagram 😉
Sending good thoughts your way Cody!
Hate to hear about your bad year so far. Hopefully things get much better for you. I got the magazine and loved it! I emailed you a heads up last night but in case you haven’t seen it yet be sure and check out doomkick.com in the morning for some glowing words about the first issue.
Things are looking up, thanks! Glad you liked the magazine and I’m looking forward to the review on DoomKick!
Did you send my copy to the uk? Because we were going to discuss me shouting the postage on that one…
I sent one to the UK and it cost over $15 which shocked me. The magazine IS great, but international shipping is going to have to wait unless you REALLY want one. I was surprised to see that shipping these domestically runs $3 — I was hoping for half that cost.
Love that Batman Lego clock i think i might have to get one now!
I’ve been tempted to get one of those clocks since the original Stormtrooper one came out, but the Batman one was the tipping point. 😉
Sorry 2014 is off to a rocky start, Brian. Hope things get better.
BTW, that Batman clock is AWESOME!
Thanks Ben! Things are already looking up. 🙂
It seems that Batman Lego clock is the start of this post.
Happy 2014 Brian!!