Museum of the Weird, Revisited

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a snap of something in the house you're pretty sure other people aren't likely to have in their house. Pets and people are not included (we're pretty sure your pets and kids aren't in most other people's houses). For this photo shoot we're looking at things -- strange objects, curios, odd keepsakes and just generally weird stuff.

What, again? Between a similar photo shoot requesting the unusual and lots of other miscellaneous entries (in which I admittedly tend to go overboard on the number of pics), I've already shown you most of what would qualify. You've seen the papier mache E.P. Bunny and the cardboard tv minibar, a canned earthquake and a can of sweat (sort of), cushions made from vintage ties, some of my rare books, most of our collection of original art, my vintage Barbies, my Remco dolls, our vintage swizzle sticks, our tikis, our 1958 Disneyland map, a Rathbone life mask, a McIntosh tambourine, vintage lamps, turquoise and salmon sailboats, our Beatles Flip Your Wig Game, and our John Lennon autograph. It's true that you haven't seen our Star Trek lemon-soaked paper napkin, but that's because it's in a box somewhere. At least I've mentioned it. So what's left that you haven't seen - and that's not in a box?

Oh, I'm sure I can come up with something!

How about some Funny Face drink cups from 1969 and 1970? Funny Face was a competitor to Kool-Aid, introduced by Pillsbury in 1964. These cups represent Freckle Face Strawberry, Jolly Olly Orange, and Loud-Mouth Punch. Maybe. The Jolly Olly Orange character replaced the culturally insensitive (but more interesting) Injun Orange at the same time Chinese Cherry became Choo Choo Cherry. I'm pretty sure this cup is the second Orange character. But the pink cup doesn't quite seem to match any character designs I've seen. Is he the later character Loud-Mouth Punch, or a smooth-faced Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry? I've asked an expert to stop by and let us know, but the more I research his site, the more I think I've got these identified correctly now. I had them wrong before.

The "What's All This Then?" policeman is a mini promo standup for Cornerstone's Monty Python trading cards. (The full size one was about six feet tall.) The black and white box to the right of that was designed by John for Cornerstone's first trading card set ever, featuring John Steed and Emma Peel - The Avengers.


Here are some vintage Hanna Barbera toys. Huckleberry Hound is a bank - and no, I don't know why some of his merchandise was red instead of blue, as it should have been. Baba Louie, Top Cat and Fancy-Fancy are Tinykins - by Marx! Weirdly, the Tinykins are labeled Barbera-Hanna Productions, 1961, instead of Hanna Barbera.


These are called Nutty Mads - by Marx! They're a John thing. Actually, most of this stuff is John's.


And here's something definitely unusual, and definitely mine. This is one of two notebooks containing my mom's handwritten sheet music. I grew up with this notebook. Most of her best songs are in it. Someday I'll find a way to transcribe them. The snowman candle to the right is at least 40 years old. There's a story associated with it - which I'm not going to tell you tonight.



Before I sign off, I just want to remind everyone that this Wednesday is the Round Robin Photo Challenge. Subject: Silly Animals! Go sign up on the Round Robin blog, if you haven't done so already, and get ready to post photos of humorous fauna!

Oh, and that entry I started last night, I'll continue later this week. I'm overscheduled again.

Karen