A fab assortment of old punk buttons, unearthed by the Cartoonist in his garden shed, inspired me to go a-hunting in my basement to see what I could turn up in the way of vintage badges. I didn't find any punk-o-bilia to speak of, but I did uncover a treasure trove of old political buttons from the 1972 U.S. presidential election. I was only 12, so I didn't have much interest in politics (still don't), but I liked to visit the Republican and Democratic party headquarters and take the free buttons. Wish I'd grabbed a McGovern-Eagleton, those babies are worth some serious scratch. I used to have another button that said "Nixon es el Hombre", but that one must've disappeared somewhere in my travels over the past 36 years.

[Link: The Cartoonist's Stinking Badges]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 7:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Thanks to Groovy Age of Horror (NSFW) for hepping me to these new Doc Savage reprints, that feature not only the fabulous Bantam paperback-cover artwork of James Bama pictured above, but also the original cover art and interior illustrations from Street & Smith's Doc Savage Magazine, published in the 1930s and '40s. I'll definitely be picking up a copy of Fortress of Solitude, my favorite Doc adventure.

I had 20-30 of the Bantam paperbacks when I was a kid, and I used to read them during lunch at school until my evil bitch of a 5th-grade teacher, Miss George, took them away from me and wouldn't give them back. My mother was furious with her, and asked her how she, as a teacher, could justify doing something to discourage a child from reading. I've always been grateful for how she stuck up for me against such a petty classroom tyrant.

Bite me, Miss George.

[Link: New Doc Savage Reprints]
[Link: Doc Savage Magazine Cover Gallery]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

At last, something has roused me from my blogospheric torpor! Max Sparber has disinterred the moldering corpse of the not-quite-dead-yet, Essential Ghoul's Record Shelf, a weblog dedicated to a rather specific list of song stylings which include the following topics:

I am a monster.
My girlfriend is a monster.
Everyone we know is a monster, so let's do a monster-specific dance.
I'm being chased by a werewolf.
I have had a spell cast on me.
Where did all my blood go?

The Ghoul then goes on to add a new topic to his repertoire: Let's sing a song about hilariously inaccurate television psychics.

Criswell Predicts tells the story behind Mae West's stirring hoochie-koochie paean to her psychic friend, the Amazing Criswell, who, as you may recall, predicted that Mae would not only become President of the United States in 1960, but would also accompany him to the Moon (along with Liberace).

It's a great song, and a terrific reintroduction for the Ghoul. You have been missed, you rotten old creep. Welcome back!

[Link: Criswell Predicts]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)