johnny dollar's vault

2011-11-27T12:17:00.004-05:00

well obviously the blogging thing has not happened for over two years. i think i, as with many people, got saturated with blogs similar to how microbrewpubs saturated the market when they were first new and hip. so similarly, the market topped out, and then things kind of collapsed and assimilated, and now there are smaller numbers of more viable and followed blogs.

the function of this blog has spread out to several other platforms including dreaded facebook and twitter, plus other high quality message board forums and even print media.

speaking of print media, the main purpose of this post is to pimp my new feature in bachelor pad magazine. observe:

wherein i'm pretty much rapping about men's hats. like, hats, not baseball caps or those peruvian knit thingies that the kids are wearing these days.

for a hardcore dig into the minutiae of men's hats, i might recommend the fedora lounge. these are the people who know everything about hats that can be known. check it out, palsy.

r.i.p. jonny dollar

2009-06-18T15:05:00.004-04:00

another j$ gone... sigh.

OLD hammerjacks

2009-04-28T20:17:00.003-04:00

ok so mebbe you don't think of the dollar man as a heavy metallll dude, but i was, yo. witness:

ennyways, i was having a heavy metal reverie, about how i visited hammerjack's in the late 90's on the site of what is now the M&T bank stadium - camden yards was already there.

no point, really. exceptin' that i ended up in this town. metal is dead, and so is my hair.

value the friends who mail you pre-castro rum

2009-04-21T20:53:00.010-04:00

omg so like one of my internets friends who i have actually met IRL (jargon) recently acquired a bottle of bacardi rum whose vintage is certifiably pre-castro (i.e. before 1958)

if you have facebook access (you probably need to be his friend to read this, but anyways):
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30310272&id=1428210904&ref=mf

not only the rum, but he provided a recipe for a la flordia recipe for the daiquiri favored by ernest hemingway, plus some CDs of cuban(esque) musics...

gotta say, that rum had a very particular taste. it was a tasty beverage! for comparison we made the cruzano from beachbum berry's grog log, which had similar ingredients minus the lime juice and swapping vintage bacardi rum for barbados rum.

regardless, check it. would not have made this drink if i had not gotten the vintage rum mailed to me. i guess i'm just braggin'. it was pretty cool.

the new mai kai website

2009-04-10T07:02:00.003-04:00

i'm not gonna spend alot of time talking your ear off about this new website for the greatest restaurant in the world.

just visit the site... i especially like the video page... then go visit the place itself! you'll be glad you did.

happy birthday grandpaw

2009-03-19T10:31:00.003-04:00

perhaps this is of limited interest, but my grandpaw m woulda been 99 today. at least this is an opportunity to show this mackin' pic of him taken by a street photographer on the streets of st. louis.

so now you know where i get alot of my jaunty factor from. lulz.

grandpaw (he preferred "paw" to "pa") was an exemplary husband, father, grandfather, provider for his family, and all around renaissance guy. i think he didn't get past highschool since he had to WORK, but he was one of the most cultured and intelligent people i have ever met.

plus, he was a linotype operator. when i get tired of plinking the keyboard, i often reflect that at least my CPU does not have a molten container of lead attached to it.

so, if there is internets in teh heav0n, happy birthday grandpaW!

joe movie 2

2009-02-17T08:36:00.001-05:00

giving a bump to the blogger zombies blog

2009-01-30T08:59:00.002-05:00

what started as a lame joke over some beers has... wait for it... taken on a life of its own.

blogger zombies! http://aaaarrrrfggghbrains.blogspot.com/

it's funny! it's collaborative! it wants to eat your brains!

today's baltimore weather report:

2009-01-28T11:43:00.002-05:00

shock and drop!

2009-01-17T06:43:00.001-05:00

inventor of the "hawaiian shirt" dies

2009-01-05T20:37:00.003-05:00

no wai :(

where would i be without my aloha shirt?

dang.

mo info here and here.

if you ever find a shirt with the label above, pls send it to me. thx!

joe movie 1

2009-01-04T10:38:00.003-05:00

my youngest brother and i made this with the spanking new 8mm sony video camera that my dad got for xmas in 1990. this episode recreates something that my oldest brother did to me about 10 years prior. the reason that you are seeing it now is i got a movie board for my PC for xmas 2008.

be very afraid.

hope ur 2009 > ur 2008

2008-12-31T19:03:00.002-05:00

srsly

the ballad of amusing duck

2008-12-28T15:17:00.004-05:00

so like two plus weeks ago, my brother (oldest) sent me an engrish link for a produc(k)t called "amusing duck." the tagline "lay egg is true" was too hard for me to resist.

so i found a seller on ebay canada, of all places... i suppose they have migrated (quack) to regular ebay since then...

and it was meant to be. i bequeathed it on my younger brother, who is a duck fan. for xmas we were all very amused.

video:

obey!

2008-12-21T17:01:00.002-05:00

seen at wegman's. heh.

get your 2008 dj riko marry mixmas

2008-12-12T10:45:00.004-05:00

for the past two or three years i've become a bit of a christmas music fanatic, largely powered by the internets and the veritable cornucopia of an embarrassment of riches vis-a-vis both contemporary and vintage xmas sounds that people are making available.

in my mind the premiere xmas dj is dj riko... every year his "mixmas" presents a dollar-approved mish mash of pop cultural gems that make me all "i heart you dj riko!"

git it hyar!
in fact get them all, they go back to 2002.

by the by, the premiere site for xmas music madness is falalalala.com... czech it out and jingle your jangle.

santa elvis!

2008-12-10T09:42:00.003-05:00

now at nacho mama's. be sure to leave santa elvis some peanut butter an banana sandwiches on dec 24th.

75 yrs ago, the 21st amendment said:

2008-12-05T00:51:00.002-05:00

baltimore, where the streets are paved with silver

2008-11-20T13:33:00.005-05:00

how's this for random, i was taking a walk a couple blocks from the inner harbor and found this on the sidewalk:

an 1877 "trade dollar" "420 grains 900 fine" silver.

the ebay internets sez:
"this coin originally weighed 27.22 grams and has .900 silver .100 copper composition. the trade dollar was issued for circulation in the orient to compete with dollar sized coins of other countries. many pieces that circulated in the orient were counterstamped with oriental characters, known as chop marks. in 1877 the treasury redeemed all dollars that were not mutilated. these coins were designed by william barber and were only minted from 1873 to 1885."

mysterious!
lucky!
odd!

sweet lord...

2008-11-17T12:24:00.001-05:00

best

wallpaper

ever

hey sailor

2008-11-11T00:22:00.003-05:00

aloha nui loa to all the vets.

happy damn halloween

2008-10-31T09:03:00.001-04:00

few things are as good as when we were kids [/angry old man], but at least they still put out the sugary monster cereals this time of year.

btw, independent taste test, frankenberry is by far the best, although as a kid i think i thought booberry was the best since it was so hard to find compared to f-berry and the count chocula.

a-ha! take on me, literally.

2008-10-09T10:39:00.000-04:00

this is the funniest thing i have seen in a long time. but then again, i don't get out much.

WSJ: tiki doesn't have to be tacky

2008-10-07T10:21:00.002-04:00

read it here.

wall street journal lending us credence?
scary...

buy tiki mug, benefit ms society

2008-10-01T21:05:00.003-04:00

you can get the full story at the link below, but long story short, buy this kustom tiki mug from the new england chapter of my fraternal order, and do a whole heap of good for the national ms society.

go here: http://www.northeasttikitour.com/msmug/

route 66: the neon road

2008-09-15T22:56:00.004-04:00

a nice bite-sized (25 mins) feel-good documentary.

ROTOSPHERE: WANT

i know boh

2008-09-12T14:46:00.003-04:00

i'm trying to convince loki to come to baltimore city.

i think people will buy him lots of boh...

"the office" goes tiki

2008-08-26T15:44:00.004-04:00

sources tell me that shooting of an episode of "the office" was just completed at the tonga hut, which is a classic tiki bar in north hollywood.

this really blows my mind, and makes me look forward to next season of this network show that doesn't suck. i can only imagine this will be even better than when they went to benihana.

nog-a-sake!

one phrase about the new giant logo:

2008-08-22T08:55:00.003-04:00

come on get happpyyyyy!!!

ADDENDŰM:
a wapo metro columnist had the exact same observation!
frightening...

holy cow, i might become president

2008-07-22T21:12:00.001-04:00

inna month! hot rod hula hop 4! in columbus! ohio!

2008-07-09T11:42:00.003-04:00

light the tiki torches and fire up your engines! the fourth annual hot rod hula hop is roaring into columbus, ohio, on aug. 8-9 for a weekend celebration of polynesian pop and cruise-in car culture. presented by the fraternal order of moai, hot rod hula hop “has become one of the midwest’s most anticipated tiki-themed events,” according to tiki magazine. festivities at largo’s tavern include an authentic hawaiian luau; a kustom and vintage pre-1970 hot rod show; live surf, exotica and rockabilly bands; burlesque performances; and an outdoor marketplace featuring tiki carvers, artists and vendors.

largo’s tavern, the columbus area’s only pirate-themed bar, plays host on friday, aug. 8, to the “feast of the tiki gods.” the feast is a tropical luau with live entertainment by hawaiian music award-winning exotica band waitiki, hawaiian-born guitarist francis llacuna, renowned ukulele player pablus from the crazed mugs, traditional hula dancing by leilani, and the columbus rockabilly band vegas 66. tickets are $25 and include an all-you-can-eat buffet. tickets are available at the hot rod hula hop web site. last year’s feast sold out, so get your tickets before they’re all gone.

the hot rod hula hop iv “main event” on saturday, aug. 9, at largo’s is a full day of fun that starts at 10 a.m. with a car show featuring kustom and vintage pre-1970 hot rods. the marketplace offers antiques and artists, food by chef dime and music by professional djs including surfabilly freakout and java from bachelor pad radio. the hot rod hula hop iv commemorative tiki mug is by poptiki of colorado. the evening concert features monster surf-rock band go tsunami, chicago lounge lizards the cocktail preachers, west virginia rockabilly trio the heptanes, boston exotica combo waitiki and detroit psychobilly blasters the koffin kats. the entertainment also includes barnyard burlesque and the classic sideshow act lucky the pain-proof man. tickets for the evening show are $20 at the hot rod hula hop web site or at the door.

largo’s tavern is located at 6159 e. glick road in powell, across the bridge from the columbus zoo. for tickets or more information, visit www.hotrodhulahop.com.

photos of last year's here's!

an original modern chair score

2008-07-05T10:22:00.006-04:00

it is perhaps no secret that i am a modern furniture nerd.

and i have no business buying more furniture right about now.

but dig, i could not pass this up. what seems like an original eames plywood (DCW) chair, obviously for an institutional use, found adjacent to the waverly farmer's market this morning. upon further input from knowledgeable sources, we found that it is a THONET chair, which was contemporary with eames, and perhaps even inspiratory to - ? and we thought we were only buying fruit for pie.

wot makes it the cooler is that it is not only from this town, but from an institution not more than a couple miles from me ~ sinai hospital.

the still extant shipping thingie sez:

from THONET INDUSTRIES INC
ONE PARK AVENUE - NEW YORK 16, NY

R. Mars, The Contract Co.
112 W. Lombard St.
Baltimore 1, Md.
#6167-68 For: Sinai Hospital

hell yeah! and since the above has no zip code, we can be assured that this chair's vintage is from at least 1963. the zone codes above were apparently implemented for larger cities from 1943 until the 60s.

the brass plaque on the back ain't too bad neither.

all in all, a pretty sweet score and relatively affordable to boot.

sean k. preston

2008-06-18T12:50:00.002-04:00

caught this buy busking outside max's on saturday.

check out his myspace - then buy his records.

dang i want harry truman's shirts

2008-06-11T13:08:00.005-04:00

not that they would fit me. but sweet, check out this great set of web pages that the nps put together about harry's shirt collection.

somebody gets it at least!

i'd have to say as cool as the aloha shirts are, this freaking aztec sundial is just about the coolest funky shirt evar.

the interwebs does connect us all indeed

2008-06-05T13:34:00.002-04:00

the interweb does connect everyone.

fer example.

do you know that food network show the ace of cakes? so anyways the receptionist for that business (charm city cakes) is part of that reality show, and also had a blog for awhile (it shut down)

so like 2 years ago i did a blog post about captain 20, and she left a comment on my blog saying she grew up in rockville and met captain 20 (back in the day) and was star struck by him. i think she even went to the church one of my best friends went to. so i emailed her and asked if she knew them and she said no.

so like 2 days ago i was telling my honny that i'm sorry that we don't have good cable coz i liked the ace of cakes... you know, it's all shot around here and is good image repair for baltimore.

and this morning, i got an email FROM HER (mary alice) coz she must have had my email address from when i asked her if she knew my friends' family. it was an invitation to a party on the 15th that is co-sponsored by charm city cakes.

odd. yet cool.

growing up star wars on flickr

2008-06-03T10:57:00.003-04:00

image courtesy of neato coolville

one of my favourite bloggers and his cronies started a great flickr group called "growing up star wars 1977 - 1985..."

in my opinion, a brilliant piece of pop cultural anthropology.

i got to wrest the family photo albums and get some scan on! i know for a fact i have some drawings of a snoopy version of star wars somewhere...

if you have anything to contribute, i highly recommend you join that flickr group and get scanning... you rebel scum.

for the joes and jills

2008-05-26T09:57:00.002-04:00

thank you.

i'm your huckleberry

2008-05-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

i was just thinking about how much i loved huckleberry hound as a kid, and just now found this one i had never seen before - huck trying to throw a luau. enjoy!

how to destroy a zombie

2008-05-22T11:24:00.003-04:00

above image courtesy of jeff berry - kick ass makeup by junkhauler

far be it from me to puu-puu someone's efforts to do a cool thing and not totally miss the mark; and i am supa glad that the supreme mixological kknowledge of beachbum berry is broadcasting to the teeming millions;

but i had to shudda a bit reading this week's drinks of summer article in the local yokel city paper;

and they did acknowledge that they fudged the recipe a bit... but ruby red grapefruit juice and bacardi instead of jamaican rum? survey says:

XXX

just for everyone's review, a proper (modern day) zombie is:

3/4 ounce lime juice

1 ounce white grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce cinnamon-infused sugar syrup (see note)

1/2 ounce bacardi 151 rum

1 ounce dark jamaican rum

sliced fruit and mint for garnish.

shake all ingredients well with ice cubes. strain into a highball glass filled with ice. garnish with fruit and a mint sprig.

yield: one drink.

note: cinnamon syrup from sonoma syrup company is sold at dean & deluca and whole foods. to make it, boil 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks pounded with the back of a knife; stir until sugar dissolves, remove from heat, let sit for 2 hours, then strain.

in fac', read this ny times article about the modern day prophet of exotic cocktails here.

the fells point project... advice please?

2008-05-16T11:08:00.004-04:00

image courtesy of tony millionaire at maakies. two thumbs up!!!

ok so like in 4 weeks i'm going to join in a convention of producers and fans of a crude yet sophisticated podcast here in the greatest city in america.

my comment-whoring™ question to you is, ok, i know fells point is all yuppie trendy now, but assuming a crowd of about 20 + people who likely enjoy both brewed and distilled spirits, where would you suggest i suggest we go?

extra points for funky/ironic/subcultural.

negative points for frat house / tasteful.

spanks in advance!

i'm youtube famous now: tails of the merman, the exciting conclusion

2008-05-07T09:07:00.003-04:00

i have to hand it to e33, he put a whizbang ending to this little tropical serial (tropical cereal?) that i and my hunny had the pleasure of having a cameo in.

be sure to dig on the kustom soundtrack by waitiki, not to mention the fashion stylings of fashion tramp, the comedy stylings of the henchmen, and PIE.

the previous episodes should be watched, and they are here.

p.s. dad don't let mom see this, she would probably not understand and get upset.

donna reed + tequila = ...

2008-05-05T19:42:00.000-04:00

cøøl, the kon tiki museum shop is online!

2008-05-01T10:11:00.006-04:00

well, they don't accept credit card orders, so i can't verify that an ammurican could actually get any of this swag, but, finally the kon tiki museum shop is online after promising to be for at least a year or so.

i so freaking want to go see the balsa wood raft that started it all.

the dvd of the expedition is amazing too. highly recommended - get it here.

kick ass, sleestaks will still be rubbery

2008-04-29T21:36:00.003-04:00

http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2008/04/land-of-the-lost.php

i hope the casting doesn't suck for marshall, will and holly...
or... cha-ka?

nsfw? a baltimore nudist in our dining room

2008-04-24T10:51:00.005-04:00

thru the magik of the list of craig, my honeypie acquired this mannequin who apparently modeled for many years at epstein's department store here in maryland.

does anyone have any info or memories of epstein's? the internets is quiet on this topic.

i recall as a lil kid, being kind of embarrassed when walking by hecht's or needless markup or such mally place, and the mannequins were all neekid while they were swapping out the threads. heh.

well this particular one will be transformed into a piece of garden art in the near future. pix soon.

garden is go

2008-04-21T10:34:00.004-04:00

the above is just a taste of the hardcore gardenin' we got busy with this past weekend, but rest assured, the flowers and trees we got goin' on are the best ever... not only that, we are about 85% into completing GARDEN v2.0, and trust me, we are barring no holds this year. pix soon kthxbai!

btw if you have any garden design consulting needs, do not hesitate to visit baltimore's premiere garden coach, kelly, at the spade and rake garden company.

rakin' like the ace of spades...

a new source for your island living needs

2008-04-13T21:46:00.013-04:00

bless the internets, there is now a brand new source for all your lifestyle needs, should you plan to be shipwrecked on a paradise island anytime soon. it is called the coconut economy, and it is sponsored by the tres creative and perhaps somewhat eccentric (woulda never guessed) fraternal organization to which i am inextricably connectionated.

the site is fairly self-explanitory, and allows one to acquire such useful items as the utililavalava, which is like a utilikilt (i.e. having pockets) but somewhat less scottish and somewhat more don ho. call it a skirt and we'll sic our private army of samoan ninjas on you.

laketiki tikis always please.

the polynesian stylings of fashiontramp modeled elegantly by our own miss stumpgrinder.

this sweet fogcutter tiki mug by poptiki of colorado...

or perhaps an island tote by velveteen lounge?

what's not to like? just go there already:
http://www.fraternalorderofmoai.org/coconuteconomy/

i haz rss'en

2008-03-29T05:58:00.003-04:00

i can't imagine why anyone would want an rss feed of my particular brand of garbage, but it has been requested, and so there it is in the sidebar. w00t!!!1eleven

more porky the litter eater

2008-03-27T08:29:00.002-04:00

i shnurrr love the internets!

to recap, this is at cabin john regional park in bethesda maryland. i am amazed that this piece of kitch still survived after over 30 years ~ i would figure the good taste police in upscale monkey county would have vetted him years ago.

"don't feed me broken glass!!!"

happy mary sue easter eggs

2008-03-23T10:32:00.005-04:00

hellz yeahz, i scored some major mary easter egg (since 1948!) swag this year:

peep this:

2 mary sure coconut creme eggs
1 mary sue pecan nougat egg
1 box mary sue vanilla butter creme eggs
1 box mary sue peanut butter eggs

excuse me while i lapse into a sugar and fat coma...

in the meantime, why don't you download and enjoy the mary sue jingle? it's sugar free!... or maybe not.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GYEY0O6S

fudgie the whale

2008-03-20T09:03:00.004-04:00

yesterday i got a carvel ice cream fudgie the whale coz i was a good boy and passed an important exam. fudgie!!!

if you grew up between about new york and maryland, you will probably be acquainted with carvel ice cream store commercials. the original founder and owner insisted on narrating his commercials, and subsequently entered the classic lexicon of low-budget classicly awful advertisments. the fellow sounded like he was an alcoholic and smoked five packs a day. pretty heady stuff for a sheletered suburban lad.

the following ad does not contain fudgie, but it does have COOKIE PUSS! the lol thing is that carvel has about two shapes for their ice cream cakes - it's just the icing that differentiates them.

i like π

2008-03-14T09:41:00.002-04:00

happy pi day!

http://www.piday.org/

spring ahead in a black velvet chopper

2008-03-07T11:05:00.002-05:00

johnny dollar's vault is releasing this groovy black lite poster via our ebay outlet ~ bid on it before it's too late!

where is the best place in baltimore to print business cards?

2008-03-05T10:00:00.003-05:00

please let me know. we need, obviously, an affordable, decent place to print up some business cards. thanks!

having a cat has paid off

2008-03-02T15:14:00.001-05:00

moar funny pictures

forget warhol, THIS is pop art

2008-02-27T09:44:00.002-05:00

i am so enamoured of this image that i will for sure buy a copy once i put the finishing touches on my basement bar.

it is by dave avenell, whom i contacted with a request to blog about his wonderful imagery. he never replied to say yes, but he never said no either, and silence implies consent ~ if he tells me to take this down, i will.

but til then, totally check out his stuff! it's wonderful, it's like he scanned my brain of stuff i would love to hang on my walls.

now knock off the negative waves!

how to frug

2008-02-26T11:03:00.003-05:00

jonesin'; indy label

2008-02-20T07:13:00.010-05:00

ye may be perchance agog to find this most obscure and most unread blog to be discussing this particular topic, but you got something more than you bargained for; i'm yer golderned indiana jones blogger.

viewing the recent trailer for indiana jones 4 (us old timers used to call the movies "raiders,") made me to muse upon my viewing of the original movie in 1981, temple of doom in 1984, and last crusade in 1989.

i saw temple of doom at congressional theater in rockville, and for some reason i think my dad got me the OFFICIAL COLLECTORS EDITION program. neener, neener. i dunno if it is worth anything these days, but is is fun to look at.

also about that time i purchased the OFFICIAL REPLICA HAT at britches great outdoors in montgomery mall. the hat has outlived the stores in the mall, hah. well this hat is copyright 1984 so i guess it coincided with temple of doom. feels like walking on fortune cookie!

anyways there are some photos of indy looking all buff etc etc. i am invited by the ever enthusiastic snay to view all the first three movies in a marathon before number 4 comes out, so perhaps i'll bring it along.

dr. jones... he is... nefarious...

Flickr

2008-02-14T21:28:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

why i love lent

2008-02-06T09:03:00.000-05:00

mmm... PIEROGIES...

get a piece of me, part 1

2008-02-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

okay so me and the missus like to take a trip to the REAL o.c. during the off season, and this year due to circumstances, we figured the trip would be contingent on funding other than the ol' household expenses since like we're dipping dry in the ol' well of ducats so to speak. so we're shuffling off some junk from the vault, for fun and profit:

above: the mean ol' dirty bastard tiki mug, on the evil-bay:

a model 1918 german combat helmet - perhaps a technicality, but it's not knotzee, see?

hand painted lead role playing game figures - i painted them myself back in the crusty days of the 1980's. this was before everyone was on the internets playing virtual multiplayer combat. the 1980's were a strange and wonderous era.

a die-cast luger cap gun, made by lone star in england. that is kind of an odd cultural amalgamation, a british company named lone star making lugers. anyways, for the roll-type caps. remember them? before having a toy gun instantly made you a criminal?

and meanwhile, with the good folks at woodward's auction house over in hampden, we have many lots of our stuff on the chopping block. this is not all that is there, but merely a sampling, an amuse-bouche so to speak.

vinyl records! no download required!

fans - start your own club.

cameras and radios! no flash memory or usb cord required!

that auction at woodward's is listed for today starting at 4PM, really, they have lots of interesting stuff there - if you've never been to an auction, it is an experience you should have once in your life.

get me a bromo!

2008-01-31T09:53:00.000-05:00

wow, the bromo seltzer tower has been renovated and transformed into artist's lofts and a gallery/coffeehouse!

i took a tour last nite, sponsored by the baltimore historic resources committee and led by baltimore office of promotion and the arts, and azola associates, the project contractor.

it's great to see such an iconic part of the city being put to a good use. it was originally the corporate offices for the bromo seltzer factory, which was right adjacent to the tower, on the site of what is now the fire station and a parking garage.

more info can be found at the website for the bromo seltzer tower here.

ports of call 1944-1945: LST -708 in the pacific

2008-01-29T09:32:00.002-05:00

i am rather pleased with myself; recently, having read tales of the south pacific and viewing the most recent ken burns documentary, the war, i was inspired to see what i could dig up about my grandfather's time serving with the u.s. navy in the south pacific.

(grandpa, top second from left, with

H.A. Kinney, 107 Blythe, Paris, Tn

Albert Perotto, 246 North Sr, Claremont, NH

Chas. E. Hedigan, 5618 Greer Ave, St. Louis, Mo

Joseph W. Anton, 324 Gardenia, Royal Oaks, Michigan

George N, Bell, 3717 N. Franklin St, Philadelpia, Pa

George McGinn, 40 Pond St., Orond, Maine)

my grandfather emigrated from herschfeld, germany in the 1920's and ended up settling down in st. louis. in 1944 he got drafted into the u.s. navy, where he proudly served as a seaman, first class aboard an LST. he was both the ship's cook/baker and a loader for the 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

so of course i started off with some internet research, after hitting up my dad and his siblings for any info that they might have had. my uncle promptly sent me a scan of the ports of call he visited, which i went ahead and transcribed, as shown below.

Initiation April 20, [19]44

April 21 – May 26 Boats
26 May – 6 June Home
6 June – 8 June OGU [Out Going Unit]
9 June – 21 June [Camp] Bradford [Norfolk, Virginia]
21 June – 26 June [Camp] Shelton [Norfolk, Virginia]
27 June – 2 July Chicago
2 July – 9 July Great Lakes [Naval Training Station]
10 July - Jeffersonville [Indiana]
[17 July 1944 USS LST-708 Commissioned]
17 July – 17 August New Orleans [Naval Support Activity]
23 August – 26 August Cuba
29 August – 1 September Panama
14 September – 19 September Deago [sic. – San Diego]
29 September – 14 October Pearl Harbor
31 October – 2 November Guam [Mariana Islands]
4 November – 12 November Ulithi [Caroline Islands]
16 November – 17 November Hollandia [now Jayapura, Indonesia]
19 November – 14 December Manus [Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea]
15 December – 26 December Hollandia
29 December – 31 December Windy [Bay- USS Windham Bay CVE-92, a Casablanca Class Escort Carrier]
6 January – 8 January 1945 Leyte [, Philippine Islands]
11 January – 28 January Mindoro [, Philippine Islands]
31 January – 7 February Leyte
14 February – 17 February Manus
22 February – 12 March Guadalcanal
21 March – 25 March Ulithi
1 April – 8 April Okinawa
14 April – 19 April Leyte
19 April – 1 June Inamoc [, Philippine Islands]
1 June – 5 June Leyte
[4 June 1945 – Okinawa Gunto Occupation]
8 June – 14 June Ulithi
15 June – 29 June Guam
29 June – 1 July Okinawa
6 July – 8 July Leyte
9 July – 10 July Cebu [, Philippine Islands]
11 July – 16 July Leyte
21 July – 22 July Okinawa
22 July – 24 July Ie [Shima, an island off Okinawa Honto]
24 July – 25 July Okinawa
30 July – 1 August Leyte
3 August – 5 August Mindoro
6 August – 11 August Bataan Subic [Bay, Philippine Islands]
[14 August 1945: VJ Day]
16 August – 25 August Okinawa
29 August – 4 September Leyte
7 September – 15 September Manila [, Philippine Islands]
16 September – 17 September Lingayen [Luzon, Philippine Islands]
24 September – 1 October Wakayama [, Japan]
9 October – 11 October Manila
11 October – 18 October Cavite [ Naval Base, Luzon Island, Philippine Islands]
18 October – 8 November U.S.S. Mellette [APA-156: Operation Magic Carpet to bring U.S. Forces home]
8 November – 12 November Seattle
12 November – 16 November Train
16 November – 17 November Lamberts [sic.]
17 November [1945] Home

so this started to tell some of the story, but not really what happened per se. you could cross reference the dates with action that occurred through the various history resources out there - but i wanted more.

i came across a website for men who had served on LSTs, and it appears that they are doing their best to document the history of their time in service, as well as coordinate annual meetings of the remaining crews. it's pretty inspiring!

through this resource, cross referenced with an article about medals presented to crewmembers of LST 708 fifty years after the fact, helped me get the address and phone number of one of the crew members. i called him, and he remembered my grandfather quite well!

this guy very graciously emailed me the photo of the ship that is showing at the top of the post, as well as a history of the LST written by the first lieutenant of the 708. i still want to get permission from the author to post the story if possible, but i had to share this following passage, knowing that my grandpa was in charge of the eats on board:

"On the 6th Feb. with LSTs 625, 628, 227, 580, we shoved off for Manus and the Solomon Islands. Before we got to Florida Island, we encountered a sea of fresh cabbages all put up in new crates! This farm boy from Western New York State took a double look, as Phelps, NY, is the sauerkraut capital of the world! The cabbage must have been grown out there some place; we also soon had to take all a whole fantail load which we soon added, as our share, to the sea of cabbage. In my mind's eye I can still vision the sea of cabbage."

haaah, he came all the way from germany so he could make sauerkraut for the navy in the south pacific.

i still have more work to do with this, and would like to chart the course on a map based on the above ports/islands. i think it is important that we keep our gratitude alive for all the fighting men and women who went through so much for the sake of what we take for granted today.

to that end, i am going to make every effort to join up with the four remaining known crew members from LST 708 when they have their annual convention this year in washington, d.c. i'll let you know if i get any more good scuttlebutt.

epliogue: i have acquired the scrapbook of dean c. garnett and will share more about lst 708 in the near future.

rosie the riveting

2008-01-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

i've been doing a little personal research on world war 2, and whilst charging valiantly uponst my audacious quest, a friend turned me on to the following resource of wwii photos.

they are part of a general archival photo blog named shorpy, and i must posit that this blog's images of female world war 2 factory workers make me all warm and fuzzy . join me in enjoying, won't you?

meez!

2008-01-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

www.meez.com

how my brain wrx

2008-01-16T09:31:00.001-05:00

in the effort to maintain the high standards of my elementary school level blog (lollerpalooza), i thought i would share some useless personal information.

i was in a discussion where someone mentioned that their automobile was a WRX.

of course i feel compelled to read out this acronym as the word "works."

which makes me think "works for me."

which makes me think of "hunter." (which i never even watched by the way)

which makes me find an appropriate image of the actor from gis and make a lolcat out of it.

so know you know. and knowing is half the battle.

thought for the day for the locals

2008-01-14T13:40:00.001-05:00

kitteh update: part the second

2008-01-07T08:55:00.001-05:00

we we have has a kitty for two months now, and it is safe to say that mooch has made himself at home.

that is not to say we are not working out the bugs, so to speak.

one aspect that i am trying to figure out how to rectify is that he sleeps in the bedroom with us during the night, since if left the run of the house, he gets on top of the bird-tank and would probably eventually get in. we want the birdies to be on the outside of the cat, not the inside.

but it seems he wants out of the bedroom about 2am, and therefore proceeds to create quite the ruckus. his favorite "i want out" meow sounds like this: MAO-WOO!

i think we are doing pretty good with controlling the scratching with the dreaded squirt bottle, but it requires constant vigilance.

overall the little furball has been alot of fun.

*end of nauseating kittypost*

...he was a friend of mine...

2008-01-02T08:55:00.001-05:00

had a lol brainfart this morning.
going through the calendar... i had made a note awhile ago to contact the local marvin rep to get prices for window replacements. i had written "call marvin guy."

this morning, i looked at that item and read "call marvin gaye."

shootz, i think that number might be unlisted by this point.

happy shmoo year!

2008-01-01T10:24:00.001-05:00

here's hoping that 2008 pwns 2007!

shmoo.

mele kalikimaka!

2007-12-25T12:45:00.000-05:00

from the johnny dollar family of companies to you and yours.

xmas foo courtesy of the tropical bistro, hilliard, ohio.

star wars holiday special, again

2007-12-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

i guess i'm just a la-z-boy, but i feel compelled to repost my post about the star wars holiday special, to bee found heer.

happy life day! you bantha poodoo.

wig your kitty for xmas

2007-12-19T14:34:00.000-05:00

er... huh?

i'm famouser again

2007-12-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

w00t, i'm published in yet another national magazine ~ this time, the winter 2007 edition of tiki magazine.

one of these days, those royalty checks will start rollin' in... :P

only $17.88, they really make great xmas gifts!

2007-12-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

hey good lookin', we'll be back to pick you up later!

aluminum christmas tree deployment procedure

2007-12-09T10:54:00.001-05:00

in case you lost your instructions.
hot 60's chick sold separately.

dc mayor mary and barry

2007-12-05T11:23:00.000-05:00

now that we got a now historical lady mayor here in bee-more, my mind wanders back to the halcyon days of living around d.c. and hearing about the mayor there ~ not the clueful one they have now, but good ol' marion barry.

1) as a young tike, hearing his name mentioned on the radio or tv, i thought the dc mayor was two people: mary and barry.

2) how greatly improved was our lexicon by his immortal utterance upon being found smoking crack: 'bitch set me up!' hee.

bananas flambe are literally da bomb

2007-11-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

image from the pacific restaurant in sterling, virginia. one of the last bastions of old-school style tiki drinks and old-school asian food traditions in the maryland/dc/virginia area.

i wonder if the theatricality of bananas flambe will continue to the next generation of asian restauranteurs. i hope so.

better start your thanksgiving shoppin soon...

2007-11-16T10:36:00.001-05:00

well it's less than a week to thanksgiving day, and i bet the grocery stores are gonna be NUTZ this weekend, so we're doing our shopping tonite at the evil empire that is wegman's. seriously, folks seem to hate on the place but i lurv it.

ima gonna make my specialty, creamed onions, and we also got a fedex shipment yesterday of raffetto's "nesselro fruits" from ultimate gourmet in joisey to make nesselrode pie! looking forward to that.

not to mention the baltimore tradition of sauerkraut with the turkey ~ i never experienced that til i moved here, but i'm down widdit!

so get your choppin in oily, choppers!

dayton allen: why not!, 1960

2007-11-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

i bought this album years ago based mostly on the merits of its album art. but it is a gem of a silly comedy album by dayton allen, who was a recurring comedy guest on the steve allen show. you most likely would know him as the voice of deputy dawg. the album is of 1960 vintage.

i got around to making a digital copy for my bro, who oddly enough likes silly comedy. now i share it with yallzin.

go to to get it from rapidshare @ http://rapidshare.com/files/69555849/Dayton_Allen.zip.html . if you don't know how to download from rapidshare, go here. WHY NOT!

only one little tavern left...

2007-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

growin' up, i remembered seeing little tavern hamburger stands in silver spring, georgetown, wheaton, and bethesda... they were truly remnants of a former roadside era, and i was always sad when i inevitably saw them go.

well, here's the deal... the last little tavern in the baltimore area stands in dundalk, and the clock is ticking... it's at 6414 holabird avenue.

word on the street is that this last vestige of a once flourishing chain might not be around forever. so if you want to see what it was like to "buy 'em by the bag," i suggest you swing on by.

opening katz deli

2007-11-05T18:58:00.001-05:00

so yesterday we were adopted by a very hungry cat. i am technically allergic to cats, but this is a kool kat. who knows, i may have to get the immunotherapy. apparently according to him, we are pretty much his.

so this way i have a built in lolcat... of course that trend is way played out. will that stop me? naw. at least i am assured a constant source of cheezburgrz.

p.s. his name r mooch.

avoid the octovember blogger happy hour!!!1

2007-11-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

omg, you should like totally not go to the happy hour tonite! like the beer will all be infected with nanovirus! that'll turn you into a zombie! and like a zombie acw would be totally evener scarier than he already is! yikes!!!

this happy hour is hosted by danielle and charissa, but of course, they will be zombies too so they will totally try to eat your brain. be protectin' that dome, yer brains be lookin' mighty tasty.

and like there will be all these bloggerzombies, which are the worst, since after they eat your brain, they take photos of you with their coolpix and post it on "aaaarrrrfggghbrains.blogspot.com."

who: bloggers and the like
what: baltimore blogger octovember happy hour
when: today, november 2nd 2007, 6pm - ?
where: holy frijoles, 908 w 36th st in hampden

stay away!!!

er... j/k

boh pumpkin

2007-10-31T20:14:00.000-04:00

happy halloween suckazzzz lol

"movie monsters,"1975: bag your face

2007-10-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

when i was like in first to third grade, we had this thing in school where you were given these "scholastic books" pamphlets and if your parents let you and gave you bucks, you could order book(s) through it.

i dunno if it was me or my brothers who ordered this book, but i recall it being an important part of our kid library.

it's "movie monsters," published 1975, by alan ormsby. apparently this feller is now a big horror movie guy and also obviously a great illustrator as he drew all the enclosed drawings.

i thought that for a kid publication, it was informative and engaging.

the following always intrigued me, although i don't think i ever made one: make your own bag head frankenstien monster haid!

i vividly recall my brother making the above annotation on the finished product with my fisher-price typewriter. the logic behind the annotation, however, is vague...

arrrrrgh!

(crab) soup's on at dizzie issie's

2007-10-26T09:09:00.001-04:00

this one is for the local yokels ~

hey, they are serving their maryland crab soup at dizzy issie's as of last night (verified by mois)

go get some if you can!

weird al is 48 today, wööt

2007-10-23T11:53:00.000-04:00

say what you like about weird al, there is no denying his skills of parody are dead on.

living here just south of amish land, i can't help but rank 'amish paradise' as one of the best parodies evar...

zombies on a plane

2007-10-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

don't let the crappy cover art fool ya, this straight-to-video movie (flight of the living dead) viewed this weekend is pound for pwnd more clever and more entertaining than snakes on a plane ever was.

there's no samuel l. jackson, but the Black Guy in this case is a more-buff tiger woods clone. digital effects are snappy and the low budgetedness of it makes it more fun, not a chore to peep.

dunno if it's on netflix, but if it is, it's highly recommended cheese food.

tails of the merman, parts 1 & 2

2007-10-12T13:59:00.000-04:00

dahlias are way cool

2007-10-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

we planted some this year and they exploded!

i'm not a flower guy per se, but any flower that was eaten by aztecs and lent the name to a classic murder mystery can't take too much of a hit off of my macho-meter. just sayin'.

meine grosse fahrt*

2007-10-08T11:16:00.000-04:00

well i done been back from travails for about a week, and have finally dragged my internets hiney to post some highlight pix:

drank some beer at oktoberfest. mmm... beer as big as your head...

observed the burger king "angry whopper" ad compaign. what makes german whoppers angry has yet to be determined.

ate some pig.

saw some beermaids on trailers...

ate some OX.

drank some more beer as big as my head...

drank a fogcutter at trader vic's...

saw the art of schmuck

"please defend yourself from refrigerator attack by throwing spears"

guess angerhangover was here...

the MOTHER OF ALL COWBELLS...

pet a kitty

btw "katzenjammer" in german means "hangover," but literally means "cats howling."

saw the terminator sword!!!

more cowbell!

it would have been a sad trip without at least one 'verboten' sign.

visited castle wolfenstein...

this must be the haus they keep the rats in...

gas stations: the perfect place to purchase jagermeister.

and, this st. bernard perfectly expresses my physical state at the end of the trip. the fact that he lives at a brewery might provide you with further insight.

*"my big trip" in german. seriously

mr. ray's hair weave redux

2007-10-06T18:11:00.000-04:00

i never saw this version, as the commercial for the d.c. area was less 80's and had the voice over by mr. ray himself.

but you must dig the 80's-ness and the localness.

spanks to thighmaster for the 411...

please stand by, we are experiencing technical difficulties

2007-10-02T07:21:00.000-04:00

one or two of the three people who read this blog have told me that the pictures do not load at all, or only load halfway. wot? if you have the 30 seconds to spare, please let me know if this blog loads for you all right. i figure i want to fix things before devoting lots of time to further posts. if you are techno-person, could you surmise why this might be happening?

off to lederhosenland

2007-09-18T10:33:00.001-04:00

so i been in training for the past month to go to the o.g. beerfest in munchin' this upcoming weekend.

ya know i'm hitting the trader vic's munich while there... perhaps to have a 'leidender bastard' or a 'nebelscherblock.'

there's always pusser's painkiller too...

and hey, 'tis not all about drinkin, nay, nay. i plan on keeping abreast of all the cultural nourishment proferred.

and don't forget, whatever nationality you are, after a couple hours in a beer tent, european.

tiki road trip 2: spiel this book

2007-09-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

the genesis of this work was back in the gay 90's, when The Author's interest in both midcentury and anthropoligical culture resulted in Tiki Awareness. realizing that there were still vestiges of this culture present on the planet, he traveled the globe and documented these locations on a now-decommissioned website.

this website manifested itself as a softcover book in 2003, and now we have the new-n-improved tiki road trip 2!!! buy it here or here. i highly recommend the latest edition... the pop cultural laffs have amped up, from betty grable to dr. zauis.

james is my pal, lol.

here's the little local tie-in... peep the discussion about tiki steak and sub here in baltimore... seems he drove to see if this fine establishment actually had any tikis on it. seems tiki steak and sub is in tha HOOD in franklin square over west baltimore.

oops. well, he lived to tell the tale.

signs, signs, baltimore signs

2007-09-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

ok, that was a lame title. and this post will be fairly short, it is merely to hip you to the site of a local feller who cares about certain things probably more than others.

his name is norm, and he seems to be bent on documenting and restoring primarily vintage neon signs from the metro area. check out his site, your heart cockles may be warmed.

the adventures of natty boh on the left coast

2007-08-31T11:30:00.001-04:00

a loyal (?) reader of this-here blog happens to live in callie-forni-ay and happens to be the head bartender at the "forbidden island" tiki bar in alameda.

so when he implored me to bequeath upon him some natty boh, i thot, sure, that would be some great blog fodder, pix of natty boh in a tiki bar! so i abused the u.s. postal system by sending him a can of said elixir.

turns out his cousin "clem" absconded with the boh and whilst enjoying, provided us with the following images of a californian's rendition of natty boh enjoyment.

enjoy!

no more boh for clem!

n.b. - said bartender met john waters a week later ~ too bad he didn't have more boh to offer him.

some kid junk

2007-08-28T15:59:00.000-04:00

don't let the smooth taste fool yuh, i actually, per the title of this blog, have a basement full of random stuff. witness the above - i don't know why for sure i gathered these things, but i was looking for something else and they just started ending up in a pile.

wot you see are all ephemera from establishments that i frequented when a wee lad growing up in the washington d.c. area. lots of them are gone.

1. el torito mexican restaurant. hasta la vista.

2. gino's. wacked.

3. putt-putt golf and games. GAME OVER! wah.

4. woolworth's. gonzo.

5. shakey's pizza. are they still around? this particular one became a hooters, lol. a great place to be a salami sergeant these days i'm sure.

roy rogers rrules

2007-08-28T10:53:00.001-04:00

in case you were wondering or had forgotten, roy rogers burgers kick a$$.

it was 48 years ago today

2007-08-21T11:39:00.000-04:00

hawaii became a state.

some people are still miffed about it.

49 stars on the flag is a hard sell in my book.

it's history now. have some pineapple and macadamia nuts. and hang loose brah.