Image to Fill Space: A Vintage VW Bug

It is hard to believe, but when I was a child circa 1977, my late father Mehmet Gokbudak, actually drove us from Frankfurt, West Germany, to Istanbul, Turkey. To my recollection, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria were among the countries we drove.

And, of course, we drove through the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia), where we encountered some very hilly roads.
http://www.vwclub.org/

Antiques Roadshow in Salem, Virginia

This weekend, my mom Lila Sullivan and myself will be among the antiques dealers participating in a Fall Open House at the Salem Antique Market (the old Lawrence's Market building), located at 2700 West Main Street in Salem, Va. (near Roanoke). The phone number for the store is 540-389-6559.

The festival will be this Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Refreshments will be served, and there are door prizes.

Here are some of the items you can find in the antique store (an * denotes items not available in our booths, but can still be found in the shop):

1) Comic books (pictured top)

2. Grandfather clocks * (pictured middle)

3. Blenko glass from West Virginia (pictured bottom)

4. Hardcover books (both fiction and non-fiction)

5. Vintage postcard

6. Vintage "Life" magazines

7. Vintage "Mad" magazines

8. Quilts

9. Sheet music

10. Depression glass


https://www.facebook.com/SalemAntiqueMarket/info

http://www.visitroanokeva.com/visitors/region/cityofsalem/

Last Ten Films We've Seen- The Michael Caine Version

Since we love the series 'Last Ten I've Seen' in the monthly cinema magazine "Film Comment," we occasionally do films that those of us here in 'the office' in Hartford, Connecticut,* have seen lately. Javier the Intern** is really into Japanese Godzilla movies, bu he's been busy these days.

First of all, let's go over the images:

1) A fineral limo- the French film "Holy Motors" (film #1) has some of these, email Javier the Inern for an explanation.

2) The burqini- we are bascially doing this for our reades in Cairo, Doha and Dubai, for the film "Spring Breakers," (film #6) not to be confused with the 1983 teen sex film "Spring Break." We assume both films are hard to find in Eqygt, Qatar and Dubai.

3) A brass teapot for "The Brass Teapot," (film #10)  a new indie film with Juno Temple that screened recently at the River Run Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC; we need to ask Ken Farmer of "Antiques Roadshow," an auctioneer from Radford, Va., how much this teapot is worth. Actually, we'll ask Javier to do it!

Here is the list:

1. "Holy Motors" (France. dir-Leos Carax. 2012)

2. "Cosmopolis" (Canada. dir-David Cronenberg. 2012)

3. "Elmer Ganry" (dir-Richard Brooks. 1960)

4. "The Day of the Dolphin dir-Mike Nichols. 1973)

5. "This Is Not a Film" (Iran. dir-Jafar Panahi 2011)

6.  "Spring Breakers" (dir-Harvey Korine. 2012)

7. "Alfie" (the Michael Caine version; UK. dir- Lewis Gilbert. 1966)

8. "The Company You Keep" (dir-Robert Redford 2012)

9. Wake in Fright (Australia. dir-ted Kotcheff. 1971)

10. "The Brass Teapot" (dir. Ramma Mosley. 2012)

*-We are not actually in Hartford, but we are in the same time zone

**-Javier the Intern is a fictional character who has 'been working' for us for four years now

http://www.filmcomment.com

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com (Our sister blog)

http://www.kfauctions.com

http://www.riverrunfilm.com

http://www.michaelcaine.com

Here is a Look at Times Around the World

As is custom when there is a time change in the United States, where we sprang an hour forward yesterday, here is a new look at various times around the world. The top image is the logo for Radio Sweden, the middle image is of Moscow, Russia and the third one is an antique pocket watch.

We imagine one can this and other antiques at Terrace Oaks Antiques in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the nicest (and slowest) cities in North America.


Here we go:

New York: 11:30 p.m.

St. Louis 10: 30 p.m.

Los Angeles 8:30 p.m.

London 3:30 a.m.

Istanbul 5:30 a.m.

Stockholm 4:30 a.m.

Moscow 7:30 a.m.

Tokyo 12:30 p.m.

Hong Kong 11:30 a.m.

Capetown (South Africa) 5:30 a.m.

Sydney 2:30 p.m.

Buenos Aires (Argentina) 12:30 a.m.

http://www.charlestoncvb.com

http://www.terraceoaksantiqes.com

http://www.twitter.com/radiosweden

Mom is Having a Major Downsizing Sale

For those of living in the Roanoke, Va-area or close enough to it, my mom is having a downsizing sale in Salem, Va., this weekend. Perhaps, one might find the very item that he or she saw on " The Antiques Roadshow" which airs on Blue Ridge Public Television in the Roanoke-area.

The dates for the sale are as follows: Fri., Nov. 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sat., Nov. 3 from 8:00 until 5:00 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 4th from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. These are the correct times. There are ads for this same sale in the Friday edition of "The Roanoke Times" which are not correct. We are also promoting the sale on Craigslist with the corrections still pending.

The address of the estate sale is 2265 Mt. Regis Drive Salem, Va. 24153 http://www.mapquest.com

The sale will feature the following items:

Guns, gun cabinet, Christmas outdoor displays, two wicker chairs, sofa marble top table, Elizabeth Arden pottery (North Carolina), chicken on nest collection, Barbie dolls, crystal glassware, clock and lamps.

There will be lots of selections available at a reasonable price.

The entry numbers for the Friday indoor sale will begin at 6:30 a.m. in the back of the house.

For further details, one may call my cell phone at (540) 293-9284 or email me at tango74@aol.com

http://www.antiquesofvirginia.com

http://www.visitsalemva.com

http://www.yardsalesearch.com

http://www.roanoke.com

http://www.antiquesclockpriceguide.com

http://www.antiqueguns.com

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/

http://www.blueridgepbs.org

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (8 of 10) _ New Hampshire

Name: Mary Murphy (a fictional person)

Age: 68

Occupation: Antiques Dealer

Residency: Dover, New Hampshire 03820

Political Affiliation: Independent leaning Republican

Will Likely Vote for: Mitt Romney (but her state will likely vote for Barack Obama)

Today, we continue to look at how an individual in a given swing state can impact the election. Older people tend to vote Republican, so much so that the faux news publication "The Onion" wrote an article stating that GOP operatives were working diligently to keep older voters alive on Election Day, which is four weeks from today. But, women voters are favoring President Barack Obama.

In New Hampshire, Obama holds a relatively comfortable lead over Mitt Romney by a 50-44 margin according to the "Politico" swing state map. Obama is faring even better in Massachusetts, a state that Romney governed. The margin there is 59-34.

It thus appears highly likely that Romney will be the first presidential candidate to lose his home state in an election since Al Gore lost Tennessee to George W. Bush, in the highly controversial/dubious election of 2000. 

The last person elected president to lose their home state was Richard M. Nixon in 1968.

And, in case you were wondering, Barry Goldwater's running mate in 1964 was William E. Miller.

That's all we have time for today; there will be another installment in this series tomorrow.

http://wiswallhouseantiques.com (An antique store in Durham, NH)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.theonion.com

Program Reminder- Antiques Roadshow

Though I listen to NPR so much that Scott Simon should perhaps invite me over to breakfast at his neighborhood I-HOP or that I should win a free trip to St.Paul, Minn., to meet Garrison Keillor even though "A Prarie Home Companion" is one of the few shows I don't listen to, I neglect PBS.

I feel a bit guilty about that, so I that I would mention that "Antiques Roadshow" is on tonight at 8:00 p.m., eastern time. Perhaps, we can all find out how much a given Swiss cuckoo clock is worth.

According to what we gathered from the show's web site, tonight's episode will either be from Grand Rapids, Mich., or Louisville, Ky.

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Brady Bunch Lunchbox

Up until Christmas Day, we will be posting images from the items that were on my Christmas Wish List (satirical edition) that we posted last week.

We start with a Brady Bunch lunchbox. The sitcom series was popular circa 1974, and it has been in rerun heaven ever since.

For those of you who still prefer to buy gifts online (like your's truly), you might be able to find this or other novelty lunch boxes at Antiques and Beyond in Atlanta. If not, you can always buy your mom a quality lamp shade to make her happy!

PSA- Save PBS (So, We Don't Have Watch John Denver Specials!)

Actually, contrary to the title of this entry, there are many songs from the late folk singer John Denver (1943-1997) that I enjoy, but let's face it a PBS special with a live performance of his song during Pledge Week is about as painful was well a Lawerence Welk PBS special (irregardless if it airs during Pledge Week or not!).

Earlier in the week, my local PBS station UNC-TV, which broadcasts all over North Carolina even though it is based in Raleigh, aired one such John Denver special. We believe it was "A Song's Best Friend," but we can not verify that as we honestly changed to channel to a rerun of "Ghost Whispherer."

Amazingly enough, I saw a copy of the John Denver record "Poems, Prayers and Promises," (pictured here) which features one of his signature songs "Country Roads" for ten dollars (?!) at Duke's Antiques Mall in Lexington, Va., a few months ago.

We do happen to love PBS and UNC-TV, which aired an interesting segment about the Charlie Poole Bluegrass Festival which is taking place in Eden, NC, this weekend. The festival featured the Durham, NC-based band Carolina Chocolate Drops a few years ago right before they made it 'big' nationally.

Tonight, WUNC-TV is airing another Pledge Week special "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" with Dr. John Amen at 9:30 p.m. This guy is apparently very popular with PBS stations because we found out that another one of his specials "Magnificent Mind at Any Age" is airing tonight at 11:00 p.m. on MPT (Maryland Public Television). So, perhaps a person living in Kannapolis, NC, can phone their sister living in Hagerstown, Md., and compare notes.

But, Amen's shows are not airing on every PBS station in America tonight as KBDI in Denver, Colo., is not going to air any of his specials tonight. However, the same station is going to air "Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart" at 7:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. (Mountain Time, of course). So, you may want to ask your brother in Aspen to tivo it for you!

SIDEBAR: Kudos to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning their first Stanley Cup since 1961 thanks to an overtime goal from Patrick Kane in overtime last night during Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love. My cousin Erroll Gokbudak, who grew up in the Chicago 'burb of Skokie, Ill., is assuredly most pleased. He can now go back to watching "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS like the rest of us!

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Clocks

Well, I had told my friend Haywood Harvey (pse) in Martinsville, Va., that I was going to post a blog entry about useless things most of us would never buy (like a bobble-head doll of Rambo......actually, I happen to have a bobble-head doll of Rambo).

But, since we are running low on time, I thought it would be best to simply post some images of old clocks. Though I don't reside in the Volunteer State, I would assume that one could find such antique time-keepers at the Willow Creek Gallery in Knoxville, Tenn. (yes, there is such a place--in fact, their phone number is 865-525-1925).

There is also a nice town clock on the island of Buyukada near Istanbul, Turkey, and when we have the time, we may post an image of it on here. Although some photographers are very picky about how their images are used without someone paying up!

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Antique Car (Our 500th Entry!)

Ahh, this would be a great day to go down to Chapel Hill, NC, to visit Chapel Hill Comics, but as it is they are giving free comic books on Saturday as May 1st is Free Comic Book Day. Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC, is also participating in the event.

Perhaps, someone at one of those two stores has the first issue of "Howard the Duck." Oh right! I almost forgot---I actually have that one (it came out in 1975). It's more economical (which means it's worth much, much less) than the first issue of "Batman." But, I don't have the first issue of the Harvey Comics' icon "Hot Stuff."

It is great to reach the 500-entry milestone. For that reason, we are posting an entry with an image of an antique race car (since many racetracks are 500 miles long). I've only been to one car race in my life and that was at the Franklin County Speedway near Rocky Mount, Va., when I was a teenager.

My Favorite Silly Photo to Fill Space Entry so far for this blog has been (if I can admit this publicly) Barney the Dinosaur, perhaps because a small part of me likes to get on folks' nerves!

Items for Sale at Duke's Antique Center in Lexington, Va.

If I were still a newspaper reporter, this entry would be called a 'conflict of interest' because my mom is one of the antiques merchants at Duke's Antique Center in Lexington, Va. (one hour north of Roanoke, two and a half hours south of Washington, DC). The antiques mall is actually open 365 days a year- even Christmas Day! Duke's is located at 30 Pinnacle Lane, Lexington, Va. 24450. Phone: 540.463.9511

Here are some of the items you will find there, and I will use an * to indicate the one item which can be found in my mom's booth.

$8- John Denver's "Prayers, Poems and Promises" lp featuring West Virginia's unofficial national anthem "Country Roads" (pictured here).

$28- Vintage framed poster of President Gerald Ford (we're not making this up!)

$20 Zorro comic book

$28 Woody Woodpecker story book from the 1970s

$5 "Saturday Night Fever" dvd

*$20- Roy Rogers lunchbox- it's really not that old, but we'd sure like to get rid of it!