Cap'n-Merica

I would bet you could never guess what I finally watched last night?

I love the smell...

...of minty Bat Dolly in the morning. It smells like victory!

Ah, excuse me...

These guys were wandering around the EHQ (Eclectorama Headquarters) this morning, asking for directions to a detention block or something. It seemed sorta fishy to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it, like maybe they were a little short for Stormtroopers... anyway, they were way off so I gave then directions and went on with my morning routine.

Swing on by

Click the Boy Wonder above or click here to see what's happening over at BTAT Blog!

Batman Year One

Straight from the Doodle Book to the Blog, in Bat-tastic-color!



Oh, and if you bothered to read this, you can buy Batman:Year One on iTunes and some other services ahead of the release date TODAY ONLY! You're welcome.

The hardest part is letting them go

file photo of Chunky B

I still consider myself a collector, even as I am going through one of the largest toy purges in my toy collecting career. I guess largest isn't the right word, how about hardest. Just last tonight I decided it was time to let go of some more things I never thought I would part with, I guess the catalyst was I was sorting through a tote of Star Trek toys and I looked over at the stack of totes I still need to go through and I thought, why am I storing some of this stuff. I mean I enjoy my collection, but some stuff I think I am just storing for no reason. I don't plan on opening some of it and I really don't plan on displaying it, so why am I holding on to it?

I couldn't answer that question really, so right then I decided it was time to make the cuts that hurt the most. I knew there were some loose toys and some packaged toys that I was holding onto out of some weird collector obligation, I gathered them up, reluctantly at first, and shot pictures of them and posted them at really good prices. I say really good because of my first round of stuff, eight auctions with low buy it now prices, five lots sold just as fast as I could post them. I was actually posting one and went back to revise it when I got two notifications that it sold to two different people. Don't ask me how that happens. I got it all sorted out though.

At first I was kind of disappointed, not that they sold or sold so fast, but that when I was ready to write this post I would only have three auctions going and undoubtably all my die hard toy collecting brothers would look at them and think "yeah, wow! Really letting some stuff go". My plan was to put lots up in groupings of ten or so, or for that matter as many as I could before I got tired of posting them. I plan on making some more cuts. If you remember this picture...

There were about 24 totes there and a couple boxes of toys. I can say that two of those totes is miscellaneous items that are not toys, so subtract those and that leaves lets say 22 totes. Probably most of my fellow collectors out there could easily double this number, but I used to work at UPS in college so I can pack a tote. That picture was taken around 2007, so the number of totes have fluctuated over time, emptying a few, refilling a few. This year I started a few little purges, maybe loosing a couple of totes here and there bringing the number down to around 19 totes, but recently I really doubled my efforts to clean house. My recent efforts have emptied 7 totes off that number. So I am sitting at 12 totes now, plus you have to take into account those little shelving units I am sorting into, those are probably where my first few totes of things went, which I am going to say have been a life saver sorting things to sell. It's so easy to pull a drawer and get a quick view of what i want to keep and what i want to thin out.

I still have a long way to go, I want to get that number of totes down to maybe 6 or eight, almost half of what I have now. Also I want to get the little shelf units to a more manageable point to store my keepers. So why all of a sudden this great purge? The purge to end all purges? A few reasons.

My Focus and thoughts on collecting have changed.

1) While there are a few Items I think I will always keep in their original packages, for the most part I am opening up things that I don't have already opened and enjoying them.

2) Loose items I have that are in great condition and can find another home I am letting go, as with some of the packed stuff that I can tell myself to let go.

3) The reason I say I am still a collector, I am planing on picking up a few great pieces for my collection, and also a few select pieces for my focuses; Batman, Stormtroopers, Classic Trek (Spock!), Vintage Star Wars, and a couple others I don't want to reveal at this time.

What does all this mean? Hopefully a more streamlined collection, better judgement on future purchases (which I doubt), and maybe help fill some holes in other peoples collections. So as long as this little Jawa is hanging around on the blog...

Click HERE for the Utini!

I will be in a continuous house cleaning frame of mind. Rest assured I have a few things coming in the mail I can't wait to get my hands on and shoot pictures of.

Doodle Book: 1

Yesterday after work I had to run to the bookstore with my wife. She picked up a little photo album for a project she is working on and I picked up a three pack of those little moleskin sketch books. I went small and cheap for these as it was going to be an experiment. Surprisingly I do like the feel of the paper for drawing on, I can see why people suggest these.

Anyway, I decided I needed to keep a more concentrated Doodle Book, you know not so many bits and pieces of paper everywhere. Though I was happy to see a little flap in the back of each book that could hold pieces of paper : )

I want to try to put something in it everyday with hopes I will post the drawings from time to time. I have kept sketchbooks in the past, but much larger than these 3.5" x 5.5" pages. I thought the smaller size would force me to carry it with me more often than not. So all that said, here''s my first group from the Doodle Book.







Obviously they all can't be winners, looking at that Captain America I don't know what I was thinking on that one. I also need to take it with me when I am out and about as I did get the comment from my wife that "I always draw cartoons!" I guess I need to put all of those semesters of life drawing to good use.

RIP Steve