Thrift Store Show and Tell: Summer of '23 Edition pt.2

My summer thrift store show and tell continues with movies, books, and clothes.

Movies

Why would anyone buy a DVD today? 

Razvan Mihaila did a nice job of summarizing his article about the DVD's place in 2023: "While DVDs can’t match streaming platforms’ level of convenience, there are plenty of reasons to still watch DVDs in the age of streaming. Besides better audio and video quality, bonus content, or reliability, DVDs allow you to cut the cord from the streaming platform and build your own movie collection." (Mihaila).

We're not getting rid of Netflix or BritBox anytime soon. But it does make me feel better when people say DVDs and Blu-rays look better than streaming movies. I don't feel like such a fossil. Also, sharing a movie with a friend is a lot easier if you have it on a disc.

Another reason I like DVDs is that I take my old MacBook Pro with me when we travel. I prefer the 13' screen over my phone's screen, and as bonus the Mac can play DVDs (but not Blu-rays). That can be pretty handy if the AirBnB guest Wi-Fi isn't working.

Having a case of ten DVDs in my backpack wasn't a problem flying to Portland, ME, but I did get pulled over by security when flying back. The guard asked me what the discs were that they had scanned. I told him they were DVDs, and he patted my shoulder and said, "You're just like me. I like to know where my movies are. I don't want to depend on streaming." Couldn't agree more. 

I hadn't seen The Last Boy Scout since it came out in 1991. As far as being an action/ buddy picture, it still works. I had forgot all about the opening football scene. That had to surprise some people.

These "4 Film Favorites" DVDs are cool. They don't take up much shelf space and you get a lot bang for your buck (dad joke).

Charlotte attended a sleepover a few of weeks ago, and Daphne and I had a date night. We went out for appetizers, and then decided to watch a movie at home. When I explained the plot for The Punisher, Daphne replied, "So it's going to be like John Wick? Let's watch that!" We both had a good time, and I think it would have been fun to see Thomas Jane appear in another Marvel film.

Charlotte and I are now in the habit of watching movies together in the basement on Sunday nights. Char just turned 13, so that has opened up a lot more movies for us to watch. She has been wanting to see something scary with me, so I researched "horror movies for beginners." Several lists included The Sixth Sense. I thought that might be too bloody, so I opted to show her Signs. Same director; less blood. Daphne agreed, but Char did not. It wasn't for her. Not. At. ALL.

We stopped the film, but before I lost her to the great upstairs, I switched to Billy Madison. I had recently bought the DVD on a whim.  It was a HUGE hit. Man, did she ever laugh. I did, too. Char has declared that Billy Madison will now be the movie she shows her friends when they come to visit. High praise indeed. Char has seen the movie twice so far, and last night we watched the DVD's outtakes and deleted scenes - something you can't do with streaming. 

We watched  Happy Gilmore and Tommy Boy last weekend. Char gives both movies a 9 out of 10, but Bill Madison still rules (like the O'Doyles) at a perfect 10 for her. 

I'll buy a Blu-ray for myself over a DVD any day. They look better than DVDs and are more durable. This is why I picked up The Shining, Big Trouble in Little China, and It. I already owned the first two films on DVD, but unopened copies on Blu-Ray were an easy upgrade to make. Two for $4.98 is pretty cheap, but I found It at the dollar store. Even the clerk was surprised, "We have that here?"

Books

I'm a big fan of paperback novelizations of movies. I've collected quite a few over the years. It started when I was in 4th grade, and the original Halloween was a new movie. While my mom shopped on the other side of Kmart, I stood by the book racks and quickly read the last few pages of the novelization. Here are excerpts from the last page:

I thought, Oh No! He's not dead? He's still out there? The sun had gone down by the time we left the store. I kept looking behind us in the parking lot to make sure "The Shape" wasn't following us. When we got in the car, I asked Mom to lock the doors. I didn't tell her why, though.

Sly Stallone and James Cameron wrote Rambo: First Blood Part II's screenplay together? If the internet is to be believed, Cameron wrote the first draft, and Stallone made changes like removing the comic relief sidekick. 

Seven is one of those movies that is "one-and-done" for me. I won't watch that film again, and I won't even open this book. Still, this title will look good in the group on the shelf.

Amityville: The Horror Returns has a pretty weird plot. The family escapes to California to get away from the Amityville house in New York. After a business trip, the parents return to find that the house in California has transformed into the Amityville house and their kids inside are in danger. That reminds me of Jaws: The Revenge where the shark travels all the way from New England to the Bahamas to continue to attack members of the Brody family. I bought this because the back of the book states "Soon to be an NBC movie," but that didn't happen. I guess this isn't a novelization after all.

But Bonnie Hill did tape this sweet lable inside the front cover of her Amityville book. This must have inspired Prince's album artwork (previous post).

I think the person on the cover of Maniac (1987) looks a lot like Brendan Fraser. The only reason I bought this book was to write that sentence.

I think I saw You Might Be from Canada If... by Michael de Adder in every Canadian gift shopped we walked through on vacation. The book is really well done, and if you don't get the joke because you are not from Canada, then there's a reference section in the back.

Example page: You Might Be from Canada If...

Clothes (and food)

Our trip to Canada was originally planned back in '19 and '20. Those plans changed, of course. But no matter how they changed, the plans always included stopping by the The Holy Donut in Portland, Maine. When we finally got inside, I had the urge to tell the cashier that we've been waiting over three years to visit them, but that felt awkward. Daphne told me in the car that she almost said the same thing.

Here's the mural on the side of the building. What's in the box that Daphne's holding? There were half a dozen potato donuts, but one escaped before I could take a picture. I was mildly disappointed when I realized I had ordered a gluten free donut by mistake. Turns out that was one of the best donuts I have ever eaten.   

I was pretty excited to find a Holy Donut tee at a thrift store in Nova Scotia. 

Agreed.

When we first visited Charlottetown in 2016, I found some great stuff at their Value Village thrift store. I requested a return trip to VV when we went back to P.E.I for one night.  I found this SureWood Skateboards tee. Local rock bands, dive bars, restaurants, breweries, and businesses all make great subjects for thrift store t-shirts. For me the idea is to score something that can't be found back home. 

I saw several of these Molson tees for sale. I believe they were part of a give-away promotion in 2019, and there were a few different designs. I went with the lighthouse to remind myself how much fun we had climbing the rocks at Peggy's Cove. Again, these tees might be common sights in Canadian stores, but they make a unique souvenir to wear back home. 

PickWorld is a family run business located in New Castle, Delaware. They print their guitar picks in house, so if you have a need for custom picks, hit them up. This isn't a rock band shirt, but it gives off that vibe.

Okay, that's it for summer thrift. Let's see what fall brings.

Thrift Store Show and Tell: 2020 Edition

Missed the Saturday dance. Heard they crowded the floor... 
- Duke Ellington, "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"

This is the fourth week that Daphne and I have been teaching from home, and it's Char's third week of online learning. Charlotte attends Girl Scout Zoom meetings, and she has drum lessons online as well. Suffice to say, the Monsons don't get out that much.

Not that there is all that much for me to do; we play it pretty safe. If I'm not at home, then I'm either at the grocery store, the gas station, or Goodwill. This means I haven't been blogging much. I can tell that my writing chops are getting rusty, but lately I haven't wanted to practice by writing about our home-life (insert Groundhog Day cliche here). But since I like thrift store finds, I thought that would be a fun post to write. So, here comes show and tell...

Used DVD players still dominate the electronics shelves, and it's much more uncommon to spot a Blu-ray player. That's why I was excited to see this Sony BDP-S470 for $8.99. I tested it with a movie at the store, and seemed to work, so I took it home. The included remote control was the tipping point. If a player does not have a remote, walk away. You can't get by without one, and an official remote will cost you more than the player. I can usually find manuals for these online for free, so that's also a bonus.

I connected the Sony to our TV with a HDMI cord. The TV indicated that there was no HDMI signal. I thought, Shoot, I guess that's why it was 9 bucks. 

Before giving up, I tried connecting the player with a yellow RCA cable. I could now see the menu. The picture was poor, but I could navigate the setup screen with the remote. I reset the Sony to its factory settings, and then changed the output to HDMI. That worked! Fun! 

The Sony doesn't have Wi-Fi to connect to the internet, so I connected it to our modem using a LAN cable. I used the player's menu to "check for updates" and was surprised that not only was there an update, the Sony accepted it.

The Sony played "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" without a hiccup. The only thing you have to be prepared for is the long loading times with these older Blu-ray players. "Cloudy" took over a minute to boot-up. 

Partner the Sony with this Lord of the Rings trilogy set for $2.49 (no artwork, but the discs are clean), and you have a cheap night on the town in the living room. 

That was so much fun, I brought home another Sony (with a remote!) that was even cheaper.

The Urbandale Goodwill is accepting returns on defective electronics. You have three days to bring an item back if you keep the price tag and the receipt intact. 

Necessity does not play a factor here. I did not need another Blu-ray player.  But a working Blu-ray player for less that 5 bucks is too good of a deal to pass up. I used the previous process with this Sony BDP-S360, and it works well, too. 

Both Sonys have a RCA video line out, so that means I can now connect a Blu-ray to our garage theater projector. Last Christmas was t-shirt weather, so watching a movie in the garage this year is not an impossibility. 

Holiday classics: the discs in all three of these sets are spotless and appear to be brand new. Makes me wonder why they were donated. 

These three movies are self-inflicted wounds. I knew Char would think they're fun. High School Musical was the last film we watched in the garage during our Thanksgiving break. She really liked it. I'll probably twist the knife and pick up HSM2 and 3. 

Speaking of knives (or hooks), my I Know What You Did Last Summer collection is coming together nicely. I'm a sucker for 90's horror, even if the movie isn't very good.

I often complain about the poor vinyl selection at thrift stores. In a normal year, if I wanted a new record, I'd visit my favorite record store. This is not a normal year, and it is now uncomfortable to browse through record bins with someone standing right next to you. I buy from ZZZ Records online to support their business, but I dig through thrift store crates to see what I can find in the wild.

I bought these two jazz guitar LPs for 25 cents each.

The records were owned by a gentleman named Carl (his name is on scrawled on both), and Carl either A) didn't know how to take care of vinyl, or B) just enjoyed the music and played the crap out of his records. I like to think the right answer is "B". If either of these records were in decent shape they would be worth a bit, but sadly they are really beat up. I listen to them anyway. Of the two, Tal Farlow only slightly pulls ahead of Billy Bauer because of his cover art.

Here's another 25 cent record, but this one is in much better condition. Our Man Flint was created during the first 007 craze, and its soundtrack is lounge-cool. Today I read a comment on the IMDB that the guitar work on this soundtrack inspired Wall of Voodoo's cover of "Ring of Fire." I bought that exact Wall of Voodoo 12" single last week from discogs... weird. 

This Brothers Johnson cover is sweet, and I was pumped to see what kind of disco funk was lurking inside.

But the wrong LP tumbled out. 

I checked the stacks for The Time's correct sleeve, but had no luck. I bought this record anyway. You can see that the LP was produced by "Morris Day & Jamie Starr." Jamie Starr is one of the many pseudonyms used by Prince, and he has his fingerprints all over this release. "Get it Up," "Cool," and "The Stick" are all fun, funky tracks. Sometimes you just have to make the most out of what you find. 

This makes me consider how slim pickings are one of the benefits of shopping for thrift records. I'll give any record that looks half-way decent a chance. I often end up enjoying music that I would normally have passed on at a record store. This BTO album is a great example. Just the bass line and the guitar riff on the title track of  Not Fragile are worth the price of admission.

The same goes for this double LP from Rare Earth. Do I really want to spend 24 minutes listening to a live jam of "Get Ready?" Yes, I do. In fact, I have. More than once. I am now a Rare Earth fan. 

This cover has seen better days, but "Sunday Bloody Sunday" sounds great on vinyl. 

"Are you ready for Sloooooow Riiiiiiiiddde?" Yes. Yes, I am.

Here's another double LP with live tracks on it. The vinyl is really nice shape which is amazing since there are small bite marks on the top of the sleeve and one back corner has been chewed off. My guess is that the culprit was a house cat. It looks like the damage Earl would cause.

I could cut off the damaged area and pretend that an overzealous store clerk did that back in 1975 when they put this on the sales rack.

Not every LP I buy is a winner. Some get cleaned, played, and eventually returned. You can't hit a home run every time. 

I had magazine subscriptions to Stereo Review and Hot Rod when I was in high school. Both publications were filled with very expensive toys. Yes, I said "toys." In the end of the day, that is what exotic cars and top of the line stereo systems are. Don't get me wrong. I'm not judging. I like toys.

Anyway, one of the fancy brands in Stereo Review was Denon. So when I spotted a Denon DVD player I did a double-take. I looked up the model number on my phone, and the DVD-910 had some really good reviews. I gave the clerk $9 and went home.

I'll confess that the 910 did not come with a remote. I broke my own "no remote" rule. In my defense, the front of the 910 has enough buttons that you don't even need a remote if you are willing to get up and walk across the room to press a button. Plus, it's a Denon!

No, I didn't need this DVD player, but I really wanted to see how well the Denon would play CDs. On-line reviews bragged about the 910's ability to play audio discs. I had my doubts. Can one player really read digital 0s and 1s better than another? 

To my ears, the answer is yes. It's not a night and day difference, but it's like getting an eye prescription updated. Every thing looks (sounds) clearer. One reviewer stated that the 910 shuts off all video related circuitry and focuses on only the audio when a CD is played. He stated that was a "very Denon" thing to do. I have no idea if that is true, but I have had fun playing CDs lately, and I don't care if that's not as "cool" as playing vinyl. The CDs sound great. 

I was able to get my universal remote to work with the Denon, but I broke down and bought the correct remote from eBay. It cost more than the 910, but not by much.

Time to go downstairs and listen to Nirvana's "Nevermind" on CD. Like The Cars' first album, Nirvana could have almost called this "Greatest Hits."

Goodwill charged me $2.49 for this CD. If I wanted to listen to the original LP, then I would have to pay a bit more than that on Discogs:

See? CDs aren't so bad.

Thrift Store Show and Tell: 2023 Edition

I used to shop thrift stores on the sly. When I got my teaching job in '92, the Goodwill was located in a strip mall right next to the Hy-Vee grocery store that employed about half of the UHS student population. I quickly learned that if a student spotted me walking into Goodwill, then I would be mocked in class the next day. There was a lot of "Too bad teachers don't make enough to buy new clothes..." kind of comments being thrown around.

I eventually learned where the thrift stores that weren't in Urbandale were. I had developed a pretty good route. I would usually leave on Saturday morning around nine, and I wouldn't get home until early afternoon. I was on a tight budget, but I would still have to make a couple of trips to get all my stuff into my apartment. 

Things sure have changed. You can now spot luxury cars in a thrift store parking lot. People brag about how little they paid for an item. I don't enjoy shopping on Saturdays because the lines to the registers are so long. And then there's the internet. With websites like shopgoodwill.com, you are not only competing against other customers in the store, but somebody in the back off the store is cherry-picking items to be put in an online auction. You are competing with the entire U. S. thrifting community.

Also, people don't donate like they used to. It's not too hard to take unwanted items and sell them to a speciality store. Half-Price Books and Game Stop are happy to buy your used video games, video game systems, Blu-rays, LPs, and books and sell them for a profit. 

I typically walk out of a thrift stores empty handed; the pickings are so slim. So, why still go? I still get a kick of finding something "cool." It's the thrill of the hunt. You just never know... mistakes get made. Not everyone who works in the back knows what they're doing. I don't have a "Me vs. The Store" mentality, but if an "auctionable" item is mistakenly placed on a shelf, then I think it's fair game. 

The deals are still out there. You just have to be patient and diligent. 

I used to be able to write a "Thrift Store Show and Tell" post about what I found over a weekend. This post is going to cover a span of a few months of hunting, and I won't include everything I found. My topics are music, books, movies, and odds and ends.

Music

I love records, but CDs sound much better than streaming music, so I have no problem picking up a CD for a buck or two.

I've been on a bit of a grunge revival, and I noticed I didn't have any Alice In Chains in my collection. Their 1994 Jar of Flies was a welcome find. I ditched the generic, black CD tray for a clear one to reveal the inside case artwork. 

House of Large Sizes is my favorite Iowan band (sorry, Slipknot). I already have a copy of this promo CD from 1994, but this one is in better shape.

Fountains of Wayne is another band favorite, and I didn't have 2005's double CD of B-sides and outtakes.

I was lamenting that I didn't have any Eagles in my record collection, so finding this 2020 reissue was pretty cool. It's a German pressing.

Here's another reissue: Supertramp's Breakfast in America. I'm not sure of the year.

Stevie Nicks' Stand Back is a double LP compilation from 2019 and was also pressed in Germany. 

Pat Benatar's Crimes of Passion (1980). This is one of those records that I buy just because I found it in good shape. Turns out there are more songs on here that I like than I thought.

Billy Idol's Vital Idol is a remix album released in the US in 1987. I remember when this first came out because I'm old.

I bought this just so I could frame it for my wall. I like the psychedelic design, and An Audio Obstacle Course is an awesome title. To me it's one of those LPs that celebrates the act of playing records.

I found this LP while sifting through a pile of 20 dirty and beat up children's records on the floor. It was the only "adult" record shoved in the middle of the pile. I think someone tried to hide this 1967 reissue of The Freewhellin' Bob Dylan in hopes of coming back to get it. Hiding stuff doesn't work out very often.

Honey Cones' Soul Tapestry. I think this is a 1971 DJ promo copy. 

Dick Dale and his Del-Tones. I like to listen to The King of Surf Guitar (1963) and pretend I'm in a Quentin Tarantino film.

I had to take some broadcast journalism classes in college. I recorded an assignment on a cheap Classics IV tape that I bought at a truck stop when I ran out of blank cassette tapes. My professor gave me an F for recording over The Classics IV, but he changed it to an A when I explained that lead singer Dennis Yost wasn't on the tape. He said, "Okay, good choice. The Classics are nothing without Yost." Yost is on 1967's Mamas and Papas/ Soul Train, and that's why I like almost every track on this LP.

On the Temptations' All Directions (1972), most people would recognize "Papa was a Rolling Stone," but I think "Do Your Thing" (written by Isaac Hayes) is the standout track. The outer record sleeve isn't in the best shape, but the vinyl is good.

Here's another LP with a rough, outer sleeve that holds an record that is in really nice shape. Dr. Pepper Presents The Sounds of '73 is my favorite compilation find so far.  

I bought The Beatles' 20 Greatest Hits and Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life even though the records were in terrible condition. The sleeves were what I wanted. They were in better condition than what I had at home. The "new" sleeves are on the left. 

Check out how dirty and scratched the Beatles vinyl is. The "clean" mark at 8 o'clock is from pulling the record out of the sleeve with my thumb and finger. I tried to clean the surface, but the amount of scratches and scuffs made it a lost cause.

Speaking of bad vinyl, I found this Black Sabbath LP unprotected in a box. It did not have a sleeve at all that I could find. I bought the record to see if it could be saved. It's now clean, but the crackles overpower the music at the beginning and ending of each track (Neither John nor Debbie took very good care of this). With that in mind, I've listened to this much more than I thought I would. I wonder if I'll miss the pops and crackles when I find a decent copy?

On the other side of the coin is 1984's Legend by Bob Marley & the Wailers. I found this in the same box. It also did not have the outer sleeve artwork, but it was in an inner paper sleeve. Apparently that was enough protection because this vinyl is in really nice shape. Not sure how that happened, but now I'm on the lookout for a matching outer sleeve.

Books

I was shocked to see Hot Rod by Henry Gregor Felsen just lying by itself on a Goodwill shelf. Obviously someone had removed the book from the stacks, looked at it, and then left Hot Rod behind for me. Thanks, buddy! This is my favorite find of the year. I have been looking for a hardcover copy since I was a teenager. Seriously.

I loved reading this book from our local library even though the story of Bud Crayne was already 30 years old when I first discovered it in 5th grade. I remember my mom getting really upset when she saw Hot Rod on our kitchen table. She had mistaken the cover for a book that she knew was too mature for me. She calmed down when she realized her mistake, but that took a lot of talking on my part.

By the way, Bud Crayne never wore a suit while driving. This cover is a lie.

Now here are some books that should be taken from a ten-year-old... 

I've written about horror paperback books before, and now I have a few more to add to my collection. 

1987's The Dollkeeper: "Despite the mysterious disappearance of nearly a dozen of the town's children, no one seems to notice Emma Prescott's collection of dolls look exactly like the missing children..." (Amazon).

1992's When Darkness Falls: "Unconcerned by the series of wolf attacks that have terrorized the community, a teacher takes a job in Petittville and meets Charlie, a shy misfit who believes the wolf attacks are part of an ancient legend" (Amazon).

1980's The Nest: "It was just an ordinary garbage dump on peaceful Cape Cod. No one ever imagined that conditions were perfect for breeding, that it was a warm womb, fetid, moist, and with food so plentiful that everything creeping, crawling, and slithering could gorge to satiation. Then a change in poison control was made, resulting in an unforeseen mutation. Now the giant mutant cockroaches are ready to leave their nest—in search of human flesh!" (Amazon).

First released in 1985, The Bachman Books by Stephen King is not a goofy, "Paperback from Hell." This is where I discovered my favorite story by Mr. King: The Long Walk.  He wrote it when he was a freshman at college and he hit it out of the park. 

 

"In a dystopian America, a major source of entertainment is the Long Walk, in which one hundred teenage boys walk without rest along U. S. Route 1. Each Walker must stay above four miles per hour. If a Walker drops below this speed for thirty seconds, he gets a warning. A Walker can lose a warning if he walks for an hour without getting another warning. If a Walker gets four warnings, he is shot dead by soldiers. The last surviving Walker earns a large sum of money and a 'Prize' of his choice" (Wikipedia). 

I didn't like the ending until I realized that it is an allegory for The Vietnam War. I bought this 1986 paperback (again) because this copy was in such nice shape.

Movies

My Blu-ray of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly has all of the video supplements that are on this Special Edition DVD set. So, why did I buy this for $2?

I wanted the eight page booklet and the mini posters from five different countries! 

For a movie fan, I think these are the adult equivalent to a Happy Meal toy.

I have a small collection of Spaghetti Westerns, and these two will fit in nicely:

Odds and Ends

My old GE alarm clock radio stopped playing music and would only emit static. I retired it and bought another GE from the 80s. The thing is, even though the previous clock's radio broke, it never lost or gained time. It really was "set it and forget it." So far, the same goes for this bad boy. (I bought Daphne one of the most recommended clocks on Amazon a few years ago, and that clock is currently six minutes fast.) Yes, I could use my phone, but this just feels right.

Speaking of time, I picked up this perpetual flip calendar for my desk at school. It's fun, vintage, and shiny, so it checks all the boxes for me.

I found two new "YETI Rambler 12 oz. Colster Can Insulators for Standard Size Cans." I'm just going to call them "koozies."  The fake advertising cans in the koozies still have their Yeti stickers, so that's a bonus, too.

Char and I spotted a DIY project where you turn an old boot into a planter for your porch. Char found these two boots at Goodwill.

They're boots for a child. I wasn't sure they be right for the project, but Char assured me that they would work. She was right. I have to admit that having small boots outside of our house makes me smile. I get to pretend that we still have a little one living here. (Hi, Ellie.)

Okay, here's the last thing for today. Last weekend Char and I went thrift shopping, and when I showed her this shirt, she told me I had to buy it. It made us both laugh, so it came home with us.

Okay! That felt good. I haven't been blogging for a minute, and I miss it.