King Gembel

Saturday, October 8, 2011

State Fair of Texas - 125 Years Young

Today's my birthday (and I'm not quite 125 years old). The self-publishing adventure went nowhere this week. I appear to be in format hell, and a password circle of preposterous responses on my trying-to-design-a-website project. So, the heck with it. Ray and I took vacation on Friday October 7th to visit The State Fair of Texas

Automobile building is always a must see. Nothing like a concept Corvette to get the heart racing. Write 'em a check, honey.

Cirque Shanghai - talented Chinese acrobats wowed the crowd with fabulous feats of balance and tumbling. They conquered the Texas blustery wind.

It's not the fair without a shot of Big Tex. Dressed in new duds, his booming voice welcomes crowds and describes the day's events. From dawn to dusk, enjoy frisbee catching trick dogs, pig races, Creative Arts - photos, drawings, quilts, and canned fruits & veggies, Food & Fiber Pavilion - free ice cream, USMC band, the Midway, and so much more. The grand finale for us was the Illumination Sensations fireworks/laser light/music/fountain spectacular.

Fried food heaven. Ray and I stuck with the Fletcher corny dogs, and later a funnel cake. However, the newcomer was Fried Bubblegum. It looked sweetly sickening to me. Plenty of other products for coronary thrombosis - fried s'mores, fried butter, fried autumn pie, fried margarita ... only in Texas.

2011 State Fair of Texas - 125 years and still going strong. The Art Deco buildings in Fair Park are restored gleaming gems. The Hall of State is magnificent. Kudos to the State Fair organizers for an extraordinary entertainment extravaganza.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Killer Stuff And Tons Of Money by Maureen Stanton

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Whatever the American Dream once was, it now seems to be about making an Antiques Roadshow-worthy killing. Every weekend, thousands of us trawl cluttered flea-market tables of family heirlooms and rejects to search for the one thing that will establish our good taste and pay for junior's college diploma. Among those hunters is Curt Avery, the plucky antiques dealer at the center of Maureen Stanton's charming new book. Avery, a former high school wrestler who favors sneakers and shorts, doesn't quite fit the image of antiques connoisseur. Through his sometimes steep uphill learning experiences, Killer Stuff & Tons of Money guides us through this intensely competitive subculture.

Before this book, I never realized that flea marketing had it's very own subculture. I guess that should have been obvious, since everyone seems to have their own subculture, but it's not one I've ever thought of before. It's an oversite that I'm glad to have fixed. Maureen Stanton takes us into the lives of Curt Avery and his circle of friends and competitors. Before this book, I never realized that you could make a living off of buying and selling antiques, well outside of a store that is. It won't be a career I'll be starting anytime soon, but I will be watching all those antique shows with a new interest.

What I found to be the most interesting was the way antiques can keep passing through dealers hands, raising in price for years. Sometimes these things never see the home of a collector, they just keep getting passed around. The idea makes me sad a little bit, I think most of these things deserve to be in a home where they will be displayed and cherished.

One of these days I want to visit the large outdoor flea markets that Curt and his friends haunt, year after year. I want to walk down the aisles, handle objects that have been cherished or used by someone long before I was born, and give a new home to a few of them.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Book Trailers

Embora este espaço normalmente esteja reservado ao universo de "Crónicas Obscuras" achei que valia a pena lembrar outros exemplos de literatura fantástica em português:

"O Regresso dos Deuses - Rebelião" por Pedro Ventura

http://videos.sapo.pt/uzYcKivdtPZ1TVZm3yj9