The Gems of Sharpless: September 12, 2012

I flat out forgot to go to Sharpless last week. My post drought continues so I was kicking myself all week for my absentmindedness. Grr! However, Gems is back. There was not much at Sharpless this week but here are some of the gems I found.

This looked like something one would see on American Pickers. (As the Pickers have become more famous, I think the show has lost its charm. It is no longer just two dudes rummaging through junk, but celebrities hopping around the country and looking through junk. I think it was better when nobody knew who they were. Now everybody will open their door to them.)

Speaking of celebrities, this looked like a collection of autographed photos and other clippings. I thought it was funny more than anything else.

I found this interesting item in a 1949 copy of Jr. magazine. I like how the little girl does not look especially happy with her “friend.”

At first I thought this collection had an egregious omission: Michael Jordan. Then I remembered that Jordan retired in the fall of 1993. (I would just like to say that, having been a big NBA fan when I was a kid, the 1993-94 season was the best NBA season — partly because my Atlanta Hawks were the regular season Eastern Conference champions. Without the Bulls dominating the league, I thought there was a lot more parity.)

This looks like something Eli Cash, from The Royal Tenenbaums, would hang in his apartment.

More old license plates. I think it is especially weird that “WAR” was used. Then again, there are a lot of “JIZ” plates in Iowa City.

This was truly a gem: a box o’ beta tapes! It included such classic titles as C.H.U.D. and Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film” music video (which has to be one of the most unique, odd, and random things I have ever found at Sharpless). (Interestingly, I once heard that a very obese sports reporter at the Quad City Times was nicknamed C.H.U.D. It was also the password for the paper’s internal network.)

Among the beta tapes was this cheesy-looking eighties movie. If it is anything like Private School, it is pretty damn bad.