Top
Tacky Treasures
The Mark Eden Bust Developer, the Popener, a rubber band
vest, and more
Nouveau Tacky
Jesus playing football, a Chairman Mao cigarette lighter,
and other delightfully tasteless objects
Tacky Places
Foamhenge, Cooter's Place, Planet Wayside,
and other whimsical places
Tacky Topics
The Tacky Treasures Road Show, Mike the Headless Chicken,
big heads, art cars, salt & pepper shakers, ballerinas abuse
Seasonal Tacky
Naked witch earrings, Love Kubes™, kinky cuffs,
pooping reindeer, Santa piñata, and other holiday treats
Books & Records
Why not eat insects, the Temple City Kazoo
Orchestra, and more
Tacky Links |
Tacky Treasures Road Show
 The
Tacky Treasures Road Show permits attendees to present items
for appraisal on their tackiness. Top prize was the official
T shirt of Julie's Tacky Treasures.
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Colds Are Tacky
One of the tackier ways to be sick is to have a cold with
the constantly running nose that comes with it. That's exactly
what I have today, this fine January day. Between the germs,
the disgusting noises I'm making, and the fluids I'm expelling,
I felt that I had to stay home from work. My co-workers deserve
better than to experience this with me.
Even though I'm home sick, I have enough energy to do some
things around the house. No matter how many boxes of tissues
we've planted in nearly every room, half the time there isn't
one right there where you need it, when you need it. To keep
my mind occupied, I decided to work on this problem.
The first solution is a crocheted tissue holder for those
personal size packages. With a pattern I got off the Internet,
I whipped up a tasteful cover. Then, I sewed on some beads
like the ones used for baby bracelets, and spelled out "snot
rags."
As tasteful as that sounds, my cold is much worse than that.
I've been blowing all day, so far. (Note to self: buy stock
in Kimberly-Clark.) It finally got to the point where I had
to ask myself, where's the knife? No, I'm not going to do
myself in. I took a standard size tissue box and cut two slits
on one side to allow me to slip my belt through it. Now my
tissues are with me everywhere I go. Just because I feel lousy,
and my face is red from all the sneezing in blowing doesn't
mean I can't carry myself with dignity.
For more help with colds, check out my entry on the Hawk
Shot. |
 Snot
rag holder #1
 Snot
rag holder #2
|
Tacky Holiday Shopping
Tips
Harriet Carter is at it again, marketing some hilariously
useless items for the undiscriminating shopper. The product
descriptions just scream "creative non-fiction."
They don't exactly lie, but anyone who took a minute to think
would see the problems with them. Or maybe not...Harriet Carter
has been selling this stuff since 1958.
>> Read
full report << |
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Tacky Wedding Shower
A few weeks ago, the book club I belong to threw me a tacky
wedding shower. I'm so glad it was tacky for two reasons.
>> Read
full report <<
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Wedding cake topper rubber ducks
from Jan Westervelt
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Natural Bridge Tacky Treasures
This weekend, Bob and I travelled to Rockbridge County, Virginia
for an old-time music and dance festival in Buena Vista. However,
we took a side trip to Natural Bridge to visit one of my favorite
visionary artists, Mark Cline.
Bob and I met with Mark privately at his workshop on Friday
to catch up on what he's doing lately. This included restoring
figures from the Maryland amusement park, the Enchanted Forest.
In addition, that day he did a casting of some initials on
the Natural Bridge itself which are purported to be those
of George Washington himself.
On Saturday, Bob and I and several other festival attendees
made a pilgrimage to Foamhenge, where we met Mark for a guided
tour. Then, we followed Mark from Foamhenge to his haunted
house and his Civil War dinosaur display, where he continued
to treat us to his ideas and showmanship. Here are some pictures
from our visit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90537344@N00/sets/72157601929890376/ |
Tacky Correspondence
Most of the emails I get through the Tacky Treasures web
site (and I don't get that many) are inquiries about purchasing
a Mark Eden Bust Developer or the value of a Bols ballerina
liqueur bottle. Once in a while, I get an unusual email. Here
are a few.
To: <julie@tackytreasures.com>
Subject: Order
Date: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 8:51 AM
Hello Sales Dept.
I am writing your office on behalf of my company and
that we will like to place an order for the item(s)
below that you will be shipping to our warehouse in
Lagos, Nigeria as we will be paying for the order with
a personal credit card account
20,000 Rubber Bands...pcs...5
I hope to hear back from you office with the total
cost and with the cost of shipment through USPS
Service.
Kind Regards
Yinka.
Why did he think I could sell him 20,000 rubber bands? Perhaps
here's
why.
Contact Julie
FROM :
EMAIL :
MESSAGE : Dear Sir/Madam,
It is my Great pleasure to send you this
e mail.I am Glenn Kindeley.I will like to place an Order
from you shop.Please i need.Wooden Casket
Please i need it Very Urgent.Please let me know
the Cost and i will let you know the Quantity i
need.Please I need it Very Urgent.Please try and get
back to me as soon as possible and we will process the
Order.Hope to hear from you soon.Thanks.
Regard.
Manager/President,
Kindeley
Maybe
this is why...(scroll down a little when you get there.)
Contact Julie
FROM :
EMAIL :
MESSAGE : On Friday,July 27, I visited your shop and bought
a little pair of earrings made out of part of a computer
motherboard. When I returned home I couldn't find them.
Have you made another pair? Can I purchase a few of them?
Thank you, Pat P.
I have no idea... |
Chevy on a Stick
This is one of the many visual treats I observed during
my trip to New Mexico. I could not find a lot of information
about this piece of public sculpture, except that it
was considered controversial at the time it was erected
in the early 1990s in Albuquerque. It was erected as
part of a street-widening project on Gibson Avenue.
Some citizens objected to the cost, others to the aesthetics.
However, now it has become treasured by the people,
and is frequently voted "Best in 'Burque"
in the local alternative newspaper, The Alibi.
The name of this sculpture is Cruising San Mateo
I. However, it is popularly known around town as
"Chevy on a Stick."
Those of you who live in the Washington D.C. area may
be interested to know that this work is by the same
artist who is responsible for the giant oak leaf (entitled
Journeys) that appears at the New York Avenue/Gallaudet
University Metro station. |
Cruising San Mateo I
(a.k.a, "Chevy on a Stick")
ca. 1991
Barbara Grygutis, artist
Location: Gibson Avenue & San Mateo
|
Once again, fame
eludes me
Several months ago, I was interviewed via telephone by the
author of a book on garage sales. He assured me that I would
be featured in his book, and requested high-resolution digital
images from my web site to be used in the publication. He
was enthusiastic about my web site, and our interview went
well, or so I thought
Today, I received my copy of the
book. None of my pictures appeared, and my web site was
not even mentioned. However, I was mentioned in passing. In
a section of the book about the Mark Eden Bust Developer,
I was referred to as, "Julie
Mangin, the world's largest COLLECTOR [emphasis mine] of Mark
Eden Bust Developers." This bothers me because I
don't consider myself a large person at all; in fact, I am
only about 5 foot 3 inches. And he couldn't have meant my
bust, because he couldn't see me on the telephone. What I
think he meant to say was that I have the world's largest
COLLECTION of Mark Eden Bust Developers.
Ah, fame is so fleeting. Last year, I was also approached
by someone from the David Letterman show for an appearance,
and that didn't pan out either. I guess I'll just have to
keep that day job.
Where do tacky treasures come from?
I don't know where all the tacky treasures in existence
have come from, but I have stumbled across a major source:
the 1930s.
>> Read
full report <<
|
Advertisement
for taxidermy lessons (from Popular Science,
August 1937)
|
Tackiness in the
News
I haven't been able to acquire any new tacky treasures recently,
but I have found some tacky news stories. Enjoy!
Escaped
Chimp Gets Snack, Cleans Bathroom
Flea Market
Montgomery Rap - "It's just like a mini-mall!"
Talking
Urinal Cakes
The Tacky
Year in Review
I hope you celebrated the coming of the New Year safely,
and didn't end up feeling like this poor fellow. This
is a liquor decanter with a music box that plays "How
Dry I Am." I don't know what year this was made,
but my guess it was back when jokes about alcoholic
behavior were still considered acceptable.
>> Read
full report << |
|
Current Stress Level
The Department of Workplace Insecurity Stress Level
System is used to communicate to users of this Web site,
friends, and family members the workplace stress level
of the webmaster of this site, so that protective measures
can be implemented to reduce the likelihood or impact
of an emotional meltdown.
>> Current
Stress Level << |
Ms. Dewey
If this is the future of librarianship, I think I'll
be retiring just in time. Ms. Dewey is a animated search
engine. She's young and wearing a sexy dress. What's
tacky about her is that although her designers took
care not to adopt any of the superficial stereotypes
of a librarian, they gave her behavior that you would
never find in a good librarian. No librarian I know
(and I know a lot of them) would make fun of the question
a person asked, act impatiently while helping someone,
or make unrelated remarks in the middle of a reference
interview. To reach Ms. Dewey, you'd better have a high-speed
Internet connection (she paused a little even on my
DSL connection) and the Flash player installed on your
computer.
http://www.msdewey.com/
For those of you who don’t have high-speed access,
here’s what she said when I searched various keywords.
tacky: “I can’t understand a word you said.
And, if you’re taking the time to decipher this,
then [unintelligible].”
mark eden bust developer: “I don’t know
why people care what these famous chicks do. Anyway,
this is about me, not her.”
popener: “Of all the searches in the universe,
that was definitely one of them.”
foamhenge: “I can’t make any sense of what
you’re asking. Wait, have you been at the pub
all afternoon?”
If I took too long between searches, Ms. Dewey entertained
herself by playing a video game, drinking a couple of
shots, and leaning over (don’t forget the sexy
dress) to tap the monitor and ask, “Anyone there?”
Because I am connected to Ms. Dewey as I write this,
I heard and saw many of these things several times.
I am really tired of: “Keep asking questions.
The more you ask, the more I know...and soon I will
rule the world!” This was followed, of course,
by maniacal laughter. Oh, please. Once the novelty wears
off, everyone will be running back to Google.
More about Ms. Dewey:
http://www.pandia.com/sew/
298-ms-dewey-presents-a-new-sexy-search-engine.html |
|
National Squirrel
Awareness Week: October 2-6, 2006
Anyone who has a bird feeder in their yard knows squirrels
for the spawn of Satan that they are. Even the Squirrel
Lovers Club admits that squirrels are the "undisputed
masters of backyard mischief." And yet the SLC proudly
announces that this year it's Squirrel Awareness MONTH. Well,
don't allow yourself to be sucked into that hype. Just look
at the pictures to the right, and you'll see how evil they
are. Yes, I'll give them a week, but a month?! No way! What
do these squirrel-loving people know, anyway? All the animations
on their site are actually chipmunks! The Chipmunk Lovers
Club, if there is one, ought to sue for defamation.
If you don't believe in the menacing nature of squirrels,
just check out these actual news stories involving these bushy-tailed
rats.
Cemetery's
Flags Found in Squirrel Nest
Squirrels
Go Nuts on Crack
GEICO
commercial with squirrels
Here are some people who take the threat seriously:
Countdown
to Crisis: National Squirrel Awareness Week
Of course, things could be worse:
You
think you have a problem with squirrels?
There are those that think that National Squirrel Awareness
Week is about celebrating cute furry creatures. But the wary
and wise know it's time for extra vigilance against these
birdseed stealing creeps. |
Crocodile Hunter Squirrel
Crikey!
Squirrels packing heat
Squirrel exposing itself
|
Twin Towers Memorial
The town of Buena Vista has erected a 9/11 memorial to stand
for three months in Glen Maury Park. Two 40-foot storage containers
stand on their ends, evoking the image of the twin towers
of the World Trade Center in NYC. They are painted white and
decorated with yellow ribbons and several American Flags.
They occupy the space once held by the legendary Big
Heads of Buena Vista.
The memorial comes from the mind of Mark
Cline, creator of Foamhenge
(Natural Bridge VA), The Town That Time Forgot (Glasgow VA),
and other attractions in Natural
Bridge, VA. Known as a practical joker, Cline insists
this is a sincere and serious memorial to the lives lost. |
Twin Towers Memorial,
Buena Vista, Virginia
September 15, 2006
Another
perspective
View
from a distance
|
The Big Heads
What is it about big heads? All around this grand nation,
we see monuments to people in the form of larger than life
sculptures. Can we come up with a more subtle metaphor for
a person's alleged greatness? Apparently not.
>> Read the
article << |
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The Couch List
Most birders keep a life list. I keep a couch list. Here's
why.
>> Read the
article << |
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Salt & Pepper Shakers I'll Never Use
Aren’t salt and pepper shakers supposed to improve
the taste of food? Then why is it that so many of them are
in such poor taste?
>> Read the article << |
 |
Ballerina Abuse: Inappropriate Use of the
Ballerina in the Decorative Arts
This article attempts and yet ultimately fails to explain
the presence of a ballerina in several objects in Julie's
Tacky Treasures.
>> Read the article << |
 |
Mugs I'll Never Drink Out Of
Words fail me, and that's not a common occurrence.
>> Read the article << |
 |
Art Cars
Art car artists take the the concept of a car as an extension
of oneself to its logical extreme. They make cars covered
with buttons, they write messages all over their cars, they
make it look like their favorite animals, and they do it all
to show the world who and what they are. And how I admire
them for that. I've always been fascinated with people who
are outrageous in one way or another.
>> Read the article
<< |
|
Goat is my co-pilot
July 1, 2006: On my way up to Frederick
this past Saturday, I got stuck in a back-up behind a car
with some interesting passengers. It was a good thing I had
my camera with me. I felt that the Frederick Community College
bumper sticker didn't do justice to the situation, so I fixed
it in Photoshop. If this was your car, what bumper sticker
would you put on it? |
Goat is my co-pilot
|
July 9, 2006: The response to the bumper sticker
request was overwhelming...I got so many that I can't publish them
all. Don't feel bad if yours isn't included below. They were all
good, and I enjoyed hearing form everyone. Thanks to Hugh, Anastasia,
Leslie, Carrie, Jean, Janine, Anne, Judith, Janice, Steve, Anna,
Doug, Barbara, Rich, Dick, Lynda, Dave, Jumahl, Ann, and Assistant
Bob. Here are the highlights.
The most popular response involved some variation of the "Got
Milk?" ad campaign: Got goat?, Goat milk?, Got goat milk?,
etc.
Lots of sheep humor was submitted, even though these were clearly
goats. But I'm allowing them because I wouldn't be surprised if
I did see a carful of sheep someday.
- What do ewe think of my driving? Call 1-800-LIL-LAMB
- If ewe can read this, yer followin’ too close
- It had to be ewe
- A sheep at the wheel? (Come to think of it, I never did see
the driver...)
Some involved goat noises:
- If you can read this you're too close, get baaaaaaaaaaaack
- baah-d to the bone...
- Back to Baa-sics
A couple of people came up with:
The rest of the best:
- Let the goat times roll
- I got what was behind door number #2
- I can't afford Hair Club For Men
- My other goat is an angora
- Support our flocks
- Life is goat
- Honk if you're horny
- Just chew it
- My kid's an honor student
and my favorite:
- My kid ate your honor roll student's homework
Tacky Cat
I have a tacky cat. I'll let this picture speak for itself. |
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A Lil Julie Production
![Julie Mangin, the world's largest COLLECTOR [emphasis mine] of Mark Eden Bust Developers](tackyimages/garagesaleamerica0004.jpg){kind=link}
