Thriftscore! vintage late 1800’s Ice Box

03 Mar 2011 16 Comments

by Daniel Jacob in Domestic, Old things, Thriftscore Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Vintage White Clad Ice Box

This is better than a thriftscore. This is another one of my favorite ways to procure neat antique items: picking them up from the side of the road for free.

Our neighbors just moved out. They were taking care of their elderly grandmother and sadly, I believe she passed away. What’s even more gloomy is that it looks like the lot of grandmother’s things were put in the front yard with a sign that said “FREE”. The kids in our neighborhood are particularly savage and within hours they were using this woman’s crutches like stilts, racing around in her wheelchair and were literally smashing the rest of the items with a hammer simply because the stuff said “FREE” and they felt they were free to destroy it. It’s true, we asked them and that was their response.

I love the past simply for it’s own sake and I treasure the stories behind old things so I was glad to have rescued at least one item laid out in the yard to be given away and good care will be given to at least one item that belonged to this elderly woman. A “vintage” White Clad ice box from the late 1800’s. I put quotations around vintage because it’s most certainly a reproduction. I don’t mind that. In researching it a bit, even the repros of this go for around Truth be told, I may’ve just glossed over it if it weren’t for it’s unique hardware. I love the latch and the manufacturer’s plate on the front. From what I can tell it’s real brass.

The door opens and there’s a small bit of storage inside. I thought perhaps to use it as a night stand or and end table. Uninspired reuses, I know. Do any of you have any more clever ideas on a possible use for this neat little thing?

PS – my readership has spiked alot in the last few days. Where are all you coming from?!

PPS – please notice my fantastic Queen poster in the background of the first pic.

FAWM#04: Firecracker in Reverse

21 Feb 2011 Leave a comment

by Daniel Jacob in Music (mine) Tags: , , , , ,

Ok. Reality has set in on yet another February: I am neither one step closer to rockstardom and again it appears I am going to fail FAWM’s 14 song challenge. In any case, here’s the 3rd of probably not 14 songs. It’s called Firecracker in Reverse and it goes a little something like this:

Firecracker in Reverse

It came to me first thing in the morning and certainly NOT the type of song I’d usually write and not a way I’d typically sing but…I just went with it.

Lyrics:

I’m just a firecracker in reverse, I try take the explosion
And shove it back in the paper and undo the damage I done
Yeah, I’m just a firecracker in reverse, a cracker can’t help the fire
I gotta unsay the words, and put em’ back, and unfire the gun

Oh, West Covina’s golden son
Peter Piper picked her one
Heavy handed heaven hound
I had the heart but I had to run
And I had a run in with the law
Then wandered off to Arkansas
But the air was wet and the ground dry
And I was back by mid-July
When I got back, a redneck here was grabbin’ at my shirt
He said, “Move on, peckerwood!”
I left him lying in the dirt

I’m just a firecracker in reverse, I try take the explosion
And shove it back in the paper and undo the damage I done
Yeah, I’m just a firecracker in reverse, a cracker can’t help the fire
I gotta unsay the words, and put em’ back, and unfire the gun

Oh, we had the chapel, had the ring
Had the date and everything
But I met a girl and I heard her sing
Then I was sure that grass was green
Left it all to be with her
But her was now in love with him
Then I went back to find
That weeping woman left behind
When I got back her papa there was was grabbin’ at my shirt
He said, “Coming back was dumb!”
I left him lying in the dirt

I’m just a firecracker in reverse, I try take the explosion
And shove it back in the paper and undo the damage I done
Yeah, I’m just a firecracker in reverse, a cracker can’t help the fire
I gotta unsay the words, put em’ back, and unfire the gun

Oh, I took to Simi in the fog
With a gun and a dog
With my finger on the trigger
And a bead on hog
I had bacon by eleven
And by noon there came around
A man saying, “Son, my suey can’t be found!”
And when he saw my skillet he was grabbin’ at my shirt
I said, “thank you for the breakfast!”
Left him lying in the dirt.

I’m just a firecracker in reverse, I try take the explosion
And shove it back in the paper and undo the damage I done
Yeah, I’m just a firecracker in reverse, a cracker can’t help the fire
I gotta unsay the words, and put em’ back, and unfire the gun

FAWM#02: Old Adam! Old Adam!

07 Feb 2011 2 Comments

by Daniel Jacob in Music (mine) Tags: , , , , , , ,

2 down and 12 more to go! I’ve got a good feeling about this month. I think I might hit my 14 song goal for the first time ever (and this is my seventh FAWM!) I will be pleased as punch if I even make it half way but I think.

Here’s the second song out of February.

I wrote the melody and figured out the theme while sitting on a stool next to my wife as she made dinner. (I do think my wife needs a round of applause for dealing with me during FAWM. There’s a term for her amongst the community of songwriters who participates: a FAWM widow). My cruddy guitar playing lead me to a simple 3 chord verse & melody and actually I’ve been kicking around the title ‘Old Adam” for a while in my head. It’s actually based ever so loosely on my little brother Adam. He’s still a ‘youngster’ of 13 but for as long as I can recall he’s been as grumpy and as salty as an ‘elder’ of 93. The name ‘Old Adam’ struck me as a great name for an old country murder ballad so I borrowed my young Adam for inspiration and wrote him into a song that’s supposed to be 130 years old. My young Adam isn’t so fond of church-goin’ (neither was I at that age for that matter) but he’s still of that age that he’s made to go with ma & pa so I kind of took that thought, matured it and put it on my grown-up Old Adam character…a rowdy old-soul, out looking for vengeance for some wrong done against him and is at odds with God, troubled and weighed down by that God.

Though this is a first draft of a song really, I am fond of the lyrics. What’s a little unclear is the middle bit where the narrator says;

“Your mother’s heart’s made of wax
And your heart’s made of red clay
And your sins are like the sun…”

I tried to get the concept through that the sins of old Adam (the sun) are hardening Old Adam’s heart (made of clay) but those sins are breaking his mother’s heart (of wax). I’m not sure that part is all so clear as it’s been pointed out to me. I’ll have to revisit that it seems.

In any case, enjoy the journey with me.

FAWM#01: There is Murder in the Air’

02 Feb 2011 Leave a comment

by Daniel Jacob in Music (mine)

If you happened to have read last months post about FAWM then you already know what the heck it is and you may be expecting some music in and around this site this month.  Here’s my first offering on the altar of FAWM:

‘There is Murder in the Air‘ (click title to stream the song)

It was recorded in one take on my little iPhone so it’s far from polished technically. Remember (disclaimer) whole point of FAWM is quantity not quality. Just get it out and move on, hone and perfect it later. In my case so many songs are still born because I labor and labor and labor on getting it right the first time out and I just loose steam and/or inspiration and therefore never finish the song. The whole point of FAWM is to shake up folks like me.

Artist Chuck Close really hits the nail on the head with this:
“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

Chrysler, their new ad, and the PT Cruiser

29 Jan 2011 Leave a comment

by Daniel Jacob in Brick-a-Brack Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think Chrysler’s latest model is just as “eh” as everything else they’ve put out in terms of style in the last 45 years but I do love the commercial so very much.

“What ever happened to style?”

When do you the car makers sucked most of the style out of the automobiles they made?

I had such high high hopes for the PT Cruiser actually. It was going in such a great direction and I think it could’ve turned the tide as far as bringing back some of it’s early/mid-century style but alas, the PT Cruiser was nixed after less than 10 years. Why? Well I think they frankly just made it and left it alone for the most part. No additional thought was given to what could’ve developed into an amazing and classic vehicle. Instead they made a modern version of a paddy-wagon and called it a day.

But I digress. When do you think cars stopped being works of art?

1930’s European Haircut…

28 Jan 2011 3 Comments

by Daniel Jacob in Of Hair and Handsomeness Tags:

Getting a haircut is a big deal for me. I pour over pictures for weeks. I compile a list of barber shops that specialize in vintage hair styles, gather reviews, and literally pine for the day I get the perfect haircut.  Last month I tried a fantastically named place called “The Men’s Room”. It was appropriately named and a perfect not-nearly-up-to-date-hole-in-the-wall type place that I’d hoped would be this little gem that was all mine.  A place where I could always go for the perfect gentlemen’s haircut over and over again and return to even if I moved far away. Oh how I wanted The Men’s Room to work out for me. But alas, it was not to be.  First off, A lady hair. Hear me because I’m not saying I object to this in the least – I’m just saying that at a place called The Men’s Room ~  I really was hoping for a very salty, very old US army vet barber like Frank at Frank’s Barber Shop in West Covina.  When I’d specify a 1930’s or 1940’s haircut, he’d know it by heart cos he’d have worn the cut himself in said decades.  But I digress.  As of this time yesterday, I was still looking.

Last night I got myself a haircut at a new place, Play Hair Lounge in Simi Valley…a place that I’d never think I’d find myself in. I like old and outdated and this place was modern and hip.  My wife has long curly hair that never seems to get cut right but she’d decided to try the very-close-to-home Play Hair Lounge last week with a stylist named Brit and hallelujah, it was an amazing cut~! Great sign. I made myself an appointment to sit in the chair a week later. Last night was decision day and ~ I was won over. Brit did an amazing job, learning my hair and getting it just absolutely perfect. She patiently spent a very long time with me as we finessed and whittled our way down to what I see as the perfect hair cut (for me at least).  Usually I’d get a haircut in 15 minutes and be out the door and complain for the next month and a half about how I didn’t like the cut.  She actually spent time, nailed down exactly what I wanted (1930’s-ish German-esque!)  and thus won me over.  I’m going to her every time and I’m getting this haircut every time. I hope my hair stays in my head long enough for me to get this haircut many times over

Brit gets the Hair Tonic & Horse Feathers seal of approval.

Meet Me in the Fields…revisited

24 Jan 2011 1 Comment

by Daniel Jacob in Film, Music, My Art Tags: , , , , , , ,

Around the vicinity of 8 years ago I wrote a song called Meet Me in the Fields. 6 years ago my band released the song on an EP.  4 years ago we made a music video for the song and put it out into the world.  Now just recently Jacob Morales, my friend who helped shoot & direct the video took the 4-year-old green screen footage from the original video and reinterpreted it and made a new video for the song.

The singing chap in the cap is yours truly.

Thanks, Jacob!
Friends, please visit Jacob’s blog as he’s got a penchant for the antiquated, melodic and unique as well.

PS – here’s the original video. My first attempt at post production film work:

http://vimeo.com/12310516

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