Estate sale deal of the week

Okay- so these are actually the deals of last and this week.

First house had been owned by a couple that had traveled to Hawaii many times and created a tiki bar in the basement with the stuff they brought back. I scored a barkcloth painted ceramic vase with the word 'Aloha' also painted on it, filled with fake bird of paradise flowers, a small tiki god lantern and a 33rpm record in great condition of Sammy Kaye christmas music.

Total cost- $4

Next I went to an unbelievable sale over near Belmar. Huge house with a full size pipe organ, a player grand piano, a massive wooden German cuckoo clock, and a lot of other incredible items I'd never buy, but that really impressed me. I like it when the stuff people collected is interesting. I didn't take a pict of my haul, but I got a ton of fake flowers for costuming and the identical paper Thanksgiving turkey from the 70's that I remember from our table as a kid (and I think my mom still has it). I really wanted the huge and hardly used cat jungle gym, and thought about coming back for 1/2 off day to get it for $20, but it was almost 6 ft tall and while it fit in the giant 1960's ranch, it would not fit in my little 30's cottage. Sorry kitties. I did feel like the cats knew I was denying them an awesome christmas present, but I think they're over it now.

I can't remember exactly what I paid, but I think it was 7 bucks. Oh and I was super bummed when I saw a girl bring a handful of creepy vintage elves out of the room filled with holiday decor. I love those little elves. That started me on a new method- I now quickly scope out every room, then I go back and dig. Had I not wasted so much time in the rest of the huge house, looking at things I'd never buy, I might be placing those elves on my mantle. And giving a couple to my sister.

Yesterday I headed over to the east side of town and after studying the sale's list, I knew I wanted to check out the glassware and a miniature piano. The glassware was in the background of another picture posted on http://www.estatesales.net/ so I figured they weren't overly excited about it, and I might get a deal. The piano was just really cute and unusual- it had a kind of fake calliope form.

As you can see from the pict, I didn't get the piano- it plugged in and was likely a 50's or 60's era electronic toy, all the keys played, even the black keys and they only wanted $25, but I've got a voice in my head that is really good at asking me, "What the heck are you going to do with that?". And it was right, as usual. If you're interested in it, it may still be there, check it out .

What I did get was a set of  eight ornate crystal cocktail glasses, six coupes, four mini coupes or cordial glasses, four vintage pilsners, a round frame with a picture of victorian ladies, and four records- Unsinkable Molly Brown, the Star Wars soundtrack, the Star Wars story album, and a spooky sound record from Disney that I think I have several copies of. I can't help but buy it when I see it. I'm sure there's a future art project in there somewhere, just not sure what it is.

Total- $18.

It's "Burlesque"

Tonight the Xtina movie star vehicle and Cher's big screen return, "Burlesque" hits cineplex screens. I've been hearing about the film for the last couple years as info leaked out and the burlesque community began fretting about a multi-million dollar misrepresentation of the modern burlesque scene. From early reviews, it is as bad as they worried it would be, but I'm proud and happy to see that despite that, the community seems to be making lemonade out of this lemon.

• Boston staged a Burlesque Marathon- 8 hours of burlesque to give folks a taste of the real burlesque community on the eve of the movie opening.
• The brilliant San Francisco Los Angeles performer and producer Sparkly Devil Penny Starr Jr [whoops, Sparkly just reposted it- Penny thunk it up!] suggested using the Twitter hash-tag #Burlesque on the day of the movie premiere, to post about our shows, people in the community etc. so when folks look up burlesque on Twitter, they'll find us.
• Lots of folks are planning on flyering movie attendees to let them know that burlesque exists in their community, not just on the movie screen.

I'll be attending tonight with a few fellow performers and friends tonight mostly so I can complain about it in an informed manner. :) If anyone wants to join us, we're heading to the movie at the Denver Pavilions at 10:15 pm.

It is important to note that despite the filmmakers claims that they shied away from the nudity so they wouldn't get an R rating, it is very possible to correctly represent burlesque and not offend the censors, even on television. This season of Castle had a great burlesque episode with accurate costumes and dancing, the only innacuracy was the spacious gorgeous New York burlesque club. Though maybe we'll be getting that next year with the reopening of the Slipper Room?

Dead People's Things

I like old things and troll estate sales and ebay in search of curiosities and vintage clothes. In fact I love them so much I considered calling this 'Dead People's Things', after a late, great Denver second hand shop. But there's a lot more to me, and rather than limit myself, or start ten blogs about all the other stuff I do, I started this one, which will try to encompass all of me.

I'm a writer, and the evidence is on bookshelves & floating in the webisphere. I'm a burlesque girl- a performer, a producer, a costumer, a fan and a researcher/writer. I'm also a cocktail nerd- I drink them, make them, create them, read about them and have deep opinions about them. I used to be a photographer and a sculptor, and in fact have dusty old degrees in both that I'm hoping to brush off and start using again.

And I really, really love Denver. That little calendar up top will hopefully soon be filled with all the amazing things happening in Denver that make it the wonderful place I love.

So that's it. My goal is to write at least one post a day, to be both record and, maybe dialogue. I know there should be a weekly segment on my estate sale adventures, with pictures, and I'll post reviews of shows I see or am in (so maybe backstage reviews?). I'll also be documenting my return to photography and the art world (we'll see how that goes- last time I was in that world I wanted to punch the pretention out of everyone, but it seems more fun now). Of course, cocktails will be served.

Cheers!