Venus Over-Eating

We're still trying to finish up all of those terrific Thanksgiving leftovers from last week around here! Yep, too much good food = too much added baggage around the 'ol midsection! Good thing New Years is coming soon so we can dive back into all of those unresolved resolutions that we left danglin' in the 2025 winter wind. You know, what we really needed was more of the Sure Way To Prevent Over-eating utensils method, and less shakins from the gay! practical! and amusing! "Venus" salt 'n pepper shakers! We seasoned that bird and all the trimmings too good, I tells ya! 

Also, vintage gag gift boxes o'kitsch like these make great xmas presents, just sayin'...

Dolly and Danny Duzit

Dolly and Danny Duzit stainless steel sponges have been a fixture in kitchens across America since the 1920's. And here's the proof, with each featured in their original, super cute, red / blue vintage, die-cut box! Still in production to this day in Laredo, TX, though packaged differently, here's some additional info taken right from their webpage: "Previously manufactured and sold by Springfield Wire, Inc., each scrubber is made from a special high-grade, stainless steel that will not rust. They retain their shape well after repeated uses and can be cleaned easily by simply placing them in your dishwasher." As mentioned, they've gone with a simpler package re-design recently for modern times, though it still maintains a somewhat fun, "vintage / retro" look. 

Death on Ice! / The Eskimo Murder!

Oh, for the luvva Mike! Just because 'ol Mother Nature decides to dump an avalanche of snow and ice on the midwest today, does it really mean that 'ol Mr. Karswell has to drop the chill (and some funny thrills) on you fine fellow readers as well?! You bet your frozen dollars, I do! But don't bundle up too warmly, because the two lovely leads in today's Super Saturday Matinee Double Feature are sure to warm things up rather nicely-- even if, and especially when, they are so inappropriately dressed in their frightful, frigid surroundings-- thankfully! Yes sir, Golden Age comic fan fave, Nina Albright proves to be the all-star illustrator of a nice pair wrapped in a titillatingly tight orange sweater, --uh, that is, if you can peel your poppin' eyeballs away from the simultaneously, magnificent Molly O'Moore leg show! From the July 1944 issue of Terrific Comics #4, and followed by another beautiful babe, Toni Gayle, as she bearly makes it out alive (get it?) in an icy tundra of terror, via the September - October 1949 issue of 4Most Vol.8#5. More superb illustrations and the coolest ever cover art by legendary, L. B. Cole, --and if that name doesn't ring a bell, then you my friend need to head over to THOIA and learn some facts, ASAP!

The Mr. Bones Thanksgiving Feast

We're setting the table (sans turkey) for the big tasty holiday feast today, and I do believe we have all of the other highly important, nutritional food groups covered here: delivery, hot 'n cold, vending machine, can or coffin, and lastly-- veggies! We all need our vegetables now, don't we? But anyway, yeah, these are fun candy containers from my childhood (some still containing some very petrified gum and hard candy) --and fyi: I have another big batch of them to share with you all next month as well, so stay hungry for that. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving today, too!

Fantastic Adventures

Some fantastic pulp mag examples of fantastic art from an old January 1941 issue of Fantastic Adventures...

Swing Smoke / Tanning Is...

A friend of mine is selling this kitschy little vintage "Swing Smoke" ashtray. It's all legs and holes (nobody is complaining) and though the actual meaning of "swing" here seems a bit lost on me (swing shift smoke break? sexy swinger? swing from a chandelier?), there is absolutely no debating where one is supposed to insert their nasty little coffin nail (is that supposed to be a pair of lips?!) "Made in Japan" it says on the bottom, further answering for the overall weirdness factor of it all. Also below is a very large, early 80's Philips tanning bed advertising poster that I found, featuring a lovely lady in a swimsuit promoting the idea of tanning beds, uh, while not even actually laying inside of a tanning bed. I imagine most sensible people would prefer to be on a white sandy beach somewhere tropical and catching rays than in an automated, glowing glass press in some tiny strip mall backroom in chilly Wisconsin...

"Harlow Head"

As we read about some "Manikins of Death" over at THOIA, let us now take a look at a decapitated mannequin head here at AEET, or more precisely, a vintage 1930's - 40's millinery shop display counter head. Made of plaster and originally used to sell and promote everything that fashionable ladies wore on theirs heads and necks: jewelry, hats, scarves, etc... and unlike the other counter heads in my collection, this one even came with a super tall, pillar style stand. A wonderful find in good 'ol Hermann, MO last week, and very much within my spending range for once, though the original price tag had her listed as a "Jean Harlow Head." Hmmm... while the platinum locks certainly do compare to mean Jean's blonde bombshell coloring, the face actually looks nothing like her to me. I mean, if the hair was painted any other color I doubt anyone would even think of Harlow. So, whomever you personally believe you see in that fab face, don't look too closely, because another troubling issue arises-- the eyes are painted like crap! From a distance everything looks okay, but up close those eyes need some immediate, serious fixing. And same goes for those disembodied top eyelashes that appear to be scurrying away from her socket regions! Oh well, once she gets a more subtle, upgrade blended air brushing, I will certainly share the pictures... please stay tuned for further developements!