I am usually wary of nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. Many of the major entertainment genres are based on the fuzzy, rosy-hued (yet imperfect) memories of childhood. Silk screen reprint shirts saying “Led Zeppelin Tour 1973″ DO appeal to aging rockers, and their residual impact also hits current teens.  The nostalgia market is big business for the old and the young.

I am a collector of some things, and realize that part of the compulsion is to symbolically, if not physically, regain something that was lost through time, carelessness, or lack of foresight.  Nostalgia, up to a point, is part of my life.  My DVD buying problem is one part professional aspiration and two parts mild compulsion. I want to see as many films as possible. I also feel as if (film) history has pulled one over on my and made me miss things that I would otherwise find very valuable.

But, I want to inaugurate a new, semi-regular series of posts called “Weird Stuff” in a personally nostalgic vein.  As I mentioned in a recent post, many of our first pieces were about discovering the more bizarre detritus of popular culture.  This is something that other sites have done and still continue to do.  I am much older now, but I can’t stop finding weird, obscure, and unknown things to write about.  I regard this kind of casual writing nostalgically.  Now that writing essays for class and publication as a key component of my career path and job, I find myself wanting to stay engaged in “fun” writing.  I need to do stuff like this to counteract the serious book review, the 25 page journal submission, or the overly-annotated bibliography.  Hence “Weird Stuff.”  Don’t expect revelations, just descriptions of crazy things that we didn’t know existed.

The Mustache Mug!!!

Found this one at a thrift store in Williamsburg.  The Mustache Mug was manufactured in Japan (according to the bottom) and was intended for the Edwardian or Gilded Age man who often found his coffee commingling with his facial hair.  What better way to tell people about your absurdly-groomed face than to flash them a smug look at the mug?

The inside of this thing is even better than the outside.  That bit of porcelain bridging two parts of the rim is shaped like a mustache and functions as a drinking shield!  If you have a Pringles man mustache, you will be fully covered!  This reminds me of those plastic drink lids that prevented spills from our childhood drinking days.  Though distinguished looking gentlemen like the one on this vessel often hold eminent positions in society, they too need help ingesting liquids.  Finally, an object that is useful to patriarchal men!

Stay tuned for more “Weird Stuff!”