Archive for February, 2010

OXO Good Grips Extendable Twister Snowbrush

With 49 states receiving snow this 2010 winter season, including Texas and Florida, I feel that it is undeniably due to the shifting effects of climate change. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received a record breaking 6.5 feet of snowfall just this year alone! And in British Columbia, Canada, where the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are being held, it is spring conditions with 50° and trees are already in bloom with barely any snow for the winter events.

With all that said and since it’s been snowing like crazy here in the Tri-State area, I’d like to suggest a quality snow removal tool for your daily commute. Tired of cheap snowbrushes that scratch your nice car finish? Then look no further, I highly recommend the well designed OXO Good Grips Twister™ Snow Brush. It has dual position high quality soft feathered tipped firm bristles and a shatterproof polycarbonate scraper blade with non-slip handle that provides a secure grip.

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

 

New to OXO’s Automotive/Utility 2010 lineup is the OXO Good Grips Extendable Twister Snowbrush that extends to reach across windshields. Twist the brush 90 degrees to pull or push snow. The high strength polycarbonate blade is ideal for scraping ice off windows without damaging the glass. Feathered bristle tips effectively brush snow while protecting paint. The Extendable Twister Snowbrush features a soft, comfortable grip for maximum control during use.

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

 

OXO Automotive: Extendable Twister Snowbrush

 

Unfortunately OXO Good Grips has pretty much discontinued their amazing, best on the market Automotive Car Care line of products. Their Auto brushes are so user friendly well made and designed and they last for years, and way better then any natural wool mitt on the market, they do not leave any micro contaminants as wool mitts do so you don’t scratch you expensive paint finish. If you are an auto and motor sport enthusiast or just a clean freak, I suggest emailing or even better calling OXO’s customer service at 1(800) 545-4411 and their OXO’s corporate New York design studio at (212) 242-3333 and requesting the full comeback of all the original Automotive Car Care Product Line of brushes, your car will thank you.

 

OXO Automotive: Small Car Wash Brush – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Large Car Wash Brush – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Wheel Detail Brush – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Tire Detail Brush – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Squeegee – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Pivoting Head Snow Brush and Scrapper – Discontinued
OXO Automotive: Ergonomic Sure-Grip Polycarbote Ice Scraper – Discontinued

THE BATMAN (1939, Detective Comics No. 27) Sells For $1,075 Million Dollars

Holy Bat-Bling, Batman! Three days after a SUPERMAN 1938, Action Comics No. 1 became the first comic to sell for $1 Million Dollars, a May 1939 Detective Comics No. 27 sells for a record crushing $1,075,500.00! That’s 75 grand more in the same C8.0 Grade, Very Fine condition. This is unprecedented! The first appearance of “THE BATMAN,” Bob Kane’s masterpiece, outdoes the man-of-steal! People may laugh about collecting, but this vintage Golden Age original comic is pop-couture fine art and will only increase in value. It looks like the economy is turning around.

THE BATMAN: Detective Comics No. 27

THE BATMAN: 1939, Detective Comics No. 27

Long Way Round (Collectors Edition DVD Box Set)

With all the wintry weather we been having lately, what a perfect time to sit by the fireplace and watch these entertaining and funny adventure motorcycle documentary DVDs, I totally recommend them! Ewan McGregor of Star Wars and Angles & Demons sets off with his mate Charley Boorman and crew to go the long way round the world in their motorbike adventures. The two-actor buddies are motorcyclist enthusiasts and enjoy touring in their down time. Adventure touring is not really as popular here in the states as it is in Europe, but it’s gaining ground with the go-anywhere crowd.

Long Way Round

Long Way Round: Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor

 

Collectors Edition Box Set contains Long Way Round, Race To Dakar & Long Way Down. 8 DVD set containing a massive 24 1/2 hours! Take three trips of a lifetime in the company of best friends Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, as they straddle their beloved motorbikes and cross unlikely terrain to reach some of the world’s most far-flung corners. Powering through notoriously desolate countryside, they ride from London to New York via Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia and Canada In Long Way ‘Round, and from the northernmost tip of Scotland descending through Western Europe and Africa to South Africa’s southernmost point in Long Way Down. These DVD stories cover their adventures and misadventures while they soak up the most incredible natural and cultural wonders. In Race to Dakar, Boorman recounts his extraordinary experience as he tackles the toughest race on earth – The Dakar Rally. www.longwayround.com

North America Marketplace Availability and NTSC Formatted Request GRANTED: Back in 2005, I made the request and suggestion directly to Long Way Round Ltd. & Kentec Mail & Courier Service Ltd. to offer the DVDs in NTSC Format (North America) so they would play on U.S. DVD players, because originally they did not, and the documentaries were not available in the U.S. Marketplace. Eventually they heeded my request and suggestions. Now they are available on this side of the pond, and I can report all 8-Discs are awesome and play just fine!

SUPERMAN (Action Comics No. 1) Sells For $1 Million Dollars

A rare copy of D.C. Comics: June, 1938 Action Comics No. 1 featuring the classic Joe Shuster cover art of Superman (C8.0 Grade, Very Fine condition), sold on February 22, 2010 for a record breaking $1 Million Dollars in New York to a private collector. Supposedly, there are only 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful have been rated in high condition. The 1938 comic with the 1st appearance of Superman originally cost .10¢, not bad eh!

Action Comics No. 1

SUPERMAN: 1938, Action Comics No. 1

 

It is a healthy hobby collecting your positive childhood memories; I know it has brought me great joy in hunting for rare and hard to find vintage toys & collectibles that I had or wanted as a child. So whatever it is that you collect, I’m passing on the advice that I received from America’s foremost Superman collector Danny Fuchs “be selective,” it can get out of hand.

I have always been intrigued by comic book art and illustrations; the use of color, shading and graphic qualities have inspired my own art and design. Even to this day, unique vintage toy packaging, with its illustrated quirky vibrant style, still grabs my attention just as it did when I was a young boy. But what really captivated me as a kid, was the 1970s reruns of the 1966 BATMAN Television Series in Technicolor with the MTV style camera work… way ahead of its time. Too bad the 60s series is still not available on DVD yet.

Why So Serious?

On a much lighter pop-culture, entertainment note. As one of the most iconic and recognized villains in popular media. The Joker has been portrayed by Cesar Romero in the 1966 Batman television series, Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton’s Batman, and Heath Ledger in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Mark Hamill (AKA: Luke Skywalker) provided the funny but sinister voice for the character in BATMAN: The Animated Series.

Jack Nicholson as The Joker

Jack Nicholson as The Joker

 

On the absence of Heath Ledger who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the The Joker “clown prince of crime” in the mega blockbuster The Dark Knight, who will fill the void of the other villainous characters in the rogues gallery for Warner Bros. in the next BATMAN movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Heath Ledger as The Joker

Heath Ledger as The Joker

 

Heath’s nailed the dark role of The Joker, but his makeup or lack their of in my opinion made the whole character work. Local Mount Sinai, NY’s resident and Oscar nominated, award-winning makeup artist John Caglione Jr. was the artist behind the freakish face paint. Check out the other films John Caglione Jr. has worked on at www.johncaglionejr.com.