Sorry, Miss Jackson

Well, fudge. Serves me right trying to take a clear picture with my light source behind me like that. Didn't I take away anything from those three years of high school art class? Then again I never took photography so, er ah, let's just chalk it up to that then, shall we? I mean do we really need to hammer the point home what a terminal ninny I am? I'm already tragically self-effacing enough as it is.

Anyway, remember Luscious Jackson, anyone? Put out on The Beastie Boys Grand Royal label (LJ drummer Kate Schellenbach was the original drummer for The Beasties back during their early pre-rap hardcore days) and had a hit with "Citysong" off their first full-length 1994 album Natural Ingredients, an album that had its moments but didn't feel as consistently strong and punchy as their first EP In Search Of Manny did to my ears. But this record put them out in the mainstream for about a year or two, as well as a 30-second TV spot for The Gap and a few videos, namely "Citysong" getting a bit of top-of-the-hour rotation if I'm not mistaken. "Naked Eye" got a bit of play off their next album, but after that I haven't heard a note from them since.


I do, however, remember them putting on a darn swell live show at the Nsect Club that year. Probably one of the most girl-friendly gigs I've seen at that mostly male-dominated venue. I watched with my friend Rachel up in the balcony overlooking the back of the stage so that I could see the looks on the audience's faces. For once a sea of young girls not getting clobbered over the noggin by frat boys so that they can gank their spot against the stage in order to check out Jill Cunniff's breasts. And they were a darn super group of gals to meet. I wonder what those chicks have gone on to these days? Anybody heard anything? Anything?

I stepped out early this morning with Joe to check out this new flea market held in a parking garage in old town Portsmouth. We couldn't find the guy that we had heard about who was selling new DVDs at an astoundingly fallen off the back of a truck affordable price, but we did pick up a few cool tchochkies, namely these nifty toy cars...

to which I gotta ask... does anybody remember these things from someplace before? Are they old toys? Because I seem to have a somewhat vague memory of owning something like these when I was a kid, back when I was collecting Matchbox and other toy cars smaller than these. Or are they more recent? I'm not finding a serial number or manufacturer date on any of them. Not even the company name, other than "Made In China". Anyhoo, that's a blue Ford Cobra on the right, and a turquoise Chevy Bel Aire on the left, and that one Ford truck in the back is a Seven-Eleven promotional thingamabob with pictures of Slurpees and Big Bites (Big Bites... a sure sign that these we made before my childhood, to be certain) and the back doors open to the words "Oh, Thank Heaven!" In fact all the little doors on these cars open and close, some of the hoods open to reveal cute little engines, and even the stick in the Bel Aire shifts a little -- or maybe it does now, after I forced it a bit. Anyway, small things: Adorable! Then click the pics to make the small things BIG!