Stitch

Own A Retro Raygun (read all 2 entries…)
Who Knew? 4 months ago

Who knew that a journey of a thousand miles begins with seeing a kid with a raygun?

Last week I saw this little tyke at the park and he had one of those old fashioned clear plastic rayguns. You know with the little thing inside that makes the sparks and that obnoxious grinding sound.

I had one of these as a kid and brought it along on a cross country trip to Yellowstone. Imagine driving from Kansas City to Yellowstone Park with a 5 year old and a raygun. Oddly that toy went missing on that trip. Hmm, you don’t figure….Nahh!

Friday I went to Walmart looking for a raygun. No gun but found the new Indiana Jones action figures. Today I went to Target. Again no raygun but I did bond with a fellow Indy Geek. Yep, two guys in their 40s drooling in the toy department at Target. I gave him a card with info about the 12 step program I’m in.

Came home today and starting looking about on the Web for rayguns. At some point my ADD kicked in and I got distracted with related searches. Apparently I have a passing interest in something called Steampunk. This would explain my fascination with stuff like novels by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne,Phil Pullman and Neil Stephenson. Leather flight helmets,goggles dirigibles,pith helmets and alethiometers. It also might explain why I’ve worked in the printing industry for however long its been. Most print shops look like the lab of some Victorian Mad Scientist. Full of etching solutions,micro-meters,rubber aprons,gears,triple beam scales, arc welders,guillotine paper cutters and oh printing presses. Here is another interesting Steampunk site called Brass Goggles Who knew?

Also came across the term Neo-Victorian. Again, this might explain the pocket watchs that I never carry,fountain pens and sealing wax on letters. Hell, I just thought I was odd. Who knew there was a name for it?

The Rayguns and no, not Ron and Nancy. Check these out,beautiful. Made by Weta, the guys that did all the armor and swords for Lord of the Rings. And all for the low, low price of $700. Feel free to contact me and I’ll provide my Paypal info where you can donate.

May 12, 03:45PM PDT | 9 cheers


Comments:

Alaythia is off to Texas again

Ooh!

I just read an article about Steampunk in the New York Times (I found it via MetaFilter). Prior to that, I was completely clueless that such a trend existed. The whole idea of it does seem oddly comforting to me for reasons that I can’t explain.

May 12, 11:33PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 1 cheer

Stitch

Oooh!

I know, I mean I was sort of interested in all this stuff before I just never knew there was a name for it. It’s very interesting and yet somewhat disturbing. I’m not sure how exactly but its…. odd?

May 13, 04:30PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Alaythia is off to Texas again

Yes, it is odd...

but in a cool way. I mean, I don’t really see myself wearing a dress with a corset and a top hat and wire rimmed glasses or anything. But the synergy of the old and the new is appealing on some level. I guess because it’s a mixture of both where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

May 13, 08:42PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 1 cheer

Stitch

Yeah

the whole dressing up thing I can’t my head around. But even as a kid I found this sort of stuff very interesting but it also frighten me a little. Too many late night viewings of Journey to the Center of the Earth?

I think frightened might be the wrong word… I think there is a disconnect there, you know 1880s England with airships and atomic submarines and I can’t seem to get my grey matter leggo to line up and click. Then I again when I look at this stuff I think… thats frickin cool!

May 13, 09:40PM PDT | Respond to this 3 cheers

jaosehl

Lol at "The Rayguns and no, not Ron and Nancy"

Those rayguns are beautiful! Well, as beautiful as rayguns go, I guess. ;)

May 16, 08:15AM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer

Shelly's looking forward to career fullfillment

Dammit! Stitch!

I’m supposed to be working!

I guess I qualify as neo-Victorian. I’ve got a house full of turn-o-the-century stuff. I think I’m the only one alive that thinks Vincent Price as “Master of the World” was hot. I wanted that airship. Love the sites.

May 16, 01:28PM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer

Tiisi asks WWRWWD?

There's a band that

used to hand out ray-guns. They were green plastic and made the most annoying grinding noise ever but Mr. Man loved the one he got. I didn’t understand the appeal until I held it to his head and yelled, “Drive the car! Don’t ask questions! Stop shooting this gun!”

Then I kinda got it.

May 16, 02:07PM PDT | Respond to this 5 cheers


Stitch has gotten 9 cheers on this entry.

 

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