September was an unusually hectic month. We participated in the wedding of some good friends, provided a guided tour for our new Japanese buds (Hello, Atsushi and Mikki!), a pal from Austin paid us a welcome visit and my blessed 35th rounded out the month. I know we'd promised y'all an overview of our recent vinyl acquisitions, but time is still in short supply, so you'll have to make due with these birthday gifts instead!

[Image]Valery upped the ante this year and presented me with paperbacks showcasing covers by my two favorite sleaze artists: Eric Stanton and Gene Bilbrew. I'd been hesitant to buy any of these books for myself, as I knew it would inspire me to start collecting something else ...and, as I feared, I just worked up a preliminary want-list over the weekend. Anyone with spare works by these two greats is encouraged to drop me a line! BTW, Passion Tramp is by an unknown (to me) artist, but the mix of butt and bandit mask is in keeping with our personal aesthetic.

[Image]The Dot Vaeth Group 45 was the last Texan biggie that had evaded my clutches. Fortunately, my buddy Ryan found a small stash of 'em and Valery seized this maximum gift-giving opportunity. Ryan was also nice enough to supply an unused ticket for a CRAMPS show at the Mab (1978, natch), which makes a nice addition to the record room's decor. Is there a Napa State Hospital ticket? Anyone? Lastly, this vintage Japanese Batman figure had haunted me ever since we saw one in a NYC collector's shop last year. The $300 price tag seemed a tad too steep, so I was stoked when I scored him (her?) on eBay for $11 a few weeks ago!

[Image]We're slowly making progress on our home office and Valery contributed two new potential inhabitants. Our winged lizard is fairly tame, but we were both taken aback by the size of our Gorey-esque walking stick. We couldn't even imagine glimpsing something like our li'l mantid out in the wild!

[Image]Our pal Kevin came through with this previously unseen promotional poster for Loli and the Chones' punk rock meisterwerk, P.S. We Hate You. As it's easily in our top ten favorite punk long-plays of the 90s, we're really glad to have this one on display!

A big thank-you to Ryan, Kevin, Brad, Tim, Christine, Corey, Susan, and Chris who shared in this year's birthday festivities—special thanks to Kevin, Tim and Christine for supplying the prerequisite tequila 'n toonz!