What A Book!: 'Mail-Order Mysteries' by Kirk Demarais

This colorfully eye-popping book exposes the "real stuff" kids got whenever they ordered something from old comic book ads back in the day. You know, stuff like the Secret Agent Spy Camera, X-ray Spex, Sea-Monkeys, etc. Sometimes they'd get pretty much what they expected, but MOST of the time "disappointment" was the name of the game. By documenting more than 150 of these "extraordinary, peculiar, and downright fraudulent collectibles", Demarais also reveals the secrets behind these too-good-to-be-true widgets and gizmos found only advertised within the comic books of yesteryear.

Here, take a look at some of the fun inside...

Horrifying!
Exciting!
Thrilling!
Disappointing.
(And it's all FREE... for only $1.00)

                                                                                                                                          Just add water!
Guaranteed to
grow disappointment!

                      Not X-actly what
kids X-pected...




I absolutely love this book! It's SO up my alley it's not even funny. Great layout/design, colorful, fantastic photos of everything, AND it's totally retro! I give it an A+!

So if you're at all intrigued by this mini-review, go get yourself a copy. Or, heck, you could mail-order one... At least now you'd REALLY know what you were getting BEFORE you got it!

Fun with Dick and Jane

I love the innocence of things like Dick and Jane, but I also can't help twisting it around and corrupting it a bit. Here's a mere sampling...

Everyone was impressed with the size of Dick's package.

But, most of all, Jane was surprised to learn that Dick

had such feelings for her...



My work is already done, here.









































I'm so immature... and I like it! What about you? Do you enjoy being silly and irreverent? If so, tell me all about it. I'm sure the rest of our readers would get a kick out of it, too!

Freak Show Friday: Fashion Faux Pas SPECIAL!

Come one, come all, ladies and gentlemen! The time is nigh, once again, for freaky fun. Only, this time we have filthy displays of freakishly shameful fashion on offer for your ridicule and amusement! Shall we begin?






Johnny Weir(d)

Okay, what is with that hair?!
It looks like a tiny friend of
Johnny's might just pop out
of it, as if it were one of those
BIG, cheesy birthday cakes...
"Thurpriiithe!"

Lady outfit + lady shoes = Go home.







Snooki

I don't even know where to begin
with this troll! Did I just type that
outloud? Oops. But, seriously, look
at what is happening all over this
bloppy excuse for a reality "star".
And WHO, I wonder, told our darling
Snooks that her sausage legs looked
good squeezed into those atrocious,
mismatched* knee-highs?

*I know that it's "a look", but on her, I'd
rather not!







Ke$ha

"Woo-hoo! I'm so fun and fancy
free! I do whatever I want, wear
whatever I want... I don't even
take a shower unless I'm feelin'
it, y'know?"

Um, yeah, we know. We can smell
you from here.







A.J. McLean

Help me out, here...
Is that really the aging former
Backstreet Boy, or is it just
Strawberry Shortcake on a
REALLY BAD day? The adorable
stockings are throwing me off.







Rihanna

Now, she MUST have been
auditioning for the clown act,
here, at Pop Circus, right?
All she would've needed was
a little bit of face paint and a
big red nose!




That's all for now, folks. "Short and sweet, in and out... Leave em' wantin' more!" Somebody said that at some point, somewhere. Don't ask me who, though. See, that's how I leave you wanting more. Good, eh?

Have a terrific weekend, everyone! I'm sure you all deserve it!


~ All photos via Google Images ~

Art Attack!: Collage artist, Dadadreams, is sometimes warped, and always entertaining!

'Strange Ritual' by Dadadreams



Where DO I begin with this delightfully funny and greatly talented Cut 'n' Paster? I guess that telling you how I first discovered Dadadreams and her wonderful artwork would be a good place to begin. So there I was, new to flickr, just pokin' around checking the place out, when somehow or another I stumbled across artwork by a self-taught collagist who goes by the name of Dadadreams (her real name is Michelle Lanter) and lives in Houston, Texas. You could almost say that, for me, seeing her work was love at first sight...






'Bad Hare Day'
~By Dadadreams

She should have known that
trying out a new hare-style
was a hare-brained idea.




Since I'm a big fan of witty puns and word-play, I was won over by that angle alone pretty instantaneously. Which reminds me, I must clarify that for the entirety of this post any captions you see underneath Dadadreams' images are also written by her... I wish that I could take credit for them, they're so clever! Another thing that I love is vintage and retro-type imagery, and that's almost exclusively what she works with when creating her masterpieces. In fact, there's a part in her flickr profile that reads, "I have an ever growing collection of vintage ephemera, mostly magazines, books and encyclopedias from the '40s, '50s and '60s." Boy, I could just sit contently for hours and hours sifting through her collection! I think another reason her pieces visually appeal to me so much is the overall color palette she uses when putting them together. I find that verrry pleasing. It may not even be intentional on her part, I suppose it could just be total serendipity... Whatever the case, it works!






'Jello Possum Surprise'
~By Dadadreams

A tasty treat your family is sure to enjoy!







'Jams and Jellies'
~By Dadadreams

Timmy does great in school
because he fuels up with a
good breakfast. A big part of
that is yummy jams and jellies.
His favorite? Unless he pulled
an all-nighter and needs an
extra charge, the ones without
stinging tentacles.







'Peep Show'
~By Dadadreams

What do you do with all those
leftover Easter Peeps? Have a
Peep Show, of course!




Regarding the process of her work, Lanter says, "Collage is a way for me to give these images new life. I love being able to combine images and turn them into something completely new and different. For me, collage is a form of play. I love to spread the ephemera (my toys) on the floor and rearrange them until an image comes together. I work intuitively and lose all track of time when I'm collaging."






'Best Friends'
~By Dadadreams

((No caption for this one, but I say it's brilliant!))




Lanter is specifically fascinated by squids, dinosaurs, medical imagery and retro food. So those images often find their way into her work. The artwork directly below is a terrific example of one of her squid pieces...






'Squidware Party'
~By Dadadreams

I'm pleased to present the newest
piece of Squidware. It has a unique
design and a beautiful pink color.
Best of all, it has the same super
sucker suction lid that you've come
to expect in Squidware.
Get yours today!







'Pie in the Sky'
~By Dadadreams

((Again, no caption for this, but I
love the literal interpretation!))







'The Normals'
~By Dadadreams

I'd had enough of the oversized shoes
and the tiny cars. As I was packing my
bag to head off to accounting school,
Mom came in my room. I'll never forget
the look on her face. Choking back tears,
I said, "Goodbye, I am running away to
join the normals."







'Bed Head'
~By Dadadreams

Futons are popular. Waterbeds
are so 70's. Tempurpedic is nice,
if a little high-end. For me, I
prefer the traditional box spring
style bed head.








'Photo Op'
~By Dadadreams

Some people are just dying
to get the perfect shot!







'Domestic Goddess'
~By Dadadreams

She cooks, cleans and entertains
effortlessly. She is the inspiration
for all who keep up a home. She is
the Domestic Goddess.




This Dadadreams mini-gallery is exactly that. It's just a very small representation of Lanter's entire body of work, and only begins to scratch the surface. If you've enjoyed what is on display here, please, go and visit the official Dadadreams' Photostream on flickr to see even more of her wonderful art. It's really neat and convenient how she has her work organized into different themes like 'Beauty and Fashion', 'Kid Stuff', 'Retro Housewife', 'Land of the Lost', etc. Aaand if you see anything that makes you think, "Gee, but I'd sure be delighted to own something like that!", just go and visit the Dadadreams' Curious Collage Creations shop on Etsy. There's some great stuff there, from original art pieces to hand-made jewelry to vintage ephemera. I've been itchin' to make a purchase there, myself!

Well, that'll do it for today's Art Attack! edition. Thank you for "pop"-ping in to check out this artist. We hope to continue featuring such fantastic artists as Dadadreams in future Art Attack! editions, so be sure to stay tuned...

Later, clowns!


~All artwork copyright Dadadreams (aka Michelle Lanter)~