Things are indeed looking up for the Millennium Museum.

I've got news, good news! The Fox TV series Millennium is on the shortlist for Halloween 2014, as is Dracula 2000. Amazon has the complete series of the former for $35, and the latter for less than a dollar. I also have Stephen King's Storm of the Century on the list. I'll probably start writing that one first, since I already have a copy--just need to really clean it up, because it was originally a Blockbuster rental copy that I got sometime last year at a thrift store. In other news, I'm working on a Baseball Season/World Series-themed custom logo and header bar. The posts for this theme will be the USA Team 2000 Olympics trading card set, a button, and a few other things that escape my memory. The trading card set will be the constant over the course of a few weeks in mid/late September.

But for now, on to some new stuff!

I found this item at the Alsip Swap-O-Rama Flea Market today. The guy who had it at his stand likely always had it--indeed, I've seen it there many, many times before but had never given it much thought.

This was manufactured in 2000 by Mr. Christmas. Though it sounds like a company that began making cheap, tawdry seasonal goods in the 80s, Mr. Christmas has actually been around since 1933. They're well-known for electrically-lit and motorized scenes of small-town Christmases, but they also produce other things, such as music boxes and decorations like this water globe.

This is no ordinary water globe! I noticed a DC adapter cord running through it; when you plug it in and switch on, the water in the globe bubbles like champagne. (It might also run on batteries, if you want a more cordless look.) Note the cheeky "Millennium Vintage" label on the bottle--shades of the Tabasco Tie! The bottle and an upside-down champagne flute sit in a base of plastic, molded to look like a lot of ice cubes. I think the ice lights up, if I'm not sorely mistaken. This thing looks like it's supposed to be operating in a slightly darkened party, with all sorts of other disco-ey stuff going on.

It's cleverly designed as the ice bucket in which you keep the champagne cold--the two "studs" on the side are meant to hold a handle in place, although I can only assume that you're not supposed to actually hold it by that handle. Someone apparently tried, which is why the final piece is missing.

Like many other exhibits, this is pure kitsch, but it's very well-made kitsch! It perfectly evokes the light, happy, celebratory, crack-the-bubbly-at-midnight side of the Millennium celebrations. I get a happy feeling just looking at it!

Happy Fourth of July!

Unfortunately, there won't be a themed post this year, because I wasn't able to find any Fourth of July-related things. That being said, however, I am able to offer something exceptionally rare: I have more information about that blue "Millennium" Beanie Baby knockoff I found in the claw machine at Swap-O-Rama Flea Market last year.

It's called a "Millennium Bean Bear," and a company called "G.G.I." based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Shropshire, England, sold it. A cursory Amazon search revealed that they may still be in business, selling LED and glow-stick novelties. I can't be certain, though; there are several companies with that name.

It's actually pretty well-made for a cash-in (a picture is available in the earlier entry). The seams are well-sewed and durable; the embroidered "1999" tag is strong; and the dye-job on the plush is consistent. The only issue I have--and this extends to a few other items--is that it came from out of nowhere. It has no context, so I can't classify it as "pop culture," "connections," "globe," "Y2K," or anything else. It isn't a part of an existing line (as did the Millennium Beanie Baby and the Blackhawks Arena Bammer).

It's pure millennium kitsch, but that's not a bad thing, because most of the stuff you'll see here is kitsch to begin with.

EDIT, 7-13-14: Oh, look, I do have a better picture of it after all.