A Year in the Life of a Czech Plush Monkey.

Week 53:  16 - 22 Jan. 2005


Sunday, 16th
Talking Machine?

Our prospecting ends when Opice finds something he's never seen before: an Edison wax cylinder player.

The antique shop clerk explains it was a first generation "Victrola." That Monkey understands since he has one at home. He cranks it up and two 2 dogs join him to listen to their master's voice.
Feel that base!

What's a talking machine?
(Click above for audio example)

In case you're wondering, Opice's hand is inside the "speaker" cone so he can feel the deep sub-woofer resonance--of which there is none.


Martin L. King, Jr. Day
Monday, 17th
A Trading Post!

The recorded cylinder ends and we start back to the car. Along the way Monkey notices a familiar sign: Trading Post.

"It'll be just like being back at Hubbell!" he claps his hands springing up and down (his heavy backpack bouncing a counter-point tempo making his spring more of a sprung).

"Let's go talk to the Weavers!"

Betty's Trading Post
"Betty's House of Turquoise" vs. John Lorenzo's
J. L.'s Trading Post

Scary Buffalo head.

Tuesday, 18th

Inside Monkey is confronted by a "Welcome Bear" and a Bison guard, who watches for shop-lifters.

"It's like his eyes don't trust me," Opice complains. "Make him watch someone else's sticky mits."


Norther Exposer mascot.

Wednesday, 19th

Another customer enters and the Bison stops glaring at Opice long enough for our pal to slip over and meet the moose.

They become fast friends, so Monkey takes immediate advantage via vantage.

MooseHead--the ride.

Thursday, 20th
Lydia, The Tattooed Mannequin(?)

Bison bad, Bear ok, Moose good, but Lydia...
Lydia is marvelous! A regular plastic-heart throb.

Monkey's told she's everybody's favorite Lady. He starts singing a song he learned watching the Marx Brothers in "A Night at the Opera":

"Lydia oh Lydia,
say have you met Lydia,
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady..."

He stops abruptly. "Tattoo? Looks more like a barcode to me."

The Famous Lydia.

Friday, 21st
Ultraviolet light hits Uranium glass

As Monkey told us, Vaseline glass fluoresces under black light. He's long dreamed of demonstrating the fact ("long" in his terms measured in hours--not days). So to get Monkey off my back (momentarily), I got the UV light out of the attic and set it up for him.

Animation of Black LIght on Vaseline glass.

Saturday, 22nd
Day 365, 365¼, 366

Yesterday was Day 365.
Today is #366 on Year-o-Monkey calendar.
Opice doesn't know when Day 365¼ occurred and doesn't much care because that's a solar thing and he's a "luney" sole. But he is starting to feel nervous about the 18 days remaining in his adventurous year before Chinese Chicken takes over.

What happens then? Will he go the way of 404s? Will everyone forget him? Or will his become another website shrine locked in time and cyberspace? These are critical matters to consider and Monkey is very unfamiliar with serious consideration as an intellectual matter--well duh!?

Hey Rockey! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!

Next is no Rabbit year!
Click here to watch Monkey
pull another trick out of his hat!


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