Collector’s Crypt is a boutique shop in Dallas specializing in horror and sci-fi collectibles, memorabilia, paraphernalia, and… well, you just gotta see it, folks. It’s an amazing place. I discovered them only recently after attending the St. Patrick’s Slay Weekend event at Dark Hour Haunted House in Plano. They were a sponsor of that particular show, so Dark Hour graciously gave them some floor space to sell a few wares after the show and otherwise promote the store. Now it’s not like Dallas has a whole lot of shops like this; in fact, I cannot think of one other. So it piqued my interest. I noticed that they are located only a short distance across the river from where I currently work, so I decided to pop in on my next available lunch hour.
One thing I love is end of year retrospectives. And in the grand tradition I started last year, I offer to you the top ten Review the World episodes of 2014. So clear your personal calendars, grab a bag of Rap Snacks, and settle in the for the show. These are all episodes I love, and I encourage you to watch every one in its entirety.
We begin with Brian’s most recent entry, one that was intended to cap all of his furious activity for 2014, and at one point, possibly forever. Brian has been incredibly consistent at providing a new episode every week for almost two years now, a remarkable feat, and it looks like the pace may slow a bit in 2015 as he takes some time to breathe and refuel his creative juices. And what more perfect way to allude to that than by taking us back to the source primeval — where it all started — his boyhood home in Hamilton, Ohio. My only complaint is that I wish it had been a lot longer, with more backstory, maybe hitting some more significant spots. But it would ultimately be impossible to encapsulate everything that’s been catalogued over the course of 15 years on reviewtheworld.com. In fact, more than any other episode this year, with all their references to older material, this one made be want to dive in to the back catalog, which may be the point all along. At any rate, it was a great way to end the year.
We have reached “Peak Blogger” in this society, folks. If the existence of Tobyblog was not proof of that already, take a look at the above picture. It was a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon and I was visiting nearby Arlington. It was around lunchtime and I had some time to kill, so I decided to walk over to the nearby strip mall and scope out the restaurants. There were a surprising number of cuisines on offer for such a small area, but this place caught my eye. Brian Hammons had mentioned to me recently how his buddy Nick Van Bever is a fan of chicken strips and fries. I figured I’d do some recon for Nick, in case he ever makes his way down to Dallas.
Already a great place to find exotic candies, foreign soda pop, and specialty food items at any time of the year (Brian Hammons, you know what I’m talking about), World Market really comes alive for Halloween. If you’ve got one in your area, get down there right now and check their selection. The stuff they carry is definitely outside of the Target/Big Lots/Dollar Store Halloween mold, but that’s not to say it’s super expensive. This year the emphasis is (appropriately) on Halloween’s Mexican cousin, El Dia de los Muertos — The Day of the Dead — because of a merchandising tie-in with the upcoming movie The Book of Life.
