Cash Mob At St. Mark's Bookshop

As I posted on Saturday’s Blooper Reel, there’s a cash mob happening over at St. Mark’s Bookshop today at one in the afternoon and then people are going for drinks at The International Bar. It’s a little early for me, but it’s for a good cause and I’m hoping a good crowd shows up, only one way to find out and that’s to get over there!

It's a nice springy day, so I thought we'd walk over there.

And here we are, as usual I'm early and I don't see anyone else here.

So we might as well do a little window shopping while we wait.

I just read an excerpt of that Carole King book in New York magazine, I enjoyed that, so I think that will be one of my purchases.

And here's my friend and star of the first Bar Exam here at TWM, Paul Scanlon.

And here's Goggla and Ed, okay, it's not an official mob yet, but close enough.

And it's through the doors we go.

Ed and Goggla immediately started checking out the selections in St. Mark's.

Here's some cool coffee table books on display, many of these titles you won't find on Amazon or at a Barnes & Noble store.

Kind of an ironic title, considering the reason we're here!

There's always a sales table in the back loaded with books, most of them are priced at under ten bucks, some great deals to be had here!

There's also a great selection of magazines and again, there's titles here you won't find at most other book stores.

Here's some cool postcards on display.

Here's Louis and Dena who were here for the cash mob, Dena is a reader of Jeremiah Moss and read about it at his blog.

I met Steven, who it turns out is a longtime friend of Paul Scanlon's. Nice to see a decent crowd showing up to support St. Mark's!

This is Ben Rossen, who stopped by for the cash mob. Ben is the co-founder of smallknot, a company that helps to get funding for businesses. Maybe they can help out St. Mark's!

And I ran into One More Folded Sunset, who always cringes when my camera comes out. Luckily she had two books to shield her from the TWM lens!

There's a familiar face over there...

My friend and frequent TWM guest star, Shawn Chittle! All of a sudden I'm hungry for a bagel!

Okay, time to get in line and pay for my books.

And here's Benjamin, behind the counter writing up the sales.

And if you're on Twitter, you can follow them here.

After buying books, some of us came over to the International Bar for a few Sunday afternoon drinks.

And here's a stack of books with a can of Schafer's acting as the cherry on top! It was great to see everyone who showed up, and if you couldn't make it or don't live in New York, you can always purchase something online.

I was hoping Uncle Waltie would show up, but I didn't see him. He may have had a rough Saturday night, so maybe he'll make it next time. Till then, "Sip Ahoy" to Uncle Waltie and all of you out there! See you tomorrow!

St. Mark's Bookshop
31 Third Ave. (Near 9th St.)
212-260-7853

International Bar
120 1/2 First Avenue (Near 7th St.)
212-777-1643

Further Reading: EV Grieve, Publishers Weekly and New York Magazine.

Dear sir or madam, would you read my book,
It took me years to write, will you take a look.

Surprise link, click on it, I dare you!

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Bonus CBBM Mutation Sent in By Jason Andersen!

TWM friend and guest star, Jason Andersen sent in this frightening Cardboard Box Man Mutation. It's a sextupet of CBBM's! Aaaaahhh!

Economy Candy

This Sunday is Easter Sunday and that always makes me think of one thing: The Mars Bar! Sadly, it’s not there anymore, but I’m meeting friends at an alternate bar and you can read all about that next Monday. In the meantime, the other thing Easter always makes me think of is candy. I thought I’d get some to take to the Easter party. I’ve always wanted to check out, Economy Candy store in the East Village. I’ve heard it’s a classic old time candy store and its been in business since 1937, so let’s go. I want candy!

Here it is, Economy Candy. Check out the colorful front windows.

It's a collage of colorful candy boxes!

The store's open, let's go inside and check it out.

It's a long narrow store packed with candy-loving people.

This is the original scale from when they first opened.

Beneath the scale is scoopable candy that brings back memories of penny candy stores.

How great to see candy cigarettes! I thought they stopped making them in this politically correct world, but in Economy Candy, it's like a trip back to a sweeter time.

Here's a bucket of colorful swirly pops.

With Easter less than a week away, I knew I'd see some Peeps in here and here's a pile of the spongy bunnies.

And here's some Peeps with chocolate on the bottom. For some reason that makes me think of yesterday's post, but that's just me, my mind tends to wander. Let's just move on.

A shot from the back of the store.

Some signature chocolate lollipops on display.

There's jars and bags behind the counter with more candy than the mind can comprehend.

Delicious hand-dipped chocolates can be bought by the pound here at this glass counter.

In addition to candy, they also sell vintage toys, gumball machines and other tchotchkes.

A Sock Monkey lunch box is neighbors with Batman on a shelf in the store.

Here's a display of specialty Pez dispensers.

Stars, they eat candy too! Here's a photo of Mike Myers on the wall with owner Jerry Cohen.

And here's Jude Law with Jerry the owner. From the look on Jude's face, it looks like he's sucking on a sour ball.

And here's a fellow who looks familiar after looking at those pictures...

It's the owner, Jerry Cohen. Here he poses by a black and white photo of him and his father who started the store in the East Village back in 1937. I asked Jerry when he started working in the store and he told me, "When I was born."

Walking around in the store is like a time warp and makes you feel like a kid again. Nice to know there's a sweet store in the East Village that will send you back to a time when candy would make everything better.

Economy Candy
108 Rivington St.
212-254-1531

Further Reading and Watching: Village Voice, Shecky’s (Fourth entry) and Rocketboom.

Oh, Candy worked so hard,
At doin' what he thought was right,
It really, really doesn't mean a thing.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

Anthony Pisano And His House Of Treasures

Things went full circle in researching the subject of today’s post. A couple weeks ago when I was in Rolf’s, I met a woman named, Patti, who heard me telling the owner about this blog. She told me she had heard of my blog because she had seen a link on the fine blog, EV Grieve. Then she told me about a short film/documentary she had seen about a guy who lives in the East Village and has an apartment almost overflowing with unusual antiques and tchotchkes and he keeps his door open and invites people to come in and take a look at his collection. Patti emailed me a link to the movie  called, "This Is My Home." I watched it and I really wanted to meet this gentlemen and see his apartment. The film didn’t say where the apartment was located, but Patti said she was sure it was somewhere in the East Village. When you want to know where something in the East Village is located, who you going to call? No, not the Ghostbusters, you call EV Grieve! Well, actually I emailed him and he knew of the man and pointed me in the right direction, which we’ll travel to right now.

And here we go, off to the East Village. It's a nice day out, so we'll just walk. EV Grieve told me the place was on 7th Street, between 1st Street and Avenue A.

I got to the apartment and the door was wide open. I knocked, stuck my head in and was told to come on in. I walked to the back in the narrow apartment and met the man himself, Anthony Pisano. He was sitting and chatting with his son, Anthony, Jr. I was amazed by all the things in his house and asked if I could take some photos. Anthony was very nice and said I was more than welcome, but asked if I could give him an hour or so to get all the lights lit, so I could have the full experience. I agreed and went home and came back an hour later.

An Hour Later

When I got back, there was a group of people in front of Anthony's apartment talking with him.

And here's the group, from left: Victor, Kelley, Hannah, Anthony and Anthony, Jr. Hannah lives in Brooklyn and is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. Victor and Kelley are visiting from Knoxville and they had seen the same documentary online and had made a trip to see Anthony and his home.

They were getting ready to go as I got there and here's Anthony saying goodbye. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were touched by Anthony's kindness. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

And now it's time for my tour as Anthony welcomes me into his one-of-a-kind abode.

It's a long, narrow, railroad style apartment and there's so much to see and look at, it causes brain overload. Here's the left hand side...

And the right hand side. Time to take a look at some of these treasures in his collection. Instead of captions, for the photos below, I thought I'd use some quotes from Anthony from the film as he speaks about his unique home and outlook on life.

People see my place and they think it’s an antique shop, but it’s not, it’s just collectibles that I’ve had over the years.

And this is my home and I invite people into my home.

People stop and they’ll say, “What is this?” And I tell them, “Well, go inside, satisfy your curiosity and then come out and tell me what it is, cause I don’t know!

When people stop in front of my place, they bring life to me!

A lot of people pass, they have these earphones on and they’ll see me but they’ll just go by, it’s as if some people are afraid to talk, one on one. That doesn’t give me any satisfaction.

Life is you talk with people, you touch them in a sense.

This place, I’ve met so many people.

When people use my place, for any reason, that gives me a lot of beautiful feelings.

A lot of people say, “Why do you keep your door open?” Why not? It’s my home.

I sit outside from morning to evening and I’ve made so many friends!

All these things are things for people to enjoy.

As many people as I’ve had in my place, not one item was taken.

I keep my door open and anyone can come and see everything I have.

Anthony and his son sat on the front stoop drinking ice water as I was looking around and taking pictures. When I came back out he asked if I had seen the whole apartment. I told him I didn't go in the back area because I thought it was a private area. Anthony said I was welcome to go in the back and when I did, I found a piano in the back! Unbelievable! And if you look closely, you'll see his cat napping on top of it. This has to be the coolest apartment in New York City!

I didn't want to come without adding something to Anthony's collection, so I brought him a Gumby and Pokey and he quickly put them out amongst all the other treasures. If you're in the area, stop by and see Anthony and his wonderful home. Just listen for the Frank Sinatra music playing and you'll find him. I guarantee you'll leave with a smile plastered on your face.

Further Reading: Laughing Squid, Dangerous Minds and hypervocal.

Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you candy.
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you everything.

 Surprise link, click on it...I dare you! (Warning CBBM mutation sighting...aaaaahh!)