Another episode of Save Mr. Bill

You may recall previous hijinx with Mr. Bill, whereby the poor little action figure clung precariously to the side of an antique ice grinder ... trying desperately to avoid the gnashing teeth below. Well, we sold the ice grinder, so Mr. Bill thought he was safe. He thought.

He didn't reckon with this week's Collector's Item:



An excellent antique dartboard, complete with darts! For $250.00 you may purchase this charming old game. Here at the store, there has been much ado over Rory's recent accomplishment of hitting the bull's-eye. Mr. Bill has so far escaped harm, but he might not for long:



That pathetic O-shaped mouth! Surely you wish to rescue Mr. Bill. Buy the dartboard, and show him mercy. He'll thank you, and we'll give him a break before his next predicament.

For an even more horrifying experience, try this week's Favorite:



I confess that I've never actually read House of Leaves, although I started it once and became quite unsettled. It's often described as a classically alarming book; for example, it made this list of literature's trippiest books that was published on Lewis Carroll's birthday. The list discusses House of Leaves thusly:

Sometimes described as a “satire of academic criticism,” Danielewski’s unconventional, claustrophobic novel forces the reader to work hard to unravel the plot, dealing with multiple narrators, strange text in unusual places, bizarre typography, and copious footnotes. The act of deciphering the novel is itself a disorienting experience, the text an ominous labyrinth that threatens to trap you inside forever.

An ominous labyrinth! You can't easily get that for $12.50 ... except at O'Gara & Wilson.

Personally, when I think of ominous labyrinths, I think of politics. I would never want to be a politician, and it amazes me how many people do. Witness this week's Affordable and Interesting items:



For a mere $1.00 apiece, you can purchase all kinds of reproductions of antique political buttons. I love the one for solar energy -- still so relevant today! -- but of course the majority of these buttons are for actual political figures. You can see that we've got "I Like Ike" buttons! That was Eisenhower's slogan, and it's probably the catchiest presidential slogan of all time. We've also got Roosevelt, Taft, Calvin Coolidge, ... and did you know that William Jennings Bryan ran for president three times?

Bryan is now best-known for opposing Chicago's own Clarence Darrow in the famous Scopes trial, where he fought against teaching evolution in public schools. However, Bryan had a long and illustrious career as a politician before the trial, and although his stance during the trial was broadly unpopular, many people mourned his passing.

I'm always intrigued by political history, gentle readers. An interesting lens for modern times indeed. We'll all be keeping an eye on our modern Presidential race ... and in the meantime, if you want to make a really daring statement, wear one of our pins!