I’m sure it’s rather obvious that I could apply myself a bit more to this blog. Angelo dominates the blog archives with massive rants on various political topics and extravagantly written reviews of art, new products and events. I on the other hand only pop in to slap up a quick little note of something new without thinking twice about how “boring” it may be for the reader…

Sooo…
I’ve decided to make a well needed change. I’m going to start pulling my weight a bit more on our beloved blog of generally well written reflections of “Cranky Life”. This is the first installment of my destined to fail project:

If you know me, you know that I love (and by love I mean I am completely obsessed with) junk. Well not junk… but Treasures. Tacky little Folk-art pieces, forgotten toys, ugly housewares and left over trash just makes me giddy. So it’s no surprise I nearly jumped in my car to drive to Worcester Massachusetts to visit HBML Junk Shoppe when I first found out about it.

This place seriously puts shame to all other wannabe junk shops. Walk in these doors and find yourself inside a treasure chest of amazing finds. This building, located at 420 pleasant street, Worcester MA, is home to some of the greatest examples of awesomeness the world has to offer.

Their space is open Wednesday Thursday and Friday (WTF) from 4:30 to 8pm and Saturday from 2 to 5. During those perfectly puny hours you can immerse yourself in all the joy flea-market finds can offer. I mean seriously who doesn’t love giant squid and packaging foam stuck to the ceiling. This place is an amazing store, art installation, primitive art gallery, and general mental stimulus package.

If you find anything you like on their website, flickr page, or myspace page you’ll need to drive to their location to snag it for your very own. They don’t offer their goods online, which I think is magically awesome and depressingly unfortunate for me (since I live in Missouri). Overall, though, their unwillingness to sell online seems pretty perfectly matched to their aesthetic; An aesthetic that makes my skin bubble with happiness.
Now… To keep this post at a manageable consumption size, I’ll leave you with a few more photos:

Just look at that wall of greatness. I think a little bit of excrement came out the first time I saw that photo.

This is possibly the best mask every conceived by mankind… though I’m thinking it might only look good on that guy.

Oh and they have free condoms (male and female) which is enough to drag even the biggest stick in the mud to their store. I mean seriously who can pass that up? Even A-sexual’s can stock up and play a game of Condom-Santa, delivering hefty packages of contraceptives to all of their more horny acquaintances.

See? This place is a Win/Win situation for all.

(all photos totally stolen from the HBML.ORG website)