We're getting the band back together! Sort of . . .

Okay, let me get this out there before people start running into the streets screaming. 

Folks, I have always wanted to come back and open in some form in the DFW area, but in the five years (in another month) that we've been closed, lots of things that I had hoped to have fixed haven't been and with Covid and inflation and this and that, well, I've had to tone down my dreams a little.

In the meantime, I decided to at least dip my toes back into the water before cannonballing. Most of you probably don't know, but the Kid and I had moved out about an hour east of the Metroplex to the little town of Winnsboro. It's an agriculture-meets-the-arts kind of town of only 3500 people. In fact, several friends have property out here and several have visited.

We have a few little antique stores that rent booths to vendors and I took the leap and got a very small space to test the waters. I'll be selling mostly books though I'll also be selling pop culture items and toys and will try to expand my space. The idea is to take over a very large corner of the building and sell out of there. If business booms and I can do it affordably, then I will look for a store front of my own, but for now, I will take this spot and make it mine.

These photos are just a few things that I dropped off today. The Kid and I will be bringing more stuff tomorrow to fill the shelves. New and used everything from genre books, graphic novels, comics, statues, figures, toys, etc. I may even experiment with things that I've never carried before. That sounds fun!

If you happen to be traveling through East Texas, stop by Finder's Keepers Antiques on Mainstreet in Winnsboro. Winnsboro is approximately 22 miles southeast of Sulphur Springs. The store is open Monday thru Saturday 10am to 5pm. Let me know that you're coming and we can visit.

Finders Keepers on Main
304 N Main St, Winnsboro, TX

Godzilla Minus One - The Big Nuclear Lizard Dominates

The reviews are in and Godzilla Minus One is being hailed as the one of the best, if not THE best, and I have to agree. 

I've been on a Godzilla kick lately as I've been revisiting the older movies and the new Apple TV+ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. If you haven't seen Monarch, do yourself a favor and do.

But about Minus One. I really went in thinking this was going to be a typical Godzilla movie with tons of carnage and miles of city skyline flattened, but it turns out that Godzilla is not the central character. And that's what makes this movie work.

If you're totally unfamiliar with the premise, basically Godzilla is kicking Japan when it's down right after WWII and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That's it in nutshell.

The movie tells the story of a "failed" kamikaze pilot, Koichi, who is one of two survivors of an attack by Godzilla at the end of the war. His cowardice is blamed for the deaths of his comrades and he returns home in shame. There he meets a young woman, Noriko, who is in charge of a baby whose dying mother begged her to save.

The first half of the movie focuses on the relationship these two develop along with the state of Japan after the war. Topics of Japan's government and how the military played upon the soldier's sense of honor in self-sacrifice are backdrops to the characters and action on screen. You have Koichi's shame because he didn't die honorably which in turn makes him feel worthless to those around him. In the end, he finds a way to redeem that honor and it works wonderfully on screen.

It truly is a movie about shame, loss, revenge, and redemption and there is a big nuclear lizard in the movie, too.

Speaking of Godzilla, he doesn't get much screen time in the first part of the movie, but he makes up for it on the second half and when he is on screen he rules the land. It's hard to believe that this movie had a budget of only $15 million. Hollywood needs to take note of this movie for that and the overall way it was written.

There are no end credits, though the end of the movie does leave room for something else to come afterwards, but to me, it's perfect right where it is.

Check it out, if you haven't already, and if you have seen it, let me know what you thought!