Karen Knapstein, your friendly Antique Trader Online Editor here...

New Orleans has always been one of the listings on my "Places to visit before I die" list. It first made its appearance on my list about 12 years ago, when a friend said she was planning her wedding, of which I was the matron of honor, and that she wanted to get married in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Those plans fell through, but the celebrated location remains on my "to do" list.

I came across a story featured on IndyStar.com (Crescent City getaway — Get your fill of music, food and shopping in New Orleans) that expounds on what New Orleans has to offer besides Mardi Gras: antiques, fine art, antiques, jazz, antiques, food, antiques, Southern hospitality, antiques ... you see where this is going?

The result: New Orleans has moved up a couple of positions on my list ... perhaps I'll make it there before I'm 50 ...

Karen again.

I came across this article and it puts me in a pleasant state of being: Go Antiquing and Improve Your Mood

... like I need an excuse to go antiquing! I go whenever I can, whether it's antique malls or mom & pop shops, flea markets or auctions, I love the hunt for vintage treasures. I think auctions are my favorite ... that's about as competitive as I get. My auto repair shop/dealership is right next to a wonderful antique mall, so I'm never late scheduling my oil changes or regular car maintenance.

But if you need an excuse, click on the link above to read what C. Dianne Zweig, psychotherapist and author, has to say about the benefits of antiquing.

Karen here.

It looks as though antique dealers in Reno who display in antique malls are in for trouble ... lots of trouble. You don't want to miss this story...

In September, the Reno business license division sent letters notifying antique mall owners that vendors must have privileged business licenses. Under state law, they are subject to greater scrutiny because they deal in secondhand goods that could be stolen, according to city lawyers.

Wow. Just wow.

Suitcase of money falling from the sky... 

Find a painting in a shop, pay about $700 bucks for it, find out it's worth about $500,000... NOt a bad days work for an umemployed 23 year old in England.

Not a bad life's work, actually. No pic, so I don't know what it looks like. Thing is, too, the guy is going to keep it probably... How un-American...

I think this guy, at a site called Blorgable, sums it up as well as my not-so-well-hidden cynicism ever could.

You will never hear about corn flakes on this blog again, and that's a promise from me to you...

Wow.

This an awesome sculpture, but - perhaps, jus' a l'il bit - overpriced. $14M? That's Monopoly money, right? right? Of course, it was a t Christie's, so I'm betting the bid wasn't all about the piece itself.

I couldn't imagine spending that kind of cash on something, plus, I can't help but think that spending that kind of money on a piece of sculpture - a relic of the material world, which - according to The Buddha - doesn't even really exist, except in the constructs of our minds as determined by karma - that is completely contrary to the teachings it represents...

Hmmm... Have to mediate on that one.

Oh, and I really love the blog that I pulled this story from - Bad at sports - which is an often humorous look at the world of contemporary art...

Good for the authorities that busted this ring, and good for fine art lovers!

Just goes to show that you should always know your source, and know their reputation! Nowhere is a dealer's rep more important than in antiques and art.

I posted about this the other day, the corn flake shaped like Illinois...

The AP is reporting that eBay pulled it for some violation or another. Not to worry, though, it's been taken care of and is now back online for all the people dying to have it...

I was a little worried, myself, but am now happy to report that you can get the Illinois flake, as well as one that looks like Hawaii and a couple other states...

The line, "Something really dramatic juts happened with our cornflake" is one of the best I've ever heard...

This doesn't say anything about whether the whiskey's any good, but the bottles most certainly aren't.

This comes via a Chicago Web site called The Chicago Syndicate. It's a fun Web site, but the story is real, and serious.

There are a lot of folks out there that take their antique whiskey bottles - and their whiskey - seriously. If you are buying bottles online, and it's coming from Europe, especially Scotland, caveat emptor!

Howdy folks...

Just an FYI, for the next week I'll be on a vacation of sorts - taking my daughter to see family in Arizona and Las Vegas - March 19-March 25, to be exact. I will, however, still be posting here and there, and I do believe that Associate Editor Sandy Sparks and Web Editor Karen Knapstein will be doing some posting as well.

After that break, I'll be heading out to the Atlantique City Antiques Show, March 29-30, where I'll be working and emceeing the appraisal event, which is always a lot of fun - just being in the same building as Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen is always a good time - and I'll be doing some live blogging of the show, as well as regular posting, so keep checking.

Enjoy, be well and happy Easter, Passover, or whatever you choose to celebrate this time of year...

Um... I'm... I'm just not sure what to say about this, or why I'm even posting it...

I feel a little confused, and fragile... Somebody hold me...

FYI, if you wanna look.

I wrote about this a few weeks ago, as a native of Dallas, about my mixed feelings about Ruby's gun going on the block as part of a truly superb Pop Culture antiques auction last weekend.

At the sale, as reported here at the Dallas Morning News - only appropriate, don't you think? - the sale featured a mess of great stuff that sold for big bucks, any of which I would have loved to have myself, especially the suit that John Lennon wore on the cover of Abbey Road (the greatest album from the greatest rock band ever, n'est pas?) or Sally Field's habit from the Flying Nun (not really...).



Ruby's gun, however... I just don't know. The Kennedy assasination is still raw in this country, especially in Dallas, and I can't say I'm sorry it didn't sell for big bucks. The guy who owned it, who paid more than $200,000 for it, would accept no less than $1M for it. He came close, with the highest bid reaching $900,000, but he wouldn't part with it for less than the big $1M. Oh well.

It will be sold, I reckon, to a private bidder, outside of the sale, and we'll see it again someday soon. I wonder what the folks in Big D think about - I mean really think about it.

Any Texans out there want to sound off? Anyone? Anyone?

Heads up here for a theft in central PA. Here's the link, as well as the text, below.

Antiques stolen in Monroe Twp. barn burglary

by MATT MILLER, Of Our Cumberland County Bureau

Monday March 17, 2008, 11:14 AM

An array of antiques were stolen during a burglary at a barn in the 200 block of Martin Road in Monroe Twp., Cumberland County, between March 11 and Friday, state police said.

The stolen items included an antique wooden sofa and chair made in 1875, two 1930s floor model radios and 25 pieces of grain processing equipment made between 1905 and 1950, police said. A lawn mower, a drill press and two extension ladders also were taken.

Anyone with information can call police at 717-249-2121.