A day on Cleveland's North Coast.

It was a super hot day yesterday. I started bright and early with a friend of mine beachcombing. Beachcombing? Well in the spirit of exploring the hobbies of my friends I have found myself on a few beaches on Lake Erie combing about for long discarded pieces of our manufactured world. Different strokes for different folks. Although I am definitely not one to spend my day in the sun on a regular basis, I find the experience to be a mix of things. For one thing I appreciate the opportunity to get out into nature. Growing up with beach access within minutes of my home as a child, we frequented the beach quite often. I don't think I appreciated it as much in my youth as I do as an adult. A second facet of beachcombing I find fun is the relative expense, quite honestly it could be considered free if you don't take into account gas money to reach the assorted beaches that make up what Clevelanders refer to as "the North Coast". It is certainly also refreshing to explore new locales that I could have at any time since I got my driver's license all those year ago. I as you can expect however didn't spend alot of my recreational time in nature. I generally spent it exploring the halls of malls and the aisles of retailers. As a collector of toys I don't think I considered how much time I spent away from nature which had been a common theme of my youth. As a child my aunt was fond of taking my siblings and I to the many "Metroparks" that dot the landscape in Cleveland. As a Hungarian boy scout I also spent a bit of my youth at camp, exploring vast wooded areas and sleeping in tents. Back to the main subject, I find beachcombing that beachcombing offers a great insight into man vs. nature. The lake has done it's best to wear away at the vast amounts of glass and plastic that has been in it's belly for years. As my friend points out however the amounts of glass and the like that wash ashore these days is nothing like what beachcombing was like when she was younger. I am sure different factors play into this, I imagine the movement away from glass to plastic in the last 3 decades has alot to do with it. Also I am sure recycling has played a part. As well as a boom in the past-time of beachcombing. Well anyways, I had quite a bit of fun.. oh I nearly forgot to mention my prize find of the day... a Captain Jack Sparrow minifigure that shows signs of having been adrift in the lake. Weird how the hobby of a friend crossed back over into one of my own hobbies.

Friends of mine are doing a start-up t-shirt project, raising funds through Kickstarter. A loving mash-up of 80's cartoon/pop culture tee-shirts with a dash of Zombie thrown in. The first four designs include Musclemen trampling a city, Zombie Venger & Dungeon Master, Zombie Shredder & the Foot Ninja Clan, and the cult favorite Visionaries. We hope to see more mash-ups in the future once Thread or Dead lifts off the ground. Good Luck to Kristi & Paul, and thanks to any of my readers who decide to back the project.