Being one, I love collectors of unimnportant things. Harley Spiller has a great collection -- he's got one of the largest collections of chinese takeout menus. You might not think chinese menus a symbol of Americana -- but much of what you get at supposed Chinese restaurants are as Chinese as French Fries are French. The Miami Herald has a neat article on the phenomenon of American Chinese Restaurants. They're everywhere, they're photogenic, and they're definitely kitschy. Where else can you eat while watched over by a waving kitten statue, while sipping out of a ceramic spoon decalled with dragons? Us americans, we're so hard on ourselves for needing wackiness, we have to blame other cultures for the strange things we do.

In a move intended to carve up the enormous market for trading collectibles, TradeZor.com opens it's doors. Taking over from adhoc trades in discussion areas and chat rooms, TradeZor hopes to direct that effort into a managed and open system. It's small now, and catering more to the comic / collectible card game / sports card crowd.

TV lamps are coming back as collectibles -- or so a Reuters writer says. While many people don't have the slightest idea why you'd light a television, everyone's probably seen them, and quite a few people know to snap 'em up at garage sales. This article gives a nice overview of what collecting TV lamps is all about today.

With the elections over, guess what we've got to deal with now? A glut of unwanted political collectibles! Collectibles from past elections are desirable, but what about the Bush-Kerry tshirt you got for free from some campaigner? People who forecast collectibles have noted a couple things: the glut of negative-campaign items, and the wide variety of items put out in hopes of attracting new markets.

In an interview with The Columbian, ceramics expert Carole Bess White touches on highly desired items in the market today, including how to identify genuine articles, what to look for, and why one is more valuable than another.