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Popular American Pickers duo creates a stir at recent Wisconsin stop

American Pickers Frank Fritz (left) and Mike Wolfe lifting an early Indian motorbike they bought on the road. Image by Amy Richmond Photography.

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – A woman who owns the historic Octagon House said she wrote to the American Pickers television show with hopes she could sell them the Linden Street property.

Marlene Hansen said she cannot continue to maintain the Octagon House and her rural Fond du Lac costume and bridal rental shop. She intends to sell both.

“I was hoping for an opportunity to sell the (Octagon) house,” said Hansen, noting that it has been on the market for five years. “Better things have happened.”

Crew members from American Pickers created a neighborhood stir on Linden Street a couple weeks ago when they arrived at the Octagon House, 276 Linden St., and began filming for a possible episode. The entourage included the stars of the show, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz.

For anyone not familiar with the show, American Pickers follows the pair as they scour the country for hidden antique gems in junkyards, basements, garages and barns.

The Octagon House – listed on the National Register of Historic Places – is touted as one of Wisconsin’s most haunted sites. Originally built as an Indian fort and trading post, the Octagon House was later used as a safe house for runaway slaves during the Civil War, according to its website. The house has 12 rooms and nine passageways, and docents report strange happenings almost every week.

Hansen said the American Pickers group seemed “all upset” by the time they arrived hours late due to some equipment failures and other delays.

“I wrote them and told them I can remember my mother and I buying and selling big time, doing exactly what they’re doing,” Hansen said of the letter actually drafted by her daughter, Julia.

The crew filmed downtown, where a few purchases were made, and then headed to Hansen’s country home at N6209 County Trunk K – site of the costume shop.

One of the American Pickers’ purchases was Hansen’s white leather fringe jacket and hat _ something she wore while showing horses in the 1950s.-

They also bought some “motorcycle stuff,” Hansen said, from a time in the 1950s when she and her late husband were riding motorcycles.

Wolfe and Fritz apparently were impressed with the organization of Hansen’s properties.

“They are used to piles of junk and weeds,” Hansen said. “I’m still renting and selling costumes. I have to stay organized.”

Both properties, Hansen said, are full of “vintage everything.”

She envisions the Octagon House being operated as a bed and breakfast, with its furnished five bedrooms and two bathrooms. She said the property was purchased just “four hours from demolition” in 1975.

“It was an absolute wreck,” she said of the home when she purchased it more than 30 years ago. “We spent 31/2 years saving this house and $150,000 out of our pocket. We did it on a whim.”

Marlene’s, her costume shop property, was bought in the late 1950s. The country property includes converted horse barns and a 21-room house.

Hansen said the 4,000 wedding gowns and 15,000 to 20,000 garments in her collection were accumulated over generations.

“I’d like to have an auction – it’s overwhelming,” she said.

The American Pickers crew left Hansen’s town of Empire property and apparently headed for a location in Michigan. Hansen said they intended to take the car ferry across Lake Michigan.

“They were kind of in a hurry – they got here so late,” she said.

If the Octagon House or Hansen’s costume shop is featured in an upcoming episode, she figures it could be in October or November. The show vowed to contact her when the date is known.

Hansen has appeared on several television shows, including Ripley’s Believe It or Not but none like American Pickers.

“It was interesting getting in and meeting the guys,” she said. “I’ve never been through anything like that.”

Wolfe and Fritz were looking for certain things “like most dealers,” Hansen said. “There was more out on Highway K of what they were after.”

Hansen, who said she’ll turn 72 in a couple months, said the buying and selling “bug” seems to be in the family genes.

“Julia, my daughter, has a hard time passing up a rummage sale,” said Hansen, adding that her family was doing estate sales “before it had a title.”

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Information from: The Reporter, http://www.fdlreporter.com

AP-CS-07-15-10 1031EDT

Archaeological dig wrapping up at Valley Forge park near Philly

A replica of a cabin at Valley Forge in which soldiers would have stayed during the winter of 1777-1778. Photograph taken by Dan Smith and appears courtesy of Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) – Archaeologists are wrapping up a six-week dig near George Washington’s headquarters in Valley Forge National Historical Park.

They believe they’ve found evidence of a dining hall that Washington may have used as a “war room” to meet with his top commanders.

head Joe Blondino says they’ve unearthed things like a musket ball, military hardware and broken pottery.

Historians believe the building may have been built to ease overcrowding in the cramped headquarters where Washington stayed.

The historic park is about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

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Information from: KYW-AM, http://www.kyw1060.com

AP-ES-07-15-10 0827EDT

Comic-Con: Potter, Green Hornet, Brangelina?

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Photo by George Biard, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Tron,” “Harry Potter,” “The Green Hornet,” and maybe even Brangelina?

This year’s Comic-Con has something for everyone, and might even be graced by Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

No longer strictly the domain of nerds and fanboys, San Diego’s four-day pop-culture festival promises film and TV fodder for fans of all kinds, plus video games, toys, collectibles and costumes galore when it kicks off next week.

“I can’t wait,” says filmmaker Kevin Smith, an annual regular considered royalty at the convention. “Comic-Con for me is _ Muslims like to go to kneel, what is it, three times a day toward Mecca and whatnot. I do the same thing for San Diego and that massive building… It’s a real good source of kind of State of the Union for me, because I dwell in the world of pop culture.”

What began 40 years ago as a humble comic-book fair has grown into a barometer of cool powered by the ardent enthusiasm of more than 100,000 fans – and the Hollywood studios who want a piece of the action.

Among the hot properties this year: TRON: Legacy, Disney’s modern revamp of the ’80s hit; a first look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Seth Rogen’s superhero turn in The Green Hornet and yes, a possible Brangelina appearance.

The couple isn’t officially on the guest list, and studio reps are staying mum about whether they’ll attend, but A-list surprises often happen at Comic-Con, where Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman previously showed up unannounced.

Pitt voices one of the lead characters in the animated Megamind, and his co-stars Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill are expected at the Dreamworks Animation panel next Thursday to introduce the film.

Jolie stars in Salt, which will be featured at Sony’s panel on the same day.

Other movies looking to build fan buzz at Comic-Con include The Expendables, featuring Sylvester Stallone and a cast of tough guys that includes Dolph Lundgren and Steve Austin; Drive Angry 3D with Nicolas Cage; RED, featuring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich as retired CIA agents; Battle Los Angeles, with Aaron Eckhart saving the city from a vicious attack; the superhero tale Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds; and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on a graphic novel and starring Michael Cera.

“Comic-Con is all about these shows connecting with the kids who are going to go back home and tell everyone – get on the computer, send e-mails, put on their Facebook account, tweet about it and build a buzz,” says Todd Gold of the website Fancast.com.

TV shows have a big presence at the Con, too. Stars from popular programs including Dexter, True Blood, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Family Guy, Community, Fringe, and The Simpsons will answer fan questions during panel presentations.

“Comic-Con used to be offbeat, nerdy,” says Jeanne Wolf of Parade magazine. “Well, now we’ve found out that the Comic-Con buzz gets straight to the audience that watches TV shows. And also we’ve found out that with this computerized age, most of us are geeks and nerds.”

Reaching a passionate audience that will not only talk up their favorite flicks to friends but also buy tickets on opening night is too important an opportunity for studios to miss, says box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com.

“That’s the audience you want to get excited about your movie,” he says. “If they get on board, you get instant credibility.”

Unlike traditional film festivals, aimed at critics and distributors, Comic-Con focuses on fans _ an integral part of ratings and box-office success.

“It’s on the circuit with Show West, Show East and the film festivals,” Dergarabedian says. “Comic-Con is as vital and as valid and important a part of the moviegoing world as any of those other movie-related conventions and festivals. It’s a fully grown, fully realized force to be reckoned with.”

Comic-Con begins next Wednesday, July 21, at the San Diego Convention Center. While San Diego has promised $500,000 in hotel tax revenue to event organizers to keep the colorful convention in the city, its contract with Comic Con International expires in 2012. Los Angeles and Anaheim, California, are among the cities bidding to become the convention’s new hosts beginning in 2013.

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Online: www.comic-con.org

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AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.

AP-CS-07-14-10 1032EDT

Wyoming museum showing Frontier Days photos

Looking through Fence with Boots at CFD Arena. Image courtesy Wyoming State Archives.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – The Wyoming State Museum is showing 50 photos and posters pertaining to the history of Cheyenne Frontier Days.

The exhibit will be open from July 18 through Aug. 28. It’s called “From Roughneck Show to Pro Rodeo: Cheyenne Frontier Days.”

The show was put together by the museum and the State Archives. May of the photos come from the State Archive’s collection of images by J.E. Stimson, Francis Brammar and Ralph R. Doubleday.

Frontier Days runs from July 23 through Aug. 1.

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Online: Wyoming State Museum: http://wyomuseum.state.wy.us/

Cheyenne Frontier Days: http://www.cfdrodeo.com/index.aspx

AP-WS-07-13-10 1638EDT

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Cowboy Riding Saddle Bronc, CFD 1970. Image courtesy Wyoming State Archives.

Heirs spar over upcoming auction of Lucille Ball items

Lucille Ball in a glamorous pose, from a selection of seven negatives and one glossy proof print from the I Love Lucy show auctioned on April 30, 2009 by Profiles in History of Calabasas Hills, California. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Profiles in History.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Heirs of the late Lucille Ball and her second husband are sparring over the planned auction of some of the couple’s prized possessions, including a Rolls-Royce and some of the actress’ awards.

Other items on the auction block are photos, sketches, other personal items and love letters between Ball and Gary Morton, the comedienne’s second husband.

Morton and Ball were married until the comedienne’s death in 1989. He later remarried, and the items being offered in a July 17 auction were consigned to a Texas-based auction house by his widow, Susie Morton.

She is now locked in a battle with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, the daughter of Ball and her first husband and I Love Lucy co-star, Desi Arnaz, who want some of the items and her mother’s awards returned.

Susie Morton sued Luckinbill on Monday to seek a judge’s ruling that the auction can proceed.

Luckinbill said Wednesday through her attorney, Ronald J. Palmieri, that if the items she requested are not returned, she will go to court Friday morning to try to stop the auction.

Luckinbill wants the return of seven love letters, Ball’s address book, some portraits and several lifetime achievement awards being offered for sale, Palmieri said.

“It is clear these are personal effects earned by a lifetime of work by someone of great stature in the entertainment community,” Palmieri said in a statement. “To demean their true nature, and prostitute their value in monetary terms, is insulting to Ms. Ball’s memory and contravenes her express desire that these items were to belong to her daughter after her death.”

Both Luckinbill and Susie Morton say Luckinbill was entitled to her mother’s personal effects as part of the comedienne’s estate planning. But Susie Morton’s lawsuit contends Luckinbill abandoned the items when they were distributed after Ball’s death.

A phone message left for Susie Morton’s attorney was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Palmieri said the items would go to either a museum named after her mother and father in New York, or another museum where they could be shown.

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Wyoming resumes sales tax collections at gun shows

Wyoming State Flag. Public domain image.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ The state of Wyoming has resumed collecting sales taxes at gun shows after temporarily suspending the collections when one of its field representatives got into a verbal confrontation with vendors.

Several people who participated in a gun show at Pine Bluffs in April said a dispute occurred there when a state tax official was rude to vendors.

The agency released a statement Tuesday through the governor’s office saying it reviewed the incident and is instructing its field representatives to maintain “positive interactions with vendors.”

The department did not release the name of the tax official.

Dan Noble, director of the state Revenue Department’s excise tax division, declined Tuesday to blame anyone but said his employees would be as “nonintrusive as we can possibly be and still collect the tax that’s due.”

The agency will provide gun show vendors packets with instructions on how to comply with state sales tax laws, and agency field representatives will be available to answer questions.

Duncan Philp, of Carpenter, said he was among those involved in the Pine Bluffs encounter.

Philp said he was selling or giving away T-shirts to promote a group called the Wyoming Tyranny Response Team, which he described as a leaderless “street protest organization” that protests against government erosion of people’s rights.

Philp and others at the show say the tax official had a “bad attitude” in confronting vendors about collecting sales taxes.

Philp and Noble said they met Monday and cordially discussed the incident.

Philp said he suggested to Noble that the state tax collectors be “less intrusive, use common sense and don’t get in a guy’s face.”

The spat also has raised debate over what items are subject to sales tax and who should be responsible for collecting it.

Noble said he discussed Wyoming sales tax laws with Philp and “the way we ended up the whole conversation is that we just agreed to disagree.”

AP-WS-07-13-10 2052EDT

Colonial Williamsburg 2009 revenue down 9 percent

Public speaker re-enacts an event leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Taken in Colonial Williamsburg, Va., outside the Raleigh Tavern.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) – Colonial Williamsburg says ticket sales and donations fell in 2009, contributing to an overall decline in revenue for the living history museum.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said visitors purchased 660,000 general admissions in 2009, down 7 percent from the previous year. Gifts to the Colonial Williamsburg Fund, which supports the operating budget, declined 4.5 percent to $14 million over the period.

Revenue totaled $192 million, down nearly 9 percent from $210 million in 2008. Expenses declined from $249 million to $216 million over the period. The result was an operating loss of $24 million, smaller than the $39 million loss the previous year.

The foundation’s net assets increased by $115 million to $843 million, largely on stronger performance of its endowment, which reflected improvements in the financial markets.

AP-ES-07-14-10 0914EDT

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Colonial Williamsburg fife and drum corps re-enactment at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Vintage postcard illustrating the Old Capitol Building and a Colonial coach, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Artwork of Mickey Mouse with Nazi symbol ignites Polish anger

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – A huge outdoor art poster that blends Mickey Mouse’s image with that of a swastika and a nude woman’s body is causing a stir in Poland, where memories of the suffering inflicted by Nazi Germany remain strong.

The poster, which went up in June in the western city of Poznan just steps from a synagogue, is an Italian artist’s take on what he calls the “horrors” of the American lifestyle and is one piece of artwork in a contemporary art exhibition opening in the fall.

But the reaction shows that there is little appetite in Poland for satirical or artistic uses of images linked to Nazi Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939 and built ghettoes and death camps across the country in which millions were murdered.

“This art provocation is a form of violence against the sensitivity of many people,” said Norbert Napieraj, a city council member who asked prosecutors to ban the poster.

Prosecutors, however, determined that the poster is art and does not violate the country’s laws against glorifying Nazism.

The poster has been vandalized twice since it first went up, and on Tuesday was no longer stretched across a building in the city center. Despite the uproar, gallery director Maria Czarnecka said she plans to put it back up.

“Art should be provocative and controversial,” she told The Associated Press, insisting that the poster does not seek to propagate Nazism but instead wants to explore “symbols and how they work.”

“The Mickey Mouse head and swastika are on the same level _ they don’t mean anything and they are both part of the globalized world,” Czarnecka said.

Jewish leaders, who have been outraged at the poster, would disagree, saying the swastika still means something very real to many Poles, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Poland was once home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, which numbered close to 3.5 million people before it was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust. The Nazis also committed atrocities against the non-Jewish population, and killed some 6 million Polish citizens, about half Jewish and the other half Christian.

The head of Poznan’s Jewish community, Alicja Kobus, 64, described being overwhelmed by revulsion when she first saw the poster. She had just been with Jewish visitors from Holland to the synagogue, which the Nazis turned into a swimming pool.

“It is a shock for people who still scarred by the hell of the Holocaust,” she said.

The work – NaziSexyMouse by Italian artist Max Papeschi – is part of a series works that blend iconic American cartoon figures with images of warfare or destruction.

Papeschi explains on his website that the series – which he dubs “Politically-Incorrect” – is meant as commentary on the United States, revealing “all the horror of this lifestyle.”

His images – Mickey Mouse as a Nazi or Ronald McDonald as a machine-gun bearing soldier in Iraq – lose “their reassuring effect and change into a collective nightmare,” Papeschi said.

“NaziSexyMouse” also went on show this week in Berlin as part of an exhibition at a sister gallery. But the image has not been displayed publicly there and has sparked no outcry.

A Berlin art gallery manager said older people often do not understand that the combination of pop culture icons like Mickey Mouse and historical symbols like the swastika are meant to be satirical.

“For the younger generation, this painting is just a joke; older people sometimes don’t like it or don’t find it funny, but nobody has taken any offense so far,” said Agnes Kaplon, manager of the Abnormals Gallery in Berlin.

A Russian art exhibition that also used Mickey Mouse’s image has also been at the center of a legal case in Russia. Two Russian curators who angered the Russian Orthodox Church with an exhibition that included images of Jesus Christ portrayed as Mickey Mouse and Vladimir Lenin were convicted Monday of inciting religious hatred and fined, but not sentenced to prison.

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Associated Press Writer Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this story.

AP-ES-07-14-10 0753EDT

New stamps to honor Negro League baseball

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Negro Leagues take the baseball field again on Thursday as the Postal Service honors the organizations that gave black players a chance to show their talents before the major leagues were integrated.

A pair of 44-cent commemorative stamps will be dedicated in ceremonies at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

One stamp shows a close play at home plate, while the other commemorates Andrew “Rube” Foster, founder of the leagues that operated from 1920 to 1960.

Legendary stars who played in the leagues included Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, James “Cool Papa” Bell, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1945.

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Online: http://www.usps.com

AP-ES-07-13-10 1728EDT

EBay sued in $3.8 billion patent infringement case

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Internet auction site EBay is being sued for $3.8 billion for allegedly infringing on patents held by XPRT Ventures LLC for its payment systems.

XPRT Ventures, which represents holders of the patents, on Tuesday sued eBay and its subsidiaries – PayPal Inc., Bill Me Later Inc., Shopping.com Inc. and StubHub Inc. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

XPRT, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, accuses eBay of violating six patents that let shoppers make purchases online using alternative forms of payment instead of their credit cards, among other processes.

EBay did not immediately return a call for comment.

XPRT’s attorneys say the patent holders aren’t seeking an injunction but want to be “fairly compensated” for their ideas.

AP-CS-07-13-10 1753EDT

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