Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor
The Pez Collection Podcast and Me
Bret's World of Pez
Another Little Piece of My Pez Room, Baby: My Fantasy Pez Shelf
Pez Poetry

Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor | top

Hello and good day to you! Nineteen years ago this month, Pezhead Monthly began with a recap of Pezamania 11. This means that we're now kicking off 20 years of "thinking outside the dispenser." Unfortunately, I can't commemorate the occasion with a recap of Pezamania 30, due to it being cancelled because of That Which Shall Not Be Named. But I can certainly look back on the many great years of attending Pezamania so far, as well as the many more to come. I tip one back for Rick and Sue, and I can't wait for all of the Pez fun next year!

The big Pez event in July was a summer installment of the Virtual Pez Convention, hosted by Landon Proctor and Morgan Rhinehart. This was another great time that allowed us to look inside the Pez rooms of some of our fellow collectors. The standout tour was done by Alec Miller, which showed the incredible collection he's been building since he was a kid. I was quite impressed with not only the amount of rare and interesting pieces in his collection, but also the way in which he displayed them. There were also a few smaller tours by Randy Marshall, Ian Wooley and Tommy Nickerson, and Ryan Omori, and an interesting seminar on trucks by David Cavalieri. Also at the VPC was the announcement of the Pezhead of the Year (PHOTY). This is usually announced at Pezamania, but this year the honor went to the VPC. The PHOTY for 2020 was none other than Mr. Brian Trauman. On the Pez Facebook page and his YouTube page, Brian provides frequent videos about Pez that are quite informative. Congratulations, Brian! Well deserved. (And condolences to David Hasselhoff, who was once again denied this award. #justiceforthehoff) Lastly, the VPC held an art auction with a lot of fun and interesting items. Run by Landon, who is quite the ace auctioneer, this included custom Pez drawings by Penny Ressler, amazing fantasy dispensers by Angelo Canale, and more. In total, $3500 was raised for the VPC's charity, Plus1, which is an organization that helps artists raise funds for social causes and relief work that the artists care about. Hats off again to Landon and Morgan for hosting the VPC and giving us Pezheads a chance to connect with each other and share some knowledge, smiles, and laughs.

My Pez scores for July were rather slim compared to previous months, but I am not complaining. I picked up the new Harry Potter Tin, which includes the exclusive Dumbledore dispenser. I also got some POP Pez that I have been wanting for a while: the Darkwing Duck series, consisting of Darkwing Duck, Launchpad McQuack, and Negaduck. Just typing that last sentence, the DD cartoon's theme song is now stuck in my head and probably will be for a while. Also in July, I picked up the 2 limited edition pandas from Pez.com and I rounded out my scores with another carded Batman for my collection.

This month's issue of Pezhead Monthly has a lot going on. Kicking things off is a cover image that's a Pezzification of the poster for the Quentin Tarantino movie, "Kill Bill." I also talk about my fun experience taking part in the Pez Collection podcast hosted by Justin Hansen and Andrea Gage, including a link to my episode for your listening pleasure. There is also another installment of Bret's World of Pez for you to enjoy and a picture of some of my fantasy Pez. Lastly, there is some Pez Poetry, including two poems inspired by my July scores.

Did you miss last month's issue? You can still read it here. To search the full Pezhead Monthly archives, hop on over to the archive page, where you can browse by feature, Pez Poetry Slam, or issue. There's also a Google search bar to help you search the content across the site.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy and that you are finding every opportunity you have for happiness. I know these days it can be hard to come by sometimes.

Take care and thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly.

Joe
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com

The Pez Collection Podcast and Me | top

I recently had the great honor to be asked by Justin Hansen to be on the Pez podcast that he hosts with Andrea Gage, The Pez Collection, to talk about my life as a Pezhead. Having never been on a podcast before, and being quite shy when speaking to other people, I was pretty nervous about doing it. But these two wonderful people were so nice and made it all very easy and comfortable, and I am so glad I had the chance to speak with them.

Justin messaged me right before I headed out to the fantastic PIG TOO convention in March. It was unexpected and, I have to say, one of the biggest honors in my long time as a Pez collector to be asked to be on the podcast. However, being right in the thick of planning and packing up for PIG TOO, I asked him if it was okay if I got back to him after the convention. He was totally fine with that.

When at the convention, I talked to the host, Josh Bales, about it, as I knew Josh had been on the Pez Collection podcast before. I explained to him that I am a quite an introvert and was nervous about it. Even though I've been collecting Pez for more than 25 years now and have met so many fun and kind people along the way, and even though I performed a live Pez Poetry Slam at Pezamania 19, I can still be quite shy in personal conversations- especially when the subject is myself.

Without hesitation, Josh encouraged me to go for it. He explained that Justin and Andrea were very friendly people and that they go out of their way to make the experience comfortable and fun for their guests. Josh also suggested that I ask Justin and Andrea some questions about how the podcast works and tell them a bit about me ahead of time, to ease my nerves a bit. Josh's advice here was spot on and I am grateful for it.

The podcast was recorded over Zoom on a Sunday afternoon. The conversation felt very natural and I had a really fun time doing it. It turns out when the topic is Pez, it's pretty easy to talk about after all. We touched on things such as my early years of collecting, the way I incorporated Pez into my wedding, the evolution of my Pez room, and of course Pezhead Monthly. Justin and Andrea even read some of my poetry and quotes on the podcast! It was a really big thrill.

The podcast was recently uploaded to their website and if you have 53 minutes to spare (or less if you play it at a faster speed) you can check it out here. It's also available on Apple Podcasts and Google Play.

I also encourage you to dig through the archives at The Pez Collection. Justin and Andrea have chatted with many folks in the Pez collecting community and there's a lot of information and entertainment to be had in listening to everyone's stories. You can also buy t-shirts and other swag through their Teepublic store. I love their "Dispense Some Good Today!" motto.

My thanks again go out to Justin and Andrea for making my time on their podcast such a comfortable, fun, and memorable experience. If you are ever fortunate enough to be asked to be a guest on this podcast, don't pass the opportunity up! Even if you're a shy person like me, it is very much worth it. You'll get to share your little chapter of the grand Pez story with the world and you'll have a great time in the process.

Bret's World of Pez | top

Talented visual artist Bret Christopher lends his talents to Pezhead Monthly again this month, with a re-imagining of one of America's most iconic game shows, "The Price is Right". In this image, legendary former host and one-time Adam Sandler golf opponent Bob Barker is seen holding a giant pack of Pez candy. Perhaps it is the big prize for a game of Plinko? Whatever the case, COME ON DOWN and enjoy another great submission by Bret!

Image credit: Bret Christopher (click for larger version)

Another Little Piece of My Pez Room, Baby: My Fantasy Pez Shelf | top

In last month's issue, I walked through the origins of my current Pez room and some of the progress I've made on it to date. I also shared a picture of my display of loose dispensers. This display has since grown by another bookcase that is already about a third of the way filled.

While my Pez room is still under construction and I will show the full room in a later issue, some pieces of it are coming together nicely and I may spotlight them in this newsletter from time to time. Case in point, here is a shelf with most of my fantasy Pez. It does not include some of my chrome Star Wars and Superhero pieces, or my many different Batman ones. But there is a lot to take in here for sure.

My favorite fantasy piece here has got to be the full body skeleton in the front row. It is a fully functional dispenser and its detail is amazing. I also really dig the Beetlejuice, Skeletor, and Christopher Walken pieces, but there's so many other great ones from really talented artists. Also, astute readers of Pezhead Monthly will recognize the Elton John Pez from the Candy Loaded In video from the March 2020 issue.

The shelf is already pretty filled here, but that will certainly not stop me from getting more great fantasy pieces down the road!

I could write a whole lot more about how much I like fantasy Pez, but that is for another time. For now, here are a couple of other features about fantasy Pez from the Pezhead Monthly archives.

SpongeBob Pez: When Fantasy Meets Reality

It's Alive! Building a Custom Pez Gift Set

Pez Poetry | top

Panda Express

Lately when I need a meal
That's quick and filled with tastiness
I buckle up and take the wheel
And head on to Panda Express
When I am prompted, I reply
"Orange Chicken, if you please."
Along with steamed rice as the side,
It brings my hunger to its knees.

And then one day on Pez Dot Com,
I saw two pandas, one with crown.
They looked so cool, they were the bomb,
Into my cart these two were bound.
They got here quickly, I must say.
The doorbell rang, I cried "Heck yes!"
And now they're in my Pez display,
O all aboard, Panda Express!

Pez Haiku #146

Empty baseball stands,
Like empty Pez dispensers,
Will be filled someday.

Harry Potter and the Collector Sets of Fire

Part 1: All the Small Things

I found the Harry Potters,
Harry, Ron, Hermione,
In two collector boxes
A couple pairs of tinies.

An extra box for each,
My buying strategy:
Two sets still in the boxes
Two sets for me to free.

A surplus tiny Harry
Resulted from this plan
Perhaps I'll do a stem swap
With one of my Batmans.

The "H" would be for "Howdy!
I'm the Caped Crusader."
Hooray for tiny Harry,
His purpose will be greater.

Part 2: Here We Go, A Tin (a.k.a. Dumbledore/Dumb Once More)

It wasn't too much longer
I stumbled on some gems:
The same three Harry Potters
Were now on standard stems.

"Order Now!" I clicked,
I tossed 'em in my cart,
But soon before they got here
I didn't feel so smart.

For these three Harry Potters
Were now part of a tin
With Dumbledore as Number Four,
Oh, here we go again.

My cart no longer empty,
My sense of solace slipping,
I ordered up two tins;
At least I saved on shipping.

Part 3: Expecto Patronum And What Have You

This might have been avoided,
Things could have played out better,
If only I had read
The PCS newsletter.

Another box or tin,
Always on the horizon
That's the way it goes,
It's rather unsurprisin'.

Collectors, calm, collected,
We rarely play the fool,
But when we see some new Pez
It makes us lose our cool.

Sometimes when you're Pez hunting
It turns out you're the prey.
But do not let it stop you,
You'll flip another day.