Location blogging #7.

Quickie trip to Saco.


Took this trip with the Bill Hicks's interviews with Len Belzer (available here) on the MP3 player.
Very soothing, it's like having on talk radio, except that it doesn't suck.
Having good shit on the radio (via tape adapter) actually helps me drive better, takes away the road rage like that *snaps fingers*.
I'll have to find other podcast goodies for other trips, cuz man, that really does the trick.

Anyhoo, another mini-mall full of memories...

The Saco Valley Shopping Center.

Starting here, we've got a laundromat, a bank, and Nonesuch Books.

I really dig Nonesuch, I'll have to come here more.
Mom & Pop, exactly how I remember the smaller Bookland locations being.

I went in, and browsed, and a lot of things have changed in publishing, and a lot of things have stayed the same, or come full circle.

The Star Wars books are still going strong.

Looked over Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Abyss by Troy Denning.

The photo and description of the author reminded me of MaxD for some reason.
Heh. :)

Anyway, took me back, cuz literally just round the corner, used to be Bookland, and I started reading the SW books back in the 90's with the original Thrawn Trilogy bought at that location.

Seems like yesterday.

Also looked over All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder.


Hmm, beautiful art by Jim Lee for sure.
But, I'd heard brutal criticism of Miller's interpretation of Bats in this one being a thuggish asshole, and painfully out of character for Batman, even for Miller's Dark Knight Returns Batman.
I've seen a pattern in Miller's work lately of tilting toward well...the fascist...so, I took these criticisms to heart, and didn't even give this book a look before.

But....it's really not that bad.

I mean, yeah, Batman IS a quite bit of a prick in this, but...there's a self aware humor about the whole thing.
You really gotta take it as Miller's own little Elseworld, and not a blasphemy of "the real", Batman, or you'll hurt yourself.

Only got to skim it, but I was impressed by enough bits to want to buy it, and now I'm kicking myself for not doing so.

One thing for sure...it's a hundred times better than 2001's dismal and over-the-top Dark Knight Strikes Again.
I think that's really what soured me on Miller's take on the Bat-verse.

Why the hell didn't he buckle down like this then?

Anyway, another bit of memory lane, because I skimmed the original Dark Knight Returns at the old Bookland too.
(Later bought it at Waldenbooks)


Like I went through a wormhole today.
*Looks outside at the sun rising*
Shit...yesterday.

Anyway, I'm gonna have to go back, and support Nonesuch books by buying that book.
Yeah, Amazon would be cheap, and lazy, but, that's part of what's made me a hermit, and I gotta fight that.

Wish I'd clipped the camera to my pocket, and taken it inside Nonesuch, cuz it's a time capsule to the Bookland era.
I almost did.
Almost did a lot of shit.
Dammit.

Anyhoo, moving leftward down the mini-mall....

The Kennel Shop Pet Superstore.

Dominates the rest of that strip.

And at the corner, Shaw's.

And keeping to the left, some parking lot....


...and then the next strip.


Now, a pan of Shaw's.


This used to be an Ame's, which used to be Zayre's.

Like the ones I mentioned in South Portland, and Westbrook.

Okay, now the next strip...

Okay, this is around the corner from this bit...

Anyhoo....right here...

....is where Bookland used to be.
Effectively, it went around the corner, and became Nonesuch, as far as I can tell.
All the other Booklands died. :(

Anyway, panning to the right.....

....we come up on...

....Reny's.

Which is sort of like Marden's (mentioned in Westrook).
But a teensy bit nicer, and with more craft-y stuff.
Kinda Marden's meets Jo-Anne Fabrics.

Wandered around in there a bit.
Shit, they have a good candy section, that's a another thing that left me with a case of "I shoulda".

Anyway, they used to be Shaw's, but they of course moved into the bigger spot once Ame's died.

Another thing I should've done, was go down "burger mile", as I call it, but...I tried to do Biddeford too, but the necessary road was fucking closed, and after tackling that traffic, I was road-tripped out, so I headed home.

So, here's Google Map of "burger mile".


View Larger Map

Starting with the mini-mall where Casablanca Comics used to be.
Eh, only thing there that interested me.

But, I've eaten down this mile, and continue to do so.
Mostly at the KFC, and the Wendy's.

And that's Saco.