For the Ground Zero memorabilia collector who has everything...

August 12, 2002 12:05 PM

For the Ground Zero memorabilia collector who has everything... 9/11 wine charms! What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?
posted by illusionaire (60 comments total)

A tribute to our everyday hero's!

A tribute to our everyday hero's what?

Arrrrgh.
posted by Tin Man at 12:17 PM on August 12, 2002

latest developments: proposed wtc transit hub
posted by uberchick at 12:18 PM on August 12, 2002

I now work directly across from St. Paul's Church, on the 18th floor. There are too many answers to your questions to offer any single one.

How's this for disrespect: an incarnation of the vulgar, commercial street fairs which take over various blocks of NYC, complete with loud, "festive" music, one block from the WTC...
posted by ParisParamus at 12:20 PM on August 12, 2002

Wine glass charms? Oh, good grief!
It isn't so much that they're selling 9/11 wine glass charms but the fact that wine glass charms exist at all that is, I think, the true sign of the decline and fall of western civilization...
posted by TCMITS at 12:22 PM on August 12, 2002

I'm holding out for a two-for-one special pairing the WTC wine glass charms with the Dale Earnhardt series of wine glass charms (collect all 3).
posted by mathis23 at 12:24 PM on August 12, 2002

I'm thinking this is more a "9-1-1" (emergency services) thing than a "9/11" (WTC/Pentagon) thing. Tacky, yes, but not THAT tacky...
posted by shecky57 at 12:28 PM on August 12, 2002

TCMITS, if you've ever been in a room where more than one person is drinking wine, you'd know why wine charms (always heard them called "stem gems," but whatevah) exist. They just mark the glasses so people can tell them apart.

I was stunned after 9-11 to walk into stores and see 9-11 T-shirts. Something about that day being memorialized in the same place where you're used to seeing band logos and "I'm with stupid" type slogans seems wrong to me.
posted by GaelFC at 12:33 PM on August 12, 2002

No doubt goes best with Franzia.
posted by plexi at 12:34 PM on August 12, 2002

GaelFC, I don't generally tend to hang out in places where there are a large number of people drinking wine. But at all those college keggers I attended (back in the day), I never had any trouble keeping track of which plastic cup was mine.
posted by TCMITS at 12:42 PM on August 12, 2002

I have a 9/11 commermative coin (not legal tender). Actually, it looks quite nice. I got it from a company I was going to have mint me some arcade tokens.
posted by jmccorm at 12:43 PM on August 12, 2002

What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?

It would have to be the flags I saw, the week after 9/11, being sold at Costco for $59. Now, I don't know what the current going price was for a flag pre-tragedy, but sixty bucks for a piece of decorative fabric seems like insanity to me, and profiteering on the part of Costco.

A side peeve of flags would be hearing the phrase "where is this business' american flag? I'm not spending my money here, they should have one up to show our strength" which I heard not once since 9/11, but twice. I didn't bother arguing with the person that muttered the phrase out loud for all to hear, fearing I'd be labelled as someone who is "against us."
posted by mathowie at 12:43 PM on August 12, 2002

If you can't keep track of which wine glass is your own, it is going to take more than a little tacky elastic thing to solve your problems, I expect.
posted by Fabulon7 at 12:44 PM on August 12, 2002

9/11 temporary tattoos. My particular "favorite" was the Osama Bin Laden with a large target mark on it.
posted by GirlFriday at 12:47 PM on August 12, 2002

For those of you who only drink out of plastic cups and want to tell your cup apart from the one your pal's using as a spit cup, here's your answer.
posted by GaelFC at 12:47 PM on August 12, 2002

I am with Shecky57.... These have nothing to do with September 11. They are associated with 911, which is the number you dial in the US for emergencies, hence the firetrucks and such.

If they were really September 11 wine charms, don't you think they'd have the twin towers, a plane, a terrorist, etc... ?
posted by zuzu at 12:49 PM on August 12, 2002

I'm with XQUZ(etc), but I have to put a plug in for the healing power of camp. On a personal level, apart from the sincere and scary Ebay memorial market, I find ironic distance very soothing. It's why I always remark "still dead" when mentioning deceased friends. My natural tendencies towards drama and stupidity get subverted by The Funny. I wonder if these collectables make awful situations similarly life-size for the earnest. At least my mild (one item, okay?) 911-collectable participation keeps me separate via motivation from the flag-waving masses.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 12:50 PM on August 12, 2002

Any day now, a Broadway show about a Broadway show about Osama and the deaths at the World Trade Center will debut out of town in New Haven. And not a penny will go to the vicitms. And lots of you will all consider it funny.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:50 PM on August 12, 2002

What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?

I've seen tons of tacky things...basically anything in my Hotmail account's bulk-mail folder during the months of November of 2001 to March of this year (Bin Laden urinal cakes, for instance).

Probably the most dangerous memorabilia i've experienced was one of those auto-window-mounted plastic American flags. Cruising along the Mass Pike at a high rate of speed, I pull up behind some Olds Cierra literally covered in about six or seven of them, sprouting dangerous from every window. Of course, one flies off and smashes into my windshield. No harm done, really, just startling, and kind of ironic in a way I can't quite put into words right now...
posted by tpl1212 at 12:53 PM on August 12, 2002

My wife, on the other hand, could lose her purse in an empty room.
posted by TCMITS at 12:58 PM on August 12, 2002

Well, I live midtown, so perhaps I can't comment, but Paris, are you suggesting New York stop acting like New York, that it cave in and give over the city to a shroud of grief as a testament to the success of the hijsckers?

The street fairs are nice, if tacky. My personal best is 4 corn on the cobs and two italian sausage sandwiches, but I'm a piker. And you can get funny flowers there. Not to mention socks and mozzarepppas. Please. Let not the city become a tomb.

Personally, I find most of the tribute stuff appalling. None more so than the bronze weeping statue on 8th street. Also, every corn-fed (hey, that's me after a street fair!) JCOC member from anywhere east of Pittsburgh is wandering around with a NYFD hat on.

And TCMITS, for your kegger, you can always get these.
posted by umberto at 12:59 PM on August 12, 2002

The American dream is alive and well. If there hadn't been any attempt to generate a profit from the tragedy, then the terrorists would already have won.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 1:00 PM on August 12, 2002

twin cowers.
posted by quonsar at 1:05 PM on August 12, 2002

I third Shecky's theory, but I was really afraid I was going to see burning Twin Towers charms when I clicked the link.

I look forward to a new name for the Sept. 11 tragedies, so we can avoid the confusion of 9-1-1 and 9/11 (which probably exists more in print than in speech, but still.)
posted by me3dia at 1:05 PM on August 12, 2002

These are pretty tacky...and anyone of these videos, ..let's not forget this lame ribbon, as well as these crappy crystal collectables.
posted by DailyBread at 1:12 PM on August 12, 2002

When writing or speaking I usually go with 9/11 and nine-eleven respectively for references to the WTC attack, and 911 and nine-one-one for emergencies.

Unfortunately, due to the large number of emergency services workers who died that day, 911 and 9/11 will always be linked in our minds.

What bothers me most about the wine glass charms (and a lot of other such items) is that even thought they are only selling fire and police charms, they are counting on that connection in people's minds in order to make a profit
posted by TCMITS at 1:13 PM on August 12, 2002

I agree that they could be representative of 9-1-1 as opposed to 9/11, although I've seen enough "Support Our Firefighters Because of Sept. 11" t-shirts, bumper stickers, potential movies-of-the-week, etc. to believe that it could go either way.

They could have called it the "Emergency Services" collection instead of 911, but I'm willing to wager they may have been banking on the notoriety of 9/11 to try to sell some extra wine charm sets.
posted by illusionaire at 1:15 PM on August 12, 2002

Yep, quonsar, that's pretty tacky. I don't think it'll do anyone any lasting harm, though.
posted by Songdog at 1:16 PM on August 12, 2002

I find these billboards to be, not exactly tacky, but incredibly grating. I don't know why. I agree with the values they're espousing - I really do! - but there's something about their execution that seems so slick and patronizing.

Maybe I'm just a bad person.
posted by spacewaitress at 1:24 PM on August 12, 2002

.."if you've ever been in a room where more than one person is drinking wine, you'd know why wine charms (always heard them called "stem gems," but whatevah) exist. They just mark the glasses so people can tell them apart."

What kind of people put their alcohol DOWN? I do not understand.
posted by agregoli at 1:27 PM on August 12, 2002

even thought they are only selling fire and police charms, they are counting on that connection in people's minds in order to make a profit

I just called Vine Ripe Charms: they've had these charms on their site for three years, and they confirmed that they are 9-1-1 related. The service rep assured me several times that they had nothing to do with the Sept. 11.

Sometimes it helps to pick up the phone.
posted by me3dia at 1:28 PM on August 12, 2002

(clarification: these ads started appearing shortly after September 11, and a number of them show 9-11 related scenes, which is why they came to mind.)
posted by spacewaitress at 1:29 PM on August 12, 2002

Not too long after 911, the corporate types that I sometime work with, started integrating Ground Zero images into PowerPoint presentations. In particular, the image of the 3 fireman was to be used for some inspirational message to beef up sales or whatever. It was disgusting and just plain weird that people who you might think should have more taste, were so unabashedly tacky.

Fortunately that picture is represented by GroundZero Spirit which takes all the proceeds (100% actually) from licensing of the photo and puts it in a fund for victims and their families. When the presenters found out they had to pay for use of the, they either pirated the image (which I refused to be a part of) or most of them just used another image. It did take alot of convincing though. None chose to pay for the image.
posted by lampshade at 1:40 PM on August 12, 2002

They just mark the glasses so people can tell them apart.

GOD! Why does life have to be so hard?
posted by HTuttle at 2:03 PM on August 12, 2002

lampshade:
Not too long after 911, the corporate types that I sometime work with, started integrating Ground Zero images into PowerPoint presentations...

These are probably the same types who casually talk about customer 'drinking the kool-aid' The former VP of business development at my former employer used that phrase all the time, which really unnerved me.
posted by tippiedog at 2:09 PM on August 12, 2002

Regarding those NYC community fairs. They were fun and interesting when they actually reflected the community they were in (Ninth Avenue spice fests were great). But now there all have exactly the same vendors with exactly the same fare, regardless of neighborhood. Might as well be a surburban mall.
posted by HTuttle at 2:14 PM on August 12, 2002

For those thinking muchly one way or the other about wine glass charms, this Atlantic book review of Martha Inc. is a must read. Very funny.

mathowie: a cut-rate flag price is $40, but a high-quality flag can run close to $100. Without seeing the flags in question, I don't immediately suspect profiteering.
posted by dhartung at 2:17 PM on August 12, 2002

at least they don't have miniature models of the towers and the pentagon being used for the wine charms.

but i'd have to say the twin cowers is the worst i've seen. that's ridiculous.
posted by reb at 2:27 PM on August 12, 2002

Space, check this about those billboards...
posted by amberglow at 2:29 PM on August 12, 2002

These are probably the same types who casually talk about customer 'drinking the kool-aid'.

I've been wondering for years: is that a Jim Jones or Timothy Leary reference?
posted by shecky57 at 2:41 PM on August 12, 2002

Jim Jones.
posted by me3dia at 2:44 PM on August 12, 2002

i've always assumed it was a jim jones thing - to buy the whole story, to be a true believer, to drink the kool-aid. what would it mean as a leary reference? tune in, turn on, drop out? nah - jones it is, i think.
posted by quonsar at 4:04 PM on August 12, 2002

I think what is most upsetting about those billboards is not the image but the slogan. What happened to just making up your own mind? But more importantly they're just so saccharine they make you want to throw up.
posted by meech at 4:05 PM on August 12, 2002

and fwiw - that corporate types use that kool-aid phrase in relation to customers - well, that pretty much just sums up the current state of corporatism, doesn't it?
posted by quonsar at 4:06 PM on August 12, 2002

Twin Cowers... no. That can't be real. Someone couldn't possibly have paid $96 for it anyway. I can't take that. It does not make sense. Help me.
posted by internook at 4:16 PM on August 12, 2002

I just thought of this thread as I passed the vending machine at work and noticed it now has a bag of patriotic cookies. I kid you not. The shapes depicted on the bag are Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty's head, and Lady Liberty's torch. I suppose this could be just a freaky leftover from July 4th, but I suspect we would not have seen these shapes last year at this time.
posted by GaelFC at 4:22 PM on August 12, 2002

What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?

I think the God Bless America Pizza Box is pretty tacky.
posted by wfrgms at 4:23 PM on August 12, 2002

Oh, and while I also think the "drink the Kool-Aid" reference is Jim Jones, I suspect the other reference shecky57 is thinking of is to "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe.
posted by GaelFC at 4:28 PM on August 12, 2002

Oh and I’ve never seen the bin Laden urinal cakes outside of The Onion – but I have seen plenty of the urinal screens. In fact there are quite a few variations on OBL urinal accessories.
posted by wfrgms at 4:35 PM on August 12, 2002

quonsar, those twin cowers would be scary regardless of what happened.
posted by th3ph17 at 4:52 PM on August 12, 2002

my blog partner madamjujujive just sent me this:

"This unique Castello pipe was created to render in a tangible way, homage to the victims and heroes of the insane terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington DC. The design shows two towers rising above the clouds honoring the symbol of the World Trade Center and offering a model of both strength and remembrance for future generations."

it was non-commercial though, they raised 4k for the red cross.
posted by quonsar at 5:53 PM on August 12, 2002

The Twin Cowers were a part of the CowParade in NYC and were outside the WTC during the summer of 2000. The minatures were also available then (you can get minatures of some of the cows in other cities as well) and were pulled from production shortly after 9/11 (only 1600 sets had been made).

The Twin Towers were also a part of another NYC art cow called City Grazing.

It isn't some sort of tacky remembrance for 9/11. It's just tacky cow art that predates the attack.
posted by Orb at 6:13 PM on August 12, 2002

I agree that these are not WTC related. However if they were made anytime after sept., (any idea how old this ad is?) they had to know that people would make the connection. If this is the case then, IMO, it's a pretty tacky marketing ploy; almost worse then if they were actual Twin Tower charms.
posted by buz46 at 7:03 PM on August 12, 2002

OOPS... I meant Worse Than
posted by buz46 at 7:09 PM on August 12, 2002

buz46: see here.
posted by me3dia at 8:04 PM on August 12, 2002

"What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?"

warblogs.
posted by jcterminal at 8:24 PM on August 12, 2002

What's the tackiest piece of 9/11 memorabilia you've seen?

The tourist stores near my apartment here in Midtown sell a whole range of postcards showing the Twin Towers on fire. They're displayed on racks on the sidewalk.
posted by sueinnyc at 8:24 PM on August 12, 2002

me3dia: That's what I get for using the scroll wheel with impunity....doh!
posted by buz46 at 8:38 PM on August 12, 2002

The tourist stores near my apartment here in Midtown sell a whole range of postcards showing the Twin Towers on fire. They're displayed on racks on the sidewalk.

That seems like the equivalent of Japanese postcards featuring this

I wont even start with the karmic comparisons...
posted by buz46 at 9:02 PM on August 12, 2002

Thanks, Orb. That feels better. I remember the cows quite well but didn't recognize the Cowers.
posted by Songdog at 8:15 AM on August 13, 2002

i was too busy noticing the concrete barriers in front of all the buildings and being frightened of the policemen to notice any memorabilia..................

spacewaitress ...........let me take you away from all this !!!
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:30 AM on August 14, 2002