How To Know You Are A Geek
I've known for a long while that I'm a geek or a dork. No, I'm not going to go into some kind of Revenge Of The Nerds monologue here, but those closest to me know I'm a geek and if there were ever any doubt in their minds, the excitement I feel over this story would pretty much lock up my geekdom forever.
In the past week, Antiques Roadshow both here in the US and in the UK have set record valuations. When I saw the headline, I just could not wait to read the story. I knew I was going to write about it even if no one else read it. I had to. Antiques Roadshow is the greatest insight into human nature. It is reality television because it shows, most of the human emotions in each episode. The people displaying them are not actors, wanna be actors or shooting for 15 minutes of fame.
If you have ever watched an episode and seen someone who thought they had nothing, and find out they are now $100K richer, you just want to give them a hug. You are not jealous because you feel their excitement. When someone thinks they have something worth $100K and it turns out it was in fact, not a Tiffany, but a Diffany, you see the anguish on their face. You know all of those years they bragged or told a story about how they found the piece to their friends and family is going through their mind. You just feel sorry for them, unless of course they were smug and had to be shot down.
The emotions are not just left to the people bringing in the items, but also the appraisers. If you have never seen the male twin appraisers practically have an orgasm when they see an 18th century Chippendale desk then you just have not been watching the right kind of shows.
Well, this week, in Palm Springs when Antiques Roadshow was filming they set broke their all-time record twice in one show. The record was broken when someone brought in a signed Meet The Beatles album which was valued at $150,000. But then, a woman brought in a painting by Clyfford Still. Apparently it had been in the family for 50 years when it was given to a family member as a house warming gift. The Roadshow people estimated its worth at $500K, but said that was being very conservative because a recent Still painting fetched $21M at auction. You can see the episode in January when it airs.
In the UK this week they had their first $2M valuation which was a four foot high model of the famous sculpture Angel Of The North. That episode is being repeated later this week.
