Shocked and Amazed - On and Off the Midway

Shocked & Amazed! Volume 9
(featuring The Torture King)
October 2007, 128 pages, $19.95

To order an autographed copy, click Paypal link below or send
check or money order for $25 (includes s&h) to:
Dolphin-Moon Press, P.O.Box 22232, Baltimore, Md. 21203

Jill Fisher and James Taylor at the Showbar on H Street, a spinoff from
Baltimore's defunct Dime Museum. (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)

With his mutton-chop sideburns and red bolo tie, James Taylor, the impresario behind the Showbar Palace of Wonders -- a brick townhouse in Northeast that houses a vaudeville stage, a museum of oddities and a full bar -- looks like a 19th-century carnival barker. But his pitch is crafted for our modern age:

"See the world's largest example of obsessive-compulsive disorder!" he booms, waving his hand toward a bank of glass cabinets stuffed with vintage sideshow props -- miniature mummies, a stuffed unicorn, the remains of mermaids and a teensy village carved of human bones. "See mania run riot! See a glo-o-o-orious mess!"

Partner, bartender and sideshow alum Jill Fisher, her arms covered in tattoos, scrambles to tack labels on the midway oddities Taylor has amassed here...

There are two new venues on H Street NE offering a serious choice on Saturday nights: Would you rather watch an up-and-coming local rock band or someone lie on a bed of nails?

Shocked & Amazed! Volume 8
August 2005, 124 pages, $19.95

The willing suspension of disbelief is what makes amusements, well, amusing. Listen as James Taylor explains it all in CUTTIN' UP JACKPOTS
Fabulous Frieda Pushnik was more than a lady with no arms and legs. She was a Palmer penmanship pro, a painter and a crochet aficionado. You could easily say she was DISARMINGLY TALENTED
Giant rats, gypsies, and the most famous three-legged man of them all! If that sounds like your ideal summer job, well then you sound just like our pal, Walt Hudson. He's our very own CONEY ISLAND BABY
The Fischers were huge stars! Professionally they were known as the World's Only Giant Married Couple. Enjoy a quick peek into THE FISCHERS FOTO FILE
You'll never meet a character more colorful than Red Stuart. He's a true-blue-through-and-through carnie. Sometimes, he's rolling in the green. While other times, a black cloud seems to hang over his head. One thing is for certain, he would absolutely want you to HAVE A RED ONE
Don't doubt our veracity! We verily aver these Victorian variety amusements are available for viewing in THE STRAND
Don Boles (aka Rex Dane) was a midnight movie mentalist and magician in addition to being MENTAL AS ANYTHING
These girls really know how to turn heads! Everyone slows down to take a gander at them. Don't be embarrassed if they catch you RUBBER NECKING
Everything old is new again. And it doesn't get much older than the Renaissance. But it doesn't get much newer than the Renaissance Faire, either. Join Jeffrey Siegal as he explains the evolution of the olde. Oh, and you can ask questions along the way. He's FAIRE GAME
Love! Romance! Betrayal! Sappiness! You're in for this and so much more when we return to the golden age of comics and examine why we are DRAWN TO CARNIES
Don't call one of those animal advocacy groups. No Pulex Irritans were harmed in the publication of this periodical. These vivacious vermin are simply chomping at the bit to have their stories told here. Why, I'll be doggone if these petite performers aren't FLEAS TO MEET YOU
Who wouldn't welcome a return to the good ole days of genteel popular amusement? You know, back when the unwashed masses weren't nearly so unwashed. Since said era never truly existed, you'll have to forgo turning back the hands of time and instead try TURNING ON A DIME
Without sounding too world-weary, we've seen some very strange things in our time. But the almost human gorilla is the top banana of bizarre. Don't believe me? Well, I'll be a MONKEY'S UNCLE
Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What's right for you, might not be right for some. Lee Kolozsy embrace both worlds in VIVE LE DIFFERENCE......
It's time to bring out the big guns! And guns don't get much bigger than cannons. And the number-one-with-a-bullet fav of audiences everywhere was The Great Wilno. Let him tell you about spending his life staring down the barrel of a gun in NICE SHOT
Blinky, Moss-ear, and No-Nose love this piece. Of course, I might be DROPPING NAMES
This way to the egress. We tell you exactly where to find the key to the midway in the BLOW OFF
Pry open your wallet and spend your cabbage in the INDEPENDENT MIDWAY
Just who did this? We point fingers at everyone in FRAMING THE SHOW
Talk is cheap. That's why, at no additional charge to you, we are able to provide you with LINGO

Shocked & Amazed! Volumes 6-9 are $20.00 each
Shocked & Amazed! Volume 5 is $13.00
Best of Shocked & Amazed! is $15.00