So the Phillies got bounced from the playoffs in the first round against the St. Louis Cardinals after the team’s bats got put to sleep against Chris Carpenter’s pitching. Then on Sunday, the Eagles beat themselves with stupid turnovers and penalties, allowing the Buffalo Bills to just sit, point and laugh. Had it not been for the Flyers shutting out the Devils or the Union clawing their way back into the playoff hunt, it would have been a lousy weekend to be a Philly sports fan.

There was a bright spot to the weekend, though…I got a chance to visit three flea markets and a farmer’s market. The latter was being held at Clark Park, probably not too far from where the “Occupy Philadelphia” protests were scheduled to take place…although I didn’t see anyone with costumes or placards until I went to the first flea market at a Presbyterian church, of all places. I managed to pick up some decent books (including Heir to the Empire, the first of the Star Wars “Thrawn trilogy” books, and a couple of Oscar Wilde plays, because I haven’t read a stage play since 12th grade Honors English and was curious), along with a few relatively current video games (Enslaved, Vanquish, and Data East Arcade Classics) from a game store located in the Drexeline shopping center. Oh, and also Mega Man X Command Mission, because I still need to play that and X8 to complete my collection. I didn’t like X7 very much, but I do intend to finish it one day.

Apparently, someone at the DCCC flea market had a hardcover copy of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles for sale for $1 (yup, the picture’s real, superfluous trademark symbols and all). I’ve heard a lot of silly things about this book, but I didn’t have any idea that it actually existed outside of the “Muggles” lawsuit. I didn’t buy it, of course; why spend money on buying a bad book for collection’s sake when you can laugh at what others have to say about it for free?