Using my blog to try and make the world a better place. If I can help someone forget their troubles for a few minutes a day, it's all worth it.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Fact:


In the mid-70's, no man had nicer hair than Glen Campbell.

I hated wearing turtlenecks:


I never liked wearing turtlenecks. The feel of them always bothered me, like my shirt was trying to strangle me.... Although I have to say they looked great on Maureen.

True:


I had a T-shirt with the above pic, back around 1980. I wore that thing all the time. Just shows the 80's weren't SO bad..

Monday, December 28, 2009

Yeah right...


The above is a pic from The Partridge Family, showing how the bus got its new paint job. But any novice could tell it was a factory job. No way could someone, especially a kid, get all those lines so straight (although I admit I fell for it, I mean when you're 4 years old, you'll believe anything)...

In 1977:


When the song "You're still the one" by Orleans was at the height of its popularity, ABC took it for their advertising campaign. I remember mom used to laugh when the song came on the radio (Orleans not ABC) and they'd sing the line: "you're still the one who can scratch my itch"... I still, to this day, couldn't figure out what was so funny about it...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Fact:


During the Carter administration, his daughter Amy got alot of bad press. She just wasn't liked, for some reason. I really don't know why, I don't recall her getting into any trouble or anything. Poor Amy, she just never got a decent break with anyone.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Verb: That's what's happenin':


I can question like: What is it?
(Verb, you're so demanding.)
I can order like: Go get it!
(Verb, you're so commanding.)
When I hit I need an object
(Verb, hit! Hit the ball!)
When I see, I see the object
(Do you see that furthest wall?)
If you can see it there, put the ball over the fence, man!
Go ahead. Yeah, alright.
What?! He hit it. It's going, it's going, it's gone!
(What!)

Let me guess:


Either Greg just wiped out on a coral reef with his surfboard, or he just said "stinker". Either way, it looks pretty bad...

Nellie Olsen...


... had a face only a mother could love...

Friday, December 25, 2009

Random:


The above is from the 1964 TV Guide, when they aired the first showing of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

True:


In 1977, when Pop Rocks candy first came on the scene, there was a rumor that if you ate these and drank soda at the same time, your stomach would explode....

Monday, December 14, 2009

Random:


When you're a kid and you're afraid, hallways seem longer.

I remember:

The Bic Banana commercials. I do believe that's Charles Nelson Reilley (sp?) as the teacher. To this day I can't figure out why Bic called these pens "bananas".

I was just thinking about:

Tom and Helen Willis. Back in 1976 when The Jeffersons first debuted, I don't think there was another interracial couple on any prime time television show before. Sure Kirk made out once with Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, but even they never made it a lifestyle and became a family unit...
For the record, I forgot all about the other Lionel.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Random:

Bewitched had one of the best openers. I loved the cartoon. And the first Darren was way better than the second one. But that's just me..

Random:

My favorite character on Bewitched was Endora. She was a classy gal, although I wouldn't want to get on her bad side.. Btw, judging by the look on Samantha's face, I'd love to know what she just did...

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

In my opinion:

Carrie got a raw deal. Just sayin'.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

I was just thinking about:

The Ty-D-Bol Man. He was the guy who used to go boating in people's toilets. Just once it would've been so cool to see someone flush the toilet on him, but it never happened. The whole ad campaign seems so ridiculous in hindsight, but back then we didn't really think anything of it. I suppose I could've spent more time looking for decent pics, but really it's just a dude in a toilet..
On a side-note, it's amazing how much that guy looks like Mitt Romney..

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sunday Comic:

I couldn't resist...

Saturday, November 28, 2009

... and in the master's chamber, they gather for the feast. They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast.

Friday, November 27, 2009

String Art:

String art was somewhat popular back in the day, probably up to '78. Some of it was good (some of it). Only one guy I know did it, and he was pretty good. I got a kit for Christmas and just never got the hang of it. What a waste of $5 that was..

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Random:

I loved it when she said that..

Happy Thanksgiving:

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
From Joe, Bobby, Cindy, and Marcia.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Latch Hook kits:

These seemed to be coming into favor in the early 70s (the above is '72). Other than that, there's really not much more to say on the subject...

Aqua Velva:

My father used to wear this stuff. I loved the smell of it back then. I told myself I was going to use it when I got older, only to find that when I did get older, I liked growing a beard ....

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Random facts:

I was never a big Circus fan. We went a couple of times (Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey), but it just wasn't my thing. I did, however, love the drawings of Richard Scarry (above pic), although I don't recall having any of his books.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Anybody else have a Magic Window??? (although, after I got it, I wished I'd asked for something else, frankly)...

Super Elastic Bubble Plastic:

I don't know how many of you remember this. I had it once, but it was pretty nasty stuff. I don't think you could sell it today, since I'm sure it would violate every EPA law there is...

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Those two could never get along:

I'm guessing whatever Fred said to Aunt Esther probably wasn't very nice. It seldom was, actually..

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Maybe it's just me, but..

When The Brady Bunch ended, so abruptly (rudely, actually, if I may be so bold to say), I was devastated. Not long after that, Florence Henderson started to do the Wesson Oil campaign. I always felt it would've been great to include Ann. B. Davis, in some capacity, on the TV commercials. They would've been much better.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Sing, sing a song. Sing out loud, sing out strong. Sing of good things, not bad. Sing of happy, not sad. Sing, sing a song, make it simple to last your whole life long. Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

The Killer Bees:

In 1976, scientists told us that swarms of killer bees were migrating towards the border of Mexico and Texas, and if they crossed the border successfully into Texas, the human race basically had 10 more years to exist before the bees wiped us out. The above was the response from Saturday Night Live.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

L'eggs:

Mom used to get these. I don't think they sell them anymore. She used to give me the eggs to play with, but really how many things can you do with a plastic egg.. I remember an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda was having a bad day, then she said "... and to top it all off, I bought a pair of pantyhose and the egg was empty"...

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Roosevelt Franklin:

Jm_kaye got me thinking about Roosevelt Franklin from Sesame Street. Until I did an image search, I had no idea about the above record..

Happy 40th birthday, Sesame Street!

My earliest years were formed by this show. No exaggeration. I could read before I started school because of Sesame Street (this show was actually an early form of pre-school). I can't imagine a childhood without Sesame Street. This, to me, was one of the most ground-breaking, innovative shows ever produced. No other children's television show has had the longevity that Sesame Street boasts. I'd forgotten about the old CTW logo at the top, which they used the first three years of the show. I'm sure there were other things about the earlier format of the show I've long since forgotten.
I hope this show never dies, and to all of its creators, contributors, writers, and actors, I would like to say thank you for making the world a better place.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween

I had a couple of dozen Dynamites, but I don't think I had this one.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Unexpected find:

I found the above ad when I did a search for "makeout vans"... (hey I'm running out of ideas here). I'm not sure as to the date of the ad, but I'm guessing somewhere between '68 and '72. I love the artwork in this one, it's like some glorious acid trip (um, I've never done acid, btw. For the record)....
Click pic for larger image.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Space Invaders:

In 1977, after we were all bored to tears with Pong (how lame was that), we were introduced to Space Invaders. This took off like wildfire. I, myself, didn't care for S.I., but I was definitely in the minority. I'm not sure if the screen shot on the lower right was the arcade version, I think it might have been the Atari home version, but basically it was the same.
S.I. was okay, but it didn't even come close to PacMan, but that's just me....

Virginia Slims:

In the 70's these ads were everywhere. Mostly I'd see them in the TV Guide we used to get every week (usually on the back cover), but also in mags and even as posters on the sides of the stores that sold cigs. They really used Women's Lib to their advantage on these ads, although, come to think of it, none of the women in our family ever smoked Virginia Slims. Mom was a marlboro gal, my aunts smoked some other brand, Gram was a Winston chick, and our next door neighbor loved her Camel non-filters (yuck). Nevertheless, this was probably one of the most successful ad campaigns of all time.
Click pic for larger image.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

I was just thinking about:

The old Bounty commercials, with Nancy Walker as Rosie, set in Rosie's Diner. Of course, that was the decade of women's liberation, so it's only natural Rosie owned the diner instead of just being a waitress. I remember how she'd wet the towel and put heavy things on it to show how strong it was. And also her Bounty towels would pick up the mess that the other inferior towels would leave behind because they weren't as absorbant. I'm not sure if Nancy's still alive or not. If she is, she'd have to be, like, 100 years old by now....

Friday, October 16, 2009

Lincoln Park

Anyone who grew up near the Dartmouth, MA, area, in the early to mid-70's (when Amusement Parks had reached the height of popularity), will remember Lincoln Park. I haven't been there since around '77, but it was a great place to go. I always looked forward to it. It was always busy there. I loved the monster ride and the coaster. Once i rode the tilt-a-wheel 7 times and got so sick. There's a ton of more pics I could've posted, but if you do an image search for Lincoln Park Dartmouth you'll see alot more. Sadly L.P. is no longer in existance. Its day is long gone.Click pic for larger image.

Monday, October 12, 2009

I still remember Red gingham shirts (a.k.a. tablecloth shirts) in the mid-70's. Those things were everywhere. Even Carol had one...

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Just how big a show was "All In The Family", in 1973???

In the early 70's (probably through '74), it was tv-show suicide to be scheduled opposite All In The Family (just as it was, 5 years ago, for any program to be scheduled opposite "American Idol"). There had never been a show, in the history of television, that hit the raw nerve of America the way that A.I.T.F. did. Some people literally changed their plans so they could be home to watch this show. It changed television programming almost overnight. Only a handful of other shows could make this claim. The importance of All In The Family in television history cannot be overstated.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Hey it just wasn't my thing..

My folks took me to the zoo a few times. But to be honest I never cared for the Zoo. Now that I think of it, I have no idea why they took me either, because neither one of them liked zoos (come to think of it, neither one of them even seemed to like animals, actually).
I can still smell the monkey section, btw, even after 30 years....

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Just sayin':

I never saw an episode of Queen For A Day, but if it was anything like The $1.98 Beauty Show, I'd probably laugh my ass off.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

I'm guessing she's a fan ... just a hunch..

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday, charcoal burning everywhere. Rows of houses that are all the same, and no one seems to care


I've always had a mild fascination with Levittown, and the whole post-war lifestyle. And the fact that you could buy a house for $4,000.. on credit....

Friday, October 02, 2009

Hey Mister tambourine man:

"Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind, Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves, The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach, Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow. Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves. Let me forget about today until tomorrow."
Bob Dylan

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Sorry but..

If you wanted a calculator back in 1973, you'd better have been prepared to shell-out 70 bucks.. , now they sell them for like a buck a piece...

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Random:

Back in '78, some people felt that if Mork could pull off the rainbow suspenders look, they could too. They were wrong, btw.Very, Very wrong..