Tuesday, June 26, 2012

WHO IS THE ZOOM GIRL?



Zoom Girl is quite lovely but at the same time she is a girl of mystery. This undated paper glider has the look of the 1940s and was most likely a giveaway premium of Cutlery Corporation of America. "Hey Kids, buy a set of steak knives and get a free Zoom Girl!" Hmm...not the type of premium I would expect a cutlery company to give away. Anyone have any ideas on Zoom Girl?  


Monday, June 25, 2012

SCI-FI ART FROM ELECTRONIC GAMES MAGAZINE


My brother and I were avid Electronic Games readers back in the early 80s and I get nostalgic whenever I dig out some of our old issues. Everything about this magazine was pixel nirvana to my already overloaded video game crazed brain. This publication has been covered on many a fine blogs, and video game sites. Also, almost every issue is available in PDF form at Digital Press. So there's no need for me to rattle on about the history and legacy of this mag. Instead I want to showcase a small example of some of the neato sci-fi artwork that could be found between the covers of this great magazine. Most of the artwork here is by Beirne Lowry with pieces by Peter Thulke and Frank Emmi. (Be sure to click on the image for a closer look!) 





















Saturday, June 16, 2012

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES PLEASE STAND BY


Bad news for Neato Coolville! Our mainframe has a problem and needs to be sent in for repair. Not sure how long, but Neato Coolville will be offline until further notice. Thank you. 


----Update---- The repair is complete! New blog posts coming next week!


Friday, June 15, 2012

McCALL'S E.T. SHIRT PATTERNS

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #72

I didn't plan on posting a Flea Market Fridays post today since I didn't have time to hit any shops. But after my trip to the post office I decided to kill some time in our local second hand/consignment shop. Glad I did because I found an E.T. shirt pattern. A perfect item for this week, since we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the film back on Monday.


Back in 1982, this McCall's pattern cost three bucks and thirty years later, it only cost me thirty cents! Now that's a crazy coincidence. The great thing about this pattern is the cover. Hmm...that girl kind of looks like Jennifer Connelly. Wait a sec...that is Jennifer Connelly!!!

Luckily this pattern packet was never used and still is complete with the E.T. iron-ons.    



Forget the alligator on your shirt, let's go with E.T. instead! 


Maybe I'll be lucky enough and find a Tron McCall's pattern in time for the 30th anniversary of that great movie!

Monday, June 11, 2012

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

It really seems strange that E.T. turns 30 years old today. On June 11, 1982, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial touched us all with his flashlight finger. 

By age 12, I was a seasoned space movie veteran and was anxiously chomping on my Star Wars figures for this new sci-fi movie by Steven Spielberg.

Here's the ticket stub that I saved from the first time I saw E.T. at the Lake Cinema.

I think E.T. was the first movie I really connected with. The movie was such an emotional experience for me, much more than some of my favorite movies like Star Wars and Raiders. Besides the space alien and government entanglements, I was able to relate to Elliot in a big way. I saw a kid that played with the same toys, had a cluttered room, argued with his older brother and had trouble convincing adults to believe him. Yeah, this movie was a lot more than laser battles and evil monsters, this film got inside my heart.

The summer of 1982 is considered one of the best summer movie seasons to date. I completely agree with that, especially if you were a kid that year. I saw a lot of movies in the summer of '82. I saw E.T. three times and each showing was special. From the time my brother made my mom sneak in the family tape recorder in her purse to capture some E.T. audio to the time when Conan the Barbarian movie blared through the thin walls of the twinned theater. E.T. -"Ouch. I'll... be...right...here. Be good" and at the same time we could hear, Conan yelling CROM!!!!

I've held E.T. in a special place, so much that I've refused to watch it on home video. The three times I saw E.T. at the theater are the only times I've seen the film. I don't know why, but I've always liked the idea that the film sits in its special place in time. Stuck way back in my childhood. I'm considering watching it tonight for the first time since 1982. On second thought...maybe I'll wait for the Blu-ray.


This is the only E.T. drawing I could find in my stash of kid drawings. Instead of a take off of the movie poster, this was probably more inspired by the free E.T. sticker. The one you got after buying Reese's Pieces at the concession stand. 


One of the best movie product placements of all time was the Reese's Pieces in E.T. How many kids and adults alike became addicted to the peanut butter in a candy shell candy? I've been addicted since 1982. Thanks a lot E.T.! (Be sure to visit CollectingCandy.com for an excellent E.T. Reese's Pieces post!)


It was good fun each time I visited the theater and picked up a free sticker. At the concession stand was this little E.T. sign with tear away order blanks. You could collect a full set of stickers with five Reese's Pieces bags.  


My brother and I ordered a couple of sets and they all ended up stuck on our walls or notebooks. Thanks to ebay I recently picked up an unused set. Here's the complete set of twelve. 













Happy Birthday, E.T. and thanks for phoning 30 years ago!

Friday, June 08, 2012

TRAVELODGE SLEEPY BEAR CLUB

 FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #71

Today's post might make you a bit sleepy. I'm getting kind of sleepy just typing this...Zzzzzzzz...

Oh, excuse me. Didn't mean to nod off, but when I look at my recent flea market find I...just...get...so....sleepy.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

What? Where? Sorry, sleep at the wheel again. OK. Let's try this again and I'll keep it short and sweet just in case I snooze off. Recently I picked up a small bag of goodies and inside was this collection of Sleepy Bear Club items from the 1970s. Apparently, any child staying at Travelodge was automatically enrolled into the Sleepy Bear Club.

 It's nice that Sleepy Bear is friends with Smokey Bear!

Pinback button.

 A bookmark.

A fuzzy refrigerator magnet. (Fuzzy Wuzzy was a sleepy bear and...Zzzzzzzzzz.)

T-shirt iron-on.

This postcard has a 1973 postmark.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to join the Sleepy Bear Club when I was a kid. I've been told they had really cool Sleepy Bear rooms that were decked out with Sleepy Bear decorations. Does anyone have any memories of staying in a Sleepy Bear room back in the day? 

OK, I'm getting sleepy again, so sweet dreams to all of you Neato Readers

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz