Neato Coolville

1976 SLOPPY JOE PACKET

2012-02-01T15:39:00.002-06:00

I'm tempted to open this and fix me a Sloppy Joe sandwich. Mmm, mmm, mmm! I'm sure after 36 years the seasoning mix that's sealed inside is still OK. Right?

I'll be fine as long as I follow along with the Manwich lady from this 1972 ad.

Now if I survive, I guess I'll celebrate by doing the Sloppy Joe dance!

OK everyone, get up and get your slop on and let's do the Sloppy Joe dance.

For some more vintage Sloppy Joe fun, visit these links here, here and here!

ROCK 'EM TACKLE 'EM ROBOTS

2012-01-31T15:55:00.000-06:00

This Levi's jeans magazine ad from 1978, pretty much sums up the type of dreams I had as a kid. I was one of those oddball kids who liked both sports and sci-fi, so I totally get this dream sequence.

START/RESET FOR NEATO COOLVILLE

2012-01-30T15:42:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year's Day, um...thirty days late. Yep, Neato Coolville has been in Rip Van Winkle mode all this month, but fear not Neato Readers 'cause new posts are coming soon.

I'm hoping and planning that this year will be the best yet for our town. Lots of nostalgic goodies will be dancing across your computer screen this year. The scanner has been turned up to eleven. I've scanned loads of postcards, found photos and old advertisements that will show up with more regularity than before. (Ah...it sure is good to be regular.) Plus, I'll continue some of the regular features like Flea Market Fridays and Memories from the Mayor.

The facebook and twitter pages will continue with links back to the blog, links to other cool spots around the internet and just random whatevers. The Monday Movie Quote will return to facebook along with a couple of new features. Recently I've been hooked on that retro photo app, Instagram. Mostly I'm using it on Twitter and flickr for now. It sure fills that Polaroid void that I have.

One goal this year is to get down and get creative again. I've been in a funk and not in the good James Brown kinda funk either. One of these days I hope to introduce everyone to all the places and people who make up Neato Coolville. Not the blog, but the imaginary town inside my head. So maybe you'll see some creative content show up related to the town.

OK, enough about the things to come...I'm ready to get back on the blog bicycle. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the ride.

HAVE A MERRY COOL CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

This Polaroid was shot during the holiday season of 2009. It's not a great photo but I like the simplicity of of the neon tree. If you look close, you'll notice some spots. It was sleeting and snowing when I took the photo. The spots are melted snowflakes!

Thanks to everyone who has visited our little town during the 12 Days of Christmas. We wish you a merry cool Christmas!

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED POLAROID

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Rankin/Bass TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been a television viewing tradition since it first aired on NBC in 1964. I don't remember the first time I watched it, but as a kid it was never to be missed. In the days before DVDs and DVRs, it was a long wait until it aired again. I remember crying big ol' Bumble tears when our television went on the fritz right before Rudolph was to start. I think I was five and all we had on the screen was static. Back then I thought my Christmas was ruined because I missed Rudolph.

The above image is a Polaroid photo that I snapped a couple of years ago, during the last days of Polaroid. I didn't have to travel to the North Pole, I just took a photo of my TV screen. It is one of my favorite 'roids, because it reminds me of how much I anticipated the TV special and the fun I had watching it. The white border kinda reminds me of a television set and there's Rudolph forever on the screen.

As a bonus! Here's some TV Guide ad scans of three different Rudolph specials.

1976 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

1978 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

1976 Rudolph's Shiny New Year

1979 Rudolph's Shiny New Year

1979 Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

RECORD ALBUM COVERS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

2011-12-23T11:07:00.000-06:00

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #59

"I'll buy that for a dollar!" I hit the tacky Christmas record lottery when I recently found these albums. All but two were from the same collection and all were a buck each!

MY LETTER TO SANTA WHEN I WAS FOUR

2011-12-22T11:37:00.000-06:00

My Mom surprised me the other day with an artifact from my childhood. She ran across my letter to Santa Claus when I was four. Check it out, I could write pretty good for a four year old!

No, I'm afraid I wasn't a savant at penmanship. The letter was written by my personal secretary before I could write, my Grandma. She jotted down the letter from my dictation. Let's break down this letter and analyze this childhood artifact. We'll be using a 1974 Sears Wish Book because this was always my go to catalog to make my Christmas list. Most everything listed in the letter came from this catalog.

1. Red Nosed Reindeer Bank - I'm assuming Rudolph was the red nosed reindeer I was asking for and not a knock off like a Randolph or a Randy. Now as to the bank...I have no clue? There's not a Red Nosed Reindeer bank listed in the '74 Wish Book. I did a google search and the only Red Nosed Reindeer bank I spotted is a metal one from the 1950's. Apparently, Santa wasn't able to come up with one because I never owned a Red Nosed Reindeer bank!

2. Christmas Tree - Um...that was an easy one for Santa. Why did I ask for a Christmas tree? I guess I was worried we would not have one that year. Remember I was still a Christmas newbie and was trying to learn about all these crazy traditions.

3. Planet of the Apes - I was crazy about the POTA TV show and even though my Grandma wasn't specific (or maybe it was me) on what type of Apes I wanted, I'm sure I was asking for the Mego action figures. At that time, I had a Spider-Man Mego (my first action figure) and these Apes figures looked too awesome not to ask for. Unfortunately, Santa didn't bring any Apes figures.

4. Play-Dough Fire Truck - I like that my Grandma spelled Play-Doh, Play-Dough. (She was an amazing cook and I'm sure she was thinking about cookie dough for all the Christmas cookies she needed to bake.) From the list, this was my main Santa gift in 1974. At age four, I wanted to grow up and become a fireman. Playing with the Play-Doh Pumper No. 9 was the closest I ever came to that career choice. I had so much fun playing with this toy.

5. Clothes - Really? OK, I have a hard time believing I asked for clothes. I betcha my Grandma asked me, "You would probably like to ask Santa for some clothes, right?" She baited me to say clothes, I know it! Anyway, if I had to pick, I'm sure I went for the Toughskins!

6. Trap - It's a trap! A trap? Hmm...now this is an odd thing to ask for. Santa actually came through with this gift and I'm sure it had my parents laughing that I asked for it, especially my Dad. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, but not trapping. I don't know why I wanted a trap. I think I wanted to trap a squirrel or a rabbit for a pet. I do have memories of spending hours outside waiting for something to crawl inside my trap. I never trapped any critters and that was probably a good thing.

7. Toy Chair - Another odd choice, but at least not as odd as a trap. Apparently I wanted a chair that fit my little size. Something I could sit in and watch TV with the rest of the family. Santa came through with a toddler sized rocking chair. This was a great rocker until I outgrew it a couple of years later.

8. Giant Paint Box with Brush - Drawing, coloring, painting. These were my favorite things to do as a kid and even though I'm not sure if this was the set I got from Santa, I usually got crayons and paint sets each Christmas.

9. New Snoopy Tooth Brush - I guess I wore out my old Snoopy tooth brush and needed a new one. Glad I was concerned with dental hygiene as a child.

10. Cowboy Hat - The hat I got was more of a straw cowboy hat, but it worked. I ran around the house with my trusty broom steed, cap guns and my brand new cowboy hat. I loved cowboy and western stuff until I saw Star Wars.

11. Soldiers/Army Men - Plastic army men were the best! Even though they were a no frills type of toy, they were lots of fun and gave me hours of play. Hundreds of times I waged war on the shag carpet. They were even more fun when I became a teenager. The perfect accessory for fireworks and bb guns!

12. A Big Box of Crayons - See number eight.

13. A Robot Toy - I flipped through the Sears Wish Book and didn't see any robot toys. Not sure what kind of robot toy I was asking for. I was crazy for robots at the young age of four, so I guess I just wanted my own robot. Santa didn't find a robot for me, so I was robotless that year.

I hope Santa enjoyed the plate of cookies and milk we left for him next to the fireplace.

Thanks for helping me analyze my letter to Santa. Even though I didn't get everything on the list, I think Santa did OK for me back during the Christmas of 1974. Don't tell Santa, but I still kind of wish he would have had a Mego Planet of the Apes figure in his bag.

1979 KENNER TOYS COUPON BOOKLET

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Came across this Kenner Toys coupon booklet in a 1979 TV Guide. I really wanted that Alien figure in the worst way back then. I didn't get one, but was happy enough with my Star Wars Droid Factory from that year!

IT'S HOWDY DOODY SPRAY SNOW TIME!

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

From the 1950's comes this Christmas stencil kit featuring everyone's favorite freckled marionette, Howdy Doody. Most of the times these sets were free when you purchased a can of Spray Snow. Apparently you could buy extras and this example cost someone a shiny dime.

I'll need to remember to use these stencils for next year's Halloween Jack-o'-lanterns. It's always fun to mix-up the holidays!

I really dig this illustration of the spray snow can kid with his classic Jughead style beanie.

He looks so happy spraying his can of snow into the face of Howdy. Or second thought, maybe he's simply a grafitti artist painting Howdy Doody on a wall. Hmm...I guess there's not too many street artists painting Howdy Doody these days. That's kinda sad.

Below is the can with the stencils offer and the image comes from that great auction place with all the cool stuff, Hake's Collectibles.

BABY, IT'S COLD POWER OUTSIDE

2011-12-19T15:53:00.000-06:00

I feel sorry for the poor kid who got a box of Cold Power laundry detergent under the tree. C'mon, Santa, you can give better gifts than this. That being said, the fantastic artwork on this 1971 ad is a good enough gift for today's post. Anyone have a clue on the artist for this?

THREE FOUND PHOTOS FOR CHRISTMAS

2011-12-18T17:14:00.000-06:00

This guy is pleased with the creation of his little Christmas village. Way to go unidentified hairy arm man - you are a Christmas crafter master!

Not sure, but this might be the little Christmas village for the following year. I guess the hairy arm man didn't want to pose with this village.

I really dig that cool Christmas star in the hallway. Hmm... it kinda looks like baby Superman's spaceship in Superman: The Movie from 1978.

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC CHRISTMAS RADIO SPOTS

2011-12-17T00:21:00.003-06:00

I just ran across these Christmas radio spots by Weird Al Yankovic on YouTube. These spots will put you in that classic Christmas spirit!

SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM A JIM FLORA 1953 CALENDAR

2011-12-16T00:00:00.002-06:00

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #58

One of my favorite artists is Jim Flora and I've never been lucky enough to find anything with his artwork in the wilds of antique stores or flea markets. Last week I was lucky and struck a Flora piece of gold in the form of a 1953 Columbia Records calendar! From the 1940s to the 1970s Flora's whimsical artwork graced countless record album covers, children's books and magazine covers. My introduction to Flora was from one of my favorite books as a child, The Great Green Turkey Creek Monster. Now I have the pleasure of adding this gem to my Flora collection that is now two. For more info on Jim Flora, visit the official Jim Flora website. Enjoy the calendar scans!

Click here to see a large version of the Columbia Records building by Jim Flora that I reconstructed from the calendar front and the first two pages.

PLOP PLOP, FIZZ FIZZ FROM SAMMY CLAUS

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

Found in a 1979 TV Guide is this Alka-Seltzer sweepstakes advertisement starring Sammy Davis Jr. as Sammy Claus.

Watch Sammy Claus settle an upset stomach in this television commercial from the same year.

Skip the milk and cookies! On Christmas Eve, be sure to put out a Gin Martini and a pack of smokes for ol' Sammy Claus when he swings down your chimney!

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS STARTS TODAY

2011-12-14T14:44:00.002-06:00

1...2...3...Blast off! Here we go, leaving planet Earth in search of Christmas goodies in our rocketship, the U.S.S. Noel. Thankfully, Santa has hitched a ride to help us find appropriate Yuletide posts to share each day until we reach that merriest of days.

We start things off with this early 1960’s Rocketship Santa ceramic decoration. This guy goes great with my U.F.O. Santa I found a few years ago.

YEP, I LOVE THE MUPPETS

2011-11-23T15:15:00.000-06:00

For most kids in the 1970s and 80s, childhood and Muppets walked hand in hand. My childhood was no different.

As a preschooler I was a regular viewer of Sesame Street. All the characters became fast friends that I adored. After I became streetwise and knew how to say the word water in Spanish, I graduated to The Muppet Show. Now this was my show! Every Friday or Saturday night at 6:30, I was parked in front of the Zenith in my favorite TV watching chair. The same orange plaid chair that Kermit is sitting on in the photo above. Most of the time I would have my Kermit Muppet and Cookie Monster Muppet in the chair with me. It was a Muppet party!

It seems that the Muppets were always there during my childhood. They popped up on awards shows, in commercials, magazine covers and in the toy aisles. Heck, one even showed up in that Star Wars sequel that I was so crazy about. My felt and furry friends were everywhere and I’m thankful for it.

In my stack of saved kid drawings, I found three drawings I made of my favorite Muppets.

Gonzo has always been my favorite Muppet. His odd looks and weirdness clicked with my own off the wall humor. I bet you didn’t know that Gonzo is my personal friend in Hollywood.

Yep, I have the written proof!

Gonzo and his pal Dave Goelz sent me this neato cool autograph several years ago. I wrote Dave and he was super nice to send out this signed card. It has a special place in my collection.

Back in ’05, I met two Muppet celebrities, Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch!

They were hanging out at the Smithsonian. I guess I was too starstruck to ask for an autograph. Maybe next time.

I’ve been an admirer of many celebrities through the years and I’m always saddened when a great talent passes away. When Jim Henson passed in 1990, I felt like a close friend had died. I’d never felt that way for any celebrity before. I was in college when I heard the news and I felt that I lost a piece of my childhood that day. I’m happy to see the Jim Henson Company keep his legacy alive. Check out this fantastic video tribute that played during this year’s D23 Legends ceremony when Jim was honored in Disney’s version of a Hall of Fame.

The Muppets will always be a fond memory from childhood and I’m happy for all the joy they have given me. Thanks to Jim Henson and all of his crew for creating so many wonderful friends for so many.

MUPPETS FOUND IN OLD CHRISTMAS CATALOGS

2011-11-23T14:44:00.000-06:00

For your viewing pleasure, here's some scans of various Muppet items that I found in some of my old Christmas catalogs from 1977 to 1983.

1979 THE MUPPETS GO HOLLYWOOD

2011-11-22T17:46:00.000-06:00

To coincide with the release of The Muppet Movie, (the Muppets first movie), CBS aired The Muppets Go Hollywood on May 16, 1979. The movie would follow about a month later. After watching this TV special, my eight year old self was hyped up beyond control for the movie’s release.

Watch the 1979 CBS TV special starting with part one below uploaded to YouTube by malachy90.

Click on the links below to watch the rest of the show!

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

NOW A WORD FROM OUR MUPPET SPONSOR

2011-11-22T17:10:00.000-06:00

Jim Henson was an advertising wizard when it came to commercials. Here's some of my favorite Muppet commercials!

CROONCHY STARS CEREAL

2011-11-22T15:00:00.000-06:00

Bork! Bork! Bork! Back in 1988, Post cereals released Croonchy Stars with a famous celebrity chef, The Swedish Chef! The actual cereal was less than appetizing, but the box was one of the best boxes to grace the cereal aisle.

Jim Henson's fingerprints are all over the box especially with the silly gags on the back. It was the perfect box to read while you ate your cereal. Check out this post from Jim Henson's Red Book about Croonchy Stars here and then a Croonchy morsel can be found in this Red Book entry here.

As a cereal box collector, this is one of my favorite boxes in my collection. Take a look at Jason's two boxes from his collection here and here. Next, head over to view the neato send away doll that Gregg has shared here and here.

Now let's watch that wacky Swedish Chef cook up a batch of his Croonchy Stars cereal!

THE MUPPET SHOW TV GUIDE ADS

2011-11-22T12:17:00.000-06:00

Whew! Boy are my fingers tired, ‘cause I just flipped through hundreds of TV Guides looking for Muppet Show ads. All of these are from Missouri stations.

As a bonus, here's a Muppet poster ad and a Muppet News Flash from Kermit!

THE MUPPET MUSICIANS OF BREMEN

2011-11-22T10:00:00.000-06:00

From the April 22, 1972 issue of TV Guide, here’s a two page profile of The Muppet Musicians of Bremen that originally aired on April 25 of the same year.

I love seeing photos of the Muppeteers in action! It always amazes me the arm strength and endurance of the Muppeteers. Gosh, my arm gets tired simply changing a lightbulb, so I can’t imagine what it would be like working long hours each day with a muppet.

I love that photo of a Muppeteer’s hand, (I think it belongs to Jim), waiting for a muppet. It looks like a scene out of a George A. Romero movie!

Below you’ll find the first part followed by all the links to watch the rest of this amazing TV special. Visit the fantastic Jim Henson’s Red Book website here and here to read more about The Muppet Musicians of Bremen.

Click on the following links for parts 2-6.
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6

Check back through the day for more Muppet posts!

I'LL ALWAYS HAVE PAC-MAN FEVER

2011-11-21T14:51:00.000-06:00

The other day I read on The Retroist that Gary Garcia passed away. Gary was the Garcia half of Buckner & Garcia, the music team that created one of the best novelty songs of all time, Pac-Man Fever!

As a kid I had the Pac-Man fever really bad and spent most of my free time in one of the many arcades in my neighborhood playing Pac-Man. Naturally I was crazy about the song when it came out. I think our local radio station probably blocked my phone number because I requested Pac-Man Fever way too much.

Below is a 1982 drawing that I made when I was eleven as a tribute to my favorite song that year.

Thanks to Jerry and Gary for creating a song that will always bring me back to simpler times.

Visit the official Buckner & Garcia website to read Jerry's words about his friend Gary and be sure to watch the performance of B & G on American Bandstand.

1987 PLANET OF THE APES TV PROMO WITH RAP SONG

2011-11-19T11:04:00.004-06:00

Uploaded to YouTube by robatsea2009.

MID-19th CENTURY COUPLE WISHES LOUIS DAGUERRE HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2011-11-18T09:39:00.001-06:00

Today is the anniversary of Louis Daguerre's birth in 1787. Good ol' Louis invented the daguerreotype, one of the earliest types of photography and the first to be commercially successful. Click here to see the very first dag, created by Louis in 1837. Not sure what's up with the two (kinda creepy) cupid heads.

Unfortunetly Mr. Daguerre's birthday wasn't listed on my calendar this morning, but thanks to today's fantastic Google Doodle, I didn't miss it.

Google's clever doodle inspired me to dig out the earliest photo in my collection, the 1850's daguerreotype couple from above. I picked the photo up years ago at an antique store and they've been instant ancestors ever since. Who were these people? That's the thought that spins in my head when I look at the photo. It was expensive to have a daguerreotype photo made and it was usually the wealthy and the affluent that could afford it. Our couple here, looks like they fit in that class of folks. I'm guessing their ages to be somewhere in the early thirties. Actually the woman might be in her twenties. Just think, they probably met or knew men that fought in the American Revolutionary War. I wonder what happened to this couple? Just a few years after they sat for this photo, the American Civil War would break out. Were they northerners or southerners? Did this man fight? Did he survive? Why is he doing an impression of Napoleon with his hand tucked in his coat? So many questions!!!

This is what I love about old photos - the unanswered questions and the unending mystery!

Happy Dag Day everyone!

SUPPORT NEEDED FOR CURSE OF THE PHANTOM SHADOW

2011-11-17T10:37:00.004-06:00

I’ve been hooked on movie serials since I was a kid. Of course I was born too late to experience these episodic chapter films at the matinee. Instead, my introduction was watching them on TV with my dad. As he was reliving childhood memories watching Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, I was being introduced to a world of over-the-top action, cardboard spaceships, wooden acting and damsels in distress.

These films from the 1930s and 40s continue to inspire. From Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark to The Rocketeer, Sky Captain and most recently Captain America all come from the same movie serial mold. It’s always exciting to see filmmakers revisit the movie serial style. One filmmaker, Mark Ross is attempting to complete his own homage to the movie serial with his film Curse of the Phantom Shadow. Watch the video below to see Mark describe his project.

Unfortunately, I’m a little late to the party as Mark has only 17 days left to raise the remainder of money to reach his Kickstarter goal. Just like a true cliffhanger, this project is in peril. If you’re a movie serial fan, please become a backer or at least share this project with your friends. Let’s help Mark bring Curse of the Phantom Shadow to fruition! You can become a baker for $25 and you’ll get a copy of the movie on DVD! Wow, that’s a super deal!

Back the Curse of the Phantom Shadow today before it’s too late!

THREE COOL KRAFT ADS FROM 1970

2011-11-16T15:50:00.005-06:00

Oops! Make that four. I forgot I had this one with the crazy Kraft caramel cone.

--Update--

The Retroist found the commercial that goes along with the crazy caramel cone ad! Check it out here!

THE DAY OF THE NUMBER ELEVEN

2011-11-11T23:11:00.001-06:00

A SUPER SALUTE TO ALL VETERANS

2011-11-11T20:47:00.004-06:00

All of you are neato cool! Thank you!

R.I.P. 2011 HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN

2011-10-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe another Halloween countdown has come and gone. As always it is a real treat that I get the opportunity to share some forgotten artifacts from childhood along with some weird and zany fun.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for some treats! I very much appreciate all the comments, emails and follows along the way.

The Halloween countdown would not have been possible without the help from these cool kids. Thanks to Kirk Demarais, Patrick Franklin, Warren Godfrey, Dan Goodsell, Mike Middleton, Tim Williams and Larry Williams. Also I must thank the first lady of Neato Coolville for putting up with Halloween everyday in October.

So until next time, remember to be neato ghoul to everyone!

HAVE A KEEN HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T01:15:00.001-05:00

Neato Ghoulville will soon change back into mild-mannered Neato Coolville, but before that happens enjoy these last few treats of the vintage variety.

Happy Halloween!

Visit Weird Hollow as Vlad wishes everyone a Happy Halloween with outtakes from Castle Vlad!

TRICK OR TREAT-PAK

2011-10-31T01:14:00.000-05:00

1950'S HALLOWEEN PARTY PEOPLE

2011-10-30T00:00:00.001-05:00

The Devil and Tom Walker.

Mr. & Mrs. Lone Ranger

Abe & Mary

Laverne & Shirley

Harem Scarem

Mr. & Mrs. Zorro

Just a pair of hobos!

SUPERMAG HALLOWEEN FUN PAGES

2011-10-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

YOU BETTER TAKE YOUR MONSTER VITAMINS...AGAIN

2011-10-28T02:30:00.000-05:00

Come a little closer, Neato Readers.

Today, I’m happy to report on some new scare-umptious info about Bristol-Myers’ Monster Multiple Vitamins. These little happy monsters have been a faded memory for many 70’s kids.

Since I'm one of those 70's kids, I blogged about my early and faded Monster Vitamins memories back during the 2007 Halloween countdown. Click here to view the first post.

One of the most requested Monster Vitamins items is the famous commercial with Vincent Price. It has rarely been seen since it originally aired back in the mid-70’s. Now don’t get too excited because we still don’t have the commercial, but we have the next best thing, the commercial’s art director.

Meet the CLIO award winning art director Warren Godfrey. He's pictured with Vincent in this never before seen photo from the print ad photo shoot.

Warren, now retired, worked in advertising as an art director for 52 years. He developed commercials for Lampert Agency, Cunningham & Walsh, NW Advertising, Hicks & Greist, Ketchum, Ogilvy, Wunderman and many more. The Monster Vitamins commercial with Vincent Price remains as one of his favorite commercials. In Warren’s own words, he describes the commercial.

Warren Godfrey - “I came up with the idea of using Vincent Price as the spooky spokesperson at home in his gothic castle sitting in a huge gothic chair by the fireplace. What was funny at the end, after he talked about the vitamins, and we showed the vitamins animated, he reached down and pulled up a trap door as light came from below. He yelled down, “Right kids?” and the kids replied all together as a voice over, “RIGHT!” The lawyers today probably wouldn’t let us do that. Cruelty to kids.”

I asked Warren what it was like to work with Vincent.

Warren Godfrey - “Vincent was a pleasure to work with. I do remember in the pre-production meeting with his agent that he requested a prune danish for his breakfast at the shoot.”

Today, Warren is an accomplished folk artist and his amazing paintings can be viewed and purchased at his website here.

Another Monster Vitamins mystery has been the names of the monsters. Warren remembered two, Screaming Mimi and Babbly Bat, but the other monster names were lost to time.

Today the name mystery has been solved! Now meet the Monster Multiples! I've added each Monster's name below their respective images and vitamin shape.

Gorgonzola

Babbly Bat

Screaming Mimi

Fedorable

The Blob

Sneaky & Squeaky

Monstermobile

Learning the monster names was a double whammy of goodness because I learned them from this uber-rare Monster Vitamins record. I'm not exactly sure when this record was offered, but it was one of the few, if only give-away premiums for Monster Vitamins. This record belongs to super collector and artist Dan Goodsell!

Now join the monster party and listen to the record via these two YouTube videos.

There's still many mysteries related to Monster Vitamins, like the true origins of the product and who designed the monsters. Eventually these mysteries will be revealed, but until then, we can now address each monster by name. You just never know when you might see one walking down the street!

A big thanks to Warren Godfrey for supplying his memories and photograph! Also a big thanks goes to Dan Goodsell for sharing his record!

BIG BRO'S STASH OF SCARY KIDS BOOKS

2011-10-27T00:01:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago my big brother found a bunch of his old kid books. After I agreed to a dutch rub and a couple of noogies, he let me borrow the spooky ones. You see, I sacrificed for all you neato readers just so that you can reminisce about these books from the 1970s. For your enjoyment, here's the cover scans and a few select interior pages.

Click on the image above and save it for a ghostly desktop wallpaper.

Who remembers watching Walt Disney's The Mystery of Dracula's Castle starring Johnny Whitaker? I'm sure I was right there in front of the Zenith watching this with my brother and our dog, but I have no memory of it. This really needs to be released on DVD. Until then we have the paperback!

REDDI-WIP 1958 HALLOWEEN AD

2011-10-27T00:00:00.001-05:00

Did you know that Reddi-Wip is a fine treat for kids on Halloween? It sure is! When the trick or treaters come to your door just take a Reddi-Wip can and spray the white stuff straight into their goodie bags! It's an instant treat!

I think this kid probably grew up and became the owner of the Silver Shamrock Novelties company!

THE SKELETONS BOOK

2011-10-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

Here’s an artifact from my childhood. A simple little handmade book called The Skeletons Book or as I spelled it, The Skeltons Book.

Maybe I was thinking of Red, the famous comedian when I titled it. Probably not, since I was only six when I made this.

Not sure what this book is supposed to be about.

Why did a draw a boulder crushing someone? I have no idea. Maybe the victim turns into one of the ghosts on the next page.

Just in time for the Bong musical number. Singing is a clown, a tiny ghost, a phantom with a top hat, a headless Medusa and our skeleton from the cover.

Oh look, the phantom with a top hat is knighting the skeleton. BINGGG!

Wow, it’s the end of the book! Boy that was a quick read. Looks like the gang has one last musical number to perform. The famous Dee Dee Song! Oh wait...I just noticed the clown is really a witch. Good, because that clown just didn’t make any sense at all!

NEW EPISODE OF CASTLE VLAD

2011-10-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

Vlad tries his hand at hosting a children's show! Click here to watch this demented episode.

FRANKENTOAST PICKS SOME FLOWERS

2011-10-25T00:14:00.003-05:00

Here is Dan Goodsell's famous Mr Toast character as Frankentoast. Frankentoast was a perfect choice for a fun photo spoof of this famous scene from Frankenstein.

Frankentoast was a 2011 San Diego Comic Con exclusive. Click here to order your very own Frankentoast!

1977 GRANOLA BARS HALLOWEEN AD

2011-10-24T08:31:00.000-05:00

It would be a big bummer to find a granola bar in your trick or treat bag. A healthy treat on Halloween is a rotten trick!

LET'S PAUSE FOR HALLOWEEN WITH AN ICE COLD COCA-COLA

2011-10-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here's some 1960's Halloween related pages from Coca-Cola's Pause For Living magazine!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE SAFETYPUP

2011-10-22T10:43:00.002-05:00

Safetypup has been sharing important safety tips to children since 1985. He's pictured here with a dapper skeleton friend on this 1993 trick or treat bag. Here's a link to Safetypup's history page. Wow, I didn't know that he was designed by Bonnie Erickson, the great Muppet and mascot designer. Nice that Safetypup can call Miss Piggy and the Phillie Phanatic family!

TRICK OR TREAT WITH A CLOWN & HIS LIL CLOWN DOGGIE

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

This bag is not dated, but it looks similar to the type that was handed out to school kids in the 70's and 80's. At least that's how I remember them. Unfortunately I didn't keep any of my Halloween bags from when I was kid ito compare. I remember in school how exciting it was when a local fireman would show up and hand out trick or treat bags filled with candy.

HEADLESS HORSEMAN RIDES AGAIN ON THE COVER OF A PAPERBACK

2011-10-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

I guess that makes the Headless one a paperback rider! Ooh, that was bad. Sorry.

One of my favorite stories for the Halloween season is Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! Here's the cover from a Watermill Classic reprint in 1980.

ORVILLE REDENBACHER WAS VISITED BY EXTRATERESTIALS

2011-10-19T00:00:00.005-05:00

Here's the proof as documented on this 1982 trick or treat bag! Forget the Reese's Pieces - these little green men like popcorn instead.

HAPPY SEARS-OWEEN WITH THIS 1977 KENMORE DISHWASHER AD

2011-10-18T00:00:00.003-05:00

Is it me, or does it look like the mom and the Halloween clown kid are trick or treating at a dishwasher?

1979 HALLOWEEN CAKES BY WILTON

2011-10-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here's some Halloween cakes and accessories from the 1979 Wilton Yearbook for Cake Decorating.

I love the cake with the giant monster ghost scaring the frosting out of the little trick or treaters!

JACK AND JILL SPACE KID HALLOWEEN COVER

2011-10-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason, holiday images mixed with space themes are always neato cool! Just like this 1956 Jack and Jill cover by Margot Austin.

There's not much Halloween related imagery inside the mag, but check out the Nightmare Before Christmas-ish artwork from the back cover.

1980's HALLOWEEN COMMERCIALS FROM ROWNTREE CANDIES

2011-10-15T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is so cool! I just love all those glowing titles and video animations from the 80's!

Here's another Rowntree commercial from 1984. This one stars the Money Monster.

Rowntree was the original creator of the Kit Kat candy bar!

Both commercials uploaded to YouTube by Retrontario and we all thank you for it!!

THE LITTLE ORANGE SPRINGY ALIEN

2011-10-14T11:35:00.005-05:00

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #58

Recently, I found a true to life alien creature and he's orange with a spring body. He was living inside a showcase at an antique mall and when I spotted the little fellow, I knew I had to rescue him. After plunking some bucks down on the counter, this E.T. became the newest resident of Neato Coolville.

He's such a happy little alien with a lots of pep and a spring in his step! Here he is getting his groove on -

Really, I'm not sure where he originally came from. My guess was Planet Slinky, but I kinda doubt that. He probably came to our planet in the 1960's to live on car dashboards. He's not branded with any markings, so until he learns to talk, I may never know.

Has anyone out there seen any of his kind before?

You might be wondering what this little guy has to do with Halloween. Well...he is an alien and he is orange. I think those two reasons are good enough.

13 SUPER-HIP MONSTER COMIC COVERS

2011-10-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

It has become a tradition during the thirteenth day of October to present thirteen comics that have a similar theme. Today we look at a monster mashy selection of covers!

VLAD IS BACK!

2011-10-12T11:14:00.004-05:00

Check out the newest episode of Castle Vlad!

JACK (O'LANTERN) AND JILL 1953 HALLOWEEN COVER

2011-10-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

The cover on this beat up old Jack and Jill magazine from 1953 sure is nifty! I didn't care that it was missing most of its pages, 'cause that cover was worth the two bucks the antique dealer was asking. The artwork is by Racheal Owings and her Jack O' art is part of the front and back cover. Here's a more cleaned up scan of the cover with the text removed.

As a bonus, here's the cover made into a desktop wallpaper.

MY KID ART: 1970'S HALLOWEEN CARD

2011-10-11T00:32:00.004-05:00

My mom found a Halloween card that I made for my Aunt and Uncle back when I was seven or eight years old. They were very special to me and it was always fun receiving and sending cards back in forth.

Ghosts and monsters were always a favorite subject for me to draw, so I'm sure I had fun drawing this card. I probably made lots of haunted house or maybe haunted castle sound effects as I drew this!

LAST DAY TO ENTER THE MONSTER HEAD RACES CONTEST!!!!

2011-10-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Hey there MHR fans! Today is the last day to pick the monster head that you think will win Monster Head Races IV. If you pick the winning monster head then you'll have a chance to win Kirk Demarais' most excellent book, Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads. As a cool kicker, Kirk will sign his book for the winner!

So follow this link, ENTER MHR CONTEST before 11:59 p.m. tonight (central time) and pick the monster head you think will be the champion racer!

As always, the races were shot before the beginning of the Halloween countdown and no one knows the outcome except me and Vlad and we never tell!!! (By the way, the winner also receives an autographed photo of Vlad.) This year the races were shot in RETRO-VISION. Going with the poorest quality that video tape has to offer! Please join us Tuesday for the goofiest, weirdest and usually lamest race ever, the Monster Head Races.

Be sure to spread the news about Kirk's comic book ad book, 'cause this week his book will be hitting the streets ready for purchase. Here's the Amazon link for Mail-Order Mysteries.

1977 Kodak Instant Camera Ad

2011-10-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

NICK AT NITE HALLOWEEN TITLE CARDS

2011-10-08T00:00:00.001-05:00

Back in August I posted some Nick at Nite title cards. I saved the Halloween cards for the countdown.

As a bonus, here’s three Nick at Nite spots featuring The Munsters from 1995.

LAME HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEAS FROM SHARI LEWIS

2011-10-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

We all love Shari Lewis, the gal with a lamb chop stuck on her hand, but these two Halloween costume ideas might be the lamest I’ve ever seen.

Shari had an ongoing series in the pages of Good House Keeping, Shari Lewis’ Smallfry Scrapbook, back in the 1960‘s.

Here’s one of her pages for the month of October with the two less than stellar costume ideas.

Really, a grocery bag for a costume?

How’s this kid going to get candy with his arms stuck inside a bag? Also, this kid is defenseless with no arm holes. I can picture a couple of mean kids (probably not wearing costumes) pushing grocery bag kid down to the ground. “Oops, looks like Piggly Wiggly just fell down.” Yep, I feel sorry for any poor kid who’s mom used this costume.

The next lame costume is simply a bag over a broom.

I guess when little Suzy is done trick or treating she can sweep up the house later. At least Suzy could smack those non-wearing costume punks and defend herself.

I didn’t feature the sick kid in bed since he's not Halloween related. Man...someone go back in time and give that kid a Nintendo DS!

Here’s some more lame costumes from some of my past countdowns.

Space Helmet Plastic Bag Mask
Pumpkin Costume Idea
Kid Wearing Pumpkin Costume
Easter Bunny
Slozaloony

LET'S MIX IT UP WITH MONSTER MIX

2011-10-06T00:00:00.002-05:00

If only this book would have been published a few years later than 1974.

Monster Mix: Puzzles and Pastimes for Monster Lovers is a book that I missed out on when I was a kid. I recently picked this copy up at a thrift store just in time for the Halloween countdown.

Published by Xerox Education and written and illustrated by Barbara Seuling.

Each page has ghastly goodies that any monster loving kid would flip over.

Here’s a few sample pages for your Halloween trick or treat bag. My favorite is either the wild looking cyclops or the vampire girl. Of course the Wolfman that desperately needs a haircut and shave is a good one too.

Barbara Seuling is an accomplished children’s book writer and illustrator and is probably best known for her book, How to Write a Children’s Book and Get It Published. You can visit her website here. The University of Southern Mississippi retains some of Barbara’s original artwork and manuscripts. which includes items from Monster Mix. She donated loads of material from her work ranging between 1974 to 1998. The link to the list can be found here.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR DUNKIN' DONUTS HALLOWEEN PARTY

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to this handy dandy (late 60's or early 70's) Halloween brochure, you can now put on that donut spook party with confidence!

THE SCARIEST VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

2011-10-04T00:00:00.001-05:00

~~~~WARNING! THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART~~~~

Neato Ghoulville is not responsible for bleeding ears, upset stomachs or any epileptic seizures caused from viewing this video.

For more um...scary videos, visit the stairwaytostardom YouTube channel.

CAPTURE A MONSTER WITH THIS 1977 SYLVANIA BLUE DOT FLASH AD

2011-10-03T00:00:00.002-05:00

I feel kinda sorry for this kid. While all the other kids were trick or treating as Darth Vader, Fonzie or Evel Knievel, this kid had to wear his mom's fur coat and an Annie wig.

Maybe the kid should have been dressed up like a giant blue dot flash cube instead.

As a bonus, here's a very un-Halloween Sylvania Blue Dot Flashcubes box from the 1970's, complete with Ben Franklin price sticker!

TOO SCARED TO SCRATCH THIS SPOOKY LOTTERY CARD

2011-10-02T00:00:00.003-05:00

It's time again for my annual scratching of the Halloween lottery card. Last year, Missouri opted for less scary pumpkin with their Jack-O-Lantern Jackpot game. This year we get a more evil looking Jack. He's so evil looking that I'm kinda scared to scratch this Spooky Cash card. Hmm...maybe I'll just leave it unscratched and shove it in the drawer with all the other Halloween lottery cards from past years.

OK, I finally got the nerve to scratch it. Wish me luck!

I just scratched off my numbers and I need to match a 3 and a 20 for a cash prize. Now I just have to get a match. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Still no match. Nope. Nope. Nope. Noooope!!!! Fine! You win evil Jack and thanks for taking my two dollars! I'll see you next year and I better get a treat for a change instead of the same ol' trick!

Visit the Wonderful Wonderblog for some Ohio card scratchin'!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2011

2011-10-01T00:52:00.000-05:00

Are you a monster with six fingers? If you are, you can count how many times our little imaginary town has counted down to Halloween! Yes, it’s that time of year when the cool in the ville changes to ghoul for Neato Ghoulville! Again we welcome you to a daily dose of devilish delights.

Even though the order form in the above comic ad for the Giant Life Size Neato Ghoulville has been torn off, you can still join. Just keep visiting this blog or Weird Hollow all month long. There should be a post on one or both blogs each day. We’ll present a random assortment of vintage spooky things, like magazine and book scans, photos, artwork, comics, links and much more. (Basically, whatever we can find down in the NC vault.)

Vlad will be back terrorizing Weird Hollow...at least we think so. He is missing at the moment. I think someone forgot where they buried his coffin. No bother, we’ll dig up his old craggy bones before the month is over.

See that piece of Vincent Price flair over on the side? Click it to be transported to the official Halloween Countdown offices where you'll find hundreds of links to other Halloween Countdowners!

Now to the good part...the contest! Yep, Monster Head Races IV will be taking place at Weird Hollow and this year’s prize is a doozy. It’s a signed copy of the soon to be released Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads! by Kirk Demarais.

You read correctly! The man behind Flip and the creator of the immensely popular Film Family Portraits has written a book about the comic book ad! Watch the fantastical book trailer here! (Ah, now you understand why I’m using a comic ad redo for this year’s countdown intro.)

If you want to take a stab at winning Mail-Order Mysteries, visit Weird Hollow and pick the famous monster head that you think will win the race. Hurry up, you have until Oct. 6 to enter.

What are you waiting for? Click here to enter!

MY VINTAGE PURPLE TOILET PAPER COLLECTION

2011-09-30T12:47:00.001-05:00

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #57

Yep it’s official, I now have a vintage purple toilet paper collection! They say you gotta have two or more of a similar item before it’s a collection. I just bought two vintage packages of toilet paper and I guess I’m now a toilet paper collector. Normally I only pick up old packaging with fun character graphics or kid related products, but I flipped when I saw two purple packs of old toilet paper for sale! Wow! Who would save such a thing? The fun about collecting vintage advertising is asking, “How did this survive?”

Holy Purple People Eater! Let’s take a look at this purple TP that would look plum snazzy in the bathroom of Batman’s foe The Joker!

The first is a 1964 Northern four pack with lavender colored rolls.

It says it has 650 sheets per roll. That’s plenty of paper to teepee the neighbor’s house on Halloween or use to make a purple, excuse me, lavender Mummy costume. (Sorry. Tomorrow starts the annual Halloween countdown and I’m kinda in trick or treat mode.)

The next one is a Kleenex Boutique Tissues package from 1974.

I guess toilet paper technology advanced ten years from the Northern pack days. This one is 2-ply. Was this a 1970's innovation? Did they even have 2-ply back in the 1960s?

Ooh, check it out! It has a soft'n spirited starburst pattern.

This Kleenex pack has an offer to order your very own Latch Hook Rug Kits!

Yes, something for the whole family to enjoy until it’s sold at a garage sale in 1984.

Keeping with the purple/lavender theme, here’s a Cannon Monticello ad from 1972.

This bathroom probably has a roll of purple toilet paper just out of frame!

Oh and by the way, if you see a house covered in purple toilet paper this Halloween, don't blame me 'cause I'm keeping these packages under wraps!

REMEMBERING 9/11

2011-09-11T00:41:00.003-05:00

It’s hard to believe that ten years ago today, peace and freedom were attacked and the world changed forever. That dreaded day might have started with a senseless act filled with hatred, but it ended with a nation of people that locked arms and stood strong.

I just want to repeat what has always been at the bottom of this blog -

REMEMBER TO BE NEATO COOL TO EVERYONE!

If only the whole world could be neato cool to one another, then maybe the word hatred could be removed from the dictionary.

(The top photo was taken in 1978 and is a slide from my collection of "found" slides. The bottom photo is from our NY trip in 2008 when we visited ground zero.)

OUR D23/DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE: PART 4 TRON

2011-09-10T08:27:00.002-05:00

Greetings programs! Rejoice! We’ve finally arrived at part four and that makes it the last Disneyland post. My twelve year old Tron loving self would have loved seeing all the cool Tron stuff at D23. Of course my 41 year old self enjoyed it just as much.

Hockey helmets off to the D23 folks who designed and set up the Tron room.

The original character costumes came to life in this black lighted environment complete with sound effects and Tron-esque voices.

Tron costume worn by Bruce Boxleitner.

Flynn costume worn by Jeff Bridges.

Yori costume worn by Cindy Morgan.

Ram costume worn by Dan Shor.

Unfortunately the Barnard Hughes costume wasn’t on display, but I did manage to buy this production piece. It’s a photo study of Dumont’s costume played by Hughes. This should make for a nice display with the note he sent me.

I’m not into Disney pins or Vinylmation, but I wasn’t able to resist these items.

At the D23 Expo, I was lucky and snagged a limited edition pin set signed by Bruce Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan. I’ve never had the chance to meet Bruce to get his autograph, so this was the next best thing. He and Cindy both attended the Expo, but his signing time conflicted with a panel. I met Cindy a few years back.

The Vinylmation is of Flynn and was the only one in the set from the first Tron.

Like I said, I’m not into pins, but I bought the Penny Arcade set just for the box. I had no clue this Atari tribute box existed and I about zapped out when I saw it displayed in one of the Main Street shops in Disneyland. You get three random pins based after classic Disneyland attractions and cult Disney movies. The design of the pins are fantasy Atari games and they’re packed inside a smaller box that’s shaped to look like the cartridge. Of course I was hoping for a Tron and Rocketeer. I was lucky and got a Tron pin along with an Astro Jets pin and a People Mover pin. If only a People Mover video game really existed! If you want a set, visit this site for info here.

I was glad to see that ElecTRONica was still open in California Adventure. We entered the Grid and this is what we saw.

If I had a bucket list when I was 12, then “Play Video Games at Flynn’s Arcade” would have probably been at the top.

Well...I got to scratch that off my imaginary list on this trip. I was envious of all the cool kids who got to visit Flynn’s Arcade when it was set up for the San Diego Comic Convention.

We walked in during the day and the place was empty. We played a bunch of classic vids for almost an hour including the imaginary game from Tron, Space Paranoids! So cool they recreated an actual working game for the arcade.

Here’s some of the games in the arcade.

I’m a neon junkie and I love old neon signs. So, neon signs based after some of my favorite games in neon form was almost too much. I managed to hold the camera long enough without going into fits to snap these next shots.

Afterwards we tried some blue lemonade at the End of Line Club and joined the Tron dance party!

Laserman was totally rad! Take a look at his performance here.

After one more game of Tron, it was time to head back to Disneyland for souvenir shopping and a few more rides! Oops, I mean attractions.

Boy, you know what? After working up these Disneyland posts my feet hurt. Hmm....it was just like I was there again.

Thanks for stopping by and surviving this retelling of our vacation.

OUR D23/DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE: PART 3 DISNEYLAND

2011-09-09T10:17:00.017-05:00

Oh boy, more vacation photos! Aren’t you thrilled? Don’t answer that.

You can have your D23 Expos and your California Adventures and your other Disney Resort stuff ‘cause all I need is Disneyland. Sure, all that other jazz is fun too, but you just can’t beat the happiest place on earth!!!

We like this new entry sign that’s kind of a homage to the original DL sign.

Yeah, who needs the present day when you can live in yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy all at once at Disneyland!

We usually have a strategy when we visit the park and this time it was a beeline to ride the new Star Tours first thing.

Most updates and add ons to attractions usually fall short or feel out of place. (Pirates of the Caribbean anyone?) This is not the case with Star Tours. As much as I enjoyed the original, this new one is way better. It now has more than 50 different adventures. The queue is also improved and it was a good choice to put the old pilot droid Rex (voiced by Paul Reubens) in mothballs. Now C-3PO pilots the ship.

Our ship was almost taken over by the Empire when two Stormtroopers boarded. Thankfully, someone put the ol‘ Jedi mind trick on ‘em. They went about their business and moved along.

The coolest thing about the new Star Tours are the Fastpass Gonk Droids! I’ll never look at my Power Droid action figure the same!

I always have to check to see if the little Rocketeer popcorn turner is still there. Yep, he’s still working that popcorn!

Howdy! I’m getting ready to drive the streets of Autopia!

We were bummed that the Matterhorn was closed. That’s the “first lady’s” favorite attraction and this sign made her very sad.

At least looking at this, always makes her happy.

This on the other hand makes me scared! Look away! Look away!

I love the work of Mary Blair and It’s A Small World attraction, but I feel like this sun is staring deep into my soul.

With each visit, it seems we always spot something new. I’ve never noticed the nifty stone plaques outside in the queue line for Mr. Toad Wild’s Ride.

Everyone is a big fan of this dynamite chewing mountain goat from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and we are too!

We met Frontierland’s famous fiddler, the one and only Farley! He entertained us with his rendition of the Orange Blossom Special!

It’s always funny when you spot a real life animal in the park. This big bird was perched at the entrance of Frontierland and I heard many people ask, “Is that an animatronic bird or a real bird?”

I think this pirate might be a zombie pirate. I didn’t ask, but he sure had zombie pirate like symptoms.

How ‘bout that? The line is short for Haunted Mansion. Hey, let’s go!

I think she has the best job in Disneyland!

Zoinks! I broke the Haunted Mansion law and used flash photography. I hope a ghost didn’t follow me home because of it.

This glitchy photo of the bride turned out really spooky looking. This was the first time we saw the new bride. It doesn’t take away from the attraction, but her heart beating was much more creepy. The whole ax murderer thing is kinda silly and feels a bit out of place with the rest of the grim grinning ghosts. Not to worry, HM is still my favorite attraction!

This is the most famous hippo in the world. I wonder how many trillions of photos exist of Mr. Hippo.

Hey, a blurry shot of the backside of water!

Sallah told us to take heed, but we didn’t listen. How could we? The Indiana Jones Adventure is one of our favorite attractions! Too bad the last Indy movie wasn’t based after this attraction. It would have been a better film.

We’ve never been lucky enough to find Shrunken Ned the Jungle Witch Doctor awake. The past couple of visits he’s been out of order. On this trip we found Ned alive and ready. For a half-a-buck, he gave us some witch doctoring advise and a souvenir prescription card.

We had to be brave and walk past this scary tiki to order a Dole Whip. It was worth the risk so we could enjoy the pineapple treat inside the Tiki Room.

We tried our best to cram in as much Disneyland as we could in one day. Time was running out for us.

We did manage to find 13 minutes for another tour of the Haunted Mansion!

After souvenir shopping on a crowded Main Street, we finally had to call it a day...a magical day. Oh man, I did it. I really used the word magical. I promised myself I would spare all of you Neato Readers out there from using the word magical. I guess it proves you just can’t talk about Disneyland without using that word, magical!

Check back tomorrow for Tronland!

OUR D23/DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE: PART 2 CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

2011-09-08T08:51:00.009-05:00

After the D23 Expo, we risked a possible Disney overdose and visited Disneyland.

Sad, but true...it’s always exciting to see the tram drive up! Soon you know that you'll be walking around the happiest place on earth!

We spent the first day at the much improved California Adventure. Wow! This place is really a lot more fun than it used to be.

Soon after we entered the park, we were greeted by Mr. Incredible! Yeah, he kinda gave me a hard time about my Captain America shirt, but eventually he calmed down long enough to pose for a photo.

Our first attraction was the Monster, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

Luckily we didn’t forget our paperwork!

Muppet Vision 3D always makes me laugh and it always makes me feel a little sad too.

It was the last Muppet project that Jim Henson worked on before his untimely passing. Hopefully this show will remain the same and won’t get a makeover after the new Muppets movie comes out.

One of my favorite attractions is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! Here’s a bug’s eye view of the tower. No, really. I snapped the photo while standing in A Bug's Land.

Hey look, it’s the mystic seer fortune telling machine from the classic TZ episode Nick of Time! Looks like it hasn’t been used in ages. Anyone got a spare penny?

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is now based after the Pixar movie Up and has an old school camp feel to it.

We didn’t play, but the Bullseye Stallion Stampede looks kinda fun.

At least this boardwalk barker didn’t badger me to win a stuffed animal for the “first lady” like they usually do at the state fair.

Now here’s a big spud of a barker that we saw when we waited in line for Toy Story Mania!

I almost expected Don Rickles to step out behind this Audio-Animatronic Mr. Potato Head. 

The “first lady” has nick named Mickey’s Fun Wheel, the Ferris Wheel of Death! She’s not a fan of the swinging gondolas. At least you can get a nice shot of Disneyland.

Hello Space Mountain! Hello Matterhorn Mountain! Hello real mountains!

Just your everyday snapshot of the top of King Triton’s Carousel.

Looks like Cars Land is coming along nicely. I liked seeing all the cool Cars themed advertising that masked the construction site. Click here to watch a video from the Cars Land panel from the D23 Expo.

Probably the neato coolest thing we saw at California Adventure was the Toy Story sculpture zoetrope.

Click here to watch a two minute video about the Pixar designed zoetrope. This masterpiece sure beats the zoetrope I made out of construction paper when I was six years old.

I’ve always wanted to buy all the balloons from a theme park balloon seller and then walk around just handing them out for free. Boy, that would be fun!

Neon Defender as seen in Flynn’s Arcade at ElecTRONica.

I’ll share all my Tron stuff that I spotted on this trip in Part IV of this bloated D23/Disneyland post.

While waiting for the World of Color I made my own world of color! I twisted my camera as I snapped this photo of Mickey’s Fun Wheel for a fun abstract.

Since World of Color opened last year, that’s all I’ve heard about from people returning from California Adventure.

They’re right, it is spectacular!

That’s it from Pixarland uh...I mean California Adventure. Next up, we visit the main attraction, Disneyland!

OUR D23/DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE: PART 1 THE EXPO

2011-09-06T21:37:00.005-05:00

This year we were having trouble trying to decide where to go for our vacation. We hemmed and hawed over a bunch of fun destinations, but we finally decided on a repeat trip and visit the second D23 Expo. We had such a swell time at the first expo in 2009, our choice was an easy one. The “first lady” and yours truly jumped on a jet plane and zoomed out to Anaheim.

We had three days at D23, which we eventually nicknamed Disneyline because of the super long lines for everything. Long lines for the panels, the stores, the booths, the displays and even for cupcakes!

Yes, we really waited in line for a cupcake and it was yummy! Worth the wait!

We attended the Legends ceremony where a deserving group of folks were added to Disney’s version of a hall of fame. One highlight was seeing the much deserved entry for Guy Williams, the amazing actor who is best known in the title role for Disney’s Zorro and as Professor John Robinson in the cult TV show Lost in Space. With Guy’s Zorro sword in hand, Guy Williams Jr. and family accepted for the late actor.

After the ceremony, we had the pleasure of briefly meeting Guy Williams Jr. It was a nice and unexpected opportunity to give a much deserving congrats.

Another highlight from the Legend ceremony was the honoring of Jim Henson. Both of us grew up watching the Muppets and Jim Henson has always been one of my heroes. It was a real treat watching his son Brian recreate Jim’s famous “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face” bit.

You can view Brian’s performance here.

Hey check it out! We met Disney Legend Bob Gurr after the Legends ceremony!

It was an honor to meet the imagineer behind so many important Disneyland attractions. Such a super-nice guy!

The big draw for us and what sealed the deal to attend D23, was the chance to see Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix perform.

The performance was, well...nothing short of Vantastic!!! It was worth the three hour wait in line! Watch the complete performance here.

We met television royalty! A big surprise was that funny lady Rose Marie was in the audience.

After the performance, the Dick Van Dyke Show alum started holding court for a small group of folks in the hall. We could have listened to her talk all night as she still can bring the funny!

The next day we visited the Carousel of Projects, an exhibit that shows off the latest developments for Disney’s parks and various resorts. Neat stuff inside for sure, but we thought it fell short compared to the display back in 2009. The best part was the nifty sign!

I'm excited to see they're going to build a replica of the old Carthay Circle Theatre, the theater where Snow White premiered. The photo below is a model they had on display inside the Carousel of Projects.

The Expo could have easily been called PixarCon as the studio had a huge presence at D23. It was nice seeing all the Pixar love and it was exciting to learn more about the new projects.

We almost got run over by Mater! Whew, that was a close one!

Wreck-It Ralph looks like it might be a fun movie. I’m loving all the nostalgia related to classic arcade games nowadays and this movie looks to be a love letter to the arcades of my youth.

Not sure who the kid is here, but it looks like he’s enjoying the game. (Shh...don’t tell him the game was only a demo and wasn’t set up for people to play.) Click here to watch a video of the game.

This zebra was supposed to be part of the Jungle Cruise, but he never made it to the attraction. Nevertheless, he was sold for $6,000 at the auction.

Uncle Walt had a sweet ride back in the day! A couple of shots of his 1962 Cadillac Fleetwood limo.

My favorite thing of the expo was viewing the Disney Treasures. Last year we weren’t allowed to snap photos. This year we could snap away! The first shot and the first thing when you enter the Treasures room is this plush Engineer Mickey, who rode with Walt on the train during Disneyland’s opening day back 1955.

Next is a close-up of Annette’s Mousketeer Special Deputy badge.

Hero costumes from one of my favorite films, The Rocketeer.

I snapped a close-up of the jet pack and I’m now using it as my new desktop wallpaper. Click on the photo below and give it the old right-click if you want to use it for wallpaper.

Tron got its own special room complete with ambient lighting and sound effects.

This mayor program was geeking out standing in the room and didn’t want to leave. Basically, the “first lady” had to drag me out.

It was nice to see some Who Framed Roger Rabbit props!

The Acme Disappearing & Re-Appearing Ink was my favorite!

Z is for Zorro! The Zorro collection of costumes and memorabilia was also a treat to see.

Since we’ve been back we’ve been on a Zorro kick watching the old TV show.

A special exhibit of props from the latest Pirates of Caribbean movie were on display on the Expo floor. Here’s the Black Pearl stuck in a bottle.

Wow, a booth filled with animatronics. Oh wait, these are TropiTronics!

There was a lot of cool stuff to buy and we did our share and bought a few souvenirs to take home. One item I wished I could have purchased was this replica of the Bulldog Cafe Set Director’s Model. It was left over from the 20th Anniversary Rocketeer event at the El Capitan.

That’s it for my D23 report, but that’s not all from our vacation. I have two more parts to share! A Disneyland/California Adventure post followed by a Tron post! Also, I’ll try to upload more D23 photos over on flickr.

RETRO VIDEO ARCADE OPENS IN INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI

2011-08-31T17:43:00.003-05:00

If President Harry S. Truman were alive today, you might find him going for high score on Donkey Kong at the new Electric Theatre Vintage Arcade. Yep, the historic square in Independence, Missouri, the town that Harry made famous, is getting its first retro arcade.

This is a dream come true for my pal Mike Freeland who’s been an arcade enthusiast and coin-op collector for over 15 years. I’ve known Mike for at least that many years and he’s always talked about opening an arcade to house his collection of coin-ops. Mike already knows a bit about riding the entrepreneurial merry-go-round as he owns Freeland Photography, a successful photography business in Kansas City. So he’s familiar with the ups and downs of starting a business. Attempting to open a vintage arcade has been just that - full of ups and downs. Really, Mike’s journey has been similar to some of the 8-Bit characters that live in the video games of his collection. Filled with zaps, crashes and new lives! Last year, Ken and Cindy McClain, Independence Square preservationists and business owners, inserted a token into the arcade dream. They own Square Pizza and decided this would be a great temporary location for the arcade. If everything goes as planned, eventually the arcade will move into the old Plaza Theatre building, hence the name Electric Theatre Vintage Arcade. (The name is actually a double homage. First to the old Electric Theatre that used to be located on the square and second to Mike's childhood arcade on the square, the Electric Company Arcade.) I’ve seen some of the plans and designs for this building and when it happens, it should be one of the premier retro arcades in the country.

Apparently, every step of creating the Electric Theatre Arcade is being recorded for a possible documentary. Check out this video.

Electric Theatre Arcade Documentary Pilot from BradJohnson on Vimeo.

Ok, enough of the talk ‘cause the only thing we care about is playing some classic vids!

Visit the Electric Theatre Vintage Arcade at Square Pizza September 2nd-5th during the Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival to play 40 classic arcade games! No quarters or tokens needed as the games will be set on free play. A five dollar admission at the door will be your golden ticket for unlimited play. That’s a bargain ‘cause you know you’d blow five bucks in five minutes just playing Defender. Also, you can pay $10 to come and go all day or $20 for the weekend. Hours for Friday will be Noon to 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m -11 p.m. and Monday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The hours could change, so be sure to visit electrictheatrearcade.com or email info@electrictheatrearcade.com for more information. Also check out the Electric Theatre Vintage Arcade Facebook page.

Spread the word because if there’s enough interest in the Electric Theatre Vintage Arcade then it will become a permanent place on the Independence Square. We all know that more old school arcades that exist is one step closer to world peace. You want world peace dontcha?

---Update---
Unfortunately the Electric Theatre Arcade was forced to close by the city of Independence. Hopefully things can be worked out and eventually the arcade will be back.

NICK AT NITE TITLE CARDS

2011-08-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve been going through a bunch of my old VHS tapes and finding shows taped off of Nick at Nite back in the 90’s. The channel was a lot of fun when they featured classic TV shows from the 1950‘s to the 70’s. One of my favorite things about the channel were all the clever bumpers and TV spots during the commercial breaks. Go to YouTube and type Nick at Nite in the search. You’ll find tons of ‘em to watch. For fun, I screen grabbed a handful of title cards used in some of these spots. I love the artwork on these!

The titles in the next group were used for specific shows. My favorite might be the cone of silence one from Get Smart!

I uploaded two Nick at Nite marathon events to YouTube the other day. Click Puf-A-Palooza and The Lost Brady to view.

BARRY WILLIAMS GETS GROOVY IN BRANSON

2011-08-15T17:51:00.002-05:00

Here’s the story,

Of a groovy guy,

Who was bringing up some very funky tunes.

All of them were hits of gold,

Like their singer,

Who sometimes softly croons.

Here’s the story,

Of a man named Yakov,

Who was busy with a theater of his own.

In Branson, MO,

A Russian comedian, but was all alone-.

Till the one day when the guy met this Smirnoff,

and they knew their show was much more than a lunch.

That these two,

Must somehow form a morning show.

That’s the way it all became the Brady Brunch,

The Brady Brunch- the Brady Brunch

That’s the way- it became the Brady Brunch.

Honestly I tried to resist posting my feeble parody attempt of the Brady Bunch lyrics, but I just couldn’t help myself. Hey, when you’re in a good mood sometimes you do goofy silly things. How’d I get in this good mood? Well...the "first lady" of Neato Coolville and myself took in a live show this past Saturday. We visited the theater of 80's icon Yakov Smirnoff in Branson, Missouri to see the 70's icon Barry Williams perform his new show, Brady Brunch.

For the past two weeks, Barry has been performing at Yakov’s Branson theater with a show that he’s been working on for a few years. It’s a simple and fun show that celebrates Barry’s career from his days as playing Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch to his many adventures in the entertainment business. He gets the crowd in the groove from the beginning when he comes out as his alter ego, no not Greg, but Johnny Bravo.

After greeting the audience he shares some Brady clips followed by some fun behind the scenes stories. Barry keeps on truckin’ with some 70's tunes and sings some of the biggest hits of the decade. Halfway thru the show, brunch is served. It was a big breakfast type of meal that made us skip lunch. I guess that’s why they call it a brunch! Yakov made us laugh as he helped pass the brunches down the rows. As the audience munched on the brunches, Barry took questions.

This was probably our favorite moment of the show as Barry is at his best when interacting with the audience. I feel sorry for the lady in front of me who I spit pieces of egg on when I laughed too hard. (Just joking! I think I missed her.)

The show took on a more quiet tone after brunch.

Veterans were honored (a Branson show tradition) and Barry shared some meaningful moments about his family along with a nice tribute to his dad. He was a WWII veteran.

He ended the fun with the famous Brady Kids bubblegum hit, It’s a Sunshine Day!

Later, Barry took time to meet and greet anyone who wanted a photo taken with him and an autograph. The "first lady" had her vintage trading card ready for him to sign. (Yep, she’s a Brady collector!)

We were thrilled to hear the announcement that Barry will be back in the fall of 2012 for a more longer and maybe permanent show in Branson. Click here for the scoop.

Heck, he even hinted about a possible Christmas show. Hopefully this will happen and if it does...it really will be a sunshine day!

Ok...how 'bout a photo of a giant Yakov head? Here you go, as found in front of the Yakov Theater.

---Update---
It's official! Barry is back with shows later this year, including a Christmas show and a full schedule for 2012! Click here for the show calendar!

HAPPY 100 TO THE LUCY WE ALL LOVE

2011-08-06T08:47:00.001-05:00

In honor of Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday, I’ve scanned this 1953 ad where Lucy and Desi give out some flooring tips.

CONCEPT ART FROM THE WESTERN RIVER EXPEDITION GETS ANIMATED

2011-08-04T10:47:00.008-05:00

Check out this amazing teaser that will bring to life one of the best theme park attractions that never was. My pal David, the curator of Quasi-Interesting Paraphernalia Inc., has taken it upon himself to create a short series of animations based after the unproduced Disney World attraction, The Western River Expedition.

Western River Expedition: Coming Soon

Now that you’ve watched the teaser, be sure to haunt Quasi-Interesting Paraphernalia Inc. all this month to catch the WRE animations.

If you’re not familiar with David’s work, here’s a couple of my favorites. Also, you can click here to view more video goodies!

Haunted Mansion Hunter

Mr. and Mrs. J. Evil Scientist

STUFF FROM THE STORAGE ROOM

2011-08-01T16:57:00.011-05:00

Last week I was on an archaeological dig down in the basement of my parent’s house - the house my brother and I grew up in. In the storage room, I was looking for a lost sketchbook from my Junior High days. The plan was to share some of my kid drawings from the sketchbook, but the bad news is that it still remains hidden or lost. The good news is that I found some random childhood artifacts. Let’s take a look.

The best item is this felt flag my grandma made during the bicentennial.

I was six in ’76 and have so many red, white and blue memories from that year, so this is a special find!

I removed an old tackle box off a bookshelf and lo and behold I found these two stickers stuck on our old shelf. Back in the 70's, this shelf would have been chocked full of comics and various kid books.

The two stickers are part of the 1975 Topps Hysterical History sticker and card set. We loved collecting these stickers and it sure is neat to see 'em still in the same spot after 35+ years.

In a box of old marbles and craft supplies, I found this green rubber Chewbacca that probably came from a gumball machine. He looks like he’s hailing a cab.

I was a gumball machine junkie, but I don’t have any memories of this Chewie. I like how it was molded from the original action figure.

Next up is this wood dog plaque. There should be another one of these somewhere as my brother and I both had one.

In the photo below - I’m not sure who the armless man is nor do I know the origin of the little toy rifle. That red speaker box came from my C.B. McHaul trucker toy by Mego. 10-4 Rubber Duck! I played like I had my very own C.B. back during my truck driver phase. Back then, I either wanted to be a truck driver or an astronaut when I grew up. Neither career choice panned out and sadly, this red box is the only thing left of C.B. McHaul set.

E is for Boba! My brother was also down visiting and cleaned out his old trunk full of books in the storage room. (I’ll be presenting a few of these during the Halloween countdown in October.)

Inside the trunk he discovered this Boba Fett sticker had been guarding his books for the past 30 years. Job well done, Mr. Fett!

A book we found in the trunk was this 1964 Science Puzzlers by Scholastic. Here’s a few illustrations from inside.

Let's end this random “look what I found” post with this fun illustration. I scanned it from a package of Dennison stencils that was buried beneath a pile of books.

In the near future I plan to do some more digging in our storage room and maybe I'll have some more random things to show. Hopefully one of those things will be my sketchbook!

A SALUTE TO CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

2011-07-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

After this past weekend, I hope everyone has caught Cap fever!

Yes, I watched the new Cap movie, Captain America: The First Avenger over the weekend and it’s now my favorite Marvel movie! This is the movie I’ve been waiting to see ever since me and my nerdy college pals used to waste hours discussing how a Cap movie should be made. All of us agreed it should take place in World War II and Joe Johnston should direct. Yep, we predicted Johnston would direct Cap almost twenty years before he really did. All of us were razzmatazzed by his movie The Rocketeer and so he was the obvious pick. Of course we missed on the actor who would wear the red, white and blue. Hey, Chris Evans was only ten years old back then. I voted for John Wesley Shipp from the 1990 TV show The Flash. I remember one friend lobbied for football player Howie Long to play Cap.

Captain America: The First Avenger wasn’t exactly the movie I dreamed of, but it came very close. The movie does a good job capturing the schmaltzy spirit of the movie serial adventures from the 1930s and 40‘s. What it lacks in emotion, it makes up for with plenty of action and style. It’s simply a popcorn movie, with extra butter! I did wish for more character development with the secondary characters. We didn’t get to know Bucky and the Howlers as well as we should have. (Ok Marvel, you now need to make the spin-off movie The Howling Commandos!) My favorite scenes were the USO stuff and my new favorite song is Star Spangled Man.

The USO montage was brilliant and I hope and pray we see a few chapters of their version of the Captain America movie serial on the DVD. Finally, it’s good to have a super hero on the screen that’s not filled with angst and rage, but instead is filled with courage and loyalty.

I saw the movie with family and friends including one of my college buddies who was in on the Cap movie discussion twenty years ago. (Hey Mike!) The big thrill of the night was that my seven year old nephew surprised me with this awesome replica of Cap’s shield using a paper plate.

He made it especially for me after we saw the movie. I own and have owned many great collectibles, but this shield is now one of my favorite possessions.

For fun, I’ve included two Cap sketches I got from two excellent artists. The first is from the great George Tuska with his unique ruffled feathers on Cap’s cowl.

The second one is a fantastic Cap sketch from John Beatty!

Let’s finish this post with a fake photobooth photo of Cap.

I made this a few months ago in anticipation of the new film using the flag background from a photobooth photo that can be seen here. After seeing the film I would like to redo it using the more appropriate USO costume instead. Maybe when I find a better scan I’ll take a stab at it.

Now go see Cap and have fun rooting for the good guys! Be sure to watch all the credits for the swell propaganda poster art and something special at the end.

KICKIN' AROUND ON KICKSTARTER

2011-07-15T11:01:00.011-05:00

For the first time I finally snooped around on Kickstarter. Wow, this site is truly a machine that turns dreams into reality. I know I’ve only scratched the surface, but here’s a few projects that caught my eye. Most of them have already met their pledge goal, but a few still need pledges. Click on the links to view some neato cool projects.

The White Elephant Card Game - A clever card game that looks like a lot of fun!

Muffler Men: One Hand Up, One Hand Down Documentary - Someday Muffler Men will rule the world, but before they do, this doc looks to teach you all about the roadside giants.

OMFG! - Outlandish Mini Figure Guys! - I was a fan of M.U.S.C.L.E. back in the 80's. OMFG! looks to bring back the spirit of that classic line with five outlandish mini figures.

Growing Up On Skywalker Ranch by Eric Walker - Go behind the scenes of the Ewok Adventure and Battle for Endor as told by the star of these Lucasfilm TV films.

Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination Museum Exhibit - A steampunk museum is a brilliant idea. I say, a brilliant idea! BRILLIANT!!

Adventures of the League of S.T.E.A.M. Season Two - Yes, the world needs a season two of the League of S.T.E.A.M.!

The Cicada Princess - As a fan of stop-motion films like Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, I can't wait to see the finished film.

Viva Amiga - The Documentary - I love this title and I loved the Amiga.

There you have it, my short list of awesomeness that I found on Kickstarter.

A FILM SMORGASBORD AT INDIEPIX UNLIMITED

2011-07-08T15:36:00.009-05:00

Indiepix Unlimited, the video-on-demand subscription service for independent film is only a few months old and already it has become a favorite stop for independent film fans! Check out this snazzy promo video for the service.

Indiepix Unlimited is HERE! from Nicolas Doldinger on Vimeo.

Now click on the banner above and take advantage of the free one month trial. You’ll find a wide range of films that cover many different and unique subjects.

Right now you have a ticket to view Oliver Maitland Hudson’s new short film, Canary on a free stream from Indiepix. Click here to watch a man train and eventually go for the world breath-holding record. It’s quirky cool!

HAPPY 20TH TO THE ROCKETEER MOVIE

2011-06-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

The Rocketeer opened twenty years ago today. To celebrate one of my favorite films, I created this photo to look like a late 1930’s slide. I envision a photographer looking outside a passenger plane window taking photos of the clouds. Suddenly, a mysterious figure jet packs into view and click-snap, this photo is created.

Long live the Rocketeer and big thanks to the late great Dave Stevens for creating one of the best comic book adventure heroes!

FIVE FOUND SNAPSHOTS

2011-06-16T10:54:00.004-05:00

It seems I’ve become lax with my found snapshot postings. Hopefully I can get back on track and start posting more. Old snaps are just not as fun stuffed in shoeboxes and plastic tubs. For your viewing enjoyment, here’s five random shots.

C64 YOURSELF: COMMODORE 64 STYLE

2011-06-14T12:43:00.006-05:00

Check out the new c64 Yourself site! This fun and easy to use site (in beta form) will transform your photos into an old school screenshot from a Commodore 64. I heard about this over at The Retroist today and just had to play around with it. I grabbed a few movie pics online and used c64 Yourself on 'em. It brings back fun memories of trading pirated games on floppy disc in high school.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INDIANA JONES!

2011-06-12T10:09:00.006-05:00

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the best movies ever made. To celebrate, I made this fake photobooth image.

Back in 2008 I celebrated Indy with Indy Week. Dave Lowe of Dave Lowe Design the blog is going one step further with his Raiders of the Lost Blog-A-Thon all this month. Be sure to check it out for all things Indy!

My pal Mike just posted two Raiders newspaper ads at his blog Aparofan's Kansas City Movie Ads.

KINGDOM OF THE CICADAS

2011-06-09T12:00:00.004-05:00

Just like a bad b-movie from the 1970s. The cicadas have invaded again.

Buzzing. Constant buzzing. Brain melting buzzing! The sound is like a thousand Star Trek phasers with the triggers stuck on stun. The source of the buzzing comes from Brood XIX Magicicada, better known as the 13 year cicadas. Thirteen or more states in the Midwest and the South have been invaded by the little buggers. My home state of Missouri is one of these states. I gotta say I’ve been kinda fascinated with ‘em. Fascinated enough to take photos & video and share them here.

Like clockwork, these creatures crawl out of the ground zombie style.

Once they've crawled out of the ground, they usually crawl up a tree to shed their shell. Just like the one below. This shot makes him look so alien, like a skull with bug legs.

Here’s a bunch under a tree leaf, leaving their shells.

I was lucky to see this acrobatic cicada pull himself free from his shell. Just press play and you can watch it too!

This one is hoping to grow up and become a Christmas ornament. Look, he's almost free!

After they shed their shell and inflate their wings, they stay in this ghostly white color for a few hours before they turn black.

I snapped some of these photos when I was bug hunting at night with my nephews and big bro. We were running around with flashlights watching ‘em come out of the ground and leave their shells. The kids loved it and us big kids did too.

Here’s a normal adult. Well, maybe not a normal one. This poor guy’s wings were all jacked up and he wasn’t able to fly. He probably became a snack for a bird. Man, somedays you just crawl out of the ground on the wrong side.

Now here's a true normal cicada right here. He's probably thinking, "I wonder what that big round thing that's super close to me is? I hope it doesn't eat me." Speaking of eating. There's a lot of crazy people actually eating cicadas. Check out this crazy story about cicada ice cream from Columbia, Missouri and then the follow up story here.

If you're going to take a hike through the woods, be sure to bring some earplugs. Boy, I wish I had! Go ahead and listen.

Here's an example of one cicada making noise. I don't think they like to be picked up. (The clip starts at regular speed and then changes into Slow-Mo-O-Vision and then finishes out in Annoy-O-Vision

In the next photo we see a female oviposting. Yep, she's slicing grooves into the tree, so she can lay her eggs inside. Click on the photo for a closer look. Notice the little triangle pieces of bark hanging down. That's where she's cutting. (Or at least I think so.)

The cicada below has a name. Say hi to Bob Cicada! Why is Bob Cicada named Bob Cicada? I don't know. I didn't ask him.

Once you're done groaning at my lame cicada joke, you can visit some of these fine cicada links and learn more about 'em. For all things cicada visit Cicada Mania. Learn all about the Magicicada at Cicada Central. For a good cicada blog, check out Cicada Invasion. Visit Missouri Conservation's page on Periodical Cicadas. Here's probably the best video about cicadas. Watch Sir David Attenborough play with 17 year cicadas here.

I just uploaded a blurry photo to flickr that I snapped of the mammas & the papas of this year's cicadas from 1998. I was introduced to these noisy bugs back when I was 14 in 1985. I remember how fun it was during the last couple of weeks of school sneaking cicadas inside to gross out girls and to annoy teachers. We had one crazy kid who put a cicada in his mouth and each time he stuck his tongue out, the cicada would make a buzzing sound. Ah, junior high memories.

Also, back in '85, I remember watching an episode of The New Twilight Zone that adapted Ray Bradbury's short story, The Burning Man. It has a creepy cicada twist. Watch both parts here and here.

Whew, this post is kinda getting out of hand and I better wrap things up. For fun, here's a photo I call Green Army Men vs. The Cicadas - in glorious black and white. I guess it kinda defeats the purpose to call them green since the photo is b/w. I'm sure the radio operator doesn't care if he's green or in b/w. He's just hoping that the giant flying bug doesn't eat his face off!

You gotta watch out for 'em flying through the air. Really, they're not the best pilots. Sometimes they crash into the side of your head or into your Fisher-Price Adventure Person while you're trying to take a photo for a cicada blog post.

See you in 2024 for part two of Kingdom of the Cicadas!