Hopefully, this Halloween video will bring some joyful nostalgia. Putting this together was very therapeutic for me, so for anyone who might be struggling, go do something creative. It truly does help!
Most of the images I used are ones that I've shared before back when I used to do the Halloween countdown. Watching these images flicker throughout the video brings back memories of spending so much time scanning and editing them. All of the "found photos" are ones that I rescued from antique shops or auctions. Many images are scans of comics or magazine ads that I've manipulated through photoshop. There are even some of my own photographs and artwork sprinkled in. The fantastic song comes from one of the best Halloween albums ever produced and that's Halloween by Wonderland Golden Records. I have a beat-up copy with just the right amount of hisses and pops. The song was performed by Kay Lande and arranged by Wade Denning.
Ah, the memories of filmstrips. Any school kid from the 1960's to the early 1980's will remember sitting in a dark classroom watching a continuous slow scroll of images. The images were paired with mono audio and those famous beep tones. The beep signaled the teacher to advance the strip to the next image. If you were a lucky kid or a teacher's pet you might've been chosen for this highly important and crucial job. Today, I present an opportunity for you to go back in time and experience one of these classic filmstrips complete with beeps. This is Squeegee Learns About Drugs from 1971.
So do you feel all nostalgic now? Did it take you back to those old school day memories? This is definitely a product of its time and is quickly becoming a forgotten type of media. Can you imagine children sitting still and watching all 13 minutes and 23 seconds of this?
Now I want to mention a little bit about Mary Lou Anderson, the creator of this filmstrip. She's a Kansas City personality that has been entertaining and teaching children through the use of her puppets for fifty years plus. She created Squeegee and the other puppets for the filmstrip. How'd you like Smartypants? Even though he doesn't wear pants he's the cool one made from a toilet brush! Mary performed as a puppeteer and as a main character for Channel 41 KMBA's two kid shows. 41 Treehouse Lane and Mother Nature were on the air from the 1970's until the early 1980's. I didn't grow up in KC, so I wasn't familiar with Mary Lou Anderson but since finding this filmstrip, I've found some online info about her.
Newpaper clipping from 1976
From 2011, is this fun photo of Mary with her puppets from Getty Images.
Mary showed up on a Kansas City local news channel in 2017. For another video, follow this Facebook link for a great interview with her from the same year.
One last item connected to Mary is this great 1974 newspaper ad for Winchell's Donut House. Mary as her character Mother Nature was a judge for the donut eating contest. Now that would have made a great filmstrip!
Oops, I almost forgot. Did you notice the stack of books that Squeegee is next to in the filmstrip? If you're like me, you were probably straining your eyes trying to figure out the titles. No worries because I figured it out.
In the year, 1994. From out of space, comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is cast in ruin. Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn. A strange new world rises from the old. A world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery. But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice. With his companions, Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword, against the forces of evil. He is Thundarr the Barbarian!
Let the Thundarr gang distract you from our current world with this complete scan and printable coloring book from 1982. Thundarr was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a kid and thru the years, I've put together a small collection of stuff. So the other day, I dug out the coloring book and posted the cover to twitter. After many requests to see inside, I went ahead and scanned all the pages to share it here, just like old times. Ignite your Sunsword or crayons and go enjoy some coloring pages! Oh...and if you decide to share any of your coloring creations, post 'em to twitter and tag 'em #thundarrcoloringbook. Let's turn twitter into a giant fridge graced by the goodness of Thundarr! Lords of Light, it will be glorious!!
For best results click on the page and save the image to your computer and print from there.
