HEY, WHAT'S TRON?

Here’s a cool poster from my Tron collection, but for me, the tag line should read - PLAY THE GAME. SEE THE MOVIE.


My introduction to Tron wasn’t in a movie theater but instead at an arcade. My brother and I discovered the Tron coin-op video game one hot and humid day in midsummer at the Rebel Arcade. (The Rebel lacks air conditioning.) It would be a few months before we got to see the film. Here’s a photo of my local arcade back in the 1980's.


When we walked into the arcade, we noticed a line of kids waiting to play a new game. I’m sure we both asked the same question, “Hey, what’s Tron?” After a long wait we finally got to deposit a few of our pocket burning quarters into the machine. I’m not sure if it was the four games in one, the unique sound effects or that glowing blue joystick that hooked us, but I do know we were instantly hooked on Tron.

Hey, I was so taken by the game I even made a Tron light cycle drawing. Once the movie came out, Tron became a favorite art subject for me, but this drawing is the only surviving piece of Tron kid art that I have. Oh, oh. Looks like the bottom cycle is in trouble.


It’s amazing, but the Rebel Arcade is still open and what’s more amazing than that, is the very same Tron machine that I grew up playing is still there. Even more amazing than that, is the machine is still sitting in the same spot right next to Pac-Man, like it did in 1982. Here’s a photo from 2004 -


The poor machine has challenged many a video warrior thru the years, but time has not been kind. The side art is heavily worn and the blue joystick disappeared in the ‘90's. I checked a few months ago and it still sits right in front waiting for a quarter. Click on the photo below and if you look really close you’ll see it in the front next to one of those big dance machines.


The Rebel still has the ultra cool Discs of Tron. Unfortunetly, it has seen better days too.


The Tron video game was a big part of my childhood and like any nostalgic fool like me, I eventually got a nice cabaret model for the house. A good friend set me up with one about ten years ago. Boy, it sure has saved me a ton of quarters!

TRON LEGACY LINK OF THE DAY #1

I’m a little gun shy when it comes to revisiting movies from childhood with sequels or updated versions. Most of the times they fall short and become a big disappointment. I believe Tron Legacy is going to break this bad streak and meet expectations. I’ve been following the story of Tron 2 for two years and that by itself has been a fun and interesting ride. The filmmakers and Disney have done an excellent job with the promotion as they’ve made the hype fun instead of intrusive. Every day during Tron Week, you’ll get a cool Tron Legacy link to visit.

The first link is really a fun one, where you can “get on the grid", ride light cycles and check out a ton of other Tron stuff. Visit the Official Disney Tron Legacy site

So keep drinking that neon blue Kool-Aid. Really, it is good, very good! (Um, at least I think so. Gulp.)

TRON TRADING CARD COUNTDOWN #1

If it was printed on cardboard and sold in a wax pack, I probably bought a pack or two and Tron was no exception. Tron cards by Donruss fed my trading card habit during the fall of 1982.


I bought my first packs of Tron in an unlikely place. It was an Aldi discount food store. I was bored out of my mind walking the aisles with my mom and grandma as they stocked up on cans of cheap soda, frozen pizza and off brand bags of thin meat. Just in the nick of time, I noticed a big bin filled with trading card packs. It was a treasure trove of trading cards with every sport and popular movie from the past couple of years. Finally, I found something to spend my allowance on at the Aldi store! All other packs were eclipsed by the enticing black packs of Tron, especially since the wrapper advertised, “Authentic Tron Sticker Tips for Winning Tron Video Game.”


I specifically remember thinking that I found the knowledge I needed to finally get high score. As you can see above, the stickers are pretty cool, but the tips, well - there’s not any tips. Instead, the card backs just describe the objective of each domain (game). Well big whipidy doo!

Regardless of the lack of video game tips, I still enjoyed the cards and eventually completed a set. Every day this week I’ll post one of my favorite cards from the series and today we start with this classic image of Mr. Tron himself!

TRON WEEK STARTS MONDAY

MR TOAST HOLIDAY ART SHOW

Visit Monkeyhouse Toys for Dan Goodsell's Mr Toast Holiday Art Show.



Visit Dan's blog for details.

HAVE A NEATO COOL THANKSGIVING

Here’s something tasty for your eyes to feast on! It’s an awesome Thanksgiving themed cover from the November 1964 issue of The Golden Magazine. Artist unknown.


And better than your Aunt Mildred’s oyster mushroom dressing is this fine looking calendar page by Richard Scarry.

BLASTING OFF WITH REDIPLETE PEDIATRIC SYRUP

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #53

1... 2... 3... blast off! Really, the hat on my head blasted off when I saw this box with the snazzy space graphics for sale at a flea market last week.


It’s always exciting when you sneak up on something you’ve never seen before and luckily for this item, the price was right.

My guess this Rediplete Pediatric Syrup box made by Merck Sharp & Dohme is from the late 1960's to early 1970's and it probably once held a bottle - now missing. I wonder what the bottle looked like? Maybe it was figural like Dan’s spaceman vitamin bottle or my builder man vitamin bottle.

The neato thing about this box, are the sides, ‘cause they turn into stretch pictures. You know, like the ones at the Haunted Mansion, just not as complicated and without the mayhem.

Let’s take a look at ‘em in action -

When I opened the box, I was shocked to find some sort of weird medicine inside.


Turns out these multicolored capsules are really from the novelty world with a tiny steel ball bearing inside. These mystery jumping beans, not to be confused with the Mexican variety, must have inspired the Mighty Beanz. I’m thankful for these little guys, because they helped save this box. Most vintage packaging is saved because someone used it for storage. That’s why you see tons of old coffee cans on the market, because everyone needed a container for their nails, screws and a cremated family pet or two.

Houston, the Rediplete has landed!

1940 JACK & JILL MAGAZINE ELECTION COVER

I knew I had a copy of this magazine somewhere in the archives and I was determined to find it today, because I forgot to post it two years ago during the Prez election. The cover art was created by Dorothea Cooke and I just love the simplicity of it.

When I look at this 70 year old magazine cover, it makes me think how nice that some things have never changed. Even though our country is heavily divided on so many issues, it’s nice to live in a place where we can still get together in a public place and vote.