retro

September has so far been a hectic month and I have not had a lot of downtime. So I decided to dedicate a few hours each night to catch up on some movie watching. A few weeks ago I was really high on the movie Forbidden Planet, which kind of set me off on a Sci-Fi bender. I got my hands on 6 Sci-Fi movies, all of which I have been watching and will share with you. The first one is the only one I got that isn’t retro in some way, The Matrix Reloaded. The first Matrix isn’t exactly retro for many of us, but for a lot of younger people that first film is a defining event of their early film watching (it is pretty good). I really liked the first one and was looking forward to the second one and when I saw it, I almost didn’t watch the third one. This exact same thing happened to me once before with the classic 80s film trilogy Back to the Future.

Both Back to the Future and the Matrix were genre bending, effects laden and epic. Their was no way that the second movie, when it hit theaters could live up to the original. So instantly one felt letdown. But much like with Back to the Future II, The Matrix Reloaded is actually a pretty decent film when watched in retrospect. I am in no way saying that it is as good as the original, but after watching it again, I have to say I did judge it too harshly. Plus in HD, on a nice TV screen, the film looks amazing. Throw into that a boatload of special features and you are cooking with gas. Here is a sampling of those extras:

* 2 Audio Commentaries * Trailers * TV Spots * Music Video * Over a dozen Featurettes

In 10 years, I think people will still be talking about The Matrix, warts and all. As for the Matrix Reloaded, it is a great Blu-Ray to have on hand and if you like extras it had enough to keep you busy for two weekends. The action plays out like a video game, which when combined with great HD picture and sound, makes for an enjoyable way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

Matrix Reloaded [Blu-ray] [@] Amazon

Atom Ant was a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. In its original run, Atom costarred as part of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. In syndication, Atom Ant aired alongside Precious Pupp and The Hillbilly Bears.

We were in St. Louis on my birthday. I can barely imagine a more fun birthday than the one I had there.

We started off the day by going to a church rummage sale. We got to the sale about fifteen minutes before it opened and we're astonished to find about two hundred people in line ahead of us. Luckily when the doors opened they let everyone in. At the sale I found lots of great stuff including a wonderful selection of vintage costume jewelry. Now this was my idea of kicking my birthday off to a fabulous start. Next we went on a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house with Chris' parents and nephews. After the tour Chris and I went to some estate sales and found more wonderful things. For dinner we all went to an Italian restaurant near his parents house. Afterwards we had cake and I opened some presents.To wrap up the day Chris and I headed to my favorite place in St. Louis, the City Museum. We had fun wandering around the building, playing pin ball up in Beatnik Bob's, admiring the nighttime view of St. Louis from the rooftop, and shopping in St. Louis' largest vintage clothing store.

Frank Lloyd Wright's House in Ebsworth Park (120 N. Ballas Road, Kirkwood) contained the original furniture and some cool artwork by the original owner of the house...

The wackiness that is Beatnik Bobs at the City Museum (701 N. 15th St)...

This Surfer pinball machine must have known it was my birthday because I kept getting free games. I was riding a wave of pinball mania...

There's a ferris wheel on the roof of the museum...

The Bale Out (on the 4th floor of the City Museum). I had no idea that there was a vintage clothing store in the museum-  just when I thought the City Museum and my birthday couldn't get any better there's an enormous space filled with clothing and accessories that range from $1-$5 on up...

R2-D2 in a comic is great just for the sheer volume of awesome onomatopoeia. Right Artoo?

Wree Wrooo!

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlets from 1963

In a prolific career that spanned over 5 decades, Japanese designer Ayao Yamana left behind a rich body of work that few could duplicate. He is mainly known for his elegant and delicate illustrations of women which graced the packaging and printed advertisements for Shiseido cosmetics. These concert pamphlet covers for the Tomingekijo Music Circle represent a side of Yamana that is less familiar, but equally as impressive.

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlet 1964

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlet 1960

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlets from 1956

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlet 1963

Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlet 1963

The images seen above are from the now hard-to-find Ayao Yamana’s Graphic Design (Pie Books ©2004).

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Also available for your viewing pleasure: Japanese Graphic Design in The 1950s

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The Endless Quest books were two series of gamebooks released by TSR in the 1980s and 1990s. These books were the result of an educational group established by TSR to develop curriculum programs for reading, math, history, and problem solving. The first series of 36 books was released from 1982 to 1987, the second series of 13 from 1994 to 1996. I was especially fond of the 1980s series because I could get them in my schools bookmobile.

There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. That they may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens…

She might be in rough shape and certainly needs some cleaning, but this past week I finally got my hands on a Cobra Terror Dome. If you bring the corn chips and grape soda you can come over and play with it once its all fixed up. But I call dibs on the Firebat…

A great series of videos have been posted on YouTube that walk you through the process of building your own MAME arcade cabinet. While I think you will need to consult non-video sources during a home build, I think this makes MORE than a decent primer for the process. Especially if you have some DIY skills (unlike me).

See all 4 Parts of the Tutorial [@] Retro Roms

Geeks are Sexy posted the full run of an amazing and I think pretty loving piece of work by a gamer father to his daughter. It is adorable, informational and wonderfully geeky all at the same time. It is a book entitled that Gamer’s Alphabet and all I can say is that is one Lucky Kid.

The Gamer’s Alphabet [@] Geeks are Sexy

Why is Mr. T on the cover of Muppet Magazine? Because it is 1984 and he was on the cover of just about everything. Wish I has this issue to see how tough Mr. T actually was…

[via] Flickr

On last week’s Mad Men, you might remember a “KKK” ad for Lyndon Johnson being discussed. The ad’s real, and like they said on Mad Men, it never aired.

Quad Royal: Havinden it all---

I am wading through a big backlog of emails when this suddenly popped up. This press release is great News Golden Girls fans (like me)…

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment proudly announces the highly-anticipated debut of The Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection, on DVD November 9. Seven years of laughter, tears, friendship and fun culminate in this limited edition 21-disc commemorative set that allows fans to relive all the great moments of one of TV’s most beloved shows in one side-splitting new collection. Packaged in a fantastic, collectible replica of Golden Girl Sophia’s wicker purse, the fabulous new release includes every hilarious DVD bonus feature from each season, and other collectibles including all-new character-themed playing cards, showcasing each of the show’s lovable, off-beat stars.

The Golden Girls, which originally aired from 1985 through 1992, follows four friends – the smart Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur), naïve Rose (Betty White), vivacious Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and sarcastic Sophia (Estelle Getty) – who move in together in Miami. Their uproarious relationships with each other and the comical men in their lives have made The Golden Girls hugely popular with fans of all ages. These four mismatched, outrageous women certainly give ‘Grandma’ a whole new meaning, keeping audiences laughing with their endearing friendships and delightful chemistry.

Releasing just in time for the holidays, The Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection allows the legion of fans to relive great moments including Sophia’s hysterical run-in with the Pope; Dorothy being wooed by the one-and-only Sonny Bono; Rose trying out sky-diving to snag a guy; Blanche mistaking menopause for pregnancy, and so much more! The series includes a who’s who of fantastic guest stars including Burt Reynolds, Leslie Nielsen, Merv Griffin, Alex Trebek Sonny Bono, Debbie Reynolds, Jeffrey Tambor, Peter Graves and even a young George Clooney (as a Miami cop who saves the day)!

Hilarious bonus materials include:

• Thank You For Being A Friend – A look back with The Golden Girls • Go For The Gold Trivia Challenge • Golden Moments – The biggest laughs collected in a hilarious compilation • The Golden Girls Scrapbook – Each Golden Girl’s funniest moments • Exclusive Insights And Commentaries With Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan And Betty White • Fashion Commentary – Joan and Melissa Rivers provide their own unique brand of fashion critique in a hilarious featurette that pays tribute to the crazy, kitschy wardrobes of The Golden Girls

All four women won Emmy® Awards for their roles – bringing the show’s Emmy® total to eleven. This made The Golden Girls one of only three sitcoms in history in which all main actors won at least one Emmy®. Betty White – who has become cultural phenomenon this year – went on to win another Emmy® for hosting Saturday Night Live in 2010. The beloved series features the talents of Marc Cherry (creator of Desperate Housewives), who served as a writer and producer.

Pre-Order your copy of the Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection Today [@] Amazon

Chip and Dale face off against Donald and his modern “Dragon”.

While we were visiting St. Louis it was super HOT and HUMID- the heat index one day was 114! Because of this Chris and I were trying to stick to doing inside air conditioned things like going to museums.

One day we stopped in and checked out the Moto Museum (3441 Olive Blvd). Neither of us have ever ridden on a motorcycle before- but, we have an appreciation for the beauty of older motorcycles...

I saw Heavy Metal in the theater as a kid thanks to the lax oversight of a friend’s “cool” uncle. I walked away thinking it was certainly unusual and very adult, but other then that it was pretty uneven. But one bit stuck with me through the years and that was the B-17 scene, which I always found to be the one genuinely creepy scene in the film. Am I alone in this?

Before it was all hip and cool to be green, I was riding down the narrow sidewalks of my humble little berg on a lever-steered Green Machine.