Appreciating Our Parents

Coronet Films cranked out some amazing educational flicks. Everyday, my four year old son must open his eyes and wonder just what became of the carefully prepared mess he so expertly crafted the day before. As soon as my son is old enough to get the gist of this educational, nay, propaganda film on appreciating old mom and pop, I am seriously sitting him in front of it everyday. Released in 1950, this peachy film chronicle little Tommy's sudden awareness of just how his parents bust their posterior bits for him everyday. On something of a side-note, Tommy's father is kind of a hunk. I can make such lustful declarations because I happen to know that my husband never reads this. While we're on the subject, me thinks I will start lining up in the daddy-money-cue like this broad did. The hell with online banking.

Just Add Water...

This vintage Folger's commercial is great for so many reasons. Not only is it a very politically incorrect look at marriage, there is also, in my opinion, this strange sexual charge to it. It plays like a cautionary piece, advising housewives everywhere that the secret to a healthy sex life lies in those very instant flavored coffee crystals. Thanks to Stevie Retro Trash for the video.

What Ever Happened to Hats?

With very little exception, nobody really wears the hat for purely fashionable purposes. I live in South Florida where we do wear big, ol' straw hats and baseball caps to shield us from the sun while we're working and playing outside, but throughout the year I only see a handful of guys wearing porkpie hats and only a few older, church going gals donning their chapeaus on Sundays. By and large, we took our hats off as a statement of style in the beginning of WWII when women found themselves trading in their silk chemises for jumpsuits and uniforms and their slouch hats for welding helmets.

Images are from an old Sears catalog, reproduced in a great book (I emphatically recommend) titled, "Everyday Fashions of the Forties".

Ode To Hi-Fi

The sweetest sound pours out from a single, blown speaker, like gravel, uneven and course.

Bringing Up Baby

It's been a while since my last post, but with good reason. Around the time that I last chimed in I discovered I was pregnant!

I was pretty sick for the first few months, but I'm happy to report that I am feeling much like my (regretfully) old self.







It's a boy!

More Vintage Finds

Isn't it a wonderful feeling to find that forgotten dollar bill crumpled up in your pocket? Not too long ago my brother-in-law brought over a box that I had left behind when we were living together. Imagine my delight when I opened it up and found about 30 of these old detective novels from the early 1960's. What's troubling is that I only vaguely remember getting these. Sadly, they are all in crummy condition and are very brittle, so I'm not even sure they would withstand a read. Oh well, the cover art is purely amazing and at least five-hundred varieties of sexist.

Those beatniks were a rowdy, murderous bunch--it's true. ...

...

...

That's one very strategically placed, err, pistol. ...

In the 1960's, all the chicks used pistolettos to hold their stockings in place. It's a fact. ...

What to do when the pole gets boring.

Rebecca

Rebecca is definitely one of my all-time favorite films. Released in 1940 and starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. I guess it appeals to me because it's something of a dark Cinderella story. Fontaine plays a working-class girl who is swept off her feet by a very dashing and wealthy Olivier when they meet in Monte Carlo. They wed and when they return to his estate in England, Manderlay, things quickly sour--and that's all I will say. This film posses one of the better twists I have ever seen in a film, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Produced by David O. Selznick, who was no doubt still enjoying the success that Gone with the Wind brought him only a year before. ...

Imagine having a bedroom like this. Crazy. ...

Sir Laurence ...

Oh Mrs. Danvers, you are wicked. ...

Her hair really looks so 1970's in this scene. She was the hotness.

Ten Chocolate Layer Cakes

After 38 years, Sesame Street remains a truly a wonderful children's program. I watch it with my son almost everyday. Almost all of our favorite character puppets are still there and it's nice to still see Maria, Gordon, Bob and Luis around, if only a little more than slightly aged. My only complaint would be that the supplemental learning materials in between the main character bits are not as cool as the stuff we "older kids" grew up on. Por ejemplo:

Who can forget the most incredibly fun method of learning to count up to ten and then backwards?! ...

Ladybug Picnic! Those six-legged gals know how to have fun. ...

I can not get this tune out of my head. "1, 2, 3!"

Some Assembly Required

So far this year, my son has had six of his toys recalled. In the last couple of days we've learned that his two sets of Aqua Dots have been added to that list of potentially harmful toys. So I'm more than a little angry at all of the toy manufacturers who've allowed greed and complacency (I'm talking to you Fisher Price) to cloud their good judgment and allow the garbage their peddling as toys to end up on store shelves. This posting is dedicated to the toys that didn't induce comas or damage our nervous system, but merely spurred our imaginations and allowed our parents to drift off to sleep with at least one less thing to worry about.

My son's Aqua Dots. This industry "toy of the year" sent many a poor kid into a coma. ...

Back in the day, Fisher Price made some pretty cool toys, including their "Little People" play sets. The little people they make nowadays are lame, in my opinion--and while we're at it, are they covered in lead paint? Just wondering as these things seem to be discovered only after these nifty toys have been out for consumer consumption for months at a time. Don't even get me started on all of the dollar store crap. Who's giving those goods the once over? So I think I'll just pass, thanks. ...

...

...

The castle featured some nifty details, like this secret passage. ...

Oh, and a side note to all of the toy makers out there: We would gladly pay a couple of dollars more per item if it means that the toys we give our kids aren't poisoned. I'm thinking that the Chinese-outsourcing thing isn't working out too good.

Dance Your Way to Happiness, or At Least Fleeting Pleasure

Are you an absolute clod on the dance floor? Has some unfortunate genetic error graced you with two left feet? Fear not my clumsy friend, Arthur Murray is here to teach us how to turn that trip into a trot.
...
This fine book was published in 1953.	Arthur and his lovely wife Kathryn doing what they do best--no, not holding still in front of a fan.
...
Good dancers are popular?! So that explains all of those lonely nights.	My granny could Lindy Hop with the best of 'em! Here's lookin' at you, Mary, with the eyes of blue.
...
"Practice in private to become a good dancer."
...
Just because I'm part Cuban.
...
Know that when you walk into the Arthur Murray Dance Studio you will find some fancy and cleverly concealed mirrors.
...
Hmmm...no expiration date, eh?