Boomerville USA

Here we were living in the atomic age. Don't forget to duck and cover.

still mondo after all these years

Just watched an old cult 1969 documentary 'Mondo Hollywood'.  It's a very quirky perverted piece (warning psychedelic painted, dancing, naked people enclosed) of film about tinsel town during the psychedelic sixties.  Like the saying goes, "The more things change - the more things stay the same".  Watching these people in Hollywood, change the soundtrack, hairstyles, fads, and fashions - I noticed how the same type of self indulgent weirdos still dwell there today.  Hip eventually turns to camp and idiocy will always be the norm there.

The Christmas Cowboy

Gene Autry was know through radio and film fame as 'The Singing Cowboy'. In the fifties he also became known as 'The Christmas Cowboy' because of his hit song 'Here comes Santa Claus.

As the story is told, Gene was riding his horse, Champion, down Hollywood Boulevard for the annual Christmas parade in 1946 when, hearing the crowds of children gleefully crying, “Here comes Santa Claus!” he was inspired to write this song. The rest is cowboy Christmas history.

Gene also sings my favorite version of 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I can't pick my favorite version of 'Frosty the Snowman'. It's a tie between Burl Ives and Gene Autry.

a different time

Nothing says Merry Christmas like Lucky Strike.

1969 Sears WishBook

If you're half a century old or a little older - you might remember this book. Heck, you might have found some of these toys under your tree.

o holy night

Tennessee Ernie Ford and Gordon MacRae. Good stuff.

Tennessee Ernie Ford....and son

Like Bing Crosby, Tennessee Ernie Ford is someone else that reminds me of Christmas. This clip is something I ran across a good while back, and is among my all time favorite Youtube videos. The kid stealing the show is Ernie's son Brian.

Remco & Rush

Rush Limbaugh was recently on William Shatner's 'Raw Nerve' show.  During the last segment Rush proudly pulled out his favorite childhood toy to show to Shatner and his audience.  This is a Remco Caravelle AM Radio Transmitter/Receiver.  Rush reminisced how he always wanted to be on the radio.  This was his Christmas present back in 1962.  Rush said that he would spin records and dj from his bedroom as his parents would listen from another room.  The radio worked on a single 9 volt battery and could broadcast up to 500 feet away.  I believe Rush's signal broadcasts a little further today.

fantastic voyage

I remember my fellow classmates at R.A. Mitchell Elementary talking about 'Fantastic Voyage' (1966) that was to air on television that evening. I had no idea what it was about, but figured it must be really cool because of all of the emotional stir around me. Gee whiz - I just HAD TO SEE IT!

It was pretty cutting edge stuff for it's day - that is until '2001: A Space Odyssey' . Take for instance the scene where the miniaturized submarine Prosteus is sucked into a fistula shortly after the it was injected into the bloodstream. The high tech special effect was made by swirling a small sub model in a punch bowl filled with strawberry flavored milk and Cheerios. Breathtaking stuff, I know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage

2012 might bring along a remake. I don't know, I like the camp of the original. Even though strawberry milk and Cheerios more than likely will not be used - I foresee nothing surpassing the original. The original Fantastic Voyage has Donald Pleasence!

"When filming the scene where the other crew members remove attacking antibodies from Ms. Peterson for the first time, director Richard Fleischer allowed the actors to grab what they pleased. Gentlemen all, they specifically avoided removing them from Raquel Welch's breasts, with an end result that the director described as a "Las Vegas showgirl" effect. Fleischer pointed this out to the cast members - and on the second try, the actors all reached for her breasts. Finally the director realized that he would have to choreograph who removed what from where, and the result is seen in the final cut." -IMDB

'Inner Space' (1987) was a quazi-remake of Fantastic Voyage that is well worth watching. It was a action/comedy starring Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, and Meg Ryan.

great scot!

James Doohan tells a sweet story.

high flight

Television stations back during the 1960's used to sign-off their broadcast days with this poem. My pal J. Holland played this as he signed off today on his show.

'High Flight' was written by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr / No 412 squadron / RCAF. Gillespie joined the RCAF before America entered the war. He was killed December 11, 1941 at the age of 19.