Archive for May, 2006
Mildred Fierce
May 31st, 2006Last week, Slate.com ran a fine appreciation of James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce which I managed to miss until today. Like the author, the Vintage paperback reissue served as my introduction to Cain. I was transfixed by how much more gritty and earthy the novel was compared to the movie. It was also interesting that […]
With a Pinch of Cinnamon
May 30th, 2006Best thing I’ve heard all day. The news is especially refreshing in this case, since Mission: Impossible has been so hard to find lately. The FX network used to air repeats back in the early to mid-’90s, but now it appears that the episodes are only being shown locally in the Los Angeles area. These […]
Alternative Fuel, CTW-style
May 29th, 2006We interrupt this weblog for a funky flashback from Sesame Street (or was it The Electric Company?). Have a nice Memorial Day? We just ate a huge lunch of BBQ hot dogs and cherry pie. I’m porked.
Does She Puke Pink, Too?
May 27th, 2006A.V. Club blogger Kyle Ryan singled out MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 as the most offensive show on television. I’ve managed to avoid that one, but now I’d like to see episode with the Scottsdale girl who dyed her pet poodles pink for a pink-themed party and got two brand new cars for her birthday. […]
Housecleaning 2
May 26th, 2006Heads up — I’m selling off the remainder of my Russel Wright American Modern dinnerware in the ongoing Buy My Crap at eBay campaign. Recently I’ve pruned down my collection to just the white and grey pieces, along with a few token pieces in the rare glacier blue and common chartreuse colors. This setup looks […]
Happy Little Bears
May 24th, 2006Check out this beautiful set of Terrytoons cartoon lobby cards presented by the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Appropos of nothing, whatever happened to those Happy Little Elves on The Simpsons? I loved whenever they’d pop up on the early episodes, with “cheap” animation and helium voices; I even used to entertain thoughts of a Happy Little […]
Gruesome Twosome: Sunshine Girls Edition
May 24th, 2006Vicky Leandros: “Sunshine Boy”
LP: A Taste of … Vicky, 1967
Miss DD Phillips: “The World of Thursday Morning”
LP: Miss DD Phillips, c.1969
Warming temperatures have prompted me to share a couple of nice ‘n perky ’60s female vocals — songs that will have you gaily skipping through the park, multicolored balloons in hand. Greek singer Vicky Leandros […]
Drawing Inspiration
May 22nd, 2006Penguin Graphic Classics is a new line of paperback literary classics with covers designed by today’s hottest graphic novelists. Bookslut effusively praises them here; Fantagraphics shares more covers here. It’s an interesting concept — I suppose the success of individual volumes depends a lot on the talent of the artist involved. For example, Chris Ware’s […]
Rosemary, Lilac and Heather
May 20th, 2006You’ll recall that last week I linked to an old Rock Flowers doll commercial. Now it appears that music blogger Mondo Daddykin has made available most of Rock Flowers’ recorded output for download — their two albums along with one of the three singles originally sold with the rockin’ dolls. Out of sight, man. This […]
Felix the (Silent) Cat
May 19th, 2006Watch Felix In Hollywood (1923) — one of 10 silent Felix the Cat cartoons nicely supplied by Bibi of Bibi’s Box. It’s cool to see this early, primitive animation — more like a moving comic strip, actually. I singled this one out since I saw it theatrically last year and its depictions of now-obscure movie […]
New in the Store: Cute Baby Stuff
May 18th, 2006This adorable little tyke is the newest addition to the scrubbles store. Born on a baby shower invitation I designed for Max and his friend Amanda, it has now been modified to go on a baby bib, a romper, and a keepsake ornament. C’mon, you know you want one.
Razzle Dazzle ‘Em
May 17th, 2006Tony Award nominations are in. I don’t follow the N.Y. theater world too closely, but around here we love the Tonys. We will likely watch the live broadcast on June 11th, and we will just as likely curse CBS for screwing it up again. I’m aware that they need to attract Joe and Mamie Midwestern […]
Soy Bomb
May 16th, 2006Continuing the theme from the previous post, Derrick Bostrom shares a new array of Japanese snacks and toys. I especially like the Pocky chocolate covered sticks clearly labeled “For Men” on the box. Do they have a musky scent or something?
Happy Amusement Park
May 13th, 2006Whew. I’ve finally finished preparing and uploading a flickr set of scans from an early ’60s issue of the long running Japanese childrens’ magazine Tanoshii Youchien (Happy Amusement Park Kindergarten). I came across this find last year in a Bisbee, AZ collectibles store and couldn’t put it down. The pages contain a bunch of wild […]
The Exploding Plastic Inevitable
May 12th, 2006Today I thought I’d utilize the wonders of YouTube to share a couple of groovy old doll commercials from the early ’70s. First we have a 1971 spot for Rock Flowers, a multiracial trio which were supposed to be an outta-sight musical group like Josie & The Pussycats. As Casey Kasem points out in his […]
