Presenting The Goldwaters

Ever heard of these guys? The album is dreadful, but the cover makes me laugh. Believe it or not, I actually found an interview with one of the members on conelrad.com.

Sez the site: "In the pantheon of strange political gimmicks, The Goldwaters would have to rank fairly high on the list. Right up there with Michael Dukakis "boxer" action figures. The idea to assemble a conservative folk combo, have them record a bizarre, nearly unlistenable album and then put the group on the road with the 1964 Republican nominee for President was the warped brainchild of the Nashville-based Bates Brothers, Buford and Mark Clark. To fulfill their unique vision, the brothers recruited four kids with moderate musical skills from nearby colleges. The result was the Republican answer to the Chad Mitchell Trio."

If you're hooked, go read more. If not have a laugh and go on your merry way.

James Bond in ... Thunderball!

I started to do a mondo James Bond post, but I decided to break these up over a few days to make it easier to read. I buy alot of records at estate sales, but I don't really start out to collect something. It just happens. Like the day I found the Thunderball soundtrack album.


Is Connery kickin' it here or what? Underwater scuba ninja fu -- awesome. Of course, then a few weeks later I lucked out and found the Esquire magazine below. But that cover is only the beginning.


These days, can you imagine a celeb being pictured on the cover and not even being discussed inside the magazine. Well, that's what happens here. And, once you get a look, you may not even care. Check these out, then stay tuned tomorrow for ... Gold-fing-ah!

Make Your Own Fallout Shelter

Who needs duct tape and plastic sheeting? Check out this Flick set that includes a scan of a brochure from the Kelsey-Hayes Company, Detroit, MI for their pre-fabricated fallout shelters, circa 1963.

Some of those designs don't exactly look sturdy, but I find it hard to believe that the good people at the Kelsey-Hayes Company would try and profit from the fears of average Americans. Certainly something like that couldn't happen today, thank goodness.

Pimp My Ride -- With A Nuclear Reactor!

Thanks to Paul for sending me this: Concept cars of the past. That's my next car up there -- the 1961 Ford Seattle. It would have been powered by a nuclear powerplant. Swell!

Exercise Records

From the archives, a few of exercise records. Listen, follow the instructions and watch those pounds melt away!

The Next Voice You Hear

Generation Exploitation had a great post on the 1950 movie The Next Voice You Hear. The premise James Whitmore) is listening to the radio one evening when his regularly scheduled program is suddenly interrupted by the voice of the Christian God. As Generation Exploitation puts it: "One can't help wondering, given the year and the context in which the film was made, if this was MGM's attempt to get the House of Unamerican activities off their back. As in, 'See, we believe in God and America - we ain't no commies!' "

Of course, the irony of all this is Whitmore is actually an atheist. In a recent interview on XM Radio's Bob Edwards Show, Whitmore told Bob about how he grew up a very pious young man, an altar boy. However, after serving as a Marine officer through some of the worst fighting in the Pacific, Whitmore came home a changed man. He said that after seeing the things he saw in the war, there was no way he could believe in God anymore. Kind of sad, but it makes an interesting story.

Oh, and another piece of Whitmore trivia -- he played football at Yale, where his coach was his future President Gerald Ford. I remember Whitmore saying that they were related somehow, but I can't find any attribution for this.

Dick Cheney: The Formative Years?

There have been a few posts lately on Boing Boing about whether certain cartoons may have shaped the world view of our Vice President. Look and decide for yourself.

Superman Is A Dick

Hey, I don't make this stuff up, I just point you to it. This whole Web site -- www.superdickery.com -- is devoted to examples of Superman being ... well, being a dick.

Now, mind you, I've never thought of Superman is particularly being a dick. And I gotta say, if he wants to use his superpowers to ruin Pat Boone's career -- well, I'm kind of OK with that. He can use his heat vision to melt his white shoes, use his super strength to crush his silly little baby guitar. Go ahead. I'm fine with it. Really.

If that's being a dick, I say fine. Let me be a dick. I'm good with that.

Stop-Motion Green Giant

Those old Jolly Green Giant ads I remember from the 1970s were kind of cool. This one from the 1950s ... it's just kind of scary.

Vintage Vespa Ads on Flickr

What says the swinging Mid-Century days quite like kickin' it La Dolca Vita style. And nothing is quite as Italian cool as a Vespa scooter with a slice of cheesecake on the side. I found this Flickr photo set and I just had to share it. Enjoy!

Back to The Future

If you happen to be in Tulsa on Friday, and you aren't doing anything, you might want to drop by the courthouse and watch them dig up a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sports Coupe. What'll they find? Well, for starters, I hope they find a car. That may be a little iffy since the Belvedere is considered one of the most rust-prone cars of all time. Stay tuned here for more updates or visit BuriedCar.com

UPDATE, 6.14.07: Early reports don't look promising!

Fallout Shelter Handbook

Courtesy of the Ward-O-Matic -- your Fallout Shelter Handbook. Kind of puts our duct tape and plastic sheeting we have now-a-days to shame!

Pulp Fiction

I don't get too hung up on highbrow or lowbrow -- I love it all equally. Well, maybe the sleaze does have a special place in my Mid-Century Modern heart. Anyway, you can't talk about MCM without at least a nod at kitsch. I found this great Flickr photo set of pulp fiction paperback book covers which are good for a laugh. WARNING: Most of these are not safe for work.