Snackbar Confidential / Art Au Go-Go !

2011-06-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

Twin Cinema 1970!

2011-04-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

Twin Cinema 1970!

2011-04-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

New issue is out

2008-05-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Thrift Score, Feb. 27, 2008

2008-02-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

Another willy-nilly assortment of fun; 1) a vintage 1960's , 10 " plastic Jesus. I was raised in a non-religious home (Whew!) but I saw this figurine for .50 cents and I could not resist. The quality of the hollow plastic (that's supposed to simulate polished wood or marble?) is outstanding. Really high quality plastic that you don't see today. Maybe a gift for somebody, someday....2) a pair of fingerless (weight?) lifting gloves. Nice quality tan leather too. Probably cost $25.00 new. If you are reading this and going "Yuk!" and picturing hours of sweaty gripping still inside; don't fret. I will soak them overnight in bath of hot soapy water, rubbing alcohol and lemon juice to make them fresh n' clean. 3) an 11" fake parrot with no eyes. Symbolic and sad? Yes. Fixable? Again, Yes ( I have some tiny fake plastic eyes, somewhere). Real parrots , although entertaining & cute as all hell, are pretty expensive. 4) a small clear plastic holder/bin . I never have enough of these, ever! Now my Q-Tips won't spill all over the place. 5) Large blue bath towel. I cut them up and use them for cleaning rags. I hate using disposables like paper towels and Handi-Wipes for cleaning a kitchen or bathroom floor. Now I'm recycling, saving a Hand-Wipe tree and .....oh crap, now obligated to clean my bathroom floor. 7) last but not least , an 18 x 20" cork bulletin board. I never have enough of these, and would never pay full retail price ($10, 11, 12 ?) in stores. These are a yard sale and thrift store perinnial. TOTAL COST : Under $5.00 ! (I think the lady at the register make a mistake........)

THRIFT SCORE, FEB. 20, 2008 !

2008-02-20T15:37:00.001-08:00

Today's "score" had nothing really outstanding about
it except for how much I had spent ($35.29 !).
It was "blue tag is half off day" so I did take
advantage. The main culprit in this heavy tab was a pair of no-foolin'-around-real-as-can-be
cop/S.W.A.T. /uniform pants in my size! Navy blue with lots of snaps, mini-pockets and such.
The pants alone were $10.99 (and not "half-off Blue Tag" either) , but I could not pass these up; they would even be good for an e-Bay re-sale, but I don't think I'm not gonna sell until I see how they actually look on me first (I did not try them on in the store). I also go a nice white Ralph Lauren shirt; casual with pin-stripes and some sort of fine woven in texture/pattern and one unusual selling point--the buttons end midway down, so the shirt is a pull-over. I dig Ralph Lauren dress and casual button down shirts ! They are always roomy and comfortable even for us "husky" sized guys. They don't wrinkle (!) or fade and last forever. I only buy them from thrifts stores because new ,they cost $29.99 to $49.99 ...even at boring budget outlets like T.J. Max Marshall's!! Yikes! The second button down shirt in this score is a simple Arrow shirt, no big deal but it's a great "electric blue" color. Arrow shirts are not expensive at Marshall's either. I also snatched up a bunch of t-shirts, all plain or pocket (Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Old Navy, etc.). The last time I was in Kohl's they were running a color pocket-T shirt sale. There was no price on the rack, but they had every color in the universe. I picked out eight different colors and went to check-out. To my shock, the shirts were a little over $6.00 each ! I was like , "F*** this, I'm only buying color pocket T's second hand from now on!". So today I snagged some in my favorite standard colors black, red, blue, white. Two of the shirts still had the folds and tape from just being taken out of a package (never used! ) as well! The shirts were all half-off so I paid from .50 cents to $1.50 each. Winding down, I picked up a Playboy aluminum beer stein/mug merely to sell on e-Bay and re-coop the cost of today's shopping spree; I know vintage Playboy collectibles can do pretty well, however the .99 cent beer stein I bought today was on there already by a multitude of sellers with the same one I had, and no bids at 1 to 5 dollars each. Oh well, now I have a Playboy "pencil holder" on my desk at work. Next; a VHS tape of the Brady Bunch Movie for .99 cents. I saw this movie when it was new and thought the plot was nothing short of painful ! The cast on the Brady dad & boys side were mediocre but the Brady mother & girls were incredible replicas (so was Alice!). I also was fascinated at how they re-created the set. 99. cents is cheaper than any rental, so I'll watch it once and toss it. My last out-the-door item is a small 3" plastic bust of classical Baroque composer ( George Fredreic) Handel (!?). His face is poorly sculpted so he looks a little like an alien from one of the Star Wars movies. For the .99 price tag, it will make a great gag gift for someone! If the S.W.A.T. pants make me look fat, and I sell them on e-Bay, and report the final selling price here:

*YOU MAY CLICK TO ENLARGE SCORE PHOTOS*

THRIFT SCORE, NOV. 2007

2007-11-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

Today score was only slightly above average: 1) striped cloth shower curtain (that I can use on any window in my apartment...from the outside, nobody will know! -$6.00 . 2) a vintage wooden carved 6" Tiki -$1.50. 3) a Hanes Beefy long sleeved navy blue t-shirt ...with a hood. Never saw one of these before. In the winter, I prefer to dress in layers (no winter coats, I hate them!). This will provide a thin & workable layer! $5.00. 4) a Tupperware, uh, not sure.....upright square olive green container with a built in masher of some sort...got it for a friend that actually SELLS Tupperware and collects vintage Tupperware too ! $2.50. 5) a clear plastic file box. Could not resist for $1.00. 6) Three C.D.s! "Mika" sealed promo (with cut-out punch hole) . Mika is to Elton John and Queen, what Scissor Sisters are to Stevie Wonder. Poppy and slightly sanitized, but mindless fun ($2.00...would not spend a penny more on something this fluffy). "Garbage, Version 2.0" Where are they now? The follow up CD to their debut. A disappointment to many fans, but for $2.00, I'll find at least one or two good songs on there? "Blinker the Star" Alt band from the "Nirvana Era", I believe. Not certain what they sound like, for $1.00, I'll take that chance. TODAY WAS 50% DAY, so, TOTAL COST: $11.85 ! Good deal! *UPDATE-NOV.29,2007:I sold the tiki on e-Bay for $14.00....making this thrift haul; FREE!

The Benson Theater in Brooklyn

2007-10-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Benson Theater was located at 86th Street, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This was two blocks from my Grandparents apartment. When "Saturday Night Fever" was being filmed there (presumably in early 1977?) my Grandmother was was one of the local on-lookers. Some of the crowd of curious Brooklyn-ites were welcome to be on the street scene as extras --alas, my Grandmother declined as she "did not have her hair done that day". Nonetheless; here is one of the ONLY know examples of the Benson theaters marquee .....Screen 1 is showing "Network" (released around Nov. 1976). The other feature at the Benson 2, is illedgable , but the word "love" is in there. This is possible that the feature was one of the Benson's "X" bookings .........

Jerry Lewis; His prices are INSANE !

2007-09-24T12:00:00.001-07:00

Now let's see... which theater was empty, and which theater was FULL ?

More Larkfield FUN....

2007-09-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

One of the best kiddie matinees EVER! ---->

Stepford comes to Larkfield...

2007-09-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

1976

Larkfield Theater Ads

2007-09-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

( Ads circa 1968 - 1972 ) I miss the old days of the "lop-sided" double feature! "Planet of the Apes" & "Alice's Restaurant"?

NEW issue of Snackbar Confidential for Oct. 2007

2007-09-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

The little cut n' paste zine is LOADED with concert ads, movie ads, local nuggets from 1966 thru 1976! (Many from the tri-state area--and Long Island!). Give it a try!
$2.00 to:
Snackbar Confidential
PO BOX 1359
Huntington,NY
11743

2007-07-11T10:50:00.001-07:00

My Zine ... for Cinema Treasures fans!

2007-06-14T17:05:00.001-07:00

This is my 16 page digest cut'n'paste zine (on REAL paper) is filled with ads and junk from 1966 through 1976. This includes lots of local Long Island ads (movie theaters, department stores, restaurants, amusements and other long lost points of culture). If you would like a sample copy please e-mail me!

Died in the Summer of 1985.........

2007-06-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

......The Commack Drive In Theater. Dario Argento's "Creepers" was the last feature shown. I'm glad, at least, it was a horror movie (and not something like "Back to the Future"). One of my friends was there on the last night, and till this day, I'm still jealous! This is a composite photo, and I truly apologize for the bad movie on the marquee! ("Creepers" turns up in "dollar" DVD bins, and if have not seen it, the ending is friggin' hilarious! ) *CLICK TO ENLARGE PICTURE*
---------------------------- There was a Pergaments parking lot right behind the Commack Drive In, and at one point (with CinemaRadio) you could almost park there for FREE, watch the screen and barely tune-in the sound on your car radio!

1971 / 1964 Long Island Movie Theaters !

2007-06-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Copiague Drive In Ad from 1964.

"Willard" ad from 1971, when it was the most talked about movie in town!
(However, I wish I could have seen it at the Route 110 Drive In )!

*CLICK TO ENLARGE ADS*

Century's 110 Drive In Flea Market 1972 !

2007-06-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

For all my cinema soul-mates on Cinema Treasures. Com: The closest we can come to seeing photos of the Route 110 Drive In Theater (that closed in 1977?) Although it's seen through the flea market..... (from the Newsday color magazine section, July 1972!). Here is what the Huntington Route 110 Drive In did on it's days off. Every Sunday was one of the biggest and most spectacular flea markets Long Island has ever seen--mostly OLD stuff (unlike the 1980's incarnation of flea markets with discount packages of blank VHS cassettes and tube sox and cheap electronics).
People would begin lining up while it was still dark out for the miles and miles of bargains! **If you look at the picture of the woman holding the hand made belt, you can see, I think, the snack bar way way behind her! **It was typical to see hippies selling hand made candles , belts and such. Most were regular folks cleaning out their attics and basements. **Also note: this was 1972, so most of the junk for sale had to be from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's! I used to get so much cool stuff there as a kid, mainly model kits and old Mad and Monster magazines. Does anyone know when the Route 110 Drive In stopped having the flea market? I do not think it lasted past 1974? The Sunrise and Copaigue Drive Ins lasted longer--into the late 1970's. Also, does anyone know if there were homes behind the Route 110 Drive-in ?

The FIRST "Summer Movie" EVER......

2007-05-26T12:56:00.001-07:00

I really really hate the term "Summer Movie" and all it implies. Let it be known , however, that before 1975 THERE WERE NO SUMMER MOVIES! I went back and looked at all the releases before the "Summer of Jaws" in 1975, and there were no calculated summer movies. None. Anyway; here's a great ad from when I saw this for the first time at the Huntington Shore theater. (The following year's summer movie was "Logan's Run" which I also saw at The Shore in 1976). And we all know what 1977's big "summer movie" was! "Orca" ! (ADDENDUM: TO ME, SUMMER 1979 WILL ALWAYS BE "SUMMER OF DAWN OF THE DEAD" -----EVEN IF "ALIEN" WAS A MUCH BIGGER HIT. 1978 WAS A TIE BETWEEN "GREASE" AND "ANIMAL HOUSE" FOR SUMMER HIT MOVIES AND "JAWS 2" WAS NOT A BIG HIT THIS SUMMER).

Wrong or Right, the 1970's was it's own creature...

2007-05-26T12:25:00.001-07:00

Two splendid polar opposites from 1975. The Ronkonkoma "Art" Cinema was one of Long Island's oldest porn theaters (and there were not many of them either). The "Art" portion of the name is the give-away; back in the pre-ratings code days (1967) there were Art Theaters that showed foreign films, many of which contained nudity and or soft-core sex. Some of the films were actual "art" (think: Pasolini ) and then there were pseudo-art fims, usually filmed in Sweden and about a young high school girl becoming a "woman". The sleep inducing plot would be padded out with some soft-core sex scenes. This would then make it the most talked about movie in town---which is laughable by todays standards. After the first hard core sex movies made the main-stream ("Deep Throat", "Devil in Miss Jones", etc.) in 1972, the places that formally showed the "Art" films went totally "XXX", (which I forgot about). "Triple X" meant that you saw EVERYTHING. I think the theater was still going strong in the (late?) 1980's********On the flip side: in the early 1970's, Jerry Lewis lent his name to a chain of movie theaters, that initially was only supposed to show "family oriented films" (!). Yeah, right. His ugly caricature graced the ads, and theater marquees, and were out of business by (I believe) 1976.

More Groovy Long Island Movie Ads

2007-05-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

1975. I saw this odd double bill at the Larkfield theater in East Northport, but this ads lists that it's playing at the Commack Drive-In, (which is where I should have seen it!) I think "Arnold" (a 1940's themed horror-comedy) is a lost movie. (Many times, in these old movie ads, you mind plays tricks on you. The features you saw were NOT playing at the theater you actually saw it in--as stated in the listings. I have two theories: 1) Some films (or double bills) played on week in one theater, then played the next week in another theater. The syncopation with movie releases at Drive-Ins and regular "walk in" theaters is askew. (As stated above)--it could be at your drive in in July, then turn up in a conventional movie theater in August. In the 1970's, film release dates were wonky--as the 1970's truly were! Theory Number 2) You're gettin' old and your memory is getting wobbly. I remember seeing "Frogs" and "Conquerer Worm" at the Commack Drive-In, yet the only ads I have found, have this double bill at the Huntington Route 110 Drive In...did my memory lie?

This Rules !

2007-05-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Sideshow banner to cash in on the popularity of my all time favorite movie: "Rosemary's Baby" (1968)! The great ad campaign told us to "Pray for Rosemary's Baby".
What could have been in there?

Commack Drive In Ads from April-June 1975 !

2007-05-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

Was 1975 that long ago? Yup. Well, as I had mentioned before, one of my best friends lived in an apartment behind the Commack Drive In, so at night we would just watch the movies (with no sound). Like I said before, we could time the "good" scenes and watch them several times a night. I actually remember these shows , and we made sure to watch the cockpit crash scene in "Airport 1975", and "Play Misty for Me" had a topless/knife scene we watched a few times.
"Death Race 2000" would be pretty much the perfect drive-in movie, and I remember lots of stand-out scenes in that one!
I'm sure they will remake this movie and totally miss the point (it was a "satire" to some extent). (I forgot to mention "Eat My Dust" with Ron Howard which was a big drive-in hit in 1976 and played at Commack). $3.00 per carload was a great deal, even by 1975 standards and nobody even bothered hiding friends in their trunks. *Interesting to note how "willy nilly" drive-in theatre triple bills could be: "Airport 1975" (action "thriller"), "Lords of Flatbush " (drama), "Play Misty for Me" (psycho melodrama). * " Death Race 2000" (comic book violent exploitation sci-fi satire), "Last Days of Man on Earth" (serious French psychological thriller about creating an artificial "perfect human"), "Two Lane Blacktop" (talky 1970's "road" movie with existential detours). Gone were the days of simple "Frankenstein", "Bride of Frankenstein" & "Son of Frankenstein" type triple bill formulas !

Two Defunt Movie Theaters; Commack L.I.

2007-05-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Two shots of the Commack RKO Twin Theatre. Gone by the late 1980's.
In picture #1 on your left, you can see a small white rectangle on the right side (with a red car below it). That was the screen of the Commack Drive-In (also GONE).
Movies I have seen at the RKO Twin: Monty Python's Life of Brian, King Kong (1976), When A Stranger Calls, Angel Heart, Spinal Tap, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, King Kong Lives.....best memory of the RKO Twin: seeing John Water's Polyester in 1981 with the Odorama scratch n' sniff cards. When the movie was over everyone just dropped the cards on the floor (so we were like " GRAB 'EM !"). As for the COMMACK DRIVE-IN: I have a titanic history with this place:
My first memory of seeing a movie there was "Beneath The Planet of the Apes" (1970). My second other memorable film viewing there was : "Frogs" (1972), which I loved, and later in junior high school, a good friend of mine, moved from East Northport to an apartment (with his family) in Commack. Guess what their back windows faced? The friggin' Commack Drive-In ! So, all through the Spring/ Summer season, we would sit on the couch, looking out the window at movies like: "Death Race 2000", "The Grove Tube" and "Flesh Gordon" --- ALL RATED "R" and we were too young to see "R" movies on our own. Sure there was no sound, but you saw blood & guts & nudity! We could even time the parts of the movies we wanted to see over and over : "At 9:23 a head gets cut off" or "At 10:12 a woman's shirt gets ripped off". Lots of fun, all for FREE! Later in high school, I went there with my first ever girlfriend and saw "The Swarm", but I saw my *ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE* there in Spring 1979: "Dawn of the Dead"! That was the "horror summer" with "Phantasm", "Alien", "Night Wing", and "Prophecy" all being out at the same time. ("Phantasm" especially stood out in my mind as well--and played at the Larkfield theatre too!). The Commack Drive-In's last summer was 1986, last film, Dario Argento's "Creepers". I was very jealous as one of my best friends was actually there on that night and I chose to stay home! As the drive in shut down and decayed over the next 10 years, I documented it all the way with photos and yearly visits. slowly it just became a dumping ground (tires, etc.), the weeds grew like corn stalks, and even once I witnessed the (closed) snackbar on fire (set by vandals) ! I still have a piece of the plastic marquee sign from there as well. There was no great fanfare to the Commack Drive-In closing, but the Westbury Drive-in stole the show as far as it's closing went, with protests , petitions and news media. *NOTE* I still need a photo of the Huntington ROUTE 110 Drive -in (closed in 1976/77?) . Never saw one anywhere, even online. The Route 110 marquee sign (it was huge) stayed up for YEARS after closing though.

Jack in the Box!

2007-05-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

This was the standard looking Jack in the Box restaurant from the 1970's. We had one that looked exactly like this on Jericho Turnpike in Commack, NY. Like a giant orange shoe box in the sky.
At the time when Long Island had NO White Castles; this was the ONLY 24 hour fast food to be had. Period. So, by default, every dirtbag, freak and drunk had to go here , and the weekends were especially hazardous! One of my friends was in there when an M-80 went off in the restroom! Her hearing was screwed up for a month or two. Fights? You bet! Lots of 'em. Mostly with the workers who were communicating with drunks through the drive-up clown head speaker! My personal favorite J.I.T.B. treat were the Tacos; they deep fried the whole damn thing and although they were short on cheese, lettuce, seasonings and tomatoes, you'd be licking the wrapper for the excess sauce that would drip onto the wrapper after the taco was gone.(and wasn't that soy mixed in with the meat?). The hamburgers were void of flavor/taste, as I recall. Bad french fries too, but it was the only place to get onion rings, so again, it would be your default side-order. Of course, they discontinued the "clown" motif in; you guessed it 1980, giving the chain a generic over-haul, and later killing people with Ebola in a Los Angeles restaurant. Out here, a few of the remaining stores (out here) were called "Jacks" and seemed to have a similar menu. *Note* a great scene of a Jack in the Box drive-thru, complete with clown heads can be seen in the rare feature film "The Todd Killings" (1971). In the 1990's they brought the clown back, as a bendable "happy meal" prize. They proudly "yuppified" him with a suit & tie and a lap top computer. Har de har har.....

The Larkfield Theatre in East Northport

2007-05-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

(1950's-1985) This was my childhood/ local theater located on Larkfield Road in East Northport. (It was an independent theatre and not a chain--which was a GOOD thing). Movies I have seen there over the years: The Love Bug, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Legend of Boggy Creek, Dumbo, Snowball Express (dumb Disney live action movie), Hair, The Stepford Wives, Midnight Express, The Big Bus, Family Plot, Arnold, The Shining, The Eyes of Laura Mars, Asylum, Mary Poppins, Love at First Bite, Tunnel Vision, Magic, and the Grease/Saturday Night Fever double feature re-release. The "kiddie matinees" ran throughout the summers , with Disney double features for years starting in the early 1970's.

My most memorable time there was when in 1972, my father took me to see Tales From the Crypt, which scared the crap outta me (but I loved it!). Later on in life, I found out that friends of mine (that I had yet to become friends with) were there and called their mother to come pick them up because the intensely horrific theme song used was Bach's "Toccata and Fugue" , and they were almost in tears .
There was a small "Ma & Pa" drug store right next door (althouth it may have been a small Rexell ?) to the Larkfield and it must have killed the concsession stand inside the theatre, because people on line could just walk into there and by a candy bar for 20 cents (the 1974 price of a candy bar!). Fortunately (for the theatre) , the drug store closed at 6:00 PM and was closed Sundays. On the opposite side of the theatre was a decrepit machine shop of some sort--back in the day, East Northport/ Larkfield Road was NOT a shop-and-stroll town at all. The stores and business were scatter-shot, most of the "seedy" looking places were by the train station.
The Larkfield closed in 1985 (about a year or two after the accursed Commack Multiplex opened!) and the last movie that played there was Ken Russell's Crimes of Passion. At one point, a "Church" opened there (huh? SEE PHOTO) for about a year. People I know who had actually been curious ; popped there heads in just to look around said it was "strange". Afterwards it became a horrible & generic "office space" that NOBODY rented for YEARS.

P.S. It was at this theatre , that was the last time I remember buying Bonomo Turkish Taffy (the vanilla flavor was the best!).
Till this day some of my dreams and nightmares still take place in and around this movie theatre! *******************************************************
*****There is an amazing website called Cinema Treasures. com.
Here, you can see posts about any favorite long lost (closed) movie theatres from you past (with pictures too, in some cases). Some of the postings are from people that ran and worked there too, so you get some nice inside stories. *MANY OLD long-gone Long Island
Theatres are listed**

THRIFT SCORE! (well...sort of...) April, 2007

2007-04-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Proving that it does not take a lot to make me happy and I can be sentimental over the most insignificant pieces of junk; here is today's thrift score-- Exhibit A) a vintage tin file box.
Size:3.25 x 3.25 x 5".
Color: Military Olive Drab, (with a miserable "Rainy Day Gray" color on the inside!)
Manufacturer :Unknown.
Date: Unknown (but 1965 thru 1971 would be a general pin-point).
I had one of these as a kid, and did nothing with it, but for some reason I loved having one! Today when I had found it ; I had realized that there are 101 uses for this and I'll list them all NOW:
Great storage for: bank receipts , credit card receipts, rubber bands, paper clips, loose change, business cards, small photographs, thumb tacks, buttons, cassette tapes (if you still have any!), jewelry, spools of thread, nail polish jars, stationary supplies (Scotch Tape, Crazy Glue, glue sticks,etc.-- I always loose my Crazy Glue ! )
Moreover, newly produced file boxes are cheaply molded plastic (think: TupperWare but cheaper) with hinges that wear out and break off (plus they're ugly with rounded corners and there is no weight to them).
Price: .50 , (and toady was half-off day!) so the
FINAL PRICE: .26 (tax included)!

Thrift Score, March 29, 2007

2007-03-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today's "score" was practical with no real surprises (ugh-again). I got : 1) a vintage Danish modern 1960's bar-b-que set. Probably become a gift for somebody with bar-b-que season upon us. 2) a Home Depot hat (this will really make me look like I know what I'm doing for my next trip to Home Depot). 3) a (hopefully) man's leather belt with removable buckle. They do not make these anymore! I have vintage belt buckles waiting in the wings because all the modern leather belts are riveted in place and cannot be opened. I found this in the Ladies Belt & Accessory section, but it's marked "size 40" and I don't think Ladies Belt sizes run the same as men's.....I could be wrong and this could be my first foray into cross-dressing! 4) a volume of a Time/Life book series on Collectibles. Nice color pix of vintage advertising posters and such inside. Great for art reference and fun to look at. 5) a very nice antique picture frame. Ornate tin design with a die-punched flower/leaf pattern. I just listed this on E-Bay today. Hopefully, I will get $12.99, and that will pay for today haul; which was a grand total of $10.21! Garage Sale Season is almost open as well. This hurts and helps the Thrifts; on one hand, people are cleaning out attics and basements (which is good). They have their garage sales (which is also good), but they usually haul the remains of what did NOT sell to the thrifts (which is BAD). What commonly doesn't sell at garage sales? Let's see......Dirty and used plush animals (always over-sized Easter Bunnies!) , baby clothes, those big plastic "sports" bottles with the built in straws, crappy wicker baskets, used exercise gear ( think "the Step", Thigh Master, grip and pull things, etc.), sets of encyclopedias, used magazines from the past 5 years (usually crafts and knitting magazines, Woman's Day, Ladies Home Journal, Martha Stewart Living, etc.), broken fish tanks, cassette tapes (New Kids on the Block, In-Sync, Rod Stewart, C & C Music Factory, new age relaxation music, etc.)
A look for an annoying new wave of garage sale and thrift fodder: THE V.H.S. TAPE! Now that DVD's are the norm , old VHS tapes are piling up. Sure, titles like "Indiana Jones", "James Bond" and "E.T." will sell to somebody out there, but what about dreaded subjects like these: Olsen Twins movies, instructional tapes ( for The Step or Thigh Master), Travel and Cruise promotional videos, cut rat cartoons (like Woody Woodpecker or Casper ), bad music videos (Kathie Lee Gifford's Christmas, In- Sync, New Kids on the Block, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Christmas, etc.). These will do especially well when placed on the front lawn , on a blanket, under the hot sun at the garage sales! Good Luck........

Obscure Movie Review: Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

2007-03-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you have a movie made by the director of the original “Valley of the Dolls”, with a story by the guy who wrote and directed “It’s Alive” and a screenplay by the guy who wrote episodes of TV’s “Batman” show? Well, you get this: “Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting” (1969). A psycho-campy thriller, that is way ahead of it’s time. The simple plot is begging to be remade; a woman meets a nice guy--who turns out to be a psychotic loser. At the time she decides to dump him, she discovers she’s pregnant. Behind his back she comfortably has an abortion--and daddy finds this out the same week she dumps him. In cinematic break-neck speed, our heroine meets and marries a nice new guy, while the old loser hovers in the background…..

She becomes pregnant again, with the new guy--and the psycho finds out. His plot: to get her to kill the newborn, eye-for-an-eye style! The plot moves along briskly, with some nice twists, leading to a pretty tense “Hitchcockian” climax--that is very satisfying. The title song (with lyrics) is hilarious! This was a major Hollywood studio release and I have no idea how it got so buried?

This movie in not yet on DVD, to view it you must find an old store worn rental VHS copy.

Thrift SCORE, Jan. 18 2007 UPDATED FEB.19

2007-01-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

My first Thrift Score of the new year! I had finished a new painting last week and needed to frame it. If you've ever had to go out and buy a wooden picture frame brand new, you know how expensive they can be ( a small 16 x 20" wooden frame --just the size I needed would probably run $24.99 -- at a retail chain store like Michaels'). Even at that, the quality is so bad that there were times when I was looking at new wooden frames and scratching the back of it with my thumbnail questioning it's quality--like it was some sort of "poly-wood" or something. So being a veteran of the thrift stores, I simply put "buy small wooden frame" on my mental thrift list. ****As Thrift Store "Laws of Circumstances" go, you rarely find exactly what you're looking for in thrifts--they are NOT fully stocked like supermarkets--rather, you're more likely to be diverted by another bargain item that never even entered your head. Example : "I went in looking for a vintage cocktail shaker , which there were none of, but I did find a clear lucite magazine rack from the 1970's for my bathroom"
Next Day: I went to one of the most dubious (but large) thrifts in my area; the accursed Northern Thrift (Huntington Station, NY)-- a not-for-charity thrift that seems to forget what the word "thrift" really means and moreover, the fact that thrifts are sometimes geared to people with lower incomes (and cheapskates like me!). Whenever I do enter Northern Thrift , I use with extreme caution and get ready to "bite-the-bullet", wallet-wise.
To beat-them-at-their-own-game, I only shop at N.T. when they do the "half-price-ticket-day" (All green tickets half price, etc.)
So....let the games begin.....
I enter the store at 11:50 am and first thing I see; a badly painted vintage clown painting in (gasp!) a 16 x 20" wooden frame! Exactly what I was looking for! (SEE PHOTO). Alas, this is Northern Thrift, and this piece of "art" is overpriced at $14.99 (!). In fact all the "art" and framed items in the store are pretty expensive-- I really really really doubt that the Vermeer on the shelf (next to the framed kitten poster) is an original , but they price according to stupidity here, and the stained faded Vermeer print in a chipped frame is $39.99 or more (and the kitten poster is the same price too! Oh, and a cheezy poster picturing a pair of pink ballet slippers next to a single rose in a vase (in faded condition --circa 1987): $29.99--these people are fucking insane with their prices!Arggghhhhh........
The good news was that the clown painting in the frame was half price, as it had an Orange sticker! Whew.
Score # 1; (Clown Painting) in Desired Wooden Frame - $7.49.

Next , if you're like me, you never have enough pairs of jeans. There is no feeling more comforting than having a stock-pile of jeans in varying degrees of character to suit your mood or activities (loose fit, regular fit, boot cut, brand new and deep indigo, worn out and faded with big Ramones-styled holes in the knees, various brands--Gap, Levis, Wrangler, etc.) So I find a pair of Levis in my size for the rip-off price of $14.99 (!!!!) A brand new pair of Levis is $21.00 at Wal-Mart so how could anyone justify buying a used pair at that price? But wait ...I see an "Orange Tag"...half off.... Score #2 ; Pair of Levis in my size, gently worn to perfection- $7.49. ($7.49 should be the REGULAR everyday price anyway! Those silly bastards!) Northern Thrift's Price-Pirates also commit this crime: no accounting for condition flaws! I've seen jeans in there, stained with white house paint OR bleach (that will never come out) priced at $12.99 ! Also, Northern Thrift does not price according to quality or brand. Used Levi's and Calvin Klein jeans are priced the same as Sears Tough Skins, J.C. Penny's Plain Pockets or K-Mart no-frills jeans. The Calvin's would have originally sold for $40.00 (or more)--the Levi's for about $20.00 and the J.C. Penny "old man's" jeans would have been $12.99--all brand new. Here and the misguided N.Thrift , Jeans are all the same (price-wise) and nobody is better than anyone else! Nice concept on paper--bad value for the customer who wants a worn out used pair to distress with fake blood for a Halloween costume (or just does not want to spend a lot of money at any rate and doesn't care about the brand or label).Now, he must pay $12.99 for the used K-Mart jeans that were originally $12.99 when they were NEW because the Levi's & Calvin's were (over) priced into the same ballpark ! THIS IS NOT THRIFTY!

Moving along, I pick up some minor items. A small but vintage pack of Party invitations with a kooky Jester on the front of the invites (these make great gift and all-occasion cards as well) Score #3 Package of Party Invitations- 39 cents.

Score #4 , Wizard Of Oz Shirt- $1.49 came from the T-Shirt rack. A bright green shirt (size Large) reads "Emerald City Pipe Band...Inis Fada...Wizard of Oz...2005". Huh? Some kind of "Oz" themed frat party? Anyway, I know enough people that love the Wizard of Oz, that I can give this as a last minute fill-in or gag gift. ($2.98 with Orange tag half price = $1.49)
Score # 5 - Mary's Danish CD "Circa"-$2.49. Mary's Danish was a very good alt-music
band from the "flood" led in by Nirvana in the early 1990's. The group had bawdy double lead girl vocals from Gretchen Seager and Julie Ritter and the band was sorta like a cross between X and Sleater-Kinney playing at a college campus bar (well maybe not that good). Some gooves, funk, rock and soul. Their fist album is great ("There Goes the Wondertruck"), but this CD is just very good. The original Northern Thrift price on this is way over-priced at $4.99 -- but it was another "Orange" sticker and bling, $2.49. Unknown 1990's alt-rock CDs clog thrifts and should all be 99 cents if the staff pricing this crap never heard of the groups! Period.
N.T. has a outlandishly high prices on LP records too! Scratchy copies of the double "Grease" movie soundtrack $7.99, Herb Alpert's thrift perennial "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" goes for $2.99 and UP !

The final bill for my purchases $20.12

Scoring : 50 points on the painting with wooden frame. (Why so many points on a single item? Because I found EXACTLY what I was looking for with the weird painting as a bonus. I can sell the unframed clown on E-Bay or give it as a gag gift! If it does sell on E-bay, I could possibly make all my money back on the entire days thrift purchase!). 20 points on the Levis (for exact size), 5 points on the package of cards (for being way under one dollar!), 5 points on the Oz shirt (for the cheap gift potential), 2 points on the CD (which was no big deal, really). 5 bonus points for most of the items in this haul being very practical. TOTAL THRIFT SCORE: 87 ! Very Good/Excellent.

****** FEB.19 UPDATE**** I just sold the clown painting on E-Bay for $15.00 today! SO; the new total cost of the haul comes down to $5.12 for all that stuff!

Now and Then with LUCKY CHARMS !

2007-01-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite all time cereal boxes! Lucky Charms goes back to 1964 (!) and this front image was around till about the 1978-disco-era when all things went seriously wrong and the plunge into the unlucky 1980's was just around the corner. Graphically, this is perfect! The red background has a touch of magenta that offsets the greens in Lucky's garb. Lucky himself is rendered not unlike an illustration from a better childeren's book from that era as well. The marshmallow count was still at four (4); green clovers, yellow moons, pink hearts, orange horseshoes and nobody was "sugar shy"!
Today the Lucky Charms box is a confused mess with almost no association to the old one. In the 1980's they also toned down his Irish brogue accent as not to offend anyone and kept adding different marshmallows which almost fulfilled a few childhood fantasies of the cereal being composed of nothing but marshmallows!

The Poppy Family !

2007-01-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

Finally on CD! The Poppy Family (1968-1973) featuring Terry and Susan Jacks. Terry being “Mr. Seasons in the Sun” (!) with his lovely sister could have been Canada’s answer to The Carpenters. Their music was all over the map--bubble gum, psychedelic, folk, cheesy & lullabye. At times The Poppy Family could almost pass for the Caucasian version of Os Mutantes! The vocals were mainly supplied by Susan with Terry composing the songs, which are pretty crafty and should have spawned at least a few more “one-hit-wonders”. They had a minor U.S. hit with “Which Way You Goin’ Billy” in the eary 1970’s. This CD contains 21 songs pulled from their two or three LP’s so all bases are probably covered as their discography goes. Obscure and somewhat adventurous

Kellogg's Danish G0-Rounds (1968-1978)

2007-01-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

One of my first retro-food obsessions! I remember these as an alternative to Pop-Tarts as they sure looked like they had more yummy fruit filling (but they didn't). They tasted exactly like Pop-Tarts and came in the same routine flavors (Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Blueberry, etc.) I have no idea what the point was....but I loved them! The great TV commercial has a little animated merry-go-round with the Danish Go-Rounds (in place of carousel horses ) moving up and down as a chintzy jingle went "New, Kellogg's, Danish Go Rounds...." . Danish Go-Rounds devolved into Danish Rings in 1977 and were gone by 1978.

Has Anybody Seen My Old Friend Polly ?

2007-01-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

My family was mostly Italian, so growing up, we had the required Sunday-Italian dinners. Polly-O was the most popular national brand of Ricotta Cheese and was always present in our kitchen. I loved that Parrot character who was almost kooky enough to be on a cereal box! Well folks....he's gone. On your next trip to the dairy isle, look at the new Polly-O containers and see for yourself. Another sneaky move by a major company discarding a mascot in favor of...I don't know...a new generic look? When did this happen? The dreaded 1980's, naturally! (Tropicana did it with the little Hawiian girl mascot on the container) . Write to the company and complain: wwwkraftfoods.com

Four Huge Holes in My Old Food Collection

2007-01-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of old food packages in my collection and have been collecting for almost 19 years...but these Burry's boxes have eluded me so far...
Even on E-Bay, they NEVER turn up.
This line of cookies was very popular in the 1960's and early 1970's . (The sandwich cookies had that little "button" of creme filling in the center that you loved to pop-out with your tounge) . Burry's was a division of Quaker Oats who also merged with Girl Scouts of America to produce their line of cookies....SO, when you buy G.S. cookies today, your eating these Burry's favorites of yesteryear! (Only without the cool boxes, dammit!)

What to wear in 1967.....

2007-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Super-cool wearables from the J.C. Penny Catalog in 1967! Penny's is the store that has you perpetually asking "are they still in business?" (they are) . I'd wear the green Robin boots with the Monkees outfit any day. The Monkees clothes would sure look strange in 1984, but as we are at the E.O.C. (End Of Culture)--everything old is new again. The hole-in-the-theory is that all the out-dated flashy, colorful and stylish MEN's wear from the 60's and 70's--usually is reincarnated into women's clothes (today). In the past few years, however, Ben Sherman, The Gap, Ralph Lauren and others saw the light--and produced a wide variety of bright, mod paisley shirts, fake ruffles, flower pattens and day-glo colours FOR MEN. (I snatch 'em up at Marshalls clearence rack too!)

DVD Review; Kolchak: The Night Stalker series

2006-12-27T12:19:00.000-08:00

In 1974, I was about to enter junior high school --and being somewhat of an introverted geek at the time-- I was mortified!

When an older neighbor friend told me that gym class required changing into shorts in a locker room and showering (with others!?) I was considering moving to a remote area of the globe and changing my identity.

That fall season, the only thing that was reassuring in my shakey universe was that Kolchack:The Night Stalker would become a weekly series! (That and the Planet of the Apes TV series--both on Friday nights!)

When announced in TV Guide six months before, there were little or no details about "Kolchack", so I thought that the series would entail Carl chasing around the original vampire (Janos Skorzeny--from "The Night Stalker" TV Movie in 1972--that scared the hell out of me! ) around the USA--going from town to town, searching for him ala "The Fugitive" (or like the much- later on series "The Incredible Hulk"). This, thankfully, was not the case! Kolchack was to be hunting down a DIFFERENT MONSTER EACH WEEK! Not only that, I was CERTAIN that it would be a hit show and last for 5 or 6 seasons, too.

The night the show debuted, I was over a friend's house down the block watching the PREMIERE of the "Planet of the Apes" series at 8:00 on CBS. Afterwards I ran home and sat in front of the TV set for a full hour waiting for Kolchack (beginning at 10:00 PM on ABC). At the time, I thought it was great and never missed it--week after week. Kolchack:The Night Stalker lasted a full season but ratings dropped off in the Spring and it was cancelled shortly thereafter. Kolchack never went into syndication as for any series to do so, it must last for at least 3 full seasons.

Later on in life (high school, 1979) CBS Late Night AKA The CBS Late Movie, showed reruns of Kolchack:The Night Stalker. It was great seeing it again, although I do not think it ran long enough to view every episode that was produced. (Many of you reading this may only remember seeing the series during this after-the-fact run) .

Kolchack disappeared into the TV Land void until the Sci-Fi Channel showed reruns in the 1990's. (The episode prints were not so good and they seemed heavily edited to fit additional commercial time in--the Sci-Fi Channel SUCKS).

Well here it is, the future, and Kolchack:The Night Stalker- Season One is here on DVD!

The bad news is that the series has not aged well. I feel terrible saying so as Carl Kolchak was my childhood hero! Here are some reasons: 1) the shows writing (by multiple standard TV writers) plays like, say "The Incredible Hulk". The plots are standard in every way. 2) Universal Studios recycles every set in every TV series to death. I'm surprised that that Kolchack didn't stumble into the "Psycho" house, get bitten by "Jaws" or ride a bicycle with E.T. Shame on you, Universal.

One the upside: Darrin McGavin is a joy to watch. He's like Tony Randall--a great actor custom fitted into a charming character that we could watch even if he was just reading names out of a telephone book. ( Nods to Simon Oakland as Tony Venchenzo as well! )

There are some above-average episodes here; “The Spanish Moss Murders” , for one (monster attacks people in their dreams). “The Zombie”, “The Ripper” and I even liked the episode with the headless motorcycle rider. The DVD set has no Special Features. I got this for sentimental reasons, mainly.

SUMMERY: Great cast, good set-up , blah scripts, crappy Bionic Woman-quality production values.

Two Zine Satires!

2006-12-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

Two back covers of Snackbar Confidential from a few years ago. The "Puppets For God" spoof got a lot of laffs. The "Mackenzine" , said some people, was too mean. It was supposed to look like you were in a junior high school classroom in the 70's , put you hand inside a desk (do they still have those desks with the inside compartments?), and plucked out this zine. Almost like you were reading something foul written on top of the desk or in a bathroom stall. (Blurb at top says "$1.00 or FREE if you hate Mackenzie Phillips").
Some people MAY have hated Mackenzie when she and Papa John reformed The Mamas & Papas, in the early 1980's. They recruited the woman singer from Spanky & Our Gang to replace Mama Cass, and Mackenzie replaced her mother, Michelle! This lasted about a year or so. The early 80's was a bad time to do a 1960's revival !

This Isn't A Dream...It's Really Happening!

2006-12-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

.....EQUINOX on a Criterion Collection double disc DVD! "Holy Shit!" is right! This unique film has an official release from the hoity-toity Criterion Collection! Most people would have seen "Equinox" on WOR Channel 9 (here in the tri-state area) all through the late 1970's and early 1980's. It was a big influence on Sam Raimi and his "Evil Dead" co-creators (who first saw this on a Drive-In screen). I could go on for pages and pages about what's inside, but instead I will just get to the points. Disc 1; The "Raw" version of Equinox. The working title "The Equinox...A Journey Into The Supernatural" was made by Dennis Muren, Mark McGee, David Allen and Jim Danforth--(all ranging in the ages of 17 to 24!). An ad in Famous Monsters of Filmland (!) brought them together, at first, then they all became friends. The initial first filming of Equinox began in the summer of 1965 (which is why all the characters look like they are on their way to a The Beach Boys concert). The film was not finished till 1967, and not released till 1970 (!) (which is when I was first made aware of this movie during recess, on an elementary school playground, by a classmate who had seen this in the theatre! ) . It was a long haul that payed off as the makers of this were merely hoping that this would turn up on late night TV someday (which it did). This initial "raw" version is what Equinox was BEFORE producer Jack Harris bought and released it. Here are some differences between what you have already seen, and what actually was:

1) The character of Mr. Asmodeus ("The Devil!") , the creepy park ranger with the magic ring and too much black make-up under his eyes, was added later. He is not in the original version.

2) There is more footage of the four lead actors, sitting around , talking, and trying to make sense of what's going on in the film. Pretty mundane actually, but it was still facinating to watch in an archival way.

3) There is more footage/shots of the classic Devil-Bat-Winged-Demon! You see his face close-up and more footage of him flying.

4) There is a animated Devil Skeleton w/ Pitchfork in the red tinted scene of the druids jumping into the bottomless pit/vortex ( a scene that was copied in "Phantasm" ). I think the skeleton was left out of the theatrical version for looking too silly. I'm pretty sure Tim Butron is an "Equinox" fan.

5) The entire film is shorter--about 70 minutes long.

6) The scene with the demented scary laughing old man in the cave is longer (but not better ) in the "raw" version. More dialog about nothing. His voice was improved in the theatrical version to sound like The Joker from Batman.

That's pretty much it. The theatrical version is here too (it did pretty well at the box office dispite how dated it must have looked when released in Dec. 1970). There is very interesting audio commentary on both versions. The "raw" version has comments by Dennis Muren & Co. The longer version has Jack Harris & Co. comments.

EQUINOX TRIVIA!

1) The actress who played Vicki (the blonde with the bob hairdo that kept changing lengths) , Robin Snider had died of cancer in the late 1970's and was best friends with Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) since high school. The songs "Gypsy" and "Rhiannon" are either dedicated to, or about Robin!

2) The scene inside the cave was a set built out of burlap, plaster and chicken wire in Dennis Muren's backyard of his parents house. The "old creepy laughing man" was played by his grandfather (!) who also funded this movie (Total cost $6,500. !!).

The night the cave scenes were filmed, director Dennis Muren had tickets to see The Beatles (!) at the Hollywood Bowl--and didn't go in order to finish the sequence. That's dedication!

3) The leads were all called back to film the additional "Mr. Asmodeus" scenes in 1970. That's why hair lengths, sideburns and clothing colors are inconsistant throughout the film. Yes, the additional scenes do make the story more coherent. One of the few optical add-ons are the swirly "psychedelic" patterns during one of the cave scenes, and the title credits with the firey "EQUINOX" at the beginning.

4) The entire film was shot MOS. (Silent with dubbing later) Some of the lead voices are actually improved upon in the theatrical version.

5) The animators that worked on this--also at one point, worked with Art Clokey!

(Davy & Goliath, Gumby)

6) The original trailer (on here too) says "Equinox begins where Rosemary's Baby left off!". I was speechless!

7) The original version soundtrack is different, more of that diddley-generic 1960's jazz--not very horror movie sounding, it gives the film a lighter quality. The new score in the theatrical version does a better job with weird distorted tones in key scenes.

DISC 2: **************************

TONS of additional material here.

1) Behind the scene footage and outtakes of the actors laughing/relaxing on the set. Stop-motion test footage as well (lots of crude rear-screen projection footage of Taurus the Blue Ape Creature--attacking people at a zoo and lumbering over a house in a sunny suburban Los Angeles neighborhood). One scene that never made it--a poolside party with square looking teenagers standing around and a girl on a diving board does a go-go dance in a bikini.

2) (recent) Interviews with the stars, Frank Boers,Jr ("Herb Tarlic" on the W.K.R.P. in Cinncinatti series), Barbara Hewitt (pretty lead girl) and James Duron (the "Blue Neanderthal Giant" !). The rare stills photo gallery shows the "Blue Giant" washing off his make-up in a water fountain in the state park where this was filmed!

Of course they all speak nicely about Equinox. Also director Dennis Muren talks about the film, and his friends who were all obsessed with the original King Kong, Willis O'Brian, and Ray Harryhusen, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Curse of the Demon, Bert I. Gordon and Famous Monsters magazine.

Out of all the special features here, I think my favorite is the one single still photograph of a Hollywood theatre marquee with "Equinox" spelled out in plastic letters, a Rolling Stone magazine blurb--and a gigantic cut-out of Taurus the blue ape creature next to it! (Pictured above).

(If you are familiar with Criterion Collection DVD's, you know that they are produced in low/limited numbers, so BUY THIS TODAY--it will probably be gone by this time next year and going for $100.00 and up on E-Bay)

ENTER THE.....FEAR CHAMBER! DVD

2006-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Another movie that I'd only read about in Psychotronic Video magazine , years ago. (Picked it up on E-Bay for $6.00 recently).
This is the last Boris Karloff film he made before he died (in 1969) and unlike many of the other Mexican/American Karloff movies -- this one never played on TV and is sit-through-able! ("Snake People" was a 2:00 AM staple keeping millions of people with insomnia, barely entertained during the late 1970's on TV).
This movie is "Pyschotronic" with a capital "P"! Boris plays aged Dr. Mantel , who's assistants find a "living rock/alien" in the catacombs underneath a valcano. The rock-alien-thingie looks like a giant rubber baked clam covered with mulch and makes an annoying high pitched bleep sound. A woman undressing in a room at a an "employment hotel for woman", undresses and goes to sleep in her bed. While asleep, the room turns around and into a scary cave with skeletons, tarantulas, spider webs and snakes. The camera work during this sequence feels just like a cheezy haunted house ride at an amusement park! The cave also has some very theatrical characters like a laughing mad midget, a guru-ish guy in a turban, and a woman who seems to be a matron at a woman's prison and other assorted creeps lurking about. The woman is hysterical screaming and falls into a pit of red water (blood?) while four large tentacles (probably left over from another movie?) pop up to taunt her! At this point you'll be laughing your ass off and the next scene shows her in "The Fear Chamber"--which is a basic old fashioned torture dungeon with two hooded henchmen (probably Mexican wrestlers) called down from "central casting". The woman is tied to a large barbeque grill on an open pit as a hooded Boris Karloff spashes her with a wooden spoon filled with "the blood of Satan" or something (more laughs from we-the-audience). After she passes out, the cultisits in the chamber shed their robes and are all wearing medical/hospital attire underneath! (Even the demented laughing midget is in scrubbs!)The woman is placed on a gurnee and wheeled into the next room via a sliding door --which is a modern operating room filled with equiptment that looks like over-sized food processors and disco lights. Victims who are at the point of "total terror" are needed for experiments , and the reason is too sketchy for me to explain here. Back to the rock-alien-clam-thing; it's now growing tentacles (!) and while in the laboratory, it's grabbing for victims.......
The unfortunate part is, this first 20 minutes are the best (funniest) part of the movie--the rest is pretty talky with some sprinkled laffs or action .
Boris was in ill-health during this (as was Lugosi in "Plan - 9") and is seen sitting down and lying in bed for most of the movie.
This resembles a Ted V. Mikels movie from the time period( wacky concept, played fairly straight with an odd assorment of characters, but gets bogged down by too much talking) . The DVD has friggin' audio commentary as well!

KOOL POPS 1970 !

2006-12-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

One of the rarest items in my collection (to me, anyhow). A very well remembered childhood treat! The box is empty, so I had to make cellophane "dummies" of the pops. Kool Pops were discontinued in the mid to late 1970's, I believe.

Beat 1973 Meat Prices !

2006-12-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

This product was developed during the "meat crisis"; you remember the horse meat episode of "All in the Family" of course. PLUSmeat was simply textured soy that you could add to your own ground beef. Soy was more expensive back then, but I'm sure they saved money when they thought up the name of this.

Candy and Andy in the Magic Toy Shoppe (1968)

2006-12-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

CREEPY children's magazine from the U.K. circa 1968-72. Not unlike our Highlights and Humpty Dumpty magazines. The only difference is the lead story (and cover) of this magazine features Candy (and her brother Andy) who live in a Magic Toy Shoppe run by two expressionless (animorphic) Panda bears. Candy and Andy could give Chucky, Talkie Tina and any other scary Hollywood puppets and/or dolls a run for their money (even though they are supposed to be cute!). You can be sure, that many British psychedelic bands (The Move, Syd's Pink Floyd, etc.) used this magazine as a springboard to some of there songs!

Pillsbury's Strange Offer from 1972

2006-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Pancake batter boxes offered these two deranged, drooling pillow dolls. Actually pretty rare as well and I wonder if "Flip" and "Flap" will decide to have a baby?

Cosmic Candy and Chicken Flings !

2006-12-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Nobody seems to remember Chicken Flings (1966) at all (I don't) but you can't help but love the "basic family television values" illustration on the box! This is from my collection and very rare! Cosmic Candy(1976) was basically Pop Rocks with a cocaine induced glittery face-lift! Very strange package illustration would look great on the side of a windowless black Chevy van. This was the snack of choice during Disco-Mania (1976-1979). The span of time between these two products was the single most exciting time in pop culture, period!

Macy's Restaurant Childeren's Menu 1969!

2006-12-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

I didn't know they served Monkey?

As mentined before, Macy's had in-store restaurants in the 1960's. This menu (from my collection) for kiddies had the same circus animal code names for the food fare just like Howard Johnson's did (relax...they did not serve actual Giraffe meat for 65 cents!). The most curious item comes from the Tiger selection; what the hell is a breastette ?

La Choy Makes Chinese Foo......

2006-12-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

Chewy Chewy Chewy Chewy

2006-12-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

People....People Who Eat Dog Food....

2006-12-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

...are the luckiest people, in the world!

Oh Please ! Don't Eat Us ! We Are Only Babies !

2006-12-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

Discontinued in the late 1980's for whatever reason......

WOOLWORTH'S Lunch Counter Menu 1970 !

2006-12-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

...if you are at work and getting hungry do not look at this!

Woolworth's 1970 menu has the good (grilled cheese) the bad (shopper's diet plate --cottage cheese ,bun-less hamburger patty & peach half) and the ugly (ham salad!). The lunch counters actually closed before Woolworth's did (in 1997). So the remaining stores used the lunch counters for stocking merchandise and no longer served food. I sure could go for the Turkey Club Sandwich (says here ; $1.25) right now. In fact, at that price--I'll take 6 of them! I'm most impressed with the sheer variety on this menu! Barbeque on a Bun was mostly seen down south, so I'm wondering if the Woolworth's menu here--was nation-wide or not. I never heard of stuffed tomato either; another "down south" entree? Darkness and Light- The reverse end of food chain would be Jack in the Box.

As Woolworth's was opened mostly during daylight hours (many of them closed at 6:00 PM--which was very quaint, but annoying if you got there too late). Jack in the Box was the only other "24 Hour" fast food restaurant (aside from the anchor, White Castle).

Woolworth's customer's were mainly old ladies shopping for hair nets or bags of those chalky Canada Mints (the PINK ones). Jack in the Box customers were a mixed group--but on Friday and Saturday nights the eatin' was punctuated by fights, car crashes, m-80's going off in the bathrooms ; and the general late nite clientele of dirt-bags, white trash and snake handlers looking for stomach fodder to buffer the alchohol and drugs.

Dispite all this riff-raff, I loved their tacos! The entire thing was deep fried (a completley refreshing and non-tradional move!). The taco sauce would drip onto the wrapper and which you would be licking when you were done. Jack in the Box was truncated to "Jacks" here in NY in the 1980's (no clown heads, no frills). The chain is still very popular on the West Coast and in typical Mod-generic fashion, the clown has a cell phone now and he's probably on MySpace advertising glittery ringtones.

Two Favorites from 1969!

2006-12-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

Horror Monsters Grab Bag contained two pieces of that awful "salt water" taffy, and a small cheap prize (usually a whistle). Syko-Delic (sic) was just an ordinary jaw-breaker. Two great packaging examples (with questionable contents inside).

I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick.....

2006-12-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

(Frozen Dinner circa 1974). This reminds me of the 1950's sci-fi movie "Invasion of the Saucer Men" for some reason. Like the package says "Keep Frozen".

My Kitchen.....

2006-12-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

...Well, in my dreams. Have you noticed that department store snackbars are back?! Wal-Mart , Ikea and other chains have 'em now. In the 1960's, most major stores had snackbars or restaurants (Macy's and A&S both had restaurants). In the 1980's, in-store eating vanished! (This point will be added to my compilation of "Evil 80's" factoids, proving that the 1980's were the worst decade of the last century. Hee hee hee...).

Tampons In Space! (1968)

2006-12-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here Tomorrow/Gone Today....Kotex plus shed the "fuddy duddy" image of Tampons merely being drudgery ...to blasting off in space with a shiney acrylic helmet. Great "Barbarella"-inspired box front belongs in a Feminine Hygene Museum. If you see this on E-Bay, let me know. Probably would get outbid by some freak with a Tampon Box fetish.

KORVETTES price sticker circa 1972 !

2006-12-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

Vintage price sticker is from my price sticker collection. This an extremely rare torn off price sticker from the Korvettes Record Department. Korvettes had a FRUSTRATING system of pricing their albums (just like Sam Goody did). A price chart was posted on the wall(s) of the department. A color/letter coded sticker sans an actual price number was adhered to each LP. You had to look at the sticker--then up at the chart on the wall. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS? We shall never know. To add to the frustration--no matter what album I had in my hand--the sticker would always correspond to a higher price than I would have imagined! (I guess I have good taste). Remember, $7.99 for an album was a lot of money in 1977. This sticker is for a sale LP, hence the blatant price ...right on the sticker! Imagine that! Later on, Korvettes reverted back to the regular pricing system and went out of business in 1980. 1.2 x 2.2" with light abbrasion on the lower corner and one upper corner ding . Overall VG/EX. Condition and VERY VERY RARE.

Modell's Had A Movie Theater In It ! (1969-71)

2006-12-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

Someone has to document these little bits of department store history, so I guess it's gotta be me.
If you don't know, Modell's was the almighty department store serving Long Island in the 1960's and 1970's. (In 1988/89 they finally switched priorities to "sporting goods only" and shrunk the entire chain. As with most contemporary outlets ,now, they are completely generic and interchangeable with any other sneaker/sporting goods outlet).

But let's go back--way back to the Age of Aquarius; Modell's not only had the required "departments" (shoes, lighting, toys,men's woman's and children's clothes, pet supplies, etc.) --they also had a Beauty Salon, shoe repair, Men's Haircutter, a full supermarket (!) and an arcade with a dozen pinball machines and more. It was a near bio-sphere of cut-rate shopping--a city unto itself! The most unusual attraction, was the children's Movie Theater!
The theater was a 25 x 40' (approx.) make-shift room (I believe they used cheap plywood and paneling from the lumber department). There was a 16mm projector operated by a "matron" (the non-prison variety). The darkened dingy room had 5 or 6 cushioned benches (that came from God-knows-where). The cushioned parts were torn with the foam inside bits were scattered all over the floor along with popcorn and other kiddie debris. This would not have been so depressing but what made matters so grim was the fact that all they showed were Woody Woodpecker cartoons! Now, if you're like me, you probably find Woody Woodpecker to be the single most aggravating, headache inducing cartoon character ever created. (Woody was bascially formatted after Bugs Bunny, except without the cleverness and charm.)
The Kiddie theater had no door, so there was a constant block of light coming through as well as department store noises/people walking by. In hindsight, I believe the theater was merely there to contain kiddies while there parents shopped or had their hair done (it was located right next to the beauty salon). I wonder what the future holds for in-store kiddie theaters? Maybe plasma screens, surround sound and digitally remastered Woody Woodpecker cartoons with special features! (I have pictured an original ad here as well, from a Modell's Spring 1970 circular--it really happened and was not a scary dream! )

Anton Szandor LaVey Paintings (2006)

2006-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

A.S. LaVey (1930-1997) founded the Church of Satan in San Fancisco way back in the late 1950's. He purchased a house in the Richmond district--and painted it black. Anton founded his church in 1966 (officially) and from that point on, declared that as year "One". Pretty ambitious , if ya ask me! Anton lived an almost real-life "Addams Family" lifestyle and befriended many celebrities (Jayne Mansfield and Sammy Davis,Jr.--strangely and notably!).
What most biographies do not say about LaVey is that he had the shaved head/ goatee combo 30 friggin' years before it became popular! I did these two simple paintings as a tribute to the Satanic Godfather of the Shaved Head/Goatee Combo (even though it's getting a little tiresome at this point).

BANNED- SHOW Cinema Arts Center Huntington

2006-12-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

Unless this gets kicked out of the show for the subject matter-the Spahn Ranch sign will be on display. The eyes glow-in-the-dark too!
Some of my artwork will be on display at the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington, NY. Dec.16 through Jan. 15th, as part of their Sci-Fi, Horror & Fantasy Month. Call for info: 631-423-7611
423 Park Avenue, Huntington, NY.
*****Dec. 20th 2006, After hanging there for about a week, one of the owners of the Cinema Arts Center, deemed my artwork "Too Horror" and I was asked to remove all my paintings (EXCEPT for the MANSON Spahn Ranch sign)! First of all, my work was hanging IN CONJUNCTION with a Fantasy/Horror film festival ! What's the deal with that? Secondly, because the MANSON sign was allowed to remain on exhibit (in the lobby), the message here is "real life horror is OK, fantasy-horror is not".
LESSON TO EMERGING ARTISTS # 67: Shit happens!

Diamonds in the Manure- 50 Chilling Classics Horror Movie Pack

2006-12-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

"Chilling Classics" 50 (DVD) Movie Pack is a collection of public domain , low grade horrors most of them from the early 1970's. I am pretty well versed in Psychotronic-junk movies and thought I'd seen 'em all but this movie pack has some features that I'd only read about--and almost doubted their existance. Among the extremely cruddy and unwatchable movies (one of them stars George Hamilton use extreme caution!) there are some Psychotronic GEMS. The DVD's come packaged in tiny cheap cardboard envelopes that should probably hold pumpkin seeds or buttons.There are 50 movies so it is nice to come home from work every night and have something to watch. If you don't like the movie(s), just put a stamp on the cardboard envelope and mail it to a friend!

1) The Devil's Hand (1960). A man has strange dreams of a sultry blonde woman dancing in the clouds. This leads him to a strange doll shop run by "Commissioner Gordon" from the "Batman" TV series (Neil Hamilton). His shop custom makes dolls of real people resulting in creepy Twilight Zone-y looking dolls cluttering the shop--which has a devil-cult downstairs! The cult's club-room looks like a swinging Moroccan lounge with ornate cushions on the floor, an alter lined with "people dolls" and lots of statues (one large statue is of Buddha--so I don't know if the set designer had his religious priorities in alignment). This movie almost seems like Ed Wood and David Lynch got together for a no-budget rip-off of the "Perchance To Dream" episode of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. All the leads are dull and generic--and the supernatural plot elements get gummed up in simple melodrama towards the middle, BUT this movie moves along pretty well and the luicrious plot provides laffs galore. The ending reminded me of the climax of "Horror Hotel" which was made the same year. I first saw this at 2:00 AM on Channel 11 (W-PIX) in the very early 1980's and forgot how really funny it was. Somewhat of a "cult-classic" that never was.

2) Messiah of Evil (1974?). There is very little background information on this excellent movie, that, for some reason fell through the cracks and was never shown on TV. If it was, it would be as well known as "Childeren Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" or "Let's Scare Jessica to Death". In fact, this movie is a more ambitious version of "...Jessica" with "Carnival of Souls" ,"The Sentinal", and "Night of the Living Dead" tossed in the salad as well! Messiah..." also evokes several H.P. Lovecraft stories mashed together (not so sure it's intentional, though).
Lovely Marianna Hill (the daughter who got married at the beginning of "The Godfather" and the stars of one of my all-time favorite Psychotronic movies; "The Baby" -1973) goes to a coastal sea-side California town to seek out her father--who is missing . She is perfect for this role(--as a 70's-Chick-in-Distress) . There is something not right with the residents who gather on the beach at night waiting for the "Blood Moon". There is a terrifying scene in a local ( real) supermarket as well as a movie theater and a gas station. The plot moves along very well in a thick and creepy, fog of low-budget atmosphere that was unique to the 1970's. The acting is excellent and the the realistic setting makes this a standout in the genre of low-budget horror from the pivotal decade. I do wish the print was better. Put a call to the Criterion Collection Hotline! I cannot even find movie posters, ads , pressbooks or lobby cards on this movie--did it even play in theaters??

3) Scream Bloody Murder (197?) A loser with a hook hand falls for a hooker and tries to keep her a-la "The Collector". Great no-moral-to-the-story psycho killer exploitation yarn with some hilarious/stupid scenes, acting and characters. The ending takes place in a church and is pretty freaky! This never played on TV. Similar to the even weirder movie "My Brother Has Bad Dreams" (197?) that did play on the late great WOR-Channel 9!

4) The Legend of Bigfoot. (197?). OK, This is THE WORST BIGFOOT MOVIE EVER MADE. I would like to find out if it was all a joke. If it was, it's the best joke ever made! This is nearly 90 minutes of stock nature footage of forests, ponds, marshs and the middle-of-nowhere. A narrator tells us that Bigfoot was sited at various locations of the stock footage. Lots of "Bigfoot was seen here recently but I guessed we just missed him" comments as scenes of deer, chipmunks, beavers and bears are shown--endlessly. Finally, a few minutes of grainy footage of a man in a black furry costume is shown wandering around in a wooded area. Unbelievable!

5) The Revenge of Dr. X. (1970?)
Another film I had read about in Psychotronic a decade ago and never saw . A strange Asian (think Godzilla) film about an American scientest on an island experimenting with plants. Lo, he creates a "Franken-Plant" creature--that looks pretty funny/incredible/weird. The monster moves very slowly--so you could easily just run away from him at any time and safely be out of danger. The acting is awful, the ending sucks and this movie is too long for what it is. Worth seeing once, so I can scratch it off of my "to see" list. This was once a very rare movie but with the advent of DVDs all the scum floats to the top of the pond!
This Cheapie-pak also includes some noted titles such as:
a) The Driller Killer. I always hated Abel Ferrara's movies (the "Body Snatchers" remake was pointless), and although I still do not like this movie, some people will love it for historical (Oh Man, it was so great back then...) value. This will especially hold well with under-30 year olds who look back on 1977-1981 as the Punk Rock renaissance.
This is NOT a body-count slasher movie as the title implies. It's a D.I.Y. "punk" psychological thriller filmed on the streets of NYC. Driller Killer also looks like a very good "student film" that would come out of SVA or NYU, so there is another possible fan base for this film on an archeological level. There are many scenes that take place in Max's Kansas City as well! If you want to see the "punk look" circa 1980--check it out--(it looks almost as stupid as the "punk look" of today!) This also turns up in "dollar DVD" bins, so it's very available.

SUMMARY: 50% of the titles here are boring, horrible quality or have been "public domained to death".
Worse is the fact that there are too many movies here starring Cameron Mitchell--an actor so boring and unmotivated ; he makes mold grow on the TV screen .
However, this is well worth buying for the handful of rare cinema-puke films included. So, if you see the "50 Chilling Movies" DVD pack on sale somewhere, grab it or give it as a gift! (Under $20.00)

Haunted By Peppy !

2006-12-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

These arcade machines (*click to enlarge photos*)were at my local amusement park in the latter 1960's--(located next to the rows of pinball machines). The one I remember using was "Peppy"--(not sure why the alternate model was called "Bimbo" ?). You put a quarter (or a dime?) in the slot and Peppy's backdrop lit up, a (murky sounding calliope) song came on then his small trap-door mouth would lip-sync the song. Four small white buttons would be located on the panel so you could manipulate his arms and legs via the strings inside. Very creepy and amusing. I was drawn to this arcade machine with every visit to the park and made up some very Twilight-Zone-y stories in my head about it at the time. One of my main concerns was that some delinquent teenager would smash the glass and steal Peppy (strings and all) leaving a sad empty display for all to see....ADVENTURELAND (Route 110, Long Island NY).

CLICK HERE to SEE The My Other Blog Page!

2006-12-08T15:45:00.000-08:00

Nice comment in the book but The Foundation for Fuddy Duddys showed up at my door at 3:00 A.M. demanding answers.

CLICK HERE to SEE MY OTHER BLOG

2006-12-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

Two Early Art Influences!

2006-12-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Monster Magazines circa early 1970's! This once seemed low-brow, but I guess if I was an art-kid today I'd be drawing characters from Play Station games--so by comparison these cover paintings now seem like they were part of the Italian Renaissance. (That NIGHTMARE cover still gives me the creeps).

Two Transition Stage Paintings 1986-87

2006-12-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

At this point, my artwork got a little less cartoony and somewhat more painterly. The colors were still awkward but my worst stumbling block was ADDING WHITE TO THE COLORS in order to brighten them--this is a big mistake. Some art professors with not allow students to use black or white at all--which is what someone should have told me!

Sketch Book Days : 1990's Part 1, Fig. A

2006-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

This sketch became a painting, but there was too much going on at once! I omitted the 8-Ball Gremlin and the Margaret Keane blooming from the rose.

Sketch Book Days : 1990's

2006-12-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

I used to do more detailed drawings of proposed paintings. I rarely do this anymore because I figure that ; 1) it takes some of the spontaneity out of the painting and 2) for the time it takes to do the sketch--I could be working on the actual painting already!

Painting from 1992. 40 x 40". Acrylic on canvas

2006-12-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

"Spahn Ranch Valley Days"

2006-12-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Another misfire. Everyone seemed to like it though. I guess it should go in the "re-do" bin.
Maybe a little too scary? One "funny" element should be added to take it down a notch.

(Gulp!) Art guest Book Final Comment

2006-12-06T03:14:00.000-08:00

*Click to Enlarge*

A Nice Comment (from an Art Show Comment Book)

2006-12-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

*Click to enlarge*

A Nice Review (From an Art Show Comment Book)

2006-12-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

*Click to enlarge*

A BAD REVIEW! (from art show comment book)

2006-12-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

*click to enlarge*

MORE (Art Show) COMMENTS !

2006-12-06T02:30:00.000-08:00

"We're disturbed, We're disturbed, we're the most disturbed, like we're psychologic'ly disturbed"

Art Exhibit COMMENTS! (1999-2002)

2006-12-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

I love any sort of feedback I get anytime I exhibit my paintings! :

Art Show Comment Book Pages (2000)

2006-12-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

From my "comments" book when.... I used to do yearly exhibits at the anchor coffee houses in Saratoga Springs.

Always lots and lots of feedback!
What was especially enjoyable about these exhibits was that I worked right in town, so I could walk in anytime of the day and see people looking at my stuff (and not knowing that the "artist" was observing!). Just like a fly on the wall....

Painting From High School (1979)

2006-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

LOVE IT TO DEATH!
acrylic on canvas
panel. Early painting by me done at Northport High School in 1979.
18 x 20". As with most naive art I used the paint "straight out of the tube"--which always makes things look sort of tacky (not that I'm above "tacky"). Always the "late bloomer" , I started listening to Alice Cooper in the later 1970's when he was quite out-of-fashion and in-rehab. In retrospect; I love the pre-"Welcome To My Nightmare" stuff-- (and possibly the pre- "School's Out" stuff MORE!). Salvador Dali loved Alice Cooper and was quoted "This is what I would do if I were a rock star".

Two Older Paintings.... Circa 2000....

2006-12-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

I had sold these two before getting any clear snapshots........ both around 16 x 24", acrylic paint. One is on a panel and the other is on canvas. I cannot remeber the titles either.
*********EMERGING ARTIST LESSON# 7: Document all your work with clear photos, and specifics--(even if what you are doing does not seem important at the time)!

Art Studio After Midnight...Part 2

2006-12-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

...working on the Tattoo Devil sign. I have been working on a series of painted wooden signs. My objective was to make them seem like they were taken from, or, were going to be placed somewhere appropriate to their character. Usually Tattoo Parlour people like my artwork, so I used the Tattoo theme a lot. The Devil theme is universal. I have had these up on E-Bay (search me by seller: konga5 ).

Looking Back......Artwork I Did for King Missle

2006-12-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

EP sleeve and CD Cover from 1994/95.
Atlantic Records.

Illustration for a magazine cover

2006-12-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Cover for Zine Guide, circa 1994 or so.

Screw You!

2006-12-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

One of my first PAYING art jobs (1985) was for Milky Way Publications (Screw Magazine). By now, every young and wet-behind-the-ears cartoonist and illustrator in NYC knows to go here first for a quick job doing art for one of their covers. I think the pay was $125.00, BUT what was more important than money was the fact that SCREW was on EVERY NEWSSTAND and MAGAZINE RACK in New York City the day it's published! Your artwork will be all over Manhatten for a full week at a time. Plus, they are a very liberal staff and the art directors are FUN guys to work with. I did about 5 or 6 covers over a two year period. Great exposure (but a little uncomfortable when you have to show your Grandparents what your last art job was about!)

Two Kind Comments and sketch for "T.R.A.U.M.A."

2006-12-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Nice comments from my coffee house exhibits...sketch for the painting "T.R.A.U.M.A."

Vintage Reference Photos!

2006-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

This black & white photos were shot in NYC in the 1950's and were purposely made to be used for paperback book cover art. I got these from a local artist who actually did many cover paintings back in the day. Before he died, he sold all his stuff off to local collectors and dealers. I have been using these photos as painting references for about 10 years now. Aside from something very spiritual about the photographs (to me anyway), they are beautifully lit, shot and are not "touched-up". As noted before: I do not TRACE images...I only "eyeball" photographs to get general proportions and shadowing correct.
TRIVIA:One of the models used in the photos at the time was actress Barbara Nichols--who's most famous role would be the "Twenty-Two" episode of The Twilight Zone "Room for one more, Honey". Also; some of the model fees were listed on back "$25.00 per hour"!

Still Life?

2006-12-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

A shelf in my studio containing reference materials
.......

Snackbar Makes The Tabloids

2006-12-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

1997. The first year of my publication, the Long Island Voice (like the Village Voice, but more Long Island-y) did a cover story on Zines! Lo and behold, my first issue of Snackbar got pictured right below the title on the cover!

Another Older Painting "DreamWorld" 1987/88

2006-12-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

Another larger painting in acrylics ( 34 x 42") on canvas. Way in the background is a tiny flaming pillow. I always threatened to re-do this one but I never did (as of this writing, Dec. 2, 2006). Here is a list of problems within: the cat's head is poorly positioned. The shadowing on the forearm of the "alarm demon" is incorrect. The drapery on the blanket looks all wrong.

NEW AND OLD ARTWORK by Lance Laurie

2006-12-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is an older painting by me(2000). Acrylic on masonite panel. www.artaugogo.com

Stuff I Collet: Old Bath/Beauty Products!

2006-12-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

OK, now here's another branch of my collecting that's both decorative and amusing: Old bath/soap/and beauty products. In this picture: old Mr. Bubble boxes from the 1960's and 1970's, Fuzzy Wuzzy Soap(the soap that was shaped like a circus animal and there was a small CHEAP prize inside) , the old 1960's Dippity-Doo!, various old soaps (the Irish Spring Soap when it had the "manly soap" quote on the box), old cans of hairspray, Hai Karate cologne, Brute cologne (when it used to have the little silver medallion aroud the bottle), Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo (with the hippie-delic flower child in the pond on the label!) . Sorry but my Crazy Foam cans got cropped out of the photo.

Stuff I Collect: OLD FOOD! (1966-1976)

2006-12-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

OK, I have the collecting-obsession gene.
I will be the first to admit it. I began collecting vintage toys in the early 1980's and later became interested in paper product packaging ephemera (old cereal boxes, candy wrappers, fast food packages). Most collectors begin their infatuation with the (or their) past after the "college years" are over. By this point, you are a full fledged adult and there is no place to go but to look back! This is basic human nature, although primarily it's a male-dominated fixation. I'm not a doctor or a geneticist (or even Dr. Phil , Dr. Ruth or Dr. Joyce Brothers) but it is pretty conclusive that (MOST but not all) females do not have the nostalgia-recessive-persistant gene. Although they are probably sentimental about their first kiss or first grade school crush, they probably don't care about their first 45 RPM record they bought (and have to have it back again and play it on a vintage turntable!) ---they just move on.

Snackbar Confidential Zine Pile-Up !

2006-12-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

This is every issue of the zine that I do; Snackbar Confidential. There are only about 15 issues but then as a joke I started accelerating the numbers ...up to the 500's! (The RED one in the center is the very FIRST issue from way back in 1997)So now the new issues are actually going back DOWN in numbers. When I get back to #1, I will cease publication. I started it in 1997 after seeing other people's zines. My main influences back then were Psychotronic Video, Thrift Score, Psychoholics Unanimous and 8-Track Mind. I used to get them and many others delivered to my P.O. box and (during the summer) would haul them with me and read them on the beach.

Sadly, the internet killed paper zines! By 2002 most of them were gone. With blogs like this one, why bother to sit down with a pair of siccors, a jar of rubber cement and a pile of xeroxes? Well, for one thing; with a tangible paper zine you can bring them to the beach, on a crowded subway or laundromat. You can slip them under doors or drop them inconspicuously in coffee shops or bars. These are things that you might NOT want to do with your iBook or PowerBook! ( if you're looking at the photo and saying to yourself "Oh, I need that one, and I don't have that one......." Don't worry. I reprint all the old articles in my yearly "Best of...." issue.

Art Studio After Midnight ..........

2006-12-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is another studio shot and a picture of the "idea board". It's just like a cork bulletin board but BETTER! Mainly serves two purposes: to hold the small raw thumb-nail sketch of what a painting might be; and also to hold any important reference pictures. If I get the idea to do a painting of a woman's disembodied head in a Windex bottle, I will try to have: 1) a good photograph of a head. 2) a real Windex bottle. NOTE: I never, ever TRACE photographs OR project them onto the painting surface to attain any sort of realism. Any realistic characteristics featured within my paintings is purely by accident!

A shot of my after-hours studio

2006-12-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

This is a shot of my "studio"...low maintenance/low res. It's just a small corner of my apartment. I can only paint at night. There are fewer distractions...no phone calls, not traffic noise, none of those God-awful lawn/leaf blowers! Vampires got it all down right.

"Broadway Betty V. Vacuuma"

2006-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Acrylic paint on masonite panel. 2001. 18 x 24". There comes a time in your life when you ask yourself "what's it all about? why am I here? what am I doing?" AND "Why am I asking myself so many questions?". When you're an "artist", those very questions can breathe more fire and cause more frustration than they would for most normal humans. Case in point; When I lived up in Saratoga Springs there was a local woman named Betty who was the town mascot/kook/office cleaning lady. Always with a vacuum in tow, Betty was slightly batty, out-spoken and loud but did have some endearing qualities as well and was well liked in the community. I had one of my local coffee house art shows in town, and used her as the topic for this painting.(She's in it--very tiny--with the robot about to comsume her). She cought wind of her painting in the show--saw it and loved it! She felt like a celebrity and was walking on air for weeks! )I promised that, whoever bought the painting--I would give the money to Betty herself. Later, it was purchased by an annoymous buyer in town, and I gave Betty her money. She was happy.
I moved out of Saratoga in 2003. Several years later, I got word that Betty passed away. At her funeral, on display, was the painting! I was very moved and even better, it helped answer some of the above "why and what" questions from my opening statement here.

Huh?

2006-11-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

This one was a mis-fire. 16 x 24 acrylic on masonite panel. 2002.

Detail from "Frogula" Painting below

2006-11-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

"The Pusher"

2006-11-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

I don't like to look at my very old paintings, but this one is from 1988 or so.

It's pretty large ( 34 x 38") and it's on canvas--which I no longer paint on.

my website has lots of old paintings of mine--some of which are AWFUL!

www.artaugogo.com

Skidmore College Squeaky Fromm........

2006-11-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

2001. 16 x 20" acrylic paint on masonite panel. Saratoga Springs memory of when I used to live there...... Skidmore College is located there. The local college students ar called "Skiddies" which is a little too cutesy-poo to be a slur. Anyway, all the female students of Skidmore are blonde with a small /thin to medium build and seem to come from upper-middle class homes. They all pull their hair behind in a thin waifish ponytail or bun, and at the time when I lived there--they all wore those black nylon athletic "running"pants with thin white strip running down the outside length of the pant-leg. (As someone noted "When does casual become TOO casual?". Good point! ) Me and my co-workers used the term "Paltrows" instead of "Skiddies"! I did this painting with some type of sincere local/social commentary, that perhaps my peers would get a good chuckle out of (they did). The message could not have been percieved as Anti-Skiddie/Paltrow as the girl in the painting may be the protagonist OR antagonist or BOTH. To futher the smoke-screen, I titled the painting "Squeaky Fromm on a Bum Trip" and fashioned the girl's face after Squeaky herself! When it was time to hang my coffee house art show, I placed this painting in the most prominant position; eye-level above the cream/sugar/napkin/drinking straw area! Hee Haw! This one got lots of comments ; "Not digging this one" , "Too Local...", "Not a strong enough comment on Skiddies..." (!) and "...is that one of her professors in the creature's claw?". The end of a perfect day. Later, the owner of my local tattoo parlour (where I also exhibited my work) took interest in the painting and we worked out a deal--I got a free tattoo in trade for the painting.

Disc-Go-Rilla !

2006-11-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yellow is a strange color for a background and I always feel uncomfortable using it.
18 x 24" acrylic paint on masonite panel. 2002.

Painting Title: "Alice In HangoverLand"

2006-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

STORY: "Last call came so fast. Her head was spinning to the point of vomiting. How much did she drink?The bar empties out and what remains is a ghoulish reminder for Alice to go home and not forget how these things happen. With the light of Sunday morning--this will all be washed away and be just a foggey, headache-y memory". Acrylic on masonite panel 16 x 24". 2001.

Snackbar Confidential / Art Au Go-Go !

Twin Cinema 1970!

Twin Cinema 1970!

New issue is out

Thrift Score, Feb. 27, 2008

THRIFT SCORE, FEB. 20, 2008 !

THRIFT SCORE, NOV. 2007

The Benson Theater in Brooklyn

Jerry Lewis; His prices are INSANE !

More Larkfield FUN....

Stepford comes to Larkfield...

Larkfield Theater Ads

NEW issue of Snackbar Confidential for Oct. 2007

My Zine ... for Cinema Treasures fans!

Died in the Summer of 1985.........

1971 / 1964 Long Island Movie Theaters !

Century's 110 Drive In Flea Market 1972 !

The FIRST "Summer Movie" EVER......

Wrong or Right, the 1970's was it's own creature...

More Groovy Long Island Movie Ads

This Rules !

Commack Drive In Ads from April-June 1975 !

Two Defunt Movie Theaters; Commack L.I.

Jack in the Box!

The Larkfield Theatre in East Northport

THRIFT SCORE! (well...sort of...) April, 2007

Thrift Score, March 29, 2007

Obscure Movie Review: Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

Thrift SCORE, Jan. 18 2007 *UPDATED* FEB.19

Now and Then with LUCKY CHARMS !

The Poppy Family !

Kellogg's Danish G0-Rounds (1968-1978)

Has Anybody Seen My Old Friend Polly ?

Four Huge Holes in My Old Food Collection

What to wear in 1967.....

DVD Review; Kolchak: The Night Stalker series

Two Zine Satires!

This Isn't A Dream...It's Really Happening!

ENTER THE.....FEAR CHAMBER! DVD

KOOL POPS 1970 !

Beat 1973 Meat Prices !

Candy and Andy in the Magic Toy Shoppe (1968)

Pillsbury's Strange Offer from 1972

Cosmic Candy and Chicken Flings !

Macy's Restaurant Childeren's Menu 1969!

La Choy Makes Chinese Foo......

Chewy Chewy Chewy Chewy

People....People Who Eat Dog Food....

Oh Please ! Don't Eat Us ! We Are Only Babies !

WOOLWORTH'S Lunch Counter Menu 1970 !

Two Favorites from 1969!

I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick.....

My Kitchen.....

Tampons In Space! (1968)

KORVETTES price sticker circa 1972 !

Modell's Had A Movie Theater In It ! (1969-71)

Anton Szandor LaVey Paintings (2006)

BANNED- SHOW Cinema Arts Center Huntington

Diamonds in the Manure- 50 Chilling Classics Horror Movie Pack

Haunted By Peppy !

CLICK HERE to SEE The My Other Blog Page!

**CLICK HERE to SEE MY OTHER BLOG**

Two Early Art Influences!

Two Transition Stage Paintings 1986-87

Sketch Book Days : 1990's Part 1, Fig. A

Sketch Book Days : 1990's

Painting from 1992. 40 x 40". Acrylic on canvas

"Spahn Ranch Valley Days"

(Gulp!) Art guest Book Final Comment

A Nice Comment (from an Art Show Comment Book)

A Nice Review (From an Art Show Comment Book)

A BAD REVIEW! (from art show comment book)

MORE (Art Show) COMMENTS !

Art Exhibit COMMENTS! (1999-2002)

Art Show Comment Book Pages (2000)

Painting From High School (1979)

Two Older Paintings.... Circa 2000....

Art Studio After Midnight...Part 2

Looking Back......Artwork I Did for King Missle

Illustration for a magazine cover

Thrift SCORE, Jan. 18 2007 UPDATED FEB.19

CLICK HERE to SEE MY OTHER BLOG