Tag Archives: Fifties

Al Jaffe of MAD Magazine is 101!

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Steve

Comedian Dan Telfer made the best joke, Al’s birthday is now the perfect fold-in! For Gen Z and some Mills, back when MAD was around, the back, inside cover was an art-based joke by Al. It would ask a question and … Continue reading →

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1957: Wham-O produces the first Frisbees

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Steve

You’d think this toy had its origins in the Fifties as plastic was getting rolled out into the wonder substance for everything: toys, car parts, food storage, etc. Oddly, name comes from a baker in 1871 called The Frisbie Pie … Continue reading →

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Luca: Streaming at best

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Steve

Maybe Pixar is stuck in a pattern of great movie followed by mediocre movie, repeat. Currently, it would go: Coco, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, Soul and Luca. If I chose to go back farther, my hypothesis would have more interruptions of … Continue reading →

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1976: Laverne & Shirley debuts on ABC!

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Steve

A big thank you to Silver Age of TV’s Twitter feed and additional details from the ever wonderful Michael McKean bringing this anniversary up. Sadly, stars Penny Marshall and David Landers are no longer with us alongside its primary creator … Continue reading →

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Farewell Phil Spector

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Steve

The debate over who’s responsible for the Wall of Sound Spector is credited for will go on forever yet he did contribute immensely to Popular Music. Phil comes more into play for my generation by working with the Ramones since … Continue reading →

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Half way through 2020!

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Steve

To cheer us all up, I decided make my header one of the best movies ever made in the Eighties. Hell, it’s so perfect, I can’t think of a single complaint about it. On July 3, 1985, Back to the … Continue reading →

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RIP Carl Reiner

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Steve

So many comedy patriarchs are leaving us lately, I’m starting to feel like my grandparents who I thought were obsessed with obituaries during the Seventies and Eighties. To say Carl Reiner was a legend is an understatement. The man helped … Continue reading →

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New Chucks for May 2020, part 11

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Steve

My last pair from the Converse sale. You can’t go wrong with hot-rod flames! I have two different black pairs and it’s about time I got these in white.

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RIP Kirk Douglas

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Steve

He really hung in there! Not to be flippant or crude but I thought he already passed away like in the Aughts. Kirk did bring us a slug of good movies that I often caught on TV: Spartacus, The Vikings and Paths to … Continue reading →

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Sixty-five years of progress in miniaturization

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Steve

That stack of 62,500 punchcards represents 4.5 MB of data circa 1955. I remember my dad doing his CS homework/projects on those things in the early Seventies! Today, my current iPhone Xs holds over 14,000 times that much information and … Continue reading →

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C’est ne pas un LEGO

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Steve

The LEGO store gave this out to us VIPs as a gift after spending a certain amount, I can’t remember how much. This set which creates a model of the core 2 x 4 brick (it doesn’t work like one … Continue reading →

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MAD goes into zombie mode after 67 years

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Steve

I initially didn’t think anything was happening to MAD itself when comedian and senior editor Dan Telfer announced being laid off via Twitter. Then the deluge of news began about how the beloved satirical magazine was “ending” after 67 years. MAD‘s death … Continue reading →

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1959: NASA introduces America’s first astronauts

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Steve

Even if not everything in the movie or book, The Right Stuff, is completely true, I think most Americans know the story about the Mercury Seven. Back when the US was trying to catch up to the Soviet Union, military test … Continue reading →

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1959: Barbie makes her debut

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Steve

A good place to start on the history of this iconic doll is its own episode on The Toys That Made Us which is also intertwined with the Mattel Corporation’s story. There’s another show on Hulu with the words “tiny waist” in … Continue reading →

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The Platinum Age of Television by David Bianculli

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Steve

If you’re a fan of Fresh Air, then you are probably familiar with the author since he’s the TV Critic and sometimes guest host. I usually tune out the last 5-10 minutes of the show anyway because I tend not to … Continue reading →

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