20081229

Are We BABY BOOMERS or BOOB TUBE BABIES?



Normally I post a retro commercial on Mondays but, as this is the last week of 2008, I thought I would post one of my short stories from my upcoming book, working title: The Boomer Comic Book Self Improvement Guide - A funny and poignant memoir with self help tips in comic book format.
This story explains a little of my fascination with television, retro commercials and nostalgic jingles.

Baby Boomers or Boob Tube Babies?

Because baby boomers were the first generation to grow up with television it was a large part of our life and our childhood memories. Most of us have fond memories of Saturday morning serials like the TV cowboys, science fiction serials, dance shows and cartoons. We watched Ed Sullivan, The Honeymooners, and other classics and got our news from Walter Cronkite. We only had three networks, but we had some great programming!

Born in 1951, I was a TV addict from my earliest years. I spent many a Saturday morning watching my favorite kiddie show, Captain Kangaroo as well as cartoons like Looney Toons, Mighty Mouse and Bugs Bunny. I never missed Soupy Sales (remember White Fang and Black Tooth?) and I also loved the TV cowboys like Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, Sky King and Roy Rogers. In the evenings my whole family watched classic series like Father Knows Best, Dr. Kildaire, Adventures in Paradise, Uncle Milty and my Mom's favorite, Perry Mason.After school I would run home to watch Howdy Doody or a favorite cartoon. But my sister, Patty, would insist on watching American Bandstand or a local dance show. If her show was on the same time as one I wanted to watch I was forced to give in to her demands. In those days I was still smaller than her and she had no problem using her physical advantage to bully me into submission! My brother didn't fight over the television in the afternoons because he was at Little League, but Saturday mornings he ruled the rabbit ears. The older sibling issue left me with a very small window of control over the TV programming!

I quickly discovered that waking up early was a sure fire method of having the boob tube all to myself and this soon became a habit with me. I would go into the kitchen, grab my favorite sugar filled cereal of the moment, some milk, a bowl and spoon and plop myself right down on the floor in front of our black and white RCA console. I had a good hour or two of me time and the television dial was all mine. As the youngest of three children in a two bedroom home this was a luxury of alone time that I rarely experienced and one I treasured.

Many of my toys involved television shows, my Captain Kangaroo hand puppet, my lunch boxes and even a Howdy Doody marionette were all precursors to today's blatant brand merchandising. I hoped for dolls shown on the commercials and begged for the latest and sweetest cereal. Television helped me learn to spell and count (remember Miss Maryanne on Romper Room?), taught me manners (Mr. Moose and Mr. Greenjeans) and even helped me learn how to grow up as I watched Kitten and Princess on Father Knows Best.

As I grew older television stayed a large part of my life as I watched shows like Hullabaloo, Shindig and The Monkees. I remember seeing the very first Star Trek episode, and I watched history unfold during the Moon Landing, the Viet Nam war and, a few years later, the Watergate scandal. I had a front view seat to the world in black and white and, later, in living color and even the commercials were part of the fun. Television was a miracle, a theater in the home, a babysitter and sometimes even a best friend.

I grew up singing the themes to television shows and commercials, wearing pedal pushers washed in New and Improved laundry detergents, fiddling with the rabbit ears and eating dinner on TV trays. I may well have been born a Baby Boomer, but television turned me into a Boob Tube Baby.

To this day, I still love television. It is still my habit to get up early and watch a little television before I start my day. I use television to wind down and shut my brain off at the end of the day. Television is a window to the world with the news and gossip shows, a connection to far away places and long ago times. Even though the internet has encroached on television's territory, to me it is just another tube to watch, you can even watch television on the computer and your cell phone. What a world this has become in half a century.


20081226

OLD SCHOOL FRIDAY - Eartha Kitt Tribute

This week's Old School Friday is "I can drink to that" so. . . .

today I am drinking to the great EARTHA KITT who passed away yesterday, December 25th, 2008 at age 81.

There was no better Catwoman and no one could sing Santa Baby like Ms.Kitt!



The Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-fect Catwoman:




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This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine
The rules are simple:
1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

If you want to join in on the fun, click here.
------------------------------------------------

Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081224

PETER PAN with MARY MARTIN - Complete Broadcast, Parts 8 - End

As A Special Holiday Treat for all you Baby Boomers
and Children Who Will Never Grow Up I present:
THE ENTIRE BROADCAST OF
PETER PAN
Starring MARY MARTIN
The Adventure Continues!

Bring your children and your children's children
for The Pop Culture Classic of your youth,
PETER PAN starring Mary Martin!

TODAY:
PARTS EIGHT TO END
YESTERDAY: PARTS ONE THROUGH SEVEN
SPECIAL SONGS from Peter Pan

Part Eight - The Lost Boys have a Mother!



Part Nine - Peter Pan in Drag? It's a trick on Captain Hook!



Part Ten - Ug-A-Wug Song!



Part Eleven - Tinkerbell is Dying! Do You Believe? If You Believe, Clap Your Hands - Don't Let Tink Die!



Part Twelve - Who's the Slimiest Rat in the Pack? Who's Unlovable, Who's Unlivable? Captain Hook!



Part Thirteen - The Darlings Walk The Plank! Tick Tock!



Part Fourteen - I Cannot Tell A Lie - I Gotta Crow!



Part Fifteen - The Darling Children Return Home with The Lost Boys - Just Think of Lovely Things and Your Heart Will Fly On Wings in NEVER, NEVERLAND!!



FROM POP ART DIVA and PIXEL, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!

20081222

PETER PAN with MARY MARTIN - Complete Broadcast, Parts 1 - 7

As A Special Holiday Treat for all you Baby Boomers
and Children Who Will Never Grow Up
Today and Tomorrow I will present:
THE ENTIRE BROADCAST OF
PETER PAN
Starring MARY MARTIN
The Adventure Begins!

Bring your children and your children's children
for The Pop Culture Classic of your youth,
PETER PAN starring Mary Martin!

TODAY:
PARTS ONE THROUGH SEVEN
TOMORROW: PARTS EIGHT TO FIFTEEN
SPECIAL SONGS from Peter Pan

Part One - Meet The Darlings



Part Two - Tinkerbell and Peter Pan Arrive!



Part Three - Why Peter Pan Lives in Neverland



Part Four - You Can Fly, Just Think Lovely, Wonderful Thoughts!



Part Five - Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Captain Hook!



Part Six - Tiger Lily!



Part Seven - Wendy's Here to Stay



My Thanks to Sfuv on YouTube for giving me the ability to present this pop culture classic to you!

PETER PAN with MARY MARTIN - Complete Broadcast

As A Special Holiday Treat for all you Baby Boomers
and Children Who Will Never Grow Up
Over the next three days I will present:
THE ENTIRE BROADCAST OF
PETER PAN
Starring MARY MARTIN

Today - Mary Martin Singing:

I Won't Grow Up:



Neverland



Distant Melody



Tomorrow the Adventure Begins!
Bring your children and your children's children
for The Pop Culture Classic of your youth,
PETER PAN starring Mary Martin!

TOMORROW
PARTS ONE THROUGH SEVEN
WEDNESDAY PARTS EIGHT TO FIFTEEN

My Thanks to Sfuv on YouTube for giving me the ability to present this pop culture classic to you!

20081219

OLD SCHOOL FRIDAYS - The Christmas Grinch!

POP ART DIVA GOES GREEN FOR CHRISTMAS -MUHAHAHA!

As you can see from this Logo for my rant blog, The BRAT in the HAT, I am a big fan of Dr. Seuss. So what else would I post for my Christmas Song but You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch????? Hey I've even developed a Grinch-a-Tini for my martini site, The Martini Diva! AND the Mean Grinch Spinach Dip at The Diva of Tiny Foods!

And for all the little Who's out there in Whoville - Gosh, I'm really sorry but this song just cracks me up and makes me wanna dance! I'm just a bad banana with a greasy black peel, I have termites in my smile and I'm very fond of green, teehee!




--------------------


This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine

The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

If you want to join in on the fun, click here.
--------------------------


Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081217

13 Things I Wanted For Christmas When I Was A Kid - Thursday Thirteen

When I was a kid there were a lot of toys out there that I really wanted and never got. Now, don't get me wrong, I had great Christmases and got lots of wonderful presents. But these were ones that I remember wanting almost fifty years later:
  1. CHATTY CATHY- I got a Tiny Tears. Tiny Tears drank a bottle and then peed. That was it. Chatty Cathy talked! Hey, I wanted conversation - not diaper duty!
  2. A CHILD SIZED PLAY KITCHEN - I was a foodie at a very young age. I had dreams of imaginary gourmet food and elegant pint sized dining. Since I didn't get my mini-kitchen I set up a play bar in our basement. I sold Kool-Aid cocktails in my little tin beverage set on my make-shift bar made of table leafs and milk carton boxes. Belly up to the Table Leafs and have a drink!
  3. ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM ROBOTS - My mother evidently figured little girls didn't want this kind of toy. This meant it was also difficult for me to get the next two toys . . . .
  4. A BASEBALL GLOVE AND REAL BASEBALL - I was a tomboy, I loved Mickey Mantle and I wanted to play ball!
  5. A CAP GUN - which I really wanted because Butthead had one and I needed to defend myself. Plus I loved loud toys.
  6. THE BARBIE DREAM HOUSE - I got the Barbie Car - the peach and turquoise sports car - and I needed a doll house with garage so I could park it inside! BTW, does anyone remember the make of this fifties Barbie car? I'm thinking it was a Corvette but I'm not sure.
  7. A YO-YO - You know I didn't get a yo-yo until I was an adult!!?? I got inspired by Tommy Smother's Yo-Yo Man routines. I loved the Smo-Bros.
  8. A WADING POOL - I had a fondness for water and getting wet. I wasn't greedy, it could have been a baby wading pool! I ended up on a swim team in later years. I was just desperate to get soaked I guess.
  9. A RADIO FLYER WAGON - Again, I guess little girls weren't supposed to want wagons, sigh.
  10. A RAY GUN - I needed it! I was convinced aliens were going to invade my backyard and disintegrate my swing set. I was gonna blast me some little green buggers to smithereens!
  11. A TOY VANITY SET - I wasn't such a tomboy that I didn't want to be pretty. I got a toy typewriter instead which, as it turns out, was a much better toy for encouraging little girls to become something other than a housewife or arm candy. Kudos to you Mom and Dad!
  12. MY VERY OWN FAIRY - Okay, not technically a toy but that didn't stop me from asking Santa and my folks for it for years. Shut up, I had an imagination! Who among you didn't want something that didn't exist at least once as a kid?
  13. A PEDDLE CAR - I so badly wanted one of those little cars that you sat down in and cruised down the street via peddle power! Honest to God, I still want one! Now they've got motorized HummVees and pink dune buggies but I'm into the classics, give me a little blue or red coupe without all the bells and whistles.
TODAY IS THE BIRTHDAY OF MY BELOVED LITTLE SHADOW, my wonderful little Cockapoo who went to the Rainbow Bridge in 1999 - Happy Birthday, my little fuzzbutt. I still miss you every day!
--------------------------
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

--------------------------

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20081215

E.T. PLAYS ATARI in a Santa Suit! Retro Commercials Monday

Wow, talk about retro Christmas commercials - E.T. in a commercial for the E.T. Atari game. You'd have to go back to Pong to get more nostalgic than this! Oh, my Heartlight is just a-glowin' with memories!



Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081214

IS THE PAY PHONE A RELIC OF THE PAST?

This is what I love about blogs! On my last Old School Friday post, Friday December 12th, I embedded a video of The Turtles' 1960 hit "Happy Together." One of my readers and fellow pop culture fanatic, Pjazzypar, pointed out how the lyrics of that song were also a bit of a history lesson.

There is a verse in this song that refers to making a call from a pay phone, "If I should call you up, invest a dime, and you say you belong to me and ease my mind." The line refers to the fact that, in those days, a phone call from a pay phone was ten cents, thus "invest a dime". This is also where the expression "dropping a dime" (meaning to rat someone out, call the police on them or simply to call someone) came from.

I was a teen at the time this song was released and I remember that my mother always made me keep a dime somewhere in my wallet or coin purse in case I needed to make an emergency call. Sometime in the seventies that call went up to a quarter. The next pay call evolution was being able to use a calling card and, finally, data ports for laptops began to show up at pay phone stations. Now, with the advent of cell phones, the pay phone has almost disappeared from our landscape and I wonder how many of us baby boomers have even noticed.

Once upon a time our world was peppered with phone booths and pay phones. They were something we never really saw around until we needed one. We never paid much attention to them or gave them a second thought because we always figured there would always be one around somewhere. They were so ubiquitous they were almost invisible.

Though mostly invisible and taken for granted, phone booths were a part of our culture back in those days and, through film, they have become pop culture icons. Clark Kent turned into Superman in phone booths, Bill and Ted traveled through time in a phone booth, phone booths have been used to terrorize film characters (Phone Booth), in "The Birds" a phone booth was used to escape insane killer birds - the list goes on. If you watch Dr. Who, the English version of the phone booth has even become a fun Sci-Fi pop icon called The Tardis.

It seems that pay phones are now a thing of the past. Today the cell phone is king and the phone booth has become a relic of yesterday when ten cents was all it took to connect you to the world.

Here's a little history of the pay phone. To quote Bob Dylan, "the times they are a-changing."

Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081212

Favorite Band + Old School Fridays = Happy Together

Today's topic for Old School Fridays is Favorite Band. Now, this one was difficult for me because in my favorite music era there were some really great bands! The most notable ones being The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

But I had to give a little "high five" to another band and one of my all time favorite songs - The Turtles and Happy Together. This video is from 1967 and even includes the lyrics so you can sing along! There's just something about this song that always makes me do a little chair dance when it comes on!



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This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. If you want to join in on the fun, click here.
----------------------------------

Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081210

13 Things To Do With That Damn Fruitcake - Thursday Thirteen

13 Useful Things You Can Do With That Dumb Fruitcake You Just Got For Christmas
  1. Regift it next year to the person who sent it to you.
  2. Serve it up to the houseguest from Hell who won't leave - honest, this works everytime! (Liz and Brad - don't even think about it, I'm wise to this trick!!)
  3. Use it as a doorstop - just don't stub your toe on it!
  4. Use it as a paperweight - heck, you could even use it as a trash compactor!
  5. Collect as many fruitcakes as you can and build a small doghouse with them. Hey, old fruitcake is an excellent insulator and nothing alive eats these fruitcakes - even ants!
  6. It's great as ballast for your sail boat.
  7. Fruitcakes make excellent land fill.
  8. Grind it up, add water and pour yourself a new sidewalk or driveway.
  9. Use it as your Yule Log - it gives off funny colored smoke from the candied fruit but these cakes are so dense one will last all night!
  10. It makes an excellent self defense weapon - if you can manage to get it in your purse and are strong enough to swing that kind of weight around.
  11. Drill a narrow hole down the middle, slide in some candle wicks and turn it into a holiday mood light.
  12. Put it in a brown paper bag, place it on that nasty neighbor's doorstep, set fire to it and run.
  13. Carve Elvis' face in it and sell it on Ebay.
For some extra fruitcake laughs read my poem There's Only One Fruitcake In The World.

--------------------------
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

--------------------------

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ORDER YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM
THE POP ART DIVA HOLIDAY & CHRISTMAS DEPARTMENT!

20081208

Coke Teaches The World To Sing - RETRO COMMERCIALS MONDAY

Here is the original 1971 commercial from Coca Cola with the jingle "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing".

Known in the industry as the "hilltop" ad, the concept was the brainstorm of "mad man" Bill Backer of McCann-Erickson and was inspired by some fog at Heathrow, an overnight delay in Ireland, a group of irate passengers and a campaign slogan that became part of the lyrics.

One of the most popular and memorable commercials of all time, this 1971 advert featured the New Seekers for the sound track and teens between the ages of 14 and 19 lip-syncing on a hilltop in Italy. To this day many baby boomers can still sing you the entire lyrics of this iconic pop culture phenomenon.

The song was so popular that people called radio stations requesting it and it was eventually released as not one but two versions - minus the reference to Coke. Since the New Seekers were unavailable the first version was released by the Hillside Singers in a country western style. Later the New Seekers released their ad style version of the song. Below the video are the lyrics for both the original Jingle and the non-Coke version single. The single climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971 and 1972.

The Coca-Cola Company waived royalties to the song, donating $80,000 in payments to UNICEF.



THE NON-COKE VERSION:


I'd like to build the world a home
and furnish it with love
grow apple trees and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my arms
and keep it company

I'd like to see the world for once
all standing hand in hand
and hear them echo through the hills
for peace throuout the land

thats the song I hear
Let the world sing today
a song of peace
that echoes on
and never goes away

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony

I'd like to build the world a home
and funish it with love
grow apple trees and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my arms
and keep it company



THE COCA COLA JINGLE:

I'd like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love,

Grow apple trees and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.

I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,

I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.

[Repeat the last two lines, and in the background:]

It's the real thing, Coke is what the world wants today.

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I
T'S NOT TOO LATE!
ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY GIFTS FROM THE POPARTDIVA BOUTIQUE!



20081205

OLD SCHOOL FRIDAYS - Actors Who Sing

This week's OSF is Actors Who Sing and when I saw that I immediately thought of David Soul singing Don't Give Up On Us Baby. David Soul was one of the stars of Starsky and Hutch in the 1970s. When I was a kid and teenybopper many of my favorite tv stars made attempts at being pop stars as well and I've posted just a few of the more famous (or infamous) examples here for a little fun musical nostalgia:



You may also remember Shelley Fabares (of The Donna Reed Show) and her one hit, Johnny Angel:



And how about Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman) singing Cindy's Birthday:



And Remember Paul Peterson (also of The Donna Reed Show) and She Can't Find Her Keys:



And Richard Chamberlain was quite a decent singer, starring in several musicals later in his career. Here's a couple of his earliest, including him singing the theme from Dr. Kildaire Three Stars Will Shine Tonight and Hi Lili Hi Lo:







Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!

20081203

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN - I am once more a CALIFORNIA GIRL!!!

I am home, I am a California Girl again! I feel like I've gone back in time and I'm 16 once more! I am back in the land of the Endless Summer! Somebody, crank up the 8-track, it's the Beach Boys!



Get my Retro Inspired Pop Culture Art on Cool Stuff like Cups, Tees, Cards, Aprons and more at the POP ART DIVA BOUTIQUE!