May the Fourth Be With You

Hey it's May the fourth, and that means it's the unofficial Star Wars day.  Since the internets is made of approximately 67.3% Star Wars content it going to be hard show you something that's never been posted online before, but I'm gonna give it my best shot.

First here's something that probably out there, it's a press kit or lobby photo of the Darth Vader vs. Ben Kenobi light saber fight...

I've never met Mark Hamill, but I had a friend who went to an Autorama where Mark was appearing and picked up this photo... 

That signature isn't "real" in case you're wondering. Hmm, I think I need to watch for Mark Hamill in "Stingray" from MGM.

I did meet Darth Vader, Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper at Toys R Us on October 1, 1977.  Here's what they handed out to the kids...

 The entire Toys R Us giraffe family was there also...

Like every 70's kid I was swept up in the Star Wars mania, and for a while would clip any Star Wars thing I found in the newspaper.  Like this Meijer ad for Star Wars figures...

I remember my mom taking me and a friend to our local Meijer before school one day when they got a shipment of figures.  We were able to pick them right from the shipping box before they were even stocked on the shelves. Thanks Mom!

Here's an ad for the Star Wars Escape from the Death Star board game...

 I never had that game, but I assume I wanted it since I clipped the ad.

Here's a unique ad for a free Super 8 sound 400 foot edition of Star Wars when you buy a movie projector...

Lastly here's a little bit of Star Wars legal news when Fox sued Ideal Toys over their Star Team action figure toys, and "Knight of Darkness" in particular...

I wish someone would upload those 1970's Star Team toy commercials someday.  I always love to post them YouTube commercials, but I came up with nothing this time.

Preternatural Peculiarities: The Tulip Staircase Ghost

I have a little tradition of making some sort of animation to celebrate the holidays.  Unfortunately this year I've been busy with other projects, and haven't had much time to devote to a new animation. Well, certainly nothing as elaborate as what I did last year. 

However I did find some time to conjure a short spooky animation for Halloween.  Although first here's a little biographical introduction...

I vividly remember this book,  Haunted Houses by Larry Kettelkamp, in my elementary school library...

That cover was fascinating, and I leafed through the book a number of times while standing in the school library.  I don't remember ever checking it out.  I think I was probably too scared to actually take that book home with me.  It was safer to just leave it in the school library.

Anyway that cover photo is Tulip Staircase Ghost, and for my money, probably the best ghost photo ever taken.  If it's a hoax it's pure genius.  The way the figure is distorted and elongated is truly otherworldly.

If you'd like to know more about the Tulip Staircase Ghost photo please click this link.  If you'd like to watch a short animation I made using this photo simply click play if you dare...


Hopefully I'll find the time to do another quick "Preternatural Peculiarities" before the month is through. Are there any ideas out there?

Kings Island Souvenir Booklet 1979

Here's a little more Kings Island stuff to celebrate the parks 40th anniversary.  It's a full-color souvenir booklet from 1979...

The page above should have won some sort of special proofreading award. Check out the animals pictured at the bottom of the page and the corresponding labels.

Since the "Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera" is no longer a part of Kings Island I thought it might be good to post extra big photos from this page.

This spining ride is called the "Witches Cauldron" and features a figure of Winsome Witch rotating on top of a spooky tree. I wish there was a shot of her face, or the other creatures on the big fake tree.

Enchanted Voyage was a fairly elaberate dark ride into the world of Hanna-Barbera cartoons.  Although mostly the more obscure ones - no Flintstones, Jetsons, Yogi and Boo-Boo or Scooby-Doo here. 

Let's grab a snack at Gulliver's Galley.  The Adventures of Gulliver was a cartoon created in 1968 for ABC-TV.  Only 17 episodes were produced, yet Gulliver was featured prominently in the Enchanted Voyage ride, had a small boat ride named Gulliver's Rub-A-Dub, and this snack bar.

Scenes From a Late 50's School Fair

Here's some photo's from the Bulman School Fair in Redford, MI taken in 1958 and 1959.

Do you prefer your photos of vaguely disturbing clowns in "portrait"...

...or in "landscape" modes?

The photo above of "Mr. Thomas Saunders operating the cotton candy machine" looks amazingly timeless to me.  If I were told this photo was taken last year I could believe it.

And that's latest a Bulman School Fair photo could have been taken (if they were still having school fairs).  In researching this post I learned that the Bulman Elementary School closed , and was scheduled for demolition after the 2011 school year.