The Endless Summer Vacation

It's summer, and for many it's time for that big summer vacation.  Once again I'm here to offer a travel destination suggestion for your summer road trip enjoyment.  The title of my post alludes to a famous 1966 surfing documentary (movie geeks can give yourself a gold star if you got the reference), but my suggestion for a super keen summer vacation has nothing to do with surfing.  Nope, it's the state of Arkansas in this 1977 Tour Guide...

 In particular it's the State's Tourism Division ad that's caught my eye...

Arkansas is many things, but I was not aware it was the land of the conquistadors as depicted in the lower left of the above ad.  When I think about conquistadors in the US I think of Juan Ponce de León traipsing around Florida searching for the Fountain of Youth.  Although from the look of this ad maybe those Arkansas conquistadors were the inspiration for the 1958 low budget conquistador horror film Giant from the Unknown...



I'd gladly travel to Arkansas to see a giant zombie conquistador.

I didn't visit Arkansas in 1977, or ever for that matter, but I have been to Lake Cumberland in Kentucky in 1979...

In the late 70's we had neighbors who went on a Lake Cumberland houseboat vacation, and proclaimed how utterly remarkable it was.  My father was sold lock, stock and barrel (or maybe it's hook, line and sinker) on the houseboat vacation idea. Honestly, it sounded like a reasonably fun idea especially to a kid like myself who loved to swim.  Although once we rented our houseboat one little revelation put the kibosh on any sort of aquatic activities...

Back page of Lake Cumberland Guide

Hey you people in the water, and that guy in midair may want to listen to this: our houseboat's toilet (and I assume all Lake Cumberland 70's houseboats) flushed directly into the lake.  Yes, you read that correctly. Our toilet made a grinding sound like a garbage disposal when flushed, and emptied into the lake. If anyone reading this knows what's going on at Lake Cumberland today please tell me this is no longer allowed.  I hope by 2013 holding tanks for human waste are now mandatory. 

So yeah no swimming for us, and frankly, lake swimming is never that desirable even in the best conditions (Swimmer's Itch anyone?). Within about two days the houseboat vacation quickly had wore out its welcome.  We cut it short, and spent the remaining days in the small lodge owned by the people we rented the houseboat from. It was in the lodge's restaurant where I learned to appreciate biscuits and honey - this is my fondest memory from the houseboat experience.

While leafing thru the Lake Cumberland guide I noticed an ad for a motel whose name I think is kinda apropos pertaining to the unsavory houseboat toilet situation.  Maybe we should have dropped in for a stay...

...or maybe this is just where all the UPS guys stay.

Lastly, there's another reason I titled this post "The Endless Summer Vacation." It's because this is most likely my last official blog post.

I hate to say goodbye permanently, and I reserve the right to reactivate this blog in the future, so instead of goodbye think of this as just a sabbatical - a possibly indefinite sabbatical.

For a while now I feel I've just been scraping the bottom of the barrel.  I'm not a collector, and much of the "unique cool" stuff I own has been posted.  Continuing Quasi-Interesting Paraphernalia Inc. in it's current form is simply becoming a drag.  If I were to persist it would just be more lame attempts to crack wise about stuff like this - a 1963 Adult Games booklet from Dell...

...and here's the back for those who care.

Truthfully, the world is not missing out on anything as I step away from the blogging.

The good news is instead of devoting more of my time to lackluster posts, I'm planning to start a new Internet endeavor that is purely creative.  So if you enjoyed my style of "humor" I hope to be back on the Internet in the fall doing something different.  I'll post an update in the near future to let those who wish to know my whereabouts what I'm up too.
 

I still plan to keep an eye on this blog.  Answer comment questions,  correct any typos I should happen to find in old posts (I know there's a lot), and attempt to fix the never-ending broken YouTube links.

I want to thank "QIPI" readers, and my blogger friends for a great time these past 7 years. Please stay in touch. I always appreciate and reply to all personal email.

So without further ado, I depart to do other things.  I thought I could come up with something clever to sign-off with, but I think Carol Burnett's signature closing song pretty much sums up my feelings right now...


   

Florida's Silver Spings

Here's a brochure from 1977 for Florida's Silver Springs...

Like Weeki Wachee,  Silver Springs was once owned by ABC Leisure Attractions -  a subsidiarity of the American Broadcasting Company.

Check out the fine print on this map if you don't believe it ...

Silver Springs is no longer owned by a private company, and is now a Florida State Park.

Numerous famous movies and television shows were filmed at Silver Springs. For example the 50's TV show Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges.  Check out a young Larry Hagman in this episode titled "Legend of the Mermaid..."


And most impressive to me, one of the greatest movie monsters ever swam thru the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs the Creature from the Black Lagoon ...
 

Six Flags Atlanta

I have two brochures for Six Flags Atlanta (now called Six Flags Over Georgia) from 1978 and 1979 to share today.  I've never been to "Six Flags Atlanta," but for those who have here's a little nostalgic look back to a time when The MindBender was the big new ride...

Zorayda Castle

It's June, and that means it's almost time for summer vacation!  As a public service to those who might be planning a big summer vacation trip I thought I'd dig into my stack of vintage brochures and see if I can could come up with some interesting travel destination ideas. 

If someone asks for a list of "World Famous" castles one may think of Windsor Castle, Cinderella Castle or even White Castle.  Or maybe it's just possible someone might think of Zorayda Castle in St. Augustine, Florida...

 
... it says "World Famous" right on the front of the brochure.

Let's take a look at what's inside...

Cool, there's a "SACRED CAT RUG" that's over 2300 years old, and is said to possess a curse.  Heck there's even a "MUMMY'S FOOT!"  Personally I always thought The Mummy's Foot was one of the weaker Universal horror classics.

If you would like to see the "SACRED CAT RUG" you are in luck, it's still on display at what today is called the Villa Zorayda Museum.  If you should visit please let me know if they still have that mummy's foot.

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.

One Night In A Novelty Catalog

Hey folks, it's time once again for one of my wacky animations that makes this blog so popular with the hoi polloi.

The animation is inspired by this months theme of April Fools...


One Night in a Novelty Catalog from David Witt on Vimeo.

I used a 1992 Johnson Smith Company catalog in case there was anyone who might have wondered.

Do you believe in TV Magic?

In my last post I wrote about the "Giant Surprise Catalog of  Professional Magic," and so I thought I might as well continue with that magic theme.

From age five to about twelve I was very interested in magic. Hardly a birthday or Christmas went by without a gift of some sort of new magic trick. My very first trick was a deck of TV Magic Cards.  An advanced magic trick for a five year old I know, but this was due to the frequent commercials featuring magician Marshall Brodien in the 1970's...



At that young age I remember thinking magic was real.  So when I was given the deck I thought the cards were enchanted. It was a cold slap of reality when I quickly learned it was just a trick, and magicians were basically just pretending.  I think magic could probably be used for teaching children logic and critical thinking.

After the TV Magic Cards I received other magic sets by Marshall Brodien, and this is how I got this booklet, Fifty TV Magic Tricks which has a good selection of easy tricks for beginners...

Read the first page "How To Be A Magician."  Maybe if I had stuck with magic beyond the start of adolescence I too could have been the "life of the party"...

Here's a trick (and it's not truly a magic trick, unless you consider a flambé magic) that wouldn't be found in a magic book today that could be read by children...

Booze and fire? Remember kids, don't try this at home - go to a neighbors house!

Lastly, a different kind of "TV magic," I remember being a big fan of this 70's syndicated magic show called Wonderful World of Magic hosted by Bill Bixby...



Extra big bonus points to anyone reading who can remember this show.  IMDb doesn't even list it.

Vick Lawston's Giant Surprise Catalog of Professional Magic

In the spirit of April Fools I thought I'd do a few posts this month about novelties, magic tricks and top it off with a little "fun" original animation.

Inspiration for my April Fools animation came from a skit on Joel Hodgson's The TV Wheel.  The TV Wheel was a ingenious "experiment" from 1995 that unfortunately never got beyond a pilot.  The sketch is "Vick Lawston's Giant Surprise Catalog of Professional Magic."  Paul Feig plays Vick Lawston, and Joel is supposedly the voice of Pumpernickel the monkey. Please watch the sketch below starting at 1:32...




Until I wrote this post I had always assumed that Vick Lawston was a fictional character created for the sketch, but to my 'giant surprise' he and the "Giant Surprise Catalog of  Professional Magic" are 100% real....

Gee, I feel like I'm the last to know. I sure wish I had a copy of that catalog.  The few scans of some of pages I've seen online look priceless.  Vick's son Jeff, who's in the reflective tape business, has a small page devoted to his late father right here. It's the most "official" Vick Lawston site you will find on the interweb. 

Geauga Lake

I haven't posted a brochure in a long while, so let's take a look at this 1978 brochure for the now defunct Geauga Lake amusement park in Aurora, Ohio...

 As you can see 1978 was the first year for the Corkscrew.  The Internet tells me the Corkscrew lasted from 1978 to 1995.  The roller coaster now resides in India at an amusement park called MGM Dizzee World where it's reportedly been re-named "Roller Coaster."

 

Admission in 1978 was $6.50, and adjusted for inflation that's only $23.15 in 2013 dollars.  How many amusement parks in North America have an admission of less than $25 today?   

For Scent-imental Reasons

I thought I'd take a look at the selling of men's fragrances over the past decades, and how it's changed.

Perfumes, colognes and aftershaves frequently use some sort of sexy ad campaign. My interest was see if I pinpoint the moment when sex was first used to sell men's fragrance products.

I can say with almost complete confidence sex was never used to sell men's fragrances in the 1950's. For example this commercial from 1957 for Old Spice aftershave emphasizes health and value...



I hope you're sitting down, but sex in men's fragrance ads seems to start sometime in the late 1960's.  Shocking, I know.  In 1960 Old Spice was still sold like this...

... and it's not sexy in the slightest.  Then whole sexual revolution thing happens, and in 1967 we have a spicy ad like this for Centaur "Massage" Cologne...

I can't personally identify with that breaded guy, but I do like the idea of a beautiful and extra busty personal masseur.

The male in this next 1968 ad for St. Johns cologne is much easier to identify with...

The above ad demonstrates a sexy two pronged marketing attack that many ads like this take.  First there's a handsome male model that can make one think, "If I use this product I could be like this guy."  Second is the use of this product will make one irresistible to the opposite sex.  St. Johns has helped the guy above snag three hot blonds - that's a lot of bang for your buck so to speak.

The Hai Karate commercial below from the late 60's is a classic example of the "irresistible to the opposite sex" marketing campaign...



I think that's still very funny today.

English Leather was introduced in 1949, and by 1969 advertised with this suggestive slogan...

Here's a entertainingly epic one, the very subtly named Jovan Sex Appeal from 1978 with art super manly fantasy art by Frank Frazetta...

...and the extra awesome commercial animated by Richard Williams.


By 1979 Old Spice got sexy with their bedroom couple advertisement for Musk For Men...

I like this two page tease from the makers of English Leather.  On the left side of the page is a sexy model wrapped in a large flannel shirt with the "cool" Timberline...

On the right page we get the "hot" pay off with Wind Drift...

I'm strangely fascinated by the scenario in this Paco Rabbane ad from 1984...

The clunky soap opera dialog ad copy is a hoot.  The guy in the towel must be some sort of wealthy classical musician.  I don't think someone living on the average metropolitan symphony wage could afford such a fancy big city apartment.   Below is the ad copy for easy reading, and print out. It's my hope this scene will be acted out in drama classes around the world, and might even become the next hot YouTube meme...

Hello?

I hope you sit on a lute!

Ah, the sweet song of the morning
grouch!

You didn’t say goodbye.

I didn’t want to wake you.

Who could sleep when there's a hunk
with no clothes on wandering around
at five in the morning, humming
Vivaldi and knocking over furniture?

You have an ear of tin. It was Bruch.
And I’m playing it this afternoon
up in Boston for the Ladies of the
Noble Order of Sweater-and-Pearls.
What are you doing?

Lying here, thinking of you. You
know, I can smell your Paco Rabanne.
It’s like you were still here.

I wish I were.

I couldn’t go back to sleep, remembering 
everything. I wanted to hear
your voice. It has the most interesting
effect on me . . .

Maybe I should run over and read you
a bedtime story or something.

Or something. 

...and end scene.

I hope you all have fun with that.

Jumping to the present day with AXE body spray, and their newish commercial that sorta reminds me of the old Hai Karate spots taken to a spectacular scale...


This BOD Man Fragrance Spray commercial has that "sexy two pronged marketing attack" thing going on.  Is the setting a hotel?  I associate an ice machine with a hotel, but either way this guy didn't break a sweat to get great results...


The packaging for BOD is curious. It looks like I might find it down the supermarket cleaning aisle.  Maybe BOD could replace my bottle of Formula 409, and be my new personal fragrance.  Hmmm, that reminds me of product from an old SNL skit that was two things in one...


Hey since I started this post with Old Spice let's take a look a current magazine ad...

Their ad agency has gone totally insane.  Is insanity the new sexy?

Well let's close this post with probably the best manly cologne commercial ever. All the way from Japan it's Charles Bronson for Mandom. If you've made it this far, and you've never seen this before you're in for a real treat...