More Groucho Cocktail Napkins: Part 3

At long last we've reached the end with part three of More Groucho Cocktail Napkins...

That's all I got folks. Hope you enjoyed them.

Xanadu: Home of the Future

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:

NOT this house made of foam...

Here's a brochure card for the long gone Xanadu Home of the Future. I'm shocked to learn that this attraction (located very near Walt Disney World) supposedly at it's peak attracted 1000 visitors a day. Wow, that's very impressive for such a ugly looking house.

I love retro stuff just as much as any other retro loving retro nerd, but the late 1970's aesthetics and electronics combined with amateur architectural design added up to make one embarrassing eyesore. Although if you're the type who enjoys monuments to poor taste than you hit the mother load with Xanadu.

Here's a short documentary with Xanadu designer Roy Mason...

More Groucho Cocktail Napkins: Part 2

It's time for part two of More Groucho Cocktail Napkins...

Confederama

The summer is winding down, and since this is still vacation season I thought maybe I'd post some old travel brochures this month just in case anyone reading would like a last minute travel idea.

Well, this technically isn't a brochure for Confederama - it's a card, and technically "Confederama" doesn't even exist anymore. Sorry about that.

Confederama was located near Lookout Mountain home of the popular tourist attractions Rock City and Ruby Falls. The front of the brochure card urged travelers to "See Condederama first" and how knowing the history of the mountain would make your trip more enjoyable. As a young boy my family visited both Rock City and Ruby Falls, but skipped Confederama. I wonder how much more enjoyment we missed out on?

If you would like to see the wonders of the Confederama electric map you're in luck because it's still around. The Battles for Chattanooga Electric Map & Museum is now the name of the new home for Confederama electric map.

More Groucho Cocktail Napkins: Part 1

So way back on June 16, 2008, a time when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth, I posted a sampling of "That's Me Groucho" cocktail napkins. These novelty napkins from 1954 feature a different cartoon on each napkin.

A dear, dear reader named Kelly on April 22, 2009 asked if I could post some more of these napkins, and I'm more than happy to share the remaining napkins I have.

I only have nine remaining napkins, and I thought I'd divide them up into three separate posts. So here we go with part one of More Groucho Cocktail Napkins...

The Mystery Photo

I found this photo the other day.

It was in an envelope from WLW.

The envelope was addressed to my mother, and although there is no date on the photo or envelope I believe it was mailed in the early 1950's.

There is a woman on the left side of the photo holding a microphone that reads "50 Club."

I believe I have identified the woman. She is Ruth Lyons, and she hosted a show called "50 Club" (which later became the "50/50 Club") on WLW. The show was named for number of people in the studio audience each day.

Why my mother had this photo mailed to her is a mystery. My mother never lived in Cincinnati, and therefore I believe didn't listen to the "50 Club" (unless the show was broadcast in Detroit too). The best reason I can think of why my mother had this photo mailed is she might have personally known someone on the stage.

Whatever the reason, the photo has good deal of retro charm. People back in the day dressed so well, and seem to have so much more personality than folks today.

Like this guy who I call "Mr. Pinky" (hopefully you'll get the movie reference). I think he must be a broadcaster too.

Then there's this very smart looking woman. She's so glamorous, and must be a local celebrity of some kind.


These boys are amusing too. Each one is such a distinct character, and could have stared in their own 50's sitcom. From left to right you got the socially inept Brainiac, the precocious and popular Rich Kid, the Comedy Relief , and inquisitive and mischievous Junior.

Well if anyone reading this would like add their own 2 cents, or know the people in this photograph please leave a comment.

3D Finale

OK people it's time to wrap up this month long trip in the third dimension with a final 3D glasses blow out.

These very patriotic looking 3D glasses are probably my oldest pair, and they're from a local TV broadcast of Gorilla at Large in the early 80's...


And just because I love to post YouTube videos here is the trailer for Gorilla at Large.



Here are the 3D glasses for the Super Bowl XXIII halftime show "Be Bop Bamboozled" featuring Elvis Presto. I do remember being pretty excited to watch this show, and yes, I do remember being pretty disappointed after it was all over.


Next are the 3D glasses for Yo Yogi which is probably the last Saturday morning cartoon to run on NBC. The show featured a young and "hipper" version of Yogi Bear, and 3D segments you could watch with glasses you got from specially marked packages of Kellogg's Rice Krispies.

This is the very important card that was packaged with the Yo Yogi glasses:

Damn grown-ups have to take the fun out of everything.



I noticed I have a lot of ChromaDepth glasses.

Here are a pair for the VH1 show I Love the 80's 3D...


And here are a pair for the N64 game system...


Heck, they could even be found in some magazines...


But you must heed the warning (damn grown-ups):

Now surely you must own a pair of ChromaDepth glasses too. So please enjoy this following music video in the magical experience that is ChromaDepth 3D.



Special thanks to Todd over at Neato Coolville for keeping me motivated all this month.