This young girl, who we will call Jasper, had an older  brother who we will call Scout. Jasper is in her early teens and caught Scout with a six-pack of beer in his room. She then told her parents about it, which got Scout in hot water with the ‘rents. So to get even, he tore apart her room and found her diary in her closet and proceeded to scan in whole pages. Jasper had written about what she thought of some boys in her school – boys she liked and didn’t like. Also on the list was a sort of rating system of what Jasper would or would not do if given the chance to be alone with these boys. Scout then proceeded to post the info on Facebook and send the link to all Jasper’s friends.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have been a tattle-tale.  And perhaps Jasper was really concerned for her big brother, Scout. After all, many kids go through DARE programs and are exposed early to the dangers of drinking and drugs. We will never know the real reason she did told her parents about the beer, but that’s not the point.

I think what Scout did to his sister, Jasper,  is appalling. It would have been bad enough to read the diary and tease her about it, or even take it away and hide it. He also could have taken it to school and read or shown it to some of her friends and some of the boys on the list. THAT would have been bad enough. But, NO – he had to scan the actual pages and post them on Facebook and then to top it off, send the link to all her friends. That’s appalling.

I have a friend that made a deal with her son that if he wanted to participate in Facebook he had to friend her first, so she could keep an eye on him. That’s what I call responsible parenting. I’m sorry if everyone doesn’t have time to monitor their kids because they are working two jobs or whatever, but I gotta say that poor girl’s life and reputation was trashed by her brother…and where were the parents? It’s too late now for that poor girl whose private thoughts we splattered all over the net. I can’t imagine what she must be going through. Not to mention that Jasper’s relationship with her brother is probably beyond repair. Can you imagine living in that house? It must be like a war zone. I told you this story not to preach at you, but as a caveat. Perhaps making a deal with your kids like the one my friend did with her son may help protect your family’s future peace and safety. 

And, that’s not all. This morning on CBS’s Early Show there was a story about a couple who were robbed because of an innocent Facebook comment that they would be away from their house for the evening.  [see link http://www.wlky.com/news/22956443/detail.html] The suspected robber was someone the wife grew up with and had friended recently. So, think twice about what you or anyone in your family posts and who you friend. Equally important is the info you allow to be seen by others in your profile. It could cost you a job or draw unwanted attention from a source that you don’t expect and make you wish you had been more careful. Here is a link to a helpful article written in January 2010 called Five Privacy Tips You Need to Know Now [http://www.allfacebook.com/2010/01/facebook-privacy-tips/]

“On the CBS Early Show Thursday, March 25th, McMullen said after posting images of the burglars on Facebook, she realized one of them had “friended” her about six months ago.”I looked at his page,” she said. “I had not looked at his page at all, had not seen this person in a long time. He has a twin if it’s not him. We didn’t get him on camera. We would not in a million years suspect him.” 

 ”McMullen said the man grew up across the street from her and she hasn’t seen him in more than 20 years. And she will definitely be more cautious about what she posts online in the future.”

I just read an old column in  The Wall Street Journal and it echos many of the feelings I have about Facebook. See, I am kind of on the fence. [For the full article see link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204660604574370450465849142.html] The article, written by Elizabeth Bernstein, was, believe it or not,  written back in 2009 and it makes good points – like this one:

“And then there’s jealousy. In all that information you’re posting about your life—your vacation, your kids, your promotions at work, even that margarita you just drank—someone is bound to find something to envy. When it comes to relationships, such online revelations can make breaking up even harder to do.”

In my experience, not all but most people don’t talk WITH you on Facebook, they talk AT you, which is  shame.  I liken it to a kind an Andy Warhol type voyeuristic experience or reading very long graffiti scrawl on the bathroom wall. People just chuck stuff up there. Also from the WSJ article:

“Facebook can also be a mecca for passive-aggressive behavior. “Suddenly, things you wouldn’t say out loud in conversation are OK to say because you’re sitting behind a computer screen,” says Kimberly Kaye, 26, an arts writer in New York. She was surprised when friends who had politely discussed health-care reform over dinner later grew much more antagonistic when they continued the argument online.”

There have been old school “acquaintances” that have friended me who I have ignored because I don’t want to know what they are having for dinner or that they just reached stage six in Farmville. We barely talked in school, why would I care about ANY of that? Apparently the reporter from the WSJ agrees:

“My question is this: If we didn’t call each other on the phone every time we ate before, why do we need the alerts now?”

According to the article there is a new phenomena something called “FACEBOOK FATIGUE”.

“Like many people, I’m experiencing Facebook Fatigue. I’m tired of loved ones—you know who you are—who claim they are too busy to pick up the phone, or even write a decent email, yet spend hours on social-media sites, uploading photos of their children or parties, forwarding inane quizzes, posting quirky, sometimes nonsensical one-liners or tweeting their latest whereabouts.”

While I agree with many of the points the article makes, Facebook does have its uses. I get to see pix of my favorite Grand Nephew growing up that I would otherwise not get to see unless at holiday time. It’s also great for getting the word out about important issues that affect our country like upcoming elections. I have also been glad to keep tabs on sick friends via their spouses Facebook updates. And to be fair, when you read the article in the WSJ, they do admit the good things. I just wanted to give you all the points to ponder.

Just a thought, I caught, flying by. What do you think?

Comcast cable is incredibly expensive, that is if you want to get anything worth watching. I have one TV in my upstairs that has 70 channels and out of those channels there are shopping channels, spanish channels, sports channels, local TV access, prayer channels (and some I am probably forgetting) all of which I never watch. They took away MSNBC and the weather channel from this basic line up and that stinks. I heard that they were going to take away c-span until someone made a fuss. But ha! c-span doesn’t always come in very well, so I guess they got us in the end.

What I want to know is why can’t we purchase the channels we want –you know, so many channels for so much money and we get to choose which ones we want? Well, sonny, it ain’t gonna happen — so I’ve been told by the cable company. I think it has to do with advertising revenue. 

Way-back-when, when digital cable first came out, I got sucked into digital for my downstairs TV and got addicted to the remote that brings up the guide. I love that thing. I gotta admit that is a great feature. When I first got into digital it was a special price. They didn’t tell us how much cable would go up after the special offer expired. I should have asked first. Caveat emptor and all that. Now I’m addicted to the remote and I not sure I could go back because of the conversion to digital anyway. Around that same time I bundled my internet into the deal for high-speed access. So, now I am beholden to them for that service as well and I have to say I wish I’d never done it. I have had so many problems with cable and internet that the cable guys know my house and the kind of coffee I serve. They know the way to the bathroom without me telling them and even feel comfortable yelling to me that we’re out of TP. (well, it’s not that bad but you get my point) Every time someone on the street has something done like they have a cable or internet problem, we have an issue as well. There were some new houses built not far from me and they all had to have cable and phone and electricity put in, so of course, we had problems.

The video on demand feature is a whole other issue. Half the time the thing doesn’t work properly and I am forever on the phone asking them to send a signal because the service has timed out. If I hadn’t heard such horror stories about dish and direct TV service I would have changed long ago besides, I don’t think there is much difference in the price you pay for service, so there’s not much point to it.

The other thing that bugs the crap out of me are the premium channel movies. Most of the choices suck. Remember when we all used to say, “I’ll wait and watch that on showtime when it comes out.” Not anymore. Mostly all Showtime and HBO are good for now is their own original programming. There are some good old movies that are in the free movies category which can be fun to watch but they are all old films. To watch a new movie you have to pay for it. There are some titles that are relatively inexpensive, and it is cheaper and easier than having to rent and you don’t have to return the DVD or worry about late fees but there are just as many really good movies that are around $6.99 and that’s a ripoff — especially since I used to get those new movies through HBO or Showtime etc. That makes me mad. I could get rid of Showtime but if I did that there are some channels in the 100′s I would lose because they are bundled in. What a racquet.

I have looked into other options besides Comcast and where I live it’s Comcast or nothing. And that pisses me off, too. Because I don’t have another option for Cable. Aas to why we can just choose the cable company we want to work with, well, I think it has to do with territories or something.

I could download movies off the net, but you have to wary of viruses. I could watch movies on my computer but that would defeat the purpose of having a larger TV downstairs and you have to deal with the buffering, which takes forever sometimes (remember my internet service is through Comcast, which sucks too.). I could go the Netfix or Redbox route but then there is an automatic charge on my credit card for a movie which– while it seems a good deal, runs up your credit card and you end up spending way more on a movie (that is if you don’t pay your bill in full) than you would if you just rented the movie or saw it through on demand. Plus, I just don’t want to create even one way for my info to get stolen or have it be used to know more about me. There is always the library, and I have gotten movies there, but mostly they just don’t have the latest releases.

Terribly negative aren’t I? Sorry. I guess I’m just cranky that I have to do any of this when I pay a lot of good money for cable and on top of it, the service sucks. What a racquet.

 I told you this was a rant. I’m done now. Soap box is yours.

Just a thought I caught flying by, what do you think?

THoughtCatcher’S HaLLowEEn FoG MiX  – #2

traCK 1.  The Day The Earth Stood Still – Bernard Herman
tRACk 2.  Gort  [from The Day The Earth Stood Still] - Bernard Herman
TRacK 3.  It Came from Outer Space] – Dick Jacobs & His Orchestra
tRACk 4.  Thing From Another World, The – Main Theme City Of Prague Philharmonic
TracK 5.  Frozen Neptune – Russ Garcia And His Orchestra, The Russell Garcia Orchestra
TRAck 6.  Outer Limits [Control Voice Introduction] – Vic Perrin
TRACK 7.  Outer Limits (Main Title) – Dominic Frontiere & the ABC Television Orchestra
traCK 8. One Step Beyond – Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Harry Lubin
TraCK 9.  Forbidden Planet – Louis and Bebe Barron
TRacK 10. On The Dark Side Of The Moon – Frank Comstock
TrAcK 11.  Them! [theme from Them!]- Warner Bros. Orchestra
TracK 12. Psycho “the Murder”- 101 Strings Orchestra
TRACK 13.  Curse of the Werewolf: Prelude – Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
TRAck 14. Tales From The Darkside Donald Rubenstein, Erica Lindsay
TrACK 15.  The Shining Theme - 101 Strings Orchestra
TRaCK 16.  A Nightmare on Elm Street Theme – 101 Strings Orchestra
traCK 17.  Sydney’s Lament (From Scream) – Marco Beltrami

The mix below is a list I put together for a Halloween party or for any of you out there who love  Halloween as I do, this is a mix you can listen to year round. Some songs are genuinely spooky, some are Halloween-like, some are just twisted and I was amused. At the bottom of the list are some that didn’t make the cut in terms of creating a list that seems to work well together and flow but are great tracks none the less. There are some songs like Thriller that I deliberately left off the list. I wanted to try and find some that didn’t appear on most lists and Thriller shows up on most of them and I wanted to add my own pinch of spider dust to the mix and spice up the “feast”. So here we go! 

THoughtCatcher’S HaLLowEEn FoREver MiX

traCK 1.  (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
tRACk 2.  Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding – Elton John
TRacK 3. Sanctum Sanctorum – The Damned (a very atmospheric tune)
tRACk 4.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme – Nerf Herder
TracK 5.  Hell’s Bells – AC/DC
TRAck 6.  Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
TRACK 7.  Cry Little Sister – Gerard McMann – Lost Boys Soundtrack
traCK 8. Pet Sematary – The Ramones (yes, that’s the way THEY spell cemetary on the CD)
TraCK 9.  Runnin’ with the Devil – Van Halen
TRacK 10. Transylvania Concubine - Rasputina
TrAcK 11.  Bela Lugosi’s Dead – Bauhaus
TracK 12. People are Strange – Echo and the Bunnyman’s version
TRACK 13.  Planet Claire – B-52′s
TRAck 14.  Everyday is Halloween – Ministry
TrACK 15.  Devil Inside – INXS
TRaCK 16.  They’re Coming to Take Me Away – Napoleon’s Ghost
traCK 17.  Intruder – Peter Gabriel
TracK 18.  Excitable Boy – Warren Zevon

- BOne-uS TrACk S -

Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones
Abracadabra- Steve Miller Band
People are Strange – The Doors
Spooky – Atlanta Rhythm Section
Black Magic Woman – Santana
Moondance – Van Morrison
Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
Devil in My Car – B-52′s
Ghost Town – The Specials
Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo
Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers

I hope you liked the list and I also take suggestions if there are any that should be added to either the spooky lists or this party list.

Just a  thought I caught flying by – what do you think?

OCTOBER is:

ALL HALLOWEEN — ALL THE TIME!

Because….Halloween is my one of my favorite holidays! (see the THIS IS HALLOWEEN October 2009 post it should explain a lot.) If you get a chance, do check out my other  Halloween 2008 posts. There you will find some info on the history of  Halloween and also an entry for a great Halloween soundtrack to play for your “guests” listening pleasure. You can also see some other photos…maybe get some good ideas of your own!

Every year I decorate my yard with as many cool Halloween decorations as I can. I even go to the Halloween after sales so I can get the best deals and add to my collection for next year. And while we don’t seem to have as many kids coming around there are still some that expect a great show, so I do my best.

 I gather dried flowers and interesting weeds and branches big and small – just enough to create a graveyard scene. I also try to create a theme to work off of so it doesn’t get boring from year to year. Halloween 2008 was all about spiders complete with a giant web and a giant stuffed spider. On this page you can see some of the photos I took to get some idea of what the scene looked like. This year’s theme is all about bones and skeletons.

I try to only do the basic set up before Halloween night so that everyone in the neighborhood knows I am creating a spooky scene but still is surprised when the night comes. One thing I found as I have done this is that it’s key to have proper lighting. At the after Halloween sales I have bought those small electric tea lights and the pumpkin lights that flash different colors so that I can “light” my scenes properly. Like most people my yard is set up so that visitors have enough light to see as they come to my door on all other occasions which presents somewhat of a problem as it is TOO bright for the correct Halloween mood. For this problem I have taken to shutting down my spotlight and also covering my outdoor fixtures in orange cellophane which is inexpensive and does the trick nicely.

Last year I revamped some old tricks I learned growing up to add a tactile addition to me scenes …something trick or treaters could touch. I turned an old rubber glove in side out and filled it with sand, then put it in the fridge for an hour so that it would be cold and clammy. Next I made up some cold japanese spaghetti (it’s thicker than regular spaghetti). Next I added a few drops of vegetable oil to make it slick, plus some salsa for for that “blood and guts” effect. I also added some cold peeled grapes and some cold peeled plum tomatoes to simulate slimy eyeballs.

This year I have jello molds that look like a human heart and another that is in the shape of a brain, which I will fill with Jello (cherry and grape). Then I will and add plastic bugs and gummy worms so that they stick out and look really bug infested. I also found a nother neat trick online using heads of white cauliflower in them inside jars filled with water, they look just like brains…or if you get a cauliflower that is just beginning to mould, it will have black spot and that will add another realistic effect to the presentation. You can then lable the jar with things like Frankenstein’s brain or some other equally familiar and creepy name.

I have also found a great use for plastic shopping bags. I make ghosts out of them. You ca see an example of one in the picture above. Start out with a ball of newspaper and wrap it up in a white plastic shopping bag, if you have to do it a few more times so the print doesn’t show, that’s okay, you’ll just have a bigger ghost. Then you can get a white plastic garbage bag (one that’s used for a kitchen trash can, or if you have happened to go shopping at a store that uses large white shopping bags during the year, save them they come in handy!) and cut it down the sides. Slip that over the ball you created. Take out the drawstrings (if there are any) and cut the bottom edges so that they are no longer straight but more  befitting s ghost. Next take another shopping bag (for this part you can re use one that maybe is only half white, the other side may be imprinted with logos) and cut a few strips so that you can tie one around the “neck of the ghost. Next if you are a gardener you may a have a few bamboo garden stakes no longer in use, go ahead and slip it under the larger garbage bag (or body of the ghost) and poke it into the bottom of the ball. Then poke the other ned into the ground where you want to place you ghost. Next ties one of the strips around the neck of the ball to hold everything together and ta da one large ghost. The plastic is very eerie and catches the wind nicely. It make a great effect when lit properly.

These are just some of the things I have done over the years to create my Halloween scenes, and I’ll be adding more in the future.  If you have some other quick and easy ideas for homemade props, I’m always open to ideas, please share.

Just a thought I caught passing by….what do you think?

Back then, the Clinton Administration didn’t have as many physicians on their side and they certainly didn’t have the pharmaceuticals companies but that’s changing. More and more doctors have seen how our broken health care system has effected their patients, their practices, their livelihood and in some cases (I’m willing to bet) their personal lives. They now know something has to be done. Malpractice insurance is a big part of the problem.

According to this article, Is there a Doctor in the House? written by Marielena Zuniga, an award-winning writer, and long-time contributor to Best for Women magazine:

http://www.gfwc.org/images/gfwc/imageuploads/Zuniga_1_lack_of_obstetricians.pdf

In the United States, ob-gyns pay one of the highest liability insurance premiums of any medical specialty, second only to neurosurgeons, and are sued an average of three times during their careers.

In some states a pregnant woman can’t find an ob-gyn to deliver her baby or she has to travel miles to find one. And that’s not all, some hospitals have shut down their maternity units altogether. One of the biggest culprits in this broken health care system of ours  is the amount of non-economic damages that can be charged in malpractice suits. It’s huge. According to Zuniga’s article:

While the birthrate in the Philadelphia area remains steady, 14 hospitals in the area have closed their maternity units, three in one year alone. Each closure puts more pressure on remaining hospitals for service, increasing the chances that they, too, will stop providing care.

In addition, more experienced American ob-gyns are leaving their practices, retiring at an average age of 48.

Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale University
School of Medicine, gave up the obstetrics part of her work, and now provides only gynecological services as part of a group practice in New Haven, Connecticut. During a five-year period, she saw annual liability insurance rates jump from $32,000 to $90,000 per doctor

According to an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) survey, almost 70 percent of ob-gyns have made changes to their practice because of the lack of available or affordable medical liability insurance, including reducing the number of high-risk patients they care for. In addition, 7 to 8 percent have stopped practicing obstetrics altogether.

One solution is setting a cap (limit) on the amount of non-economic damages a for which a victim can sue. I’m not against suing especially if the doctor is clearly at fault. But what people fail to realize is that while they want restitution and justice if they ask for exorbitant amounts of money it hurts not only the doctor at fault, but other doctors as well because insurance rates go up for everyone in that area of medicine. This may not be the best or only answer but can’t we try it like these states did?

Since capping non-economic damages at $250,000, California has had one of the most stable medical liability systems in the country. Since then, some states have followed, like Texas, where landmark reforms have cut in half claims and lawsuits against doctors and hospitals in most counties. After a loss of 14 obstetricians from 2001 to 2003, Texas has since gained 163.

On June 20, 2009 CBS News published an article on their website:
Poll: Most Back Public Health Care Option
CBS News/New York Times Survey Shows Most Americans Approve Of Government Intervention In Health Care Coverage

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/19/opinion/polls/main5098517.shtml

The article states:

Americans have more defined views on whether insurers should cover anyone who applies for coverage, regardless of whether they have a pre-existing medical condition or a prior illness, with 75 percent approving of this proposal and just 17 percent disapproving. Even if the cost of their health insurance rose, 56 percent would still approve of this measure.

And I, for one, think this would level the playing field a lot. If insurers were made to cover a certain number pre-existing cases, then the cost would be shared by all. Yeh, I know insurance companies are in business to make money but so far they have had everything all their own way.

Just a thought I caught passing by what do you think?

“….[This film] regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made. It is regularly featured in the “bottom 100″ list on the Internet Movie Database, and was also featured in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film Festival. The cast includes an 8-year-old Pia Zadora playing the role of one of the Martian children.”

It was even vaulted to a kind of popularity (notariety?) when it was spoofed on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. You can find clips of it on youtube. (The below quote comes from Wikipedia)

“The film took on newfound fame in the ’90s after being featured on an episode of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. It became a holiday staple on the Comedy Central cable channel in the years following its 1991 premiere, helping it become one of the series’ most popular episodes…”

If you have never seen the kitchy, cult classic Santa Claus Conquerors the Martians and curious because you are a sci-fi nut like me click here: SCCTM clip on youtube. You can decide for yourself. You are also invited to take the “Love it or Hate it!” poll at the bottom of the post.

As I’ve explained  [See prior post, Major Matt Mason, sci-fi influences] my love of sci-fi has been with me for a long time, so that film was tailor made for me. I was also a child of the 60′s and was attracted to anything that had to do with outer space. I remember that my brothers and I sat enthralled in front of the TV watching that film and couldn’t look away. At that time, most of us had a fear of, and fascination with, martians. This was  mysteriously but firmly instilled in us (Maybe this fear/fascination was added to the Flintstone’s vitamins we took or maybe it was absorbed into our heads along with our Breck shampoo.) 

In any case, my brothers and I loved the story for a lot of reasons. We thought the attack robot TORG was scary (now he’s just silly and we all agree has a really, really cheesie costume.) We loved the concept of the martian’s food pills. In fact, my brothers and I used to pretend that M&M’s were martian food pills. We thought that was sooo cool and got many a belly ache from eating too many “martian food pills” (M&M’s.) We thought the martian the sleep spray, which put the unhappy, restless martian kids to sleep was a neat invention.  And because the martian characters wore green, had “green skin” (read: really bad green make-up) and had antennas we thought the were real live martians. The martians obviously had some kind of beef with Santa else why else would Santa be forced to conquer them, So naturally we were hooked and had to see what would happen…would Santa win out against the bad ol’ martians? (I bet you can guess!) Suspense, Santa, martians, Christmas, space travel, flying saucers and seeing the real, live north pole on TV…what more could a child of the 60′s want in a TV program?

In much the same way The Wizard of Oz was always shown at Easter, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was always shown every Thanksgiving. It became a tradition to watch it. In a way, for us kids, it came to signify the start of the Christmas season. Rudolf, Christmas carols, Christmas vacation and the Sears and Service Merchandise catalogs were not far behind. Christmas day and new toys would be coming soon, too! 

I love this film and watch it every year. I know it might sound a bit far fetched, but in some small way, it makes me realize how great it is to be human and how privileged I am to be an “earthling”. There are lots of things on earth that you can’t find elsewhere. We’re lucky to have such lovely traditions and should cherish them.

For me, the film also brings back that innocent and childlike sense of wonder, that expectation of a happy day spent with family and the magic and mystery of Christmas.

Just a thought I caught flying by…what do you think?

PLOT BASICS: The story involves martian characters Momar (“Mom Martian”) and Kimar (“King Martian”) who are worried that their children are watching too much silly Earth television, like station KID-TV’s interview with Santa Claus in his workshop at the North Pole. Their children don’t eat or sleep well. So the martian leaders consult the ancient Martian sage Chochem, and are told that the children of Mars are distracted and restless because they aren’t allowed to ever have fun. Chochem says that the only way to help the martian children is to actually give them more freedom to play and have fun. To do this, they need a martian Santa Claus. The Martian leaders decide to zip down to earth to kidnap Santa Claus and bring him to Mars to make toys for the kids.  Earth children Betty and Billy Foster are also kidnapped along with Santa and brought to Mars and it’s up to Santa to figure out a way to help the martian children and still get home in time for Christmas.

View This Poll

Major Matt Mason figure in origonal packaging

“Major Matt Mason was an astronaut action figure created by Mattel, an who lived and worked on the moon. When introduced in 1966, the figures were initially based on design information found in Life Magazine, Air Force Magazine, and other aviation- and space-interest periodicals. Later, the line would attempt to transition into the realm of science fiction.”

The toy system included four astronaut action figures, sharing a common body molded of a rubber-like material over a wire armature, with a separately-attached head and a removable space helmet based on early NASA helmets. The wire frame suffered from metal fatigue and the toy had a limited life span as a result. Each figure was also painted differently and had a separate head for each character. Mason had a dark brown crew cut and a white suit; Sgt. Storm had blond hair and a red suit; civilian astronaut Doug Davis had a yellow suit and brown hair; Lt. Jeff Longwas African-American, with a blue suit (a decade before Guion Bluford became the first American black man to orbit the Earth). (collector’s note: First-year Mason figures produced in 1966 are identified by the blue straps on his space-suit. These straps were painted black in subsequent years.)”

 

“The primary alien of the sci-fi period, Captain Lazer, [Editors Note: **we had one of these and he was cool!] was a giant who towered over the astronauts. The character was originally depicted as a mysterious and possibly hostile entity, but later appeared to be the astronauts’ ally against other, more hostile extraterrestrials. The figure had glowing red eyes, a glowing breastplate, and a permanently attached laser pistol in his hand. Transparent purple plastic attachments came with the figure that could alter the size and appearance of the weapon.  The figure’s “costume” was dark blue metalflake with silver accessories and trim. Although the head, arms and legs could rotate, it was not as pose able as the astronaut figures, and was made out of hard plastic. It has been suggested that the figure was either intended for a different toy series, or may have been purchased from a Japanese toy line. The tooling for the Captain Laser body was later used to make large-size Battlestar Galactica action figures, including Colonial Warrior and the Cylon Centurion.”

“Callisto was a Jovian [alien] with a transparent green head, the same size as the astronauts, while Scorpio was a battery powered, purple and pink coloured, insect-like alien with a glowing head. There was also another insect-like alien called Or, who came with an “Orbitor” flying vehicle but did not make it beyond the prototype stage.”

“Also in the toy-line were a three-story “space station” (actually a moon base), various lunar surface and flying vehicles, mostly battery powered; and various accessories, variously powered by springs, pneumatics, strings, or batteries. What made the early run of the accessories appealing was that the designs were based directly on concepts promoted and demonstrated by NASA and the various contractors involved in America’s “Race to the Moon” in the 1960s. The “Moon Suit” and the “Space Station”, as well as the “Jet Pack” were actually seen as concept drawings in such magazines as Look and Life. [Editor's note: **Hey- John Robinson from Lost in Space had a Jet pack!] The laser weapons were copied from designs of science fiction shows of the time.”

To see how cool he really was absolutely you have to watch this commercial. You’ll get to see some of the accessories, like the space station (which my very lucky cousin had and the space crawler, which my big brother had.

“Mattel dropped the line in the early 1970s as interest in the space program declined; however the figure is still fondly remembered, and the collector’s market for this line of toys can demand top dollar for figures and accessories in as mint condition as possible. [Editor's Note: * Don't I wish I still had mine!!] One such mint figure of the Major has reportedly accompanied several US Space Shuttle flights as an “unofficial crewman”. It has been confirmed that the figure did fly on John Glenn’s Shuttle flight in 1998.”

“On Dark Shadows, the popular gothic soap opera of the late 60′s and early 70′s, David Collins had the space station in his room at Collinwood. Major Matt Mason action figures were also referenced in the pilot episode of Stargate SG-1, in which Samantha Carter defends her femininity saying, “I used to play with dolls as a kid”. This prompts Kowalski to reply, “G.I. Joe?”, and she responds, “No, Major Matt Mason.” [Editor's Note: * See I told you girls liked them too!] Ferretti chimes in with, “Did you have that cool backpack thing that made him fly?”

Alpha 7

If you are also an avid fan you will want to visit these sites, snowcrest.net a MMM fan site I found and another called bigredtoybox.com. Later the Outer Space Men series of toys came out and I had the leader, Alpha 7  the little martian type guy, who I loved. If you want to see what I mean watch this Outer Space Men commercial . The info below came from a fansite Outer Space Men fansite link. If you really gotta have one, here is a link to an Outer Space Men fan site store.

As I was researching Christmas TV commercials (see previous post) I stumbled upon all the toy commercials from that time period. Toys I had or my cousins had. It brought back alot of memories and again I can still chant some of the jingles and the taglines like “if it’s kenner it’s fun!”

This post is going to get rather listy…and though I have tried to keep the lists segregated in separate pages they will sneak out from time to time.

Toys we had and the commercials that went with them:

• One of the first Lego commercials (Who didn’t (doesn’t) have Legos?…can’t you just play with them for hours?
• Kenner Easy Curl  (Still have mine in the origional box)
• Kenner SSP Smash-Up Derby (Love these, and also the real smash up derby,
  my pop and I laught so hard whever we get to see one of these events. Don’t know why, just do.)
• Lucy Colorforms ( I had a Miss Piggy set too, come to think of it it might still be packed away somewhere.)
• Operation (I was good at this, I had a steady hand!)
• Light Bright ( I love the song that goes with the commercial, dunno why, just do.)
• Battleship (You sank my battleship….shhhhh!)
• Slinky (I loved these they were mesmerizing…>sigh< they had a neat sound and smell all thier own.
• The Game of Life Board Game
• Susie Homeaker Toys ( I had an oven and a fridge. They were turquiose.
  My favorite cousin Diane had a vanity and I always wanted it.)
• Perfection  (Always made me jump when it popped, but I was good at it.)
• 6 Million Dollar Man Bionic Grip 
• GI Joe Stolen Idol Helicopter (He came with a scary snake and a “real” jewel for treasure..played with these after out Major Matt Mason toys broke)
• 6 Million Dollar ManAction Figure (He had this cool bionic eye thingie)
• Kenner’s spirograph and Easy Bake Oven (I loved Spirograph, still do!
  Does anyone remember Spiro-tot?)

Toys we didn’t have but…
commercials that bring back memories:

• Hasbro’s Snow Man Cone Maker
• Kenner’s Ice Bird
• Slinky Pull Toys on Wheels (They were so goofy. It’s funny how something so simple can amuse a kid >sigh<
• Mystery Date Board Game (No comment, I ‘ll leave to fun to someone else.)
• Skittle pool starring the Get Smart Guy

Toys I wish I could have found commercials for:

• Rock em’ Sock em’ Robots (You knocked my block off!)
• Mousetrap (I loved watching the ball travel)
• Schaper- Cootie (We played this a lot at Grandma’s house along with Don’t Spill the Beans, Don’t Break the Ice)
• Twister
• Which, Witch? Board Game (One of my all time fav games, still wish I could find one somewhere, got any ideas?)

Please help me find a good copy of this game!

I had fun doing this…guess I am just a kid at heart…ya think?

Just a thought I caught flying by… what do you think?

Growing up there were sights and sounds which “told” me Christmas was near. And since I grew up having a TV around, much of this was precipitated by Christmas specials and yes, commercials. Part of me feels sheepish admitting it because it’s not that there weren’t family and religious traditions aplenty…there were…but that’s another post. It’s just that when I was growing up not everyone had a TV. We were lucky and we watched it whenever we were allowed.

Unlike now,  Christmas songs and store decorations didn’t start pushing Christmas on the public even before Halloween had happened. Maybe it’s me, but back then, Christmas just didn’t seem like the make-it-or-break-it cash cow that today’s retailers seem need to carry them through the next year.

Growing up, when the Christmas TV commercials came out, we knew the shiny, bright displays of interesting, must-have toys, warm and fuzzy type Christmas carols and catalogs from Sears, Service Merchandise, J.C. Penny, and Montgomery Ward would soon follow. As children, one of our traditions was to be the first to look through the Service Merchandise catalog when it came in the mail. We’d go straight to the toy section, marks-a-lot in hand, to circle the toys we most wanted. Back then there wasn’t a plethora of advertisements and catalogs to choose from. So when they arrived it was a big deal. I get so many now that I get overwhelmed as I try to wend my way through the stacks I’ve had to create–just to get to the kitchen. 

At the time, Christmas commercials also heralded the arrival of special programing, which still to this day brings back happy memories. I can still sing many of the jingles and, as in the case of The Andre Champagne Christmas Commercial , it introduced me to one of my favorite Christmas songs, The carol of the Bells. Whenever we saw it we’d each race to get a glass so we could toast each other and clink glasses –just like in the commercial.

And then there was the exciting CBS Special program promo that would announce the start of a  special Christmas program. Merry Christmas Charley Brown was always sponsored by Dolly Madison Zingers. Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer became synonymous with the Norelco Santa commercial which always reminded me of the snowman who narrated the story and the way he moved through the snow. I can’t remember if  The Grinch who Stole Christmas had a sponsor but it might very well have been the Coke-a-Cola commercial  that featured the song I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing. To this day, it never fails to make me feel all warm a fuzzy. I can also remember learning about the concept of a gift certificate through the Classic 1970′s McDonald’s gift certificate commercial . It’s the one where the little boy toddles down stairs to the Christmas tree in his footie pajamas to put a McDonald’s 50 cent gift certificate on Santa’s cookie plate. As the boy heads up the stairs he hears Santa’s Ho Ho Ho and turns around to see him. The look on his face matched my own surprise and wonder. If I had any doubts about Santa being real (which I didn’t) that commercial cemented my faith.

But the commercial that was my absolute favorite (the Norelco Santa is my second) was the Toys-R-Us animated commercial . I can still sing it’s song and until I rediscovered it as an adult, something always seemed to be missing.
To this day it brings back the heightened expectation of a happy day spent with family, cozy fires, good will to all, yummy dinners, shiny, mysterious packages, snow on Christmas and the wonder and magic of it all.

Just a thought I caught flying by…what do you think?