Retro Thing

Does It Get More 80s Than A Le Clic Disc Camera?

Swatch showed the world of the 80s that fashion colors and reduced costs could turn a watch from a once-or-twice per lifetime purchase into a frivolous repeat buy. Cheapie cam company Keystone took a pastel page from Swatch's book and rolled out their Le Clic line of cameras; inexpensive cameras in fashion colors.

Pocket sized cameras weren't exactly a new idea in the late 80s, but spankin' new Kodak Disc technology meant that the cameras were easy to load, had a built in reusable flash (instead of disposable flash cubes), and a pleasing flat shape that your could easily slide into your Jordache Jeans. You could say the same about 110 cameras from the 70s too, but let's not quibble.

Keystone was serious when they launched the LeClic disc camera as a fashion forward cam. In 1986 at Astor Hall in the New York Public Library, Keystone invited 500 designers, retailers, and the fashion press to the unveiling, giving each one of the new Le Clic cameras. From the May 14th '86 Chicago Tribune:

"20 waiters dramatically came down the glorious, castle-like staircase of the historic library, each carrying silver trays. Instead of the expected hors d`oeuvres, the trays held film discs. Guests, quite naturally, grabbed the film and started shooting away."

Despite the relative crumminess of disc pictures (the negative was even smaller than 110 film, and the cameras weren't exactly kitted with precision optics), I remember the cameras being quite popular. Lots of the girls in my classes seeemed to always have a Le Clic somewhere in their voluminous Gucci knock-off purses. I imagine that the ubiquity of these cheap cameras encouraged more casual snapping, and therefore more memories captured for posterity (and grainy Throwback Thursdays on Facebook). The Le Clic was a great knock-around camera for young people. It's not like my old man was going to let me casually cart around his Canon AE-1 for spontaneous fun photos.

Now that we all have camera phones with unlimited "film" in our pockets all the time, it's easy to feel somewhat blasé about the Le Clic. I'm going to give the camera some credit for helping make photography breezy and fun, and capturing moments that otherwise may never have been.

Science Fiction Thimbles - From The Future!

Even around this house, these things are weird.

Like every kind of object in the world, there are collectors for thimbles. Of course, that crowd is going to create new collectibles for their own delight. If you asked me, I would have denied it, but I guess it makes a kind of sense that someone would create sci fi thimbles.

There's no year on the Dalek thimble. My guess would be the late 70s when the show was seeing a tremendous surge of interest thanks to Tom Baker's portrayal. The thimble is genuine ceramic, with a little gold trim on it. I could see it being a cherished little thing for someone's collection back then. The Dalek is slightly misshapen, as they often were in merchandise. They're such a weird shape, especially if you're barely attention.

The other thimble is even odder. It's just cheap cream-colored plastic. There's a very cheap-looking stamp of Max on the front, with "COKE" listed four times on the obverse. In red. In an unimaginative typewriter font. Clearly not an official product, instead clearly a cheap and odd cashing in on the late 80s fad. Which makes it all the more lovable.

I do love these two thimbles at the front of a shelf in my office. To me, they represent the breadth of sci-fi thimble making technology (as far as I know - I've got a lot more research to do). Not only can you show off your science fiction allegiances in your sewing basket, but you can tell everyone that you have your very own Dalek that helps keep all the little pricks away.

Ikea Discontinues Expedit, Puts Vinyl Fans Into A Spin

We've written before about the challenges of collecting vinyl - I've joked that those around us probably regard our hobby as a "lifestyle choice". There are the slings and arrows each of us face in trying to put together our ultimate music collection, but the problem that we all face is where to stow all of those damned records. They're large (okay... not along the Z axis), they're heavy, and you need to store them in a way that you can still read the spines.

Let's assume that you're beyond the ol' cinder bricks and glass blocks stage of storage solutions. You can of course build something perfect from scratch (provided that your significant other lets you touch power tools), but lots of us crave an out-of-the-box solution. Ikea's Expedit is ideal for storing a large record collection. The units are available in assorted arrangements of 12" x 12" cells - perfect for storing and browsing your favorite records.

Expedit has been much beloved by the vinyl collecting community, many going so far as to designing their listening rooms around multiple Expedit units. I have a 5 x 5 unit myself, and I can honestly say that it's  changed my life forever. For years Expedit has been the standard bearer in affordable vinyl storage, which is why Ikea's announcement that they were discontinuing the line came as such a blow.
Vinyl collectors were aghast. Vinyl is on its first upswing in many years, and this is the time Ikea chooses to cease production on the perfect solution so many of depend on? One of the deciding factors in my investing in Expedit furniture was that I could always get another piece to match it a few years down the road. My current Expedit is almost full, and soon I'll need to swell ranks with another unit. But I really really don't want to start hoarding furniture because now that Expedit is on the outs. What am I supposed to do?

While news of the the discontinue Expedit has traveled wide, what is less widely reported is Ikea's response. They say that while Expedit is going away, it'll be replaced by Kallax (which I keep mistyping as "klaxxon"). The new line will have the exact same vinyl-friendly compartments in the exact same sizes, and take the exact same weight. The only difference they say is that the slide profiles will be thinner and will be more rounded. Okay, that's a partial reprieve, but to my eye the thicker sides are what make Expedit look like real furniture instead of budgety slapped-together dorm room furnishings. The big shocker is that Ikea's new Kallax line is also quietly being introduced with the largest unit being four by four compartments. Expedit sports a five by five choice, and believe me, those extra rows make a huge difference. When you're shelving a lot of vinyl, you need that extra height to make the most of your stroage space. I'm sure we'll all find ways to stack multiple Kallax units, but it's sad to already have the perfect solution in place right now, and we're just expected to stand by helplessly as it disappears. Vinyl collectors are taking action. You can join the Facebook group "Rettet das Ikea Expedit Rega" (The Expedit extinction was first announced in German Ikea stores, hence the German Facebook page) where record enthusiasts are posting photos of how Expedit keeps their collections wrangled. Astonishingly, the page has garnered some 24,000 likes in just a month. Some hopeful fans have pointed out that the line changeover is happening on April 1st, and hope that this is merely an April Fool's gag... but that would definitely mean that Ikea is playing the long game.

It's nice for the vinyl crowd to be recognized by the furniture giant, but I stand with my Expedit brothers in voicing my unhappiness about the forced move to the new smaller Kallax. Those of us who have made the lifestyle choice to collect vinyl aren't ones to exactly welcome change.

Coke Introduces New Suicide Machine

On a recent visit to a burger joint, I spied a large touchscreen on the soda machine. The old dozen or so choices weren't enough. As more and more of these machines hit fast food establishments, the thirsty customer will be able to chose from over a hundred of different soft drink combos. You can get a Coke with a squirt of orange (a mix previously only available in Russia and Baltic countries), a confusing combo of Mello Yello and grape, etc.

When I was a thirsty kid and feeling nonconformist, I'd mix a "suicide".  This was rare because the soda fountains were seldom within reach. Remember, this is before limitless free self-serve refills. A suicide is when you take a little hit from each of the soda nozzles. You could end up with a mix of root beer, orange, Sprite, RC... All together in a mixture so volatile it might melt the bottom out of your wax paper cup.

For some reason, it was sort of a forbidden act. The lunch ladies at Ponderosa were convinced you were getting away with something when they spied you taking taking multiple hits off of the soda dispenser... and now Coke blatantly encourages this kind of behavior with what amounts to a jukebox for soda pop. Man... I used to be such a rebel.

The new machine is called Free Style, and they've been around since 2009. It's an impressive technical accomplishment. Instead of replacing only a few bags of syrup from time to time, there are dozens of little plug-in carts the vendor has to have on hand to snap in. To prevent this tragedy, there's a scary amount of carbonated thinking inside the machine. Not only does the machine notify the supplier when things are running low, but it also sends Coke data on trends of favorite drinks.

How long before the machine recognizes the fingerprints caressing its touchscreen, then automatically pours you a frosty cup of your fave suds? Your poor neighborhood bartender won't have a chance. I don't know if such a baffling variety of choices ultimately leads to more soda sales, all I can think about is that it must be hell for the clerks running the drive thru.

I'd say more, but I'm heading out to the patent office. I'm working on a machine that dispenses ten kinds of ice.

The Floppy Disks Preferred By Cookie Elves Who Use PCs

Occasionally a TV ad will update the image of Santa's workshop. Santa pushes aside his inkwell and quill pen to make way for a snazzy new computer - but that's just to help him put together his big trip once a year. What about the other elves in this world faced with logistical challenges all year round?

Keebler has been baking for more than a century, and today is the largest manufacturer of cookies and crackers. In addition to their own signature snacks, back in the 30s they were the first official baker of Girl Scout Cookies (they continue to bake the much coveted cookies today). Before that, the scouts' moms handled it all. Moms really are amazing, aren't they?

The Keebler elves first appeared in 1968 in animated commercials, and went on to be one of the most recognized advertising mascots in the world. We see the elves in the commercials craft each snack by hand, but we never saw any computers or automation. So my question is, how do they explain these floppy disks?

These green (not in the current ecological sense of the word) floppies are double-sided double-density 3.5" disks. The more common 1.44 megabyte HD format of "microfloppy" would come later. These hold a mere 720k. I'm tempted to look at what's on these discs, but I'm certain that the files have elaborate passwords like "ch33z-its" or "elfudge123".

Here's a typical Keebler commercial from the 80s.For voiceover nerds like myself, that's Peter Leeds as the coach elf, Paul Winchell (voice of Tigger & Gargamel) as "Buckets" the rookie, and Walker Edmiston as Ernie the Elf.

Even without looking at the contents of these discs, we can learn one important thing. These floppies come pre-formatted for DOS, which means that those frisky elves resolved the whole PC vs. Mac issue. These days they may have moved on to using tablet computers - tablets whose screens I imagine are constantly covered with tiny fudgy fingerprints - but at least at one point in the 80s we had DOS to thank for our Chips Deluxe and Van'chos.

Join The Bozo Army

I go back and forth wondering whether Bozo could return to television. Since Bozo's floppy feet didn't make tracks throughout the whole world, here are are few words about the concept. When TV was relatively new in the US, broadcasters looked for ways to entrance the kiddie set. Lot of times the station would just string together some old cartoons, but more ambitious shows employed a host; a sort of MC to speak directly to camera - or to an in-studio audience. It was really all down to the ability of that presenter (often an Uncle so-and-so or Captain this-and-such) to create something charming and popular, or somethineg amateurish and embarrassing.

Larry Harmon had performed as "Bozo the Clown" for a while when the idea struck him. He could franchise the Bozo concept - he'd help create a framework for a daily TV show starring "Bozo - the world's most famous clown". Harmon would train the clowns, provide the costume, even create a series of cartoons featuring the adventures of Bozo. Any TV channel could have their own home-spun Bozo, and of course every city knew that their Bozo was the best.

Here in Chicago, we were lucky enough to have Bozo on the air from the 60s until around the turn of the century. We were also lucky to have our Bozo genuinely be considered one of the best and most famous (Krusty the Clown's three-pack-a-day rasp is a direct lift from Chicago's Bozo). For as long as there's been standard def color TV, there's been Bozo on Chicago's airwaves.
Bozo lives on in some small merchandising effort, interest diminished since the show doesn't air anywhere anymore. In the 60s and 70s, there was of course far more stuff. One of my favorites is this cloth patch. No need to send in box tops and wait weeks - you could just buy your way into Bozo's good graces for 49 cents. Not only did you get an emblem patch (certified washable by the ominously named "American Institute of Laundering"), but you also got a tear-off membership card at the bottom.

Paying your four bits made you a Bozo Booster, as long as you promised to follow the rules on the back of the membership card. What's more important than eating all your veggies and obeying your parents? Rule #1 of course - your solemn oath to "watch the Bozo TV program faithfully". Goodness knows if the show were still on, I would.

RoboCop Reboot - Can The Bubble Bath Be Far Behind?

I haven't been paying much attention to the many needless remakes of classic films over the last few years. I did give a couple reboots a chance (Star Trek 2009; fun. Star Trek 2013; out of ideas already?), but for the most part the originals are just that... original. You can make the argument that the reboots create a new audience for movies that could use more attention. Ehhhh, maybe. I don't think that film producers enter any of these projects with the desire to honor the past. They want to make a buck now, and it's way easier when you're trading on an idea that was already a proven success.

A movie who's central theme has stubbornly eluded the makers of sequels and upgrades is 1987's RoboCop. I love that movie, and I'm not alone. Fans recently raised over $60,000 on Kickstarter to erect a 10 foot statue of the cyborg in RoboCop's fictional home town of Detroit. I'm still proud of having sneaked myself and a date into the film when we weren't yet quite old enough to see it. The sequel from a few years later was okay, but by RoboCop 3 the concept had been watered down to what felt like Saturday kiddie matinee filler. Robo's third outing was saddled with a PG-13 rating, likely in deference to the youthful audience who had watched the RoboCop cartoons that had run on TV for a number of years. Yes, a cartoon based on an R rated film that no kid should have seen.

In 1994, a live action RoboCop hit first-run syndicated TV. The series actually did come close in later episodes to understanding what made the original film so great. When you strip away the violence and the tech, at its heart RoboCop is a black comedy, a satire on the excesses of the 80s, and a world where high-priced executives are no better than the street thugs they're determined to wipe out.

RoboCop3, the various cartoons, and the TV series meant more tie-in merch on shelves than ever. I can understand an action figure line, model kits, video games, comics. Those all make a kind of sense. But bubbles and bubble bath? An allegorical fantasy about the triumph of human spirit against encroaching technology in a world that had lost its soul... immortalized by bubbles.

The bubble bath is just that. Pry off Robo's head and wash behind your ears. "RoboCop The Series Bubble Buddies" includes scented bubbles (long since evaporated), a bubble wand built into the cap of the bottle, and a "removable pocket pal". That's right. You can pull Robo off (complete with his flamethrower arm) the top of the bottle and stuff it in your pocket. Fun. He's your pal.

There's certain to be another flurry of merchandise around the new RoboCop film set for release in 2014 (A February release too - never a good sign). The trailer doesn't exactly inspire confidence (several shots owe a great debt to Iron Man). I'm certain that we'll have a lot more to say as the release comes closer, and we'll see more and more crazy merchandise hit store shelves. Will the new film inspire gear as low as the original film's bubble bath? Bubble bath?!?!?!

3D... No, Let's Be Honest... 2.5D Aquarium Backgrounds

When you add an aquarium to your space, you're creating a little world inside your own. I don't know what fish think about all day. I wonder what goes through their little waterlogged minds when The Great Flake Food God sprinkles dehydrated shrimp manna into the top of their universe. Such contemplations are why I always had an aquarium going through high school and college. Fish were very relaxing, but I was often concerned with how bored they might be.

Fortunately the aquarium shop had all manner of decor to spice up their world - or least placate the owner. I've often joked that having fish is like having moving wallpaper. Cluttering up their environment with plastic bubbling treasure chests (with permanently attached skin diver) and wrecked pirate ships seems like an unfair foisting of kitsch on expressionless creatures that really can't show their disdain.

Just like in a miniature movie, not only could you add kitschy props to your aquarium, but there were also many backgrounds to chose from to cover the back of the tank. Weird greenish-blue metallics, photos of sharks and other much more exotic fish than what's in your tank (make your own fish green around the gills with envy!), and my personal favorite - these quasi-3D dioramas.

Made of stiff plastic, there is some dimensionality molded into this aquarium backdrop. Vacuforming has never looked lovelier. The printed-on scene of an underwater Greek (Roman? Atlantean?) ruin is augmented by some details popping out of the 2D plane of the picture. On top of it all there are immobile fish hiding among the printed greenery. Makes you wonder why you should go through the trouble of putting together a whole aquarium, when the printed-on variety are nearly as relaxing as the real thing.

There's no brand name here, but my guess is Penn-Plax. I found reference to a remarkably similar backdrop, except this time with an Oriental theme. What were the instructions given to the artists who created these? "Imagine ancient conquering civilization, finally bested by the ancient and eternal oceans... oh yeah - and put some giant fish in there."

Penn Plax no longer has these pseudo 3D backdrops (I still use mine to cover up ugly-looking equipment in my office), though they do have a massive selection of in-tank plastic plants and sculptures. Before you ask - yes they still have the plastic treasure chest with bobbing diver. Sounds like I need to set up the tank again.

link:

Aquarium dealership that still sells these 3D backdrops

Transparent Typewriter; Perfect For Ghostwriting

I saw this totally clear typewriter at one my favorite Chicago haunts; American Science and Surplus. They traffic a lot of odds and ends there, and even they didn't know what this was. I initially thought it was some salesman demo or a "test shot" (a term from the plastics industry when they create a transparent prototype to spot any molding problems), or perhaps yet another late 90s iMac tribute. Then it ocurred to me that just like our popular post on a transparent TV set, this typewriter must be for use in jails.

Turns out that this typewriter is the Swintec 2410CCi Clear Cabinet Electronic Typewriter. Their tagline is "clearly, the smart choice" which is more than just cute marketing. The transparent case is so that prisoners can't use the typewriter as a place to stash contraband. Even the ribbon cartridge is a specially manufactured clear one. Also there are as few metal parts as possible so that prisoners cannot pull off pieces to "convert" for other purposes (i.e. impromptu "shank").

Even though most clacky typewriters have been silenced forever, Swintec still does good business on these $200 typewriters even today. Prisoners can buy the unit through the commissary with money that's usually sent in from the outside. Many prisons offer some sort of limited computer access today, but there are those who prefer to write up their legal documents and correspondence (called "kites") on an old typewriter – which is in point of fact not that old. This model was developed and began manufacture in the early 2000s.

Even if you're not writing your prison novel while doing "Buck Rogers Time" (a sentence with a parole date way off in the future), you can get one of these typewriters. This clear model is available to the general public on Swintec's website. General manager Ed Michael of Swintec says that plenty of people on the outside buy the clear typewriter "because it's pretty".

link:

Swintec website

Artful Animations That Teach Architecture

The UK's Open University has released a series of short and witty cartoons called Design in a Nutshell that serve up a bite-sized introduction to architecture. They cover an eclectic mix of Gothic Revivalism (with Goths naturally), Arts & Crafts, Bauhaus, Modernism, Postmodernism, and a chrome plated look at American Industrial Design. 

Instead of spending the next 15 minutes watching cat videos, you can learn something cool about the buildings around you. Well, unless you're an architect. In that case, the cat videos might be a nice break from the drudgery of designing Supermax prisons.

REVIEW: Ice Phone - Converts Your Modern Cell Phone To A Retro Desk Phone

When cell phones hit hard, add-on novelty retro handsets hit the scene to remind folks of what phones used to look like; a friendly shape that cradles the face, rather than a slat of plastic that's like talking into a pack of cigarettes. Like all novelties, these handsets came in varying qualities, and all proclaimed "RETRO" in loud bold letters on the package. but now there's a retro phone handset with a desktop stand that's a handsome addition to any modern/retro-modern desk; the Ice Phone.

The first thing you'll notice is that the handset has a nice matte finish - a little bit grippy so it won't slip out of your hands. Plug the coily cord into your phone's heapdhone jack, and install the free app. Next time someone gives you a jingle, click a single button on the handset to answer. Not only can you pinch the handset against your shoulder to leave your hands free (an old habit that makes my chiropractor cringe...), but you can also access the screen of your phone while speaking. You can slip the whole cell phone/handset plugged into your pocket too - no additional batteries. Just fish into your inner pocket to get out a full-size retro handset and enjoy the stares on the bus.

The desktop stand completes the look. Slip in your phone (slots on the bottom let you snake through your recharger cable), run the app, and you've got a working animated rotary dial on your touchscreen. You phone can merrily charge up while waiting for the next call. In the past, I found that getting the handset alone left you with no good place to keep it, but the Ice Phone's base is both handy and completes the aesthetic nicely. Converting a cell phone into looking like an old bakelite jobber puts a smile on my face every time I lift the handset to my ear.

The Ice Phone comes in a number of bright colors as well as classic black. The back of the box lists other advantages including enhanced call clarity (that was true for me), the stand is at a good angle for video calls (I don't know about that... I avoid video calls because I always end up looking like a goon) and that using the headset eliminates almost 100% of the bozo rays going directly into your brain (okay, I'm paraphrasing a bit). It's also fairly agnostic. The stand can fit a number of different phones (I'm using my large-ish HTC phone in the photo), and the app is available for both iPhone and Android. The handset works with computers & tablets too which is handy for better-sounding Skype calls.

My Ice Phone came from Mobile Fun in the UK. I expected a cute novelty that I'd use for a little while, but it's turned out to be a cute novelty that I like a lot. In the summer months I move my "office" into my dining room, and it makes me smile to actually answer work calls on an official looking retro phone. I'll bet my cell phone gets a kick out of dressing up like its great great great great great grandfather.

link:

Mobile Fun - and it's on clearance!

Taking On Coke's Classic Curvy Glassware

The profile of a Coke bottle and the classic distinctly-shaped Coke glass are (seemingly) eternal icons of American nostalgia. Many retro pop-culture icons are tied to a specific time period; the Elvis mic, a disco ball, Rubik's cube... but the Coke glass represents a sort of American uber-nostalgia. Coke has spent millions protecting and propagating their iconography for decades, and small wonder. Few brands traffic in universally recognizable and perpetual nostalgia. Anyone who sees a Coke glass is transported to their first childhood sips of Coke, whenever that may have been.

Other beverages have tried taking a sip from Coke's marketing efforts, down to creating their own distinctive curvy glassware. Remember any of these?

In the 60s, 7 Up wasn't doing too well against cola drinks. Anything non-cola was unhip, uncool - the kind of thing your parents drank because it was less gassy than Coke. The slogan was an innocuous "you like it, it likes you". 7 Up went to change the game when they took on the very concept of cola directly, and Coke specifically. 7 Up manufactured inverted Coke glasses, and emblazoned them with "the Uncola".

Remember those ads from the 70s starring Geoffrey Holder explaining the difference between the cola nut and the uncola nut? The campaign didn't produce the market upset that 7 Up hoped for, though it is significant as being one of the first soft drink ads to cast a person of color. I remember the uncola glass appearing in those commercials, but I never knew that it was an honest-to-goodness object in the real world.  I've got one, and I'd love to use it (for drinking RC... I'm such a stinker!), but the shape makes it a bear to keep clean.

Just in case you think this style of marketing could never happen again, upside-down marketing returned in 2002 with 7-up introducing a drink called "dnL". Uh huh... if you look at the logo upside down, it looks like "7 Up". The market heaved a sigh of disinterest, with dnL lost among the already crowded shelf of cans of existing variants of 7 Up.

Tab also set out to be an uncola, but in the soft drink war, this is a case of friendly fire. Tab was a diet cola that hit the market in the early 60s created surprisingly by Coke themselves. Back then, they feared that a product called "Diet Coke" would dilute their main brand, so they introduced Tab as a whole new product. Tab was quite successful for decades (there was even Tab Root Beer, and Tab Orange), though no matter how much they marketed to men, the pink can was more likely clutched in the hands of a flight attendant or hairdresser.

In 1982 Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke, which was a massive hit. The new Diet Coke reduced Tab to more of a specialty brand, mostly in countries outside of the US. I remember TV commercials that featured a glass of Tab animated to cinch in like a shapely waste, but again I had no idea that such glassware existed in the real world. makes sense that Coke might know some glassblowers who could take on the  shapely challenge. To bring us down to earth again with a burp, the Tab glass is cool but it's too much trouble to keep clean.

I'm going to keep my eyes open for more drinking glasses that were basically a parody of the classic Coke glass, though as we've seen these sorts of glasses are way more trouble than they're worth in real life.

Let's close with a look at a simply awful 60s TV commercial for Tab. Later Tab would be marketed at the "beautiful people", but here we see Tab exhorting women to more desirable object to their husbands (all narrated by a creepy guy who clearly "likes to watch"). Forget Women's Lib, diet cola drinkers, be "a mindsticker".

"Mindsticker"?!?!

 

Forget The Cans & String - Get Stylish With These Toshiba Walkie-Talkies

I remember this distinctly... when I was a kid, I desperately wanted Walkie-Talkies. My neighbor somehow found out, and set me up doing chores around his place so I could earn some scratch and join the wireless communication revolution of the 70s (could a CB radio or shortwave be far behind?). It took forever, but I finally earned enough quarters to get a pair of cool Walkies. I could talk with my friends without having to go in and beg to use the phone! I remember the "serious gear" styling, and the many summer adventures I had, whether I was the Six Million Dollar Man (my value probably rung up around a buck sixty-eight), or Spider-Man. We were spacemen sometimes, but with these amazingly stylish Toshiba Walkies, I think we'd have been from space EVERY time.

Among the walkie-talkie cognoscenti, these are a desirable collectible. Made around 1965, these totally tubular transmitters (and receivers... I know, I know...) are all metal, and even have a battery meter to keep tabs on the wallet-draining six AA batts that power the beast. Initially I wondered whether these were intended for kids because they're so well built, but I'm pretty sure that the single channel nature confines these units to backyard adventuring. Though I suppose there could have been a more "advanced" model with more controls... that probably would have required even more batteries.

These rarely come up on Ebay, and when they do they command real bucks. A single unit (so you have to find a collector friend with another one) finished last month on Ebay for nearly $150. The accompanying video was part of the auction listing, and gives a great look at the details of this magnificent spaced-out communicator. Really nice voice on the narrator there... he's clearly into his walkie talkies. Though I suppose it would have been more authentic to deliver his lines over a scratchy walkie-talkie transmission, with a few inscrutable morse-code beeps added in for good measure.

Free High Rez Vintage Poster Downloads

Mamie Young writes, "I recently launched a new poster website. The goal of this project is to create one of the web's largest collection of free, high quality, downloadable vintage posters."

While this isn't the first site to offer decent scans of classic advertising posters, the images are larger than most. The quality is a bit varied - some images appear to be drum scans, others are photographs, but it's nice to have a chance to view these as more than thumbnails. There seem to be a couple of hundred posters online so far, but I suspect more will follow.

Visit FreeVintagePosters.com for more, or check out a few images after the jump.

These Membership Cards Should Stay In Your Wallet

One of the great comforts of the internet is that no matter how obscure your interests are, you're going to find some virtual friends out there who like the same stuff. Lots of folks who thought they were the only people in the world interested in [insert oddball anti-social pastime here], are now part of online communities and real-world clubs too. The net has made it easier than ever to find others and organize real world get-togethers between like-minded hobbyists.

What if your new shared-interest friends aren't quite specific enough for your tastes? You're about to discover the joy of the splinter group... My father was, quite literally, a card-carrying philatelist. Sure, there was the unparalleled joy of tweezing his way through all of those miniature sticky-backed engravings, but there sure seemed to be a lot of multi-ethnic riff-raff around. So here's his membership card from the really specific First (there were more?) Czechoslovak Philatelic Club Of America. The membership card is from 1973, but the club actually dates back to 1924, and was founded right here in Chicago. Follow this link to thrill to one of their newsletters from the 60s.

Like a lot of hobbies, your interest eventually focuses less on the hobby itself, and more on the friends you've made along the way. So I imagine that stamp night was more about my father hanging out with his stamp-crazy singing buddies (I did mention that he was a card carrying member of a Czech singing club, right?) swapping stamps, telling ribald stories of Ben Franklin (that's a Postmaster General joke right there...), and have a few laughs.Growing up, I always wanted to be part of some club too, but I was remarkably unliked. Okay, so in high school in the 80s I was in Doctor Who club - not exactly a bid for Mr. Popularity. I was a card-carrying member of the Doctor Who Fan Club of America (I'm still waiting for my newsletters, guys!). Before that, I did carry around a sort-of membership card. In reality it was from a pack of Pac-Man bubblegum cards and was my way of claiming to be a bad-ass at arcade Pac-Man. You'll note my best attempt at Pac-Man style lettering (I used to go by my middle name back then in a vain bid to fit in... *sigh*) to really cement my nerdery.Most recently, I was a card-carrying member of the Chicago Accordion Club (which was pretty much all 80 year old men, plus me...), so I probably shouldn't be too haughty about my old man's Czech stamp collector card. Looks like the weird apple doesn't fall far from the twisted tree. I guess that I collect peculiar membership cards with my last name on them.

[Addendum: Moments before I published this post, I moved some stuff in my office only to have this set of "collectible" stamps that had been missing for years end up in my lap. I should probably cogitate on what this all means, but I'm going to go have a lie down.]