Arnold Stang, 1918 - 2009

Upon the recent news of his death at age 91, a moment please to celebrate the life and career of character actor and voice artist Arnold Stang.

A small round-up of links from the web:

- A New York Times obituary.

- A wonderful, rambling profile posted in 2007 at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.

- A remembrance, showbiz anecdotes and an old 'Herman and Katnip' cartoon at
Mark Evanier's News From Me.

- Click over to Flickr for
LORAC!'s Arnold Stang photoset.
Publicity shots, advertising, record covers, etc. A great collection.

- Mr. Stang's screen credits listed at IMDb.

- An entry at TV Party includes a RealPlayer clip from an unsold late-'50s TV pilot for 'The Arnold Stang Show'.


- The 1960 kiddie record 'Arnold Stang's Waggish Tales' found him telling the tales of Peter and The Wolf and Ferdinand the Bull with orchestral accompaniment.

As of this writing, the LP may be heard via
Do You Speak English ?

What's a few more old dusty Men's magazines between friends? (flickr link)

(click on images to enlarge in a new window)

I've added just a few more old girlie mag cover scans to a big batch that I posted at Flickr almost a year ago...

- Please follow this link to my flickr set:
A 'Cover Gallery' of 1950s and '60s
Men's Magazines!
(50 images)

These late 1950s cover images allow the predominantly late '60s set to skew just a little earlier.

It's fun to see the relatively subtle (and tasteful) designs and color palette in the earlier covers give way to the kooky kraziness of the
High Sixties...

...Enjoy!


































































(click on images to enlarge in a new window)

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Follow this link to my flickr set:
A 'Cover Gallery' of 1950s and '60s Men's Magazines!
(50 images)

Changin' times in Riverdale: Funnybook life lessons from 1965 & 1972

Here's another peek back at the manner in which the various Archie Comics titles of the 1960s and 70s displayed their particular reflection of that era.

It should fit right in with most of the other Riverdale-related posts on this blog, and the accompanying (occasionally expanding) flickr set; 'Archie comics of the 1960's as a mirror to fads, fashion and trends'. (follow links)

Archie and his pals gain some valuable insights in each of the two 'timelessly timely' tales shown below.

First, from 1965, it's a lesson regarding gender roles.

Then, in 1972, another father-son battle leads to learning a little perspective.

A valuable insight the reader can gain from reading both of these stories might be that the streets of Riverdale can be a dangerous place...

...But it's not all life lessons - - Dig those groovy fashions!

'The First Step', from Betty and Veronica #119 (1965)

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'My Fathers Eyes', from Life With Archie #118 (1972)

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A recent visit to Prehistoric Gardens (flickr link)

- Please follow link to my flickr set: 'Prehistoric Gardens, 3.29.09'
(29 photos)

Prehistoric Gardens is a roadside tourist attraction nestled in lush rainforest next to
U.S. 101 on the Oregon Coast Highway,
just a few miles south of the small town of
Port Orford and Humbug Mountain State Park, not quite 50 miles north of the California border.

Since 1953, visitors here have wandered among an assortment of full-sized dinosaur statues that look quite at home in this primeval paradise.

I was a toddler when my folks first brought me by, one Summer vacation en route to Grandma's house, long, long ago.

My innate love for 'dinosaur stuff' was fostered by further visits over the years, in an age when there was much less fodder available for the young dino-enthusiast.

Since the onset of my adult (?) years (also long ago), visits to Prehistoric Gardens have become much less frequent.
Twice a decade, maybe, if I'm lucky.

For me, it's still a thrilling and magical place.

The dinosaurs are like old friends, and it's always great to check in with them again, to see how they've changed (and so, how I've also changed) and to see what remains just the same.

Yes, the dinosaurs are still the big draw, but what really makes the place precious to me (and many others,
I'm sure) is the verdant setting.
All the best shades of Oregonian green, soft coastal air, and a spectacular array of rich and thriving foliage. At its very least, a perfect tonic for the road-weary traveler.

Things were quiet and soggy there during this most recent trip through. I was excited to see some of the dinosaurs dressed in new colors since my last visit.
As I once again walked around and said hello and grinned and breathed, I once again shot a batch of photos. I was very aware that I was likely shooting new versions of the same snapshots I'd taken several times before, so I tried to concentrate just a wee bit more upon the setting and not merely the subjects.

- Please follow link to my flickr set:
'Prehistoric Gardens, 3.29.09'

Hope you enjoy.


A few links for your further investigation:
- Also on flickr, TimSpfd's Prehistoric Gardens photo set has splendid shots of the park from 2002, featuring much better views of the dinosaurs than I've provided here, sporting that previous round of 'extreme' paint jobs. He also provides further PG flickr links of interest.

- Mary H's Prehistoric Gardens Fansite has some great pictures that go back further still to even earlier color schemes.

- Prehistoric Gardens listed at
Roadside Oddities and at
Roadside America.Com.

(link:) J.R. Williams' art and comics collages at Flickr

(Reposted from 'Brief Window')

A treat to find new artwork by
Alternative Comix creator J.R. Williams!

- Follow this link to J.R. Williams' 'Cartoons and Comics' Flickr set.

I recall first seeing his comics in the pages of 'Weirdo' back in the '80s, and then in' Crap' and other titles in the '90s, but it seems like it's been a little while since running across his name.

(Not to be confused with the earlier
'Western' cartoonist of the same name)

Recent work on display at Flickr shows that he's been busy, and branching into fine art, but the comics background is still present.

Images rendered in ink, acrylics and watercolor mix with delightfully odd digital collages.

(Via Eye of the Goof)






















































See also:
- A December '08 interview with Williams at the Blah Blah Gallery blog.

- Another Flickr set; less comicky, more artsy, and very cool.
Follow link to J.R. Williams' 'Abstract/etc.' gallery. ▼

(Link:) Hanna-Barbera trove on Flickr!

(Reposted from 'Brief Window')

Follow the link over to Flickr and take a look at slappy427's photostream for a beautiful and eclectic set of Hanna-Barbera artwork and ephemera.

(A few examples here)

Photos, memorabilia, concept art and more from nowadays and back in the day, with an emphasis on some of the more obscure characters from the animated world of
Hanna-Barbera.

Curator slappy427 is a cartoonist and avid enthusiast for all things HB, and has shared lots of truly fun images!

See also:
His blog, Hanna Barberian.

(found via Cartoon SNAP)

Scholastic Book Gallery update! (flickr link)

Taking just a moment to direct you over to a gallery of images I posted at flickr and first linked to here at ILTS about fourteen months ago...

- Please follow link to my flickr set: Nostalgia for the Scholastic Book Club of the '60s & '70s

Since posting that set I've received nice feedback from time to time from folks who remember reading some of those books and others like them via The Scholastic Book Club back when they were kids.

I've updated the gallery a few times over the months, as I'll stumble upon more of these old titles in thrift shops and used book stores.

Today I just added 39 more images of book covers and illustrations, bringing the current total of the set up to 226.

The timing seemed right, as traffic to the flickr set spiked dramatically over the past few days, since being linked to in a post over at Boing Boing last Thursday.

Crazily, tens of thousands of people looked at the set over the weekend, and the sudden additional feedback has been most gratifying.

Many thanks to BB's Mark Fraunfelder, and to several other sites that have since picked up on it, including the
On Our Minds @ Scholastic blog from The Scholastic Book Club itself, still very much alive and well, and still generating excitement in the classroom!




























































































- The scans in this post are a sampling of the new images just added to
my flickr set:
Nostalgia for the
Scholastic Book Club
of the '60s & '70s
(click on link)