Someone recently asked what I was afraid of as a kid. Easy – skeletons.
Around age seven, I had an encyclopedia with a full-page illustration of a creepy skinny bones. I couldn’t even look at that page. I kept the book shoved under my bed. One day I got real brave and decided to face my fear head-on. I got the book out, slowly opened to the horrible page… and found my Dad had taken a pencil and drawn a smile on the skull. A ragged, toothy smile on that face without a face, empty sockets staring back at my suddenly bloodless gaze.
After I finished crying, I gave the book to my mom. I didn’t want it anymore.
I spy, with my little eye, an A-frame Pup ‘n’ Taco forty seconds into the trailer for Fanboys. There’s only one problem: the film takes place in 1998 and all PnTs were demolished or renovated by the mid-’80s. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Taco Bell, of course.
Geez, guys. Get it straight.
Still, though – Pup ‘n’ Taco and Star Wars in one flick? What are the odds?
These vintage ’70s-style running shoes from Nike make me happy. I can almost smell high-school cross-country camp in Julian again! There’s a fun Flash web site spoofing a 1977 issue of “Runner’s World” with all kinds of nostalgic throwbacks.
Availability is limited, apparently… I just found a new pair on eBay for $35. The Nike store online has a few left in a couple size & color configurations.
My original T-shirt designs are on sale at Etsy – details are over at my shop. Most sizes are in stock now with just a handful in each size.
I’ve discontinued some previous designs (Fountain Valley Drive-In, Lackamaroo!, and the original logo tees)… stay tuned for new designs, you never know when they’ll turn up!
Here’s what I have in stock now:
Pup ‘n’ Taco (vintage tan)
This T-shirt has the look of an old favorite, worn & washed for years. Vintage-style, heavy distressed Pup ‘n’ Taco logo on an American Apparel M434 fine jersey gym-style 70% combed cotton, 30% polyester T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: tan/brown.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
Pup ‘n’ Taco (vintage black)
Look like a badass in this black version. Well, as much of a badass as you can wearing a Pup ‘n’ Taco T-shirt. Vintage-style, heavy distressed Pup ‘n’ Taco logo on an American Apparel 2001 fine jersey 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: black.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
KMET 94.7
Rock it old school in this vintage-style distressed upside-down KMET logo on an American Apparel M434 mélange blue/navy ringer 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Three-color design. Shirt color: grey/blue with navy blue neck detail.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
Kona Lanes
It may be a hole in the ground now, but we all remember the googie tiki-style destination Kona Lanes bowling alley in Costa Mesa, California. I’ve reproduced the neon sign artwork on an American Apparel 2410 fine jersey ringer-style 100% combed cotton T-shirt.
Two-color design. Shirt color: baby blue/navy.
Note: American Apparel garments are sized for a snug fit. If you prefer a loose fit, I suggest ordering the next size up from what you typically wear.
This morning, the Los Angeles Times has a fascinating Column One about Sid & Marty Krofft, the allegedly sober creators of H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund & the Sea Monsters, Lidsville, and Land of the Lost. In it, the brothers confess their long-told tale of their family being five generations deep in puppeteers was, in fact, a sham. No matter, I can’t imagine how it makes a difference now. Their kitschy legacy is permanently seared in my retinas after countless hours in front of the TV on Saturday mornings, laying on the shag rug and absorbing those insane colors (lime green, magenta, orange) and the even more insane plots and musical numbers. Sid & Marty insist they were drug-free (in Southern California — in the late ’60s/early ’70s — in the entertainment business):
The brothers, by the way, deny the popular perception that they were gobbling major amounts of LSD while making the shows. “I’m a runner, and I thought of them during my runs on the beach at Santa Monica,” Sid said. “That’s where they came from.”
Perhaps more telling is a quote from a 2005 interview from USA Today:
No drugs involved. You can’t do drugs when you’re making shows. Maybe after, but not during. We’re bizarre, that’s all.
“Maybe after.” “Puffing stuff.” OK then.
Here’s some clips from their shows (not as easy as I thought – they’ve done a good job keeping their clips away from YouTube) – see if you don’t get a contact buzz just from watching!
Bigfoot & Wildboy (holy crap):
Mama Cass (yes) tries to maintain her dignity in the company of a furry Nazi rat:
Here’s a gem from the good ol’ days when cigarette companies could market directly to children. Kristin says it’s a wonder we’re not all addicted to nicotine!
It’s not so long ago that local TV news in Southern California had a small-town, “let’s put on a show” quality lacking in today’s over-polished and neutered broadcasts. People who grew up when I did fondly recall KABC’s weatherman Dr. George Fishbeck – the nerdy meteorologist (yes, he really was a scientist – not a model, actor, or comedian). The polar opposite of today’s StormWatch 2008 SuperMega Doppler 7000 HD, Dr. George never used cue cards or a teleprompter, was awkward and bookish on camera, but always charmed us with his sincere passion and honest demeanor. Occasionally (OK, frequently) he’d wander off-topic and need to be guided back on course by anchors Jerry Dunphy and Christine Lund. He was everybody’s favorite science teacher, the kind of character you’d simultaneously laugh at and defend against mocking.
Dr. George retired in 1997 and won an Emmy Governor’s Award in 2003 for his contribution to broadcasting.
Take a look at this video from 1980 – the low-tech presentation is stunning by today’s standards:
I didn’t really know you in high school at Uni. You were a freshman, I was a senior. I don’t think you were as scarce as Robert MacNaughton was (in fact, I think I remember you reading the morning announcements in place of Dr. Bob on occasion). But we did have a mutual friend in John Kuhel. He was supposed to come to the Madness concert at UCLA with me, but was in that pickup accident at lunch. You weren’t driving, right?
I brought a copy of their latest LP to the show and talked my way backstage, met with the guys in the band. I told them John’s accident story and had them all sign the album. Brought it to him in the hospital. Wonder if he still has it?
Anyway, I know it’s twenty-five years late, but will you sign my yearbook? My teenaged daughter thinks you’re the funniest thing ever, even funnier than Dad. And I’m pretty stupid.
Let me know where I can send it. Or I can meet you at McNulty’s, over by Danber and Build & Grow.
This is Bandit, our dog from when I was growing up. He was a part of my family from Kindergarten through high school graduation. He was an Old English sheepdog/Australian shepherd mix. We bought him from a breeder and picked him out of the litter as the quietest one. Our neighbor Margarita Maris always called him “cacazzo” which I think means “little dick.”
Bandie was the most loving, mellow, easygoing dog – he’d just lay there and watch the sparrows fly away with his food. When we swam in the pool, he’d run around in circles barking at us, worried that we were in distress. He was a 100% outdoor dog; bathing him was a pain in the ass (as you can tell). He had to be dried with a hair dryer after a bath because his coat was so thick, and we always laughed at how poofy he’d look afterwards.
Once when my parents were out of town, my older sister brought Bandit in the house and was jumping on Mom & Dad’s bed with him. Sounds like a great idea until the muddy pawprints on their chenille bedspread gave her away.
As he got older, his eyesight got worse, he didn’t exercise anymore, and he started getting sores on his legs. Eventually, the vet said he was in pain and there wasn’t anything we could do for him, so my Dad drove him down to the vet to be put to sleep. Dad says he cried all the way home.
Ever since the New Coke debacle & switcheroo in 1985, Coca-Cola has been made with high fructose corn syrup instead of the traditional cane sugar. And ever since then, it’s always been a second-best. Not only does high fructose corn syrup radically change the flavor and texture of Coke, it lingers in the mouth and clings to the teeth… oh, and there’s the mounting discussion of its health risks, saying it acts more like fat than sugar in the body and could be linked with the rise in the last twenty years of diabetes and obesity, not to mention the source of this glop being GMO corn. So why does Coke use this slow-acting poison? It’s cheap here, cheaper than the cane sugar used in many other parts of the world. Representatives say it doesn’t taste any different, but I’m here to tell you otherwise.
A smart person would probably give up drinking soda or boycott Coca-Cola, asking them why the original formula is good enough for Mexico and Romania and why we get the cheap knockoff… but I’m not that smart. Plus, I love me an ice-cold Cokie at lunch like nothing else. I don’t do coffee or cigarettes; call it a semi-harmless vice.
Anyway, I recently renewed my Costco membership to get a deal on some tires and found the megawarehouse has been selling Coke imported from Mexico… the real thing. Just like they made in prior to the ’80s, just like I remember it tasting. In the original 12-oz green-glass bottles, at a decent price (around .75 each in a 24-bottle case). The flavor is fresh and surprising after years of the duller variety. The cane sugar allows the lemony citrus and cinnamon/clove spice flavors the room they need to balance. It really does taste the way you imagine Coke tasting… back in the day.
Someone recently asked what I was afraid of as a kid. Easy – skeletons.
Pup ‘n’ Taco (vintage black)
KMET 94.7
Kona Lanes
This morning, the 
It’s not so long ago that local TV news in Southern California had a small-town, “let’s put on a show” quality lacking in today’s over-polished and neutered broadcasts. People who grew up when I did fondly recall KABC’s weatherman Dr. George Fishbeck – the nerdy meteorologist (yes, he really was a scientist – not a model, actor, or comedian). The polar opposite of today’s StormWatch 2008 SuperMega Doppler 7000 HD, Dr. George never used cue cards or a teleprompter, was awkward and bookish on camera, but always charmed us with his sincere passion and honest demeanor. Occasionally (OK, frequently) he’d wander off-topic and need to be guided back on course by anchors Jerry Dunphy and Christine Lund. He was everybody’s favorite science teacher, the kind of character you’d simultaneously laugh at and defend against mocking.
Hey Will Ferrell -
This is Bandit, our dog from when I was growing up. He was a part of my family from Kindergarten through high school graduation. He was an Old English sheepdog/Australian shepherd mix. We bought him from a breeder and picked him out of the litter as the quietest one. Our neighbor Margarita Maris always called him “cacazzo” which I think means “little dick.”