Tropical Chill Pepsi, Anyone?

Okay, before introducing this link, I have to introduce a new quirk of mine...I have a strange fascination with old sodas. No, not "past it's expiration date" old, I mean retro/novelty old. Actually, I have a fascination with soda in general. Once, I was shopping with my mom for soda for a big party we were having, and there was a sale: 5 cases for $10! That's $.17 a can! I got to pick the 5 and I don't know if I've ever spent that long contemplating beverages in my life. Yeah, I know I'm pathetic, but I'm proud of it.

Okay, that was a long story about nothing, and I apologize for wasting your time. Speaking of wasting your time, here's an article from X-entertainment.com about some old sodas that didn't last. It's a really great article if you share my obsession, or if you just have some time to kill before American Idol. Alright, well, click here.


Photo site: http://www.answers.com/topic/crystal-pepsi

Quisp--that's fun to say!

This is my favorite old cereal. I wonder what happened to it.

Drive-in Intermission

1960s drive-in intermission entertainment from your own home! I love this one because it has a "save standard time" promo. In case you were wondering, I think this video is from 1968-1970 era because of the GMRX thing, which only existed in those years.

Two Words...Giant Oreos

I wish these were still around...what a great way to harbor my unhealthy obsession with oreos. I think they got rid of them because people thought they were too big. No such thing! This commercial is so cool...just like the Pac Man Cereal, I think it's a combination of the dancing, the catchy song, the cool 80's clothes, and products that could practically sell themselves. (As you can see, I also have an unhealthy obsession with old commercials. You probably knew that already.)

I was not alive in 1983, so I could very easily have no idea what I'm talking about. With that said, here is a picture of the 1983 Apple Lisa computer.



Now, has anybody seen the movie Weird Science? (Yes, another John Hughes movie, thank you very much.) If you haven't, it's about these two unpopular high school boys who decide to create "the perfect woman" using their computer and some science. (As you can probably tell, it's not exactly realistic, but it's a pretty good movie, none the less.) They name their virtual girl Lisa.

One the trivia web site I listed in my Breakfast Club post (http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/trivia1.html), it says that the character, Lisa, got her name because the script for the movie was written on an Apple Lisa computer (the movie itself came out in 1985, I believe). Interesting? Maybe not for you, but I thought so. I love old computers. It would be pretty cool to have one of those, in my opinion.

Who remembers Arthur??

I realize that Arthur isn't technically "retro," but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want with it! Mwahahahaha!! Well, it's retro to me...


Basically, Arthur taught me to read. I had a subscription to the Arthur fan club and had every book written about this lovable aardvark. The two above were my favorites, from 1993 and 1994.



Notice the drastic change in illustrations in the above picture. This was one of the earlier Arthur books, copyrighted in 1976. As far as I can tell, Francine was Arthur's only friend in this book that remained all the way through the series. in this book, Arthur actually has a giraffe and a stork for friends. And there was no Buster! Sad...

The TV show on PBS based on the books became my favorite after-kindergarten show later on. I also had some of the Arthur stories on cassette tape and followed along in the book. Okay, well thanks for reminiscing with me. There's more reminiscing to come. I actually think the 1976 big nose Arthur is pretty retro...

The Breakfast Club

Just the fact that I know what The Breakfast Club is probably labels me as a weird, retro-80's chick right from the get-go, but The Breakfast Club is cool, so there. Whenever I mention it around an adult, they gaze into space as if they're pondering something, and always say, "Wow, I haven't seen that movie in ages! Do have any idea how old those people must be?" Almost as old as my parents, which is kind of scary.

If you've seen the movie, here's a link to some interesting facts about TBC: http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/trivia2.html

If you haven't seen it, watch the trailer above. It's my favorite movie of all time, if that means anything at all to you. Okay, well, I'm too tired to think of a good conclusion, so enjoy!

Pacman Cereal

I love everything about this commercial. It's an early 80's commercial advertising Pacman cereal, which looks a lot like Lucky Charms...to me, anyway. One of the coolest things about it is it's advertising something that doesn't even exist anymore. I love the clothes...I always say that I'm going to walk around some crowded area dressed like that and see how people react. 1980s fashion seemed so much more fun that fashion today. The song and dance is awesome...it must have been fun to have been a kid in the 80s.

The Rabbit Eats His Trix!!

Hey, people. Thanks for taking the time to actually read my second blog! This one's about all things retro, and right now I'm basking in my triumph of finally posting this video.

Every little kid in America with a shred of compassion has sympathized with the Trix rabbit. He's been the mascot of a cereal for the past 4o something years, but he never really gets to eat it! His plans to eat the Trix cereal are always foiled by some selfish kids who snatch it out of his hands and rationalize with, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." He's eaten a few bites of the cereal, apparently on several occasions, but I have never seen it happen in my lifetime. I found one here for anyone wanting to see for themselves!

In 1976, General Mills launched a petition to see whether the rabbit should get to eat a whole bowl of Trix. They got a consensus of 99% in favor if the rabbit, and he got finally got a whole bowl! Yay! Take that, selfish kids! Someone should teach them to share...