1.  Apple Prototypes – Business Insider’s got some photos of early ’80s Apple product ideas that never came to be…or at least, not in their prototype form.  This is a pretty great look at the cutting edge design aesthetic that Apple’s known for, and a snapshot of what that cutting edge looked like back then.  Here’s the iPhone before the iPhone:

The color range here mirrors their current iPhone 5c campaign a bit.  Also, what?

The Lisa workbench is pretty slick, too – even if I can’t really figure it out:

 

Hit the link for more. There’s even a look at the upcoming iWatch!

 

2.  Hanna-Barbera Land – A theme park devoted to Hanna Barbera properties opened in Texas in 1984.  It closed in 1985, and the land was sold to make room for Splashtown USA, which was later sold and turned into a Six Flags Waterpark.  A hallowed ground, indeed.

HB’s always had a rough time with theme parks, it seems – their characters like Scooby, the Flintstones and the Jetsons are known and loved worldwide and while they’re represented at King’s Island, Six Flags and elsewhere, they never really had a place to completely call their own.  This looks like an attempt at finding that place, but it didn’t work out for one reason or another.  Here’s a link to some cool concept art for what a HB park might have been if things had gone a different way.

Pretty great ideas.

 

3.  SEGA Master System Commercial – The NES had the games and the Mario and the user base, but the SEGA Master System had the style.

And it had a better looking gun.  Here’s an ad for the Master System when it came out:

Here’s a Toys R Us ad for the Master System with a terrifying Geoffrey hosting:

4.  Scooby-Doo! Background Paintings – More Hanna-Barbera fun.  Here’s a look at the amazing background art from Scooby-Doo! Where Are You?

Pretty impressive for a company that’s frequently given flak for cheaping out on their backgrounds!

 

5. Casey Kasem –   RIP Casey.  Here’s my favorite appearance by Casey Kasem, in the first episode of Saved By The Bell that I ever saw!

-ds