1. That Refreshing Look – The appropriately-1950s-named Vendo corporation produced this promotional film touting the benefits of Coca-Cola’s new vending machines. The part that’s actually about the machines themselves is a little dry, but the crisp color imagery of 1950s American life at the beginning and the ‘roleplay’ selling scenarios at the end are fantastic.
2. Oink – The home video game craze was in full swing by 1982 and still nobody had responded to the public’s need for a game based on the Three Little Pigs.
Activision came to the rescue with Oink, a game that put you in the LIttle Pigs’ role defending your house from acutely targeted huffs and puffs from an ever-agitated Big Bad Wolf.
The first level is a straw house, the second is a stick house and the third is a brick house. To make it to the next level you have to successfully defend the house in the level you’re in…which is completely opposite how the Three Little Pigs story goes, but whatever. If you can get over that, there’s a cool two-player mode where one player controls the wolf. That’s pretty neat.
Here’s some gameplay:
3. EPCOT Legacy – My vintage EPCOT itch was scratched and scratched hard this week when I came across E82, The EPCOT Legacy website. The site pays tribute to the music, art and legacy of the original idea of EPCOT and seeks to continue the objectives that created the park in the first place.
Most noteworthy for me is the music section. They’re in the middle of a project to compile the music from all pavilions of Future World, and what they’ve collected so far has been on repeat in my house all week.
Here are some links to the Universe of Energy and Living Seas albums, which are my personal favorites so far. And do yourself a favor and check out the rest of the site. It’s worth it.
And donate!
4. Girl in Gold Boots Fan Art – Last week we saw Sonny & Cher at the Haunted House nightclub from Girl in Gold Boots. This week I wanted to share some amazing fan art I stumbled upon by Rob Padley at Fidelio. He’s got a bunch of great original art on this blog, both of the Gold Boots and non-Gold-Boots variety. Here are my favorites from the Gold Boots gang:
Post-shave Critter, mop jockey at the Haunted House.
Michele and Buz, on the way to California.
A Nepalese disappointment at the roadside restaurant.
The Big Time.
5. Shatner Sells A Commodore – With extra spacey space transitions and effects!
-ds