Category Archives: Blast From The Past

This 1968 color explosion of mod animation is now bigger, brighter, and better. This classic Beatles film was out of print, and is now available on DVD. I ordered it on presale and it will arrive at my door and right onto my flat screen with new visuals and sound. The larger the screen the better. Just don’t sink into the walls. Visual visual visual.

PARFAIT – Who doesn’t like a Chocolate or Peanut Butter Parfait?  I recently rediscovered this 30 calorie treat.  At work around 3:30 I announce “Nip Time” and they all come running!  This gets us through the day.  A low-cal smart pick-me-up is sugar full but  just enough.  What a blast from the past.  Even the packaging has not changed.  I guess it’s not broken.  One per customer please. . .

It is time to revisit this Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice masterpiece.  This 1970 recording was from London and this is the one to get! Not the one from the movie, or from the many others that exist. A new version is now playing on Broadway and I’m having mixed feelings. This original is how I remember the music and a new version may not live up to my expectations. The eerie and dramatic music was enchanting and also horrifying to me as a child. Judas and King Herod, and Pontius Pilate were such interesting characters in the movie version which followed. “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” sung by Yvonne Elliman stands out as a song that is soothing and dramatic and a classic. The first “Rock Opera” influenced many to follow to even this day. Webber /Rice certainly have made their mark.

Just sayin’. . . Butter flavor, of course!

This “busybody” Mr. Magoo was one of the cartoons that flooded my youthful mind after school.  I think I just loved saying his name.  Mr. Magoo – The Television Collection was just released and if you are inclined to, then go for it!  Who was Mr. Magoo?  What was Mr. Magoo and who does he think he was?  This little man with large thick glasses was voiced by Jim Backus.  Colorful and flamboyant, Mr. Magoo was innovative and stayed on top from 1960-1977.  Magoo Who?

The year is 1974.  Who remembers this obscure movie staring Paul Williams? Remember the funny looking man with blond hair?  Don’t ask me why I was so afraid of this rock thriller.  Anything with rock music in the 70’s was cool but this?  Brian De Palma directed, but who cared about him back then.  Was this a new Phantom of the Rock Opera?  I saw that this was being shown in Brooklyn at BAM and I immediately went under the covers and put in ear plugs.  The DVD might be a great joke gift for the holidays.  I might even want to watch it!

I was lucky enough to see this wonderful documentary in the theatres but now it is available on DVD.  This documentary is about Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking 1968 play and 1970 film “The Boys in the Band.”  It is full of history and full of surprises.  I found this story to be most interesting and it also includes some information on Natalie Wood, too.
The new generation can now get married and are free to express themselves but, like all history, it is important to know where the roots of our liberation came from so we don’t take things for granted and remember our mentors who fought so hard so we can be where we are today.