For Sale: Vintage Set LIBBEY Glass 12 Jigger Barware Shotglasses: SOLD

Here's another great addition to your vintage barware! This is a complete box of vintage jigger shot glasses.

The glasses were made by Libbey Glass and the 12 jiggers come complete with their original box. The box has nice retro graphics on it. The glasses each have Libbey "L" molded in the base and have a nice, unusual and eye-catching conical shape to them.

Condition

The glasses are a bit dirty from being stored for all these years but are in otherwise excellent condition. The box is also a bit dusty, but still suitable for storing the glasses, as well as being a display item.


Free shipping.

What's More Retro Than...Fine Dining 60's Style!

Maybe it was the new-found post-war prosperity.  Maybe it was the new-found tastes of soldiers returning home.  Maybe it was Julia Child.  But for some reason, the "fine dining restaurant" catapulted in both number and popularity from the mid-50's right through the 60's.

I wonder if she would have liked the dish we'll soon be talking about.

"Fine dining" was basically America's first-time, shotgun-blast exposure to foods and culinary creations not typically heard of in the US.  And such establishments, well, established many dishes we take for granted today. 

But I'm not here to discuss dishes from the 50's and 60's we all know and love.

I'm here to discuss one that may not ring any culinary bells.

So many good sounding dishes.  But I'm not too sure about this one...

I love this book.  It's from 1964 and features so many "new" recipes for dishes we take for granted today.

And yes, that Bananas Foster that guy's prepping on the cover looks mighty delicious, don't it?

But before dessert, how about a nice appetizer?

Say...broiled grapefruit...with a yummy chicken liver on top!!

BTW...this is still on their menu.

From Chalet Suzanne in Lake Wales, Florida, comes this delectable little dish.

I am not a chicken liver fan, nor a fan of liver in general.  The combination of grapefruit (yummy), topped with broiled, melted cinnamon sugar (good, too) and then a cooked chicken liver just sounds like an awkward combination.  Oh, and the liver gets more cinnamon sugar on top of it, too!  But I guess it's still quite the big seller, since it's still on the restaurant's current menu.

But to be honest, the picture above of the grapefruit kind of reminds me of the little pig cross sections we had to study in high school Biology class.  So perhaps that 60's photo doesn't do the dish justice.

But if any of you are brave enough (or perhaps this just sounds like a yummy combo to you) then here's the recipe. 

Bon Appetit!!

If you DO try it, PLEASE let me know how it was.  Perhaps I can find a few more interesting recipes for you to try.

(photo of Julia child from ABC News)

Nelson Ball Clock: A classic design, but did Nelson really design it?

Courtesy of Herman Miller...

Here is a Youtube video of an audio-only interview with George Nelson, talking about how the Ball Clock was designed.

The name-dropping is fantastic, with Nelson talking about "Bucky" and "Noguchi".




But...who really designed the ball clock?

Listen.  And find out (maybe)...

What's More Retro Than...The Christmas Tree Color Wheel

As part of a new series I'm starting today (and likely won't continue due to neglect on my part) I'd like to offer an occasional focus on some of the cultural icons many of us associate with the mid-century.

Today's topic:  the Christmas tree color wheel.

Yes, I know.  If I wanted to cover this, I should have started with the aluminum Christmas tree first.  But I've already given this topic great thought (about 4 minutes) and I'm on a roll.

It was during the 50's when America first harvested the aluminum Christmas tree.  This renewable resource (heavy on the Al...light on the C) meant most families could easily, quickly and needle-less-ly put up their Christmas tree in minutes.  By the end of dad's first Manhattan, the tree would be up and ready to decorate.

Oh...but wait.  What do you decorate an aluminum tree with?  Traditional Christmas lights are, well, electric.  Perhaps it's not a good idea to string a tall metal structure with electrified wire.

"Electric lights?  On this?  Maybe I should stand in a bucket of water, too."

So, American ingenuity comes around to save the day with:  the color wheel.  Lots of colored lights?  Just 4...so...I guess...check!  Will it make our tree all pretty and colorful?  Check.  But NOT dangerously close to contacting large metal objects?  Check check.

And from that day forward, the color wheel became almost de rigueur (fancy talk for "you better have one") for the aluminum tree family.

As a result, plenty of companies made these wonderful color wheels: Renown, Penetray, Holly Time, Imperial, Peerless, Spartus...well, you get the idea.  Lots of companies, making roughly the same color wheel design: small motor, axle, wheel, colored plastic.  But that wasn't a problem, since just about everyone wanted one.  As long as it rotated and had different colors, it was all good.

"I don't care who made it, as long as it doesn't burn the house down."

But there was one color wheel that stood out from the crowd.  And by stood out, I mean it was completely different, it broke the mold, it was...revolutionary (in more ways than one).

The Holy Grail of Christmas color wheels

Why, you ask, was this one so dang special?  Well, not only was it a color wheel for your tree, it also:

• was the tree stand
• played music!

Yes, the rotating, musical Christmas tree color wheel by Evergleam.

Perfect!  It not only saved valuable near-the-tree real estate for even more precious Xmas booty, it also did double-duty by playing Christmas songs when you turned it on!

Today,  these very hard-to-find color wheels can command rather high prices.  They used to go into the 7- to 8-bill range pretty easily, but one can be had (if you can find one) for about $150-$300, depending on condition and condition of the box (if there still is one), but truly "mint"-y ones can still command high prices.  So, thankfully, you don't need to run a meth lab to afford a decent one.

Typical shopping list of anyone finding a mint wheel with box on eBay

Today, you can find the more traditional color wheels on eBay and other sites, usually for under a hundred bucks, plus the traditional design is still being made, and more-or-less to the original design.

Then again, you could take the route of getting a newer color wheel: the LED color wheel.

Perfect for sucking out all the Christmas spirit from your aluminum tree

But personally, if you're going to go through all the trouble of putting up an aluminum Christmas tree, you might as well go all the way and get the real thing.  These new, high-tech lights really can't do your tree justice as well as a great 50's-designed color wheel.

My Lucky Find: Old pack of Polaroid film

As a lot of you probably already know, I do a lot of auctions.  The actual act of going to an auction itself probably deserve a serious post, and perhaps I'll do that at a future date.

But I do go to a lot of them, and sometimes it can take me weeks to finally dig through all the junk I get and start to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Well, I found this nice piece of "wheat" recently at the bottom of a box.

This is a still-sealed pack of Polaroid 108 film.  It has an expiration date of 11/86...obviously way too unstable to use.  But it did start to bring back memories.

I think a lot of us used to have a Polaroid camera somewhere in the house.  Who didn't love using them?  It was instant photographic gratification.

Oh...and who didn't wave the developing pic in the air, trying to get it to develop faster? 

"Shake it like a Polaroid picture..."

(That "waving" trick, by the way, made no difference.  The picture "developing" before your eyes was really an illusion.  The developing photo is hidden under a coating to protect it from further exposure to the light.  What you thought was a photo developing before your very eyes was really just this protective coating fading...thereby exposing the already developed pic.  Sorry to burst your bubble.)

Mid-Century Modern Haiku

To my 670

Like a catchers mitt

comfort, leather, inviting

A fifties home run

Kudos to anyone who knows what I'm talking about.

So...do YOU have any MCM haiku to contribute?

Today's Battle: Simon and Garfunkel vs. The Cyrkle

"Our manager got us a great deal on jawlines!"

VS.

"Don't we look pensive and brooding..."

OK...maybe not so much a battle as a pummeling.

Cool vintage video: how to use a rotary phone

Even today, I can still remember where the telephone was in the house I grew up in:  on the wall, in the kitchen, right next to the hallway that led to the dining room.  It was a Trimline...big, pink, weighed a ton.

I also remember when we replaced it with a push-button model.  Oddly enough, the best thing about the push-button model (white, no pink this time) was that I was able to dial radio stations faster to try to win contests.  (Don't laugh...I won a couple of Rush albums from "The Loop" that way!)

In a way, the push-button model was the poor man's speed dial!

But for those who REALLY remember old phones, here's a cool video snippet for you to watch.  It comes from a time when phones were being converted from "pick up the phone and talk to the operator" to "pick up the phone and dial".  Yes, phones didn't always have dials on them.

My lucky find! An 1845 Liberty half-cent piece!

A few days ago, I got this old cast metal bank. It's the kind that's a cast head of usually someone important. In this case, it was Thomas Edison.

I was planning on trying to sell it, but it turns out that there are dozens available on eBay, and the bank I had might fetch a whopping $6. So...not a great find.

When I went to get the bank, I noticed that there was something inside it (I didn't notice it when I first got the bank, since it was in a box with a lot of other stuff). So, I broke out my trusty cast head bank key (more commonly known as a screwdriver), pried the bottom open, and emptied the bank out.

So...how pricey is YOUR car? Bet it's no where near what this Bentley cost!!

I just got back from dropping off some packages at the Post Office.  I sell a lot on-line and I get to go to our local PO at least 3 times a week.  Typically, there's nothing unusual about going there, other than the occasional short line which lets me get in and out of the place quickly.

But today, I parked next to this:

At first, I thought it was one of those new Chryslers...but I was wrong.

Retro Auto Museum: Russian Style

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From the man who brought you the video on the Russian Museum Of Video Games comes this rather interesting viddy.

This is a tour of the Retro Auto Museum in Russia. Some of the cars are really interesting...they weren't all rip-offs of American or UK cars.Some were pretty unique and highly original.

If you have a few moments, take a look. If you have any interest in vintage autos, you'll like this viddy:



The coolest parts:  the limos.  And...making your own car.  Yeah.  Make your own car.

Of course, the baking pan steering wheel is pretty cool, too.

Anti Dennis Kucinich Yard Sign

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While on my semi-regular bike ride this morning, I came across this rather interesting sign on someone's front lawn.

It doesn't take a poli-sci major to figure out the person who put up this sign is not a big Kucinich fan.  But for those who don't know much about Dennis Kucinich, you can read up on him here and I'll let you decide how accurate this sign is.

Now, I'm going on record as stating that I am ecstatic that this sign is up...primarily because of what it represents:  free speech.  And if you can't espouse your political views on your front lawn, then this country is getting into serious trouble.


But anyway....here's a viddy of the sign (narrated by yours truly):

Life before cable? Was there such a thing?

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Long before cable, and I mean LONG before cable, there was something called...."ON TV".

I grew up in Chicago and when a company called "ON TV" showed up, man, it was big news.

Imagine:  new movies, specials, concerts and more brought directly to your TV with nothing but a piece of coax and a box on your TV set.

So it was cable...but not cable.  You could either watch ON TV or your regular stations (you just had to flip a switch and change the station on your TV).  And as far as I remember, you got ONE station on ON TV.  So imagine buying cable today and all you had were your local stations and TBS...not so funny, is it?

But it was cable, since it pioneered coax in your home, and of course the big bucks it cost to get it installed plus the monthly fee.

I also remember the absolute nightmare if you also wanted to hook up a video game console to your TV.  You'd get a migraine trying to keep track of all the jacks and wiring just so you could play Asteroids on your Zenith.

I remember it impressing just about everyone in my family, and it was impressive.  We got to see all sorts of movies and special events that "the common folk" didn't get to see.

Here's a video of an ON TV commercial to see a Rolling Stones pre-taped concert (OK, on this point, I guess ON TV is like cable nowadays, commercials and all):



...and another for the "adults only" stuff....



The weird part about this is that the "Adults only" stuff they show has an "R" rating, but it seems a bit more X-like (at least the last few frames are...WOWSERS!!!) than I would have thought.

I don't remember how much it cost, but I am pretty sure it was maybe $20 a month, which in today's dollars would be about $51.  And, remember, that was for ONE station.  Today, you spend a bit more than that for hundreds of channels, high-speed internet and maybe even web-based phone service.

The sad part is, there's still nothing on TV to watch.

Rock Bands With TWO lead singers

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At work (yes, I do actually do something other than blog all day!!) we usually play on our speaker system "Rock Show", which is mostly classic rock. I don't think it's because it's the most popular; I think it's because it's the least offensive (most people would rather hear "Concrete Beats", which is all rap, which is just to difficult for a lot of people to listen to all day).

But...oh, yeah...the point of this post.

I was talking to someone about the songs and I we talked about the lead singers. That got me thinking...

"I wonder how many bands had two lead singers?"

Hence...this post.

Following is my first pass at those bands that had two or more lead singers. Before we get to the list, some simple rules:

1. The band had to have the two lead singers in the group at the same time (so, sorry, Doobie Brothers...Michael McDonald came after Tom Johnston).
2. The two singers don't have to have equal billing, but they should both be considered "lead singers" (hence, the Rolling Stones are not on this list)
3. Obscure bands that typically don't get regular airplay (so, sorry Fugazi...I love you guys, but you can't be on this list; but I'll come up with one for you I swear).
4. hmm....I think that's it for the rules.

So here are the bands I can think of so far. They are in no particular order other than the order in which they come to mind:

• The Beatles
• The Band
• The Moody Blues
• Jefferson Airplane
• America
• Bread
• The Who
• Traveling Wilburys
• Chicago
• Traffic
• B52's
• CSN
• CSN&Y
• XTC (my personal fav)
• Pink Floyd
• The Cars
• Grateful Dead (only because I have no rule that I have to like the group)
• Tears For Fears
• Styx
• Journey (yes, there was a singer before/with Steve Perry, if only for a little while)
• The Beach Boys
• The Eagles (trifecta here!!)
• Fleetwod Mac (another trifecta)
• The Clash
• Supertramp
• Three Dog Night (added 9/26) 
• Alice In Chains (added 10/18)

Some bands that didn't make the cut (and why):

• Genesis:  Gabriel/Collins, so two lead singers, right?  But Collins (I think) only did a song or two while Gabriel was really the lead singer.  Collins came to the front after Gabriel's departure (and subsequently ruined Genesis...but again, fodder for another post).
• Toto:  Isolation perhaps had two lead singers, but there's plenty of fog surrounding who sang what.  Besides, it was one album during a transition period...oh, and it's my list and I say they don't count.
• The Rolling Stones:  Sorry, but Mr. Richards can not (nor ever) be considered a "lead singer".  Sorry.
• New Order:  For anyone who cares, "Movement" (brilliant and under-appreciated IMHO) featured just about the entire band singing "lead", but they eventually settled on one member.

I'm sure I missed a few.

I'm sure some I missed I've never heard of.

I'm sure the list indicates the generation(s) of music I listened to.

I'm sure you'll submit your additions.

I hope you do.  A "definitive list" would be wonderful, no?

P.S.  Maybe some day I'll actually list the names of the lead singers.

OLD old school video games: Russian style

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Yet another odd thing I stumbled upon recently.

This is a tour of a museum of video games in Russia.  Seems they too had an audience that was hankering to drop a few quarters to play the latest video games.

Some of the games may seem familiar...check out this video.  The games are just plain cool, no matter what language you speak:





Funny...even the Russian versions of these games bring back memories.

William Shatner for Commodore Computer

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Ages before the laptop, desktop or smartphone you're using even existed...there was Commodore.

Check out this ancient (by computer standards, anyway) commercial featuring William Shatner (post-Klingon pre-Priceline era) hawking the Commodore VIC-20:



Oh, and if you miss your old Amiga or C64, don't worry...Commodore's coming back!!

Fashion crisis: shoes

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So...am I too old for the shoes on the left?  Too young for the ones on the right?

I recently bought a pair of Adidas similar to these (canvas, rubber toe cap, no "CAMPUS" on the side, but very similar otherwise).  I like them, I wear them, they are actually comfortable, and they happen to look great with jeans or beat-up khakis (which are the only kind of khakis I own...primarily because I don't want to buy new pants).

But am I too old for them?

I personally hate seeing people my age ("my age" is late 40's) wearing clothes that they obviously had a teen-age skateboarder pick out for them and I laugh, thinking "why are they wearing that?!?".  (And of course don't forget the mid-40's pizza delivery guy we always get who wears hoodies, tight black (but still sagging) shorts and sockless high-tops...but that's another post in itself.)

But now I'm thinking I'm approaching that age where I can't wear what I used to.

But what can I wear?  I own cargo shorts; are they OK?  Half my life is spent in t-shirts and shorts; does that meet with public approval?  Ironically this is why I miss Eddie Bauer stores: they seemed to specialize in clothes for the 30-50 crowd (which may also be the reason why they aren't around anymore...nobody likes knowingly being targeted by marketers).

When do I stop wearing what I like and start wearing what I should?

When do I place my first order for power-walking shoes?  Or shoes with Velcro closures? 

Furthering my self-humiliation: The Ugly Dance

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All I keep asking myself is:  why did I do this?

Sometimes you just have to be able to laugh at yourself

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So, it seems that Oprah Winfrey is ending her 248-year run as top dog of Chicago television.

And to celebrate this event, there's the official "Oprah-fy Yourself" website! 

Yes, all you need is a pic of yourself, the ability to click a few buttons and move a mouse and you, too, can be host of your own talkshow (or, at least, have a promo pic for it).

Here's mine (please, try to keep the laughter down while I'm in the room):

Yeah, I don't know what happened to the left side of my face.  And I look HORRIBLE in those earrings.



I think Paul Scheer's pic, though, came out wonderfully:

So, hey, give it a shot.  At least it's something different than turning yourself into a Simpsons character!