Thirty Years Ago Today, Courtesy Of Casey Kasem

1983 was an unbelievable summer for music.

I remember it like it was yesterday...listening to WFBQ, Indianapolis' own Q95, for hours on end, laying out in Suzanne's back yard, drenched in Coppertone tanning lotion, drinking Tab (Diet Coke was still a very new product that summer).

I was twelve...going on twenty-seven.  Boy crazy and made up like a cocktail waitress most of the time.  Was there a better purple eyeshadow than Aziza, in those days?  I don't think so.  But yeah, most of the time, I was all dolled up like I belonged in Vegas, not in our humble home in Lafayette, Indiana.

Here's to thirty years ago, here's to great music, and here's to Casey Kasem: a voice every bit as cherished to our generation as the records we spun during that long, hot, distant summer.

It's A Mod, Mod World

Peggy Moffitt, muse to designer Rudy Gernreich and hair legend Vidal Sassoon,
advertises Dash laundry detergent in this 1960s ad (1966, maybe?).

It seems as though Dash has been discontinued as a brand; however, it is very difficult to find any information online about it.

A Tribute To Vintage VD, Part Four: Phallic Imagery And Floozies

From 1958: Behold, The Creamery Grainy Splendour Of Minute Rice And Cheese Sauce

FANTASTIC double-clicker!

Two bonus vintage recipes for those of you who like that sort of thing (like me!).

From 1947: Building Up America's Future...The Bovine Way!

Just feed Lil' Junior that tasty beef, straight out of the can.  And be sure to pour whatever Beefy Juices remain all over his zwieback for extra all-American goodness.

Get a supply today!

Better Living Through The Use Of Chemicals: Introducing "Shinyl Vinyl"

And doesn't the name "Congoleum" just sound sinister?  Like the type of place where Dale Coba would be the CEO and Chief Cretinous Creep.

From the unbelievably great site Found In Mom's Basement.  Do you love the vintage stuff as much as Yours Truly does?  Then git yer ass over there to FIMB.  

Ah...the retro.  You're soaking in it!

Ye Olde Whopper Ad With Ye Olde Burger King Restaurant Illustration, 1966

Nicked from Found In Mom's Basement, which is my favorite site on the Information Superhighway for retro goodies.

Is it just that I am hungry, or does that hamburger look incredibly delicious?  Let's all get in my time traveling machine and head back to 1966!  Nowadays, it's a good Whopper if a condom isn't included in the condiments.

Absolutely Ravishing Ad For Chanel Featuring Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, 1991

From where else?  Found In Mom's Basement!

A Landmark In Owl-Related Advertising

From where else?  The 1960s.

Hey, Vintage Lovers: Have You Checked Out "Found In Mom's Basement" Lately?

She's uploaded some marvelous stuff.

Like this:

1947: The Year Of Mutant Children

Christie Brinkley in cosmetic ads from 1982 and 1983: it doesn't get any better than this

Fabulous vintage ads for food, including recipes, from 1947

A 1940s Lysol Ad Tackles The Delicate Issue Of When A Wife Smells Like She Has Opened A Branch Of The Famous Pike Place Fish Market In Her Panties

This poor 1940s wife.  She is being kept from Dave and his Happy Married Love because she suffers from what the Scientists refer to as "Stinkifus Cunticus."  

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: this wife isn't getting a chance to perform her Wifely Duties for Dave because she smells like a tuna casserole.  And Dave is sick and tired of craving potato chips after coitus!  A cigarette, maybe.  But potato chips?  Who cares if they're called "Lay's"?

I mean, think about it, gents: would YOU be in the mood to give The Little Woman some Happy Married Love if all the fellas down at the office kept calling you "Mr. Pelican," or if your boss, that old sourpuss Mr. Jenkins, inquires nastily if he is actually paying you the salary you think you deserve, since you so obviously have been moonlighting as a fishmonger?

Lucky for Dave and his walking, talking fish taco, er, wife, she can douse her delicate self in chemicals, chemicals, and more chemicals.  It's the 1940s, after all.  Chemicals can solve any problem, even a nauseating case of rotten crotch!  It's her patriotic duty to douche with industrial-strength solvents!  It's the American way!

Thanks to Lysol, Dave's wife will have a pussy as fresh as school hallways, hospital sickrooms, and bus terminal bathrooms.  Hooray for Happy Married Love!

The Salad Of '75: A Photojournalistic Odyssey

It's lunchtime here, my fellow monkeys. As promised, I followed the recipe for The Salad of '75 (many thanks once again to Found In Mom's Basement) to see if this salady summery super-slimmer is a winner in the flavor department.

First, I assembled all of the complicated ingredients on my kitchen counter. My many apologies to the good folks at Tabasco...they are the ones who actually concocted this recipe, and I had none in the house. So I substituted the super-spicy El Pato sauce instead.



Next, I emptied the cottage cheese into my mixing bowl. I just love fancy cookin'...don't you?


Next stop, the incorporation of the albacore. Wait a second, that sounds like some crappy big-budget summer thriller with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and The Bimbo Of The Moment. Let's just say that I added the tuna. There. That's better.

I used only a half-can, because it was a large can of albacore.


By now, Lola was going nuts. She is smart enough to know what the words "tuna fish" means, and the smell always brings her running into the kitchen anyway in search of a treat. We don't make things with albacore all that often, so it doesn't hurt for her to get a taste or two. She kept climbing up on the counter in search of a snack, so I gave her a little tasting plate of her own so that she would keep off the counter.

Manni was indifferent to it. I tried to give him a little taste, too, but he just shrugged and went back to the couch, where he was previously sprawled.




Time for the chives and hot sauce. Usually I prefer fresh chives, but I didn't have any in the house. No green onions in the fridge, either, which is weird, because they are one of my kitchen's staples.



Behold...The Salad Of '75!


The verdict? It is actually not bad. It's not delicious, it's not the pinnacle of gourmet cuisine, but is a very nutritious and filling lunch. And it is a cool dish, which is just right for summer months. I wound up adding even more of the hot sauce, along with some fresh ground black pepper, which improved the flavor...it was surprisingly rather bland at first.

Were I to make The Salad Of '75 again, I would definitely have the Tabasco on hand for that flavor. I have long been a fan of adding Tabasco to cottage cheese. I would also have fresh chopped green onions and diced tomato incorporated throughout. And perhaps most surprisingly, I would omit the tuna entirely (sorry, Lola). I suspect that it was in the recipe for the added protein content, but I find that I like the tuna the least in this dish.

Or I would just do what I always do when it comes to cottage cheese: mix in some fresh pico de gallo. Back in 1975, I would imagine that that option was not as common as it is for us today.

Better Living Through Cheap Starches And Powdered Cheese

From...where else?...Found In Mom's Basement.

Oh, by the way...I'm making The Salad Of '75 tomorrow for lunch, so you monkeys be sure to check in.  I even promise that I will provide pictures of the event.  And yes, I am serious.