Goodbye to the World's Coolest Basement

This week got a l'il emotional as I bid goodbye to my grandparent's home. Even though they both had passed a while back, my whole family was a bit attached to their place and it took some time to finally decide to let it go.

For me, the hardest part about it was that it was a perfect time capsule complete with wood paneling, funky carpets and even rotary phones (which now reside in my home). It was like stepping into my childhood every time i went there:

I played with my Mike Power: Atomic Man in this corner, wrote my first post college resume on that desk and more recently filmed the Brick Mantooth toy commerical here.

The house was built in the mid 1960s and honestly I think they stopped decorating around 1972. They kept everything perfect so it was museum quality and it was also filled with weird "high tech" items like electric space heaters and intercoms in every room!

Seriously, what kid wouldn't play with this for hours? It was like living in the Venture compound!

This house will forever remind me of catalogs (my grandmother kept them for years, so yeah I got it from her), the Lawrence Welk show (which I hated then but now cannot get enough of) and Dean Martin records. I'm sorry to see it pass but I'm also taking all of those things with me, so it's never truly left has it?

Speaking of "taking it with me" I did manage to inherit something, somehow my siblings, parents and even nephew didn't fight me from getting what was truly mine.

Yes, this magnificent belt massage device works and it's all mine! Those fools just let me have it.

Thanks for reading, have a terrific weekend!

Christopher Lee RIP

I am saddened to hear of the passing of Christopher Lee, a man whose contributions to pop culture seem limitless. Growing up he was Dracula and Frankenstein, visited moonbase alpha, fought both Captain America and James Bond and looked cooler than both of them doing it.

To say he was one of my favorite people in the world is an understatement.

Lee lived a long life, working to the very end (even recording metal albums in his 80s) and we are all better for it.

Rest in Peace Christopher Lee...

We love you Mr Spock

Yesterday's loss of Leonard Nimoy felt strangely personal to me, perhaps because as someone smarter than me said "It feels like we lost a friend".

Nimoy's portrayal of Mr Spock has always been a topic of conversation here at PlaidStallions, especially all the wonderful Star Trek merchandise that we 70s kids got.

Toy makers such as Remco, Mego, AHI and others recognized Nimoy as the most recognizable factor of the show and his visage appeared on thousands of items during the course of our childhood, here are some of my favourites.

Beam down after the jump:

Gerry Anderson Toy Tribute

The passing of legendary TV producer Gerry Anderson yesterday, put me into a real funk. Anderson created two of my favourite science fiction series of all time in UFO and Space:1999, not to mention a pile of super cool kid's programming in the 1960s. 

The man was a visionary, Whenever Anderson's name appeared, awesome merchandise followed. What better way to honour the man's legacy than to take a look at some of the playthings inspired by his output.

Spectrum is green after the jump!

Goodbye to an icon

I can't not mention the unfortunate passing of Farah Fawcett on this blog, if the seventies have a representative, Farrah would likely be the supreme candidate.

She was a Charles Angel, a runner, she was married to the Bionic Man, Girls wanted to be her and her hair style rocked a nation, guys being guys bought her poster at an alarming rate.

70s kids and Gen Xers, we've lost our Marylin Monroe....

More Reasons to Like Toddlers

They'll let you dress them like this and won't put up a fight.

Sad News Department: I was bummed to hear of the death of George Carlin this past weekend. As a kid I found an old lp of "Take Offs and Put Ons" and played it to death. So much so, that when it aired on CBC one afternoon, I could talk along with it.

Carlin was my "gateway" comic that made a huge fan of stand up. Soon after this discovery, I was trading lps of Cosby,Kline, more Carlin and even a few Pryor tapes.

I sometimes got in trouble by my folks because of him and I didn't always like what he had to say but that was the beauty of comedy. Rest In Peace George and thanks for the laughs.

RIP Chuck

I awoke to sad news this morning that one of the biggest icons from my youth, Charlton Heston had passed away. If you're a child of the 70's you couldn't escape Charlton Heston's influence, he was Taylor, The Omega Man, Ben Hur. He was the reason this past Easter my wife and I channel surfed until we found the Ten Commandments.

I loved this guy, I even read his book "The Actor's Life" which is a diary of his life up until the mid seventies. In it, he describes going to see "Deep Throat" and his distaste for it, it's possibly the funniest thing I have ever read.

I'll miss you Chuck and I'll never forget that Soylent Green is People.

Evel Knievel RIP

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Evel Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose exploits made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.

Knievel’s death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.

RIP Evel.