Archive for September, 2014

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Photos of the 7th West Coast Computer Faire, 1982

Published September 4, 2014 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Atari , Conventions (Cons)/Trade Shows , Personal Computers 1 Comment

CF 1982-1

CF 1982-2

CF 1982-3

CF 1982-4

CF 1982-5

CF 1982-6

The photos were taken by Jim Willing and are hosted at Jason Scott’s Flickr. The first West Coast Computer Faire was held on April 16 and 17, 1977 in San Francisco (Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II there). The 7th Faire ran from March 19-21, 1982, also in San Francisco.

The last photo above shows the Adventure International booth and Scott Adams (powder blue suit). I also found a two-page spread from Computer Gaming World #4 (June, 1982) featuring more photos, including another shot of Adams and the AI booth, as well as Atari’s Chris Crawford, who’s playing Scram, a game he designed, on an Atari 800.

CF 1982-7

CF 1982-8

Creepy 1970s Family Posing with Giant Photo of Baby Leopard (and Cats)

Published September 3, 2014 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion 7 Comments

70s Family-2

70s Family-4

70s Family-1

70s Family-3

Nope. I have no idea what’s going on here. I’m just thankful that I wasn’t part of it.

(Found photos via Look-Around Lounge/eBay)

The Six Million Dollar Man Catalog Insert (Kenner, 1977)

Published September 3, 2014 Catalogs , Kenner Toys , Six Million Dollar Man, The 2 Comments

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Real life superhero Mikey Walters strikes again (he uploads faster than a speeding bullet!). Check out his Six Million Dollar Man Flickr Album to see the rest of the catalog, along with original boxes and instructions for the Critical Assignment Arms and Legs, “one of Steve Austin’s last resort measures in critical bionic situations.”

The Dungeon Hobby Shop Ads (1976, 1979)

Published September 2, 2014 Ads , D&D Leave a Comment

Dungeon Hobby Dragon #3 1976

Dungeon Hobby Dragon #22 February 1979

From The Dragon #3 (top) and #22. You can see a photo of the model dungeon adventure that “lights up!!!” right here.

A Portrait of Young Geeks Playing D&D (1986)

Published September 2, 2014 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Board Games/Tabletop Games , Coke , D&D , D&D Portraits , What Our Rooms Looked Like 6 Comments

D&D 1986

D&D 1986

The photos are via heath_bar/Flickr. We’re in Houston, Texas. Summer of ’86. First shot: if all those maps are connected, I’m impressed. The kids on the bed are drinking Cherry Coke, which was introduced in 1985 after the New Coke disaster. Just seeing that can brings back the essence of summer when summers were free. How about one of the greatest ’80s commercials ever to jog your memory?

The kid on the left is drinking a Minute Maid Lemon-Lime Soda. I found a commercial for that too. Pay close attention to the giant can at the very end taking the water bucket challenge.

Second shot: The blue book on the right is the rulebook for the first D&D Basic Set, a.k.a. “Holmes Basic,” released in 1977. Just above that, mostly obscured by the green dresser, is a board game called All the King’s Men. Originally released as Smess: The Ninny’s Chess in 1970, Parker Brothers re-released the game with a Medieval theme in 1979. I doubt that the revision was a coincidence.

AtKM 1979

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Quicklatch Rug Kit (Craft Master, 1982)

Published September 1, 2014 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Arts and Crafts , E.T. 11 Comments

E.T. Rug 1982

E.T. Rug 1982-2

Quick-latch rugs were a thing in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but I’m not sure why. There was a general crafts resurgence, and I remember going to various stores with my mom to buy the rug kits and figurines to paint—there were E.T., Return of the Jedi, and D&D paint-a-figurine sets, among others, and a company called Craft Master was the leading producer. Craft Master was also a leading producer of the Poster and Pen sets unique to our generation.

The rug kit came with a color coded template and a latch instrument, and you would take the appropriate strip of yarn with the latch, run it through the correct square, tie it off, and so on until you died from boredom. When finished, the rug was very unfortunately made into a pillow or hung on the wall. I may have completed one of the things before I realized that I was being duped and went back to my action figures and D&D Basic Set.

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