Boring Postcards from My Hometown (and one interesting one)

The monkey ship at the zoo! I remember there being alligators swimming around in the water under the monkeys, but I think I must have made it up, because who wants to take the chance of seeing a little monkey get eaten by an alligator?

Well played, Pete!

A-seasonally, Mad Men has started at Thanksgiving 1964 this year, and last night's episode was set at Christmas. I'm not going into any spoiler-ish stuff here, but just wanted to point out Pete Campbell's snazzy red narrow-lapel double-breasted blazer, which he's sporting at the office Xmas party. Pete normally wears a blue suit to work, but this is the kid of thing a stylish guy of that time period would pull out of the closet to attend a social function or go out on the town.

Now, of course, no one would wear anything like that in public. I actually have one like this in gold, with big, shiny flat gold buttons and a colorfully patterned lining. But even for me, it's hard to pull this one out for everyday wear!

Foulard -- the Blog That Pays You Back!™

As a special "Thanks!" to all readers of Foulard, here's a special Early Bird coupon for the restaurant of your choice:

Clip this from your monitor

Just take it to your favorite local bistro and tell them Foulard sent you! If they give you any trouble, just keep repeating that phrase over and over in a loud, aggrieved voice without elaborating.

*Not valid in Delaware.

BeatleToys for adults

Check out this cute little flash drive:

It's got super-high quality audio of all the Beatles original LPs on it, plus all the artwork etc.   Of course, you  could get your own little USB drive for 10 bucks and fill it up with all the albums yourself, but this is pretty cute!  List price $298--yowsa!

On a related note, most people don't know that John Lennon invented the original iPod (or 'beatleBox'):

Terrific Toys

Wow! Check out these early 60s molded toys based on the TV show "The Untouchables". I am dying to have these, since I'm very immature. Fortunately, someone is making them again.

Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) and Al Capone (Neville Brand)!

Various cops, gangsters, and innocent victims! Check out the corpses and the guy who's getting shot (his hat is flying off and his knees are buckling -- how gruesome!).

"Here's a message from Frank Nitti!"

Accessories! Tommy guns, violin cases, a safe, barrels of bootleg liquor, and a table and chair from a hideout. Also, Eliot Ness' desk, coat rack, and a filing cabinet.

Mad Men walk-on contest weirdness

Banana Republic is having a photo contest for a walk-on role on the next season of Mad Men. Contestants submit their photos and then people vote for them online. I was tempted to do this, but I'm too lazy and too shy for it. I was perusing the entries, and they seem to me to be divided into three categories:

Authentic

Look--she made an effort--not just the outfit, but the whole room. Kudos!

Why bother?

What the hell? An iPhone, a Girl's Basketball t-shirt, a bland, smug expression in the bathroom mirror plus inadvertently giving me the finger do NOT deserve a walk-on! BOO! You suck!

I'm a Freak

I feel queasy looking at this guy's photo, much less posting in on my blog. This picture says "I am a lunatic who wants to be on TV. What show is this for again?"

Creepy Puppets

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons--I love this show, and it would have driven me nuts with excitement when I was five.  It would be like watching my G.I. Joes (12" tall version) in the future, with an inappropriate level of puppet violence for small children.