And now for a bit of Khristmas Kitsch…

For 50 years NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been protecting North American airspace from enemy attack, and for most of those years they have been tracking the Christmas Eve movements of none other than Santa Claus. Growing up in the 1960’s meant the Cold War was pretty much a hypothetical concept since “duck and cover” drills and bomb shelters were products of the 1950’s. Even a thing as scary as the Cold War didn’t put a dent into the typical Patio kid’s Christmas expectat

Not retro, but strange nonetheless!

“Numbers Stations”, byproducts of the Cold War, were cryptic coded numerical messages that would appear on various short wave frequencies then abruptly end. It is believed that these mysterious messages were intended for field agents of various world intelligence services during the Cold War era. Although super power tensions have eased somewhat in the 21st century, numbers stations still operate out of Latin America and Cuba. Whatever their purpose, numbers stations make for an eerie, yet realistic, op

You love that machine? He's dedicated to keeping me happy...

An Ed Wood classic. Zombies, aliens, and Bella Lugosi!

B-movie action at its best! I actually saw this movie in the theater thinking to my nine year old self “Cool special effects! Don’t touch those monsters! Wow, that lady’s space dress is tight!”. Actually, I can’t really remember seeing any slime; the title must refer to some type of alien racial slur. After all of these years it’s the theme song that sticks in my mind….Green Sliiimmme….

An Irwin Allen classic, Land of the Giants centers around the Earth ship Spindrift that is sucked into a time/space vortex only to return back to the Earth...a GIANT EARTH! The series which ran from 1968 to 1970, was mainly about how the ships' valiant crew and passengers dealt with a world of giant tormentors...the most perfect and believable story premise for a kid! In the series, the characters had to deal with a hostile, authoritarian world and survive to find their way back home. Similiarly in a world

The one that started it all. James T. Kirk didn't worry much about Political Correctness...he had a job to do. Actually I didn't get to see much of the original Star Trek during it's prime time network run (remember dads controlled the TV so it was usually Bonanza for us). I picked it up later during syndication like most people. There were two distinct popular culture genres for boys in the 1950's and 1960's. The 50's tended to focus on the past (cowboys and Indians, Davy Crockett, etc.), and the 60's focu

Get Smart is proof that not all spy shows of the time were drama. Maxwell Smart, Agent 89, could be successful against the evil forces of C.H.A.O.S. (an analogy for Communism) while being totally inept. With the help of the lovely Agent 99, Smart actually pulled off a bumbling kind of cool, not to be seen again until Austin Powers. Kid interest was always aroused by the cool secret spy gadgets. Smart had access to such things as the Cone of Silence, shoe phones, a multi-door security labyrinth for a headqua

Felix the Cat,
The wonderful, wonderful cat.
You'll laugh so much your sides will ache,
Your heart'll go piddy-pat,
All for Felix,
the wonderful cat.

Felix was a pretty laid back kind of cat, that is until his neighbors the Professor and Rock Bottom started scheming. Sometimes the Master Cylinder (who lived on Mars) would get into the action as well. No problem for Felix. He would just reach into his yellow bag of tricks and viola--what ever
was needed to take care of the bad guys was there! He also had

Television's answer to the Beatles. The "Pre-Fab Four" cruised around in the customized jalopy looking for adventure and hijinks. The rather light plot lines would be interspersed with live music concert footage. As goofy as this show seems today, I can remember when KDSX-AM radio (Sherman-Denison, TX) was inundated with calls from eager pre-teen Monkees fans to play their latest hit. On a Saturday it wouldn't be uncommon for the old kitchen wall radio to play "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" and "I'm a Believ

Simply put, Popeye was the man! Not only was he able to survive life visually impared, but he was able to dominate the forces of evil given the infusion of a a few Vitamans! While his debut in the comics was in 1929, Popeye first appeared on the big screen in 1933 with the help of Max and Dave Fleischer.
The series reached its technical zenith by the 1950's, and by the 1960's production was taken over by a new producer, Al Brodax. The simpler, and cheaper animation may not have the same technical
appeal, b

Based on the more serious movie Stalag 17, Hogan's Heros made being a prisoner of war look like summer camp! Although they were in a Luftstalag deep inside
Nazi Germany, Col. Hogan and the gang managed to conduct an elaborate sabotage operation while having a great time to-boot. Many kids, myself included, tried to dangerously recreate the show's cool underground tunnel system
only to give up after they had dug down only about a foot or so. Real 1960's events eventually encroached on the show when I saw R

You can bet your bippie that Laugh In was the sign of changing times! The fast pace and just plain silliness of this ground-breaking sketch comedy show appealed to many kids as well as adults. Laugh In had an almost Pythonesque style of comedy
and was not afraid to poke fun at the political figures of the day. For me, Laugh In marked the beginning of Mainstream America's gradual acceptance of at least some of the 1960's counterculture. Go-go dancers with psychedelic body paint invaded suburban living rooms

The gold standard of comedy. Period. During the 1930's and 1940's, the original trio of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard elevated the art of Vaudvillian slapstick to its zenith. After the ailing Curly left the team, brother Shemp Howard and later Joe DeRita took his place. Although still very entertaining, the magic seemed to wane with each successive replacement.
Originally intended as theater shorts, The Three Stooges adapted perfectly to the new medium of television. My Stoogian indoctrination o

Jot! A cartoon name as simple as its animation. A name as simple as the cartoon’s moral premise…good vs. evil. Jot was a Christian sponsored cartoon that aired in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area during the late 1960’s. Whether their family was religious or not, a kid growing up in the suburban Patio Culture watched Jot on Sunday mornings. You had to…there was no other kid programming on TV (except Davy and Goliath) on Sunday morning. Usually it was the non-religious families that found Jot playin

The Rat Patrol and retro TV favorites!

Exotica music now playing at the Trade Winds Tiki Lounge!

Dean Martin!