Author Archives: Retro Justin
Do your Christmas shopping at the AT&T Phone Center
Get an AT&T branded phone. Maybe an AT&T typewriter. They may have an AT&T computer.. that would be sweet. This place has all the expensive gift ideas on your Christmas list!
Peace on Earth, holiday cartoon from way back..
I can’t recall the first time I have seen this cartoon, but I was young. It was very frightening to me. The message of the cartoon got through to my young mind; that some wars just do not make any … Continue reading
Old-time Christmas radio featuring Archie Andrews and the Gang!
I’ve been listening to some Christmas radio shows from yesteryear. One show caught my ear; an episode of Archie Andrews. I looked it up. Supposedly it’s from 1947. So if you like Christmas, Archie comics, and old time radio, then … Continue reading
Toys ‘R Us, Nintendo & the holidays are perfect together.
Oh how I dreamed of getting a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas. Seems that everyone I knew was getting one. Instead, I received something equally as cool, but not as popular; the Sega Master System. Regardless, I can always get … Continue reading
Hickory Farms gifts for Christmas
People knock the Hickory Farm gift sets. While it is true that it is usually given as a last resort, I have always enjoyed receiving them, as long as there is alot of meat in the box. On a side … Continue reading
Ronald McDonald’s favorite Christmas Gifts
Who needs a star that fell from the sky? Ronald McDonald doesn’t. He is big enough to know that stars need to be seen by all. When you have friends like Birdie and Grimace, you really don’t need gifts, because … Continue reading
Ramona, Randy, Rhonda, Rodney the reindeer at Burger King
I can recall lots of cool toys from fast food restaurants such as Burger King back in the 80′s, but I can’t say I remember these plush toys. At $1.99, seems like a good deal though. Apparently, they are related … Continue reading
“Norelco, even our name says Merry Christmas.” Eh?
Nothing says retro like a Christmas commercial using stop-motion animation. I totally dig Santa riding an electric razor through the snow, but can someone tell me what the heck do they mean by the very last sentence in the commercial??
Capture those Christmas memories with the Kodak Disc.
I hate having to turn the film/crank the camera to get to the next spot on the film before I can take a picture. If only there was a way to avoid that… Enter the Kodak Disc! With this, almost … Continue reading
Bribe Santa this Christmas with M and Ms…
If you’re a kid, what can you get your hands on to barter with Santa? M&Ms candy. According to this commercial from the 1980s, that’s all it takes to get the goodies on your 10 foot long Christmas list =)
Christmas Computer Shopping in 1984
“Computer Experts” say that you can learn the basics of computers in a couple of hours, back in 1984. Oddly enough, I believe that still holds up today if (BIG ‘IF’) a person has never touched a computer. If you … Continue reading
Have a 7-Up this Christmas
I often look back at Christmas commercials from my youth with fond feelings. Holiday commercials were more magical then. Perhaps it’s the lack of fancy computer generated imagery that made them more fun. Regardless, seeing these Christmas elves enjoying a … Continue reading
Christmas gift: Tandy Computer and COLOR monitor, bonus!
A 999 dollar Christmas gift is quite expensive today, but imagine paying that much in the mid-1980s. Yikes! However, the Tandy 1000 does come with a color monitor, so it is well worth the price.
Laser Tag makes a nice Christmas gift, but give me that robot!
Seems like robots were a big deal in the 1980’s. I know they were for me. Had to have Verbot and then eventually a Robie Junior. While in elementary school, I even bought a book on robots during a school … Continue reading
Season’s Greetings from Atari… IN SPACE!
We often think of Santa Claus and his reindeer doing some amazing things on Earth. Flying around the planet at blinding speeds, but why not fly off the planet? Surely that’s gotta be a possibility. After all, if there aren’t … Continue reading
Need a ColecoVision? Go to Hills Department Store this Christmas
Hills Department Stores were pushing video game consoles around 1982. This comes as a surprise to me as I thought of Hills as a “five & dime” type store. If I had seen this commercial, I would have never complained … Continue reading
Toys R Us… Were toys better back then?
I look through the Toys R Us circulars now and again. What can I say? I’m still a kid at heart. As I look through them, I think, “These toys don’t look like much fun.” Is it true? Are modern … Continue reading
Archie, Jughead, Veronica, Betty and ADAM
Dan Parent, artist for Archie Comics, gave me a gift last week. It was a portrait he drew of the Archie gang, in 1980’s fashion, using my favorite vintage computer; the Coleco ADAM.
Unboxing: 1983 Atari 800XL home computer
The year is 1983. Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” is tearing up the radio waves, Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, and Matthew Broderick is playing WarGames in theaters. That same year, Coleco released the ADAM, Apple released … Continue reading
Richard Scarry’s Best ELECTRONIC Word Book Ever!
I was reading a submission to the Retroist the other day about Richard Scarry’s cartoons on Netflix. That reminded me of a software title from 1984 for the Coleco ADAM computer called “Richard Scarry’s Best Electronic Word Book Ever!” The … Continue reading
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