Pop At The Pumps

April 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Gas stations have always occupied a special place in my memories. Everything from the noise of traffic to the smell of gasoline on hot tarmac, though despised by most, is particularly pleasant to me.

Gas stations are where people meet, make plans and prepare for whatever adventures the weekend has in store. The central hub for the post-nuclear family. And not so long ago, it was a place where you could buy things. No, not twinkies, over-priced water and cheap cigarettes, I mean strange things, specialty items that only certain gas stations had.

It began in the 50s and 60s as a form of incentive to draw in the station-wagon family vacation crowds. If you ran a gas station that sold ice cream, or collectible toy cars or something that kids loved, their parents would buy it to occupy them during the drive. Once your station’s reputation spread around the schoolyard every kid in town HAD to nag their parents to check it out. You can bet your next months rent that little Timmy would make his parent’s drive down to Grandma’s house a living hell if they didn’t gas up at your pumps and receive a ten-cent tin robot… It’s not rocket science, it’s just good business !

Business continued into the 70s and grew from toy cars and milk caps to anything you could imagine. Drive-up windows were added to accelerate the speed which Pins, cap guns, specialty chocolates and candies, action figures and sticker books could be dispensed to rabid pre-teens. Soon, Gas stations were sharing a roof with entire ice-cream parlors and cafes (the pre-cursors to today’s Gas-’n-Go convenience stores). It was at one of these hybrid Saturday-morning institutions that I had my very first taste of Black Cherry Cola. It was in the busy shop bursting out from behind a local gas bar that sold soda pop, and only soda pop. It was called, appropriately enough, The Pop Shoppe.

Started in 1969 in far out London, Ontario, the Pop Shoppe was a Canadian homespun sensation! As the name would suggest, the store specialized in a variety of glass-bottled pop that could be purchased individually for curb-side consumption or in plastic-fantastic crates of 24 to cover the whole weekend. The distinctive shape of their bottles (called “Stubbies”) and the classic Pop Shoppe labels were instantly recognizable, each of the myriad original flavours corresponding to a different colour. Now, let’s talk flavours;

Cream Soda, Black Cherry, Lime Rickey, Pinapple, Dad’s Root Beer, Grape, Orange, Bubble Gum, Blue Raspberry, Pink Something-or-other, and a whole lot more I can’t remember !!!

And if you didn’t want a 24 crate of just one flavour, you could lay your five fingers around as many different coloured bottles as you wanted and pack ‘em into the same crate, no extra charge! This was because the business ran on recycling the empty stubbies that were returned with the crates. I remember exploring the cavernous return room behind the gas station with my dad when I was very young. The floors were damp concrete and the crates were stacked like a vast plastic maze, the bottles inside reflecting the white summer sun like diamonds. My dad got a deposit back every time we returned our empties, the Pop Shoppe factory got another schwack of bottles to re-use, and mother nature smiled.

So did under-schooled hockey legend Eddie Shack in this Pop Shoppe Ad from the 70s.

All was sunshine and lollipops for the Pop Shoppe until the early 80s when sales ran out of gas (no pun there, honest!). Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominated the soda market and a flood of no-name generic cola brands filled supermarket shelves at waaaaaaay cheaper prices then the stubbies could compete with. The company quietly closed it’s factories and sales outlets in 1983, leaving behind mountains of their trademark stubby bottles and plastic crates.

The gas stations had changed too. No longer were they privately owned newsstands and cafes, but neon-coloured franchise outlets for plastic-wrapped fast food. Every family had at least one car in the 80s, and I guess no-one was interested in spending any more time at the pumps as they had too. Faster, cheaper, more generic and more disposable products filled the shelves at every “Gas ‘n Go” station , proclaiming the end of the Corner Gas Era.

The Pop Shoppe experienced a renaissance in 2004 when a Toronto firm bought the brand name and started pumping out a new line of Nostalgia-geared carbonated beverages through the usual (ie. 7-11 store) channels. They’re just as brightly coloured as I remember, and taste great, but somehow don’t kindle the embers of my memories like I thought they would…. It’s something about the bottle… It’s just not… wait… It’s not the same bottles at all!

After some digging on Wikipedia I learned that the new company bulldozed over the millions of re-usable empty bottles left behind by the last company, and just produced their own. No bottle return, no gas-station depots, just piles of dead baby seals…. errrr… sorry, it just seems so anti-environmental. Anyway, you can check out the brand-new Pop Shoppe company website HERE and decide for yourself if it lives up to your recollections.

I guess even the sweetest soda pop will go flat after 30 years.

Much love.

James Dean Guide to Body Language

April 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Just stumbled-upon this tasty article listing “Rules for Being a Body Language Badass” inspired by James Dean.

Rule #1: Lean on Stuff While Standing
Gravity is a fact of life, but a fact of life that Jimmy had little little time for. As a result, he expended little energy holding himself up and supporting his own weight. If Jimmy was near an object, you can put your money on him leaning on it sooner or later. Visit Site

Ace Of Spades

April 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Question : Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?

Answer : Trick question, Lemmy IS God !!!

From the movie Airheads (1994)

Retro Japanese TV Commercials

April 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I thought it couldn’t get any better then Nicholas Cage dancing with silver sphere-headed aliens in Pachinko… but it seems that back 1982 things were just as weird. Take laser beam-emitting cassette tapes, Jennifer Connelly (?), Break dancing, shorty-shorts and complete confusion and you’ve got This Thing… And while you’re at it check out the 1980 Space Commercial and this 1980s Whiskey Commercial as well.

Check ‘Yo Chucks

April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I know how it goes, it happened to me too…Your old roommate/girlfriend/boyfriend/buddy for the summer left three milk-crates full of his/her junk in the hallway and it’s stayed there for so long it’s actually become part of the linoleum. To top it off, there’s an ownerless pair of High Tops that live by the door. One day you tried ‘em on in a rush and like some sort of ultra-comfy parasite they took over control of your feet. Now your old Reboks live in the corner, alone and forgotten.

Show your love for Chucks and find out how old your buddy’s shoes really are at The Evolution of the Chuck Taylor High Top site.

Overclocked Oji Q&A

April 17, 2008 | 4 Comments

I never expected the “Good Bleepin Tunes” article to do anything but scratch the surface of the great artifact that is video game music. Now look at this ! I’ve got my nostalgic fish hook in the mind of Larry “Liontamer” Oji, the head submissions evaluator at OverClocked ReMix, the biggest video game music community on the internet ! I’m gonna try and net the big deal about video game music, OC ReMix.org, and the reason why we get weepy when 8-bit goes stereo.

First off, your profile on OC ReMix includes the moniker “Liontamer”, where did you pick up such a knightly nickname ?

Well, I’m a big fan of pro wrestling, and have been for 18 years. If there’s anything that gets me particularly nostalgic, it’s old school WWF and WCW (shortly after they broke off from the NWA). Pro wrestling’s a great combination of athletics, entertainment and politics.

Back in 1999, a favorite wrestler of mine was the emerging “Lionheart” Chris Jericho, who played a great cocky heel and was extremely entertaining on the mic. It was also around that time in high school where I started establishing an online presence, so I came up with “Y2J Liontamer,” a combination of Jericho’s WWF nickname “Y2J” when he jumped to the company in 1999, along with the name of his WCW finishing move, a Boston Crab variation called the “Liontamer.”

A few years later, I realized how n00b “Y2J Liontamer” sounded, and trimmed it down to the more credible “Liontamer.” I’m not really a huge fan of the direction Jericho’s gone since I took on the name, as he doesn’t get to rip into anyone on the mic anymore, but the nickname is a part of me, and I’ve got great memories of that time in wrestling history.

What are your responsibilities as “Head Submission Evaluator” ?

Being the Head Submissions Evaluator of OC ReMix since June 2006 has been a wonderful experience. It’s a role that site creator David “djpretzel” Lloyd did on his own for the first six years of the site, but now that I handle it, it frees up a lot of time for djp to work on other things for the organization. When musicians submit their video game music rearrangements to be considered for OverClocked ReMix, I take the first listen to everything and provide the first cut. Once I check a submission out, I either stop it dead in its tracks and use a form letter to give some points on why it won’t make it, or post it to the judges panel where myself and the other OCR music judges collectively decide if it passes with a more formal look, or I’ll just decide that it’s made it without the need for any additional evaluation.

For the responsibility, you need a good, perceptive ear, a working knowledge of both game music and the OCR standards on interpretation, and an understanding of what makes successful music. And that’s not to forget sacrificing loads of free time. Since the beginning of this year, we receive about 2.5 submissions a day or about 900 tracks a year, which is a big step up from the year and a half I was Head Submissions Evaluator before 2008. Back then, we got just over 600 submissions a year. Why it picked up, I honestly don’t know, but we certainly love the additional attention and how the community continues to grow.

At OC ReMix, we’re looking for creative interpretations of original video game music where an artist preserves connections to the original game music but also adds their own new ideas and personal style into the picture, the difference between a “ReMix” and a remix. For those that don’t know OCR, once you take a listen to recent ReMixes and compare them to the original themes, you’ll get the idea.

You can’t just plug in anybody to fulfill the role I’ve carved out for myself, but I feel lucky in that I’ve gotten into such an integral position at OC ReMix being a music enthusiast rather than a musician. It’s great experience akin to a record label A&R man on many levels, scouting talent and helping, along with the OCR judges panel, to critique artists’ works and help them improve their craft.

And are there any other projects you’re involved with within the video game music community ?

Despite not creating music though, I’ve gotten some vocal cameos in two of OC ReMix’s freely available album projects: Kong in Concert, a Donkey Kong Country tribute album where I played Funky Kong for my colleague Vigilante’s track “Funky Monkey Love.” I never thought I’d pen lyrics about how Donkey Kong “lays it down,” but never say never when it comes to the internet. [laughs]

Big Giant Circles and Liontamer with VGM composer Jack Wall at Video Games Live in Washinton, DC

I also recently provided spoken word stuff for Big Giant Circles & zircon’s track “Adrenalyne Kyck” for OCR’s free Final Fantasy VII tribute album, Voices of the Lifestream. BGC vocoded and otherwise mucked around with my voice to provide a really cool break section in the track where I quote FFVII’s game director Yoshinori Kitase on his decision to kill off Aerith. For me, it was a great way to honor Kitase’s prime role in making FFVII the legendary game it came to be.

Aside from that, I’ve been slowly but surely gathering tracks for my own tribute album effort, Dirge for the Follin, honoring British game music composer Tim Follin, who’s one of the most critically acclaimed yet under-appreciated talents in all of VGM, so that should finally be released this year.

I also spend lots of time at VGMdb.net, which is the premiere database for video game music albums. We’re cataloging every single video game music album ever made, and we’re doing a great job so far. I’ve added all sorts of albums, but my specialty is cataloging digital release albums by artists from the fan community, otherwise called “doujin,” a catch-all Japanese term connoting fan-created material of all kinds, in this case doujin music.

Video game music is a niche enough subsection of music where I’m always trying to spread the word on it any way I can. Anything I can do for video game music via my work at OC ReMix, VGMdb, or my video game music news blog VG Frequency.com, I’m there to do PR for it and help raise its profile.

Has there ever been a point (probably around 3 am) when you’ve been staring at your computer screen, and listening to remixes for so long that you actually thought you were Captain N the Game Master ?

[laughs] You know, though I did watch it a lot, I was never into that show enough. Now I have to turn in my gamer membership card. I definitely watched it, but the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the Super Mario World cartoon stuck with me so much more. The Super Mario World cartoon theme song was actually written by prolific film, television and games composer, and Devo member, Mark Mothersbaugh. Thank God for YouTube though, I can get my dose of Captain N. [watches the intro] Dayum, that brought back a lot memories. [watches more] It’s the “Gameboy” episode. Wow, they really messed up Mega Man, didn’t they? He sounds like Tattoo from Fantasy Island. Actually, they messed everyone up, but that’s like me hating on comic book movies that change the characters. I can complain, and I will, but who am I to complain? [laughs]

But, yeah, OC ReMix is like a second job. It doesn’t pay a dime, but it’s a labor of love for both games and music. Until I get my dream job of hosting a national radio show on video game music and working in entertainment, OC ReMix will always be my favorite job, as it hardly ever feels like one. Regardless, I’ve definitely spent way too many late nights listening to OCR submissions at the expense of my sleep. My girlfriend of 4 years, Paige, she’s been incredibly supportive. She’s got years of PR experience and helps us in a big way, but there have been plenty of nights where I’ve needed to go to bed and instead it’s 3 AM and I’m still judging submissions. She’s let me hear it! But it’s that drive that gets you where you want to be in life. And where I want to be in life is working professionally with video game music 12 hours a day, 6 days a week!

Personally, the music from NES games like the original Final Fantasy and Metal Gear got me thinking that there was more to a game soundtrack then just random bleeping, and are the tracks I frequent the most on OC ReMix. What were the titles you played back when you were a starry-eyed gamer that inspired you to follow the path of the video game music enthusiast ?

See, now you’re gonna get me into in it! But you said I could ramble, and you’re hanging with me thus far, so I’m gonna roll with it! [laughs] It was actually games like Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Capcom vs. SNK and GoldenEye 007 coinciding with the advent of Napster that truly put game music and listening to it on its own on my radar.

But for the games that stuck with me and planted the seeds, you bet, bro, it’s the older stuff. In the NES days, the Super Mario Bros. series was gold. Even Duck Hunt and Excitebike, as brief as those themes were, had some really memorable tracks. I loved the Foot Bag music of California Games for the Sega Master System. The in-ring theme of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was exciting! It created a lot of tension when you were trying your damnedest not to mess up.

And in the 16-bit era, Street Fighter II, naturally. It was one of the few games where every single character theme was memorable, all 12 of them. F-Zero’s “Mute City” was awesome. The first Donkey Kong Country sounded amazing both for its time and now. David Wise’s “Aquatic Ambiance” in that game is a track that I’ve listened to on pause many a time.

In terms of the side scrolling beat-em-ups, Final Fight 2, Streets of Rage 1 and 2, and TMNT IV: Turtles in Time were the kings. Turtles in Time showed off Konami’s sound team at some of their best in terms of music creativity. Double Dragon and Double Dragon II had awesome soundtracks as well.

The core Sonic the Hedgehog series, 1, 2 & 3, was also great. I spent lots of time in Sonic 3 trying to unlock the sound test so that I could sit and listen to the unused Mushroom Hill Zone music that later arrived in Sonic & Knuckles.

It’s been a while since I’ve been asked to think in depth about those games, so it’s actually incredible realizing just how big an impression those tracks left on me. Why did those tunes burn into our memories? Well, they all had great melodies and great hooks. And the fans never forget. Video game music is better at that than any other music. djpretzel made a great point in a radio interview though that video game music itself isn’t a genre, it’s a medium, i.e. a way of presenting music. Whether it’s back in the day with chiptunes or with today’s modern soundtracks, video game music is the broadest, most all-encompassing medium out there for hearing all kinds of different music.

Do you ever catch any of these old favorites popping on the OC ReMix submission list ?

Less than I would like, but that’s only because my personal favorites aren’t representative of what the community gravitates toward the most. Lots of my favorite game soundtracks are represented pretty well nonetheless. But whether it’s OC ReMix or other game music arrangement communities, games like Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Super Metroid, Mega Man 2 and Chrono Trigger, all games I’ve never played, rule the roost.

Don’t mistake me for being bitter about it though. I actually didn’t own too many games growing up. I had a small but awesome collection that I loved, but there were many other titles held in gamer circles as classics that I’ve still never touched. I don’t necessarily feel the need to play them as an adult. I know better, because if I did, I’d use up all my free time that way! [laughs] But thanks to OC ReMix, 8- and 16-bit soundtracks from games like Mega Man X, the Castlevania series, and the Legend of Zelda series are now just as second-nature to me as the games I grew up with.

The OC ReMix database is packed full of every kind of musical arrangement. Some ReMixes use all electro elements, some include virtuoso string and brass accompaniments, heavy metal guitars, heck I even found a Guaraldi-esque jazz piano recording. Do you find that certain styles of music lend themselves best to the vintage tunes of the 8- and 16-bit age ?

Yep, my colleague JigginJonT made the Guaraldi-esque jazz piano you’re referring to, and it’s a kickass piece from Final Fantasy VI, “A Day in the Life of a Gambler.”

In my experience at OCR, but following the fan arrangement scene in general, orchestral, rock, and electronic are the broadest, most all-encompassing genre labels that cover most of our music. So I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of a general stab as to what styles work the best. But at OC ReMix, not all ReMixes are cut from the same cloth. You’ll find tons of different styles and dynamic ranges for songs that fit within an overarching genre.

Nonetheless, several other genres work just as well with game music ReMixing, they just aren’t applied as often. But jazz, rap, new age, acoustic guitar, ambient, disco, J-pop, solo piano and many other styles all click together in the same cohesive way when put into the right hands. Two things I learned very quickly when I first became a fan of OC ReMix in 2002 - 1) nearly any style is acceptable and more than welcome with open arms, and, 2) no matter when one believes the community is spent for creativity and new ideas, the artists in the community will surprise you. That’s a big reason why, after 6 years in the scene so far, I haven’t gotten tired of it at all.

Old fashioned, chewing gum-strewn video arcades are becoming a thing of the past, I was wondering if you had an arcade anywhere around where you grew up ?

I actually didn’t. The closest thing to my hometown of New Haven, CT that I knew of was the Milford Amusement Center, which was down the Boston Post Road, and way out of my mom’s driving range as a kid. But there was a old Bradlees in Hamden that had, at different times, Street Fighter II, World Heroes 2, and Super Street Fighter II. In Super Street Fighter II, and I’m strictly talking about the arcade version, I loved T. Hawk’s theme in particular. But yeah, my mom would hook me up with 50 cents or a dollar, and I’d have the greatest time playing those games while she shopped. Being so young, even just watching the demos on the cabinets was mesmerizing. I was easy to keep occupied!

It’s obvious that with all the backwards-compatibility, downloadable classics, and in-game retro goodies showcased by the Wii, that Nintendo is fully aware how much nostalgia sells.
Do you think in our era of retro-fueled escapism that OC ReMixers have a better chance of breaking into the mainstream as video game music composers ? Could we be listening to OC ReMixes like LousySpy’s “What the Funk?” on the next Mario Dance Dance Revolution game ?

Funny that you mention DDR. Former OCR judge Dain “Beatdrop” Olsen actually won a contest this past year to have an original track of his included in DDR SuperNOVA 2. He credits OCR for inspiring him to work with video game music in the first place, and hopefully he isn’t the last OC ReMixer to make their mark on that franchise.

You’re definitely hitting the nostalgia trends though, Shawn. We’re already seeing the move toward retro-gaming benefiting OCR thanks to us producing the remixed soundtrack for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which is due out later this year.

For those in the dark on the game, Capcom and Backbone Entertainment are taking 1994’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo and giving it a facelift by re-balancing the game mechanics and redrawing the characters and backgrounds in high-definition.

Along with that, Rey Jiminez of Capcom heard OCR’s free Super Street Fighter II Turbo tribute album, Blood on the Asphalt, and subsequently got in touch with djpretzel about the album being adapted for the game soundtrack.

We’re developing edited versions of several of the album tracks, along with several new arrangements. Once everything’s signed, sealed and delivered, several OC ReMixers will have their first professional game music compositions credits. Meanwhile, for my non-musician self, I’ll have an assistant music producer credit for my part in getting things done. HD Remix is definitely the most important thing going on not just with my involvement in the community but with the community’s involvement in professional game development.

If HD Remix is any indication of the future, we definitely hope to field professional offers to either arrange existing soundtracks or create brand new ones. Down the line, I already know you’ll see some OC ReMixers make a substantial mark in professional video game music, whether it be through OC ReMix collectively or striking out on their own. Much like Beatdrop and his landing DDR, several of our guys have already had successes making music for games, and I’m expecting more for them.

OCR has some of the most creative, productive, and passionate musicians in the world. We love games, and we love game music. You give us any game project you can think of, any soundtrack style, and we have artists that can do an amazing job in scoring it. Original work, arranged work, it makes no difference.

OCR Judges Big Giant Circles, pixietricks, zircon, Liontamer and OCR founder djpretzel evaluate a submission

Do you have any advice for people interested in becoming a video game ReMixer, but are unsure where they should begin? That OC ReMix front page can be intimidating…

It certainly can look that way, but it shouldn’t be. Take a start by reading all of the Stickyed threads in our ReMixing forum. We’ve got plenty of resources on the OCR Wiki and our forums to help newcomers learn and troubleshoot about music hardware and software, as well as learn about OCR’s Submissions Standards and receive fan feedback, all to help them move in the right direction. Beyond that, you need a basic ear for music, which you’ll develop as you improve, as well as humility, persistence, and a very thick skin.

Learning actual instruments takes years and years of practice, but for those that do not have that much time or the money to purchase actual instruments and equipment, being a desktop musician can be a great release for the ideas that you have, and a gateway to learning other things.

To become an accomplished desktop musician, i.e. creating compositions via your computer, you don’t need to know how to read sheet music or know a B from a B-flat. There are several musicians who have started from scratch with no performance or formal music theory experience and, 2 to 3 years later, have gone on to do some amazing music.

It’s something I’d do myself if I wasn’t having such a great time with all my other responsibilities, but believe me, any of you out there, if you have the diligence but lack the experience, you can be a solid ReMixer. And it’ll teach you how to be a capable musician, period, not just how to ReMix video game music.

Last, quick question, Ms. Pac-Man… hot ? or not ?

I dunno, man. [laughs] She’s too round in the face… Keep her, bro, she’s all yours!

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Geek, Music, Video Games 

Classic Cocktail Bar

April 16, 2008 | 2 Comments

Here, lemmie set the tone for tonight’s little episode of nostalgia-flavored binge drinking:

“The man of the house returns home after a hard day at the rat races. He tosses his wrinkled flannel overcoat over the armoire, and lands his Stetson fedora atop the family radio. As a red-blooded American man, he wants to unwind after a hard day at the office, so he bee-lines straight to the liquor cabinet where he swirls himself an old fashioned. Nothing like a cocktail to take the edge off.”

Throughout the first half of the 1900s, into the 60s and 70s this was the roaring norm. Cocktails were an enormous part of social, domestic, and yes, even professional culture. People were going about their day imbibing before (”Hair of the dog“), during (”How’s about the ‘ol three martini lunch ?“), and after work (”Were gonna swing by the men’s club to discuss things“). Kinda makes you wonder how any work got done at all when even offices had built-in mini bars. Households always had a decanter of hard liquor on hand in case company came over for dinner, and the universal greeting of the 1950s seemed to be “Care for a drink ?”.

Nothing reflected America’s obsession with spirits more then classic TV shows and movies. On television sets all over the country everything from the Dick Van Dyke Show, to I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched featured the free-flowing family attitudes towards booze. “Hawkeye” Pierce from M.A.S.H. loved his liquor so much he had a functioning Gin still in his army tent, for making Martinis… And he was in the middle of the Korean War !!!

The big screen had it’s own share of barflys and lost weekends as well. In fact, bars and speakeasies were the traditional locales for major plots twists in the romance, mystery, and political thrillers of Hollywood’s golden age. Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Sean Connery, Marilyn Monroe, and Sinatra’s Rat Pack were just a handful of the actors famous bringing the cocktail culture to the people. Watching movies like Casablanca (1942) and The Thin Man (1934) are the equivalent of a Community College bartending course. Continue your studies with any one of the James Bond 007 films and you’ll be ready for Tom Cruise’s bottle-tossing final exam; Cocktail (1988).

Impress your friends by getting behind a vinyl-wrapped mini-bar and start slinging seltzer instead of boring old table wine at a retro-themed party! It’s easy! Get the men in suits and the ladies in ballgowns, throw on some Lounge Music, and imagine yourself at Rick’s Cafe American or shooting craps in Vegas with some cool cats….. So then Frank says, “I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re gonna feel all day !” Ha! Classic!

Hey bartender ! I’ll have another…

Sazerac

Created in New Orleans sometime in the early 1800s, the Sazerac has to be mentioned first because it very well may be America’s first ever cocktail. Originally made with Cognac, this subtle yet heady sipper is mentioned (and consumed) frequently in the Frank Capra film State of The Union (1948) starring Kathrine Hepburn.

• 1 Sugar Cube
• 2 Dashes of Bitters
• 2 oz. Rye Whiskey
• 2 dashes Absinthe or Pernod
• Lemon curl

Soak the sugar cube in the bitters and mash into a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the Rye and shake it like you mean it. Pour the Absinthe (or Pernod) into a chilled rocks glass and swirl it around to coat the inside edges of the glass evenly. Strain the contents of your shaker into the glass and garnish with the lemon curl.

Martini

The iconic Emperor of Cocktails ! Made traditionally with Gin and olives, it has moved into the modern ear and you’ll now find just as many Vodka Martini’s with a twist of lemon. Included below are a couple of additional ways to serve a classic Martini (each with it’s own name). Practically every movie and TV show made between 1930 and 1970 featured someone drinking a Martini, but for some reason I always think of Bettie Davis in All About Eve (1950) and her famous line “Fasten your seat belts. It’s gonna be a bumpy night!”.

• 2 oz. Gin or Vodka
• 1/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
• 2 Olives

Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice and shake or stir the Gin (or Vodka) and the Vermouth according to the wishes of the well-dressed secret agent who wants it. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with the Olives skewered on a Martini pick.

Wet : Add more Vermouth

Dry : Add less Vermouth

Dirty : Swirl some of the brine from the olive jar into the Martini glass, then pour out before pouring the drink itself.

Burnt : Swirl a wee bit ‘o Scotch into the Martini glass before pouring the drink itself.

Gibson : Garnish Martini with a pearl onion instead of olives.

007 Martini (The Vesper)

Now this is a cocktail made by someone who really knows his alcohol! James Bond, English secret agent and liquor aficionado concocted this exact recipe in Ian Lemming’s novel “Casino Royal”. Bond has been immortalized by many actors (Sean Connery being the best) in many movies, but the character’s trademark line “Shaken, not stirred” has never changed.

• 3 oz. Gordon’s Gin
• 1 oz. Vodka (preferably from grain, not spudz)
• 1/2 oz. Kina Lillet Aperitif
• Lemon curl

Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients minus the lemon peel. Shake it until it’s ice-cold, strain into a deep Champagne flute and garnish with the lemon curl.

Black Velvet

Francisco Scaramanga, the titular assassin from one of my favourite James Bond flicks The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) took time out of his busy schedule to drink this particular cocktail with oysters… and his buddy Knick-Knack is so badass !

• 5 oz. Guinness Stout
• 5 oz. Champagne

Make sure both are chilled. Pour the Guinness first into a Champagne flute, then slowly add the Champagne. The Champagne should rest on top of the denser Stout until the flute is tipped to drink.

Old Fashioned

Derwood… errrr Darrin, the buggy-eyed husband of Samantha on the long-running TV show Bewitched was an old fashioned man in more ways then one. In just about every episode Darrin or his equally alcoholic boss Larry Tate were dashing to the bar or their office liquor cabinet for much needed work incentive. Of course, Darrin probably wouldn’t have needed to down so many cocktails if members of Samantha’s magically-endowed family weren’t always turning him into animals and ruining his business meetings.

• 1 Sugar Cube
• 2 Dashes of Bitters
• 1/2 oz. Water
• 2 oz. Rye Whiskey
• Maraschino Cherry
• Orange Curl

Mash the sugar, bitters and water in a rocks glass until the sugar is dissolved. Fill half the glass with ice and pour in the Rye. Garnish with the cherry and the orange curl…. or just get Samantha to make it for you.

Champagne Cocktail

Make it two, please… I insist. This particular libation featured prominently in one of my all-time favourite classic films, Casablanca (1942). A truly refined drink for exotic tavern owners, black market businessmen, or freedom fighters on the run from Nazis.

• 1 Sugar Cube
• 2-3 Dashes of Bitters
• 1 oz. Brandy
• Champagne
• Orange Slice

Soak the suagr cube in the bitters and brandy, and place in the bottom of a Champagne flute. top with Champagne and garnish with an orange slice.

Manhattan

If the Martini is the Emperor of Cocktails, drink to dilettantes and super-spies, then the Manhattan is without a doubt the Mafia boss, libation to outlaws, hardened working men, and the women who love ‘em. Speaking of, Marilyn Monroe was a fan of the Manhattan, showcasing it in the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959).

• 2 oz. Rye or Bourbon Whiskey
• 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• Maraschino Cherry

Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice and shake or stir the Rye or Bourbon and the Vermouth until just chilled. Strain into an equally chilled Martini glass and garnish by sinking the cherry to the bottom.

Stinger

For some reason, this cocktail always makes me think of the Las Vegas Rat Pack. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr and all the rest sauntering around neon formica Las Vegas palaces smoking cigarettes and oozing cool. In the movie/musical High Society (1956), Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and even Louis Armstrong sing, dance, and drink Stingers and Champagne till morning. By the way, the name “Stinger”should be pronounced with a decidedly Sammy Davis Jr. accent, ie. “Stingahhhhh baby”

• 1 1/2 oz. Brandy
• 1/2 oz. Vodka
• 1/2 oz. White Creme de Menthe
• Mint Leaf

Fill half a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients and shake it until it’s ice-cold. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a mint leaf.

Well, happy pouring, and if your still thirsty for classic cocktail info and the movies that made ‘em famous, slide on down the bar to Miss Charming’s Silver Screen Cocktails, and the Make Mine a 007. Both sites were indispensable resources of liquid info for this post.

Much love.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Culture, Film & TV, Food and Drink 

Do It Yourself

April 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Ever been caught daydreaming in Woodshop about being home playing your Nintendo ?

Did you tire of Decorating Cakes with the same ‘ol sugar roses in Home Ec class ?

Was shredding Commodore 64 Tunes on your guitar during band practice important enough to get you booted down to 3rd clarinet ?

Your teachers just didn’t understand your passion for video games. Now you’ve matured, and your friends and loved ones can’t understand what you do with all your free time… Don’t worry we won’t tell.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Quickies 

RIP Charlton Heston

April 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Charlton Heston, Oscar winner and one of the most prolific actors of the 60s and 70s passed away Saturday night (April 5th) at the age of 84.He will be remembered for his iconic performances in historical dramas such as Julius Caesar (1970), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and The Ten Commandments (1956)…. Oh who am I kidding… You and I both know he’ll always be known as the lone hero in the first two Planet Of The Apes movies (1968-70), Soilent Green (1973) and The Omega Ma (1971). The doomed, starry-eyed centurion of all things decent and human, and a hero for a generation of drive-in addicts and late night nuclear TV vampires.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Quickies 

Retro Transmissions in Deep Space

April 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Before television ate the minds of the present generation, our grandparents curled up on throw rugs and imagined their very own entertainment with the help of radio. Now you can tune into The Radio Nostalgia Network and their collection of over 20 streaming audio shows.  X Minus One and The Shadow  are my favs…  Turn on, tune in, and drop out.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Quickies 

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