Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Some bad Transformers fanfiction.
In 1986 I was seven years old, and totally obsessed with Transformers: the Movie and the post-movie cartoon episodes. My toys of the movie cast are pretty much the only childhood toys I still have (aside from LEGO, I am a LEGO maniac), and I think that whole experience with Transformers ended up being a significant moment in the development of my psyche.
Here is a post-movie "episode" I wrote a long time ago about Octane, the Decepticon smuggler who ended up working with the Autobots, if begrudgingly, in several post-movie episodes. I always loved this character, so it was fun to write as him, the Junkions, Cyclonus and the Sweeps, and so many of these other much-loved friends from another time.
The female Junkion in the story did actually appear on the show. I've included a screen capture for anyone who doesn't remember.
Anyway, I'm generally not a fanfiction person, but... enjoy! I've got a few of these around somewhere, might upload more later.
Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween! ^_^
Here is a post-movie "episode" I wrote a long time ago about Octane, the Decepticon smuggler who ended up working with the Autobots, if begrudgingly, in several post-movie episodes. I always loved this character, so it was fun to write as him, the Junkions, Cyclonus and the Sweeps, and so many of these other much-loved friends from another time.
The female Junkion in the story did actually appear on the show. I've included a screen capture for anyone who doesn't remember.
Anyway, I'm generally not a fanfiction person, but... enjoy! I've got a few of these around somewhere, might upload more later.
Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween! ^_^
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Coolest Thing That Ever Happened
Gentle Reader,
This was probably the coolest thing that ever happened to me.
A friend and I went on a day trip to a small town about 30 miles away. Our primary purpose was to visit a friend's grave, as her birthday just passed. But on our way we happened across a late 50s/early 60s era motel near the side of the highway. We decided to check it out on our way back... and we were completely blown away by what we found.
First, here's what we saw when we pulled into the gravel driveway/courtyard space...
I'll be honest, it was a little spooky. But my curiosity about what waited inside was overpowering.
A look around the grounds...
And here's what we found... ALL THE VINTAGE FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES WERE STILL INSIDE!!!
At this point I felt an almost overwhelming urge to jimmy one of those ancient locks. But we were stopped short by the realization that the old motel office, which sits at the end of the row of cottages, is actually someone's house. A little research after the fact revealed that the motel owner's widow, who is in her 90s, still lives there. Once we realized that the place was occupied, we left right away, having no desire to frighten or bother anyone.
Okay, but aside from that... wow. I have wanted to find something like this my entire life. I would guess that the rooms have been shut up for at least 30 years, but they were in remarkably good shape. Yes, there was dust, and a few of the bedspreads showed evidence of creeping mold (especially beds next to windows). But the overall impression was of a cute, well-maintained, much-loved little motel. The people who closed it down at the end of the final season did so with care, perhaps thinking that they might reopen next year.
I'm not going to post a picture of the sign or reveal the name, in the interest of keeping the occupant from having unwanted visitors. But, upon googling the name, I was stunned to find that most sites list it as open despite the fact that it has clearly been shut up for decades. Only Yelp accurately listed it as closed. So... if you're passing through Nebraska perhaps you will find it unexpectedly while looking for a room. In which case you are in for one spooky shock, my friend!!!
I would just about kill for one of those alarm clocks or end tables. Maybe there will be an auction someday? I can only hope!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
This was probably the coolest thing that ever happened to me.
A friend and I went on a day trip to a small town about 30 miles away. Our primary purpose was to visit a friend's grave, as her birthday just passed. But on our way we happened across a late 50s/early 60s era motel near the side of the highway. We decided to check it out on our way back... and we were completely blown away by what we found.
First, here's what we saw when we pulled into the gravel driveway/courtyard space...
A look around the grounds...
 |
| My car looks on nervously from a distance... |
 |
| Rusted swings and old farm equipment greet visitors... |
 |
| Unfortunately, it was empty. |
 |
| "Enjoy that refreshing new feeling!" |
We approached and found that, while all of the doors were locked, most of the windows had open curtains, allowing an easy look inside.
At this point I felt an almost overwhelming urge to jimmy one of those ancient locks. But we were stopped short by the realization that the old motel office, which sits at the end of the row of cottages, is actually someone's house. A little research after the fact revealed that the motel owner's widow, who is in her 90s, still lives there. Once we realized that the place was occupied, we left right away, having no desire to frighten or bother anyone.
Okay, but aside from that... wow. I have wanted to find something like this my entire life. I would guess that the rooms have been shut up for at least 30 years, but they were in remarkably good shape. Yes, there was dust, and a few of the bedspreads showed evidence of creeping mold (especially beds next to windows). But the overall impression was of a cute, well-maintained, much-loved little motel. The people who closed it down at the end of the final season did so with care, perhaps thinking that they might reopen next year.
I'm not going to post a picture of the sign or reveal the name, in the interest of keeping the occupant from having unwanted visitors. But, upon googling the name, I was stunned to find that most sites list it as open despite the fact that it has clearly been shut up for decades. Only Yelp accurately listed it as closed. So... if you're passing through Nebraska perhaps you will find it unexpectedly while looking for a room. In which case you are in for one spooky shock, my friend!!!
I would just about kill for one of those alarm clocks or end tables. Maybe there will be an auction someday? I can only hope!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Friday, April 25, 2014
My Top Six Retro Commercials!
Gentle Reader,
Okay, admit it. Don't we all really love retro commercials? Especially ones that we remember from our childhoods? Don't we all have jingles in our heads for products that were discontinued 20 years ago? Well, maybe it's just me, but even if so, I'm dragging you all down the rabbit hole of retro madness by presenting my top six super old commercials. These are all commercials that I remember from my childhood, ranked in order of the total nostalgia points that they rack up with me.
All right, all right, that's enough for now. But, feel free to share your own favorites if ya got 'em!!!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Okay, admit it. Don't we all really love retro commercials? Especially ones that we remember from our childhoods? Don't we all have jingles in our heads for products that were discontinued 20 years ago? Well, maybe it's just me, but even if so, I'm dragging you all down the rabbit hole of retro madness by presenting my top six super old commercials. These are all commercials that I remember from my childhood, ranked in order of the total nostalgia points that they rack up with me.
Cherry 7-Up, circa 1988
I posted this one here before. I hate cherry soda but I'm in love with her eyebrows.
Dimension Shampoo, circa 1985
It's Courtney Cox! Now remember, girls... Dimension! That's all you gotta do!
Jordache Jeans, circa 1978
Little bits of the 70's held on until around the time I went to kindergarten.
Whatchamacallit, circa 1987
This still runs in my head whenever I eat a delicious Whatchamacallit.
Miller Lite, circa 1992
This blew my mind at the time. Still an amazing commercial IMHO!
Stetson, circa 1990
My favorite commercial of all time. I hoped for years they'd bring it back!
All right, all right, that's enough for now. But, feel free to share your own favorites if ya got 'em!!!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Shakespears Sister
Artist: Shakespears Sister
Album: Hormonally Yours
Label: London Records
Release: 1991
Artist: Shakespears Sister
Album: Hormonally Yours
Label: London Records
Release: 1992
Artist: Shakespears Sister
Album: Hormonally Yours
Label: London Records
Release: 1993
Monday, February 24, 2014
Monday, February 3, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sleepy Maggie
Sleepy Maggie
Artist: Ashley MacIsaac
Album: Hi(tm) How Are You Today?
Label: A&M Records
Release: 1995
Oh, how I'd love to be 16 again! I'd do it all differently...!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Inspired: Ys Book I & II
Gentle Reader,
Ys Book I & II
Publisher: Nihon Falcom & Hudson Soft
System: TurboGrafx-16 CD, TurboDuo
USA Release: 1990
It can be a struggle in this day and age to remember just how primitive home gaming systems were in the late 1980s. It was very much still the world of Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong, of simple games with simple graphics, basic sound effects, and little if any story. Games of this age were certainly fun, and some of them were even brilliant. Zelda, Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star, and others were pushing the boundaries of just what games could do, and even of what they were expected to be. Yet, there is no denying that we've come a long way, and that the games of today have a complexity we could have scarcely dreamt of twenty-plus years ago, when the medium was still new and rudimentary.
So, I have to wonder if a modern gamer can really understand the utter astonishment that I felt when I first saw Ys Book I & II, the flagship product of the TurboGrafx-16 system's CD add-on. The TurboGrafx itself was a bit of an also-ran system in an age when Nintendo and Sega were king. It was the first 16-bit home gaming system, and for that it did gain some notoriety, yet it was still dwarfed by its juggernaut competitors, whose own 16-bit offerings were just over the horizon.
I was fortunate to receive the base TurboGrafx system for Christmas in 1989. It came as a total surprise. I had gotten my NES about 18 months earlier and was completely enthralled by it (as was the entire household). I'd barely discovered game magazines by that time and had no concept of what the future of gaming would entail. My dad somehow came across the TurboGrafx and decided to pick it up, to my delight, though in retrospect I think he did this for his own enjoyment as much as my own.
I was impressed right away by the graphics and sound of the TurboGrafx. The presentation was light years ahead of what the NES could do. I was also blessed with an awesome assortment of games with which to begin my exploration, including the likes of Dungeon Explorer and Neutopia. But the big shock would come a while later, when we saw the TurboGrafx-CD add-on at an electronics store. The proprieter had a demo reel going, showing some of the best of what this remarkable new device could do, and the game featured most prominently was Ys Book I & II. We'd never seen anything like it: voice acting, gorgeous anime-style graphics, incredible animation, and a mind-blowing Redbook CD soundtrack. All this in addition to a haunting opening story that set the stage for an exciting, mysterious, dramatic adventure unlike anything seen in a game up to that time. My dad and I were transfixed by it, and we wanted it, but it was simply out of our price range. CD technology was the latest thing then and it was anything but cheap.
This longing was fulfilled at last on Christmas Day 1992, when I got my TurboDuo, the next-gen model of TurboGrafx, in which the CD unit was built in. Best of all, the TurboDuo came with Ys as one of six pack-in games. It was, of course, the very first game that we popped in, and time had done nothing to dull its glitter.
Everything about the opening of Ys is perfect. It virtually screams, "This game is brilliant and you are going to love it." And indeed, especially for its era, the game is a masterwork. No adventure game or RPG could match its storytelling and complexity, and no other game, period, could hope to outperform it in terms of graphics or sound. Surprisingly, even the voice acting is top-notch, with a cast almost exlusively made up of first class voice acting talent, including several famous names.
Sadly, I really don't enjoy playing Ys anymore. I'm a little surprised by this myself, being the big retro-gaming fanboy that I am. The problem with Ys is that at least a third of the game is spent within Darm Tower and Solomon Shrine, the big final areas of Ys I and Ys II, respectively. These areas are repetetive and require tons of backtracking, and the thought of slogging through them dulls my desire to play through the game again. Yet, I find that this is one of the games that I most enjoy watching playthroughs of online, and it's the only game that I ever pop into my computer just for the sake of watching the beautiful opening sequence. This way, I can avoid the gameplay annoyances but still relive that giddy excitement from so long ago, when I first realized the untold promise of what games would eventually become.
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Ys Book I & II
Publisher: Nihon Falcom & Hudson Soft
System: TurboGrafx-16 CD, TurboDuo
USA Release: 1990
It can be a struggle in this day and age to remember just how primitive home gaming systems were in the late 1980s. It was very much still the world of Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong, of simple games with simple graphics, basic sound effects, and little if any story. Games of this age were certainly fun, and some of them were even brilliant. Zelda, Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star, and others were pushing the boundaries of just what games could do, and even of what they were expected to be. Yet, there is no denying that we've come a long way, and that the games of today have a complexity we could have scarcely dreamt of twenty-plus years ago, when the medium was still new and rudimentary.
So, I have to wonder if a modern gamer can really understand the utter astonishment that I felt when I first saw Ys Book I & II, the flagship product of the TurboGrafx-16 system's CD add-on. The TurboGrafx itself was a bit of an also-ran system in an age when Nintendo and Sega were king. It was the first 16-bit home gaming system, and for that it did gain some notoriety, yet it was still dwarfed by its juggernaut competitors, whose own 16-bit offerings were just over the horizon.
I was fortunate to receive the base TurboGrafx system for Christmas in 1989. It came as a total surprise. I had gotten my NES about 18 months earlier and was completely enthralled by it (as was the entire household). I'd barely discovered game magazines by that time and had no concept of what the future of gaming would entail. My dad somehow came across the TurboGrafx and decided to pick it up, to my delight, though in retrospect I think he did this for his own enjoyment as much as my own.
I was impressed right away by the graphics and sound of the TurboGrafx. The presentation was light years ahead of what the NES could do. I was also blessed with an awesome assortment of games with which to begin my exploration, including the likes of Dungeon Explorer and Neutopia. But the big shock would come a while later, when we saw the TurboGrafx-CD add-on at an electronics store. The proprieter had a demo reel going, showing some of the best of what this remarkable new device could do, and the game featured most prominently was Ys Book I & II. We'd never seen anything like it: voice acting, gorgeous anime-style graphics, incredible animation, and a mind-blowing Redbook CD soundtrack. All this in addition to a haunting opening story that set the stage for an exciting, mysterious, dramatic adventure unlike anything seen in a game up to that time. My dad and I were transfixed by it, and we wanted it, but it was simply out of our price range. CD technology was the latest thing then and it was anything but cheap.
This longing was fulfilled at last on Christmas Day 1992, when I got my TurboDuo, the next-gen model of TurboGrafx, in which the CD unit was built in. Best of all, the TurboDuo came with Ys as one of six pack-in games. It was, of course, the very first game that we popped in, and time had done nothing to dull its glitter.
Everything about the opening of Ys is perfect. It virtually screams, "This game is brilliant and you are going to love it." And indeed, especially for its era, the game is a masterwork. No adventure game or RPG could match its storytelling and complexity, and no other game, period, could hope to outperform it in terms of graphics or sound. Surprisingly, even the voice acting is top-notch, with a cast almost exlusively made up of first class voice acting talent, including several famous names.
Sadly, I really don't enjoy playing Ys anymore. I'm a little surprised by this myself, being the big retro-gaming fanboy that I am. The problem with Ys is that at least a third of the game is spent within Darm Tower and Solomon Shrine, the big final areas of Ys I and Ys II, respectively. These areas are repetetive and require tons of backtracking, and the thought of slogging through them dulls my desire to play through the game again. Yet, I find that this is one of the games that I most enjoy watching playthroughs of online, and it's the only game that I ever pop into my computer just for the sake of watching the beautiful opening sequence. This way, I can avoid the gameplay annoyances but still relive that giddy excitement from so long ago, when I first realized the untold promise of what games would eventually become.
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Monday, January 13, 2014
Monday, November 25, 2013
Don't Answer Me
Don't Answer Me
Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
Album: Ammonia Avenue
Release: 1984
I was completely obsessed with this when I was five. Ahhh, MTV was so cool then.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Vector (Final Fantasy VI)
It was such a cool image that I just had to share it.
Add a little music to complete the effect...!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
80's Cartoon Nostalgia Overload
Pole Position
1984-1985
Galaxy High
1986-1987
Dungeons & Dragons
1983-1984
Jem
1985-1988
The Transformers
1984-1987
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Modern Ghost Town
Gentle Reader,
A while back I took a day trip to visit three malls in my local area: the Center Mall in midtown Omaha, the Brandeis Building in downtown Omaha, and the Southroads Mall in Bellevue. These malls were built in different eras and in neighborhoods with very different personalities, yet they all have one trait in common. Though each of them is still open to the public, they are all essentially dead, at least as far as retail business is concerned. This has been the situation with each of them for well over ten years now. Of the three, the Center has found a successful second life as an office complex. Southroads briefly enjoyed such an existence but is now on its way to total abandonment and collapse. All the while, the historic and quite beautiful Brandeis Building has been trying to reinvent itself as a desirable mixed-use complex of residential and business space, but with decidedly mixed results, at least so far.
Let's look first at the Brandeis. It was the original home of the JL Brandeis & Sons department store chain, and a destination in itself back when downtown Omaha was a shopping mecca. (It's actually a great shopping area again, though only due to herculean efforts, following about 25 years of utter neglect and rot.) Brandeis was bought out by Younkers in the 1980s and the store slowly faded from local consciousness. I remember visiting the Brandeis many times in my youth, visiting the big store and the rare coin dealer and other shops, as well as eating at the McDonalds downstairs. A few shops held on for a time after the big store moved out, but these were eventually replaced by office space. I had to go there a few times in the early 2000s to pay my internet bill, and though there was no shopping to do by then, the place at least felt occupied.
The Brandeis today is not in good shape. The food court on the lowest level is pretty jumping during the week, and the top floors are now home to upscale condos, but woe upon anyone brave enough to explore the other areas of the building. The first thing one notices is that it is VERY DARK. These images are lightened up quite a bit because the originals came out almost black. I can understand the management not wanting to waste money on lighting, but it creates an eerie atmosphere. The other thing one can't help but notice is that the place bakes in the summer and is freezing cold in the winter. Again, it's understandable, but it certainly doesn't make the building feel like a welcoming place to be.
I understand that the condos at the Brandeis are absolutely gorgeous, and I can believe that. The building itself is exquisite to look at, with lots of gargoyles, external lighting, and frilly decorations that give it a very Victorian feel. The rest of the place though is foreboding and creepy, and also a feng shui nightmare, due to the way that the originally expansive areas have been divided up. I was very surprised, while climbing a staircase that was labelled "ROOF ACCESS," to round a corner and find my face just inches away from a dark ceiling. It really gave me a shock, like something from the Winchester Mystery House. So, good luck to you, Brandeis. I hope you can turn it all around, but...
Next up is the Center Mall. The Center was another Omaha landmark for decades. It was actually one of the first enclosed malls ever built. The DNA of the typical indoor mall is evident here, but one can also see that the whole concept was still in its early stages, as the setup of the Center is a bit off. The mall consists of several public spaces over a 5-story structure. What's odd is that some of the public spaces were originally connected only by the anchor stores, meaning that to get from one wing to the other one had to pass through the anchor stores. This would have made good business sense for the anchors, but those anchors are no longer there, so to explore the place thoroughly, one has to go outside and walk around to one of the other exterior entrances. One is at least shielded from the elements while doing so by the Center's other odd feature: the entire structure is enclosed by a cage-like parking garage that winds along the outside of it. This makes parking very convenient as all spaces are essentially right outside one door or another, but it has the side effect of giving the interior a sort of murky lighting level. It always feels like a cloudy day inside the Center.
With all of that being said, however, the Center was easily the happiest point on the tour. It's sad to see all of the stores gone, as many of them were still hanging on even into my teen years, including a semi-prosperous Younkers anchor store. Still, the entire mall is at a very high level of occupancy due to a large number of office-type businesses that have moved in. There's no food court, but I did find self-serve snack stations, as well as a convenience store and a flower shop. The place was empty on the weekend, but even with the lackluster lighting, it felt alive and upbeat. Perhaps not as much as when there was both a bowling alley and a movie theater on site, but still, it's not bad, and not even slightly spooky.
I really wish I had a better camera. My flip phone just can't capture the degree to which the Center is a veritable time capsule of 1960s aesthetics. Wood panelling and dark brown tile abound, and all of the original (and quite distinctive) Center signage is still proudly in place. The best part for me was the directory. While the listings have been kept up to date (near as I could tell, anyway), everything about it screamed 1960s. Today we're used to upright directory displays that are brightly colored and lit. The Center's directory is a flat, black slab covered in tiny white backlit lettering. It looks very much like a background prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey. What a find, just so awesome!
The last stop on our tour is Southroads Mall. This was by far the saddest point for me. The Brandeis and Center were blips on the radar from my childhood, but Southroads, throughout my childhood and teen years, was THE mall in my world. I suspect this is the case for most people between, say, 30 and 80 who live or lived in southern or eastern parts of the Omaha metro. It was easily the smallest mall in the region, but dammit, it had heart. Southroads was the little mall that could. It was dwarfed by Crossroads, didn't have the ritzy appeal of Westroads, and was hopelessly dated next to the sparkling Oakview, but it remained the best place to shop for a huge section of the community. The other malls were just too far away, so Southroads filled an important niche, and it did it well!
There's been a lot of talk locally about what it was that killed Southroads Mall. It's not difficult to explain the decline of this mall; the only controversy is in how great a role was played by each of the major factors. For one, Southroads is on the extreme east side of the metro, whereas Omaha is always growing explosively to the west (as necessitated by geography). So, as West Omaha grew and people moved west and new malls were developed out there, business shrank at Southroads. There's also the fact that even with multiple ambitious facelifts, with bright paint and large exterior windows, the Southroads building could never be made to really feel like the newer, sleeker malls. The most important factor, though, at least to my mind, was the development of the Kennedy Freeway. It used to be that all traffic south, toward Kansas City and other areas, passed Southroads. The final spiral of Southroads began after the construction of the freeway, and a quick drive down Fort Crook Road will show that the entire area has been economically blighted ever since. That area is essentially an appendage on the south side of town, and with the cross traffic cut off, there was little to keep people coming through the area. So, perhaps the death of Southroads was inevitable. I tend to think so, much as I hate to say it.
I moved away from southeast Omaha years ago, so I probably wouldn't shop at Southroads anymore even if it was still like it used to be. Still, I get a little bit misty-eyed when I think back to the hubub of Southroads at Christmas, or eating lunch with my granny at the Woolworth's diner, or being treated to a new toy at Kay Bee and a gluttonous lunch at Pisa Pizza afterward. Southroads was also the initial haunt of my teenage mall escapades, as it still had a lot of its old life left back in the mid-90s. Even then, though, I think we all knew that the writing was on the wall.
The most fascinating part of the visit, I thought, was finding that the entire Southroads movie theater is still intact, from the ticket window to the concession area to the individual theaters themselves. This came as a huge surprise to me, and I flashed back to all of the movies I'd seen there: The Neverending Story II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hocus Pocus, The Rocketeer, Beauty and the Beast, and so many others. I think the last movie I saw there was The Blair Witch Project, so the theater was still up and running around 1999 or 2000. Not sure when it closed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the last elements to hang on.
So what's there now? Not much, really. There's a gym that seems to be doing all right, and a restaurant, and a nail salon, and a couple of other small this-and-that. The legendary Game Gallery arcade is long gone, as are all of the familiar stores, and even TD Ameritrade, who single-handedly propped up the mall for years by using the old Brandeis/Younkers suite as office space.
Is it sad to see these much-loved malls as they are today? Yes, I have to say that it really is very sad indeed. These aren't the only subjects I could have looked at, either. The Crossroads Mall, situated at the busiest intersection in Omaha, died out rapidly in just a few years and is now slated for demolition. Parkfair, an abortive attempt to jumpstart commerce near the Brandeis in the 1980s, died an early death and is now a parking garage. Mall of the Bluffs, a very classy mall in neighboring Council Bluffs, also recently imploded. I guess even the nicer malls are only safe until the next newest mall opens up. It's really a downer to think about.
Humans seem to have evolved to expect permanence, but permanence is one luxury not afforded by life or nature. Nothing lasts forever, even though it seems like it might, during the happy times. That's just the way it is, and how it will probably always be. C'est la vie.
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
 |
| We're on a road to nowhere. |
A while back I took a day trip to visit three malls in my local area: the Center Mall in midtown Omaha, the Brandeis Building in downtown Omaha, and the Southroads Mall in Bellevue. These malls were built in different eras and in neighborhoods with very different personalities, yet they all have one trait in common. Though each of them is still open to the public, they are all essentially dead, at least as far as retail business is concerned. This has been the situation with each of them for well over ten years now. Of the three, the Center has found a successful second life as an office complex. Southroads briefly enjoyed such an existence but is now on its way to total abandonment and collapse. All the while, the historic and quite beautiful Brandeis Building has been trying to reinvent itself as a desirable mixed-use complex of residential and business space, but with decidedly mixed results, at least so far.
 |
| A typical hallway at the Brandeis. |
Let's look first at the Brandeis. It was the original home of the JL Brandeis & Sons department store chain, and a destination in itself back when downtown Omaha was a shopping mecca. (It's actually a great shopping area again, though only due to herculean efforts, following about 25 years of utter neglect and rot.) Brandeis was bought out by Younkers in the 1980s and the store slowly faded from local consciousness. I remember visiting the Brandeis many times in my youth, visiting the big store and the rare coin dealer and other shops, as well as eating at the McDonalds downstairs. A few shops held on for a time after the big store moved out, but these were eventually replaced by office space. I had to go there a few times in the early 2000s to pay my internet bill, and though there was no shopping to do by then, the place at least felt occupied.
 |
| Vacant business fronts at the Brandeis. |
The Brandeis today is not in good shape. The food court on the lowest level is pretty jumping during the week, and the top floors are now home to upscale condos, but woe upon anyone brave enough to explore the other areas of the building. The first thing one notices is that it is VERY DARK. These images are lightened up quite a bit because the originals came out almost black. I can understand the management not wanting to waste money on lighting, but it creates an eerie atmosphere. The other thing one can't help but notice is that the place bakes in the summer and is freezing cold in the winter. Again, it's understandable, but it certainly doesn't make the building feel like a welcoming place to be.
 |
| Another road to nowhere. (It's a theme.) |
I understand that the condos at the Brandeis are absolutely gorgeous, and I can believe that. The building itself is exquisite to look at, with lots of gargoyles, external lighting, and frilly decorations that give it a very Victorian feel. The rest of the place though is foreboding and creepy, and also a feng shui nightmare, due to the way that the originally expansive areas have been divided up. I was very surprised, while climbing a staircase that was labelled "ROOF ACCESS," to round a corner and find my face just inches away from a dark ceiling. It really gave me a shock, like something from the Winchester Mystery House. So, good luck to you, Brandeis. I hope you can turn it all around, but...
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| Not much to do at the Center, really. |
Next up is the Center Mall. The Center was another Omaha landmark for decades. It was actually one of the first enclosed malls ever built. The DNA of the typical indoor mall is evident here, but one can also see that the whole concept was still in its early stages, as the setup of the Center is a bit off. The mall consists of several public spaces over a 5-story structure. What's odd is that some of the public spaces were originally connected only by the anchor stores, meaning that to get from one wing to the other one had to pass through the anchor stores. This would have made good business sense for the anchors, but those anchors are no longer there, so to explore the place thoroughly, one has to go outside and walk around to one of the other exterior entrances. One is at least shielded from the elements while doing so by the Center's other odd feature: the entire structure is enclosed by a cage-like parking garage that winds along the outside of it. This makes parking very convenient as all spaces are essentially right outside one door or another, but it has the side effect of giving the interior a sort of murky lighting level. It always feels like a cloudy day inside the Center.
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| But at least it's clean. |
With all of that being said, however, the Center was easily the happiest point on the tour. It's sad to see all of the stores gone, as many of them were still hanging on even into my teen years, including a semi-prosperous Younkers anchor store. Still, the entire mall is at a very high level of occupancy due to a large number of office-type businesses that have moved in. There's no food court, but I did find self-serve snack stations, as well as a convenience store and a flower shop. The place was empty on the weekend, but even with the lackluster lighting, it felt alive and upbeat. Perhaps not as much as when there was both a bowling alley and a movie theater on site, but still, it's not bad, and not even slightly spooky.
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| The monolith. |
I really wish I had a better camera. My flip phone just can't capture the degree to which the Center is a veritable time capsule of 1960s aesthetics. Wood panelling and dark brown tile abound, and all of the original (and quite distinctive) Center signage is still proudly in place. The best part for me was the directory. While the listings have been kept up to date (near as I could tell, anyway), everything about it screamed 1960s. Today we're used to upright directory displays that are brightly colored and lit. The Center's directory is a flat, black slab covered in tiny white backlit lettering. It looks very much like a background prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey. What a find, just so awesome!
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| Former anchor store entrance at Southroads. |
The last stop on our tour is Southroads Mall. This was by far the saddest point for me. The Brandeis and Center were blips on the radar from my childhood, but Southroads, throughout my childhood and teen years, was THE mall in my world. I suspect this is the case for most people between, say, 30 and 80 who live or lived in southern or eastern parts of the Omaha metro. It was easily the smallest mall in the region, but dammit, it had heart. Southroads was the little mall that could. It was dwarfed by Crossroads, didn't have the ritzy appeal of Westroads, and was hopelessly dated next to the sparkling Oakview, but it remained the best place to shop for a huge section of the community. The other malls were just too far away, so Southroads filled an important niche, and it did it well!
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| Just me and the tumbleweed. |
There's been a lot of talk locally about what it was that killed Southroads Mall. It's not difficult to explain the decline of this mall; the only controversy is in how great a role was played by each of the major factors. For one, Southroads is on the extreme east side of the metro, whereas Omaha is always growing explosively to the west (as necessitated by geography). So, as West Omaha grew and people moved west and new malls were developed out there, business shrank at Southroads. There's also the fact that even with multiple ambitious facelifts, with bright paint and large exterior windows, the Southroads building could never be made to really feel like the newer, sleeker malls. The most important factor, though, at least to my mind, was the development of the Kennedy Freeway. It used to be that all traffic south, toward Kansas City and other areas, passed Southroads. The final spiral of Southroads began after the construction of the freeway, and a quick drive down Fort Crook Road will show that the entire area has been economically blighted ever since. That area is essentially an appendage on the south side of town, and with the cross traffic cut off, there was little to keep people coming through the area. So, perhaps the death of Southroads was inevitable. I tend to think so, much as I hate to say it.
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| Remember when...? |
I moved away from southeast Omaha years ago, so I probably wouldn't shop at Southroads anymore even if it was still like it used to be. Still, I get a little bit misty-eyed when I think back to the hubub of Southroads at Christmas, or eating lunch with my granny at the Woolworth's diner, or being treated to a new toy at Kay Bee and a gluttonous lunch at Pisa Pizza afterward. Southroads was also the initial haunt of my teenage mall escapades, as it still had a lot of its old life left back in the mid-90s. Even then, though, I think we all knew that the writing was on the wall.
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| Sorry, we're closed. No, really. |
The most fascinating part of the visit, I thought, was finding that the entire Southroads movie theater is still intact, from the ticket window to the concession area to the individual theaters themselves. This came as a huge surprise to me, and I flashed back to all of the movies I'd seen there: The Neverending Story II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hocus Pocus, The Rocketeer, Beauty and the Beast, and so many others. I think the last movie I saw there was The Blair Witch Project, so the theater was still up and running around 1999 or 2000. Not sure when it closed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the last elements to hang on.
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| Let's end it as we began it. |
So what's there now? Not much, really. There's a gym that seems to be doing all right, and a restaurant, and a nail salon, and a couple of other small this-and-that. The legendary Game Gallery arcade is long gone, as are all of the familiar stores, and even TD Ameritrade, who single-handedly propped up the mall for years by using the old Brandeis/Younkers suite as office space.
Is it sad to see these much-loved malls as they are today? Yes, I have to say that it really is very sad indeed. These aren't the only subjects I could have looked at, either. The Crossroads Mall, situated at the busiest intersection in Omaha, died out rapidly in just a few years and is now slated for demolition. Parkfair, an abortive attempt to jumpstart commerce near the Brandeis in the 1980s, died an early death and is now a parking garage. Mall of the Bluffs, a very classy mall in neighboring Council Bluffs, also recently imploded. I guess even the nicer malls are only safe until the next newest mall opens up. It's really a downer to think about.
Humans seem to have evolved to expect permanence, but permanence is one luxury not afforded by life or nature. Nothing lasts forever, even though it seems like it might, during the happy times. That's just the way it is, and how it will probably always be. C'est la vie.
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Descent With Modification
The Donna Reed Show
Network: ABC
Aired: 1958-1966
I don't know about you, but I find this video almost hypnotic. It demonstrates how descent with modification--evolution, in other words--is present not only in biological lifeforms, but in all things.
For those who have yet to watch the video, it is simply a montage of all of the opening sequences from the run of this classic TV show. The changes to the sequence from year to year tend to be mild, yet there is no denying the ultimate transformation from the demure 1950s culture of Season One, where Mom stays at home, to the much more dynamic mid-60s world of Season Eight, where Mom is dressed for success and headed out the door right behind Dad.
For someone of my generation (I was born 21 years after the show premiered), it is kind of remarkable to sit back and think about the changes that took place in the world while this show was on: the blossoming of television, the civil rights movement, women's lib, the Cuban missle crisis, the Kennedy assassination, and on and on. Donna's fictional family was subject to these forces along with everyone else, and we can get a sense of that through the changes in styles and the family's daily routine. Their world starts out rather quiet and simple, orderly, but it becomes increasingly brassy and complex with the years. Sure, part of this was due to no more than the basic tropes inherent to sitcoms, such as the constant need to inject fresh dynamics to keep the viewers' interest. Yet, even those tropes were shaped by the events of the age. You really can't separate out the parts.
A lot more than Donna's hair changed in those years, and we'd do well to remember that. The world moved on, and even the blissful denizens of TV Land could not escape the inevitable. Donna's hair was just the signpost marking the time.
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Inspired: Mario Paint
Gentle Reader,
Mario Paint
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
USA Release: 1992
One of the top comments on this video said it best: "Nintendo preparing a genration for Photoshop."
I must have spent huuuuuundreds of hours with Mario Paint when I was about 12 years old. It's probably a big part of the reason why I am still obsessed with game design. The color palette was pretty limited, but even so, it was incredibly flexible compared to similar offerings like Art Alive. It was also my first experience ever with a mouse. I'm guessing this was so for many thousands of people my age.
Thank you, Nintendo! Mario Paint was one of your finest hours!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Mario Paint
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
USA Release: 1992
One of the top comments on this video said it best: "Nintendo preparing a genration for Photoshop."
I must have spent huuuuuundreds of hours with Mario Paint when I was about 12 years old. It's probably a big part of the reason why I am still obsessed with game design. The color palette was pretty limited, but even so, it was incredibly flexible compared to similar offerings like Art Alive. It was also my first experience ever with a mouse. I'm guessing this was so for many thousands of people my age.
Thank you, Nintendo! Mario Paint was one of your finest hours!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Rodimus Prime and friends
Gentle Reader,
Oh my gosh, it's my 7th birthday all over again!
Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus and Scourge, and Rodimus, too... It's been 25 years (errr, 27 actually), but I've still got 'em all! :) Now if only I had a decent display case!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Oh my gosh, it's my 7th birthday all over again!
Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus and Scourge, and Rodimus, too... It's been 25 years (errr, 27 actually), but I've still got 'em all! :) Now if only I had a decent display case!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Game Over Gallery
Gentle Reader,
I've always had a soft spot for game over music. For whatever reason, the convention of the "game over" screen tends to result in rather nice pieces. Perhaps game designers like to provide a soothing bit of music in order to calm a frustrated gamer.
Regardless, I collect this stuff! And since the videos that I shared on this blog previously have been taken down by their channel operators, I took the liberty of reposting the pieces to YouTube myself. Here's the result.
See ya later!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
I've always had a soft spot for game over music. For whatever reason, the convention of the "game over" screen tends to result in rather nice pieces. Perhaps game designers like to provide a soothing bit of music in order to calm a frustrated gamer.
Regardless, I collect this stuff! And since the videos that I shared on this blog previously have been taken down by their channel operators, I took the liberty of reposting the pieces to YouTube myself. Here's the result.
See ya later!
Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy
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