I’ve been watching the news on the swine flu outbreak originating from Mexico, and was surprised to learn that worries over the swine flu are not new here in the U.S.

Check out these public service announcements from 1976 (the second one especially is somewhat disturbing… can anyone say panic?):

Today is a rather big day for me. It is the first day of my new job. After four years, I am moving to a new position within my company - new team, new building, new everything.

And so, the real question is, of course, what on earth should I wear?

I shall turn to the 1970s working woman for inspiration.

Images courtesy of the 1976 JC Penney’s Christmas Catalog

Polyester Knit Coordinates

The Luxurious Look and Feel of Suede -
With the Machine-Washable Convenience and Supple Softness
of a Polyester Knit!

Dyed-To-Match Separates -
Real Wardrobe Expanders!

My true source of seventies fashion inspiration:

1976 was a very special year, and not just because it happens to be the year of my birth. 1976 also marked the 200th birthday of the United States. In celebration of the Bicentennial, the US issued commemorative coins and sponsored other events such as fireworks displays in an attempt to whip the country into a patriotic fervor.

In The Collectible ’70s: A Price Guide to the Polyester Decade, Michael Jay Goldberg devotes an entire chapter to the Bicentennial. All kinds of items were produced during this time period to commemorate the occasion (and to cash in on America’s fascination the Bicentennial). From Betsy Ross linen wall hangings and official NRA Freedom Bicentennial belt buckles to Liberty Bell-shaped cookie jars and commemorative Bicentennial air sickness bags, one couldn’t escape the Bicentennial fervor that was gripping the country.

But wait, there’s more! Check out this psychedelic video produced by the United States Information Agency specifically for the Bicentennial:

Happy Fourth of July, all!

The first episode of Swingtown premiered last Thursday on CBS. Seeing as how the show takes place during the summer of 1976, I was curious to check it out.

The initial episode follows Laurie and Bruce Miller as they move from their middle-class home to a large house in an affluent suburb. Their new neighbors, the Deckers, invite the couple to a swinging party on the Fourth of July. The Millers quickly discover that their new neighbors practice a lifestyle to which they are unaccustomed… the Deckers have an open marriage and proposition the Millers in the very first episode. The premiere episode also introduces the Millers’ teenage children as they acclimate to the new home.

The decor and styling on Swingtown are definitely seventies-eriffic. I was thrilled when Trina Decker opened a can of Tab soda in one of the initial scenes. Mustaches, polyester shirts, feathered hair, and earth tones abound. But mustaches aside, how is the plot?

I found the first episode to be entertaining but ultimately the jury is still out. I’m not sure how far they can carry the “swingers” theme forward before it gets kind of old. I’ll have to see some more episodes to truly tell if the show will live up to the hype. But in the meantime I am looking forward to watching the next episode.

ElectraWoman and DynaGirl fighting all evil deeds,
Each writes for a magazine, hiding the life she leads.

ElectraWoman and DynaGirl!

Summoned to Electra-base by electracoms they wear,
Lori and Judy dare to face any criminal anywhere.

ElectraWoman and DynaGirl!

And so begins the theme song to Electra Woman and DynaGirl, a 1976 television series from Sid and Marty Krofft.

And who are ElectraWoman and DynaGirl? Mild mannered magazine reporters by day, these sassy ladies lead double lives as tenacious super-heroes. With the aid of high-tech gadgets on their wrists called “electracoms,” ElectraWoman and DynaGirl battle super-villains and keep the world safe for the rest of us not fortunate enough to possess super powers.

The following clip features ElectraWoman and DynaGirl in their fight against The Empress of Evil:

I love the seventies.

And I’m not the only one. Lots of folks these days are climbing on the seventies bandwagon and exploring the glorious depths of what the disco decade has to offer.

Want proof? Look no further then Will Ferrell, one of the greatest seventies lovers of our time. From various sketches on Saturday Night Live (more cowbell, anyone?) to his antics as a mustache-wearing TV anchor on The Anchorman, Will Ferrell is a true-blooded seventies aficionado. In fact he is is pretty much one giant advertisement for the decade.

Lucky for us, Ferrell’s love for the seventies keeps on giving as evidenced by his latest movie, Semi-Pro. Ferrell stars as Jackie Moon, the owner of a down-and-out semi-professional basketball team in Flint Michigan during the 1976 season. The movie follows the team as they battle for fourth place in the league, while simultaneously attempting to increase fan attendance through over-the-top promotional events.

But enough about the plot.

If you want a reason to watch this movie, look no further then then Will Ferrell’s fabulous seventies style. When he’s not wearing his Tropics uniform, Jackie Moon parades through the movie in one amazing seventies outfit after another. From capes and jaunty neck scarves to an enormous fur coat, Jackie Moon embodies seventies fashion at its finest.

And if the thought of Will Ferrell prancing around in a seventies-era basketball uniform is not enough to entice you to the theater, Semi-Pro’s theme song may just do the trick. “Love Me Sexy,” sung by Will Ferrell, is pretty darn funny.

For Christmas this year, I was happily surprised to receive the entire complete first season of Wonder Woman on DVD.

(Actually, if you must know, I bought it at Target, wrapped up with a nice bow, and put it under the tree myself. Giving gifts to one’s self is somewhat of a family tradition at our house. Does anybody else do that or is it just us?)

If you will recall, I made a solemn vow in my New Year’s Resolution to watch every episode from the first season. And so that’s what I’ve been doing. To my surprise my 11-year-old is getting into the show as well so we have been watching the episodes together. Thus far we have made it through the Pilot: The New Original Wonder Woman (reviewed in a previous blog post) and Episode 1: Wonder Woman Meets Baroness Von Gunther.

For your edification I have provided the blurb about Episode One as printed on the DVD Case:

Caught in a hornet’s nest of spies - and likely to be stung! Wonder Woman’s bid to rescue Steve from charges of enemy collaboration becomes even more difficult when her magical lasso falls into Nazi hands.

And stung she is! In Episode One, Wonder Woman, who has assumed a secret identity as Diana, has taken a job as Steve’s secretary. She is disguised in big glasses so that no one can recognize her (sneaky!). Steve, fallible man that he is, has fallen for the charms of Baroness Von Gunther - a Nazi who has fallen in love with democracy while locked up in prison and reformed her evil Nazi ways. Or so she says! In truth, she has been secretly plotting with other Nazi sympathizers and planning to frame Steve as a Nazi spy. The Baroness manages to steal Wonder Woman’s secret lasso and also captures Steve. Wonder Woman has to come to Steve’s rescue - but ends up being captured herself and tied up with her own rope (kinky!)

By this point I know you are on pins and needles, dying to know how the episode ends. I shall leave you in suspense, however - I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you!

Tune in next time for more Wonder Woman! In the next episode, Wonder Woman meets Fausta - the Nazi Wonder Woman!

Tags 1976 . Wonder Woman

I have finally done it. It’s taken *forever* but I have finally watched the movie Taxi Driver. I put a hold on this movie eons ago at my local library and it has finally come in!

(Note to self: give up trying to get movies from the library. Get a NetFlix account).

Directed in 1976 by Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver is a dark, violent, and somewhat disturbing film… but in a good way. I was reminded a little of No Country for Old Men which we saw in the theater last week. The movies have dissimilar plots, distinctive settings, and different casts of characters. However each movie progressed at a deliberate tempo which underscored the sense of mounting desperation and irrationality on the part of the leading characters. I watched in helpless fascination as Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) and No Country’s Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) made one amazingly bad choice after another.

I couldn’t help but wonder what drove each man on such a self-destructive path. Given a different set of circumstances, would the violent outcomes of each film have been prevented? Perhaps Bickle and Moss were both hard-wired in such a way that destruction and violence was inevitable.

Taxi Driver is great movie - not in my top 10, mind you, but it would be in my top 25 or so. The film includes some unforgettable acting by Robert De Niro (who is terrifying as an increasingly psychotic cab driver) and Jodie Foster (in her breakout role as a tough-as-nails 12-year-old hooker). The movie also stars Harvey Keitel as a street-wise pimp, Cybill Shepherd as Bickle’s unattainable love interest, and Peter Boyle as an experienced fellow cabbie.

I think I’m going to have to watch this one again.

Adam and I stumbled upon this gem while we were shopping at Marshalls today. A framed picture of the Kiss Album “Love Gun“, complete with a replica back-stage pass, guitar pick, drum sticks, and a replica admission ticket to the August 20, 1976 Kiss concert in Anaheim California.

Although I was sorely tempted, I couldn’t bring myself to spend $20 for this tribute to a song with the following truly inspirational lyrics:

No place for hiding baby
No place to run
You pull the trigger of my
Love gun

I contented myself with with taking a picture instead.

For those of you that absolutely must own this masterpiece, you can buy it online at the Kiss Museum. (I personally prefer the Kiss Lunchbox).

If I had grown up with a television, I probably would have been a card carrying member of the Wonder Woman fan club as a little girl. Not having had that pleasure, today I was introduced for the first time to our superhero in The New, Original Wonder Woman TV series from 1976. I was dazzled by Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth, invisible airplane, bullet-stopping bracelets, magic golden belt, and flawless complexion. Who is Wonder Woman, you ask? Well, the opening lines of the Wonder Woman theme song say it all:

Wonder Woman! Wonder Woman!
All the world is waiting for you
And the power you possess
In your satin tights
Fighting for your rights
And the old red, white, and blue

The pilot episode takes place during the height of World War II. Enter Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner), a roguishly handsome major of the U.S. Aircore Intelligence Division. Steve bravely tries to intercept a Nazi spy plane over the feared devil’s triangle, but, alas, is shot down. Lucky for him, he lands on an island of immortal Amazonian women whose favorite pastimes include practicing archery and running around barefoot in flowing dresses. Diana (Lynda Carter), the island’s fearless Amazonian princess, nurses Trevor back to health and then flies him to Washington D.C. in her invisible airplane. In the world of mankind for the first time, she takes on the persona of Wonder Woman in order to protect Steve and to foil the Nazi plot that is unfolding against the United States.

Wonder Woman is certainly not just another pretty face. She makes it her mission to rid the world of evildoers, bank robbers, and Nazis. While she is at it, she educates mankind on the rights of women. “You obviously have little regard for womanhood. You must learn respect!” she says to a Nazi spy, before she knocks him out and crashes his airplane to the bottom of the ocean.

Men are not the only targets of Wonder Women’s wrath. Steve’s sexy yet treacherous secretary, Marsha, learns the hard way not to tangle with our hero in satin tights. After Wonder Woman has tied Marsha to a chair with her lariat of truth, she lectures:

The Nazis don’t care about their women. They let you fend for yourself. And any civilization that does not recognize the female is doomed to destruction. Women are the wave of the future, and sisterhood is stronger than anything.

Go Wonder Woman! You may run around in an amazingly skimpy outfit, but your heart is in the right place. Preach it sistah!