View-Master Show Beam Cartridge (GAF, 1980)

Here is an earlier version of the later version that we saw a while back....note that even two years later, the poor boy child was still having to operate as a screen! Couldn't the family afford a bedsheet or something?

Also, I'm not sure about the line "Flash your favorite characters," even in 1980.

You will also notice that the list of other available cartridges is a bit different (wait, KISS? Really?).  There was an "I Can Learn By Myself" series for ignored or abandoned kids, to teach themselves Numbers (I prefer Exodus), Alphabet. Time and Colors...although the more I think about this concept, it makes no sense.  A literate child doesn't need the "Alphabet" cartridge, and one who can't yet read would just be all around screwed.  Talking View-Master might work better for such an endeavor.  No word on whether Morris Day appeared in the "Time" cartridge.

Also, I don't think we have to wonder too much why the "Party Games" category disappeared by 1982.  It's hard to imagine a game called "Dunce Cap" that didn't end with someone in tears, or a trip to the emergency room.  There was also a little-known Southern version of the cartridge called "Hey Y'all, Watch This" that caused several deaths.  Okay, I made that up.

View-Master Monster Gift Pak (GAF, 1978)

Well, we all knew it would happen, at least I sure did...but I finally scored one of the elusive MONSTER GIFT PAKs made by View-Master in 1978.

There were several themed gift "paks" offered by View-Master in the late 70's, and it gave kids a good jumping-off point into the world of 3D viewing, as well as handy storage for loose reels that tended to pile up.

I was surprised that the canister was the size of a large coffee can, because I had seen auctions that included more than one View-Master viewer (turns out it came with just one).  So this left plenty of room inside the can for storage.

Included is a viewer, as well as a useful plastic box containing seven reels of Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein ('s  Monster), and Godzilla.  The only drawback, as I've mentioned before, is that only one reel from the "Godzilla's Rampage" set is included, so you'd still have to seek out that set to see the entire story. 

I believe this completes my Godzilla View-Master collection.  Up next is an earlier version of something we've already looked at!

Popeye's Songs About...Health Safety Friendship Manners (Golden, 1961)

I'm just going to go ahead and apologize for this right now.  I love Popeye.  If I saw this on a blog, I'd be downloading it.  In fact, I have several other Popeye albums, and stories, that I've gotten from other places.  When I saw this at my local thrift store, I snatched it up.  Add to that the fact that the originals, Jack Mercer and Mae Questel, are present, and it makes it all the more desirable.

There's just one problem:  it's awful.  I mean really, eye-gougingly awful.  I hate to just throw superlatives out there with no explanation, so I'll do my best.

First off, for the most part, it matters not that it's a Popeye album.  It could be Captain Kangaroo, Donny and Marie, or Baby Snooks singing horrible, musically identical songs about washing your hands and not playing with matches.

Secondly, Mercer and Questel were icons, and defined the characters they represented, but they can't sing seriously in character....think about it.  In the cartoons, there may be a line or a brief tune here and there, and Popeye always could handle his theme song, of course, but this is different.  The songs are not only rotten, but they are obviously having trouble at several points...and Olive Oyl's shrill warbling is downright painful.  

Also, it's kind of lame that Wimpy and Swee'pea are present, but have to be voiced by Mercer and Questel also (even though I believe that was exactly the case in the KFS cartoons, which were done during the time of this LP, but I still don't like it.)  There are points where you can't tell if it's Olive or Swee'pea that's singing, or even if it matters why.  Even the title of the record is a grammatical mess.

You would think there would be more moments that were funny if taken out of context, but I only found one.  There is literally a line where Popeye says "I try to always be a good influence...now just let me light my pipe," that cracked me up for a moment, before the pain of the next song began.

You've been warned: LINK.

GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND ad slicks (alternate set, 1978)

Here is a second set of ad slicks for GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND.  The first set I posted a couple of years ago is 8.5" x 11", and this set is 11" x 17".

Detailed scans: