Flopcast 707: Holiday Torso Mishaps
The Flopcast
As we creep into the holidays, once again we're looking back at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades of the past. (Debbie Gibson is scheduled to perform at this year's parade, so you should all be road-tripping to Manhattan RIGHT NOW.) We start with the 2015 parade (featuring that top-hatted honey-roasted freak, Mr. Peanut), then keep jumping back ten years at a time, all the way to the premiere of the Underdog balloon in 1965. (Underdog has been watching us from above ever since, and he is most displeased.) Along the way, we'll meet some of our favorite pop culture stars (even Alice from The Brady...
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Flopcast 706: This Girl Loves Her Air Supply
The Flopcast
When our favorite 1980s soft rock band comes to the town where we spent the 1980s, you know we'll be there. And so Kevin has a report from the sold out Air Supply concert at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, Rhode Island! (We were front row center. Close enough to catch an official Air Supply guitar pick? You bet.) Also: The Mayor of Chickentown joins the Early Birds Club! Kevin accidentally runs a half marathon! And Finnish nannies sing Badfinger! Next week we'll have some holiday stuff. This week we're just being goofy. Email: info@flopcast.net
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Flopcast 705: Flopless in Seattle
The Flopcast
We're back with our full report on the city of Seattle, which turned out to be way over on the other side of the continent. (Probably should have packed a bag or something...) How many weird and silly activities could we squish into just a few days out west? Let's find out. Including: Retro-futuristic fun at the Space Needle! A robot on the monorail! Angry otters at the aquarium! A massive collection of nerd stuff at the Museum of Pop Culture! Giant trolls! A visit to Archie McPhee's Rubber Chicken Museum! A visit to filming locations from Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure! A fortune-telling...
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Flopcast 704: Dopey and Soapy
The Flopcast
It's been about a year since we killed a whole episode flipping through an issue of Dynamite, that classic magazine for kids of the 70s and 80s, so let's do it. We have an issue from 1976 (compliments of Chris from Sci Fi Explosion!) and on the cover are America's favorite toothy Mormons, Donny and Marie Osmond! Also in this issue: Fashion tips direct from Medford, Massachusetts; an Elton John pinball machine; a remarkable new gadget called the Betamax; the adventures of the Dynamite Duo and their new superhero pal, Jive Turkey; Magic Wanda in her painter's pants; a visit to Marvel Comics to...
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Flopcast 703: Wookiee Torso
The Flopcast
For our Halloween episode, we're revisiting a favorite subject: the cheapo department store Halloween costumes produced for decades by the Ben Cooper company. Kids loved slipping into their uncomfortable plastic masks and weird vinyl smocks for an evening of begging the neighbors for Twix bars. We look at superhero costumes (including some odd ones like Web Woman), Krofft costumes (you could be a Sleestak, a Bugaloo, or even Dr. Shrinker), and lots more, including the infamous Fonzie "He-e-y!" costume. Also: The classic Universal monster movies! A brilliant new monster t-shirt from cartoonist...
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Flopcast 702: Weather Bird Treasure Bird
The Flopcast
We're back from a quick visit to Albany, New York, where Kevin ran a half marathon (finishing in 309th place, probably not qualifying for the Olympics) and learned the shocking truth about Alice from The Brady Bunch. Now here in Chickentown, we're looking at an odd 1959 comic book called Weather-Bird. It stars a chicken and a goat, and the whole thing is a promotional gimmick to sell children's shoes. We love it. And we were reminded of some other weird comic book shoe ads. Several 1970s ads star a shoe-themed superhero called the AAU Shuperstar. One of his enemies is called Missile-Toe. And...
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Flopcast 701: Super Wicked Awesome
The Flopcast
It's no secret that we're rather obsessed with the 80s around here, so this week we're chatting with author Debby Meltzer Quick. Debby's first novel (the first of several!) is May I Have Your Attention Please, a mid-80s high school romance set in Eastboro, Massachusetts. Kevin and Debby discuss the novel itself, how much pop culture nostalgia to include in a story, how to draw from one's own life without getting too autobiographical, and much more. Including: 80s movies both well-remembered (The Breakfast Club) and largely forgotten (Give My Regards to Broad Street); going to the Worcester...
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Flopcast 700: Flop Like the Wind
The Flopcast
We didn't make any big plans for our big 700th episode, because that would have required effort, which is frowned upon around here. Instead we have a hastily assembled pile of random stuff, just for you. Including: Our ongoing cluelessness about Buc-ee's! An update on our favorite Bugaloo from Dragon Con! The 700th biggest song of the 1980s (according to our Ranking the 80s book)! The 700th biggest movie of all time (according to some list we found)! The upcoming Jukebox Thrillers anthology of 80s music-inspired short stories! And a Chickens in the News segment about Nike the rescued rooster!...
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Flopcast 699: Dragon Con Review Part 3 - Chicken Grease
The Flopcast
Our Dragon Con review finally concludes, just in time for us to get ready for next year's Dragon Con. We're looking at the last two days of the convention, including: Muppet talk with Muppet performers/designers Bill Barretta, Kevin Clash, Bonnie Erickson, and Dave Goelz! Actual trick-or-treating in the American Sci-Fi Classics Track room at Halloween Con! The science of Severance (it seems like a good idea)! Our British New Wave panel (with nary a Duran in sight, alas)! Our Hollywood Hits the Arcade panel (during which Joy Sticks was finally recognized as a cinematic masterpiece)! The Agatha...
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Flopcast 698: Dragon Con Review Part 2 - Misfits of Science Fiction
The Flopcast
Our coverage of Dragon Con (Atlanta's massive Labor Day weekend nerd convention) continues! Thrill to every single weird thing we did on Friday and Saturday! Including: The Geek Girls Run! The Muppet Mayhem tournament! The return of the Music Video Book Club (during which Carly Simon hooked up with Sico the Robot)! Fantastic Four cartoons with Chris from Sci-Fi Explosion! The return of Classic Sci-Fi Court (during which Kevin defended a lost Justice League TV pilot)! ESO's Misfits of Science Fiction TV 1985 presentation (basically an excuse to make Courteney Cox badge ribbons)! The Mayor's...
info_outlineKevin and Kornflake ring in the holidays with our favorite 90s Boston band, Letters to Cleo! (You may recall their hit song "Here and Now," or their appearances in 10 Things I Hate About You and Parks and Recreation, or singer Kay Hanley's vocals for Josie and the Pussycats... or if you don't know them, look them up. You're welcome.) We were in the front row for Letters to Cleo's holiday homecoming shows (both of them!), and have a full report, including: Dangerously close guitar solos! Surprise guests! Opening band American Hi-Fi! Kay Hanley approving of Kevin's shirt! No one approving of Kornflake's weird coffee! (Not even Kornflake!) It was a festive time, and you should all join us next year. Bring ear plugs. Also: Thanksgiving Spam-juggling, running with lobsters and dogs, mason jars of moonshine, and a Flopcast holiday tradition... The Figgy Pudding Pages.