O Christmas Tree !

Ok, I realize that Thanksgiving is today. Stores, though, all have had their Christmas decorations up since the end of Halloween!

Here are two video gems from 1984. The first is the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Years before NBC broadcast this event live for the entire nation, the New York flagship station (WNBC) taped it, and showed it an hour later for local viewers. The entertainment was so-so, but that old Rockefeller guy always pushed the red button (sometimes with help from some kids) to light up the tree.

The CNN coverage of the White House Christmas tree lighting is also a classic. Ronnie was at his best. He even stepped aside to let Nancy push the button.

Anyway, Happy Turkey Day!

Crash and Burn

After a short diversionary break, Vista-Vue Lounge is back! Let's take another journey in the way-back time machine to late November, 1984. The engineers at the FAA developed a nifty type of jet fuel that wasn't supposed to explode and burn upon impact (or so they thought). A full scale test was setup using a retired Boeing 720 jetliner. It was fully outfitted with crash test dummies, instrumentation, and probably the ultimate in radio control! A test pilot flew the aircraft remotely (sitting in front of a ground-based simulator), and purposely crashed it. As you can see from these two CBS news reports, the fireball was spectacular, albeit unintended!

Lets Go Mets

Ok, so they didn't do so well this past season, but years ago, they were something. In the fall of 2000, I took my son to his first major league baseball game....the World Series! Everybody was going nuts in New York (how could you tell!) for this subway series. In game 3, the Mets actually won this one against the Yankees.

A Halloween Treat

Let's take another deep-dive into the cavernous VistaVueLounge video vault for another gem from 1986. ABC's Our World presented a classic and award winning episode entitled Halloween: 1938. Here's a description from the book Special Edition A guide to Network Television and Special News Reports, 1980-1989 by Daniel Einstein:

Recalling Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre broadcast of H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds on 10/30/38. Featured are interviews with Welles and one of his rapt listeners, Steve Allen. Also examined: the world prepares for war. Emmy winner: Outstanding Individual Achievement (writing: Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf).

Other events covered included the Hurricane of '38, and a prelude to the upcoming war in Europe. This is a great show! Enjoy (and Happy Halloween) !

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Part 6:

One More Toy !

I remember seeing this commercial over and over again in the late 60's. The toy looked so good on TV, but was somewhat disappointing when you unwrapped it on Christmas day.

Yet More Toys !

I loved this one when I was a kid. Although the commercial shows that it ran well over a carpet, it really didn't. The battery lasted a lot longer if the track was setup over a hard wood floor. This was a great toy!

More Toys !

My friend up the block got this one for Christmas. I loved the sound of the fake engine. He put it on his Schwinn banana seat Stingray bike. I was so jealous!