So, 2012. It sure was twelve months, wasn’t it? But before the year slips away into 2013, let’s take a moment to reflect on just some of the awesome content I’ve published in Aught 12, as ranked by the number of visits (which I’m aware don’t always equate to quality, but that’s another topic). For reference, here’s last year’s review.

And as always, I offer a laurel and hearty handshake to everyone who has stopped by this year — either on the blog, the Facebook page, or any of the ever-growing venues where I waste my time and yours. This site racked up about half a million visits in 2012, which I’m fairly certain is an all-time high. It’s probably all downhill from here.

Oh and I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the lovely selection of Featured Posts you see to the right. It may not be my most popular content but it’s some of my best.

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#10. The Best and Worst NFL Logos (NFC North)

I’m fairly obsessed with logos, be they for sports teams or supermarkets. So last summer, prior to the start of the NFL’s 2012 season, I ran an eight-part series highlighting my most and least favorite NFL team logos. The one for the NFC North — home of the Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings — was the most-viewed by a fairly sizable margin.

#9. The GFS Retrotisements home

Well this was unexpected. Since I launched the more permanent section of this site last year, one of the most visited sections has been the gallery of classic advertisements I call Retrotisements. I still run them on the blog — and here’s a handy index — but the main home is great because I’ve taken the trouble to organize the ads into handy sections for you. You’re welcome!

#8. American Football League (AFL) game programs from the 1960 season

This was even more unexpected. It seems as if the 1960 AFL season, the league’s first, still stirs the hearts of football fans more than half a century later. Or maybe people just love looking at old football programs.

#7. Jennifer Love Hewitt – Social Crusader

Was posting a gallery of sexy Jennifer Love Hewitt pictures a cheap ploy to get people to read my critique of her rather blatant hypocrisy? Yeah, I’ll ‘fess up to that. Doesn’t change the truth of what I said though. And just to prove that I can troll for cheap traffic and still keep my dignity, here’s a picture of Jennifer from the April 2012 issue of Maxim.

#6. Get the London Look and Fit a Tuppence Between Your Teeth

Perhaps some felt I went a little too far in poking fun at the dentally challenged Georgia May Jagger and those silly Rimmel London ads, but I don’t care. She looks stupid and that’s all I have to say on that subject.

#5. 20 Great Horror Movie Posters from the 1980s

I had a ton of fun putting together this gallery of classic ’80s horror movie posters, and judging my the response a lot of you had fun reading it. I’ve already published another gallery of ’50s sci-fi posters, and you can bet more will be coming next year!

#4. Album cover of the week: News of the World

How’s this for staying power? My post on Queen’s classic 1977 album News of the World went live in May 2008!

#3. The 10 Deadliest Tornadoes in World History

I published this list of killer twisters in May 2011 but it didn’t really take off in terms of popularity until this year. I guess maybe it’s a thinker? Well whatever the reason is, I plan on doing some more disaster countdowns in 2013, and I’m not just talking about CBS’s prime time lineup.

#2. To Arms! A Gallery of War Recruitment Posters

This gallery of wartime recruiting/propaganda posters dating from the 18th century to today was my most popular piece last year, but just missed out on a repeat in ’12. I’ll probably either update it with more posters in 2013 or write a sequel.

#1. A humorous map of New Jersey

This breakdown of the Garden State by type of resident was #4 on last year’s countdown, which was pretty amazing when you consider that it was only up for about three weeks. It narrowly beat out the war poster gallery to claim the top spot this year. Based on some of the comments it’s received, some people just can’t take a joke.

(Image sourced from Legend of the Dinosaurs (Kyôryuu: Kaichô no densetsu), aka Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds a Japanese monster movie from 1977.

If you’ve seen the first two sets of vintage New Year’s postcards from the former Soviet Union (USSR), then you know the deal by now. With this third set we move into the ’70s, so let’s get going!

As with the first two sets, all card scans courtesy Flickr user katya. Enjoy, and С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!)

1970

1971

1972

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In which I explore some of the best — and worst — advertisements from vintage comic books. Today’s ad comes from Beware #5 (September 1953), published by Trojan Magazines, and boldly declares, “Fat folks! Your dream has come true!”

Now, I have some questions about this. What the hell is a Meltab? Are people really desperate enough to buy a weight loss remedy from an ad in a comic book. Why does the guy in the boxer shorts look like he’s suffering from elephantiasis of the bladder, and how will Meltabs help him?

But most importantly, who at this Robin Products Company thought that their target market — and it’s clearly women — would be reading a kids’ horror comic book featuring a werewolf on the cover?

Related articles

• Comic Book Wallpaper: Witches Tales #2 (neatocoolville.blogspot.com)
• Comic Book Easter Eggs – Kirk, Spock, McCoy…and Luke Skywalker?!?! (goodcomics.comicbookresources.com)

So many of you have enjoyed my gallery of great horror movie posters from the ’80s, I thought I’d try on some posters from the golden age of science fiction (the 1950s) for size. Enjoy, and keep watching the skies!

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Sorry for the dearth of activity around these parts lately, it’s been a hectic holiday season. To make it up to you I’m doubling your vintage photograph pleasure this week!

Up first is a familiar site — Santa Claus collecting donations for the less fortunate on a street corner, circa the early 1910s. This is from the Library of Congress’s Bain News Service collection. Click for a larger version.

The sign on the faux chimney reads, in part, “Volunteers of America — Ballington Booth Christmas Dinners.” According to Wikipedia, Ballington Booth was an officer in the Salvation Army. His parents, William and Catherine Booth, founded the Salvation Army in 1865.

Booth and his wife Maud left the Salvation Army in the late 19th century and started their own charity organization — God’s American Volunteers — in March 1896. That group soon took the name of Volunteers of America. Volunteers of America is active today and claims to help roughly 2.5 million people per year.

Our second image is one that I don’t think we’ll ever see again. It’s a mobile post office rolling through the streets of Washington D.C. with Santa in tow, from 1921.

I just love this one. Long before the Postal Service was teetering on the brink of collapse, they had the wherewithal to campaign for early Christmas mailing. The greenery they slapped on that rickety old truck looks less like a Christmas scene and more like they drove it through the woods first. I love that this quaint little scene is frozen forever.

Related articles

• Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 20: Santa and Swimmers on the Beach, Los Angeles 1927 (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Ho Ho Ho! A Gallery of Vintage Santa & Christmas Postcards (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Office Xmas Party: 1925 (shorpy.com)
• The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 2 (1995) (dr-drakes-christmas-music.blogspot.com)

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner, but it’s high time I posted a Rush show on this site for the first time. After all, they finally made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so it only seems right. And so inspired by my friends at Addicted to Vinyl sharing an excellent concert from the band’s first album tour, I’m sharing one of favorites.

This concert was recorded at the Stadhalle in Offenbach, West Germany on May 28, 1979 — the second-to-last date on the Hemispheres tour. It goes by several names, but the copy I have is called Black Forest. It’s a fantastic soundboard recording and the band is, as usual, on fire.

Of note is that the entire “Hemispheres” suite is played, as is all of  “2112.” Some of the transitions are rather abrupt, but otherwise this is an extremely enjoyable show. If you want to download the show and also want all the artwork, you can get it from the Digital Rush Experience.

As with all the other bootleg shows I post here, I’m providing these files in .mp3 format. I don’t even think I have the FLAC version of these files anyway.

Set list for Rush at the Stadhalle — May 28, 1979:

Disc 1
Anthem [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-01 Anthem.mp3″]
A Passage to Bangkok [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-02 A Passage to Bangkok.mp3″]
By-Tor and the Snow Dog [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-03 By-Tor and The Snow Dog.mp3″]
Xanadu [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-04 Xanadu.mp3″]
Something for Nothing [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-05 Something for Nothing.mp3″]
The Trees [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-06 The Trees.mp3″]
Cygnus X-1 [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-07 Cygnus X-1.mp3″]
Hemispheres [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-08 Hemispheres.mp3″]
Closer to the Heart [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/1-09 Closer to the Heart.mp3″]

Disc 2
A Farewell to Kings [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-01 A Farewell to Kings.mp3″]
La Villa Strangiato [powerpress  url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-02 La Villa Strangiato.mp3″]
2112 [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-03 2112.mp3″]
Working Man (surf version) [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-04 Working Man (surf version).mp3″]
Bastille Day [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-05 Bastille Day.mp3″]
In the Mood w/Neil Peart drum solo [powerpress url=”https://www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/audio/black_forest/2-06 In the Mood.mp3″]

The band:

Geddy Lee — vocals, bass, synthesizer
Neil Peart — drums, percussion
Alex Lifeson — guitars

Related articles

• The 15 Best Rush Songs Since the 1990s (popdose.com)
• In Concert: Rush at the Prudential Center, 10/20/12 (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Rush, Donna Summer, Heart, P.E. & More: Meet The Rock Hall Class of 2013 (popblerd.com)

I hope you enjoyed the first set of New Year’s cards from the USSR of the 1950s, because we’re moving on to the ’60s. And while most of the imagery found in the ’50s was brought over into the next decade, you can definitely see some more of the Space Age creeping in as well.

As with the first set, all card scans courtesy Flickr user katya. Enjoy, and С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!)

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

So is it June 2013 yet? Because my Spidey Sense — oops, wrong costume — tells me that Man of Steel may actually redeem the Superman film franchise from the snoozefest that was Superman Returns. Check out the newest trailer:

It looks like the origin story just got a little darker, and DC is taking the franchise in a very Dark Knight-esque direction. That’s no surprise of course, but as long as the movie’s good I don’t mind. If you want to watch campy Superman there are always the great Christopher Reeve movies out there (which means stop after the second one).

We don’t see much of Henry Cavill in action here but he seems to be a good fit visually. The effects also look awesome, and best of all Kevin Costner isn’t using a stupid accent. Oh, and did I mention General Zod? Because GENERAL ZOD!

Oh and if you’re so inclined, check out my gallery on the evolution of Superman.