Obsolescence Project

Day 318 – 8-track Tape: Christmas Special

8 track christmas songs

8-track, A Very Special Christmas with Hagood Hardy. 1978, Attic Records Limited. Distributed by K-Tel International.

The last of the free purchase at the antique/junk store. (See Day 306 for the story of acquisition)

Hagood Hardy was born in the States, but is listed as a Canadian. He became a member of the Order of Canada in 1992. Wikipedia says he is best known  for writing the  pop song “The Homeland” originally created for a commercial for Salada Tea.  He also wrote the soundtrack for the Anne of Green Gables films.

I wonder how  many songs that were written for commercials became pop hits? I know there’s one that was written for a bank. Now, it seems the reverse trend is what happens, where you’re horrified to hear a rock classic tune selling cars.

8 track christmas songs

There are two more Canadian connections for this tape. K-Tel is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I never knew that. It had its hey-day in the last century, but still exists. I also learned it is called a “As-Seen-On-TV” company. Will such companies soon be known as “As-Seen-On-Le-Web”?

The other Canuck connection is merely that it was manufactured in the big smoke (aka T.O.).

8 track christmas songs

Status: Borrow an 8-track player, pour up an eggnog, and settle in for a festive night.

Kill-ratio: 26: 3/ ~8:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 318 For Celebrating Schmaltz!

Posted on by Deanne in Objects, Vinyl

Day 317 – Headboard Lamp

Headboard lamp

Headboard lamp. Designed to hook onto a headboard, but also has screws in the back so you can hang it on the wall.

We  used to have  this in the glamourous location above the laundry basket. And then last year the landlord renovated and we moved the laundry basket away from the wall. Mr. OP must have tucked this away, but unearthed it recently in yet another sweep of decluttering. Must be the prepping for the end of the world or the Age of Aquarius energy.

Headboard lamp

Headboard lamp

It uses ye old fashioned light bulb, featured on Day 105.  At the time I thought there was only the one lamp left using the non energy-saving type bulbs, this lamp having been in hiding.

Headboard lamp

Status: Another Sell! I see a few of these on Etsy, surely someone out there hankers for the charm of the 50s with a touch of Art Deco.

Kill-ratio: 48:4 / 12: 1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 317 For Shedding Light on Obscure Nostalgia.

p.s. So while linking to an earlier post the other day, I noticed that  I had a duplicate. Two Days with the same post number. There are probably more, so that means I’m actually ahead of 317. I know I had fallen behind and, gasp, left out a few days. But in general, I now think I’m more or less on track to finish this project (Phase I) by February 1st, which would mean one post for every day.

With the Yuletide season upon us though, who knows. Is it really festive to be on the box? I’m pre-prepping a few posts with the hopes of maintaining the dailiness, but then again I may decide to drink too much eggnog.

Happy Holidays Eh!

Posted on by Deanne in Objects

Day 316 – expo67 Ashtray

ashtray-expo2

expo67 — Montreal, Canada Ashtray.

Expo 67 was a Category One World Fair. It “set the single-day attendance record for a world’s fair, with 569,000 visitors on its third day.” The next world fair will be held in Milan in 2015.

Ashtray Expo '67

It was sitting on the top of a bookshelf, gathering dust

So in Ontario, where stats where easy to find, there are apparently more people who smoke now than in the 1960s. Where are they all hiding? I was in Toronto two years ago and didn’t particularly notice many smokers.

Today I brushed by a smoker, and was for an instant, compellingly brought back to my smoking years. I felt a rush of pleasure, the hit of nicotine. The quick and instantaneous lift. I made a few friends when I smoked. The huddling against the icy wind must have been the bond.

Expo poster

You can download this as a wallpaper from http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/expo/fullscreen/e000988791_e.html – kinda obsolete itself as the sizes it refers to are 800×600 and 640×480!

Ashtray Expo '67

Status: Finish reading Arcades Project (itself unfinished) by Walter Benjamin. Probably have to start at the beginning as I started reading it over 10 years ago.

Kill-ratio: 28:2/ 14:1
(captioned images don’t count – lire les règles)

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 316 For Butting Out of Your Neighbour’s Business

Posted on by Deanne in Objects

Day 315 – 2 x 2 Slide File Box

Box of slides

Box for holding slides. There is the faintest of logos embossed on the front latches, but all I can make out is that is starts with the letter A. It’s a portable box, presumably for either that lecture you’re giving, or the party you to go where you are the armchair traveler hopefully not boring people to death.

Whoever owned this box was both a detail orientated person and traveled quite a bit.

Rag Day – Belfast 1964 occupies slot No.1, View of Athens, Slot No 48, Apt. 303 Toronto, No. 92, Niagara Falls No 123.

The slides in here are not those ones, but the list remains, tantalizingly precise and vivid.  Nigel, Adrienne, Roger & Melvyn — Spot No. 84.

Box of slides

Box of slides

Status: Mr. OP has already embarked upon the scanning of the slides held within. Soon this box will be both obsolete and useless.

Kill-ratio: 42:3 / 14:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object. No. 315 For Storing Pilfered Memories.

Posted on by Deanne in Objects, Photography

Day 314 – Microcassette-Corder

Microcassette recorder

Sony Microcassette-corder M-330 — One Touch Recording 2 Tape Speeds.

Oddly enough, even with my super sleuth g00glitis powers, I am at a loss to find the release date of this model. Probably the 1980s. I even went past page 3.

I did learn that it’s not called a dictaphone because that was was trademarked by the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1907.

Dictaphone Ad

Apparently,  if you walk through a door you have a very great chance of forgetting the thought that you were holding prior to walking through said door. Everyone should carry one of these to micro manage their memory systems.

Microcassette recorder

Status: Sell.

Kill-ratio: 28:2/ 14:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 314 For Capturing Micro Memories

Posted on by Deanne in Objects, Technology