Ben Cooper Costumes

When I was little, my mom made our costumes.

I remember being a clown and also a hobo.

But as we got older, we wanted more "serious" costumes.

Big kid stuff. Ben Cooper costumes.

And I don't remember which ones I wore.

I seem to think there may have been a CHiPs costume, or a Duke cousin.

But I honestly can't remember.

So, anyway, here are some Ben Cooper costumes I think are cool,

weird, or just creepy. Enjoy!

Aquaman (thanks to The Aquaman Shrine)

Why does Aquaman have a mask? He never wore a mask.

Technically, this means your costume is wearing a costume.

Meta before meta was a thing, I guess...

Dukes of Hazzard costumes.

Now that I see these, I really hope I wasn't a Duke boy.

Creepy!

The Six-Million Dollar Man

His eye is on fire...

And why did the costumes always have pictures of the characters on the chests?

Mork from Mork & Mindy

Can't decide whether this is great or creepy.

No, it's creepy.

And why does the face on the shirt look less like Robin Williams

than the oddly serious-looking mask does?

Devil & Frankenstein's Monster

So the costumes got less scary and more unsettling as time went on, I guess?
'Cause these two pretty much rock.

Samantha from Bewitched

Did Ben Cooper think she was a heavily made-up, slutty, bedraggled ho?

And this time, TWO pictures of herself on her top!

Laverne from Laverne & Shirley

Guess she had a tough day bottle-capping, since her mascara is running.

And the costume is "dressed" in what might be the worst fake clothes for any horrible plastic costume ever.

Fonzie from Happy Days

Again, you would be wearing the Fonz wearing the Fonz.

I guess it was just cool at the time.

And hey, at least the nose on this costume gave you some breathing room!

Sleestak from Land of the Lost

Okay, they made it less creepy in one sense,

and more creepy in a totally different way.

Sheesh...

Clown

Seriously, why are clowns so damn creepy???

Do you all have a favorite Ben Cooper costume memory?

Share it in the comments!

Theme Thursday - Suitcase

This week at Theme Thursday: Suitcase!

After the theme of "vacation" last week, I was a bit 'at sea' as to where to go with a theme of "suitcase" so quickly.

Here is what I came up with:

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First, I thought of the thing that always pops into my head when I hear "suitcase" (and I am not kidding).

This video:



Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", my favorite song from this great artist. I loved this video when it was released, waaaay back when I was 13. The song is so good, such a well written, emotional masterpiece. A classic now.

And the video was great, as well. Her character was so interesting to me, hopeful and sad at the same time. And by the end, all alone.

I always think of this in regards to suitcases, because of the odd assortment Cyndi had; a huge (for her size) duffel bag, a round hat box thing, and a metal lunch box. Definitely unique.

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Next, I thought of George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life". George has such big dreams of leaving Bedford Falls and traveling the world. But life keeps getting in his way.

Here he is demonstrating how big of a suitcase he wants for all his travels:



George wanted it to have room for lots of stickers, from around the world. Something like this:



We know that by the end of the movie, George has learned that it doesn't matter where you go or what possessions you have. All that is important is who you love and are loved by. That is what makes a "wonderful life".

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Then, I thought of this scene, from "Evita" with Madonna.



I think Madonna was pretty damn good in this film. Her acting has always been less then stellar, but here, with the acting and singing working together, I think she did her best film work.

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Oddly, I remembered this scene, from the pilot episode of "Mork & Mindy":



Mindy had still be skeptical of Mork's claim that he is an alien. Until a knock at the door finds a floating egg in the hallway, there to deliver Mork's lost luggage. She is a little more willing to believe his strange claims after this!

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Lastly, I recalled the classic episode of "I Love Lucy" called "The Passports", which originally aired way back in 1955.

In this episode, Lucy is unable to locate her birth certificate, which she needs for a passport for their European trip. She gets one of her bright ideas, thinking she can hide in Fred and Ethel's old steamer trunk. Of course, she gets locked inside.

Here is a replica of the trunk used in the show:



Strangely, this is a light-activated cookie jar. Not sure how that bit of merchandising came to be, but it is kind of cool, nonetheless.

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I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.

And hey, no suitcases were lost on this journey!

Na-Nu, Na-Nu, Dr. Monkey!

The very cool Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein (from the great blogs Monkey Muck and Yellow Volkswagen Theory) sent me this:



How very cool.

It is titled "Mork & Mindy - A Video Novel" and is a sort of paperback/comic book/photo recap of the first episode of the series, at least.

I vaguely remember this from my childhood. I think I may have ordered it once from the Scholastic Book Club or something similar, I don't know.

Dr. Monkey did a couple of very cool Pam Dawber posts: McCall's magazine cover here and the inside photos here. Very nice.

Thank you, Dr. Monkey! Much appreciated.

Na-Nu, Na-Nu!

Theme Thursday - Egg

Egg. This is the theme chosen for this week's Theme Thursday.

I have to admit, this is one theme that has had me stumped. I didn't know where to go with this.

So, I am just going to run down a quick list of some eggs that have been of interest to me.

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First up is one from my childhood. I give you the one and only Mork from Ork, with his eggship:



I used to love "Mork & Mindy" when I was a kid, watched it every week. Robin Williams was hilarious, making Mork a truly memorable, one-of-a-kind character. I also had quite a crush on the lovely Pam Dawber, who played Mindy.

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Speaking of Mork, this was one of my favorite toys as a kid:



Played with this all the time, until it was either broken or lost. Ah well. Good memories, however.

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Next is this absolutely amazing creation:



The Cadbury Creme Egg consists of a chocolate egg shell filled with a white and yellow creme filling. It is delicious, and not too big to seem like a horrible snack choice. And no, I don't want to know the "Nutrition Facts", thank you very much.

By the way, does anyone else think these things have gotten a lot smaller over the years?

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Here is a cousin to the creme egg:



The Cadbury Mini Eggs are a smaller candy, made of a hard sugar shell with a chocolate filling. And they are very tasty. Could eat these little bastards by the bowl full.

Again, keep the nutrition facts to yourself.

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Finally, I couldn't end this blog without something horror-related, so I give you this:



This is an alien egg collectible from "Aliens", the 1986 sequel to the hit "Alien". The alien queen has an egg chamber in the movie, and Sigourney Weaver's Ripley manages to destroy most of them.

Nasty little buggers, ain't they?

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Hope you enjoyed this rather bizarre post.

Now I gotta find me some Cadbury eggs!