Party Past Midnight!!!

 Ok, I'll admit that I'm at an age where this happens fairly rarely (except if I'm playing in a band that night) and I prefer to be in bed an hour or more before then. Still, that's the name of this week's spoooooooky game, "Midnight Party," by Ravensburger! Ravensburger is actually a German company, which has been producing toys and games since the 19th century. In the 80s and 90s, a lot of German games were marketed in the U.S., and this is one of them.

This game, released in 1989, was actually my daughter's and we played it fairly regularly. Want to get the gist? Have a look at the back of the box!

Yes, that ghostly Hugo just loves to party! And to chase people. One can only assume that he's trying to sound and act scary while doing it, but he looks fairly cute, so the fright factor is pretty low. Here is the board set up to start the game...

And here's Hugo! The paint on his eyes, mouth and hands looks like it glows in the dark, and it does, but since nothing else in the game glows, it really doesn't make any difference. Still, it's fun to check out every now and then...

"How do you play?," I hear you all asking. Well, here you go! These are the official instructions!

Here is the setup. Hugo is so "not scary" the Lords of the castle (whose title sounds a little creepy to me) throw him a party every year! The highlight? A game a hide and seek, which is also kind of like musical chairs!

These pages describe the object of the game and how to set it up. This game is weird in that you're trying to get the fewest penalty points, so, in effect, lowest score wins!

The next pages describe how to move, special room rules, and scoring. It's sort of sounds complex, but it's really not. After three rounds the scores are added up and that lowest penalty point total wins!

All in all this is a pretty quick moving, fun game! I remember we enjoyed it quite a bit. It's really lighthearted for a ghost themed game, which is nice. 

Weirdly enough, this game sells for a fairly high amount on eBay, with examples usually fetching about 65.00 including shipping. I had no idea about that until I started this post and checked. I guess since it's really a "post-boomer" game it slipped under my radar.

Still, I have good memories of dodging ol' Hugo with my daughter, so it's a keeper!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Key to the (Haunted) Kingdom!

 Well, it's October again, so I thought I would spook it up around here a little! I plan to feature spooky games for the rest of the month, but today I have an item that I've owned for over thirty years, but I never thought to post about before. May I present to you: The Haunted Mansion keychain!

Here it is, being modeled by our "hand model," Thing!

This keychain was purchased around 1990 at the cart outside of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World. As I recall, they had two styles, one in gold and one in silver. It's fairly heavy metal, and feels like a real skeleton key. The "Haunted Mansion" logo is on a small ceramic disc, which is a nice touch, I think. It only appears on this side.

I've never used it as a keychain, and won't. I prefer to think of it as my personal front door key for our favorite haunt! 

These are fairly hard to find now (although there is a newer version that is shaped like a bat that is much easier to get). The ones I've seen tend to go for about twenty bucks, which is still a bargain in my book!

So there you have it! Be sure to check back in next week for our first spooky game!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure! 

Tale of the Tape

 Last week's entry reminded me of this item that I picked up off of Ebay a while back...

It's an original 1964 reel to reel tape of the Mary Poppins sound track! Unlike the records I shared last week, this recording seems to be actual tracks from the film, dialog included. Let's take a look at the track listing...

...and the tape itself...

I must say that this recording sounds fantastic! Disney worked with Ampex to produce an audiophile grade product, and they nailed it. The Overture is particularly moving.

Interesting side fact: the Ampex auto reverse tones don't work on my Sansui player (they only work on Ampex-type systems) so I had to add my own aluminum tape to the exit leader to get auto-reverse going. No biggie, as I do that with all my tapes anyway, but I think it's interesting that even in 1964 the home entertainment industry was not cooperating on their products (I'm looking at you, VHS and Beta!)

I got this tape at a great price, since it's mainly rock tapes that are crazy expensive. So, if you have a reel to reel systen, you might want to seek this one out! Actually, if you have an 8 track, you can find one too, since this was one of the first offerings for that medium as well! And, of course, there's always vinyl....

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

For the Record...

 ...my daughter rocks when it comes to giving gifts. She knows that I love anything (and I mean anything) vintage Disney, so if she finds anything that fits that catagory, she snatches it up for little ol' me!

Today I'm featuring something she gave me a while back. Two Disneyland records, one for Lady and the Tramp and one for Mary Poppins. Here they are!

Pretty cool, huh? Quite frankly they had me at the vintage "Disneyland" logo, but let's dig in a little deeper, shall we?

These two records feature tracks from their respective films, with Lady and the Tramp showcasing "Siamese Cat Song" and "La La Lu" on side one and "Bella Notte" and "He's a Tramp" on side two. Mary Poppins features "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "I Love to Laugh" on side one, and "Step in Time" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite" on side two. An interesting point is that Disney rarely released the actual tracks recorded for the movie, but, rather, rerecorded them for record distribution. 

Although these records look very similar, they were, in fact released several years apart. Both were released right after their fims, with Lady and the Tramp being released in '57-'58 (there was some confusion on the exact date) and Mary Poppins being released in '64. Also, although these are 7 inch records, they are not 45s, but 33 1/3 rpm examples. 

So there you have it! Two records with eight classic Disney tunes! 

Thanks, Jess!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

The Stereo Grows!

 This week I'm going to show off my 63rd birthday gift! My birthday is actually tomorrow, but I picked this up a couple of weeks ago. It's a Sansui SR-1050C turntable! Here she is!

The controls on this unit are very simple. A on/off/tonearm lift on the right, and a button for 33 1/3 and 45 rpms on the left. That's it. It looks lot different from the Technics DL 1200 I was looking at getting originally. That unit looks like it belongs on a spaceship! Don't let looks fool you, though. The SR-1050C is a better unit, if only because it goes with my Sansui QRX-7500A receiver and Sansui QD-5500 reel to reel tape deck, seen here...

One of the main things that make or break a turntable is the stylus. This one came with a Pickering V-15/ATE 4 which is a solid unit. 

It also has a nifty early 70s wooden case! The unit was made in about 1970 to 1972...

Another view, without a record on it...

...and with the lid closed.

As to quality, it sounds fantastic. I seriously think it sounds as good (or close to as good) as my reel to reel! I'm VERY happy with it!

So, happy birthday to me!!!

Keep searching for treasure!

It's Greek to Me!

 This week I'm going to share an item left to me by my maternal grandfather, Dr. John Roy Stewart. He was a Baptist pastor for about 60 years, and in his studies he was required to learn both Greek and Hebrew. And I have this...

This leather bound book, about a foot tall and pretty heafty at over 1700 pages, is my grandfather's Greek/English dictionary. He actually used it when he was in school and later when he would write sermons.

Here's a look at the spine...

...and the pages.

This is the title page. It looks pretty old, huh?

Well, that's because it is! It was published in 1865. Obviously, my grandfather picked it up used...

Here's a sample page. They're all about the same, as far as I can tell...

And here's who sold the book. Are they still there? Probably not, but I haven't checked, to be real honest.

And there you have it. A treasure to me because, although I have no use for it, I know my grandfather used it quite a bit! And having a 160 year old academic text on my bookshelf makes me feel just a little bit smarter, I guess!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Watching Forty Years Go By...

 Well, since I featured a 1905 watch last week, I thought I'd feature the other watch my dad gave me, which, by a stroke of luck, is exactly forty years newer! 

This is actually the first watch my dad gave me, when I was a teen. It's a 1945 Bulova that he received as a high school graduation gift from his parents! 

The back indicates that it's 10k rolled gold plate (gold over steel) and has a stainless steel back.

Looking inside, we find some more information. We see that it's a 15 jewel watch. The "10 AK" is the movement type. The interesting part is how you tell the date of the watch. See that little triangle under the word "watch?" That means "1945."

This watch is manual wind and runs. I actually wear it from time to time. I've had it repaired twice over the years and, since the going price for a 1945 Bulova is 100 to 500 bucks, I may have spent more than it's worth keeping it going. Still, it's worth it, as I've already decided to give it to my grandson. 

Now you've seen both of my dad's watches! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!