Obscure and Ephemeral Media Linkdump

What this is:

This is a collection of some of my favorite obscure/ephemeral/weird/old media. As much as I would love to host it all here, I don't have infinite storage or infinite money to pay for infinite storage, so these are just links to the websites that host it.

If you see something you like, I would highly advise you to back it up if at all possible.

Collections:

Catalogs & Wishbooks
Nearly 300 store catalogs from the Christmas season, from the 1940s to 2017.

The Magic of MIDI, Volume 1
169,454 MIDI files, all for you! This is where 99.99% of the MIDIs in my MIDI jukebox come from.

The Marvel Sunbow Archive
A collection of scripts, production material, and promotional material from Marvel and Sunbow Productions from the 80s and early 90s.

Queer Zine Archive Project
A project to scan and archive queer zines for future generations.

The Radio Shack Catalog Archive
Exactly as it sounds, a collection of Radio Shack catalogs from 1933-2011. Many of which can also be downloaded on the Internet Archive.

Yerf Historical Archive
When I got into the furry fandom, Yerf felt like THE place to post your art. Yerf is no longer around, but the submissions live on on the YHA.

Audio - Obscure Albums:

Betty Spaghetty - Smash Hits (2003)
A promotional CD from the line of Betty Spaghetty dolls, presumedly sung by the Betty Spaghetty characters? Etiher way, give it a listen if you're looking for that early 2000s sound.

Dance the Slurp (1967)
A musical ode to the 7-Eleven Slurpee. Sadly there are no instructions on how to actually dance The Slurp. Slurp, Slurrrp!

Imaginary Flying Machines - Princess Ghibli (2011)
Were you lacking death metal covers of Studio Ghibli songs in your life? Good news.

Kraft & Alexander - Tchaikovsky 1812 & Nutcracker Suite (1977)
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Nutcracker Suite, done on an ARP sythesizer. This rendition of the Nutcracker Suite has become a must-listen for me around the holidays.

Video - Educational Ephemera:

A is for Atom (1953)
A film sponsored by General Electric. Designed to give a brief overview of what an atoms, nuclear energy, and nuclear weapons.

Case Study: LSD (1969)
Learn a thing or two about hot dogs, Troll dolls, and pulsating liquids. Brought to you by an aircraft company for some reason!

Circus Kids (1984)
Traci takes you through a day in the life of a kid who lives and performs with a travelling circus. Also features a great bit where they go to a local mall.

Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards (1986)
A fairly dry educational film featuring some pretty cool stop-motion dinosaur models. Is all of this information outdated by now? Almost definitely. Is it still cool lookin'? Yep.

Halloween Safety (1977)
Real good vintage Halloween footage and costumes. I feel like my mom would be furious if I begged for a sword for my Halloween costume, and then sawed the pointy end off.

Video - Employees Only:

Circuit City - DIVX Sales Training Video (1998)
Learn how to sell DIVX, the DRM video format that came and went before many of us even owned a DVD player.

The Disney Store - Loss Prevention: A Guest Services Approach (1999)
Kimberly the Cast Member talks to you about how to keep your eyes out for shoplifters. My first job was working in a Disney Store that looked exactly like this. By all means, please steal from The Disney Store.

This is Sega Test (1996)
A training video for Sega of America video game testers, and Pico disrespectors. Not only a perfect time capsule for Sega games, but also cubicle decor and fashion.

Video - The Future, Today!:

Adventure in Telezonia (1949)
Handy and a handful of other marionettes teach Bobby how to operate the telephone to find his lost dog.

The Silicon Factor S01E03 - And What of the Future? (1980)
An episode of the BBC ~~program~~ programme The Silicon Factor about cutting-edge technology. Come for the fun mail robots, stay for the depressingly precient guy at the end who predicts an end to privacy, loss of jobs, all that fun stuff.

Robotics: The Future is Now! (1984)
William Shatner is our host through the wide world of industrial robots. The fear of automation destroying jobs is breifly brought up and then quickly swept under the rug near the end of the film.

The Westinghouse All-Electric House (1959)
A promotional film for Westinghouse's all-electric computerized house of the future.

Video - Mallstalgia

~~Cary Village Mall, Halloween Night (1986)~~
Two high school kids bring a camcorder to their local Cary, North Carolina mall on Halloween night. Looks like a great turnout.

Jefferson Valley Mall "What's In Store" Show, episode 9 (1986)
A New York mall had its own cable show! And it's a delight. Check out this amazing fashion show.

Valley View Mall in Dallas, TX (1995)
A guy and his buddy brought a camcorder to the mall and wander around. Valley View wasn't my local mall but I went there a handful of times. One of the entrances had a giant mosaic that I always thought looked stunning. Sadly, the mall no longer exists.

Video - News Footage:

KPRC-TV - Counterfeit Pokémon cards (1999)
Filmed in the height of Pokémon mania, this Houston, TX news segment warns about buying shoddy Pokémon cards. Also worth noting is the anime store with a back wall full of VHS tapes.

PM Magazine - Dungeons and Dragons (1982)
A piece for KFDM-TV in Beaumont, Texas about Dungeons and Dragons. Given the year and location I thought I had an idea about how this piece was going to go, but the game is actually portrayed in a positive light.

PM Magazine - Games By Apollo (1981)
Another PM Magazine segment about Richardson, TX game company Games By Apollo. Watch as a game goes from loose concept to playable protype. PS: A person making $30,000 in 1981 is akin to someone making over $100,000 today.

Suzanne Ciani creates the soundtrack for the pinball machine Xenon
Basically what it says on the tin. If you've never seen a Xenon pinball machine in the wild, it's a very cool table.

Barbie Fashion Secrets (1993)
A promotional video showcasing Barbie's upcoming 1993-1994 lineup.

Chuck E Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 (1999)
A Chuck E Cheese movie from 1999. Only sold at Chuck E Cheese and Target.

The Commercials of Robert Abel (1974-1985)
This is a compilation of commercials by Robert Abel. His pioneering work with computer graphics give his commercials an amazing aesthetic that I think has only gotten better with age.

Let's Have Fun! At The Slush Puppie Factory (1996)
A very odd, kinda of roundabout promotional video for Slush Puppie snow cones.

Tomorrow Always Comes (1941)
A promotional film for Bur-Mil Rayon Fabrics. NOTE: This film contains a homophobic slur. This particular word is also a embroidery term and that's how it is used in the context of this film, but it can be jarring to hear by modern-day standards.

Ultra 21: The Beginning (1984)
An industrial film about the history of Tupperware and the development of their microwave-safe products.

Video - Roll that Beautiful B-Roll Footage!

Shopping at an Incredible Universe (1993)
Footage from opening day of the Incredible Universe in Dallas, Texas. This is the Incredible Universe I used to go to when I was a kid, I loved this place. I remember playing way too much Joe & Mac for the Genesis in the little kid hangout zone.

Video - Taped Treasures and VHS Oddities:

Bitsy Bears (1992)
Bitsy Bears was a line of flocked bear figurines in the early 90s, and this was the pilot for a planned series that never got off the ground. As a kid I had this on tape because it came with the toy, but the pilot also apparently aired on CBS at least once.

How to Spot Counterfeit Beanie Babies (1998)
Learn how to spot a real Beanie from a fake. Of course both of their names are Becky.

How to Throw a Double Dare Party (1990)
Honestly? Some of these party games look pretty fun, I would have totally thrown a Double Dare party if I had this tape growing up.

Surviving the Big One: How to Prepare for a Major Earthquake (1989)
Join Fire and Safety Specialist Henry Johnson as he attemps to teach you about earthquake preparedness, but really gives you a lesson in his own undiagnosed neuroses.

World of Nintendo on QVC (1994)
A taped QVC segment featuring Nintendo hardware and games.

Zillions TV: Kid's Guide to Best Toys (1993)
Kids compare different brands of walkie talkies, mountain bikes, stereos, and other toys while offering advice about being a smart consumer. This tape is also extremely 90s in its presentation.

Video - Misc:

Samurai Jack S01E02 (Japanese Dub)
Samurai Jack aired on Cartoon Network in Japan dubbed into Japanese, but very few episodes have found their way online and to an English-speaking world. Tumblr user sallychanscraps was able to take the audio from episode 2 uploaded to Nicovideo and put it to a higher quality video.

Pirro and the Telephone (19??)
A marionette learns a thing or two about telephones with the aid of his handler. I'm not really sure if this was made with the implication of being education, or something just made for fun. The puppeteer does a pretty good job bringing Pirro to life, and I can't believe this is our second film about phones and puppets.