Retro

We're big fans of the mid-century illustrations of Charley Harper. Children and adults alike can have some fun with his work thanks to Charley Harper's Sticky Birds: An Animal Sticker Kit.  The book contains stickers of simple sheets which can be stuck together to replicate a dozen of Charley Harper's famous bird illustrations. There's a leaflet to show you how the twelve birds should look, and some background on each of them. Then, of course, you can get inventive and mix and match the shapes to create your own unique creatures. A great way to explore Harper's designs, the book is yours for £12.50.  Buy it from Hus & Hem

Lovers of concrete might love to have these limited edition Brutalist architecture prints by Simon Phipps at TwentyTwentyOne on their walls. Celebrating iconic post-war Brutalist buildings, the images use photography by Simon Phipps of the Barbican Estate, Trinity Square car park, the Post Office Tower and Park Hill in Sheffield, which is then screen-printed directly onto brushed aluminium panels.Each print edition is limited to just 25 and sized around 50 x 50cm. The price of each is £275, with a percentage of that price going to support the work of the Twentieth Century Society.Find out more at the TwentyTwentyOne website

Fans of vintage gaming might well sell the appeal of this 8-bit case for Apple's iPhone 5. Yes, designed to remind you of the dawn of home gaming, it also offers pixelated protection for your smartphone, throwing in free wallpaper to give your screen a matching 8-bit look too.Black or white are the colours, with the price at £19.99.Find out more at the Firebox website

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four - Volume 9The Phantom The Complete Series: The Charlton Years Volume 2Eerie Tales of Crime & Horror: The Complete Non-EC 1950s Crime & Horror Comics of Wally WoodThe Lone Ranger (Little Golden Book)Make Good Art by Neil GaiminTerry Nation: The Man Who Invented the DaleksComplete list of this week's comics here.

This is indeed Carol Ann from Poltegeist (Heather O'Rourke). She was discovered by Steven Spielberg when she went with her sister and mother to MGM studios for her sister Tammy's part in Pennies from Heaven (1981) who played uncredited as a dancer. They were eating in the MGM cafeteria when Spielberg spotted her. Her mother was a seamstress and her stepfather a truck driver, so when the movie part came along, it was life changing. Unfortunately, in the late eighties O'Rourke developed a bowel obstruction which could have been cured by a simple operation. Unfortunately, her symptoms were misdiagnosed as Crohn's disease. The medication caused the big puffy cheeks you see in Poltergeist III; and sadly the untreated bowel obstruction ultimately caused a fatal heart attack. The advertisement above is from 1981, shortly before filming on Poltergeist. It is said her ghost still haunts the set where she filmed 12 episodes of Happy Days (Paramount Pictures State 19). Believe it.... or Not! Speaking of Happy Days... And it's all I need to have a mental image of Big Al with a nasty rash. And isn't it interesting that ads for medical and hygienic type products (i.e. hemorrhoid creams, antacids, cold medicine) always have a goofy looking guy? Whereas, ads for cigarettes, alcohol, and cars always feature a studly dude with no trace of goofiness. And note that the woman will look good in either scenario. But she did get dressed - just didn't bother buttoning her shirt. Maybe it's not her bra; she's just lazy. This is the most misleading advertisement in history. It literally says "without a stimulant" - that's its big selling point. Yet, the box clearly states: "contains phenylpropanolamine", an amphetamine known to cause strokes in women (and is a main ingredient in meth production).... but, hey, there's no caffeine! I love it when you call me Big Poppa. It's incredible to think that Kodak was one of the top companies in the US for decades, and with the advent of cheap and easy digital photography, they have literally perished. They weren't able to transition to the new technology and subsequently became the poster child for businesses that can't keep up with the times. Also, Landon's hair was glorious, wasn't it? And speaking of long standing companies that perished overnight, how about the most unfortunately named product of them all? Ayds had been around for decades before the HIV-AIDS epidemic hit, causing an irredeemable phonetic connection. A popular urban myth when I was in elementary school was that Ayds candies actually contained tapeworm eggs. Turns out, it was something worse: amphetamines. BEFORE AYDS AFTER AYDS

Cher turns 67 today, and to help celebrate the folks at Can't Miss TV invited me to post this groovy infographic showing the history of Cher's career. I'll always remember Cher's impressive movie career, especially as she hit her stride in films in the 70s and 80s, the decades I grew up in. Moonstruck remains one of my favorite romantic flicks, ever. Happy 67th to Sonny Bono's better half! Images under CC BY-SA 3.0 & CC BY 2.0. Additional data from Wikipedia and DirectSpecialTV.

Rolling Stone shares a new, live version of "California Girls" from the Beach Boys' Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour out this week.

Via Dangerous Minds: