The Dino Lounge: Coolness Is Timeless

Dean Martin & Bing Crosby Together In Song & Golf

2009-11-13T00:05:00.002-05:00

Here's a cool clip of Dean Martin and Bing Crosby crooning together on Dino's television show.

I also came across this photo of Dino and Bing playing golf. Check out Dino praying as Bing gets ready to hit the ball in.

Have a cool and swingin' weekend. Cheers!

George Lazenby & Diana Rigg Film On Her Majesty's Secret Service

2009-11-12T00:03:00.001-05:00

I love these pictures of George Lazenby and Diana Rigg during the filming of the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I hope you enjoy these photos as well. All the photos feature George and Diana. The last one also features director Peter Hunt and producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli. Let me know what you think of these photos.

Take A Look At Some Dean Martin Photos

2009-11-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

I was in a mood to post some random photos of Dean Martin. I hope you enjoy all of them. Have a great Wednesday!

Sammy Davis Jr. Does His Part For Charity, Plus An Award

2009-11-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

This photo comes from 1969. Sammy was playing at a charity concert in Philadelphia. It was a benefit to help raise funds to deter gang violence. Sammy was always involved in a lot of different causes to help out others. That's one of the things I really admire about him. He used his celebrity status to really try to make things better in the world.

P.S. I received the Over The Top Award from the wonderful Jessica at her fantastic blog Chronically Vintage. I really appreciate it.

I'm to answer a series of questions with one word answers. Here are those questions and answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? desk

2. Your hair? short

3. Your mother? Amazing

4. Your father? Inquisitive

5. Your favorite food? Homemade

6. Your dream last night? Unmemorable

7. Your favorite drink? Tea

8. Your dream/goal? Travel

9. What room are you in? Office

10. Your hobby? Reading

11. Your fear? Age

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Richer

13. Where were you last night? Work

14. Something that you aren’t? Disorganized

15. Muffins? Yum!

16. Wish list item? Car

17. Where did you grow up? NC

18. Last thing you did? Write

19. What are you wearing? Pajamas

20. Your TV? Bravo!

21. Your pets? None

22. Friends? Fantastic

23. Your life? Stressful

24. Your mood? Contemplative

25. Missing someone? No

26. Vehicle? Old

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? Belk

29. Your favorite color? Blue

30. When was the last time you laughed? Tonight

31. Last time you cried? Forgotten

32. Your best friend? Cousin

33. One place that I go to over and over? Bookstore

34. One person who emails me regularly? Friend

35. Favorite place to eat? Bojangles

I hope you enjoyed reading those. It's quite hard to put just one word for an answer. I might have answered some of them a little differently otherwise. Oh well.

I'm to present this award now to 6 other bloggers:

Cafe Fashionista

Chic Femme

Clarabelle

Couture Carrie

Dapper Kid

Felinofelice

It's Unbeweavable!

Meet The Most Interesting Man In The World

2009-11-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

Have you guys seen those commercials from Dos Equis? They feature an older classy and suave gentleman dubbed "The Most Interesting Man In The World." The commercials are like 15 to 30 seconds long. They often feature clips from adventures this character's had throughout his lifetime. He also loves to give his words of wisdom as he sits around a table with lots of beautiful women. Each commercial ends with his line of "Stay Thirsty, My Friends."

I think it's neat that this ad campaign features an older man. Most beer ads are probably usually being targeted to younger guys. That's the market they are going after. Instead of featuring jocks, frat boys, etc., trying to pick up chicks at a club they feature this character who's like a cross between Ernest Hemingway, Hugh Hefner, James Bond, Ricardo Montalban, etc.

This character represents something that a lot of guys would love to aspire to. I know he's somebody I'd love to have a beer with as I pick his brain about how to live life to the fullest. He's lived more adventure in one lifetime than most people could even imagine. It's fascinating to see what we find out about his life in each new commercial.

I think it's cool to talk to older men about their lives. They've always got some great stories to share with us younger guys. They've seen a lot of the world, plus they've had experiences that many of us will never have. It's definitely a different generation. These men have this masculine ideal that I admire greatly. It's something that seems to be dying out in our era. It's certainly in short supply. These type of men are my role models and not what Hollywood says goes for a man today. I know I would much rather be like this character, as well as a lot of older men that I come across, than some twit like Orlando Bloom.

What's amazing too is that this character is not really a cheerleader for Dos Equis. He even talks about how he doesn't always drink beer, but when he does he prefers Dos Equis. He's almost very nonchalant about it all. The character is very cool and collect about things. These ads have become very popular since they first started debuting. I can definitely see why. More are on the way.

If you were curious to know, "The Most Interesting Man In The World" is played by actor Jonathan Goldsmith. He's 71 and has mostly done episodic work on television throughout the years. Dos Equis has even come up with The Most Interesting Academy. Check out their website. I'm posting some of the commercials. I hope you like them. Let me know what you think.

The Rat Pack At The Sands

2009-11-06T00:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a really cool picture of my favorite hip cats in the world.

This photo comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

Have a cool and swingin' weekend. Cheers!

Robbie Williams & Sammy Davis Jr. Both Sing Mr. Bojangles

2009-11-05T00:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a clip of Robbie Williams singing Mr. Bojangles. This is a classic tune recorded by many artists over the years. My personal favorite version of the song is by Sammy Davis Jr. I've included a video of Sammy singing this song. Sammy really connects with the essence of this song. I do hope you'll check out Robbie's take on the song. Let me know what you think.

The Rat Pack As Trash Men

2009-11-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how many of you guys get your trashed picked up. Mine gets picked up on Wednesdays. While I'm thankful for the trash men who do collect my garbage, I would be delighted to see these cool cats pull up curbside to empty my trash cans.

This photo comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

Michael Buble Sings Kissing A Fool

2009-11-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

I really love Michael Buble's cover of Kissing A Fool. The song was originally a top 5 hit for George Michael back in 1988. I hope you enjoy Michael Buble's version of the song. I like it a lot.

P.S. Click on George Michael's name if you wanna check out his video for the song. Embedding the video was disabled.

Dean Martin & Shirley MacLaine Have Fun Together, Plus An Award

2009-11-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine are having quite the good time with each other. I'm not exactly sure when or where this was. Any ideas? Whether we know the details or not, it's still a fun picture of two great friends having a good time together.

This photo comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

P.S. I was given the Better Than Ice Cream award by my ultra cool sister Stephanie at her very absolutely fabulous blog Chic Femme recently. I want to thank her very much. I'm glad she enjoys what her big brother does her. I know that I really dig her blog. If you haven't checked it out yet, I hope you will do so.

There are so many blogs out there that I think are better than ice cream. I'd love to give this award to everybody, but I am going to set a limit on myself. I'm bestowing this award on the following blogs:

Autumn Jones

Chronically Vintage

Dad's Dish

Marian Kihogo

The Panty Drawer

Have A Thrilling Halloween With Michael Jackson & A Bunch Of Zombies

2009-10-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

I really hope all of you have enjoyed these Halloween related posts. I had a lot of fun posting them. Make sure you check out the Halloween posts I did at my other blog Sugar & Spice if you haven't done so yet. I decided that it just wouldn't be Halloween without Michael Jackson's Thriller video. It's the perfect way to end this series of posts. Plus I've also included the covers of some of my favorite zombie movies of the post. I hope you guys and girls can handle them. :-) I wish all of you a fantastic Halloween this weekend. Watch out for those ghouls and goblins!

Do any of you like zombie movies? If you are a fan of them, what are some of your favorites? Let me hear from you.

Nosferatu Is Such A Classic Silent Film

2009-10-29T00:02:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite vampire movies of all time is Nosferatu. The German silent film was released in 1922. They did not have the rights to Dracula by Bram Stoker. That did not, however, stop them from making their own authorized adaptation of the vampire tale. They just changed the names of certain characters. The leading vampire, played by Max Schreck, was called Count Orlok instead of Count Dracula.

I've always had a special place in my heart for silent films. This is definitely one of my favorites. It's so eerie and creepy. It's definitely the kind of movie that's great to watch late at night. One thing I love about this movie is the look of the vampire. They didn't try to make him sexy and seductive. He is a monster pure and simple. They weren't trying to have people gush and swoon all over him. They wanted people to be terrified of this bloodsucking creature.

Anybody here ever see this film? What is your take on it? If you have not seen it, I did include a link to the entire film up above if you want to watch it.

I'm also posting a couple of clips. The first one is clips from the film. The second one is by a goth band called Nosferatu. Their Haunting video features scenes from the movie. I hope you enjoy these.

I Love Classic Universal Monsters

2009-10-28T00:00:00.002-04:00

I love all those great horror classics from Universal Studios. I'm posting some of my favorites here. Which ones do you really like?

The Phantom of the Opera (1925):

Dracula (1931):

Frankenstein (1931):

The Mummy (1932):

The Invisible Man (1933):

Bride of Frankenstein (1935):

The Wolf Man (1941):

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954):

I decided to include an extra treat. Not sure how many of you have ever heard of the goth band Bauhaus. Here is a video clip for their song Bela Lugosi's Dead.

P.S. I wanted to thank all of those you have been visiting and commenting on my sister Stephanie's blog Chic Femme. I really appreciate it. She's having a lot of fun blogging. I know she's been thrilled with all the positive feedback you guys have given her. I hope you will continue to visit and comment on her blog. For those who haven't checked it out yet or haven't been in awhile, I hope you will definitely drop by her blog. I would greatly appreciate it. I know she would too. Thank you all very much.

Blacula Rises From The Grave

2009-10-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Blacula is a blaxplotation horror film released in 1972. William Marshall stars as the title character. In the late 1700's Marshall's character Prince Mamuwalde is transformed by Count Dracula. Two hundred years later, the Prince's coffin finds its way to Los Angeles. There he is released from his slumber and begins to stalk the streets looking for prey. He also falls in love with a woman that looks like the reincarnation of his late wife. While critical reaction has always been negative, the film did enjoy financial success. It has become a cult favorite over the years.

I've included both the movie trailer and a scene from the movie for your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy them.

P.S. It has been brought to my attention by someone that he and some others were having trouble reading my blog. He mentioned that it was hard to read the black text on the brown background. I hadn't had anyone say anything to me about this before. I definitely want people to be able to read my blog without any difficulty. So were you guys having any trouble at all? This reader suggested I change the text color to white. I've done that right now. What do you think? Was it easier to read it in black or do you like it in white? If you have any other suggestions for the colors, etc, please let me know. I'm open to recommendations. I want to make my blog a pleasurable experience for everybody to view. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

The Unholy Trinity Of Vincent Price, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee

2009-10-26T00:00:00.003-04:00

My sister and I have often talked about the Unholy Trinity. You don't know about the Unholy Trinity? Let me clear that up for you. That to us is Vincent Price, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee. These three actors are horror legends and icons. They all three played in some of my favorite horror films of all time. Any movie they were ever in, whether the movie was good or not, was improved by their screen presence. There is just something incredible and magnificent about each of these men.

Only one of these three, Christopher Lee, is still among the living. I do wish I could go back in time and have dinner with these horror greats. I could just imagine the conversation and atmosphere. Even though I'm almost a 4o year old man, I'd probably act like a tween girl going crazy for some boy band. lol

I'm posting some pictures, videos & information about each of them. I wanted to share my love for the Unholy Trinity at this spooktacular time of year. So do you like any of these men? Are there any movies of theirs that you like? Do you even know who any of them are? I do hope so. Let me know what you think.

Vincent Price:

Vincent Price (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) played in films such as House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958), House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), The Last Man on Earth (1964), (1965), The Tomb of LigeiaThe Conqueror Worm (1968), & Edward Scissorhands (1990).

Peter Cushing:

Peter Cushing (May 26 1913 – August 11 1994) played Baron Victor Frankenstein (beginning with The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957), Dr, Van Helsing (beginning with Horror of Dracula in 1958) & Sherlock Holmes (beginning with The Hound of the Baskervilles in1959). He also played in such films as The Abominable Snowman (1957), She (1965), The Vampire Lovers (1970), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), The Beast Must Die (1974) & Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

Christopher Lee:

Christopher Lee (born May 27, 1922) would play Dracula numerous times in Hammer horror films beginning with Horror of Dracula in 1958. He also played in such films as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Mummy (1959), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966), The Devil Rides Out (1967), The Wicker Man (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) & Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) & Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

P.S. Please check out my friend Daniela's Gents and Dames blog when you get the chance. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Her post from this Saturday actually listed some of her favorite Halloween movies. She's got some really cool ones up there.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special Is Playing At The Dino Lounge

2009-10-23T00:02:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure how many of you have ever seen The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. I only saw it this past year. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it before. It's got to be seen to believed. I loved it. It's a lot of really cool campy fun. I don't know where else you are going to see everybody from Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West herself) to Tim Conway to Florence Henderson to KISS. The special originally aired on October 26, 1976 on ABC.

I had heard about it over the years, but it took me forever to finally get a chance to see it. I'm so glad I finally did. This special has it all, including Florence Henderson doing a disco version of That Old Black Magic. If you've never seen this special, I hope you'll watch the clips I'm posting. These should be for the entire show if I'm correct. You won't be disappointed. Trust me on that. They just don't make anything quite like this anymore.

So has anybody here seen it besides me? What did you think of it? For those that have never seen it, I hope you'll get a chance to watch all of these clips when you have the time. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's so unlike anything you've ever seen before.

Abbott & Costello Meet Lots Of Monsters

2009-10-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello did a series of movies in the late 40's into the 50's where they encountered classic monsters from the Universal horror movies. The first movie was Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein. They not only run into Frankenstein's Monster in this movie, but also Dracula and The Wolf Man. Future films include Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) & Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). I loved watching these movies when I was a kid. Here are some of the movie posters as well as the trailer for Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein. Anybody ever seen any of these movies?

Halloween Comes To The Dino Lounge With The Monster Mash

2009-10-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I decided to do a series of posts in celebration of this spooky cool holiday. I hope you will come back each day to see what's going on here. These posts will conclude on Friday, October 30th. I will also be doing Halloween posts at my other blog Sugar & Spice. It just wouldn't be Halloween with the very cool song Monster Mash. I thought that was a great way to start of this holiday season at my blog.

Monster Mash was a #1 hit for Bobby "Boris" Pickett back in 1962. His original version is definitely still the most popular, even though the song has been covered by everybody from The Beach Boys to The Misfits.

Here's a great video for the song. I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. My friend Maria has a very cool blog on Dean Martin that I hope you guys will check out when you get the chance. She posts a lot of pictures I've never even seen before. I'm sure you will enjoy her blog very much. Thanks. Cheers!

Dean Martin Had An Accident, Plus An Award

2009-10-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

I played golf with Dean Martin yesterday. Let's just say I'm not that good at all. I ended up hitting Dino by accident. He rolled down a hill into some trees. Yikes! Now he's confined to bed. I said I'm sorry, but nobody will let me anywhere near him now.

This photo comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

P.S. I received the Superior Scribbler Award from the fantastic blog Tights Lover. I appreciate it so much. I am a huge fan of that blog. I hope you'll check it out.

I am tasked with bestowing this award on five blogs. That is so hard to do because there are a lot more than five I would love to honor with such an award. Here are the five I picked though:

Cafe Fashionista

Dapper Kid

La Dolce Vita

Radiator Heaven

Slacker Chic

Andy Warhol Had More Than 15 Minutes Of Fame

2009-10-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

I want to start a new feature here on the blog. I plan to cover from time to time some of my favorite artists. I hope you guys will enjoy this series of posts. I decided to start with Andy Warhol. I think most people have seen one of his paintings at some point in time, whether you realized it was done by him or not. You've also probably heard someone talk about "15 minutes of fame," which was coined by Warhol.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was an artist of many talents. He was not only a painter, but a photographer, sculpturer, author, film director, music producer, magazine founder, etc. He helped define pop art. He could paint everything from brand name products to celebrities. His paintings were very diverse, including things such as soup cans to flowers to guns to electric chairs. The Factory, the name of Warhol's studio, was definitely an interesting place to be during the 1960's. He was surrounded by everybody from bohemians to celebrities to aristocrats. There's never been another artist quite like Andy Warhol. I'm fascinated both by this man and his work. I hope you will enjoy these pictures I'm posting as a selection of his art.

Timothy Dalton Brings The Edge Back To James Bond

2009-10-16T00:05:00.000-04:00

Timothy Dalton would play James Bond in two films, The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). He had actually been considered for the role of 007 several times in the past, before he finally accepted the part of our favorite British secret agent after Roger Moore's tenure ended as Bond.

The Living Daylights was a bigger success than the last couple of Bond movies starring Moore. His next Bond film Licence to Kill was still successful in most markets, but didn't do as well in the United States. Legal disputes delayed the production of the next film. Dalton's contract expired before things were sorted out. Negotiations began again with him, but he decided to move on from the role. Pierce Brosnan would then be hired to become James Bond in the next film GoldenEye (1995).

Dalton had wanted to take the role back to its roots. He was a big fan of the Ian Fleming novels. He wanted Bond to be more cold, ruthless & serious. He felt that the franchise had gotten silly and outlandish over the years. Fans seem to be mixed over Dalton's turn as Bond. I personally think he was a great 007. While his two Bond movies aren't perfect, I enjoyed both of them. It's a shame that he didn't play the role in a couple of more movies. I do think that Dalton has gained more respect over the years, especially since Daniel Craig has become the latest actor to play Bond.

The Living Daylights:

Licence to Kill:

Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin With Jack Klugman

2009-10-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

This picture comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

Here's Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin posing with Jack Klugman of The Odd Couple & Quincy, M.E. fame. I'm not sure when or where this was exactly. These gents definitely look to be having a good time.

P.S. I'm just starting to get into the idea of following other blogs. The blogs I check out are either in my blogroll or I have them bookmarked in my browser. I've decided to start following blogs now. I know that there are quite a few people here who follow my blog. If you would like me to follow your blog, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to do it. If you aren't already following my blog, I hope you will begin doing it now. Oh yeah. If you and I have not already exchanged links and you would like to, please let me know that too. I'd love to add you to my blogroll. I'd love to be added to yours as well. Thanks so much.

Dean Martin Plays With A Puppy

2009-10-14T00:02:00.000-04:00

I thought this was such a cute picture of Dean Martin holding this puppy. I'm not sure what exactly was going on during this segment of Dino's show, but I thought it was a cool picture. I don't think I've ever seen too many pictures of Dino with any sort of animal. I hope you enjoy it.

This picture comes courtesy of my pallie Timmy.

Jay-Z Raps About Frank Sinatra

2009-10-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

Jay-Z is an extremely successful rapper and businessman. Besides selling millions of albums, he owns everything from a clothing line to a basketball team to nightclubs. He's also the husband of Beyonce. The reason I'm posting about Jay-Z today is that I've noticed in two of his recent songs that he's mentioned Frank Sinatra. I'm not sure if he's done this in the past or not. I can't really remember. I did think it was cool that he would rap about Sinatra at all. I'm posting clips of these two songs. These references are brief, but I hope you'll check them out to see what I'm talking about. It's always cool to hear artists of today talk about these cool cats of the past.

Death of Auto-tune:

Empire State of Mind:

Cary Grant Is The Epitome Of Classic Style

2009-10-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am a huge fan of Cary Grant. He is my favorite actor from classic Hollywood. Cary was great in all kinds of movies, everything from comedy to romance to drama to suspense. His credits include The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, My Favorite Wife, The Philadelphia Story, Arsenic and Old Lace, Notorious, To Catch A Thief (my favorite movie of his), An Affair to Remember, North by Northwest, That Touch of Mink, Charade, etc.

He was a handsome and talented actor. Cary had such great style. He was so suave and debonair. He was one of those men that had good looks and a sense of humor. He could make a girl laugh just as often as he could make her fall in love. He wasn't afraid to take on the Hollywood studio system. Cary was the first actor to pick his own movies, directors & co-stars. He also took a percentage of the gross from his films. He did not want the studios to control every aspect of his life like they did for the other stars of that era. Nominated twice for Academy Awards, he was finally honored in 1970 with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar. Alfred Hitchcock, who couldn't care less for actors, said that Cary was the only actor he ever loved. There are so many things about Cary that I admire. Cary Grant is definitely one of my top idols of all time.