The clip below, which dates from either late 1981 or early 1982, shows the then-upcoming movies for that summer, and what a summer it was! I saw all of them in the theatre that summer, and I think they still hold up pretty well.
The photo above contains stills from the six movies featured, and if that’s not enough of a hint, here are more:
One of these films came out on Blu-Ray in a 30th anniversary edition. Author William Gibson is said to have walked out of this film twenty minutes into it, depressed to see many of the ideas he was putting together for his novel on the screen.
At least two of these movies are rumoured to have sequels in the works.
One of these films has a sequel coming this summer.
Two of these films have the same producer, who’s also a well-known director.
One of these films had a remake last year, and it was terrible.
He then went on to blame the Sandy Hook gun massacre on ten things, none of which were real guns. He did cite pretend guns in movies and videogames and the declaration of schools as gun-free zones as culprits, and also suggested that every school have an armed guard or cop (as if the Blackwater-ization of the school system is a good idea). Between their blaming of games and movies and their not taking any questions from the press, it seems that they’re quite fine with their oddball interpretation of the Second Amendment and ready to throw the First under the bus.
The folks at Ford Canada invited Yours Truly and Tamara McPherson, creator of WonderMoms.ca, to take their C-MAX series of hybrid cars out for a spin on a little excursion they called the C-MAX Holiday Challenge. We’d first take the cars out for a little city and highway driving and try to get the best energy efficiency our of them.
Energy efficiency achieved!
The C-MAXes have a feature on their dashboards that make it easy to tell how energy-efficiently you’re driving: the Efficiency Leaves. It’s an animated display located just to the right of the speedometer that gives you at-a-glance feedback. The more energy-efficient your driving is, the more leaves appear on the vine. Smooth starts and smooth braking is the key to making the display lush and green, and it also means you’re making the best use of the car’s energy and saving money to boot.
My “10 and 2” safe hand position on the wheel is unstoppable!
I’ll admit that I’ve become a bit of a skeptic about North American cars, having rented more than my fair share in business travel and being less than impressed by their fit and finish as well as they way they handle. They’ve improved recently, and the C-MAX is indicative of that trend: it handles very nicely. I’d have sworn it was a Japanese car and not the Ford that I’d come to know. The folks at AutoGuide.com seem to agree.
Me behind the wheel of the Ford C-MAX Energia.
Along for the ride to help us out were Rannie Turingan and Sara Mercier, both wearing elf costumes and playing the parts of “Jingle” and “Belle” respectively, the helper elves. They were charming company, and I was glad to have them along for the ride.
Here’s Tamara behind the wheel of her Ford C-MAX.
Tamara drove the C-MAX while I drove the C-MAX Energi, which was the plug-in version of the C-MAX, which can be filled at the gas station or charged up at an electric station for about 35km (21 miles) of pure-electric driving. The engine was zippy and responsive, whether in electric or gas mode, and on a flat run on the Don Valley Parkway, I got the car up to 90 km/h (just over 55 mph) before it had to switch from electric to gas. The car certainly didn’t feel like a golf cart!
After taking the C-MAXes out for a spin, we drove them to The Danforth to go to Treasure Island Toys (a great little indie toy store; you really should check it out) to go on a shopping spree for charity. Tamara and I were each given a $1000 gift card and a 15% discount with which to buy toys for children who otherwise wouldn’t get any for Christmas. If you’d like to help add to the toys we bought, there are 22 Toronto-Area Ford Dealerships that are accepting donations.
At the end of the shopping spree, a song.
My thanks to the folks at Ford Canada and Treasure Island Toys for the fun with the C-MAX and the toy shopping for a good cause!
Rannie, playing the part of “Jingle” the helper elf was already at Evergreen Brick Works, where we started the day.
Sara couldn’t wait to get into her elf costume.
Julie Tyios organized this event. Thanks, Julie!
A close-up of the front grill.
A close-up of the C-MAX logo on the hatchback door.
I was assigned the C-MAX Energi, which can be filled up at your standard gas station or charged at an electric charging station.
The C-MAXes we took for a spin.
Another view of our C-MAXes.
Evergreen Brick Works has a couple of parking spots specifically for electric or hybrid cars, with a free charging station.
Here’s what the charger looks like
The C-MAX Energi’s charging port has a ring that indicates the level of charge in the car. A fully-lit circle means the car’s batteries are fully charged.
“I do this with 9-volt batteries all the time, so this should be the same, right?”
Another look at the C-MAX Energi
Here’s the driver’s-eye view of the dashboard on the C-MAX Energi. Ford does a much better job on laying out its controls these days.
A push of a button later, and she’s all fired up.
Here’s the center control panel. Once again, really nicely laid out; I didn’t have any trouble finding a thing.
Where energy efficiency meets gamification: the more efficiently you’re using the car’s energy, the more leaves appear on this animated vine.
Here’s Tamara filming one of her segments.
Sara and Rannie make really adorable elves.
Really, really, REALLY adorable elves.
After the initial shoots in Evergreen Brick Works’ parking lot, it was time to go hit the road!
Just a quick polish of the car before we take off…
…a quick check of the ol’ email…
…then we put our junk in our trunk (roomy) and the video shoot on the road began.
After our first run on the highway, we broke for lunch and posed for this photo.
Here’s one of the readouts at the end of my run on the C-MAX Energia.
Another one of the readouts at the end of my run on the C-MAX Energia.
One more readout at the end of my run on the C-MAX Energia.
Jingle the elf uses a pay phone to get the location of the elf rave taking place later that evening.
The final stop of the day was Treasure Island Toys on the Danforth, where Tamara and I each went on a $1000 shopping spree for toys for charity.
Treasure Island has a lot of great toys!
“Need a driver for your hybrid car? Why not Zoidberg?”
Here’s part of what we bought with Ford’s $1000 (each) and Treasure Island’s discount (15%), and it’s all going to charity!
You might think that advertising a mortuary requires a delicate touch, but so do most morticians. Hence their ads all look the same: the understated design, the euphemism-laden ad copy, and a paucity of scantily clad models.
Every industry has its mavericks, and in the mortuary business, Funeraria Lopez is one. Their television ad eschews the traditional classical music piece with the word “Requiem” in its title; instead, it gets into the holiday spirit with a jaunty easy-listening instrumental version of Silent Night. Having the proprietor in a Santa suit and his sexy assistant in Santa-themed bikinis was a clever touch, but the piece de resistance is the bit where the camera pans over a sexy Santa-ette in a coffin, starting from her feet and working upward. Just when you’re about to ask God how he could take away such a fine-lookin’ lady, she opens her eyes and gives the camera a thumbs-up, subverting your expectations in a twist the way M. Night Shyamalan used to. Genius!
You might think that advertising a mortuary requires a delicate touch, but so do most morticians. Hence their ads all look the same: the understated design, the euphemism-laden ad copy, and a paucity of scantily clad models.