...yabba...dabba...doo!

What a killer few months we have had! I had the best sales quarter in a year....man it feels good...to 'feel good again.'

Isn't that weird that we sometimes "forget" how to enjoy life? 

It often is not until something happens...like the shitty economy for us to love the feeling..... of being happy again.  Happy? Well when I was a kid I could NOT wait for Saturday morning cartoons and I loved the Flintstones...now 50 years old. 50 years old! 

I know some smart-ass young adults that might think..."man, you are old!" But you know what? I earned what I have....like Fred earned what he had in the cartoon. Nothing is "given" in this generation...you work for what you have.

The idea that something so "old" can show so much of the technology. Often the "prehistoric" analogue to a modern machine uses an animal. For example, when a character takes photographs with an instant camera, inside of the camera box, a bird carves the picture on a stone tablet with its bill. In a running gag, the animal powering such technology breaks the fourth wall, looks directly into the camera at the audience, shrugs, and remarks, "It's a living."

Other commonly seen gadgets in the series include a baby woolly mammoth used as a vacuum cleaner; an adult woolly mammoth acting as a shower by spraying water with its trunk; elevators raised and lowered by ropes around brontosauruses' necks; "automatic" windows powered by monkeys on the outside; birds acting as "car horns," sounded by the driver pulling on their tails or squeezing their bodies; an "electric" razor made from a clam shell, vibrating from a honey-bee inside; a washing machine shown by a pelican with a beak-full of soapy water; and a woodpecker whose beak is used to play a gramophone record.

The Flintstones were cool...things you might not know about them are:

---The Flintstones was originally aimed at an adult audience and the first two seasons were co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes. But by the third season it was being written for children and was sponsored by Welch’s, who produced grape juice and jellies. The show's famous theme tune, "Meet The Flintstones", was not used until the third series. The musical theme for the first two seasons was called “Rise and Shine”.

---Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first couple to be shown in bed together on prime-time television when the show first aired on ABC between 1960 and 1966.

---Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble fronted a TV advertising campaign for Winston cigarettes - a move that would be unthinkable for children's television characters today. Can you imagine how Oregonians would react? OMG! I can hear it now, especially from (Kitzhauber for Governor)..."Can we tax that for the State?"

---Many critics believe that the show was a Stone Age parody of the 1950s US TV sitcom, The Honeymooners, which featured two newlywed couples living in New York. One of the show's creators, William Hanna, once confirmed the rumour, but his co-creator Joseph Barbera maintained that it was a myth. And, William Hanna also produced the hit children's TV shows Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo and Yo Yogi.

---The Flintstones held the coveted title of the longest-running prime-time TV cartoon before The Simpsons took on the mantel. The 1959 unaired pilot episode was called "The Flagstones". “The Gladstones” was also mooted before The Flintstones was finally decided on.

---The series was set in the town of Bedrock, although in some early episodes it was referred to as Rockville. The furniture in the Flintstones’ house changed in almost every episode. The family's barking pet dinosaur, Dino, changed colours throughout the program. Its main colour was purple.

---The cartoon was originally aired in black and white. The Flintstones was home to several major-league sports teams. The Bedrock Giants, Bedrock Dodgers and the Green Bay Pachyderms all appeared on the show. Several popular celebrities took residence in the showbiz quarter of Bedrock - Hollyrock. Cary Granite, Alvin Brickrock and Stony Curtis were the biggest stars. Mick Jadestone and the Rolling Boulders were Fred and Barney's favorite band.

Man....the joy on those Saturday mornings were spectacular....Dad getting donuts for us as we had our eyes glued to the set. Those were happy days....and these last few months have been extremely happy as well! Sales are up and we are feeling great.

Now as long as I can stay away from the "doom and gloom" people in the world....let's see how next quarter goes!! Thanks for all the orders. Seriously...thank you.