#nostalgia - Openbook

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

When I was a kid, the Midway was the only part of the fair that mattered. The food was a nice change of pace, but was more of a necessity than a highlight, at least until I discovered elephant ears. The adults wanted to see the exhibits and didn’t care if I was bored stiff. I liked animals, but our family never adapted to toxic barn stench. Sometimes the special events and scheduled entertainment were okay, but I didn’t scour their schedule for appointments and never attended a concert there until I was 29. No, far as I was concerned, the Midway was the be-all-end-all of the State Fair experience — the rides, the games, the fun houses, and especially the video arcade they added in the mid-’80s.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/midway-archway-with-baseballs.jpgThis year’s main Midway entrance was decorated for the Year of Baseball, which barely made it into any of the 400+ pics we took.

In our 50s the State Fair is still an annual tradition for the two of us, but ordinary carnival rides aren’t our thing anymore. (Disney World is a different story, but the fair is no Disney World.) My son aged out of it long ago and we have no other youngsters to drag around, or to drag us around. In the last dozen years or more, we’ve only bought ride tickets there once — that time in 2019 we took to the Skyride and rose above the fairgrounds for photographic fun and fresh air.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/kid-elephant.jpgA cartoon elephant kid welcomes you to the Midway’s east border.

Even as a kid, I had limits. I got motion sickness on any Technicolor centrifuges that spun faster than the Scrambler. Roller coasters could be touch-and-go. Upside-down rides were an immediate nonstarter. I didn’t discover the magical power of Dramamine till adulthood, but I don’t get excited about relying on any pharmaceuticals for kicks except caffeine. As I got older and wider, I didn’t fit into some rides, though my 2004-2005 diet solved that problem for the next several years. Last time we drove out to Kings Island for a company picnic, I’d regained enough weight that I couldn’t fit into the seats of their latest roller coaster — not a joyful revelation when hundreds of people are in line waiting their turn and you personally are the one obstacle holding up the entire works.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ferris-wheel.jpgOnce billed as The World’s Largest Ferris Wheel, we appreciate this ride can still hold patrons of nearly any size, much like the majority of Disney World’s equipment.

I peeked through the MCC back pages and discovered I’d anticipated our withdrawal from thrill-ride pastimes and already wrote about it in the site’s first year:

…I expect to be slow to consent and slower to avail myself of the ride options…unless, perhaps, they might be willing to accept some of my suggestions for new, calmer, gentler, barely mobile “thrill” rides tailored to meet the wishes and fussiness of those disinclined against disorientation. Examples in my new, personalized ride demographic could include:

Gently rotating teacup ride, except with broken motor so there’s no actual rotating.

Antique autos driven by chauffeurs and stocked with elegant snacks.

Perfectly motionless lazy river, three inches deep and using state-of-the-art technology to prevent any kind of current or even the slightest Brownian motion.

Sensory deprivation chamber, with inside walls lined with pictures of cute kittens. No lolcat captions, though. When they’re unfunny, they angry up the blood.

Amazingly lifelike “Mattress Firm showroom” simulator.

Out-of-order video games that require you to imagine you’re playing the game in your head.

The Happy Fun Park Mascot Presents the Wonderful Wacky Padded Benches for Sitting and Watching Other People Ride Rides.

TVs. Enormous ones everywhere, like up-close drive-in screens.

The lines for the concession stands, but with extra neon lighting so they look more like rides than chores.

(I forgot “lolcats” were a thing. Ah, 2012 was such an innocent time.)

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/spinning-bear.jpgThis kindly bear beckons you into his vomit-inducing cyclone trap that’s NASA-certified for astronaut training.

…so in MCC’s annual Indiana State Fair write-ups, the Midway has consistently been filed with the Department of Not Appearing on This Blog. I suppose I could also gripe about how ticket prices haven’t gotten better in this economy: technically they seemed to have resisted inflation at $10 for a sheet of 20 tickets, but some rides also required 18-20 tickets per person for a single turn. Then again, considering how much cash we ended up blowing on Taste of the Fair dishes, I kinda waived my privilege to complain about the Midway costs.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/eminem-spinner.jpgPink and Eminem are here to make you hurl! Plus the lady at far left, whoever she is! Google’s A.I. thinks she’s Ruby Rose from Batwoman, which…um, doubtful.

This year was a slightly different story, though not for the pulse-pounding machinery merriment: early in the morning, we had time to kill.

The fairgrounds opened at 8; we arrived at 8:45 to ensure we got a decent parking space. That plan was successful thanks to a statewide fear wave. The previous two weeks’ thunderstorm onslaught and record-breaking floods had taken several lives and left Hoosiers skittish at the sight of gray clouds, same as covered the skies this particular Thursday. Also, even in the sunniest of summers, nobody but retirees ever show up at the fair first thing on weekday mornings. It’s why we take the day off work for all this — it’s the perfect time to avoid crowds for the first several hours till school lets out.

Major drawback for us Taste of the Fair fans: most food stands don’t open till 10. The exhibit halls don’t open till 9.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/biodiesel-bees.jpgWe learned some rides are now powered by soy-based biodiesel…or maybe in this case “BEE-odiesel”.

To pass the time and warm up our legs for the miles of walking we’d get in later, we wandered around the Midway hours before it’d open. The place was virtually deserted except a couple workers setting up, two police officers pounding the Midway beat in a golf cart, and a handful of other stray passersby like us. Wistful nostalgia didn’t take long to set in.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/dueling-fun-houses.jpgDueling fun houses, side by side.

The Midway was smaller than I remembered — not out of a sense of “Everything seems so huge when you’re a kid!” but because the Midway literally has less square footage than it did 40-50 years ago. It no longer stretches down toward Expo Hall because all the innocuous rides for the tiniest tykes were moved years ago to their own separate mini-Midway on the southeast corner of the fairgrounds. We didn’t feel compelled to journey over there.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/psycho-park.jpgDo you DARE brave the scary jungle-gym challenges of PSYCHO PARK? And over two months before Halloween?

As a tween aging out of the Midway experience, the last rides I recall enjoying were the giant slides and the fun houses. The fun houses were particularly accommodating — they were easy puzzle-book mazes with interactive decorations. They didn’t make me sick. I didn’t have to worry about fitting into seats. They cost fewer tickets than the adult G-force accelerators. In hindsight, admittedly The Simpsons‘ mockery of car-based fun houses got it right. (“BEHOLD THE RAVAGES OF AGE!”)

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chucky-and-skeleton.jpgWelcome your horror hosts, Chucky and a skeleton with an immortal mohawk that never decomposed after death!

My favorite was the hall of mirrors, or hall of glass, or whatever the official name was. The first floor was all glass hallways, but with a fair amount of confusing reflections. The end of the maze was a stairway to the top floor, which had a collection of curved circus mirrors for value-added body-distortion fun. I went through those houses so many times that I memorized the layout and could get upstairs in less than a minute without bumping into a single pane.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/mardi-gras-hall-of-mirrors.jpgRecent innovations to this classic design include a curly slide at the end.

Sadly, I’m now exiled from their domain because today’s fun houses have size limits for kids-only gatekeeping. One Midway feature that knows no such exclusions: the games! I also used to love those as a kid until I realize many were rigged, and the ones I could win had terrible prizes. Kids don’t much care about evaluating whether or not they’re worth the cost and hassle: they love a sense of accomplishment, victory, and competence — even more so if they win anything substantial. I’m pretty sure I no longer have anything I ever won from carnivals, festivals, or theme parks in general — various stuffed animals, the 4-x-4-inch Michael Jackson Thriller mirror, the goldfish that lived for two weeks, and other clutter I wouldn’t have bought with my allowance from a department store.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/stuffed-bears.jpgRabbits of unusual colors.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/kiddie-bats.jpgInflatable bats! Choose your pattern: Superman, America, Spongebob, or drag racing.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/water-pistol-race-prizes.jpgThe pop-culture character lineups have of course been updated over the decades. Pooh and Cookie Monster remain eternal.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/stuffed-naruto.jpgOr go for the biggest grand prizes possible, such as giant-sized plush Naruto!

Our leisurely stroll through the territory of someone else’s future State Fair memories did the trick: we returned to the Harvest Pavilion shortly after it opened at 9, then we got a S’Mork and a flag-colored shake from the concession stands that opened first, and then we kept walking and walking and enjoying other activities that would’ve bored kids stiff.

To be concluded! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:

Part 1: Our “Taste of the Fair” Tour, Worst to Best

Part 2: The Year in VHS

Part 3: The Year of America’s 250th

Part 4: The Year in Cakes

Part 5: The Year in Lego

Part 6: The Year in Art

Part 7: The Year in Antiques

Part 9: [coming soon]

A selfie of the two of us, overlit and a little fuzzy, but with sincere smiles.

Purple caterpillar roller coaster for kids on green track, no people around.

Indiana State Fair Midway grand arch entrance with large baseball at each leg.

Statue of elephant boy in purple overalls and black baseball helmet, in front of carnival rides.

Large Ferris wheel that has gondolas that each hold 4-6 instead of just two-person seats.

#photography #photos #tourism #indiana #indianapolis #nostalgia #indianastatefair #statefairs #amusementparkrides #midway

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Kohane

@kohane@cupoftea.social

1 mese fa

"Ponypon"

#throwback #saturday #campo #campaña #caballo #pony #monocrome #nature #sepia #blackandwhite #nikon #foto #misfotos #fotografía #lafotode

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"Ponypon"

#throwback #saturday #campo #campaña #caballo #pony #monocrome #nature #sepia #blackandwhite #nikon #foto #misfotos #fotografía #lafotodeldía #nostalgia

#foto #nature #fotografia #blackandwhite #nikon #sepia #throwback #saturday #nostalgia #caballo #monocrome #campo #campana #pony #misfotos #lafotodeldia

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Author Carlo Carrasco

@carlocarrasco.com@carlocarrasco.com

1 mese fa

What To Watch On YouTube Right Now – Part 152

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on

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What To Watch On YouTube Right Now – Part 152

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching.

Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

#1 Focus on Kevin McHale – It has been more than thirty years since Kevin McHale retired from the NBA. McHale was one of the premier power forwards of the NBA in 1980s and even though he won the Sixth Man Award and three NBA championships with Celtics (he formed the nucleus with Larry Bird and Robert Parish), he has been overlooked in discussions about the most notable power forwards of the league. McHale was also declared as one of the greatest NBA players ever. That said, now is a good time to revisit NBA history with focus on McHale and what he achieved.

https://youtu.be/FAEf73XOaYc?si=kgnxJghtEyKhQpqk

#2 NiGHTS into Dreams…revisited – Way back in 1996, Sega released NiGHTS into Dreams… which was a very ambitious Sega Saturn video game made by the same key creators behind the popular Sonic games on Sega Genesis. Back in the old days, Sega was in a bind as it faced tough competition from Nintendo and Sony. That said, the company really had to make an exclusive game that is of very high quality, fun-filled gameplay and ambitious creative designs. That said, I encourage you all to watch the retrospective video about NiGHTS into Dreams… below.

https://youtu.be/18kh1M-2Dw8?si=a9M6DG4HW-9O0pfM

#3 Ashleigh Burton reacts to The Animatrix – When it comes to entertainment in the year of 2003, The Matrix entertainment franchise really left its mark with the two hyped sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions but also with the video game Enter The Matrix and the animated anthology The Animatrix. Released between the two live-action movies, The Animatrix featured several animated short stories of the Matrix universe done by different creators and each had different styles of art and visual concepts. The Animatrix also was designed to expand and explain the lore that delighted the fans while helping newcomers get oriented efficiently. As of this writing, there are several YouTube reaction videos about The Animatrix and the one that entertained me the most was that of Ashleigh Burton. Go watch her reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/V-PupQe57ic?si=5adM7TKKyGjCZ-In

#4 Japan opposes Islamic immigration – Let us be very clear here. Massive Islamic immigration is causing a lot of trouble in countries that accepted it. In Japan there is an obvious rise of criminal acts, public nuisance and other forms of problems caused by Islamist foreigners there. There were already rape acts committed by Pakistani men, a dumping of garbage committed by a man from Turkey and more. It is also obvious that the Muslim foreigners in Japan have no respect for Japanese culture, rules and social norms. As such, the Japanese opposition against the Islamist foreigners is real and only growing. Watch and learn from the video below.

https://youtu.be/–c72np5F6c?si=AIZ7rsKN7iTBwAgD

#5 You, Me and the Movies react to Alligator (1980) – As a very young boy, I saw the 1980 film Alligator on a rented Betamax tape. I saw it alone during my first viewing, and later got a few friends to watch it with me on my second viewing. Alligator was one of those monster movies (AKA creature features) inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as several movie producers hoped to cash-in on the 1975 film’s popularity and the box office trends of the time. Alligator has its own charm and entertainment value, and you can discover more by watching the reaction video of You, Me and the Movies below.

https://youtu.be/uvPXSuJS4AI?si=ZMmUuJW2esd8P5It

#6 Woke WNBA Slammed by NBA Legends – When the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) first launched in 1997, there was excitement and hope for the development of women competing in professional basketball. Today, the WNBA remains an enduring financial failure as it never came close to the NBA in terms of mainstream importance. Worse, the WNBA has turned woke and it is very accepting towards biological males who identified themselves as women. The transgender and social justice diseases are deep in the minds of the people leading the WNBA which led to the growing madness. Recently, the WNBA’s hypocrisy has been exposed and already there were NBA legends who expressed their opinions against the screwed-up league. Watch and learn from the video below.

https://youtu.be/1a35uWCuoKo?si=1lVlDH14fkhsoiRH

#7 Premium Corn Craze in Japan – Have you ever tasted corn imported from Japan? The Japanese love corn and the harvesting of corn in their country is a significant industry on its own. As such, it is not surprising that the selling of corn sourced directly from local farmers is highly pursued by locals. Japan also has several varieties of corn ensuring consumers with different tastes have something to enjoy. Watch and learn from the video below.

https://youtu.be/CnvQ3ZlM5J8?si=t5UGbVhQ-eIG9Z2L

#8 1980s Cartoons Revisited – The way my life turned out, the 1980s will always be the most memorable decade of cartoon series (note: anime is exempted, including those that got translated for the West). The 1980s is the very decade that has significant cartoon titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Transformers, and so much more. The said decade also has its share of other animated series that failed to attract a massive audience and ended up being obscured and forgotten. To enjoy the nostalgia of 1980s cartoons, watch the videos below.

https://youtu.be/P0hoTVF1zeQ?si=x53iA_UJoEvjwtX8

https://youtu.be/vHsbZDneAX4?si=TjYYF-sETHtkKgKf

https://youtu.be/fiyl5EEzfeY?si=5MOwqRLF6CBA3rWN

https://youtu.be/nlfMjyXiAnw?si=_Jzdr9m1lxZt8FD8

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

#1980s #1990s #Alligator #Alligator1980 #amusement #animation #anime #Arab #ASEAN #AshleighBurton #Asia #AssociationOfSoutheastAsianNationsASEAN #Bangladesh #basketball #BostonCeltics #CarloCarrasco #cartoons #Celtics #CharlesBarkley #ChatGPT #cinema #creatureFeature #EnesKanterFreedom #entertainment #entertainmentBlog #Facebook #FallOfNations #Fediverse #film #food #foodTourism #foodie #foreignTourists #fun #GIGoeARealAmericanHero #GIJoe #gay #geek #Google #GoogleSearch #historicalEpic #history #holiday #homosexual #homosexuality #homosexualityIsASin #horror #illegalAliens #illegalImmigrants #illegalImmigration #immigrants #immigration #Inclusion #Instagram #Iran #Islam #IslamicTerrorism #IslamicTerrorists #Islamist #IslamoLeft #Japan #Jaws #KevinMcHale #LarryBird #lesbian #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #massMigration #Mastodon #meals #migrants #MintyComedicArts #monsters #movies #Muslim #MuslimImmigrants #mustSee #mustWatch #NationalBasketballAssociationNBA #NBA #NBALegends #NiGHTSIntoDreams #Nintendo #Nintendo64N64 #Nippon #NipponTV #nostalgia #onlineVideos #Pakistan #PaulPierce #Philippines #PlayStation #politicalCorrectness #reptiles #RetroGaming #Reviews #RobertParish #sciFi #scienceFiction #ScottiePippen #Sega #SegaSaturn #ShaquilleONeal #socialJustice #socialMedia #SonicTheHedgehog #Sony #sports #sportsCompetition #StevenSpielberg #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTMNT #terrorism #terrorists #The1980s #The1990s #TheAnimatrix #TheMatrix #TheMatrixReloaded #TheMatrixRevolutions #TheTransformers #tourism #tourismBlog #tourists #transgender #travel #travelBlog #Tumblr #Turkey #Twitter #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmericaUSA #USA #vacation #video #videoBlog #videoGames #videos #WhatToWatchOnYouTube #WNBA #woke #women #WomenSNationalBasketballAssociationWNBA #womenSSports #WordPress #WordPressCom #YouMeAndTheMovies #YouTube #YouTuber #YouTubers

#fediverse #google #youtube #retrogaming #instagram #iran #mastodon #twitter #wordpress #facebook #history #sony #japan #usa #food #travel #film #holiday #vacation #socialmedia #reptiles #islam #sports #tourism #fun #scifi #movies #video #nintendo #asia #bangladesh #carlocarrasco #chatgpt #foreigntourists #geek #googlesearch #illegalaliens #illegalimmigrants #illegalimmigration #immigrants #immigration #inclusion #islamicterrorism #islamicterrorists #islamist #islamoleft #muslim #pakistan #terrorism #terrorists #tourismblog #travelblog #tumblr #unitedstates #unitedstatesofamericausa #woke #wordpresscom #cinema #basketball #turkey #entertainment #gay #tourists #lgbtqia #lgbtq #philippines #animation #lesbian #nostalgia #women #cartoons #1980s #1990s #amusement #arab #associationofsoutheastasiannationsasean #entertainmentblog #foodtourism #foodie #historicalepic #homosexual #homosexuality #homosexualityisasin #horror #lgbt #massmigration #meals #migrants #mintycomedicarts #muslimimmigrants #mustsee #mustwatch #nippon #nippontv #onlinevideos #reviews #sciencefiction #socialjustice #the1980s #the1990s #transgender #videoblog #videogames #videos #whattowatchonyoutube #youmeandthemovies #youtuber #youtubers #anime #sonicthehedgehog #sega #bostonceltics #celtics #nba #asean #ashleighburton #fallofnations #monsters #politicalcorrectness #jaws #wnba #alligator #alligator1980 #charlesbarkley #creaturefeature #eneskanterfreedom #gigoearealamericanhero #gijoe #kevinmchale #larrybird #nationalbasketballassociationnba #nbalegends #nightsintodreams #nintendo64n64 #paulpierce #playstation #robertparish #scottiepippen #segasaturn #shaquilleoneal #sportscompetition #stevenspielberg #teenagemutantninjaturtlestmnt #theanimatrix #thematrix #thematrixreloaded #thematrixrevolutions #thetransformers #womensnationalbasketballassociationwnba #womenssports

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The Pentaxian

@the-pentaxian.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

1 mese fa

One wall of my living room. Almost everything here has a very personal story, it's the only way I know how to live.

📷 Pentax K-50
🔘 Pentax 18-135mm

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One wall of my living room. Almost everything here has a very personal story, it's the only way I know how to live.

📷 Pentax K-50
🔘 Pentax 18-135mm APS-C

#Photography #Architecture #Architectural #InteriorDesign #Interior #Antique #Antiques #Nostalgia #StillLife #HomeDecor #Stunday #Pentax #P632

A color photo of the interior of house showing two matching chairs on either side of a large antique blanket chest. There is a hassock in front of the right hand chair sitting on an oriental rug. On the blanket chest there are two different mottled brown pitchers a deep plate and and oil lamp which has been converted to electric with a white glass shade. There is a window to the far right with a closed shade and a curtain which has been pulled back. On the wall above the blanket chest there is a rectangular painting of a 17th century house with streets, surrounding buildings and trees.

#photography #architecture #interiordesign #stilllife #architectural #pentax #interior #antiques #stunday #homedecor #nostalgia #antique #p632

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Midlife Crisis Crossover!

@midlifecrisiscrossover.com@midlifecrisiscrossover.com

1 mese fa

Indiana State Fair 2026 Photos, Part 2: The Year in VHS

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/disney-vhs.jpgRemember when Disney released its movies on home video in those oversized

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https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/disney-vhs.jpgRemember when Disney released its movies on home video in those oversized white cases that were incompatible with VHS racks?

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

…and once again the most interesting exhibit was hosted in the Harvest Pavilion: “Rewind: A VHS Revival”. Same as last year’s tribute to LP cover art, the curators started with a simple premise — in this case, “Remember movies on videotape? Those were awesome!” — and didn’t tailor everything to Indiana specifically, so much as it hearkened toward ye olde American entertainment monoculture. They assembled a collection of simulated video-rental store shelves, videotape boxes, movie posters, painted recreations of posters and iconic images, a few educational sections about filmmaking, and so on. Their contributors offered some offbeat choices, so it wasn’t all just Spielberg and Star Wars.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/video-shelves.jpgSample video shelves, except nobody bothered to alphabetize them like any real, competent video store would’ve.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/horror-videos.jpgThe Guinness World Record holder for tiniest Blockbuster Video horror section.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/star-trek-vhs.jpgStar Trek‘s syndicated reruns were okay until you could start buying the ones you liked best and watch them again and again and again and again.

Remember when you could only see the most famous movies when cinemas or broadcast networks let you see them? The invention of home video was a revolution in consumer choice and convenience. It broadened access to films of all sizes, pedigrees, and countries of origin. It also contributed to the last few decades’ ongoing cultural fractionalization — now that everyone self-curates at their own paces and caters to their own particularly peculiar preferences, it’s much more challenging nowadays to persuade mainstream audiences to watch the same films at the same time (a few 2026 theatrical success stories notwithstanding).

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/gone-with-the-wind-poster.jpgOnce upon a time, Gone With the Wind was an annual TV event that drew high ratings. Decades after it won awards and became one of the all-time highest-grossing films, its eventual scarcity created demand for years. Now that we can rent it online anytime, nobody cares anymore.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/oz-re-release-poster.jpgThe Wizard of Oz was one of countless beloved films re-released to home video every so often and kept in print “for a limited time only” with a sense of fake urgency.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/police-academy-2-vacation.jpgRemember when there were comedies? And some were for adults but some weren’t just for adults?

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/star-wars-posters.jpgThe largest poster collection on hand: the first six Star Wars films in the correct viewing order.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/wings-of-desire-corner.jpgThe German classic Wings of Desire gets its own corner with a poster and a painting homage. I have the Criterion 4K set.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/poitier-and-whoopi.jpgSidney Poitier and Whoopi Goldberg starred in some of the more topical examples on hand.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/denzel-and-keenan.jpgMore Black Cinema of note: Denzel Washington in Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress and writer/director/star Keenan Ivory Wayans’ A Low Down Dirty Shame.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/the-mask-painting.jpgOther painted subjects included The Mask, whose director Chuck Russell passed away last month.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/hard-boiled-painting.jpgChow Yun-fat IS the Two-Gun Kid IN Hard Boiled! I can’t remember if this or The Killer was my first John Woo film…

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/face-off-painting.jpg…but it definitely wasn’t my last. In his Hollywood years, Woo never topped Face/Off.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bruce-lee-diorama.jpgA large section about martial-arts flicks celebrates Bruce Lee with an entire diorama.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/crow-standee.jpgWith this standee, you too can become The Crow! Hey, others have done worse than you.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fight-club-soap-logo.jpgI am Jack’s eye-rolls at Film Twitter.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/daniel-day-lewis-painting.jpgAcademy Award Winner Daniel Day-Lewis in In the Name of the Father.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/godzilla-live-painting.jpgThis Godzilla, King of the Monsters poster repro was painted live on site, earlier during the fair.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/tank-girl-soundtrack-cover.jpgI’ve never seen Tank Girl or listened to the soundtrack, but maybe I should, judging by some of the names here?

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/adults-only-corner.jpgA nod to adults-only video in the way back (apropos!) failed to pay respects to the old Movie Gallery at Tibbs Avenue and Lafayette Road.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/logans-run-matte.jpgA section about matte backdrops in films included an example from Logan’s Run.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/amy-madigan-and-kevin-costner.jpgThe largest screen in the pavilion played Field of Dreams, starring Academy Award Winners Amy Madigan from Weapons and Kevin Costner from Yellowstone.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20th-century-fox-logo.jpgRest in peace, best studio ident ever.

…and there was more, more, more. Far as I noticed, they avoided references to Betamax, videodiscs, laserdiscs, DVDs, streaming, and all other high-def formats except for one HD TV looping a trailer for My Fair Lady‘s 2021 4K re-release, which had the most crystal-clear visuals in the whole pavilion.

To be continued!