For 1976 a logo was created to honor the bicentennial of the American Revolution. It was used on flags, letterhead, etc. It's probably still familiar to some people.

In my acquisition of vintage football lamps, I recently encountered (what seems) like a knock-off tribute to the Bicentennial spirit of 1976.. Unless this logo represents something else someone remembers (?)
Email me if you have, or remember, an alternate, more elaborate, explanation on this cool Pro Sports Marketing lamp.

nat.rain@gmail.com

Max Fleischer..

nat.rain@gmail.com

I'm a fan of the 80s Twilight Zone(s). I feel some sacrilegious guilt for saying this, but actually like the 80s run better than the original Rod Serling Twilight Zone.
Anyways, there was an 80s episode titled The Card.. about a credit card company that doesn't f*ck around. If you miss a payment, they repossess everything that matters to the delinquent borrower.. prized personal possessions, your pets, your loved ones.
Re-watching the episode a few years back, I thought the location of the fictitious credit card office seemed familiar. Turns out it was located on my sometime, former commute thru Studio City CA. It was in strip mall on Ventura Blvd, that housed an old video rental place Video West. You can see the old Video West facade in this screen cap from the episode.

The video store was still operating 20+ years after the Twilight Zone episode was filmed, and held on deep into the years when traditional video stores were folding up..

A cool, creepy episode. It's on YouTube, but looks like the uploader just held his phone to a tv screen to record it.

                                                          nat.rain@gmail.com

My collection of old Pro Sports Marketing NFL lamps, still need a couple to complete the league. They're all stamped with a 1973 copyright, but I believe there were several manufacturing waves. The earliest lamps having narrower brown cords & plugs, later ones having thicker black cords. Expansion Seahawks & Bucs coming in post-'73 releases. 

Vintage Bucs logo, signed by USC Trojan turned temporary Buc, Anthony Davis.

Unique one, with Lil Pro character, he must've predated the NFL Huddles that became popular 80s NFL characters

My only college one, acquired from a UCLA alum estate sale.. it was in heavily-used shape, did my best to clean & restore.

nat.rain@gmail.com

Natrrain Rhino

Back in the 9os, the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area (Hampton Roads) was vying for an NHL franchise. They pitched the Hampton Roads Rhinos. I assume Rhinos was chosen for it's alliteration with Roads; because at the time the only possible rhinos inhabiting Hampton Roads were the vacant-eyed, half-dead variety found at the (then) Norfolk Zoo.
I recently recreated the hypothetical Rhino logo, w/a few alterations. I wanted to keep original essentials, but made his upper body more yoked up, flared his nostril, tried to make his eye look less tired. Also morphed his stick in the letter 'H', and gave him the late-8os, Halloween colored NHL shield.

(original Rhinos mascot)

Mark 16:8. 

nat.rain@gmail.com

Poe w/quote. Property of Nat Rrain.

nat.rain@gmail.com

Going thru some of my books recently, found a cool, small-press comic I picked up a few years back: Dogs and Sailors (published by Primal Paper).
It's a unique, well-researched detective story line, set in WW2-era Norfolk, Virginia. Illustrated in a dark, black&white mood, with lots of detailed references to Norfolk's historical naval/sailor culture. Following the close of the fictional detective story, the book has a couple pages of Norfolk's WW2 history.. including seedy E1 shore leaves. Good times.

Cover Art: S. Forester

Reviewed by Nat Rrain. nat.rain@gmail.com

Diaethria Clymena.

Known as the Amazon's 88 Butterfly, for the pair of eights on their wings.

nat.rain@gmail.com

the Cardinals. Property of Nat Rrain (2013).

nat.rain@gmail.com

Interesting book.. Mark Johansen constructs a Biblically-based map of eternity. A map that goes beyond the typical Heaven & Hell (only) paradigm. A concept Johansen posits, that was new to me, is that Biblical terms like Paradise, Hades, Lake of Fire, etc may not be synonymous with Heaven or Hell, they're actually distinct, different locations within the Universe. Catholics and Protestants have always had differing maps of the Afterlife, now Johansen adds another map in 'The Geography of Heaven'. Johansen also addresses common pop-cultural misconceptions of Heaven. A good read.

vintage signs of Virginia Beach.

original Lynnhaven North sign (still standing). 

Malibu monolith.. advertising the Malibu subdivsion. (Defunct, but formerly located on Virginia Beach Blvd, near Rosemont Road.)

For more vintage Lynnhaven Mall, sketch on my alternate site: http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/starkaward.com/Lynnhaven_Mall.html

nat.rain@gmail.com

Once Upon a Time (& the character Sharpie). Property of Nat Rrain. 

Narcissus Catharsis. (featuring Nathaniel)

property of Nat rrain.

                                                                 
                                                               nat.rain@gmail.com

Old friends, and lost collaborators.. I'm hoping to reconnect.

I've been working under a different pseudonym for several years, peripherally releasing 
Nat rrain pages here & there.. I'd like to use this blog for those new Nat pages, & some older, pointless, unreleased art.
Also plan to occasionally upload non-Nat stuff.

I'm disabling public comments, because I prefer private correspondence.. but veteran 'zine people, former co-workers, if you're out there, still lurking around L.A., etc and we haven't talked for a while.. contact me. Also like to hear from new artists/writers still publishing.. I'll be including my email address with each upload. nat.rain@gmail.com

                                    Martin Luther with book. Property of Nat Rrain.