JCD666

In the far-flung future of 2020, environmental pollution has resulted in mass deaths. The rich were able to build an underworld refuge, the poor had to stay on the surface building gangs to survive. Jason Storm, a cybernetic underworld guard (Tracker Communicator), gets wind of a plot to exterminate the people on the surface. He flees above ground to get Sumai, a respected martial arts master, as his ally to stop the dirty plot. This is the gist of 1993's TC 2000, a sci-fi martial arts film where people with guns choose to engage in elaborate hand-to-hand combat for some reason.

B. F. Leaman and his son Clair began his trucking business with a single Pierce Arrow truck delivering lime and milk around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania back in 1913. By 1930, they were successful enough to purchase Mileage Motor Corporation, and began hauling fuel oil in addition to the lime and milk. In 1933, the Leaman Transportation Company was formed. In 1961, Leaman merged his two companies with Chemical Tank Lines, forming Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc. Following the merger, the company had 31 terminals nationwide and approximately 1,300 bulk tankers. Leaman continued to expand through acquisition well into the '90s, and by 1998, had the industry’s largest tanker fleet and most expansive service.

Portland cement was developed in Britain beginning in the middle of the 18th century. Its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. Modern Portland cement development began in 1756 when combinations of different limestones and additives, including trass and pozzolanas were added during the construction of a lighthouse. Portland cement had been imported into America for decades, but in 1871, Eagle Brand Portland Cement began producing it stateside in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and by the early 20th century, American-made Portland cement had displaced most of the imported product.

What do you get when you mash up hot rods and monsters? In 1980, the answer would have been Weird Wheels trading card stickers. Featuring a checklist of colorful creations along the lines of the late '60s Odd Rods cards, the set blends Kustom Kulture with matinée horror. The cards themselves have monsters and other creatures driving absurdly customized cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As cool as the cards looked, they came out at a time when the Kustom Kulture was well past its peak, and the set flopped, but that doesn't mean they're still not cool! This one features the 'Hunchback of Notre Drag' in his hot rodded 2CV from card #1.

The first Human Powered Speed Championships event was held in 1975, and have been held annually ever since. The events have been held in numerous locations, but the championships have almost always been hosted in sunny southern California. 1983's event was held in Irvine at Orange County International Raceway, where riders on bicycles, tricycles, and quadcycles came from around the world to compete, with a tandem team clocking the weekend's top speed of 57.90 mph.

His Hero Is Gone was an influential American neo-crust band from Memphis, Tennessee. The band formed in 1995 from members of Copout, Man With Gun Lives Here, Union of Uranus, and FaceDown. Characterized by heavily distorted 'thick sounding' guitars and lyrics featuring social commentary, including anti-consumerism, the band had a solid following, but always remained under the radar of a mainstream audience. His Hero Is Gone released a total of six records and toured the U.S. extensively, as well as stints in Europe and Japan, and disbanded in 1999 after playing their last show in Memphis.

Carolina Beach is a beach town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, situated about 12 miles south of Wilmington International Airport in southeastern coastal North Carolina. Carolina Beach’s old-fashioned seaside fun is centered on the vintage boardwalk dotted with pizza, doughnut, and ice cream stands. Nearby, amusements abound, including miniature golf, batting cages, rides and an arcade. Enjoy live music venues, tiki bars and fresh seafood served with views of the Atlantic Ocean. You can surf or paddleboard, hike the white sand trails of Carolina Beach State Park or just take in the sea, sun, and sights.

The Texas Fuel Company was founded in 1902 in Beaumont, Texas, by Joseph S. Cullinan, Thomas J. Donoghue, and Arnold Schlaet upon the discovery of oil at Spindletop. The company was not set up to drill wells or to produce crude oil, so Cullinan organized Producers Oil Company in 1902, as a group of affiliated investors to fund the needed infrastructure. With their wells running at full tilt, Texas Fuel opened their own service stations featuring their own gasoline. In 1932, they introduced high performance Fire Chief Gasoline, followed by Sky Chief Gasoline in 1938, as some of the first higher-octane fuel options.

Contra is a run and gun video game developed as a coin-op arcade game in 1986 and released in 1987. The game was a commercial success worldwide, becoming one of the top four highest-grossing arcade games of 1987. Home ports were released in 1988 for computers and consoles, which were also a critical and commercial success. Contra is set in the distant future of the year 2633 A.D., when the evil Red Falcon Organization have set a base on the fictional Galuga Archipelago near New Zealand in a plot to wipe out humanity. Two commandos, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean of the Earth Marine Corp's Contra unit, are sent to the island to destroy the enemy forces and uncover the true nature of the alien entity controlling them.

In 1908, the Sonora Chime Company of New York City patented its system of chiming bells for clocks, and the company began using the motto "clear as a bell" for their products. As time marched on, Sonora did its best to stay relevant, and began producing record players as the Sonora Phonograph Company in 1913. Throughout the Great Depression, Sonora saw rough times, but survived to emerge from bankruptcy in 1938 as the Sonora Radio and Television Corporation, and began producing radios. From stylish portable models to more traditional furniture type units, Sonora successfully positioned themselves as a premium radio brand at the upper tier of the market. Sonora radios became popular in France, and later much of Europe.

Founded in the late '50s as Frontier Fidelity Savings and Loan Association in Las Vegas, Nevada, Frontier Fidelity Savings got their start with a single location. Locals embraced the hometown bank, and they soon began opening additional branches to better serve their customers. As Las Vegas grew, so did Frontier Fidelity, leading to their eventual purchase of a large Nevada bank that dramatically expanded their footprint and their holdings. After decades of strong growth, Frontier Savings failed in December 1990, at which point they went into receivership and were taken over by a multinational investment bank.

In 1962, Enrico Banducci drove past an unusual looking shuttered gas station at Columbus and Jackson in San Francisco. His friend Morgan Montague remarked, “what a great hamburger stand that would make.” A few months later, Montague and Banducci opened a 24-hour hamburger stand at the same spot, calling it Clown Alley. The triangular café, on the edge of San Francisco's North Beach’s bar scene, became a wildly popular late-night hangout as people leaving the bars craved a greasy burger. With the success of Clown Alley, the duo opened a second location at Lombard and Divisadero, but soon their partnership dissolved, with each of them taking a location, and now there were two burger stands called Clown Alley less than two miles apart.

Mill & Mine Supply of Seattle, Washington manufactured the legendary Titan Chainsaws, and also made the equally renowned Bluejet Chain. Titan became so successful, it eventually became the parent company. The Draper Corporation of Hopedale, Massachusetts, wanted key saw chain patents that Titan held, and purchased the company the early '40s. They promptly sold off the chainsaw manufacturing business and retained the Bluejet Chain brand, as well as the key patents, and began manufacturing saw chains under the Bluejet label. At its height, Draper employed over 3,000 people, though as fortunes declined in the '60s, it was gobbled it up by a larger toolmaker in 1967, and under their leadership, layoffs began in '75 until closure in '80.

BMX Bandits is a 1983 Australian action film about three teenagers who discover a stash of walkie-talkies, and decide to make a quick buck by selling them. Unfortunately, the equipment belongs to a gang of hardened criminals who need them for their next job, and will do anything to get them back. The film was initially released as Short Wave in the United States, but would regain it's BMX Bandits title when it made its way to home video.

What do you get when you mash up hot rods and monsters? In 1980, the answer would have been Weird Wheels trading card stickers. Featuring a checklist of colorful creations along the lines of the late '60s Odd Rods cards, the set blends Kustom Kulture with matinée horror. The cards themselves have monsters and other creatures driving absurdly customized cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As cool as the cards looked, they came out at a time when the Kustom Kulture was well past its peak, and the set flopped, but that doesn't mean they're still not cool! This one features the 'Hot Rabbit' in his triple drive wheel hot hatch from card #2.

Lefevre-Utile Gaufrettes Vanille were a popular line of gourmet French vanilla wafers available for a little over a century.

Krokus is a hard rock band from Switzerland that formed in 1974. The band started out with a progressive rock sound, but subsequent albums saw them go in the direction of more traditional hard rock and heavy metal. Their fourth album, Metal Rendez-vous, delivered their first hit and brought the band international recognition. Subsequent releases in the '80s saw Krokus enjoying moderate success in North America and Europe throughout the decade.

No one thought Republican Richard M. Nixon would run for office again. In 1960, Nixon lost to John F. Kennedy, and just two years later, Nixon lost to Edmund Brown in his bid to be governor of California. It looked like Nixon would be out of politics for good, but in 1968, Richard Nixon won the presidency in a hard-fought campaign, and would be reelected by a landslide four years later. Nixon's victory in 1968 was one of the most improbable comebacks in American political history, and Nixon made it happen by working three times harder than any other candidate, proving that Nixon really was 'the one.'

Renting a scooter and knocking back Bermuda Swizzles is a given when visiting the tropical British Overseas Territory, though it's best to not do both at once. Also called a Bermuda Rum Swizzle, this rum-based cocktail that dates back centuries, long before cocktails were even called cocktails. Dating back to the mid-18th century, when it was made with one part rum mixed with six parts water. The magic was in the making of it, and not the ingredients. A good recipe was mixed with a swizzle stick made from the stem of a native Quaranbea Turbinate tree. Also known as the Swizzlestick Tree, the wood had an aromatic bark that added a spicy, bitter flavor to the drink, making the Bermuda Swizzle not only very tasty, but very easy to drink.

'70s Halloween decorations ruled then, and they still rule today. Variations of this old witch have celebrated countless Halloweens across America and beyond, and now an updated version of her and her bat friends are back for more.

Just about everyone is familiar with the superstition surrounding Friday the 13th, but did you know there was a supernatural, mythical creature attached to this date? The Friday the 13th Jinx is said to be a demonic-looking, but often comical, spirit who delivered a curse or bad luck on people when the 13th day of the month lands on a Friday. This depiction of the Friday the 13th Jinx was common in early 20th century newspapers to help shake the curse of the date by making a mockery of the Jinx.

Creepshow 2 is a 1987 sequel to the 1982 horror anthology film, Creepshow. Unlike the original, in which five tales of terror from the 1950s comic book series of the same name are presented, Creepshow 2 only contains three stories. The first is about a cigar store Indian named "Old Chief Wood'nhead" who avenges the beloved store owner's death. The second sees a group of college students swim out to a floating dock in an off limits lake, only to be terrorized by a creature that inhabits the waters. The third and final story is about a wealthy woman who runs down a transient and flees the scene, but finds herself haunted by the man all the way home. Despite having just three live action stories, a running animated story buffers each one.

Richard Nixon's presidential election win in 1968 had climaxed a career that included both his early success and his comeback after being defeated both for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962. He was reelected in 1972, but would soon become embroiled in the infamous Watergate scandal, that would lead to his resignation just two years later. Fast-forward to 1988, and a small camp that was unhappy with the Republican candidates running for president began floating the idea of Nixon throwing his hat into the ring using a "he's tan, rested, and ready" slogan. At 75 years of age, Nixon played his cards close to his vest, but ultimately didn't bite. This left the path clear for incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush.

A-P-A Transport Corp. (also known as APA Transport) was a North Bergen, New Jersey based trucking and shipping company, that was at one point, the nation's fourth-largest interstate freight trucking company. Founded in 1947 by Arthur Imperatore Sr. and his brothers Eugene, Arnold, George, and Harold in West New York, New Jersey, it started as a local trucking business with a single military surplus truck, originally called "Imperatore Bros. Moving and Trucking." Later that same year they bought a second surplus truck, and then the name and two trucks of A&P Trucking Corp. for $800 from Albert Amorino. In the 1950s, after a few years of legal wrangling over the name by the A&P grocery chain, they simply added a trailing A.

In this chilling adaptation of the horror novel of the same name, 1976's Carrie sees withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White as she faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross, Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn, and she makes everyone pay.

The Tremont Hotel, more commonly known simply as 'The Tremont,' is a fictional hotel located in the equally fictional town of Sulphur Springs, Louisiana. Established in 1842 as a plantation by the Tremont family. The Tremont opened as a hotel in 1944, and quickly became famous for the hot springs that flowed through the woods behind the hotel. In 1960, the hotel began hosting a summer camp called Camp Tremont. The popular camp ran successfully for 30 years until a young camper named Savannah went missing in 1990. Her disappearance led to The Tremont closing down later that year, amidst rumors that she was haunting the hotel.

The sweet leaf of the marijuana plant would become a totem of rebellion during the '60s, when cannabis emerged as a defining force in a culture. Once confined to America’s lower socioeconomic strata, the illicit weed smoked by marginalized races jumped racial boundaries and suddenly found favor among white middle class youth. As physicians routinely prescribed highly addictive hypnotics and tranquilizers, many Americans found marijuana's natural high more enticing, if not more effective. Even today, as legalization increases, the culture war marches on, but those who imbibe won't be swayed, enjoying the original organic supplement.

Despite millions of people taking Ritalin, very few are aware that the drug had a mascot at one point. Meet Ritalin Man, an anthropomorphic potato looking fellow dreamed up in 1975 by the Ciba-Geigy Corporation to help market and promote their wonder drug, Ritalin. He appeared in doctor's offices and pharmacy's as a series of 7" plastic figurines in various incarnations ranging from gleeful and dancing, to depressed and confused. The idea was to help hyperactive and depressed young children relate to him more easily. With a hollow head and dilated pupils, Ritalin Man seems to be in a good place here, and a reminder of the good things that drugs can do for people.

Pandamonium is an animated television series that was part of the Saturday morning cartoon line up in 1982. The story begins with a cosmic villain called Mondraggor as he tries to gain possession of the Pyramid of Power, a magic object that would give the possessor ultimate power. However, the Pyramid shatters and its pieces scatter around the Earth. Two kids witness this event and travel to China to find a piece. There, they meet three talking pandas, who agree to help them recover all the pieces. Meanwhile, Mondraggor is out to stop them using his mind control powers. However, the pandas have their own power to merge into one as 'Poppapanda,' which can repel any attack. The series was canceled before all of the pieces could be found.

Based in San Diego, California, Peyote’s Baja Shop was an off-road enthusiast's toy store. Offering a wide array of off-road accessories from tires and wheels to lights and suspension components. While they stocked plenty of stuff that the 4x4 truck guys could use, their claim to fame was their Baja kits. They both sold the fiberglass body parts, and installed them, as well as complete conversions in varying levels of performance, from street cruiser to all out Baja-ready racer.

Formed in 1987, Vengeance Rising was a Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was a groundbreaking as a Christian band, but were also one of the best bands to come out of the Sanctuary Christian metal movement of the '80s. The band released four albums, giving Christians a thrash metal band they apparently didn't know they wanted, but Vengeance Rising is probably best known for the lead singer turning from Christianity to Satanism and then to atheism. The band's history has been described as one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal, a statement that few would dispute.

"Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters." - Abraham Lincoln. Voting is not only a right, but our duty. Take value in not only your American right, but duty to vote. Show up to the polls and let your voice be heard... our country can't function without it.

The 2000 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney, began on February 21, 2000. He cited "a crisis of democracy" as motivation to run as the nominee of the Green Party against Republican, George W. Bush and Democrat, Al Gore. He was also nominated by the Vermont Progressive Party and the United Citizen's Party of South Carolina. The campaign marked Nader's second presidential bid as the Green nominee, and his third overall, having run as a write-in campaign in 1992 and a passive campaign on the Green ballot line in 1996. Nader's vice presidential running mate was Winona LaDuke, an environmental activist and member of the Ojibwe tribe of Minnesota.

Established in 1965 by Jesse Hodges, Hollywood Sound Recorders was a recording studio, occasional live music venue, and television/film complex located at 6367 Selma Avenue in Los Angeles. The studio's legendary recording history includes countless artists of just about every musical genre, spanning over five decades.

Often cited as one of the most dangerous places in the world, Juárez, Mexico has been named the 5th most dangerous city for its high murder rate due to cartel violence in the Chihuahua state. While most crime is far removed from the tourist areas, the reputation is a hard one to overcome. Home to 1.8 million residents, Juárez is a short walk across the border from El Paso, Texas. For decades, a streetcar ran across the border, taking Americans to gamble in the casinos, drink during Prohibition, and party at the nightclubs. The trolley is long gone, but you can still walk into Juárez from El Paso and enjoy all that this fast-growing border city has to offer.

Originally released in 1972, the stand-up Jet Ski was the first commercially successful personal watercraft (PWC) in America. Through a series of improvements and refinements, it wasn't until the early/mid '80s that these PWCs really came into their own. Their high performance two-stroke engines became available in increasingly higher displacements with user-friendly features like automatic fuel /oil mixing. Eventually, runabout-style sit down PWCs that could carry two to three people were released, making them even more appealing to families. With their small size and reasonable cost, PWCs remain a popular alternative to boat ownership to this day, as they are easy to store and can be transported with most passenger vehicles.