JCD666

Description: As tensions mounted in Iran ahead of what would become the Iranian Revolution, cabaret owner Sardar Ebrahimi fled the country, leaving behind his successful nightclub on Tehran’s famed Laleh-Zar Street. Arriving in Los Angeles in February 1978, Ebrahimi quickly began laying the groundwork for a new Persian nightclub in the heart of Westwood. He christened the new establishment Elaheh Lounge, opening its doors in March 1979 and welcoming both Iranian expatriates longing for a taste of home and Angelenos eager to experience Persian culture. With a colorful mix of Persian delicacies, Iranian Shiraz, belly dancers, ghalyan waterpipes, and an assortment of flavored tobaccos, Elaheh offered a little slice of pre-revolution Tehran in SoCal.

Description: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit” is a humorous bit of advice about getting by when knowledge, talent, or preparation comes up short. The saying suggests that if you can’t impress people with genuine insight, you can always overwhelm them with confident talk, complicated explanations, jargon, and enough nonsense to make it sound like you know what you’re doing. Often associated with salesmen, executives, politicians, and other professional smooth-talkers, the phrase has circulated in various forms for decades, and its exact origin is uncertain. Beneath the joke is a pretty timeless observation: sounding smart and actually knowing what you’re talking about aren’t always the same thing.

Description: Released in 1992, Sleep’s Holy Mountain, is a landmark of stoner and doom metal, capturing the San Jose trio, Sleep, as they transformed the crushing weight of Sabbath into something hypnotic, psychedelic, and distinctly their own. Built around massive, fuzz-drenched guitar riffs, rumbling bass, hazy vocals, and heavy, deliberate drumming, the album rolls along like an endless procession of prehistoric riffs and bong smoke. Tracks such as “Dragonaut,” “The Druid,” “Aquarian,” and the sprawling title track helped establish the blueprint for the ’90s stoner-metal sound, combining metal worship with cosmic imagery, repetition, and an almost trance-like sense of groove from one of the truly defining albums of the genre.

Description: Canyon Raceway opened in Peoria, Arizona, on June 4, 1981, as the North Valley’s only sanctioned dirt racing track. Located off Lake Pleasant Parkway, about a mile west of Carefree Highway, the centerpiece was a 1/3-mile clay oval that hosted a huge variety of racing divisions over the years, including modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, hobby stocks, sport compacts, late models, sprint cars, winged and non-winged sprints, midgets, modlites, and 600 mini sprints. The facility steadily grew and improved, eventually offering on-site camping, full concessions, and seating for roughly 2,000 race fans before becoming known as Canyon Speedway Park. After decades of racing, the state chose not to renew its lease, ending a historic run.

Description: “...and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” souvenir tees were everywhere in the ’70s and ’80s. When family or friends went on vacation and needed to bring something home, these wonderfully low-effort shirts were often the answer. Kind of lame? Absolutely. Strangely cool decades later? Definitely. This “Somebody Went to Florida, and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” design dates back to the late ’70s and perfectly captures the era’s cheesy souvenir-shop charm. Whether you’ve visited Florida, live there, know someone who does, or remain unconvinced the place actually exists, this one’s for you.

Description: David Cronenberg’s Rabid is a 1977 Canadian body-horror film starring Marilyn Chambers as Rose, a young woman who undergoes experimental surgery after being badly injured in a motorcycle accident. The procedure saves her life but leaves her with a bizarre new organ that feeds on human blood, infecting her victims with a rabies-like disease that quickly spreads through Montreal. As the outbreak spirals into a violent epidemic, authorities struggle to contain the increasingly uncontrollable infected population. Written and directed by Cronenberg, Rabid helped establish the filmmaker’s early fascination with disease, bodily transformation, sexuality, and medical experimentation, themes he would continue exploring throughout his career.

Description: Not every design has to have a message or make a point to be cool... sometimes dinosaurs duking it out in a scene from the Cretaceous Period is all it takes. This Prehistoric Peril design throws you into a lost world of erupting volcanoes, towering dinosaurs, and primitive adventurers caught in the middle of an earth-shaking showdown. Inspired by vintage pulp fantasy, old-school dinosaur comics, and the wonderfully inaccurate prehistoric adventures of decades past, this design is packed with bold color, heavy ink work, and plenty of primeval chaos!

Description: Monet-Goyon was a French motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1917 in Mâcon, France, by engineer Joseph Monet and his wealthy backer Adrien Goyon. The company initially produced small motorized vehicles designed to provide mobility for disabled veterans returning from World War I before expanding into motorcycles and lightweight motorized transportation. During the 1920s and ’30s, Monet-Goyon became one of France’s better-known motorcycle manufacturers, producing everything from economical lightweight machines to larger sporting motorcycles and enjoying considerable success in competition. Monet-Goyon remained active through the postwar years, but growing competition and a changing transportation market contributed to its decline...

Description: Big Rooster was an Australian fast-food chain that got its start in Queensland in 1975, serving up the kind of straightforward takeaway fare that became increasingly popular across the country during the decade. Built around roast and fried chicken, chips, burgers, and other quick meals, the chain expanded into parts of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia. In 1989, it merged with Chicken Treat to form Australian Fast Foods, becoming a familiar competitor to rapidly growing international fast-food brands. With its distinctive rooster branding and unmistakably Australian identity, Big Rooster developed a loyal following during the late ’70s and ’80s. The name eventually disappeared as stores were sold off...

Description: After falling into a vat of toxic waste, mild-mannered janitor Melvin is transformed into a hideously mutated, superhuman creature in 1984’s The Toxic Avenger. Despite his gruesome appearance, Melvin uses his newfound strength to protect the innocent, unleashing his own particularly brutal brand of justice on criminals and other lowlifes. His exploits eventually make him a local celebrity, with the people of Tromaville, New Jersey embracing him as “The Monster Hero.” Enterprising street vendors quickly capitalize on his fame by selling “I Love the Monster Hero” T-shirts featuring his mutated face. This design recreates one of the shirts seen in the movie, now given an all-new color treatment that reveals Melvin in all his toxic-fleshy glory

Description: Helmet is an alternative metal band formed in New York City in 1989, quickly earning a reputation for their crushing riffs, unconventional rhythms, and stripped-down, precision-driven sound. After releasing their debut album, Strap It On, in 1990, the band signed with a major label and returned with Meantime on June 23, 1992. Powered by tracks like "Unsung" and "In the Meantime," the album reached No. 68 on the Billboard 200 and received widespread critical acclaim, even if its commercial success was modest at the time. In the decades since its release, Meantime has come to be regarded as one of the defining heavy albums of the 1990s, influencing generations of bands. This design is based on a limited-run tee from the 1992 Meantime tour.

Description: Datsun trucks surged in popularity in America during the 1970s as buyers discovered that a pickup didn’t have to be big, thirsty, or expensive to be useful. While Detroit’s full-size trucks still dominated the market, compact Datsun pickups such as the 521 and later 620 offered dependable four-cylinder power, good fuel economy, easy maneuverability, and a price that appealed to younger drivers and budget-conscious buyers. Their popularity received another boost during the decade’s fuel crises, when efficiency became a major selling point. Datsun also helped turn the compact pickup into something more than a work vehicle, as owners customized their trucks with wheels, graphics, camper shells, lowered suspensions, and other accessories.

Description: Video games exploded in popularity during the 1980s, transforming from a relatively new amusement into a major part of mainstream entertainment and youth culture. The decade began with arcades packed with hit titles, while home systems brought gaming into millions of living rooms. Although the North American console market suffered a dramatic crash in 1983, the arrival of new systems decade revitalized the industry. At the same time, increasingly affordable home computers introduced another generation to gaming while encouraging players to experiment with programming and game design themselves. By the end of the ’80s, video games had grown from an arcade novelty into a multibillion-dollar industry with no signs of stopping.

Description: The Vigilantes Are Coming is a 1936 western film serial directed by Ray Taylor and Mack V. Wright and starring Robert Livingston as Don Loring, a masked hero known as The Eagle. Set in 1840s California during the era of Mexican rule, the 12-chapter adventure follows Loring as he battles a conspiracy involving Russian forces and the scheming Count Raspinoff, who hopes to seize California and establish his own empire. With sword fights, horseback chases, secret identities, cliffhanger endings, and plenty of old-fashioned frontier action, the serial blended swashbuckling style and the winning formula for action-packed chapter plays that audiences craved, and remains a great example of early Saturday-matinee entertainment.

Description: The Quentin Tarantino Film Festival, better known as QT-Fest, was a recurring film marathon in Austin, Texas, where Quentin Tarantino personally presented an eclectic lineup of movies using prints from his own collection. Beginning in 1996, the festival returned in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 before taking a hiatus, eventually resurfacing for QT 6 in 2005—the festival’s final installment. In true Tarantino fashion, the programming was a deep dive into cult cinema, exploitation, horror, action, and forgotten genre oddities, with screenings ranging from The Swinging Cheerleaders and The Bullet Train to The Haunted House of Horror and Switchblade Sisters. This design recreates the QT 6 festival shirt in all its glorious grindhouse style.

Description: Rock Against Reagan was a series of politically charged punk rock protest concerts staged during the early 1980s in opposition to President Ronald Reagan and his administration’s conservative policies. Organized largely by activists associated with the anarchist punk band MDC and the broader Rock Against Reagan network, the shows combined loud, confrontational music with antiwar activism, free speech, and grassroots politics. The movement reached one of its most memorable moments in 1984, when Rock Against Reagan events were organized around the Republican National Convention in Dallas and other political gatherings, bringing together punk bands, activists, and protesters in a deliberately chaotic counterpoint to mainstream campaign rallies

Description: Allen & Ginter was one of America’s most prominent tobacco manufacturers of the late 19th century, operating out of Richmond, Virginia, and becoming especially famous for its innovative use of colorful collectible cards packed with its tobacco products. The company produced a wide variety of cigarette and smoking-tobacco brands and helped pioneer the sophisticated branding and advertising that transformed cigarettes into a mass-market consumer product. Among its lesser-known brands was Gold Dollar Cigarettes, sold under the Allen & Ginter name and distinguished by ornate packaging and advertising built around its bold “Gold Dollar” identity.

Description: Direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam escalated dramatically following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, when reported confrontations between North Vietnamese patrol boats and U.S. destroyers prompted Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, granting President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authority to expand military operations without a formal declaration of war. In March 1965, the first U.S. combat troops landed at Da Nang, initially assigned to protect the American air base there. Their arrival marked the beginning of a massive buildup, accompanied by the sustained bombing campaign. By the end of 1965, roughly 184,000 American military personnel were in Vietnam, and that number continued climbing...

Description: Dart Drug was a Washington, D.C.-area discount drugstore chain founded in 1955 by Herbert Haft and his wife, Gloria. Built around aggressive pricing and no-frills retailing, Dart grew from a single store into a familiar presence throughout the capital region, selling everything from prescriptions and health products to cosmetics, household goods, and everyday necessities. Its success helped establish the Haft family as a major force in discount retailing, eventually leading to the creation of the larger Dart Group, which controlled businesses including Crown Books and Trak Auto. For generations of Washington-area shoppers, Dart Drug’s distinctive red-and-white signage disappeared in the late 1980s.

Description: For bikers, the saying “Ridin’ is Livin’” captures the feeling that life is at its fullest when you’re on two wheels with the road stretching out ahead. Motorcycling has long represented independence, adventure, and escape from the routines of everyday life, where the rumble of the engine, wind in your face, and miles of open highway become their own kind of freedom. Whether carving through mountain roads or simply heading nowhere in particular, the ride itself is often more important than the destination. “Ridin’ is Livin’” sums up that old-school biker philosophy perfectly: as long as the wheels are turning, you’re truly alive.

Description: Texas ranks among the nation’s leading citrus-producing states, with grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, and tangerines traditionally grown throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Based in Edinburg, Texas, the H. Rouw Company became a prominent mid-20th-century grower, packer, and shipper, distributing Texas fruits and vegetables to markets across the country. Among its many labels was Rio Moon, a memorable citrus brand distinguished by colorful crate artwork depicting two children and their dog gazing across an expansive orchard at a spectacular rising “moon” — cleverly rendered as an enormous Texas grapefruit glowing above the horizon.

Description: Unicorns are legendary creatures most often depicted as graceful white horses with a single spiraling horn rising from the forehead. Their mythology stretches back thousands of years, appearing in ancient writings and later becoming especially prominent in medieval European folklore, where the unicorn symbolized purity, innocence, strength, and untamed beauty. Medieval legends often described the animal as impossibly swift and wild, capable of being approached only by a pure maiden, while its horn—known as an alicorn—was believed to possess powerful healing properties and the ability to neutralize poison. Over time, the unicorn evolved from a mysterious beast of legend into an enduring fantasy icon, appearing everywhere from heraldry and fa

Description: To the Aztecs, certain psychoactive mushrooms were known as teonanácatl, a Nahuatl term commonly translated as “flesh of the gods” or “divine flesh.” These mushrooms held an important place in ritual and ceremonial life, where they were consumed to induce altered states associated with visions, divination, spiritual communication, and religious revelation. Early Spanish chroniclers described mushroom ceremonies involving feasting, music, dancing, and visionary experiences, although their accounts were often filtered through a strongly hostile Christian perspective toward Indigenous religion. Following the Spanish conquest, colonial authorities attempted to suppress many traditional practices, including the ceremonial use of teonanácatl.

Description: Released by Exidy in 1976, Death Race was an early arcade driving game that became infamous for its gleefully macabre premise. Loosely inspired by the 1975 cult film Death Race 2000, the game put players behind the wheel of crude on-screen cars and challenged them to run down fleeing humanoid figures known as “gremlins,” which let out a shriek before being replaced by tombstones. The stark black-and-white graphics were primitive even by late-1970s standards, but the violent concept generated considerable controversy and sensational press coverage. That notoriety helped make Death Race one of the earliest video games to spark a public debate over violence in electronic entertainment, cementing this simple arcade game's place in history.

Description: The Chester Teapot is one of America’s great pieces of roadside Americana, a giant teapot-shaped building that has become a beloved landmark of Chester, West Virginia. Originally constructed around 1900 as a large wooden barrel for advertising, it was transformed into a teapot in 1938 by local businessman William “Babe” Devon, who added the distinctive handle, spout, and lid to promote his pottery-related business. Located near the Ohio River, the unusual structure once operated as a roadside refreshment stand and drew the attention of motorists traveling through the region. Restored and relocated over the years, the Chester Teapot survives as an eccentric reminder of America's love affair with oversized novelty architecture.

Description: Dead of Night debuted in 1973 as part of the Bronze Age revival of horror and supernatural comics. The anthology reached newsstands with a December 1973 cover date and initially drew heavily on eerie pre-Code stories, bringing tales of haunted houses, ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and supernatural revenge to a new generation of readers. With lurid covers, shadowy artwork, and wonderfully melodramatic titles, Dead of Night captured the feel of classic pulp horror while fitting comfortably alongside other creature-based titles of the era. The series lasted just 11 issues, from December 1973 through August 1975.

Description: Kansas sits at the heart of America, a place of wide-open skies, rolling prairie, wheat fields, cattle country, and small towns connected by long stretches of highway. Its central location and deep agricultural roots have made the state a natural symbol of the American Heartland—a crossroads where farming, ranching, railroads, and trucking have kept the country moving for generations. From grain elevators rising above the plains to thunderstorms building on the distant horizon, Kansas embodies a rugged, unpretentious vision of middle America, shaped by hard work, open space, and the seemingly endless road ahead.

Description: Cerveza Superior is a historic Mexican lager whose roots stretch back to the late 19th century, when it was introduced in Orizaba, Veracruz. Marketed for generations as a premium beer, Superior became recognizable for its elegant branding and the famous “Rubia de Categoría” advertising character — a glamorous blonde woman who appeared on signs, calendars, trays, and other promotional material throughout Mexico. The beer developed into one of the country's classic old-school labels and remains part of Mexico’s brewing heritage, remembered as much for its colorful vintage advertising and distinctive identity as for the pale, refreshing lager itself.

Description: For more than six decades, the Silver Moon Diner stood at 235-20 Hillside Avenue as a beloved landmark in Queens Village, New York. Housed in a classic 1950s prefabricated, stainless-steel-clad diner, the Silver Moon served an expansive all-day menu of American comfort food, Greek specialties, and traditional breakfast favorites. Generations of neighborhood regulars filled its booths, while its unmistakable old-school atmosphere drew plenty of hungry travelers passing through the area. Sadly, after decades of serving the community, the Silver Moon Diner closed its doors for good in 2018, leaving behind an empty corner and countless memories for those who once called it their neighborhood diner.

Description: Government Issue, often shortened to G.I., emerged from Washington, D.C.’s first wave of hardcore in 1980 and became one of the scene’s longest-running and most adventurous bands. Led throughout its existence by the irrepressible John Stabb, the group debuted with the ferocious Legless Bull EP in 1981 and spent the rest of the decade refusing to stand still. While their earliest material delivered the short, fast blasts associated with D.C. hardcore, later records expanded into melodic punk, post-hardcore, metal, new wave, and psychedelic territory. This design is based on the explosive Make an Effort 7" from 1982, which should be required listening for every hardcore punk fan.

Description: Haida Gwaii is a remote archipelago off the northern coast of British Columbia, Canada, known for its rugged wilderness, rich marine life, ancient forests, and deep Indigenous heritage. Formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, the islands are the ancestral homeland of the Haida people, whose culture, art, and traditions have shaped the region for thousands of years. Towering cedar and spruce forests meet rocky beaches and windswept Pacific coastline, while bald eagles, black bears, whales, and other wildlife thrive throughout the islands. Haida Gwaii’s isolation has helped preserve both its remarkable natural environment and its unique cultural identity, earning it a reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Description: Founded in 1978, BMX Plus! became the longest-running BMX magazine in history, documenting the sport from its formative years through its final issue in 2015. For an incredible 37 years, the magazine never missed an issue, chronicling the evolution of BMX racing, freestyle, bikes, riders, and the culture surrounding them. Surviving well into the internet age was an accomplishment in itself, especially for a publication devoted to such a specialized market. Even more impressive was BMX Plus!’s ability to maintain its enthusiasm and consistent quality throughout its remarkable run, leaving behind an invaluable record of BMX history. This one is based on a mid-80s design that the publication sold by mail order with an unmistakable '80s style.

Description: By the late 1960s, Trumpets had become a familiar sight on American drag strips, where their lightweight construction and powerful parallel-twin engines made them ideal platforms for serious competition. Racers heavily modified Bonneville and Tiger-based engines with high-compression pistons, hotter cams, enlarged carburetors, specialized exhausts, and increasingly exotic fuels, often installing them in stripped-down, purpose-built drag frames. These British-powered machines competed in everything from relatively conventional classes to wild twin-engine dragsters capable of tremendous speeds during an era when British motorcycles battled American iron and increasingly powerful Japanese machines for drag-strip supremacy.

Description: In 1964, Magilla Gorilla #3 from Gold Key Comics posed an important question: if donkeys and elephants could run for office, why not a gorilla? Magilla promptly threw his hat into the political ring, setting off a comical rivalry with his fellow cartoon characters. The producers of The Magilla Gorilla Show embraced the gag and expanded it into a mock presidential campaign timed to coincide with the real 1964 election between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Barry Goldwater. The promotion featured cartoon candidates campaigning alongside their real-world counterparts, and while Johnson may have won the actual election, Magilla and his cartoon friends ran a spirited campaign—and really, isn't giving it your best what it's all about?

Description: Cröonchy Stars began as a fictional Swedish breakfast cereal that made numerous television appearances alongside one of the world’s favorite celebrity chefs. In 1988, Post decided to turn the gag prop into a real product, bringing Cröonchy Stars to supermarket shelves as a cinnamon-toast-flavored cereal made up of crunchy, star-shaped pieces. Although consumers didn’t exactly hate it, the cereal never became the hit Post had hoped for and disappeared from shelves less than a year later. Much of the cereal’s appeal came from its deliberately absurd packaging, which proudly stated that batteries were not required and that it didn't contain artificial colors or doorknobs. Along with the usual ingredients and nutritional information, the side o

Description: Politithon ’70 was a groundbreaking, live four and a half hour public-service broadcast staged in Florida during the 1970 election season. Produced by Miami public television station WPBT-TV, the live statewide television and radio special aired from the Miami Beach Auditorium on October 28, bringing together candidates for every statewide office and giving voters a chance to hear directly from the people whose names would appear on the November ballot. Hosted by veteran broadcaster John Daly, the marathon program explained the duties of each office, allowed candidates to make statements and answer questions submitted by voters, and also examined the seven proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution.