Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton

Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton

"Butterfly in the sky! I can go twice as high!" ... "Take a look! It's in a book! A reading rainbow!" We loved the song. We loved the graphics. We loved to read thanks to Reading Rainbow. Reading Rainbow, hosted by the lovable LeVar Burton, is an award-winning (26 Emmy Awards!) 30-minute PBS TV program. LeVar recently told Mashable that a Reading Rainbow app and more is coming soon for today's readers.

Five Fun Facts Behind Reading Rainbow

1. Reading Rainbow was introduced back in 1983 and continued to enlighten and educate children through 2006.   
2. Each episode focused on a different imaginative book and was narrated by a noted celebrity. 
3. Famous for its easy-to-remember theme song, Chaka Khan sang the intro in later episodes.
4. Reading Rainbow has won more than 200 awards.
5. On March 19, 2010, LeVar Burton tweeted that a Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in the works. 

Vintage & Retro McDonald's Playground

I loved the McDonald's
playground in the late 1970s.

Growing up on suburban Long Island, there was nothing more exciting than a McDonald's birthday party. It was basically a rite of passage. My brother and I both had one when we turned six. I remember the choice of cheeseburger or plain hamburger with fries. They did not have nuggets back then.

I LOVED the phenomenally delicious chocolate cake with white icing. If I close my eyes, I can still see Ronald McDonald’s smiling clown face staring back at me. His gloved hand wrapped tightly around perky colorful balloons. I remember making a wish that Ben would fall in love with me that year. Instead he tore up my birthday invitation. Oh well. I was a weird kid even back then. Who has crushes in first grade? Me of course.

I remember my classmates happy faces and fun gifts. Best of all, I remember running through the McDonald’s playground on my sugar high. Today the playground is indoors and made almost entirely of plastic. Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, the McDonald’s playground was outside of the restaurant. Oversized McDonald’s characters such as Grimace and Mayor McCheese in the form of slides, monkey bars and more created a fun place for kids to play. Such simplicity ... Such joy.

Anyone remember having a birthday party at McDonald’s or playing in their hometown’s old school retro McDonald’s playground?



Old school, vintage McDonald's
Playground items.



Friday Night Videos - For Kids Without MTV



Teens tuned in to 
Friday Night Videos on NBC.

Back in the early 1980s, cable TV was a luxury to most kids. For teens without MTV, NBC's late night music video show, Friday Night Videos, was the next best thing. With celebrity hosts ranging from Hulk Hogan and Pee Wee Herman to Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono, Friday Night Videos aired the latest and greatest music videos.

Friday Night Videos was a staple for most American teens throughout the '80s. The first thing that comes to mind for me are sweet memories of sleepovers with friends. We'd set our hair in those long colorful rollers, wash down Doritos with New Coke and of course, tune in to the hottest videos from Van Halen, Tears for Fears, Madonna, Billy Joel and more.

Don't remember Friday Night Videos? Here's a sample from 1986 featuring one of my personal favorite teen '80s stars, Jason Bateman and his sister Justine Bateman.