A routine expedition
Monday, June 23 2008
File Under:
Jon, Leta, Nubbin
link to this entry
336 comments
Saturday afternoon I checked my mailbox and found a package from a reader named Lindsey full of t-shirts silkscreened with images of the characters from Land of the Lost. I bet half of my readers haven't ever heard of that television show, and if you're one of those people then I am very sorry that your childhood was so unfulfilling. I bet you never owned a My Pretty Pony either. These are surely unresolved issues that you should bring up next time your family gets together for dinner, right after your father turns to your sister and says, "You were always the pretty one."
I was so excited about these shirts that I actually stripped right there in the kitchen to put one on. I gave a cursory glance over my shoulder to see if there were any neighbors passing by the house, and Jon just shook his head because he knows that even if there had been I would have stripped anyway. It's not that I'm trying to tempt the old Mormon up the street, it's just I'd have to walk several feet into another room to find a place that you can't see from the street and that is just too sensible. The part of my brain that would tell me to walk to another room is missing. It's the same part of the brain that would stop me from putting on a pair of five-inch heels when I know I'm going to be walking half a mile uphill. In that situation all my brain says is THAT'S WHY GOD MADE BAND AIDS!
I chose to wear the shirt featuring a portrait of Chaka, a small chimpanzee-like humanoid:
After I pulled it over my head and straightened it out over the top of my shorts Leta took a step back to admire it.
"I love your shirt, Mama," she said. I was waving my outstretched fingers around it like a model on The Price is Right, and before I could thank her she continued, "Is that a picture of Daddy?"
1. In the Trenches of Mommyhood said:
Sleestak! Will and Holly! I'm sooo with you on this.
2. Shannon said:
4 is such a quotable age. Smart girl she is.
3. Danny said:
In my language we say: "A childs mouth speaks the truth"
But I must admit, it looks like my dad as well.
4. Sarah said:
My favorite part of Land of the Lost was actually the theme song.
5. Liz said:
And Lindsey's lovely tee's can be found where? Before my husband finds out that they exist and then his next thought is "Where was this on Father's Day?"
6. Kristy said:
That show scared the shit out of me when I was a kid, but I watched it religiously. The Chaka shirt is awesome.
7. Angela said:
I totally agree with you about the shoes!
Great shirt!
8. Carrie said:
That's one thing I love about my 4-year-old: Old enough to dispense fashion advice.
9. Amber said:
Sleestaks! I loved that show so much as a kid, but I was totally freaked out by the sleestaks and used to have nightmares so regularly that my mother made me take down a Land of the Lost poster I had hanging across from my bed. Please tell me there is a sleestak shirt as well!
10. Wicked Stepmom said:
OMG!
*jealous*
We have the episodes on DVD! Jealous?
(And thanks for the earworm, BTW.)
11. Madame Queen said:
Sleestak's used to scare the bejeebus out of me -- but I watched anyway!
I loved the themesong, too, though the only part I can really remember is "...in the land of the loooooooost!" followed by that giant t-rex roaring. Good stuff.
12. Tanya said:
Land of the Lost was the BEST SERIES EVAH!
13. Iver Jane said:
I loved this show! Time to Netflix it and inflict my husband.
14. Emilie said:
Oh...what I wouldn't give for a Bugaloo's or Whitchy-Poo shirt...
15. Maria said:
Awesome.
16. Vaguely Urban said:
Chaka is working as a file clerk at a law firm in Los Angeles. Or was as of three years ago. I believe it was a classic Gary Coleman/parent-rip-off-of-child-actor story. Not that that takes anything away from his fine turn as Chaka on LOTL.
17. maarmie said:
The Sleastacks rock! I tried to explain to my British husband exactly what Land of the Lost is and what it meant to me. Turns out, it doesn't translate.
18. Colleeen Schmitt said:
Four year olds are the best!
19. Holly said:
I LOVE THAT SHIRT! I loved the show Land of the Lost! I think I loved it so much because there was a girl in it named Holly, and my name is Holly. When you're in grade school, that was pretty much the same thing as being best friends. Where can I get these shirts??? Now it's a mission for me to find them, so you must help.
20. Laura said:
I can't believe it! I loved Land Of The Lost. I thought it was gone forever.. I kept asking people if they remembered it and everyone I asked just looked at me like I was crazy. I kept telling them, "you KNOW Land Of the Lost" what goof balls. Thank You!!
21. Megan said:
You just try to resist the urge to call Jon 'Chaka' the next time he irks you. Just try.
22. Jessica said:
LMAO! I have never seen that show, but I did have a bunch of My Little Ponies, so I think I'll be OK. :)
23. zeghsy said:
hahaha... "is that daddy?"!!! *wipes away tear. thank you. i needed that today.
24. Ana said:
OMG, I loved that show. My mom said I was not a loser for watching. Cool shirts. Where can we find them?
25. sharon said:
Priceless!
26. Tiaras & tantrums said:
I KEEP WAITING FOR THE RERUNS - This was my all time fav Sat morning show when I was a child!!
27. Heather said:
WOW! Talk about a flash back. Makes me want to make Battle of the Planets Underwear!
28. Lori said:
Love the shirt! Such memories. Now you've got me wanting one (and a My Little Pony).
29. Stacy said:
I'm one of those people that has never heard of Land of the Lost and no, I never owned a Pretty Little Pony either. I couldn't have a real pony, but prefered the company of live ones versus plastic ones when I was around them. Not much has changed. 30 something years later as I still prefer the company of animals than most people. *shrugs*
LOL @ Leta. Did you laugh when she asks you these things? I wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face.
30. Amy said:
Too cute!
31. Bibi said:
I recently turned my own children onto the Land of the Lost after a friend gave us several episodes on DVD. My daughter informed me that she no longer likes the show; she tells me that it's for babies. I think she is just befuddled by the cutting-edge special effects of the 70's.
I'm also thinking the upside to opening yourself up to all the "constructive" critisism you receive is the AWESOME swag you've been getting from your adoring readers. I had a shirt with Jim Morrison on it, and several people asked if it was me. I took it as a compliment, although I'm a girl.
I think Jon should embrace his Chaka-ness.
32. deb said:
Oh god that is so funny!
I remember one episode of this show where the little monkey humanoids were missing and Holly (I think?) was trying to find them calling: CHAAAAKAAAAAA!
SAAAAAAAAAAA! TAAAAAAAAA!
I cant believe I remember this...
33. Darling Reader said:
LOTL is my favorite! As soon as we signed up for netflix, I got ALL of the espisodes available and watched them over an entire weekend. My 18 month old isn't talking yet, but he has the nickname of sleestak b/c he walks around slurping/hissing...however you'd describe the sound they made. Those shirts are awesome! As was Leta's comment.
34. Tori said:
I'm one of those few that have NO idea what that is.
35. Julie said:
I SOOO had a crush on Will!!!
36. Schatze said:
She's confused by all the hair! It's a common mistake...
37. Stacey said:
I so needed that laugh today - thank you so much! :)
38. Heather said:
Sid and Marty Krofft were the SHIT. I think they were eating their weight in acid. They had to have been.
"H.R. Puf N'Stuf" was my definite fave. Must. Find. Tshirt.
And yeah. Sleestaks. Nightmare Central.
39. Lovebuzz said:
Cool shirt! My 19 month old daughter got one of those Kung Fu Panda toys (the monkey) at McDonalds this weekend. This morning she pointed to it and said "DADDY!"
40. sonya said:
I credit witchy-poo among the many stange childhood characters on TV for my clumsiness and off-center wit.
I loved that show HR PuffnStuff. I was an oddball kid who didn't do things like all the other kids. That is why is lurk here!
41. amanda said:
Priceless.
42. Tara@From Dawn Till Rusk said:
No you're not. I have no idea what they're all blathering on about either, but that comment from Leta is priceless. Daddy's girl!
43. Jeana said:
LMAO!
I waaaaant a sleeeeestaaaaak.
44. Lisa said:
OMG, I loved this show - it was the staple of my Saturday mornings (that and Creature Double Feature). My husband truly thinks I'm nuts - what does he know? I thought the sleestacks and their jewels were the coolest.
I thought you were going to say that Leta thought Chaka was a Geiko caveman guy...
45. AnEmily said:
Oh snap! I got my kids season one of LOTL last year and they are still terrified of Sleestaks. They couldn't get past three episodes.
46. Smilf said:
Love this shirt and love Leta's comment. LOL
47. Renata said:
I am trying to remember the words to the song::
Marshall, Bill and Holly
On a Routine Expedition
When the greatest earthquake ever known
something -- something
Stuck their tiny raft
Sent them all one thousand feet below
To the laaannnnd of the lost
To the laaannnnd of the lost
(Bird Calls...)
48. Andria and Co. said:
Snort. Leta rocks.
49. That Sneaker Wearing Entrepreneurial Cartoonist Internet Guy said:
I've been praying that on the next episode of LOST they will finally find the Light Crystals and a Pylon. Please, please, please!!
50. BaltimoreGal said:
OK, I must have. First, my brother would wear that orange Chaka shirt until it fell off his body. Second, these might make my year because Land of the Lost was my favorite show until probably adolescence. I STILL love the song.
51. Z said:
Sigh! I totally forgot about watching almost every single episode of this as I grew up, and it all came back to me. The best part were the ghetto CGI t-rexes in my opinion.
Also, I lol'd at the Leta quote.
52. Janet said:
The theme song is trying to pull itself together in my brain. Argghh. Now I will be stuck with it until I go find a link somewhere on the internet.
53. Janet said:
Oh, It is on the link in the post. Oh man, I forgot about the banjo!
54. Single mom in New England said:
WOW! Who knew?? There are so many of us Land of the Lost Lovers out there?!! I can hear Chaka yelling, "Cha-ka chaka chaka!"
I too loved all the GREATS... HR Puffinstuff, The Kroft Superstars (Yes, I dressed up like Sigmund the Seamonster for Halloween) Ruth Buzzy in Space Nuts (?), Zoom..
LOVED The Bugaloos! All together now...
The Bugaloos, The Bugaloos
They're in the air and everywhere,
Flyin' high
Feelin' free... (!!)
55. Katie said:
I think I actually spit on my computer because I laughed so hard.
I loved that show!
56. Jenski said:
My favorite childhood show ever (well, that and the Smurfs). I have to buy this tshirt for my husband, he'll love it. We recently watched the theme song on Youtube.
57. meowsk said:
I have the same problem. Sometimes being sensible just requires too much effort. Fashion over function right?
58. Jamie said:
I loved Land of the Lost! The Slestaks used to scare the pants off of me. I couldn't eat stringy asparagus as a child because of those bad boys...
59. Prema said:
I just found out that there's going to be a LOTL movie next year - scheduled to hit theaters July 17, 2009. Presumably there'll be T-shirts galore then.
60. Adrienne said:
Such a good show! Have you heard the Nerf Herder song "She's a Sleestak"?
61. Kathleen said:
1) I went to elementary school with identical twins who looked EXACTLY like Chaka
2) The best part of the entire show was when they were all in the raft going over the falls and they all screamed "Aaaaaahhhh" and even back then, it looked and sounded totally fake. It was fantastic.
3) Now...do you remember Freakies cereal???
62. Doni said:
PRICELESS!
63. Clio said:
I simply MUST know where she got these. I loved this show as a kid. I WAS Holly. She was my hero.
64. Lex said:
I didn't care for Land of the Lost. I rarely ever watched it and only did because back then there were only 4 TV channels and if there was nothing else on any of those channels, I might be persuaded to watch Land of the Lost. More likely, I'd go outside to play and make up my own games/scenarios.
65. KSue said:
LOVED Land of the Lost!!!
My favorite part (wish I could see it again 'cause my memory is not TOO clear)
but it was those darn crystal rocks that light up in different colors...were they using those to go back in time? What was the deal?
The Sleestaks were so SCARY---but I LOVED them! Chaka was great---but I think Will was my first boyfriend. ;D
66. Summer said:
I loved my little pony!!!
So you're pictures are more tempting than the idea of actually being healthy.. What is this book called! Must know. NOW. ... please ...
67. Christina said:
Leta just made my day. Her comment made me snort at my desk at work. Please thank her!
68. Nicole said:
I too have no idea what show you are talking about but looks like I will be putting it in selection to be delivered to me.
I am still laughing at Leta's comment. This comment has made my Monday.
69. Anonymous said:
Wira! Ari! Wira! Ari!
Chaka, I don't know where Will and Holly are...Let's check out the pylon and see if we can find Enoch in the Library of the Skulls. He can help us...
God help all of us that remember that show...
70. Sarah said:
What a neat shirt, and what a great quote!
71. Throw Blankets said:
Leave the old Mormon up the street alone.
"Is that a picture of Daddy" - Lita is in trouble!!!!
If Chaka works on T Shirts, I may try him on a throw blanket..
72. Dan said:
Jealousy doesn't even begin to explain what I am feeling. I feel as though my chest was ripped open by the sharp fingers of a Sleestak and every breath of joy I once had escaped in a little hiss of sadness.
I've got to get my hands on some of those.
Tell me they make an Enoch shirt.
73. CarolM said:
I too love the theme song, and when I really want to piss off my husband I sing it! Along with the theme from "Magilla Gorilla" which I think he hates even more...
#47 - I think the line you're missing is "...High on a mountain..."
#35, I hate to burst your bubble, but "Will" hit on a friend of mine in a gay bar...
Finally, my favorite quote is Chaka saying "SOUPA!!! SOUPA!!!" Seems to be something they ate on a regular basis :)
74. Julie said:
I did a google search for the shirts, and instead I found that Will Ferrell will be starring in a Land of the Lost movie! http://www.jfxonline.com/will-ferrell/2008/03/25/jfxclusive-first-look-w...
75. Julie said:
5 inch heels? I can barely walk barefoot without falling down. A 5 inch heel would do me in. In other news, if you turn your head to a 48 degree angle and hold one of your feet up, it DOES look like Jon.
76. Julie said:
HAHAHAHA!! That actually made me LOL! Go Leta!!
I used to love that t.v. show. *shudder*
77. Conwaco said:
That is the coolest shirt I've seen in a long time! I love how Chaka is set in front of an argyle print. Classy! You can wear it to dinner!
78. Julie the Third said:
Wow. Three Julies in a row. w00t.
79. Lori said:
I just had LotL as a Childhood Trivia topic.
http://weebleswobblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/big-green-lizard-men.html
My sisters and I thought Chaka was HOT.
80. Carley said:
Hi Heather.
This is the first time I have posted a comment on your blog. I'd never heard of your blog before I seen your segment on the Today Show last month. So I went to your site and over the last month read all your old posts. So now I am officially up-to-date with Dooce.
I just wanted to let you know that I think your blog is great. I love that you make the smallest things funny and real.
Well I could go on and on about how cool I think you are or how I wish I had half the talent you have but I'll save that for another post I guess.
Carley
81. Dyanna said:
I always believed Chaka was played by Ron Howard's brother, Clint. The dude that's always in Ron Howard films? I believed that...until just now when I checked imdb.com to make sure. And I was wrong. Wow. I'm thrown.
Anyhoo, how can anyone over 30 not know what Chaka was?! Did you get a Sleestak shirt too? OOH! They used to scare the beejezus outta my brother. Even now all you have to do is go 'swiiiiiissssshheeeessshhheeeeewwwwwwiiisssh' with your hands out and he freaks! LOVE IT.
82. Amy said:
You never fail to conclude with a great one-liner.
83. Martha said:
that was soooo funny!!! I always wanted a diamond thingy of my own!
84. Nick said:
I must have that shirt!! Where can I get it?
85. bradleytee said:
"is that a picture of daddy?" SLOL!!
I love that shirt!
I have, on several occasions, tried to describe Land of the Lost to my kids. My attempts to educate about Chaka, the mighty Sleestak or the method in which the Land of the Lost was discovered fell on blank faces. The rafting down a hole to dinosaur valley seems easy enough and lizard men with glowing eyes are within their realm of belief but my description of Chaka as, if "Chewbacca and Sloth Fretelli had a baby" conjured up too many follow up questions? Maybe little monkey boy from a TV series you will never see should have been where I left it?
86. Tricia said:
Not only did I LOVE this show, my husband just got the complete show on DVD for our kids! The first night we showed the show to them, our 10 year old son had 2 friends over, so they all sat with my husband and our 5 year old daughter to watch the first few shows.....not a word came from that room for over an hour! Then as they all filed upstairs to my son's room, I overheard one boy say...."Man your folks watch cool shows!"
87. LoriM said:
Best. Show. Ever.
And the theme song? It totally kicked ass.
88. Robin said:
The Laannndd of the Lost! I loved that show in all it's bizarrity. And am uber jealous of your shirts. Can we see the rest?
89. Jacquie said:
Wouldn't it be great if the back of the shirt said: "Daddy, DO SOMETHING!"
Man, I loved that show.
90. amy said:
I loved that show something fierce. I especially loved how my brother would cower in the hallway while it was on. And it came on right after the Bugaloos, which was also fantastic tv viewing.
91. rOn said:
I can still hear the freaky hissing of those Sleestak thingies in my nightmares... and just when the drugs start working you have to go retro on us.
The shirts are pretty cool though.
92. Denise said:
I LOVED Land of the Lost!!
93. Jennifer said:
Marshall, Will, and Holly
On a routine expedition
Met the greatest earthquake ever known.
High on the rapids
It struck their tiny raft.
And plunged them down a thousand feet below.
To the Land of the Lost.
To the Land of the Lost.
To the Land of the Lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You really have to linger on that last Lost....like...LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT!
Personally I loved the CareBears...and Gem and the Hollograms...
94. Zedman said:
For everyone's viewing pleasure on YouTube - The Land of the Lost opening....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6LZzVCpYDY
Enjoy!
Zedman
95. heather said:
My husband and I quote from the show, routinely reference it in our lives, would buy DVDs if we could...
96. Becca said:
I always wanted one of the enormous carrots they harvested!!!!
97. AnneMarie said:
My three kids and husband would die for these shirts! We own all three seasons of this show on DVD (they think it is a travesty that production costs were too high and so they got cancelled). They would watch them every Sunday, but I hide them because sometimes you're all..."if I hear that song or those sleestacks or Holly whining again I will..."
If anyone knows where to get these shirts I would love to know. Thanks.
98. Momma Goose said:
I loved Land of the Lost. I would wake up about 6:30 a.m. to beat my sisters to the TV. Then you couldn't go piss until Land of the Lost was over because my sisters would change the channel and take my spot on the couch. I want one of those shirts and I want re-runs so my kids can see it. Momma Goose
99. Kim said:
Heather, We need a picture of you wearing the Land of the lost t-shirt. :P
I also loved Leta's comment. "Is that a picture of Daddy?" Out of the mouth of babe's.
100. Becky said:
LOL! That is hilarious! My nephew is almost 4, and he is definitely at that age where he says the funniest things.
:) Becky
101. lisa mertins said:
crap. "livin' in the land of the lost," will be stuck in my head all day. thanks dooce...
102. Jessica K. said:
If you like land of the lost, you have to watch the movie "Bubbleboy" just for the funny montage of Jake G.
103. At Home Redesigns said:
I had forgotten about LOTL. Now I remember and am a better adult for it.
104. Single mom in New England said:
Everyone who posted here HAS to go to the youtube link of the intro of the show! It is HILARIOUS!!!! From the dyed-blue water to the dinosaur muppet, my childhood just flashed before my eyes!! I cannot wait to see Will Ferrell in the new movie - we'll have to reserve a dooce.com section in the theater.
Heather, thanks for the laughs on this rainy Monday!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6LZzVCpYDY
Thanks Zedman #94!
105. Anonymous said:
Do you mean My Little Pony? And those shirts totally rock! Wish I had adoring fans who sent me cool t-shirts, just because I was so awesome.
106. Brat said:
ROFL!
I should have peed BEFORE I read this post.
*sigh*
.
107. angela said:
Chaka!
108. Cynthia Knock said:
I bought a Sleestak lighter on eBay a few years ago, and I recall wondering at the time why there were so few relics from this most deliciously awesomely awful TV show. I'm going to look again, because I will die of heartbreak if I don't have a Chaka t-shirt of my very own. (Remember Alice the baby dinosaur? Holly would feed her these gigantic strawberries...)
109. jill said:
Now see, that is why you all need your own reality tv show. Something like that would keep my TiVo in business.
So jealous of your present...
110. Cynthia said:
Oops, Holly's dinosaur was DOPEY. Alice must have been on some other weird 70s show...
111. daisy said:
Out of the mouths of babes.
Seriously though, Jon is twice as hot as Chaka
112. Jennifer said:
My husband had never seen Land of the Lost as a kid and this shocked me no end. I had to go to You Tube, find an old episode and show it to him. He said "It looks like I wasn't missing anything." That's when I told him he was just jealous that his childhood sucked so badly compared to mine.
113. EricaB said:
Oh, POOR JON! How hysterically funny!
I do not know Land of the Lost...of course, I had an odd childhood (I am sure not odd in comparison to many others - but we weren't even allowed to watch The Smurfs). However, if someone had sent me a NKOTB t-shirt I probably would have done the same thing (size XL, nothing white - I have kids, you know).
114. Kristi Dorson said:
oh nooo! How funny is that?! This is such a great age. My son Drake is going to be four in a month, and we had this conversation the other day:
Nightime pre-bed snuggling conversation with my three year old:
*discussing science and science fiction and what science is and what fiction is and some of the different types of science are*
"What's the science of people?"
"Well, biology, I suppose."
"What's biology?"
"The science of how our bodies work."
"How do our bodies work?"
"That's a complicated answer, and a very long one too. We're basically organic machines."
"What's organic?"
"Something alive."
"What's machines?"
"You know what machines are...a bunch of parts working together to make something happen. So we're basically living machines."
(side note here: if you're having kids, or you have kids - TIME TO BRUSH UP ON EXPLANATIONS ON HOW EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD WORKS. EVERYTHING. MY ANSWERS ALWAYS FEEL HELLA LAME.)
"Oh. Well, I am going to take an arm from here, and some legs from here..." goes on to explain the details of some creation he evidently plans to build at some point in his life; I was only half listening. "So I'm going to make a monster."
"Oh, so we can call you Drakenstein?"
"Why Drakenstein?"
"Well, you know Frankenstein?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Frankenstein wasn't actually the name of the monster. The guy who made the monster, his name was Frankenstein; Dr. Frankenstein. He was a scientist. They actually called the monster Frankenstein's Monster. So we would call you Drakenstein, and we would call your monster Drakenstein's Monster."
"Oh. Well, I would rather call him something else. Something like...OJ."
(OJ is my husband.)
Also, Miss Land Of The Lost Lover, have you seen the movie Bubble Boy? If not, DO IT. DO IT NOW. Nothing is more important!!
115. Anonymous said:
I loved Land of the Lost, Sigmund the Sea Monster and all of the Kroft Saturday morning shows. I'd love a t-shirt too...a perfect gift for the sis for Christmas.
116. Erika said:
Oh lord. That show freaked me out. I never could watch it...
117. Jill S. said:
God, I loved that show.
118. Karen said:
OMG, SLEEEESTACK! Loved that show.....
119. andrell said:
hahahaha!
120. Jacque said:
I want to get one of those for everyone I know.
121. MP said:
I MUST have that shirt.
I loved that show so much. It was a 3 way tie: Land of The Lost, Speed Racer and Johnny Quest..
and Rockford Files..but that's another thing all together..
122. PK said:
You married Chaka! No fair!
Oh, how I loved that show...
123. SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem said:
LOL Leta! And, of course Jon is WAY cuter!
124. Kellee Kilmer said:
That is so farking classic! The show, which I loved, AND Leta's comic delivery. But come to think of it I am seeing the resemblace just now........kidding! Thanks for sharing, priceless.
125. Laurie said:
Monkeys are always funny.
126. Greta said:
I am psyched that you put this on here. I watched an episode or two of Land of the Lost in my day and since, I have often tried to remember the name of that show (in order to compare someone I've seen with this particular "chimp-like" animal). Thanks!
127. amy J. said:
Thank YOU! I've been trying to think of the name of this show for, I don't know, years. I could remember it, think of scenes from it etc. but couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it. Now I will own the complete series...and a shirt too if you'd be kind enough to share where your reader got these.
128. Lene said:
You're going to be bugging her about that story for decades, aren't you? There're several of the sort in my family, most involving my younger sister (because torture is what younger sisters are for). Heh.
I also lack that thing in my brain that tells me to cover up in MY OWN HOME so strangers breaching my privacy by looking in can't see me. Somehow, I seem to believe there's not so much a cone of silence as an obscuring cone of mist surrounding me. One of these days, I'm totally going to find a nekkid picture of me on the internet.
129. sheasy said:
I love Chaka, but she has really let herself go since her disco heyday.
Chaka Khan, everybody,
Everybody, Chaka Khan!
130. Fleetie said:
I remember that show all too well. My father used to call me his little "Sleestak" as I would spend my hot summers reading in a cool, dark basement. Who knew then that Sleestaks wouldn't get melanoma?
131. workroom said:
bwaahahaha
poor jon... you guys should install a temporal doorway by the swingset! coco could eat all of the sleestak poo
now you gotta bone up on your lotl quotes!
Kevin Porter: "This is real donkey time."
mooom! sleeestakbellies!
^___^
132. Becky said:
LAND OF THE LOST!!
LAND OF THE LOST!!!
OMG!!!!! LAND OF THE LOST!!!!!!
I was trying to talk to my husband the other day about it, but I couldn't remember the name!!!
133. Therese said:
Hah!
I see she is using her youthful innocence to say what she really thinks, in the best sort of way.
Yes, I know old people do this too, but by then they're just called "cantankerous old bastards."
134. Jenny Rebecca said:
Sleestaks used to scare the CRAP out of me!!!
I wonder if they'll be as scary in the new movie they're making. Man, nothing can beat just being terrified that they're going to wake up any second no matter how cheesy the special effects were!
135. HiHoRosie said:
Leta's comment made me laugh out loud. Actually, can it be counted as a guffaw if I was by myself? Because that's really what it was.
And yes, I do remember that show thanks to my older siblings as they were the faithful viewers. I didn't have a My Pretty Pony. Unfortunately, by the time those came out I was too old. Could still be labeled as childhood robbery but for me robbery was when I never got one of those giant Barbie doll head busts to do the make up and hair on. Yeah. That. I was jipped. Cheated.
136. jennielynn said:
I MUST have one of those. My mom was a Land of the Lost fanatic and made us watch it all the time!
137. cghipp said:
Awesome! I desperately wanted my own set of pylons (?) when I was a kid, along with a little cave/hut to play with them in - and from where I would rule over the earth and the heavens, of course. My version came WITHOUT Sleestack, though.
138. Nicole said:
Oh! That show was the best! You MUST share where we can get the shirts...
139. jagosaurus said:
I love that show, and the shirt rocks.
140. Carolyn said:
I was clenching my teeth in anticipation of scrolling down to see the Chaka T-shirt (could it be any other character? Uh, that would be a H-to-the-L-NO!) and kept reading whilst beholding all of that Chaka goodness, came to Leta's comment and snorted juice outta my nose.
Yeah, it was THAT GOOD.
141. Zach said:
My only exposure to Land of the Lost was the early 90s remake. I was 7-8 at the time. Does that make me the youngest person here?
142. Chrissy said:
I never laughed so hard. I loved Land of the Lost and so did my husband. I don't think I could have married him if he didn't know about the show. I hope there are more shirts and I'd give my left arm for a Witchy Poo or Sigmund and the Seamonsters T-shirt.
143. A Little Southern Comfort in CO said:
Land of the Lost rocked! It was right up there with the Six Million Dollar Man/Bonic Woman/Bigfoot story line that I acted out when I was in daycare with that cute boy who failed 3rd grade. And yeah, it was just about as good as Electrawoman and Dynagirl, too.
144. Nasher said:
Rumour has it that the bass player in Sugar Ray played
Chaka. Not sure if it's true or not.
145. Rich said:
LOTL Rocked Sat mornings.
But the dream show for every Mormon child and a show that we were all able to watch was of course Sigmund and the Seamonsters.
Johnny Whitaker was of course the Mormon child actor.
Thanks for thinking we are not that old. :)
146. Sharon said:
I frickin' LOVED Land of the Lost! I covet your Chaka T-shirt. . .
147. Amber said:
Kids say the greatest things at the funniest time. I have a four year old sister and the other night I came home with my boyfriend to drop my brother off and the first thing she says to him: "Robert, are you gonna sleep with Amber?"
Great idea! Unfortunately my dad didn't think so... ;)
148. Jenn said:
Dude, Land of the Lost was like my Saturday morning ritual! :D
149. Amy said:
Out of the mouths of babes!
And yes, if someone grew up without Land of the Lost or My Pretty Pony or HR Puff-n-stuff, their lives are sorely, sorely lacking.
150. Connie said:
So that's how Leta pictures Jon in her little head? I mean, I can totally see the resemblance. That hair! That's Jon's hair!
151. meredith said:
Chiming in ... another 30-something who LOVED "Land Of The Lost". I still remember the day I made the connection that the same actor played both Will and some dude on "Days Of Our Lives" (which was my mom's soap opera at the time). Suddenly I realized that none of it was real, and somehow that made it all okay. :)
152. Anna Marie said:
That show simultaneously scared the hell out of me and thrilled me. Every time I heard the sleestacks breathing - sort of like Darth Vader with emphysema - I would clutch my brother and wait anxiously for them to appear. WHY don't they make shows like that anymore? What will my kids watch? Teletubbies??? I don't think so.
153. Kristan said:
Ouch... But at least he's rocking the argyle!
154. Becky said:
Land of the Lost! Wow. That brings back memories of my sister and I squeezing into my dad's chair to watch it on Saturday mornings.
Land of the Lost rocks but Leta rocks more!
155. Amber said:
I've never posted before (and have read your site religiously for three years) but I feel compelled to say two things:
LETA ROCKS.
156. Tami A. said:
LMAO! I love that kid.
Cool shirt btw, no clue what that show was but on my defense I was born in Argentina, so I'm good. And My Little Ponies did make it there, I had 2.
157. Fishing Around said:
Leta's cool.
158. sara said:
My brother and I loved this show. He emailed me not too long ago to say that Hollywood is turning this into a movie!!!
Where can I get these tshirts????
159. Christina said:
That is the best thing I've ever seen in teeshirt form, and Leta's remark? Spectacular.
160. leslie said:
Well, thank whomever you believe in that I am not the only one who remembers this show! Dang, when I use the sleestak reference and get empty stares my blood just boils! And "is that Daddy?" - that made me shoot milk through my nose...now where to get my hands on some of these t-shirts...
161. Buy Watches said:
Man Leta sounds so funny sometimes! I would have loved to have that scene on camera. These are the type of family moments you wish you filmed or someone else was there to see it. Poor dad though!
Great post.
162. Anonymous said:
Ummm, Heather~~~am I your grandmother ? I was just fixin' to turn my 4 yr.old grandson on to "Mighty Mouse","Flipper","Sky King","Heckle and Jeckle","Captain Kangaroo","Romper Room",and of course, the tv show featuring Coco and Chuck's ancestor--" Lassie " !!! " Land of the Lost " ? What the heck ? And hugs to Leta for making my day ! You rock, Baby Girl !
163. Addicted to Facebook said:
It amazes me how many cool t-shirts they are making these days. That is a very cool one.
And like everyone already said - you have a very funny daughter!
Keep up the good work.
164. Lisa said:
I only remember the 90s remake from Nickolodeon. Did you hear they're making a Will Ferrell movie?
165. somimi said:
Zach: No, I too only recall the 90's remake...though I didn't know it was a remake until now. And I must've been around 7-8 too! No wonder none of the opening lines sounded familiar, except for the name of the show. I'm surprised I even remember that...It's been so long!
Great shirt, though. This is my first time posting here, too, but I love the blog and pictures and videos. Yay Leta!
166. Kristin said:
I loved LOTL. I always wanted a cave to climb up into like theirs.
My entire life I've had a recurring dream of this monstery thing roller skating in a garage...and then my sister bought me a DVD of Sigmund the Sea Monster and then I realized it had been a TV show all along.
Facing your childhood nightmares on a large flat screen is an interesting experience.
167. Lyn said:
I loved that show. We had to SNEAK to watch it with the sound low low low so as not to get busted! I didnt know i could buy the whole series but I'm going to go out RIGHT now and do just that.
PLEASE share where we can get those shirts!!!
Thank you for your blog. Thank you so much!
168. Ann said:
I always loved their caves, too!! That was my favorite part. That and the jewels that lit up! And I always felt sorry for the kids, that they couldn't see their mom... but didn't they have a dream one time or an apparition and the mom was wearing a red & white check apron??
169. Spatula said:
You can't pay kids to say stuff like this. Or can you? Do they perform on command? Certainly the ones I know don't. They are like that singing frog from the Warner Brothers cartoon.
170. Laura said:
NEEEEEEEED. I assume if she's gonna make a thing of 'em you'll post a link? :D SO awesome.
171. Becky..Absent Minded Housewife said:
I'd like to send you goods and services from Bendover, however, be forewarned that before you strip to use them there will be itching and a slightly oily residue.
Got a shirt with that damned talking flute on it? I want that.
172. poptart said:
Oh, I remember as it was one of my favorite Saturday morning shows...it was really good and a little spooky, those sleestacks....
173. joolieblue said:
Has anyone posted this link yet?
http://www.landofthelost.com/faq.htm
I loved this show! Much more than my kids did!
174. bluescityref said:
Wow, I watched re-runs of that show in the early 80's. Truly had forgotten about it until you mentioned it.
I couldn't ever get into the one that came out in the 90's that was like Xena.
175. Kathy B. said:
Look - it's CHOPPABLE http://www.suburbanbliss.net/suburbanbliss/2004/10/choppable.html
176. Parker said:
Color me reptile - I have loved Land of the Lost for years and even committed the theme song to memory (so sad). Will Ferrell is currently making the motion picture version of this masterpiece. Chaka is such a hottie. We write about the 80"s in great detail on our blog and are obvious huge fans! Val & Paker, "First Class to Hell"
http://www.firstclasstohell.com
177. Desiree Fawn said:
So, you've just solved a several year mystery for me. For the longest time I kept asking people "what was that show where a jeep falls through the road and then there are dinosaurs??" and NO ONE knew what I was talking about. I was starting to think I made it up. Gah.
So yes, thank you :) For clearing that all up :D
178. Starwoodgal said:
LMAO! Sure do remember that show. And the guy who played Will also played Mike on Days of Our Lives. I was also a big fan of H.R. Puff-n-stuff. Little did I know as a child what Puff-N-Stuff really stood for. ;)
179. Christianne said:
Okay, so my hub and I were JUST TALKING about Land of the Lost this weekend! I can't believe you just blogged this, on the very day after I looked up this show on YouTube to watch and listen to the theme song after all these years. I cannot believe how primitive it all looks. When I was a kid, that was the coolest show ever. So fun that you got these great shirts!
180. mama kelly said:
I am so totally jealous. I loved Land of the Lost, as did Hubby, who happened to glance over as I was reading this post and blurted out "Chaka!". Yes we are nerds and proud of it!
181. Quitting Coffee said:
Thank you for sharing that little joke from Leta. Put a smile on my face this early morning. She sounds like a wonderful young lass more and more everyday.
Cheeky too!
QC
182. Sarah said:
Not only did I love Land of the Lost as a child, but that story made me laugh out loud, this sounds like something that would be said around my house, either when we were watching the show, or now that my niece can talk.
183. GK said:
Out of the mouth of babes, love it.
184. Haley-O said:
You are SO HILARIOUS! Thanks for the laugh! And, wah? I didn't own a My Little Pony.... And, I don't know that show.... And, I do have a younger sister........ ;)
185. Walking In My Sleep said:
And Jon said??? I wonder if he's getting a sense of being outnumbered. ;-)
186. Amy Smith said:
ok-so you know that the LOTL movie is coming out next year, and is starring Will Farrel. I can hardly sleep at night.
187. carriegood said:
i am a loyal reader, and i don't think i've ever commented before.
i've also never barked with laughter while reading dooce before.
don't get me wrong, i love you and your humor. it's just that it takes a lot to make my shriveled heart brighten, and nothing is better than calling your husband a proto-human. (this is not sarcasm.)
188. Independent Mom! said:
Oh haha! Your little girl is something else!
I oved that sow, BTW! Good times
189. Independent Mom! said:
Well damn, I swear, I *did* check my spelling on that last comment. Time for bed. ~Le sigh~
190. Shu Wei said:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
191. Dawn said:
HA! Well. That's Leta out of the will. More for Chuck!
Oh, that Leta. She's so cute.
192. monstergirlee said:
My nickname in high school was Chakka.
A gold mine of t-shirts!
193. Lindsay said:
Definitely have been remembering the 90s version of this show for awhile now but could not remember the name...
Running into it here is yet another reason I check this page :)
194. Julie in Houston said:
Livin' in the land of the LOST!
OOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGG! I loved that show so much, and my bf and I are always talking about it. That shirt is saweet!
And I dearly loved my herd of MLP's. My sister threated to burn one in a fire one day and I about had a heart attack. Of course that was 12 years ago...but it seems just like yesterday! :)
www.peglegstarfish.com
195. Kristen said:
Didn't Holly and Chaka have a weird relationship? Kinda like he was her pet, but not really because he was a little human-like. I think she was diggin' him.
196. Betty said:
LOTL! Many of my childhood nightmares were populated by the Slestaks... that darn noise that they made. However, my favorite sneakers are the ones we call Slestak sneaks, the ones from Nike with the cleaved toe. HA!
197. shanna murray said:
this was my favorite show as a kid!!! i can't believe your shirt, i al laughing so hard right now! i'm off to scour youtube for episodes. girl, i knew you had that special something, i just couldn't put my finger on what it was. now i know!
did you used to get bummed out when another sid and marty croft show would come on instead? i was always so disappointed when that happened. but if the lotl theme song came on i felt like i hit the jackpot!
so fun to remember! thanks for that.
shanna
198. David Gannon said:
LOVED this show too. Every time I hear the Land of The Lost mentioned, I hear the eerie sound of the sleestack HIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I think they are making a remake too. Go Will and kids! Didn't they have a pet dinosaur too?
199. zjlmomma said:
I have 3 older brothers and after we all watched that show they would act like sleeslacks and chase me around. Having an underdeveloped sense of reality I was terrified beyond all reason...EVERY Saturday morning. Awsome shirt!
200. Andra said:
So, I was reading this post and the subsequent comments, and I was confused.
I was born in 1985, and I distinctly remember a show titled "Land of the Lost" airing when I was around first grade-age. It was definitely NOT a 70's version, but many of the elements (sleestaks, dinosaurs, family in jeep-dropped-through-earth's-crust-or-whatever) were the same.
Turns out it was a remake of the original and aired from '90-'92.
No Chaka, but I still loved it dearly.
201. Robin G. said:
You know, there *is* a vague likeness to Jon...
202. ~~Melissa said:
I'd love to see the rest of the shirts. My husband bought all the episodes on DVD. If you lived closer I'd ask him to torture you instead of me with them. ;-)
203. vern said:
Just the other day I said to my husband, "Dude! That dooce girl made a reference to sleestacks!" He was highly impressed. To this day he talks about the day his life changed when that show went off the air with no warning. He has been emotionally scarred ever since. For Christmas one year I found him the complete set of episodes on amazon. I TOTALLY won that year. And NOW? SHIRTS?! Christmas shopping in June is what I've got here.
204. Liene said:
This post just made my week.
205. Traci in GA said:
OMG, I SO watched LOTL, but I sure didn't think other people did!! Here's what I remember: when the T-Rex would chase Holly into the cave she would wack it on the nose with a fly swatter!! Even as a kid I wondered where she got that fly swatter..? Off to youtube..
206. lara said:
Ok, I'm just thinkin' here that people love to comment on your site, Heather, cause there aren't too many comments that don't want me to just say: "duh". Including mine. Maybe you need to open up the comments more often.
207. Janette said:
Huh-larious! That's ok, Jon...my 6 year old niece told me I looked like Chaka Khan (I'm white with blue eyes and brown, straight hair). She must have remembered seeing my 80's pictures when I was an orange (remember Sun-In?), permed, big-haired, very tan (from putting baby oil on daily) teenager. At least I like to think that's why.
208. Tammy said:
Four-year-olds speak only the truth, at least how they see it, from 3 feet off the floor. It's usually spot-on!
Show this to Leta (well, don't click on the rattlesnake links while she's sitting there), but she'll love the baby bird pictures:
http://thebutterflymind.com/ramblings_0017_blackbirds.htm
http://www.thebutterflymind.com
209. Ann said:
LOVE Land of the Lost - it was the definitive show of my childhood. Loved the cave w/ all those little lights! Sleestacks scared the shit out of me, but loved them too. That was truly one whacked out show - wonder if the writers were suckin' on some LSD.
210. Gigi said:
That's amazing.
Kids say the best things.
When I lived with a family that had five little girls, the middle girl used to make the best remarks. Once, in church, we were standing behind an older man when she said, "What's that ugly thing on his face?"
Her parents were thrilled. Of course.
211. tanya said:
sleestaks....how cool...i always wanted some of those pretty gems they used as keyboard keys.
212. alayna said:
I'm laughing out loud on that one! It reminds me of a story I have to share - my husband is a pastor and he put this picture up on the big screen at our church of this horribly deformed and misshapen foot of a Chinese woman that had been bound as a child and my 6 year old pipes up very loudly - I know whose foot that is! It's Daddy's! And Daddy DOES have some nasty looking feet, but not that bad for crying out loud! It was very amusing to anyone sitting within 20 feet of us!
213. J. said:
When sleestacks were brought up on your blog recently my next tweet was: "I just read a blog that mentioned a Sleestack...Aw! Sleestacks! it made me so HAPPY! I had forgotten about Sleestacks."
214. Jane said:
Land of the Lost was the BEST! We put all the shows on our Netflix recently and introduced our kids to it. That was fun!
215. Jennifer said:
I may have just woken up my roommate with my laughter. Leta is awesome! (Sorry Jon, but that was hilarious.)
216. Sheri said:
Land of the Lost........yeah!!! I love those 'out of the mouth of babes' comments. My friend's daughter just told her she, "...shouldn't have married daddy because he farts too much".
217. Arun said:
Notes to self:
1. Shave and take a bath daily, once I have kids
2. Keep them light years away from all King Kong merchandise
218. Kristin (aka Krisco) said:
I loved that show. I think my main thought at the time was: That could happen! It could!
219. Sara Tonin said:
Ummm... wondering if I should post this, or file it under "Who Cares!?" Chaka and I lived together for over two years. (well... there's not much to say after that, is there?) ***ducks***
220. Aliaspice said:
What do you call a Land of the Lost Convention?
a Chaka-Con
"I feel for you!"
221. Jodie said:
I remember Land of the Lost! Of course that was probably on during the 70s when my sister was little and I watched cartoons with her on Saturday mornings. Watching TV with my little sis (born 1971 to my 1960) introduced me to several programs... Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, cartoons in color. :-) OK I remember not having A/C in Texas AND only having one small black & white TV with rabbit ears AND no cable/ no VCR / no DVD / no digital anything... the TV had TUBES. I remember the TV repairman coming to fix them... plus we had a MILK MAN who had a key to our house.
PS. The guy that shot the arrow into the apple was William Tell. As in the William Tell overture (Rossinni) which was used for the Lone Ranger theme on the radio then old movies I saw the Lone Ranger movies on TV in BLACK & WHITE. I'm too young to have heard the radio program because I'm not quite over the hill... over course the hill just keeps getting higher the older I get. :-) I'm thinking 70 will be over the hill.
Keep up the great writing! You're in my top 5 favorite blogger list. PS. So is Jon.
222. jawnbc said:
Marshall, Will and Hollie, on a routine expedition. When the greatest earthquake ever known...to the la-and of the lost (lost-lost-lost-lost)!
Nah, never heard of it
223. houndrat said:
If the caveman fits......
At least I finally know why I'm so troubled. I did watch Land of the Lost, but I was denied a Pony. And my sister is the pretty one.
224. Michael C said:
I was literally emailing a friend today about the Sleestaks. Of course I remember them. I a Star Trek episode Kirk fought something that looked like a Sleestak ancestor. I hear they are working on a movie about Land of the Lost. And now I fear I have shared too much.
225. Tracye said:
I LOVE LAND OF THE LOST!!!!!!!! I want a sleestak tee-shirt! I think I might be a wee bit jealous...
226. Amelia said:
I really laughed out loud. Thanks for sharing that Heather - I needed that tonight.
227. Bitter Betty said:
I MUST HAVE IT!!!!!!!!
228. Kristi Dorson said:
I find it very amusing to note that folks are saying Will Ferrell is going to be in the Land of the Lost movie...given that he played Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back!!
229. Shamelessly Sassy