Tonight’s program at the Alamo, “Why We’re Fat”, was a collection of hilarious old educational and promotional films focusing on food and nutrition–one of which was presented by the “International Potato Chip Council” and extolled the virtues of a chip-heavy diet (news I’ve been waiting to hear for years. Who knew I was so healthy?).
The show was presented by “A/V Geeks”, the brainchild of North Carolinan film aficionado Skip Elsheimer. Skip is an avid collector of educational films, and since the early 90s he’s amassed a personal library of more than 19,000 16mm films (!!). So now, he tours around the country exhibiting them as themed shows like this one–and they’re wicked fun.
The best part is, he’s put a decent cross-section of his collection up on Youtube, so you can check ’em out whenever you like. Head on over there, and say goodbye to the next couple hours.