Randomly Received: The Boo Bobby Blogger Box

All right... the time has come. I am officially getting ready to delete the content from Really Rather Random Guy (dot blogspot dot com) and in preparing for that, I wanted to import a bunch of the content that I know will then be lost forever, by bringing the posts over here to Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks (dot blogspot dot com). So, with that in mind, I thought I would preface these entries with the fact that they are indeed OLD blog posts from an OLD, now DEFUNCT blog, and cross my fingers and hope that folks will still want to read them.

This post was originally published back on January 30th, 2014.

So... this package showed up. And it was from my friend Laura over at the Boo Bobby Blog. If you've never been to the Boo Bobby Blog, you really should go and check it out. It is a sort of combination between a slice-of-life confessional blog and a "hey look at this cool stuff I found for CHEAP!!!" sort of blog. And somewhere between those two is where the magic happens. I dare you not to go over there and simply fall in love with Laura and her husband Jerome, and their kids and their friends. Join them for a family game night of charades or out roller-skating, and then see how Laura has decorated the built-in bookshelf in their new house with cool vintage toys and kitschy knick-knacks that you've seen a million times at old antique stores but NEVER LIKE THIS. I have so much respect for Laura and her natural photography talents and her easy, effortless way of writing like she's talking directly to you. It ENRAGES me with pure JEALOUSY that her blog is so ridiculously good. 

And then she sent me some stuff in the mail and it just made it WORSE because she's GENEROUS TOOOO!!! Will she stop at nothing? Let's take a look at what she sent me, shall we?

First up, we have to take a look at the decorations on the box. I get the feeling that Laura literally doodled on this package while she stood in line at the post office and did I mention that she is also an incredibly talented artist who recreates giant-sized Disney-and-other-kids'-characters decorations for parties? 

Spider-Man, ladies and gentlemen. And we haven't even gotten INSIDE THE BOX YET.

Here we go! Look at this pile of goodies y'all! Let's look closer.

First up we have these adorable little Mini Bean Sesame Street Characters! Laura and I share a deep and abiding love of all things Sesame, and she knew these little guys would be a shot right through the heart! Bert and Ernie are great, that's a given... but a Twiddle Bug? Come on! That is the cat's pajamas people! What a random character to give the mini-bean treatment! I love it!

Next up are these seasonal Snoopies. These guys are just spectacular. I actually have a bunch of these Snoopies for the Christmas tree already... but amazingly NONE of these ones! And the Halloween Snoopy stirring a bubbling cauldron of green slime? Excellent. These are Russel Stover premiums that were (and may still be...) sold attached to little boxes of chocolates around their respective holidays. Obviously the Christmas ones are meant to be hung on the tree. 

Mini-figures! Little plastic guys! Gotta love these. I've seen these featured all over the internet in the last couple of years. The bigger guys, the astronauts, Turtle/snail/alien guys, and the white robot are all from a set of Tim Mee toys "Galaxy Laser Team" figures which I must now track down the rest of. The little tiny arm men? No idea. But I LOVE them. I mean, look at those beautiful bast**ds. 

Laura is a big fan of old, kitschy items and uses them in ALL of her decorating. So naturally this overflows into her Christmas decorating as well. So it was no surprise at all to me to find these fun little guys included. These are going on the tree next year! 

Muppets and rodents are both woven intricately into my life. Laura is yet another of my online friends brave enough to mail me glassware. This Rizzo the Rat juice glass is actually a Smuckers Jelly jar from back around '99, promoting "Muppets from Space". The mice are... well they're just mice. But they're PULL-BACK mice!!! 

I had a bunch of these Dick Tracy action figures as a kid. I think I liked them back then because they were made by Play-Mates in the same style as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures. I had them pretty much working for the Shredder and Big Boss from C.O.P.S. (both of whom, in my imaginary universe answered to Hordak). I wasn't a huge fan of the Dick Tracy movie, but I loved the bizarre nature of the gangsters in the Dick Tracy canon. They weren't quite supervillains... but they were close enough. And most of them ended up with powers when I played with them anyway. Flattop was one of my absolute favorites! This is a straight-up blast from my past! 

I think this is probably my #1 favorite item from the package. ZOAR!!! Laura knows of my deep and abiding love for all things MotU and this little lady-bird is proof of it! Fun-fact: Zoar started off as a boy-bird, and a completely independent character on his own in the mini-comics packaged with the action figures. Then he became a lady-bird when it was revealed on the TV show that this was an alternate form of the Sorceress. When I was just a little guy I actually pulled the wings completely off of my Zoar and cried for DAYS. I probably won't be doing the same with this one. But I am a huge man-child... so who knows?

Aaaand now we're onto the REAL reason you people come to my blog... The freaky-tiki stuff. Or in my case, the Advertising Mascot soft-goods. These oven mitts featuring the Poppin' Fresh Doughboy and Sprout are honest-to-goodness ALWAYS going to be on display in my cave. There will be no scorch marks or boil-over stains for these mint-condition mitts! These paw protectors are staying pristine! And Mr. Peanut? Well I have documented in depth my love for this chap. He's going on the shelf with the other bean-bag mascots. 

Who ya gonna fall... asleep on??? That was terrible. But this pillow case isn't terrible at all! I'm assuming this was from a Real Ghostbusters (cartoon) sheet set... but I really don't know. (I'm so lazy... hold on.. I'm Googling it...) Yes! RGB indeed! loveLoveLOVE the Real Ghostbusters cartoon and toys and memorabilia... so this one is a real coup! Not sure if I'll display it or just go ahead and USE it! I'm leaning towards using it though. I ALWAYS forget to check the bedding sections at second-hand places but I totally should because I'd love to find some old Star Wars sheets or Ghostbusters, or even California Raisins! 

Christmas Golden books! Here we have the version of the Night Before Christmas that I remember the best from when I was a kid... Disney's Santa's Toy Shop, which is loads of good fun, and Frosty the Snow Man! If I'm being honest, this version of Frosty always creeped me out. I couldn't really put my finger on why until it dawned on me: The weird coal-chips for lips. They look... sinister in some way. 

And a couple of non-seasonal Golden Books, including "I Think That It Is Wonderful" from the Sesame Street collection, and "The Neatos and the Litterbugs in the Mystery of the Missing Ticket" which sort of sounds like there would be other mysteries in the series, right? Like Nancy Drew in the Mystery of the Cackling Cankles (or whatever) is just one in a series. But nope. This is the only appearance I can find of the Neatos and the Litterbugs, mystery solving or otherwise. It looks fun though. 

And this is a book about Mountain Monsters. Because Laura just... "gets" me.

And look at this thing. This is a vintage Christmas Card in which Laura wrote an incredible message to me in AND bemoaned the fact that she was defacing a beautiful vintage Christmas card! I felt her pain believe me, but I'm so glad I was card-worthy, because this beautiful reindeer has earned itself a spot among the valuable wall-space items of the CAVE. I only have 4 Christmas cards hung up in my cave, and this is one of those 4. Because... look at it. Just LOOK. Bask in its glorious light. 

Welp... that's it for this addition of RRRG kiddos! I want to send a huge THANK YOU!!! Out to Laura at the Boo Bobby Blog for the amazing gift-package. I LOVED it. Everything you sent me was obviously thought about and considered for quite a while before selecting it to be included. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. It was so thoughtful! 

I'll be back soon with a reveal of the new-and-improved Geek-Cave, which has been undergoing renovations since I revealed it last year! I'm pretty excited with the semi-new look (although a lot of it remains mainly unchanged... there's still a LOT to share!) and I can't wait to post about it here! Before that happens I may hop on here and post some stuff about books I like, or characters I've been thinking about, or heck my favorite flavors of Jelly Beans... who knows? Keep 'em peeled here folks!

Random Buys of a Random Guy: Dream Catcher Finds!

All right... the time has come. I am officially getting ready to delete the content from Really Rather Random Guy (dot blogspot dot com) and in preparing for that, I wanted to import a bunch of the content that I know will then be lost forever, by bringing the posts over here to Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks (dot blogspot dot com). So, with that in mind, I thought I would preface these entries with the fact that they are indeed OLD blog posts from an OLD, now DEFUNCT blog, and cross my fingers and hope that folks will still want to read them.

This post was originally published on February 24th, 2014.

I've mentioned before, more than once, that there's an antique mall in downtown Ellsworth, ME called the Dream Catcher. It's three stories, and the top floor has one area that is solely dedicated to comic books, lunch-boxes, toys, collectibles, magazines, ANYTHING a geek might like. I don't go there nearly as often as I do Goodwill, simply because the guy who runs it doesn't get new stock in that steadily (or it seems that way at least).

Anyway, I've strolled around in there before and taken pictures of things I've been drooling over in the past, mainly the collection of vintage lunch-boxes that I (mostly) REFUSE to start collecting. Yesterday I found a bunch of boardgames I also (mostly) refuse to start collecting, but thought I'd share.

But wait! There's more! Down past all the boardgames in this post there are a few other shots from the store, and then a few shots of the loot I actually brought home.

First up Bonanza, which is less a game based on a show, and more a game based on a game they play in the show. I LOVE how they've shoe-horned in the chip-tray from this game awkwardly into the photo on the cover of the box... because everybody knows cowboys had plastic poker chips and plastic blow-form trays to keep them in. Don't look at it too long because the perspective starts to hurt your eyes. 

I kind of wish I'd taken more time to open these up and see what the game mechanics were... but here is a game based on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. No idea what the gameplay is like.

A "Medical Game For The Young" because kids needed more excuses to play doctor with each other. Starring Thorn-Birds-sexy-priest Richard Chamberlain. Because just having a doctor game isn't enough to get the blood all riled up and pumping. 

The Ewoks were Green before it was cool. They were hippie, hipster, tree-hugging, teddy bear, jerks. 

I apologize for the crap quality of these photos, which were taken with my iPod. This one is just the worst, and it's too bad because the Hair Bear Bunch deserve better. 

Happy Days! This (according to the box) is "Fonzie's Real Cool Game" which is all I really need to know. 

The Legend of Jesse James. Too lazy to Google if this is based on a specific film or show about Jesse James, or if it's just about the "real" Jesse James. I used quotes there not because I question the reality of Jesse James. He is neither the Loch Ness Monster nor is he Santa Claus. I used them because undoubtedly the Jesse James depicted in this game is nothing like his real-life counterpart. I mean, look at that Brady-Bunch lookin' mother-f**ker on the cover of the box. Nope. 

I am probably just going to go ahead and buy this the next time I go. I didn't want to blow half of my cash on just a board game today... but I WILL own this in the near future.

Same with this one. For no other reason than the fact that they made it. If you look right below it you can also see an Ewok paint set that I forgot to get a shot of on its own. 

If I recall, this game was featured on an episode of Toyhunter. I remember it being a big deal if all the pieces are included and it still works. I'm not a board game collector for the most part, so I didn't mess around with it too much. 

If I were to buy this it would only be so I could set it up and display it out of the box. Again, I did a really poor job of investigating these games, so I don't know when this copy was produced, but it looks old. Like... IDEAL games old. However old that is. 

Raggedy  Ann! Nothing else to say really. Except that horse has no legs, which means Ann and Andy are running (awkwardly, because there's a stick between their legs, to help maintain the illusion). 

This looks cool from the front. I don't know how it plays or what's in there, but it looks cool from the front. Not the first time I've seen this game there, either. 

Posting this last one without comment. I just know that at some time in the past, there were people in various states of being naked people handling this box, around it, potentially ON it... and that is terrifying to me. 

This cross-eyed duck was nearly as big as me. I kept my distance. Seems like it's either a knock-off Donald Duck, or a really cheaply made official one. Either way I wanted it far away from me. 

Keebler Elf cookie jar. Can't think of a more fitting and appropriate form of merchandising, honestly. Too bad this one appears to be missing its lid. 

On the other hand, this Mr. Peanut peanut butter maker seems to make sense at first glance, but then a bit sadistic upon further reflection. I mean, yes, who else would you rather get peanut butter from but a anthropomorphic peanut, right? But let us not forget what must happen to peanuts to make them into peanut butter. And you force Mr. Peanut to be complicit in the grinding of his people by pouring the peanuts into his head to grind them up. Chilling. 

If this on-the-card American Gladiaors Turbo is still there for purchase the next time I go I am probably going to bring him home. I just didn't have the funds this time around, and it would have been a novelty buy, plain and simple. But he brought back many a teenage late-night, watching a muscle-bound freak shooting tennis balls at his victims. 

And finally, I'd like to show off the stuff I actually brought home from Dreamcatcher with me. Surely, in comparison to the magical wonders I have shared thus far, the items I brought home must be truly wondrous right? Well... I'll let you decide:

Here's the entire pile. I'm not going to wax poetic over the two Scooby-Doo plates, because I mainly bought them for my boys and they are only special because we're going through a Scooby-Doo phase right now and they will be excited to see these at supper-time. The Grover's Own Alphabet was also a fun find because... well, y'know... Sesame Street and Golden Books... Let's take a closer look as some of the other items, shall we?

First up is this Officer Big Mac glass to go in my McDonald's collectible glasses collection. They actually had a Hamburglar glass in another part of the Mall, being sold by a different vendor for WAY TOO MUCH money. So I settled for just the one. But look at it! Isn't it GLORIOUS???

Just as I was checking out, I had a question about an action figure I had found (see below) and it reminded the guy behind the counter that he had just put together a box of action figures he hadn't put out for sale yet. He offered to let me go paw around in there and see what I could find... which I gleefully did. Most of it was a let-down to be honest. Old Phantom Menace figures and armless 90's Batman figures. But there was this nice trio that I picked up (plus the Shaggy figure you can see peeking from behind the Shredder's shoulder pad in the first picture). I never owned Sergeant Bananas when I was a lad, but I was happy to add him to my collection now (he even still has his snake belt!)... and while I am not a huge fan of the weird costumed TMNT figures, I couldn't NOT buy this Davey-Crockett inspired Raphael figure. Between the Raccoon hat, the fringes on his sleeves, and the bolo tie... I was smitten. But I was by far the most excited about finding a Super Shredder figure from the second movie line. I really did NOT like the original Shredder from the first TMNT line, so when this guy came around, he pretty much just became my "default" Shredder figure. The scale was off so that he wasn't all that "super" anyway, and he looks waaay more bad-ass than the geriatric Shredder we were given before this. All-in-all, I was happy to add these three to my collection. 

Finally, I  found this guy. I almost didn't buy him because when I found him he was missing his left arm. Then as I was rummaging around the bottom of the bin I found him in, I discovered the arm was still in there! So I popped it on and took it. I had no idea who he was at the time, but using the "1983 Filmation" stamp on his back, it wasn't long before I was able to Google him up. I discovered he is "Neptul" a villain from the Blackstar series. He's one of those guys that comes with one of those weird looking little gargoyle/gremlin/demons that every kid in the 80's seemed to own at least one of, even if they didn't know where it came from: 

This image belongs to Littleweirdos.net
follow the link to read their article about these little guys!

And the one that came with Neptul here is STILL THERE! I remember seeing him (in fact, if you follow the 'before' link waaay back at the top of this post (or that one... right there), there's a picture of him in the linked post!), so I'll be going back for him. I love a good toy reunion. The Blackstar line is a REALLY fun line, and according to Shawn Robare of Branded in the 80's fame (follow the link for more Blackstar love), the show was a kick to watch as well. I think I may start trying to track both the toys and the show down in the near future. 

So that's it folks! I may be headed back to the Dream Catcher sooner rather than later to pick up a couple of items... and if I do, you'll surely read about it here first (because who else would write about that... nevermind)! Keep your peepers peeled here for more random randomness! 

My stuff from Hake's Arrived!!!

So I may have mentioned in passing that I won a recent contest over at Cool & Collected. If not, let me explain: I won a contest for members of the League of Extraordinary Bloggers who participated in an imaginary shopping spree on Hake's Americana and Collectibles (Specifically Auction 209). The prize? Only a $100 shopping spree on Hake's web-site!!! Yeah boy!

Soon after finding out I won I giddily hopped over to the Hake's Americana and Collectibles web-site and started browsing. It did take me a little while to find things I was interested in among their for-sale stock. I didn't want to go the auction route, simply because I always like sure things more than maybe-things. I called Hake's with a list of item numbers, 4 in total, and spoke to the incredibly patient and helpful Heather.

This is not a picture of Heather. How would I even have that?
I think Heather would be upset if I did, honestly.

Brian had suggested I call in my order, so that was the route I went. I am a complete basket-case on the phone, and as I stuttered through my order convinced that I would be reported as some sort of "When a Stranger Calls" style serial killer at any moment. 

"No I haven't 'checked on the children' sir...
Could I please just have your next item number?"

After placing my order, this instantly appeared:

STUFF!

Just kidding! It took like 15 minutes. 

Delivered by this man.

Just kidding again! It was probably a couple of days. I don't remember. I was still in the fetal position after having to talk on the phone to another human being. 

Let's cut the attempts at self-deprecating humor (and horrifying truth) and look at what I ordered shall we? 

(I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the crappy quality of the pictures. I have been assured that this makes my blog charming, rustic and original. Not crappy like I thought.)

First up is the Master's of the Universe glow-in-the-dark secret compartment ring. I have these bizarre, vague and hazy memories of owning one of these at some point during my childhood. I remember things like it being too big for my fingers... and probably ripping the lid off the base at some point. 

Image from Hake's site.

What I absolutely cannot remember is WHAT THIS CAME WITH. Can anyone help me? I desperately want to know what figure or figures had this ring included as an accessory. Had I not been spending my Hake's Free Money, this ring would have set me back 25 dollars. 

Next up is this Mr. Peanut key-chain/figurine. It's EXTREMELY hard (for me) to photograph. In this picture he looks like a semi-amorphous off-white silhouette of Mr. Peanut... but I assure you he has facial features and... stuff. 

This image is directly from the Hake's web-site.
You can kind of see his face better in this one.

If you didn't already know, I LOVE Mr. Peanut. So this purchase was a no-brainer. Had I been "shelling" out my own simoleons instead of buying it on Hake's dime, I would have "shelled" out 24 dollars. (Get it? Like peanut shells? Puns!)

Here he is next to Tiny Goodbite for scale (whom I am now HORRIFIED to realize is incredibly dusty. Don't look at him! DON"T LOOOOK! I never CLEEEEEEAN!!!). I I'm such a ridiculous push-over for old food mascot characters. I think I just love the idea of anthropomorphically animated food items (actually ANY items) to the point where I want to own them ALL.  

I also picked out this Alfred E. Neuman "What Me Worry?" pin from MAD magazine. I thought Dale would do a good job presenting this pin for the masses to appreciate. 

Image from Hake's site

As soon as I saw that iconic, gap-toothed grin I knew this pin MUST be mine. I would have had to lay down 10 cool dollars had Hake's not been picking up the tab. 

Last but certainly not least, I bought this set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Power Rings" distributed in Canada as a Nabisco Shreddies premium back in 1990. I am so freaking excited to own these! Canadians get all the cool toys! Had Hake's not been FOOTing the bill, I would have SHELLED out a 35 dollar sum for these rings (I know I already used shell above for Mr. Peanut, but it was too good to resist... plus a foot clan reference! Puns!)

Image from Hake's site.

These are a great, iconic set of characters from the original cartoon. My only complaint is that they should have done Bebop and Krang rings and rounded the set out to 10. Where Rocksteady goes, Bebop MUST follow. It's pretty much the same (to an admittedly lesser degree) with Shredder and Krang.  

Turtles! Turtles! Turtles!
Doesn't quite have the same ring as
Girls! Girls! Girls!

I don't know why I felt the need to pose the rings next to the characters that they represent... but I did, and therefore you get these lovely pictures to look at. 

I do love the classic April O'Neil design from the old cartoon, but I have to be honest about her ring: Without all the other mutant animal characters (and Shredder) she would just be a weird nebulous floating head ring of a brunette. It's not exactly my favorite ring. I think maybe they could have traded her for Bebop. (Sorry if I'm perseverating on this whole Bebop thing... but it really irks me, even more than Krang)

I'll let you decipher this one on your own.
I don't own a Riddler toy so the Joker stepped in to be Vanna.

Finally, I did not order this last button... Hake's threw it in for free with my order! They were already completely giving me a bunch of free stuff... and they just kept the free stuff coming!!! They really know how to treat a guy. I must not have creeped Heather out too much. 

"OH MY GOD STOP BREATHING HEAVY
AND JUST GIVE ME YOUR ZIP CODE!!!"

My entire order totalled out at 94 dollars. Heather then looked up the estimated shipping and told me that it would be exactly 6 dollars. This meant that everything, EVEN MY SHIPPING (down to the last cent!) was included in the credit I had won! Heather was all: "How on Earth did you do that?"
And I was all:

"I'm just really good at maths and whatnot."

So this is the m entire haul from Hake's!!!

I want to say once more how incredibly thankful I am to both Hake's Americana and Collectibles for the prize money, and to Brian from Cool and Collected for running the League of Extraordinary Bloggers, and for making great connections with sites like Hake's. I genuinely enjoyed browsing through Hake's stock and dreaming of the things I would buy with unlimited moneys. Hake's has some truly amazing things for sale!

That's it for me tonight kids! I'll be back soon with some Geeky Goodwill Goodies! Until then, Happy Hunting!