A Package from the Trash Man!

You may have noticed by now that I have a habit of waiting waaay too long to thank people for stuff they've sent me. If you haven't noticed this, then you are about to notice. Maybe you're new here. 

So this post is going to be all about a package sent to me by my good friend Brian Farrell, otherwise known as the "Trash Man" curator of the Pop Pop! It's Trash Culture blog. He sends me stuff from time to time, and I return the favor from time to time. Let's dig in and see what he sent to me this time, shall we? 

First up, Brian and I try to help each other out as much as we can. Since he knows I don't frequent comic shops (there are none easily accessible in my area), and this Nebula MiniMate was a comic shop exclusive, I asked Brian if he would snag one for me if he could and save me the cost of going eBay-diving for it. As usual, Brian came through and really did me a solid. I am super appreciative, as this completed my GotG MiniMates collection.

My one complaint with this MiniMates line is that they made a duplicate Sakaar Trooper when they could have made the Collector, Korath, Corpsman Dey or even Nova Prime. There were several criminally overlooked characters that could have been packed in exclusively with Nebula. Oh well, at least the Sakaar Trooper is an army builder, so it works.

Also included was this View-MAster circa 1980-something, and some slides to view, starring none other than Toy Story, Knight Rider and the Muppets!!!

It would be weird if there were no collectors' cards included in a package from Brian, and he did NOT disappoint. I suspect very strongly that this Fright Flicks wax pack was hand-picked for me due to my absolute adoration of Pumpkinhead. I have not opened it. This is one of the wax packs that I will be keeping unopened and intact as an objet d'art.

I DID open the Marvel Universe Series II pack so I could see what characters I got. This series has always stood out in my mind due to some of the cards being illustrated beautifully by Arthur Adams. Thanos, Dr Doom, Speedball, and a battle between the Thing and the Hulk all have Mr. Adams's distinctive art on display.

Brian also knows of my weakness for Choose Your Own Adventure books. So he knew that Museum of the Living Dead, which is a "Plot-It-Yourself Horror Story" and Demons of the Deep which is a "Fighting Fantasy Gamebook" (Steve Jackson of Gurps and Munchkins fame???) would be right up my alley!

Also included were these issues of the (in my opinion) BEST Cloak and Dagger comic book series of all time: Strange Tales Featuring: Cloak & Dagger and Doctor Strange!!! This one even features Power Pack! Three more issues to put towards completing my run!

This Goodebumps-style book may not seem remarkable to you... but if you look closer you see there's just nothing right about this cover at all.

Gah, I bet it smells awful in there. 

Some of the absolute BEST and surprising items in the box were this Battle Beast, "Tarsier Tyrant" and this Monster in My Pocket, "Bigfoot". Both of these toy lines were ones I collected as a lad. Here you can see Tarsier Tyrant about to pimp-slap Bigfoot. 

He owes him money. 

But my absolute FAVORITE items above all else in the box were these three items right here. A 1988 issue of MAD magazine, featuring the California Raisins on the cover, the first California Raisins cassette "The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs," and a "it-just-occured-to-me-how-weird-this-is-as-an-adult" pin-on button of the California Raisins all climbing into a hot tub together, that I actually owned as a kid. I am a HUGE California Raisins fan. There are few properties that I have such strong and clearly remembered nostalgia for the way I do for the C.R.'s. As a kid, I was obsessed.

So that was the entire package sent to me by the Trash Man, and as usual, he knows what makes me geek out. I wanted to send a proper thank you out to him, for being such a good friend on top of the cool swag.

Be sure to listen to us, along with our buddies Miss M of the Diary of a Dorkette blog, and Jason Roberts of the Nerdy Life of Mine blog on our fledgling podcast Eclectic Mayhem. At this point we're only a few episodes in, but we make up for it with pure insanity.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight kids! I'll be back soon with some Geeky Goodwill Goodies, so until then, Happy Hunting!

A Package From Devin Cönnörs!!!

So I'm horribly overdue on a few things, including the contents of this post... which is a package I received from a fellow named Devin Cönnörs. Devin is a fellow geeky-thrift enthusiast who approached me online with the offer to swap packages. So we did just that! 

This of course took place right before the Holiday blitz last year, and I've had some trouble getting my butt in gear to report on everything that I'd been meaning to (I still have stuff from as far back as last FATHER'S DAY you guys...) so instead of me continuing to make lame excuses for the rest of this post let us just delve into the stuff he sent me, shall we? 

First up are these cassette tape soundtracks for The Karate Kid Part II and Beverly Hills Cop II. These are just awesome. As I mentioned more than once during my Halloween countdown last year, I have become mildly obsessed with collecting old cassette tapes. Soundtracks, novelty albums, and stuff I listened to back in highschool mostly.

One of the most amazing items included was this 45 record of Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough. I am a Goonies FREAK and a Cyndi Lauper fan from way back, so this thing made me show my true colors and do the truffle shuffle.

Here's a shot of the back, which includes the classic movie poster artwork, and a b-side recording of "What a Thrill".

This grinning guy is Brick BAzooka from 1998's "Small Soldiers". I was working as a Toy Department manager for Wal-Mart back when this movie was released, so I remember the HUGE toy blitz it was represented by. This one takes me waaaay back.

His name ain't "Bazooka" for nothing. Although I never understood how THIS was less freaky than anything the Gorgonites were capable of. I mean, the soldiers were after the monsters because they were freaks right? So how is this normal exactly?

One of my other absolute favorite items in the box was this stuffed chibi Chewbacca. He now resides in a place of pride on my Star Wars shelf.

Aso included were these awesome buttons and magnets. The Monster House button is lenticular, showing the house attacking the main characters. Then there's the fantastic Freddy Krueger button and the two awesome 8bit Zombie pins (the clawed Power Glove and pixellated zombie) ALL of which ended up on the interior ceiling of my car. The magnets are all made by Devin himself, using bottle caps, art clippings, and adhesive magnets. I think my absolute favorite one is Church from Pet Semetary, and the one that had me most confused was the Freddy from an advertisement for pencil grippers.... and then there's f**ing ROBO-COP.

In the toy department we have Lisa Simpson, Goofy, Luigi in a Mario Kart racer, and a Jack 'o Lantern. I love the Lisa figure, as its from the very first set of Simpsons Burger King kids' meal toys, released back in 1989 here in the US and 1990 in Australia. I already own the Marge Simpson from the same set, so now I just need Homer, Bart, and Maggie!

I have no idea what the toy on the left goes to. I know it has something to do with the Mandalorians (it has one of their symbols) from Star Wars, and I suspect due to the color scheme, it has specifically to do with Boba Fett... but I can't figure it out. I assumed at first it went to the Boba Fett Transformer, but I can't find an image of this piece included in that toy anywhere. Even better, IMO, is this wax pack of "Baby" trading cards!!!

Finally, we have these two Muppets Christmas ornaments, that were in fact included on our Christmas tree this past year! Kermie and Piggy are very welcome additions to our tree for sure! 

I can't thank Devin enough for the awesome items he included in this package! He obviously put a lot of thought into his selections, and I hope he enjoyed the stuff I sent off to him half as much. Be sure to visit his tumblr which he plans to start using to talk about items he's found.

I'll be back soon with more Geeky Goodwill Goodies... so until then, Happy Hunting!

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!