Randomly Received: A Package from "Dave"!

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 17th, 2014

So back in May of last year I was contacted by a gentleman named "Dave" via e-mail. It was all very clandestine and mysterious... but what it boiled down to was that he wanted to sort of set up a "Toy Karma" trading system. So he'd send me a bit of stuff and I'd send a bit of stuff back. I'm still working on my bit of stuff (there's a handful of stuff he's asked me to keep an eye out for and I am diligently doing so (Not sure if I ever sent Dave his package of stuff, to be honest... Dave... Dave? Did I send you your stuff?)). Dave doesn't have a blog of his own so he asked that I keep the details on him light, personally, but I definitely plan to show off the great stuff he sent me this past November:

Honestly, when Dave contacted me to let me know he's sent out the package, I had forgotten about our agreement. So it was with great curiosity and profound excitement that I tore open the box. As you can see from the picture above, it was an eclectic mix... but not one so hard to figure out. Dave obviously paid close attention to the things I've featured over on the Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks blog, such as Sesame Street stuff, McDonald's toys, and various other sundry items. 

First up was this AWESOME advert for the Sesame Street movie, Follow That Bird! It looks like it may have come from a press junket or maybe just something handed out an movie theaters to get people jazzed about the film? I don't know but it is awesome. I love little pieces of promotional history like this that remind you of a time when films that NOW have been around for ages were still something "COMING SOON". 

Two particularly exciting items were this Ewok PEZ dispenser and a LEGO Batman McDonald's Happy Meal toy! I'm a big Star Wars OT fan, and PEZ enthusiast... so Wicket here is a welcome addition. And LEGO Batman is absolutely one of my favorite games of ALL time. LEGO Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter... pretty much ANYTHING LEGO is my favorite game of all time.  But Batman ESPECIALLY. This was VERY exciting for me. I'm... not really a gamer.

Here is an assortment of mini-figs that Dave tossed into the mix as well, knowing that I ADORE mini-figs. I think my absolute favorites of the bunch are the bendy Ronald McDonald, the Adventure Time BMO figure, and the absolutely AWESOME washing-machine/robot figure in the middle there, who, when rolled back and forth, agitates the teddy bear inside it. I was also particularly excited to add the Flash's ring to my collection of DCU rings (even though it was technically just a Lantern Corps ring collection before now).

Next up, this Ghostbusters mini-book, right out of an 80's Scholastic book order. (I have no idea if that's where it came from, but that's all it makes me think of) this went up in a place of honor on my Ghostbusters' shelf. 

Then there's this 6 hour-long DVD of "Old School" highlights from Sesame Street years 1979-1984, which would actually account for a pretty large chunk of my actual viewing years as a child. I haven't popped this in yet, but I can't wait to sit down and watch it with my smallest boy, who is my one true Sesame Street convert out of my three kids. 

And finally, I have the first volume of the Sesame Street Treasury. This is a later version of the Sesame Street Library, both of which were sold serialized in supermarkets. Since there were so many reprinted stories from the "Library" books in the "Treasury" books, I've never taken the time to track them all down... but after looking through this first book, I may just need to change my position. 

Well, that's it folks! I can't thank Dave enough for the great goodies, and I can't wait to get a package together and off into the mail for him. I have a HUGE BACK-LOG of exciting stuff that has been sent to me from fellow bloggers so I'm going to be focusing on that for a little while here on RRRG... but soon enough I'll be posting some other stuff in other... more random areas that I'm pretty excited about as well! So keep your eyes peeled here dear readers! 

Random Reads: Star Wars Books!

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 February 19th, 2014.

A real blink-and-you'll-miss-it post tonight kids! Here's a handful of Star Wars books I've picked up secondhand:

Here are a couple of highly educational books starring C-3PO and R2-D2. I always find it exceptionally weird when they use fictional characters from other galaxies to teach kids about things from the here-and-now. I mean, I get that they're using characters that appeal to kids... and in a backwards sort of way it does make sense that the droids from Star Wars would be the experts on both robotics and space travel... but they seem a little over-qualified right? Like Earth robotics and space travel both seem a little beneath them when you compare them to protocol droids and hyper-drives. Both are a pretty fun flip-through however, as the ideas behind both robotics and space have come pretty far since these books were put out. 

Next, this pair of novels I picked up at Scottie's Books. I picked these both up for half the cover price (which was originally 1.95). I've never been a huge fan of the ideas behind the "expanded universe" for Star Wars, and these two novels make the second time I've really gone outside of my comfort zone and picked up books based on the original trilogy. They look goofy enough to enjoy, and the price was right, so I figured, "why not?"

Finally, we have a book that I almost didn't buy: Star Wars A More Wretched Hive: The Mos Eisley Cantina. At first glance I almost just dismissed this as a part of the drek that came out around the re-release of the (remastered) Original Trilogy in the late 90's. And in fact, this one is from 1997 and features a few of the "improvements" that George Lucas shoe-horned into the film. But then I noticed two things: 1) It's about Mos Eisley, which is quite possibly one of the absolute best things about the original Star Wars (even with the alterations). and 2) IT IS A SCRATCH AND SNIFF BOOK. And boy it does NOT disappoint. If you've ever wondered what a wookie's "strong, swampy odor" is like, or what the "sharp electrical scent" of a lightsaber might smell like right after it slices off Ponda Baba's arm, well then this book is for you! Also included? The general odor of the Cantina from outside, a frothy fruit beverage from the bar' "The only pleasant smell in the whole place!", Greedo's breath (!), the exhaust of THE one-and-only Millenium Falcon, and of course, Jabba the Hutt's morbidly-obese-shut-in-corpse-from-SE7EN body odor. 

Gosh, next to that I have very little to say about the kid's book version of the Ewok's complete ruination of the final film. (Actually, I'm not an Ewok hater by an means. I was totally on the Wickett bandwagon as a kid.) Ummm... it was nice? Both of these books ran me .99 cents.