Monday, July 30, 2012

Blog update! Be Back soon!

Been taking a break from the blog for a few days.  Recharging the battery.  Should be back at it soon!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Show Season Round 4: ROBCON!

This weekend was filled with friends and toys.  This is what all weekends should be made of.  I made my way up to the annual Robcon event that is held in Bristol TN.  This was my first time at the show and I had a lot of fun.

We got to the show on saturday morning about 8:00 (the show started at 9 so we were a bit behind.  we got there and started getting all of our out and ready to set up.  When we go and set up we always realize we have so much more that we think we have!  so we have to figure out how to get it ALL out on 3 different tables!  this time we worked up by using some new shelving so we could have some stuff set up off the tables and it seemed to work really well.

This time we had a lot of Masters of the Universe stuff and it went well.  You never know what people are going to be looking for so it is good to have a spattering!










The show was huge.  It was the biggest Robcon there has been and also the biggest show we have done! so it worked out to be nice.  We were at the back of the show so the rush of people took a little bit to work its way back to us, but when it did it was great.  People were enthusiastic about what we had.  Lots of vintage toys!  that is what we love so that is what we sale.  We had some new additions so the people who are familiar with us had a good time seeing our new stuff!  

It was great to look around the con what little I got to!  Every vendor had unique cool stuff!  It was a lot of fun to see the community wheeling and dealing!
 




I even managed to score some stuff at this show through buying and trading. I'll talk about that in an upcoming post!
 


Friday, July 20, 2012

Gearing up for round 4 of Show Season!

I'm heading toward Bristol TN today to go to Robcon this weekend!  I'll be there trying my hand at vending yet again.  I will have a full report next week to let everyone know what the show was like.

While I'm sharing my weekend plans what is every body else doing this weekend?

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Watching Movies in a Post Avengers World

The Dark Knight Rises, the final movie in the Batman trilogy comes out this weekend.  I am hearing rumblings of how great it is.  I'm sure it is.  This franchise has done some really good things in creating a different kind of super hero movie.  In a way the super hero aspect of the franchise is secondary, and it is really a noir movie.  Which isn't bad.

I have to say though I am not really anticipating this movie.  There are a few issues that cause this for me. Villains I just don't care about is the first.  Also I didn't think the last two movies were all the rage that other people thought they were. But most importantly it's all down hill after the Avengers!

All summer long I have fought with being ruined by the Avengers. I mean really what can compare to that.  I tried to break it down and figure out what it was.  I finally figured it out.  A few weeks ago I went to see Spiderman.  It was a good movie but there was a problem.  It was a problem that permeates most super hero movies for me.  They can not set up a sense of a super heroic world.  There is no indication that this is normal.  That the citizens of this world is used to super powers.  I had the same problem with Green Lantern.  In that movie there was no indication. . . BUT people did not react as if seeing a flying man strange.  I want there to be a sense that this isn't to strange.  The Avengers franchise is the only super hero franchise that has really done this for me.

It is a shame that Marvel is not able to do some of it's other franchises so that they can combine them, and have the X-men exist in the avengers universe.  I think it would make the whole thing work much better.  Actually I think having that cohesion in the movies works even better than it does in the comics.

there is a limit, but I think just making the illusion that this stuff exists in the world is all you need.  for instance , a Daily Bugle being swept in the wind that says something about spiderman.  Or a reference to Sentanals tracking down mutants.  Creating that cohesion is important.  

I guess I have went the long way round as to saying why I am not all that interested in The Dark Knight Rises.  I hope the movie is great, I hope it does well, but I question its ability to be anywhere near as good of a super hero as the avengers.  But of course, as I said, It's not really about being a super hero movie!  I suppose that is the thing to remember.    

What do you guys think?  Will you be able to enjoy the Dark Knight Rises . . . OR any movie this summer in a post Avenger world?

Monday, July 16, 2012

Music I didn't expect to hear! Fiona Apple

Today I'm going to talk about something a little different.  Back to my normal nerdyness tomorrow.  Friday night I found myself in a car heading to a Fiona Apple concert. . . 

OK let me give some back story.  My wife and our friends wanted to go so we went.  I have to save face somewhere. 

I have to say this was one of the most interesting concert experiences I have had.  the concert was at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.  The venue is simply amazing, and if you have never had the chance to go there you should.  It was one of the most comfortable concert settings I have ever been to.




There was a real anticipation in the air waiting for the the concert to start.  people were filing in and looking for their seats and chatting with those next to them.  Pretty normal stuff.  The opening act started.  The filing and chatting never stopped.  it was as if there was no one on stage.  I figured it was just the anticipation for the main acts and that it was just something I had forgotten about my concert going days. . . When Fiona Apple did take the stage (almost an hour after the show started) it never ceased.  I have to wonder why these people were even there.  They paid a fair sum of money to be there and they didn't even listen.

The people who were at this concert was an interesting part of it.  I am used to seeing concerts with hipsters and people where you have to ask why they are there, but this time it made a lot more sense.  It was all aging people like myself and my friends we were probably just below the mean age there.  The audience was mostly female but not completely.  The people who were not talking and were actually enjoying the concert, were having something akin to a religious experience.  there was a real connection to the lyrics to many of them.  On the far side of the auditorium there was a group who couldn't stay down, as if they were drawn to stand up and participate in every song.  I appreciate this.


The performance itself was odd.  When Fiona did come out she didn't speak to the audience at all.  no stories, no asides, nothing.  This was Odd.  when you compare her to someone like Ben Folds (who I think is comparable) there is a major difference.  Ben is a story teller and so is Fiona, but her stories stop with the songs perhaps she feels they speak for themselves.  Myself I would love some interaction, I feel like you pay to go to a concert to get more than the songs.  So that was upsetting.  










Of course I have to admit that when she was performing her songs they were wonderful.  she has a full vocal range which is evident in so many of her songs.  The emotion that she experiences on stage is evident as she wriggles and writhes around the stage like a tormented mental patient.  You get the idea that she is reliving the emotion she felt while she was writing the songs.  The performance was solid and something to behold.  

       


Thursday, July 12, 2012

The New Ninja Turtles are HERE!

As information begins to flow out of that mecca that is San Diago for the 2012 Comic Con other things are beginning to flow onto store shelves.

We first Heard Rumblings of a new Ninja Turtle line last year at comic con at a secret presentation where no pictures were allowed to be taken.  Then we got to see them at Toy Fair this year.  Actually they were probably the most talked about property at that show!

They are supposed to hit in August but Some Toys R Us stores are already putting them out. . . the store in Chattanooga is one of those stores, so I jumped out and picked a few out last night.  I have to say this is the first time since I was a kid that I just want to rip into this thing.  It is fantastic and I feel much worth the wait.  I have not been a huge fan for a while but this might make me come back to the fold.  these toys are fantastic and I think Playmates may have just came back into the toy fold with this line.

For now I only share this one pic with you but I will have more info on these figures in the upcoming days!  


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The League: Movies to make you cry!

This week the League has asked us to man up and talk about the movies that make us cry!  I've been laboring over this League post for three days now.  Not because I am too many to admit that I cry at movies, but instead, because I cry at so many movies.  Strangely I am what I like to call a happy crier.  I tend to not be moved by sad stuff in media, but when something happy or good happens, I get all choked up.  So weddings, unsuspected romances. . . you know all of the sappy things.  I usually hide my sobbing with a smirk and a laugh, the the wells of tears near the bottom of my eyes usually clues in my wife!  I suppose I am a hopeless romantic deep down . . . under the exterior that just likes movies with Lazer guns! 


That is typically how it happens.  But there are times when characters move you to do things that you normally wouldn't do.  Transformers is one of those movies.  The emotion in Optimus Prime's death scene is so intense.  Especially for a cartoon geared toward kids.  This was harsh and I can't even begin to remember what I thought of it as a kid.  Now, however I get a bit choked up.  This is one of the few cartoons that really pulls the raw emotion of a death scene.  Prime was so important to so many kids of the time so the emotion almost feel generational!      



The great thing about the movie is that I get a chance to have happy tears at the end as well.  as if out of the wind the voice of optimus prime calls out "Arise Rodimus Prime."  This part is also powerful and really pulls my typical hopeful tears!  There is a power and emotion in the hope of the future left in this scene that just makes me tear up!






Of course there are plenty of other movies that pull tears from me, such as Secret of the Sword, Princess bride.  Happy Movies!



Check out some other great bloggers who are discussing this as well.
Shezcrafti lost her self in the Never ending Story.

Green Plastic Squirt Gun  Remembers "the Boy Who Could Fly"

Brian mentions a movie that made me cry a few months back!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Collecting Nostalgia update!

As I mentioned yesterday, last weekend we (New Monster Productions) traveled a couple of hours north to shoot the next episode of Collecting Nostalgia.  We drove so we could showcase Brad and Stacy Rader.

We had a lot of fun in the museum like sanctum that is The Rader's house. Well. . . I say that. . . but it's not your typical museum.  It is a museum in that you can see things that you never get a chance to see. . . but it best part is you can actually play with them.  We all had a great time talking to the Raders and playing with their toys.  In the episode you will see some amazing displays and some amazing collections, and yes Battle Babies!


Here are a few pictures from the shoot. 







You can expect the episode in a little over a month from now (hopefully)

If you still don't know what collecting nostalgia is, you can check out here 



Monday, July 9, 2012

Battle Babies!

I have talked on this blog several times about my friend Brad and his Battle Babies but I have yet to really show you anything about that.  That changes now.

Last weekend I went to to video the latest episode of Collecting Nostalgia, and the subjects happened to be Brad and Stacy Rader!  So while I was there I picked up a battle baby that had caught my eye back at heroes con!  Sometimes things just speak to you and you don't really know why.  This was one of those times.

Battle babies are a kind of art toy.  They are a mash up of babies, animals and other toy parts.  you could find parts on there from just about any toy line you can think of.  Masters of the universe, GI Joe, Transformers, X-men, the list goes on and on!  There is no telling what you will find on one of these guys.  Old toys, New toys. . . you name it you can find it.  It really says a lot for Brad and his eye for detail.  He sees things  when he looks at these individual pieces of plastic that I can't see.  He see's a finished product instead of pieces.  His eye is really why these things are so awesome! You can hand him a baby a few guns and a dinosaur and within minutes he has something put together that looks like It was meant to be together.

Lets take a look at MY battle baby!


This guy caught my eye at heroes con.  With bits from GI Joe, and bits from MOTU and other toy lines this grasshopper looks menacing with it's sword wielding antenna, and its wings and, my favorite part the Gatling gun legs.  

If you inspect the toy you can see that brad has seamlessly cut bits out and replaced them with other bits.  It is unreal when you pick this thing up because it looks as though it was meant to be like that!  It is amazing what super clue and a knife can do!









The baby itself is also menacing.  I mean, how could a sword toting baby not be menacing! The detail on these things are really fantastic!  The love and attention that Brad puts into each of these creations is very obvious!  Each one is hand crafted and tells a story to some extent!       




Take a look at the Battle Babies on etsy.  There will be new additions to the store soon so keep an eye out and find the Battle Baby that you need to adopt.  These things are awesome!





Thursday, July 5, 2012

Music I love: Ben Folds!

When I was in high school I was into music.  I put a lot of the other things I loved on hold and thought that music was the one true direction.  I played music, went to concerts, spent all the money I could come by on more music.  That was an important part of my life.

Most of the things I listened to then are all part of the nostalgic pie that has made up that part of my life.  I still really like to listen to the music of that time of life, but it is little more than sound fodder to make me think back to those long forgotten days of jumping railroad tracks and buying food with the change people dropped in my backseat!  Most of it, at least.

There was one band/musician that I feel I have never lost touch with over these years and that is Ben folds (and the Ben Folds Five.)  I'll be cliche, his music was honest.  Sometimes it was zany and he told stories that were meaningful in some way.  He is a philosopher and an excellent musician and lyricist.  Every album he has put out over the last 20 years has had meaningful songs on it.

I talk about the man, but the band (the Ben folds Five) is also important.  They have not put an album out in 12 years but the albums they have put out are amazing.  The Harmonies and instrumentation is the perfect mesh that you don't hear that often.  Each part makes a whole.

Many of the songs from these albums make up the soundtrack to my formative years.  Even the B Sides.  Lots of them can take me to a certain point in my life that was very impotant, weather that is driving down the road of just listening in my room.  Very important!  

this is kind of old news now but the Ben Folds Five are putting a new album together and I am certain it will be fantastic.  They are allowing the album to be funded online.  I recommend checking out what they are putting together HERE.  In the mean time check out some of Ben Folds and the Ben Folds Five stuff  from the past!











Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Captain America on the 4th of July!

In honor of the 4th of July I figured I would take a look at a toy from one of my favorite toy lines!  Yes, I am looking at the Star Spangled avenger himself, Captain America, from Mattel's Secret Wars line.  I have talked about other figures from this line before and have mentioned how much I like it, so I'll see if I can just talk about the figure!

Captain America has the standard Secret Wars 5 points of articulation Hips, shoulders and neck.  These figures were made of slightly pliable PVC and the paint was not the best as it was common for the paint to wear on these figures.  Captain America's torso stripes were notorious to rub off, and mine is no different.  Only white left! 






You will notice that Captain America here has a shield.  This isn't his traditional Captain America shield.  Instead it is a "secret shield" that all of the figures came with.  The shield came with several double sided linticular inserts that would show "animated" scenes!




















To be so simple these figures hat a lot of playability.  These figures were exciting and colorful, and Captain America was no different.  Because he came with a shield (even though it was the secret shield) he had the appropriate accessories he needed.  

This is a figure, and a line that if you haven't gotten into you really should.  You can usually find these figures for good prices at shows and flea markets and even on ebay!  You should be able to find most of them for under $10.  So find some and add them to your collection!



Happy 4th of July!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

One Man's junk. . . Another's Nostalgia!

It's actually summer time but Brian over at Cool and Collected has been doing some spring cleaning and he has been showcasing some of the stuff he has had laying around over at his blog and letting people make offers on it.  In one of these posts something really caught my eye!

He had a Megavolt from Playmate's Darkwing Duck line that really took me back.  Readers of this blog are probably a little confused as to why a figure like this caught my eye . . . I'll get to that.  As soon as I saw that this was an item up for dibs I had to enquirer about it.  I did, and about 4 days later it was at my house along with some other interesting goodies that was packed in the box for me!

The box!

Megavolt with some of the incentives

one of the extras in the box!  I love these old wax packs, thanks brian

Megavolt!
Ok now for the story as to why I was so happy to get this figure.  I had this figure when I was young.  I loved Darkwing Duck and one of the reasons was because I loved Megavolt.  Don't know why, but I really liked the character, he was zany and he dealt with electricity.  The figure sparked, and I had never seen anything like that (I missed out on Blackstarr some how and didn't realize this was a feature of some of those figures until much later!)  It was odd that it came with any accessories though because he couldn't actually hold them. . . 

The figure became hard to find in stores after I had mine.  And a friend had been looking for it but instead got a new Star Trek figure (laforge) which was new on the shelves at about the same time and it was a cool figure too.  lots of accessories lots of stuff.  I liked it a lot too, and my friend convinced me to trade him for Megavolt, and I regretted it as soon as the deal was done.  Hind site is 20/20even when you are a kid and you JUST made the trade!
 
To be honest I hadn't thought about it a lot since I have been seriously collecting and such, but when I saw it at cool and collected I had to pick it up!  

So, Thanks Brian, I am glad to add Megavolt back to my collection!