Where do I put all this stuff!

It all started in the early 80's. Too much crap, not enough space to put it. After realizing that my room wasn't going to transform into a storage warehouse, I studied in the art of carefully stowing away my stuff to the best of the rooms ability. I was quite the engineer. He-Man, Ghostbusters, and Batman toys all lived happily together.

I tried throwing fits as a kid but my parents never gave in to let me store too many of my toys outside of my room. It was an awesome form of discipline because now I am much more reformed in my storage qualms. I live in a small house now but love it. Games and collectibles are stacked everywhere just how I like it.

As I grew older my skills grew even better. In this picture I had both a good NES and SNES collection but the games were all kept in my cabinet. Old toys were carefully kept in collector cases and plastic storage boxes. The secret to being a collector is to know your limit. At this time in my life I have more than enough games/collectibles and everything fits in it's place.

After reading this book I realized I wasn't alone.  I definitely wasn't a hoarder and realized my carefully stacked games and books around my computer area were just fine. It resembled a lot of the great examples of maximizing small places, portrayed in the book above, "Tokyo: a certain style". I highly recommend the book as it shows you don't need a large place to live to enjoy your hobbies. I currently live in a 650 sq. ft. home with my wonderful wife and couldn't be happier.

As you can see the top of my Ms. Pac-Man cabinet houses a wide selection of collectibles. It works great and utilizes the space to the best of it's ability.  When you find a nerd in a small living space there is usually an expertly arranged collection of toys, games, books, records, etc. Hope you liked the post and thanks for reading!

The fun of Thrifting

Being a nerd and being a chronic thrift store shopper, or "thrifter" are usually two in the same. Although some trips only warrant a mediocre NES game, or a classic role playing book, you're retrieving another treasure to add to the pile nonetheless. Tonight was rather fruitful in many ways.  Whether it's the Super Mario Bros. Mushroom Tin my wife found me, or the complete 1977 GAMBLER board game I found, both have almost equal worth to me in their own way.

Some of the honorable mentions tonight include these 3 board games.  I found the other release of Terrace (with a hulking 10 lb board) and found that the boards were made in Lake Oswego, OR. Just minutes away from my old place of work. That one was only $2.99. You can't beat a brand new Lord of the Rings collectors edition checkers for less than seven dollars. It was only $2.99 for the Gambler Board game that ended up being complete and near perfect condition (no tears on any box corners)

Just look at those beautiful orbs of plastic.  Such an awesome game.  This 1992 Mensa edition mentions Star Trek TNG on the back of the box, rather than the front of the box on the 2nd release. Can't wait to use this as my main Terrace board now. It has the old Lake Oswego Oregon PO Box molded into the bottom of the board.

I am really excited about this one.  Horse racing! Lottery! Sweepstakes! Too many awesome things to mention. You can't beat the game pieces that resemble The Price is Right dollar signs. Here's a couple more shots of this beauty.

The icing on the cake of this thrift really came through in the electronics section. Not an  ex-rental. Not a beat to heck bottom of the closet charity piece. A pristine copy of Super Metroid for SNES, for much less than I was willing to pay for this gem. I've loved this game for years but have only beat it twice a long, long time ago.  Can't wait to get a new battery in there and revisit one of my favorite classics.  That's it for tonight folks. Good luck thrifting!

Board Games of my youth revisited

 

Everyone from the last 20-35 years has grown up primarily with video games being the main source for gaming fun. For me an almost equal part of my gaming life was gathered around a board game of some sort with a group of friends. Nothing could beat the sheer rivalry and pride we took when we would win a board game.  

Today I'm going to go over five of my favorites from my childhood. I've still yet to add a few of these to my collection, but the memories are definitely there after all these years.

5. Battle Ship (Classic Edition)

 We all remember this classic. I still love brewin' up a cup of coffee and playing this one with family or friends.  I think it's the sheer excitement of isolating your enemy's ships and eventually sinking the battleship.  Seems like the playing field with this one is always level with my friends and family to this day.  There's a lot of skill and a lot of chance involved with this one.  

The game has been published since the 30's in different paper and pencil versions. Counting these there have been 100's of different variations put out through the years. The one pictured above was the first clam-shell style released by Milton Bradly in 1967. I liked the "Electronic Talking..." flavor of the game in the 80's/90's, but I always have owned the classic version. The original isn't as gimmicky, and doesn't get on your nerves as much.  No matter what version you like, Battleship is a timeless classic that always deserves a mention.

4. Crossfire

 

  This game was the favorite of my friend Aaron and I back in the late 80's. Our lives at that time consisted of Nintendo (8-bit NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, visiting the neighborhood arcade and... Crossfire!!! In all actuality the game didn't always go as smooth as the commercial led you to believe. You had to know how to fix a jammed gun in mid battle and know how to shoot accurately.  Once mastered by a few friends the game was amazing.  I remember distinctly doing best 3 out of 5 on a regular basis. 

Fast forward to today and I can rarely convince anyone to play this. Although the cats really enjoy it, so I set it up for the day, just for fun every now and then.  One of those days was today. As I completed putting the board together I felt an instant sense of nostalgia and wished my buddy Aaron was still in town. My friends will usually play a few rounds if I have it ready to go, but it's not as easy these days to find a worthy Crossfire competitor. As you can see I'm diligently training my cat.


3. Zaxxon (MB board game)

This is just a brutal game.  Lots of battles through the years on this board. I generally played this with my best friend from elementary school. You control 2 ships through the board with a number of checkpoints that you have to shoot with your laser.  Eventually getting to Zaxxon who you have to shoot with both ships.  Pretty basic but the theme is what really mattered back then.

I was lucky enough to find this one complete a few years ago with all of the stickers intact.  I even have the old sticker paper that came with the game.  Nowadays I'll occasionally play this one with a friend and it's still just as fun as it was before. The thing about board games (and role playing games) is that it requires imagination to make it that much better. Playing the arcade to board game adaptations really transport me back to the 80's.

2. Terrace (Featured on Star Trek TNG!)

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 This game is outstanding in every way.  As a kid I played it in the early 90's with a friend who was obsessed with Star Trek in every way.  He mainly got it because it was on Star Trek but it turned out to be a great game. We would play for hours on end and never get bored of it.  We tried to invite other kids to play, but Terrace had a scourge on it for being a "nerdy Star Trek game".  Not even as generically nerdy as Dungeons and Dragons, or Magic Cards, Terrace had a following all it's own. 

I very recently found a complete boxed copy of the same game that I played as a kid. There have been a few released through the years in different colors. My wife quickly learned the game and beat me best 2 out of 3.  It still has the same simple fun that it did when I was a kid.  Rules are very similar to Chess, but movement is instead based on ascent/descent moves, rather than rank. Makes it fun for beginners, but adds the same type of skill set needed for chess when it comes to strategy. If you find this game get it. You won't regret it.  Credit to my wife for the nerdy picture :)

1. Fireball Island

Oh the greatness that is Fireball Island.  You have adventure, intrigue and greed all packaged into one flaming ball of action. For those who've never played, this is the quintessential board game of the late 1980's. I played this all the time with my friend Jon and it never got old. I think it was the art and the 3D board that really made it more than just a board game. I never got this game myself but definitely should have.

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Now you can expect to spend two-hundred dollars or more on this classic. The nice thing is all you need is all the cards and bigger game pieces to play. The marbles and even the small figures are easy to replace. An incomplete set still goes for about a hundred dollars though. I will probably never break down to pay this much for the game, but it's a sign I'm not the only one who really liked this one. I still hope each time I go thrifting that I'll come across a minty complete Fireball Island for only three or four bucks. Hope this post brought some memories.  I'm going to try and post on here more often.

*Bonus Round* - Pac-Man Card Game

I had to throw this one on the pile. Not necessarily a board game so I saved it for last. I first purchased this on a whim being a classic gaming fan. After counting all the cards to make sure it was complete, it only cost me two dollars. It turned out to be a very fun card game.  You just use number cards and picture cards in combination to score points. It has more than paid for itself since I've bought it and enjoy it almost as much as some of my favorite board games.  I'll have to get together with my buddy who has the Pac-Man board game and really make a day of it.

New Tron Legacy toys - Kevin Flynn's Light Cycle and Diecast Recognizer

On a whim the other night I thought to check the toy section of one of our local Target stores. To my surprise they already had a good selection of Tron Legacy toys to choose from. My favorites were Flynn's Light Cycle and the Recognizer.  They had the best design and really jumped out at me.  Only seeing one Recognizer and a few of Flynn's Light Cycle I quickly grabbed one of each.

They were completely out of the 3" Tron figures but I'm sure I'll fall victim to buying a few of those in the future. They Had Sam's Light Cycle, Clu's Light Cycle and a bunch of the bigger deluxe figures. They just didn't call out to me as much as the vehicles I chose.

From what I've seen of the other toys so far, Kevin Flynn's Light Cycle has impressed me the most.  I love the simple classic Tron inspired style and the white LED light is a nice addition. The Recognizer is nearly perfect in every way. For $3.99 I simply couldn't pass it up.  The only thing I would've liked is if the Light Cycle had sound. For the Recognizer there's really nothing to complain about for such a simple toy.

The main color scheme for Tron Legacy consists of  black, silver, white, blue and red.  I like how sleek everything looks but at the same time I'd love to see some solid bright colors.  Maybe some oranges and deep blues to kind of liven things up. All in all though this is a very promising line for an even more promising movie. I can't wait to see some of the series 2 toys.

TOMY really did a good job with the old Tron toys and I still own a handful of them loose.  The colors are great and the use of colored translucent plastic was really resourceful at the time of release.  Luckily for fans of the old line, the company Neca released the old line for promotion of the Tron 20th anniversary.  I was like a kid in a candy store with these and I purchased all of the figures and two of the light cycle sets. 

Excuse the grainy pic but I couldn't help but line these up together.  I was even able to snap a shot with the white LED going on the Light Cycle.  They don't have any problems getting along on my toy shelf and blend together nicely.  Well that end's my nerdy Tron toy post. I can't wait to see the Movie on Dec. 17th!

The Seeds - My favorite 60's garage band

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My love of this band started when my wife got me the first Nuggets box set as a gift about 10 years ago.  I heard their song "Pushin' Too Hard" and right then I was hooked. Check out a video of  them performing the song on TV here. They were featured on the classic late 60's sit-com "The Mothers-In-Law". I've listened to tons of their music through the years and have become a devoted Seeds fan.

I finally got some of their albums a few years ago and they have not disappointed. The first album is pure genious.  Nothing but raw 60's fuzz guitar meshed with growlin' organ and keyboard bass. The Seeds were the first band to notably use only keyboard bass. Daryl Hooper played the wild keys and he played like no one else.  He had his own brand of carnival style organ that drove The Seeds' songs to a musical manic state in a matter of minutes.

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In later years the lead singer, Sky Saxon , took a stab at bass guitar and tore it up. His true gift though was his snarling, raspy vocals that complimented the instrumentation perfectly.

When I first heard their second album, "A Web of Sound", I didn't think it could better. I bought the album on clear red vinyl and instantly fell in love.  some of the more notable tracks include: "Mr. Farmer", "Trip Maker" and "Up in Her Room".

If you're a fan of 60's rock/psych/garage you can't go wrong with The Seeds. Their 3rd effort, "Travel With Your Mind"  is nothing short of an opus. Lots of psychedelic layered masterpieces and poppy garage gems.

Even some of the later albums like "A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues" and "Future" are great in their own right.  Sky Saxon played through the years in many bands and really deserves more recognition in the rock world.  I have the 2004 album "Sky Saxon and the Seeds - Red Planet" and I play it as much as the early albums. Sky even did cameo in a Smashing Pumpkins video.  I was lucky enough to see Sky play at the 2007 Fuzz Fest in Portland, OR. It was amazing to see him play with Benjamin Starshine and his band backing him up.  I couldn't have been happier.  They played some early favorites and the experience was truly priceless. Sadly Sky passed away in June of 2009 but he and his legacy will be remembered. He left a stamp on this world that only he could leave.

From Left to Right: Daryl Hooper-Organ/Keyboards/Backing Vocals, Jan Savage - Guitar/Backing Vocals, Sky Saxon-Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar (uncredited on recordings), Rick Andridge-Drums

Well that completes my post on my favorite 60's garage band of all time - The Seeds!  Thanks for reading.

The Burning (1981) movie review

I watched this movie not expecting much more than a little nostalgia fix. It ended up being better than I expected and quite scary. The special effects provided by Tom Savini were pretty grizzly.  

It was great to see Jason Alexander in his first major film role as David, a witty kid who was trying eagerly to fit in. Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens also show up in this 80's horror classic.

The glue that holds the film together is the back story that it outlines early in the film. About 10 years have passed after the universally hated camp janitor, nicknamed "Cropsy", was burned severely in a prank gone wrong.  

He's out for revenge and doesn't have a problem taking it out on the same camp that nearly killed him years earlier. This creates an eerie build up to a new unsuspecting group of kids. They learn to know the story of Cropsy to only be legend and nothing more.

 The story progresses well and there doesn't seem to be any dry spots where the film lurches to a hault. Fisher Stevens is hilarious to see as "Woodstock".  He really looks as if he's only about 12 or 13 in this flick.  The character I related to the most was the camp nerd, Alfred, played by Brian Backer. He did a great job acting the part and you really had sympathy for the kid.

It follows a pretty standard camp horror film formula for most of the film but that's okay with me. Also since it's one of the earlier ones, it has some credibility. For me the early performances of some great actors to come gave me the real drive to watch this again.  If you're a horror fan, or even love films in a camp setting, check this one out. It won't let you down.  

*** 1/2 out of ***** for me.

Haha.  I've never seen Jason Alexander with so much hair.

A couple of my favorite He-Man toys

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Masters of the Universe - ROBOTO - Released in 1985

Out of all of my old Masters of the Universe toys I think Roboto has to be my favorite. When you moved his torso from side to side the gears would move inside his chest. His visor also moved up and down.  

This is the one toy that friends would always be jealous of. Luckily for them I wasn't afraid to share and let them bask in the awesomeness of Roboto.  

The 3 interchanging arms sealed the deal for being one of the most sought after MOTU toys of the 80's.  

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Here's the picture that appeared on the back of the action figure cards.

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Masters of the Universe - MULTI-BOT - Released in 1986

Multi-Bot was the figure that I always wanted but never owned.  Luckily my friend Aaron had him and we would occasionally trade toys for a week or so at a time.

If I ever come across one that is in decent shape I think I'll pick it up if the price is right.  The last few auctions I saw on eBay went for about $60. Until next time friends. There's many more posts to come.