August Movie Preview

Hooray. Let's do this again. (he said with excitement and eagerness)

 American Assassin

I LOVE Micheal Keaton....but this movie looks lame! Keaton could make it worth my while. I'll probably be checking this out at Redbox at the end of the year.

 It

I enjoyed the first movie. Tim Curry did a fantastic job.  This one looks good as well. Not sure if I'll be seeing it in theaters of not. That decision will be left up to the Mrs.

Kingman: The Golden Circle

LOVED the first movie. Surprisingly good. I rented it and was impressed. I can't wait to rent this one when it comes out on Redbox but seeing it in theaters? Bah! I can wait!

What other garbage comes out next month that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Another diamond found

After carefully combing back through past issues of my Thor collection, I found another one someone forgot to glean from it before they sold it to me. Thor #337 is the first appearance of Beta Ray Bill. I ridiculous looking alien who also possesses the power of Thor. I don't know why or how he sustained popularity but this book (without being graded) goes for around $30 online. Not bad!

I don't have the time to look up every individual issue in my collection but when I think back on them and see what took place, I start to wonder if it may be worth something. Not that I would sell any of them, I just like seeing.

90's Thor

Reading thru my Thor collection I made it into the 90's and wanted to share some hilarious photos:

 MC Hammer was big at the time so Thor's "slogan" for a lot of the comics in the day was "Hammer Time" Get it kids? Thor's into what's new and hot too! He's literally said this in every 4th or 5th comic I've read so far since the '91 era.

 Nuff said, classic line that was in EVERY comic back in the day. I remember ALL the DC super heroes (except Batman) used it. That includes, Super Boy, Robin and even Aquaman at one point. Good to know that tradition was the same in Marvel.

T2 had been out in theaters back then and it was obvious this writer loved the movie. On top of saying this (several times in 1991 comic run) Thor even mentions that he's seen Terminator 2 and liked the movie.

OK. WE GET IT. It was a good film. STOP quoting it in the comic!

But this next quote is my favorite....

Thor's never been scarier to me than right here.

You go get'em buddy....

Gift Ideas

Don't know what to get your loved ones as a gift? I've got a few ideas:

 I found a company that sells joke boxes that you give to your friends.

 They come empty but you can put their real gift inside.

 They have TONS to choose from. You can get them off Amazon's website.

 They put testimonials,instructions and even phony reviews all over the box to make it seem real.

I won't lie, I may get one or two of these for X-mas and see what people say!

Just thought I'd give you a little laugh to start your week!

War Eagle?

Well this is weird. For the first time in 2 years I'm actually going to be caring about the opening game of football. Now that the Mets have convinced me there's no such thing as baseball in 2017, my focus is all on Auburn's overhyped quarterback and our lofty ranking in the pre-season poll.

Yep, you heard me. Our quarterback isn't going to be as good as everyone's screaming. Why? Because he's never played in the SEC and he's about to learn the hard way what that means. Don't get me wrong, I hope Auburn kills it this year! (actually, I hope they just beat Bama) but I do think we won't be as good as everyone says. I bought in to the whole "over-hyped" QB bit before and it didn't work very well for us then. Why? Because we have receivers who can't catch the ball even when it's thrown right at them!

And last time I checked....they're still on our team. So it doesn't matter how good this kid's arm is, if we have no one to catch it then it's useless.

But I am hopeful of snatching some tickets later this season if they do well. They play ULM this year and I know someone on the team who can get me one if I want it. Holding out to see how the Tigers fare (and if I have availability) but we'll see!

End of a season

Alright Mets, you've convinced me to give up for the last month of the season.

You win. I want be watching you any more.

For the first time in 2 years I'm actually going to focus back on College Football.

See you next year. 

Amazon of the Wild

So here's some actual products I found on Amazon:

 Inflatable Tent

Forget building a pillow fort! This is how the kids "roll" in 2017!

Skull Gas Logs

I have to admit....this is pretty cool. If I owned a fire pit, I'd definitely order some of these for it. Click on the title to see for yourself.

Volcano microwave cleaner

The ONLY way to clean your microwave! (if you ask me)

But something tells me I won't be rushing in my order just yet.

Have a good weekend folks!

More Cereals from the past!

Now I'm on a nostalgia kick. Here's some cereals from my past!

 Waffelos

I love waffles. I begged Mom to buy this for us back in the day. It tasted like sugar coated vomit. Bad call Ripley, bad call. 

 Choco Crunch

Sweet Jeeba I LOVED this cereal as a kid! Don't know why they ever got rid of it because we'd make mom buy it for us every chance we got! I have no idea what a glob of cookie dough was doing on the cover but I sure miss this classic morning meal!

 Dunk-a-Balls

TOTALLY forgot about this one until I saw the pic. Wow! I remember thinking how cool this was and my disappointment when I discovered how awful they were. It was as if someone dunked their balls into the cereal before rolling it out on the shelves.
 

TMNT 

What kid didn't want this in the late 80's early 90's? Pizza shaped marshmallows?! Heck YES!!!! Mom never bought it for us though. She hated the Turtles and never let us collect the toys because it had the word "Mutant" in it. (no joke)

See ya later folks!

Wireless back in '89?!

Here's an ad that caught my attention as I read thru my comic collection that I bought last year. They made wireless nintendo controllers back in 89?!

That seems hard to believe, but here's an ad for them right here. I wonder why I never heard of this before. Never even saw them until this ad. Did anyone else know about this?!

K, I'm going back to reading now.

Hidden treasure

Looky what I found in my comic collection? The very first appearance of the New Warriors! I wasn't sure if this was the real deal or not until I checked online and saw this comic going for $30 online. But whoever culled through this collection before me took the next issue which has them on the cover with the words "Introducing the New Warriors" but that fool grabbed the wrong comic. It only goes for $15.

I hate knowing that someone picked through these taking what they thought were the "good issues" but I'm happy they were stupid enough to leave little nuggets of goodness like this one, in for me.

Cereal prizes from the past!

Time to see if anyone else remembers these awesome toys from cereal boxes back in the day!

 Throw this against a window and watch them slowly descend. Race them even! This were so fun to pull out of boxes, because it was so satisfying to throw them against glass and watch them tumble down. Classic!

When I saw this box I jumped. I had these! I remember they were a cheap ripoff of Transformers but I didn't care. I had the star trek looking one and thought it was the coolest thing ever!

MAN I miss these cereal box toys!!

Top 5 things of GenCon 2017

Now that the party is over, I wanted to talk about the Top 5 things I got excited about at this year's Gecon!

5) Shark Island

Don't know much about the game but from what I hear it's "Jaws" under a different title. Megan loves Sharks so I'm interested in this only only because she might want to play it.

4) Highlander: The Duel

After 20 years someone has finally picked up the rights to produce a Highlander game....but the person in charge may not know what he's doing. The Kickstarter arrives in mid-September and I for one am interested in checking it out, though from what I've seen so far it's not much else besides a simple card game. It's 2 players (strike 2) and the figures it comes with seem unnecessary to the game play.

My hat's off for SOMEBODY trying because I think someone could do really awesome things with this IP (I'm looking at you Gale Force Nine) but for now we're stuck with some nitwit who I'm hoping has a solid game in mind and not one that'll waste my time.

Either way, we'll find out net month!

3) Batman

From Monolith Games, this one look beautiful. The figures, the gameplay, EVERYTHING about this game is calling for my wallet to open up and hand them whatever money it takes to possess it. And have it they will come Feb 2018 when it break Kickstarter records (you heard it here first!)

2) Fireball Island

When I found out that they're re-making this classic game from my childhood and fell out of my chair! I can not WAIT for this re-make. Another game that will be taking my money in 2018!

1) Twilight Imperium 4th Edition

This already took my $150 and now I'm waiting by my mailbox like Charlie Brown around Valentine's Day, for it to come in. It won't be for another few months but oh man, do I want this game.

I LOVE the 3rd edition, it's one of my favorite games of all time!!! (2nd in the polls from 2016) This edition seems like it could be even better than the last! I hope to find out this year as my gaming group attempts to play this Saturday and then in December with the new edition. CANT WAIT!!!

Calexit (part 2)

So once again Cali is trying to succeed from the USA. I recall back to when Texas tried this and every newspaper made fun of them. Odd that you don't see them doing it now? This is futile, silly and stupid. It'll never happen.

By the way... I'm for it. I'm for all states succeeding and making it out on their own. Back to how we originally intended the United States to be. But it won't happen and the folks for Calexit will never learn their lesson it seems.

By the way...if each state DID succeed I'd probably move back to Mississippi since it's my favorite state. (sorry Louisiana!)

Ben Carson... the "white-wing nationalist"?!

This week, slightly insane Maxine Waters referred to Ben Carson (featured on the right) as....white? Supporting white ideas? By being a white-wing Nationalist?

As one who is in constant stitches over names SJW call others, I find this one extremely hilarious.

Gez to frag, the Republicans should only be described in one word "useless". Maxine is completely off the rails in this video.

Democrats have just as much clue as to what America wants than the Republicans. Any chance we can get a 3rd party to represent what the American people are asking for?

Climate change joke

Look who else doesn't believe in climate change anymore? The founder of the Weather Channel joined the ranks of common sense by stating he doesn't believe in Climate Change. Check out the article here.

Fun stuff!

A disrespect for history

This week's been full of news about confederate monuments and what they stand for, so being a history major (with a focus on the War Between the States) I've decided to throw my 2 cents in about the whole ordeal.

I'm shocked and disappointed over the amount of stupidity that's within or country when it comes to history. It seems more and more evident that 98% of Americans have no clue when it comes to the subject.

So the South for for slavery huh? Please tell me how that is true when only 6% of the population in the south owned slaves? Was everyone fighting for the rich folks? My ancestor certainly wasn't. 

An excellent book (available on Amazon) that everyone should familiarize themselves with it the Kennedy brothers book "The South Was Right" which examines the REAL reason the South took arms against the North in the first place.

For years I've been told how Rap Music and Video Games are responsible for violence in America. Now I'm being told a flag is responsible. What. Ever. The ignorant people within the KKK who wave that flag have no knowledge of it's prior history either. They disrespect the foundation of what it stood for.

Wanna know what flag flew on top of those slave ships when they came to America?

It was ours. The US flag. Now let's see who all wants to ban it from flying in our cemeteries and places of government.

Ignorance of one's history leads to ignorant people doing ignorant things. Stop listening to what others are saying and study the subject yourself. You'll find the truth differs vastly.

Vacation wish list

I'm currently finishing up a vacation right now but it's got me thinking where else I would like to go this year. (but probably won't)

4) Phoenix, AZ

As much time as I spent there working with Chase last year you'd like I wouldn't want to go back. The only problem is....I made a lot of friends out there that I miss seeing. It's a fun place, with lots to do and if I ever get the chance to go back out there, I'd jump on it in a second!

3) Las Vegas, NV

The more I hear about this place the more interesting it becomes. I think it'd be fun to see once maybe. It's also not far from Phoenix which makes me believe I could kill two birds with one stone here and double up on this trip.....tempting....

2) Disney World

As much as it pains me to admit it, I want to go back. Especially before the 2019 season when Star Wars Land will be done and they'll be NO END to the enormous crowds that are sure to follow. One last trip before that insanity occurs would be well worth it in my opinion.

1) BGG Con

Good gravy I want to go to the Con in November so bad now after experiencing it last May. I'm hooked on this place! The folks are nice, the board game collection is jaw-dropping and the fun never ends! Any of these places would be great to visit, hopefully I'll get to one of them before the end of the year.

Have a good weekend folks!

Meatloaf circa 1987

While continuing my romp thru old comics from the 80's I came across this bazaar ad featuring Meatloaf and the Marvel Superheros. I never even knew the name Meatloaf until the early 90's. To see he had his own "mini-comic ad" cracks me up.

I'm telling you, I love the ads more than the actual comics I'm reading!

Blast from the 80's Past!

Remember these? My buddy had them and I thought the were the coolest things ever! Imagine hitting thin air and pumping out electronic drum beats with every swish?!

I love how the box says "No drums needed" Yeah, like you couldn't gather that from the box.

Last man standing

When I first came to Chase there were 9 trainers that worked in my department. As the years have gone by that number has slowly whittled down to 2. The main reason was because the call center we had in town closed and we lost 3 trainers right there and were down to 6.

2 trainers transferred to take up other roles in the company and 1 retired. Leaving 3. Then a few years back one passed away, leaving myself and one other as the sole trainers for the site. This past July, the other trainer transferred out to Dallas making me the last man standing from our original team.

It's an odd feeling for me. I didn't really accomplish anything so to speak, I just outlasted all the others. I feel little rewarded by this though it only means more work for me overall. I don't think my job is in Jeopardy, in fact it's quite the opposite! This means my job is the MOST secure since I'm the only one left to do it.

I love my job and won't miss the other trainer at all. If anything, this occurrence further solidifies my happiness at work. 

....Now if only there was a million dollar prize for this like there was in Survivor....

Carded at 40

So I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago and had picked up some Redd's Apple for Megan. The guy at the counter asked for my ID.

At first I didn't know what for. I looked at him confused thinking "What on earth would you need that for?!" He asked again, thinking I didn't hear him the first time, that's when I realized he was carding my for the alcohol.

I laughed because it'd been ages since anyone has asked me that. True I don't but much alcohol but the fact I'd forgotten about getting carded made me laugh. He was a little embarrassed afterwards when he discovered how old I truly was.

Guess I should feel good about keeping me youthful appearance but man was I confused!

Have a good day folks!

More old ads

While continuing to read through old comics I came across this ad and had to laugh. HA! Wow! Look at the graphics in that game? Now THAT'S Star Wars!!

I like the look on that guy's face. Heck! Put me in shades and it looks kinda like me even! Funny to think how easily impressed we were with video game graphics back then wasn't it?

Have a good weekend folks!

Vintage Boardgame I can't pull the trigger on.

As I said yesterday, I love vintage board games. Here's a few I've had my eye on for a while but never really felt like getting. (and why)

 The Bigfoot Game

From the UK hails a game where you play hikers trying to get up a mountain and avoid getting hit by a boulder that Bigfoot kicks down at you. Yeah....weird. But that's why I was interested in it. But with shipping from the UK so high I don't think the overall price would justify adding it into my collection.

 Where's the Beef? Board Game

Yep. They made one. In the game, you play the old lady from the commercial, running around Wendy's (or a fast food place designed to look like one) looking for (you guessed it) the BEEF! Find all beef tokens, make it back to the front of the store and test your memory to reveal them all to win the game! The game also has tokens in it that let you switch 2 tokens which makes the game a little tougher.

Seeing as how I'm all about something this insane I never have had the itch to buy a copy. I see them floating around online all the time but I just can't help but think "What if the cardboard holding the beef gets bent?" Then the game is essentially useless from that point on. Again, I LOVE the concept and who knows, one day I may very well add it to my collection. But for now and stays on this list.

 Dine-n-Dash

Another game from the UK where you play waiters, rolling dice ad trying to get as many orders on the table before the salt shaker shaped timer runs out. I love the theme and the inventiveness of the game. But again, it looks like it would get old quick and shipping from the UK, well, you know.  

 Curse of the Idol

Look at this game!! Why wouldn't you want it?! Seeing as I get every "adventure" themed kids game from my childhood you'd imagine this jewel would be a perfect fit for my shelf! Unfortunately this game has a lot of faults. According to another reviewer, the game is slow and tedious with many broken rules. It looks nice, but simply not for me.

Nightmare on Elm Street Board game

I came close to winning this on Ebay for cheap a while back. Now the thing goes for almost a hundred bucks, which is $85 more than I care to pay for. Victims are trying to run away from Freddy and be the last to survive. Not a really happy theme but when you name a board game after a horror movie, what do you expect?