Sonic The Hedgehog Trapper Keeper

I uncovered this official Sonic The Hedgehog Trapper Keeper at a local thrift store buried behind some old electronics. The price was right at $1.99 and now I own the fastest way to keep my doodles in order! This reminded me of my own personal Trapper Keeper experience as a kid.

I believe it was around 3rd grade when I received my first Trapper Keeper like product. It had Garfield on the front, It had a pencil pouch on the inside right next to the 3 ring binder and paper slots. The only issue was that this was not an official Trapper Keeper!

Kids can be cruel at a very young age and they can sniff out a knockoff from a mile away and then use that as ammunition for embarrassment! I love my Mom and as I started to explain this to her it was like I was the Fresh Prince caught in a verse of "Parents Just Don't Understand"! Luckily for me, this bootleg Trapper Keeper featured Garfield and Garfield could withstand the torment of not being an official Trapper Keeper! I loved that Garfield folder and used it for quite a few years until it started to break along the folds.

Decades later I finally became the owner of a true Trapper Keeper and I was very happy! I was always a Mario/Nintendo guy, but I do have a deep appreciation for Sonic and his many games that have graced my screens over the years.

I wonder why these school organizational items fell out of favor with the kids? They featured some of the coolest characters around and were very functional as they kept your homework crisp and your reports in ship-shape order! As a kid I couldn't wait for school to be over, but now I wish I could go back to those 80s grade school days! Thank you Sonic Trapper Keeper for helping me remember those good times! You truly do rock!

Oh and before you leave, here is a look at the inside of this modern marvel. ENJOY!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 6/28/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your Kangol, cut your hair in the fresh shaved style and slip on your Zips as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: Riff

Song: White Men Can't Jump

Album: White Men Can't Jump Soundtrack (Released 1992)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 90

Bonus Fun Fact: Riff formed as an R&B group in New Jersey and released 2 albums in the early 90s.

Comic Book Pick: 6/27/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...

BATMAN PRELUDE TO THE WEDDING: HARLEY VS JOKER #1

Harley Quinn knows a thing or two about dysfunctional relationships. When she hears that her old flame is trying to get in the way of a happy new life for one of her best friends, the Maid of Mischief tracks The Joker down to give him a piece of her mind - and maybe a few blows from her hammer, too.

(W) Tim Seeley (A) Sami Basri (CA) Rafael Albuquerque

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Marvel Annual 2017 Cards!

Oh man! I couldn't believe these when I spotted them at a local Dollar Tree store. Upper Deck Marvel Comics cards for $1...YES PLEASE! There are 4 cards per pack, which is standard for Dollar Tree card packs and the odds of grabbing an insert were pretty good! The insert sets are "In Memorium Cards" (1:10), "Rookie Hero Cards" (1:10) & "Comic Cover Cards" (1:1.25). I grabbed one pack just to see what was inside and I was not disappointed. Here is what was inside.

I got a Quicksilver, Slizzik & Jessica Jones base card. These pieces of cardboard are slices of laminated perfection! The artwork is very nice, the layout is solid and each card has silver foil stamping! I am a sucker for shiny things. Time to flip 'em over!

We have some nice cover artwork featuring each card specific character and a very short snippet of what happened to them in 2017. This set is sort of a yearbook for Marvel's characters. But the greatest thing about these cards is the Attributes meters! Who knew Jessica Jones has an intelligence level of 2! I do question the ranking of Quicksilver's speed at only a 5. Isn't he supposed to be the fastest mutant alive? I mean even Slizzik's speed rating is a 6! I call shenanigans on this one. Either way these rankings remind me of my favorite Marvel cards of all-time, Marvel Universe Series 3!

I did end up pulling one of the insert cards from this pack. I got a "Rookie Heroes" card of Ironheart! 

I will be picking up more of these cards from the Dollar Tree. I may not get the whole set, but the fun is in the chase! Take a look at some more of the cards in the unboxing video below!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 6/21/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your Gold Chain, cut your hair in the fresh shaved style and slip on your Nikes as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: Lost Boyz

Song: Renee

Album: Legal Drug Money (Released 1996)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 33

Bonus Fun Fact: A remix of this song was featured on the soundtrack to the Wayans brothers film "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood".

Comic Book Pick: 6/20/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...

BATMAN #49

"THE BEST MAN" part two! Now it's up to Catwoman to rescue her one true love. It's the Cat vs. the Clown in one exciting showdown that sets the stage for our giant anniversary issue-and the biggest union in comics!

(W) Tom King (A/CA) Mikel Janin

SRP: $2.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Ninja Turtle Ice Pops!

This past week I organized the second of four Cookouts that my job puts on as a fundraiser for our local American Cancer Society. Each year we raise approximately $5,000 for the cause, but this year I was looking for a way to earn some extra donations when my wife stumbled onto the Facebook page of a local woman who runs an ice cream truck! I checked out her page and saw she had done some previous ACS events and looked at her pictures. I saw this...

She had Ninja Turtles, Sonic The Hedgehog, Batman and Minions ice cream pops available! I immediately messaged her and we were able to have the ice cream truck show up for the latest Cookout and she agreed to donate a portion of what she made to the American Cancer Society!

I was so excited to indulge in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ice cream bar! I had not had one of these in decades! Mikey was cherry flavored sherbet with gumball eyes. Holding this really took me back to when I was a kid and my Dad would let us get some ice cream at the local general store. It was the same general store that was used as a filming location in the original Friday The 13th film!

More often than not myself and my brother would choose a Good Humor Fat Frog bar.

These things were amazing! They were made of green colored vanilla ice cream with candy eyes. I'm pretty sure they disappeared from freezers in the mid to late 80s. After that I would enjoy a Choco Taco, Bubble O'Bill, Flintstones Push Up or Strawberry Shortcake bar from the local ice cream truck.

So finally I was happy to have that feeling again of being a little kid in the summer holding an ice pop shaped like one of my favorite cartoon characters. On a side note the ice cream truck owner donated half of what she made to the American Cancer Society! Very generous of her! Now in honor of ice cream peddlers everywhere, let's take a look at a classic commercial! 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 6/14/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your Kangol, cut your hair in the fresh shaved style and slip on your Adidas as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: RUN DMC

Song: You Be Illin'

Album: Raising Hell (Released 1986)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 29

Bonus Fun Fact: "You Be Illin'" was the follow up single to the crossover mega hit "Walk This Way" featuring Aerosmith!

Comic Book Pick: 6/13/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...

MARVEL RISING ALPHA #1

This summer, SQUIRREL GIRL meets MS. MARVEL - for the very first time! When Doreen Green (also known as the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) volunteers as head counselor for an extracurricular computer programming class, little does she know that junior counselor Kamala Khan moonlights as crimefighting super hero Ms. Marvel! But this coding configuration is more than just ones and zeros when a mysterious new super villain shows her face! Will our heroes be able to save the day without blowing their secret identities? Join Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl (with some special guest appearances) as they learn what it truly takes to become the next generation of Marvel heroes!

(W) Devin Grayson (A) Georges Duarte (CA) Rian Gonzales

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

 

Power Player Super Joystick!

A long time ago (the early 2000s) in a galaxy far, far away (Orlando, FL) I discovered the Power Player Super Joystick & Power Gun at an ancient trading post (Flea Market). I spotted this boxed relic next to a demo screen where folks were playing the original Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt and Mappy Land! These were all games that I loved as a kid and my interest was sparked.

The back of the box confused me because of the PlayStation like graphics that were being advertised, but still I picked up the Power Player for somewhere around $15 and immediately took it back to our hotel and hooked it up to the TV. It was a revelation! In no time I was squashing Goombas and having duels with the bad guys from Wild Gunmen. It was glorious! The front of the box touted that the Power Player included 76,000 games! I didn't even know that many games existed. They just turned out to be 75,899 versions of Mario Bros. and then some other NES classics.

Speaking of the front of the box, I love that it includes a still from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace! There are no Star Wars games on this device and it jus baffles my mind why they would include this? Anyway, back to the actual game "system", it comes with 2 controllers, a light gun, AV cables and power cord. Let's take a look at those sweet looking controllers!

The N64 style controller is actually the system itself. All the games are housed inside this bad boy. The joystick on the controller serves no purpose as it is just glued on and can't be used during game play and it is crazy bulky since the AV cables and power cord connect to the top of the controller causing some balance issues while playing. It does have the option to use 4 AA batteries but...

The place where you are supposed to put the batteries can't hold 4 batteries! I tried to slam them in there, but when you try cramming the 4th battery in, it makes another battery pop out. The battery cartridge on the controller goes where you would put a memory card in an N64 controller and once I was able to jam the batteries in, but then the cartridge wouldn't fit back into the Power Player because it was bulging on the sides. So in short, the battery function is useless!

The Genesis style controller worked just fine. My only issues are that you can only use the controller as a second player and it made me crazy trying to figure out which buttons could be used when playing the games. Since all the games on the Power Player are old NES ROMs wouldn't it have made sense to make this a NES styled controller? But that seems to be the norm with this machine!

Power Gun works fine on old school TVs, but not at all on anything modern. Not too many issues here. When it does work it is actually pretty accurate.

I tried to get some screen shots of the actual game play, but sadly my Power Player no longer plays! It worked well out of the box, but over time it slowly became less and less dependable. For the price it wasn't a bad find, but there are many more affordable ways for you to get your classic NES game on these days that include a lot less frustration! For a demonstration check out the YouTube video by MN12BIRD below!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 6/7/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your FUBU Jeans, cut your hair in the fresh Dreadlock style and slip on your Pumas as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: A Tribe Called Quest

Song: Scenario

Album: The Low End Theory (Released 1992)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 57

Bonus Fun Fact: Scenario features the group "Leaders of the New School" which itself features rapper Busta Rhymes. This was one of his first breakout musical moments before going solo!

Comic Book Pick: 6/6/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...

Batman #48

"THE BEST MAN" part one! Batman and Catwoman decide it might be better to elope rather than go through some big, stodgy wedding ceremony, but no sooner do they put their marriage on the fast track than The Joker appears! And when The Joker kidnaps the Caped Crusader, will he give his old foe a piece of his mind or bash in his brains?

(W) Tom King (A/CA) Mikel Janin

SRP: $2.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com