Wrapping Up Christmas 2022

Now that I am a parent Christmas is mostly all about making the kids happy and helping Santa get them the toys that were on their list. There is nothing like seeing their little faces light up on that special December morning...even if it's at 4am. I guess that's karma, but every year I still look forward to unwrapping my own gifts from my kids & wife. They always do a great job of getting me some sweet presents and this year they did not disappoint. I know it's a little late but let's look behind the wrapping paper and see what goodies were under the tree for me in 2022!

"The Last Folk Hero" and packs of sports cards

I have been a huge fan of Bo Jackson since I opened a pack of 1987 Topps baseball cards and found out that I had scored his "Future Stars" card. You know the one I'm talking about. The one with the sweet woodgrain border featuring Bo in the outfield. Once I found out this book was released a few months ago, I had to read it. I have read the great book "Bo Knows Bo", so I am interested in seeing how this book advances the story and digs into the folk hero that is Mr. Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson. In addition to this book, my wife picked me up a few packs of baseball and football cards. My favorite out of the packs had to be the Wild Card Garrett Wilson Rookie Card. He has been fantastic for my NY Jets this year and I hope to see his continued success in years to come.

DC League of Super-Pets and The Goldbergs Season 5 DVDs

Myself and my wife took our kids to see the DC Super-Pets movie back when it was released in theaters in July 2022. We all enjoyed the movie, and I can't wait to re-watch this one at home with the fam. The Goldbergs is one of the rare television programs that the whole family will sit down and watch. The first few seasons were the best and, in my opinion, captured what it was like growing up in the 80's. My kids chuckle at the jokes, and it gives them the opportunity to ask me and my wife about the things that happened during the best decade ever!

Masters of the Universe Mad Libs and Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid Switch game

Oh man, does my family enjoy Mad Libs! I'm sure everyone reading this has taken part in some crazy Mad Lib sessions and we all know how much fun they can be. The fact that this version is Masters of the Universe related makes it all the more fantastic. We've already done a few and if you are a MOTU fan, I highly suggest picking this up and taking part in the most powerful Mad Libs in the Universe! I was in my teens when the Power Rangers became a huge phenomenon, but my younger brother was big into the Rangers, so I have some fond memories of playing in some epic battles with him and his action figures. I had heard this game was pretty great from some hardcore Power Rangers fans at work and when I saw it at Walmart for under $20, I picked it up. I gotta say, I played it last night and it is so much fun! There are so many characters to choose from and the story mode is actually pretty dark. Power Rangers fans need to give this game a try!!

Hickory Farms Beef & Spicy boxed set

My wife picks me up one of these boxes of meat & cheese every year for Christmas. I don't know about you, but I love getting snack foods on Christmas. My Dad used to stuff our stocking with everything from Slim Jims to microwaveable Pork Rinds and that's where my love for salty snacks on December 25th started. I am so glad that my wife continues this tradition for me every year.

World's Smallest Blind Box figure

I was really surprised to find this in my stocking this year. I had never seen these blind boxes in stores, but my wife did and thought I would appreciate them. She was right! These blind boxes give you the chance to score a micro figure of either G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, Transformers or Masters of the Universe figures. Of course, I was hoping for a Turtle, but I was not disappointed with the Battle Cat that I received! These are no cheap Dollar Tree figures. These are fantastically sculpted; have points of articulation and you can even remove Battle Cat's armor! As a bonus, each blind box contains a micro comic and a magnifier so you can read the books. If I see any more of these in the wild, you better believe I'll be picking them up!

NECA Black & White Shredder figure

I received the NECA set of 4 Black & White Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles years ago as a birthday gift from my wife, so when I saw that NECA was releasing a Black & White Shredder to compliment those previous TMNT figures, I immediately added it to my "Want" list! Unfortunately, NECA made getting this figure a bit of a hassle. These were part of the "AutoT" series of figures. In order to get your physical Shredder, you needed to go to Walmart, find the AutoT package, buy the code, go to a website, enter the code and then wait weeks for NECA to send you your figure. Pretty convoluted, but well worth the wait. This figure is amazing, and I was happy to finally receive it on Christmas morning. One cool thing about the AutoT experience is the fact that everyone has the chance to receive an autograph from TMNT co-creator, Kevin Eastman. I did not get one of these randomly packed autographs, but hey, at least there was a chance.

Playmates Toon Turtles 4-Pack

I never had these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures when they were first released back in the 80's. By that point I had already amassed several variations of each Turtle, so getting these was not high on my priority list. Man did I miss out! I love the action features on these figures and the retro packaging really takes me back to perusing the toy aisle at our local department store, Toys R' Us, Child World or KB Toy store. The commercial for these toys really shows how cool they actually are! You can view that below.

It was another great Christmas filled with family, fun and of course presents. I hope you all had an AWESOME holiday and look forward to the new year. Thanks for reading!

My Personal History of Non-Sports Collecting

The year was 1987 and my favorite baseball team, the NY Mets, were fresh off a sensational World Series winning season and my Dad saw my brother and my interest peak in the sport. He decided a good way to get us acquainted with baseball and the players would be to buy us some packs of 1987 Topps cards. 

You know the set, the one one with the fantastic wood grain boarders. Well, little did he know that this decision would kick start my love for collecting cards. Every time we would stop by a convenience store, gas station or drug store, I would ask for a new pack of cards and the majority of the time my Dad would cave. It would be years later when I discovered the joys of collecting basketball cards with the 1990-1991 NBA Hoops set.

This newfound love of basketball kind of pushed baseball to the side and I started playing organized basketball and it became my favorite sport. My team won two championships and lost only 1 game in 3 years, I was even named to the all-tournament team as the best all-around "Power Forward"! Those were great times and even though I was big into sports at the time, another interest started to creep in and it all started in 1992 with the...

DEATH OF SUPERMAN! Yes, I had a few comics scattered around the house and yes, I did have a small collection of Secret Wars action figures, but it wasn't until this momentous occasion that I really saw what impact comic books could have on people and that story really began my comic collecting obsession. I had to read all the Superman books! Superman led to Batman, Batman led to Spider-Man, Spider-Man led to X-Men and not only did these comics lead to discussions on the play ground, but it also brought together kids who had never really hung out before. This was a type of pop culture that it seemed everyone had an opinion on and my mind was blown when during one of those meetings of the minds, one of my buddies whipped out his collection of Marvel Universe trading cards!

Two of my favorite hobbies were now together in one amazing package! They were cards, but they featured stats and bios of some of the greatest superheroes of the time! Just like my Dad when he bought us those 1987 Topps packs, these cards introduced me to so many fantastic creations that I had never heard of before and I wanted to know more which led to a deeper love of the comic genre.

I became a big collector of these cards when Marvel Universe Series 3 cards came out and I tried to collect the whole set. I had some of the holograms and came close, but ended up a few cards short. After series 4 of the Marvel Universe cards was released, my interest in collecting them kind of waned and I would pick up a few packs every now and then, but I wasn't as big of a comic card collector as I had been.

I've picked up a few cards recently, but my main focus is on the actual comics nowadays, but if the price is right I won't hesitate to buy a box of these magnificent relics from the era of the comic boom in the 90's. I've brought some of these boxes home for my kids to enjoy and to share with them that experience of discovering new characters via the art on these mini masterpieces and of course I am always happy to share my knowledge of comic book characters with my children. It's a nice little bonding experience for us that I hope they will remember for years to come.

Collecting these non-sports cards was a fairly big part of my childhood and although I am not into the hobby as much as when I was younger it still feels good to look through a stack of these cardboard wonders and relive that time when these characters were new to me.

Fave Easter Basket Goodies!

Back in the 80's & 90's my family spent the majority of our Easter/Spring breaks visiting our Grandpa in Tennessee. I have fond memories of visiting him, playing with our G.I. Joe action figures on his front porch with my brother and having him question any and all music videos that popped up on MTV. The one he questioned the most was "U Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer. I'm sure he was still wondering what couldn't be touched right up until the day he passed away. He would also have us do his yard work while we were there and I vividly remember him having me mow his lawn. It was horrible! He lived on what seemed like the tip of a mountain and the majority of my time was spent pushing his mower up this giant hill and then trying not to lose grip of it as I went back down. Ah, memories! Anyway, those few Easter vacations that we did spend at home in NJ were fantastic and the Easter Bunny really spoiled us kids with some great items in our basket. Now I could talk at length about my favorite candies that were stuffed inside, but Mr. Bunny also brought us some cool little items that were not edible. I'd like to share a few of my faves with you right now.

G.I. Joe Sunglasses

I know I have talked about these before, so I will just do a quick recap of why these are so memorable. One year me and my brother found a pair of G.I. Joe Sunglasses in our Easter Baskets. We thought we were as cool as Sergeant Slaughter in those babies! Unfortunately for me that feeling of unbridled awesomeness and badassery would end all too soon! I foolishly took my G.I. Joe Sunglasses to school and they got lost somewhere? A few days later a kid by the name of Mikey came to school wearing the very same glasses I had. Naturally I thought he stole mine and we got into a fight. Parents were brought in and it turned out Mikey's parents had bought them for him! The mystery of the missing G.I. Joe Sunglasses was never solved, but I think my brother had something to do with it? 

Stationary Robot

I tried and tried, but could not find a photo or any info on this item anywhere on the internets, which led to my crude drawing based solely on an almost 40 year old memory. But let me tell you, this thing was cool! It came out in the late 80's/early 90's and this little robot had a built in pencil sharpener in his feet, had a pencil keeper, hidden compartment in his back for a small note pad and other hidden stationary goodies that may or may not have included an area filled with crayons. This guy sat on my desk for years and helped me complete countless pages of homework. If anyone can dig up any info on this guy, I would greatly appreciate it!

Ninja Turtles Coloring Book

Besides my "Secret Wars" sticker/coloring book, this TMNT coloring book is my most favorite coloring book of all-time. Coloring is a timeless piece of joy for almost every child growing up in America. Heck, my kids still enjoy coloring and so do I. It was great to finally be able to add my own creative flair to my favorite foursome of green teens and let me tell you, some weird colored Ninja Turtles did end up in my book. I wonder if I can find that at my Mom's house? She probably threw it out!

MLB Coins

This is sort of a newer addition to my collection. My wife actually bought me one of those discount baseball card cubes that you find at Target. The cool thing about the cube she picked up for me was that not only did it contain a bunch of baseball cards from the 80's & 90's, but it also contained a bunch of these Topps coins! I had some of these when I was younger, but the Bo Jackson coin eluded me until my wife got me that cube on Easter a few years ago.

Roll of Sketch Paper

This item is one of the least eye catching, but it is probably the one I had the most fun with! It was a huge roll of paper for drawing! You better believe I drew incredible, action packed scenes filled with Ghostbusters battling ghouls and Ninja Turtles taking on Foot Soldiers. After I was done drawing & coloring, I would tear my newly fresh artwork off the roll and tape it to my wall for all visitors to my room to admire.

There it is! A few of my favorite Easter basket stuffers from the Easter Bunny. Do you have a favorite item that you received as a kid on Easter or maybe a favorite candy that you always wanted in your basket? Let us know in the comments below & HAPPY EASTER!

Non-Sports Card Showcase #1

I have loved collecting cards since I was 6 years old. Recently it's been a bit of a hassle keeping up with the hobby by attempting to actually locate products or seeing the huge prices secondary sellers are trying to get. Regardless, I still enjoy opening a fresh pack of cards whether it be baseball, basketball or Garbage Pail Kids! Recently I was sitting in my basement with my kids going through some of my collection and I realized that I have some pretty cool non-sports cards. Today, I'd like to share a few of those cards with you. Let's begin!

2005 Topps #255

In the 2005 Topps basketball series you would find these "Rookie" cards of celebrities. Some of the celebs included were Shannon Elizabeth, Carmen Electra and Jay-Z. Not sure why these folks were included in several Topps sets that year, but at least I now own a unique card of one of the dopest MCs of all-time!

1997 Sports Time Playboy #P

In the 90's I was a teenager, therefore I was a big Jenny McCarthy fan. I had her posters on my wall, watched "Singled Out" on MTV and also had a few of her *ahem* magazine appearances under my bed. I found this card on ebay for $1 and it reminded me of those early days of my youth. I have never seen any other cards from this set and the only Playboy card in my collection is this promo card...for nostalgia reasons of course.

2018 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #34

My kids and I are big fans of the American Ninja Warrior show on NBC. My kids even went to a "Ninja" gym for a few years, so when the opportunity arose for me to take my kids to meet one of their idols Jessie Graff...we took that opportunity! My work was sponsoring a speaking engagement featuring Jessie Graff and former NFL player/Ninja Warrior host Akbar Gbajabiamila and we were invited to a VIP meet and greet with them. I bought these cards immediately so my kids could get them autographed. We all had an amazing time and Jessie took about 20 minutes of her time to sit and talk with my kids before signing their cards and taking some photos. It was fantastic and they still talk about the experience to this day!

1990 TMNT Soundtrack Sticker

Anyone who was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan in the early 90's knows what this is. Every copy of the TMNT Movie soundtrack included one of these stickers. My original sticker that was in the cassette tape me and my brother bought ended up in a sticker book somewhere. Luckily when I recently purchased a CD copy of the TMNT Movie soundtrack, the sticker was still inside! I slipped it into a top loader case at it remains there for me to take out and admire from time to time.

Bo Jackson - No Caine

Okay, this one is kind of a cheat since it includes Bo Jackson, but it is so odd that I had to include it here! Some people have told me this was handed out at ball games back in the 80's, others told me it was a poster of this card that was handed out and this was a bootleg card of that poster that was made to capitalize on Bo Jackson's popularity. I don't know the origins of this card and honestly I don't care. It's an odd piece to have in my Bo collection that teaches us all an important lesson...TURN YOUR BACK ON CRACK! Thanks for reading! Did you collect non-sports cards back in the day? If so, let us know what your favorite sets to collect were in the comment section below.

2021 Summer Vacation Recap!

 
Months later and COVID is still throwing us some curve balls, but that didn't stop my wife from scheduling us a pretty cool vacation! We took the kids to South Dakota for a week and to my wife's credit, she scheduled a lot of outdoor activities to cut down on our chances of infection. We all had a great time and made some memories with the kids that will hopefully last a life time.

We marveled at the giant statues at Dinosaur Park...

We enjoyed a relaxing evening at Storybook Island...

We took in the views at Mount Rushmore...

Observed some freaky animals at Reptile Gardens...

Had a blast playing mini golf at Pirates Cove (BTW, I won)...

And saw some bears at Bear Country USA!
We also visited Cosmos Mystery Area which was crazy! All these places were fantastic and offered a lot for us to do, but when I go out of state for vacations, work retreats or any kind of road trip, I need to visit the local comic & card shops! Luckily Rapid City had 2 comic shops and a card shop all within a block of each other. I looked through all the long boxes and dug through bins at each shop while my family patiently looked on. I gotta say, I am very pleased with my finds. Here are a few of the comic purchase standouts:

I was able to add a few more Marvel STAR comics to my collection, got a few Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, picked up a Bob Burden autograph for cheap and finally nabbed the first appearance of Spider-Ham for $4! I'd say that's a productive day!!

At the card shop, I picked up a few packs of 1990 Topps Traded for 99 cents each. Got a few decent rookie cards and as a lifelong Mets fan, I love that I got a Todd Hundley!

Also, was able to scrounge up a few new Bo Jackson cards for the collection. I'm sure you will see these at "The More You Bo" soon! What a fantastic trip it really was, now it's back to the real world which includes work, house chores and other adult hurdles. Can't wait for next summer's vacation, the countdown has already started!

Vacation Time 2021!

No new post this week since I AM ON VACATION! Taking the family on a little road trip. Nothing major, just wanting to get the kids out and have some fun for a change this year. Hope all of you are having a great summer. Remember when the stress and heat get to be too much, just CHILL OUT!

Online Pick-(me)-ups!

Since this whole Corona Virus mess has hit our great country, myself and my family have been going out less and less. Most of the times it's just for grocery shopping. So in addition to being bored, I have had my regular urges to continue building my collections. Online buying can be addicting and sometimes I went a little overboard. Below are some of the most recent purchases I have made and I would like to share these with you, RIGHT NOW!

Toys

I did make a special trip to Wal-Mart so I could see if they had any of The Real Ghosbusters toy re-issues and I lucked out! I found the last two figures on the shelf which happened to be the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and my favorite RGB figure of all time, Slimer aka Green Ghost. I bought the carded E.T. figure and Bow from She-Ra at an online store. I picked up E.T. because he was cheap and Bow because I had always wanted one since this figure was released in the 80s. Did it bother anyone else back in the day that the Bow figure does not include his kick-ass mustache that was featured in the Princess of Power cartoon?

Magazines

I spent hours looking through these magazines as a kid. My preferred publication of choice was either Tuff Stuff or Beckett, but these two mags from 1990 (Topps) & 1991 (Superstar & Rookie Special) still brought back so many memories of looking up card prices, reading about the "HOT" players and prospects and drooling over the Top 10 cards of the month. I bought these because I am a huge Bo Jackson fan and did not have either of them in my current collection, but the cool thing was that each of these magazines still had their bonus cards intact, but as is my luck there were no Bo Jacksons included. Still pretty AWESOME though!

Sports Cards

Speaking of cards, I discovered a website that was selling every card in their inventory for only 10 cents a piece! I spent around $30 on cards to add to my favorite team collections. Since I am a Jersey boy, these teams include the Mets, Jets, Nets and Devils. They also had some pretty cool non-sport cards, so I bought a few TMNT items and the above included DC Holograms. Beside collecting my favorite players and teams, I love finding oddball cards like the "Burger King All-Pro" set featuring Ron Darling & Steve Garvey! I wonder if BK will still honor that free Whopper coupon?

Men In Black Memorabilia Card

I included this card separately since it was from a different seller. I had been keeping my eye on these cards on ebay for a long time now and finally decided to pick one up. The price was right at $5 and now I can add this relic to my collection. Love the MIB movies and Will Smith aka The Fresh Prince is one of my all-time favorite rappers. Glad I finally got this authentic piece of an MIB agent suit for a fair price, around $5!

Comics

A few sites that I shop for comics at were running specials of 40% to 50% off all back issue orders. So, I pulled out my comic wish list and went to work. I like to collect books that have sentimental value to me or are of 80s & 90s properties that I enjoy. So when I was able to pick up the first issue of The Real Ghostbusters for $1.75 and add more books to my Marvel STAR collection, it was a no brainer (plus the wife gave me permission). Overall I knocked a bunch of books off my spreadsheet and I am one happy man!