HAPPY NEW YEAR! IT'S 2023!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can't wait to see what 2023 brings us! Hope you have a great one! Now...LET'S PARTY!!!!

Another Weekend Antique Excursion!

 

A few weeks ago I met up with a friend as we went on the hunt for retro treasure at one of our local antique malls. I enjoy going to these kinds of stores, because you'll never know what you're going to find. Most of the time the cool stuff that I like is way over priced, but it's cool to know it's out there if I really want it. There were a ton of booths to go through. Some of them did have some great stuff, but nothing that I really collected. Below are some of the items we found this time around.

Ms. Pac-Man Coleco Tabletop Arcade Game: $175

I love these tabletop games! When I was younger I always admired the collection that my cousin had. He would rarely let us play them, but when he did, it was an amazing experience. My favorite of the tabletop games that he had was Mario's Cement Factory. I'm still on the lookout for one of those machines for an affordable price. Speaking of price $175 for this Ms. Pac-Man with the box and paperwork is actually a fair deal. I've seen these go for twice that price in worse condition. If I were a richer man, this would have come home with me! 

Dave Stevens Autographed Art: $75

Dave Stevens is most well known as the creator of The Rocketeer. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 52 after a battle with leukemia. He had such a distinct style that is immediately recognizable. At $75, this autographed piece of comic art titled "Hot Cargo" is a steal! I should go back and grab it before someone else comes to their senses and adds it to their collection!

Nestle Crunch/Upper Deck Slam Dunk Bar: $5

I was an avid collector of basketball cards in my youth, but I don't ever recall seeing these sold in stores. If I had, I know I would have bought them in bulk. Each pack contains a special "Slam Dunk" Nestle Crunch Bar and 4 Upper Deck basketball cards. The cards highlight some of the best dunkers of the era like Michael Jordan, Shawn Kemp and Isaiah Rider. This is an item that I did pick up and I'll show you what was inside in a future post.

Vintage Lunchboxes: $15 - $50

I love old lunchboxes and these ones especially. I had those Real Ghostbusters and Super Mario Bros. lunchboxes when I was in grade school and they were well used and well loved. I may still have them somewhere at my Mom's house, but they are nowhere near as clean as these ones are and I'm pretty sure the Thermos are long gone! For $30, I will go back and pick these up to add to my Ghostbusters and Nintendo collections. The She-Ra and Golden Girl boxes were a nice surprise to see in the display case.

X-Men #25 (Blue Hologram Error): $2

This X-Men issue was released in 1993 during the peak of X-Men mania! The cartoon was on FOX, the comics were selling like crazy and Wolverine was the hottest comic book character around. Of course I collected the X-Men books around this time and I do have the regular green/yellow hologram version of this book, but when I saw this for $2 at the antique mall, I couldn't pass it up. Allegedly, these blue holograms were a printing error and are fairly rare. I just think it's a cool looking book from an era of X-Men that had me hooked!

My Pal 2: $30

My Pal 2 was released by Toybiz in the early 90's. I never owned one, but I vividly remember the commercials for this little robot companion. He could talk, his nose glowed, he played games like Simon says & ring toss, he could throw and he had a basketball hoop on his chest for impromptu games of HORSE on a rainy day! This example of My Pal 2 is missing his sweet hat and hoop, but man did this bring back some memories. I've attached the commercial from 1993 below. Take 30 seconds to watch it and bask in all that My Pal 2 could do. If that's not your thing, at least give it a watch to see one of the kids truly magnificent mullets!

Funko Pop Collection: Part #2

I am a fan of the Funko Pop figures. They are inexpensive and feature some amazing characters. if you are a fan of any show or movie, Funko has probably made a Pop of it! That being said, I really don't collect Pops, but if I do see one of a character I absolutely love, I will pick it up. My collection is not huge, but it is selective and here are a few that I would like to share with you...

Jason Voorhees from Friday The 13th

I'm gonna mention this for about the 1,000 time here, but I'm proud to say that I grew up in NJ, specifically the part of NJ where the original Friday The 13th movie was filmed. It was a great childhood and Funko Pop Jason was an absolute must have for my collection!

Rocko & Spunky from Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life was unquestionably my favorite Nickelodeon Cartoon back in the 90's. The cartoons were funny, witty and a little bit adult. Chokey Chicken anyone? I saw this Rocko Pop at Barnes & Noble and quickly grabbed him up. I wish they would have made the whole crew, but at least we got Rocko, Spunky and Heffer. I wonder why they never made a Filbert?

Slimer from Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is one of my all-time favorite movies. Ever since I saw it in the summer of 1985, I was hooked. As a kid I was hooked on Slimer. The ugly little spud was funny, unique and cute in a gross sort of way. He became synonymous with Ghostbusters. Anything branded Ghostbusters most likely had a picture of Slimer on it. That's how they would hook us kids and even as adults we were all clamoring for one more shot at a taste of Hi-C Ecto Cooler!   

Spider-Man from The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

I know this may not be a popular take right now, but I did not care for the Amazing Spider-Man movies. I just did not feel like Andrew Garfield was Peter Parker. If you like the movies, I'm not gonna hate on you. Everyone is free to have their own opinion and this is mine. Anyway, I got this Spider-Man Pop for less than $2 on clearance at Target. The one thing I did like about the Amazing Spider-Man movies was the style of the Spider suit and this Funko Pop captures that look nicely.

Toby Armored & Gnome Chompsky from Trollhunters

Myself and my kids loved the Trollhunters series on Netflix. It became a fixture in our house on Saturday mornings. Each Saturday we would watch one episode in an attempt to recreate the magic of those 80's & 90's weekends spent watching morning cartoons. We made it through the Trollhunters series and then watched 3Below, Wizards and the finale movie Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. Guillermo del Toro created a fantastic world for these characters to play in and one of our faves was Gnome Chompsky, so my kids got me this Funko Pop for my birthday and it is amazing!

Scoops Ahoy Steve from Stranger Things

Again, I am a fan of the Stranger Things series and when Baskin Robbins joined forces with Netflix a few summer's ago it was magic. B&R pretty much turned their stores into a real life version of the Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Shop from Stranger Things. The employees wore Scoops Ahoy uniforms, they sold Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream you could even order the U.S.S. Butterscotch sundae! As part of this alliance Baskin Robbins sold these exclusive Steve Pops at their store, so myself and the fam made a few trips and I got this Pop to commemorate this moment in pop culture. Check out a commercial for the promotion below:

Wrapping Up Christmas 2021

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 typically 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 lets look behind the wrapping paper and see what goodies were under the tree for me this year!

Basketball Cards

I love collecting basketball cards and have been doing so since I was about 10 years old. I'm always down for opening a few packs whether they are new or old wax packs. This year I got a few of the top rookies and I was happy we were actually able to find a box on the shelves at Walmart.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

I was really excited to get this game. I have the original for the Wii, but this version blows that one out of the water! The graphics are fantastic, the story is fun and hearing the entire Ghostbusting crew back together is amazing!

He-Man Figures

I actually enjoyed watching the new Masters of The Universe cartoon on Netflix with my kids. Yes, it is more of a kid friendly and safe option and the creators changed quite a bit from the original, but the action, humor and adventure are still there. My wife also got me the sweet MOTU mini figures from the Dollar Tree. For $1, these are some pretty well done figures!

Silk Sonic CD

I've been a fan of Bruno Mars for a while and Anderson Paak just recently made it onto my radar add in some Bootsy Collins and I am sold! Some good funk & soul jams on here.

The Office Items

I love The Office, so my wife got me a Dwight Schrute bobblehead an official The Office "Talking Button" that spews out icon lines from the show when you push down on it. The fact that it is shaped like a stapler in a Jell-O mold only makes this impulse item cooler.

Will by Will Smith

I have been following Will Smith's career since I feel in love with his fresh rhymes on the 80's jam "Parents Just Don't Understand". I watched "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" religiously on Monday nights on NBC and have seen the majority of his movies. It should be cool to dig a little deeper into the life of one of my favorite MCs.

Movies

The fam picked me up the original King Kong vs. Godzilla from 1962, Wonder Woman 1984 and The Goldbergs Seasons 3 & 4. Got a little bit of watching to do! Well, that's it for this past Christmas. I hope yours was merry, bright and full of good tidings. Merry Christmas!

A Peek at Christmas 2021: Part II

This year Christmas is returning to a little bit of normalcy after last year's restrictions. Either way, nothing has stood in the way of my family taking part in some of our favorite Christmas traditions like watching Christmas Specials, decorating the tree and just enjoying the season together. Below may seem like another random dump of photos, but it is a peek into what the season is like in my household. I hope you and yours have an amazing holiday season. No matter how you celebrate or what you celebrate, appreciate those around you and just remember the good times. Feel free to let me know about your family's favorite traditions in the comment section below and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Our Elf on The Shelf, Buddy, has been surprising our kids for years. He shows up the day after Thanksgiving and he usually brings my kids donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast on his arrival. After that, we never know what type of shenanigans he will get into. Here he is during his audition for "Into The Spider-Verse".

The Smurfs are a must watch every year. I remember having the original 80's cartoon on VHS back in the day. We have recently upgraded to DVD. The other Smurfs special is a more recent addition to the rotation and is a pretty good take on the characters.

Every year, my family visits Hallmark and gets an ornament for our tree. This year, we all agreed on getting this Mini-Pufts version, but when we got to the store...they were sold out! I went back a few days later and the kind lady behind the counter informed me that they would be getting 4 more of these cute & delicious ornaments in and she put me on the wait list for purchase. A few days later, I got the call and finally I GOT ONE!

The kids and I watched "We Wish You A Turtle Christmas" this year. It was a first time viewing for my family and my kids really enjoyed the crude absurdity of the special. They are still singing about "4 Manhole Covers"!

Speaking of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, IDW did not disappoint with this years festive covers. These are always a welcome treat and addition to my ever growing TMNT comic collection. 

A few other Christmas specials we knocked off the list this year were Heathcliff's Christmas and "A Wish For Wings That Work". These are not the typical upper tier of Christmas Specials, but they do hold a place in my 80's loving heart and now my kids are able to enjoy them also.

Last year my family chowed don on the Elf on The Shelf "Sugar Cookie" flavored cereal. This year we decided to try the "Hot Cocoa" flavor and I can honestly say, I don't know how it tastes because my kids ate it all before I could get a bowlful! 

It wouldn't be Christmas without a visit from Vader Claus. Also featured is the Star Wars Christmas Caroling sign my wife picked up on clearance last year from Hobby Lobby.

Lastly, just wanted to share this Turtly Magnificent Christmas light set up that the wife and I took the kids to see this year. AMAZING! I hope your holiday is full of cheer and good times. From all of us at 20 Years Before 2000...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

This past weekend my family finally had the chance to see the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie. We had been so excited for this movie ever since it was announced a few years ago. We had survived the ups and the downs of each release date and pushback, but now it was finally time to sit back, relax and enjoy some ghost busting action!

I have to say that I was actually really surprised at how well done this movie was. Yes, there were some parts that were a little predictable, but the performances were solid and I enjoyed the cameos. I can't wait to see where this series goes after that post credits scene! So many different ways this road can wind. That being said, this movie really hit me emotionally. 

Just a few months ago my father passed away. It was really sudden and hard on my family. He was a great Dad who taught me so many great lessons over the years. How does this relate to Ghostbusters? I have my own family now and my kids are the same ages my brother and I were when my Dad took us to see Ghostbusters II in the theater. While watching Afterlife, I couldn't help but look over at my kids to see the smiles and wonderment on their faces, just as I am sure my father did when he took us to the movies back in 1989. Yes, it was an emotional moment for me and yes a tear did roll down my face as the movie came to it's end. I'm glad I could share this with my kids and I hope they remember what this experience was like 30 years from now.

I also remember my Dad letting us play the Ghostbusters II soundtrack on repeat over and over as we made a roundtrip from New Jersey to my Grandpa's house in Tennessee. I'm sure it drove him crazy, but he did cool stuff like this for us kids all the time. Looking back it's these small gestures that made him a great Dad. Unfortunately, there was no bumping soundtrack for Afterlife, but I'm sure the song "Haunted House" by McKenna Grace will be on repeat in my home for the foreseeable future and I will let my kids play it as many times as they want. I miss my Dad, but at least I have those great memories that will keep him a part of my life forever.

Ghostbusters Collection: Part 3

A few weeks ago we reached a huge milestone in the history of American Cinema, it was the release weekend for the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie and I couldn't be more excited! I still remember watching the original Ghostbusters on VHS at my friend Ron's house the summer before I started Kindergarten and being awestruck by the combination of scary & funny elements. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I ran home and told my Mom all about this movie and we eventually had our own copy. We wore that VHS out with repeated watchings. A few years later The Real Ghostbusters cartoon hit the small screen and me and my brother were glued to our TV every weekday after school. It didn't matter if we had seen the episode 100 times, it was must watch television. We had our share of Ghostbusters action figures, books, magazines and we even dressed as Ghostbusters for 3 consecutive Halloweens! We were hooked and that love for this franchise continues with me today as I share my memories and merchandise with my kids. Below are a few selections from my Ghostbusters collection. I hope you enjoy and continue to keep busting heads...in a spiritual sense of course!

Ghostbusters "Jam" picture by myself & my son

Ghostbusters Lottery Ticket

Campfire Stay Puft Marshmallows

Mini Puft Funko POP

Hasbro Ghostbusters Figures & Ecto-1 w/ Twinkie

Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Action Figures (2020)

Build-A-Bear Slimer Stuffed Toy

NOW Comics Slimer! Comic Book

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Soundtrack Record

Kenner Screaming Hero Ray & Replica Ecto Cooler Boxes

Ghostbusters Cake made by my Wife

Well, that wraps up this journey through a portion of my Ghostbusters collection. I hope to share more with you soon and I hope you enjoyed this look at one of the most iconic franchises in recent movie history. Now get out there and see Ghostbusters: Afterlife. If you've already seen it, go see it again and enjoy the ghost busting shenanigans! Thanks for visiting and before we leave the firehouse, here's a look at one of my favorite Halloween decorations...a dancing ghost music box that plays the Ghostbusters theme song! Does it get any cooler than that?