Last week baseball and softball started for my kids and I am happy to say that 2 of them are on the Little Caesars team! They were so excited and asked if we could have Little Caesars for dinner after every game! I was okay with that, but unfortunately we were all vetoed by my sensible wife! This could have been my family...
Of course like every year we are required to bring the traditional after game snacks for at least one game per kid. My oldest wanted the healthy choice of Twinkies, but when we went to Wal-Mart to pick them up we found these instead...
Hostess Baseball Cupcakes! I hadn't had these since the early 90s and didn't even think they were still around. Not only did they have the usual "Yellow Cake" variety, but they now have "Chocolate Cake"! I think it's kind of cool how Hostess labels the yellow cake as "Day Game" and the chocolate as "Night Game." Simple but fun! My only complaint is that they don't come with cards anymore!
Back in 1993 me and my brother used to eat these things by the dozen just to get the free baseball cards in each package. Once we had enough for 2 complete sets, we stopped eating them and I hadn't had one since!
The baseball fever doesn't stop on the snack front, it also invaded our breakfast table in the form of Home Run Crunch!
This is pretty much just Cap N' Crunch with Crunch berries in the shapes of bats and balls. Nevertheless it was still delicious and the box was empty in 2 days.
After eating all these delicious treats I need to work off the pounds! I guess it's time to make like Ham Porter and...
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is... BUG THE ADVENTURES OF FORAGER #1
An all-new Young Animal miniseries begins! Forager is just one of the Hive before he breaks out of his cocoon and finds himself in a mysterious house in an unknown realm. There he meets all kinds of strange creatures: a ghostly girl, a talking teddy bear and otherworldly weirdos that have literally jumped out of his worst nightmares. But these interdimensional oddballs are nothing compared to the evil General Electric, who is on the hunt for a reality-bending metal that could alter the fabric of life itself. To stay one step ahead of him and preserve the multiverse, Forager must travel through alternate dimensions to seek the metal and, hopefully, catch up with that cagey stuffed bear. If he does it, will he finally be able to distinguish himself as a New God?
DC's Young Animal celebrates Jack Kirby's centenary with this new six-issue miniseries-and who better to tackle this task than the Eisner Award-winning Allred clan! Featuring scripts by Lee Allred (BATMAN '66), art by Michael Allred (Silver Surfer) and colors by Laura Allred (Lady Killer), BUG! is truly a family affair.
The NES Mini has come and gone. I was one of the lucky few that was able to find one at a retail store and I LOVE IT! In fact, just today me and the kids were playing Double Dragon II, Bubble Bobble and Balloon Fight on it. I just wish there was a way to add more of my fave Nintendo games to it? Well, now all the talk and speculation has come to Nintendo releasing a SNES Mini in time for the 2017 holiday season. If this happens, I want one! Here is my top ten list of games that I would like to see on the console based on how much I enjoyed them as a kid.
The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare
(1992, Acclaim Entertainment)
Contra III: The Alien Wars
(1992, Konami)
Final Fight
(1991, Capcom)
Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run
(1996, Rare LTD.)
Super Mario Kart
(1992, Nintendo)
Mega Man Soccer
(1994, Capcom)
NCAA Basketball
(1992, HAL Laboratory)
Super Street Fighter II
(1994, Capcom)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
(1992, Konami)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
(1992, Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions go to: Act Raiser, Donkey Kong Country, Earthworm Jim, Killer Instinct, NBA Jam Tournament Edition and Sim City. I hope you enjoyed that Super Nintendo featuring Mr. Paul Rudd. What games would make it onto your SNES Mini wish list?
Saturday, May 6th is Free Comic Book Day! You can go to your local comic shop and choose from a variety of great comics from publishers like Marvel, DC, Darkhorse and more! If you want more info or need to know what shops are participating, check out the Free Comic Book Day website. Every year I take my kids out and make this day an event. It's something we look forward to every year. Here are my top five comics for the 2017 FCBD:
FCBD 2017 TMNT PRELUDE TO DIMENSION X
Prequel to the upcoming TMNT: Dimension X 5-week event this August! Krang was defeated by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and now awaits trial in Dimension X. Little do the Turtles know that Krang hired an assassin to destroy everyone who might testify against him, including themselves! This issue introduces a deadly and weird new villain, and begins the biggest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adventure in space ever! [ALL AGES]
FCBD 2017 BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL
Get in line for the foremost Free Comic Book Day four-color giveaway of the year! When Bart injures his back and has to use a rolling backpack, he turns weakness into strength as the "Leader of the Backpack Pack." Then, Homer and Bart pull an all-nighter and put themselves on high alert to prevent a potential home invasion. Rod and Todd Flanders get separated from Ned Flanders in downtown Springfield and find themselves on an odyssey fraught with many mostly imagined dangers. All that and much, much more, and it's all free! [ALL-AGES]
FCBD 2017 VIZ LEGEND ZELDA TWILIGHT PRINCESS OCARINA TIME
Once upon a time, wizards tried to conquer the Sacred Realm of Hyrule. The Spirits of Light sealed the wizards' power within the Shadow Crystal and banished them to the Twilight Realm beyond the Mirror of Twilight. Now, an evil menace is trying to find Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm, and the fragments of the Shadow Crystal to gain the power to rule over both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light. This FCBD special features excerpts from the manga adaptations of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. [TEEN]
FCBD 2017 DC SUPER HERO GIRLS SUMMER OLYMPUS PREVIEW
DC Super Hero Girls is an exciting new universe of superhero storytelling that builds character and confidence and empowers girls to discover their true potential. This special FCBD issue features an exciting, action-packed story from the upcoming original graphic novel DC Super Hero Girls: Summer Olympus that readers of all ages will enjoy. [ALL AGES]
FCBD 2017 THE TICK
The Tick celebrates FCBD 2017 with 32 pages of full-color fun! In the all-new 15-page lead, "Happy Birthday, Tick!", The Tick throws himself the ultimate super-party! But he invites both good guys and bad guys, figuring everyone can be pals in the interest of birthday celebrating! Party plans may go awry when The Terror attends along with his ninjas! Backup story: the presidential election saga, "Civic Duty", previously only seen in a limited convention special. 29 pages of FCBD fun! This is going to be a BIG year for The Tick with the new Amazon TV show! [ALL AGES]
After we grab our free funny books, I'll load the kids in the car and we are heading to Toys R Us for a FREE LEGO Star Wars Building Event! Kids get to build their own LEGO Princess Leia to take home. TRU does events like this pretty frequently. If you are interested in free LEGOS, Pokémon Cards or other fun stuff to do with the kids please visit their "In Store Events" page on the Toys R Us website by clicking HERE!
After all that free fun, we'll need to recharge! Every year I take the family to McDonalds for lunch and I am happy to see that they will have Super Mario Bros. Happy Meals when we make our annual FCBD visit.
My kids love the Mario games for Wii & WiiU almost as much as I loved playing the original trilogy on the NES back in the 80s. I wonder if they will have the same type of great memories with these toys as I have from the Super Mario 3 Happy Meals?
How will you be spending your 2017 Free Comic Book Day? Let us know in the comment section below and HAVE FUN!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is... TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES FUNKO UNIVERSE #1
The Funko craze comes to TMNT! Funko-style TMNT get wind of a new Shredder-inspired cereal and go to the source to investigate the bad-guy based breakfast! An absurd and hilarious adventure awaits!
• Inspired by the Funko toys based off the original TMNT cartoon!
• Part of this month's big FUNKO UNIVERSE event!
It's hard to believe but 20 years ago today the world got a little randier as the International man of Mystery himself, Mr. Austin Powers was unfrozen and unleashed on an unsuspecting America...and I was there!
I was a big fan of Mike Meyers and enjoyed him on SNL and his movies from "Wayne's World" to "So I Married An Axe Murderer." So when I saw the trailer for this movie, I had to go see it! The scene that made me laugh the most in the trailer was Austin attempting to turn around his vehicle in a tight space. To this day if I ever have to make a tight 65-point turn like that I still refer to it as making an "Austin Powers".
When the movie hit theaters on May 2nd, 1997 me and some friends bought our tickets to laugh! Even though one of my friends walked out saying it was stupid, the rest of us enjoyed the movie and recited the lines non-stop in school and some of us, who will not be named, even went so far as to learn the words to the "BBC" song performed by Ming Tea at the end of the film.
YEAH BABY! Who would have thought that this movie that was made for little more than 16 million dollars...
would turn into a worldwide phenomenon with millions of fans, made tons of money, spawned 2 sequels and created countless action figures, key chains and apparel!
This really is a funny movie and if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! I know I am pulling out my Austin Powers VHS and watching the crap out of this movie tonight! What will you do to celebrate 20 years of shagadelic craziness?
FUN FACT:Mike Myers originally wanted Jim Carrey to play Dr. Evil, but Carrey eventually passed due to scheduling conflicts with Liar Liar (1997). Myers then took the iconic role himself!
