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Its here, its here! The Novemeber FunPack from Dinosaur Dracula! 83 If you're looking for my past reviews, check here for September, and here for October.
Thanksgiving came and went, with huge amounts of food and leftovers for days (I'd argue that was the best part), and now we're ready for the winter. Of course the site's going to be celebrating our traditional Advent Calendar Challenge, and Decon's cooking up a super special 12 Tracks album just for you, but before we get too far into our tinsel and good tidings, we'll check out what my pack contained to help me get into mind of the fall.
And because I'm so lazy I wait til the last day. >>
The box has a Dino Drac sticker of the logo which made me go into a fit of giggles. I love stickers :3 I also love the logo for Matt's site, with drac's castle and a t-rex. If its as decontextualized for you as it is for the lay man, congrats, it makes 500 of you.
I have no idea where I was going with that sentence.
Here's the swag in box. I knew a big item this box was the TMNT movie box, as well as the DD packaged M.U.S.C.L.E. fig and the Urkel-O.
Yes. The cereal. But more on that later.
There are a bunch cards for the box, and I dunno about you, but I miss the old days of the trading card. The days when everyone and your mom had TC collectable cards from Fleer and Topps. Remember?? Sometimes they came with gum, that thin slab of pink that tasted like bubblegum rolled in chalk. I'm fairly certain most TCs aren't all that valuable outside of maybe the big guys like Mars Attacks! but the sentimental value of course lies solely on the one who has them.
Speaking from someone who has nearly complete sets for the Nintendogs cards and the Final Fantasy 7 ones….it hurts when you're only missing like…1 or 2 in the end.
So let's talk cards! The TMNT set comes from Topps based on the first movie back in 1990. And given our mission statement on the site of not going on and on negatively on negative things, we're going to sidestep the newer movie in favor of talking about something else.
Like how raising chickens is a hell of a lot of work. I mean, feeding them, collecting eggs, making sure they're producing enough, staying away from hormones….
8D
So these boxes of cards came in more than one "set" as it were. There's a good amount in these boxes, or packs, but not exactly everything in the set. Like a starter set essentially, and the back of the pack lists what you get. I got pack B, and I assume at the very least pack A had a good number of different ones, or maybe a completely different set. Not sure. In any case, those babies take you on an abridged, cine-mangaesque trip through the movie, and while its been awhile since I've seen it, I can easily say the stills in the movie seem a lot cleaner or brighter…maybe better photography, or the fact I was watching that movie on a VHS. Prolly the latter.
Speaking of cards, I also gotta pack of Fleer trading cards based on the Fox cartoon lineup in the mid-90s. Holy moly cowsy wowsy. The Tick, Bobby's World, X-Men, Eek the Cat….remember those halcyon days of saturday morning cartoons? Allow the nostalgia to wash over you like a wave on a carribbean beach, folks, cuz as of this year, our regular channeled networks stopped the Sat AM cartoons…. If you want breakfast cereal background animation, you gotta head over to the cable networks that cater to cartoons.
Oh man, I am old and I am depressed.
Hey, here's a card for EekStravaganza???
Well, I guess there's still some good in this world.
In the form of trading cards for obscure cartoons….
The card pack is seen here with some other neato goodies.
Like a pack of Chiclets, which are still edible. I used to crank those out of grimy candy machines into my grubby lil paws. Somehow I hadn't caught the worst of transmutable diseases.
Too early for ebola jokes yet? Ok, I'll wait.
There's a matching E.T. necklace to go with my brooch, which is so perfect for office parties.
And a Casper pog. At least it reminds me of one. Remember Pogs?? Lil circular pieces of cardboard that, in their peak, had everything from the latest pop group to cartoons and even tv shows. If you've never heard of the game, basically you have your cardboard circles, and try to drop or toss/throw a heavier circle (usually made form plastic or metal) to flip them over. If they flip, you keep them. Think a much more portable version of marbles. I've been told the game originated in Hawaii where it was played with the cardboard circles that came on bottles of juice, hence the name POG (which stood for passion fruit, orange and grappa. ….I mean guava. I think). There. The more you know.
A small pack of Arco Ark toy animals. From the 1970s, these were gas station premiums you could get at gas stations. Since they came in pairs, and there's a pic of Noah's pimped out ride, I will assume that you could make your own ark and populate it with your pairs of animals. I got alligators, which is super cool cuz I've been meaning to get my Amiibos something to take pics with. Ichi looks like he could use alligator pets.
Yes, back in the days when you could get toys in cereal boxes, you could also get gas station toys and collectables by frequenting the same ones. Collectable mugs and the Hess trucks will probably be the most memorable next to the 76 balls for you older readers (and I mean older than me, and I'm 30). Heck, my favorite gas station premium was actually tiny reprints of Beatrix Potter books, Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddleduck and so on. I think they were from BP….and I remember missing just one of them by the time the promotion ended (story of my life). Ah, memories.
Now HERE's something interesting for some of you. This is a hand four tune-teller, in the image of Pebbles from The Flintstones. If you've never seen these lil funny things, they're actually kinda neat. They're essentially very thin pieces of plastic. So thin that the heat of your hand and palm will make the plastic fold up onto itself or curl and roll around as if its alive. No joke, and there's nothing fancy about it. It literally is JUST a piece of plastic. If you've ever eaten bonito flakes on things like okonomiyaki, you're familiar with the almost animalistic movement of things that shouldn't move. Bonito flakes, being thin slices, will dance when put on hot things, though they're effected more by rising steam rather than heat of your palm.
I've been most familiar with the fish shaped ones, so this is my first time seeing a branded one. We girls will do almost any sort of fortunetelling ritual, from playing MASH to double dutch, to the more supernatural kinds like looking into mirrors past midnight or looking into tea leaves, so seeing these cheap devices for pennies on the dollar really bring home the fact that a lot of people just like doing it. Its like your horoscope. You believe it when it works, and don't when it doesn't.
These aren't much different than mood rings, since they also rely on the property of the heat from your hands, but this is much more dynamic and fun to watch.
Here's another pocket rocket book, and on apes!
Standby for a complete non-sequiter.
Ok, just wanted to see if his theory held true and it still does.
X-Entertainment still holds top spot for Giant Ape Juice. If there's something constant in this world besides death, taxes and green bamboo peanuts, I would hope XE still coming up as Google's first hit for Giant Ape Juice is also one of them.
That entire aside was mostly because I don't have much to say about apes, other than they have to do with the book.
AH YES. MY MY. The M.U.S.C.L.E. minifig. I can't possibly tell you EVERYTHING about M.U.S.C.L.E. that hasn't been said better here, so read that to get why this is such a big deal. The short story: Japan released eraser toys like this for the show Kinnikuman, they were brought out here and rebranded with different plastic, and boom. Instant fad. So much so that Mattel, who brought them from the land of the rising sun, also did a girl spin-off called C.U.T.I.E. But infinitely more interesting where the Kinnikuman ones which were pro-wrestling in theme. My boyfriend was pretty hyped on those, and suggested we try collecting them. Seeing as how I'm addicted to Amiibos, this may prove to be trouble, but I'm game for anything once. I play Animal Crossing, collecting is in my blood.
The DinoDrac packaging was really awesome. Check out the back. I really love these packs, but its the lil touches like this that make it all worth it.
Enjoy my toy? Will do, Dino Drac. Will do.
Are you ready like Freddie? Here's the specimen of the month: Urkel-O cereal. Ok, one piece, but its a piece. There was a time in this wonderful world where the show Family Matters was so high that Urkel had a cereal. But then, who didn't back in the day?? Ralston, who did the tie in cereals, never had great cereal. In fact most of their stuff was pretty bleh. But you didn't buy your cereals back then because they tasted awesome. You bought them for the toys and the people on the boxes.
And by you I mean your parents.
Except for Lucky Charms. Everyone buys that just to eat the marbits. I love how cereal marshmallows have their own name. :3
It says not to eat it…but can I shellac it? Like I need more things to wear on my neck….
Myuuu huuuu, my November poster. :3!!! I laughed so hard I woke my dogs and popped a stitch at Leviathan eager to eat misshapen turkey. Cuz…fuck, I get the Leviathan joke better than most.
And yams…..I frickin' LOVE yams.
Seeing Leviathan get some love is nice (Levi also appears on the halloween poster I bought last month because hell yeah, I love posters), but it always reminds me that I need to get off my ass and track down the XE Advent Calendars so I can read them all in one go. I'm lazy and my google-fu is weak, but hell, I owe it to myself and newbies to educate them on what was one of my favorite calendar operas of all time.
Yes. Calendar opera. Its like a space opera but with advent calendars.
SO here we go. I remember this from an article, and this reproduction is more than good, its nearly pristine. XD Good print, good scan. To make a long story short--
--Think kiddie pyramid scheme. You had to hock useless wares to get points to cash in. I doubt anyone seriously got anything of use, but lookit that spread. Talk about seduction of the innocent! You think anyone besides Ron Popeil sold enough to net a TV? I should think not. But as Matt contends, the best part of the game as it were was to feast your eyes on the spread and think about what you could net if you sold enough.
There's an X-acto knife set…oh what halcyon times we lived in.
Did anyone ever ask for Joan? Was she like a Time Life operator? Did she really exist??
Ok. So let's see what I would do with my 100 points….
Kodak "Star" Instamatic (13)
Kodak "Challenger" disc camera (24)
Bontempi electronic organ (29)
Snoopy Telephone (18)
Calligraphy set (9)
Which comes to 93, and 7 left over points….cash that in I guess. No surprise I'd go for the cameras…and there are 2 I didn't go for. XD Kinda fun!
I think I got more than an hour out of it….since I sat and read all the TMNT cards XD and then sat down with the Charlie Brown thanksgiving special. Only kids would have that kinda food at a thanksgiving party. XD We're winding down to the first day of Christmas (holy cow when did that sneak up on us @_@).
As long as we're giving thanks, I'm thankful for the funpack. I'm thankful for my friends and family, but sometimes, you have to be thankful for the days of your childhood, which were for a good chunk of us some of the best days of our lives. I lived a charmed life, and I'm glad, and I hope you too can look back on your holidays and memories with fondness.
But before we head off into the crisp winter night, how about taking one last crack at the CB thanksgiving special for the night? Its free!
--Dio (11/30/14)
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