Saturday, November 16, 2013

Of Sick Days, Too Much Sleep and SCREAMERS


Three days lost.

I spent a good 60+ hours in bed earlier this week thanks to a particularly nasty stomach bug. No work, sure, but also no television and no internet and nothing but drinking lots of water and trying to sleep for more than an hour at a time. It's been several years since I've been that sick and I'm not looking forward to a next time. Which unfortunately might be very, very soon. The last couple days were nice ones, feeling better and going out and doing stuff, but I woke up today feeling worse and all I wanna do is climb back into bed.

Since I've been trying recently to focus less on the negative in my life and take a longer look at the brighter, better parts, I thought I'd share some little goodies I picked up yesterday. An early work day meant getting out by noon, which left me with plenty of time to hit a couple of my usual haunts. Seven bucks bought me all the trash you're about to see.



We'll knock the VHS out first, because you should all know the drill by now.

I was pretty late getting around to seeing Mad Max (1979) for the first time; probably only three or four years ago when it happened to be airing on IFC. It's exactly the kind of movie that would have blown me away when I was an early teen. This isn't to say that I don't love it now, because I do, but it's certainly one that I wish I had grown up with.

Meanwhile, I've still never seen Screamers (1995), but I certainly remember the trailer and commercials for it when I was an early teen. The mid '90s weren't a good place to be if you were a horror film or a sci-fi film, and this one combines both and throws in Buckaroo Banzai, too. As the years roll on, though, it seems like film fans and critics alike are re-discovering a lot of flicks from that era, so why not this one?


The following few pics are going to include a series of mini-figures and cereal prizes that I scored in a single grab-bag for $2.99. I originally grabbed it without hesitation when I noticed the contents. I then set it down on a random shelf, picked it up, put it back on the peg where I originally found it, and picked it up for a third time. A half hour spent trying to decide if I really needed to spend three dollars on this crap.




I'm still undecided.


I mean, it's a fun assortment of toys that immediately transports me back to being a kid. There are cheap pieces saved from Happy Meals and the Burger Kings Kids' Club, ranging from Super Mario Bros. 3 to Beetlejuice to Batman: The Animated Series. A couple skateboarding Dinos taken straight from boxes of Fruity Pebbles. Toss in an incomplete but completely naked Michelangelo [Sorry, Miss M. It was never my intention to see your guy in the buff.], and it looks exactly like the kind of stuff I would have thrown into the shoe-box, tucked under my bed, when I was in grade school.




These were a total score.

Fright Flicks were released back in 1988 by Topps. It was a series of trading cards that took screen-shots from several R-rated horror films from that era. Everything from Aliens (1986) to Fright Night (1985) to An American Werewolf in London (1981) were included. These cards would have terrified me as a kid; they certainly don't hold back on the gore or unpleasantness. I've spent the last couple years looking for some, though, and it finally paid off.

And yes, I could have just bid on a box of 'em on eBay for forty bucks right this second, but that sorta' takes all the fun out of it. I enjoy going and finding this exact kinda' thing out in the wild. I adore the fact that a couple sealed packs of twenty-five year old trading cards were sitting on a shelf at a thrift shop only yesterday. I especially like that they only cost me .99 cents each.

Pumpkinhead looks a lot nicer for under a buck.







16 comments:

  1. I rather like the little Tale Spin guy and the Hound Dog next to Luigi. : )

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  2. I'd have paid the 2.99 JUST for the Beetlejuice figurine! I do believe I have some loose Fright Flicks kicking around somewhere as well. They're yours the next time I put together packages for folks.

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  3. AND... I hope you feel better. Just went through a couple rounds of terrible illness up here as well. NO FUN.

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    1. Yeah, I felt bad when I found out that you were sick so close to Halloween. Nothing worse than your body betraying you at the worst possible moment. Hopefully that's it for both of us for this season, though. Perfect health from here on out..!

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    2. Yeah, it wasn't even a month after my bout with pneumonia and it was some sort of hyper-flu. I am genuinely convinced I'm cursed.

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  4. Brian, welcome to Mad Max. The first one is so raw.
    I had a copy of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome that my son tore the tape out of. But I kept the box because "something" stopped me from tossing it. So I had an empty case for a couple years and every once in awhile friends looking throught the tapes would ask about it.... and I would have to hastily change the subject when they pressed for why I still had the box then.... Then he tore the box! So I put my copy of Valley Girl in it.... and recently I picked up a new to me copy of it. So all is full circle.
    And I can't really say if it was $3 well spent as I am in a buyer's funk right now. Two weeks ago, I would have said absolutely ;)

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    1. Raw is the perfect word for the first film.

      And ...Beyond Thunderdome was my introduction to the world of Mad Max. I'm not a huge fan, with the exceptions of Blaster Master and Tina's "We Don't Need Another Hero". I love that you held onto the box; something I've done on several occasions. Even more that you briefly used it to store a copy of Valley Girl.

      Perfect.

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  5. Geek confession: I still have not seen Mad Max!

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    1. Rectify now. It's such a filthy shot of adrenaline. So worth seeing at least once. I'll let you borrow my VHS..!

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    2. I don't think I have a working VCR in the house hehe, Blasphemy I know! I did see Thunderdome when it came out though.

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  6. Your blog is awesome!! Thanks for taking a look at mine. Those finds are totally worth 2.99 . I've paid double and walked away with less.

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    Replies
    1. I'm always on the lookout for fun, new blogs to check out and yours more than fit the bill. And I appreciate you returning the favor..!

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  7. You should continue with the next two Mad Max films by the way. The second one is arguably the best, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Beyond Thunderdome myself.

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  8. Gotta love the vintage kids meal stuff! Money well spent.

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