The "One Man's Trash..." Anniversary Giveaway

It seems to be a recent San Diego Comic Con tradition that I don't even humor the idea of attending, and instead, I turn my attention to this blog in the attempt to lighten my load. Giving away so much stuff, all the odd little collectibles that have been piling up over the days and weeks and years. The idea that you can never have enough toys or comics or DVDs, well, it's a great one, but it's totally false. Limited space to store it all, limited time to enjoy those things, sometimes you exceed those limits and find yourself wondering how things got so bad. So yes, it's time to lighten my load.

That's good news for all of you, because it means that we're hosting the latest "One Man's Trash..." Free Giveaway. And this one is the big one. Celebrating a year of blogging, and a year of giving away my trash to other people. Some of you have been here before, but there may be a handful of new readers lurking that don't know the score. Let's quickly rehash the rules, shall we?

You don't have to follow the blog, but I'd definitely appreciate it if you did. There hasn't been a whole lot of content lately, but I'm hoping for that to change in the very near future. We're getting into my favorite time of year, already anticipating the leaves turning orange and rust, cooler nights and the howl of wolves in the distance, but maybe they're closer than you think. I'm totally getting off track, but the idea that Halloween is drawing near will do that to you.

So, anyway, there are two ways to enter this month's giveaway-- you can leave a comment below, something breezy and light, maybe having to do with your favorite episode of The Golden Girls or the time you rented Killer Instinct for the SNES and didn't return it for three weeks. The other way to enter is to send an email to itstrashculture[at]gmail.com. Simple enough, sure, and completing either of those things is all you need to do to maybe, possibly, win a box full of things. Incredible things, even though I never hesitate to refer to it all as trash.

You've got a week to enter; I'll randomly draw the winner's name next Friday, August 1st, and we'll work out the details from there. Best of luck to everyone, and thanks to all who took the time to check out the blog!

The Urge to Purge

Collecting too much. Acquiring so many things, and letting them overwhelm you and rule your life. I am guilty of this and chances are, if you're here and you're reading this, well, you are too. Again, like me, you probably own tons of old beat-up action figures and boxes of VHS without a functioning VCR. Stacks of unread books, comics and old issues of Nintendo Power. Records, sure, of course, but cassette tapes and CEDs and all the outdated media you could possibly imagine. More than you could ever hope to contain.

So, yes, drastic measures must be taken.

Let me introduce you, dearest readers and friends, to The Minimalism Game.

I didn't stumble upon this on my own, but was introduced to it through the wonders of Instagram and one of my favorite bloggers out there, Mason from D.I Treasures. A collector like me, yeah, but I'm pretty sure I'm closer to crossing the fine-line between hobbyist and full-blown hoarder. If you doubt that, well, I've got a large box full of outdated party supplies that says otherwise.

They'll probably be the first thing to go, actually.

The idea of the game is to find a friend or two, people who also have lots of stuff in their lives they could and should part ways with. For the span of a month, each of you gets rid of these excess item every day. The true challenge comes in with this simple twist-- on the first day, you toss away one item. No big deal. The second day, two items must go. Three on the third, four on the fourth. This continues until the end of the month.

So, by day twenty-four, you're purging two dozen items for that one day. Doesn't sound so easy, does it?

Using other social medias, mostly Instagram [you can follow me @itstrashculture], you'll be able to keep up with my own attempt to minimize the Trash Pile. I'll be posting each day's efforts, and tagging both Mason and Laura [of Boo Bobby], who have both inspired me to undertake this challenge.

Oh, and if you see anything posted on Instagram that you might want to lay claim to, shoot an email to itstrashculture[at]gmail.com and we'll try and work something out. Help me avoid being crushed to death by a pile of junk by taking home some trash of your own!

Mr. Clawful Goes to Best Buy

You may remember my affinity for the worst of the worst, bottom-of-the-barrel baddies. Well, sometimes it gets me into trouble.

Over the last several months, because of my admiration for scum and villainy, I've found a handful of henchmen, goons and ne'er-do-wells settling in for extended visits. Usually that just means fighting over the last pack of Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop Tarts with Serpentor, but every now and then someone steps over the line. I'll catch some rogue snooping through my things, trying to take something that's mine.

Most recently, in fact, I caught a certain criminal crustacean rifling in my wallet. And look at what he managed to slip away with before I could stop him.

I'd managed to hold onto that Best Buy gift-card since Christmas, waiting to find just the right thing to purchase from their fine website. Clawful couldn't have cared less that I had been eying that Criteron release of Repo Man (1984) for months now. No, he just rushed right off to the nearest brick-and-mortar store and spent all twenty-five dollars on the type of trash that even I would have avoided.

Worst of all, he's forcing me to share all his ridiculous purchases with each and every one of you.

I am so very sorry.

Yes, I know exactly what you're thinking. I felt the exact same way, and I had the exact same thought; why would Clawful purchase candy from the last-remaining electronics retailer in the known multiverse?

Because Skeletor was right all these years. This lobster is the most bumbling of buffoons!

Credit where it's due, though. If he was gonna waste a couple bucks on Pez, he certainly picked the best one they had. Ignoring those little yellow bastards from the Despicable Me films and a horrid-looking Thor, Clawful wrapped his oversized pincher around Yoshi and refused to let go.

I had to question his logic in picking up a pack of Star Wars Galaxy Series 7 trading cards. At a whopping three-dollars for a measly seven cards, I just didn't understand the appeal. His only response was mostly incoherent babbling about how Darth Maul reminded him of his mother.

The crab's got issues.

Eventually, I was able to tear him away from the impulse items. It took a little nudging, but we finally headed over to Best Buy's mediocre selection of DVDs to pick out a few films to enjoy. It was more of a challenge finding movies that we both agreed on, however. He insisted on picking up a copy of Rodney Dangerfield's classic comedy, Back to School (1986), until I reminded him that we already have it on VHS.

Which lead to a lengthy debate on whether or not VHS is an obsolete media; the details of which I will thankfully spare you.

A compromise had to be made before he would settle on the first of our two titles.

I haven't seen Galaxy Quest (1999) since it was first released on video. Back during my days as a lowly clerk at my local mom n' pop rental store, Video Showplace. It's a film I've been wanting to revisit for quite some time now, especially since it seems to have developed a solid cult-following these last several years.

Clawful agreed to adding it to his basket, but only if he could have some friends over to watch it. I wasn't in a position to deny his request, especially when he mentioned my favorite Silverhawks' rogue, Buzz-Saw, would be attending.

I was less enthusiastic upon discovering that the X-Men's infamous foe, Apocalypse, would also be there. The guy's developed a total diva attitude since it was announced he was gonna be in the next installment of First Class.

For whatever reason, Clawful is a huge fan of James Bond, and we found ourselves once more at odds. I've never particularly cared for the exploits of 007, regardless of who is portraying him, and attempted to veto any selection featuring the famed secret-agent. And yet.

And yet somehow this monstrosity, a psychedelic "spoof" featuring Peter Sellers as Sir James Bond 007, managed to find its way home along with us. The only plus to this purchase was that it also caused dissension within the villainous ranks of Clawful's best buds.

Clawful's snack selection also managed to brew up some turmoil.

Apocalypse spotted those Flipz covered in Mutant Milk Chocolate and immediately claimed them as his own. Spouting off some nonsense about "survival of the fittest", he proclaimed that no filthy flatscans would touch his most prized of pretzels without incurring the wrath of En Sabah Nur.

Whoever the fuck that is.

Thankfully there was something for us mere mortals, though you might mistake it at first glimpse for something akin to ambrosia. I know nothing about Bigs brand sunflower-seeds, but I sure as fuck know a thing or two about Vlasic pickles. Combining my eighth or ninth favorite snack with Dill Pickles is a thing of absolute bliss and majesty.

Clawful did okay with this one.

And then, of course, his true colors shine through. Reminding us all that he is the most selfish shellfish this side of Eternia, the bastard refused to share any of his Layer Dip Tortilla Combos. Friend or foe, it didn't appear to matter as this third-rate goon managed to down the entire bag before anyone could protest.

I'm not entirely sure how he maintains the physique of Hercules or He-Man with his eating habits. I smell something most foul, and it isn't his buddy Stinkor hanging out in Snake Mountain. My best guess is some of Evil-Lyn's black magic is keeping him in tip-top shape. That stuff's worse than steroids, man.

Wait, is that Grand Moff Tarkin..?

I take back every awful thing I've ever said about that lobster-man. He is obviously doing everything right, and they should change his name to Clawesome.

Here's to you, Clawesome!