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

Hey, all.

I'm just popping in real quick to announce the winner of the latest Free Giveaway. A huge congrats to "Heroic35", who will soon be receiving his very own Trash Pack from yours truly.

As always, I want to thank each and every one of you for visiting the blog, and for joining in and taking part in the action. It's an absolute blast getting to read your comments, connecting with you on other social medias like Twitter and Instagram [both: @itstrashculture], and reading your blogs, too. I've had a fantastic year blogging, and despite the occasional time-lapses between posts, I'm not planning on going anywhere.

Keep your peepers peeled for plenty of upcoming posts, and get geared up as we head into the holiday season. There's gonna be an absolutely monstrous Halloween Giveaway in a couple months, one that I'm already starting to put together.

You've been warned.

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!

Be Kind, Please Rewind: Favorites From Favorites

A little known fact about me is that my middle-name is Procrastination. My parents were able to glimpse into the future, and they saw that I would be the absolute slacker-est slacker in a family full of layabouts. Yes, I totally agree that it was a waste of their paranormal abilities. They could have been investing in Apple or preventing the birth of James Franco and saving us from a war with North Korea. Way to go, Mom and Dad. You've doomed us all.

Anyway.

This is a belated thank-you to a handful of incredible individuals who were kind enough to bless me with their friendships and their hand-me-down VHS. Analog bliss in the form of gifts from people who mean the world to me.

With the recent release of images from the latest installment in the series [Mad Max: Fury Road], it only makes sense to start with the most topical of treats. The copy of Mad Max (1979) on the left is one that I found at the thrift shop a while back. I feel like I may have shown it off before, but maybe I'm mistaken. I'm certainly too lazy to go back and check.

It's prettier "sister" to the right recently ended up part of my collection courtesy of Derek, The Goodwill Geek. I've ranted and raved about both the blog and the man before, but that won't stop me from doing so again. He's easily one of the most generous people I've encountered through my blogging here, but it's far from his best quality. Hilarious, and with a sense of aesthetic and taste that I can definitely admire, it's been an absolute blast getting to know him over the last year. Things have only gotten sweeter since he's joined up with the cast of Geek Fallout, which means I'm allowed the opportunity to actually chat with him on a mostly regular basis.

Another goodie from Derek, we have a nearly-forgotten gem from 1987, The Visionaries. Based on a stellar toy-line from the same year, it featured several warriors with various abilities they could harness through the use of their hologram chest-plates. The VHS was released by Hi-Tops Video, which was truly a mark of quality for the mid-'80s. They were also responsible for releasing tapes for other animated programs like My Pet Monster, Madballs and The Inhumanoids.

Remember when I mentioned earlier that I was a Class-A Procrastinator?

These two tapes were gifted to me by Laura [aka: Boo Bobby] back during the holiday. The Christmas holiday. It took me six months to finally get around to highlighting my two favorite tapes; both of them are pure nostalgic catnip for me. I was a huge fan of Ernest P. Worrell and his constant misadventures. Whether it was saving Christmas or developing super-powers after a failed execution [yes, seriously], I couldn't get enough of Jim Varney's wacky alter-ego. Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) is apparently the best received film in the franchise, and I was thrilled to add it to my collection.

Anything F.H.E [Family Home Entertainment] immediately catches my attention; the company's presence on the shelves at my childhood video store was overwhelming. When it also happens to be a Thundercats release, well, maybe I should have saved that catnip quip for this. It was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, but still manages to enthrall me to this day. Especially when it involves Monkian and a tyrannosaurus rex.

Summer has, thankfully, brought Laura back into the blogging fold. I've been lucky enough to keep in touch with her during the quiet periods thanks to other social medias, but it's doubly nice to see her writing again and sharing lovely pictures of her projects and her family.

Delicious is the first word that comes to mind when I look at this limited-edition Halloween: 10-31-78 box set. Released by Anchor Bay to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of John Carpenter's Halloween, it was a total rarity during the days of VHS. The set contained two tapes, which featured a number of interviews, deleted scenes and making-of featurettes. The type of stuff that is all too common nowadays on DVD and Blu-Ray releases, but not so with the limitations of the VHS-format.

Also, I just love the orange. I'm a total sucker for tapes molded in a color other than black, and these just scream jack o'lanterns and falling leaves and Michael Myers stalking his prey.

Gorgeous.

I may not have mentioned, but both the Halloween tapes and the one you see above originated from the dorkiest locale around, the home of Miss M. I don't have much to say about this copy of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), except that I am in love with the New Arrival sticker on the front of the box. Probably more than the film itself, and I adore any movie that features Bobby Budnick and Don and Dan Stanton.

I do, however, have plenty to say about Miss M, and you better believe that it is all fantastic. It's hardly earth-shattering news, because I'm certain this wonderful, little community of ours is already aware of how great she is. But she's great; genuine and caring, one of the friendliest people I've ever known. Imaginative in the best way possible, it's been an inspiration reading her blog and the tall-tales she spins about her toy counterpart. It means the world to me that I get to call her my friend.

Man, favorites from favorites really should have been favorites from friends. I'd go back and change it, but then I'd be going against my nature and my middle-name.

Image is Everything: An Introduction

A couple weeks back, I made an appearance on an episode of Geek Fallout: The Comic Book Episodes where we discussed Image Comics. You can listen to it here.

As a young comic reader in the early to mid-nineties, the formation of Image Comics was an absolutely mind-blowing event. Top talents from Marvel, my one true love at the time, jumped ship to form their own company without all the Comics Code restrictions and editorial interference. Regardless the quality of several titles, I still dove right in and devoured most of the books that this newly founded publisher put on the shelves. But my love and admiration for everything eXtreme had to start somewhere, right?

Yup, that's Spawn issue number three, dated August 1992, and it's the first Image comic that I ever picked up. It's not the exact copy; the original is tucked away in a bin somewhere, but I found this second copy in the dollar-bins at my local comic shop the other day and couldn't leave it behind. It's not a particularly thrilling issue, but I suffer severe bouts of nostalgia just flipping through it. Something that's worth the price of admission alone.

Obviously, this is -very- early in the title's publication, a time when Todd McFarlane was at his absolute best. Hot off a super-successful run on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man, his new venture was easily one of the most anticipated of Image's announced books and would serve as one of the company's two launch-titles [along with Rob Liefeld's Youngblood]. The promise of occult-based ultra-violence and heavy melodramatics, paired with McFarlane's uniquely gritty art-style, was all that was needed to catch my attention.

Like many of those early Image comics, this particular issues doesn't hold up very well. That's okay, though, because it served its true purpose all those years ago. It hooked me, reeled me in to this world of grim anti-heroes and cyborg-mutants, alien cops and edgy vigilantes, and it's refused to let me go, even two decades later.

Stay tuned, true-believers, because there's a lot more style-over-substance to come..!

Deathlok Wants to Live at Your House: The Results!

Hey, I'm a day late on posting this.

That's par for the course around these parts, so apologies to any newcomers that were expecting me to be prompt. It rarely happens because I'm the worst. Except when I'm the best and giving away free stuff like comics and junk. You get used to it, I guess.

Right so, thank you to all for taking the time to check out the blog, and for leaving comments and entering the contest. Basically, everything that you do and for everything that you are. It turns out that I can't be the best after all, because you beat me to that top spot. You're the best.

And because you're all top of the heap, a-number-one, king of the hill, I've got a little special something for each and every one of you.

Comics for everybody..!

I did mention before that I buy a lot of comics. So many, remember? And since I've got more than enough already, and am buying more all the time, well it only makes sense to part with more than a handful. That means that everyone that entered into the contest is gonna end up receiving a small assortment of back-issues. Floppies for all, I say.

All you have to do to claim this consolation prize is send me an email to itstrashculture[at]gmail.com with an address where I can ship 'em out to. Feel free to include a small list of favorite characters or titles, and I'll try to dig up something good and specially chosen for each of you.

Of course, unfortunately, while everyone is gonna walk away with something, only one of you can actually receive the Deathlok Lives trade that was pictured in the original contest-post. I randomly drew the winner's name earlier today, and that lucky participant was none other than Patrick C.

So, Patrick, if you could please send me an email to claim your prize, I'll get that out to you ASAP.

Again, thank you all for visiting the blog, and be sure to keep a look out for next month's special One Year Anniversary Free Giveaway..!