Sexy Geek? Maybe It Should Be Old, Picky Geek

Every New Years that passes, I think about another year that passes and how much closer to the grave I am. There's a lot I want to accomplish and still hope to in my life. I would like to see if my writing can take me anywhere aside from my blogs. I would also like to do a podcast with one of my very good friends. When the two of us are together, we crack each other up and I think we could have a great podcast. We have discussed it and hopefully it will come to fruition. It's really my fault for the delay as I don't have a microphone on my laptop and I would like to have a better laptop as well. Hopefully soon. Most of all, when I do think about things, I do think about my collection and what direction I'd like it to go.

I know I have discussed this topic in previous blog posts, but as of late, I have been really considering downsizing it and concentrating on what I really like to collect. I feel as of late I have been stagnate when it comes to my collection. I haven't really been adding to it, not because I'm out of work, although that does come into play. I just haven't found really anything I've wanted to add. A lot of the stuff that comes out these days are not things I have been quick to open my wallet for. In my opinion, the stuff that comes out is too expensive and your really not getting the best bang for your buck.

There have been stuff that I have been excited for on paper, yet when I saw the finished product I was like, ehhhhhhhhhh. Like the 1966 Batman figures. I only got the Batman and Surf's Up Batman in my collection and I'm fine with that. I wasn't really impressed with the quality of the figures and the likenesses of them. Plus, I was a bit ticked that Robin was only released in a box set and is supposed to be released in another box set with Batman and Batgirl. When that will be released, I don't know. Also, at $22 bucks, these were pretty expensive figures. I'm sure I will get the rest at some point, but not anytime soon.

Don't get me wrong, I know that stuff is expensive these days. It's part of the hobby and if I want to have a sweet collection, I will have to spend, spend spend. I'm just not going to spend anymore on every Spider-Man or Batman item that comes out. I think it's time to concentrate on specific characters or things or people I m passionate about.

1-Batman Pre 1989

I enjoy the Christopher Nolan movies. I really think those are the best Batman movies ever made, aside from the 1966 Batman movie, which I enjoy the hell out of. I will admit something though, I hate the all black Batman outfits. My Batman has grey in it. Blue and grey to be specific. I can't explain the joy I feel whenever I see a Batman figure in those colors. It takes me back to my childhood when I used to sit in my room, watching the Super Friends while noshing on a bowl of cereal or when I opened Christmas presents and got a Batman Mego with Batmobile. So I decided I will start focusing my collection on Batman before the Tim Burton movie. I love the 1966 TV show, so I will buy stuff that fits that part of my collection, vintage or modern releases. I love the Super Friends Batman and have the figure. I want that Hot Wheels Super Friends Batmobile and I also want the statue and will get them eventually. I can concentrate on just this period of the character and have a pretty kick ass collection.

2-Spider-Man

I don't see myself really changing in how I collect Spider-Man. I will probably continue to collect him as is.

3-Statues

One thing I want to do is add more statues to my collection. I figure if I don't spend money on newer releases at Toys R Us or Target, I can save up for some really cool pieces. I have been wanting to start collecting the Batman Black And Whites. I want to pick up the upcoming Adam West Batman statue. There are some really nice Spider-Man pieces I want also like the Origins piece and the half Peter Parker/Spider-Man bust that I drool over each time I see it on eBay.

4-Hot Toys

These are some of the most beautiful and expensive figures you will ever see. I see some of these figures in comic book shops or cons and I just start getting feverish and itchy and I start walking toward the figure like I'm looking for my next fix. I, unfortunately, do not own a Hot Toys figure. Part of it is I haven't had steady work in almost 2 years and part of it is because I spend, spend, spend. I couldn't save a dollar even if I knew I was getting thrown out tomorrow. I'll still be at Toy's R Us buying that cheap plastic Spider-Man that I really don't need. This year, I will try my best to save for at least 1 Hot Toys figure. I'm leaning toward 1966 Batman to be my first Hot Toys figure.

5-Luke Skywalker/Star Wars

I have been collecting anything and everything Luke Skywalker I can get my hands on. I just recently got a Luke Skywalker Titan figure that I love as a late Christmas gift. I will be reviewing it in the near future. I also want to pick up some vintage Star Wars figures and play sets. I still want the Death Star playset. I also need a vintage X Wing too.

6-Beatles

Some of the most expensive collectibles you will find are Beatles items from the 60's. Because of that, most of the Beatles things I will own will be modern Beatles releases. Right now, my Beatles holy grail is the set of Beatles cartoon figures that McFarlane put out. That box set goes for close to $200.00 bucks on eBay.

7- Back To The Future

I really don't go out of my way to pick up Back To The Future stuff, even if it's my favorite movie of all time. I haven't picked up the Funko POP's yet. I haven't thought about grabbing the Hover Board I've seen. If I come across it and feel like picking it up, I will.

So, I've managed to streamline my collecting habits to 7 categories, and that's not even mentioning my sports collectibles. I won't be collecting Kiss or Iron Man or anything else I was picking up before. The Simpsons are a category that I also don't normally collect, but I have picked up a piece here and there and will probably continue to do so. I can also see myself knocking off a category or two in the future. Why?

Well, I need room to walk around. My room is starting to become cluttered. I have no space to display my stuff and in the future, what if I don't have room for display then either? I have always hated collections that look so cluttered, unorganized and I never want mine to look like that. I will display in cabinets and shelves, but I want it to be a neat display. Also, money. I don't have a million dollars to spend on figures and collectibles. I barely have $50.00 at times. I need to pick and choose what to get. I want to pick up the best things for what I can afford.

When going shopping, my buddy and I don't buy just anything anymore. We look for the "Wow" factor. Something that I will not put back after holding it and walking around the store. If I have to think about it, it goes back. Maybe I'm trying to grow up a bit or maybe as I reach my 44th birthday in April, I am starting to realize I cannot own everything. That's not what collecting is all about. It's about picking up pieces that you will be proud to display and never, ever want to let go. I want to be able to look at my collection years from now through coke bottle glasses and smile as I sit n my rocking chair.

Toy Show Days Make Me Want To Jump In My Yellow Submarine

Today was the monthly toy show in greater Wayne, NJ. I was going to hunt down some goodies to add to the ole' House Of Swag and I was really looking forward to it. My buddy, George had the idea to go and we agreed to meet really early Sunday morning and head over to shift through bins filled with toys, tables displayed with gems and shelves showing off...well, you get the idea here.

Now, I usually don't discuss the journey to said event in my blogs, but because of the title of this entry, I feel compelled to explain myself.

George and I met up at the appointed time at the appointed place and hit the road. After a stop at the bank and gas station, we found ourselves in New Jersey pretty quickly, thanks to my buddy's GPS with the voice of Mr. T guiding us along with a well placed insult here and there. I got comfortable and figured we would be at the toy show in no time at all.

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

The Mikey Curse. I'm back, jerky!

Ah yes, my nemesis was back with a vengeance. The curse that loves to throw curveballs at me when I think I have it easy and it was Clayton Kershaw today.

When we hit New Jersey, the sky's literately opened up and down came the torrential downpours. The rain was God awful. at one point, we couldn't see the road ahead of us and had to really slow down. At one point, the rain got so bad that we got off the Garden State Parkway and drove through Paramus looking for a spot to hang out and wait out the rain.

Of course, Paramus's businesses are closed on Sunday's, so as the curse laughed it's ass off, we carried on until the rain finally let up and we were back on the road. We made our destination, no worse for the wear, but already on edge thanks to the impromptu tsunami we drove through. But once we got in, game faces were on. We were shopping and if I can survive that rain, then I could survive the dude wearing the stained Dr. Who t-shirt, blocking the aisle, preventing me from passing.

The toy show had a little bit of everything. Vintage, contemporary, Star Wars, Super Heroes, TV Show Toys, Sci-Fi, DVD's, banks,comic books, and then some. The show was held in one decent sized room and had a pretty good turn out. People were there just buying up a storm and I wanted to get in on the action. As with every show, there was bargains to be had and there was dealers who was overpricing their wares. One table was selling an Avengers Hulk figure for $50.00, which is laughable.

Some real nice stuff on this table. As far as I know, that can of soda was not for sale.

As much as I would have killed to have those Beatles figures, this was one of those overpriced tables, so I didn't ask what he was asking for them. One day, they will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.

So, what did I get?

Glad you asked.

My first pick up of the day. I went in to the show with a game plan of Batman, Spider-Man, any affordable Beatles and if I could find it, that LJN Roddy Piper figure. As soon as I walked in, George spotted a table selling vintage paperbacks and found this one for me. I have been wanting this 1966 paperback novelization of the TV series for a while and $5.00 later, I finally had one.

Another table had a box of 1.00 items and after looking through the box, I came away with this late 80's, early 90's Batman Pez dispenser.

Another vintage Batman item I have been wanting for a while. I know the lithography on this cup could have been better, but since it's 47 years old I could live with it. Plus, at $ 5.00, I could sleep better at night. Of course, after walking a little further, I saw the same cup, in pristine condition. I heard the Mikey curse laugh at me again and call me a moron.

At one table, I bought a few items.

I can never pass up anything Simpsons and at $1.00 a piece, they were coming home with me.

If I could say I have buyers remorse over anything I picked up today, it was over this vintage Batman item.

Not exactly in the very best condition. Again, it was a Bat-item I wanted for a while, so I pulled the trigger on it, figuring I could clean it up a bit when I got home. What I failed to realize until I got back in the car was there was a small, broken off piece behind the right ear. The curse strikes again.

I also got this neat mint carded Spider-Man bendie figure from the same dealer. Probably, along with the Batman paperback, one of my favorite pick ups of the day. I had paired this with the vintage Batman squirt gun and got a great deal for both which made me agree before I even throughly looked at the squirt gun. Oh well, I can display it in a way that no one will ever know until I can get an upgrade. Shhhhhhhhhh.

The day didn't end there. After getting lost in North Jersey trying to get back (The Curse representing!) and making it back to Westchester, we made Toys R Us the final stop of our day and I was able to pick up these goodies.

If there are three things I love in this world, it's Batman, the Batmobile and candy. This little guy has all three so I happily bought it. I will be eating the candy as I do not want any unwelcome bugs in the House Of Swag.

My final purchase was this Captain Action base figure. You long time readers might remember I bought the Spider-Man costume and accessories last year and had needed a Capt. Action figure to display it. The figure had been $39.99 for the longest time. So when I saw it today at $16.00, I grabbed it and I can throw on the Spidey outfit and display it once I have my shelving up.

I gotta tell you guys, it's been a while since I had a toy haul like the one I had today and it was sweet. The next few months will be a bit tough to have another haul with birthdays, weddings, holidays and a trip out to California upcoming. But if I can add a piece here and there, then I should be content until I can go off on another crazed toy hauling kind of day.

Curse be dammed!

The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror-My 5 Favorites

I used to love Halloween. Back when I was a kid, I used to dress up as either Spider-Man, Batman, Darth Vader and other favorites as I either went to Halloween parties or trick or treating in the Pelham Parkway section of The Bronx. That's were the best loot was in the Bronx. The houses were always decorated with all sorts of scary things from bats to monsters to pictures of Jimmy Carter. Man, it was great to be a kid in the late 70's/early 80's.

But since I have grown up (in size, not maturity), I can no longer do the trick or treating thing. My friends don't really have Halloween parties and I'm usually working on Halloween. So, my tradition is now going home, popping in my Simpson DVDs and watching the Treehouse of Horror episodes. I'm a huge Simpsons fan. Have been since they were on the Tracey Ulman Show and have watched just about every episode of the show. My favorites are the Halloween specials called The Treehouse Of Horror. They have been doing them since season 2 and, for the most part, are some of the funniest episodes they put out all year.

Today, I wanted to share my 5 favorite Treehouse episodes. As always, these are my favorites and it doesn't mean they are the best ones put out. It was a hard list to put together. I had to leave out some other favorites episodes. I also did not put them in any order as I love these bits equally.

So, without further ado, I give to you, my list starting with:

A Clown Without Pity

This episode is from Treehouse Of Horror III from season 4. In this one, Homer forgets to buy Bart a birthday present and runs out to your local store, which happens to sell trinkets of pure evil and frozen yogurt. Homer buys a Talking Krusty The Clown doll, which tries to kill Homer because he doesn't like Homer. Krusty tries to stab Homer while he's watching TV and harpoon him while he's taking a bath. Eventually, Marge calls the KrustyCo toy company for help and has a repairman come over. The repairman sees the doll was set to evil and resets it to good. Homer and the doll become friends, but Homer now uses it as a slave and has Krusty doing chores like getting his snacks, walking the dog and sponge bathing Homer. The end sees Krusty returning home to his Malibu Stacey and snuggling with her.

King Homer

Some of my favorite Treehouse episodes are their parodies of other horror movies. In this one, they parody King Kong and turn him into King Homer, which was also from Treehouse Of Horror III. In it, Marge joins Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers on an expedition to Ape Island to find King Homer. The natives, see Marge and agree the blue haired woman would make a good sacrifice and tie her up as an offering. We first see Homer fighting a T-Rex and is distracted by the drums summoning him. The T-Rex takes the opportunity to bite Homer who responds in a loud D'oh which echoes across the island. Homer is smitten by Marge who sees the good in Homer in return. Smithers knocks out Homer with gas, but is eaten by a sleeping Homer as Mr. Burns is congratulating him. Homer is then taken to Downtown Springfield and is displayed in front of an audience and newspaper photographers. The flash of the camera's enrage Homer who breaks loose and runs amok in Downtown Springfield managing to eat Shirley Temple in the process. Homer then captures Marge and tries to climb the Empire State Building, but grows tried by the second floor and falls down. Marge agrees to take care of Homer and marries him. Homer eats Marge's dad at the wedding, yet Marge is not angry.

Citizen Kang

This episode is from Treehouse of Horrors VII, season 8. This episode involves 2 of my favorite Simpsons Characters, Kang and Kodos, the aliens who always try to enslave humanity. In this episodes, Homer is abducted by the aliens as he is fishing and is told to take them to his leader. Homer explains that there is an election coming up and while President Clinton is in charge for now, it can change with Bob Dole taking over should he win. The aliens decide to capture both Clinton and Dole, place them in suspended animation tubes and disguise themselves as Clinton and Dole, so they are ensured that one of them will be in power after the election. They douse Homer with rum, so no one would believe his story and throw him off the spaceship. The aliens go out on the campaign trail seeking votes while Homer looks for the ship. Once he finds it, he flies off and turns off the suspended animation tubes that Dole and Clinton were in. They agree to team up and get rid of the aliens, but Homer accidentally releases them into outer space, thus killing the President and his opponent. On the day before the election, Homer crashes the ship into the Capitol and reveals to Amercia the aliens. Since they deem it too late to find replacements, the Americans hold the election as is with Kang winning. The Americans are enslaved and is forced to build a ray gun aimed at another planet.

The Raven

From Treehouse of Horror I, season 2. This episode parodies the classic tale by Edgar Allan Poe and is narrated by James Earl Jones. Lisa reads the story, which finds Homer as the lead character. He dreams of his dear Lenore, which is played by Marge. Lisa and Maggie play the seraphim. Homer argues with a raven which has a spike head and sounds like Bart. The episode is done straight from the book with added humor.

The Shinning

If I had to pick one of the Treehouse of Horrors episodes, I think this one would be my favorite. From Treehouse of Horror, season 6,  this episode parodies Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie, The Shining. The episode opens with the Simpsons driving to Mr. Burn's mansion to become the winter caretakers. Homer has to turn back twice because he forgot to lock the front and back doors of their home. Mr. Smithers removes all beer and shuts off the cable to ensure an honest winter's work from Homer. When Mr. Smithers questions the move, Mr. Burns tells him that if the Simpsons are all dead when they get back, he will owe him a Coke. Groundskeeper Willie discovers that Bart can read his thoughts and tells him to call him if Homer goes insane. Because there is no beer or TV, Homer starts to go insane. A Ghostly Moe tells him he has to kill his family in order to get a beer. Marge discovers that Homer wrote "No TV and No Beer Make Homer Go Crazy". Homer attacks and Marge has to defend herself with a bat. Homer, while stalking Marge up the stairs, sees his reflection, gets scared and falls down the stairs, knocking himself out. Marge locks Homer in the pantry, where Homer is gorging himself silly. Moe returns to remind Homer of their deal. Homer refuses to stop eating and has to be dragged out by Moe and his gang of monsters. Homer chops down multiple doors and recites different TV openings until he finds the family eating dinner and chases them. Bart calls Willie for help. As soon as Willie arrives, Homer kills him with the axe and chases the family out into the snow. Lisa finds Willie's portable TV and shows it to Homer who's urge to kill fades. He invites the family to sit in the snow and watch TV with them. They freeze and are unable to change the channel when the Tony Awards begin. Homer's urge to kill then returns.

This episode has one of my favorite bits in all of the Treehouse episodes:

Well, those are my favorites. Not all of them. I narrowed it down to 5, but a few others could have made this list like Hungry Are The Damned, The Devil and Homer Simpson, Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace and Desperately Xeeking Xena which were all great episodes. Would love to hear what your favorite Treehouse of Horror episodes are.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!