Monday, September 8, 2014

Finally, with thanks, to the Goodwill Geek

Hey everybody. I interrupt the usual All My Toys story to actually discuss some of the real things that go on in my life. So, you know the drill. Click the link below!



Ok! Here we go. That Total Darkness business took up a great deal of my time. I had really planned on discussing other dorky topics during the month of August, but I was consumed with real life and the dorky stories. On a quick side note, I really want to thank everyone who participated in the One Shots and for everyone who read or left comments. It really meant a lot to me that you all stopped by and continued to read. I never expected a single soul to read this stuff, it is truly something I do because I have no life and I enjoy playing with my toys. So to have people read it and get it, it's icing on the cake. Thank you!

There is also some more thanks to go around. A long, long, long time ago, or as I like to call, the beginning of summer, Derek (the Goodwill Geek) sent me a box filled with goodies. Derek is a really great guy. He has a lovely family, a delightful personality, and an insane collection. I am also glad to call him my friend. It all sounds like we live in the same town, but we've actually never met in person. I just feel lucky enough to consider him my friend. Anyways, he sent me a box of goodies. And I have been chomping at the bits to share with you all what he sent me, because he sent some crazy good stuff. The kind of stuff that I have always wanted, but for some reason have never really picked up, and never told anyone about either! In other words, opening this box was like someone had ripped open my mind and read it. So ladies and gentlemen, this is our first real life case of knowing a telepath. Derek is that telepath. He is a mutant. A level 5 Omega mutant. I'm not scared of mutants, because I am one too. Except my mutant ability involves eating french fries and remembering useless trivia. Anyways, he is a telepath who read my mind, and sent it to me in a box. Not my mind. My mind is still in my brain, or wherever the mind truly resides. This paragraph is getting weird. So let's check out the stuff!


Derek has an impressive collection of books, and these two will definitely get some good reading from me. I've never read either of them, but The Ring of the Nibelung sounds really good. I love stuff like that and The Book of Ballads sounds like so much fun! I'm a sucker for romance, so I will be reading these and longing for the day when the man of my dreams enters into my life and I'll get to create a real life ballad. Oh goodness that is beyond sappy and stupid, and is probably why I will be single for the rest of my days. 

A pack of Troll cards! I love me some Trolls. They are nature's way of saying, "There's some pretty cool stuff in the world, but we're sorry these aren't actively in it." I wish Trolls were real, and not just in the plastic toy version of real. I want them to be alive. And able to speak. I need new friends ok?

This metal bank with some groovy denim detailing is amazing. I actually am saving up for some new denim. Having a womanly shape is a pain in the ass when it comes to jeans. Pretty much everything else can easily slide on and hug my curves, but even the stretchiest of denim can sometimes get stuck on my thighs to say nothing of trying to get around my hips. So I think I will be throwing some money in this awesome bank so that I can buy some new jeans. This is the coolest thing. It really is!

There was also this little guy. I love creepy finger puppet toys. The comic store near my house has all these sets of different finger puppets. They're really fun, and this cute little guy also glows in the dark. Now what could be scarier than that?

There was also this little rabbit thing. It's cute and will be perfect for stenciling with my work at the schools. The kids are always wanting to do arts and crafts and I am sometimes at a loss for what to do. Now I have the perfect answer!

S.L.U.G. Zombies! You can never have enough of these things! I have loved collecting these and to be sent more is always a nice thing. This was a really great toy line. It capitalized on the zombie craze at the time and fed my nostalgic feelings for things like C.U.T.I.E. and M.U.S.C.L.E men. Also, because I had a lot of fun writing it, check out an old Heroic Hottie from 2013 right here. I loved writing that and the pictures were a blast.

This is a Dr. Who mini figure. Possibly the Ninth Doctor? I am not entirely up to date on my Dr. Who business, but I feel like I should be. I know a lot of people who love this series and it is certainly something I will one day watch. Doctors are dreamy.   

Also thrown into the mix are some mini figures. The one on the right is a cute Garbage Pail Kid toy and I am guessing the one on the left is too, though I am not sure. However, both are super cute and the perfect shade of red.

I adore these next two items. First off, I have never had an E.T. figure, and I am so happy to have him. I loved that movie as a kid and I have been told that it was the first movie I ever saw in theaters. I vaguely remember that. My Auntie (my mom's sister) took me to see it and about the only E.T. item I ever had was a hard back movie tie-in book. So it is actually really nice to have this figure too. And the Wicked Witch of the West is another great addition! 

My brother had that entire set of Wizard of Oz figures. That was a movie that I loved dearly, but being the bratty older sister that I was, I sort of fell out of love with the movie when my brother really geeked out over it and wanted everything Wizard of Oz. I didn't know how to share my pop culture touchstones! I've since moved passed my stupidity and it is nice to have this figure!

I flipped when I saw this. Bowser is one of the ultimate villains in my book. He breathes fire and he has a spiked shell. What's not to love? I have no idea the origins of this Bowser figure, but I am more than happy to have him in my collection.

More love for Nintendo! These candy dispensers are super cool. I enjoy the Mario, but my heart is a twitter over Link. Oh goodness is there anything dreamier than Link? Don't answer that! (Godzilla, I'm lusting over you!) These are really fun items.

Also from the world of Nintendo is this little guy: a Mega Bloks Yoshi mini figure! I remember thinking Yoshi was the coolest thing when he first debuted. Mario 4 was such an incredible game. I loved the whole concept of Yoshi and I am glad he has continued to be an enduring character in the world of Nintendo.

A little Animal plush is always fun! Muppets are always a bright spot for everyone. Animal was one Muppet that always worried me as a kid. I just felt like he was out of control, and that freaked me out. I am the kind of person that likes to be in control at all times. However, as I have gotten older, I have realized just how cute and wonderful Animal really is. We all have to let out our inner Animal from time to time. Life is way too short and I know I sure as heck can't control everything. I am thinking this plush will be the physical reminder for that lesson in life. 

Monskeys!! I have never collected these before and I do not know what they are exactly, but I've seen them in stores and they are so cute! The one on the far right has lemons for eyes! How could anyone not want this slice of cuteness? They have a fun colorful sense of whimsy and I am glad to have some in my collection.

There are some properties that are simply instilled in us at an early age that we will hold onto them no matter how old we get. Scooby Doo is one of those properties. It doesn't matter if I've seen the latest cartoon or read any new material, I am always down to celebrate Scooby Doo. It's just one of those shows I grew up with and have never not liked. (I used to pop those Scooby Doo Vitamins like they were candy back in the day. My Iron and Zinc levels were through the roof!) So upon seeing this Daphne glow-in-the dark figure, I completely freaked out. I love Daphne. She is my favorite. I mean, I was never cool enough to be Velma, but there was just something about Daphne that I really related to. I think it was the tights and head band. Either way, this is a nice treat!

A Star Wars Land Cruiser from the Power of the Force line! My goodness this was an epic line back in the 90's. I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fan of Star Wars, but I do like the toys. Some form of a Star Wars toy line has been around for so long, and while the figures themselves have gotten better in time, there is no denying how awesome these vehicles were and how they still hold up as a nice item. This was one of the few toy lines that my brother and I actively collected together. His love for toys ended rather quickly, but for a brief moment in time we geeked out over the same things! (Incidentally, his POTF Star Wars collection is insane. At least in terms of vehicles.)

The other Star Wars related item was this cute Galactic Heroes Padme Amidala figure. I still wish Hasbro had continued their mini sculpted figures like this for their numerous lines. I thought the style was fantastic and it was just a cute way to collect some of your favorite characters in pop culture. It's nice to see this. I have some of these already, but not a Padme! She is so winter chic! 

I know that Marvel Legends figures have come a long way since the Toy Biz days, but this is a very nice classic Black Widow figure. Her hair sculpt is cool and it was so kind of Derek to send me one!

This was a total surprise in the box! A Colossus figure from a Marvel Super Hero Playskool line! This is just so cool. I adore this item. My only gripe about toy lines like this, is that the items always cater to the male characters, and I would love to see female super heroes represented in toy lines like this. I feel like girls want these things too, and not just old women like me. 

Some Toy Biz stuff rounds out more Marvel items. The Wasp figure from the Spiderman Spider Force line is so cool. I remember searching and stalking toy aisles for that Wasp figure and never finding her. It is so exciting to finally have one! The detail and coloring is so bright and fun. To the right is a Stinger figure from Marvel's 1st Appearances line. I have had one of these before and the figure is so cool. Her wings can move around. I really want wings. I just want to be able to fly. That's all.

By this point I was just like, "No way. No. Way." Marvel's Super Hero Squad line is the coolest. This White Phoenix was one I could never get my hands on, yet somehow Derek knew to send it to me. This is why I feel he has telepathic abilities. She is now sitting on the shelf with my other Super Hero Squad toys. I will try to share a picture of that section with you all. The whole collection is slowly starting to come together.  

So out of everything that Derek sent, and boy did he send some cool stuff, it's this little kitty that made me scream and just freak out. This kitty belongs to the original Littlest Pet Shop line from the early 90's. Now, gather round children and let this old broad spin a tale for you. When the Littlest Pet Shop line first came out, I thought it was the coolest thing. I didn't grow up in a pet household, but I loved the idea of pets. So Littlest Pet Shop was the perfect toy line. I could pretend I had pets that didn't do real life gross things. Like, urinating on carpet or whatever. However, when this line came out my parents were deeply concerned that my love for toys was going to consume me. So they did not like the idea of me owning something that was for "babies" in their minds. Keep in mind I was like 10 or so when this came out, which I think is a perfectly fine age to still be geeking out over Littlest Pet Shop toys, but my parents had other notions. (One can only guess their thoughts on their 32 year old grown ass daughter geeking out over it now. Shh, we aren't going to tell them!)

Needless to say, this is my very first original Littlest Pet Shop toy and I couldn't be happier. It's like catnip to my dorky senses!  




Last but not least are these three DC Universe figures. Now I know what some of you are probably thinking: "Miss M, you are a Marvel girl. How can you be excited over this?" Well, here's why: Shazam is dreamy cool and everyone needs a Wizard figure. But, it is the Mary Batson JLU figure that just had me thinking, "How did he know to send this to me?" A few months ago I was at a store and I saw a Mary Batson figure on a clearance peg. It must have been like a Tuesday Morning or something. I nearly bought her. I am a strong believer in the power of female super heroes and a big part of my collection involves female super hero figures, dolls, and the like.

Sadly I passed on the Mary Batson toy. I believe she had a really bad paint job and I just could not handle it. So I resorted to eBay in the hopes that I would find a nicely priced Mary Batson JLU figure with a decent paint job. My search bombed. I couldn't find one I felt confident purchasing. Eventually time won out and I slowly let go of the idea of adding this Mary Batson figure to my collection. 

Until Derek sent her along with Shazam and the Wizard to me! Now here is the creepy part, I have never told a single soul this story. Derek had no idea about my search for Mary Batson. I'd never written about it on this blog. There was no Earthly reason for Derek to know that I had been looking for this figure. Which is why I will stand firm in my decision that Derek, the Goodwill Geek is indeed an Omega level mutant with supreme telepathic abilities. He won't use these powers for evil, only for good. But he is still a mutant. And thank goodness I think mutants are some of the coolest people on Earth. Thank you so much for thinking of me Derek. You are a great friend and a source of talent that I enjoy reading and catching up with. 

Anyways, that is about it for now. I hope that you are all doing well. Stick around! There are some exciting things coming up this month. There will be more with the toy story saga of toy Miss M and her friends. I'll also be doing some more posts on other things besides my crazy fanfic toy stories. I haven't done those types of posts in awhile and there's always something going on. So, take care everyone, and I hope all is well. 

P.S.

I totally forgot to mention this other item: 



A Nickelodeon Jell-O tray!!! Ren and Stimpy Jell-O shots anyone? I'm kidding! I don't even drink. That's what makes it so funny. I totally miss Ren and Stimpy though. They were so much fun as were the Real Monsters. I had completely forgotten about that show. Seriously though, who wants some Nickelodeon Jell-O shots? Anyone? 






15 comments:

  1. Derek much like yourself is just a fantastic person and i think we are lucky folks to be connected to folks like him....Some wonderful stuff there and i dig those little Monkey figures and the Nick Jell-O tray things.

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    1. Thanks John. Derek is pretty amazing. I really appreciate his friendship. And I know what you mean, I really enjoy being connected to some amazing people.

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  2. Haha, I just came from Derek's blog. It's like another crossover.

    Holy cow! That is a box full of awesome!!

    That is indeed the Ninth Doctor. Btw, it's always Doctor, never Dr, but we'll let it slide since you're not familiar :D

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    1. Hey Dex! I have been meaning to answer this comment, but I have been so behind. So yeah, I had no idea about the Doctor thing. lol Thank you for that, because yeah, I am totally not familiar at all with the property. lol I hope you are doing well!

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  3. Hey, I hear you about making connections even though we've never met. I always get so jazzed talking geek stuff with you and Derek on the podcast and in blog comments.

    Not only does it give me a rare chance to talk about nerdy stuff verbally, I feel like I learn a little something from each encounter. Can't wait for Derek to school me with his Muppets knowledge when we do that particular tribute episode!

    I used to have a jacket like that guy on the right in the 70s bank. Not denim, but some olive green fabric. Its a hazard when you buy so many of your clothes at the Salvation Army. Its scary to think how I would probably never question these looks if I lived back in that era.

    The finger puppet here looks like one of the giants from "Attack on Titan". *shudder* Thats a show that makes me queasy every time I try to watch it. I don't know why I keep trying to break into it.

    Yup, thats the 9th Doctor. In his crossover post Derek actually featured the 11th Doctor mini figure being attacked by time traveling villains like Kang and Clock King. Funny and Clever!

    Chris, Brian and myself have been doing Doctor Who episode discussions at the end of Geek Fallout these past two weeks but I don't know that they'd be much good to a novice. Maybe this video will help instead: http://sfdebris.com/videos/doctorwho/dw101.php

    That Daphne figure is up there with your zinc levels; off the charts! I'm pleased to see she's getting some love, because I'm know that when we do the Scooby Doo tribute episode next week Derek and I are probably going to go on for awhile about around nerdy affection for Velma. Any chance you'll be able to join us for that one?

    Black Widow looks like a great addition to your collection!

    Not familiar at all with these other Marvel items. I can feel the nerd cred draining out of me.

    While I think the Phoenix bit has been overdone lately it is cool to see her in this white costume. According to Chris Claremont, her costume was always meant to be white, but because of the printing technology at the time they couldn't do it without art from the next page bleeding through so they went with green instead.

    These Shazam figures are neat, but I'm curious how they got made since Captain Marvel only made one appearance on the Justice League cartoon and there wasn't enough time to spotlight his supporting cast. I'm right there with Chris Lockhart about Captain Marvel needing to branch out into Movies or TV. He's long overdue for a kid-centric animated adventure series.

    Frankly I'm amazed Derek could fit this all into one box. He must have some mad Tetris skills! Maybe I should call him up for a hand next time I need to move!

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    1. Oh there's all kinds of ways for things to fit into a box. Tetris skills do really help with that though. lol

      I know what you mean about the excitement of getting to talk to everyone on the podcast. I always enjoy getting to talk to you guys. It is certainly an exciting thing. It also gives me something to look forward to.

      This is my second Black Widow figure and she is a really nice figure. I love the hair sculpt.

      I regret not making the Scooby episode. I do like me some Scooby Doo. And I love Daphne. lol She is my favorite.

      I also like that bit about the Phoenix. I don't think I ever knew that. Although I feel like I did. The one thing I hate about getting older is that I will forget pieces of trivia that I thought I'd always be holding onto. lol

      Anyways, I feel terrible I have just now responded to this comment. I am always so behind on these things. I am hoping that will change soon. Anyways, I will talk to you later!

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    2. I'm probably not helping you with the response time my writing so much, but you just post so much I feel I have to reply in kind!

      It is a great thing to get feedback from geeky people. Your work is so much fun to play off of its what keeps me coming back to this blog and what makes Geek Fallout so much fun.

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  4. Oh I'm so glad you liked it so much! Truth be told, I forgot I sent you some of this stuff! The White Phoenix was a hard decision... but I KNEW you would appreciate her so much more than I ever could. I knew the Littlest Petshop cat was pretty much yours from the day I found it, and I tried not to just dump a bunch of "girly" stuff into this package, but there's still plenty of that too. Some of these are things I was given and I in turn handed on to you because I knew you'd give them a better home. I couldn't bear to break up the three members of the Marvel family (I'm sorry I didn't have a Black adam to add in there too) so when I decided to send you Mary, I just knew the boys had to go along too.

    The red guy on the left beside the GPK figure is the Beast from the Monster in My Pocket line. He's like... the most romantic of the monsters. So keep him away from Daphne and Padme.

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    1. Derek, I can't even imagine the decision you needed to make over the White Phoenix, but I can only just smile and say thank you. I am absolutely in love with everything you sent. And don't worry about the Black Adam, I don't even really know what that is. lol

      And the Monster in My Pocket line! How did I not know that? I guess I am just more knowledgeable in the realm of Littlest Pet Shop. lol!

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  5. What an amazing pack of goodies. It just amazes me the friendships we make with like minded individuals. Just awesome!

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    1. I know Brian! It is really nice to connect with so many wonderful people. The packages are always a bonus. I hope you are doing well!

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  6. Trolls cards, they're the gift that keeps on giving! :)

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  7. I have that Kitty!!!11 :D :D :D
    Also I'm jealous: I want that JL Mary Batson figure!! she is gorgeous!

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    1. She is a really gorgeous figure! I love the eyes on her. They are a nice crisp blue. And the Kitty is so cool! I am in love.

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