Happy Halloween!

Since today is Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of Halloween themed toys. All the Halloween toys decided to get together and pose at Snake Mountain! Fortunately Skeletor was away trying to take over Eternia (yet again), so let's see what went on in his absence!

Here we have the Bride of Frankenstein, very spooky fun! Keep in mind the first one I opened lost her head, she was not having a good day. Neither was I, because homegirl was not cheap. I hope I can return the damaged mess.

The Werewolf was willing to jump in slime (or is it acid) for a bone.

Lego Minifigure Frankenstein's Monster is slowly making his way inside Snake Mt. He has a long ways to go to find his bride.

Mummy better watch out, or he'll get swept up! The Witch don't play.

This Dracula is sooo not a ladies man. (And yes, Willie Scott is in the middle.)

Slimer and Candy Broomsticks are making something wicked. Here's hoping Skeletor doesn't get any. Can you just imagine Skeletor's reaction to seeing a mini Lalaloopsy chillin on Snake Mountain? He'd die.

Another shot. Candy Broomsticks is actually kinda scary, she has buttons for eyes. That would freak me out.

Here is the Playmobil Witch, who also looks like a hobo. Or rather boho chic in that patchwork skirt. The Olsen twins better be taking notes!

Here are two recent things I picked up at Target because I could not resist. I am a sucker for cute stuff!

Polly Pocket Wonder Woman

&

Polly Pocket Super Girl

Those DC Super Hero costumes are so cute. I would love to see Hasbro's Strawberry Shortcake and friends throw on some Marvel Super Hero costumes. I could totally see Strawberry Shortcake making a great Jean Grey for Halloween.  

Ok, ok, I know I am pushing the bounds of dorkettedom. So before I get too out of control, let me wish you all a happy, fun, and safe Halloween! Be back here tomorrow, because November 1st will kick off a new Toy Chest Tuesday!

P.S. One of my best friend's birthdays is on Halloween. So on Saturday we all went out to celebrate at this huge block party. Everyone was dressed up, even your's truly. Anyways this picture captures the night perfectly. Someone lost their hair, that, or Cousin It was trampled to death. Either way it was a perfect picture! 

Dorkette Book Club: Fear Street- Halloween Party & The Secret Bedroom

Hello readers! Since Halloween is slowly approaching I thought it would be neat to look at some scary books! I love to read books. Nothing is more exciting than a good book, except maybe a cool toy. Anyways when I was younger I loved to read scary murder/mystery thrillers. Back in the '90s my favorite series of books were the Fear Street novels by R.L. Stine and pretty much anything by Christopher Pike. The books were gory and tackled all kinds of sci-fi elements. They fed my imagination and for a brief time I practically lived in the mall bookstore doing my best to decide which one I would buy next.

Of course there is more to the saga of these books than meets the eye, but that will have to wait for another post. Instead let's look at some thrillers in time for Halloween! The Fear Street series was named after a street in a fictional town called Shadyside somewhere on the East coast. Each book told the story of one or more of the town's teens involved in some form of murder and mayhem. Personally I would move if a town had that much drama, but whatever.

One of the cool things about the books was always the cover. They had fun scary covers to entice people like me into buying whatever I could. Hey, at least I was reading right? That has got to stand for something.

Here is the first book we will look at, Halloween Party:

I remember wanting to read this book so bad. Who wouldn't want to read a book where someone is running through a graveyard with a floating pumpkin head getting ready to do something wicked? I love it! The caption on the cover reads "There is going to be an uninvited guest at this Halloween party on Fear Street." I really wanted the uninvited guest to be a floating skull faced killer pumpkin head, but it wasn't. The premise was that sweet Terry and darling Niki get invited to a Halloween party, thrown by the new girl in town. The party is of course at a creepy old mansion (all the good stuff always takes place at a creepy old mansion) and the party turns into a scavenger hunt. It's all fun and games until someone ends up with a knife in their back, and not in some metaphorical highschool friends betraying friends kinda way. The teen really ends up with a knife in his back. Panic and terror ensue and the teens end up having to solve the mystery and stay alive. The plot really got cookin once a fire broke out in the mansion. 

This story had me so caught up that I basically sat in class pretending to do my work, all the while completely reading this book. That was the problem with Fear Street books, you couldn't put them down! I was consumed with reading all the time. I'd secretly stay up really late at night with a lamp on reading. I'd go out to dinner with my family and I'd just read, pausing to take bites. Listen folks, it didn't get much dorkier than me in the '90s ok?      

The next book cover we are going to look at is The Secret Bedroom. First of all the caption just says it all, "Don't open the door!" Well Lea didn't get the memo, because now she is struggling with a skeleton's arm and some weird green light. The selling point with this book was that Lea (the girl on the cover in case you were wondering) and her family move into a creepy old mansion on Fear Street. Like most creepy mansions, Lea's new home has a locked secret room in the attic. Apparently a murder went down in the room a hundred years before Lea moved in. With all that bad energy, Lea finds herself tempted to open the door. Does she? I'm not saying, but this book was good! (Hint: ghost possession!)

This book was really fun. My heart also skipped a beat during the process of reading this story in the 6th grade, because this really cute mysterious new guy in my class also read Fear Street books. He had commented on my holding The Secret Bedroom and I just about died. This knowledge was like, "OMG! The mystery boy reads Fear Street! We have got to be soul mates!" Because at that time, no one was bursting with honesty and excitement about reading Fear Street. It was like admitting you cooked drugs in your kitchen. People don't readily share that information with just anyone. However I had no shame, or friends, so I was thrilled when the mystery guy talked to me about Fear Street. We only had about two or three Fear Street conversations and then he fell in with the cool crowd and I was back to stickin my nose in the next Fear Street story. Good times.  

Here are the backs of the two books, briefly teasing what they are about. Fear Street books were a big deal, they even made the national media news circuits for their depiction of horror and violence. There were some boring parent groups that were livid and firmly believed that Fear Street books were polluting their children's minds in their local school libraries and book stores. It was so funny because my mom and I had watched a news story on the evils of Fear Street books and she was like, "You don't read those books do you?"

My response had been, "Oh no, not at all." As my attention went right back to reading a Fear Street book. Eventually my parents realized I was reading these horrific books, but they didn't care. At the end of the day they were glad their child liked to read, which is what it should be about in the end right? True some of my smarter and cooler peers might have been reading the great literary classics of olden times, but my heart is going to always have a soft spot for the spooky tales on Fear Street.  

Night of the Living Roach 5: The Hunger

The series that just won't die has a new installment!

For a catch up on all things roachey, click below:

Night of the Living Roach

Night of the Living Roach 2: The Return

Night of the Living Roach 3: A New Breed

Night of the Living Roach 4: The Final Battle Part 1

Night of the Living Roach 4: The Final Battle Part 2

And now, picking up after the events of the previous Roach,

Night of the Living Roach 5: The Hunger

After surviving the final battle, Miss M, is finally ready to have dinner with her family. With her wet hair in a loose bun, M makes her way into the kitchen. Big Daddy is focusing on the television, nervously awaiting the meatloaf that Mama P has just finished cooking.

Everyone in the kitchen stops to stare at Miss M, wondering what took her so long in the shower. Big Daddy motions with his hand to Mama P, "Alright, she is finally here. Bring on the meatloaf." The smell of ground up meat fills the air, revolting Miss M, "Ugh. Meatloaf? Really?"

Mama P frowns, "You don't like meatloaf?" Big Daddy slaps his hands together and grins, his love for meatloaf covers the disdain Miss M has for it. Miss M rolls her eyes, "I have never liked meatloaf." Laughter erupts from Markiki, "If it isn't coming out of a McDonalds bag M won't touch it. Mama P, just put her piece in a bag with some golden arches, she'll eat it right up." Markiki and Big Daddy start laughing hysterically.

Miss M and her dining habits are affronted, "Hey, I eat other things besides McDonalds!" Mama P chuckles, "Yeah, like what?" Standing tall with a determined chin Miss M flatly states, "I ate a chicken sandwich at Burger King a few days ago." This honest statement is met with laughter from everyone else.

Pretending to be shocked and disgusted Markiki taunts, "Shame on you big sis. I hope Ronald McDonald crawls through your window one night and cuts you for cheating on him. You're like a fast food hussy." Big Daddy laughs out loud again and quickly snaps his fingers for a plate of meatloaf. Mama P snaps, "I'm hurryin, hold on!"

Miss M gets a plate of green beans ready, Mama P looks worried, "That is all you are going to eat?" M nods and casually mentions she will be meeting Glo, her best friend, for a late dessert.

Big Daddy clears his throat and says, "Listen ya'll, we need to have a serious conversation. No more long showers, the water bill is going to be too high this month." Miss M knows what this is about and she had never meant for the shower to have lasted that long, of course if anyone had bothered to ask they would have been concerned for M's safety. After fighting Splashor to the death, Miss M might not have made it at all.

Mama P pulls her daughter aside and whispers, "Look, pay no attention to your father, I get it. Everyone thinks that only men need special time to attend to their needs, but women need some special time for themselves too." Miss M isn't sure she is understanding what the conversation is about, "Umm, this is strange."

Throwing back a strange nervous laugh Mama P continues, "Oh honey, we have needs too. Women are just as sexual as men. However maybe you could relegate your special private time to when we aren't here, and if we are here, maybe not so loud? The whole house just heard you in the shower."

Closing her eyes in the ultimate form of embarrassment Miss M whispers, "You got it all wrong, I nearly died just now." Mama P nods, "I know, private special time can seem like you are dying, but I don't think you can actually die from doing that to yourself..."

"Enough! I was not doing anything special to myself! My goodness people, I was nearly killed in the shower! By a Roach!" No one is listening. Big Daddy and a plate of meatloaf have begun a deadly tango, with much uncertainty of who is leading. Markiki is busy sketching his Halloween costume. Mama P looks fearfully at her daughter, "Honey, are you high on the crack rock? I really think something is wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me! I was nearly killed! Don't you understand, there are Roaches in this house! They are hungry, ready to eat our brains! We need to stop them, call an exterminator or something! We shouldn't be living this way!" Miss M exasperatedly says, as her words fall on the minds of busy people. She realizes that no one believes her. How did it come to this? Her father is making out with ground meat while her brother is focused on being fabulous for Halloween. The saddest thing of all is that Mama P believes that Miss M is busy engaging in long amounts of special solo time.

Our lovely heroine has no other choice but to drop the subject and join her family for dinner. What other choice does she have? As the family settles into the usual conversation about the week and upcoming events, Miss M finds herself drifting. Thoughts about life and death mingle with questions about love. Will she ever find it? Can she survive long enough to find it? And what of Glimmer? Is Glimmer alive or has she become a mangled Roach toilet?

Screams suddenly interupt the many thoughts floating through Miss M's head. Mama P is sitting at the table with a look of pure horror displayed across her face, "A Roach!!!" Markiki quickly jumps to see where the Roach is at, his screams join in with Mama P. M's brother moves as fast as lightening and slides underneath the table.

Big Daddy is glamoured by the meatloaf and has no clue what is going on. Miss M turns her head in slow motion as she focuses in on the giant roach, hopping across the kitchen cabinets, taking aim for a nice southern family. The Roach jumps into the air flying as wings fold out. "No, not again!" Miss M jumps up quickly dodging the monster. Falling to the floor, Miss M hits the kitchen tile hard.

"M! Hurry!" Markiki calls out from under the kitchen table, motioning to his sister. Miss M rolls over, slowly trying to crawl towards safety. That fall to the tile hit M pretty hard, she isn't as fast as usual. Markiki is trying to hurry his sister along. He pauses though and quickly retreats further under the table.

M looks up, screaming as the flying roach slowly descends upon her. "Brains..." The Roach hisses. Shaking her head, Miss M is preparing to be feasted upon, until she hears Mama P call out, "Get away from her, you bitch!" Mama P grabs hold of a large butcher knife and swings it like a baseball bat, flinging the Roach across the kitchen. The Roach hisses, lunging towards Mama P. With the large butcher knife in hand, Mama P slices it across the air, trying to land on the predator. 

Eventually the Roach scurries off, into parts unkown. Miss M scrambles up, hugging her mother, "You saved my life!" Mama P puts the butcher knife down and calmly says, "I did what needed to be done." Markiki crawls out from under the table as Big Daddy speaks up, "Could you all be quiet! I'm trying to eat and watch the game. It's just a roach."

"It is more than just a roach! Those things are trying to kill me! You all just saw it! Call the damn exterminator already!" Miss M shouts heading towards her room. Before walking into the room Miss M calls her best friend Glo, "Hey girl, are we still hanging out?" Miss M and Glo have known each other for years. They met in a yoga college course and bonded over their love of fashion and gossiping about annoying people. There were also the trips to Dairy Queen for soft serve ice cream where they would insist on talking about men and the pitfalls of falling in love with the biggest losers in town. "Of course we are still hanging out, I'm on my way!" Glo says on the other line.

"Thank goodness, because it is literally life and death over here." M says checking her hair out in a hall mirror. Glo laughs, "Girl, you are so melodramatic. I'll be there in a bit." The two friends hang up and M heads to her room for her bag. Miss M sits on her bed for a second, slipping into some shoes. Suddenly an ominous scratching sound can be heard in the room. The noise sends instant chills down M's spine as she realizes she isn't alone.

M looks over at her action figure heroes and motions for them to be still. The Roach makes himself known as he crawls down her closet door, hissing about brains. Miss M wants to scream for help, but nothing can come out. The Roach looks at her, "No one can save you now." The Roach looks down at some pretty blouses hanging on the closet doorknob, grinning the Roach takes some steps on the beautiful articles of clothing.

"No!!!" Miss M panics, "Not my clothes!" She knew she should have hung the clothing up sooner, and now the Roach was defiling her clothes. "Bastard!" M screams, lunging for the closet door, trying to shake the Roach away. Hissing at M, the Roach jumps off falling upon the most recent issue of Soap Opera Digest.

Miss M howls into the air, "NNNOOOOOO! Get off of my magazine!!!" M makes a move and the Roach hisses, "Come any closer and I poo all over your precious magazine!" Standing still, M tries to figure out her next move. She isn't sure what to do next, "What do you want?!"

The Roach hisses, "I want your brains!!!!!" Miss M shudders and looks over at a lone stiletto laying out of its box. Slowly inching towards the spiked heel, Miss M taunts the Roach, "You want my brains huh? Well come closer, you'll never taste better." The Roach salivates, "Brains. Brains..." Miss M steps closer to the Roach, lowering herself to the ground, motioning for her enemy to approach her, "That's right, come closer." Miss M says to the Roach as she places her pretty head to the ground, offering her luscious skull for feeding. 

Hissing in excitement the Roach, full of hunger, is ready to dive in. Completely tranced the Roach opens his mouth exposing rows of teeth. Miss M holds her breath. Time stands still as Miss M quickly grabs hold of her stiletto and pulls a "Single White Female", slamming the spiked heel into the Roach's eye. Miss M screams over and over as she stabs her heel repeatedly into the Roach. The screams echo throughout M's room and home. 

Wolverine jumps off the action hero toy shelf and rushes to Miss M, grabbing hold of her arms, "Darlin, let it go. Don't go down that road. Trust me, if you give into the hunger, killing will get easier. It isn't you. Don't let these monsters win." Miss M can't hear him, she can only hear her screams as she looks at the Roach guts all around her. The screams stop as Glo enters Miss M's room. Glo looks at her friend on the floor, "Girl! What is going on with you? Who are you screaming at, and why are you holding your heel like that?"

Miss M looks down around her, what just happened? What is happening? Nothing makes sense. Miss M simply shrugs, "Ready to get some soft serve?"

The End

For now...   

Toy Chest Tuesday! Bride of Frankenstein April

Hello toy fans! Are you ready for a spooky Toy Chest Tuesday? Since Halloween is next Monday, I thought this Toy Chest Tuesday could look at a fun Halloween themed toy. In the late '80s and '90s Playmate's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) toyline was one of the most popular toylines ever. There were so many characters and variants of characters that any TNMT fan at that time was basically living in heaven for a good long while. And by heaven I mean a dirty sewer with talking turtles that eat pizza. A lot.

This toy we are looking at is a Bride of Frankenstein April O'Neil from the Universal Studios Monsters series of TNMT toys. This series saw the TMNT as various characters from the old Universal Studio Monster Movies.  Let's look closer!

Here is April O'Neil as the Bride of Frankenstein. As you can see April is just a hybrid of her normal yellow jumpsuit-self with some Bride of Frankenstein hair and mummy bandages. She comes with signature yellow accessories and an exclusive trading card. Wouldn't you just love to see a tv news reporter on the morning news dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein? I personally feel that more people would actually watch the news.

Here is a closer picture of Bride of Frankenstein April. The interesting thing about this toyline was that this variant was just one of many April O'Neil variants. I never had this version of April growing up, but whenever I was able to find a new variant of April in stores, I usually found a way to snatch one up. Each variant of April got more and more kookier. It was nice though of a toyline to actually make that many variants of a female character. Usually female toys in mostly male toylines usually got one version only. Maybe there will be a future post dedicated to chronicling the various incarnations of April O'Neil. (It will be soo much fun!) 

Here is the back of the toy card. One of the best things about the TMNT toyline was the Turtle's addiction to pizza. Pizza was always a part of the toyline and always made me hungry for a slice. How could pizza eating turtles not make you hungry for pizza? I feel like calling Dominoes right now. As you can also see, there were tons of characters to collect. Below the pictures of characters is a list of April's weapons and a little bio card about this version of April.

Here is a bigger picture of most of the characters that were available around the time that Bride of Frankenstein April came out. There were so many! I basically owned the April variants, but I do wonder if anyone ever did their best to own the whole line. I am sure there are some people out there. Most of the April variants are on this card, as well as Krang. Krang was an evil pink brain. I loved him. I don't know why I ever wanted an evil grody pink brain for a toy, but I did. He was, is, will forever be, awesome. 

The kooky versions of April also came with the most campy type of weapons. This April came with:

Electrode Power Switch- Just a flip jolts juice to bring the monster movie camera to life!

Creepy Cracked Monster Movie Camera- Now the undead can be on T.V.

Bandaged Monster Mic- For recordin' experiments or ghouls!

Scare Away Hair Spray- Sorry, the pump bottle just didn't look frightening enough!

Nasty Ninja Fright Star- Not nice to throw, but very effective

I love that she came with hair spray. Especially hair spray that scares away, I'm guessing, Shredder and the Foot Soldiers. What a mess, but trust me, there are even messier versions of this reporter. (I'm looking at you Ravishing Reporter April!)

The bio card is also a mess, in the best way possible. Bride of Frankenstein April is "The Re-animated Reporter!" Her favorite activity is getting married. And her least favorite thing is the Frankenstein Monster. She is just kooky. What is even a bigger fun mess is the rest of the bio card. I am way too lazy to type the entire thing out, but you have to read it over. In it we find exactly what April will do with her creepy weapons as well as what her Turtle friends will be doing during the wedding. Hint: Invisible Man Michelangelo might catch the bouquet. A truly frightening scenario indeed! 

Miss M wants you...

...to join the dork side! I have been incredibly busy as of late, but I wanted to share with you all this really great website I am a part of. It is called PlanetOa.net and it is just the best.

The site is a place for people to get together and talk about all types of geeky cool culture. Toys, video games, movies, tv, comics, you name it, everything is covered. (And if it isn't, it can be!) Everyone is friendly and great as well. So stop by and join. It is free and you can really find out everything you need to know about the past, current, and future pulse of geekdom!

If I can join a forum, you can too! Here is the thing, for as long as I have been logging on the internet I have been going to toy forums and other nerdy sites trying to find whatever information I could on my favorite things. I never joined those sites because I was scared that people would be like, "You aren't geeky enough." Or, "What's a girl like you doing collecting toys? This is a club for boys only!" I mean I don't know, I had a lot of neurotic stuff going on in my head about joining forums.

Well anyways, a couple years ago I joined the MattyCollector forums, and my goodness I had so much fun. Since then there has been a ton of drama on that site, so I am happy to now be a part of PlanetOa.net where everyone can respect each other's opinions and no one acts all cray-cray (that is the ultimate in crazy.)

Anyways like I mentioned earlier, I have been incredibly busy. These next few weeks will see me going through the depths of Snake Mountain and back, so i hope I will survive. However, get ready because I do have some great things coming up. We have Toy Chest Tuesday. There is the Jem fanfic, which I got a nice email about! So I know there is at least one person that likes it. We also need to catch up on some Night of the Living Roach stuff. Since Halloween is approaching, I am sure the Roaches might have some horrific things in store for our lovely heroine! Also I plan on watching Once Upon a Time on my dvr, and writing about it. So be sure to keep it back here!

Toy Chest Tuesday! Rhonda

Hello toy fans, and fans of alien life forms! I have a total blast from the past for today's Toy Chest! It will just be out of this world. We all remember ALF. How could anyone not? The real dorkette test is this: do you recall the ALF animated series? Double points if you can actively recall the very short lived toy line that went with said animated series.

So let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Coleco made some really cool pvc figures from the ALF cartoon and each character came with a mini vehicle. Today we are looking at Rhonda. Gordon (ALF's real name) was quite smitten with his pink mohawked girlfriend. Let's check out the pictures!

As you can see, Rhonda really has a pink mohawk. I feel like Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj took hair and outfit lessons from super cool Rhonda. She even comes with a bright pink scooter type thing, called a Runabout. It is nice to know that if I lived on an alien world I too would have the chance to zoom around on a pink scooter.

Here is a larger picture of Rhonda and her Runabout. She looks like so much fun. I don't actively recall any specific storylines from the ALF cartoon, there are just bits and pieces. I mainly just remember the toys. Of course I had a Rhonda and one more character (Curtis.) I remember thinking these had to be the coolest toys, because they came with vehicles! Toys are infinitely better with vehicles. Wonder Woman is probably the coolest. When I was younger I would pose her in a sitting position while flying her through the air, pretending she was in her invisible jet. She had like the cheapest toy vehicle ever, it was literally free. My parents loved this by the way. Anyways, I digress.  

This is the back of the package. Coleco actually made a decent number of pvc toys to the cartoon. There was, of course, Gordon with his Warp 1. Augie with family dog Neep, I do remember the dog. Skip with Jetcan Sedan, what a cute name! Curtis and his Coup d'Melmac. I actually had a Curtis as well as Rhonda. Both of them are actually melting in an attic as we speak, but thanks to Ebay I have been reunited with a new Rhonda at least. Then there is Rick with his Sonic Surfboard. I envision him surfing in space. I don't know how that would be possible, but maybe aliens just know how to space surf? I could see it being a big thing hundreds of years from now. Of course there is Rhonda and her Runabout. Let's learn more about Rhonda!

Here is the scoop on Rhonda- Lookin' for Gordon? Try what's wrapped around Rhonda's little finger. Yep, that's me- your hero... and Rhonda's my intergalactic gal! She knows the way to my heart- through my funnybone! And don't forget her rolling Runabout. It takes gorgeous Rhonda anywhere she wants to go!

Gordon really sounds like a nice boyfriend. I mean I don't know many alien life forms that are happily ready to admit they are wrapped around their girlfriend's finger. Talk about how to really man up. I think a lot of Earth guys could take a lesson from Gordon. I also like how the way to Gordon's heart is through his funnybone. The way to an Earth guy's heart is through his stomach, with food, which is difficult for an Earth girl like me. I don't cook (unless frozen pizzas count as cooking), but I think I am damn funny. If I wasn't already married, maybe I would've ended up with an alien life form. See that is what funny girls need to do. Stop waiting for some knight in shining armor to show up with his rescue stunts. He will probably just expect home cooked meals in some stuffy castle. Instead find an ALF. 

I love this toy. I am also thankful for Ebay, because without that addictive shopping website I would have never been reunited with Rhonda, and possibly other ALF toys! (A girl can only comb through her attic so much, before it becomes life threatening.) So cheers to Ebay and the sellers who are willing to part (cheaply!) with their junk! The 21st century is truly amazing. We may not have space surfing yet, but it is a pretty darn good century at the end of the day.

That is it for this week's Toy Chest Tuesday! Enjoy the pictures! Also feel free to leave comments with any ideas or requests for future Toy Chest Tuesdays! I have many possibilities, so you never know what could show up.  

Also get ready. Miss M will be doing a book club soon. Mostly old fun books that no one will probably care to remember, but it will be awesome!

Jem- The Reunion

Ok I am sending out a warning right now, this post is about to get real dorky, real fast. So run the other way if you have concerns. As I type this right now I am still awaiting news from NYCC about Hasbro relaunching Jem and the Holograms. To pass the time I have decided to post some of my Jem fan fiction that I have been working on. My inspiration for this fan fic is to see where Jem and the Holograms would be in the present. For instance, were the nineties good to our cotton candy hair hued heroine? (The answer is no.) But read on, I hope you will enjoy it!

Jem- The Reunion

Chapter 1

Studio lights shine across a glossy desk. Crew members are hurrying about, making sure everything is in place. A television show is about to start. The host, Lindsey Pierce, sits at the desk prepared for the cameras to start rolling. Time is funny, she thinks to herself, everything has its place. Some things just come full circle.

A cameraman motions towards Lindsey, letting her know the cameras are about to start rolling. She has been doing this talk show for decades, and every new episode still makes her slightly nervous, "Hi gals and pals! This is Lindsey Pierce. You are watching the new Z-TV, the only station still dedicated to music, music videos, and the hottest artists in the business. We interrupt the latest Taylor Swift video to bring you a special interview with someone who truly helped define the eighties. She was a part of a band that rolled out such hits as, I've Got My Eye on You, and She's Got the Power, so please give a warm welcome, to Jem!"

The camera pans out as Jem walks onto the soundstage in a bright pink dress with silver pumps, making her way to Lindsey. Looking fantastic, Jem smiles and takes a seat next to Lindsey. It feels like it was yesterday that Jem was even on the Lindsey Pierce show. Back then the station was Lin-Z TV. Funny how so many things change. Jem looks at her old friend and says hello.

Lindsey smiles, "It is so good to see you Jem. We haven't seen you in awhile. For those just tuning in I am talking with Jem, as in Jem and the Holograms." Lindsey smiles and continues, "Let's catch people up on your music history. You were huge in the eighties. Jem and the Holograms had so many hits that were played all over the world. There was the sold out tours. A television show, not to mention all the merchandise. You seemed poised to enter the nineties ready to take control of a new decade."

Jem nods recalling the past, and how a new decade created so many changes, "Yes Lindsey. The Holograms and I were ready to start the nineties at the top of our game. Things changed though when we were set to perform at a huge benefit concert. Due to Eric Raymond's scheming ways, we found ourselves in a deadly situation."

"Jem, deadly hardly covers it. The Stingers and the Misfits were there too, and a fire broke out. You were all nearly killed." Jem nods thinking of the past and what followed, "Yes. It was horrifying. Eric Raymond wanted to stall the Holograms from performing by starting a small fire. Luckily we all survived. However what happened afterwards was just as worse."

Jem holds her breath, she has never talked on air about her experience. Lindsey says what everyone is already wondering, "What happened was that the world found out that Jem was really Jerrica Benton. Needless to say a lot of people were shocked."

"Shocked was an understatement Lindsey. Many fans were outraged. People felt betrayed and lied to, rightfully so. It was a disaster. The Holograms broke up, we had no other choice. I tried to release a solo album, but it tanked." Lindsey listens feeling torn herself about the events from the past. Always a supporter of the Holograms, even Lindsey had been thrown for a loop when the truth came out that Jerrica Benton, owner of Starlight Music, was in disguise as Jem, "Now Jem, a few years ago you wrote an autobiography detailing many things, most notably your experiences with this double persona. Do you still use the computer program known as Synergy to create holograms?"

Jem shakes her head, "No Lindsey. After all the trouble I caused, I destroyed the technology. It was not easy, however I simply could no longer use it. More importantly there were too many companies trying to by the rights to Synergy from me, and I didn't want that technology in the wrong hands. Now, when I am on stage I have to do my own hair and make up." Jem and Lindsey laugh. Lindsey has missed talking to Jem, "Let's go back a bit, what are your thoughts on Eric Raymond being released from prison in a few weeks?"

"Well Lindsey, he has served his time. I hope that the time he spent in prison will have taught him something. I do wish him well, I just hope he can turn over a new leaf without endangering other's lives. I won't be visiting him to say hello though, if that is what you are wondering." Lindsey chuckles, "I can understand. The man has caused you a lot of grief in the past. Now aside from the book, what else have you been up to Jem?"

Jem discusses the various projects she has been a part of, "I have been behind the scenes. My work has allowed me to help new music talent with some song writing, image consulting, even at times doing background vocals." Lindsey is impressed, "Wow, I did not know that. Care to comment on any artists you have worked with?"

"Oh Lindsey, I wish I could. However I prefer to keep that private at this time, but I will say this: I have been helping an artist who has just exploded. She has a monster career right now. The world is just gaga over her." Jem and Lindsey briefly continue talking about the music industry and how things have changed since the eighties.

Lindsey knows there is more to the interview than just simple conversation, "Moving along though Jem, you have managed to still stay somewhat relevant in the public eye. Your book was a bestseller. The Holograms songs sell really well on itunes, there are always rumors of a band reunion. Do you care to comment on any of that?"

This was the moment. Jem hopes this will be exciting news, "Yes, I would like to comment on that. I am proud to say that the Holograms will be reuniting and embarking on a tour. I have been thinking long and hard about this, and decided that now is the perfect time to come back. There may even be some new music as well as some guest appearances." Lindsey's eyes widen upon hearing the great news, "A new tour? And guest appearances? Care to divulge any further?"

Jem smiles, "Well all I will say is that I have reached out to an old rival. Someone who gave the Holograms some great competition. Barbie and the Rockers will be joining us for a couple of concert dates!" Lindsey claps her hands, this information is gold, and it is happening on her show, "So Jem and the Holograms will be touring with Barbie and the Rockers? For those who care to remember, the Holograms may have had problems with the Misfits, but their true rivalry was a certain tall blonde bombshell. How did you even get that to work Jem?"

The process had not been easy, but Jem goes on, "Barbie and I were actually at a party..."

A click is made as the Jem interview is turned off. A large flat screen television hangs in a plush bedroom with a balcony that looks out over a large manicured lawn. Pizzazz throws the tv remote across her large bedroom and screams, "I hate that slag! You have got to be kidding me! She gets a spot on Lindsey Pierce's show after all this time? And I barely get a mention! I hate her."

Laying in rumpled sheets behind Pizzazz a muscular man rolls over with eyes barely open, "Babe, what's going on? Your screams are messin with my hangover." Pizzazz looks over at her guest, "Oh shut it Zipper. Why are you still here? I got what I needed from you last night, which wasn't much. So get your drunk ass out of my bed and go!" Zipper rubs his eyes and yawns, "Pizzazz, why are you talkin like that? I thought you liked good old Zip hangin around? Let's eat something for breakfast."

Pizzazz groans, "Breakfast was hours ago you fool. I have important things to do, and you have to leave!" Pizzazz begins pushing Zipper off the bed. Long ago Pizzazz never would have dreamt of hooking up with one of Eric Raymond's thugs. However the current times were tough. Pizzazz has had to take whatever she can get. Zipper gets up and starts picking up his clothes off the floor, barely able to remember what happened last night, "Alright, I am going! I don't get you Pizzazz."

"What's there to get? I'm a Misfit, and I'm not playing house with the likes of you." Pizzazz throws Zipper out the front door and taunts, "If you don't leave the grounds in five seconds I will sick the dogs on you." Zipper is about to say something when Pizzazz slams the door to her mansion in his face. Clenching her fingers Pizzazz screams. How could Jem be reuniting with the Holograms? Pizzazz laughs to herself, "Like anyone is going to pay to see those rejects sing a song. This is 2011, not 1987. New century bitch." Pizzazz walks off laughing to herself, formulating all kinds of juicy scandals...

Meanwhile back at the television studio, Jem and Lindsey are talking away from the cameras. Jem hugs her old friend, "Thank you for putting me on your show last minute Lindsey. I know you are incredibly busy." Lindsey nods, "Well I knew you wouldn't disappoint. Besides our numbers are way up, it is so funny how people really want music television to actually be about music. I'm glad you came to us instead of that other station. Now how about the other girls? What do the other Holograms say about this reunion?"

Jem smiles, how should she answer the question? "Well Lindsey, there is one slight problem. The Holograms have no idea about the reunion." Lindsey isn't sure she heard Jem correctly, "What? I'm glad I didn't ask that question on air. How is there going to be a reunioin without the other Holograms?"

"I needed to make the announcement, the only other time I would be able to appear on your show was six months from now. I had no other choice but to jump start the news. I just need to talk to everyone and get things in line. It won't be easy, things have changed a lot." Everything had changed. Shana moved to Paris years ago. Raya had branched out with her own wildly popular band. Aja was still somewhat close with Jem, while Kimber wanted nothing to do with her sister. This would not be easy. Lindsey hugs her friend, "Good luck Jem. I hope this tour can actually work out." Jem agrees, hoping for the same. Jem heads out of the studio and starts the process of bringing the Holograms back together. Jem pulls out her iphone to make a call, "Hey. I had a feeling you saw the interview. I'll explain everything, just meet me at the office. We have a lot of work to do..."
  

Rants and Randomness

Looking for some R&R? Well look no further. I have got some rants and randomness for the week. Let's start off with a rant, shall we? I hate driving. If I could teleport to the places I needed to be, I would be one happy chick. People have no concept of safety or etiquette on the road. It drives me insane.

Here is the scoop. Earlier in the week I was driving to work dealing with the usual morning rush hour traffic and the like. I was listening to a local radio morning show, finding out that this past week has been National Pet Peeve Week. Which was very interesting because as I was hearing this, I noticed this newish SUV speeding by in the left lane with a crack in the passenger drive window.

At first I was like, "They should fix that." Then I started to notice something strange. The cracked window started to rattle and all of a sudden part of the window flew out towards my car! As in glass, flying, at my car. It was such a weird experience to see glass hit my wind shield. It got worse though as the rest of the window flew out and hit my car. It was like put my car on a pole, because the glass was makin it rain all over the place. All I could do was scream.

My screams turned into anger as I realized that some moron was close to causing a major accident! To make matters worse the SUV drove off faster. I had no idea if there was some kidnapped fool in the front seat. Or maybe they were having a health problem occur on the freeway. I had no clue, but I couldn't catch up. So I just went to work. A little jittery, but I went to work. Of course I totally memorized the license plate number and texted it to myself. I will put my Nancy Drew skills to good use and find out the mystery of the SUV with the busted window. In fact that will be the title of the caper, "The Mystery of the Busted SUV Window."

Alright on to my next rant. I hate romance movies. I really do. I just had to sit through Love and Other Drugs, and I feel like I need some drugs. So let me get this straight, Anne Hathaway has perfect orgasms with Jake Gyllenhaal, and gets to have him romantically profess his love to her on a bus with old people? And he will take care of her with her health problems? Oh, and get this, it is based off of a true story. Really? That is not real life. People do not get perfect orgasms and over the top professions of love by Jake Gyllenhaal. Maybe one or the other, but not both. I mean really.

On to the randomness, does anyone ever wonder if they will cross paths with the people they bid against on Ebay? I was thinking about this, I have had a few Ebay death matches over some serious items in the past. And I have no clue what happens for the people that lose. Do they punch a wall? Do they stop by Dairy Queen and get a tub of soft serve ice cream? I have lost some auctions, and it did not feel good. At all. You just feel defeated.

So I wonder what would happen if warring bidders ever crossed paths in real life? Like would a real life death match actually ensue? I would like to think that the other bidders would be nice. I'm sure we'd have a lot in common. After all we would be bidding on the same item. Who knows though? I hope I never have to find out. I am not entering into Mortal Kombat over Ebay bidding wars. I just won't.

Speaking of death matches and Mortal Kombat, I thought you all might be interested in some random factoids. One of the neat things about blogspot is that I can view which of my posts get the most clicks. So drum roll please... Trashy or Timeless? Velvet Sky is my most popular post! I don't know what to think about that, I just hope that if the real Velvet Sky (and not the toy) ever reads it that she won't think I am actually calling her trashy. Just her action figure. That's all. No need for a wrestler to want to kick my dorkette behind or anything. Though I will say this, I can mimic a mean Catra voice, so hypothetically I could put up a good fight. I think.

Anyways moving along. Here is the thing, good things are about to happen. (Lord knows there needs to be some luck around me right now) New York Comic Con has begun and I have already seen a picture of Hasbro's Preview Night. They have a nice section for Jem and the Holograms featuring old Jem items. The most exciting thing is that Hasbro is actually going to be showing new Jem product at some point this weekend! This is really big. I am just hoping that the new Jem stuff will be truly outrageous. After all the speculation, it looks like Jem's relaunch is actually going to happen. I feel like it is the late eighties all over again. Now I just need some hot pink boom boom shorts and I am good to go!

Toy Chest Tuesday! Entrapta

Hello extravagant toy lovers! How is everyone? I am doing perfectly well, because it is a new Toy Chest Tuesday! And this week's edition finds me talking about a toy I never thought I would own. Ever. I know some of you have probably been wondering, "Miss M, when are you going to tackle any Princess of Power toys for a Toy Chest Tuesday?" Well here is the thing, before I could talk Princess of Power (POP), I needed to make sure I had a special POP toy to serve up for Toy Chest. Enter the tricky golden beauty: Entrapta. I think she is a perfect POP start for Toy Chest Tuesday!

It takes some dorks and dorkettes many years to hone and craft their toy edge. They may spend decades learning the ways of the toy store shelves, trying to figure out how to find rare items, even which toys are rare, all kinds of nerd knowledge. Others, like myself, have known at an early age the joyous wonders and collectible market value of rare and hard to find toys. I'm a natural, that, or it is just pure luck. I have always known where to go to find certain items. I am a genius at hiding certain rarities in a store hopefully saving it for a later date (yes I am one of those people.) I once hid a Marvel Legends Invisible Woman in a Wal-Mart for 5 months until I was finally ready to decide on making the purchase. No one found it. For 5 months. I don't play.

Anyways when I was little I loved nothing more than getting separated from my mom or dad at any given store and "finding" my way to the toy aisle. One day while grocery shopping with my mom I "wandered off" innocently enough to the makeshift toy aisle. There before me was Entrapta. As in the tricky golden beauty. This had been my first time ever to witness seeing a real life Entrapta. In a package, for sale. I instantly formulated a sob story that would pull at my mother's heart strings until she found no other way but to place Entrapta safely in the cart. After all, Entrapta would need a good home.

Well here is the thing, sob stories never worked on my mom. My dad was always another story. I could have gotten him to purchase every POP toy at the grocery store with just a bat of my eyes. However my mom was not having it, "I'm not buying this toy, you have enough She-Ra dolls!" I begged to differ, "But I don't have Entrapta! She is so hard to find Mom!" I pleaded. Made promises I knew I'd never keep. Swore I wasn't moving until Entrapta was with me. Nothing worked. I had to keep on walking. I was even reprimanded for running away from my mom when we first got to the store! As if I was some common villain!

Anyways time would pass and eventually there would be another chance in my life to own Entrapta. Now 20+ years later and an Ebay auction death match to end all death matches, I am now a very happy owner of Entrapta! Let's take a look!

Here is the front of Entrapta and her packaging. Entrapta was from the second series of POP toys. On the second series card, there is a smaller photo of Starburst She-Ra riding Swift Wind to the side. The colors are just bright and beautiful. I loved the Princess of Power font. It was just really great packaging and marketing. And look at Entrapta. She came with a shield, brush, and comic.

Do not adjust your eyes, you are looking at a toy with long braided pink and purple hair. Above the plastic dome is a statement about her infamous hair, "With hair that traps." Her extensions are deadly. Seriously. Parts of her are also painted chrome! How cool is she?

The back of the toy consists of a larger photo of Entrapta above a list of the other POP characters, and playsets in series 2. This picture of Entrapta is so great.

Upon closer inspection, we find out that Entrapta is a tricky golden beauty (as I have stated on repeat.) Her bio also states, "I help Catra make mischief in Etheria. With my golden beauty, I trick She-Ra and her friends into coming near. When they get close, I trap them in my long, colorful braids." She is vicious! In the cartoon, her hair was like extentions of her actual body. The braids moved like whips and helped operate machinery. Just awesome! 

Also in the mini-comics that came with the toys, Catra and Entrapta were just the best partners in vile crime. Catra had a thing for Bow (She-Ra's special friend, i.e. booty call) and would always enlist Entrapta to help her try and capture Bow's affections. Bow wanted nothing to do with Catra, which always enraged Catra. Either way Entrapta was a true friend, she'd help Catra do whatever it took to snag that guy. Kidnapping. Death threats. Evil plots. She kept it real. I mean what a great friend!

    

Here is the back of the card! Series 2 was a really great series for POP. There were some heavy hitters, like:

Starburst She-Ra- Most powerful woman in the universe

Entrapta- Tricky golden beauty

Sweetbee- Honey of a guide

Peekablue- Watchful "feathered" friend

Crystal Swift Wind- She-Ra doll's "flying" crystal unicorn

Crystal Moonbeam- Nighttime protector of Crystal Castle

Perfuma- Scent-sational flower maiden

Mermista- Mist-i-fying mermaid

Scratchin Sound Catra- Jealous beauty, hear her scratch!

Flutterina- Beautiful flying lookout

Crystal Sun Dancer- Daytime protector of Crystal Castle

Clawdeen- Catra doll's glamorous cat

Sea Harp- Traveling melody maker

Butterflyer- Winged carrier for She-Ra and her friends

Crystal Falls- Refreshing water wonderland

So that is it for Toy Chest Tuesday! A look at Entrapta! The tricky golden beauty who gives good hair! I love her! And be sure to check back this week, there should be some great stuff!

As for next week's Toy Chest, prepare to meet Alf's girlfriend Rhonda! It's gonna be so great! 

 

Trashy or Timeless? Prince Adam of the House of Randor

Alright today we are checking out Prince Adam from the Masters of the Universe Classics line brought to you by Mattel. What do we know about him?

Let's see, he has really big biceps...

There are many women who fight over him...

Though his heart belongs to only one...

His sister is also the most powerful woman in the universe...

Which isn't such a bad thing when the Evil Lord of Destruction and his minions want Adam dead all the time...

Prince Adam is even cool with having a scaredy cat for a pet, not to mention a sometimes-annoying sidekick (thank goodness Orko is cute)

He is Prince Adam of the House of Randor. He is royalty! What else do we really need to know? I guess the biggest thing would be this: is He-Man's alter ego trashy or timeless? Alright toy fans, let's be serious here!

I would imagine there are good arguments for either side. Honestly, he is wearing lavender pants. It can't get trashier than that. Of course Prince Adam is from another planet (Eternia.) It is possible that princes just happen to wear skin tight lavender pants on Eternia. The original Prince Adam was made in the '80s so it wasn't far fetched for a toy to wear lavender pants at that time. Of course let's all make a pact to never ever wear lavender pants. I say this now, but watch me want a pair after they become trendy jeggings in the near future. Who's the trashy one now?

Moving past the lavender pants some could also argue that Prince Adam comes from a toy line that is no longer relevant to collectors and society at large aside from a group of rabid fans. How can he be timeless if no one remembers him? This could be true, but would that mean he is trashy by default? I don't think so.

If anything Prince Adam has no other choice but to be timeless, regardless if people know of him or not. Hello, he turns into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe! This guy has appeared, in some form or another, in every decade since the '80s. That is kinda cool, and so far equals timeless to me. We won't truly know his timelessness potential until hundreds of years from now. Though I am going to guess that in those hundreds of years from now some dorky person will be holding a sword aloft and shouting, "By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!" That may be slightly far fetched, but I believe it! Of course what no one really knows yet is that He-Man's sister She-Ra will have a huge resurgence in popularity and actually become the more memorable twin. (Let's hope this comes true over the whole lavender jegging trend I spoke of earlier.)

That is it for now. Prince Adam is timeless, even if the lavender pants aren't. Until next time! Be sure to also look at some outtake pictures below. I had a blast taking all kinds of pictures in preperation for this edition of Trashy or Timeless. It was actually hard to decide which pictures to use. My favorite are the ones with Frosta and Sweet Bee. I even like a few of the Skeletor photos, though I am by no means a photographer.

Who knew that Prince Adam could cause a royal rumble?

Prince Adam and Cringer, braving a new decade.

Evil glows in the dark.

Skeletor, all by himself.

The Evil Lord of Destruction gets some help.

Sweet Bee never knew what hit her.

Frosta never stood a chance...

Adam isn't sure what he should be doing, maybe he needs to call He-Man?

Halloween Horror Stories

I love this time of year. October is such a fun month with Halloween and all. Halloween is like my second or third favorite holiday. First off there is the candy, all that yummy candy. Also one of my best friends was born on Halloween so there is always a fun birthday party every year. Of course there are the horror movies too. I will watch a good scary movie any time of the year, but I will really do my best to have a whole horror movie marathon to get me ready for Halloween.

The heavy hitters are all there, the Halloweens, Friday the 13ths, Nightmare on Elm Streets, and a few other fun fright films. I love a good scary movie. Even a good cheesy scary movie, hence the list I just mentioned. I love slasher films and monster movies. I love anything with zombies. Pile on the suspense please, but don't give me a ton of needless gross out gore. Torture films bother me, there tends to be too much excessive violence. I know the popular idea is that major horror equals major violence, but the thing is this, I watch a horror movie to be scared. Not grossed out. Bloody stumps and fake lifeless rubber heads do not scare me. So the whole jigsaw puzzle piece madman and grody hostel environments do nothing for me.

It seems that the majority of horror movies that have come out in the past ten years have been heavy on torture and gore. I rarely see any new movies that really freak me out. There have been a few. The Strangers freaked me out. The House of the Devil was really creepy (until the lackluster end) and had a nice vintage feel. However it seemed easier to be scared when I was younger than as an adult.

Of course I just recently saw Insidious. Can I just say, that movie freaked me out big time. If you have not seen it, run out and Netflix it, stream it or whatever! Just watch it! I really liked it. I'm not going to act like I am some know-it-all with horror movies, but I do know a thing or two. Or three. And this was a good scary movie.

So if you have not seen this movie, do not read anymore. If you have seen the movie, or don't care one way or another, by all means, keep on reading. The basic premise of the movie is this, a family freaks out when their son falls into a mysterious coma when all signs say he shouldn't be in one. Mom and dad freak out. The other two children are sad that their brother is in a coma.

Weird stuff soon starts happening as mom starts seeing and hearing scary things. Soon everyone in the family is dealing with crazy horrific events. All of a sudden the grandmother pops up and starts to shed some light on stuff after seeing a creepy Darth Maul like demon, that is purely terrifying. Anyway so what we find out is that the boy is not really in a coma. His spirit is stuck in the astral plane, with ghosts and all kinds of bad stuff trying to find their way into the little boy's body. Well the only real threat to the boy is the Darth Maul demon, who has the potential to inhabit the boy's body and cause havoc in the real world.

That is all I will say, but my goodness the movie was good. I was so scared, mostly because of the whole idea of the astral plane. I mean I read X-Men, so I am vaguely familiar with how the astral plane works. And it got me thinking about my own life, and all I could think of was, "Do I ever travel to the astral plane?"

Ok so check this out. I have many experiences where I am sleeping at night and it feels like I am floating in the air. Then there will be this feeling like I am falling onto my bed. Like I feel as if I really hit my bed and it jolts me awake. What if that is really my spirit going back into my body after chillin on the astral plane?

And then get this, when I was little, (like 3 or 4) I vividly remember being in my room at night. There was this strange man outside of my bedroom window and he was coming for me, like I don't know how I knew this. I just did. I knew he was coming after me and I remember screaming for my parents to help me, but there was no noise coming out of my mouth. It was so scary. Now I always believed that was a dream, though the strange thing is why would I have a dream like that at the age of 3 or 4? Unless, after seeing Insidious, maybe I was really on the astral plane and some grody old man demon was trying to inhabit my child body so he could own all my cool stuff. I mean this is real people! Now as an adult, I'm not losing my body so some demon can mess with my She-Ra toys ok? It didn't happen back then and it won't happen now.

I can't sleep at night! I am so scared that I am really going to some astral plane. I mean could it be possible that the astral plane is really a place where people's spirits just hang out and chill with other spirits while we are all sleeping at night? Maybe there aren't demons or anything, it's just people wanting to hang when they sleep? Maybe? Sleeping is seriously so difficult right now. I am so scared!

All I can see is that damn Darth Maul demon thing with the stubby Freddy Krueger claws humming to Tiny Tim. I can't take it! I just want to sleep. Of course I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is Halloween time. Scary movies come with the territory. So if it means I will have problems sleeping for the rest of the month, oh well. I will have all my Halloween candy ready to go as I pop in the next scary movie. Bring it on scary stuff! I love this time of year!