Sunday, August 31, 2014

Vlog: Jeter’s Last Game in Toronto, and Stan Lee

Today was Derek Jeter’s last game in Toronto.  I’m not much of a fan of the Yankees or Jeter, but I did go to the game because the Jay’s were giving away a promotional long sleeve baseball shirt.  Despite it being a sell-out, the line-ups weren’t too bad when I got there, so that was good.  The shirt is pretty nice when worn because it’s an XL (I’m so glad that promotional shirts are XL).  Other than the shirt and seeing Jeter, the highlight of my day was meeting Stan Lee creator of Spider-Man and other great Marvel characters.  Although I wasn’t able to take a picture with him, I did shake his hand and that was epic.  Thank you Stan, you’re a legend!
Derek Jeter Wiki:
Stan Lee Wiki:
YouTube:

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Vlog: Wii U and other Past Video Game Consoles

I officially bought a Nintendo Wii U today.  I say officially because this is my 3rd time buying a Wii U since I never actually kept the previous two for very long.  The first one I bought I sold to a friend because he wanted my Wind Waker HD special edition.  The second one (Skylanders special edition), I gave to my little nephew.  So now that I bought this version, (New Super Mario Bros. U edition) I wanted to make a post.  I was motivated to do this because of the great memories I have of getting a new console, and because my blog allows me to document this day.
The day you get a new console is a wonderful experience.  You drive to the store hoping that they’ll have enough consoles in stock (a problem from previous console releases).  If you’re lucky enough to get one, you then get home and start looking at the packaging (dreaming of how awesome the games on the box must be).  Then comes the part that is a complete mess, when you open up the box and start removing bags, wires, and you try to plug you’re whole system up (forget the instructions, lol).  If you’re lucky, the first game you plug in will be fun (if not, you better hope your store has a good return policy, lol).

Fortunately every time I’ve gotten a new Nintendo console, I’ve had fun right from the beginning.  I was actually surprised that New Super Mario Bros. U turned out to be a good game.  I was concerned that it would be boring and easy, but within a few minutes I discovered a game that was addictive and challenging.  Its surprises like this that solidifies my love for Nintendo, and makes the day I get a new console so memorable and special.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Barcelona FC Jersey

I’ve been a fan of Barcelona FC ever since I first saw a Nike commercial of Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima).  The commercial showed Ronaldo playing fantastic, almost as if he were dancing samba.  Unfortunately that commercial was the closest I could get to watching a Barça game because at the time (mid 90’s) it was impossible to watch a Spanish soccer league game in Canada.  Yet by the time I did get satellite and could watch Spanish soccer, I had become a Real Madrid supporter.  How could you not cheer for them?  They had the Galácticos, a team made up of the best players from around the world.  Although they couldn’t win a game, they were fun to watch.
Eventually that team broke up, and I went back to cheering for Barcelona.  Since then I have had the pleasure of watching great players such as Ronaldinho, Messi, and Neymar perform miracles of play.  This is why I’m super excited to finally own a Barcelona FC jersey that represents my love for the team and its players.  The version I have is the 2013-2014 home version made by Nike.
I bought this jersey just after the new season jersey’s had released because the older version went on sale.  Besides the price I also bought this jersey because it’s the best looking version I have seen in years, with its embroidered patches, thin red and blue lines, and yellow highlights (swoosh and v-neck).  Other nice touches of this jersey are the sublimation printing on the shoulders, and the fit (which is slim fit, so I recommend going up a size if you like it loose).  Now that I own this jersey, I’m enthusiastic for what the future holds for Barça and wearing it with pride.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collector Cup

Well I finally had a chance to watch the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) movie last night.  I gotta say it was pretty decent and I actually enjoyed it.  The thing is, the build up to the movie was kind of a bummer with all the negative rumours surrounding it such as Michael Bay playing a big role, the TMNT possibly being aliens, and Raphael being a girl.  Thankfully most of those rumours didn’t come to fruition or were probably cancelled.
While the movie isn’t on the same level as an Avengers movie, it’s still pretty good.  To enjoy it you have to be a fan of TMNT, and what they’re all about.  If you cringe at the word cowabunga, than this movie isn’t for you.  However, if you come into it with an open mind and a fanboy attitude then you will love it.  At the very least this movie is a great start for a new beginning of a beloved boyhood franchise.
So the movie is good, however the reason I’m writing this post is because I also upgraded my popcorn and drink combo to a special edition TMNT version, which included a collector cup.  Of course I had to get the version with my favorite turtle, Michelangelo (which matched the TMNT Mikey shirt I wore).  The collector cup is minimalistic in design by only featuring the hand and weapon of each turtle, but what makes this cup nice is the mini-figure that is included at the top of the lid.  The figure is nicely painted and it was made by a company called Snapco.  This is my first collector movie cup, and I now plan to collect more cups in the future.  These cups add to the movie experience, and create great memories.  Movie Collector Cups I plan to get in the future are: Star Wars, Avengers 2, Batman v. Superman

Snapco:
TMNT Movie:
http://www.teenagemutantninjaturtlesmovie.com

Friday, August 8, 2014

King of the Hill Bobby Hill Toy

King of the Hill is a show I hated when it first aired.  I remember Fox had promoted it as being an animated show just like the Simpsons.  So when I finally saw it, I was disappointed at its lack of Simpson’s style humour.  King of the Hill was more realistic, and centred around boring and nerdy characters such as Hank and Peggy, with their loser son Bobby.  Although I kept watching shows on and off, I never thought it was funny.  Eventually the show went into syndication, and as I got older and the Simpsons went bland I started to ‘get’ and appreciate the humour in the show.
It was a smart comedy show that was sophisticated in its parody of everyday life.  The humour was in seeing how two boring squares like Hank and Peggy were surrounded by crazy friends.  Besides the humour there was also a lot of heart in the show as you got to appreciate the idiosyncrasies of each character and what made them noble.  For example Hank was honest and hardworking, and open to new ideas that challenged his conservative views.  While I did grow to love Hank, my favourite character is Bobby Hill.  Bobby is also an admirable character who became lovable because he had flaws.  Unlike Hank, Bobby was not good at sports or athletic, was more interested in social skills than building skills, yet was comfortable with who he was.
You can imagine how excited I was when I first discovered his toy version.  Like most of my collection, I just walked into the comic book shop and found him under a pile of dusty old toys.  The figure looks incredibly close to the cartoon, and the paint job is flawless.  The packaging is colourful, and allows for excellent display mint on card.  Bobby comes packaged with a build-a-fence piece, and Ladybird (who I don’t care much for).  My only complaint about this figure is the gloomy expression the toy manufacture chose to give Bobby.  Regardless of that, I’ll always think of Bobby as the charming character that he is.

Bobby Hill Wiki:
YouTube:

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Mike Tyson Mysteries

You know there are some people in this world where they could have great success or mess up big time, and you’ll always love them regardless.  Mike Tyson is one of those people.  I loved seeing him box back in the day when he would knock out a dude within a minute.  He did eventually have a lot of downs throughout his life, but I always felt he was a good guy.  But now, Mike has done it again with a new cartoon that brings a big smile to my face.  The cartoon is called Mike Tyson Mysteries, and it has that Scooby Doo look with an Adult Swim sense of humour.  In addition to this show, they’ll also be a toy line similar to Mego dolls.  Mike you’ve done it again and K.O. two great ideas.
TV Show IMDB:
Toy: