Botcon day 2

The second day of Botcon for the Uncle and myself has come to a close, and it was a full, exciting and eventful day!

We learned that David Kaye, the voice of Megatron in Beast Wars and a million other things, is the man. I very much hope to meet him tomorrow and have him sign a dvd copy of Beast Wars, since it appears that the rumor of him voicing Strattos in He-Man is unable to be substantiated.

We got to meet Stan Bush, who of course sang Dare and You Got the Touch in the 1986 Transformers Movie, and even snagged a picture. He too seems awesome and genuine, and apparently has released nearly a dozen albums in Japan and Europe since the Transformers movie, which we are now committed to obtain! I believe he is selling his latest one here, which I hope to get and have him sign tomorrow.

The dealer room we found to be high priced and overwhelming, though full of an amazing amount of Transformers items (though not as many other-80s-items as I'd hoped) and that the fan Mystery Science event wasn't as awesome as watching old Transformers eps on our hacked hotel TV until the wee small hours.

Tomorrow we do it all again - I'm very excited, and it's only Saturday! This has all been the pre-game!
Posted by charlie on June 30th 2007
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Botcon Day 1

We made it to Botcon, it really is an overwhelming experience, and it hasn't even started. I have learned that I may need to upgrade to the fully absurd convention ticket package in order to see the Stan Bush concert, which I need to try to iron out tomorrow.

The Uncle and I have finished watching our sneak preview of Transformers the Movie, 2007. Reviews are mixed - without giving anything specific away I really can't get more into it, but let's just say that it wasn't really enough of a Transformers movie to love it from that angle (which was expected) and not really a solid and coherent enough action movie to enjoy it from that perspective either (this last point was a surprise!).

Here is a new thesis: poor camera movement, jerky action and unclear focus in new 'hip' films are perhaps meant to mimic the same effects in popular video games, though the irony is that such effects are a unfortuate byproduct of sloppy coding and a bad UI. Now the problem will self-propogate as it crosses genres.
Posted by charlie on June 29th 2007
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Botcon time!

Much like Christmas, it is amazing how quickly Botcon has dashed into the forefront of time, in that it begins tomorrow! Barring mechanical or psychological catastrophy, 24 hours from now I will be sitting in a theatre in Rhode Island with the Uncle somewhere in the middle of the transformers movie. Once it is over, and since we now have a hotel room, I will update the Preserve, not with spoilers but more with general impressions (which are also I suppose by their very nature spoiler-ish, so I will attempt to indicate them correctly).

Ok, I have to say it "'Til All Are One!"
Posted by charlie on June 28th 2007
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unclecast 10 show notes

With some degree of promptness, the uncleCast 10 show notes have been posted.

Having been reminded that the subtitle of that Kurt Russell movie is 'The Deadly Tower' I really should go back to Hollywood and check for it again. That's clearly just where I need to go, as I'm sure I won't leave without yet more tapes - maybe they'll drop to $1 each when they've let the current promotion run for a while.

Meanwhile, today's Internet Aneurysm comes from a similarly themed image search. Turns out, upon further research, that is Ted Baxter, who provided a lot of voice work for Filmation back in the day, including a bunch of voices for the "New Adventures of Batman" in 1968! Check out this vintage blog post for the citation (amazing what passes for fact these days).
Posted by charlie on June 27th 2007
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botcon tix

It should be pretty clear to anyone who has listened to the uncleCasts or read the posts carefully that the Uncle has really been the driving organizing force behind our trip to Botcon. It was only on his good recommendation that I purchased a higher grade of ticket, along with a pass to the charity pre-screening of the movie this coming Thursday. It was, therefore a small surprise, though still a sad one, when I thought that it had all come off the tracks this morning. I tried to call The Transformers Collector's Club to confirm all my registration details, as I had not gotten anything in the mail, and it appeared that my credit card had not even been hit with their mighty fee. I was met with a recorded message informing me that the nerve center for this entire convention, and the last best hope to reach a human, was closed for the 'botcon holiday' and would reopen on July 5th. Awesome!

After worrying about it all day, and figuring that I'd screwed the trip before it had even begun, that train got back on the tracks as quickly as it had left, with both a credit card statement confirming the processed charge, as well as the paperwork confirming my place at the con and at the pre-screening all arriving today in the mail. And I was worried...sheesh! That's a whole 2 days early; no problem!
Posted by charlie on June 26th 2007
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unclecast #10

The latest uncleCast is posted, #10!

This is the final uncleCast before Botcon, which is in four more days!
Posted by charlie on June 25th 2007
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Hollywood clearance

Never learning from the possible mistakes of the recent or distant past, I stopped into Hollywood Video this evening while I was supposed to be watching Ghost Rider. By most accounts, in a vacuum at least, I made a sound choice in that regard. Once I got to HW I was informed by the sympathetic counter dude who has watched me purchase scores and scores of tapes in the last few months, that I was now "small potatoes". Seems that only days ago, they have instituted a plan, whereby every VHS tape in the store is for sale, right off the shelf, for $2.00. Furthermore, sadly, it seems that the scumbag dealers of the world are, as usual, two steps ahead and have been literally traveling the country, purchasing bulk lots of 1000+ tapes of the particularly rare and resalable titles as each store starts is final sell-off. Of course, this same cleaning-out had happened at my local store not 48 hours prior to my discovery of the sale, but as is always the case with me, my interests are diverse enough that I scared up 40 tapes or so, without even breaking a sweat (except for the excitement of having the tremendous library of media cast open for my purchase!).

Sadly some douche bag beat me to Monster Squad, and it is no more, but at least I was able to score the one thing I truly was looking for today, which was a VHS copy of I Come in Peace, which we all learned in the last UncleCast, has never been granted a dvd release!
Posted by charlie on June 24th 2007
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Freddy Trooper

I am constantly mentioning how the guys in Storm Trooper suits show up at just about each and every 'event' these days, from video game shows to movie premieres, and apparently horror conventions! I was looking for a shot of Robert Englund, and low and behold very nearly the first result is him pictured with a blushing Trooper - my theory remains sound!

Also, let us all remember that Englund auditioned for the part of Luke Skywalker back in the day.
Posted by charlie on June 23rd 2007
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Visionaries

From time to time, I am reminded of a series that I don't remember owning, and haven't yet magically found in storage, and now realize that it's value nearly prevents me from adding it to the Preserve. Having found most of the VHS releases of The Visionaries ("Knights of the Magical Light") the other day, I am hoping to find some examples in storage of the toys that I don't recall, but could well be waiting patiently to be rediscovered. In the mean time, here's a great eBay set of carded figures, exhibiting the premium that they are commanding these days.

Also, upon learning of the Genesis lot that I have just acquired, and that said lot contained a cart of the game Dinosaurs for Hire, The Uncle has informed me that it is one of his favorite, long-lost childhood games, is multi-player, and is an absolute must-play team-beat. This sounds like a fantastic plan.
Posted by charlie on June 22nd 2007
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Yard Sale Genesis

It really is amazing what $5 and a good bit of patience can get you at the right yard sale:



A boxed Genesis Core System, along with a complete copy of Eternal Champions, and carts of Bevis and Butthead, two Batmans and a game about dinosaurs just for good measure - $5 well spent!
Posted by charlie on June 21st 2007
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Cold Sweat

I have just finished watching Cold Sweat with Charles Bronson. It was surprisingly awesome, I felt, once I got into the swing of things, and was directed by Terence Young of early Bond movie fame! It's an excellent Bronson movie if you are in the mood.

Next on the agenda is The Defender with Jet Li. The previews before the movie, as is often the case with great old VHS tapes, were fantastic, including a preview for the Affleck film Reindeer Games, which I'd only known about from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back...or wait, maybe that was Phantoms...I think that definitely needs to be part of a marathon in the future!

Also, this auction ended last night at a fantasticly great price! It is an original prototype, from Takara, of the Transformer Highbrow; definitely something that doesn't come up often!
Posted by charlie on June 20th 2007
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Transformers Movie Toys

Observant readers of the Preserve will no doubt have noticed that I have, at long last and after these many months, updated the 'New Additions' pictures on the home page right nav. There has been a terrible dearth of new photographic additions to the Preserve, and it took the power and majesty of the Transformers Movie 2007 toys to shake me from the depths of my rut.

Having delightedly obtained nearly a complete set in one go, and having since padded that set out even further, I realized that it was high time to build a little formal presentation structure for a multiple-category toy line, and the result is the sorted and partitioned Transformers Movie Toys wing of the Preserve. I've grouped the toys into their Hasbro-designated categories, and provided - at deepest drill down depth - the bio from the back of each box, and the numerical stats.

Now yes, I know that since these are the hot topic this summer, I suspect many other sites have done the same thing. I say, good for all of us! The toys are well done, very attractive, and deserve the fan attention. Since it was what it took to get me moving again on the pictures, I am in their debt, and am happy to pursue my short-term goal of getting that movie toy wing completed. Now if I can just find Leader Class Megatron!
Posted by charlie on June 19th 2007
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nowickipedia live

nowickipedia.com is finally live. I really know nothing about wikis, so we'll see how this works, but it is up and running and editable, so go give it a look. Finally we may be able to see all of those rules of life!

After holding off for far too long, and with no good reason, I've finally decided to purchase the fan-produced Captain Power dvd set. This sounds to be very carefully made, and full of great content, so I am excitedly anticipating it's arrival! Once I have first hand experience with the set, I will post my thoughts and a link where everyone should go to get their very own set.
Posted by charlie on June 18th 2007
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eBay Arcade Lot

When I read the title of this auction, which is today's eBay Watch, and then saw the giant price, and *then* read the game list, I was intrigued from a window-shopping perspective. Then I saw the pictures, and well, can't quite see anyone wanting to drop $6000-$10,000 on that any longer. I wish them well, but presentation may be their downfall in this case.

I do, however, enjoy the picture of the group of people randomly among the arcade-storage-bin shots - either that is the poster and his friends, or the poster with some band I'm supposed to know...an exercise for the reader I suppose.
Posted by charlie on June 17th 2007
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unclecast 9 shownotes

Far after the release of uncleCast #9, I have finally succeeded in getting the show notes posted. They are worth checking out, as they provide some interesting and useful links which tie into the content of the show.

In other news, I was delighted to recently learn that a company called Mezco has created a perfect 1:1 scale replica of Copper Bones which was the bronze skull key from The Goonies! They will apparently be available at the San Diego Comic Con 2007 for $20 each with a limited run of 2500 pieces. I was saved by my pincers of power!
Posted by charlie on June 16th 2007
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Forgot my Password feature

For all of the forgetful Preserve readers, much like myself, there is now a feature which allows you to retrieve your lost password. As requested, so shall I add, in this new attempt to make the Preserve a more fully functional place to visit.

Whenever I see something like this auction on eBay, I do a double-take and feel the urge to make sure I'm not missing a few things in the Preserve. The post is for a pile of Sky Commanders stuff, literally, along with some boxes, some flat some not, and in the background, not part of the auction itself, you can see a DeLorean toy. That certainly is a very similar scene to the Preserve on any given day, but everything seems present and accounted for! That random DeLorean was just a surprise...maybe such things run in pairs more often than I would have believed.
Posted by charlie on June 15th 2007
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Post a Comment Fool

Regular Preserve reader Clive, as well as others one hopes, will enjoy the additional visual encouragement that now exists on the comment posting page. Keep those suggestions coming.

In case anyone was wondering what a crate of 200 Punisher comics looks like, this is a pretty good example:



The A-Team comic and the stacks around the box are all from a great lot that Change just sent to me - he continues to stoke the fire of my new collecting obsession, every shipment containing numerous Pandora's Purchase issues, opening up my eyes to entire new series!
Posted by charlie on June 14th 2007
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Punisher Crate

Arriving today in the mail was a crate of 200 Punisher comics, purchased for a relative song (or at least less than $0.25 an issue). I was delighted to see, upon opening the box, the cover of Archie Meets Punisher. I knew it was worthwhile to buy a huge, mostly underspecified lot of books and see what turned up! Of course the crate is filled with plenty of other great titles, filling out the burgeoning collection nicely.

In only slightly less ridiculous news, the latest UncleCast is posted for your listening edification! Notes will, as usual, follow in a few days.
Posted by charlie on June 13th 2007
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Comments Feature

Months of good intentions and back-burner planning could not prevent the new 'comments' feature from being hastily and rather messily coded this evening past, with an incomplete and somewhat disorienting UI, but at least now there is two way communication of a sort. Future days will be more beneficial for interface smoothing.
Posted by charlie on June 12th 2007
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Toad Warrior eBay

I have been vaguely watching the old eBay for a copy of Toad Warrior, so that I may assemble the Hell Comes to Frogtown movie trilogy. It seems that someone beat me to this recent offering, featuring what sounds to be four awesome movies! At least now I know it exists, and can look for that collection title in particular.
Posted by charlie on June 11th 2007
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Tremors-a-thon 5

Last night, and well into this morning, we held Tremors-A-Thon #5. It was the much anticipated 10-for-10-a-thon, and I for one had a great time! As was somewhat to be expected, only The Chase and I made it through the whole thing awake, and it was getting a little rough at the 4am mark, but as usual it was well worth the effort.

A wonderful chronicle of the event exists over on his Blag, and I suggest everyone who is moderately to highly interested check it out. Be sure to start from the beginning, not the end!
Posted by charlie on June 10th 2007
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USSR videogames

Today Steen has pointed us towards a wonderful little article in Wired which highlights the best of the Soviet arcade scene from the 80s - it's not to be missed.
Posted by charlie on June 9th 2007
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Transformer Movie Toys Scarce

Things that I saw today at the local K and W Marts have helped to drive away any absurd last shreds of buyer's remorse over my exciting and overboard purchase of Transfomrers Movie Toys several days ago. From what I've seen today, everyplace in town is picked back to the metal walls in the toy isles; what were only days ago brimming with black and red plastic radiance promising the precision engineered excitement within have now, no doubt, been safely huddled away by the dozens in the closets of dealers even in this small town of mine. I am delighted that I somehow managed to get there first, and simply will wait bemusedly to see if and when the shelves find their restock.

Now, of course, I get to silently wish I'd not left two of the figures behind on that first day, but honestly I did so to maintain an element of The Hunt, which is always my favorite part and which will assure my continued interest in the flow and consumption of said goods.
Posted by charlie on June 8th 2007
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Action VHS set

Hollywood video has come through again with another fantastic set of 11 VHS tapes, many of which seemed to be newly pulled from mysterious locations within the store previously unseen! In fact, they told me that they allow people to trade in tapes for what I am sure is a pittance of store credit, so it seems that awesome things will continue to sporadically turn up! Here is the latest list, of which I am quite proud:

• The Defender (Jet Li)
• Firefox (Eastwood)
• Cold Sweat (Bronson)
• Dirty Harry - The Dead Pool (Eastwood)
• Hell Comes to Frogtown (Roddy Piper)
• Detroit 9000 (Scatman)
• Brother (Takeshi Kitano)
• Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore)
• G2 - Mortal Conquest (James Hong)
• The Mack (Richard Pryor)
• My Pet Monster (Live Action!)

Oh, and this shirt is awesome, and is today's eBay Watch.
Posted by charlie on June 7th 2007
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Uncle Sent

A mysterious package arrived in the mail from The Uncle, the contents of which amazed and delighted! He never ceases to impress.



That constructicon set finishes up my Classics collection, including the super rare Soundwave Commerative Toys R US exclusive which The Uncle also secured for me. The Dukes of Hazard TV tray, on the other hand, adds substantially to my "killer stuff I'm delighted to own" category, which makes any day a happy day.
Posted by charlie on June 6th 2007
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Punisher Watercolors

In keeping with my recent Punisher comics fixation, I have to post this still-remarkably-low-priced eBay Watch of some original Punisher comic art. What I find particularly interesting about this auction is that it appears to be the original watercolored art, for every page in the book! That is just something that you don't see very often, and it will be interesting to see if the same level of bidding apathy persists up until the end.
Posted by charlie on June 5th 2007
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Frogtown Series

Having just watched the excellent film Hell Comes to Frogtown, I of course felt it necessary to discuss it, however briefly and out of place, in the latest Breaking News UncleCast. In researching the link for the film, I made a startling discovery! It turns out that there was a trilogy of Frogtown movies, sadly only the first one staring Rowdy Roddy Piper:

• Hell Comes to Frogtown
• Frogtown II
• Toad Warrior

Sounds like the second one is universally bad, but that the third may have some redeeming features.

Also today I present evidence in favor of The Uncle's theory that a person with a collecting mentality should never buy that 'first thing' which may unleash a new collection. I guess I shouldn't have gone to the store to get the new Transformers 2007 Movie edition Prime, because all the rest of the toys were just too tempting.



Oh, and also the first three volumes of Voltron in those perfect metal lion head boxes, because the Tf movie toys clearly weren't enough. Buckethead anyone?
Posted by charlie on June 4th 2007
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UncleCast Extravaganza

In an effort to atone for my terrible and inexcusable lag in editing an UncleCast that we recorded over a week ago now, today I present you with a double header!

First, enjoy our oldie-but-goodie Memorial Day Episode, where we discuss amazing NES cart prices, and the reasons why! Then, astound your very senses with today's UncleCast, with details from the front lines of the Transformers the Movie (2007) Toy Release day! The Uncle and a special guest provide breaking news and reviews, so bear with the rough audio and experience the first day excitement!
Posted by charlie on June 3rd 2007
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Hell comes to Frogtown

We have just finished watching, the cinematic opus of Hell Comes to Frogtown. This movie featured Rowdy Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, and a cast of frogs and fertile women. The Chase, has the following to say:

This movie is the most amazing example of artistic mastery of the cinematic artform that I have ever witnessed. While Master Parry and I were watching the film, we would frequently say something to the effect of, "Wouldn't it be awesome if this ridiculous nonsensical thing happened next!?" And, lo and behold, we were always correct. It is as if this movie reached into our fucked up awful-movie-loving psychies and created this abomination against mankind. This film should be a coming of age right for all warm-blooded Americans
Posted by charlie on June 2nd 2007
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Yard Sale Man

Some people, possibly even some readers of the Preserve, might not think that it's awesome to find Lawnmower Man on VHS, and a three-pack of Bela Lugosi movies on a single dvd, at a yard sale for a few bucks at 7am before the Friday work day begins, but I certainly do!
Posted by charlie on June 1st 2007
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