As a bonus to my Christmas list, here are the items on my birthday list for 1992. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project [Nintendo game] ($39.00) This is on my “most memorable/influential-on-my-life video games”. And I recall getting it from my paternal grandparents of all people. These were the people who got me the Alf game for the Mac. My dad must have to lead him step-by-step on how to buy it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Duelin’ Dudes I eventually got this for Christmas (I think). It’s just Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots. The problem is that one guy’s head always gets a little looser than the…
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My Christmas List – 1992
I found some old text files of mine and thought I’d share their delight with you, along with some commentary from an older and wiser author. I think it’s missing some numbers because I eventually deleted the things I’d gotten. Maybe someday I’ll cross-reference with my diary to see what I actually got. Also note, I would have been eleven years old at this time. CHRISTMAS LIST `92 1. 13-in. TV with remote control Ah, youth. A TV in my room seemed like the pinnacle of luxury. Nowadays, you can afford an entire entertainment center — computer, TV, stereo. But to me, a thirteen-inch TV with remote seemed to me…
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Some Questions About the First Episode of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
You know I love ninja turtles. My daughters love Ninja Turtles. They watch the new cartoons, but for some reason, keep asking to watch my DVD of the first five episodes of the 80s version. Specifically, the one where “April calls them the wrong names” (the first episode). So I’ve had a chance to review the pilot of a phenom a few times. Now, when you’re eight years old, logic has no place. Suspension of disbelief is high in younglings. You’re not going to question things because you simply don’t know a lot about the world. Maybe things that don’t make sense are there for comic relief — it’s hard to tell…
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Ace Duck
While doing a little backgrounding for Is There a Right Way to Do TMNT? I came across a forgotten memory/unanswered question of mine. What was up with Ace Duck? He was one of the first TMNT action figures I owned after I got the core set (the core being the primary bad guys and primary good guys). He was released in the second series in 1989 along with many of the secondary recurring characters like Casey Jones and Baxter Stockman (fly version). But he NEVER showed up in the show. Every one of these characters got at least one episode, like Metalhead or General Traag or Genghis Frog. But Ace…
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Is There a Right Way to do TMNT?
There was this article on Kotaku the other day with the headline “I Wonder If They’ll Ever Get Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Right”. Basically, the article lamented that of the many ninja turtle incarnations over the years, none of them have returned to the Frank Miller-parody B & W roots. Thing is, I don’t think there is a right way. For one thing, if Playmates hadn’t come along and snapped up the licensing for toys and cartoons, we’d probably have never heard of them. They’d still be some underground comic with a premise too ridiculous to be taken seriously. From there, they evolved to live-action animatronics, poorly constructed puppets, hard-boiled…
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TMNT: The Mean Green Machine
We already know — Michael Bay’s TMNT will replace the M with an A. But I’m surprised how many people are dismissing the enormity of this change. “Don’t judge yet.” “Take a chill pill.” “Wait till you see the finished product.” “We’re still hammering out the script. Even the very creators are asking the fans to wait and see (or not). Make no mistake — this movie is doomed, and anyone agrees with the above needs to suck my anus. Why? 1. Fans, you should have been up in arms when you learned Michael Bay was attached. Think about it — the best movie he made was The Rock (which…
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A Lesson on Proper Sai Technique
Okay, here’s the thing: Every time you make a picture of Raphael holding his sai with his fingers wrapped around the prongs, and not the handle, you’re doing it wrong! You know what the point of a sai is? To catch the enemy’s sword or staff or something in between the prongs to disarm him. If your fingers are there when that happens, guess what’s going to happen?
