Toys, Childhood, Life & Death: My Birthday With My Mom

My birthday was this weekend and I was able to visit my parents for the first time in about a year. On its own, that’s nice, but more special as my mom has been dealing with cancer for over a year now and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my parents for one of my birthdays.

We’re at the point where each time I see my mom could be the last time I see my mom so I made a little video to try to preserve the moment. We spend some time talking about my childhood and past birthdays, but then get into a very real discussion about life and death. It may not be for everyone and it’s very different than anything I’ve ever put out there, but both her and I are very happy we had this conversation.

Vintage 80s Masters of the Universe Action Figure Unboxing Vol. 4

Your boy is back and still building his vintage Masters of the Universe toy collection! Check out this latest unboxing video featuring a great selection of the classic 80s toyline!

Joe Appears On WrassleRap Podcast

That’s right! Our double main man Joe is this week’s guest on WrassleRap a podcast that meshes pro wrestling with hip hop where he talks about action figure collecting, adult encounters and, obviously, his wrestling career. Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or simply press play here!

Vintage Masters of the Universe (MOTU) He-Man Figure Unboxing Video

I received another delivery of vintage MOTU figures and have put together another unboxing video. Give it a watch, smash that like button, get in the comments and subscribe so you’re not left out on future vids!

Daily Cartoon: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power S04E04: “Pulse”

Welcome to a fresh new week of episode recaps! After what felt like a long weekend, I’m excited to be picking back up with Episode 4 of the new season of She-Ra! The first three episodes thus far have been pretty damn good so I’m excited to see what’s next.

When we left off, She-Ra and Bow had liberated the village of Elberon from Horde rule, but this turned out to all be part of Catra and Hordak’s plan to insert a spy into the Rebellion: the shape-shifter Double Trouble disguised as a young, Elboranian girl named Flutterina. This is becoming a recurring theme for this season where the Rebellion is finishing off their battles thinking they’ve won, but the Horde has gone away with something in their back pocket making you think that they’re the ones who’ve actually come out on top.

If you need more than that, feel free to read the Episode 3 recap to catch up before diving into this because right now we’ve got a show to watch.

Daily Cartoon: BAKI E. 18 “Thanks”

Welcome back to another episode recap as we wind down all the available episodes of Netflix’s Baki. Season 1, Part 2 has been a major disappointment thus far and, if I’m being honest, I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.

The story has just been wildly all over and it’s been very difficult to become invested in any kind of arc or character. Maybe that’s too critical for what’s just supposed to be a beat ’em up action show, but why would I care about the fight when I don’t care about the people fighting?

In addition, the show seemed to blow it’s wad on all the good action in Part 1 so while, yes, this is still nuts in most situations, it doesn’t compare to the stuff they’ve already shown us. Maybe things will get better. Who knows? Maybe all these characters that the show has forgotten have huge resurgences. I’ve lost my confidence in this. Let’s see if it can get it back.

Daily Cartoon: She-Ra & The Princesses of Power S03E01: “The Price of Power”

Welcome everybody to a brand new beginning! This week we’re going to be watching Season 3 of the Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power! Having just completed the 200X Mike Young Productions He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, this seemed like a natural piggyback since Season 3 was just recently released.

Since we’re not starting from the very beginning, let’s do a quick little history: the series focuses on teenage Adora who has grown up while part of the Horde and has finally graduated to Force Captain. When she finally leaves the Fright Zone, she realizes that the Horde are the real bad guys and comes across a sword that enables her to transform into She-Ra, the defender of Etheria. Pretty simple, right? Right.

Whereas in the original Filmation She-Ra Adora was the kidnapped twin sister of Prince Adam (He-Man) and would eventually feature crossovers and Christmas celebrations between universes, through two seasons of this series, there hasn’t been any mention of that little plot point and really, it’s not even missed.

 

Though I was kind of iffy on some of the first images that were released publicly prior to the series’ debut, I promised myself to give it a fair shot since it was being done by Dreamworks and I absolutely loved the Voltron: Legendary Defender series they put out a couple of years prior that was way, way fucking better than anything Voltron ever before. I even did an episode recap of the premiere episode of that way back when so you know I’m not lying.

Daily Cartoon: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe S02E13: “Awaken the Serpent”

Friends, we’ve made it. It’s not the results, it’s the journey and I’m happy to say that the last two months on this journey through the telling of the mythos of the happenings on Eternia has been incredibly fun.

From the beginning, I’ve been upfront about my love for all things MOTU and when I decided to go back through the wormhole of rewatching this series I was admittedly a bit nervous to see how it would hold up since I had remembered enjoying this reboot very much when it was new and hip and fresh and I’m pleased to report that it has confirmed my feelings as well as further stoking my love for the property.

It’s been a really fun ride and although I’m happy to have gotten to this point, I am already feeling a tinge of sadness that we’ve come to the end. We can delve more into my feelings at the end once we’ve finished the episode, but right now we’ve got a story to complete. There is no “until next time.”

Daily Cartoon: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe S02E12: “History”

Friends, we’ve got so much to get into and only about 44 minutes of actual He-Man time to go. With just two episodes remaining, we’re coming off a dramatic turn of events in yesterday’s episode where King Hiss was able to escape with the Medallion of Serpos that – I’m assuming – give him super snake powers. Which is wild because he was already pretty powerful as a regular snake with no medallion.

I mentioned this in my final thoughts yesterday, but I’m really worried about getting left with a cliffhanger as there just feels like so many unanswered questions remaining, but I’m hopeful for a satisfying conclusion. Doing this rewatch of the entire series has been a lot of fun and a nice, tidy finale would leave me with a very good and lasting memory.

If you feel like you missed out on anything prior, simply head back and read all the other recaps (which I obviously encourage you do regardless) and come right back here to watchalong.

Daily Cartoon: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe S02E11: “Rattle of the Snake”

Welcome back! This is it, people. Our last three days with the 200X He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series! Thirty-six down, three to go and let’s hope these last 90 minutes knock it out of the park and leave us with nothing but fond memories.

When we left off, the Snake Men decimated all of Webstor’s spider-children who had been fed ambrosia, the potent food of the bee people that normally toxic to non-Andreenids, but – because of Webstor’s insect-biology, it mutated him into a more powerful version of himself.

As the Snakes combed through caves and mountains looking for fresh meat to bring to King Hiss, they came across the spiders, murdered and consumed them and, with that, the ambrosia that filled them. The final scene left us with a silhouette of Hiss feeling the surge of power caused by the ambrosia.

We can take guesses about what today’s title will lead to, but that would just be wasting time. Let’s hit play and do this, Brutus.