harkinianmahboi

[harkinianmahboi]

Wowzers, I haven’t posted in... years! Anyway, I found this cute little thing on eBay, and had to buy him. Apparently they’re called “Bible Bears”, and they’re obvious Care Bear fakies. He’s a little bit bigger than the vintage Care Bears poseables. I kinda want to find out what other Bible Bears there are. Unfortunately, I can find barely any information on them. If you have any info, please let me know! I’d love to know what other colors and Bible verses there are for these :-P

#biblebears

[harkinianmahboi]

Ahh, Circuit City.  I’m sure most of us remember Circuit City.  You know, this commercial brings back so many memories.  VCRs, boomboxes...  And, seriously?  A fridge for less than $400?  That’s just awesome!  

PS, please tell me I’m not the only one who still watches VHS cassettes?  I have a second tv, an older one that has a built-in VCR, and it’s just awesome as heck.  Anyway, yeah.  Rock out to the awesome CC jingle!!!  

[harkinianmahboi]

You might remember the old series called Welcome To Pooh Corner.  Well, one particular episode revolved around “stranger danger”, which was a HUGE deal back when I was growing up.  The first piece of advice we ever got was usually “don’t talk to strangers”, and “people you don’t know WILL hurt you”.  So, of course, a ton of popular shows delved into the subject of “stranger danger”, and of course Winnie the Pooh had to get in on it, with an episode of Pooh Corner called “Too Smart for Strangers”.  The episode revolved around the gang discussing ways to protect yourself from strangers, and how to get help when confronted by a stranger.  One of the more memorable parts was when Pooh and Piglet discussed “not okay touching”.  For some reason, the idea of getting a lecture on sexual abuse by a bear who wears a shirt but no pants...it just feels awkward.  But, I always loved this episode/video nonetheless.  

#winnie the pooh #welcome to pooh corner #too smart for strangers #piglet #tigger #stranger danger #bad touch #1980s #nostalgia

[harkinianmahboi]

The first ever Barney plush, made by Dakin!  Back during the “Backyard Gang” days, kids only had the VHS sleeves to hold while watching the videos.  However, the problem was soon remedied when this little guy became available to Barney Fan Club members!  This was the same style of Barney plush that was used in the Rock With Barney video.

#barney #Barney Fan Club #barney and the backyard gang #barney and friends #nostalgia #1990s #plush

[harkinianmahboi]

Autographs FTW!

#momocon #steve blum #tress macneille #rob paulsen #jess harnell #randy rogel #autograph

[harkinianmahboi]

So, I finally got a chance to live my dream of meeting the Animaniacs crew!  Drove all the way to Atlanta for MomoCon 2014.  Best.  Weekend.  Ever.  I also got to meet Randy Rogel (the guy who composed those awesome Animaniacs songs like "Yakko's World"), but unfortunately didn't get a picture with him.  

#momocon #animaniacs #Rob Paulsen #Jess Harnell #Tress MacNeille #maurice lamarche

[harkinianmahboi]

These finger puppets were available from Burger King when The Lion King had first been released on VHS.  I don't remember exactly what year, but I'm thinking late 1994 or early 1995?  Does anyone know the exact year?  Anyway, this photo is from my personal collection.  I believe the only ones I'm missing are Mufasa and Pumbaa.  The only one that's from my childhood collection is one of the Simbas.  I got him when I was either 8 or 9, and mom and I were driving back home to Austin from Dallas.  

#nostalgic #1990s #the lion king #Disney #burger king #toys

[harkinianmahboi]

In the good old days, Tiger Electronics used to put out these handheld games for the big Disney movies that had come out, including Aladdin and, of course, The Lion King.  TLK was the only game I had (and still have), so I'm not sure what the gameplay on the others is like.  But this TLK game was super easy.  There were 4 stages that followed the storyline of the movie.  

The first is when you're guiding little Simba, who is basically walking...nowhere.  The hyenas try to get him, and you have to jump or crouch to avoid them.  Meanwhile, you also have to avoid puddles, steam, and...leaves?  Really?  Leaves hurt Simba???  Wow...  

Anyway, second level is the wildebeest scene.  You have to avoid the damn things, and...yeah, it's super-easy.  The wildebeests come one at a time, unlike the movie where Simba is pulling a Frogger past hundreds of those stupid-ass animals.  Anyway, you finish that, Mufasa dies, and the next stage begins.

The third stage is boring as shit, yo.  Timon and Pumbaa throw bugs at adult Simba, and Simba has to jump and eat them.  Meanwhile, you have to avoid...leaves and puddles.  Wow, leaves and puddles must be deadly as hell to lions!  Anyway, you eat the bugs, Nala's nagging ass shows up, then the final stage begins.

Adult Simba battles Scar, while avoiding hyenas, fire, lightning, and geysers.  And Scar, of course.  There really isn't anything to this stage.  You just keep moving and avoiding stuff, Scar dies, and...the end.  

#the lion king #handheld gaming #tiger electronics #1990s #90s kid #disney #nostalgia

[harkinianmahboi]

7 out of the 8 Animaniacs Happy Meal toys.  I believe these were available in 1994.  I managed to acquire all except for the one with Buttons and Mindy.  However, since I was never a huge Buttons and Mindy fan, I’ve not really gone out of my way to find that one.  Funny thing, I wasn’t a huge fan of Slappy growing up.  As an adult, though?  She’s my favorite non-Warner character.

#Animaniacs #Yakko #Wakko #Dot #Slappy #Goodfeathers #Happy Meal #McDonald's #1994 #90s #nostalgia #toys

[harkinianmahboi]

It's time for Aaaaanimaaaaniacs!  These little guys were available in Warner Brothers stores back in 1998.  God, I miss that store.  Does anyone else remember it?  I still remember that little area where kids could go in and color random Looney Tunes pictures on this weird little computer-type thing.  *sigh* I don't know what the hell happened to that store, but I MISS IT!  Apparently, I was in Austin when the voice cast was in Northpark Mall for some autograph tour.  Oh well, one day, I will meet them!  Already planning on meeting Rob "Yakko" Paulsen in October!

#Animaniacs #Dot #Yakko #Wakko #Warner Brothers #plush #Nostalgia #1998 #90s #Rob Paulsen #Jess Harnell #Tress Macneille

[harkinianmahboi]

Remember Electric Crayon Deluxe?  It was a computer game from back in the DOS days, where (obviously) you can color all sorts of pictures.  They had various games.  They had a dinosaur-themed one, Ninja Turtle-themed, zoo-themed, etc.  I was obsessed with the dinosaur game when I was growing up.  I still have fond memories of spending time in Dad's office coloring while he worked.  

#nostalgia #electric crayon deluxe #dos #computer game #1980s #1990's

[harkinianmahboi]

I believe you could only get this at Disneyland/Disney World.  As a kid, I had the one of Simba sitting down, rather than pouncing.  These are probably the cutest baby Simba plushies ever made.  And so SOFT!

#1990s #nostalgia #childhood #lion king #Simba #Disney #plush

[harkinianmahboi]

I had the Donatello shoes as a kid, but managed to find a pair of Raphael ones (that, obviously, lost their ability to stand upright).  These were probably the coolest things you could ever wear on your feet.  

#80s #nostalgia #teenage mutant ninja turtles #childhood #raphael #slippers #badass

[harkinianmahboi]

Sorry, guys!

I apologize for not updating in SOOOO long.  I had a case of the bipolar blues.  Now, I'm not sure which toys I should feature.  Please give me some ideas of what you would like to see :-D

#toys #nostalgia #80s #90s #childhood

[harkinianmahboi]

A Night at Chuck E. Cheese

It's the early '90s.  You're 6 years old.  The world is rough for a kid.  Math sucks, recess is too short, and your mom didn't put a Lunchables in your lunch box!  That's ok, though!  It's all worth it...  At least, it was worth it to me.  That's because I always knew that I had a night of fun awaiting me every other Friday night!  Since my mom and dad had divorced when I was but a young tot, I spent every other weekend with my dad.  HOWEVER, the weekends that were not spent with dad were spent with my most precious family member- my GiGi (aka my grandma on my mom's side).  Weekends with her were spent mostly watching cartoons, going to Sunday School, and just generally having a blast together.  But Fridays...Fridays were extra special!

Fridays were Chuck E. Cheese night!  It was the most magical place for a kid like me!  It all started the moment I would walk in the door.  As Gigi would order our food, she would always manage to find several bucks to give to me to use for tokens.  So, rather than waiting with her, I took it upon myself to change those dollars and quarters into tokens!  I mean, what good is a CEC without tokens???  After a trip to the salad bar, we would rush over to "our" booth.  It was right by the ball pit, with only a small wall separating us from the mayhem of the play area.  I don't remember much about the pizza.  Of course it's unforgettable, but who really comes to a CEC for the food?  I only remember eating while singing along with Chuck and his band.  Poor Gigi must have been bored out of her mind, but, bless her, she put on a smile and laughed and carried on right along with me!  Gotta love grandparents, eh?  

Anyhow, after gobbling up the food and waiting and waiting...Gigi would finally let me run amok in the play area!  Oh maaaaaaaan, the play area was the highlight of a trip to CEC!  Back in "my day" (boy, do I sound old or what?!), they had actual arcade games, and not just games that gave you tickets.  Of course, I loved those ticket games!  At that time, there were prizes worth playing for!  My Little Pony even got in on the action, and created a "Chuck E Cheese" pony that would be an exclusive to the restaurant!  Being an avid MLP fan, I begged and pleaded and got Gigi to play with me in order to double our ticket earnings!  Actually...I didn't even have to beg or plead.  She saw the pony and offered to help!  Boy, Gigi was several kinds of awesome!  Our favourite ticket-earning game was this game in which you aimed a "canon" at clown faces, and knocked them down.  I pretty much guarantee all our tickets came from that game!  

So, let's get to the best part of CEC:  the ball pit!  I don't believe that they have ball pits anymore (darn sanitary concerns!), but back in the day, ball pits were just the most awesome thing!  You would just jump right on in, performing a canon-ball as other children gazed in amazement (or egged you on to perform a back-flip). As a kid, I didn't care about sanitation!  I only wanted to dive on in and enjoy the balls!  

So, yeah, that's basically a night at Chuck E. Cheese.  It's a shame it's changed so much.  At least, it's changed at the one I used to go to.  No longer is there a ball pit.  No longer are there arcade games.  It's no longer the same CEC that used to excite me so much as a child.  Of course, I HAVE aged, so that certainly has something to do with my feelings.  However, I do feel a tiny bit sad for the kids who are not going to experience the full joy of going to CEC.  At least, I hope that the kids these days will fully enjoy their experience as best as possible.  Chuck E. Cheese, you will always hold a special place in my heart.  And even though I've changed, and you've changed, you will always be the same in my mind, through my memories.  And that is something special to hold onto!

[harkinianmahboi]

DuckTales...WOOHOO!  I never had these as a child, but I remember having a friend who had the Webby doll.  I wanted it so badly lol.  Oh, and you can now thank me for putting the theme song in your head!  All part of my evil plan...  MUAHAHAHA!

[harkinianmahboi]

Kodak Kolorkins began in the early '90s as an incentive for children to get interested in photography (and, more importantly, to buy Kodak products). When you sent in an empty tube of Kodak film, you would receive a cute little Kolorkins plush!  I remember seeing the commercial as a child, and I wanted Rewind (the pink one) and Focus (the blue one) SO badly.