Three New Podcasts Featuring…Me!

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Yesterday there was an overload of Retro Rambler goodness in the audio world as three new podcasts dropped that I was a part of. In case you don’t get enough of me here at Retro Ramblings, I thought I’d share those podcasts with you so you can listen along.

First up, as usual, I was riding shotgun with Jason from Rediscoverthe80s and my Retro Network partner for our weekly episode of the TRN Time Machine Podcast. In this latest episode, Jason and I took a trip back to the ’90s to talk about whatever ’90s things were on our minds. Included in the discussion was the story of my local cable company burning down in 1991 causing me to miss the UWF Beach Brawl PPV, tv shows from 1990 that were based on movies, TGIF lineups from through the years, our first cell phones, Stone Temple Pilots, Hypercolor clothing, Double Dip Crunch cereal, and more. You can give the show a listen below:

Then came our weekly episode of TRN After Hours, which is normally exclusive to our Network VIPs, but this week we decided to do a “free preview” for everyone. In this episode, I hit Jason with some “where were you when” questions about events of the ’90s, and we discussed where we were and what were doing, and how the events affected us. We talked about Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, the debut of Jurassic Park, the OJ Simpson car chase, the Columbine shootings, and more. It was a deep dive into where, and who, we were in the ’90s and I think everyone would enjoy it. Give it a listen:

And last, but not least, I was Kevin’s guest on The Hot Tag, presented by The House Show podcast…presented by The Retro Network! Kevin had me on in celebration of two years of TRN and got my side of the story as to the creation of the Network, as well as my barbeque skills, my life traveling, my take on several other subjects, and we threw in a little wrestling talk as well. It was a fun interview that was my pleasure to be a part of. And like the first two shows, you can listen to this one below:

So, there’s that. If you’re into podcasts…check them out. You may find that you want to subscribe and continue listening week after week!

More Old Comic Book Ads

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It’s time to browse through some more old comic book ads and see what kind of nostalgia they stir up! I’ve said it before, but old comic books are like mini time capsules offering a glimpse into the past via the ads found inside. Here are five more to tickle your nostalgia bone.

Matchbox Cars Puffy Stickers (1984)

So toy cars like Matchbox and Hot Wheels have always been fun, and back in the ’80s, stickers were a huge thing. And some of the best stickers you could find to add to your collection were of the puffy variety. I put them up there neck and neck with scratch and sniff stickers. With that said, this ad really hits high for me because you could get both Matchbox cars AND puffy stickers in one fun package! That’s a lot of fun packed into one little package. I can just imagine going to Hills on the weekend and talked my folks into buying this for me. I’d have not one, but three Matchbox cars to play with, and have 25 puffy stickers to boot! That would go a long way towards making that weekend awesome.

And if you were into Matchbox, check out the full scan of the 1986 Matchbox Cars Collector’s Catalog!

Ski or Die Nintendo Game (1990)

Of course, you know I love all things Nintendo, and I was always fond of Ultra Games selection of titles. I had several of their offerings, but never this one. I don’t even remember this game from back in the day. But I guess stuff like that is to be expected due to there being so many games available, and my locations for purchasing games being so few back then. I really like the Skate or Die game, and this just looks to be another version of that but set in the middle of what they call a “nasty snow sport spectacular” where it’s the survival of the fastest, raddest, and baddest. That’s their spelling, not mine. The graphics shown in the ad actually look pretty good for old 8-bit Nintendo. I’ve gotta find a ROM for this game and fire it up later.

I’ve covered another old Ultra Games ad for one of my favorites for the system, Rollergames! Check it out.

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The Weekend Edition for 6/13/21

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Here’s this week’s curated collection of fun retro and nostalgic posts and stories from around the world wide web that I’ve come across this week. And remember, if you know of something you think I would enjoy reading, then leave a comment with the link so I can check it out!

Curated

From the Retro Ramblings Archives

Video of the Week

Watching Chad open that pack of American Gladiators cards made me really nostalgic for the old show, so I headed over to YouTube to find a clip of the greatest moment of the series to share with you. It’s from the 1992 Grand Championship episode and features an incredible ending. The video only features the final Eliminator obstacle course so it’s not that long, but I promise, it’s worth your time to watch the climatic sequence.

Retro Movie Review: Body Slam (1986)

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“A music promoter (Dirk Benedict) who manages a wrestler (Roddy Piper) puts a rock group with a mat card and starts a fad.” – from Google

I was browsing on Tubi for a flick to watch when my eyes stumbled across the listing for Body Slam. The funny thing is, I was just looking at purchasing it from Amazon a few days ago. It’s probably been at least 15 years since I last watched it, and it had been on my brain for a while. Back in the day, you could almost always find it playing on one of the pay cable channels, and probably on a few episodes of USA’s Up All Night. But in the streaming era, I feel like there’s not a lot of services engaged in bidding wars to see who gets the rights to show it.

The Plot

The summary at the top doesn’t do much justice to the plot line. Scumbag manager Harry Smilack normally promotes music groups, but all of a sudden finds himself managing a professional wrestler after inserting himself into a meeting he had no business being at. He eventually signs another wrestler and finds himself managing a tag team. his brashness rubs another manager in the sport the wrong way, so his tag team, The Cannibals, brutalize Smilack’s team of “Quick” Roberts and Tonga Tom, leaving them injured and unable to compete. At the same time, the band that Harry manages, Kick, are without some gigs. After some soul searching, Harry combines his two acts…rock AND wrestling…and takes the show on the road. It’s kind of his way of getting back to his roots. After success with the venture, his tag team earns a match with The Cannibals in a main event, and the stage is set for a grudge match for the ages, with the winners taking all. There are various other hijinks involving other scams of Harry’s along the way, but I think that pretty much sums up the movie.

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A Tribute to Nerds Cereal

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You know me and food. We have a love/hate relationship. I love it when it’s around, but I hate it when it’s gone. Just like Nerds cereal. Loved it then…and hate that it’s gone. It’s just one of many cereals I miss. Let’s pay it a little tribute here.

Oh yes, the fabled Nerds cereal.  Now I’m not sure when the candy itself hit the market, but I do remember being a huge fan of it around 1985 when this cereal hit the market.  Maybe the commercials announcing its arrival got me hyped up, or maybe there was some advertising on the boxes of candy.  Either way, I was ready for it when this cereal finally dropped. 

It had such an awesome gimmick, in that it featured two different flavors in the same box, just like the candy.  That was always one of the coolest things about the candy too.  You’d buy a box of the candy, and it was like getting two different packs of candy since the box was divided between two flavors.  And each side had its own opening from which to retrieve the miniature goodness. 

So when the cereal came out, it mimicked the candy pretty closely.  You had one box with Grape and Strawberry, and the other box had Orange and Cherry…just like some of the candy selections.  What I wonder is, did both boxes come in the same case, or did stores have to order cases of each? If you know the answer to this, I’d love to hear from you. I don’t remember the cereal box having two openings, but I remember the flavors each being in separate bags.  But the coolness didn’t stop there, oh no, Ralston and Nerds took the divided fun to a whole other level with the Nerds Cereal Bowl. 

Image courtesy of MrBreakfast.com

For a couple of proofs of purchase and a few cents, you could send away and get the official Nerds cereal bowl.  That thing was so awesome.  It was divided into two different compartments so you could enjoy both flavors in the same bowl, yet still keep them separate.  But the sweetest feature of it was that it had a gate built into the dividing wall of the bowl!  You could raise the gate a little and let the milk flow between compartments.  Or you could raise it all the way and let both cereal flavors mingle together.  We need bowls like that on the market ALL the time, not just as a premium mail offer. 

Nerds cereal was perfect for its time, but I think it would still be a hit today if some cereal company would get on the ball and start making it.  But what do you think?  Should Nerds Cereal be revamped? 

Check out these other forgotten foods that I miss…

Highlights From a 1989 KayBee Toys Ad

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I love sifting through old catalogs and sale papers from the ’80s and early ’90s. They’re filled with so much nostalgia with so many toys I had, and those I didn’t have but wanted gracing every page. Today I’m going to highlight a few cool things I found in a KayBee Toys sale paper from 1989.

Nintendo Games!

I’ve already documented my love for all things Nintendo here on the blog, and this ad for games is certainly in line with my love for all things Nintendo. Featured in the top left is my favorite game for the system, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. I also see some of my other favorites including Bionic Commando and WWF Wrestlemania. I could sit and look through old game ads all day and continue to drool over just how awesome we had it with our game systems back in the day.

Play-Doh Make-a-Meal Spaghetti Factory!

Play-Doh was never really a top toy in my book unless I had a cool playset like this for it. There was just so much you could do with sets like these with all the various presses and cutting tools. Besides making plates of spaghetti and meatballs like the set intended, you could do other things with them. Like make your own cool monsters with long stringy hair. The various playsets offered almost limited play that other toys couldn’t.

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The Weekend Edition for 6/6/21

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Here is this week’s curated collection of some fun retro and nostalgia themed articles from across the web this week. I hope you can find the time to sit back, relax, and take a few strolls down memory lane with what I’ve found for you this week.

Curated Links