Happy 30th Birthday Star Wars!

Star Wars turns 30 today. Just another sign that I'm getting older & older. :)

Since I can't be at Celebration IV, here's my own little celebration. My Top 20 Vintage Star Wars Action Figures.

Every vintage figure is special to me. If I didn't have a figure, one of my friends did, so I got to play with them all. I'm sharing the pictures of the packages, as those images trigger more memories as they aren't as common as the loose figures.

Honorable Mention:
Gonk Droid, IG-88, Ree-Yees, Snaggletooth, Ugnaught, Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot, Bossk, Death Star Droid

#20
Walrus Man

Apparently, his name is Ponda Baba, but he'll always be Walrus Man to me.

#19
Jawa (with cape)

I didn't have one of these guys, but Todd Sipala did. Well, he had one, until he lost it in a hole on one of the giant rocks we used to climb on.

#18
R5-D4

Always overshadowed by R2-D2.

#17
Greedo

Han shot first!

#16
AT-AT Driver


#15
Stormtrooper

A classic package.

#14
Bib Fortuna

"Die wanna wanga!"

#13
Han Solo (Hoth Gear)


#12
R2-D2 (with Sensorscope)

I loved the clicking sound his head made when you moved it.

#11
Yoda

The accessories that came with Yoda (the cane & the snake) were fantastic.

#10
Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot)


#9
C3PO (with Removable Limbs)

What? A figure that was actually made to be broken? Sweet.

#8
Admiral Ackbar

Honestly now, who doesn't love Admiral Ackbar??

#7
Darth Vader

Ah, the telescoping lightsaber. Quality stuff!

#6
Biker Scout

I picked up my first Biker Scout, along with the Speeder Bike, while visiting Uncle Sonny in Greenfield, MA.

#5
Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)

This one is this high for one simple fact. After seeing "The Empire Strikes Back" multiple times, I made this figure anatomically correct. I rubbed off his hand on the cement, wearing it down to a nub.

#4
Imperial Snowtrooper

Just a cool looking figure.

#3
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight)

This was one of the first "Return of the Jedi" figures I obtained. I know exactly where it was purchased too. The Groton CVS.

#2
Emperors Royal Guard

Any & all incarnations of this figure are an immediate favorite.

#1
Boba Fett

Was there really any question as to who would be #1?

Birthday Recap & More

Ugh. Another birthday came & went on Tuesday. 34.

With every year that goes by, the day feels more & more like an average day. I try to fend off all the well-wishers, although I do appreciate them. It's obviously not the same. I look more forward to Payton's birthday than I do mine.

It was still a nice day. My big gifts were tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld a couple weeks ago & this nice jersey:

I also received some nice gear with the 2007 US Open logo on it. I love squirrels. :)
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Anywho, just some random items to close this entry.

- More t-ball photos have been added to the online gallery. Eventually I'll throw a link up on the right, but for now, scroll down a couple of entries to find the link.

- Speaking of t-ball, here's Payton's YouTube debut. Notice the lack of a tee.


- I had no idea Coach T had been through this. Wow.
Cystic Fybrosis & Coach T

- In closing, another fantastic shot from Patty. The M/V Race Point sailing back to New London in a gorgeous sunset.

Disney Animated Movies

As promised, here's another Top 20 list, this time I'm counting down my all-time favorite Disney animated films.

As with all my Top 20 lists, this only lists MY favorites, not which film is necessarily the best. Any & all comments are appreciated!

(I apologize for the brevity of the comments. I'm trying to get to bed at a decent hour.)

Honorable Mention: Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Toy Story, Incredibles, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jungle Book, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mulan & Brother Bear.

#20
Sword in the Stone

Just a movie that has always stayed with me, even though I can't remember actually watching it. Very strange.

#19
Pocahontas

I just watched this for the first time this past weekend. This makes the list simply for having one of the greatest Disney sidekicks ever, Meeko the raccoon. Awwww...

#18
Home on the Range

A decent, recent movie, but this is on the list because it was the first movie Payton saw in the movie theater.

#17
Bambi

I love me some Thumper!

#16
101 Dalmatians

Ewww, Cruella DeVille. I was working at the Disney Store part-time when the live action version of this was released. I hated that job.

#15
Lady & the Tramp

Who can ever forget the classic spaghetti eating scene?

#14
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

My Aunt Linda collects all things Dopey. My favorite dwarf would have to be Sleepy, for obvious reasons.

#13
Monsters, Inc.

This movie made me realize that everyone associated with Pixar is a genius. The little things you pick up while watching this movie is incredible.

#12
Rescuers Down Under

The late John Candy provides a voice for this movie. What more needs to be said?

#11
Little Mermaid

This is a movie I only discovered on video, a few years after being released. I realized then that I missed watching classic Disney movies.

#10
Sleeping Beauty

The image of that spindle, Malificent & her dragon alter ego are all burned in my brain as images of evil.

#9
Aladdin

See #11. This may be Robin Williams' greatest role.

#8
Beauty & the Beast

I'm guessing that this is Payton's favorite Disney movie. I enjoy the story greatly & love hearing Jerry Orbach's voice.

#7
Finding Nemo

Again, Pixar hits another home run. The beauty of the colors in this movie are fantastic.

#6
Rescuers

R-E-S-C-U-E
Rescue Aid Society
Heads held high, touch the sky
You mean everything to me

In a fix, in a bind
Call on us anytime
We'll appear from nowhere
Mighty are we

R-E-S-C-U-E
Rescue Aid Society
Honesty, loyalty
We pledge to thee

#5
Lion King

Now this one I saw in the theater. James Earl Jones baby!! This is a classic & I'm sure Elton John has a lot to do with that.

#4
Fox & the Hound

I saw this one in the theater too, at Fishers Island, on a summer night a long, long time ago. I remember wearing my very first pair of Nike's that night. They were white & because they were new, they helped light the way back home. (I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, yet I can remember that like it was yesterday.)

#3
Cars

Never mind Disney, this is one of my all-time favorite movies period. I've seen it probably seven or eight times now & it doesn't get old. The 360 game lets me drive around Radiator Springs 'til my hearts content. I prefer to do it at night, when everything is lit up.

#2
Robin Hood

I don't think I can pinpoint a specific reason why I like this movie so much, other than I feel like I'm 5 years old again whenever I see it. Simple nostalgia.

#1
The Aristocats

It's about cats! Of course it's going to be #1! I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the special edition DVD later this year. "Everybody wants to be a cat..."

Baseball (Cards), T-Ball & Softball

Yes, a smorgasbord of ball & glove activities.

I'll start with t-ball, since Miss Payton is the main reason why the majority of my visitors make it over to this little corner of the internets.

Payton has now played three t-ball games & loves it. Lucky for you guys, I remembered my camera on two of those days.

Here are a couple of my favorite images:



Click on this picture to see the entire collection of shots:

Payton T-Ball

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As for myself, I will be helping out Joe Cuff in a pinch on Wednesday, filling a roster spot for his softball team. I haven't stepped into a batters box since 2002 and that was for only one game. I haven't played truly competitive softball since the late 90's. This could be ugly. Hopefully the knee will hold up and I'll play in the outfield, greatly reducing the risk of my jaw fielding another ground ball.

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I'm back into the baseball card collecting gig.

As a kid, I loved my baseball cards. I can look at an 1980 or 1981 Topps card and be instantly transported back to those years, at the Mystic IGA with Dad, picking up a rack pack during a grocery shopping trip.

I didn't get too many cards in the next few years until the collecting bug started again in 1985. In 1986, in 7th grade, I joined a baseball card collecting club in school and that was that. I was in deep. My collecting peaked in 1987, as I have tons & tons of 1987 Topps, Fleer & Donruss cards from that year. (Which for the record are basically worthless, since the rest of the world has tons & tons as well.)

When Upper Deck jumped on the scene in 1989, baseball card collecting started to become too difficult. All the companies produced too many different sets, too many inserts and I couldn't keep up, let alone afford all these new cards.

The 2001 Topps set was pretty cool and I amassed almost the entire Series 1 set for that year. I've picked up some cool Mookie Wilson cards as well as Roberto Clemente cards over the past five or so years. However, I now have a new focus.

I've narrowed my collecting to acquiring every Mets Topps card ever produced. I picked up a fantastic checklist on eBay & have been figuring out what I have & what I need over the past couple of weeks.


I managed to score a couple good deals on eBay and I hit a card shop and a card show (that was a blast from the past!) the past couple of weekends. There's nothing like digging through the common bins, finding a bunch of cards you need and spending less than $20 for your treasures.

Right now the process is fairly easy, as I need lots of cards. Save for 2001, I had practically zero cards from 1991 through the present day. Thankfully, these cards are cheap. Going back through the 70's & 60's will be a little more challenging, although there are bargains to be had.

I'm enjoying it and hopefully I'll be able to keep crossing off more & more years as the summer wears on.

A True Nightmare

All I have to say about this story is that this is as close to a worst-case scenario for me as it gets. Yikes.

Oh my...

Ode To Cheese

It looks like my favorite cheeseburger palace is going to see a spike in attendance. Shady Glen was recently named by Esquire magazine as one of the "Five Most Decadent Burgers in the U.S."

Shady Glen was a treat for me a looooong time ago and it had been too long between visits before rediscovering it a couple of years ago. Mom likes their coleslaw, but that can be substituted for extra crispy cheese. Besides the cheeseburgers, I remember the lime sherbet coolers, which I'll get occasionally.

Shady Glen also makes their sodas the old fashioned way, with soda water & syrup. The cherry Coke's are made with real cherries. Good stuff!

Click here for a video of Shady Glen.

Success!

BYDTWD was an rousing success! Payton had a blast & I'm pretty sure she didn't drive everyone completely crazy. Seriously, she kept busy for most of the day by helping out with a large project. The rest of the time was spent coloring, drawing on the white boards, going to the bathroom (three trips) and helping me out. I can't wait until next year.

That's my girl, closing the sale!

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

Thursday is Take Your Daughter to Work Day. Yes, Payton will be joining me at the office for the day. This should be interesting. I'm confident she will be fine, but you never know.

If I remember my camera & can find a way to grab the pics off it while working, I will try & post some pictures during the day. If not, they will be posted tomorrow night.

Wish us luck!

Picture Show

Just some pictures from the recent huge Nor'easter from Fishers Island and the cutest video EVER.

These shots are from Silver Eel Pond, where the ferry arrives. The water usually isn't this high.





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Now this is quite simply the cutest video I've ever seen (aside from any Payton stars in.)

Jackie Robinson Day

I'm not going to write a long-winded write-up on Jackie Robinson. I most certainly can't do justice to him or his accomplishments. I will simply try & share some personal thoughts.

As a history buff and a sports fan, I'm fascinated with Jackie. His courageousness helped change not only the face of sports, but of America. He started the civil rights movement, which unfortunately had to be started. This is nothing new. Everyone should know this.

I don't think a big enough deal could be made with regards to Jackie's accomplishments. I thought MLB did a fantastic job this year, but would like to see a celebration every year.

A quick nugget to touch on his nobility. His plaque at the Hall of Fame makes no mention of his breaking the color barrier. This is his doing. He wanted people to know that he earned his way to the Hall of Fame based on his baseball skills, not his social achievements.

I'm also a big fan of his widow, Rachel. She lives right down the road in Salem, CT, and I would go to great lengths to be able to meet her someday.

In the meantime, I'll re-read his autobiography and wear his jersey proudly. Thanks Jackie.

**Here's a great feature on Jackie from the Philly Inquirer.

Taking Out the Trash

- That title is my lame attempt at trying to be creative. This will be my standard post title when I have no general theme and just want to post a bunch of nonsense. Even if you hate it, at least I didn't rip off Mike DiMauro, right Mike? :)

- I attended a wake tonight for an old acquaintance. He died unexpectedly the other night. It was obviously horrible and the weather while waiting to enter the funeral home was almost scripted. A cold drizzle fell into a sharp wind. Thankfully I was near the front of the line when the doors opened. The same can't be said for the hundreds of people who lined the street. Let's hope that's the last wake I'll have to attend for a long time. RIP Mike...

- I'm amazed at how quickly this whole Imus thing escalated. It went from an afterthought last week to a firestorm today. At least the story is a little more relevant than the Anna Nicole mess, which I paid zero attention to. I find it quite funny how MSNBC & CBS Radio make it seem like they made a moral decision when it boils down to cash, plain and simple. They were happy to release statements and then suspend him until the advertisers started pulling out. CBS should've at least waited for the radiothon to end before pulling the plug. Who knows, maybe this will help raise more money.

- I could listen to Penelope Cruz talk all day.

- I'm watching "The Andrea Doria" right now. "GEORGE: Oh, right! (Shakes her hand) Right! Hey, hey.. I love the floors in here. It's like a gymnasium in here! Try and guard me! (Dribbles an imaginary ball)." I love me some Seinfeld reruns.

- There's waaaaay too much Easter candy lying around here.

- This site will be down a reader next week. Have fun at Disney World Eric!

- Some things to look forward to here in the coming days:
Some thoughts on Jackie Robinson Day
Maybe a few more Top 20 Lists
Current TV show patterns

- Remember, you can always keep tabs on me by following my Twitter page.

Virtual NBA... Fantastic?

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to take over a team in an NBA 2K7 online league. I had requested to be in the league when it started, but all the teams were taken. Once the season started, some owners left, thus creating the opening. I said sure, picked the Atlanta Hawks and was told to make up the games the previous owner missed as soon as possible.

(Just some quick background info. There was a fantasy-style draft before the season, so the rosters don't reflect their real-world counterparts. The games are played online with the Xbox 360, with results and statistics recorded on the league's fabulous website, located here. Each team plays three games per week, with each game representing "one week" in the season. My team had played three game and the rest of the league was pushing 20.)

I played two games right away and was destroyed both times. It was at that moment I began to wonder if I had made a sound decision. I was home sick last Wednesday and played four more games, all losses. I told the guy who invited me that this really wasn't fun and I know I'm not helpful to the league, being a pushover and all. He asked me to wait until I played him, since he's not that good either, and then see how I feel.

Before I had a chance to play him, I managed to win a game. It was a great game, one where I was losing early, fought back, took the lead, lost the lead in the fourth quarter, but held on and survived a last-second, potential game-tying 3-pointer to win 107-104. I felt a little better. Then I played last night and was destroyed again.

It's not the losing that bothers me the most. Sure, it really stinks to waste 45 minutes being embarrased, but it's everything else that comes with this league.

All the league members are now on my Xbox Live friends list. Before joining the league, I had maybe 20 friends, mostly all people I know personally. Now I have close to or over 50 and I don't know any of them.

Whenever I turn the machine on, I'm innundated with messages from these guys either looking to get our game in or to pester me about a trade. It's non-stop. Being in this league is more stressful than my job. The league feels like a job. (There is an option to "hide" and appear as if I'm offline, but I enjoy being connected to Xbox Live and seeing if other friends are on, etc.)

I hate to quit something I've committed to, but this is much more involved than I expected. Work is only going to become busier and busier the closer we get to summer and that means less time to play these games. I also want to play other games, not just NBA 2K7. I have lots of games that I want to play but I can't since I'm always being asked to get the league games in.

Any thoughts from my readers before I send off a message to the commish? Even though I'm 99% sure what I'm going to do, I'd like to hear some other thoughts.

Happy Easter!

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Easter!

I honestly plan on updating the site more often, especially since Eric said he will start checking. I have some post ideas & changes in mind, so hopefully I will get to them soon.

Guitar Hero II is amazing. I stink at it, but I enjoy the heck out of it. Whoever thought playing a Cheap Trick song on a fake guitar would be so enjoyable???

The Mets lost their first game of the year yesterday. I was hoping for a longer streak to start the year, but that's okay.

If you're looking for me today, I will be planted on the couch, enjoying the Masters in HD, which is one of the showcases for HD. Everything looks amazing in HD, but the Masters is extra-stunning.