Hey it's a Birthday!

So I was mistaken my second post for the week will not be toy related. It's my little Basset Hound Squee's Birthday today. Catching up to our larger Basset, Squee is turning seven today. We are the type of people that will bake them a little plain cake and give them a slice (no worries it will not have any chocolate in it) and we do wrap them presents, because the Bassets love to rip open presents. Christmas time is pretty hectic around here we have to keep the presents put up until the big day or they would both unwrap them all... found that out the hard way one year.

This year they are getting matching collars. I say they because the Birthday girl (all our puppies are ladies) will get a present as well as all their "sisters", that way they are all covered, no favorites.

Here's a picture of Squee the morning before her big day. She must be day dreaming of travel and exotic foods. She could be watching the squirrels playing in the front yard too.



Oh, she caught me!



Not to leave you hanging on the toy front. My recent purge unearthed these two gems. I actually have a small collection of carded Batman the Animated Series figures and I also have a small collection of loose Batman the Animated Series figures. I knew I had each of these carded and I had actually been on the prowl on eBay for some cheap loose versions. Well as I was going through some totes for that care package the other day I turned up an extra carded set. My only guess is I must have acquired them in a lot and did not think I had them carded at the time so they got stored away. It was like a little good toy karma. I now have them setting on the shelves watching over the sort and keeping an eye out for more finds.



Actually sort of embarrassed that I didn't know I had these, I usually am pretty good at keeping track of this sort of thing. Oh well two more for me to detail on the ole' Batman the Animated Toy blog. Enjoy your day.

The Gert Days of Summer

I know the official start of Summer is about five days away, but we are having a really unseasonable June this year. This week alone the highs are already hitting 100º Fahrenheit by noon, which is not weird for Texas... in July and August that is. The last good rain we had was in January, so far for this year our rainfall has been about 4.02" and 2.66" of that was in January.

Even with the water restrictions going into Stage 2, you cannot have an overheated bulldog and the Gert has her own pool for when we are outside, sometimes on weekends we throw a bag of ice in it which she tries to eat, she loves her pool!

The Bassets on the other hand love the A/C...

Holidays, Eclectorama Style!

This is going to be a quick post with just some teasers for the new year and an update or two, I am swamped this week at work, having fun with a cold and this limbo week between Christmas and New Years is always sort of weird. That all said I felt it would not be right if I just didn't share in some of my holiday cheer from this past week/weekend.

So first up I decided to bite the bullet and order this guy, I promise I will do a more detailed post on him in the coming weeks. This really isn't a Christmas present, it was more of an opportunity presented itself and I just took it and pressed the add to cart button. The Super 7 Stormtrooper arrived a couple days before Christmas , so my 2011 goals are off to a grand start.



Next was a quiet little Christmas Eve Dinner planned and prepared by my wife, those were the best potatoes I have ever had by the way.



Followed the next morning by an awesome breakfast, it's a tradition to have piggies in blankets and fruit salad on Christmas morning in our house, this year a new sausage roll and some home made pastries joined the festivities. No room left for lunch or dinner after these.



Then we watch "the girls", our two Bassets and one English Bulldog open their presents. Yes we get them presents. Lulu is quite good at opening presents, I think she enjoys this more than the toy inside. Then everyone else opens theirs.



Here we have my Christmas morning haul. I think I did pretty good. This year seemed to be a Star Wars themed Christmas! These were gifts from my wife and son, pure awesome. As long as I live there will always be a toy under the tree, period.



Next my good blogging buddy, James from A Piece of the Action sent me a little surprise. I guess little isn't a good word to describe it. What could it be?



WOW! it's a Empire Strikes Back Action Figure case! Wait it's a little heavy...



Holly Cow! That is right it is filled to the brim with Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back figures! This is another thing I am going to do a more detailed post about in the coming weeks as this was another one of my 2011 goals and this little blurb does not do it justice. I just wanted to make mention here so I could send out another thank you to James, I can't thank him enough.



So, I think I have had a pretty good Holiday so far for not taking anytime off from work and having a head cold. Sure I bought a few little things in the days leading up to Christmas and one at a sale afterwards, but that is all filler compared to all that Awesome stuff above. I hope everyone is having a great Holiday and I should be back and going with more in 2011!

Battle for the Cowl: Epilogue

Well, in celebration of last Friday's victory I decided to don my Batman T-Shirt for work today. I also just wanted to thank all the readers and followers for enthusiastically keeping up with the competition and thank Reis for giving me a challenge. Reis is really a good sport and all around awesome blogger. If you haven't checked out his blogs on art and toys you need to make it a usual stop in your surfing.



The shirt was just the last of the celebrating, Friday was Chili night and a night off so I added the extras back to the shelf and made a spot for my new Batman, number 106, who's on his way. Saturday we had a viewing of that classic from 1989, Batman staring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. Sunday, Halloween, Bat Hound dropped by to help hand out candy with Lulu and Gertie, who decided to dress as Sugar and Spice respectively.

Never fear! There will be more Bat Hound in Eclectorama's Future!

Finally, hopefully this week I will pick up a little reward for myself to either add to the loose Batman collection or some other part of the Batman Collection. Stay tuned for that in a future post. Also as work gets busier I will try to get some posts I have been planning up and make some announcements on Spockcation and something else Reis and I have brewing, so thanks in advance for being patient.

I Need to Address something here...

My Batman collecting Nemesis made an off the cuff remark about my Basset Hound Squee actually being Bat Hound. This is totally absurd, I ask you, does this dog look like it could be Bat Hound?



Would Bat Hound lounge around in the afternoon after a long morning nap, catching up on the shows she recorded the night before on Tivo? No, I think not.

Further more I have a side by side comparison of the two, and there is no way that Squee and Bat Hound are one in the same, Reis is crazy.



I will let you the readers decide and for you Reis, shame... SHAME ON YOU for picking on a poor little puppy.

I now return you to the Battle for the Cowl...

Battle for the Cowl: Warehouse Meeting with Bat Hound

The following took place at 3:00 AM Wednesday morning.
note: It helps if you read Bat Hound's parts in the gravelly Batman voice.

Chunky B- Hey Bat Hound, why the hush, hush meeting in this old warehouse.



Bat Hound- I have been tracking the movements of this Reis. He's a pretty shady character, thought you should see for yourself.



Chunky B- What are you talking about?
Bat Hound- Take a look...



Bat Hound- I did some digging and found a bone, then I dug some more and tracked a network that runs so deep in the toy industry it makes the mob look like pre-schoolers.
Chunky B- You mean he's smuggling illegal stuff?
Bat Hound- Oh he's not bringing in the usual knock offs and bootlegs, he brining in something worse... the "home brew"....
Chunky B- How deep does it go?
Bat Hound- It runs from the sweat shop to the officials that you elect to protect you from this sort of thing.
Chunky B- I don't understand... how is he doing it?



Bat Hound- Reis is having the components gathered through a network of scalpers and speculators, bored with their usual eBay heists, looking to make a quick buck. They scour the flee markets, thrift stores and garage sales for anything that has at least five points of articulation, they ship their finds to gather points on the east coast. Sweat shops there do the "cleaning" and "dressing" then they are boxed up and shipped through back channels to a warehouse in the mid west.

When Reis needs them he posts a video blog and gives the signal... usual something like adjust some goofy headwear or goggles. The items are then routed through Los Angeles, processed and delivered to a back room at a coffee shop in Seattle were he knows the owner, a cup of coffee and a payoff and he takes his goods home to add to his collection.

Chunky B- Just like in Detective Comics Bat Hound!
Bat Hound- Except in the comics people do not get hurt or beat near to death on an assembly line for not making their quota.
Chunky B- Well, lets take a look...

...Really? They didn't even try. Of course, classic Reis M.O., no cape.



Chunky B- Well, at least this one has a cape...



Chunky B- It Figures...



Chunky B- Whaa? What's this?



Bat Hound- Uh, that's mine, fell out of my Utility Collar... careful that's more than a squeaky toy, it's full of treats too...



Chunky B- So, what do we do now Bat Hound?
Bat Hound- I return to Gotham and fight crime... you take this Reis to school and slaughter his Batman collection.



Chunky B- When will I see you again?
Bat Hound- I will be back around 7:00 AM for my breakfast and brushing.


*No Basset Hound or action figure was hurt in this production, the Basset Hound did get paid in treats for her performance.

Battle for the Cowl - Post Two

I had an opportunity to speak with the Bat Hound here at eclectorama. We spoke of fighting crime, new Bat gadgets and the Battle for the Cowl. Bat Hound shared some thoughts with me on my competition.



Chunky B -"So, Bat Hound how do you think I will fare in this upcoming competition, the Battle for the Cowl, against Reis?

Bat Hound - "Who? Reis? Never heard of him."

Chunky B - "You know he used to be some big shot blogger, Geek Orthodontist, or something like that. Now he goes around and picks fights or throw downs with people and their toy collections... sort of like a cross between Geoffrey the Giraffe and Bobby Flay.



Bat Hound - "Haa! Ha Ha Ha... Geoffrey the Giraffe... Oh, haa. I wouldn't worry about this Reis character ...Geoffrey the Giraffe, whew.

Chunky B - Thanks, but I really am not too worried about what Reis will throw at me, sounds like he's...

Bat Hound - "Wait, hold that thought... I hear a cry for help!"



Bat Hound - "I'm off! I have more important things to attend to than this Reis fellow."



Chunky B - "Well, thanks Bat Hound, we'll see you later then? Around dinner?"

Bat Hound - "Yes, Justice needs to eat!"


So, sort of short, but Bat Hound did leave me a few more Batmans for the shelf.

Look who turned 6 today!

That's right it's Squee! Happy Birthday Squee!

Relaxing before the big party tonight.

Squee on the left with her "Sister" Lulu on the right, almost as big as Lulu in this picture, must be the angle.

Vintage Joe: Beachhead

First off, this really cheeses me off. I mean this guy was released in 1986 and is older than my son, has survived numerous battles, many moves and collection purges with all his accessories in tack and then the day I go to get him to shoot his picture... SNAP! just like that he has a broken ammo purse! *$@^!$%@!!!



So, now that I got that out of the way. My all time favorite GI Joe, drumroll please, Beachhead!



I find a few things really fascinating when I'm strolling along the information highway in search of toys and stories about toys. One, people's collections, as they exist in the wild, not one piece at a time, but the whole thing, dusty shelves and all. Two, the different ways people photograph their toys and collections, especially the outside shots. Three, Peoples favorite heroes, GI Joes or other characters and the reason they are their favorite.



I likes me some Beachhead for the simple reason the word "Beach" is in his code name. I used to love the beach and the water and everthing surfer. So I thought this guy is the most awesome GI Joe around. Eventually, I dug that he had a cool mask and camos, had a bag of explosives and ammo, and was just a kick ass sort of GI Joe. But, originally it was his name. Weird huh?



So, you can see here Beachhead has stood up pretty well to being such a well loved little Joe, besides the obvious man purse problem. I'm hoping to find a replacement some where out there, until then I will have to be extra careful with him. I was planing on having him and Squee patrol the backyard for Cobra though.

"Gun, check... Back Pack, check... Ah man who broke my hand bag! Come on guys I told you it's an ammo pouch, cause I kick so much butt I need extra ammo!"

"Yo Joe!"

Happy Birthday Squee!

She's 5 today! Here's a picture from when she was a little Basset...



And one of her today!


That's my Princess!

This would explain the levitating chew toys

Seems Squee is a Jedi in training


"Do, or Do not, there is no try."

It's the Little One's day!

Squee's turning four today! I can't believe it's been four years since she came home with us. She is the littlest of our two Basset Hounds, but she's big on spirit!



Here she is, looking all but thrilled about having her picture snapped. Happy Birthday Little One!

Squee!

It can't always be about the toys. while messing around with a camera phone recently, I managed to snap this shot of one of our beloved Bassets, Squee. That's right Squee, our son named her after the character in the comic book, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez.

We usually call her Squee Baby, or just Squee B for short.