Daddy Daughter Days: $99.95?!?

 

So I was just doing some online browsing while looking for an Ash plushie from Sing. And low and behold I stumble upon THIS! 

Take a look at the price for a second..... 

Some sicko is asking almost $100 for 6-14 inch plush toys that aren't even that old yet! I mean if they were like....high collectible items then yes that would be fine but we're talking 5 year old plush toys. I didn't know looking for an affordable stuffed porcupine would be so difficult. 

Thankfully I settled on this one for only $13 plus.... well idk what the shipping cost will be since its calculated. 

That is.....unless I don't find anything at Salvation Army!

Daddy Daughter Days: Sing 2 Trailer Review

 

Eyo world! Mariel here! So I finally got to sit down and view the trailer for "Sing 2" that's supposedly coming to theaters December 22nd of this year. Prior to me watching the trailer, all  I knew was "Ok so we're making a sequel to Sing" and this lemur character singing Billie Eilish 

(Not gonna lie... this is a really cute design choice.)

So the movie (from how I see it) is that there's an audition for some huge gig of sorts. And all of our favorite characters from the last movie are back and getting ready to perform, but this time they need to be a little more experienced (i.e. taking dance classes and various other concert related stuff....) and apparently a famous singer known as "Calloway" (I forgot his first name, my apologies) who hasn't been in the music business for over 15 years. The Sing crew want him to perform with them for their show. I really won't spoil the rest of it but that's just a good fraction of what the sequel has to offer and I'm excited to have an excuse to go to a movie theater again.

I plan on watching the trailer with my dad when he gets home from work tonight so he can give his 2 cents on this post. In the meantime...

Time to do some Ash hunting!

(I'll hopefully be heading to the Salvation Army over the weekend so I might have some luck there too.)

Clay Calloway is being voice by U2's Bono Vox. How about that?

Also, Brooklyn Nine-Nine alumnus, Chelsea Peretti, is in the mix, so, yeah, I'm in.

Here's more information plus the trailer courtesy of animation scoop!

Daddy Daughter Days: Dreams of Getting a home Movies Box Set

 

So my dad and I bought a portable DVD player at a yard sale yesterday for $2 (what a deal) and I've been busy watching movies and shows on it. I just watched some episodes of "Home Movies" with my dad this morning. 

I plan on getting the other three seasons on DVD at some point but..... I want to get them in the most DIFFICULT way possible....

This is what I'm on the hunt for. A Home Movies boxset released in 2009 in honor of the show's 10th anniversary. (I'm a bit salty they did remake these 2 years ago for the 20th anniversary) this boxset came with the 4 seasons on DVD while complimented with a soundtrack CD, clapperboard, and the almighty Coach MCGuirk totebag. As of now, I already have the season 4 DVD set (which also came with a complimentary CD) but this set would definitely be something fun to add to my collection! And the totebag would give my arms a break from carrying my children. 

(These children, please don't judge)

So, I'll be going through Ebay hoping to find this holy grail. Until then, time to get seasons 1-3 on DVD. (which probably won't be any time soon since its yard sale season and I SUCK at saving money during this time hahahah)

Getting the individual seasons shouldn't be too hard (or expensive), but, with you, it's all about the swag!

Maybe if you save birthday and Christmas money..?

Garage Sale Update!

 My dad and I made out good today! I got a few new\duplicate Webkinz as well as a portable DVD player for $2. 

Live footage of Alvin watching some movie trailers 

(Oh yeah by the way I got another Alvin.)

My dad was most thrilled to get this game by one of his favorite YouTubers

(Joking Hazard Game)

(Unfortunately, there were no game play instructions included, so I guess we'll have to search the web.)

We also got a Simpsons themed Clue game for $2:

(WHAT A DEAL!!!)

By now I'm gonna kick back and relax cuz damn all that walking made me tired. 

Folks, Mariel's been wanting one of these portable DVD players for a while, now.  They'd pop up on eBay or the local craigslist, but would be beyond current budget limitations.  We walked up a driveway at a yard sale and there was a box with the player and all the accessories sitting right there! AND! AND! It was only two bucks!

I asked the guy sitting at the patio table if it worked.

"It worked when I put it in the box," he replied.

"So," I mused, "As long as we don't take it out of the box, it'll work."

It took Mr. Paddy O'Table a beat to figure out I was making one of my famously-hilarious Dad jokes. Then he laughed, so... SOLD!

Mariel! Sequel Alert!

 Looks Like "Sing 2" is going to be a thing.

One word: "Merch."

Hey dad! I just heard about the "Sing 2" sequel. I'm SUPER HYPED for it. I guess now would be a good time to get that Ash plushie eh?

Daddy Daughter Days: The Land of Yard Sales

 Ah, yard sales. A home away from home. Sure to some its just some place where you buy a random object for 50 cents and you're done. But that's not the case for me. I'm a collector of plushies, figures, or just anything that appeals to the eye. I'm always pumped when yard sale season starts and my dad and I have been going around to various places because sadly I don't have a driver's license yet. My current fixation is getting a portable DVD player to watch some movies and toons in my room without any disturbance from screaming cats. Sadly when garage sale season comes around, I suck at saving money because I'm just THAT damn pathetic. 

Pictures of my Alvin and the Chipmunks plush collection (plus a Gemmy singing Louis Armstrong)

The fact I managed to wind up with 25 chipmunks and chipettes over the course of a decade is really amazing. As well as snagging a 38 year old Theodore plush (on the top shelf in the right corner next to Brittney) at my local antique shop. I'm hoping to gather more chipettes since Theodore seems to have taken over as the most popular in my collection (I have 5 of him not counting the vintage plush) 

My dad and I are heading to a block sale on Saturday. Hoping to find some great deals there and who knows, maybe find some more chipmunks? 

Dad says, "It's all fun and games until you bring home a rabid chipmunk!"

Daddy Daughter Days: Drawings

 My dad and I like to draw a lot in our spare time. It could be our own little characters or doodles of pre existing cartoon characters from a wide selection of TV shows. 

Old drawings I made of Shannon from Home Movies (Circa April and June 2020)

So the first drawing was meant to initially emulate Shannon into my OWN adaptation of the character since I really struggled to grasp the Home Movies art style back then, I've slowly gotten better at drawing him thankfully as you can see here. 

Drawing of Shannon (circa April 2021) 

Home Movies on its own will be a topic for discussion soon, but for now, my dad and I will be sharing our own little doodles of the characters. Take it away, dad!

Thanks, Mariel! Here are the first two pages from a Home Movies comic that I've started.

Hilarity to ensue...

I've since reworked the second page to add more black background and I've started the third page.  I'll scan a post as progress is made. 

I mean, McGurk, Walter and Perry are about to show up!

Daddy Daughter Quickie: Bloodwork and Breakfast

 At the time of me typing this, its almost 10 pm. I've got bloodwork in the morning so I can't eat a damn thing at the moment. But The best part is that I get to go out for breakfast afterwards so that's a plus.... Until then, time for more Camp Camp. 

This show will be talked about at a later date <3

Update: 6\23\2021 at 4:15 pm

Bloodwork was a success!

Daddy Daughter Days: Online MMOS

 I know, I know. Another video game related post. But my dad and I have had our fair share of online MMOS that we played so why the hell not. 

MMOS have been around for as long as I can remember, with the first MMO (upon research) being "The Realm Online" in 1996, it was the start of a new era for those who couldn't afford a gaming system. I first found out about these through my older cousins who played games like Club Penguin and Webkinz in their youth. Sadly, as addressed in a previous post, I had a lot of problems accessing these games due to NetZero not being the best with loading these games. So let's start with the basics.

Webkinz was a pet care simulation MMO created in April 2005. How you could play is where you buy a Webkinz plush that would come with a special code inside their tag where the pet can then "come to life" in the virtual town of Webkinz World. I found out about this game when I was at this Children's Museum with my cousins back when I was 5-6. MY older cousin's were at the gift shop there and they were, no surprise, selling Webkinz. The oldest was showing the cuddly animals to me as my little brain grew attached. We wound up getting a brown horse and a mouse. I named mine "Smokey" and "Cheeser" respectively. So when we got back to my Aunt's house, my two cousins showed me how the game works and the whole "secret code" thingy, and basically the rest is history. I still own all of my Webkinz plush toys and they currently reside in my basement\recording studio. Here's my dad on the subject of these cuddly creatures.

Yeah, we're knee-deep in Webkinz down here in dad and daughter central.  Mariel keeps buying these critters whenever and wherever she can find 'em.

Mariel knows my favorite part of the old Webkinz World experience: Dr. Quack!

"Yew could be a goalie!"

Mariel's Nostalgia Rant (Because the name Nostalgia Critic is already taken): Buddies and Chipmunks

 

Ah yes, nothing says Summertime relaxation than sprawling out on the couch with your pet (or stuffed animal in my case) and having some good old TV time. Lately I've been nostalgic for a LOT of old movies and TV shows I grew up watching as a kid (I'll cover those shows in another post) but today I will be focusing on movies I grew up with.

So....Remember VHS tapes? Yeah, me and my family had a ton of these. Mostly for our favorite Disney movies and other media. I grew up with a lot of the classic films (Snow White, Bambi, Jungle Book, etc) but I also watched a lot of Disney movies from the early 2000s. One of them being this short lived franchise based off the garbage pile movie (in my opinion) Air Bud. The Air Bud movie itself is pretty bland to say the least, but in 2005 or 2006, they did a full 180 and made the "Air Buddies" franchise. And of course little 3 year old me was obsessed with them! I mean, they were movies about puppies, what kid doesn't love puppies? 

Each movie was about the 5 dogs, Buddha, Mudbud, Butterball, Rosebud, and B-Dawg going on wacky adventures together and getting stuck in SOME situation. Most if it was corny 2000s filler (usually coming from B-Dawg) that grabbed a hold of my attention and still gets a chuckle out of me to this day. Sadly, my mom gave all of the DVDS I had to a neighbor, so I've spent the past few weeks at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift shops just to buy the rest of these movies since I plan on buying one of those portable DVD players to watch movies in my room. 

Next are some movies that came from 20th Century Fox.

A lot of children's movies from Fox are ok, they did bring me quite the amount of entertainment even as a young adult (probably because they were a part of my childhood) but nothing can quite compare in the lineup other than the 4 Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. 

(Random picture of the Chipettes)

These movies were released from 2007-2015 and were not too bad but were mostly panned by critics. I've been a fan of the Chipmunks since I was 7 and finding out about the live action movie sent me on a pretty long trip to cloud 9. I saw he 1st and 2nd movie on DVD and as you'd expect, enjoy every single second of it. Around the time I heard there was a 3rd movie in the works around 2011, I was begging my parents to take me to the theater to see it! We wound up going a total of 3-4 times from what I remember. So here's my ranking of the 4 movies:

Alvin And the Chipmunks: 10\10! Great story, good introduction and portrayal of the characters, wonderful actors and voice actors, overall great start to the franchise.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squealquel: 9\10! Again, great story and character development, extra points for introducing the Chipettes, fun story and humor, brought back actors from the first movie and then some. Only problem is the Karens out there who were accusing the team of "sexualizing" the Chipettes.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked: 7.5\10 not a bad movie, brought back the actors from the previous 2 films, pretty decent story with a fair amount of humor. My only nit pick with this one is some parts seemed a bit lacking and the scenes where they're on the cruise ship could have been a bit longer.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip: 6\10. Amazing CGI animation for the Chipmunks, brought back the actor playing Dave, like the last one, it was a decent story but nothing to write home about, music was pretty good too. Only cons were the lack of Chipettes involved in the story because of this unneeded b plot that they were gonna be hosting American Idol, Ian not being present was a bit of a letdown and the new "villain" was a bit bland. Overall a mediocre film but not the best way to wrap up the live action franchise.... or is it the end?????

So yeah. Those are some childhood films I wanted to rant about for some oddball reason, we have another blog post coming later hopefully. 

But, Mariel... what about THIS?!?!?

EEEEEEEEEEEW!

Daddy Daughter Days: Computer Games

 

Computer games, a pretty big staple of my childhood if I do say so myself. Back before I had my Nintendo Wii (or just any gaming console) I had to rely on my computer to entertain my tiny little child brain. While I still use a computer to post frequently on my socials, this is just another can of worms.

So back in my hometown, we didn't have a high speed internet subscription at the time cuz my dad signed us up for a slower, landline based internet subscription known as "NetZero"

NetZero was a standard dial-up service where it would connect based off of your landline phone service. Needless to say it really wasn't the best, it was hard for me to access sites like YouTube or Webkinz and would have to resort to going to the library in order to access said sites. I was able to play SOME online flash games without it lagging, but there really wasn't much to do. What I would usually do was mess around on MS Paint and watch recordings of Cyberchase on Windows Media player, but in my pre teens, I would either go on Ebay or Fanfiction.net to entertain myself as well as making movies on a now redundant Pinnacle Studio 12. But before all my movie making, there was ONE thing that kept me entertained in my youth. 

COMPUTER GAMES!

MY grandpa gifted me and my dad an old E-Machines computer when I was 5 (which is basically what I hinted at less than a sentence ago) and we still kind of use it at times, I'm currently archiving old videos from when I was 11-13 years old and saving them to our current computer. But when my dad finally set things up, my 5 year old self stumbled upon THIS!

This was an app called "E-games" where you could play free demos of mediocre to decent video games, I remember playing very frequently on this app until.....well..... I ran out of coins..... you see, while the games were technically "free" the currency to play them wasn't.... I forgot how to get currency for the app itself so I'll let my dad explain in a bit. But like anybody would, I'd be really upset when I ran out of coins. So my dad and I discovered that there were physical copies of some of the games we played on there that were not Limited to the following.

And a personal favorite that my dad is gonna discuss right about....now.

I mentioned in a previous post that there was one PC game in particular that I was hooked on, and that game was...

Daddy-Daughter Days: Video Games

 Ah, yes.....Video Games. They're nothing new in today's society. Between the Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, and whatever Sega console there was at the time, all the way to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X in present day. The video game industry isn't exactly isn't too far from forgotten. Back in the 80s and 90s, there was a huge spike in the popularity of gaming after the release of "Super Mario Bros" for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1983, becoming a regular on every kids birthday or Christmas list that year..... Needless to say, since then, Mario has become a worldwide staple in Nintendo, and frankly the video game industry as a whole, spawning a plethora of titles and franchises in the coming years. Now that begs one question.....

                                                   When did I find out about video games?

Well. I was exposed to it when I was probably 3 or 4 years old.... This was around the time that Nintendo released their new, shiny gaming console, The Nintendo Wii.

(Nintendo Wii)

 I have a blurry memory of being at a friends house and noticing the older brother messing around on the Mii Channel. (You know, that little channel where you could make your own little avatar thingy?) 

(Mii channel)

Needless to say, I wanted in on that avatar making action! So me, my friend, and her older brother went on to make our own little characters during my stay.... but....what happened afterwards?

So when I was 5 or so, I got a Disney plug and play game for Christmas and it only came with 3 playable games. (Guess variety didn't really exist in the plug and play universe) and for a while, it kept me entertained.... but then.

One time I was visiting relatives when I was 6, and me and my cousins were casually playing together when one of them turned on their Wii and wanted to play Mario Kart. Once again, I wanted to see what this exciting game was all about. As you'd expect, I was reeled in FAST! After my visit, I couldn't stop begging for my parents to get me one during the drive home. 

Then about a few years later, one of my dad's friends came to us saying that they were getting rid of old video game systems to A) make room for a new baby they were expecting at the time. 

and B) In order to get the brand new consoles of the time.

So the guy asked if we would be interested in having their Nintendo Wii console. And me and my dad happily obliged. So a week later, we got the console and a crap ton of games. Here's my dad with his take on the subject. 

We traded some of the non-E-rated games at Second and Charles and got a few more age-appropriate time-wasters.

An early favorite was Kirby's Epic Yarn.  Mariel really liked the cute yarn-world graphics and it was challenging for a two-player game. At least for we two Wii players.

Another early favorite was Chocobo's Dungeon.  Story-driven with lots of levels and characters this was a winner in our family room!

But O.M.G. did I become a slave to Rabbids Go Home!  The crazy cartoony characters and hit-parade of songs made this a winner for me.  Luckily, Mariel's friend, Ivy, knew a lot of the tricks for the later, near-impossible levels!

Even the soul-crushing disappointment of there not being a final cut scene of the Rabbids actually going berserk on the moon didn't stop me from playing it over and over and over again. 

(Of course my first love was the PC version of Plants Vs Zombies, but that's a topic for another time...)

Daddy-Daughter Days: The Grand Scheme of Collecting.

Hey guys! While this isn't EXACTLY what I was gonna talk about initially, this is a very common thing in the family that has really just been a long time hobby.

Collecting: A very well known topic in society alone, it could be stamps, marbles, trinkets, dare I say....God forbid.... body pillows..... 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 At some point in time (or even still in present day) we all have or had our own collecting phase, but it seems like in my family, IT NEVER ENDS! I'm a collector of various toys and collectibles. (I.E. animatronic dolls that usually come out around Valentine's Day and Christmas, LPS, Puppy in My Pocket figures, plushies, etc.) Collecting has just.... kinda been the norm since childhood. It all started many many years ago when little 3 year old me saw these singing dogs at a Wal-Mart during Christmas time. You'd press the paw and they'd dance and sing to a little Christmas showtune. Well one day, I was playing with two of them and the glue that held the Mech wore off leaving a lifeless, dead Christmas dog in my hand. My dad, (who you'll be hearing from in a moment,) made a solution and turned them into puppets! You may have known them as "Mr. Puppy and Mr. Other Puppy" which I plan on doing a little animated film of them with the old man sometime. I'm currently buying new ones to replace what were once two Christmas dogs. (Don't worry, I'm still keeping Mr. Puppy and Mr. Other Puppy.) and can be found on Ebay with various prices that from one I've seen are usually in the 10s and 20s. 

Mr. Puppy (who I will be buying) 

Mr. Other Puppy. (Also on the hunt for.)

Anyways here's dad for you all.

Yeah, so, for some reason I decided that Mr. Puppy would host his own show called "Mr. Puppy's Playhouse" and his brother, Mr. Other Puppy would be his co-host/nemesis.

The show would open with the theme song:

It's Mr. Puppy's Playhouse,

It's the place for you and me.

It's Mr. Puppy's playhouse, 

It's the place you want to be! 

Mr. Puppy, Mr. Puppy,

Mr. Puppy, Mr. Puppy,

Mr. Puppy, Mr. Puppy's 

PLAY HOUSE

Invariably, each episode would start with:

MR. PUPPY:

Hello, boys and girls and welcome to Mr. Puppy's Playhouse.  I'm your host, Mr. Puppy and this is my brother, Mr. Other Puppy.

MR. OTHER PUPPY:

Hello.

Here's a drawing I did of the brothers encountering The Little Puppet Boy in the paper towel aisle at WAL*MART:

Yeah, it was just that kind of show.

Daddy-Daughter Quickie: Pre-Midnight snack.

 

First blog post was a success!!! Can't wait to post tomorrow's post on something that has kept me entertained during lockdown here during this depressing time for all of us Americans. Until then, I just had a Butterfinger bar while I play some good ol' Minecraft. Anyways its about 10:06 pm at the moment so I'm gonna turn in for the evening and you guessed it, play some more Minecraft. -Mariel

Daddy-Daughter Days: Scott Pilgrim VS The World

 

Hey, Y'all! Mariel here! Welcome to our new blog, "Daddy Daughter Days" where me, an epileptic cartoon dork and my dad will be posting our perspectives on certain topics! And as you could tell by the title, we will be talking about the well known box office flop known as "Scott Pilgrim VS The World" (2010)

Scott Pilgrim VS The World was a graphic novel\comic book series written and illustrated by Brian Lee O'Malley in 2005 consisting of 6 books total. 

I found out about the franchise through a close friend in my "Inner Circle" when he recommended I watch the 💫Live-Action💫 adaptation that my dad will be discussing in just a moment. So I first saw the movie on Netflix (once again, thanks to a close friend of mine) and it was AMAZING! I won't spoil it for ya so here's my dad on the subject, go ahead, dad. ^^ 

Thanks, Mariel.

The big news was that the SPVTW movie was getting a 10th (actually 11th?) anniversary theatrical release.

The bigger news is that it was going to get a three day run at a local movie theater.

The biggest news is that enough COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted that we could actually go see it!

We traipsed down to the 9:30 showing on a Saturday night, got our tickets, an industrial-sized drum of popcorn and a commemorative poster.

Let me tell ya, this is one trippy movie!

It's full of graphics, jarring edits and improbable ninja fight scenes.  Seeing it on a big screen with a booming sound system really drove it all home.

(Speaking of driving home, we didn't get in until after midnight.)

Please enjoy my favorite song from the movie:

Give it up for Sex Bob Omb!

P.S. the soundtrack album will be released July 6th!