Zoinks!

Magnet #1323 - Scooby Gang

"Oh, Joy. Scooby-Doo won't marry you."

- My mother, upon hearing that I was watching yet another episode of Scooby-Doo mysteries.

What? I can admit it - long into my 30s and I still love a good Scooby marathon. Honestly, when I bought this at Comic-Con a few weeks ago, I couldn't believe this is my only Scooby-Doo magnet.

You would think that watching all those Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?s growing up (and now, to be honest) would desensitize me to anything hokey scary. But nothing could be further from reality.

When I was 12ish, I beat up a Disney World attendant. To let me out of the Haunted Mansion.

When I was in college, I screamed, "You can't do this to me, I'm an American citizen!" to the Jack the Ripper dayplayer who fake grabbed me and held a fake knife to my throat at the London Dungeon.

And just this past Halloween weekend, I was laughing hysterically with tears streaming down my cheeks, literally quaking in boots and wondering if I should yell out the safeword "safety" at the fake scary Haunted House downtown.

Yep. When it comes to scaring easily, I would pretty much roll with Scooby and Shaggy, thankyouverymuch.

Krabby joy - Escape Home to NYC, Part 2, Day 6

Magnet #1187 - SpongeBob SquarePants

I'll confess. I've never watched a full episode of Spongebob. I know! There are whole religions out there devoted to this guy and I can't be bothered to watch a few minutes.

I really only bought this tiny, tiny magnet at a street fair a few weeks ago because it reminds me of a colleague of mine, whom we call SpongeRob NoSocks. Annnd, you can figure out how he got that moniker...and probably guess that he's part of that Connecticut crew on the New Haven line. I wonder if Don Draper would ever go sockless in loafers. Heh.

Anyway, feeling pretty krabby today because it's my last day in town for a while. (Ok, fine, for only a couple of weeks, but I'm getting my pout on here, so shuddup.) I mean, it's been a fantastic trip, filled with tons of New York minutes and fun quintessential New York. It's just tough to leave.

(Plus, I hate packing. No, seriously. If I could be one of those people who are like, we'll just buy everything when we get there? I would SO be that girl.)

To distract myself while doing the dreaded packing, I find myself stuck on Boomerang, my favorite cartoon network. They tend to air all the classic cartoons I grew up watching, versus all the crazy, hip and cool stuff that Cartoon Network airs.

And SpongeBob would not be part of that bunch. Tonight was Scooby-Doo, the Clue Club, Thundarr the Barbarian, the Hair Bunch, etc.

I honestly don't even know when we found time to watch them - they weren't all on the Saturday morning rotation, probably more the USA Network cartoon block or elsewhere.

But man, every once in a while, it's good just to relive your childhood and leave the tv on Boomerang for a couple of hours.

Or, you know, days.

Hu-hu-hu-ha-ha! Hu-hu-hu-ha-ha! Guess who?

Magnet #1006 - Woody Woodpecker

C'mon. You can't tell me you're not singing the Woody Woodpecker theme song right now!

He was one of my favorites of the Saturday morning cartoon line-up, growing up in Chicago. Back when I had to be dragged away from the television to start my day.

Uh, yeah, that really hasn't changed much. To this day, I am not opposed to running Cartoon Network or Boomerang all day long in my apartment. And of course, I still have to be dragged away from the television to start my day.

Anyway, I knew when I saw this magnet at Universal Studios I couldn't walk away from him - he was such a part of my childhood!

I did want to share a new cartoon that I discovered on Facebook, the Velvet Mouse Show. It's basically a bunch of guys who got together to create a new cartoon show worthy of the 70s and 80s Saturday morning cartoons.

It's about the shenanigans of four dudes - two stoner kids (ok, fine, but Shaggy-like) who end up forming a band with Merlin's nephew and a Buzz Lightyear-ish dude from another planet. Oh, and the requisite cutegirl (voiced by Emma Caulfield) who drops by every so often, a mouse who doesn't really show up all that often so far, and Dr. X, the evil scientist who hates confounded rock music. *shakes fists*

No, I know it sounds a little crazy, and it totally is, with its trippy music and animated sequences, silly stories and even sillier 70s sound cues, but I've now watched every episode on their site, and actually kinda love it. The pilot's below, cuz I can't stop hearing the Velvet Mouse theme song in my head now.

Just call me Excited!

Magnet #960 - Emotes!

Ok. Who is surprised that within the first 10 minutes of being at New York Comic-Con, I'd already bought my first magnet? Yep. I even went in the back way to the show floor, and still I managed to find this magnet at the Emotes booth.

Of course, I'm going to take that purchase receipt and head back there today to see if I can qualify for the "spend $20 and get the supercute Emotes bag free" deal. What? Hello. I know they're spelling my name wrong, but how can I resist!

Apparently, the mission of Emotes is to teach kids about emotions, and being able to put their feelings into words. It's a little too touchy-feely for my taste, but I am all over the JOI stuff. Plus, how cute are these characters!? I'm already planning on getting one of the books. And maybe the little figurine. And maybe the keychain. Yes. All to get the cute bag.

Although - can I just say? I've been on this declutter kick in my apartment, and I kept roaming around today rejecting practically everything I saw because I didn't want any more free comics, any more pens, any more totebags in this apartment.

For the most part, I succeeded. Hard to believe, I came home with only ONE new totebag for me. One! Ironically, it's from the publishing company that gave me my first job, but it cracked me up to lug it around. (Full disclosure, I also gave away this other superdupercute totebag, when I realized that while it had superdupercute figurines on one side, it had this trashy half-nekkid chick on the other side.)

The other trouble I'm having is finding superdupercool stuff for STWsis. The problem is that we scored her the superdupercool stuff from San Diego 2 months ago!

Though, the second we get to the floor today, I'm running right over to the Penguin Putnam booth to buy another copy of the really awesome Mad Men Illustrated World book (and another set of matching pins that are totally going to become magnets).

Let's just say that I'm overJOIed about that book!

eta:
OMG. It's JOI and me! It's JOI and me!

Good grief, it's a Peanuts 60th anniversary, Charlie Brown!

Magnet #953 - Peanuts 60 Years

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip, and they don't look a day over eight.

Growing up, one of the best things to do on a Sunday morning was to rifle through the cool thickness of the Sunday paper, to be the first to grab the funnies section (And then the sale circulars, but that's a whole other magnet, I suspect) and read it from cover to cover.

For me, that's generally the only way that I've enjoyed the Peanuts gang. While I watched all of the holiday tv specials at least once, I've never been able to re-watch them every year as many of my friends do. So the strips were always the way for me to visit with Snoopy and his pals.

I don't really have a favorite of the gang - well, maybe Woodstock, but that's probably because (even if I hate birds), I'm partial to little yellow ones. But, then it could be Lucy, just because she was always so mean and a part of me identified with her bossing Charlie Brown around. Or, it could be Linus, cuz he was so faithful. Or Snoopy, cuz I would love to fly a plane and have fake dogfights! Or it could be Schroeder, because of his piano playing. Or Pig Pen, because who doesn't like a little muss every now and again.

Or maybe...yeah, see? Maybe they're all my favorites?

I picked up this magnet at BEA, where they were highlighting the 60th anniversary book, giving away these pins and a supercute yellow presskit folder with Charlie Brown's fun zigzig stripes running across it. And, if I weren't awake so early today (on a Saturday, no less), the anniversary would have gotten away from me.

The Schulz Museum in California has arranged and/or sponsored events at several museums around the country - oh, how much fun we could have, Charlie Brown!

A Smurfy New York

Magnet #816 - Smurfs

For the last few weeks, folks at work and I have been running into The Smurfs movie shoot around town. Seriously.

What's funny is how big this cast list is. Neil Patrick Harris, Anton Yelchin, Katy Perry as Smurfette, Paul Rubens, Alan Cumming (playing Gutsy Smurf? Huh?) and even Jeff Foxworthy. And Tim Gunn. And Wolfgang Puck.

Uhhh, huh?

Ya'll, I don't care. I watched both Alvin and the Squeakquel. I enjoyed them both. Shut it. I won't even lie and say I watched them for Jason Lee and Zachary Levi. I watched them because I loved watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (with my sisters, of course).

So, if they're doing the same think to the Smurfs, yeah, I'll watch it. It might be on DVD, but yeah, I'll watch it.

Although, really, how much live action can there possibly be in this movie? The Chipmunks made sense, because hi, they lived with Dave. In a house.

But the Smurfs lived in the woods. In mushrooms. What the heck are they doing in New York? Are those woods really in Central Park? Is Gargamel's Castle really Belvedere Castle?

Yep. Color me blue with curiosity.

Elvis, the Flintstones, and a lil bit of George Jones

Magnet #686 - Fred & Wilma Flintstone

My TweetDeck's full of folks wishing Elvis a happy birthday today. He would have been 75 today. Dang.

I know, a lost opportunity, because ya'll know somewhere between home and the office, I probably have a couple more Elvis magnets to use.

But this morning, as I was wracking my brains on what to say about this Flintstones magnet that wouldn't make my family and friends' heads spin (because, yeah, there are oh, so many stories here), I stumbled upon this George Jones song:

Yabba Dabba Doo, the King is Gone.

What.

The.

Heck?

I've never heard of the song. Even after looking up the lyrics, I still don't quite understand it. And now I'm fairly sure I'll end up with this song in my head for the rest of the day.

The randomness is all, I suppose.

La La, la-la-la-la, La la-la-la-lahhhhh

Magnet #682a & 682b - Smurfette

You have got to love Target for their 99-cent aisles up front. So. Many. Magnets. I totally bought a Smurfy set of magnets. What?

And, you've got to love Sony Pictures for trying to bring back the Smurfs. Noooo, I'm not talking about Avatar. They're seriously trying to bring back the Smurfs in a live-action flick.

Live. Action. Can you imagine? Supposedly, and I guess quite rightly, the director attached is the same guy who did the Scooby movie several years ago with Buffy as Daphne and Mr. Buffy as Fred.

Then again, I just saw the movie's been moved to 2011, so who knows if it'll really ever get produced, but c'mon. Who doesn't love a Smurf?

I mean, they even had a Smurf Island down at Carowinds theme park (on the border of NC/SC). It was an acre-ish big island at the park, aimed at the young-uns with those plastic ball pools that parents are so afraid of nowadays, and fun little jungle gyms. And, the best part was that Papa Smurf and a few of the other Smurfs got to roam around to hang out with the kids.

As usual, in my childhood, I was a little older than the average Smurf-lover, I went, because my two baby sisters had to go. And, I'm sure at the time, it wasn't all that cool to be hanging out there.

But the most scandalized a pre-teen girl can be? Clear as day, while all the other kids were standing with her getting pictures and autographs, I watched as an 8-year-old boy grabbed Smurfette's behind, and hit on her, with a hey, baby.

On Smurfette!

Who doesn't love a Smurf, indeed!

This bear cares!

Magnet #593 - Tenderheart Care Bear

One thing about growing up with sisters five and eight years younger than you, is that you end up living with not just your beloved childhood characters, but their beloved childhood characters as well.

It's arguably one of the best things, as well.

It's probably why I have a "slightly older for that demo who should have stopped loving them by now" affection for Strawberry Shortcake, the Smurfs, the Snorks, the Muppet Babies, Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers, the Shirt Tales and of course, the Care Bears.

Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned Care Bear Stare? And from Tenderheart Bear! He likes to give hugs, and make people realize that they actually care about things. That helps love grow. And spread across the land. And makes everything A-ok.

Well, that's what this Care Bears Official Handbook sitting in my lap says. What? You think I'm kidding? You're reading this magnetpost, aintcha?

I figured joy magnetism could do with a little visit from the caring-est bear in Care-a-lot. My middle sister must have thought so, too, since she's the one who sent this Tenderheart magnet my way. Hee. Thanks. Who would have thought a tiny magnet could make me feel better.

Mind you, that long list of 80s cartoons I listed up there? Just the tip of the iceberg, man.

Don't ask how many times I had to avoid little girls running around sporting bandannas and nun chucks made out of cardboard paper towel rings and socks screaming Turtle Power!!!!

Or how many times I had to hear Jem! Truly outrageous! Truly, truly outrageous!

Not to mention I! Have! The Power!!!!!!!

Hmmm. That baby sister who loved He-Man? Getting married in November. Now I'm starting to wonder if that's why we have brown sleeveless bridesmaid dresses.