Memory Lane

After writing a few research papers, I decided I needed to recharge with some introspection. Nothing serious or debatable, just a random free-write of shit I remember from my childhood in terms of pop culture. I remember a lot and probably forgot more, but fond memories all the same.

I was a Ghostbuster/Ninja Turtle kid. I'm sure all the boys my age were the same, but I felt like the ultimate fan boy. I grew up on the cartoons and movies. For the Ghostbusters, I think all I was lacking was the proton pack, but I had the trap. Ghosts didn't seem to scare me as much then as they do now. Then again, I knew jack shit about that sort of thing back then. At that time, Mr. Stay-Puft was my favorite character ever. Ninja Turtles on the other hand, I think I had just about everything other than Technodrome. I was actually pissed when TMNT II came out and instead of Bebop and Rocksteady, I was treated to Tokka and Rahzar. Also, they couldn't have a Krang?

I remember Nickelodeon when it was good. That is probably due to my age. I'm sure when my daughter is my age and her kids are watching Nick, she'll probably think the same thing. In my day, Marc Summers seemed to host everything on the network. You Can't Do That on Television and Family Double Dare were some of my favorite shows. Salute Your Shorts is still something I would like to see on TBS mornings considering they keep shilling out Saved by the Bell. The "Zeke the Plumber" episodes would at times freak me out. And who can forget All That and Are You Afraid of the Dark? Early before school, I would get up at 5:30 to watch whatever the hell their little NASA show was and at 6 am it was Mr. Wizard. Now, it seems Nick is in heavy competition with Disney having their equivalents to Hannah Montana and the like.

After school, I could not wait to turn on to PBS to watch Bill Nye the Science Guy or on Saturday mornings, Beakman's World. These shows along with Mr. Wizard nurtured my curiosity into all things science.

My favorite video game seemed to be Battletoads for some reason. That is not to say I didn't enjoy Mario or Zelda. I would say in three years after that did I become what some would say a "gamer".

The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and Beavis & Butt-head were the off limits cartoons. That would change when I got a TV in my room though. Hell, before they could even think of banning South Park I was about ten episodes in.

Microsoft Frontpage is the program I used to make my very first webpage on Geocities. I thought it was the coolest Star Wars website out there. I tried to make it awesome by researching every Star Wars outlet there was to bring the newest and best news.

Cecil Fielder, Barry Sanders, and Michael Jordan were some of my sports idols. I don't care much for sports anymore other than hockey, soccer, or rugby. Man was I a little sports nut when I was little. I had stack upon stack of sports cards. Who knows what some of them would have been worth today had they have not been thrown out during multiple moves.

I recall sitting with my dad when I was 8 years old and watching (at that time) George Carlin's new comedy special on HBO. I was glued to the comic ever since.

I don't recall my first comic that I bought, but I remember taking my $5 allowance every week to the party store and buying myself a liter of Pepsi and as many comic books I could buy with the change. I remember owning Cable, Uncanny X-Men, and Hulk 2099 for some reason, but there were loads more.

Remember pogs? Yeah, I owned a crapload. With as cheap as they were, how could you afford not to have that many. I remember having a slammer commemorating the OJ Simpson trial.

Fast forward a few years to when I was about 15. At this time there was no age limit on buying the magazine, but I remember my first Maxim was the swimsuit issue. I was instantly hooked on those lad mags. I don't buy them anymore due to the price vs. content rule that I have. At that time, they were $5 with a shitload of content. Now, it is just rehashed stories and more advertisement than content. Plus, the magazine is substantially smaller than it was when I bought them.

Thanks for taking a walk with me. I hope you enjoyed it.