When I came home this evening after nine grueling hours at the office (ten if we’re counting my commute) and saw a package in my mailbox from UnderScoopFire, one of my most favoritest places in all of internetlandia, my crappy mood melted away and it was almost as if I hadn’t just spent all day in a drab, fluorescent-lit server farm with no windows, which is totally what it’s like where I work now, but hey, I’m not complaining because it pays my bills and keeps me in video games, and damn this sentence is getting kinda long.
If you’re a regular around these parts, you should already be familiar with UnderScoopFire. Headed up by Howie Decker, UnderScoopFire is one of THE greatest websites for children of the 80s–you know, us cool kids who grew up during the raddest decade in pop culture history and now have these things called “jobs” and “grown-up responsibilities.” It’s like, a total drag, FER SURE. That’s why I love Howie’s site so much. It reminds me of the days when my biggest worries were not having a cool lunch box and missing cartoons on Saturday.
Howie sent me a really kind, personal, handwritten note, which I won’t share, but (spoiler) it basically says I’m awesome. The feeling is mutual, Mr. Hecker Decker. Here’s what else was in the package:
- 2 packs of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie cards (because, well, I’m me)
- 1 pack of Marvel Universe Grab Zags, Series 1
- 1 pack of Avengers Grab Zags, Series 1
- 2 loose Marvel Grab Zags: a Wolverine Light-Up Projector, and a Hulk Pen (totally awesome!)
- …and an UnderScoopFire sticker, with its mascot Hashy looking particularly menacing as he wields The Force
This also happened:
My cat Simon Belmont knows cool stuff when he sees it. Or sniffs it…
I decided to leave those TMNT movie cards in the pack because I have a complete set of them, but don’t have any unopened packs, so these are perfect to keep with them. But you know I couldn’t resist opening up those Grab Zags right away. Here’s what was inside the Avengers pack:
An Avengers Disc Launcher! It may not look like much, but this little baby is POWERFUL. I was half-expecting the thing not to even work when I squeezed the trigger, but damn if it didn’t hurl that disc all the way into the next room, much to my cat’s delight. So much fun. I’ve already had to confiscate it twice.
Moving on, here’s what was potentially inside the Marvel pack:
And here’s what was actually inside:
It’s…another…Hulk Pen. (Wah wah wah.) I had a 90% chance of getting something different than the loose items Howie already put in the package, and this is what I got instead. But it’s all in good fun, and honestly, the best part is ripping that little mystery package open! And hey–my extra Hulk Pen is up for grabs to anyone who wants it. First person to email me their mailing address gets it.
And naturally, this is the first thing I thought to do with it:
Those triple exclamation points are TOTALLY deserved. Thank you, Howie, for this totally cool and unexpected box of goodies. I’ve told you this privately before, but it’s worth repeating here — UnderScoopFire is such a great podcast and blog, and one that gives me a real sense of belonging. You’ve built a community of like-minded, nerdy 80s adult-children that I wouldn’t trade for all the Garbage Pail Kids stickers on Earth! It is truly awesome.
P.S.
By a strange twist of fate, the latest issue of Game Informer also came in the mail today, which I’m sharing because, well, besides being extremely relevant to what Howie sent me, JUST LOOK HOW FREAKING COOL IT IS:
