Category: Miscellaneous

The Box Of Treasures

September 25, 2022

This came in the mail the other day:

It’s a box from Adam’s sister (let’s call her AC) in Japan! It’s a large box and had been traveling for almost 3.5 months! It was sent surface mail which could be the topic of a blog post in and of itself (but I shall save for another time).

The box was a big surprise, and I couldn’t wait to open it. But never in my wildest imagination did I expect the contents:

Look at this pristine condition burger box from McDonald’s! Back in April Macca’s Japan had a Shin Ultraman collaboration which featured the return of two chicken burgers which would be sold in Ultraman boxes. AC sent me two of these boxes! Aren’t they beautiful 🙂

But it didn’t stop there! Inside the box was also three of the special Ultraman branded plastic cups, also from McDonald’s. These are even prettier than the burger box and have immediately become the stars of my ‘Ultraman fast food packaging’ sub-collection!

I don’t know any details behind the acquisition of these items – AC included limited commentary in the box – so I assume she went to McDonald’s herself and purchased a Shin Chicken Tatsuya burger with accompanying McFizz Aomori Fuji Apple beverage. And yet the burger boxes are absolutely spotless and look unused… did she have a black market connection? However she obtained these, I appreciate it.

If you’re not aware, these items are in collaboration with the brand new Shin Ultraman film that opened in Japan in May. I want to see this film more than any film that ever existed but it hasn’t yet been released outside of Japan so I continue to wait. I’m guessing Amber saw the movie, since the box also contained this extraordinary item:

I believe this is a cup purchased from a Japanese cinema! The side of the cup features the movie logo, and underneath it says ‘fantasy special effects film’ just in case you’re one of the handful of Japanese movie-goers that hasn’t heard of Ultraman! The cup is large and the Ultraman on top – in his Spacium Beam pose – is large and dynamic. This is an amazing item that will proudly be displayed on my shelf for ever!

And this wasn’t everything in the box. There were a few other Ultraman items, an extraordinary hand towel (that you’ll see in a future post), a clear file (how did AC know I was planning an upcoming clear file post?!?) and two more incredible Gotochi postcards including this one:

I need to go back to Japan so I can send some of these special postcards myself…

Thanks AC; this box was like Christmas coming early 🙂

Ten Things We Saw At The Fair

August 30, 2022

Once again we went to the Dutchess County Fair, about 90 minutes from where we live. It was the last day of the fair, very busy and very hot! Here’s some of what we saw…

The fair means farm animals, and after a few Covid-affected years they were back in full force. These pigs were very cute since when mum rolled over to stop feeding several began wrestling with each other which was very funny!

Fairs also mean produce contests, and this was perhaps the most striking display. Since we went on the last day this year much of the produce had spoiled, and it was amusing seeing first place ribbons attached to rotten veggies!

This is the most unusual stuffed toy you could win at the carnival games. It’s Bob Ross! It was fairly big (maybe 1 m tall) and as you can see has his trademark palette in his left hand. Would children really want this?

It’s the General Lee, automobile ‘star’ of The Dukes of Hazard tv show. While the show itself was light-hearted and family friendly, this car is now controversial due to the confederate flag (a hate symbol) on the roof. In fact it’s against NY state law to display this flag on fairgrounds, and yet there it was.

This first-prize-winning art is pretty good for a 25-year old wouldn’t you say? I actually had a wealth of… interesting art I could have displayed here, but the age on this one was impossible to ignore 🙂

The rides were good as usual, but there wasn’t anything particularly new to see. The paint on this ‘Diesel Punk’ funhouse was spectacular though. Is that Tank Girl in the lower right? What about the other two; what are the origins of those characters?

Here I am enjoying a calm moment with a polar bear.

And here’s a handsome chicken. Look at his blue cheek! There were a great many birds to be seen, including exotic show pigeons. We also saw baby cows, rabbits, sheep, goats, llamas, guinea pigs, camels, snakes and turtles 🙂

In the landscaping contest was this entry done by a fountain company. They had converted a rusted old truck into a fountain and water was gushing out of the engine and cab. It was extremely well done, with all the pipes and tubes cleverly hidden. I bet they’ll get a lot of business as a result!

Here’s Kristin enjoying a slice of pickle pizza! She said it was strange at first, but got better the more she ate and afterwards she said she liked it so much she may try making one herself. As usual there was a vast amount of typical ‘fair food’ on offer (I had a hot dog, roasted corn and a donut) and it was difficult to choose.

As usual we had fun, even if the heat became oppressive. It’s great fairs are back to normal again: maybe next year we’ll go to an even bigger one!

Bird of Paradise

May 10, 2022

It’s time for a new LEGO kit:

This is the third in their ‘botanical’ series, and as a child of the jungle myself, naturally this called to me!

It’s the biggest of the botanical kits so far, mostly because (unlike the flower bouquet) it comes with a pot.

It also came with a number of tiny (~ 5 mm) golden rings. These are dazzling, and apparently somewhat special (the kit mentions it has more of them than any other LEGO kit) but they are embedded inside the pot and you can’t even see them in the finished product!

The pot is dense and heavy, and wouldn’t be fun to dismantle. Obviously the bulk is required to prevent the piece from falling over when made.

The stalks are made from smaller pieces joined together, rather than very long axles, and therefore the plant would be very customizable. I followed the instructions perfectly 🙂

Speaking of which this was a very easy kit to make, even if you’ve not done LEGO before. It was a pleasant build as we watched Japan walking videos on YouTube, and dreamed of our next visit to Japan…

Doesn’t this resemble the real thing!?! I expect as I scampered around the dense jungles of my place of birth I saw these flowers often as I listened to the singing of real life birds of paradise!

The last step was to add the soil, which was hundreds of small brown circular pieces. I expect if you bought enough of these it would make good cat litter.

And here’s the finished piece! It’s lovely isn’t it? It’s also very large, but looks great on a mantle. As with the other two botanicals, I think this one will find a permanent position in our home.

Robot Claw