Category: Time

More Of The Same

Yeah yeah, so I like trading cards. Old ones. Very old ones. Like these:

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These cards came out in 1990 with the film. I paid $0.25 for this pack (and every other pack seen here today) at a local con a few weeks back. I don’t remember much about this film, but I do remember my brother saying “Woah that was tubular!” after we saw it so he must have loved it! Share the memories:

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As a movie card set from that era it of course contained a piece of gum, which I had to try:

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Let’s just say it hadn’t aged well πŸ™‚

The next cards are from 1991:

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Even thought BBC America plays this movie at least twice a day, and even though I’ve seen it many many times and even thought I know the lyrics for the Bryan Adams theme song by heart I’m going to pretend I know nothing at all about this film except what I’ve learned from the cards in this pack which means it must have been some sort of Christian Slater vehicle:

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Let’s move on a couple of years to a beloved sequel:

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Ah, the beloved Free Willy 2. Who can forget how moved we were when we saw this masterpiece of cellulose? As Bernard frequently says “Would have been the best film of ’95 if it wasn’t for Johnny Mnemonic!” But what about the card set?

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Rubbish! Dreadful! Even at $0.05/card I feel ripped off. I pity the suckers who bought these 19 years ago for full price πŸ™‚

And then we get to an unlikely card set: Young Indiana Jones trading cards (from 1993). The only comment I’ll make about the bulk of the cards in the pack I opened was that they would have been more useful had they been printed on tissue and therefore usable as toilet paper. However…the pack included this gem:

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Yes my friends, 3D! See for yourself by squinting at this clever stereoscope I assembled using forbidden technology:

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Lots of trash in this post so far, but as I often do I saved the best for last. So here we go:

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Omg! Even now I can remember my brothers words as we exited the cinema back in ’83! He said “Those scenes of Richard Pryor using the computer were so cool! I’m going to become a programmer.” And thus the legend was born. Again, share some memories:

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Some of those cards are just iconic now. Look at the sticker in the bottom right!! Surely that’s the best sticker ever made???

And what of the gum in this pack, which had matured for no less than 31 years. Is there anyone with nerves of steel enough to eat it?

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Let’s just say it was hard to keep it on my tongue for the one second it took to take the photo πŸ™‚

One Year Later

I’ll just present this here:

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I think this is the third game – after Animal Crossing (GameCube) and World of Warcraft (Mac) I’ve played for over a year. And since I’m enjoying it as much as ever, I reckon there’s life left in PazuDora yet πŸ™‚

Master Of Puzzles

It’s time I revealed another of my secret skills: Puzzle Master!

But I’m not one of those half-men that only solves puzzles. No my friends, I have now become adept at creating puzzles.Β  My brain-twisters will be a challenge for all non-genii, and should provide endless hours of entertainment to those that cannot count themselves among the hallowed brethren of the puzzle savants.

Curious to test and see where you rank in the world of puzzlers? Try this one first (you can print the full-sized version):

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Good luck working out what that is without finishing it!

But of course I know there are some real smart alecks reading this blog, and I’m sure one or two of you may even be able to finish the above without more than 3 or 4 mistakes. Lest your heads swell, I’ve decided to present you with another of my creations to show you just how lofty the halls of the Gods Of Puzzling are…

And so! One of my greatest creations: a ‘god tier‘ difficulty (and quite positively Laytonesque) Picross for you to solve:

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Print it and solve it! Send me a photo of the completed puzzle for a mystery prize! (If you don’t know how to solve Picross puzzles, read this)

Good luck πŸ™‚