bubbledog blog

frogger

Last night, I caught the tail end of a really funny Seinfeld episode where George was trying to get an old Frogger arcade game back to his house while hooked up to a battery pack so that it wouldn't shut off and erase his high score.  I miss that show!

 

 

Anyway, it got me thinking about Frogger.  I really used to only play it on the Atari 2600 and I was terrible at it.  I could always make it past the road, but could never make it across the water.  I wonder if I tried it now, instead of when I was nine or so, if I would be any better?  I don't have a lot of Frogger memoribilia, but here are some pics of things that I have aquired including some puffy Frogger stickers and some sticker cards and a rub off game from a series called Video City by Topps.

   

today's forecast: a chance of sprinkles

My new t-shirt design debuted today at shanalogic.com.  About a month ago, I was spending a Saturday evening sketching little characters (yes, it is a wild life that I lead).  It was raining outside and I started giving my doodles little umbrellas and when I got to this little ice cream cone fellow... BAM, the idea hit me!  New ideas generally come to me very slowly, but this one just burst on the scene.  I hope you like it!

   

i've fallen victim to viral advertising

I must buy a SAMSUNG UltraTouch S8300 Super Bright AMOLED Full Touch Screen.

I must buy a SAMSUNG UltraTouch S8300 Super Bright AMOLED Full Touch Screen.

I must buy a SAMSUNG UltraTouch S8300 Super Bright AMOLED Full Touch Screen.

This is what is happening in my brain after going to cuteoverload this morning and seeing the following video link.  I warn you that it is ridiculously bizarre, super cute, and you will probably find yourself watching it again at some point.  I think there is a brilliant mind over at Samsung advertising... at least, they know how to appeal to me:

eighties nostalgia: Inspector Gadget

In fourth grade, my friend Brad and I would watch Inspector Gadget everyday (don't click that link unless you want the theme song stuck in your head for the next few days).  I can remember walking home from school and trying to figure out who Dr. Claw was... we would always talk about how we thought that Chief Quimby was actually Dr. Claw because when the credits rolled he would be on screen when you heard "I'll get you next time Gadget... next time!"  We had many ideas to back that theory up.  Inspector Gadget was like the LOST of my childhood, trying to figure out all of it's complex mysteries ;)

I don't have much Inspector Gadget memorabilia... nor do I really remember ever having any as a kid (though I watched the show religiously for a year or two).  I picked up this set of four pvc figurines a few years ago.  From left to right you have Chief Quimby, Inspector Gadget, Brain, and Penny.  Man, remember Penny and that computer book... I wanted that computer book so bad!

hamster notepads

I have some new hamster stationery notepads available in my etsy shop.  I wrenched the usual mushroom out of my hamster's cluthches and stuck a pencil in there instead.  I designed this to be reminiscent of stationery from my childhood with the little character in at the bottom of the page (someday I will have to post scans of pages of eighties stationery that I have collected).  Each pad measures 5.5" wide by 8" tall and has twenty five individual sheets of paper ready to tear off from the top.  This is the first of a few new items that will be coming into my shop in the next few weeks, so keep checking back :)

kubrick & lost: perfect together

One of yesterday's Valentine's Day gifts was a Kubrick LOST figure.  These Kubirck figures and their blind assortments are really cool, but it gets you worried that you are going to get the most horrible figure in the assortment.  Before opening the box, we decided that the only figure that we didn't want was the Kate figure.  I like Kate on the show, but that figure is U-G-L-Y (and it ain't got no alibi).  It's the only female figure and it is the most mannish of the bunch!  Anyway, we were pleased to open it up and find a well rendered Sawyer inside. Sawyer comes with a book (no glasses though) and since arriving, he has been spending lots of time in the house plants climbing trees, sitting back and reading, and hiding from the Others.

Speaking of LOST, this new season has been really great so far!  It's been nice to have a new way to do the typical flashbacks by actually time travelling instead.  The back history that they have revealed has been well thought out and well written.  I particularly liked seeing Danielle's story with her crew and the "sickness" told on screen.  These last few episodes are making me think a lot and I'm starting to have all sorts of new questions like:

 - Should I know what or where the "temple" is that the smoke monster is guarding?
 - What exactly happened in that episode where Desmond was going back and forth through time and he initially met Daniel Faraday's mother?  Was that episode more important than I originally thought?
 - The fact that they need to get John's dead body back to the island really brings up a lot of questions about the plane crash.  Jack's father seems to be playing a bigger role in the show recently and his dead body was on the plane...hmmm....
 - Who was the woman from "the others" that held Daniel Faraday at gunpoint - the younger version of his mother?  Charlotte's mother? 

Ugh!  The show drives me crazy, but I keep coming back for more and I haven't missed an episode yet.  It's the only show that I always watch while airing because I am afraid if I wait to watch it, someone might tell me something about the show the next day at work before I get to see it!

happy valentine's day

For your Valentine's Day pleasure, I present scans of vintage 80's scratch and sniff Valentine's Day cards by Spindex.  I gave out these very same cards (the root beer variety) when I was in 4th grade.  My family had just moved that year and being the new kid is never a fun thing.  I thought these scratch and sniff cards would help show my classmates that I wasn't just the dorky new kid - I was cool too!  I remembered that the other kids liked the cards, but I'm not sure they were as impressed as I had imagined they would (dare I say, should) have been.  I dreamt that they would have some sort of epiphany and instantly like me based on my Valentine selection....  

Fast forward twenty some years and loot at me, at 35, almost doing the same thing, but now with you on my blog ;)  Happy Valentine's Day!

early valentine's day surprise

Though I love to make all sorts of cards, I am the absolute worst person when it comes to getting a card in the mail for a birthday, holiday, you name it....  I'm learning that my internet buddy Amy is not like me in this respect.  She's a very busy gal, but she somehow makes time to get groovy packages out to her firends.  I have to give her some credit for the "old skool" Valentine's treatment I received today.

 

Mailed out with Star Wars postage and sealed on back with some 80's stickers, I was intrigued when I found this envelope in my mailbox today.  When I opened it up, a whole bunch of little cards and envelopes fell out.  I don't think I've been given one of those since 5th grade!  Remember decorating little paper bags to stick on the front of your desk to get your Valentine's Day cards at school? 

 

It was such a fun little treat that I had to share it.  Thanks Amy :)

new stuff in my shop

These three note cards will soon be headed over to my etsy shop.  Unlike most of my other cards which are hand printed with my Gocco printer, these cards have been professionally printed for me.  They come on heavy cardstock and have a glossy finish on the outside.  I am really pleased with how vibrant the colors came out.  The cuckoo clock is much more ornate than my usual style while the polar bears and the hamster fit in more with my simple aesthetic. 

eighties nostalgia: Astrosniks

One of my oddest collections is my small assortment of Astrosniks items from the eighties.  Just as the Snorks were like underwater Smurfs, the Astrosniks are kind of like outerspace Smurfs.  I never had these toys as a kid, but I was quickly seduced into collecting them when I saw my first Marsmen Snik... how could I resist a brightly colored figurine with no arms, headphones, and googly eyes?  I've been able to pick up a few more of the Marsmen Sniks over the years, but they are really hard to find. 

The few other Astrosniks items I have found mostly have come from places online, though I did randomly encounter some Astrosniks paper products in my Grandmother's house when I was helping her move a few years back.  She had no idea what they were or where they came from... they were quickly added to my collection.

The figures below are from sets of regional McDonald's Happy Meal toys from 1983-1984.  The McDonald's Astrosniks were given a back story and their favorite foods were said to be french fries and milkshakes... we have a lot in common.  You can check out the rest of my Astrosniks collection at my flickr account.