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Bringing Balance to the Force
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Top 5 Anything
« on: September 11, 2008, 12:48 PM »
Yeah, I'm #1. 
Though I can't stop watching DarkKnight2k4's avatar. Does that mean I'm being unfaithful?
Though I can't stop watching DarkKnight2k4's avatar. Does that mean I'm being unfaithful?
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Top 5 Hotties
« on: September 11, 2008, 10:35 AM »
Did someone say boob avatar?
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Classic board games thread
« on: August 28, 2008, 12:42 PM »Quote
I briefly had that game as a child. Don't remember if I got it for a birthday or Christmas. But, I think I had it for about a month before my mom stepped on it and broke the fins and plastic clips that held the lower jaw in place. Dad couldn't fix it and threw it out. I kept the skeleton pieces, and held on to the skull well into my college years. I bet if I hunt through the boxes in my parents' garage I could still find the skull.
I had a Dark Tower set, too. Now it sits abandoned in one of our junk closets. The tower doesn't work, the circuit thingie is all corroded and the tower just spins & spins & spins. I went on a Dark Tower website back in the early days of the internet (1997-98) and tried to see if anyone was selling the circuit thingies, but no luck. I'm only missing two or three little tabs to hold the board together and the box is beat to hell.
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Selling Collections
« on: August 27, 2008, 04:42 PM »
It's good to hear I'm not the only one who's at the same crossroads with their collection...
Let me relay a story to all of you...
There was this girl I worked with that used to smoke, had been for about 14 years -- smoked a pack a day. One day she came back from one of her normal smoke breaks and told me "that's my last cigarette; I just quit." A couple weeks later she hadn't gone back to smoking, and a few months later she still had not had another cigarette. Not being a smoker, and hearing how hard it is to quit, I asked her how she was able to do so, so easily. She told me, "I added up all the money I had been spending on cigarettes over the last year; when I saw the total and carried that out over 14 years, I got so pissed off at myself and the cigarette makers that I just decided I had had enough. No more!"
Well, I had this same epiphany about my SW collection around May-June of this year (during the lull of Hasbro product). I started looking at all the SW items (Hasbro & non-Hasbro) I've purchased and held onto for the past 13 years (!!!), thought about the SW items I've purchased and ultimately sold over the past 13 years; added/estimated the total of all those purchases and just got mad. Mad at myself -- for buying figures that today I couldn't even tell you the name of the character -- and mad at Hasbro for overwhelming the market. I'm not blaming Hasbro for my own inability to control my purchases, but it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm liquidating roughly 85% to 90% of my collection, save for the first 9 POTF2 figures (sentimental), the Fans' Choice figures, the McQuarrie figures, and 2-3 representative figures from each line (POTF2, SOTE, EU, EpI, POTJ, SAGA, CW, CWAnimated, OTC, Vintage, POTC, ROTS, TSC, TAC). This alone will still leave me with close to 100 figures.
This is not the first time I've sold a huge chunk of my collection, but this is the first time that it's hitting nearly every segment of my collection. In the past it would be "I'm selling all my 12" figures" or "I'm selling all my Unleashed figures" or "I'm selling all the army-builder figures" or "I'm selling all my non-Star Wars figures" ... you get the picture.
I have not purchased any of the Legacy Collection or Clone Wars figures, nor felt any compulsion to. I went to the Midnight Madness on July 26, looked at the new figures and just walked away. I have been hardcore for 13 years then just decided "No more!" I'm taking a huge loss on the figures I'm selling, but having never been a believer of collect-to-profit and expecting to be extremely lucky to get even 50% of my money back, I'll be okay with that.
I anticipate about 2 months to move everything.
Loose figures first
Multi-packs second
Vehicles/Beasts/Acc. third
MOC figures fourth (biggest chunk of my collection)
Misc. crap last
...whatever is left or did not sell, I'll probably just donate.
I'm not completely out of the game. I still love the OT films; I still have all my 1977-1985 figures; and I will still continue to post very infrequently. I buy LEGO, the GG animated maquettes, OT Acme Keys, and OT or Clonetrooper Mighty Muggs now, and that is all -- lines that are infrequent enough to not overwhelm me, but still frequent enough to keep me anticipating. Hopefully now I can stay a consumer who collects to enjoy, and not just one who collects to collect.
...and I do believe this is my longest post ever in the history of the internets.
Let me relay a story to all of you...
There was this girl I worked with that used to smoke, had been for about 14 years -- smoked a pack a day. One day she came back from one of her normal smoke breaks and told me "that's my last cigarette; I just quit." A couple weeks later she hadn't gone back to smoking, and a few months later she still had not had another cigarette. Not being a smoker, and hearing how hard it is to quit, I asked her how she was able to do so, so easily. She told me, "I added up all the money I had been spending on cigarettes over the last year; when I saw the total and carried that out over 14 years, I got so pissed off at myself and the cigarette makers that I just decided I had had enough. No more!"
Well, I had this same epiphany about my SW collection around May-June of this year (during the lull of Hasbro product). I started looking at all the SW items (Hasbro & non-Hasbro) I've purchased and held onto for the past 13 years (!!!), thought about the SW items I've purchased and ultimately sold over the past 13 years; added/estimated the total of all those purchases and just got mad. Mad at myself -- for buying figures that today I couldn't even tell you the name of the character -- and mad at Hasbro for overwhelming the market. I'm not blaming Hasbro for my own inability to control my purchases, but it just wasn't fun anymore. I'm liquidating roughly 85% to 90% of my collection, save for the first 9 POTF2 figures (sentimental), the Fans' Choice figures, the McQuarrie figures, and 2-3 representative figures from each line (POTF2, SOTE, EU, EpI, POTJ, SAGA, CW, CWAnimated, OTC, Vintage, POTC, ROTS, TSC, TAC). This alone will still leave me with close to 100 figures.
This is not the first time I've sold a huge chunk of my collection, but this is the first time that it's hitting nearly every segment of my collection. In the past it would be "I'm selling all my 12" figures" or "I'm selling all my Unleashed figures" or "I'm selling all the army-builder figures" or "I'm selling all my non-Star Wars figures" ... you get the picture.
I have not purchased any of the Legacy Collection or Clone Wars figures, nor felt any compulsion to. I went to the Midnight Madness on July 26, looked at the new figures and just walked away. I have been hardcore for 13 years then just decided "No more!" I'm taking a huge loss on the figures I'm selling, but having never been a believer of collect-to-profit and expecting to be extremely lucky to get even 50% of my money back, I'll be okay with that.
I anticipate about 2 months to move everything.
Loose figures first
Multi-packs second
Vehicles/Beasts/Acc. third
MOC figures fourth (biggest chunk of my collection)
Misc. crap last
...whatever is left or did not sell, I'll probably just donate.
I'm not completely out of the game. I still love the OT films; I still have all my 1977-1985 figures; and I will still continue to post very infrequently. I buy LEGO, the GG animated maquettes, OT Acme Keys, and OT or Clonetrooper Mighty Muggs now, and that is all -- lines that are infrequent enough to not overwhelm me, but still frequent enough to keep me anticipating. Hopefully now I can stay a consumer who collects to enjoy, and not just one who collects to collect.
...and I do believe this is my longest post ever in the history of the internets.
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Stupid **** From the Internet Thread.
« on: July 31, 2008, 03:43 PM »
Do you ride the bus? Better keep an eye on the fella sitting next to you
Geez, what is going on with Canada?
Geez, what is going on with Canada?
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Your help and opinions required for star wars geek fest
« on: July 23, 2008, 02:22 PM »
PM sent your way...
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Batman - The Dark Knight
« on: July 23, 2008, 02:09 PM »
I saw TDK last Saturday; went by myself so I could really just immerse myself in the flick. I thought it was an extremely well-done movie, all of the performances were top notch. I'm going to be in the minority, but I was much more impressed by the performance of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, than I was with Heath Ledger's Joker. I've tried to put my finger on it, and I've decided it was because of the character arc he had to work with. Incredible to see him effortlessly go from the in control & by-the-books district attorney, and then to begin seeing the little cracks in his psyche as the Joker kept pushing & pushing & pushing, and Gotham kept spiraling out of control, until finally the Two-Face character emerged. Heath Ledger's Joker is definitive and I was blown away by his skill in the role, but it was just craziness and chaos all the time and I believe Eckhart is being overshadowed or forgotten in all the Ledger hype.
And if I can point out the only complaints I had about the film; there are two. First, Christian Bale's "Batman" voice is just too over-the-top; his lips are all formed in an exaggerated kissing shape and he talks like a mouth-breather; really kept pulling me out of the moment (the worst example was during the closing discussion with Gordon). Second, I didn't care for the light-up Bat-eyes and radar-imaging of the bad guys' locations in the climactic battle -- felt too video-gamey to me. Those are my only complaints. Still, it is a fantastic movie, and I'll definitely be shelling out my hard-earned $$ to see it in the theaters again.
And if I can point out the only complaints I had about the film; there are two. First, Christian Bale's "Batman" voice is just too over-the-top; his lips are all formed in an exaggerated kissing shape and he talks like a mouth-breather; really kept pulling me out of the moment (the worst example was during the closing discussion with Gordon). Second, I didn't care for the light-up Bat-eyes and radar-imaging of the bad guys' locations in the climactic battle -- felt too video-gamey to me. Those are my only complaints. Still, it is a fantastic movie, and I'll definitely be shelling out my hard-earned $$ to see it in the theaters again.
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Stupid **** From the Internet Thread.
« on: July 10, 2008, 10:44 AM »Michael Bay's rejected 'The Dark Knight' script
I wasn't sure whether to put it here or the Dark Knight thread.
F-U-N-N-Y, pure 'genius.' "one last explosion, this time with tanks flying out of it."
I had to close the door to my office to keep from freaking out my co-workers
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Stupid **** From the Internet Thread.
« on: June 25, 2008, 09:36 AM »
Oh, what the hell happened?! I guess Amazon took it down
Anyway go here to get an idea of some of the funny crap folks were writing about a frickin' $500 1.5m ethernet cable being sold by Denon. You can also google Denon+Cable+Amazon and get quite a few hits to some other reviews...
Here's a sample of the stuff being posted (22 pages total the last time I looked before the page vanished)
(....it's like telling a joke, but then having to explain it - it'll never be funny enough afterwards)
Anyway go here to get an idea of some of the funny crap folks were writing about a frickin' $500 1.5m ethernet cable being sold by Denon. You can also google Denon+Cable+Amazon and get quite a few hits to some other reviews...
Here's a sample of the stuff being posted (22 pages total the last time I looked before the page vanished)
Quote
If Denon had captured the Divine light of creation and distiled it into 1.5 meters of ultramegaradioactive copper, it could not have been better than this cable. Just holding the packaging it comes in, I can see distant galaxies and, though you may not believe it, hear what the aliens there are thinking. THAT is how good this cable is. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Honestly, looking at it is better than foreplay. You feel wracking orgastic shivers just touching it. I just know that zeros and ones will achieve true integer perfection when they travel this cable. But I'm afraid to actually install it. I might die.
(....it's like telling a joke, but then having to explain it - it'll never be funny enough afterwards)
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Stupid **** From the Internet Thread.
« on: June 24, 2008, 02:17 PM »
Awesome customer reviews on Amazon.
WARNING: Please do not drink while reading. If you must drink, at least make sure a washcloth is nearby to clean up the beverage you spit out.
WARNING: Please do not drink while reading. If you must drink, at least make sure a washcloth is nearby to clean up the beverage you spit out.
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Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Funny Pictures
« on: June 7, 2008, 02:57 PM »
Okay, um, I think I just threw up...
