Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 28th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayFor a couple of reasons, I decided this week for Star Wednesday I would write about my 12″ Lando Calrissian figure. In 1978, Kenner released a super-sized line of Star Wars figures. It’s referred to as the 12″ line, even though many/most of them are a couple of inches taller than that. In all, 12 figures were released: ten from Star Wars (R2-D2 and C-3P0, Ben Kenobi, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Jawa, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Stormtrooper) and two from the Empire Strikes Back (Boba Fett and IG-88). For the record, I owned five of them as a… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 26th, 2015 in WritingAll of us have things to do, and most of us have reasons why we are not doing them. A year or two ago I decided to start walking for exercise each morning. But before I began, I decided I needed a new pair of walking shoes. If only I had a new pair of walking shoes — $100 walking shoes — I knew I would start walking. After buying the shoes, I decided I needed socks. Yes, I most definitely needed thicker socks with more advanced walking technology embedded in them somehow to help me walk. After the socks… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 21st, 2015 in MainA few months ago, Susan reserved a vacation cabin in Granby, Colorado for the kids’ Fall Break. Little did she know back then that she would be spending the week before Fall Break in Denver and the week after Fall Break in Washington D.C., both for work. Determined to give the kids the vacation she promised them, this meant after spending a full week in Denver, Susan had to travel home, turn around, and head back three days later along with the rest of us in the car. My best buddy Jeff and his family moved to Denver a few… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 14th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayAlong with the Death Star and the Millennium Falcon, Kenner’s Imperial Walker (also known as an All Terrain Armored Transport or, more simply, an AT-AT) was one of the largest toys released in the vintage line. According to Star Wars lore, AT-ATs were approximately 65′ long and 75′ tall, large enough to hold multiple smaller ships or up to 40 additional soldiers inside their massive hull. Kenner’s version was slightly smaller than that — it measured 17.5″ tall and 22″ long. The one pictured here is significantly smaller than that. I paid a quarter for this AT-AT four or five… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 12th, 2015 in MainOver the weekend Susan and I took the kids to the Skating Dead Mashup, a Roller Derby contest hosted by the Oklahoma Victory Dolls at Skate Fever in Tuttle, Oklahoma. I was fifteen years old when I began making plans to escape Oklahoma. My first dream destination was California, home to everything I loved at the time: silicon valley, sports cars, skateboarding, Hollywood, MTV, and (I wish they all could be) California girls. I had no real understanding of property value at that time. I just knew that California was cool, cooler than Oklahoma could ever be. A year later… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 9th, 2015 in ToysRecently I spent a few days sorting my giant tub of LEGO bricks by color into smaller containers. During this process I ran across several things that weren’t actually LEGO. Here are three of those things, along with a bonus photo at the end. 01. EDUCATIONAL BUILDING BRICKS One of the first things I found mixed in with my LEGO bricks which was not a LEGO was this big, plastic block. It took me a while to find the name of these building bricks on Google, which turned out to literally be “Building Bricks.” I can’t remember if I had… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 8th, 2015 in MainThis morning as I walked down the hallway on my way to the bathroom, the laundry room light turned itself on. “Hello, Uncle Joe,” I said as I walked past the laundry room. As of this past August, Uncle Joe has been dead for two years now. That’s around the time our laundry room light started randomly turning itself off and back on. Even though the room is small there are two light switches in the room, one on each end, hooked to the same light fixture. Even after four years I’ve never quite figured out what configuration the switches… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 7th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayWhile Kenner only offered one creature each for Star Wars (the Patrol Dewback) and Return of the Jedi (the Rancor), for The Empire Strikes Back they offered two: the Wampa and the Tauntaun, both of which originally retailed for $8.99 in stores. As you can see, I paid almost three times that ($24.99) for this one in a fairly beat up box a few years ago. Note the vintage sticker price of $7.77 on this particular box. Like other Kenner boxes, the back of this one shows you suggested ways to play with your tauntaun. You can move his arms… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 6th, 2015 in Arcades/Arcade GamesAfter visiting barcades all over the country, we finally have our own right here in Oklahoma City: the FlashBack RetroPub. Last Friday, Susan and I attended the pub’s official grand opening. That’s not my DeLorean, but it is my 8-bit tie… The FlashBack RetroPub is at 814 West Sheridan, several blocks away from Bricktown. There are a few trendy businesses and restaurants nearby, but it’s also less than a block from the City Rescue Mission and right down the street from the scariest McDonald’s I’ve ever set foot in. It will be interesting to see how this part of town… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 5th, 2015 in MainI have less and less to say about Czech Day each year. This year Susan and Morgan were part of the Girl Scout Float and Mason ran off to shoot pictures for the yearbook, so I sat by myself and shot pictures. I ended up sitting next to Danny (a friend of my dad’s) and a row in front of my niece and her boyfriend, so I wasn’t completely alone. I took pictures of a lot of the same things I took pictures of each year. I always enjoy hearing the marching bands, seeing the new floats, and watching the… (read more)
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