Burger King And Uber Team Up To Rip You Off!

 

Burger King and Uber have teamed up to bring you prices on Whoppers not seen since the 90's! For a limited time, you can get a Whopper for just 99 cents!...plus taxes and fees.

There's just one catch. It's a rip off. If you were to go to Burger King and get a Whopper for 99 cents, you'd pay about six cents in taxes here in Virginia, so a total of $1.05. That would be an incredible deal, considering a Whopper normally costs $4.19 for just the sandwich.

However, if you want to get a single Whopper off of Uber, you're going to pay $8.76 (at least if it were coming to my house). Mind you, that's with their 99 cent deal. After all the fees, you're paying over double for the price of one sandwich.


What makes this "deal" all the more annoying is that as you buy more, your service fee goes up. I'd have to buy four Whoppers before seeing any form of savings. Even then, at a regular price of $17.76 ($4.19 + 6% tax), my savings is only $1.82!



Wow! What a great deal! Sign me up for 99 cent Whoppers! Sarcasm...

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Retro Spins: Buster



Phil Collins. Singer, songwriter...Actor? Sure, okay. Why not? He doesn't scream "leading man material" to me, but I suppose my opinion is only one of millions.

It's a tough life being a small-time thief with a heart of gold. But Buster Edward's dream of the good life for him and his family fast becomes a reality when he pulls off the greatest train robbery in history: a heist of over $7 million in used bank notes! On the run from the law, Buster and family take flight to Acapulco where it's sunshine and champagne all the way. But even paradise has its problems; the money is fast disappearing and his wife June misses their old way of life. Leaving Buster in Acapulco to return home, he soon realizes that all the money in the world can't take the place of the women he loves. If he goes back, he faces a harsh prison sentence - but for Buster, that sacrifice may be what life, and love, is all about. - Back of the original VHS

The soundtrack to Buster really threw me off guard, and messed with my OCD. It was all over the place musically.

It launches at you with the Phil Collins hit, Two Hearts, then proceeds into the realm of the sixties with The Hollies Just One Look before jumping back to a second Phil Collins track and then dives into a score / instrumental song. This consistent bouncing around continues for the remainder of the album. Just as you're getting into a style, it shifts. It's kind of annoying.

I suppose in the long run, had I done a bit of research, I wouldn't have included this album in my Retro Spin. It deviates more so than not from the realm of the 80's.

It's not all for loss though. The inclusion of the great tracks from Collins certainly makes up for this. It's difficult to hate it with the likes of Two Hearts and Groovy Kind Of Love contained within in. Naturally, these two tracks got added to my 80's shuffle mixes.

The Four Tops weren't about to sit the 1980's out. They'd been contributing new material to soundtracks (while also producing studio albums) throughout the decade, and it was nice to see them do so again here. Their track, Loco In Acapulco is a pretty good song and even charted in other countries.

Overall, it wasn't what I expected, and it got annoying with its consistent shifting of styles, but I didn't hate it. For the most part, the tracks encompassing the album weren't bad songs. Just somewhat out of place with each other.

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 81

  

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 81
Release Date: February 1970 

Highlights
  • 1st appearance of Kangaroo / Frank Oliver
Low Points
  • Another generic villain with another silly origin
  • Good old Aunt May and her frail nonsense - Marvel sure knows how to drag out a thin plot line of sickly old woman
  • Without the inclusion of multi-issue story arcs, as mentioned in issue number 79, it leaves too much room for bland stories, such as this one
Oddities
  • The cops don't cuff Kangaroo for his ride on the train? Why would you ever not detain a prisoner?
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)







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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero File Cards - 1984 (Hasbro)



G.I. Joe File Cards
Hasbro
1984

We continue our year end wrap up with a look at the 1984 file cards for G.I. Joe. Is everyone having fun?

Believe it or not, despite my current vast collection of Joe and Cobra figures, by 1984, G.I. Joe still wasn't on my radar as a kid. Nope. I was still playing with Star Wars figures, loyal to the end. The only figure I had from this wave was the mail away hooded Cobra Commander, and I got him around 1986 or 1987. He was one of the very few mail away figure my mom ordered from the series.

With that said, there are some great figures in this wave that I truly enjoy, such as, Duke, Spirit, Baroness, Copperhead, Firefly, Scrap Iron, Storm Shadow and Zartan. Mind you, that's not to say that the rest are garbage. Each one fills a necessary role in my collection lineup.

1984's sales were also boosted with the aid of the follow up mini-series, The Revenge of Cobra, which aired from September 10th through September 14th. With it came a ton of new face, but none more important than the introduction of fan favorites, Shipwreck, Zartan and his band of Dreadnoks. Too bad we never got a Honda Lou West figure.

But, today is not about the toys. It's about those fantastically fact filled file cards. So, let's dig in!












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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 80

 

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 80
Release Date: January 1970 

Highlights
  • Chameleon returns for an all new crime caper
  • Peter and Gwen reconcile over Peter's mistake that she was dating Flash Thompson
  • Chameleon makes the mistake of disguising himself as the one person Spider-Man would immediately notice was a fake - Peter Parker
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)







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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 79

 

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 79
Release Date: December 1969 

Highlights

  • Second appearance of the Prowler
  • Spider-Man defeats and unmasks Hobie, but lets him go with the chance to change his ways
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Interesting blurb at the beginning of the issue where Marvel announces the story arc was initially planned to be three issues, but has been condensed into this final second part because they promised to no longer have continued stories in multiple issues
  • The Prowler thinks he's killed Peter Parker, and is upset about it, but his plan to clear his name is to capture Spider-Man and turn him into the police - How exactly does that clear his name of a murder charge?
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



 




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G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout

 

There's a new G.I. Joe game in town, Operation Blackout. For $39.99 or $49.99 (deluxe edition) you can either download or purchase a physical copy for Xbox One, Playstation 4 or Nintendo Switch.

The game features iconic Joe and Cobra characters, such as, Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlet, Roadblock, Destro, Cobra Commander, Baroness, Storm Shadow and a handful of others. However, that's where all the good things I can say about this game end.

The controls are absolutely terrible. Despite saying the game features an auto lock system, I didn't experience any sign of this. In fact, when I read it after playing part of the level, I found myself saying, "There's a lock on system? Is it on?" It was, it just stunk.

The enemy AI is generic in all basics of the term. For the most part, they all look the same, with only the slightest of variation in design very sporadically sprinkled about. They're also dumb as rocks. You could literally walk through this game if you wanted to.

Unfortunately, the CPU AI on your team isn't any better. Each level involves two Joe or Cobra characters working side by side to complete the mission. However, if you utilize the CPU as your partner, it will contribute nothing. To get around this, you can play co-op. However, only via couch co-op. Online co-op is nowhere to be found, and in this day and age of gaming, this is inexcusable. Especially in a game designed to be played as a team.

While I've only played the first level so far, the level design was so on the rails that I felt bored with it. It features game play, and quite frankly, graphics, straight out of the Playstation 2 / Xbox era. It was so dull that by the end of the mission I could care less about playing any further.

As I scrolled through the bios of the characters, I noted that each one had multiple weapon and body skins which could be unlocked either by finding hidden collectibles, game progression or completing certain levels with certain characters. Here in lied another problem. Many of the skins involved completing the same levels, just with a different Joe or Cobra. Ugh. The game doesn't feel worth playing once. I certainly don't want to do it twice!

If this were a twenty dollar budget game, I could potentially see some value here. However, at $40.00, or more for the deluxe edition, this game is nothing short of a complete rip off. I don't recommend this game to anyone. Not even hard core G.I. Joe fans. The only thing I think this will do is disappoint you. I know it certainly did me.

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 78

 

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 78
Release Date: November 1969 

Highlights

  • First appearance of the Prowler
  • Spider-Man tells us that the mystery of the petrified tablets is over - Thank goodness!
  • Origin of the Prowler, Hobie Brown
  • Peter thinks Gwen has lost interest in him and is seeing Flash Thompson, even though she's really meeting with him to ask about Peter
Low Points
  • Very stupid origin story - Window washer turned super villain so that his real identity self can pretend to find the loot and be a hero - Yet oddly still a good story to read
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



 




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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 77

 

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 77
Release Date: October 1969 

Highlights

  • Appearances of Lizard and Human Torch
Low Points
  • Human Torch is in full annoying mode in this issue. He won't take the hint that he's not wanted or needed
  • Average book at best
Oddities
  • In the middle of the fight Human Torch really thinks that Lizard is just going to stand there while Spider-Man explains to him why he doesn't want the Torch to interfere?
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)


 





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I Guess It's Free...A Snake Supreme Cobra Commander Update

 

As you may recall from my original review post on the G.I. Joe Classified Snake Supreme Cobra Commander, I mentioned the figure arrived broken, and that I had contacted Hasbro Pulse about it before even removing it from the box.

For a quick refresher, the problem was the plastic chain draped across the figure's chest. It arrived broken.


Though I got an auto response from the site ensuring me that despite high volumes of e-mails and calls that someone would get back to me, nobody ever did. I was left in limbo to wonder if a live person had even seen my correspondence.

Well, it's a good thing I paid with PayPal. Because while Hasbro decided it wasn't worth their time to respond, PayPal did. After filing a dispute and going through the normal process of them reaching out to Hasbro, and waiting for a response, they gave me a full refund. I guess Hasbro didn't feel it was worth their time to respond to PayPal either.

At the end of the day, my figure is still broken, which wasn't the desired outcome of this. I didn't want the figure for free, and it does me no good in the long run. Either way, I have to replace it - Apparently at scalper rates now.

It would have been ideal for Hasbro to contact me and arrange for a replacement, but I guess they had no interest in doing so. Even as of today I've not heard from anyone. Ultimately, this is a lesson learned that their customer support simply doesn't exist, which is obviously a problem if you're going to buy from them.

The lesson to take away from this post is that if you're going to buy from Hasbro Pulse, use PayPal. It's the only recourse you're going to have if and when you run into a problem with what you receive.

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G.I. Joe Classified: Profit Director Destro

 

Profit directing ain't easy. Unless of course, you're Destro. Then you have money to burn.

I'd be lying if I said I was excited to have another Destro so soon in the G.I. Joe Classified series. While I have a special place in my heart for the gold headed version of the character, as the 1988 Iron Grenadiers version was the only Destro I had as a kid, I would have preferred Hasbro's efforts be put into a character not already introduced into the series. Especially sine this particular figure is just a repaint.

But, before I get into that, let's start with the packaging.

Though in line with the overall design of the packaging to date, Profit Director Destro's box features a gold foil shimmer to it. Since the figure costs $5.00 more than your average Classified figure, I'm guessing this is where your money goes. Disappointing to say the least. If I'm going to pay more money for a toy, I'd like it to be for the contents inside. Not the box itself.

Still no sign of any new characters on the back. As such, we're still limited to the crumbs that Hasbro will throw at us. I said it before, and I'll say it again - Why the secrecy? Not everything has to be a big announcement event. Just show us on the back of the card what we can expect this year.


Profit Director Destro isn't part of any particular wave. He's more so a one-off release. However, number wise, he is respectfully labeled fifteen. This puts him after the Amazon exclusive Arctic Mission Storm Shadow, but before the recently announced Cobra Infantry, Zartan, Firefly and Viper, which we still don't know the numbers for.



With exception of a paint job, and a couple new accessories, Profit Direct Destro is the exact same as the figure we originally got. However, it's worth noting that the figure is based on the run change version, which removes the circle from the top of the figure's head.

Paint wise, the design is based on the variant version of 1997's Destro V5, which fans have come to dub Pimp Daddy Destro. Much like that character, Profit Director Destro is decked out in that red and leopard paint motif. It's unique, I'll give it that.





Accessories wise, Destro comes with the same pistol and case that came with the original release. While the pistol is the same color it's always been, the case has been changed from black to gold. It's an unfortunate aspect, but the red Cobra logo on the case has been painted over in solid gold as well. I think that would have looked really nice in contrast with the case color. It also would have made it "pop" more.

The final three accessories are all new to the figure. These are his purple tinted shades, a burning wad of cash and a leopard cape. The cape fits snug over the shoulders of the figure, and the glasses, while easily knocked off, fit perfectly over the bridge of the nose and top of the ears.

When decked out, Profit Director Destro definitely looks cool. But again, did we really need a second version this soon? I'm also not big on the price hike for the sake of shiny packaging. However, with that said, overall, it's an awesome figure and I totally dig it.

Now if you want to give me more variants, bring on the Cold Slither Drednoks! But until we get those, what are your thoughts on this updated version of Destro?

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Retro Spins: Cocktail



Whatever happened to Elizabeth Shue?

Tom Cruise is electrifying as Brian Flanagan, a young, confident and ambitious bartender who, with the help of a seasoned pro (Bryan Brown - Gorillas in the Mist), becomes the toast of Manhattan's Upper East Side. But when he moves to Jamaica and meets an independent artist (Elizabeth Shue - Adventures in Babysitting), their vivid romance brings a new perspective to the self-centered bartender's life. Sizzling with high-powered performances and a #1 hit soundtrack, the box office blockbuster Cocktail has it all! - Back of the original VHS

The soundtrack for Cocktail stands out like a sore thumb on a shelf - but in a good way. It's bright blue back ground and neon pink outline can't help but get your attention. Now if only we could get Tom Cruise off of it, it could almost be the perfect design.

What put this album on my radar was the two tracks, Kokomo from the Beach Boys and Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobbie McFarrin. These are two staples of the late 80's, but not top rankers on my personal favorites 80's music list.

Truth be told, it's not a bad album. It has some decent tracks on it and I ended up adding a few of them to my iTunes and iPod mixes. Obviously two of them I've mentioned above. The other two are Oh, I Love You So by  Preston Smith and Tutti Fruitti by Little Richard. Overall though, I didn't hear anything I hated.

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Serves You Right, Scalper!

 

I don't make it a habit to take pleasure in someone else's misery. However, when I come across a scalper trying to make a quick buck on collectors, I'll take those victories when I see them.

One such incident occurred today, when I came across the listing of ebay user, steelcountry1. Ol' Steely here had a set of the wave two G.I. Joe Classified figures, Cobra Commander, Gung Ho and Red Ninja, and was looking to do a little flipping on ebay. Unfortunately, what he didn't take into consideration was the luck of the draw when it comes to listing items as an auction, and not a buy it now.

This particular ebay seller's listing ended at the total sale price of $61.99. Yup. Just a whopping dollar ninety-nine above retail, give or take a few pennies. Mind you, that's before taxes, ebay fees, PayPal fees, and a big ol' F U for being a scalper.

Let's look at this from a bigger picture. Scalpy here paid $19.99 per figure, a total of $59.97 for all three. He then paid out an additional 9% for Huntsville, Alabama sales tax in the amount of $5.40. Right there, that's a grand total of $65.37. While ebay will charge the buyer sales tax, none of that will go back in the pocket of the seller. So right off the bat, he's down $3.38 for his sale.

Now take into consideration that ebay is going to charge him around 10% for the privilege to sell on their site. So go ahead and deduct an additional $6.20 from that final bid price. He's now down to $55.79!

Don't smile yet. It gets better. Now tack on the 2.9% plus thirty cents per transaction fee PayPal is going to hit him with. Mind you, that fee is based on the $61.99 selling price. Not the selling price less ebay fees. That's another $1.80 plus the thirty cents, for a total of $2.10 in fees!

Let's add all that up. Starting with the sale price we have $61.99, less ebay fees of $6.20, less PayPal fees of $2.10, equals $53.69.

M'k, now let's take retail price of $59.97 and add our $5.40 in sales tax for a total of $65.73. Now the real basics of it come together. $65.73 total out of pocket expense versus recouped money of $53.69 after fees. Total loss to the seller is a net of negative $12.04.

Love it! Take that, scalper! That's what you get for inserting yourself into a hobby you have no vested interest in beyond trying to make a few bucks - Which you failed spectacularly at!

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