The Mostly-Complete Dino Drac Archives.

Five Random Action Figures, Part 5!

I was supposed to see Pacific Rim tonight. Then our plans changed. Then I went on Wikipedia and read every single thing that happens. On the idiocy scale of 1 to 10, I like spaghetti. I’m seeing it tomorrow, but I’m still pissed enough to let those feelings seep into this fucking artic

The Popsicle Parade – Part 3!

It’s been a while since the last edition of The Popsicle Parade, and summer isn’t getting any younger. Here are five more treats from yesteryear’s ice cream trucks, represented by big yellow stickers that photograph horribly! #16: Firecracker! If you think this one’s boring, it�

Realm of the Underworld Figures!

You’ve surely noticed the slew of “independent” toy lines that have materialized in recent years. You know, the kind you see funded by Kickstarter campaigns, which often take inspiration from retro lines? I won’t pretend that there’s never a dud, but so many of these “microbrew

Deadsites #4: Edy’s Godzilla Ice Cream!

I’m no fan of Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla, but man, I wanted to be. I saw it way late, and hoped that its parade of awful reviews were only written by people who’d either “missed the point” or were inherently joyless. Nah. It really was terrible. But that doesn’t damper my memor

Deadsites #3: The Craft Movie Site!

Today on Deadsites: The official site for The Craft, a film about disenfranchised high school teens who change their fortunes with witchcraft. In more direct terms: Fairuza Balk, hamming it up as a black magician. So of course I loved it. The Craft came out in 1996, as did its website. It

Deadsites #2: Pepsi Blue’s Official Site!

Deadsites rages on with its second edition. Today’s website is about old soda and Papa Roach. No guesses? Fine. Here’s an obnoxiously tall hint: Yep, we’re about to revisit the official website of PEPSI BLUE, from 2002! I wrote about this stuff when it was brand new. (I’m old, you

Deadsites #1: Lake Placid Movie Site!

It’s a theme that’s come up once or twice in past articles, but I adore it too much. I must beat it into the ground. Presenting Dino Drac’s latest recurring feature: DEADSITES. Through the power of the Wayback Machine, we’re going to look at lots of old, dead websites. Why? Becaus

ID4 Alien Supreme Commander!

With mere hours until July 4th, it’s only fitting that I finally write something about one of my favorite movies, Independence Day. Maybe “favorite” is a strong word, but I saw that film in theaters no less than ten times. I memorized every line, right down to Bill Pullman’

Vintage Vending #15: Pom Poms!

The first sentence is always hardest, unless you kill it with bullshit like this. Today on Vintage Vending, meet the Pom Poms! Six adorably fuzzy beasts from God knows where, ready to offer us love and companionship! Their feet are stickers! We’ll see more of them in a bit. First, we got

Impossibly Pink Rice Krispies Treats.

It all started with the marshmallows. Kraft’s “Strawberry Mallows” are pinker than pigs, and I can never say no to a new type of marshmallow. (I understand that these might not be new, but I’d never seen them before this weekend.) It’s a sick habit, really it is. I don’t even l

Dino Drac Visits Point Pleasant – Part 2!

Here’s the second half of my Point Pleasant trip report. Better late than never? Is this not exactly the type of infectious enthusiasm that keeps you coming back for more?

Dino Drac Visits Point Pleasant – Part 1!

We went to Point Pleasant last weekend. I saw too many great things for just one post, so come back tomorrow for Part 2! Never heard of Point Pleasant? It’s a beach town in New Jersey, but when I say “Point Pleasant,” I’m specifically referring to its boardwalk, stuffed with games,

The 5 best Shamu items on eBay.

I hate that I’ve learned too much to support the concept of captive killer whales being made to perform circus tricks. As a kid, I truly believed that Shamu enjoyed jumping through hoops. The entire SeaWorld brand was built around Shamu, and it’s been a Shamu-fest over there for decade

Matt’s Medium Adventure!

A few weeks ago, Ms. X and I agreed to help a relative get to and from the hospital for a minor surgery. Yesterday was the day. There were no complications, but the procedure ended up taking four times longer than everyone expected. That left us with several hours to drive around the area,

THE ULTIMATE TERMINATOR.

The only flaw is that he doesn’t stand very well. To keep the figure upright involved the kind of ballet-level tip-toeing that I previously never knew I was capable of. There’s a reason you’ve never seen anyone rain dance around an upright ULTIMATE TERMINATOR.

Watermelon Oreo Cookies!

I’ve received no less than two dozen messages from readers eager to hear my thoughts about Nabisco’s new Watermelon Oreos. And if we remove the word “dozen” from the preceding statement, it’d actually be true. Behold, Watermelon Oreo cookies. On one hand bizarre, yet still perfec

Vintage Vending #14: Magic Tricks and Jokes!

The “Magic Tricks and Jokes” assortment is like an old Johnson Smith ad come to life. The collective charm far outweighs the fact that every item on the card is a hunk of junk, at least in the practical sense.

Red, White & Berry Pop-Tarts!

I found patriotic Pop-Tarts. Okay, so exactly how popular are Pop-Tarts, anyway? I can’t name another food that gets anywhere near this many special editions. Kellogg’s goes nuts for every holiday, and I don’t just mean the big ones. If it’s on the calendar – any calendar – Kel

Dino Drac goes to the zoo!

In the zoo’s reptile wing, I was mesmerized by this Gila Monster, a venomous lizard with a taste for bird eggs. While technically dangerous, the Gila Monster’s scary reputation is based more on myth than fact.

The Legend of Zelda!

While digging through some more old storage bins, I came across that. The Legend of Zelda, for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Finding an old Zelda cartridge might normally only be cause for a passing smile, but this was different. This was 100% complete, in its original box, with the m