Random Stuff

Christmas Eve, 1986. That was the big one. My family’s biggest Christmas party ever, with a houseful of rarely seen aunts and uncles, kids under every table, well-wishing passersby, one dog and two ferrets. It was insane. One of my cousins filmed the highlights on our clunky Panasonic vi

If you could use a pick-me-up this holiday season, gimme your money! (UNITED STATES ONLY. LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE!) Dino Drac’s November 2016 Funpack is available now! For the few newbies: I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there would be no Dino Drac! In return for your patrona

In December of 1990, I borrowed my brother-in-law’s camcorder to film Animation Wars and Animation Wars: Part II. Now there’s an opener you didn’t expect. Watch ‘em both, down below: I was already dabbling with stop-motion shorts before then, but after learning that my brother-in-l

I have a story for you. It’s pretty long, so sit down and for God’s sake close your other tabs. It’s about ALF. Gordon Motherfuckin’ Shumway. I haven’t written much about ALF on Dino Drac, but make no mistake, he was my main dude. ALF was my hero and my muse, and his TV show<

My buddy Matt let me borrow some tapes that his family recorded back in the mid ‘80s, which is seriously the best thing anyone could let me borrow. Like holy shit. I need three external hard drives and cake. I’ve only begun to sort through the goodies, but I already found one of my un

Remember when Ghostbusters Cereal had those sweet holographic boxes? It wasn’t just Ghostbusters Cereal, either. By the end of the ‘80s, Ralston had blessed no less than four other brands with the same treatment: Nintendo Cereal System, Cookie Crisp, Dinersaurs (dinosaurs who operated

If your heart says “Halloween” but your brain won’t let you fully commit in August, I have just the thing for you! Dino Drac’s August Funpack blends summer with autumn, and should give you just enough spooky fuel to get through this miserable month! (AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES

Dinosaur Dracula’s 2016 Halloween Countdown begins on Saturday, August 27th! I have such sights to show you! Just… not quite yet. 🙂 So, a warning: Most of August will be pretty light on the content front. Once the Countdown starts, I’m married to the site through the end of Decemb

When I think about my place in the world during the early ‘90s — let’s say from the 5th through the 9th grade — I’m revolted but appreciative. Revolted, because those were tough, lonely years, when I was as goofy and awkward as I’ll hopefully ever be. Too alien to mesh

It’s hard to believe, but with the arrival of Dino Drac’s July Funpack, I’ve now been doing these for a full two years. WOW. I never expected that this would go on for so long, and I can’t thank all of my subscribers enough. You’ve kept Dino Drac afloat for far longer than its pr

I get the strangest care packages! My good pal Jerrod K. accurately predicted that I’d be so into this. A pile of Sunday newspaper ads from July 11th, 1993! They were all in gem mint condition, and though I suppose I could just ask, it’s more fun to simply wonder why he had a newspaper

Running Dino Drac takes lots of time, money and blood sacrifices, so if you enjoy what I do here, the best way to keep it going is by subscribing to Dino Drac’s Funpacks. June’s looking like a good month to start! ($25 MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION BOX. UNITED STATES ONLY.) The quick-and-dirty:

The wait is over! The latest Dino Drac Funpack has arrived! (AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY!) Quick and dirty info: I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there’d be no Dino Drac. In trade for your support, you’ll get weird and awesome boxes stuffed with all sorts of retro nonsen

We adopted a new cat. She doesn’t have a name yet, though we’re testing out several. “Storm” is among the contenders, so for the moment, let’s just call her that. Adopting a new cat was not at all on our radar. During a weak moment, I started looking over a list of shelter cats i

We spent Sunday in Atlantic City, taking advantage of a free room offer from The Borgata. Sometimes you just crave a hotel bed, y’know? The cold, windy weather left the boardwalk pretty empty, but I wasn’t about to miss out on crane games and Atlantic City’s infamous souvenir shops.

I guess Saturday night is a stupid time for a product launch, but whatever, I’ll live. Dino Drac’s April 2016 Funpack is here! (AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY!) You all know the drill by now, right? I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there’d be no Dino Drac. Subscriptio

Tonight’s article is about ssseven sssensational sssnakes. Specifically, monster snakes from all walks of pop culture, and by that I don’t just mean “very large snakes.” (You won’t find the Basilisk on this list.) I was more interested in unearthing creatures that were predominan

After my TMNT eBay romp, reader/pal Sammy Hain suggested doing one for The Simpsons. I’m so game. Below are some of the most interesting pieces of Simpsons memorabilia currently on eBay. I stuck with stuff from the show’s earliest years, when Homer and Bart were still the coolest dud

Below: Seven of the most interesting TMNT items currently on eBay. I can afford nearly none of them. TMNT Sewer Hockey! Asking Price: $224.99 Table hockey is fun under any guise, but when your team includes the likes of Casey Jones and Genghis Frog, you’re compelled to never stop playin

If you dig what I do here on Dinosaur Dracula, the best way to make sure that I keep at it is by subscribing to Dino Drac’s monthly Funpacks. If you’re new to the game, you picked the right month. March’s Funpack is killer! Be warned, though — there aren’t m

Being a comic reader and a comic collector can indeed be different things, but in the early ‘90s, I was both. Lured in by Marvel’s cosmic epics and sustained by all of those foil covers and bagged “exclusives,” this was a time when comics were white hot, and when every kid lived wi

I spent $100 on Ninja Turtles pork rinds. Actually, with shipping, I spent $104. Distributed by Rolets in 1990, the pork rinds were meant to promote the first Ninja Turtles movie. (First and still the best, IMO.) While something pizza-related was obviously a more natural fit — and t

If you like Smurfs, Star Wars and swamp monsters, good news! Dino Drac’s February 2016 Funpack has all three! If you haven’t been paying attention, I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there’d be no Dino Drac! (The modest ads you see on this site do not at all cover ev

For wrestling fans in the ‘80s, it didn’t get any better than Saturday Night’s Main Event. Run as late night specials on NBC with no set schedule, the WWF famously took over Saturday Night Live’s time slot, which both legitimized the product and gave kids the excuse to treat midni

On Sunday morning, me and Jay visited yet another comic book show, this time in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Honestly, the big draw for me was that the show was staged from a Holiday Inn. I am all about random hobbyist conventions taking place at minor hotels. Those are the types of show