Oh Skids you poor dear you – always overlooked. Skids remains to this day perhaps the least well known and recognisable of the Autobots from the 84/85 G1 cartoon. With very brief and unmemorable appearances in only 2 episodes, even the likes ofGrapple and Huffer have proven more popular and its only hardcore G1 & Comic enthusiasts who really know who Skids is. Skids appeared in the Movieverse as well but, besides a similar alt-mode, had nothing in common with his G1 counterpart and is a distorted version of the character everyone would like to forget.
However Skids has managed to do something that Hoist, Trailbreaker and even Jazz have not – he’s got himself a Masterpiece toy! So let’s have a squiz at the new MP Skids.
Skids turns into a fairly realistic rendition of a 1980’s Honda City Turbo hatchback. Whilst not a sexy sportscar, it’s a pretty nice looking vehicle form. What I particularly like is the sloping roof and front grill.
Different parts of Skids open up as well, much like an Alternators figure. The side doors open, the bonnet opens to reveal an engine inside and the hatchback opens to reveal storage space. This storage space will contain a little scooter in the retools of Skids such as Crosscut, and it is a shame Skids did not come with one himself.
Because Skids appeared so little and so infrequently in the cartoon, the designers were not forced to incorporate all the different gimmicks shown on screen, like with so many other Masterpiece figures. So Skids is very basic in that he comes with no interchangeable faces, no special gimmicks and only his two guns like the original toy had.
That said it’s a very nice looking figure with articulation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles, making him very easy to pose.
Much more basic than a lot of other Masterpiece figures, but not irritatingly simple either. In fact I find it a nice change of pace for a MP to have a straightforward transformation with a few clever moves (such as his ankles and shoulders) rather than something overcomplicated which is going to require you give up a portion of your day to complete.
Skids is perhaps the most basic Masterpiece we’ve had in a long time, harkening back to the days of MP Sideswipe. He is pretty no-frills with no interchangeable faceplates, special gimmicks, intricate engineering or vast assortment of accessories. However what he is also lacking is the exorbitant price tag that most MP’s go for as well.
I*’m the cheap one
At around $100au he’s eminently more affordable than most of his counterparts. Add to that a fun and straightforward transformation and Skids becomes a breath of fresh air in a line that is replete with expensive and often overly complicated figures. Skids is well worth his reasonable price tag and a welcome addition to the MP Autobot Cars line-up.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
Many, many years ago I was trying my hand at stand-up comedy. Though I had always found it easy to be the funniest guy in the room, I often had trouble transferring that skill to behind the mic.
In the late 90’s I tried a skit out – ‘Big Angry Trev the Feminist’. In it I would berate the men in the audience at length in satirical ways, one of which was to physically attack them. For this I used Toby.
BEHOLD MY MAGESTY!
Toby, procured at a sex shop for about sixty bucks, was a 1 foot long, huge rubber cock. Where the name Toby came from I can’t remember, but I called it that once and the name stuck. In my skit I would run out into the audience and hit men over the head with Toby, yelling random arguments about how men in society are always metaphorically beating women over the head with their phallus’s at any given moment, so now it was their turn.
Some comedians had advanced animatronic puppets -my budget was much lower
The humour was supposed to work via the men nervously laughing or getting embarrassed by my actions, which would then lead me into more tirades while the rest of the audience would laugh at my victim’s obvious discomfort. It didn’t work. I was playing to Uni crowds after all, and more often than not the guys I would attack Toby with would take Toby out of my hands with zero discomfort and pretend to fellate him (note by now Toby had become a ‘him’ rather than an ‘it’). Between this and actual feminists in the audience being somewhat unimpressed by my portrayal of being one of their number, the act soon died and Toby was retired from showbiz after only half a dozen outings.
No autographs!
Retired from Showbiz? Yes. Retired from life? Absolutely not! Toby had become something of a mascot of the household and, given my propensity to constantly have mates over as well as throw a big party every few months, Toby gained something of a cult following amongst my frequent visitors.
Toby also came to live in the fridge, my thinking being that ‘who wants a big sweaty cock sitting around in the heat?’. It was amazing just how many housemates over the years were perfectly fine with this! So, unless busy with his social obligations entertaining guests, Toby always had a prime position on the top shelf of the fridge, which he inhabited for well over a decade. This went on for so many years across so many share-houses that it became normalized practice. If someone new to the social group expressed surprise or puzzlement about there being a giant rubber cock in the fridge, they would be treated by others with bemusement. ‘That’s Toby’ they would be informed matter-of-factly, as if it was perfectly natural for a foot-long rubber dick to live in the fridge next to the cheese and margarine.
Rug up Toby – its a bit chilly, you wouldn’t want shrinkage now would you?
In 2003 I travelled overseas to do Stand Up Comedy and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland – a dream come true! As I was staying on to backpack around Europe for an extra year after the festival concluded, all my worldly possessions here in Australia went into storage. But a couple of friends volunteered to babysit Toby while I was away. Toby enjoyed his time there, especially when they started making little costumes for him to wear and photoshopped albums of him!
Sadly Toby has since met his end. When my fiancé and I got pets circa 2008, poor Toby was no longer the cute baby of the household and was carried around and coddled much less, though still got a bit of attention.
Napping with our cat on the couch.
When we had children of our own several years later I didn’t think appropriate to store Toby in the fridge next to our infants milk bottles, so he lost his longtime home and got stored in the farm shed instead. A year after that when I randomly unearthed him, rats had obviously been at him and the rubber was gnawed in a dozen places up and down his shaft (ouch!). Thus, after 15 years, Toby was put to his final rest.
“Goodbye my beloved child, I shall weep for thee”
But the legend of Toby lives on! And it would be nice to think that there is, like his original purpose called for, a bit of Toby deep up inside each and every one of us.
Got something to say about this post? Or perhaps you are a friend of Toby’s from the old days? Pop it in the comments section below!
In these days of people becoming more health-conscious and turning to alternative eating styles such as veganism, it can be damn hard to find a restaurant to do you a decent sized steak (event he King’s Hotel doesn’t do their kilo steak anymore). In fact it seems the very biggest you can usually find is about 400gm. 400 measly grams – why don’t I just eat a pink cupcake and wash it down with magical unicorn juice while wearing a tutu?!
So, to get a decent sized steak it seems one must cook it oneself. Of course this means that you can cook the steak to your own liking and make sure it comes out perfect!
Be still my beating heart (no, not from a coronary!)
Today on Big Angry Trev’s Fine Dinin’ we are going to look at how to cook a 900gm Tomahawk Steak. Oh hells yes! This recipe results in the steak being cooked just that bit more than medium rare, so it is lightly browned the whole way through, so adjust your cooking times accordingly as to how you like your steak.
Watch the video below and then at the bottom of the page find a more detailed description of how to go about evenly cooking such a thick piece of meat.
Method
*Rub salt into the steak thoroughly on both sides at least 20 minutes before cooking.
*Preheat your BBQ and have the flame on its lowest possible setting
*Place the steak on the metal plate side of the BBQ. Close the top and slowly cook for 30 minutes
*Open lid. Flip steak. Add onions and asparagus and close for another 20 minutes.
*Turn grill side of BBQ up to maximum. Move steak over and sear on each side for 30 seconds each.
*Serve. Eat.
“I’m sexy and I know it”
A big steak like that is a delight for the whole family! Yes I ate it on my own but I let my daughter gnaw at it a little and our dog got the bone afterwards so everybody wins – enjoy!
Ghostbusters fans aren’t as hardcore as say those of Star Trek, Star Wars or even Transformers, but they are a loyal bunch. The 80’s movies, along with the cartoon, are still much beloved and fondly remembered to this day.
Yes I am one of those fans
Many fans had hoped the franchise would be revitalized in 2016 with the new Ghostbusters Movie: Answer the Call. Instead they got a box-office flop filled with toilet humor and forced jokes, tarnished further with constant social media bickering and cries of ‘misogyny’ whenever anyone dared to criticize the film, whatever their gender.
With this utter failure to revitalize the franchise, many Ghostbusters fans resigned themselves to the idea that Ghostbusters, much like the creatures they hunt, was dead. But never underestimate the appeal of making more money to Hollywood, and thus in 2021 (a 2022 release here in Australia) we received Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Unlike Answer the Call, Afterlife is not another reboot attempt but a continuation of the original films universe. In fact this movie, despite having predominantly an entire new cast, could be best summed up as a 2-hour love letter to the original 1984 film. Whilst new viewers will no doubt enjoy the movie, it is very much aimed at existing fans and those hardcore Ghostbusters nuts will spend their time picking up on a thousand Easter Eggs that reference the first Ghostbusters Movie – everything from stacked books to a collection of spores, molds and fungus.
The story center’s around Egon Spengler, one of the original Ghostbusters, who was played by Harold Ramis and the only star of the first two movies to have passed on. Egon has become a recluse in an old farmhouse and very early in the movie gets killed by a Hellhound in a way instantly recognizable to fans of the original flick. Thus to all but the uninitiated one becomes immediately aware of who the main bad guy (or girl – its whatever it wants to be) is going to turn out to be.
From Ghostbuster to Dirt Farmer
Enter Egon’s estranged daughter and her two children. Being broke and evicted from their home, they have come to sort through Egon’s possessions in the hopes of finding enough items of value to pay off their debts. Phoebe, the 12 year old daughter, is the star of the show and instantly recognizable as Egon’s granddaughter with her round glasses and odd behavioral patterns.
Over the next hour of the movie we watch Phoebe, guided by whom she soon realises is her grandfather’s invisible ghost, discover her families past and learn the ways of busting, aided by her summer-school teacher and new school-friend Podcast. Her older brother Trevor meanwhile resurrects Ecto-1 and the busting is back on! This is a movie of likable characters, all of whom bring something to the story and help the humor and the plot move along nicely.
Nice to see kids actually get outdoors and play!
For those looking for a brand new Ghostbusters experience, they may be somewhat let down. This movie is very much about the main character discovering her past and uncovering that once again Gozer is looking to conquer Earth. She hunts ‘Muncher’, whom appears the be the metal-eating version of Slimer, all while uncovering more about her grandfather and how he has been holding Gozer at bay single-handed for many years. Same equipment, same main bad guys – it is less a new take and more a trip down memory lane. It is nice to see Ecto-1’s abilities showcased more, now displaying the gunners seat it had in the original 80’s cartoon.
How much would you pay to ride in that seat eh!
The movie culminates in the face off with Gozer, though apparently she forgot to grab herself a Destructor form this time around. Just when things look lost who shows up – Ray, Peter and Winston! And when they don’t prove enough Egon’s ghost finally makes a visual appearance and the four originals, along with Phoebe, take Gozer down for good. Cap it off with an emotional scene with the living Ghostbusters and Egon’s family talking to their departed love one and that’s a wrap folks!
As stated at the start of this review, this is a very Egon-centric movie. Given Harold Ramis is no longer with us the special-effects crew did an astounding job of creating a ghost version of Dr Spengler and it is a very emotional moment when he appears at the films climax. Yes, I’ll put my hand up that I did have tears in my eyes, even my wife cried too and she’s not the rabid fan I am. Seeing Venkhman, Zeddemore and Stanz firing their proton packs alongside a spectral Spengler really tugs at the nostalgic heartstrings and one can understand why so many fans have reported leaving the cinema with a lump in their throats. The movie is not only a love letter to the 1984 Ghostbusters Movie but to Harold Ramis himself, and one could imagine that if ghosts really did exist, then Harold’s ghost would be very moved indeed.
Is this movie worth watching? If you are a fan of the original movies then definitely – it pays homage to everything you loved, though perhaps is the first ever part of the Ghostbusters franchise to lack Slimer even having a cameo. Whilst the pace of the first half could have been better and it would have been good to see a wider variety of ghosts near the end, this movie ticks all the nostalgic boxes. If you are hoping for an all-new Ghostbusters experience then you will find this movie entertaining enough, but lacking the depth that hardcore fans will undoubtedly find within it. If the 2016 movie was more your cup of tea then don’t bother with this film, with no new gimmicks and no subpar slapstick comedy, this movie about a 12-year old girl is probably too mature to entertain.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 proton packs.
Got something to say about this movie? Pop it in the comments section below!
