Peter Piper Pizza - Memories Snowball Effect

I recently found this cute little PPP (Peter Piper Pizza) mascot to add to the food mascot plush collection.  He was 50 cents at the DI, score!

When I was a kid we didn't visit the Sandy City PPP very often, so it was always a special occasion.  A while back PPP closed all stores in Utah, and I thought they were done, but they do still have locations in other states, and even in Mexico. 

I didn't even know PPP had a dino mascot.  I used to own a Little Caesar mascot as a kid.  I would love to complete the pizza trinity with Little Caesar and The Noid.  Or better yet, some Rock-a-Fire Explosion plushies!  I wouldn't pass up Chuck-E-Cheese plush toys either...

Anyhoo, PPP was my earliest memories of playing Mario Brothers on an original arcade machine.  When I couldn't go to PPP, I would challenge my brother to play the 2-player battle mode on SMB3 (Super Mario Brothers 3).  I played that game to death! 

The moral of the story is pizza places were awesome back in the 80s and 90s, and they are pretty lack luster now.  That may be my nostalgia talking, but I think pizza places are a lot less fun now.  We still have a local Jungle Jim's.  That place is falling apart now, and the rides and games are pretty lame.

When I searched for commercials online I found a bunch of weird YouTube videos about Caillou and family misbehaving at PPP... The internet is a strange place.

During my research (Google searches) I found out that PPP bought out the other PPP (Pistol Pete's Pizza).  Check out this awesome commercial!  I really wish I could have tried it before it disappeared. (Pete's also featured the Rock-A-Fire Explosion.  I thought the show was exclusively at Showbiz Pizza.  The More You Know!)

Anyone remember Discovery Zone?  It was a sad day when the Sandy Mall location closed.

N64 Wish List

I have been wanting to post something to my blog lately.  N64 has been on my mind, and the games I want and don't currently have keep coming to mind.  I'm a gonna list them off, okay?  Let's a go!

If you know of any other great N64 games I should get please let me know in the comments below!

1. Mario Kart 64 - No brainer really.  I played this a lot and have lost my copy.  I need a new cart.
2. Bomberman 64 - That multiplayer!  So good!
3. Paper Mario - I was anti Paper Mario back in the day, because I was mad that it wasn't Mario RPG 2.  Now I have since played Paper Mario: The 1,000 Year Door and really liked it.  Now I want to try the 1st Paper version of Mario.  Still have never played the original Paper Mario!
4. Goemon's Great Adventure - Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was fantastic!  I really want to play the sequel.  I wish it wasn't so hard to find and expensive.
5. Superman 64 - If I find it for super duper cheap.  Just to have it.  I played it once, my friend rented it from Blockbuster.  So terrible.  Gotta have it
6. Troublemakers - I have heard a lot about this title, wan't to try it out
7. Space Station Silicon Valley - I have heard a lot about this title, wan't to try it out
8. Mario Party 1, 2, & 3 - I have played these a little bit (Blockbuster).  Pretty fun.  I think it would be fun to play with the kids.
9. Banjo Kazooie and Tooie - I only ever played a demo version of the 1st game at Shopko.  Looks pretty fun honestly.
10. Jet Force Gemini - I had a copy of this game and played it a bit.  I think I sold it because I was bored with it.  I want to give it another chance though
11. Smash Brothers - Never owned a copy.  Always played at a friends house or borrowed their copy.  Gotta find a copy of my own.
12. Resident Evil 2 - My first RE game, good times!  I lent my copy to a friend and never saw it again.  I have the GameCube port, but I would still like to play on the ol' N64 again.
13. Diddy Kong Racing - Mario Kart totally overshadowed this one for me.  I would like to try it, I hear it's great.
14. Gauntlet Dark Legacy - This games was the perfect 4 player! 
15. Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - The slightly better, with more content, of the 2 N64 Castlevania games.  Die hard Castlevania fans seem to hate this game, but I love it!
16. N64 Passport - Allows you to play games from other regions on your console.  Neat!
17. Game Shark - I remember the Game Genie with fondness.  I never would have beaten Ninja Gaiden without it! The Game Shark would be a riot to mess around with my old favorite games!
18. Star Wars: Shadows of The Empire - Seriously my favorite Star Wars game ever!  I don't know why, but I had such a great time playing this game.  I remember having some fun with glitches and cheat codes when playing this.

Nerd Cave Progress - January 2018

Construction of the DI Treasures Nerd Cave has begun, in the only room on the apartment available, the unfinished basement storage room.  At least the kids can't get in and destroy (although they have broken off the child lock before.  I'm sure it's only a matter of time until that happens again). 

 BARF!

 Real life, it can be ugly.

Robo Rally, safe from the children.

It is a work in progress, still mostly a cluttered storage room, but things are starting to fall into place.  I scored a free TV with 2 AV inputs, so I have hooked up my N64 and PS2 slim for games and as a DVD/CD player.  I need more extension cords and a couch and or comfy chair.  A couch would be a challenge squeezing through the narrow entry way to the basement.

We'll see how far I can come in another month.

Do you have a Nerd Cave?  What is it like?  Where can I see pictures?  Have you been relegated to the basement? 

Flashback Thursday: Elementary School Christmas Ornaments

I spotted these ornaments are my parents' during Christmas 2017. The bear and snowflake are paper, but the tree is painted wood.  All featuring your's truly in different larval stages, a different hair style for each year of elementary school.  My current hair style is short, with a little "fwoosh" in front.

Funko Pops I Might Actually Want

1. Resident Evil Tyrant, Licker, Nemesis, and Hunter
2. GPK Teevee Stevie
3. The Ghostbusters Slimer & Staypuft Marshmellow Man
4. Krampus
5. Monster Cereals Monsters
6. Gravity Falls Bill Cypher
7. Dr. Who TARDIS
8. Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, & , Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde

Toy Life Goals 2018: Return of The Nerd Cave

Last summer we had to move out of the house we were renting and moved into a condo/townhome rental.  We were quite sad to lose the huge, fenced in back yard, and I lost my finished attic Nerd Cave.

Fortunately our new place has a nice spacious unfinished room in the basement.  The bad news is all my geeky stuff is stored in boxes in that dingy, dark basement.  This year I want to organize, purge, and tidy up the remains of my nerd cave.  I will draw inspiration from other nerd caves and will be saving hardcore to buy a home.  We likely won't be able to afford a new home until 2019, but the goal is finally insight and things are looking up.

So, I will feature a different nerd cave on the blog each month to analyze and glean insight from.  I have one picked out for January 2018, so stay tuned (http://lunacityarcade.com/).

Do you have a nerd cave or a man/woman cave?  Or are you in the same boat, with everything is just stored away in boxes?

Netflix The Toys That Made Us

The Toys That Made Us is an episodic documentary series on Netflix about some of the legendary toys from our past.  If you are a toy fan, I highly recommend it!

Episode 1 - Star Wars: This episode was fantastic, and I learned a few things I didn't know about the original Star Wars toy line history. Definitely my favorite episode, even though I am not a big Star Wars toy collector, I do love Star Wars.

Episode 2 - Barbie: This episode was very interesting, even though I am not a Barbie fan.  WARNING: some of the subject matter in this episode is not appropriate for children.

Episode 3 - He-Man: Pretty good episode. Fair warning, a few F-bombs are dropped here.

Episode 4 - G.I. Joe: Can't go wrong with G.I. Joe, I enjoyed this episode

There will be 8 episodes in all.  As of now, only the first 4 episodes are available.

Have you seen the series yet?  What did you think?  Do you have a favorite episode?  What toys made you?