March 17, 2009

A Side of Guacamole: Daily Sizzle Response

As you know, the Daily Sizzle is a feature here on FM where one of us (usually RP) will post and rant about something that has set us off for the day. A Side of Guacamole (are you sensing a theme here?) is a chance for one of us to post a response to the Daily Sizzle. As a response, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a counter-point, but just relevant information to the conversation.

RP posted an excellent bit today about our adventure into a toy store, and like him, I was hit with waves of nostalgia combined with bits of frustration and annoyance. Some highlights for me:

  • Nerf Guns have gotten far too advanced, large, etc. Back in my day they were simple. Ballzooka. The bow and arrow thing. Those swords with the targets. And small pistols. I remember the first link-belt-fed machine gun offered by Nerf, and that was pretty great too. But, like SuperSoakers and Honda Accords, as time has progressed Nerf guns have become larger, more expensive, and bloated with unnecessary features. Interestingly enough, when I was in college, kids still opted for the more simple Nerf guns (either out of nostalgia or poverty is your guess), but they added a little zip to the game by placing thumbtacks in the tips of the darts. Zing!
  • Battery Powered Cars (aka PowerWheels). You hear me hippies?! I was awesome and driving a plug-in electric car long before Al Gore ever put together his first shiny-graphic PowerPoint! I also ran over a kid with my Jeep. Pow-pow-powerwheels!
  • Hot Wheels Cars: I was honestly shocked to see that HotWheels are still 99ยข. I figured that what with inflation, the economy, and the “back in my day things cost less” complex that hits us all that they’d be like…four bucks now or something. Alas.
  • G.I. Joe: I wonder how much the coming G.I. Joe movie will change cannon or modernize the genre, but, I always get a little nostalgic when I see G.I. Joe toys because they remind me of a time when America was represented by a rough-around-the-edges gang of guys who were also lovable and honorable. And war didn’t have religious or ethnic connotations, nor was it about oil. No, we just wanted to protect the world from the evil-yet-ingenious Cobra Organization.

That said, the Edutainment craze of the late ’90s and early ’00s has ruined toys like those in my generation forever. That, and there’s too many attempts now to pimp cash from my generation by playing off our nostalgic impulses. I’m sure it’ll only be a handful of years before we’re parenting kids and brainwashed to buy “Cobra Commander Teaches Math” or “Super Soaker Antibacterial Hand Wash!”

by mashthekeys

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