And this is why I hold the title of "Coolest Uncle Ever"!

Last week, we compressed our lives into a single square foot, and this week’s challenge for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers comes from Rich over at the Nerd Nook, who was the first to post a response (Please send all hate mail his way.) Your assignment this week is…

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Cool story, bro.

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I don’t have any kids.  I know, I know… with all the cool toys and stuff I have, you would think otherwise.  However, that does get me the title of “Coolest Uncle Ever” by my 4 nephews and 3 nieces.  This cool story (cool to me) started in 2004.  My baby sister (I’ve got three of them, I’m the oldest child) had just her first child, niece number 2, and there I am spoiling her rotten just like I did all her cousins.  I made sure she was raised right by introducing her to Star Wars, video games and toys.  Somewhere along the line, she developed a fascination for Transformers.

Fast forward to 2007.  Sister #3 (sis3) calls me and tells me my niece has something to say to me.  She puts her on the phone and I hear, “Tio*, go see oppimes pime? Oppimes pime?”

Let’s hear it. 1 - 2 - 3 - Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

It took me a second to translate, but when I did, my heart melted.  I told her “sure” and she got excited.  My sister gets back on the phone and I confirm what I heard.

“She wants to go see Transformers?”

“Yep.  She’s been harassing me for the last few days ever since she saw the commercial on tv.  And she wants you to take her.”

Remember, I don’t have kids.  I don’t change diapers.  I’m not sure how safe I am with a 3-year old.  I ask my sister to go with me. She says nope. That this is a “Uncle/Niece” bonding moment.  However, I should ask sister #2 (sis2) to go with me.  I call and ask sis2 to go with me to help with baby duties. She agrees.  Saved!

So the day comes. July 4th, 2007.  I didn’t have to work and neither did sis2.  I pick my niece.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more excited child.  Took me a minute to get the car seat right (you ever try getting a car seat in Mustang? A challenge in body positioning.) and off we went.  I picked up sis2 and then the movie theater.

We get to our seats and the little one won’t quiet down.  Talking about “Oppimes Prime” and how cool he is.  I’m afraid she’ll be like this the entire time.  Then the lights go down and she is quiet and on the edge of her seat the entire time.  Well, one time she had to go potty and sis2 took her.  She was there and back in record time.  Seriously, it was like less than two minutes.  Sis2 said she ran there and back.

Afterwards we had some lunch and listened to her re-tell the movie in her own words.  Best. Day. Ever.

Since then, niece #2 and sis2 and I have made it a tradition to catch Transformers together.  A tradition that I thought would only last two more movies.  However,  I got the phone call the other day…

“Tio, you know there is a new Transformers movie, right?”

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* Tio - Spanish for “Uncle”.

Some other members of The League share their cool stories.

The Geeky Vixen had an experience I can relate to (The time I met Chris Claremont. Or the time I met Cal Ripken, Jr.  How about the time I met Whilce Portacio.  I still get star struck).

Achievements in Gaming has short, but very sweet, story.

Only have one thing to say about G.I. Jigsaw's story.  Wow.

Check out more about "Cool story, bro" here.

I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life. - Billy Joel

Last week, we were lamenting about wasting money, and this week’s challenge for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is a photo assignment…

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Photo Assignment: My life in one square foot.

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words so this just might be my longest post ever!

40+ years on this Earth and what you see there is everything that you need to know about me. What do you see? I'll tell you. A lot of the items have multiple meanings. Take for instance the Snowtroopers in the corner. These represent my love for Star Wars as well as my love of collecting action figures. I love baseball, represented by the beautiful "pearl" of a an Official MLB Baseball. But the Yankees are my favorite team. I also love Star Trek, both old and new as represented by the movies in the corner. But. They also represent my love of movies and collecting movies, especially sci-fi. You will notice they are opposite of Star Wars. I love them both, but I keep them separated so as not to offend fans of either genre.

The iPad and iPod represent my love of technology. The Space Shuttle shows my love of science and outer space. It was also my first dream, to become an astronaut. The iPod also shows my love of music. 11,500+ songs and counting (I was a DJ for 18 years). The PSP also has to do with tech, but also video games (I couldn't fit my Xbox in the picture).

Comic books, another constant in my life. And I love to read. Need I say more?

Mustangs! My favorite car for as long as I can remember. I've owned 5 of them.

The ring... My wife is best thing I've got. And my family is included in that also.

The grey book is my Bible. I'm a very religious man. Been that way my entire life. But it is also a book, and I love reading. Wait, didn't I already say that?

Here are some more square foots of life:

The Nerd Nook

Cool and Collected

Achievements in Gaming

Happy Haunted Sunshine House

Why, oh why, did I blow my money on that?

Last week, we were obsessed, and this week we have regrets.

This week’s challenge for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers was selected by Cody over at the Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang…

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Why did I buy that?

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Anyone reads this blog with any regularity (thank you to those that do) knows I am a huge, some may say hardcore, Star Wars fan.  If I could, I would create my own ranch and call it Rancho Qui-Gon.  There isn't anything Star Wars releated that I regret buying.  However, there was that one time...

In 1995, Hasbro began releasing new Star Wars action figures. By this time, a Star Wars renaissance was in full swing.  I started buying the figures like any Star Wars fan would.  I had all the figures in the first release within weeks of release.  All, except one.

The elusive gambler, administrator and all around scoundrel, Lando Calrissian.  I seached high and low.  I would drive around the city and go to every Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. looking for that one figure.  After a few months, I kinda gave up.  I had heard rumors that the figure was a low production figure.  I was told that it was packed only one to a box which made it really rare.  Finally, I found one.  It was at a comic books store I just happened to drive by.  This wasn't one of the regular comic book stores I stop at.  In fact, it was the first time I was there.  It seemed to be a nice store as I looked around.  Then I saw it.  Lando!  I grabbed it and started towards the register.  Then I looked again and saw the price.

$29.99!!!!

I choked.  I was shocked.  Thirty bucks for a $5 figure?  I asked the guy at the counter what the deal was.  He started telling me that because of certain legal problems with Billy Dee Williams' contract, Lucas and Hasbro did own any rights to create any figures in Billy Dee's likeness.  Because of this, Hasbro had to stop production on the Lando figure and it was unlikely that they would ever do another Lando figure ever again.  That means that all the figures that made it out of the factory, numbering less than 1000, would be extremely rare.  In fact, the one in my hand was the only one he had seen.  

Suddenly, I had thoughts of the rocket-firing Boba Fett rareness going through my head.  How this Lando could be the Holy Grail for collectors.  I plucked out my debit card and paid for the sucker right away.  It wasn't till a couple of months later I realized I was the sucker in that transaction.  How was I supposed to know?  I didn't have the resources we have now.  Most toy collector magazines were focused on very specific toys, and mostly vintage stuff.  The internet wasn't as easily accessible as it is now.  I didn't have any friends that were collectors like me.  I took the store owner at his word.  Why shouldn't I have?  I've never dealt with and unscrupulous dealer before.

A few months later I'm at Wally World and I see a slew of Lando's and all at $5.  I bought one and took it home to compare to the one I already owned.  I was hoping that maybe it was a different sculpt, different card back, something, anything to make it different from my $30 Lando.  Nope, nothing.  I talked to a friend of mine at my regular comic shop about my situation.  He introduced me to another patron and I told him my story.  Thankfully, he didn't laugh in my face.  He did explain that Lucas has ironclad contracts that allows him to make action figures based on the actor's likeness for, pretty much, eternity.  I don't know how true this was, but it makes more sense than that other story I was told.

Since then, I've been a lot more careful on what I pay for alleged rare figures.  In fact, I'm so hesitant to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a figure that I've been unable to obtain the top figure on my most wanted list.  Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, from the Force Unleashed game.  I've seen figures of this character go for as much as $80.  No way I'm paying that.  I just want a loose one that I can display and use in my toy photography.  So, anyone reading this, if you happen to come across one, let me know.  I'm sure we could work something out.  Help me, members of the League.  You're my only hope.

What have other members of the League regretted blowing money on?

Over at The Nerd Nook there is regret over buying some figures right up my alley.

The Monster Cafe regrets some DVD purchases. I would've regretted 2 of 3 those.  Being from NYC, I thought The Sopranos was pretty cool.

Epilogue - I eventually stopped trying to get EVERY figure that was made.  I simply didn't have the space for it.  But I still collect figures.  Mostly Clone Troopers and Vintage Figures.  And that comic book store that scammed me? Went out of business less than a year later.

My Latest Obsession (Welcome back to the League)

We were on a break, but now it’s time to get back to the important task of entertaining the masses. This week’s challenge for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers…

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My latest obsession.

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Back to LoEB! Couldn't be happier.  Was tough for a while there.  I find it so hard to come up with topics on my own sometimes.  But my latest obsession was not hard to come up with at all.

The Amazing Spider-Man #33.  I will tell you right off the bat, there is nothing "special" about this issue.  There are no first appearances, no deaths, no big reveals.  It's just a plain jane, regular issue.  But, you ask, why is this comic my current obsession? Glad you asked.  It was one of the first comic books I remember owing as kid. It was one of the comics handed down to me by my dad.  Lots of memories attached to it.  However, the issue did not make the trip from NYC to Las Vegas when the family moved.  I have no idea what happened to it.  I don't know if it was sold at a moving sale, if it got thrown away or simply got lost. 

Over the years I've had opportunity to purchase this comic at my LCS, but always ended up buying an Uncanny X-Men because I'm trying to get a complete run (a blog for another day).  Now that I am dedicating myself to buy one, I can't find it at any LCS.  I was even in California over the weekend and couldn't find it at two different LCS I went to.  Kinda depressing.

Yeah, you are right. I could go on eBay and get one pretty reasonable.  Problem is that the last couple of comic purchases, the description was way off and I seriously overpaid.  I'd rather see the physical copy of what I am about to purchase and discuss (or haggle if you prefer) the price face to face with the seller.  That's just me.

So there you have it.  My latest obsession.  See what other members of LoEB have to say about their obsessions:

Over at Nerd Cantina, horror seems to be the latest rage.  But to be honest, going to Jersey is enough to scare me straight.

The Canadian Cave of Coolness is obsessed with Hugo.  Honestly, Hugo scares me a little bit more than Freddy K.

Nice to see Mego get some love.  The Dusty Shelf is obsessing over the Fantastic Four right now.  And his wife is awesome (even if she is enabling)! Welcome, Dusty Shelf, to the League.

Totally respect That Yellow Duck and his obsession with Walter. Classic movie.

Cool and Collected needs to go to NA (Netflix Anonymous) to take care of his binge obsession.

Hello, my name is…

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Hello, my name is… Tell us a little about yourself — even if we all know who you are, there are plenty of new folks wondering if you’re in fact a dog.

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Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

 ...No, not really.  However, I can't help but say that every time I hear "My name is..."  I also want to say my name is "Slim Shady," but that wouldn't be correct either.

No, my name is Jathniel.  Not Jathaniel, Jackniel, nor Johnathan.  Just take my name and split it in the middle, Jath-niel.  It is actually rather simple once you say it that way.

Online I’m known as Las Vegas Yankee.  I’ve been using that moniker for about 5 years, although I’ve gone by Darth Hasaki, and DarkBlade*, among other names, in my online travels. 

I am a geek.  I saw the original Star Wars on the big screen in 1977.  My dad and I would watch Star Trek (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT) together in the living room.  I’ve seen 96% of the nominated AFI’s Top 50 SciFi movies of all time.  And I’ve seen 100% of AFI’s Top SciFi movies of all time.  I’ve built my own computers. I even tried building a laptop once.  My home wireless network is the envy of all my friends.

I am a kid.  I’ve collected everything a kid is supposed to collect, and then some.  I’ve got stamp albums, baseball card albums, and sticker albums.  I’ve got Star Wars figures, Transformers, and GI Joe.  I’ve built some of the greatest flying machines of all time, including the F-14 Tomcat, B-17 Flying Fortress and Millennium Falcon.  I’ve got the greatest garage in the world filled with Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Maisto.

I collect Comic Books.  That's present tense, not past.  Been doing so since my dad got me a copy of The Spectacular Spider-Man #1.  Yeah, I still have it. 

I am an older brother. I’ve got three younger sisters.  Between the three of them, I have four nephews and three nieces.  And they all agree. I’m the coolest uncle ever…period.

I love baseball.  I’ll let you guess which my favorite team is.  I’ve got jerseys, signed baseballs and tons of memorabilia to prove it.  Lou Gehrig is my favorite player of all time.  Cal Ripkin, Jr., Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn and Derek Jeter round out my top 5.  I’ve been to 5 of 30 MLB stadiums.  I plan to go to all of them.

Mustangs.  I love them.  I’ve owned 5 of them.  My latest is slightly modified ’05 V6 that sounds and runs like a V8.  Her name is Angel.  My others were named Pony, Black Beauty, Beast and Mystang.  My favorite is the 1969 Mustang with the Sportsroof option.

I am a photographer.  Ok, that might be stretching the truth.  I like taking pictures.  I am still learning to use my DSLR.  However, you can see a lot of my iPhone photos on Instagram account.

I am a husband.  I’ve been married twice.  Much better the second time around.  We celebrated 5 years a few months ago.

Wow, I didn’t think this would be this long.  I guess I have a lot say.

Other members of LoEB have this to say about themselves... 

The LoEB has a new member.  Everyone, say hello to the N00B (and I mean that in the nicest way possible), The Holidaze.  This is his first post with LoEB so go over and make him feel welcomed.

We get a twofer with with Linz and Lee over at Pop Rewind.

Geek Show Ink says he doesn't have a central focus for his collection.  I don't know about that.  There seems to be a lot green there.

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* - Sill go by that one XBL.