Saturday, March 24, 2007

I’m still not over the whole Teddy Ruxpin thing…


I’m starting to think that every generation toy manufacturers are hell bent on giving kids nightmares and scarring them for life. I guess it’s a survival of the fittest thing. The toys are prepping you for the adult world. When I was a kid “Teddy Ruxpin” was fodder for my nightmares. It’s a miracle I’m not in therapy right now thanks to that bear.

I was watching a kids channel with my 9 yr old cousin the other night when I was totally mesmerized by a commercial for talking Barbie. The thing that had me so flustered was that unlike the talking Barbie of 1968 that had a pull string on its back the new talking Barbie actually moved it’s mouth! Hark the Herald! WTF was that? I thought to myself. I felt a chill go up my spine. I couldn’t make myself look away… I wanted to cover my eyes…it was just like the Teddy Ruxpin episode when I was a kid. I wanted to run and hide. I couldn’t stop saying, “Oh my friggin’ gawd!” even after the commercial was over. My cousin then informed me that Barbie also has a dog that poops and a cat that urinates. WTF?! What has happened to my beloved Barbie?

When I was a kid I had my share of gross toys, but Barbie? Oh hellllll no Barbie never ever crossed that line. Even as a veterinarian she never cleaned up dog poop! I’m sure she had one of those no frills discount store fake Barbie doll assistants do that for her. We called them crack head Barbies when I was growing up. After my cousin told me about the pooping dog and the urinating cat Barbie of course I had to go to youtube and look them up. It turns out that it was Teresa, Barbie’s home girl that owned the peeing cat. Teresa’s cat looked like it was on steroids…that’s one huge ass cat. As a kid I had a lot of Teresa dolls as well because Teresa looked ethnic and my mom felt it important that I have a doll that “looked” like me. I can’t front the first time I saw a Teresa doll I was in shock, ay dios mio a doll that looks Latina! I was in heaven. My Teresa doll used to talk to Barbie in Spanish all the time. Many a time Barbie, Teresa and the rest of the crew sat down to a meal of arroz con pollo, and red beans in Barbie’s kitchen.


After watching the pooping dog and the peeing cat commercials I realized that as a kid I probably would have wanted the damn dolls. Not the talking one though because that heffa looks like it’s possessed. I’m still not over the whole Teddy Ruxpin thing…




Talking Barbie…




Barbie and her pooping dog…




Teresa and her peeing cat…

Labels: Barbie, childhood memories, Toys

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Posted by @ 10:44 AM
6 comment from:  christina/ohio,  Mia,  Louise,  DannieS72,  Goggles Piasano Ritardo,  Mia,

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Tickle Me Elmo TMX

I am a child of the 80’s raised on Sesame Street, The Muppets, and Fraggle Rock. Dark Crystal is still one of my favorite movies. Yes I was a devotee of Jim Henson, Jim Henson was my God. So anytime I see anything involving a muppet I lose my mind and revert back to those,” Sunny Day Sweepin' the clouds away On my way to where the air is sweet Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street” days which by the way was the first song a one year old Mia learned by heart. I just saw this clip of the new tickle me Elmo and have spent the past several minutes cracking up.
Oh yes this is definitely going on my birthday/Christmas list.

Labels: Toys

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Posted by @ 11:49 PM
6 comment from:  Louise,  christina/ohio,  Mica,  Euneeq,  Emory Mayne,  Mia,

Monday, November 14, 2005

The National Toy Hall of Fame...

Did you know there was such a thing as The National Toy Hall of Fame? I didn't,but what the heck, toys bring so much joy into our lives they deserve some recognition. I remember a particular favorite of mine being a piano made of wood.I would drag the piano out into the living room every night and play for my parents and their friends. My mom would set a wine glass on the piano and my dad and his friends would drop money into it. Hey somebody had to earn candy money!

On Friday the cardboard box was inducted into the hall of fame taking its place along Mr. Potato Head, Lincoln Logs, Play-Doh and the Slinky. As a kid I had a room full of toys but my favorite stuff to play with were cardboard boxes. To a child a cardboard box is the most versatile toy one can own and if it’s a huge box the kind you can fit into, jackpot! It’s like hitting the lottery for a kid. It could be a club house or a rocket ship one minute and a race car the next. I’d pretend to be a pirate sailing the seas with my favorite dolls as my crew. Many a time Rainbow Brite was made to walk the plank and Jem to swab the deck.

Heaven for me was when my grandpa would bring me a couple of refrigerator or washing machine boxes from his job. He’d tape them up and build a castle for me cutting out windows and doors. I’d take out my crayola’s and markers and decorate my castle. It was the only time I could draw on a toy without recrimination.

My cousin Jessica would always lock me in the tower with my pink elephant Miss Cuddly for company while she went off to hunt dragons. Specifically my giant stuffed dragon "Puff". She’d also capture unicorns and tie them to my Get Along Gang tricycle behind the castle. I’d pretend that my fairy godmother, who looked a lot like Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz, would come and release me and Miss Cuddly from the tower. Then we’d sneak down and release the unicorns. I never let Jessie slay Puff because he was a gentle dragon and prone to crying when he was scared. I’d always raid the medicine chest for Band-Aids (the “ouchless” kind) and patch up the boo- boos Jessie’s sword inflicted on him. After Jessica would go home, Puff, Miss Cuddly, and I would have some yogurt and watch the Muppet babies on TV from our castle until we’d get drowsy and start to suck our thumbs. Yeah I was a thumb sucker. It was always at this point that i'd be awakened by a friendly giant who looked just like my dad carrying us to our bed. Puff, Miss Cuddly and I would drift back into sleep looking for the fairies with the glittery wings living in the fairy kingdom mural my mom painted on the ceiling.

When we’d awake the next morning our castle would be gone. Overnight it had been transformed into a space ship and was scheduled for lift off after I had my breakfast. I’d play with the boxes until they basically fell apart and duct tape couldn’t help them anymore. It was only when my mom threw them out that I would go back to playing with store bought toys. Thinking about it yeah I guess something that lends itself to a child’s imagination the way cardboard boxes do deserves to be in the toy hall of fame even if technically it’s not really a toy. By the way, Puff flew away to his kingdom when we moved to our new place in Manhattan. Mom said the city was no place for a dragon and that Puff had been losing his stuffing and needed to retire but Miss Cuddly made the trip with us and still sleeps at the foot of my bed to this day.

Labels: childhood memories, Toys

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Posted by @ 7:42 PM
1 comment from:  Emory Mayne,