Thrifting Pickups - Week of 5/16/21

Took a break from thrifting for a week, but came back last week with a vengeance!

The GameCube games (of which WWE Crush Hour is uncommon) were both $4 apiece and were both CIB. All of the other discs came from a "dollar table"! The HELMET CDs are all original prints; if you haven't heard "Betty", give it a listen, it's a great album.

The Diablo coaster set was also fairly cheap, and I was surprised to see how much it goes for; they may end up on the Sanctum's eBay page soon.

Lastly, the Nintendo DSi only ended up being $5, as the seller did not have a charger to prove the handheld worked. Luckily I had a charger at home, and after about an hour charge, it did indeed work... SCORE! It's always worth taking a risk as long as the initial cost is low!

As the weather gets warmer, more and more people will be setting up tables at local flea markets, and prepping for yard sales... don't miss out on the thrifting season! You won't know what's out there unless you go out and hunt!

"THE BERENSTAIN BEARS - HOW TO GET ALONG WITH YOUR FELLOW BEAR" - 1982 Kid Stuff Records Read-Along

Here's another incredibly short Kid Stuff Read-Along, which is less like a story and more like a series of lessons in manners.

"The Berenstain Bears: How To Get Along With Your Fellow Bear" is along the lines of the "Raggedy Ann & Andy" Christmas Read-Along in terms of tone and quality. In fact, it features the same narrator as both that record and "The Care Bears Help Out", so be prepared for even more sugary-sweet voice work!

While the overall message of the record is commendable: be nice to others, share, be helpful, etc. some of its wording wouldn't fit well in today's social climate. I mean, should you really force yourself to smile and/or be nice to someone who is continually mean to you?

Also, aside from the usage of "bear" in place of "man" or "person" is really the only thing tying this Read-Along to the "Berenstain Bears" IP; this script could've been tweaked and used for pretty much any other character.

It's also incredibly short, clocking in at just a little over 5 minutes.

The message means well, and the record is pretty rare... but it's only for die-hard "Bears" fans.

Internet Archive

YouTube

DOWNLOAD 1

DOWNLOAD 2

192kbps CBR

"BUGS BUNNY'S SPACE CARROT" - 1977, 1984 Kid Stuff Records Read-Along

Today's post is proof positive that amidst all the drama and issues within the "geek" community, the YouTube community, etc... connections and friendships can still be made.

In my most recent submission to Under Design, I sent in my childhood copy of the Kid Stuff Read-Along record "Bugs Bunny's Space Carrot". My copy was in absolutely terrible shape, and for years I'd been hunting a brand-new copy to buy and digitize, but to no avail. So I decided to throw caution to the wind, and digitize my copy.

Welp... it was awful. Under Design did everything they could, and it still came out horribly. There was no way I could share it here.

So I started searching to see if anyone else happened to have a copy of this story... and lo and behold, I stumbled across Jon at GenXGrownUp.

A few years ago, he digitized his own copy and shared it via GXGU's YouTube channel. The clarity was fantastic, and so I immediately reached out to him asking if he still had the raw audio (as his video outro obscured the tail-end of the story in the video). He messaged me back within minutes, and for the next half-hour or so we chatted about our shared love of old Read-Alongs and other vinyl oddities.

I took the raw audio, cleaned it up a tiny bit more, added the necessary metadata, and now "Bugs Bunny's Space Carrot" is available for all Sanctum Dwellers to download and enjoy!

I cannot stress enough how grateful I am to Jon for initially sharing this; and I'm overjoyed to know there are others out there like me who appreciate these stories. Please check out GenXGrownUp and give them your support... oh, and enjoy the Read-Along as well!

Internet Archive

DOWNLOAD 1

DOWNLOAD 2

192kbps CBR

"THE CARE BEARS HELP OUT" - 1984 Kid Stuff Records Read-Along

Here's one of the sweetest, gentlest Read-Alongs in my entire collection: 1984's "The Care Bears Help Out".

As the title suggests, it stars those lovable, pudgy Care Bears as they help a little boy overcome his fears and anxieties that come with moving to a new house in a new neighborhood.

The narrator just drips sugar as she reads the story, taking her time and speaking thoughtfully and slowly to the listener. This record was 100% made for toddlers and very, very little kids.

It's adorable. Give it a listen!

Internet Archive

YouTube

DOWNLOAD 1

DOWNLOAD 2

192kbps CBR

Thrifting Pickups - Week of 5/2/21

I only made it out to the flea market once this past week, but hooo boy was it ever worth the trip!

First off, one of the "dollar tables" had a nice little selection of GameCube, PS1, and PS2 games. I grabbed a couple to split between my collection and this upcoming Holiday Season's AbleGamers donation box. Obviously I'm keeping the "Mary-Kate & Ashley" game for myself. I mean... how could I not?

And then came the biggest surprise... on a table full of mish-mashed stuff, there sat a Golden Age - sized comic bag and board, and inside of it was a picture of Marina Sirtis (who played Deanna Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"). It appeared to be signed. While I'm not a "Trek" fan myself, I know a few people who are. I asked how much, and the seller said two bucks. I figured "what the Hell", and grabbed it.

Opened it up... and behind that signature were three more: another one by Marina, one by Johnathan Frakes, and HOLY CRAP one by Sir Patrick Stewart!!

I'll be sending these to Beckett Authentication and then deciding what to do next with them. What a steal! Like I keep saying, there are always deals out there to be discovered... go out and HUNT!

"WHO'S THE MAN?" 1993 Soundtrack CD

I am amazed that this soundtrack isn't available for download anywhere considering some of the artists attached.

This is the soundtrack for the 1993 film "Who's The Man?", featuring some absolute bangers from Erick Sermon, House of Pain, and legendary track "Party & Bull****" from The Notorious B.I.G.

In my opinion, this is a must-have for any fan of early 1990's Hip-Hop and Rap. Give it a listen! And if you want to grab a physical copy, you may want to check the Sanctum's eBay store...

DOWNLOAD 1

DOWNLOAD 2

320kbps CBR

"POUND PUPPIES IN 'FUN FROM A TO Z'" - 1985 Peter Pan Read-Along

Here's a mid-1980's Read-Along from an IP you rarely hear about anymore: Tonka's "Pound Puppies" plush toy line!

I vividly remember listening to this story a lot as a kid, but going back to it, it's very poorly made. Not even the great Peter Fernandez's narration can save this from being a tedious tale.

I'd only suggest listening to this is you're nostalgic for the "Pound Puppies" toys, or more specifically, the Saturday Morning Cartoon of the same name. Still, a rarity nonetheless.

Internet Archive

YouTube

DOWNLOAD 1

DOWNLOAD 2

192kbps CBR

Thrifting Pickups - Week of 4/25/21

Thrifting's been a bit slow the past few weeks, plus I've been busy with other things, so honestly I'm glad to have found anything of note over the past seven days!

The sealed C.S. Lewis slipcase contains two hardcover novels, "The Screwtape Letters" and "Mere Christianity". I found it for only a few dollars at Goodwill, and was shocked to discover that it usually retails for over $40 and up! Definitely a sweet find!

The two Burger King glasses from the original theatrical release of "Return of the Jedi" were only a dollar each... and considering how Disney wants to phase out any kind of physical collectible featuring the notorious "Slave Leia" outfit, I figured for that cheap of a price, I may as well grab them and hold onto 'em.

And finally, the children's album "I Have A Little Shadow" was also a dollar. When I couldn't find it available via the major outlets such as Amazon or iTunes, I decided to buy it so I could share it here. However, after doing a little more digging, I discovered it is available via the original musical team of Steve and Caitlin Klaper via Steve's Bandcamp page. If you enjoy the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson and enjoy musical renditions of his works, I'd highly suggest checking it out.

Nothing major, but still a few gems nonetheless; Summer is coming up fast, and that's when the real deals start popping up... can't wait!

SLABBED SATURDAY - "The Space Adventure" for Sega CD!

A little while ago, I posted that a friend of mine was downsizing his video game collection. In that post, I pointed out that he was considering sending one of his rarest titles, Sega CD's "The Space Adventure", to WATA for grading.

Well, he decided to go for it! It just came back, and he's absolutely ecstatic.

The game was, indeed, 100% Complete-In-Box (CIB), even including the Registration Card. WATA graded it at a whopping 8.5 CIB, making it - to the best of my research - the highest-graded CIB copy of this game in the world.

If you want to check out the game, I'd suggest doing a search for an ISO. The only (somewhat) legal download of the game is a Japanese port from the TurboGrafx-16, available via MyAbandonware.

Grading companies across the board are getting swamped: WATA, VGA, CGC, Beckett, you name it. That being said, if you happen to have any rare games, comics, or cards, you may want to consider having the patience to get them graded. You never know how desirable they may be in the future!