Boiled Egg, but maybe not the way you would expect...

My very first blog post on Toys and Bacon was instructions on how to boil an egg. Yes, I know. It's basic knowledge. But we're in an agreement that this blog is about something more than just "how to make food". In some ways, it's a personal diary. In other ways, it's about the pictures I take. And I also hope that the words I'm writing, the stories I tell are of some interest.

I have since come to realize that I really like eggs, and it's one of the ingredients I find myself using the most.

So when I heard of this amusing way of boiling an egg, I had to try for my self. It's basically boiling an egg without its shell. It's not the poached egg, all though I can do an article on poached eggs on Wednesday. This is something slightly different.

Read on!

The Avengers - A review, among other things

I have returned from the premiere of The Avengers (in 2D yay), and I would like to share my thoughts. While I know there already are several reviews out, this will perhaps be slightly different. Because this is a big deal. Marvel has stepped outside the comfort zone, and courted their loyal fans, yet done it with the elegance, action and humor that will please the casual movie goer.

I have tried to keep the review spoiler-free, but obviously you should be careful if you want to go into The Avengers without any prior knowledge.

Either way, read on for my thoughts on The Avengers!

Bacon/Guacamole Toast

And there came a day, unlike any other... When earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day they...

Wait a second. What's this?

Let me try again. Let me try to focus on less important matters.

And there came a day, when you had just made guacamole, and had nothing to use it with. Sure, you could just eat it, alongside fried eggs or bread. Or you could use in the most obvious fashion, and have it as a side dish in a Mexican-inspired meal.

I assume you saw the guacamole I made earlier this week. I thought it was good enough to just eat without anything else, but I had made more than enough for a couple of meals.
I thought to myself, how do I combine guacamole and bacon in the most natural way? Well, I got the idea from another blogger, for once. Usually, I'm able to pull that simple, and obvious ideas out of my own hat, but as I stumbled upon the guacamole sandwich, I almost got embarrassed. Here I had made guacamole, and I had to look elsewhere for inspiration how to eat it.

Anyway, I'll not link this blog, because it was awful, cluttered with popups and adverts. Yes, I know I have an ad on my blog too, but that's mainly for getting the stats. I can assure you, I make absolutely nothing writing Toys and Bacon - other than the sweet feeling of pride there is in creating amazing stuff for the Internet. You're welcome.

And with that, here's the bacon/guacamole toast:

Enjoy!

Guacamole

I have written about guacamole before, but as usual, I went on a rant about something. That time  it was photographies. Today, I'll share more or less the same recipe, but I'll make it straight to the point, no nonsense.

Read on for guacamole!

Food Friday: A neat taco trick

Ok, Blogger has changed its layout. I'm not comfortable with it, it looks a bit strange. And that's not the only excuse I have today. Lots of other things going on this weekend, and more specifically today. I still wish you all have a good weekend, and I figure if you really want a proper toy related to start your weekend, pick a favorite from the G.I. Joe month, and read it again. My favorite was probably the Power Fighters, not because it had the best pictures, or because I said something particularly profound, but just because they're not toys that usually get mentioned in the G.I. Joe line.

But ok, it's weekend, and you still want original content from me, I can understand that. So here's a trick for your tacos. You're making tacos and have soft tortillas ready. Instead of just heating them, throw a tortilla in the frying pan, spread some cheese, and fold it in half. The idea is that the cheese will melt and form a second layer of good inside the tortilla. At this point you can treat the tortilla as you otherwise would. I normally use cheese in my tacos, but I've never really done it like that before. I guess it's a new way of doing something familiar, which is always a good thing.

Enjoy your weekend, people!

G.I. Joe Month: Conclusion

I initially did this full month of G.I. Joe related articles because my collection returned from the museum. In the process of storing them away, I took hundreds of pictures of them, and wanted to share both pictures and stories. But I also found my self playing with the toys. Not necessarily in the way I did when I was a kid. I wasn't lining them up and "playing war" with dialogues and action sounds. It was more looking closely at them, noticing new details, contemplating about paint and sculpt. I posed them in their vehicles, put on their accessories. I talked with fellow collectors about it.

In essence, it was playing with toys.
And it made me realize that these were - and continue to be - amazing toys.

I'll end the G.I. Joe month not with pictures, but with a story. I have many stories of experiences as a kid, and almost anything I write can be considered stories of how it's like to be an adult collecting these toys. This story is neither: It's the story of how I got back into collecting G.I. Joe.

This was when I was in high school. during my years in junior high, I had abandoned any ideas of collecting toys. Willingly? Not really. I had just stored away all my toys. It was just socially impossible to be interested in toys as fourteen year old boy. Some will say it's similar as an adult, but I'm fairly confident in my self. I know what I like, I have some extremely weird interests, but they are my interests. They are a part of me, of who I am. And collecting toys is one of the greatest things I know of. I am glad it's not my only interest, nor is it the only thing I collect.
But I am proud to be interested in toys. And it didn't really start at childhood - I was just being careful with any toy I was given. It started when I finally left junior high, and could start being myself. You see, where you would commit social suicide by admitting to such childish things in junior high, no one cared in high school. It was ok to be different, and in my school it was actually expected of you.

Not far from my high school was a store that sold used comic books. At this point, I was reading all the cool stuff that came out on Image. Then there came a day, we had a no scheduled class, so me and a friend decided to head over to the store and look for comics. I wouldn't say I was a regular, but I had been to this store quite a few times, and knew what to expect. They had the usual selection of locally produced comics, translated international comics and the occasional US/UK release. I wasn't expecting anything else this day.

"What's this? Where does this come from? Are there more?" I asked the lady in the store, as I had gone through a few comics. I had noticed something I didn't expect to find, and I can safely say that I panicked. It wasn't fear, it was more urgency, feelings I couldn't really describe.

Hidden under a few irrelevant comics was G.I. Joe #1 - US release. From 1982. Dead mint.

And #2, #3, #4, #5, and so on.

Relevant to the story is this. G.I. Joe didn't arrive in my country until mid 80s, when the line - both toys, comics and cartoon - had already been going with full strength in the country where it originated. The comics I had read (under the name Action Force) were only part of the entire story.  We got to read the story from US #44-90, so any stories before that was virtually unknown to me. But I knew of them. I knew I was missing something.

And now I suddenly found these comics. Every single one of them.

What had happened: a person - obviously one who subscribed to these comics (as well as certain superhero comics) had stopped caring, and turned them into the store for... I don't know, store credit? A small amount of cash? Definitely not worth it.
I was rambling at this point to my friend, and to the lady in the store. I bought every issue I could afford, and told her to hold on to the rest for me. I came back every day for the next week, picking up 5-10 issues at the time, and I would sit home reading the beginnings of G.I. Joe. I have mentioned how good these comics are in many previous articles, including the very first Figure Friday. And all though I'm not sure I'm entirely objective, I still argue that they are just as good, if not better today than they were to me as a kid. That obviously goes without saying for the comics I didn't get to read until I found gold that day in high school.
At that point, reading #1-43, it occurred to me that I still liked G.I. Joe, so I dug out my toys from the closet and started sorting them out, categorizing and structuring the collection.
This was where I went from being a kid who had many toys, to becoming an adult collector.

G.I. Joe Month: Skymate

For those of you who are growing increasingly more tired of me writing about G.I. Joe: Take comfort in the fact that G.I. Joe Month is nearly over. Come Wednesday, we are done. One month of (almost) nothing but G.I. Joe.
For those of you who absolutely love G.I. Joe, and fear that this all, this is it: Do you honestly think I have written everything I want to say about G.I. Joe? I have just scratched the surface. I haven't shown off my coolest vehicles. I haven't shown off my craziest figures. And I haven't even begun to touch upon the insanity that the early 90s would bring to this toy line.
But I will show a glimpse of that madness today.

Read on for an article about Skymate, the boomerang-slinging, hang-gliding, parodically Australian archer.

Figure Friday: Cobra BUGG

I have mentioned the 1988 Cobra BUGG on many occasions, so I thought it was appropriate to finally show it to the rest of the world. Well, those of you who are into G.I. Joe, are probably fully aware of this magnificent ocean-tank. There's just so much cool going on here. Several compartments can open, there is room for tons of Cobra dudes, the bubble that can separate, the play value is out of this world. And it comes with quite possibly the coolest vehicle driver in the entire line. Yes, I know, I know. Secto Viper only reached #14, and Payload was a top 5, but there's something absolutely delicious about see through visors.

I will admit, I have a hard time figuring out how this vehicle actually functions underwater. But I guess stuff that works in James Bond and Disney comics is just as feasible in the G.I. Joe universe. Either way, this is a fun toy!
Click in for lots of pictures!

G.I. Joe Month: Holy Grails

No matter what you collect, there will be that one completely unobtainable piece you desperately want. Most collectors are familiar with the term Holy Grail, as that piece. It's usually synonymous with extremely high price, but it's not that simple either, which the picture of a rather ordinary action figure should point out.

Read on for a few thoughts on Holy Grails.

Kebab Sauce

Ok, stay with me here. I know it's still Joe-Month, and this article does contain some G.I. Joe stuff, but I felt like focusing a bit on food today.

 Indian spices, funny toys, home made sauce that can go with any fast-food. Read on!

Figure Friday: Action Force Hyena

In the same category as the UK release Action Force Rapid Fire Motorcycle, with Quarrel, the Action Force Hyena - or more specifically the Red Shadows Hyena is a repaint of the 1983 Cobra HISS tank. Not that different from the Sears Exclusive red HISS Tank released in 1985, but easily distinguishable by the red turret base. As with all the early Action Force vehicles, it came with a massive sticker sheet. I have barely used half of it on my Hyena, as I prefer a cleaner look. The Hyena came with a variant of Destro v1 called Red Jackal as its driver.
I like to use this as a vehicle for the Crimson Guard, but it could just as well be something for the Iron Grenadiers.

Click in for pictures!

G.I. Joe Month: Repaints

Either as a welcome change to something familiar, or the easy way of creating something entirely new. A simple change of colors can have a huge effect. This goes for toys, as well as food.

Read on for more about repaints.

G.I. Joe Month: Slugger

Just a few pictures today, of a silly, but fun vehicle. I'm sure this has some kind of base in reality, but with the little I know about cannons, this would probably not work in actual combat. It looks impressive and scary though. Sometimes that's enough.

Click in for more pictures of the 1984 Slugger Self-propelled Cannon.