I too, spent many hours fighting this evil tree, spending hours just to get to the mini-game only to get the same result.

I spent some time trying to track down a playable copy of the minigame, just so you could understand what one had to go through, but alas, even the Internet Archive hated that monkey..

After countless clicks, and days upon days of playing (no cash either by the way..) I finally scored enough hits on the Monkey to beat the game!

Sixty-Eight weeks later (It was over ten years ago, it certainly felt like that long) This arrived in my mailbox!

and yes.. it really did take me eight months to find it..

The other good thing about SillyBandz is that they come in packs of 24 (four each of six designs) so you’ve got some for yourself and some to trade with friends!

Be aware, there are other companies producing “Character Rubber Bands”, of the ones I’ve seen (and purchased) they aren’t all of the same quality as genuine SillyBandz.  Real SillyBandz, for example, made it through a trip in the washing machine while some non-Silly Bands did not..

New designs are being released all the time.  Be on the lookout for the two newest series, Beach (which are UV activated and change color in the sun!) and Art Fest (which are Tye Die!)

The Spring series is sure to become a collectors item, as it is the first set to have been “Retired” (and if anyone finds the Ocean set, I really want the penguin!)

Robert Croak (of Toledo, Ohio), the “man behind the SillyBandz” (who may or may not be considering an acquisition of Google..) is a regular poster on Twitter and Facebook

More information about SillyBandz can be found at their website as well as company Twitter and Facebook pages.

There are four to collect and each has it’s own personality.  When you squeeze their stomach they open their mouths and sing a note.  Squeeze it again and it’ll sing the next note in the song.  Hold it and it’ll hold the note.

Each of these collectible critters has three modes of play, allowing them to chatter, sing by themselves, or sing together (in perfect pitch!) if you have more than one.

Those of you not looking at me like I have three heads will thank me in eight months

Sing-A-Ma Jigs are available now at Toys R Us!

First up in the many awesome things on display at Toy Fair this year is Fred.

Fred is the little boy you went to elementary school with who will take any dare. We’re not exactly sure what happened to Fred, but his legacy lives on in a board game!

Each Fred game includes 78 cards divided equally between six categories (such as, Torture, Foul, and Spazz)

Each card contains a dare of varying difficulty. If you complete it, you continue. If you don’t, you lose. Certain cards also award ‘credit.’  The object of the game is to collect four credits before being eliminated.

Be sure to check out Fred and all his friends at Rubbing Hands!

I’m going to let my good friend Kermit the Frog answer that.

I’ll never get tired of toys!

Ok, so this wasn’t my very first toy, I’m sure even I’ll never know what that was, but in cleaning the basement the other day, I found THE toy.

The one toy that is the reason my collection is what it is today.
As a kid I always had horrible luck with toys, every one I wanted was either never produced or impossible to find. Purr-Tenders Duck, Inspector Gadget Doctor Claw, Dick Tracy’s The Blank, (to name only a few..) and Ray Fillet was no exception.. I wanted him, we couldn’t find him.. We looked everywhere, and when he finally did turn up my mom insisted that we buy two. One for me to play with, and one to keep in the package because it was “rare”. Even at the age of 5, every action figure afterwards I insisted that we buy two. One for me to play with, and one to keep in the package. The rest, was history..

Sadly, my mother didn’t quite see it the way I did, and while I still have all of the figures, the packages on a lot of them got ruined.. Some people just will never get it..
More pictures of some of the other Ninja Turtles I found after the jump..

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Space Usagi 1991 Playmates Toys 043377051374

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raph The Green Beret 1991 Playmates Toys 043377051527

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wacky Walkin’ Mouser 1991 Playmates Toys 043377056157

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Grand Slammin’ Raph 1991 Playmates Toys 043377051442

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ray Fillet 1991 Playmates Toys 043377051107

I couldn’t find the item that I wanted to spotlight this week (I’ve got two of them at that..) and instead of just grabbing something else weird and exciting…  Please enjoy this photo of my cat..

Toy Story is celebrating an anniversary next year and in celebration Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are being released in theaters in 3D.  In preparation for this Thinkway Toys has released a new line of movie accurate toys!

If you couldn’t tell by now, the Aliens are my absolute favorite, and when I saw this set I had to have one (or two or three..)

The aliens are exact replicas based on original movie footage and the exact size the ones in the movie would have been had it not been, you know.. animated..

Each one has it’s own facial expression (which undoubtedly changes when no one is looking)

The set also comes with a Certificate of Authenticity stating that they’re exact movie replicas.

Keep an eye out for the movie accurate Buzz Lightyear, Woody (with 50 different sayings!), AND Bucket of Army Men as well as many other fun Alien items!

Fun Fact:

Woody’s last name is Pride

Flyin’ Buzz Lightyear and Alien Buddy Pack by Mattel Released July 2009 UPC 027084753400

SDCC Exclusive Glow in the Dark Buzz Lightyear figure by Mattel Released July 2009 UPC 027084820461

Alien Keychain by Thinkway Toys Released July 2009 UPC 064442641511

Kerplunk – Toy Story Edition by Mattel Released August 2009 UPC 027084746983

Plush Toy Story Alien by Dream International Limited Released July 2009 UPC 743195928215

Plush Toy Story Army Man by Dream International Limited Released July 2009 UPC 743195928222