Don't Block It!

 

Watched this tonight, The Block Island Sound from 2020 and enjoyed it.

A sort of The Happening set on the coast, the mystery in the island's surf is a strange reverberating noise sending residents bonkers. 

I wont say anymore.

Anyone for Foosball?

We bought this at a bargain price of £1 at a car boot years ago.

It's proved popular with younger members of the family over the years and it was brought out again this month for our football mad neices. 

The name of this toy has morphed over time. In my day it was known as table soccer, which was also another name for blow football. As the word soccer waned in popular usage in the UK, it became table football. 

But a new name appeared during the last decade or so. 

Foosball. 

Oddly enough this is the German word for football, correctly spelt as Fussball or Fußball.

I have a feeling that the US TV sitcom Friends popularized the name Foosball, which could be why it's used now.

Anyone know?

1980 - 1994 Hong Kong Logos & Trademarks - ROBOT & SPACE TOY TIMELINE - Alphadrome

I found this really interesting on Brian's superb Alphadrome.

Later logos.

https://www.alphadrome.net/forums/topic/4909-1980-1994-hong-kong-logos-trademarks/ 

One More Chomp! Great Bite Monster Truck

Hi,

Here is a new model from Hot Wheels, called Great Bite. Part of the 2025 Monster Truck line, it is either a motorised shark, or a boat shaped like a shark, on a Monster Truck chassis.

It is basically a big grey and white shark, with chrome trim, very big teeth, and blue tyres. The model comes with a plastic car for you to drive over, which is standard with Hot Wheels Monster Trucks.

Four photographs

Paul Adams from New Zealand

One Last Bite!

 To round up the day's chomp, Here's a small chum slick of Jaws inspired figures.

A fab Japanese boxed rubber toy

A carded version of the above. Simple but effective!

A modern boxed version to satisfy the growing retro appetite of fans.

Part of the same campaign, the cast were carded too:

Quint.

And the boys. You can see here the shark gets the famous air tank thrown in! 

50th Anniversary carded extravaganza! 

Movie Maniacs desk ornament!

And last but not least, McFarlane Toys 50th Anniversary deluxe diorama!

Cor!

Which would you reel in?

Well, the waters round Amity Island's all calm again so,

Farewell and good bite!

🦈

A Bit Jawsy: John Steel Scuba Diver Artwork

Hi,

You have mentioned Scuba divers a few times, so I thought you might be interested in this short video on painted covers for Skin Diver magazine from the 1950s and 1960s. They are by the American artist John Steel (14th June 1921 – 9th August 1998) – who is best known for his box top artwork for Revell kits.

Alec Peirce Scuba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8BDYT5xFRc

Max from Max's Models also did a video some time ago on the work of John Steel. Well worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUGe7vT7kgQ

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Say Cheese!

 Dairylea was and is a favourite of mine. Those little wedges of soft cheese wrapped in foil are straight from my childhood, always a handy and tasty snack, whether straight from the foil or on a butty!

Being so popular with kids Kraft's famous cheese has always been marketed in a creative way. 

And yep, they did a JAWS spread!!

Now that's soft cheese with teeth! 

A more familiar Dairylea collectable for me have been from that other 1970's cinematic behemoth, Star Wars.

I used to find these Star Wars -related VHS videos all the time at car boots:

Ewoks

And Droids. 

Where the more episodes?

Both cartoon shows came in neat card slipcases and it was always a thrill finding one, which I haven't for years now.

Do you remember them?

Kiefer

In German, Kiefer (pronounced kee-fer) is a noun and primarily means "jaw".

It's both plural and singular.

However the film Jaws in Germany wasn't called Kiefer. It was called Der Weiße Hai, the White Shark.

Keifer Sutherland did meet Steven Spielberg early on in his Stand by Me days. Keifer has never appeared in a shark movie or a film about Jaws. 

His Dad, Donald, however, did. Swimming with Sharks.

Now you know.