Tag Archives: Big Angry Trev

Moving your Transformers Collection – Part 1: Sorting & Packing

May 21, 2017 Big Angry Trev 2 Comments

Packing and moving. Truly a terrible job. Having to pack up the entire contents of a house and get them to a secondary desitnation safely is time consuming, back breaking and frankly boring. But you can add to that list a hefty amount of stress if you have something like an expensive collection you have to move.

When I moved out of home at 18, I was able to fit all the belongings of both my buddy and me in a small station wagon and my small box of G1 Transformers stayed at Mum’s. When I moved to the country at the age of 33, I had accumulated over 900 TF figures and had a respectable amount of comics, books and clothing to go with it, it took up a nice bit of space in the moving truck.

Now nearing 40 I am moving again and this time across states, a solid 10 hour drive from where I am now. And my collection has grown expodentially! Currently my collection boasts:

2000 figures – over 100 of them MISB/MOSC
500+ Comics
40+ Books
60+ DVDs/Blu Rays/Video Games
80+ Pieces of clothing
Lots and LOTS of MISC (cups, mugs, board games, lunch boxes, backpacks, posters etc).

So probably about 3000 pieces all up.

Moving all this is very daunting. Not only the sheer scope of packing it all in the first place, but packing it all in such a way that nothing will get lost or broken. In this two part blog I will be sharing my tips for how to move your collection in such a way that it stays safe. And thus we will start with Part 1: Packing.

Step 1: Sorting

Sorting action figures

To make sure you leave nothing behind I strongly suggest you sort your collection. How you do this is up to you. You may choose to sort via the toyline (G1, Beast Wars, Armada, Movieverse etc) but personally as a Multiverse collector I choose to go by the individual character. This has the advantage of being able to bag them to keep them grouped whereas an entire toyline , especially ones that have big figures like Cybertron, might be too big for a single crate. Also if your collection is smaller you might take the time to transform them all into vehicle modes to be more compact, though this was something time precluded me from doing.

In cases where you have a lot of characters you might even give them their own crate. I have these for Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream, Megatron etc. With my Optimus I needed two huge crates, one for loose figures and one for MISB’s.

Sorting Paperwork

I have to give my wife credit for this one. Very occasionally I get stuck with a TF that I haven’t transformed in many years and have forgotten how. When this happens rather than dig through over 1000 instruction manuals I turn to youtube. However where we are moving we wont have internet for quite a while so my wife sorted all my instruction manuals into 26 individual alphabetical plastic pockets. This was also handy for checking I was not missing any accessories.

Sorting accessories

Primarily you want to have them bagged with the figure they come with. However if you have thousands of the buggers time may stop you from doing this. In that case I recommend sorting them into bags of missiles, rifles, shields etc. I’d also bag all your smaller figures like Kre-O in a similar fashion.

Step 2: Packing

As I’ve shown above, large plastic sealable bags are the go for keeping your robots separate. But now the larger packing begins. For this you will mainly use three different materials: cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes and plastic crates.

Cardboard boxes

*The TF boxes that other TF boxes come in*

In these you can pack items that are not breakable. This includes TF boxes you have kept (such as perhaps Unite Warriors or from busts) and Transformers clothing. Other misc items such as backpacks, lunch boxes etc can be packed the same way.

Cardboard tubes

Used for all your Transformer posters.

Plastic Packing crates.

*Expensive when you need a lot but worth it*

Now these are really what you need for your figures. The stronger construction will protect the figures from getting damaged and you can buy them up to a 140L size for around $20 each from places like The Reject Shop. When packing these crates, try and pack them with similar toys. I have all my versions of the Combaticon and Stunticon characters in one crate, all my versions of the 84’ Autobot cars in another and so on.

Bubble Wrap

*Resist the urge to pop – you wont be able to stop!*

If you wanna go the extra mile and pad all your plastic crates with bubble wrap on the inside it’s a good idea. However if you have a collection as big as mine its probably impractical and I would suggest just bubble wrapping any of your irriplacable or particularly fragile items.

So, by following the above you should be able to get your collection, no matter how large or small, ready to move to its new home. Please check back for part two – The Move!

Got any tips to add to the above? Would love to read them in the comments section below!

Transformer Multiverse Toy Galleries

Multiverse Blurr Toys Gallery

May 6, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The sixth of my Multiverse galleries. Blurr first showed up in the 86′ toyline and animated movie. We had to until Armada to get another version of him but since then the speedster has taken off once again!

For my review of Titans Return Blurr see HERE

For my review of Combiner Force Blurr see HERE

Individual Figure Pic’s

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generation 1
Mode: Robot

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Animated
Mode: Robot

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generations
Mode: Robot

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Rescue Bots
Mode: Robot

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Titans Return
Mode: Robot

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Combiner Force
Mode: Robot

Comparison Pic’s

Random Rants

It’s valid for you to feel stressed

May 6, 2017 Big Angry Trev 6 Comments

Stress. Ironically in a country where it could be argued we’ve never had it so good, more and more people are suffering from it in Australia.

And I never thought I’d be among those ranks but I’m one of them.

Stress is a bastard of a thing. It stops you sleeping, it stops you eating properly, it makes you feel like there is a giant knot in your gut that won’t go away. It’s most certainly something that stops life being as fun as it could be.

But is the stress you are feeling valid?

Well I don’t know you but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say yes. Yes it is. Because you can’t control what stresses you – if you did you would most likely put a stop to it so you could stop being stressed. Stress isn’t like say a teenage-angst depression (rather than the full blown one) where people get, as the song goes, addicted to a certain kind of sadness. And since you can’t control what stresses you and that stress is particular to you then that stress is valid. But it can be hard to maintain perspective.

Two pieces in the media last week have made me think about my own stress. One was a half hour special on the ABC from the show ‘You can’t ask that!’ where they posed questions to former soldiers. These people have, almost across the board, crippling physical, emotional and psychological impairments and will never be the same from what they went through in service of their country. Many of them have had their relationships end or otherwise have trouble forming ones to begin with.

The other was a story on JJJ’s Hack program where they had people talking about how with the current state of the rental property market in Australia. To afford a place to rent these people have to sacrifice using the heater, eating properly and so on. Now that may have been my world when attending Uni (I didn’t use the heater, I sat in a chair with a blanket over me and a hot water bottle between my legs) but then I wasn’t working a 40 hour week with children to support. Amazing the amount of cold you can ignore while playing Mario Kart 64.

Now compared to those two groups I’ve got it pretty damn good. Besides a back that plays up from time to time I don’t have any ongoing physical injuries and besides having the odd dream where I am back in high school, where I was constantly beaten up and bullied, I don’t have any emotional or psychological problems. Financially I’m earning more money than I ever have and am comfortably ahead on my mortgage repayments. Relationship wise I have the most wonderful wife in the world and our mutual love is never in doubt for a moment for either of us, likewise our love for our kids and theirs for us is rock solid. Yep, compared to many I’ve got it pretty bloody good…

…yet I’m stressed as hell!

Does this mean my stress is less valid than others? Well maybe the above groups would see me the same way I reacted to the suicide of Robin Williams a few years ago. The outpouring of sadness from the public was phenomenal. My reaction was somewhat different. All I could think was “He had children – how DARE he kill himself! When you have kids suicide is off the table, even if they are grown up – period! And what was wrong with his life anyway? A multi-millionaire, internationally famous and beloved – what the f*ck did he have to kill himself over? I’d kill to have the life he just threw away!”

In retrospect I didn’t know the man personally. I don’t know what stresses he had in his life, though it was probably more a deep seated depression that caused him to take the action he did. Just as other groups could look at me and be disgusted at me being stressed considering my relative good fortune, I reacted the same way to him and that was not the right thing to do. Just because on the surface he had it a lot better than I doesn’t mean the stresses he felt in his life were any less valid.

I don’t want to go in to my own stresses too much. Suffice it to say I am desperately trying to change careers and am feeling very trapped at my inability to do so due to my lack of experience in other fields. I’m being turned down for jobs that pay half as much and require more hours yet provide less yearly leave than I get now. I can’t simply quit my current job as I have a mortgage and bills to pay and a family to support – my actions affect far more than me. My beautiful daughter still does not sleep properly and there is only one or two nights a week that my wife and I get enough sleep – sleep deprivation really does your head in, especially when it’s been going on for years. I keep trying and failing at quitting cigarettes, mainly because I am stressed and I smoke when I’m stressed, and the fact I am smoking is making me stress about that too. There are other stresses in my life but these are probably the big 3.

I try to combat this by thinking of all the good I have. I have a wonderful wife, 2 beautiful children, a nice house and hobby a farm in the country. My job at least pays well and is reasonably secure. I’m in no imminent danger of not having food in my belly or a roof over my head. Does this dwelling on the positives always work? Often but certainly not always. There are times I’m lying there awake for hours in the middle of the night and all the negatives in my life join forces and become a bit too much. Those nights the giant knot in my gut rules the roost.

So how does one combat stress? Well, there are a million experts out there that will give you the answer (and probably charge you a pretty penny for doing so) so I won’t really go into that. All I can say is do what works for you. Whether that’s spending time with friends and family, losing yourself in movies and television, having a beer at the end of a long day – it’s what relaxes you. But, if I had all the answers I wouldn’t be stressed myself.

So don’t stress that your stress is not valid. If you are feeling stressed and think you shouldn’t because there are those worse off than you, just remember that there are also people that are better off than you and they get stressed as well.

Now if you excuse me, I’m off to play with my kids and then sit on my veranda and have a beer -that’s what works well for me.

Got something to add or say about the article above? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toys Review – Combiner Force: Blurr, Windblade & Soundwave

May 2, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The Robots in Disguise(15) toyline continues, despite being wound down somewhat to accommodate shelf space in shops for the upcoming TF5 toys. Today we will be looking at the latest wave which oddly does not involve semi-creature modes in any form. No, this wave consists of new versions of much loved (in two cases anyway) classic characters. Despite being part of the Combiner Force subline these figures do not combine, but rather try to seduce you with a mixture of new alt-modes and nostalgia. So let’s take a look at the Warrior-class Robots in Disguise: Combiner Force Blurr, Windblade and Soundwave.

Blurr – Robot Mode

Seems to be a nice amalgamation of Blurr’s look from Rescue Bots (which RID does do crossover episodes with) with the look he has been sporting in the Generations line. He has the more rounded head with the large goggles that he has in the RB cartoon/toyline but the lighter colours and high shoulder pads one associates with Generations/G1 Blurr. The proportions are quite nice and he is able to be posed in a number of positions due to the ankle, knee, elbow and shoulder joints. The head is quite maneuverable too, tilting in pretty much any angle you desire. Being from RID instead of RB, this Blurr is now sporting a blaster as well.

Blurr – Vehicle Mode

Almost a cross between the first and second Generations Blurr toys. Most definitely a stylized Earth vehicle however with the distinctive pointiness that the latest Titans Return version has. Quite a sexy futuristic sportscar with its spoiler, big wheels and dome. The blaster can be put on either side of the vehicle or on top, giving you different battle options when at play.

Windblade – Robot Mode

*My mask hides my pain. Well… actually it hides what is otherwise a cool face design.*

Windblade is sporting here her battle mask and due to her having such a distinctive face it is a shame it cannot be removed, detracting somewhat from the figure overall. A nice touch I found was the different options you have with the sword and sheath. You can either have her holding her sword with the sheath on her hip (as pictured) or the sheath can act as a giant second sword. Also the sheath splits in two so you can have half on each hip if that is the look you like. The way her wings affix to her body looks far superior to the Generations version with which she shares the more lithe arms with. If it wasn’t for the head, overall I would say this is actually superior to the Generations version but as it is that one will have to go to the judges.

Windblade – Vehicle Mode

*Do VTOL turbines still work if you cover them?*

What is disappointing is that her wind turbines are covered by caps on the top in her VTOL jet mode. With the Generations version you could actually blow on the turbines and make them spin, here they are not even visible in her vehicle mode. It’s not a badly proportioned jet and is very indicative of the screen character. Her sword sheath can be affixed underneath but I only recommend this as a way to not lose the piece – otherwise it looks simply terrible and certainly ruins the aerodynamic look of the jet which is somewhat already hampered by the way the robot arms jut out from the sides, much like many of the Combiner Wars figures.

Soundwave – Robot Mode

Like Blurr being an amalgamation of RB and Generations Blurr figures, this Soundwave seems to be an amalgamation of the TFPrime and Fall of Cybertron Soundwave toys. The head sculpt is most definitely a carry over from TFPRime (the precursor cartoon to the current RID series) and the proportions are very in line with most of the other RID figures. However with the added shoulder cannon, distinctive chest and bulkier limbs he is certainly as shout out to the Soundwave figures of old. The light piping in the back of the head can make for some good effects and the shoulder cannon can be removed to be used as a handgun.

Soundwave – Vehicle Mode

This is where the toy really calls out to the Fall of Cybertron figure. Ruby translucent wheels along with a roof cannon and a bulky blue Cybertronian-armored car is the flavor here and the flavor is good! He has a more distinctive cockpit which is a definite plus, but the peg that holds the roof cannon in is way too long, it makes it look ungainly sitting on top. Despite this I couldn’t bring myself to remove it as it seems intrinsic to an otherwise odd alt-mode. This peg flaw is made up for somewhat by the fact that the cannon can not only be swiveled 360 degrees but also be tilted up and down.

Overall

Well I’d say Blurr is a definite must-grab if you like the character and fits in well with the other multiverse versions of him. Windblade has her pros and cons and it will really be decided on whether you like the character and whether you already have the previous RID version of her. Soundwave… well… it’s damn hard to pass up a new Soundwave figure! However there is another SW RID figure on the horizon which, whilst looking inferior, will come with Laserbeak so it may be worth waiting for that toy to be released and then compare before making your purchase.

Related Post: Multiverse Blurr Toys Gallery

Like the reviews above or got something to add? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformatorium, Videos

Video: Trev wins $500 answering Transformers questions!

April 26, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Being a dedicated JJJ listener I didn’t listen to Fox FM back when I lived in Melbourne. But my girlfriend (now wife) did and on their morning show in 2006 they had a competition called Fan-Tastic! Essentially you sent in an email discussing what you were a rabid fan of and if you sounded interesting you would get a follow-up call. If that went well they would ring you one morning for a short interview about your obsession then ask you 3 questions on the subject. Each time you answered correctly and the money went up with the option to take the money at any time – the max you could win was $500.

Well at my girlfriends suggestion I did indeed email them discussing my love of The Transformers. I received the follow up call – not knowing that I was not on air I tried to be as amusing as possible. This got me on air the following week and… well, best you watch the video and listen for yourself what happened eh!

Did you enjoy this video? Would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Ask Trev!, Hobby Farming

Ask Trev: How to deal with molting chickens

April 25, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

One of my favorite readers is Madds whom I have greatly enjoyed watching grow into a fully-fledged chicken-fancier. Once again we have an ‘Ask Trev’ question regarding chooks from her – this one regarding the molt:

Dear Farmer Trev,
Yep, me again seeking more chook advice please.
My girls are losing all their feathers!
At the start of winter!
They’re grumpy, sensitive and edgy, picking on each other, all off the lay.
The place is bedlam – feathers everywhere!
It has been suggested to me that they are having their first ‘molt’.
Is this a thing? Why are they so grumpy?
Why are hey molting in the cold weather?
What the hell do I do with all these feathers?
How long will it last? What can I do to help them?

Thanks Big Farmer Trev,
You noob chicken pal, Madsy.

*Worry not sir – just a routine feather inspection.*

Well Madds, I will answer your queries one by one:

It has been suggested to me that they are having their first ‘molt’. Is this a thing? Why are they so grumpy? The molt is most definitely ‘a thing’. In Australia chooks tend to molt most often in Autumn between March and May so them losing their feathers near the end of April puts them slap bang in the middle of that window. As for being grumpy, imagine someone nicking your nice warm coat as you were about to traipse off to work on a blustery cold day – you’d be a bit pissed too!

Why are they molting in the cold weather? So they can get rid of old feathers and start to grow thick luscious new ones to keep them warm when the really cold weather hits in 6 weeks. They wont lay eggs during this time as all the protein in their bodies will be geared towards new feather growth rather than egg production.

What the hell do I do with all these feathers? Sell them to a hippy tribal shop to make dream-catchers out of or perhaps stuff a pillow like my mother used to do with all the shed hair from her Shetland Sheepdog. Otherwise throw into the compost along with the rest of their straw bedding or simply in the buggers.

How long will it last? What can I do to help them? How long the molt lasts depends from chook to chook and breed to breed but usually goes for a few months. What you can do to help them is feed them protein-rich foods. It takes a helluva lot of protein to grow new feathers so they are going to need a lot right now. Of course don’t feed them an all-protein diet – they still need variety in their tucker.

The best ways to boost protein for your chooks is by feeding them the following:

*Scrambled egg: Eggs are a rich source of protein and they will chow down on scrambled eggs in jig time! Don’t give them raw eggs as that will encourage them to eat their own in the future.

*Starter Feed/Shell grit: As I mentioned in this article, starter feed is great for young chooks before you move them onto laying pellets. However starter feed/shell grit has more protein in it than laying pellets so it’s ok to move them back to it for a while.

*Some fish: Get a big can of tuna or sardines and pop that in for your chooks – they will go mad for it! Make sure it’s fish in spring water though, not oil or brine.

*Pumpkin Seeds: I’m loathe to mention this as we all know that pumpkins are a filthy disgusting vegetable that deserve eradication from the planet. But if you are one of those nutjobs that actually likes pumpkin and cooks it from time to time, scoop out the seeds and throw it to your chickens. This also has the benefit of making sure those seeds don’t go on to make new pumpkins – bastards of things!

A combination of the above should certainly help your chickens start regrowing their feathers in time for winter. But again, make sure it’s not all you give them. You don’t want them to have a nothing-but-protein diet as that won’t do them any good either. But their normal diet with some extra protein added should have them starting to get all feathery and happy again by the time winter hits. Hope this helps Madds my friend!

Got any other tips for Madds or other hobby farming questions? Would love to hear them in the comments section below!

Random Rants

The Blog turns 1 year old!

April 21, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

At the start of 2016, my in-laws suggested that I start a blog in order to provide a creative outlet for the myriad of random thoughts that constantly run through this odd brain of mine, as well as it possibly being a new career. So one year ago in April of 2016 BigAngryTrev.com was born.

And here we are on the sites first anniversary! It’s been a lot of fun writing this and has proven quite educational. I’ve learned my audience is much more interested in Transformers than Hobby Farming, that spiders killing snakes (or at least skinks) makes for great news and that it’s often not what you write but where someone else shares it that determines the amount of views you get. Also that I must not be particularly photogenic as the most popular video I put up is the only one I am not pictured in. Over the course of the Blogs first year I’ve had over 10,000 views – a respectable number indeed. However well short of the 100,000 a month I would need to start making money out of it. So share away guys! Send in ‘Ask Trev‘ questions, subscribe for new stories, encourage your friends to follow the blog on Facebook and Twitter and keep reading, I need a new career badly! I really appreciate those who have followed me along this journey and hope I can keep informing and entertaining you all in the future.

To celebrate the first year of BigAngryTrev.com I thought I’d list below what has proven the most popular posts in each section. Enjoy!

Ask Trev: Who should I vote for in the Federal Election?

Competition: Win Transformer Top Trump Packs!

Fan Art: More campaign Fan Art from Scottie!

Hobby Farming: What to plant in Primary School gardens.

Meaty Goodness!: Meat Review – The Kings Hotel in Bathurst

Random Rants: Snake, Earthworm or Lizard – the debate heats up!

Random Reviews: Collection Critique: Jordan’s Gigantic Stash!

Tales of the Trev: Redback Spider killing Blind Snake – my morning surprise!

Video: Redback Spider kills Blind Snake – television news report

And for all you Transformer fans out there:

Transformatorium: Transformers Wrist-Rest Mouse Pads

Transformer Multiverse Toy Galleries: Multiverse Grapple

Transformer Toy Reviews: Titans Return Soundwave

Thank you to all of you and if you have any suggestions on how I can improve the blog or something new you would like to see featured on here please give me a shout out!

Tales of the Trev

How I learned to challenge my own preconceptions

April 7, 2017 Big Angry Trev 3 Comments

As a young man, I thought it was a sign of strength of character to stick to your guns. That if you held an idea about something, you stuck to that idea and you didn’t let anyone mess with it. You fought them tooth and nail and showed them that you were right and they were wrong.

Only one danger to that – what if you are the one that is actually wrong?

This is a short story about how I held a strong perception about a certain group of people and it took one experience to show me that my opinion was total bollocks. And that group of people are hippies.

That’s right, hippies. And I figured I had them down pat. Long haired, pot smoking yahoos that never did a day of work in their lives. Smelly, filthy people putting more faith in a healing crystal than an aspirin and would lecture you about how you should eat nothing but lentils. Tree hugging nudies who deserved a good kick in their chakras.

I was 24 and living with a couple in Yarraville. Good friends who when they heard my first marriage was breaking up turned up with a moving truck and said “We are getting you out of here”. I’d been living with them for several months and was healing nicely from being used as an emotional punching bag for so long. With New Years coming up, they were going to Confest and wanted me to come along. Confest is best described as a hippy festival that takes place twice a year along a piece of river bank in the bush in southern NSW.

Did I wanna go? Hells no! If I went to the bush it was to do proper camping, catch some fish and maybe shoot a few rabbits. I wasn’t going to no damn hippy festival and see blokes walking about with their tackle out! I especially wasn’t going to go when they told me there was no meat allowed – bugger that!

But my friends wore me down and I ended up going along. I made ‘filthy hippy’ jokes the whole way to the point my mate Michael was asking me to give it a rest, and I had a big store of dried beef jerky (the proper stuff from a butcher at VIC Market, not that rubbery crap you get at a servo) hidden in my bag.

When we got there I was very non-plussed. Taking tickets on the gate were indeed two naked people, a man and woman in their late 40’s if I was any judge. As we parked and lugged our tents to find a spot, I was even less enthused when I saw the ‘workshops schedule board’ and saw there was actual tree hugging on it! As we walked past there was indeed people there embracing trees with their eyes closed. Oh gawd, I thought, I’m stuck here for a week with these friggin lunatics! This is gonna suck!

We found a spot and set our tents up, me grumbling to myself the whole time. I was an alpha-male stuck with a bunch of fruitloops in the middle of bloody nowhere. I figured since I was stuck, I might as well make the best of it and went for an explore.

Over the afternoon some things started to confuse me. There were naked people yes but plenty of clothed people too. You could smell pot coming from the odd tent but certainly not all. People were openly friendly without trying to convert me to crystal worship or lecturing me on the evils of a good steak. I was very taken aback when I stumbled across a cricket game in progress which I quickly joined and even managed to take a catch or two.

What was going on? Where was all the self-righteous condemnation for me not being one of them? Besides being perhaps a bit more openly friendly that is usual, these all seemed like normal people, that couldn’t be right!

Well guess what – it WAS right. It was right and I had been wrong. I had a brilliant time over the following week! People were really friendly, no one was in your face about anything, there were no people drunk out of their brains or off their heads on hard drugs. I had lots of great conversations with people who turned out to be very intelligent and well informed and seemed to have made their own minds up about issues rather than simply subscribing to some ‘hippy dogma’. Yes there was no meat allowed but I think people probably just pretended they couldn’t smell dried beef on my breath.

A few days in and I had had a go at a lot of interesting stuff I had not considered trying before. I wandered round in a sarong, very comfortable in the heat. Hell, on occasion I just disrobed and went for a walk in the nude which I found to be quite liberating! I went to a few workshops (though not the tree hugging one) and learned about yoga and crafts and all kinds of stuff. I learned to fire-twirl and developed a real taste for properly brewed chai tea. All these things I would never have tried if I had stuck to my guns, dismissing them out of hand and therefore never enjoyed experiencing. Come New Years night I danced hard into the wee hours of the morning, covered in sweat and body paint as a dozen guys smashed out a bestial rhythm on their bongo drums – it was primal and it was bloody fantastic!

*“It’s 5am, do you know where your hippies are?”*

I left Confest on the 2^nd on Jan, my mind reeling from the previous weeks experience. I had been wrong all my life about hippies. Oh sure, there were plenty that did exist that fit my preconceptions but it turned out there were way more that didn’t. And they all seemed to be onto such a good thing, it was probably one of the most chilled out weeks of my life. Just a bunch of happy people being happy around other happy people and not bothering anyone else. Instead of continuing to condemn them I had actually learned from them. So if I was wrong about hippies, what else had I always believed that I could be wrong about?

I learned to examine my own opinions, looking for flaws in my own arguments. I learned just because you believe something strongly, whether that be about a group of people in general or because it’s the popular thing to believe or it’s what your parents taught you was right, it doesn’t make you correct. I’m not talking about abandoning your ideals, I’m talking about challenging yourself and making sure that if you believe something that you are right on the money, not simply believing it as that’s the comfortable thing to do. Of course it can work both ways, while some people hold irrational prejudices, don’t believe something just because it’s a politically correct thing to believe either. Find out the truth for yourself – good or bad.

This has served me well in all the years since. I’ve learned to admit when I’m wrong. I think it’s made me more intelligent, or at least better informed on issues as I’ve learned to examine something rather than letting someone else or popular opinion mold my own. A lot of the time popular myths are wrong, for instance I went to France a couple of times and the people there were quite polite. Besides one old street lady no one was overtly rude and it turned out the French weren’t a bunch of sex obsessed, cheese eating surrender monkeys. Back home I walked down the street one day in Broadmeadows and saw a big gang of Lebanese guys on the corner. I nearly crossed the road then thought “Hang on – the only times I’ve been punched in my life was by other ‘Aussies’”. So I continued walking and they couldn’t have cared less about me, let alone get violent or try to sell me drugs. Preconceptions smashed. I think the show A Current Affair might need to fact check things a bit more.

So challenge your own preconceptions, you might be surprised what you find out. And as for the long-haired fruitloops at Confest…

… I went back the following New Years and met a very pretty one. It’s now 14 years later and we are married, have 2 kids and organically grow all our own fruit, nuts and veg on our hobby farm in the countryside (they go well with meat). God bless the hippies!

*Big Hippy Trev (my god I was fit back then!)*

Got a similar story? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

*Please Note: I have subsequently been informed by Ms Emily Taylor that meat is indeed now allowed at Confest except in some of the communal kitchens – thanks for the update!

Random Reviews

Movie Review: The LEGO Batman Movie

April 5, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The LEGO franchise was always big. Now with a string of video games and DVD’s as well as being tied in to almost every popular franchise – from Marvel to Star Wars to even Ghostbusters – it is friggin huge!

A few years ago we all marveled at the first LEGO Movie. It was funny, interesting and had a lot of heart. One of the main characters in that movie was Batman. He was arrogant, even if highly skilled enough to warrant it, egocentric and obsessed with metal music and the colour black. The character has subsequently appeared in numerous tie-in DVD’s and has remained fairly faithful to this rendition of one of the most iconic super heroes of all time.

Now we have upon us the second of the Lego movies to hit the big screen and Batman has the starring role. So let’s take a look at The LEGO Batman Movie.

This movie is all about Batman’s personal emotional journey from the character we saw in the last movie to one that actually stands a chance of showing empathy and having a personal connection to others. We are treated at the start to a huge elaborate battle sequence between Batman and pretty much every villain that has ever shown up in the Batman Universe. Lead by Joker they are all here, from well known characters like Mr. Freeze and Catwoman to obscure characters such as Calendar Man and even Egghead (an egg themed villain from the campy 60’s show played by Vincent Price). Batman single handedly defeats every single villain, all whilst talking about how great he is, playing hardcore metal music and doing donuts in the Batmobile. It’s very adrenaline packed and there would be few male viewers who would not love to be in his blocky shoes.

At the climax of the fight, we get the stage set for the overriding theme of the movie. Joker appears to be genuinely hurt, even heartbroken, when Batman not only refutes that Joker is his arch enemy but states that Joker literally means nothing to him, no one does. After winning the fight, dropping by an orphanage to shoot miscellaneous Bat-merchandise at a bunch of orphans (and a young Dick Grayson whom returns shortly after) he goes home to an empty mansion, eating and watching movies by himself.

Things change pretty swiftly for Batman. Barbara Gordon becomes the new police commissioner and wants Batman to work with the police and within the constraints of the law. During her inauguration all the super villains show up and promptly turn themselves in, depriving Batman of anyone to fight in the future. It’s also at this time that Bruce Wayne unwittingly adopts Dick Grayson, agreeing to do by not even listening when the prospect is put to him and just blandly agreeing to whatever is said.

Deprived of his super villains to thwart Batman begins a downwards spiral and rejects Alfred’s suggestions to use this down time to make connections with people and focus on his personal life. Desperately needing something to do, Batman decides to send Joker to the Phantom Zone and has no compunctions about risking his new young wards life to do it.

This movie is really about Batman being a jerk and slowly learning not to be. Whilst the movie starts with him lapping up the attention we see showcased how he is unpopular with his fellow heroes (doesn’t even get invited to the Justice League party), disrespects Alfred, risks Robins life, refuses to work as a team with the police commissioner and constantly breaks the Jokers heart. We get a glimpse into why though, the death of his parents made a young Bruce refuse to let anyone else get close and his life became about his own ego and his obsession with being a vigilante.

So the fun yet predictable happens. Batman sends Joker to the Phantom Zone where he meets a ton of other evil characters from different franchises (including LOTR, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and even Dr. Who), brings them back to Gotham and proceeds to destroy the city. This forces Batman to actually work as a team with Barbara, Dick and Alfred and by doing so let them into his life. The finale of Batman’s emotional journey is him finally admitting to Joker that he hates him and that Joker is the reason he works so hard as a crime fighter. With this emotional rift healed Joker helps Batman save the city and Gotham is safe once more.

Overall I would say this is very much a boys movie. Batman is a total jerk and a very blokey kind of jerk. There is constant violence and lots of humor – I found myself chuckling a few times which is pretty good for me. I took my 4 year old son and nothing was too graphic or smutty to faze him, though he was a tad restless in his seat by the end. I’d happily recommend this movie to any boys under the age of say 17, or grown up boys who just cant get enough of The Bat.

Seen the movie and have a different opinion? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformer Multiverse Toy Galleries

Multiverse Sky Lynx Toys Gallery

March 23, 2017 Big Angry Trev 2 Comments

MULTIVERSE SKY LYNX GALLERY

Please note: The photo set I had built at my last farm was destroyed in a move, so while I have added photo’s of Earthrise Sky Lynx to this gallery, he will not be properly shot like the other three figures until I build a new one. It will happen!

Individual Figure Pic’s

Generation One Sky Lynx