Jackson Free Press

Generation X, folks born between 1965 and 1981 (or a different range, depending on the source), have been branded as a bunch of defiant, apathetic slackers. Not fair, I say! We can't help it if we entered the workforce in the middle of a recession, can we? We may be overeducated and underemployed, but we still have some pride left - pride in our young, carefree past. Don't believe me? Well, go to EarlyXer.com and see for yourself. Even if a lot of us can't hold on to a fat paycheck and will never know what getting a pension is like, we have our memories, gosh darn it!

Toys like pet rocks, G.I. Joe, Atari and the Inch Worm

Electronics like those gigantic RCA VCRs

School stuff like Trapper Keepers and Star Wars lunchboxes

Clothes like Jordache jeans, Air Jordan hi-tops and Swatch watches

Another cool hangout is RetroJunk, where you can drown your sorrows in nostalgia. The Web site has a forum and video clips of commercials I forgot about (like the Flying McNuggets), TV intros and movie trailers. I like the quotes at the top of the page, like this one that just popped up:

I kill me! HA! -ALF

So, after a hard day at work flipping burgers even though you have a master's degree, plop down in front of your PC and escape your troubles by checking out the Web sites I mentioned. You can thank me later.

Previous Comments

ID

116138

Comment

wow. ok well i realize now that i was a huge nerd as a kid. still am, i guess. i asked for, and received this gem for Christmas: [IMG]http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/aagnew/LittleProfessor.jpg[/IMG] And I swear I remember buying this exact album with my dad for my aunt for her birthday one year: [IMG]http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/aagnew/JuiceNewton45.jpg[/IMG]

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-03T11:46:32-06:00

ID

116139

Comment

I also have this phone, which I got for my 3rd birthday: [IMG]http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/aagnew/SnoopyPhone.jpg[/IMG]

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-03T11:53:46-06:00

ID

116140

Comment

I bought an Atari Plug and play last month. Me and The Man have asteroid wars at the house. (sheepish grin)

Author

Lori G

Date

2008-01-03T11:53:54-06:00

ID

116141

Comment

Intellivision rules.

Author

Ex

Date

2008-01-03T13:19:02-06:00

ID

116142

Comment

Used to play with this all the time on the bus ride to school. Talk about the toy to have back in the day. This was totally Tickle Me Elmo or whatever. [img]http://earlyxer.com/images/Mattel%20Electronic%20Football.JPG[/img]

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2008-01-03T14:20:26-06:00

ID

116143

Comment

Ahh I can almost hear the electronic beeps now...

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-03T14:42:37-06:00

ID

116144

Comment

white people was ballin in the 80's i aint never seen or heard of any of this...lol

Author

skipp

Date

2008-01-03T16:15:13-06:00

ID

116145

Comment

you weren't as nerdy as i was skipp, no way, no how!!

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-03T16:21:05-06:00

ID

116146

Comment

white people was ballin in the 80's i aint never seen or heard of any of this...lol Well, skipp, I must have been a weird sista because I remember some of it, LOL. We had the Merlin game, and I played with that thing for hours. I wish I could find a picture of a Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. By the way, does anyone remember the Whoopsie Doll? When you squeezed her tummy, her ponytails went up in the air with a whistling noise that sounded like "Whoopsie!" Andi, my 9-year-old niece got the Atari plug-in for Christmas. I watched her play Ms. Pac-Man, and she asked me if I wanted to play. I said no, but I was actually thinking that if I played, she may not get that thing back.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-01-03T18:18:17-06:00

ID

116147

Comment

I just saw an Amazon banner ad for a Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. I could have cried.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-01-03T21:01:07-06:00

ID

116148

Comment

L.W., Clay has those at Sno Biz in Metrocenter!

Author

emilyb

Date

2008-01-03T21:50:19-06:00

ID

116149

Comment

For real, Emily? How much?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-01-03T22:02:21-06:00

ID

116150

Comment

[IMG]http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/aagnew/Peanuts_Snoopy-Snow_Cone_Maker.jpg[/IMG] Here you go LW!! I got one of these from Spillsbury.com for my sister for Christmas. I had one that was a present for my 5th birthday. I'm gonna order another one for me!

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-04T11:39:12-06:00

ID

116151

Comment

This thread is right up my alley! Of course, this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning electronic football. If you never saw one of these things, it was a toy in which you had an electronic football field and you line up the football player figurines in their formations and press the button to make them move. I remember telling some kids I know about how we only had Atari to play video games as little kids. I showed them what it looked like and their mouths dropped to the floor. However, it still didn't beat going to the arcades and playing the video games. Diamond Jim's in the Metrocenter was the place to be as a kid. Also, for all you who like reminiscing, there is an old-school music video channel on channel 49 called Retro Jams. All the videos are from the 60s through the early 90s, though it's mostly 80s videos. Basically, a trip back in time to when MTV was good.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-01-04T14:22:07-06:00

ID

116152

Comment

Thanks for the picture, Andi! I am tempted to buy one of those machines for old times' sake. GE, I don't think that channel's on DirecTV. However, BETJ shows some old videos from the 90's sometimes. Those Gumby haircuts look so crazy now.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-01-04T19:25:04-06:00

ID

116153

Comment

This thread is right up my alley! Of course, this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning electronic football. If you never saw one of these things, it was a toy in which you had an electronic football field and you line up the football player figurines in their formations and press the button to make them move. I remember that game. My cousins played with it at my grandparents' house. I used to put other things on the board and watch them move around.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-01-04T19:32:55-06:00

ID

116154

Comment

GE, I don't think that channel's on DirecTV. However, BETJ shows some old videos from the 90's sometimes. Those Gumby haircuts look so crazy now. It's not on DirecTV or Comcast. You'll have to use the old rabbit ears to see it. But I do watch the old video shows on BETJ, like the old Video Soul shows. Donnie Simpson trying to dance was even funnier. I also watch VH1 from time to time. Some time ago, VH1 Classic showed some old Club MTV episodes and I realized just how lame some of those dances were.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-01-04T21:52:09-06:00