Help Resurrect Ecto Cooler

As a kid in the '80s, it was my goal to be a Ghostbuster when I grew up. I rushed home every day after school, tossed my bookback in a pile and rushed to plop my rear on a beanbag to watch The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. After the cartoon was over, I headed to Ghosbusters HQ (a shed in my yard with a hand painted Ghostbusters logo nailed above the door) to hang with friends, stop ghosts and sip Hi-C's Ecto Cooler.

Ecto Cooler was this awesome orange/tangerine drink made by Hi-C with that loveable little spud Slimer on the box. And, best of all to me as a kid, it was green!

Well. Time has moved on. I didn't grow up to be a Ghostbuster. Instead, I'm a father, blogger and geek which I've come to realize is just as cool...except I don't get to lug around an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on my back. Now I want to share those childhood loves with my kids. I have access to my DVDs of the original 2 Ghostbusters films and the original run of the Ghostbusters cartoon. But, sadly, there is no longer a way to get Ecto Cooler. Coca Cola (the makers of Minute Maid and Hi-C) let their license expire some time around 1997 and Slimer was taken off the box. This was a good 6 years after the Ghostbusters cartoon had ended I might add. But Ecto Cooler proved so popular, it was still made sans Slimer until 2001 when the name was changed to Orange Tangergreen. Shortly after this, the green coloring was dropped. Then, in 2006, the name was changed again to Crazy Citrus Cooler. Finally, in 2007, this drink too was discontinued and Ecto Cooler vanished altogether.

Now we fast-forward to the year 2009. It's the 25th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film. Atari is releasing a much anticipated Ghostbusters video game written by and starring the original writers and cast. There are rumors flying of a Ghostbusters 3 film coming in 2012. What better time to revive Ecto Cooler for a new generation of Ghostbusters fans?

So I have started a grassroots campaign to get my beloved childhood beverage back on the shelves. If you're a fan of Ghostbusters and remember Ecto Cooler or if you're just someone who would like to help this old geek bring back a childhood memory, please click the link below and contact Minute Maid (the branch of Coca Cola, inc. that makes Hi-C) and ask them to bring back Ecto Cooler.

Then Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Fark, e-mail (links for many of these are conveniently supplied in that little button at the bottom of this post) and whatever else you have a link to this page to anyone who might be interested. Spread the word!

Contact Minute Maid here and demand your Ecto Cooler!

Update (05/14/09): While preparing to start a petition to bring back Ecto Cooler, I came across this petition already started. So sign that too while you're at it. Once it gets 10,000 signatures, it'll be sent to Minute Maid.

Slime Your Game System!

Some weeks ago, Amazon announced a special Slimer Edition of the upcoming Ghostbusters video game. It comes with a lot of goodies but the one that stood out for me was the graphics to put on the side of my Xbox360. However, the Slimer Edition is a bit out of my price range. So imagine my joy when I found out that GamerGraffix was going to release a series of game system skins for not only my Xbox360, but also Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Not to mention the series of wall graphics available soon. I will definitely be skinning my Xbox360 with the Slimer skin while playing the upcoming Ghostbusters game coming June 16.



Skins are high-quality, graphic designs made of proprietary materials that are easily peeled and readily applied to videogame consoles and other electronic devices using a specially-formulated adhesive. Skins undergo a high-resolution printing and patented doming process to produce sharp and colorful designs that are flexible, washable and have a thickness of 35 Mils. Gamer Graffix's unique adhesive enables consumers to remove the Skin without voiding the manufacturer warranty of gaming consoles or other electronic devices.

Top 5 DC Comics Villains

#5 - Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is probably the most powerful being in the DC universe without any real powers or intergalactic super-weapons (Green Lanterns, I'm looking at you.) From mad scientist, to near supervillain to evil businessman to President of the United States, Lex Luthor has had many masks. But the one he shows to the world is rarely his real face. In his eyes, he's not the bad guy. He is trying to protect the human race from aliens and superbeings and to try to get us to realize our own potential. That righteous take on the world is exactly what makes Luthor such a dangerous adversary. Well...that and the fact that he's probably 10 steps ahead of anything you'd be thinking anyway.
#4 - The Joker
In his current incarnation, The Joker is not the Caesar Romero spoof of the Adam West years but rather a psychopath with no cause in life but to entertain his own demented mind...usually at the painful expense of others. Despite, is lack of physical prowess, he's killed a Robin and ended the batarang throwing career of a Batgirl. As some have found out, The Joker is as apt to turn on his own team as his is to attack his enemies and it's that sheer sense of danger and unpredictability that earns him a spot on my top 5 list.

#3 - Darkseid
Darkseid. Even Superman has a second thought before stepping foot on Darkseid's planet of Apokolips. He's a bloody god for crying out loud! The guy rules his own planet. A planet that makes most of its citizens work in flaming pits until the day they die. What more could you want in a villain?

#2 - Black Adam
Black Adam may not be a god but his powers are given to him by 7 Egyptian gods so he's damn near close. He merely runs one country and not an entire planet like Darkseid. But what makes him #2 on this list is that he has the same righteous mentality as Lex Luthor. Not really a villain nor quite a hero, Black Adam views himself as above mankind and believes that the wisdom given to him by the gods makes him immune to their rules. But to his credit, Black Adam stays to his own country of most of the time and merely wishes to be left alone. However, if something intrudes upon his iron-handed and often bloody rule, Black Adam is...retaliatory. He has ripped his enemies in half with is bare hands. He has stood toe-to-toe with some of the most powerful heroes (and villains) of the DC universe. He has a strong moral code (even if it's not the normal superheroes code) and will fight to the death to uphold it.
#1 - Sinestro
Sinestro. Once a Green Lantern. Now leader of the Sinestro Corps and one of the most feared beings in the DC universe. Sinestro, like Luthor and Black Adam, does not view himself as the villain. During his reign as Green Lantern of Sector 1417, Sinestro was devoted to keeping order in his sector and was considered the greatest Green Lantern of all time. However, his devotion to order in his sector grew and twisted over time until he declared himself Dictator of his homeworld of Korugar. This led to his banishment from the GL Corps. Over the years, Sinestro was the prime enemy of the Green Lanterns. Recently, Sinestro has recruited a corps of his own out of the most feared beings from across the universe. The aptly named Sinestro Corps now spreads fear and death wherever they go.

New Clip from "9"

I've been following the sci-fi animated feature film 9 for some time now and, thus far, I've had not much to go on but the 1st trailer.

Now, MTV got us a clip from the film and I'm getting stoked for this one! I love creepy family films. The past few years have given me Monster House and Coraline and, if this clip is any indication, 9 will be added to the list of films I refer to as "kiddie horror" (as in appropriate for kids but still scary enough for adults).

7 New Official Star Trek Images

In case you haven't turned on your television lately, the marketing blitz for J.J. Abram's new Star Trek sequel is in full swing! You can't turn on any channel without seeing Kirk picking a fight with a bar full of Starfleet officers...and I couldn't be more happy!

That blitz has obviously spilled over onto the interwebz and I've collected a few goodies for my loyal readers.

First up is, Trek Yourself - a website where you can turn a photo of yourself into a Star Trek character including Vulcan and Romulan.

And below are the latest 7 images released by Paramount (Enjoy!):









Live long and prosper!

The Star Trek Catch-Up Post

Alright! I've been lapse on all the hoopla surrounding the new Star Trek movie coming out May 8th. As a huge Trekker, I've no excuse other than the fact that I've been dwelling a bit in the Twitterverse.

Anyway, here's the quick catch-up.

We've all heard by now of the bait-and-switch premiere in Texas, so I'll skip that one since I'm still bitter that they didn't hold it in my hometown. (Read this to catch up on it from AICN.)

Here's the first of 3 new clips released online showing Kirk vs. Spock in a verbal faceoff with Scotty just trying to stay out of the middle of it:



A second featuring Uhura, Kirk and Kirk's ego:



The last one (because Yahoo! doesn't allow embedding) featuring a brilliant rendition of McCoy can be found HERE.

And lastly, the latest 3 official images released by Paramount:

Until next, time...Live long and prosper!