When Batman met the Super King

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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It's a sad day for comic book and superhero fans. Adam West, who played Batman on the 60s TV series, has died at the age of 88. I knew Jerry Lawler was a big fan of the character, as he owns the Batmobile from the show and still displays it when he's out. A few years ago I got to see it up close at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois.

But now back to West. In the 1970s, when Lawler was a bad guy in Memphis he had a confrontation with West. West was being interviewed for the weekly wrestling show dressed as Batman. Then Lawler came out dressed as Super King and put down the iconic actor. I don't think this ever lead to anything other than the verbal sparring on TV, but it was a way to get a mainstream actor on Memphis wrestling.

West went on to do plenty of TV and film appearances, including the voice of the mayor on The Family Guy. He's also voicing Batman and Bruce Wayne in a soon to be released Batman vs. Two-Face. I always enjoyed West's work and his willingness to embrace the Batman character through the decades that followed. May he rest in peace.

Way Back WhensDay: Colorforms

Smurf Colorforms
Photo from mentalfloss.com

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Now days, kids have hand held video games, tablets, and iPods to keep them occupied.  The art of play and use of imagination is skipping a generation.  But this blog isn't about that, it's about one of my personal favorites from my childhood: Colorforms.

The toy dates back more than 60 years.  It surprised me to learn that Colorforms are actually still being made, and there's even a website for the toy.  Click here to learn more or how to order them.  Long story short, Colorforms were characters, shapes, and other objects made of vinyl.  They came in a box, that included a flat board with some sort of "scene" on it.  You could stick the vinyl pieces all over the board and come up with different scenarios, because the pieces didn't permanently stick.

Dress the Muppets
Photo from muppetwikia.com

I'd spend hours playing with Colorforms.  I remember having several different sets, including Scooby Doo, the Smurfs, and the Muppet Show.  My brother was more into the action hero sets and had things like the Incredible Hulk, the Super Adventure crew, and GI Joe.  It was always entertaining to have Hulk enter the Smurf village, or Scooby go toe to toe with Batman.

I'm glad to see the product is still going strong.  They're revamped and come in 3D form.  I wish now that I'd known these still existed, I think my kids would have loved them when they were younger too.

Miss Weather

You can find them in southern Illinois (or anywhere online) at My Favorite Toys.  Just click here to find their website.  They have sets in the $12 range that include Miss Weather Dress Up and Silly Faces.  There's also a retro version for sale at $29.95

Check out the video below for a complete history told in a fun and entertaining way.

Let Them Eat Cake (Recipe Included)

An award winning Cub Scout cake
Made by me and my boys

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

When I was a kid, my mom used to make all of our birthday cakes.  I can remember she even took a cake decorating class to hone her skills.  That's exactly what she ended up doing.  Family birthday cakes were the launching pad.  Mom was soon doing cakes for friends, and then friends of friends, and even complete strangers.  The craft went from just birthday or baby shower cakes and she made several wedding cakes as well.

I knew when I had kids of my own I wanted to continue this tradition.  I, however was no match for my mother's culinary skills.  But for the first several years of my kids lives, I baked and decorated their birthday cakes.  I used the Superman cake pan from my childhood to recreate Mr. Incredible and Batman.  My wife and I would take turns, and I must give credit where it's due, her volcano dinosaur cake blew the doors off of any of my creations through the years.

Because I wanted things to be perfect with the cakes, I of course tended to screw them up.  I always had a much cooler picture in my head of how I wanted to the cake to look, as opposed to the reality of the situation.  To keep myself from going insane, we've done a lot more store bought cakes.  But my mom makes a pretty mean chocolate chip cookie and the last couple of years, the kids have requested a giant cookie with icing instead of a cake.  Anyway, here's my mom's recipe for icing.  It's really pretty good, and very sweet. I've also included some of our cakes through the years.

Memaw's Cake Icing (she doubles this recipe, as it only ices one small cake  typically.)

1/2 cup Crisco
1 stick of softened margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 TBS milk
1 pound powdered sugar

Beat first four ingredients (Crisco, margarine, vanilla, and almond extract) well and slowly add the powdered sugar.  When mix becomes dry, add the milk.  Beat an additional two to three minutes.

Elmo

Mr. Incredible

Elvis

Doll

Rubber ducky (fail)

Volcano made by my wife

Batman (hard to see)

Lily pad (made by my wife)