What Is This Place?

This website started out as a personal blog called Tattooed Trilobite.  It was named as such because I have a tattoo of a trilobite, and I thought that was clever and catchy.  Over time it sat very neglected, because the way of the internet is such that personal blogs are kind of a thing of the past. Instead, after careful deliberation, it morphed into a “nostalgia blog.”

I have long been fascinated by nostalgia and pop culture, two things that go hand in hand. What can I say, I watched a lot of VH-1 as a kid. I picked up a lot of love for fleeting fads, kid culture, and things that make you go “hey, I remember that!” There are many blogs like this, but so many of them focus on things targeted toward young boys.

And, well, I wasn’t a little boy. Though I loved to watch shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and He-Man, I didn’t have the toys to match. My childhood was filled with pastels and pinks, kick-ass ladies and animal superheroes and very few action figures. My family had an old IBM laptop, not a Super Nintendo. There’s not a whole lot of representation out there for nerdy, girly nostalgia. So I set out to change that.

Over the past four years, Tattooed Trilobite fell to the wayside as I began the dreaded Pivot To Video.  I began uploading to Youtube in July of 2016, and eventually streaming on Twitch the following month.  Since then, though the majority of my content resides on those two platforms, it’s been a thought to combine everything into a hub here.  And here it is!

Things you may find around here:

• reviews of cool toys, games and snacks I had as a kid
• reviews of cool toys, games and snacks you can get now
• reviews of other products that have a vaguely “retro” feel to them (food, clothing, media, who knows!)
• nostalgia trips to specific situations I remember
• video games that require a lot of talking
• and more! Who knows? We’ll take this trek when we get there.

Who is Elyse Explosion?

Elyse Explosion is me, Elyse. I’m a pink haired pop culture connoisseur with a penchant for cosplay and collecting. (Check that sweet alliteration!) I’m a Jersey girl born and raised – born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s with a deep love for what my parents was able to share with me from the 60s and 70s. Misplaced nostalgia, I suppose, but hey.

By trade I’m a geologist, but I doubt that’ll come up too much. I also am pretty good at trivia, and if you scour the blog archives here you’ll find the story of the time I won $63,500 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

The items I am reviewing, unless otherwise specified, have been purchased with my own money. I’m not being paid to say anything. I just like to talk about it 🙂

If you have a cool tip, a suggestion, or just want to say hey, feel free to email me: hello [at] elyseexplosion [dot] com!