Getting free stuff!

I haven't been doing a lot of collecting, even with the rise of the nerd culture.  I've mainly been learning how to save money so I can have fun adventures, lol!  One of the things I do is product testing.  I get to try out cool stuff for free, and that's not bad!  I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  I highly recommend signing up so you too can get free stuff in the mail!  This is just ONE voxbox I received!

A Very Important Date

What with Tim Burton's new "Alice in Wonderland" coming out next month, I thought I would plan a little get-together with some old friends. I'm going to try and share my preparations and ideas so perhaps you too can have a very merry "un-birthday!"

So far, the plan is for a quasi-shabby chic-tea party at a local park. Not going for a strictly "un-birthday" theme, so I am looking to incorporate some other Wonderland elements, like flamingos, playing cards, hearts, and red roses. Try checking out the clearance aisles for red heart and rose leftovers from Valentines Day. :)

I'll be back with pictures and links of what I've come up with...soon.

To Boldly Go...

So did you see "Star Trek?" I did. I must say, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think it's the best movie so far this "summer." The new cast was pretty much spot-on. Eomer as "Bones" McCoy? Heck yeah! Of course, no big splashy summer movie comes without major marketing, and that includes the toys...

Enter Playmates. They've put out a line of action figures in no less than 3 scales. Not only that, but you can get yourself an Enterprise model, a bridge playset, or...dare I say it...a communicator replica! I haven't bought any of these, and I can't say I've even had a good look at them, but the figures I saw in stores recently looked a little cheesy. Then again, Trek is a little cheesy.

Coming Soon: SDCC 2009! (+ "Chuck")

Your intrepid blogstress is again heading south of LA for the annual San Diego Comic Con International! Alas, I'll only be there for a few days (Saturday and Sunday, mainly), but I intend to bring you as many photos and fan-girl babblings as I can from the con floor.

No word yet on the official presentations, but I am sure there will be some awesome exclusive stuff and guests on hand. Speaking of awesome...

Did you hear that NBC's "Chuck" has been renewed for 13 episodes next season? You might wonder what that has to do with Comic Con? Well, for you loyal "Chuck" viewers, that's an easy one. First off, the cast has appeared at SDCC in the past (why, isn't that Sarah, Ellie, and Awesome in that picture at the WB booth?). Second, if you watch the show, you'll notice the SDCC logo stickers, posters, etc. that decorate Chuck's room and the lockers at the Buy More. "Chuck" is a show for geeks just like us. :D 13 episodes is only half a season's worth, so we gotta keep watching and buying those "Five. Five dollar. Five dollar foot looooooongs..." Support "Chuck!"

Harry Potter Widget

Replicas and Such...

I got the Noble Collection Holiday 2008 catalog a few weeks ago and finally got the chance to browse through it.

I sure liked the look of this:

http://www.noblecollection.com/catalog/product.cfm?id=NN4536&catid=45

and this:

http://www.noblecollection.com/catalog/product.cfm?id=NN8133&catid=21

among other things. I've got several Harry Potter items from Noble and I really love them.

Of course, there are things which I have yet to see from Noble or other prop replica or collectible stores, so I thought I'd check out etsy.com and see what cool stuff is available.

First up, this gorgeous re-creation by Deconstructress of Satine's dress from "Moulin Rouge." I'm not a fan of this movie, but dang this dress is purdy. Another frock of note is her Corpse Bride wedding gown. Love it!

I've become a "The Tudors" addict. So even though I support Team Katherine, this Anne Boleyn "B" necklace replica by duchessa caught my eye.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_4&listing_id=13464407
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16632942

I love Greg Broadmore's Rayguns (I have both of the minis, yay me!), so of course I've been exploring the whole "steampunk" look. I found this adorable raygun pendant at Builder's Studio. They also sell robots (deactivated, I assume) and other gadgets.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5130230

Finally, I've been drooling over the notebooks and bags being hand-printed in Italy by celestefrittata. The Potter-inspired items are especially spit-cloth worthy. I might just commission an order for my next Potter class...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vt_related_1&listing_id=17327890

For those who haven't yet, I highly recommend browsing the shops at Etsy. Handmade, one of a kind items abound, as do vintage goodies. They also have a function called "Alchemy" which lets you make custom requests. You just wait while the bids come rolling in! You can also contact specific artisans and work with them to create a custom project. The holidays are upon us and this is a great place to find the perfect gift!

RocknRolla!!

I have not, obviously, been paying due attention to the blogging thing. :P I'll try and be better, I have a few things I want to post about sometime.

Anyway, I went to a screening of the new Guy Ritchie film, "RocknRolla" on Wednesday night. We barely made it, with just 2 minutes to spare! Thank goodness for reserved seating. :D Gotta love the Arclight. There was a scheduled Q&A for after the film, but when the email went out, the guests were TBA. I took a chance, hoping that Ritchie, or, dare I hope, Gerry Butler would show up. I was duly rewarded. :) I had only heard confirmation that Joel Silver, the producer, would be there, though.

Just before they rolled the trailers, the usher announced that Butler would indeed be there to answer questions. Woo! At the Arclight, they only show 3-5 trailers (no commercials), so we were rocknrolling pretty quick. The movie was just what I expected, for the most part. It was both funny and action-packed, with twists and turns typical of a Guy Ritchie gangsta pic. If you liked "Snatch" you'll probably like this one. If you're a "Lock, Stock" fan, you might feel like it's too commercial.

When the credits were rolling, I looked to my left (we were on the aisle, about five rows back on the left) and spotted Silver watching the crowd's reaction. There were a ton of people who pretended to be leaving so they could try and go by there. My brother spotted the top of Gerry's head. Be sure to stay and watch the credits, there's a funny extended version of a scene.

It was really dark in there, so I only got a few shots, and most of them were bad. This was, sadly, the best one of the bunch. Butler confirmed his involvement in "The Watchmen," another hotly anticipated movie. He does a voice-over for the Japanese graphic novel in the story, but it will only appear on the DVD. There were some terrific stories about the making of "RocknRolla," including one involving a 6'7" Russian with a large machete, jumping on a bed on top of a ball-gagged Butler. :O He even did the "This is Sparta" line, off-handedly. He pointed in my direction at one point, I swear. Hahaha... There were also a lot of stupid or meandering questions, thank goodness for the moderator! Butler had some (mean-sounding) answers to those. Awesome.

I looked around for some RnR merch, but found nothing. I did take a picture of the big backdrop in the lobby though. When we left, my brother went to pay for parking and the lady stole his ticket! It was weird, she asked us for a movie ticket, which he showed her, and she just took it! He was so confused, he didn't make her give it back. Thank goodness it wasn't autographed, or he would have Archie-slapped her. ;P