New Job

I've been pretty lax with blogging (and internet time in general) since I took over a friend's class. I worked there years ago in another capacity, so I am kinda settled in already.

I took this picture on a foggy October day. Who knew I'd be there for the rest of the year? That's my classroom on the far left. It's pretty, isn't it?

Immortal Mask

So I'm pretty much a sucker for anything remotely cool and collectible.

After seeing the movie for the second time, I wandered into a Suncoast and saw this mask. I wanted it, but I thought I might find it for less online. I hemmed and hawed for about two weeks, but I finally made a special trip to the mall and got it today.

I'm pretty happy with it, though if I'd paid more than $30, I might have been a bit less so. The mesh-y fabric presses right up against my eyes since there's not enough padding. Or at least not enough for my flat face. I believe it's made of fiberglass, and it's quite sturdy. There are two elastic strips which cross in the back, so it fits snugly.

I was afraid that I would want to buy the Spartan helmet if they had it, I didn't want to spend another $60. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they were sold out. They also had the arrow, which I hadn't seen before, for $40. I exerted great willpower this time, but in two weeks...

I creeped myself out a bit when I tried it on in the mirror. Yeah, I did.

Bowling!

A bunch of my coworkers and I went bowling the other night. Sort of a team-building exercise. We were pretty bad, got spanked by a four year old! By the end of the second game, we were granny-ing it. At one point, I set the ball down and kicked it, like a football. Would you believe that was a strike? Go figure. Did I mention that I forgot my socks that morning on my way to work? I didn't know we were going bowling, and I don't usually wear shoes that require socks. Of course, I stopped at home so as to avoid going commando in rented bowling shoes. Ew.

Smeagol Bust

I would be remiss if I blogged about meeting David Wenham, but not Andy Serkis. Andy was genuinely cool. I made a dumb joke, something about Ebay, which actually got a few laughs from the folks standing around. I felt like an idiot, but I couldn't stop it coming out me mouth!

It took me a long time to decide what to get signed, I really wanted to get the Gollum DVD exclusive signed because it's (inexplicably) a bit less common, and even thought about getting the Smeagol signed too (extra $35, ka-ching for Creation), to make a matching set. In the end, there was just no smooth surface on the base, and I don't have the big Gollum bust, so this one was it. As you can see, Andy figured out the right place to sign. :P It's a little off-center, but that's mainly due to the hand being in the way. It really is a well-done little piece, but it is a bit front-heavy and because there are so many of them, it doesn't get it's due. If the edition were, say, 1000, it would be more popular.

I didn't take this photo, I don't remember where I found it, but it's awesome, no? Hehe. My friend Dune and I got to see photos that Andy took with this little guy. It belongs to one of the attendees, looks like maybe the Rubies life-size? Anyway, I believe she brought it in for a photo-op and Andy was so taken with it, he asked for a few shots for his personal collection. There's an especially charming one where he is pushing the stroller, Dune dubbed it "Son of Gollum." Alas, since the photos were just for Andy's benefit, I don't have any to show you, you'll have to use your imagination. :)

Autographed Faramir Helm

Dear Collectors,


Do you notice anything unusual about this helm?




No?

I had the good fortune to have David Wenham autograph my Faramir Helm last Saturday. I probably waited about 10-15 minutes. Having mistakenly thought that the line was going to take a lot longer than it did, I went back to the hotel room, but rushed back in time to be one of the last through. Since I was totally oblivious to the "no pictures" rule, I had my camera out. I try to be helpful in such situations and tried to show him where to sign it. Well, the woman in charge dismissively said, "Oh, he's signed lots of these before," to which he added something to the effect of "Yes, and it's rather difficult to do." I take a few blurry pics as he carefully pens his name:



It is only after I get back to the hotel room and open up the carefully swaddled base that I discover...that he signed the back.

In the photos above, I have the helm on the base properly. However, on my shelf it is displayed signature and helm forward. It doesn't look terribly out of place, as the helm obscures the top of the base (which indicates the direction), but still. Had I noticed while I was still in his presence, I might have sheepishly asked him to write "Faramir" on the front. John Rhys Davies signed my Gimli bust similarly, with the signature on the front and "Gimli" on the back. Ah well.

I also have a lovely portrait of David and I together, and indeed we are wearing eerily matchy-matchy black shirts, but no I am not blogging it! One thing I noticed about him in close proximity was the straw-like texture of his hair. I swear it was sticking straight out in the back!

300!

So I actually went to see this on opening night, sorta. I hadn't planned on it because my weekend was already going to be pretty busy, but then I figured, "why not?" We actually tried to get tickets at two different theatres, and couldn't get anything earlier than 12:10am on Friday night/Saturday morning. So obviously, $70m+ wasn't a surprise to me.

We got to the theatre in Burbank at least an hour early, and this is what the line looked like:

Not so bad until you realize that way off in the distance, the line doesn't end, but goes up a very high flight of stairs. It was actually not a bad wait, but it certainly looked it. There were some pro-life demonstrators trying to convert people, which was uncomfortable. I'm not religious in the least. There were also a couple of kids trying to bribe someone to let them cut the line.

Anyway, I thought the movie was well-executed, great style, at once modern and ancient. Love the grainy film stock, digital would have made it too cold. There was a touch of detachment which I found heartbreaking, but they don't dwell on it. It's almost like the filmmakers have taken the stoic Spartan-ness to heart and aren't about to let emotion bubble to the surface. I think that people will either really enjoy it, or really dislike it. Some folks have made the argument that it is xenophobic, homophobic, etceteraphobic...but we're looking at it through 21st century eyes. I'm sure that over the course of the millenia that people have said awful things about one another in order to rally their forces and "win." This is told from a Spartan point of view, what would a Spartan military leader tell his government and troops? That the Persians were nice guys? The Persians were supposedly benevolent conquerors, but that doesn't mean that the Greeks were wrong to fight for their independence.

I don't see this as a truly historical film, but an action movie of historical fiction. Movies are for entertainment, for suspending belief. If I want to know what really happened, I can go check out a book at the library, for chrissakes!

Oh, and the boys were so beautiful, props to the costume designer! :P

IKEA!

Okay, so what does one do when one has Sunday night off? Since I was feeling much better, I dragged my brother off to Ikea, armed with naught but two cough drops. Fortunately, it was only 20 minutes away. Unfortunately, I got there at 7:30 and they close at 9.

Naturally, I was there to scout display options for my collection-cum-crack-habit. Oh, and to get some organizational goodies for my house. Currently, I have two birch Billy bookcases with glass doors. They retail for about $180 (doors alone are $50 a piece). I got lucky and found the doors on clearance for $10 a pair, so it only cost me $180 + tax for both. Seriously kicking myself for not buying more doors, I have room for one more case. I really like these, they were fairly easy to put together (I needed a little help putting on the doors) and are pretty sizeable and sturdy. Glass shelves are available for an extra $8 each, so eventually, I think I may swap out some or all of them. I am concerned that they won't hold enough, as the max load is 22lbs. Ikea has dropped the price on the white ones a bit, making this one a steal at $130. If I didn't already have birch ones, I would totally get some of these. They do have other colors and door options, the cost varies.

I also have one Detolf glass cabinet. Strangely, I didn't see this one in the showroom at my local Ikea, just one for $40 in the As-Is section. I hope it isn't being discontinued because, at $60, it's good value for the money. *update as of 7/07, these are now available in black and white as well as um, "wood." I know a lot of collectors use these for their prized pieces, I have even seen Cave Trolls perched on them! It's a little difficult to put together on your own, the shelves are not adjustable, and the dust can still get in though the sides. Still, it offers a clean look, and most collectibles fit inside just fine. I think if you remove two of the shelves, you can usually get two Premium Format figures from Sideshow in each one. The same goes for the Sauron statue. In keeping with the clean look, I try to have just one or two pieces on each shelf for maximum impact. I have my Narnia stuff (Weta mostly) in mine, though the Ringwraith on Steed used to live in it. There is a cutout on top for installing a light fixture, which is a nice bonus, though I would not recommend anything halogen or incandescent, for fear of melting the precioussses.

I spotted this Revinge glass front cabinet in the media storage section. I was looking for a cabinet with doors for all the DVDs that we have (I would put a curtain inside the door). It looks really cluttered when you can see them all out in the open, even if they are in alphabetical order. The regular price is $100, but it's on clearance for $60. It appears to only be available in this pretty sort of Martha Stewart blue. I forgot to look and see if the shelves were adjustable, but I assume they are since they are all glass (7 or 8 shelves). Besides DVDs, I thought it might be nice for helms, medallions, 6 or 12" figures. If I actually collected the Froud Fairies (I only have one fairie and 2 pixies), this would be perfect. It's a bit shallow, less than 6" deep. It would be nice in a house with a cottage or shabby-chic decor. In the end, the color doesn't go with any other furniture in the house, so it was a no go. If it gets marked down further though, I might be persuaded to take it home and give it a paint job. :) (Update as of 5/10, I saw a few left at IKEA for $40. I didn't get one, though, I didn't realize it was $60 last time).

Depending on where you live, it costs about $49 for home delivery of 250 pounds. I can tell you that 2-3 Billy bookcases weigh about that much. If I ever decide to get more cabinets, I'm renting a UHaul.

Now, I see I've run the risk of sounding like an Ikea commercial, but collectors are almost as obsessive about display as they are about the objects themselves, and Ikea does have a few reasonably priced options for those of us who don't have $2000 for a Pulaski. :P Given my sizeable collection, I'd go broke if I tried to go that route! You can see pics of some of my collection, by the way, at http://mbluefairy.photosite.com/

Okay, so after all that, I didn't buy any of those things today! Or rather yesterday, as it's now well past midnight. :P I got a medicine cabinet, for medicine, but not for the bathroom (you should never store medicine in the bathroom!). In the As-Is section I found what I think is one side of a bookcase or cabinet, which is just perfect to mount as an extra long shelf in the laundry area. Looks aren't important there, and you can't beat it for $0.60. Also got a couple of storage boxes for my stash of Holiday cards and a cutting board to use for folding laundry. I know, that sounds anal retentive, doesn't it? I tried it out, though, and it works great! All my shirts will be folded to the same size, how cool is that? ;P

I'm going to bed. I have a long day of folding laundry and drilling holes in the wall tomorrow...

Feeling Blue

Not that anyone should notice, but I've been away for most of the last few days with a miserable cold and flu thingamajig. Check out my awesome arsenal of drugs and stuff:



I've sucked down at least 2 bags of cough drops in 4 days. I drank half a bottle of Nyquil, and some of that yucky stuff in the bottle there. Someone recommended the Sudafed 24, which I had to get from the pharmacist. It might be working, but since the flu has run it's course anyway, maybe not.

Missing from the pic is the smell-a-riffic Salon Pas. For those not familiar, it's a patch of what appears to be medical tape infused with what smells like menthol, or camphor, or eucalyptus (?). I think you're supposed to use it for sore muscles, but my mom always stuck it on my forehead when I had a cold. Then, once you peel it off, you have a sticky rectangle on your skin, and possibly some red wrinkly lines. No, I'm not posting a picture of that.

Given my miserable state, I'm surprised my mom didn't force me to undergo one of her medicinal back rubs. Sounds pleasant, but it's not. First, she rubs on some smelly oils (or Tiger Balm) from neck to tailbone. Then, wielding a spoon or coin, she proceeds to scrape my skin until it turns red. In the mirror, it's like a big red skeleton on my back. Top it off with more oil or balm and when you lay down, the skin simultaneously feels cold and as if it were on fire.

I also sent my brother for chicken soup and Diet Coke (for the massive headache which I was sure was induced by lack of caffeine). He returned 6 hours later. I'm actually surprised he came back with anything at all. Progresso chicken soup is pretty yum.

I expect to be back in fighting form for ORC next weekend, until then, I'll be in bed. :P