5 Fandom- Real Life Geeks Who Inspire Me

5 Fandom Friday Time!

This week's prompt from The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick is "Geeks Who Inspire Us". Here are the Real Life geeks who inspire me.

1. Stephen Hawking

He is a genius who hasn't let ALS stop him from becoming one of the most well known and respected members of the science community. He also has a sense of humor as seen in his guest spots on The Big Bang Theory. 

2. Zachary Levi

I always imagine he is a cooler version of his character Chuck. Zach is a self-proclaimed nerd who uses his nerdom and his celebrity status to help others. He created the Comic-Con spin off Nerd HQ to connect fans to the actors and creators of their fandoms. And instead of making a profit, the proceeds go to charity.

3. Hayley Atwell

She plays the kick-ass Peggy Carter but if you follow her on Twitter you will soon realize that she is a massive geek. Not only that, she interacts and cares for her fans. As the character Peggy Carter has become a role model for many geek girls (and boys) of all ages, Hayley herself has stepped up to the role in real life.

4. Ada Lovelace

The first computer programmer was a woman. Not only that but she lived in the 1800s. Can you imagine what she could have been able to do if she lived past 36?!

She was the daughter of Lord Byron, the well known poet. (Watch the movie Gothic for an interesting take on him and Mary Shelly).

5. Terry Pratchett

The man who created the Discworld. That made Death a caring character. That gave us the Hogfather. 

I love Terry Pratchett's books. They are funny but they can be sweet. The world itself is vivid and complex. Reading the Hogfather has become a December tradition for me. And yes, Death is my favorite character in these books.

Marvel Collector Corps- Secret Wars

Unlike last time, when my Ant-Man box disappeared in the mail void, this month's Marvel Collector Corps box arrived a day after I got the tracking email. Yea!

The Marvel Collector Corps subscription box comes out every other month with a different theme. This month it is Secret Wars. To be perfectly honest I am not that familiar with this story since I am not a big comic book reader.

This box is $25 + shipping in the USA.

(This may be my last box for awhile since I am having to make quite a few cuts financially to help out with the loss of my grandfather.)

Now on to the fun stuff

Let's start out with the minor things.

Each box so far has had both a patch and a pin connected with both the Corps and the box's theme. The patch looks like Falcon/Captain America. I want to say the pin is a silver Iron Man. Remember I am not yet familiar with this story, so I may get some of these wrong.

The Comic in this box is of course Secret Wars with a Funko Pop version of (lady) Thor on the cover.

We got two regular Funko Pops in this box. 

The (lady) Thor pop has some obvious paint flaws but nothing too bad. Still it is a pretty detailed pop. I like it.

The Spider-Man pop has one or two paint marks off but still in good overall shape. Pity I am not a Spider-Man fan.

All in all a nice Pop haul. 

My personal favorite this month is the shirt. I was disappointed in the Ant-Man shirt but this has made up for it.

It's cute and super hero-y

I really do think that if you are a Marvel fan, especially one that like Funko products, this is a great subscription box to get. Most of the products are exclusives and they keep within the theme without much filler.

5 Fandom: Crossovers That Would Make My Heart Explode

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with another of The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick's 5 Fandom Fridays. 

This week it is the crossovers that I would love to see happen.

I apologize for lack of pics this week, still in the last dregs of this cold. 

1. Harley in Wonderland

Can you imagine what insane mischief Harley Quinn could accomplish in the already insane Wonderland. I think this is the missing link between the original Alice in Wonderland story and the American McGee one. Who else but Harley could turn that place upside down.

2. SherLokied

Sherlock and Loki. Cumberbatch and Hiddleston. Perfection.

I don't know if I would want them to be allies or enemies. Either way it would be amazing. 

3. Far-Fly or FireScape

What adventures would the crews of the Firefly and Farscape go on in this Whedon meets Henson creation?! You have all the making for a fantastic voyage here. Capt Mal and John Crichton trying to out Alpha male each other only to be overruled by Aeryn and Zoe, who are the real bad asses. Chiana and River trying to out pose one another. These crews of misfits together would make an unmissable show.

4. Arya and Ellen

Game of Thrones' Arya has proven to be a strong and capable character despite her age and size. Image her teaming up with one of the original strong action females, Aliens' Ellen Ripley. The character of Ellen Ripley is on of the first strong women in film I can remember. It would  be like Obi Wan and Luke, but with more ass kicking and flame throwers.

5. Walking Dead- The Musical

I love the Walking Dead. I love musicals.

In most musicals the characters sing their hidden thoughts and emotions. Think of the amazing ballads the cast of the Walking Dead could sing about. In a show where anyone can be brutally killed at anytime, I'm am sure these guys have a lot of pent up feelings that need to get out. Plus a Walker chorus line would look awesome and a little gross.     

August Ipsy and Birchbox

Since I am still getting over this dreadful summer cold, this month's Ipsy and Birchbox will be pretty straight forward. Basically just a quick description of what came in this month's subscription boxes. These are both $10 a month shipped in the US.

 Ipsy

• Doll 10 Beauty HydraGel Blush in Flirt- A creamy gel blush in a compact w/ mirror.
• La Fresh Group Good Night, Night Cream- a night cream in an interesting container.
• Albertini Divine Skin Hydrator- In shower body moisturizer
• noyah Natural Lipstick- Shade Desert Rose. 
• Lord & Berry Ultimate Lip color and Liner- Color nude. Lip pencil

Birchbox

• dr. brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant- A skin exfoliant
• LAQA & Co. Charm School Kit- Crayon lipstick in almost a coral color.
• Macadamia Professional Style Extend Dry Shampoo- Mini dry shampoo, they are always nice to have.
• Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer- creamy moisturizer.
• R+Co Park Ave Blow Out Balm- Styling cream to prevent damage from heat.

Life Update

I have been missing for the last week so I thought I would just give a quick explanation as to why.

My grandfather died last Friday. Even though he was 86 years old it came as a surprise. He just seemed to be someone that could make it to a 100.

His loss has been a shock to us.

Since in my life when it rains, it monsoons. 

Sunday night I went to bed with a slightly sore throat and woke up with a full blown cold that has knocked me out. 

This means that I have not been able to be as active in the IGGPPCamp as I had hope to be. This was an event that I have been looking forward to since I joined IGGPPC last year around this time and met most of my Iggle friends in camp.

 I just feel awful and have no energy.

I hope to get the better of everything by next week and continue with my eclectic and upbeat posting. 

Literary Fixation- Never Let Me Go

Spoilers for Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go as well as the film version.

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I remember the first time I saw the movie, it kept me awake all night. It wasn't that is was a scary movie or even disturbing, it kept me up because I just could not understand why these characters do not try to fight or get away.

I understand that they are both told and not told that they are clones and that they will have there vital organs harvested in "Donations" until they "Complete" (aka die). Their average life expectancy is 30. 

They are not kept in cells or lock away in any way. At first they live in a boarding school like normal students. The only difference is that they are not taught the same subjects as regular kids. Art and health seem to be the priorities. After leaving this school they go to "cottages" where they are pretty much free to do whatever they what. They even take road trips. 

So why do they not try and get away?

I read the book because I had hoped that it will fill in the blanks on this subject. It didn't.

The main character Kathy H. spends most of the last half of the book as a carer who drives around constantly. Alone. Why does she not keep driving and get away?

After her friend Ruth "Completes" and she becomes the carer for Tommy they try so hard to get a deferment from "Donations" to be allowed to have a few years together since they are in love. 

When this doesn't happen why don't they run away together and make a life for themselves?

Is it learned helplessness?

A repeated question within the book is "Do these clones have a soul?" 

The fact that they never even think about running away or fighting makes me wonder if they do have souls. Fight or Flight is a primal instinct in everyone. Yet all of the characters, with full knowledge of their impending deaths, do nothing.

It must be learned helplessness or else in this sci-fi story the clones are in fact soulless.

Just for fun let's compare this with the Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson film The Island. Both are about living clones being used for vital organs. In The Island once the main characters discover this they run away and fight to live. I can understand these characters.