July's LootCrate: Villains

It has arrived!

July's LootCrate Villains

LootCrate is a monthly subscription box for the geek and gamer. They have a theme every month. I have been looking forward to this one, Villains.

The "hints" given on their different social sites showed Harley Quinn, Joker and Darth Vader among others. Basically I have been anxiously waiting for this box.

I was not disappointed!

First thing out of the box, a Joker-Loki hybrid tee-shirt: The JOKI!!

I love Loki, I love the Joker, I love this shirt.

Also a pair of Deadpool sock.

Basically LootCrate is taking over my closet. That is fine by me.

Just look at that face.

Adorable

The Joker and Harley Quinn mini posters.

This is perfect for me. I just got the Funko Arkham Asylum Harley Quinn Pop. I will soon have a shine to all that is Batman.

Sorry about the weird flash, but this is the best shot I got.

An exclusive Rocket Raccoon comic just in time for Guardians of the Galaxy.

A dvd, Necessary Evil. A documentary about DC villains narrated by Christopher Lee.

I know most people think Lord of the Rings or even Dracula when they think of Mr. Lee, but for me it is The Wicker Man.

And of course the LootCrate magazine.

And to finish off a fantastic crate:

A Browser magnet.

Darth Vader keychain

and LootCrate Villains button

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This is the best LootCrate I have gotten so far.

9 out of 10.

I really love everything.

Eeekk! Babies!

This weekend my cousin had her baby. 

Still so strange that she is now a mom.

I made her a baby quilt, sorry no pics I barely finished it in time for the baby shower.

And her brother is having his first next month.

So....Baby Quilting Time

I really doubt my cousin reads this, but if he is STOP HERE.

I made Jordan's a bit more tradition for her daughter but I want something fun for Zach's son.

Zach loves to fish so I drew up a fish quilt.

The problem is that I really have no idea what I am doing and I am a perfectionist. That only causes heaps of problems.

After sketching to idea I began the dreaded process of measuring and cutting.

No matter how hard I try I cannot make even cuts. It is always slightly wavy.

But I plowed through.

Fish Block!!!

Oddly enough it seemed to come together.

Although after a few hours my back was aching so bad.

How did my over 80 year old great-aunt do this all the time, when king sized quilt no less.

The idea I had was making it look like fish swimming in a school.

I think it turned out pretty damn good.

It is not finished yet, I have to get the batting and pick out a backing fabric.

Still I am pretty please with the progress. I just have to get it finished before my Aunt goes to Texas to be there for the birth. 

I really hope it will be awhile before the next kid. Making a quilt is hard 

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On a different note:

I need to get back on breaking my bad gaming habit.

I just have the 9th world in Mario left and I want to finish Twilight Princess then I can begin ALICE: MADNESS RETURNS

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 5

My second favorite Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. It was also the first one I read, as you can tell by the well worn binding. Pride and Prejudice is probably the most well known of Austen's books. So I will change up this month's literary Friday post and focus on some of the TV and film adaptations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideundprejudice.jpg

Pride and Prejudice 1940 

Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy is flawless. But to be perfectly honest this man could have played any character perfectly. His Darcy starts off brooding and disinterested but softens with each scene that involves Greer Garson's Elizabeth. 

This being a 1940's film, many liberties were taken to make it palatable to the audience of the time. That is not to say it is bad, in fact I rather enjoyed the idea of Lady de Bourgh conspiring to get Darcy and Elizabeth together.  

Pride and Prejudice 1995 TV Series

The holy grail of adaptations. This is as close to perfect as a mini series can get. Let's face it, Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy. Every time I read the book he is my Darcy. Hell the lake scene is famous enough to get its own statue. 

I forgive Colin Firth for Mamma Mia! when I watch this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideandprejudiceposter.jpg

Pride & Prejudice 2005

Not perfect by any means, but visually stunning. 

Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy just didn't work for me. Too disinterested, making him basically bland.

Kiera Knightley's Elizabeth, on the other hand, was pretty good. She really captured her was of seeing the humor in things. Her giggle sells it.

Also props to Donald Sutherland's Mr. Bennett. A character that could have been played over the top or boring. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideprejudice.jpg

Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy

2003's modern adaptation using religious mores in exchange for the social traditions of Austen's Regency era.

I really liked the soundtrack, upbeat and fun.

I do not know much about the Mormon religion, but that did not ruin the film for me. The leads are pretty good for an updated version. This sisters, who are roommates in the film, are really funny.

Many liberties were taken but some interesting references to Pride & Prejudice and Austen and made throughout the film. Not for the purists. 

Lost in Austen 2008

Now for something completely different.

Jemima Rooper plays Amanda, a Austen fan-girl, who trades places with Elizabeth Bennett. This mini series works best if you really know your Austen like the lead character. It takes a lot of turns from the book for the sake of telling a different story. I mean that in a good way. 

Jemima Rooper is a great actress, I have liked her ever since I saw her as the lesbian ghost BFF in HEX.

And OMG River Song aka Alex Kingston plays Mrs. Bennett. Whovian fan-girl scream!

Also worth noting, Tom Riley as Wickham is amazing. He really made me like a character that in the book I despised. Plus he freakin adorable. 

I feel like I am forgetting one.

If you like Pride and Prejudice, check some of these out. Especially Lost in Austen.

~Eris

Images were taken from Wikipedia where noted. Please contact me if they are not fair-use and need to be taken down. Thank you 

Hey Hey I Love The Monkees

Sometime in the 80's and the 90's (I think both) TV stations began to re-air episodes of The Monkees. My mother watched this show as a kid and I was already familiar to the songs thanks to the oldies station.  

My fondest memories of watching this show did NOT include these blocks of re-airing episodes on MTV or Nick at Nite. 

Mine were more clandestine. 

Or at least it felt that way to me.

Many years ago some cable stations would go off the air or end their programming after a certain time. On the weekends, Fridays and Saturdays I think, one station would play a video of an American flag waving in the wind with the Star Spangled Banner playing followed by static.

This static could go on for a few seconds, minutes and sometimes even longer.

There I sat, as a small child, waiting and hoping it would come.

On the lucky nights the static would stop and..."Hey Hey We're the Monkees" would play. It was my secret show. I mean what other child would stay up watching static in the hopes of seeing a old TV show.

This weird freak right here! And I loved it.

I don't know if I ever saw the entire series. I know that I didn't see them in order, but I loved it all the same.

Davy Jones was my favorite of course, RIP. Between him, David Bowie and Micheal Yorke I was destined to be enthralled by British men.

My parents still recount the embarrassment of buying me the The Monkees' entire CD collection. This was before we had ever used Amazon let alone really bought anything online (you know, the dark ages). They went to Starship records in Tulsa and had them special order it. 

I guess going into a trendy alternative rock music store and asking for The Monkees caused more than a few looks.

I still know most of the songs by heart even though most of the CD's themselves have disappeared. The peril of taking CD's with you before MP3s.

~Eris

  

Home Remodel Hell and Netflix Binges

My 21 year old cat Kristy has taken over the scratching pad. "Its mine bitch"

I have been in the midst of the hell that is remodeling a bathroom.

Let me first explain some details about my house. It is a very old house created by a mad man.  

When we started trying to fix the kitchen two years ago I saw proof of this man's insanity. The walls were basically paper paneling with nothing behind for stability. But to make up for having walls that you could fall through this guy used concrete and bolts in everything else. Just to give an idea of how old and scary this house it, the electrical wiring was fabric. Fabric that was disintegrating.

How this house never caught on fire astounds me.

It took over a year to complete the kitchen. I lived off of fast food and things that could be microwaved because the oven and the fridge sat in my living room.

Which brings us to the bathroom. 

I knew I wanted to fix the bathroom as quickly as possible. 

I wanted a new toilet, floor and shower enclosure. I also wanted to fix the walls.

The problems included a freaking window in the bathtub/shower area. I mean come on man. Water and wood, not the best combination. Even if the man who built this house didn't have the shower included in the tub did he duck when getting out of the bath? Or did the neighbors just get an eye full. The window has been spray painted for years but it looked so tacky.

Then there was the floor. Ugly tile that I could not get clean. I would scrub but it always had this filmy look to it as if it were dirty.

The plumbing came from the twisted mind of that evil man.

The walls are plaster with a bunch of cracks.

But where there is a will, there is a way.

Before            After

Had the cabinet doors put back on today and now all it needs is a bit of touch up paint.

I am so happy with the results.

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My Netflix Binge

On a completely different topic, I just barely managed to watch all six seasons of a really great show on Netflix before it expire.

I wish they would put long term expiration dates instead of around two weeks.

Between trying to watch the entire series and fixing my bathroom I feel like I lost a couple of weeks. 

Not saying it wasn't worth it though.

Just a mini rant.

Now I have to find a new project or Netflix obsession. 

~Eris