Five Best (Fictional) Christmas Gifts...to Receive

Hi everyone! My finals are taking me a lot longer to finish than I expected, and I was feeling guilty over the fact that I hadn't updated since December 5th. Luckily, Erin from The Pixel Party volunteered to write this guest Top 5. I hope you like it--I really enjoyed the theme and agree with her 100%!

Have you ever watched a movie, read a book or played a game, and wished instantly that you could have whatever thing the character is using? That’s how I feel EVERY TIME I see the Holodeck being used in Star Trek. Here’s a list of other things that I have desperately wanted every time I crack open a good franchise:

1.) Dire Wolf Pup - Game of Thrones

(img originally from: http://fangirlisms.com/?attachment_id=4374)

So, you want a puppy for Christmas? How about a DIRE WOLF PUPPY?! Guaranteed to protect you, and they’ll do it in the most bad-ass way EVER! Oh, and by the way, they are also down for a good cuddle-sesh. I would love to have a Dire Wolf as a pet, and not have to become a Stark to get it (unless you mean Tony Stark, in which case… I’m in). I love that family, but man… Their lives are not a cake walk.

2.) Time Turner - Harry Potter

(img originally from: http://jamjellypot.deviantart.com/art/time-turner-295111516)

While I did ok in school, I am not anywhere near Hermoine Granger’s level of genius. She was so smart, that the school let her jump from timeline to timeline just so she could add more classes! Wha??! What I am trying to say, is that there is no teacher who will be giving me a Time-Turner anytime soon. So, I guess I’ll just have to put this on my wishlist and hope for the best. Can you imagine having this thing? Spilled an entire bowl of salad on your customer’s head while waiting tables at Olive Garden (it’s strangely specific, because it might have happened to me)? Go grab that Time Turner, henceforth solidifying a tip. Yes… I could use one of these bad boys.

3.) The DeLorean - Back to the Future

(img originally from: http://miss-hypershadow.deviantart.com/art/Delorean-Back-to-the-Future-267735664)

Apparently I have a thing about time travel. While I believe the Time-Turner would be great for getting things done, or fixing things you messed up on (salad!), the DeLorean would be great for actual pie-in-the-sky time travel. Want to see the dinosaurs, or go to a David Bowie concert during his prime?! Get into that DeLorean and make it happen. I would need some plutonium as a Christmas stocking gift though. This car is useless to me without any plutonium.

4.) The Holodeck - Star Trek

(img originally from: http://www.offthereservation.net/2013/10/the-holodeck-is-one-step-closer.html)

Ok, so listen. The Holodeck. It can create all kinds of “programs” for you to interact with. In The Next Generation, you see the cast use the Holodeck in all kinds of ways- from physical training courses to solving mysteries as Sherlock Holmes. This description alone should be enough to explain why I want one of these more than Jean-Luc wants a cup of tea… Earl Grey….. hot. Since I’ve thought about this though in great detail, here’s a quick list of things I would do with it IMMEDIATELY: No-lines Disneyland trip, make out session with Tom Hiddleston, lightsaber battle with Katniss (it’s my holodeck program- I can mix franchises if I want!), and maybeee VIP tickets to a Lady Gaga concert.

5.) Babelfish - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(img originally from: http://randomwire.com/hitchhikers-guide/)

The last thing on my list is this fish from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You put the fish in your ear, and you can then understand any language spoken to you. It’s similar to the translator microbe in Farscape (which, I just finished the WHOLE series- thank you, thank you). I am quite the social butterfly and I would love to be able to go anywhere in the world and be able to speak to anyone I wanted. Can you imagine how much more culturally saturated you would be when travelling abroad if you could understand the language? It would be amazing, which is why the Babelfish is on my list!

About the Pixel Party (pixelpartyblog.com):

Hello! My name is Erin, and I am head nerdette behind The Pixel Party! In my corner of the internet, I specialize in merging fashion, DIY projects, cooking, illustration and design with nerd and pop culture (all while driving 88 miles per hour). So come visit - you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!

Five Characters Everyone Loves (That I Can't Stand)

You'll have to excuse the necessary-for-length hyperbole that I put in the title--this would probably more accurately be entitled: Five Character That Most People Seem to Love, Enjoy, or Look Upon Favorably (That I Can't Stand).

This was an idea I was working on shortly after my Five Most Heartbreaking Character Deaths list, mostly due to the Harry Potter books. When choosing a character (and the runners-up) from Harry Potter, I immediately thought of Dobby. Mostly, I thought of Dobby and then rolled my eyes. I knew a ton of people who were crushed by his death, while I pretty much rejoiced. When Gab commented that Dobby was on her list, I knew I needed to put out this list. And so I begin where I should, with:

1. Dobby

I recently picked up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again. I thought it was strange that it had been so long since I had read the book--I usually re-read the Harry Potter books a couple times a year (it only takes me about three night to get through one book). I don't think I've read Chamber of Secrets since the first Deathly Hallows movie was released. Once I started reading the book again, though, I remembered why it's been a while since I picked it up--I can't stand Dobby. Chamber of Secrets would be my second or third favorite book if it wasn't for Dobby. I just found the character annoying, and thought that everything would have gone pretty much the same way (if not better) if he had just stayed home (except for, you know, that whole Malfoy-slavery thing). His speech patterns annoyed me, the way he tried to help but failed miserably annoyed me, and his constant self-flagellation annoyed me. I may have felt bad for him the first couple of times (it was so long ago I don't remember), but it quickly became more annoying that pity-evoking. It probably doesn't help that most of the characters typically look at him as a nuisance, as well. In short, I can't stand Dobby, and I was glad when he was finally gone.

2. Severus Snape (Harry Potter)

Oh, Snape, you're so sassy.

People like Severus Snape for two reasons: they love that he's a jerk, or they think he's adorable and a soft-hearted teddy bear after learning about his love for Lily Potter. Either way, I think that this affection for Snape is misplaced. And this isn't so much because he's an asshole--I love plenty of characters that are jerks--but because of the direction of his assholery (made-up words for the win). This guy's just a straight-up bully toward children. He derides them for their intelligence (or lack thereof), makes disparaging remarks about their physical appearances, and even threatens them. And some of these kids are as young as eleven! I'm not the biggest fan of kids, in general, but it still begs the question: What's remarkable about a grown man who has to be cruel to children?

3. Ashley Williams (Mass Effect)

Miranda seems to be a popular character in this type of list, but since I haven't played past the original Mass Effect yet, she hasn't made my list. Ashley Williams--a soldier in the first game and a member of Shepard's squad--has, though. I really haven't read anything negative about Ashley before, which kind of surprises me. I've basically stopped putting her on my squad, despite the fact that I originally thought that she was a pretty bad-ass character. Since meeting her, though, she's begun to rub me the wrong way. Pretty much everything she says is bitchy, she's constantly complaining about things, and I think she might be a little bit racist. So while everyone else seems to like her, I've been avoiding her.

4. Spider-man

You always have to say something, Spider-man.

Spider-man in the movies has his own problems, but I'm talking about the character as he is in the comic books. I have a fairly irrational hatred of Spider-man, I'd admit it. My dislike toward Superman is inherently more understandable, but even I have a hard time articulating why I don't like Spider-man. I guess his characterization just rubs me the wrong way--every time he opens his mouth and is supposed to be funny, I find him obnoxious and annoying. He's probably the reason I grew up to be a DC girl instead of a Marvel fan. The first comics I read were X-Men (and I still enjoy X-Men), and then I moved on to Spider-man. I promptly put it down after a couple of issues and moved on to the Bat Family. X-Men remain the only Marvel comics I read, save a few universe-wide story lines that I'll pick up once they're published as graphic novels or collections.

5. Robert Baratheon (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Sure, he was a good friend to Ned Stark and sure, you have to feel bad for people when they get murdered, but Robert Baratheon has few good qualities and many bad qualities. As they say in the books, the only thing he had going for him as king was that he wasn't the Mad King. Robert is a drunk and, according to Cersei's recollections, was often sexually violent in these drunken states. Sure, there's no spousal abuse back in Westeros, but what he does to her definitely qualifies. I'm certainly not a fan of Cersei, at all, you don't have to put someone else in her place to realize that this is not a desirable quality in a person. Secondly, Robert condones--and even orders--the murder of children. He's so vengeful that Ned Stark believed that he would kill Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen for their mother's wrongs, which is why he warns Cersei and tells her to take the children and leave (keep in mind that Joffrey, despite being a douchebag, was only twelve). He's also a negligent father (to his "legitimate" and illegitimate children alike) and an extremely negligent ruler. All he does is eat, drink, and have sex. Most people just shrug, affectionately writing Robert Baratheon off as Ned's drunk buddy, but I think he deserves more criticism than he gets.

Do you think I missed anyone? Or that I'm completely off-base with my opinions on a character? Let me know in the comments!

Etsy Tuesday: Prints

Hey everyone! Today's Etsy Tuesday is inspired by the prints I bought from CaptainLaserBeam last week! I purchased two of her cult classics art nouveau prints, and can't wait to receive them! I'm going to frame them next to each other and put them up...somewhere. Not sure yet. It depends on where I decide to put the Lord of the Rings trilogy posters that I just framed the other day. 

Here are the prints I bought:

I went with gown!Lili instead of dark!Lili so that the print "goes" better with this Sarah print:

Both Labyrinth and Legend were huge influences during my formative geek years, and I can't wait to have these preciouses in my clutches!

Anyway, thusly inspired, today's Etsy Tuesday is all prints!

I found this first print through Jen Yates's Epbot blog. Like most geeks who grew up during the 90s, I'm a big Harry Potter fan. Adam Rabalais, owner of the shop named after him, has a movie poster for each of the Harry Potter books (so, in other words, only one poster for Deathly Hallows). I chose to feature the Deathly Hallows poster because the quote gives me the feels. Also, feast your eyes on the Chamber of Secrets poster.

24x36in, $45.00 USD

27x40in, $50.00 USD

There are a lot of other geeky prints there (Batman, Firefly, etc), so I'd wholeheartedly suggest that you take a look at the shop. Mr. Rabalais offers deals when you order more than one product, so you should snatch these posters up. I know that I, for one, am going to order a few after my next payday.

Speaking of Batman, I'm really a fan of minimalist designs based on Bats. That's why this piece caught my eye (and will probably most definitely be purchased. I have a pretty good idea of where to put it).

11x17 in, $19.00

The print is from the shop Harshness (its owner goes by the same alias), which also has some pretty cool Game of Thrones, X-Men, and Avengers prints. I especially covet the AT-AT print, and the LoTR locations prints.

11x17 in, $19.00 USD

11x17 in, $19.00 USD

I'm starting to think that I'm really drawn to minimalist posters. The art in the following prints is definitely not minimalist, but the monochromatic coloring really makes it look cool. These Avengers prints are sold at the shop FashionArtStudio, run by Terry Minucci. This shop also runs a multiple-quantities discount.

11.5x16.5 in, $50.00 USD

They come in other colors, as well.

Also, look at the Andy Warhol-esque Batman print. Awesome.

11.5x16.5 in, $19.00

That's all for today! I'm currently switching off between homework and playing The Walking Dead video game. I'm really enjoying the game--the homework, not so much. I'll let you all know my final opinion in an edition of Gamer Drama. Speaking of Gamer Drama, either a Gamer Drama or a post on gaming on a budget will be up by the end of this week. See you all then!

DIY: Silver Doe Harry Potter Plaque

My first project using my new Dremel (my aunt gave it to me for Christmas) was partially inspired by Jen Yates's Harry Potter Wand Display, in that it's 1) made of wood, 2) Harry Potter-themed, and 3) a functional plaque. Of course, it's not nearly as well-made, detailed, and awesome, but I don't think it's bad for my first Dremel craft.

I began by buying a plaque from Hobby Lobby, a nice chocolatey-brown stain from Home Depot, and some silver paint from Jo-Ann Fabric. The first step was to sketch out the design on the plaque. I used a font reference and a deer silhouette reference as I sketched, but I did the design free-hand.  And--this is important--I did it lightly. I found that this type of wood wanted to cling to my pencil lines, so those few darker lines didn't come out once I finished carving. Luckily, though, the stain covered it well.

From here, I started to carve into the wood. I used the 1/4in High-Speed Cutter tool, followed by the 1/32in Engraving Cutter. I found that I was having issues using the cutter, even though it was designed for wood. It kept bouncing against the grain, leaving uneven lines. Luckily, they're not too obvious. Still, it meant that I didn't give this project as a gift, like I initially intended. 

Once I finished carving, I stained the wood. This is only one coat of the stain, and it covers very well. I really like the color, as well. The smudge on the bottom is where I tried to sand some of the rough edges from the carving. It did not go well--reason number two as to why I didn't give it as a gift. 

Then I used a small paintbrush to outline the Patronus doe and the words. The paintbrush was the perfect size for the engraving, although it did smudge a little in some areas. 

Next I used some silver screw hooks to attach a hanging chain to the top of the plaque. I used needle-nose pliers to bend the hooks into circles, and some jump rings to attach the chain to the hooks. I also screwed two of the hooks into the bottom of the plaque, though I wasn't entirely sure what I would hang there. I initially went with some comic con lanyard IDs, but it hangs too close to my whiteboard.

Here's a picture of the plaque in action. I hung it near my desk (you can see part if it in the bottom right-hand corner).

And here's a close-up. Overall, I'm happy with the way it looks. I'm looking forward to making the results of my next Dremel carving adventure a greater success, though. 

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should hang on here? I've been considering switching out the bottom screw hooks for larger ones, so that I can hang my gaming headset on it. 

See you next week! I have an Etsy Tuesday and a Gamer Drama planned!

Edit: Hello! I have since updated the plaque! Here's a link to the new blog, with the pictures! And here's a picture! I put larger hooks on the bottom, brightened the silver paint (I used a whiter silver), and shortened the chain. 

Sweet Geek Tattoos

Since I'm saving up for my next, Lord of the Rings, tattoo (and waiting for League of Legends to update), I thought I'd spend some time looking at pretty geek tattoos and share some of my favorites with you.

1) Harry Potter Quote
This tattoo is simple and sweet. I simply love it.

2) Nintendo Controller
Old school nintendo controller--this is my childhood!

3) "You're a Kitty!"
This is one of my favorite xkcd comics--mostly because I've discovered that it's very true since I've adopted my cat.

4) Bioshock
I love the subject and I love the quote--Bioshock is probably my favorite video game. In fact, I'm thinking of cosplaying as a splicer for C2E2 in April. And it's a girl's geek tattoo (so is the first one), which makes me happy on the inside.

5) Uhm...
Spockthulu?

6) Boba Fett
I like this take on the iconic bounty hunter. It's pretty and badass at the same time--and a combination of chibi and classic tattoo styles.

7) Krang
Not really a "pretty geek tattoo" but it made me lol so it's on here with the rest of them!

8) Portal
Short, sweet and to the point--and the artwork on the pictures are pretty cool. I love the shading on the companion cube.

9) Whedon Love
Every good geek girl has got to love Joss Whedon--whether for Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, or all of the above. And along with my love for Joss, comes my love for this little fella.

Good night, everyone!

Procrastination = Pretty Sci-Fi Jewelry

It's only a day later and I'm procrastinating again, this time by looking at pretty sci-fi geekery jewelry on etsy. I was a little disappointed by my A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones findings, but this search is proving to be much more rewarding.

First, Annie Nygard of the shop SpiffingJewelry has made several Firefly quote necklaces. This one is my personal favorite, but there are a few to choose from. Of course, if you get this you probably couldn't wear it to class.

I also love her Han/Leia jewelry and I am getting this snitch necklace for my boyfriend's sister, who is graduating college this spring. Or maybe for her birthday, if it's before graduation (I forget when it is. Oops.)

In honor of the upcoming release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D (not that this is really something we should be honoring), here are some pit droid earrings, which I found absolutely adorable. They are made by Sue Clark and available in her OutFromMyAttic store.

However, I would have to buy this AT-AT necklace, which would go excellently with my recently altered AT-AT tank (I'll have to put a picture of it up once I get it just right). I'm a sucker for an AT-AT, and I'm not sure why. Maybe they remind me of giant, mechanical puppies? I don't know. Anyway, this cute necklace is made by cassasstrophe and for sale at her shop of the same name.

I was always a little bit more of a Trek girl than a Wars girl, though, so here's something I actually squealed over when I found it: a bat'leth necklace. Apparently, the artist, Lindsey Woodward, and her boyfriend are regular con venders--here's hoping I see them sometimes. Their store is TwoTree and their business is Two Tree Illustrations. I'd suggest checking them out--their account suggests that the Vegas Star Trek Convetion would be a good place to start! The store looks amazing, and I want this. so. bad.

Also, they have Borg cube earrings. Squeal again.

Like most other living, breathing individuals, one of my favorite sci-fi video games is Portal. And, since it is so popular, that means that etsy is full of AMAZING pieces. The turrets are some of my favorite...characters... in Portal (mostly because they're polite enough not to hold a grudge when I KO them), and these earrings are excellent.

They're made by knil and for sale in the shop, also called knil. The whole shop is definitely worth a look--it's full of Zelda, Skyrim and Kingdom Hearts merchandise.

Also, while it's technically horror, Resident Evil has a definite sci-fi element to it (I mean, the whole premise is based on the horrors of biochemical engineering). YellerCrakka has come up with the perfect way to show a friend how you feel with these T-Virus and anti-virus friendship necklaces. Of course, if you really cared you'd probably have to give them the anti-virus. You could probably just say you really like blue and keep it for yourself, though, just in case. Once again, the entire shop is worth browsing. It's full of wondrous geekiness, plus some steampunk goodies.

I should probably start doing some of my school work (and work work) now, so have fun browsing!