The Geek and Inkwell

I have long lusted after and looked for Ripley's Reeboks in "Aliens." Well, this week, on  Pinterest,  I found a pair very reminiscent of those... Unfortunately, it appears these red-and-grey ones that I like are already sold out, but still - awesome. :) Product page On the subject of shoes, I love TOMS - they are so comfy and versatile. So, naturally, I fell in love with these hand-painted R2D2 TOMS that I found (again) on  Pinterest . Product page I guess it's nice for geeks that geeky weddings and all their related trappings are becoming more acceptable (we would have gone ahead with them anyway...). So, if your geeky wedding happens to be Star Wars-themed - or even if it's not, and you're just a fan of unique rings - here is a Star Wars-themed wedding band (I saw this on The Mary Sue ): Product page And last, but not least - the granddaddy of all the geek gear I perused this week... LORD OF THE RINGS LEGOS!!! I was particularly entranced ...

Here is a pretty sharp-looking monster movie alphabet video. See if you can name them all! You know I approve of starting out the bunch with "A" for "Alien." :) ABC monsters from La Pompadour on Vimeo . (Via  The Mary Sue )

Ever since reading Neil Gaiman's  The Graveyard Book, I have been eager to pick up more of his work. I am new to the world of Gaiman, but it is through the enthusiasm of his fans that I even learned of him in the first place. I mean, some of the authors I admire most admire him , so I knew there had to be something very magical and very special about his work. And there is. That is what I loved about The Graveyard Book  - its sweetness and scariness, its treatment of the fantastic as ordinary and accessible. These things reminded me of the writing of the master, Peter S. Beagle. And these elements are present in American Gods, too. But I'll be honest, after The Graveyard Book , American Gods  was an absolute shock. I had to transition from reading about the adventures of little Nobody Owens growing up in a graveyard to wading through a gritty, jaded view of America and the most graphic descriptions of sexual encounters I have ever  read. I knew beforehand th...

Many artists' readiness to insult their audience's intelligence has long been one of my pet peeves. It is good to leave a little to the imagination - to make your audience wonder and ask questions of the work and of each other. I think that's why I have so much admiration for Becky Cloonan's  "Wolves." Cloonan reveals enough of this horror story/romance to make us feel the narrator's anguish and the imminent doom, yet has left enough unsaid that we must draw our own conclusions about the tale. This short story has been available since 2011, but I just now got ahold of it through  Graphicly,  where it can now be downloaded for a mere $0.99. It was worth every penny and more - the glaring black and white illustrations are stunning, and Cloonan has laid the story out in such a way that anyone who was interested in making this into a short film would find most of the work completed for them. I like to think the art in a comic is effective when I can feel w...

This week's window shopping was actually sort of a shopping spree... There was just so much good geek gear out there! To start, this binary wrist watch from  UncommonGoods , which  Fashionably Geek  is going to let one of their fans win sometime next week: Via  Fashionably Geek I also found these adorable Hello Kitty iPhone cases: For sale on  Ebay If I had a laptop, and if it were a Mac (those are two very big and unlikely "ifs"), I would definitely have to have this Frodo laptop decal: Via  Pinterest  via  Uniquedaily.com Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, you have to admit this Boba Fett purse has a sharp look to it. Unfortunately, it's not for sale on catpenfold's  Etsy page at the moment, but her other stuff is worth checking out, as well. :) Via  Fashionably Geek  via  Etsy.com Also from the treasure trove that is Etsy, these "His and Hers" mugs with Han Solo and Princess Leia's famous rom...

This trailer has tons more footage than any I've seen yet, and guess who I glimpsed looking way less decayed or maybe even alive at about 2 minutes, 10 seconds in? The SPACE JOCKEY! :) Take a look:

I stumbled across these very sweet Hunger Games  paper cutouts by  Isabel Talsma  on Etsy.com. Such a great idea and so well done! Product page Product page Product page

The world probably doesn't need another review of Mockingjay , but I'm going to write one anyway. I didn't expect to love Suzanne Collins' trilogy as much as I did, especially after reading the first book in the series - The Hunger Games . You can read my review of it  here.  As you can see, I was less than captivated. But then I read Catching Fire  and everything changed. By the end of the second book, I could tell we were getting to the real subject matter at hand. To my mind, Mockingjay  is the book that asks the hard questions and tells the most truth, and honestly, I think that's why most of the young adults I have talked to like it the least. Before I go any further, I should issue a warning that if you haven't read the entire Hunger Games  trilogy yet, you should probably come back to this post later, since I can't write the review I want to write without giving away some major plot points. Secondly, so that you know I am not making up the fact th...

Love this nerdy spin on Louis Vuitton: Via  Fashionably Geek  via  Threadless Crayons in the likeness of Han Solo frozen in carbonite... :) Via  Set Phasers To Lol Awesome fur-lined Ewok Nikes from an artist named Jacob Patterson: Via Fashionably Geek  via  A Show Called Kicks

It would be inaccurate to say that after reading The Last Unicorn  in graphic novel format I fell in love with the story all over again, because one never does fall out  of love with The Last Unicorn.  I guess I could say that this stunning collaboration by Peter himself,  Peter B. Gillis ,  Renae de Liz , and many others   re-awakened a deep fondness for the scenes and settings, characters and emotions in this masterful story. I stumbled across this recent graphic novel while on my Nook,  and I could not be more pleased with my purchase. There are two reasons. First, the artwork is breathtaking. Some of the frames literally appear to glow, while others seem to burn, and still others seem to convey a genuine mist and dampness. The drawings by  Renae de Liz  (the mind behind  Womanthology ), are everything a Last Unicorn  fan could hope for in terms of a treatment of their beloved characters. Everything is there - Amalt...

For some of us, the tragic life and death of Severus Snape is still a sore subject - still makes us a little misty-eyed. So, fantasize for a moment that he is still alive, with this hilarious video from the folks over at the  How It Should Have Ended  YouTube channel:

Hello, all - I am back from a weekend away from the blogosphere with some good news for the Terry Pratchett fans out there. A while back, I wrote a review  of Making Money , and noted a thorough reading guide for the Discworld novels. Well, the creator of that Discworld Reading Guide, Krzysztof Kietzman, has come out with a new version of the guide for 2012 - version 2.1. You can download it  here.  Go check it out, as well as its cool hosting site,  Discworld Fanatics . Image courtesy of  Discworld Fanatics

Here's a brief but cool video on what we can expect for Halo 4, including the addition of some story to the multiplayer aspect of the game, as well as a whole new array of sound effects. Take a look: I found "Halo 4: First Look" via  Set Phasers to LOL .

On Saturday, March 3rd, I get up at 7:30am. I get on the computer and prepare for Comic-Con 2012 badge sales to go live. I text with my Comic-Con buddy, and we share that we are nervous and really paranoid that something is going to go wrong. My atomic watch is in my hand, and I watch the seconds tick by. The clock strikes 8am, and the email link we were sent goes live. The link is broken. Panicking, my Comic-Con buddy and I check Twitter and Facebook for a solution to what is happening. You're supposed to copy and paste the link, they say. You can get to the badge sales through a button on the website, they say, contrary to ultra-specific instructions all registrant-hopefuls were given. We finally make it into the "internet waiting room" for purchasing badges. I am approximately number 26,000 in line, and my Comic-Con buddy is approximately 24,000. We are upset that the email link we were sent was faulty, that people who did not follow instructions were the first...

Humankind has welcomed animal companions into daily life since, well, the beginning of society. Why should our favorite sci-fi and fantasy tales reflect anything different? Read on to see a list of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy pets, and don't forget to add on some of your own in the comments section! The Good Jonesy  Jones is one brave cat. He is one of only two survivors to escape the Nostromo , and is accustomed to cryosleep.  I've read that he appears both in Halo and in World of Warcraft, so his resilience is obviously widely inspiring. And he really did try to warn that guy Brett about the Xenomorph behind him... Sam I am and always will be a dog lover, so naturally, I've got a soft spot for Sam - Dr. Robert Neville's German Shepherd in "I Am Legend." She is Dr. Neville's faithful companion, and I found his last scene with her to be very powerful and sad. Here's to man's best friend. Appa You can't watch "The...

Narwhal ring holders! They are hand-crafted, so no two are exactly alike. :) Via  Fashionably Geek  via  Neatoshop Marvel Comics Paracord survival bracelets Via  Fashionably Geek  via  Bigbadtoystore.com Truly awesome art carved out of books... Follow the Pinterest link below to see more. Via  Pinterest

Had to share this. Many faces - one very attractive man. And  one great actor - see, I am not completely shallow. :) see more Set Phasers To Lol