Funko Friday | If I Could Only Keep One Funko ...

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have fun things planned for Halloween. I still have yet to figure out costumes, but ... I digress. And I'm back with another edition of Funko Friday, this time talking about:

If I Could Only Keep One Funko ...

Today's prompt asks, basically, "which Funko can you not live without?" For me, that's this guy, a 2012 San Diego Comic Con-exclusive Loki from The Avengers.

This Loki isn't the only Loki POP! I own, but he's definitely the most special. I wasn't at SDCC the year he was available, but I found him later on eBay. I added him to my wishlist on a whim, but wasn't expecting anyone to buy him for me (as he wasn't the cheapest POP! on the block).

But The Mister's sister and brother-in-law are amazing family members—and friends—and surprised me with him one Christmas. Now, he has a place of honor among my Loki shrine, and his odd little tilt of the head makes me smile every time I see him.

Learn more about Funko Fridays.

Haiku Revieu | Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak
★★3/4

House with walls that bleed
Why are her sleeves so dang large?
Tom is still pretty

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In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds—and remembers.

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WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.

I was excited to see Crimson Peak for a number of reasons: 1. I think Guillermo del Toro creates some really unique and beautiful movies. 2. I like the actors in the movie. 3. I think Gothic horror is a fun genre. 4. Tom Hiddleston. (I can't lie to you guys.) Sadly, the combination of all of the above didn't make for a very good film.

Let's start with a few things I liked: Everything in the movie is very pretty. The costumes, the people, the sets, the scenery. Even when you get to the spookier stuff, it's still prettily done. The movie isn't too scary, either. There are some frightening parts, but it's not out to shock you for shock's sake. Plus: Tom Hiddleston pulls off Gothic finery extremely well.

I also appreciate that the movie was very much Edith's story. I can't remember where I saw it, but somewhere online I ran across a statement that said something like, had this movie been made in the past, the story would have been from Alan's perspective, rather than Edith's.

Now, for what I didn't like: The story itself is super predictable (and really icky, when all is said and done), and it doesn't always seem to know what it's doing; certain scenes stick out like they were added in from other films. I wanted to throttle Edith at times for just going with what obviously was some questionable stuff. (I mean, there's a giant hole in the ceiling of your house, and the walls bleed clay, and you're OK with living there? NOPE.) Some of the scarier parts felt more ridiculous than creepy. And, at times, the delivery of lines fell totally flat.

I tried to like this movie, I really did. Maybe I just missed what del Toro was trying to do with it. If you know, I'd love to hear it.

Check it out:

Five years ago today | Happy anniversary, Mister!

Five years ago today, I married my best friend. The years since have been amazing, and the not-so amazing parts I got through because I have him by my side.

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

To the ends of the universe, my love. Here's to many, many, many more wonderful years to come.

P.S.—If you're interested in reading more about our love story—we were high school sweethearts—I wrote up a post about it in 2013, but all is still accurate today.

Nerd News | Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer

In case you missed it, a new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released last night.

Full disclosure: I haven't watched it yet. I spent much of last night trying to get tickets for the actual movie—long story short, we ended up driving down to the theater to buy them there—and missed the TV premiere. That doesn't really explain me not watching it the second I got home, though ...

I used to love watching movie trailers. And, to a certain extent, I still do. What I don't love is the recent movement toward having teasers for teasers, and teasers, and teasers for trailers, and trailers, and TV spots, and special reveals ... the list goes on. I go to the movies to be surprised and delighted, and I really don't want to see everything there is to see before I am actually there.

Maybe I'm just getting crotchety in my old age? Regardless, I had to blog about it. If I didn't, I'd feel like I was letting myself (and the few of you who might not have seen it and want to watch it) down. I mean, this is a pretty momentous event in Nerd History.

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Also of note:

• A guy made a Mjolnir replica that only he can lift, and it's awesome.¹
• Gilmore Girls is returning with a limited series on Netflix!

¹ Thanks, Colt!

Funko Fridays | Once Upon a Funko

Although I haven't participated since last month—I'm not done with 5 Fandom Friday. Life's been a bit busy, with vacation, work, non-work work, etc. I'll participate again ... but not this week.

This week, I'm taking part in Funko Fridays, a new blogging prompt project created and hosted by Kimi of Kimi Who? and Pepi of de pepi. The project is all about celebrating love for Funko collectibles—which I have in spades.

The most well-known of Funko's product lines is certainly the ever-expanding POP! Vinyl collection ( ... of which we own around 40 ...), but the company offers many more lines, one of which I'll be talking about today.

Once Upon a Funko

Today's prompt is all about your first Funko. I actually received my first Funko item long before I knew about the company.

These are three of our Wacky Wobblers. (We also have Bossk, 4-Lom, and a Tie Fighter Pilot, but they're in a box in a closet, and—sorry—I didn't feel like digging through that mess.) The Wacky Wobbler line is a line of semi-realistic (think caricatures) bobbleheads. These we received as a Christmas gift nearly a decade ago, and they quickly received a place of honor in our Star Wars-decorated kitchen.

My tastes lean much more toward the cute side of things (hence the 40 POP!s), so I don't know that I'll be adding to our Wacky Wobbler collection, but I do love these three gents.

Learn more about Funko Fridays.

Haiku Revieu | The Martian

The Martian
★★★★3/4

Left for dead on Mars
How does he get back to Earth
Bring home Matt Damon

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During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

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WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.

I have not read the book version of The Martian, nor did I know much about the plot before watching the movie. I knew the basic gist, however—rescue Matt Damon from a very perilous situation. (The U.S. has apparently spent a lot of money on this task.)

Unlike the similar stranded-astronaut role Matt played in Interstellar, the role of Mark Watney is a delight. You might think that someone who gets stranded on Mars would completely lose his sense of humor, but thankfully that's far from the case. In general, I prefer roles in which Matt is able to be genial, since he just seems like a supremely likeable human being, and Mark Watney fits that preference to a T.

The rest of the cast, featuring the likes of Jessica Chastain, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Donald Glover—I know, right?—are all also excellent, even if their roles are limited when compared with Matt's.

And because it takes place on Mars (for the most part), The Martian is a gorgeous film. I'm not entirely sure how accurate the scenery was, but I'm definitely a fan of the landscape. The CGI is also pretty impeccable. Everything—even the parts that obviously weren't—felt so real. That said, I couldn't help but think about my high school dream to become an astronaut and laugh. I get motion sick so easily; I never would have made it past the first day of zero-G training.

The Martian is a surprisingly funny, at times anxiety causing, overall fantastic film. Now, to check out the book.

Check it out:

New tattoo | Avengers (and Loki) assemble!

If you're a friend on social media, you might have seen me post my new tattoo a little over a month ago, when it was very, uh, fresh. (Apologies to those of you who aren't fans of blood. Although there wasn't much, there was definitely some.) Now that it's all healed, I wanted to share another, less weepy, photo, and tell you a little more about it.

In case you aren't sure what is what, here's a key:

1 | Loki's helmet
2 | The Avengers' "A" logo
3 | Iron Man's Arc Reactor
4 | Captain America's shield
5 | Black Widow's icon
6 | Arrows for Hawkeye
7 | A gamma radiation symbol for Hulk
8 | Mjölnir, Thor's hammer

I'm no stranger to tattoos. I got my first one close to a decade ago, and every two years or so I've added to my collection. And although I started small—my first was a star on my neck, followed by parts of quotes on the inside of each wrist—I went big pretty quickly.

After finishing up my three-quarter sleeve a couple of years ago, I almost immediately started thinking about what to get next. (Tattoos really are totally addicting.) I knew I wanted to get something Avengers-related, specifically the Marvel Cinematic Universe version, even more specifically the first Avengers movie. But I had a hard time figuring out how to make all of the pieces fit together. So I started playing around with the various icons, or items that could represent the various superheros, and ended up with this design. And yes, I realize that Loki's not a superhero, nor an Avenger, but really ... if you know me, you know that I couldn't not include him.

I'm super happy with the way it turned out, and am so pleased to have yet another of my favorite things as permanent art on my self. Major thanks to Megan at Bijou Studio in Austin, who did this tattoo and my three-quarter sleeve. I can't recommend her enough!

Do you have any nerdy tattoos? I'd love to see them! Share a link or a photo in the comments.

Nerd News | Sherlock Special teaser

AMAZING.

I still don't understand how the fits in with the larger series, but really ... who cares? This looks like so much fun.

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Also of note:

• Patrick Ness, one of my favorite authors—he wrote the Chaos Walking trilogy, among other excellent works—is writing a Doctor Who YA spinoff TV series, Class, set to hit televisions next year.
• Speaking of Who, here's a first look at the new Doctor Who Lego sets. 
• And speaking of favorite literary stuff coming to TV, Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is being adapted into a miniseries.
• Unrelated to anything above, but still awesome: A couple of days ago, thousands of high-res photos from the Apollo moon missions were shared online.

6 on 6 | October

Learn more about the 6 on 6 project.

Everyone appreciates you, October

The 2015 Man Calendar:

Mr. October: Lee Pace
Mr. September: Idris Elba
Mr. August: Chris Hemsworth
Mr. July: Benedict Cumberbatch
Mr. June: Chris Evans
Mr. May: Henry Cavill
Mr. April: Michael Fassbender
Mr. March: Jensen Ackles
Mr. February: Tom Hiddleston
Mr. January: Eoin Macken

Download this page of the 2015 Man Calendar for personal use by clicking on the image; it will open in a new window. Right/control click to save it. Then print the page on letter-size cardstock, and trim it to 6"x9".