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Thursday, February 25

Home Sweet Nerdy Home | 2016 update

Thursday, February 25

A year ago, I shared a look at the inside of our home. Although it hasn't changed all that much since then, we have gotten more art, more toys, and more books. So I thought an updated look was in order.

The Living Room


The Library

The Master Bedroom

Check out last year's post for more photos of the rest of the house. And thanks for "visiting"!

Friday, February 19

Haiku Revieu | Deadpool

Friday, February 19
Deadpool
★★★★★

Funny and vulgar
Rated R for a reason
Finally done right



A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.



WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.

I'm not super familiar with Deadpool canon, but I know this: the character is equally hilarious as he is crass, and he often breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to readers/viewers. He's a loose cannon, and doesn't really fit the traditional superhero mold; he has his own (often violent) way of doing things and a personal code of what's right and wrong. Because of these characteristics, I feel like it was a leap of faith to give the "merc with a mouth" his own movie. But boy, am I glad the powers that be took that chance.

Ryan Reynolds has spoken for more than a decade about his dream of bringing Deadpool to the big screen. And we got a glimpse of what could be in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where Reynolds played a snarky Wade Wilson pre-Deadpool, but was turned into something decidedly un-Deadpool by the end of the film. I can totally understand the hesitance of mixing Deadpool in with already established superhero movies, which are rated PG-13 and billed as family-friendly action movies, considering his character. But the fact that this movie made more than $50 million in its opening weekend proves that there's a market for this sort of thing.

Knowing about his dream aside, I've long believed that if anyone could pull off Deadpool, it was Reynolds. He has excellent comedic chops, and the skills and physique necessary for action roles. (But I'd be lying if I said the passion he has for the character wasn't a big selling point.) And pull it off he did. He is so good in the role. The supporting cast is all excellent as well, particularly Morena Baccarin, as (yet another) prostitute with a quick wit and a good heart, and Ed Skrein, who's got that sexy Brit thing working in his favor, even when he's being pure evil.

The jokes and references in Deadpool are spot-on. I'm positive I didn't get every single one, but I laughed for much of the film. And although you might think that this movie is nothing but poop jokes, sexy times—of which there is a montage, hilariously—and fight scenes, there are a surprising amount of truly heartfelt moments.

Side note: If you weren't aware, Deadpool is part of the X-Men universe. I was a little bummed to only get two X-Men in the film, one of which has THE WORST name, but understand why they kept the tie-in to a minimum. (And loved the joke about it.)

If you haven't seen this movie, you should. But please, don't take your kids. It's really, really not that kind of superhero flick.

Check it out:




Monday, February 8

Nerd News | Superbowl 50 trailers

Monday, February 8

While The Big Game promises a lot of action, sports-wise, I typically end up getting more enjoyment out of the commercials and trailers that are shown between plays. Below, you'll find a bunch of the more nerd-related trailers that aired.

Captain America: Civil War



Deadpool



X-Men: Apocalypse



Independence Day: Resurgence



Jason Bourne



10 Cloverfield Lane



The Jungle Book



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2



Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice went a different route this year with these Turkish Airline ads:




Don't have time to watch each trailer separately? Here's a supercut (of all of the comic book movies, at least):



Did you have a favorite trailer (and/or commercial) from the game? Feel free to link 'em in the comments if I didn't include them here!


Saturday, February 6

6 on 6 | February

Saturday, February 6


Learn more about the 6 on 6 project.

Friday, February 5

5 Fandom Friday | Five Favorite OTPs

Friday, February 5

For those who aren't familiar with the lingo—OTP stands for "one true pairing." The phrase means your favorite couple—be them an actual couple or people you just wish would be together—from a TV show, movie, book, etc.

What's great about the abbreviation, however, is that even while it implies there can be only one, you can actually have as many OTPs as you'd like. And trust me when I say that I certainly do. (So many that I've included some honorable mentions at the end of the post.)

Five Favorite OTPs


5 | Alice and Hatter, Alice


If you've never seen the SyFy miniseries Alice—I highly recommend it. It's a spin on the traditional Alice in Wonderland tale, and features a fantastic cast of strange and wonderful characters and a story that makes you want to watch all 8 hours of the series in one sitting. But what really makes it special is the relationship between Alice and Hatter. It's one that starts out full of enemistry*, but soon evolves into something much more.

4 | Celaena and Chaol, Throne of Glass


I'm a book behind in reading Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series, and I know some shakeups happen in the fourth book, but I'm totally dead-set on Celaena Sardothian** and Chaol Westfall ending up together. Their relationship starts out as a soldier/prisoner relationship, but quickly evolves into a mutual admiration, then friendship—then more. (Then more more, I hope.)

3 | Max and Liz, Roswell


Max Evans was pretty much my first pop culture crush (that counted) and the belief I had in his relationship with Liz Parker on Roswell was a full-blown OTP situation before I knew what OTPs were. I was so invested in the two of them being together that I actually still can't stand Emilie de Ravin—thanks completely to the fact that she played Tess, a character who attempted to drive Max and Liz apart.

2 | Clarke and Bellamy, The 100


I am totally head-over-heels in love with the idea of Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake, Princess and Rebel King of The 100, being together, regardless of the fact that it'll supposedly never happen (according to the show's creator). The two share far too many charged moments for their relationship to be purely platonic/one that co-leaders who had shared romantic feelings would have. (Thankfully, many people on the Internet agree with me, and create fanvids and fanfic to tide us all over.)

1 | Han and Leia, Star Wars


When I was younger, after watching the original Star Wars trilogy and quickly coming to adore the relationship between Han Solo and Leia Organa, I devoured the extended universe books, in which the two eventually get married and have kids. I knew, going into The Force Awakens, that things were going to be different, but I still held out hope that two would have had at least some sort of relationship between the movies. And although it wasn't exactly the happily ever after I'd wanted, it felt honest and real. Han <3 Leia, forever.

Honorable mentions: Ned and Chuck from Pushing Daisies, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from basically any Pride & Prejudice adaptation, Rachel Watts and James Mycroft from Ellie Marney's Every series, Aeryn Sun and John Crichton from Farscape, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark from The Avengers (mostly kidding on this one) ...

Learn more about 5 Fandom Friday and check out the prompts for February.

*Enemistry = "chemistry between enemies." A.k.a. the kind of relationship that starts out completely antagonistic, but eventually the two people realize they're totally head over heels for each other. Also, pretty much my favorite kind of relationship, as proven by the choices on this list.
**I'm using this name on purpose here because spoilers.

Monday, February 1

Hello, February

Monday, February 1


The 2016 Man Calendar:

Mr. February: Tom Hiddleston
Mr. January: Lee Pace

Download this page of the 2016 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".

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