SEPTEMBER CABIN COMFORTS

                             stuff I'm digging this month 

        

      STAR WARS

SHATTERED EMPIRE      

   MARVEL COMICS 

 Set on Endor, writer Greg Rucka introduces us to upcoming Force Awakens superstar Poe Dameron's
Pappy and Ma. Marco Checchetto illustrates cleanly and can draw one hell of a Han Solo, while color
artist Andres Mossa makes the artwork come to life. An engaging introduction that has me wanting more.
bonus points for featuring Ewoks! Yub Nub!

    Witches Brew

     Yankee Candle

Sure, Halloween is still a month away but who cares?!?! Western Massachusetts beloved candle makers Yankee Candle has released there Fall line and "Witches' Brew" is one you should be summoning into your own dungeons. A mix of subdued Patchouli with hints an almost licorice spicy/sweetness that I will be burning until mid November. 

SPEERT BEARD COMB 

Speert Gets the Wookie on my face groomed and in tip top shape. Extremely durable and sleek, these friends of the beard are handmade in Switzerland. They also offer combs for your dome.

 

 AMERICAN PSYCHO 

Part name brand love story, part "Wait...what the hell did this guy just say he wanted to do?!?!", Brett Easton Ellis's "American Psycho" (Father of the film starring Christian Bale and Justin Theroux.) is a vicious, page turning trip into the warped mind and deeds of 1980's wall street business man Patrick Bateman. The book does a great job of lulling you into a world of day to day grind, before punching you in the face with sudden brutality. 

  

       TIE BARS

 Let the other chumps tie just lay there limp, lifeless and flaccid. You know that a good tie bar adds +10 Handsome to your outfit (Maybe even Nullify ice attacks but were still awaiting the results). Not wearing a tie? Get some ties!

              

              

            Tijuana Bibles

 

 

 

 As an avid Clark Gable fan, I one day asked the sage-like proprietor of a flea market booth if he had anything interesting featuring the King of Hollywood that I could add to my collection. The mischievous twinkle in his eye and his giddy "I've got something your gonna love!" was enough to tell me it was something unusual. "Tijuana Bibles" are basically your grandfathers version of erotic fan fiction. Sold under the counter in bars, barbershops, bowling alleys and anywhere chaps during the 1920's-1960's hung out, these nasty little books featured some of the days biggest celebrities and cartoon characters such as Judy Garland, Popeye and Dick Tracy in various salacious activities and include pearl clutching artwork . 

Vintage Trading Cards

                                                                          

Brings back some of that great nostalgia you felt as a kid, before trading cards cost $6.00 a pack!
Currently I'm digging the old Star Wars and Indiana Jones stuff. Save money and space in your place by buying singles on Ebay of only your favorite characters instead of entire sets. That way you don't end up with fifteen cards featuring Lobot. 

   White Pumpkin Ale

   Westfield River Brewing 

   Company     

 

 

Amazing entry into the Fall craze of Pumpkin flavored everything. Light and full of Spice and warmth this is one beer I will be sure to stock up on! From Westfield River Brewing Company     

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

             DON'T FEED THEM AFTER MIDNIGHT!

  Last night I was to be a guest at one of the earliest Halloween parties ever! Being super strapped for cash I knew that purchasing ANYTHING to make a costume would be out of the question. I fancy myself quite the on the fly costume maker so I was up for the challenge. After a few minutes of tossing around ideas ( Hercules?, Hipster Aladdin?) my baby browns fell upon my beloved wall of action figures.

Billy Peltzer!!!! Wondrous hero of Gremlins. One of my favorite films of all time! With idea in place I set off on constructing my masterpiece. I of course took some liberties (I'm not gonna shave ever again and my red jacket is really more of a Marty McFly vest) but all in all I was happy with the results. My wife went as the ever lovely Kate (played by Phoebe Cates in the film) but her shyness won't allow for a blog photo. With Mogwai's in tote we headed off to the Party and onto Halloween costume glory! And so, In honor of my evening as an 80's hero, here are a few behind the scenes photos from the set of Gremlins. 
                                                               

                                                     

                                        

                                         

 
                                         
                       

                       FORCE FRIDAY: MY ADVENTURE

 
Little decision making was to be had when I first heard about Force Friday. I certainly knew that I DID NOT have the extra money kicking around to spend on action figures, but come hell or high death star I was going to do it anyways! This was sure to be one of those moments in a Star Wars nerds life that should not be passed up and I would just as soon kiss a Wookie, than stay home and sleep like a normal person.

    As most of you know, the big three vying for customers affections were Target, Walmart and Toys R Us. All three heavily advertised that they would be the place to shop come midnight and that events and fun were sure to be had!  Living in Western, Ma however I already suspected that nobody at any of these stores would have any clue of what I was talking about. I called Walmart and was treated to a typical response of "DUHHHHH". Target had no clue what I was talking about either and sent me to three different departments on the phone before I finally just hung up. A later, physical trip to the store yielded some info that they would not be opening at midnight and thus was a deal breaker for myself as I like to do all my nerding by moonlight. Toy's R Us however answered with a resounding "YES!". With A location now picked out, I moved on with my battle plans.
                                              

                                                       
Much turmoil sloshed around inside me in the upcoming days. What figures would I try and buy? What was my battle plan? What time should I arrive? Should I be dressed like Obi-Wan?!?!?
 With time I finalized a course of action. And come Thursday night, I was determined to get the goods. With wife in tote, we headed out the door and onward to fortune and glory. But on our way to Toys R Us I was taken over by a sense of dread! "What if we left too late? The lines probably around the block by now!" thoughts of scores of people dressed like jawas and sand people smugly grasping all the good merchandise ran through my head. I think I ran a red light.
                                            

                                                        

It was 10:30 when we pulled up to the Toys R Us. I was thankfully relieved to discover that the line was only nine people deep! Soon I was sitting on the parking lot pavement, satisfied with our position. The remaining hours flew by! It was everything that I was hoping a gathering of Star Wars fans would create. Quotes from the old films as well as speculation and theories about the new ones dominated the conversations of me and my fellow shoppers. A woman thoughtfully left her car running and played the films soundtrack loud enough to keep the excitement high. And the best part of course was a visit from The 501st! which many of you will know as the amazingly detailed Star Wars costuming organization!  Among all the excitement of selfies being taken and the admiring of the great costuming the final moments ticked down and Midnight was here!
                                         

                                            
As to be expected, it was on! The doors opened and some people started to run. I told my wife to grab the free giveaways and that I would scout ahead. I made a bee line for where I knew the action figures were, my shoes clicking noisily on the floor as I ran by blurs of My Little Pony and Inside Out! Soon I was there, plenty of figures were left at the moment but I knew that once the rest of the wolf pack caught up they would start tearing it apart like oolah in the Rancor pit. I had to act fast. I had decided early that I wanted the two Poe Dameron action figures (something tells me that he will be my new favorite character but come December lets see if I was wrong) and I  found the first one no problem. But where was the second one?!?! My eyes darted nervously over plastic versions of Finn and Stormtroopers and even that stupid CGI Constable alien thing that I'm sure to hate but for the life of me I just couldn't find the Armor Up Poe Dameron! Suddenly it happened. From behind me, hands started grasping and grabbing at any figure they could find. My chances were looking bleak. Like phantom menaces they spirited away any figure they touched. Suddenly I saw him, the only one left and I quickly snatched him up before the Sarlacc pit behind me could get there filthy tentacles on him!
                                       

                                                     

Suddenly, as quick as it began...it was all over. Some customers walked away with big smiles while other shoppers, heads hung low, paced back and fourth trying to find something to justify the wait in line. The stores were not super prepared to deal with this. I was one of the lucky ones. Me and the Mrs.'s got everything that we wanted out of the experience. We had a fun time talking with other fans in line, we got see some people in costumes and we were able to feel that nerdy thrill of getting the thing you want. If anything, it was a great excuse to stay up late and be a geek.
                                         

                                                                          

                                          
                                                                  

 

 

              

 

                           AGENT CARTER FOR THE WIN

     I will admit, it kind of came out of nowhere for me. I was completely oblivious to the toiling behind the scenes over at ABC studios as they created this new miniseries about Cap America's sweetheart until I suddenly saw the ad's a few weeks before the premiere. Regardless I was highly excited for the prospect of a Marvel television program that was not the Agents of S.H.I.T. and the fact that it stars one of the best things about the Captain America film ( Hayley Atwell) was an even bigger draw for me. 

    In viewing the two hour long premiere, I can happily say that my faith in Marvel's ability to create a decent television show that has as much fun, action and shine as it's movies do, has been restored! Great casting, amazing visuals and a classic comic style adventure all come together for a television program that could very well be shown on the big screen and pass as a film!

    Set in the post war 40's in New York city, English rose Peggy Carter finds herself at a stand still in her career. Used to pushing around the bad guys during WW2 she is now pushing pencils at a agency who treats her more like a secretary than a secret agent. This of course can only last so long and the return to more exciting adventures returns with a secret meeting with Howard Stark ( Domenic Cooper).

                                                   Do you Fondu?

   The future daddy of Tony Stark needs some help, someone has stolen some of his deadly experiments, ones too dangerous for him to sell or to see the light of day. lovingly referred to as his " Bad babies". This of course sets the pace for the story as Agent Carter gets into the thick of things again and sets out on an old school secret agent adventure. 

   I love this show so far and I feel that it can easily become very popular with other Marvel nerds. The return of two supporting characters ( Carter and Howard) while cleverly referencing "Captain America: First Avenger" makes the show seem more like a big screen sequel than a T.V. show. New characters fit in swimmingly with the old ones and unlike S.H.I.E.L.D. were clearly chosen more for their acting ability and not just because they were a pretty face.

   The setting is visually appealing as well, 1940's New York comes to life and remains a constant focus through masterful use of costuming, props and interior design.

  Action sequences are fun and VERY comic-esque without being groan worthy. Fight Scenes, explosions, shootouts...everything one could want in a spy show are present in Agent Carter.

  So!...without giving too much detail, as I hate spoiling shows for other folks, that is my abridged version of Marvels Agent Carter. Returning and new, the cast is spot on. Setting and costumes are both visually appealing and interesting and the action was fun. All in all, This show is everything that I come to expect from a Marvel offering. And I will most definitely be watching for the long run!

   Have you guys seen the show? What did you think? How do you feel about everything? Let me know in the comments below!

 

                                      Heroism By The Inch

 There is only a few places that a 6'3 man such as myself can not feel like a bumbling Sasquatch, one of those places would be the NBA, and the other place is apparently the Marvel Universe.

HalloweenCostumes.com and artist Kate Willaert, http://katewillaert.tumblr.com/post/94464121796/marvel-heroes-height-comparison-chart has come up with this handy height chart of some of your favorite Marvel characters! It's great to know for the giants among us, that a staggering amount of heroes are over the height are 6' or over. Some of the heights seem common place. We all knew that Wolverine was on the shorter side, but some heights such as Gomora surprised me (Go on you amazon goddess) and The Thing ( really that's it?!?!)