Sweet Star Wars Swag

Every once in a blue moon a friend asks me if I want some old Star Wars stuff they have. Being an avid collector, yes is almost always my answer. Most of them are extremely generous & just give me the stuff. In fact, I don't think any of my friends have ever wanted money from me for the goodies they have handed over. Most of the time they say things like: "I know it will be safe with you", or "Well, at least I know you will take care of it", even "Well, at least it won't just go up on Ebay to someone I don't even know". This means a great deal to me. These friends are entrusting me with important items from their childhood. Things they love, but just don't have a place for in their adult homes & lives. Sometimes, however, I get Star Wars swag from friends that have talked their spouses out of it. I count myself lucky. I will never have that problem. I live with a fangirl. I feel for them, but I want them to know, I will take care of it. It will be displayed for others to see & I appreciate their sacrifice. Just today one such sacrifice arrived at my home. Let me tell you, this was one of those times when you open a box & gasp in disbelief. What you find inside exceeds all expectations & you are magically transported back to a random Christmas sometime between 1978/79 to 1983/84. I have dreams about things like this! I never actually owned an original Ewok Village & now my friends...I do. Complete in mint shape minus one tiny part. Not only that but some amazing other things, like original figs, instruction books, card backs, weapons, and a complete vintage near mint working AT-ST. I want to say "Thank you" to the brave soul who allowed his wife to ship those things my way. I also want to say "Thank You" to Christy for talking him into letting you do it! I'm clearing a space for it ASAP.

AT-AT Boombox

This AT-AT Boombox seems to be a custom-made Mod job. I found it here: BoingBoing
and here: Gizmo

It's pretty cool. From the comments on both pages I'm pretty sure they would sell really well. Perhaps a home theatre system with a death star subwoofer and AT-AT for the front end sound and hangable Tie Fighters for the left & right back speakers could also appear. That would be super sweet!

Storm Shadow Sideshow Exclusive

Go sign up & do what you've gotta do to be the first in line for this! Limited to only 1,000 pieces worldwide and only available direct from SideshowCollectibles.com this G.I. Joe/Cobra 12 inch figure is going to be hot, not to mention the coolest thing on the toy shelf or mantle! Make sure you are qualified for Priority Pre-Order before Thursday, February 26th at 11:59 PM (PT) by signing up at Sideshow and filling out the online "paper"work. The Priority Pre-Order event for the new G.I. Joe Storm Shadow 12-inch Figure begins Friday, February 27th, at 10:00 AM (Pacific Time). Storm Shadow will cost you $119.00.

Obi-Wan

Wow. I really want to start collecting these Sideshow Collectibles statues. This one is from a New Hope & has great detail and a really great likeness of Obi-Wan. It is 12" H (304.8mm) x 9" W (228.6mm) x 8" D (203.2mm)* and weighs in at 6.00 lbs (2.72 kg).
It'll cost you US $159.99 + S&H.

Wave 8 Star Wars Mighty Muggs

Get ready for the next wave of Mighty Muggs! Qui-Gon, Wicket, Wampa, & Emperor's Royal Guard are up for grabs sometime between now & April!

Darth Vader Toaster

Check it out at StarWarsShop.com

Red Star

If you love the good 'ol USSR as much as me and you read comics then you have probably come across Red Star. Red Star is an award-winning graphic novel created by Christian Gossett. It follows an epic battle in a world of militarized sorcery and monolithic technology, where...well, I don't want to spoil it for you. Go pick it up and then grab yourself one of these to go along. There's three characters to choose from: Kyuzo Desert Combat, Maya, & Makita. Pictured here is Makita. They run $40 and might be a little hard to find (try Ebay or wishlist them at Gentle Giant).

Golf Club Covers From A Galaxy Far Far Away

Here for a mere $24.99 is a snazzy golf club cover for any fanboy/girl. Yoda, Chewy, and Vader can now help you use the Force in your golf game!

New collectors Wonder Woman Barbie

Mattel made a Wonder Woman Barbie a few years back, but now they have a new version including the cape. She retails for around $50 and you can find her online at Entertainment Earth or probably at your local comics or Barbie collector shop.

Resolute

So, everyone has been posting resolutions and what changes they want to make and so on and so forth. I never was much for these things but this year is a bit different. In the last 8 years I have gotten so far away from my intended path that I think it's time to get back on track. To do this I realized I needed some goals, inspiration, motivation and "gasp" maybe some resolutions. I am an artist, musician and writer. That is my first resolution. When people ask me what I do, that is to be my answer. Not my day job title. That job is simply to pay bills while I reach my goals and fulfill my dreams. It is not me or any part of who I am. Now, if I am an artist, musician, and writer than I damn well better start painting, creating, composing, writing, practicing all these things and start producing some sort of results. NaNoWriMo really helped me get geared up and passionate as far as the writing, now I need to find an art competition and music writing/composing competition to do the same. That's #3. Find and enter every ligit competition I can. I want to ride my bicycle more often to get rid of what appears to be blossoming saddle bags on the sides of my thighs. I also want to get back to being more muscular. I loved weight lifting. It gave me a sense of strength and confidence in myself. I want that again. I also want to practice being more social. I realized sometime last year that I have completely managed to lose most of the social skills I picked up in college. I had zero before I got there so you can guess where I am at now. I have to be okay with doing dumb things sometimes and looking like an ass sometimes and maybe saying the wrong things sometimes so I can learn how to do all those things the right way. Ever since entering into the world of retail my confidence and social skills have dramatically declined. I think it was from the constant belittling and negative bombardment of co-workers and especially customers. I learned how mean and nasty people are to people in customer service no matter how good you are or how hard you try to please. I will NEVER work retail again. I swear to you I would shoot or hang myself first. I am not kidding.
I am also going to practice more living in the moment. It is a Buddhist philosophy that I really love. Forget the past. Detach yourself from it and quit looking into the future at what you think might happen or what you want to happen and focus on today. What can I do today. So there ya go. Wish me luck. I hope you all meet your goals and this year we all kick ass instead of getting our asses kicked! :)

Seriously, Go check this guy out!

If you love toys and art this guy deserves a look. I have been working on paintings with the same idea. Mine are more about capturing the essence of the cartoon or animation whereas his are paintings of the actual toys themselves! Go here: http://www.robertburden.net/main.html

The New G.I. Joe movie

Okay, Snakes eyes looks awesome. However, the rest of the Joes look like members of Blackhawk. No G.I. Joe insignias, no special things to make each member stand out. Once again, the studios have opted for the basic black look that the x-men started. WTF? I am so tired of every hero having the same stupid outfit. Gung-ho seriously can't wear his jeans and torn denim vest? Seriously. Too gay? Too macho? To much the character? No classic tan and green for Duke? No cool Scarlet outfit? Geez. How f'n drabe. Sure to suck at a theatre near you, especially since basically the plot makes these guys out to be mercanary fighters and not secret military soldiers. So in essence they are Blackhawk.

R.I.P. Bettie Page

The last of the Pin-up Queens has passed away. Bettie has always been an inspiration artistically for me. I always found her build and size the way I prefer to draw women. Skinny, exaggerated, or abnormally shaped women are easy to draw. I am still working on perfecting the beauty of what was the Bettie Page model. She had a tortured life and I hope she has at last found peace. So long last of the great Pin-up gals. In my opinion, you were the greatest!

Vader helmets "pimped"

Add c4_vaderproject to your page

Sideshow Slave Leia Statue

The limited Sideshow edition has already sold out, but the regular edition of this beautiful sculpture of Slave Leia is available for pre-order now from Sideshow Collectibles. She will set you back $249.99, but I bet the smiles of admiration will last a lifetime. Order it for Christmas and it will arrive the 1st quarter of 2009.

Notice any similarities?

This is a Civil War map. Confederate States in Red.



The next map is a map of the Confederacy during the Civil War and States and territories claimed by CSA without formal secession and/or control.



The last map is the 2008 Electoral Map. Montana is shown blue but was actually red and switch Missouri and North Carolina's colors.



Interesting.

Star Wars Luggage Tags

Available right now at starwarsblt.getsolo.com are these cool luggage tags. There are 25 to choose from and they only cost $7.99 ea. They are limited in availability, so if you know someone who travels and loves Star Wars, this is a great gift idea! Get them while they last!

Star Wars Poker Chips

$149.99 for:

* 50 Red Chips- Darth Vader
* 50 Green Chips - Yoda
* 50 Blue Chips - Luke Skywalker
* 50 Blue Chips - Obi-Wan Kenobi
* Decks of casino quality poker cards in foil boxes
* Death Star dealer button with .25" chromed metal
* 72 LED lights powered by 4 AA batteries (included)
* 90-day warranty

Star Wars Slippers

Keep those cold piddies warm with real Wookie fur! $29.99 a pair. There are also Yoda slippers or Vader slippers if you choose to save a Wookie. Ready to ship to your home immediately!

Star Wars Nutcracker

Just in time for Christmas comes the Star Wars Nutcrackers! A perfect gift for your favorite friend who loves Star Wars! The assortment includes Darth Vader (pictured above) Yoda and R2-D2. I say favorite friend because these 10" wooden crackers will set you back around $35.00. They come in a display friendly box, and should be ready to ship sometime in October.