Obvious Cause of Death Ghost figures

I am giving a shameless shout out to the Lair of the Dork Horde.    Reis is  announcing the grand opening of his Obvious Cause of Death Ghost online store.      The store features little glow in the dark ghost figures with bullet holes, shark bites, and more.




These little guys really appeal to my sometimes dark and twisted sense of humor.    My personal favorites are "Mr. Yuck" (pictured from website) and "Take a deep breath"   I would love to add some of these little guys to my Halloween decor.

Be sure to check them out on Facebook as well.    You will get updates on newly released ghosts and behind-the-scenes  pictures.

It's that time of year, the Hallmark Ornament Wish Book is out

At our home, when the Hallmark ornament book comes out, the whole family gets excited.  What  started out as me buying 1 or 2 ornaments when I worked there briefly during high school, has steadily progressed to 10-15 ornaments a year.

So, what is on our wishlist for this year?  

I always buy the Star Wars ornaments.   This year's are all Return of the Jedi, with the exception of the Jango.  

The Ewoks are 17th in the Star Wars series.   I am happy to see these are regular sized ornaments.  I have the mini set, but  I am not a fan of them.   I wish they would redo Max Rebo,  Sny Snootles, and Droopy in the regular size.

 Both, Jabba and the AT-ST are magic ornaments, featuring dialogue and battle sounds. Yoda is the 3rd Lego figure ornament.

During the July ornament premiere, there is usually a limited release ornament that is available.   This year the ornament will be Boushh.   Last year's, limited release was Hammerhead.  I got so tickled at an older lady who was in the store picking out ornaments.   She said, "I don't know what this ugly thing is, but I guess I need to get him for my grandson."    So this year, I was really hoping they would make Admiral Ackbar.  I would have bought several.  

Other notables making our list:

Hogwarts Castle:  It is a magic ornament playing "Hedwig's theme" and has lighting effects when plugged into the lights.   The only downside to this one is that you have to plug it  into the lights.   The ornaments like that don't work very well on our pre-lit tree.

Buzz is on a mission:  It is a magic ornament, that when the button is pushed Buzz speaks.  In the wish book, it mentions that there is also a Spanish speaking version of  Buzz available in select stores.   I want a Spanish speaking Buzz!   So I am going to have to track down a store with this version.

The Joker:   My 5 yr. old daughter informed me that she needed the Joker to go with her Harley Quinn ornament.  And, well, who can argue with that logic?    It is a magic ornament that features some of the Joker's most memorable lines from "The Dark Knight".

League of Extraordinary Bloggers- First Impressions

This week's League of Extraordinary Bloggers assignment:

You never get a second chance at a first impression–what moment in pop culture had you saying “Now, that’s how you make an introduction!”

For this assignment, I immediately thought of the original Star Wars, not the bastardized Special Editions.  Star Wars, for me as a kid,  was the first movie that rocked my world.   From the very beginning, the opening scene sets the stage.  Your senses are overwhelmed and almost every scene and character left you with a lasting impression.   

  Thinking about the opening scene, you have this little tiny ship overshadowed by this giant ship that keeps going and going.   Combined with the amazing movie score, you feel that little ship's sense of urgency.  The people on board have to escape and they can't. You want to know who they are and why is this happening.    No one had ever seen "space ships" that were as massive as the Star Destoryers.  

When it comes to the introduction of characters and the first impressions they make
there is one  who has the best introduction to the story. Yet,  this character's intro has become without question, the most highly debated element of pop culture.   

    Han Solo's introduction into the story isn't flashy.   There is no theme music with trumpets blaring as he walks through the door.    You immediately learn valuable information about his character.  Han  is a smuggler,who has a  little dark side.  Clearly, he isn't afraid to bend a few rules.  He is confident, overly confident? possibly, but you need his confidence and swagger.   And when Greedo shows up, Han having limited options available to him, he shoots first!!  He is a survivor.  Han takes risks and gets the job done.   You never heard Solo whining about going to Tosche station, you never heard Solo whine period.    

What kid, back in the day, wasn't immediately impressed by Han Solo?  As a kid,  I don't remember anybody fighting over being Luke, everybody wanted to be Han Solo!  Why?  because in our 4 year old minds, Han Solo = AWESOME!  He had the fastest ship in the galaxy and as a bonus, he had a 7 foot tall dog.     Impression made!

I loved the character as a kid.  As an adult fangirl, I freakin love Han Solo!  because he  is/was/ and will always be a bad boy with a heart of gold.   I chose Han as my first impression because like so many others, I am pissed because Lucas has tried to take it back.   You only get one chance to make a first impression and it is hard to take it back.   In this case, you can't ever take it back.  


Check out impressions from the rest of the League.  

Space for Rent shares first impressions of Superman. 

Nerd Rage Against the Machine shares first impressions of Dr. Who


GoodwillHunting4geeks shares first impressions of Thundercats.

And don't forget to check out the League assignment post 

I broke down and bought a China Girl doll

About 2 weeks ago, we took the whole family to see Oz the Great and Powerful.  As a general rule, I am anti 3D.  I just feel like it is a scam to boost movie grosses.   But, my husband thinks that it is worth it for most movies.  We spent an exorbitant amount of money to take 4 people to see a matinee movie and some snacks.  I    digress.  

The movie is visually stunning.   I do have to say that this is one of the rare occasions that paying extra for 3D was actually a good idea.   The story was good, but my only objection really is the pace of the movie.  I felt it was a little slow.

I had seen the different Oz dolls sitting on the shelves at Target and Toys R Us a couple of weeks before the
movie opened.   The China Girl doll has just been speaking to me.  Every time I saw her, I would stop and look at her.  I was just so drawn to her.   Well after seeing the movie, I was completely in love with her!  For me, she was the best character in the movie.  She reminded me a lot of both of my daughters.   If you haven't seen the movie yet, I don't want to give much away.

Since I had a couple of gift cards I decided that I would just break down and buy her.   She is beautifully detailed with cracks on her arms and legs.   Her dress is a soft satin like fabric with  ribbon and lace detailing.  

It took about 20 minutes to decide if I was going to open her or leave her in the box.   I just couldn't do it.  I had to open her.  Both of my girls have had their turns toting her around today,  And, I was surprised when my son was excited by her purchase.  But, he really did like the character in the movie too.  


Since I have been going through some Monster High withdrawals waiting for new dolls to show up,  China Girl has helped fill the void.   Priced around $20 she is well worth it.  

Thrift Find- Books, Books, and more books

The bags of fun have really been stinking it up. I know I have been complaining about this in my last few posts, but the bags have just been bad.   Where have all the good action figures gone?   Is no one's mother cleaning out their attics, garages, or kid's bedrooms?

Well, while the bags are terrible, the book section is on fire!  Last week, I picked up the vintage movie tie in E.T. novel.     On Monday, I picked up the  2 Golden Books pictured.

I love the Disney book but, I am most excited about the Rocky and Bullwinkel book.   How often to do you see Rocky and Bullwinkel anything?  It is kind of like Gumby.  There isn't enough Gumby in the world.   (Gumby is like a secret obsession I will have to write about at a later date.)

 I used to love that cartoon as a kid. It was on in the mornings while I would be getting ready for school.    I don't know why I liked it so much.  Looking back it was really kind of stupid, but I guess as kids we didn't know any better,


My son has really gotten into the Goosebumps book series.   So any time I find those books at the Goodwill,
I pick them up.   I found 3 that he didn't have.    Calling all Creeps, Monster Blood, and the one in the middle is kind of like the which way books.   Whenever I see them, I try to pick them up because he reads them so quickly.

Lastly, my daughter picked out  2 books for herself.  I really love the I -Spy and the "Can You See What I See?"  by Walter Wick.   A few years ago, our local library hosted an event and Walter Wick was one of the speakers.   He gave a talk about how he got started with the I-Spy books, his collection of toys and objects, and how he goes about staging the different photographs.   It was a really interesting lectures and it really made me appreciate his books even more.  

For a grand total of $3, I am really happy with the books we picked up.

Wordless Wednesday- Tiki's delicates

                 Since the flood at home, Tiki is having to wash his delicates at the laundry mat.   You can check out some of  Tiki's past adventures on his Tumblr page.

My growing Ghostbusters collection

Ghostbusters was one of my favorite movies as a kid.   I remember going to see it in the movie theater like 6 times.  I never had any Ghostbuster toys at that time.  I do remember a friend from school, his little brother had like every Ghostbuster figure.   It was always fun playing at their house.  Mr. Staypuft has always been one of my favorite characters from the movie and the toy is equally my favorite from the toy line.

For a long time, I have resisted starting a GB collection.   But, I just couldn't resist any longer.   We went to a convention last October and that is when I decided to pick up a Staypuft.   Most of the time, when you find Staypuft, he already looks toasted. The one that I got was in decent shape and still white-ish.   A little cleaning with a magic eraser   Well, since I got Staypuft, I have been wanting to get the Ghostbusters themselves.    I picked Egon up at the flea market a few months ago.   Ray, Peter, and Louis I recently made a trade to get them and they arrived this past week.    

I am still looking for a Winston, Janine, and a Slimer.    Hopefully, I will find them soon.