A Very "Sam" Samhain

   It is no secret that I am obsessed with  the movie Trick 'r Treat, or that I am a fervent collector of "Sam," that adorably dangerous Halloween mascot, as can be seen here, here, here, and here.  This year showed such an influx in Sam merchandise that I was in a frenzy of Trick 'r Treat cheer! Without further ado, let's get to it!


   First up, we have a glow-in-the-dark print by Chris Garofalo that I purchased back in April. This was limited to only 80 prints, so suffice to say that they are long sold out.

Hangs on the wall in my office.

I had issues trying to get a shot with the lights out, so here is 

the link to the kickass blog that I got the above photo from.

   Up next we have a Trick 'r Treat graphic novel, with 4 brand new stories by Michael Dougherty. It went on sale October 6, and is still available for purchase here.

Haven't read it yet, but it's on the top of 

my reading pile!

   I saw this next little baby on Etsy, and while I normally might have passed on a paper Sam, (he cost $28 bucks) I was too thrilled with both the design and the interchangeable head to not pick one up! The artist actually makes all kinds of great horror hangers and stickers and things, so check Trevor out!

Soon to be hung up in my office!

   And, finally, we have a 3 item box 'o goodies, and a separate, single item, from Fright Rags. The box set is limited to 1000 lots, and at this time are currently only available for preorder (they only had 100 boxes ready-to-go, and I feel compelled to thank my husband, who got up on the day the sale started and patiently worked through the site continually crashing to get me one of them) There are more Sam items for sale right now, so hurry over and check them out or lose them forever! Sam on Fright Rags.

Sam Mask

Sam, unboxed.

This fantastic shirt!

Pardon the crummy pic, it's a foil sticker, 

which are a pain in the ass to photograph.

Sam sucker socks! These were not part of the box, but 

I desperately wanted them and Alaska obliged. 

These are currently available for preorder.

   

Saturday Thrift Store Haul

  This past Saturday, Alaska and I actually ventured forth from our home to hit up the local Goodwill. Normally, we might find a thing or two to pick up, but this go round we actually came home with several items, and since this blog is desperately in need of more posts (and I desperately want to show off a couple of said items) I figured what the hell, let's do this. (I do beg pardon for the flash in some pictures, it's a rainy Southern day so I had a problem with lighting) Starting off with one of my purchases:

1. Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery (1972) $0.25

  I laid eyes on this book, and it was in my hands and I was telling Alaska he was buying it for me before I even really realized what was going on. And what was going on was I was snatching up a piece of nostalgia. I had this book as a kid, and it is one of the Sesame Street "Tell-A-Tale" books. I'm pretty sure I owned a few others, I recall a Bert and Ernie book, and one with Oscar.  And The Twiddlebugs were always one of my favourites on Sesame Street. Here, enjoy:

  2. The Classic Volland Edition: Great Children's Stories (1972) $0.50

  I'm not particularly attached to "children's stories" of this sort. By the time I was 8 or 9 I was reading high school books, and was way more into gods and goddesses than chickens and trolls. Really, the only reason I picked it up was because it was a fairly large book, it looked like it had some age on it, and I was interested to see if it had pictures. And boy, did it. It also had some stories that I don't believe I have ever heard, so I will be going back through to read this.

  I would have bought this book just for the weirdness printed on the inside of the front and back covers alone-

I don't have much to say, other than look at this shit!

 -but then I flipped through it some more, and, while not as interesting as the above, the book was filled with pictures that I just found pleasing to the eye. And some of them were a wee bit confusing, as well. Anyway:

A bear attacking a straw cow. (And I just flipped through the next

three pages, and that straw cow is also attacked by a wolf and a fox, all while 

that lady sleeps in the foreground. Bitch either got narcolepsy or she's dead. Either way,

weird.)

Three Billy Goats Gruff- while I know this story just fine,

I have never seen the troll depicted with a frog body.

Weird.

There are several b&w pics, too, but the coloured ones

were much more intricate. Here we see poor Lambikin

being threatened by a vulture (although most vultures don't eat live prey)

Three Little Pigs- again, I just find some of this artwork very pleasing.

Speaking of, this book was illustrated by Frederick Richardson.

(I googled him and he illustrated a ton of stuff, you should check him out)

This sly fellow was on the introduction page.

  3. This is a bank. Alaska says it's a cat. I said ok. (I am not a collector of cats, but am a collector of unusual, and sometimes handmade, art.) This also happened to have been made/painted/glazed in 1976, the year that I was born.  $2.12

The money slot is on the back of his head, and it even

has what looks like the original rubber stopper pieces inside.

Thanks, Mike, whomever and wherever you may be!

  4.  Alaska picked up this candle holder because he saw that it was orange, and orange is his colour. It wasn't until we were at the check-out counter that I realized that it had patches of black glass, too, and voila! A Jack-o-Lantern candle holder! $1.99

It's a little off-kilter, but when I put it with my collection-

He fits in beautifully with my Trick 'r Treat "Sam" and

Jack-o-Lantern shelf.

   5.  I picked up Year of the Griffin because of the interesting cover art, and when I found the first book, Dark Lord of the Derkholm, I handed them to Alaska to show him, and somehow they ended up coming home with us. $1.29-each

Published in 1998 and 2000, respectively, these are discards from a school library

about an hour from where we live. Although I did not intend for these to come home with us,

I must admit that after reading the blurbs on the back, I found myself interested and intend to read them. 

   6.  This last item, my husband owes all to me. I am still stunned beyond stunned that he walked right past this beauty: $1.29

  This is, is you will pardon me, an incredible book! I'm linking to the Amazon page, in case any of you would like to take a little peek inside. Considering the near pristine condition, I'm surprised it lasted on the shelf long enough for me to snag it. It's not anything rare or valuable, but to find something so awesomely superhero in our Goodwill? That is almost unheard of!

   There you go, our first Saturday Goodwill trip in ages, and it was well worth it, don't you think? Until next time!

Trick 'r Treat- Another Sam Addition!

 I am obsessed with the movie Trick 'r Treat, and Sam is and will always be one of my favourite Halloween Icons, as can be seen here, here, here, and here. A recent search for newer Sam merchandise led me to this site, cavitycolors.com, where I found, and immediately purchased, this fantastic print:

(frame was not included, FYI)

  Called "Cakepop Sam," this is part of the "Deadly Dessert Prints" by Aaron Crawford. It is printed 8 x 10 on very nice quality paper, hand-signed by the artist, and, currently, runs at $15. This is a limited edition print, so how long they will last I could not say. If you'd like to check it out for yourself, click here.  I'd also recommend checking out the rest of the site, as they have some really cool shirts, prints, original art, and accessories.

  

 

A Surprise Box For Me!

  As the few readers of my blog(s) know, I am obsessed with the movie Trick 'r Treat, and I have the corresponding obsessive need to collect Sam merchandise as I can. Back in May I received a Sam Funko Pop!, and in the comments of that post, Dex over at AEIOU......and Sometimes Why remarked that he had an extra Sam plush doll that he would be willing to part with. I declined for reasons, but, unbeknownst to me, my husband contacted Dex and purchased plush Sam anyway. The box arrived last Monday (on my husband's birthday, no less) and not only was there my newest adorable Sam, but Dex had sent other goodies as well. So I'm going to show them off, because it was totally unexpected, and awesome! But first, here's my new Sam:

  Look at the adorableness! After I shift the height of a shelf or two, he will be joining his kin on what I suspect will one day be known as the "Sam shelf."

  I have seen cups like this, but never one that had a zombie on it! And it says "Zombie Blood." I love that! I plan to use this as my "I have to leave the house but I need to take a drink with me" cup.

  A handful of creepy-crawlies, pumpkins and a skull. I actually collect skulls- fake human ones and real animal ones (as an aside, I feel the need to mention that I have never killed an animal for its skull, I've just lived near woods and marshland my entire life, and so I find them) so this little skull cutie goes right up on the shelf. The pumpkins now reside on the "Sam shelf" and the spiders, adorable purple bats (I really love the purple bats) , and millipede went into one of my "Stuff Jars." The ant sits next to the black rat, and the black rat, well, he joined his family:

Pardon the dust- these rats are so old the dust is, literally,

a part of them now.

  The dusty rats (whom I always referred to as "my three blind mice") are part of a witch costume I wore when I was 9 or 10. I still have the spiders from the same costume, but they are shoved into one of my Stuff Jars. Anyway, my three blind mice now have a new friend, Willard. (And before another horror nut sees this and goes bananas, yes, I know that Willard was the guy and Ben was the name of the rat.)

  Anti-bacterial "vampire blood" hand gel. This is both awesome, and practical, as I always carry hand gel with me in my purse. Also, it smells pretty delicious. 

 Sorry for the flash, it was a bitch trying to get a clear shot. 

  Bottle stickers! These are awesome, and with two of each sticker in the pack, I have an idea for an art project utilizing a couple of them.

Again, pardon the flash.

  Halloween stickers! I love stickers, and Halloween stickers are the best kind. I've been dying to open them up and start putting them on stuff, but had to wait until I had taken photos for this post. 

  And lastly, this fantastic pirate skull key chain. As soon as I pulled this out of the box, Alaska claimed it. ("It's a pirate key chain! That's mine!" I believe are the words that he used) And since he's a great husband who provided me with a plush Sam, he loves pirates, and it was his birthday, I couldn't say no. 

  There we are- my surprise box full of goodies. Thanks to my husband, and double thanks to Dex! 

Shelf Expression

  Our League Topic of the week from over at Cool and Collected: Shelf Expression!

  From top to bottom:

 Alaska and I are still unpacking*, so my Rogue shelf is currently a bit bare. That gargoyle on the left I've had for 19 years.

  Eventually, I suspect that third shelf will be nothing but Funko Pop! characters.

  Marvin the Martian was one of my first loves, and I've been collecting him for about 25 years, now. This is less than a third of my total collection, I just didn't have room for everything. (The water in that snow globe isn't really that yellow in person, although it is 20 years old)

  Scooby lunchboxes and "Stuff Jars." The lunchboxes were all gifts from different people, there's some more Marvin stuff mixed in, and all of the jars are what I call "Stuff Jars." Basically, I get a clear jar, I put small random stuff in it (ex: Native American pipe pieces I dug out of my grandparents' field, small weird toys, quite a few things from my childhood that I have managed to hang onto, the occasional animal bone, things my baby sister has given me, empty liquor bottles from my trip to Amsterdam, small rocks and shells, etc) and when it's full I seal it up and put it on a shelf. It's kinda like a jar full of memories, I guess.

  *I have an idea it will be interesting to revisit these shelves in six months or so, and see what else I have unpacked/added/removed.


Be sure to check out some of the other awesome shelves!

Cool and Collected

Stunt Zombie

Goodwill Geek

Sam Funko Pop! Has Arrived!

  I have posted before about my love of the movie Trick 'r Treat, and of Sam. And yesterday, after months of waiting, my Sam Funko finally arrived. And look at him!

  How cute is he, I ask you? (I feel like I should mention that I have read some unfavorable reviews- apparently the paint jobs on some of these toys can be sloppy, but I can honestly say that I have zero complaints about the Sam that I received)

  And he fits in so nicely with my growing Sam collection:

  And so nicely with my growing Funko collection:

League Topic: My Life In One Square Foot

  I've been away from posting for a couple of months, but am so happy to, finally, get back into some blogging. And what better way to kick it off than with the latest topic from The League? Alaska and I are still in the throes of unpacking, but I didn't have much trouble finding things to fill in a square foot of space, either way. Without further ado....

  Starting at the top, from left to right, we have:

  1. The Mystery Machine. I love all things Scooby Doo (Alaska has been adding to my Scooby Doo DVD collection pretty much from the moment we began dating, so I now own just about every incarnation of the show, with the exception of the original series "Scooby Doo, Where Are You!" And that waits for purchase on my Amazon Wish List) Scooby Doo has always been one of my "go to" shows for the days when I don't feel well and just want to curl up on the couch, watch something, and forget about life for awhile.

 2. Jason Voorhees Funko Pop! This serves two purposes, actually. Number One, I love Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th movies (they are also "go to" movies for bad days) Number Two,  I have found a new collecting obsession by way of the Funko Pop! line. I own several, but with the slew of Tarantino based figures about to be released, I suspect that my collection is about to get a lot bigger.

 3. Zombies. I love zombies, and have many figures and pictures, etc. This Dis-member Me Plush Zombie (whom I named Morti) from ThinkGeek was a gift from a friend. (I own this awesome zombie jacket from them, as well)

 4. This is a Rogue figure from the "Famous Covers" series. I mentioned in a previous post that Rogue has been a nickname of mine for about 15 years, and since I was dubbed as such I have been given action figures, playing cards, books, and comic books featuring Rogue.

 5. Mine and Alaska's wedding picture (For the record, I am wearing flats, purple Doc Marten boots in fact, but yes, I am taller than he is by a few inches)

 6. Supervillains: The Joker's Last Laugh DVD. I do not particularly care for Batman (seriously, do we have to hear about his parents death/his origin story in every goddamn movie/cartoon that they make? My three year old niece knows that Batman has no parents, for pete's sake) Now that I got that rant out of my system, I can say that I love the villains of Gotham, The Joker, in particular. And Poison Ivy. Harley Quinn. The Mad Hatter. Etc. (All of my love is based on animated shows and live action movie personas, as I have, admittedly, not read many of the comics)

 7. Tony Furtado- American Gypsy Tony Furtado is an award-winning banjo and guitar playing prodigy, whom Alaska and I discovered the first year that we were together. In the first several months of our relationship, Alaska and I would sit in the office at his house and listen to the Pandora music station while we talked. Alaska has an immense love for Cowboy Bebop, and the music, and it was on a station dedicated to The Seatbelts that Tony first popped up. We got lucky that year, Tony was touring and had a show about an hour away from where we live. So we went, and it was fantastic (that's the show where we got the above cd, which Tony signed) We had to wait over two years until Tony came back to do another show in our neck of the woods. And that time around, Alaska proposed to me while Tony played the first song that we had ever heard together in the background.

 8. Nintendo controller for my NES, and my main man, Mario. Mario was my first, and really only, video game love. I played for hours. When we got the Super Nintendo system, I blew my way through Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3. Then came Super Mario World, and Dr. Mario. These days I play on a Wii, but I've added Paper Mario, Mario Kart, and Super Mario Bros Wii to the mix (I haven't purchased Super Mario Bros. 2 yet, but I do plan to add that in the near future- I still love my classics!)

 Stack of Books on the Left- top to bottom:

 1. The Fire Rose- Mercedes Lackey. I'm a big fan of fairy tale "reworkings," and this is one of my favourites. Alaska is a Lackey fan, I had never heard of her until he gave me this book to read. I love this book. I've since read others, and am actually reading Unnatural Issue right now.

 2. It- Stephen King. My father gave me this book when I was 11, as I have mentioned before. Stephen King was really my first horror author obsession, and that opened me up to all kinds of other horror writers. It's a love that I still have today.

 3. Alice in Zombieland- Lewis Carroll and Nikolas Cook. I love Alice in Wonderland. I love zombies. The most interesting thing about this book is that I bought the first printing of it, and when it sold out the second printing was entirely different (I do own a copy of that one, too) I love the insane cover art of the first printing, however. I have been known to buy books for  their crazy cover art, alone.

 4. FM 21-76 Army Field Manuel. I own a plethora of survival manuals, some tongue-in-cheek, most that are more serious. I'm not one of those hardcore survivalists, but I do like being alive, so I find them useful. Also, I use them for research in some of my writing.

 Intermission: Mini-Sam Funko! I have posted about mini-Sam before, but had to include him in this picture. Trick 'r Treat is one of my favourite movies of all time, and is currently my Number One "go to" movie when I am not feeling well: physically or mentally. (FYI, before Trick 'r Treat was my "go to" feel better movie, Natural Born Killers preceded it. I mention this only because NBK is what led to my current internet handle: Natural Blonde Killer- I love the movie, and I'm blonde. And there you have it.)

 Stack of Movies on Right- top to bottom:

 1.Night of the Living Dead, the original B&W. This was the first horror movie that my mother bought for me, when I was 10 or so (she bought it for me on VHS, which I still have but is packed away somewhere right now) So this movie has always held a special place in my heart.

 2. Halloween, 1978. This was also from Mom (again, on VHS) and was the first colour horror movie that she bought for me. (In between NotLD, I received the 1925 Lon Chaney version of Phantom of the Opera, and also the 1931 version of Dracula, with Bela Lugosi. My guess is Mom was trying to temper in some more classic horror to balance out what was obviously my love of blood and gore movies)

 3. Tarantino XX. I love Quentin Tarantino. I love his movies, I own several of his screenplays (I like to see the changes from paper to screen) and am working on collecting the others. I read books and articles and papers that try to break down his methods and his visions. I don't even hate him as an actor (although, damn, his Aussie accent was bad in Django Unchained ( I read that QT did the part himself because of time constraints, and that it was originally supposed to be that creepy guy from Wolf Creek, but he had to back out at the last minute)

 I guess that about wraps it up. This turned into a much longer article than I expected it to, but these things sometimes happen. Be sure to head over to Cool and Collected and check out some other great pics!

A few to whet your appetite:

The Nerd Nook

CoolandCollected

Achievements in Gaming