Friday, January 15, 2021

Baby Thor, Haunted Mansion Minis, & The Basement Of Every Trekkie/Whovian's Dreams

I don't know about you, but I've been leaning HARD on my favorite creators and fan pages lately to save me from doom scrolling. I've joined more fan groups on Facebook, watched a lot of Rachel Maksy on Youtube, and even convinced John to join me on TikTok, where we obsess over synchronized roller skating and sea shanties. Oh yeah. Gimmie all that beautiful randomness.

Sure, it's the ostrich approach to dealing with... ::gestures vaguely:: ... but at this point I've determined every non-destructive coping mechanism is valid. A better time is coming, we just have to hang on 'til it gets here.

So in that spirit, and for my fellow ostriches, here come some of my favorite finds and follows to interrupt YOUR doom scrolling.

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As always, The Replica Prop Forum is THE page to follow if you like anything geeky. It's a smorgasbord of smiles, like this: 

 Speak softly and carry a big hammer. Also wear a cape. Unless Edna Mode is around.

The RPF is also where I found Todd Pineapple Spann, who's been building something incredible in his basement for over 2 years. I've been eagerly waiting for him to finish so I could show you all, and happily for all of us, this week it's finally done!

Behold!

It's 8 minutes long, but you keep seeing new stuff the whole way through, I promise. Plus time flies when you're drooling on the keyboard. :p This was just the mini vacation from reality I needed when it came out earlier this week. Dang.

Also to whom it may concern:


Todd, I don't know you, but with this crowd that basement will at LEAST get you a first date.

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You know those things from your childhood that always makes you smile? For me one of those are the original Care Bears illustrations. I can't get enough of that pastel 80s style art. So last week I joined the Care Bears Forever in the Kingdom Of Caring group on FB to get pretties like this in my feed:

EEEEE! It's just so darn cute.

The group also posts toys for sale or trade, which can be a nice trip down memory lane. In fact I've joined a couple of toy groups, both for the nostalgia and to see peoples' collection photos, which are super addicting. Some give me great display ideas, too:



This clear shelving is made from acrylic storage boxes! So clever.

Anyway, Care Bears may not be your jam, but think of something you loved as a kid and do a quick search for any fan clubs in Facebook Groups. They're a great way to drown out the Awful in your feed, trust me.

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I've been following Ryan Wells since some of his earliest cosplays - all of which blew my mind - and now he's turned to making geeky miniatures that blow my mind:


Y'all. He made Delia Deetz's sculptures. Tell me you don't want the whole set. You know, to sprinkle around the house and hold little dance parties with?

And get this: Ryan is currently building a miniature version of the entire Haunted Mansion ride at Disney - complete with ride track and Doom Buggies! Go follow him on Facebook for jaw-dropping progress pics like these:



These are my favorite kinds of fandom builds: the ones you KNOW are done from pure passion. I want to see people doing the stuff that gives them LIFE, not the stuff they think will get them the most likes. Be your best weird self, peeps.

Which brings me to Jenny Nicholson.

 Jenny Nicholson is a YouTuber most famous for her Star Wars movie reviews, but I prefer her almost breathtakingly niche stuff.  I'm talking the topics seemingly plucked from out of left field and exquisitely researched, like her "excruciating deep-dive" into everything wrong with Pandora at Animal Kingdom, or her absolutely riveting hour-plus long history of Bronycon.

And now, there's this: an 18 minute take-down of an obscure Hallmark YouTube Channel craft show that no one watched... until now.


There it is, proof that I'll watch Jenny talk about literally anything. Ha! Oh hey, and for further entertainment go check the comments; one or two of the old Hallmark hosts chime in. 0.o

As always I have lots more, but I'll leave you for now with this heavenly photo taken inside a hydrangea:

Taken by MoonLightIce on Instagram - give them a follow for more amazing photos.

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P.S. Before you go, it's been over a year since I bought these sleep headphones, so time for another shout-out!


I have the kind of insomnia old-timey bards would write songs about, so I listen to boring audio books on these every night to keep my brain from spinning out of control. Lately I've been wearing them like a sleep mask -  like the model here - and WOW, that's helped even more than when I wore them like a headband! These things have been a life saver: comfy enough for side sleeping, not too loud like some of my old speakers, and they only cost $20. Note that they do run on the big side, but that works out great if you have a big head like me. :D

23 comments:

  1. I have that headband/mask/headphone thingy, and it's awesome! I got it for traveling, because I'm frequently trying to sleep away from home with a hall light blaring in my face.(Long story.)

    Y'ALL. I had NO CLUE that even just the mask itself would help me sleep so much better! The first night I slept with it, I was totally confused when I woke up in the morning because I'd slept so well I had no idea it was morning already! So I've started using it all the time now, even at home where there's a lot less light.

    I need to get one without the headphones, though, because I don't listen to anything when I'm at home, and sometimes the headphone bits dig into my ears and make them sore.

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    1. Do they help block out sounds as well? I'm a pretty light sleeper and have resorted to wearing earplugs in order to sleep through the night but something over-the-ear like this seems like it would be more comfortable!

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  2. Holy. Forking. Shirtballs. That basement... I'm speechless. I half expected someone to actually BEAM IN when he turned the transporter on. And the TARDIS is actually bigger on the inside! Yoiks. I think if Todd just slipped his phone number into the video somewhere, he would definitely have more date options than he could handle.

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    1. I just commented on his vid that he might want to think about putting some kind of Murphy bed in the TARDIS, because once this gets out, he'll be swimming in nerdwomen!

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  3. Todd's amazing WhoTrek basement just keeps going and going... is his house absolutely massive, or did he dig out under a few neighbors?
    I really want to be friends with this dude. Can you imagine game nights there?

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  4. Jenny Nicholson!! I just read this after watching her 2.5 hour long video on The Vampire Diaries, a show I have never watched and had absolutely no interest in until watching her video lol. I second that her ridiculous videos are right up the alley of the bots!

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    Replies
    1. Same! I actually still have no interest in watching TVD, since she covered pretty much everything there is to know about it, but that an incredibly entertaining 2.5 hours. I've never watched a YouTube video that long before!

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  5. That guys 8 minute video of his build is amazing.

    I have the same headphones to sleep to audiobooks. It’s been life changing for me.

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  6. I am a sleepy headphone convert. I bought mine because of you, and now my dad, sister, sister-in-law and mom all have them! :D

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  7. I have that same mask and I love it! It was a game changer for me. I need noise to sleep and my husband needs quiet. I was using regular headphones for awhile but he was afraid I’d get wrapped up in them at night and so he ordered me that pair. I’m currently on my second pair, the first ones lasted awhile but did short out on one side eventually.

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  8. I have that same mask and I love it! It was a game changer for me. I need noise to sleep and my husband needs quiet. I was using regular headphones for awhile but he was afraid I’d get wrapped up in them at night and so he ordered me that pair. I’m currently on my second pair, the first ones lasted awhile but did short out on one side eventually.

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  9. If I was a fairy, I'd live inside that hydrangea. So pretty!

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  10. Crossing the streams, but in a good way! However:
    Dear Pineapple (may I call you Pineapple?): Please retake the video with the phone held correctly. Portrait mode videos suck.

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  11. I love all this beauty and totally agree that every non-destructive coping mechanism is valid (I've basically been living on TikTok). I also just want to support us all in understanding that a better time is coming only if we push for it. Self and community care is critical. Burnout and exhaustion are a terrible place from which to begin engagement. And at the same time, I worry about the idea that everything will somehow totally fix itself after Wednesday, after this spring, etc... If we love beauty, creativity, community, and a world where all can flourish, we're gonna have to put our voices out there to make it happen (especially when it comes to climate, but that's my little obsession and I won't go down THAT particular doom zone...). There are so many wonderfully geeky models for doing this, and I'm looking forward to a time when everything is *slightly* less overwhelming so we can thinking about building that beautiful world together, again.

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  12. Yes, Jenny! So much yes to Jenny! I think she's one of the funniest commentators/video essayists out there, and she's someone I too would watch discussing any topic. She's got just the right perspective mix of fandom and casual appreciation and critical analysis, and again, she's hilarious. Glad to see her audience growing.

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  13. When did they have panda care bears?

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  14. Another vote for the headphones. I will say that I am on my second one, the first one lasted about a year before a wire somewhere failed and it stopped working. I wear it nightly to keep from disturbing my husband with my audiobooks or music. Charge lasts a couple of hours. If I need more than that I have bluetooth pillow speakers. Really has made a difference in quality of life, both in ability to sleep and for when I can't get out of bed I can listen to books.

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  15. If y'all haven't watched Jenny Nicholson's "excruciating deep dive into Avatar" video mentioned in this post, it's worth the time!

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  16. Holy frakking amazeballs, Batman! That basement is...wow.

    This post is full of excellent.

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  17. I think I found a tik tok account that is right up your alley Jen. Prepare for this fun,hilarious, wholesomeness: https://www.tiktok.com/@just_dad_?source=h5_m

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  18. If you like Jenny Nicholson, I think you'd love Pushing Up Roses. My favorite of her content is her "That Time on Murder She Wrote" series, but all her videos are highly enjoyable and full of geeky love.

    https://youtu.be/Ur-5WCtSl10

    ReplyDelete

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