December 2015 Loot Crate - Galaxy

Disclaimer thingy:

Loot Crate supplies me with a box o' swag every month in exchange for a review

 and/or promotion.

From the far reaches of out space comes the December Loot Crate: Galaxy!

Strap yourselves in, we're about to blast off!

Well, there's not much to tell you about the magazine this month that isn't printed right there on the cover. Unless you don't know who Drew Wise is, which is ok. He designed the shirt you'll be seeing in a bit. The button this month is different from the previous ones. It's a nice shiny gold color.

This is the inside of the Loot Crate box. At least, it was the inside until I turned it inside out.

It turns into a neat cryo-chamber to hold your goodies in stasis.

Here's the shirt I mentioned by Drew Wise. He's done quite a few ugly holiday shirts using 8-bit inspiration. This is one all about space exploration! And yes, it has NINE planets.

Most of the smaller things in this month's Crate came packed in this HALO 5 tin ammo box. I'm not a HALO player but it is pretty cool. It has a military-style clasp and hinged lid. Also in the Crate, is a promo code to redeem from in game gear.

These items are Loot Crate exclusives. First is a prop replica patch from Galaxy Quest as seen on the command uniforms. Second is a pair of BB-8 socks which are neat-o. Having seen the movie, I'm glad at least BB-8 has lived up to the hype. He's awesome!

Finally is a Funko Pop Vinyl exclusive from The Force Awakens! It's Han in his snow gear. I have to wonder if the blue coat is an Easter Egg for the fans. For years, there was debate as to whether his Hoth coat from The Empire Strikes Back was blue or brown. If you remember it as blue, you're in the majority...but you're wrong. I'm not going to go into all the details, but head over to Robot's Pajamas for an in-depth explanation.

The back of the box shows a few more Pops from the new movie. I can't wait to get Sidon Ithano! Who's that you ask? Without spoiling anything, he's the captain of the ship from the cantina. Yeah, I have a weird thing for background characters that have a few seconds of screen time.

If you want to get a stellar box of goodies delivered right to your door every month, set your navicomputer to LootCrate.com. 

Punch in code AEIOUwhy to save 10% on any subscription plan.

Haul-iday Report

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! I took a week off to celebrate. Some of that time was spent scouring local stores for any new Force Awakens figures after seeing the movie because nothing puts me in a toy buying mood than seeing a new movie!

And Hasbro failed yet again. Seriously, why was there not a big event on opening day to launch the toys we know are only going to get released when the movie comes out? I know they exist and I've spent the last few months seeing the same few figures in almost every store. Oh well.

Anyway, enough griping! 

I want to show off some of the amazing gifts I got this year so here we go!

There was a time when your loved ones would be hard pressed to find you some bit of new Star Wars to put under your tree. Man am I glad those days are behind us!

The big thing in the back and the box on the left with Vader peeking out are calendars. I don't think the desk calendar has anything from The Force Awakens in it so it will be interesting to see what's in there every day.

The four rectangular boxes scattered around is the complete set of Star Wars Google cardboard VR goggles. Hehe, Google goggles. If you haven't seen Google cardboard, it's incredible! It's made of cardboard (surprise!) and you fold it to create a sort of ViewMaster that you insert your phone into to view 3D VR things. The Star Wars app has a few little movies to use with BB-8. It's neat-o to "stand" inside of a Star Wars scene!

Speaking of BB-8, that's one of the Sphero ones on the right! I was like a little kid with a new toy playing with him. He's a lot of fun.

The Vader head is a watch box...

I'm not really a watch guy but maybe the next time (ha, get it?) I have to dress up for an event, I'll break it out. I also got the Topps Star Wars book of original A New Hope cards which I'll review some time. It's so cool it needs its very own post.
Oh yeah, we also got a Death Star waffle iron!

There was quite a bit of Haunted Mansion goodness to be found, Jack Skellington would be proud! (Not to mention the Halloween table cloth is still on the kitchen table.) On the left is a pair of reversible place-mats. One side has the Mansion wallpaper design and the other has various residents of the Mansion. On the right is a pair of dish towels (the second is folded in the top right) and a pair of coasters (lower right).

You guys...this book is totally amazing! And it's huuuuge!

There's SO much more to the book than the few pages I'm showing off.

If you're a fan of cartoons, I highly recommend this book. 

There's so much nostalgia, I can't even.

I can't wait to get into these! And there are two more books in the series so plenty of phun with Phibes to come! Phibes is one of my favorite Vincent Price characters so I'm sure delving into the off screen adventures will be a treat.

Among the rest of the goodies not pictured are: complete Gatchaman series on BluRay (squee!!),  some new PJs (Star Wars and Nightmare Before Christmas), Doctor Who bedding, and a handful of new rides for the Halloween Garage which will be featured at some point in the future.

What are some of the favorite things you got this year?

Let me know in the comments!

Richard Cheese - The Lounge Awakens

It's holiday gift crunch time!

Star Wars is everywhere but what do you get the Star Wars fan in your life

 that collects everything?

The latest Richard Cheese album is probably something they don't have and you can get it digitally which means no need to worry if you'll get it in time for gift giving.

Cheese is the alter ego (emphasis on the ego) of Mark Jonathan Davis. Cheese is the ultimate lounge singer. He and his band, Lounge Against the Machine, take pop hits and swankify the ever-lovin' heck out of them.

He's not doing this Star Wars inspired album just as an opportune cash grab. He's really a fan of the franchise that works inside jokes into the act that fans will appreciate.

Saunter on over to his Bandcamp page where you can check out the track list, preview a few tracks, and order the album. You won't have a bad feeling about this!

A word of caution:
Although this album is mostly family friendly, his other live albums are definitely not.