Batman and Whiskey at the Proof Bazaar

Oooooo! Sorry I have been so busy and lazy simultaneously for the last couple of months. 😂 I hope we're still friends. ❤️

I've been sitting on this blog post for ages and maaaaybe I'm a few months late, but I still wanted to a give a shout out to my coworkers for putting together our company's first ever "bazaar" to highlight employees' hobbies, interests, and talents!

In case anybody is interested in doing something similar at their company, my coworkers who headed up the little event reached out to everyone at the company to see who would be interested in showcasing their hobbies and talents. It was a great opportunity to sell goods and services and, in my case, share my passion and get more followers for my blog! They set up an area in the office with tables that they assigned to each of us and then set up some time before the event so that we could set up our little booths. The event was only an hour, which gave everybody else in the office the opportunity to walk around the booths to buy, view, ask questions, etc.

Bonus, we also had a clothing swap at the bazaar! Everybody in the office had the opportunity to bring in all the clothes they no longer use. We had one person responsible for the clothing swap who hung and laid everything out so everybody could come and grab what they liked. It's a great way to re/up-cycle! The remaining clothes were donated. I thought it was a great idea because we all have that pile of clothes in our closet that we aren't wearing anymore.

I learned so much about my coworkers and how talented they all are! One coworker makes his own beautiful pottery at home. He even sold a few pieces while at the bazaar. You can see some of his work here: https://www.instagram.com/terryilse/. Another coworker created a set of nail polish inspired by our company and named the different colors accordingly. Another coworker shared his passion for cycling and the book that he wrote about it. Yet another coworker actually takes photographs of inspirational or just plain awesome graffiti art all around the city (including in places like bathrooms) and then she'll print them on fabric that she embroiders to make the graffiti art pop. They end up being perfect art pieces to hang up on any wall. One coworker in particular has been collecting vintage items for as long as she can remember and her booth was quite full with tons of unique items for sale including some from other countries.

As for my booth, I had a small portion of my collection on display, a few Funko Pops for sale, a bunch of free goodies (from my time at comic conventions and Free Comic Book Day), and an iPad to display my Instagram page to encourage people to follow me! I got a few new follows. 😉🙌

I was pretty proud of my little booth. Very nerdy. In retrospect, I wish I took more photos especially of my coworkers' booths, but the hour went by so quickly and, before I knew it, everybody was cleaning up! I hope they make the event a bit longer next time.

Regardless, I hope the photos I did share give you a good idea of what our little work event looked like. Maybe this will inspire you to kick off something similar at your company. It's an amazing way to learn more about your coworkers who you may never see or talk to outside of the office. You never know what talents and passions your coworkers are hiding.

Vigilante Gaming Bar ATX

There is a new table top gaming bar in Austin and I hope this becomes a thing everywhere! It's such a great concept. I first read about Vigilante Gaming Bar on Eater.com. The article got me pumped with the details about the custom gaming tables, their library of games, and foods that cater to a simpler, cleaner gaming experience.

Well, they finally opened about 6-7 weeks ago. We went last weekend and are looking forward to going again with a bigger group.

FACADE

Below are images of their signage. I'm anticipating they'll hang the main sign at some point. They're open until 2am! Nerdy references can be found everywhere as soon as you arrive.

BAR AREA

Their bar doubles as a glass display that showcases their original blueprint plans.

MENU

I forgot to take pictures of the food, but menus are below for reference. They have beer and wine only for now, but they mentioned they're working on their liquor license so they can serve cocktails.

When they seat you, they offer menus and a Kindle Fire where you can view their library of games to choose from. You pay for food and drinks as per usual, but for games, it's just $5/person for unlimited table top gaming. It's such a great deal right now, but I bet the costs to play the games will increase as they become more popular. My guess is it might turn into an hourly rate, but we'll see!

Some feedback I might provide would be on the food experience. They didn't offer utensils and the foods are technically finger foods, but I still felt like things would spill (e.g. taquito filling) or fall apart (e.g. falafel) or get grease all over my hands (e.g. sliders). I know they meant for the food to complement the experience, but a fork would definitely keep my hands and the games cleaner.

CUSTOM TABLES

They created custom tables that are also meant to complement the gaming experience. They've nearly thought of everything! The tables include trays for food and drinks, outlets, little drawers (most with dice in them), card holders, and even an awesome server call button labeled "Accio server!" Harry Potter fans will recognize "accio" as the summoning spell. We thought it was pretty adorable.

Larger tables had similar server call buttons, but also had a separate switch that customers could flip on if their table is looking for other players to join them.

The only problem I had with the custom tables was that we hit our knees on the little drawers underneath the table a couple of times. Ouch. It took a little while to get used to how low they were, but we eventually figured it out.

Custom tables

All sides of the custom tables were slightly different. They all have the server call button, drawer, and card holder, but in place of the white cup you see on this side of the table, other sides of the table would have outlets and ethernet ports

Tray for food and drinks and any other small personal items

Above most of the tables were adorable nerdy markers like a bat, chess piece, Pac-Man, Mario Bros. mushroom, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman, etc. They were attached to the server call mechanism that lit up when the button was pressed.

Server call on, wings lighted and in the up position

BOARD GAME LIBRARY

They have their board game library on display in the dining area. They boast over 200 games, but it doesn't seem like it's actually that many? I didn't exactly count, though, so I'll take their word for it! The board games range from quick social games to longer strategy games. You can sort by number of players and length of game on the Kindle Fire, which is an awesome option to have.

Since they have custom wooden boxes for all their games to ensure the packaging lasts longer, they all looked really nice on display like this.

We did come across one game on the list that the server just could not find and believed was mistakenly listed on the Kindle Fire. That was weird, but we gave them the benefit of the doubt since they haven't been open for very long and they're probably still figuring everything out.

Another thing I wanted to point out is that if you try a new game, you obviously will need to spend the time reading the rules, which I think is a bit hard in a social setting. One person's nose could just be buried in the rules for quite a while (depending on the game) so they could explain it to everybody else. Some one just has to be committed to doing that if you're out with friends and wanting to try something none of you have played before. We personally got a little lazy on this trip to Vigilante so stuck with the simpler social games we knew, but we might be more patient to read rules for new games next time. On a similar note, if you already have games you know how to play, I believe I read somewhere that they welcome you bring in your own games. I'm not sure how that effects the game pricing. Is there an equivalent of a corking fee for board game bars? Hah.

Bonus, they also have some pretty nerdy events including debates and a social gaming brunch. Check out their calendar for more information.

Overall, I would check it out again with a group of friends to see if anything has changed and hopefully check out other games! If you're in Austin, I would recommend going with a group even if just for the novelty. I hope it succeeds. Let me know in the comments what you think if you've already been or if you've seen something similar in other cities!

Table with the bat marker is a 6-top and was already in use when we arrived so we didn't get to use it. Hah 😊

Hot Topic Haul - March 2017

SXSW has been over for about a week and I am finally feeling recovered! I'm back with another haul post and, who woulda thunk it, it's from Hot Topic.

I'm not one to drunk shop, but when it's SXSW in Austin and you're casually checking your Instagram while out drinking with friends and see some one post about the Hot Topic exclusive New 52 Poison Ivy Funko Pop, shit happens.

I made this purchase about 2-3 weeks ago. Since the Poison Ivy Pop was an exclusive, I couldn't wait until I was sober and near a computer because I wasn't sure how fast she would go! Spoiler: I literally saw her at a Hot Topic brick-and-mortar AND online yesterday so I guess she wasn't going THAT fast. You just never know, though.

There I was at a bar in downtown Austin right at the beginning of SXSW when I pulled up HotTopic.com in my mobile web browser. I found Poison Ivy and immediately threw her in the cart. I believe my reasoning for continuing to shop was the potential for free shipping. I found a couple of other Batman items I liked, threw those in the cart, checked out, and that, my friends, is the story of how I ended up with all the stuff below. Also, there was no free shipping even when I ended up buying more. I made it all up in my head or something and spent more money for no reason! So that was cool. Oi.

Here's the little troublemaker in all her glory.

To be absolutely honest, I haven't read any of the New 52 or Rebirth issues. Most already know that I typically read tradebacks when enough people have read them and provided positive reviews. Otherwise, comic books really overwhelm me. With that in mind, though, I'm not a big fan of the New 52 Poison Ivy look. The black is such a stark contrast to her nature-inspired green costumes. I did some research and learned that this version of her had a skin condition that prevented her from being out in the sun so maybe the full-body, mostly-black suit was meant for protection of some sort? Please share in the comments if you know more about the reasoning behind her costume redesign!

Moving on to the superfluous Hot Topic purchases, I bought new leggings!

I have 2 other very similar leggings as you might remember from a previous post and it's not as if I thought these were better by any means, I just bought them. That's the honest truth. FYI, the leggings with the cowl from my previous post are the best ones out of the 3 for sure.

So those are 2 out of 3 items I purchased... then there are these monstrosities. 😂 I didn't realize they were Batman skulls!

I don't know if it's because I couldn't see them well on my little mobile screen, but when they were shipped to me, they were just not as cute as I remember them being online. When I saw them online (drunk, let me remind you), I thought "GREAT! BLACK CASUAL SHOES THAT I CAN WEAR EVERY DAY AND THEY'RE JUST SUBTLY BATMAN ENOUGH!" My then-self did not realize these were skull Batman heads in the design though. I just... I just don't feel like I am a skulls-design kind of person, Batman or not.

Anyway, long story short, I've decided to keep them because I do actually need casual black sneaker-esque shoes for every day and they're subtle enough that people won't notice the design all the way down at my feet, but I'm keeping them mostly because I'm too lazy to return them. Don't judge. You know you've done the same thing before.

At least it was just 3 items! I'll be back with more Batman things I shouldn't have purchased very soon I'm sure. Thanks for reading as always!

Oh! I also wanted to share that we're having a "bazaar" event at my work this coming Thursday where everybody at the office will have the chance to bring in their passions, hobbies, talents to display them for all our co-workers to see and/or buy. Seeing as how I have no such money-making talents, I'm bringing some of my Batman collection and just sharing this blog and my overall passion for Batman. A lot of the office already knows about this quirk of mine, but it's time they all knew and hopefully follow along! I'm excited to see what awesome talents and hobbies the rest of the office will be sharing. There's also going to be a clothing swap, which is a great way to up-cycle! Such a fun and awesome idea overall.

If anyone new is reading this from Proof Advertising,  HELLOOOOOOOOO! Excited to have you here! Follow me on social and share my weird obsession with your friends. Links to your left. 😉

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New 52 Poison Ivy Funko Pop Hot Topic Exclusive: Hot Topic
Batman small all-over logo print faux thigh high tights: Hot Topic
Batman skulls and bat symbols slip-ons: Hot Topic

Dragon's Lair Austin/Walmart Haul - Feb-Mar 2016

We went hunting for Justice League Dark on Blu-Ray and Dustin Nguyen/Derek Fridolf's newest Secret Hero Society last month and then for the latest issue of Dustin Nguyen/Jeff Lemire's Descender (seriously, read Descender) this weekend, which resulted in us buying a few more items!

Full February haul!

We couldn't find Secret Hero Society: Fort Solitude at our usual stop, Austin Books and Comics, but grabbed a copy at our 2nd stop Dragon's Lair Austin. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but seeing as how the audience for the book is supposed to be much younger than me, it should be a quick read. Mickey also grabbed the first Nightwing Rebirth tradeback while we were there. He's been following the Nightwing story pretty closely since New 52.

I also recently learned about the Batman: The Animated Series Dice Game from Batman News and since Dragon's Lair is known for their board/table top game selection, I ended up finding this there too! I love that it's super portable and easy to learn. I've already brought it to a restaurant/bar to play with friends on a Saturday afternoon! You play as a villain and your goal is to collect as much loot as possible before Batman busts you. The game comes with instructions, 10 dice, 4 villain character "coins," and a cylinder container to carry the game/shake the dice in. It's so cute!

We then had to stop by Walmart to grab the Justice League Dark Blu-Ray. Why don't comic book shops carry movies? Is there a reason for that? I'm just curious.

It's a pretty interesting movie, but not my favorite. Batman gets a lot of the spotlight yet again so I'm curious why it's called a Justice League movie. I'm not complaining, though! Jason O'Mara as Batman was decent. He's really hit or miss for me when it comes to voicing Batman. Sometimes I'm loving it and sometimes it really leaves me wanting something else, but maybe it has something to do with the writing he's provided with. I believe I mentioned in a previous post that he's growing on me as a voice of Batman.

The movie is very focused on magic and magical characters. When this is the case, I end up feeling like a lot of things that happen in the story are cop-outs and anything goes so twists don't always feel as interesting or maybe don't always make sense. As a general example, I friggin' LOVE everything about Harry Potter, but I still have so many questions about the whole series. There were just so many different ways for things to happen given that all the characters had so much power. Now that I think about it, that might explain why I'm so attracted to a superhero like Batman, some one on the opposite end of the spectrum from magical.

On to the more recent haul! We were in the area so we headed back to Dragon's Lair this weekend to grab Descender #19... and some other items.

Full March haul

Descender has had some amazing cliffhangers lately. It makes me so sad that each issue is so short! 

After grabbing Descender, we continued browsing much to my wallet's dismay. I've been keeping an eye out for the Funko Pop DC Bombshells collection since they created versions for Batgirl, the Joker, and Harley Quinn. They only had Batgirl on the shelf at the time so that's what I bought! She's pretty detailed and adorable. Look at her goggles! *SQUEE* I'm loving the ponytail too.

I rummaged through a discount bin and also grabbed this chunky comic-book-sound-effects-inspired "POW" ring before checking out. It was originally priced at ~$12, but was 50% off. I believe it's locally made, but after looking closer at the quality, I don't think I would have paid full price. I think it's adorable, though, and think it'll make a great accessory for any day especially during comic conventions! I actually put it on right away because we were headed straight to see Logan and I thought it was appropriate attire. Always looking to expand my tastefully nerdy, fake jewelry collection!

That's all of the new goodies as of late! Whew. Since Ash Wednesday was last week, I really thought about giving up buying Batman things. I settled on giving up coffee, but I really wonder how hard it would be for me to not buy any new Batman items for 40 days! I'd probably find a workaround like asking Mickey to buy it for me and then telling him I'd pay him back after Easter. 😂  I'm so bad.

Glad I could get a new blog post up before SXSW starts this week! With SXSW ramping up here in Austin, we've got friends coming through on back to back to back weekends so we'll be keeping very busy until late March. I'm not sure how active I'll be on the blog in the mean time. I don't think you all have very high expectations for me at this point, though, huh? 😁 Keep up with me on Instagram and Twitter, though! Hoping to still show Batman and Whiskey some love on those platforms until I'm back here again!

P.S. If any of my readers have any Batman-related products, movies, ideas, collectibles that you want to see me blog about, please let me know! Shoot me a comment on what you'd like to see or maybe what I can improve on. Would love some constructive feedback. Thank you!

Throwback Thursday: Japan Batman "Vans" / Happy National Old Stuff Day!

I'm taking this national holiday quite literally by using it as the perfect opportunity to share some of my old stuff, in this case, my favorite pair of shoes in high school. As you know about my Throwback Thursday posts, they typically feature items from my Batman collection which are very worn to the point where they're no longer photogenic. It's also a good opportunity to just get nostalgic.

Featured in this post, these are a pair of black, white, yellow, and teal slip-ons (very similar to Vans Slip-on's) with a Batman design reminiscent of comic panels with boxy images and fun, loud text. The first 3 photos are maybe from as early 2005 when I first received them and they were brand new. The last 2 photos are from around 2012, maybe around when I last wore them. Give or take a couple years on these time frames. Apologies for my poor-er photography skills back then!

I've never been to Japan, but Mickey found out about these shoes online and requested them from his friend who was visiting Japan at the time. He was able to score a pair for each of us. To this day, I'm still not quite sure how he did it. It seems like such a very specific product to find and buy in Japan, but I guess I shouldn't have doubted Micks since he loved collecting shoes in high school. If I find out more information from him about how/where he got these, I'll share it here!

I loved these so much I wore them all the time... as you can tell by the wear and tear seen in the 2nd set of bad photos.

These are still floating around somewhere in my old room at my parents' house. I don't think I'd ever toss them just because they're so unique. Know of anywhere I can buy something similar? I'd probably buy another pair!