FEB, 2011 – She says, “It’s the power of twitter.” That’s Jill Pantozzi’s response when asked about how the #geekgirlsleepover event came to be a reality. Jill, aka @thenerdybird, had tweeted, “Wouldn’t it be great to have a sleepover in those Taun-Taun sleeping bags?” and to her surprise the powers that be at ThinkGeek.com saw that tweet and responded. ThinkGeek contacted Jill and offered to provide five of the STAR WARS licensed sleeping bags made famous from an April Fool’s Day prank.

You know the scene: Han Solo finds a hypothermic Luke Skywalker near death on the frozen tundra of Hoth. Han slices open Luke’s Taun-Taun so that the steaming intestines would warm him and shoves Luke inside the carcass. It certainly was hilarious when a brilliant designer came up with the idea of making a sleeping bag shaped like a Taun-Taun so you too could stuff yourself inside for warmth. Well, if you haven’t seen the sleeping bags up close, the inner lining even has an “intestine” pattern.

STORE REVIEW:

10/10: Our night began unpacking the sleeping bags at the Hampton Inn in New York City. We donned our nerdiest pajamas and then went out to MIDTOWN COMICS for private shopping and podcasting. This was an amazing treat! We had the store to ourselves. It’s absolutely gorgeous and has moved into my #1 spot for nicest comic shop. The wood floors and book cases added a warmth superior to so many shops with concrete or stained carpet floors and metal cases. All the curio cabinets housing statues and collectibles were spotless. The t-shirts were hanging on racks and some were framed on the walls for easier viewing. The comics were well-organized and at the end of the current week’s rack were print outs of the past few weeks’ and the upcoming week’s titles.

PRODUCT REVIEW:

10/10: It shouldn’t be any surprise that the Taun-Taun sleeping bags get a 10 out of 10 rating from AmberUnmasked. The creative design incorporates a built-in pillow which is the creature’s head; there are padded arms, legs, saddle and of course the tail. The zipper pull is a small plush light saber about six inches long. The best feature is definitely that inside pattern printed to look like the innards of Luke’s loyal ride. This is no mere novelty present either. The sleeping bags were incredibly roomy and warm (perhaps just big enough for two).

To sum up, I can’t thank you guys enough for coming up with this terrific idea of a #geekgirlsleepover! It was a total blast and I would love to do it again.

Please visit THINKGEEK.com for the Taun-Taun sleeping bags and for other wonderful gifts and of course stop by MIDTOWN COMICS next time you’re in New York City. Check out the podcasts and videos from our epic weekend.

CREDITS:

MIDTOWN COMICS VLOG:

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.