Ikkicon 2009: Day One

Appropriately costumed, Ivy and I (and David, but he was not costumed) headed out for the first day of the anime convention.
Our first stop was the School Rumble panel. It was hosted by directors/voice actors Caitlin Glass, Carrie Savage, Leah Clark, and Trina Nishimura.

This event was enjoyable enough; I'd never seen the show before and everyone on the panel seemed to enjoy their work.

Hilarity did not ensure at the opening ceremony as promised, but I loved visiting the artists' alley outside the main event room. I bought the petticoat to complete my costume from La'De'Da's, and browsed the selection of SereniTeas being sold by the Austin Browncoats.

None of us had a lot to spend, so my only other purchases came from Generations of Art. The woman running the booth was incredibly nice, and this choker

was an excellent accent to my costume, at only $5! She also convinced me to purchase a CD from a local artist: We stopped for a nice chat with Chelsea M. Smith, who had adorable crochet goods and was the first one to call "steampunk!" on our costumes.

Later, we hit the makeup panel, which was informative and laid-back:

Presented by Meredith Placko
Now that the costume is on, what do you do?! Just because the last stitch is in place doesn't mean it is complete; make up can make or break a character. Learn the basics of a good foundation and how to apply the right look to finish off your costume. We'll show you make up techniques for on the stage, roaming the floor, photo shoots and even some special effects make up.

Other events for the day included "Iron Artist." This was supposed to run as follows:

Presented by Amelie Belcher, Tony Salvaggio, Matt Herms, and Michael Terracciano. Armed only with paper and pens, see the guest artists draw it out. Be part of the audience that provides topics for the artists to draw in a limited time frame, and see who wins the title of Iron Artist.

However, only three of the panel members arrived

and the first 45 minutes were spent killing time while the people running the convention scrambled for supplies. You see, the con hadn't informed the artists that they needed to provide their own supplies.

Fortunately, after an interminable period of five-minute jokes involving tapeworms and puns, a laptop was set up: the difficultly level of Iron Artist was raised, as it became clear that the artists would be working in Paint.

The audience gave each competitor a set of three words/ideas, which they then had to turn into a sketch over the course of two minutes.
Some of the results:

And my personal favorite:

Our final stop was the Peelander-Z concert. So. Much. Energy. And bright flashing lights. And fun! And strange call-and-response sections involving ninjas and steak. And roughly half the audience got to go on stage at least once.



None of my pictures came out fantastically, but I think several of them captured the feel of the concert.

Ikkicon Costume: Steampunk Lolita

Friday was the start of ikkicon at one of the Hilton hotels downtown. Ivy wanted to go in costume; I'm not really that into anime or cosplay. So, she roped me in by using the magic words, "what about if we do steampunk lolita?"

I can't resist good steampunk.

So, we've spent the last few weeks putting in some time here and there to get ready on a college graduate's budget.

The pieces:

One pirate-y green belt, courtesy our local Goodwill ($3.99)

A brown underskirt -- I bought the cloth at $1/yard, and Ivy made a skirt on her sewing machine in about 30 minutes the night before.

A suitable white blouse -- again sewn by Ivy.

Brown "100% leather uppers" boots, $6.99 practically new at Goodwill.

One white petticoat, purchased at the convention from La'De'Da's in the artist's alley. I got a great deal on the larger (poofier) petticoat, but the smaller ones are a reasonable $28.

One stripey overskirt, created by Ivy out of a former dress.

Shiny costume accents, created by yours truly from safety pins and old jewelry donated by some of the lovely people over at Wish Upon a Hero.

More shiny pretties, this one made by me from of imitation peal beads and bottle caps painted a brassy color.

A suitably steamy aero-compass. The casing is a painted tin container; crafting odds and ends make up the points of the compass; a brad and a dragon pendant serve as the needle, and more leftover jewelry parts make the chain.

Fuzzy fur collars. Our story is that they're sewn from the pelts of sky-tribbles ... but we actually got some imitation fur from etsy, which Ivy turned into what you see above.

Any good group of ruffians has to have an appropriate symbol! This is the insignia of the Airship Copper Cupcake. As you can tell by the four stars, I'm ship's captain.

An adorable hat! Hand-crafted by someone Ivy knows.

Put everything together, and viola! Steampunk Lolita Aeroship Pirates begin their conquest in the women's rest rooms:

Bloggy Giveaways Winner!

Ivy brought me the prints for the winner, so it's time to pick the lucky commenter!

Here are your random numbers:

32 

Timestamp: 2009-02-07 08:23:06 UTC

Looks like the winner is Staci, who wrote: At The Green Yak, I really like the Single Initial Necklace. Very cute!

Congrats, Staci! I will contact you by Sunday morning, and you'll have 48 hours to respond.

Thanks to everyone else who entered!

I'm going to get so much flak for this...

... but I'm really kind of excited about the upcoming Yanni project. There, I said it: I am very excited about the upcoming Yanni project.

Justin and I were watching the annual PBS money-raising special a month or so back, and there were teasers for the upcoming CD, titled Voices. The clips we caught were interesting (we wound up staying awake much later than planned to watch it), and the music was simply beautiful. If you want, you can catch the PBS special starting on March 2nd -- the information on the PBS Special Air Dates is here.

And, of course, the Yanni Voices website is a good place to visit. I checked it out when I first heard about the CD's imminent release (March 24th!). Nathan Pacheco is my favorite singer of the bunch, based on what I've been able to hear of the new CD, but they're all very talented. You can hear one of the songs briefly in the promotional video, or stream one of each artist's songs on the Yanni Voices website. Some of it is very romantic, Valentines Day-worthy music!


It makes me wish the tour were coming through Austin when it starts April 10th. Unfortunately, according to the tour info, the closest they're coming is Dallas and Houston.

...anyone want to go on a road trip with me? :-D





This has been a (non-sponsored) post courtesy the One2One Network.

CLOSED Giveaway! Nursery Rhyme Prints

CLOSED! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS EVENING (Tues) OR TOMORROW MORNING (Weds)

Aaaaaand it's time for another round of Bloggy Giveaways.

"What can I win?" you might ask. Well, I have secured for you a set of Nursery Rhyme block prints:


These are the creation of one of my best friends. The description, from her etsy shop:

A set of four hand carved linoleum block prints inspired by different nursery rhymes.

"Croak" said the Toad
The Wise Old Owl
The Big Ship Sails on the Ally-ally-oh
Little Robin Redbreast sat Upon a Tree

Printed using red Speedball block printing ink.
On 6"x6" white acid free cardstock.
Image size is 4"x4".

Each print varies because of printing process.

Can be signed and dated on front or back at request of buyer.

Between the two of us we might also throw in some extra small goodies for the winner -- you never know!

Rules:

1) U.S. entrants only, please (shipping ain't cheap)

2) For one entry, check out my friend's etsy shop and comment with one item that you like.

3) For a second entry, visit her website and mention one thing that caught your eye.

4) For a third entry, you can visit my etsy shop and tell me one item you'd like to own.

That's it; enjoy!


P.S. If you are related to me and need to get in touch with me this week, I'm afraid that's too bad. I will be on the internet :-P

Blog For Choice Day, 2009

And a very happy Blog for Choice Day to you!

This year's topic is

What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

Hmm. It's hard to pick just one, but I think I'll go with this -- I hope that it is made very, very clear that women (all women) have the right to decide what to do with their bodies. For example, it'd be nice to see an end to things such as the Global Gag Rule and fake crisis pregnancy centers.

I should be ashamed of myself

I think I just agreed to dress as a pokemon:


Ivy: pokemon cosplay would be adorable and fun
Me: haha
Ivy: hmm
Ivy: http://www4.atwiki.jp/hitec/pages/60.html
Ivy: I know people have based some pokemon costumes off these before
Ivy: they are quite cute
Me: preeeeety
Ivy: some are pretty simple
Ivy: but still cool
Ivy: what is your favorite pokemon
Me: that's a tough one
Me: ninetails is nice
Me: and also....
Me: hahaha
Me: i could go as porygon
Me: no, i take all that back
Me: Rapidash
Me: wins
Me: that's the firey pony one, right?
Ivy: yes
Ivy: #78
Ivy: http://www4.atwiki.jp/hitec/pages/61.html
Ivy: can you set yourself on fire?
Me: remember that time dad dressed me as Joan of Arc for Halloween?
Ivy: haha
Me: me being on fire is totally doable
Ivy: do you want the pony or horse version
Me: horse
Ivy: rapidash is the evolution of ponyta
Me: the bottom picture there
Ivy: http://www4.atwiki.jp/hitec/pages/113.html
Ivy: porygon
Ivy: good luck with that
Me: lol
Me: yeah
Me: me, a square?
Me: never
Ivy: aahhh
Ivy: haha

Movie Quotes Meme: Answers! (Part 1)

Well, almost all of these were answered on Facebook within a few days. For shame, relatives who read this blog!

Answers, Part One:

1. Character A: [Drinking some very strong alcohol in the middle of a fight] What the hell is that?
Character B: What does it mean when there's a picture of a skull?
Character A: Good stuff!!!

A: Jackie Chan's Drunken Master. The clip is a bit long (just over 9 minutes), but I think it's all good. The actual drinking starts at around 4:10, and then it's just all over for the bad guys.





2. Character A: Correct me if I'm wrong, Pete - weren't you killed in a gunfight?
Pete: I was only gut shot. I'm stronger now with less appetite.

A: This one's a TV show -- Brisco County, Jr. Which I wish had lasted for more than one season. I couldn't find any clips of the quote I used, but here's one of an air-banjo fight involving Pete:



And here's Pete bein' crazy. It's what he does:







3. Character A: Word is they're going to repeal Prohibition. What'll you do then?
Character B: I think I'll have a drink.

A: The Untouchables. Featuring an amazing cast, and one of the best final scenes ever. I couldn't find it on YouTube, though, so instead have some hot Sean Connery action:




4. I'm your huckleberry...

A: Tombstone, featuring Val Kilmer at his best --



5. When James Bond gets an assignment, he probably ends up on the Riviera, up to his 007's in bikinis. Me? I end up 80 miles past nowhere.

A: MacGyver, another TV show standing in for a movie I couldn't find any good quotes for on IMDB.

Here's a clip with the classic coffin jet ski --

-- and a bonus MacGyver funny from Stargate

Good Out, Good In

listening: No Hay Nadie Como Tu, by Calle 13/Cafe Tacuba

Just what it says on the tin.

After mailing two cards for Wish Upon a Hero this afternoon, I checked the mail, where three awesome packages awaited me:

Four Judge Dredd comics off ebay that I paid for with my paid surveys cash. Well, two 2000 A.D. comics and two Dredd comics. Good times.

The "lid" I won from GroovyLids! Isn't it gorgeous? It was kinda hard to apply, mainly because I didn't follow the directions perfectly. You can get your own GroovyLid just like mine from their etsy shop for about $18.95 :-D

A "Love & Gratitude" shirt from Chickatees! Also very nice, and I look forward to wearing it. I actually won this months ago, but apparently my address never made it to the company. Cayce (the creator) was very nice about the whole thing, and mailed me my prize (as you can see) as soon as she could. The shirt pictured here is even on sale for $20, which is a good deal.

Other news:
- I am sick. I noticed I was feeling ill shortly before reading an article about the current vaccine-resistant strain of the flu. Perhaps I have a super-virus? One can only hope that I'll gain super powers.

- I finally uploaded the actual Christmas photos and some New Years pictures as well. My goal is to get them posted before the next major holiday (Valentine's Day, right? I have some time, then). However, there are some deterrents to getting this done:

- Work (well, a different/second job, at least) is hard to find. I applied for a position before Christmas that would have been perfect -- I received an email a few days back saying that they had removed the position due to the economy. On the bright side, they'll be keeping my resume on file for six months.

- I am addicted to MacGyver. I love this show, and I <3 style="font-style: italic;">completely unrelated news (honest!), I am eagerly waiting for something around the apartment to break. With two cats, I shouldn't have to hold my breath.

- With that in mind, I am sick and finally done working online for the evening, so I'll get back to Season 2 of MacGyver.

Movie Quotes Meme

Shared this on Facebook, and then decided to test the people that read this blog also (hi mom and dad!)

Meme:
1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Bold it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Guessers: No Googling/using IMDb search or other search functions.
6. Guessers: No looking at my favorite movies on my Facebook page.


Onwards!

I cheated and included a few TV shows (hint: two), because several of my favorite movies didn't have any quotes on their IMDB pages.
**************
1. Character A: [Drinking some very strong alcohol in the middle of a fight] What the hell is that?
Character B: What does it mean when there's a picture of a skull?
Character A: Good stuff!!!

2. Character A: Correct me if I'm wrong, Pete - weren't you killed in a gunfight?
Pete: I was only gut shot. I'm stronger now with less appetite.

3. Character A: Word is they're going to repeal Prohibition. What'll you do then?
Character B: I think I'll have a drink.

4. I'm your huckleberry...

5. When James Bond gets an assignment, he probably ends up on the Riviera, up to his 007's in bikinis. Me? I end up 80 miles past nowhere.

6. Character A: Society can't exist without the family.
Character B: We're not against that.
Character A: Can two men reproduce?
Character B: No, but God knows we keep trying.

7. I warn you gentlemen, I am not to be trifled with. To pull the tail of a lion is to open the mouth of trouble and reveal the teeth of revenge biting the tongue of deceit.

8. A little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face, but now, by gum, I think she may have been on to something!

9. Character A: Aunt Lucy. I can see her now, lying on her dying bed, looking at you with those big, trusting eyes. 'Before I go, Jeff, promise me one thing,' she said. 'Promise me you'll always be a friend to little Orville,' she said. 'No matter what happens, you'll never leave the little jerk,' she said. 'Promise me, Jeff, promise me,' she said.
Character B: Yeah, then she up and died before I had the chance to say no.

10. Character A: Junior, I have tell you something.
Character B: Don't get sentimental now dad, save it until we get out of here.
Character A: The floor's on fire... see... AND the chair.

11. Character A: At last the day is came!
Character B: Mareichtag and I are speaking nothing but English now.
Character A: So we should feel at home when we get to America.
Character C: Very nice idea, mm-hmm.
Character B: [toasting] To America!
Character A: To America!
Character C: To America!
Character B: Liebchen - sweetnessheart, what watch?
Character A: Ten watch.
Character B: Such much?
Character C: Hm. You will get along beautiful in America, mm-hmm.

12. Yes they do, Otto. They just don't understand it. Now let me correct you on a couple of things, OK? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every man for himself." And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up.

13. [singing] Why don't we all drink/Some very sexy wine?

14. Character A: Sergeant Angel's been taken care of?
Character B: Yarp...
Character A: He's not going to get back up again?
[Character B thinks for a while]
Character B: [hesitantly] Narp?
Character A: Good. Proceed to the castle.

15.Character A: Aw, hell, Jim. I could never harm you. You're honest and brave and true. You didn't learn that from me.
Character B: I learned it from my friends, Mr. Silver. Now, take your oars and row away. I never want to see you again. Ever.


Ivy and Jyan, I choose (erm, tag) you!

In the news.

British comedian Eddie Izzard gives private show - at Mumbai victim's hospital bed

Heard the one about the kind-hearted comedian who performed his 90-minute stand up act at the hospital bedside of a recovering Mumbai massacre survivor?

Posted not just because I love Eddie Izzard, but also because it's nice to read some uplifting news about people behaving kindly towards one another once in a while.

Christmas Photos

They're not really a year late, it just looks that way.

And actually, the title of this post is a horrible, horrible lie. These are, in reality, pictures from decorating the tree --



-- which happened before Christmas.

Onwards!

The house was already decorated, and it looked very nice:



Anyhow, decorating the tree is a time-honored, lengthy, and serious process. Here, Alek demonstrates the appropriate attire and attitude for this undertaking:

For myself, I dressed up and took on a supervisory role:
After delving into many boxes which had not seen the light of day for nearly a year --


-- and placing and re-placing the ornaments (angels, reindeer, and other flying things near the top, ugly ornaments the kids made when they were six in the back) --

-- The tree was finished.

But wait! Something was missing!

Fortunately, one of us was able to keep her head and solve the problem:

I would have saved the day myself, but my plan to "MacGyver a tree ornament out of dryer lint, chewing gum, and three raw eggs" was met with open hostility.

Instead, grandpa just put the light-up angel on the tree:

And, if I may say so ("objectively"), the tree looked fantastic this year!

On Zombie and Politics

On the one hand, I'm a Democrat. On the other, Bob Hope is just fantastic: