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Mostly Baby Stuffs
Apr. 25th, 2014 10:46 amThis week I shipped another 207.5 ounces of breast milk off to the milk bank. Yay for having freezer room again!
( Baby Pix. )
( Baby Pix. )
In True Cosplayer Fashion...
Apr. 18th, 2014 11:14 pmHave just finished Baby's First Cosplay[tm]. Tomorrow the Squiddle will go to Wondercon dressed as Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. The costume will probably look pretty good, but I keep looking at it seeing what it's not. It's missing the ties at the neck because not having them will make getting the shirt over his head so much easier, and the belt will be safety pinned together in the back because I really, really didn't feel like staying up however much longer it would take to tear apart my sewing area and figure out where the bloody blazes I stashed the velcro.
Also, I have rediscovered how much I hate sewing knits. Which probably means I should sit down and put myself through the paces and sew a garment or two out of the stuff so I get better at it. (Hiccup's shirt is clearly a woven fabric in the film, but I want Squiddle to be able to wear this to ComicCon too in a few months. And babies grow.)
Pix of the costume, and various other things, to come next week. For now, bed, then dance class in the morning, then seeing how the baby does at a convention as opposed to RenFaire. (And, for the record, he did not handle Faire well. But that's a story for another time.)
ETA: The other thing the Hiccup costume does not have is boots. Because unlike Prince George, Squiddle goes shoeless. We live in a warm climate and he's not walking yet, ergo.
Also, I have rediscovered how much I hate sewing knits. Which probably means I should sit down and put myself through the paces and sew a garment or two out of the stuff so I get better at it. (Hiccup's shirt is clearly a woven fabric in the film, but I want Squiddle to be able to wear this to ComicCon too in a few months. And babies grow.)
Pix of the costume, and various other things, to come next week. For now, bed, then dance class in the morning, then seeing how the baby does at a convention as opposed to RenFaire. (And, for the record, he did not handle Faire well. But that's a story for another time.)
ETA: The other thing the Hiccup costume does not have is boots. Because unlike Prince George, Squiddle goes shoeless. We live in a warm climate and he's not walking yet, ergo.
Wondercon Saturday
Mar. 30th, 2013 11:40 pmHave been watching a disagreement on the historical costuming mailing list escalate to the point of personal insults. Have stopped reading the thread at this point; once the philosophical disagreements get down to vitriol and piss, there's no longer any merit to the discussion.
Wonderful Husband and I attended Wondercon today. Looks like they'll be coming back to Anaheim again next year, which, yay! I like having an actual local con. Did the dealer's hall (bought books, a few art prints, and I think there are a couple more art prints I want to go back for tomorrow), and two panels. One panel was a Q&A with literary agents, which I took some notes at and where Wonderful Husband asked a question relevant to my writing that I hadn't thought of. The other panel was about LGBTQ issues in fiction, which I attended since that's also relevant to my writing. There was some interesting stuff raised in that panel....
Met up briefly with my uncle, who was also attending the convention; did not run into my cousins. Well, maybe tomorrow....
Went to the Masquerade, which had some good entries, but I REALLY REALLY wish Phil Foglio would not indulge the audience and let them go on riffing on the entries numbers for as long as they want. My headache was also not improved any by the tiny, very uncomfortable seats in the Arena. :/ Did not stick around for the intermission & awards; figure I can find out who won what tomorrow.
As for hall cosplay, there were a good number of Homestuck cosplayers (mochiron), a surprisingly high quotient of DC comics characters, in particular a plethora of Joker/Harley Quinn sets, lots of Dr. Who costumes, but only five Jack Frost cosplayers. Given how many of that last there were at ALA, I expected to see a lot more. And, of course, Star Wars cosplayers were ubiquitous. Including a little kid dressed up as an AT-AT. ^_^ Adorable!
Wonderful Husband and I attended Wondercon today. Looks like they'll be coming back to Anaheim again next year, which, yay! I like having an actual local con. Did the dealer's hall (bought books, a few art prints, and I think there are a couple more art prints I want to go back for tomorrow), and two panels. One panel was a Q&A with literary agents, which I took some notes at and where Wonderful Husband asked a question relevant to my writing that I hadn't thought of. The other panel was about LGBTQ issues in fiction, which I attended since that's also relevant to my writing. There was some interesting stuff raised in that panel....
Met up briefly with my uncle, who was also attending the convention; did not run into my cousins. Well, maybe tomorrow....
Went to the Masquerade, which had some good entries, but I REALLY REALLY wish Phil Foglio would not indulge the audience and let them go on riffing on the entries numbers for as long as they want. My headache was also not improved any by the tiny, very uncomfortable seats in the Arena. :/ Did not stick around for the intermission & awards; figure I can find out who won what tomorrow.
As for hall cosplay, there were a good number of Homestuck cosplayers (mochiron), a surprisingly high quotient of DC comics characters, in particular a plethora of Joker/Harley Quinn sets, lots of Dr. Who costumes, but only five Jack Frost cosplayers. Given how many of that last there were at ALA, I expected to see a lot more. And, of course, Star Wars cosplayers were ubiquitous. Including a little kid dressed up as an AT-AT. ^_^ Adorable!
Conventions and Maybe Vacation Plans
Jan. 6th, 2013 09:52 pmHad a good time last night meeting some friends at ALA for dinner, and today actually attending the con. Got a couple of DVDs, one RotG art print from the Artists' Alley, and a carved bone dragon pendant. Saw five separate Jack Frost cosplayers today; apparently the con was with Jacks yesterday, though still nothing to the approximately billion Homestuck cosplayers. Also saw one delightfully good Sandman. ^_^
Have spent this evening medicating the cat, signing up for the writing class I still don't really feel like going back to, and figuring out dates for conventions-in-potentia and vacations-in-potentia. Wonderful Husband has looked up airfare costs for going to Britain this summer, and they are, unsurprisingly, exorbitant. Feeling slightly depressed, and have to get up early tomorrow to go give more blood to medical people, so I'm giving up and calling it a night right now.
The potential convention list, for those interested:
* Wondercon (since it's literally just down the street from us) on March 29-31
* I would like to do Costume Con (May 17-20), but with UK airfare where it is, it's a no-go
* Fanime, May 24-27; we would like to attend, but are not 100% certain yet; see above
* Botcon, June 27-30
* San Diego Comic Con, July 18-21, already registered for Sat/Sun
* Costume College, August 1-5, already registered
Have spent this evening medicating the cat, signing up for the writing class I still don't really feel like going back to, and figuring out dates for conventions-in-potentia and vacations-in-potentia. Wonderful Husband has looked up airfare costs for going to Britain this summer, and they are, unsurprisingly, exorbitant. Feeling slightly depressed, and have to get up early tomorrow to go give more blood to medical people, so I'm giving up and calling it a night right now.
The potential convention list, for those interested:
* Wondercon (since it's literally just down the street from us) on March 29-31
* I would like to do Costume Con (May 17-20), but with UK airfare where it is, it's a no-go
* Fanime, May 24-27; we would like to attend, but are not 100% certain yet; see above
* Botcon, June 27-30
* San Diego Comic Con, July 18-21, already registered for Sat/Sun
* Costume College, August 1-5, already registered
And The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth?
Jul. 17th, 2012 09:57 amI'm not sure if my memory is faulty or not, but it seemed like there were a lot more religious protesters at SDCC this year. They're regulated to doing their sign-carrying across a fairly wide street from the convention center, but since I've outgrown my taste for the food available at the food court, venturing outdoors is something I do. Mixed in among the protestors are advertisers giving out freebies. Comics, cards, etc. The two most brilliant advertisements I was given were Bates Motel soap (handing out soap at a convention! sheer genius!) and Carrie matches. There are also amusing cardboard counter-signs promoting Cthulu and FSM. But the thing I liked absolute best was the handouts-girl who was cheerfully saying "Stan Lee 3:16. With great power comes great responsibility."
Thinking on all that, it has occurred to me that if the protestors are truly interested in converting the geekish masses, they need to learn to tailor the marketing to the audience. Instead of signs saying athiests go to hell, which only put up people's backs and make them hostile, why not, say, have signs with quotes from a couple of the Indiana Jones movies? "The penitent man is humble; he kneels before God" etc. Or riff on Star Wars, or Avatar, or Narnia. Something that the audience will like, identify, and engage with. I don't really go with the whole "Superman died for your sins" thing (IIRC, nothing of the sort was involved in that event), but I'm sure there's plenty of speculative fiction that could be mined for appropriate pithy quotes.
As it was, I doubt their whole weekend of energetic protest and in-your-face sign-waving won the protestors a single convert.
(As a footnote, I have NOTHING against Christians. I have people I love and admire who adhere to that faith. And I do not count myself as an athiest. Yet I simply find it extremely rude that someone who doesn't even know me feels it imperative to tell me that I'm going to hell.)
Thinking on all that, it has occurred to me that if the protestors are truly interested in converting the geekish masses, they need to learn to tailor the marketing to the audience. Instead of signs saying athiests go to hell, which only put up people's backs and make them hostile, why not, say, have signs with quotes from a couple of the Indiana Jones movies? "The penitent man is humble; he kneels before God" etc. Or riff on Star Wars, or Avatar, or Narnia. Something that the audience will like, identify, and engage with. I don't really go with the whole "Superman died for your sins" thing (IIRC, nothing of the sort was involved in that event), but I'm sure there's plenty of speculative fiction that could be mined for appropriate pithy quotes.
As it was, I doubt their whole weekend of energetic protest and in-your-face sign-waving won the protestors a single convert.
(As a footnote, I have NOTHING against Christians. I have people I love and admire who adhere to that faith. And I do not count myself as an athiest. Yet I simply find it extremely rude that someone who doesn't even know me feels it imperative to tell me that I'm going to hell.)
So we did two days of ComicCon. After last year's glorious four-day stretch, that felt cramped and rushed. As Wonderful Husband put it, we could do all the things, or meet up with people and not do all the things. And we don't get to see the people that often, so the people win out. Always.
Highlights: the Holiday Inn did not screw us over this year. Trust me, that was much appreciated. We got to meet up with all the people. I went five for five on the autographs I wanted (Dan Gilvezan, Seanan McGuire, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paolini, and Chris Sanders). Wonderful Husband bought the couple of Homestuck books he didn't have and Andrew Hussie signed them. We also got the two sketchbooks I wanted, volumes of various webcomics, and I picked up six art prints that speak to me of Estellia. Also got a Mikaela poster. I went to four panels, all about books and writing, we ate at some good restaurants, and generally had a good time.
Next year, if we have sufficient vacation time and available funds, I want to go for four days again. And I want to do us each up a cosplay outfit for at least one day. But given we have other large "WANT TO DO" items next summer, we'll see how all that goes.
Now, back to my regularly scheduled Costume College prep panic....
Highlights: the Holiday Inn did not screw us over this year. Trust me, that was much appreciated. We got to meet up with all the people. I went five for five on the autographs I wanted (Dan Gilvezan, Seanan McGuire, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paolini, and Chris Sanders). Wonderful Husband bought the couple of Homestuck books he didn't have and Andrew Hussie signed them. We also got the two sketchbooks I wanted, volumes of various webcomics, and I picked up six art prints that speak to me of Estellia. Also got a Mikaela poster. I went to four panels, all about books and writing, we ate at some good restaurants, and generally had a good time.
Next year, if we have sufficient vacation time and available funds, I want to go for four days again. And I want to do us each up a cosplay outfit for at least one day. But given we have other large "WANT TO DO" items next summer, we'll see how all that goes.
Now, back to my regularly scheduled Costume College prep panic....
Wondercon - Sunday
Mar. 18th, 2012 10:42 pmGot in another couple good panels, which were helpful on the writing/creativity/time management type fronts, at Wondercon today.
In contrast to yesterday's fantastic parking (we were in the closest possible lot, only four cars away from the exit nearest the convention center) today we had to park at Anaheim Stadium and be bussed over. It had stopped raining today (my rain gauge said we got .8" yesterday!), but it was very windy and my hair was still air-drying from my shower, so I ended up spending the day with Hermione-level crinkles. Combing it just a little bit ago, however, I found far fewer tangles than expected.
In addition to panels, I also trolled the dealer's hall again and came away with a bit of loot. Two Asian mermaid prints by Liana Hee, who will not be at SDCC, alas, and a sketchbook from Brittney Lee, who will be at SDCC. I also added Glinda of Oz to my slowly growing collection of original printings of Oz books. And Wonderful Husband added the first two Buck Godot TPBs to his Studio Foglio collection. I might have acquired more, but I have books still to read, and more coming in the mail. Still, I noted several titles to be added to my list....
In double checking our bookcase this morning, though, we discovered that we have two signed copies each of Girl Genius volumes 8 and 9. Anyone interested in acquiring them from us for a fair price?
Then we came home and I powered through ten more pages of editing, plus editing ten different pages to copy and give to my classmates this week, as writing class is reconvening. I have consolidated various stacks on the dining room and desk, and am down to one stack of edits left, with nine entries in it. Then I'm on my own for fixing the rest of it....
ETA: Finished for the night at 134/628 and 131,514 words.
In contrast to yesterday's fantastic parking (we were in the closest possible lot, only four cars away from the exit nearest the convention center) today we had to park at Anaheim Stadium and be bussed over. It had stopped raining today (my rain gauge said we got .8" yesterday!), but it was very windy and my hair was still air-drying from my shower, so I ended up spending the day with Hermione-level crinkles. Combing it just a little bit ago, however, I found far fewer tangles than expected.
In addition to panels, I also trolled the dealer's hall again and came away with a bit of loot. Two Asian mermaid prints by Liana Hee, who will not be at SDCC, alas, and a sketchbook from Brittney Lee, who will be at SDCC. I also added Glinda of Oz to my slowly growing collection of original printings of Oz books. And Wonderful Husband added the first two Buck Godot TPBs to his Studio Foglio collection. I might have acquired more, but I have books still to read, and more coming in the mail. Still, I noted several titles to be added to my list....
In double checking our bookcase this morning, though, we discovered that we have two signed copies each of Girl Genius volumes 8 and 9. Anyone interested in acquiring them from us for a fair price?
Then we came home and I powered through ten more pages of editing, plus editing ten different pages to copy and give to my classmates this week, as writing class is reconvening. I have consolidated various stacks on the dining room and desk, and am down to one stack of edits left, with nine entries in it. Then I'm on my own for fixing the rest of it....
ETA: Finished for the night at 134/628 and 131,514 words.
It's weird to be attending a convention where the only person I know is married to me. Well, my uncle's there somewhere too, but I'm not really making efforts to run into him; I see him all the time. Very different from other cons where part of the activities is meeting up with people I only get to see once or twice a year.
Went to three panels on the creative process, got ideas, took notes. Talked a little with Naomi Novik and may have an idea for fixing the beginning of Queen's Choice, we'll see.
Also had the slightly odd moment of, while walking around, Wonderful Husband pausing and asking "Was that Wil Wheaton?" Checked and, yup, it was. Not too long after that, I nearly ran into him as we were going opposite directions in the dealer's hall. Wil Wheaton! He's everywhere.... :)
The convention center is also hosting a cheerleading event and a girl's volleyball event, which makes for some interesting mingling. Far more so than the traditional anime con & religious con pairing. Also of note is that there were some fabulous hall costumers... and most of them not in the Masquerade. Which, at twenty-two entries, felt very small.
One of the entries was a ~9-10' tall Optimus Prime. With lights! Then I came home and read a few things and discovered Michael Bay is going to be directing Transformers 4. Why does God hate Transformers fans? ;_;
Went to three panels on the creative process, got ideas, took notes. Talked a little with Naomi Novik and may have an idea for fixing the beginning of Queen's Choice, we'll see.
Also had the slightly odd moment of, while walking around, Wonderful Husband pausing and asking "Was that Wil Wheaton?" Checked and, yup, it was. Not too long after that, I nearly ran into him as we were going opposite directions in the dealer's hall. Wil Wheaton! He's everywhere.... :)
The convention center is also hosting a cheerleading event and a girl's volleyball event, which makes for some interesting mingling. Far more so than the traditional anime con & religious con pairing. Also of note is that there were some fabulous hall costumers... and most of them not in the Masquerade. Which, at twenty-two entries, felt very small.
One of the entries was a ~9-10' tall Optimus Prime. With lights! Then I came home and read a few things and discovered Michael Bay is going to be directing Transformers 4. Why does God hate Transformers fans? ;_;
Saturday, while I was at my dance class, Wonderful Husband got himself up early on a weekend morning, and waited at the computer, stalking memberships for Comic-Con. Since he's in the middle of changing jobs, our vacation time this year has gone *poof*, so we had decided we could only go Saturday/Sunday this year, instead of all four days like last year.
He was around 6,000th in line when he got into the waitroom. By the time he got our registrations done, a half hour later, the line was up to 60,000....
Anyone else going to SDCC?![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dragondancer515, I know you'll be there....
We're also pondering hitting Saturday and Sunday of Wondercon next weekend, since it will be local to us, not too expensive, and has some panels I would find interesting. Anyone going to that?
He was around 6,000th in line when he got into the waitroom. By the time he got our registrations done, a half hour later, the line was up to 60,000....
Anyone else going to SDCC?
dragondancer515, I know you'll be there....We're also pondering hitting Saturday and Sunday of Wondercon next weekend, since it will be local to us, not too expensive, and has some panels I would find interesting. Anyone going to that?
Weather. Health. Conventions.
Dec. 5th, 2011 07:18 pmFragging hate the Santa Ana winds. Have been nursing a low-grade headache all day because of them.
So, good news. According to my doctor's scans, the cysts are gone. Yay!
Bad news, my carpal tunnel is flaring up. :(
And Botcon has finally deigned to reveal the when and where of next year's convention, and it's in April in Dallas, Texas. Now, I have an offer to cover the not-inconsiderable cost of attendance itself in exchange for the coverer getting All The Toys, but that still leaves flights, room costs, food, and time off of work. Given that it's very much looking like a new car is finally imminent (apparently, ~10 years is the limit for getting a replacement engine with decent mileage, and Silverbird is 15), it's looking increasingly like Botcon is out. The same goes for Costume Con and San Diego Comic Con. Fanime I have a commitment to because I work it, and given that ConOps has such a bloody hard time getting staff, let alone decent staff, Wonderful Husband and I feel we can't ditch on such short notice. We are considering, however, that this may be our last year staffing. Costume College, my final annual event, is local enough that I can commute and I get a little money off for teaching classes, so that one is staying on my slate.
I suppose I should wait on making my final decisions, though, until the weather improves. Making financial decisions while feeling like you have multiple nails through your skull is generally not the best policy....
So, good news. According to my doctor's scans, the cysts are gone. Yay!
Bad news, my carpal tunnel is flaring up. :(
And Botcon has finally deigned to reveal the when and where of next year's convention, and it's in April in Dallas, Texas. Now, I have an offer to cover the not-inconsiderable cost of attendance itself in exchange for the coverer getting All The Toys, but that still leaves flights, room costs, food, and time off of work. Given that it's very much looking like a new car is finally imminent (apparently, ~10 years is the limit for getting a replacement engine with decent mileage, and Silverbird is 15), it's looking increasingly like Botcon is out. The same goes for Costume Con and San Diego Comic Con. Fanime I have a commitment to because I work it, and given that ConOps has such a bloody hard time getting staff, let alone decent staff, Wonderful Husband and I feel we can't ditch on such short notice. We are considering, however, that this may be our last year staffing. Costume College, my final annual event, is local enough that I can commute and I get a little money off for teaching classes, so that one is staying on my slate.
I suppose I should wait on making my final decisions, though, until the weather improves. Making financial decisions while feeling like you have multiple nails through your skull is generally not the best policy....
Here To Confirm All Rumors
Mar. 25th, 2011 02:56 pmYes, the rumors are true. I will be attending Botcon 2011.
Still running a little hot (99.1; normally I'm 98.6) and coughing, but it feels like most of the gunk is out of my windpipe now. Still, voice sounds like it's been through a shredder and goes in and out. Joy.
Went up to ALA today and had lunch with people attending the con. Got reminded of my obligations, costume and convention-wise, for the year, and have charted them out.
Fraggit, three and a half months to the (big/first) deadline, and then the four other cons/colleges for the year are on two back-to-back weekends!
Given that I have dental surgery this Thursday, I've decided I'm not going to worry about it until I'm recovered from that. Design work for the first con, yes, and registration, but no actual fabric shopping yet, no sewing. Because I am so not going to be in the headspace to hit the fabric district next weekend while I'm still bleeding from the gums.
Went up to ALA today and had lunch with people attending the con. Got reminded of my obligations, costume and convention-wise, for the year, and have charted them out.
Fraggit, three and a half months to the (big/first) deadline, and then the four other cons/colleges for the year are on two back-to-back weekends!
Given that I have dental surgery this Thursday, I've decided I'm not going to worry about it until I'm recovered from that. Design work for the first con, yes, and registration, but no actual fabric shopping yet, no sewing. Because I am so not going to be in the headspace to hit the fabric district next weekend while I'm still bleeding from the gums.
On Disappointing Things
Mar. 5th, 2009 11:32 amThis morning I had an appointment with my doctor to get one of those yearly things that must be done if you have a pair of matching chromosomes. Despite leaving home half an hour earlier than I do when I'm going to work, it took until about the same time to get there. Grr. And tomorrow I get to not have breakfast and go in to the labs so that they can stick a needle in me and sample all my blood. Plus my copay has apparently gone up by 50% and has doubled if I have to go to a specialist for anything. Y'all can guess just how thrilled I am about anything in this paragraph.
Similarly under the "thrilled. really. except not." category goes the fact that I looked at BotCon registration last night and realized I cannot afford this convention. Minimum cost for registration adds up to $175, not including little things like food, hotel, etc. I could go for General Admission tickets (sold the day of) for $15 each on Saturday and Sunday and roll the dice on being able to get into any of the panels (GA gets to go in after all the registered members are seated) and commute from home for $7 parking, which also would take care of food save for lunch.... *sigh* I was really looking forward to a decent BotCon occuring someplace that I could get to. Now to decide if even the possibility of panels is worth it.
Similarly under the "thrilled. really. except not." category goes the fact that I looked at BotCon registration last night and realized I cannot afford this convention. Minimum cost for registration adds up to $175, not including little things like food, hotel, etc. I could go for General Admission tickets (sold the day of) for $15 each on Saturday and Sunday and roll the dice on being able to get into any of the panels (GA gets to go in after all the registered members are seated) and commute from home for $7 parking, which also would take care of food save for lunch.... *sigh* I was really looking forward to a decent BotCon occuring someplace that I could get to. Now to decide if even the possibility of panels is worth it.
