Don’t ask me where this question came from, I suppose it was one of those lingering thoughts that stemmed from a photo:
Which then inspired a Facebook conversation where someone mentioned that the the hunter in front was the most evil because he was the one that killed Bambi’s mother…
Then a few years later a separate conversation between friends as to which villains have actually killed… which then inspired this post.
I have been putting together various costumes over the past year and a limited number of pictures to show for it. Well with a photographers lined up it is the matter of getting some well crafted accessories to complete the costume.
Blame the thespian in me… without a few accessories here and there, the costume just don’t feel complete to me.
What is the worst word to apply to this convention…
Regret… And lots of it…
– I regret not arriving until 1am on Saturday morning…
– I regret having to leave by 5pm on Sunday evening…
– I regret letting something so awesome slip my mind so carelessly…
– I regret not being able to stay up beyond my 4am self-imposed bedtime on Sunday morning…
Lots of regrets because the weekend of the Fabletown and Beyond Convention was…
Why yes… I have been quite busy… busy doing a lot of things, seeing shows, going to conventions, listening to audiobooks… here is what is upcoming as soon as I find time to sit down and write them out:
LITERARY REVIEWS:
– Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job
– The Blind Side and other related audiobooks to Michael Oher’s life
– Veronica Roth’s Divergent
– Kill Shakespeare Graphic Novel Vols 1 & 2
THEATRE REVIEWS:
– Kill Shakespeare: the staged graphic novel
– Priscilla Queen of the Desert: Chicago Tour Stop
– Catch Me if You Can: Chicago Tour Stop
– Big Fish: Pre-Broadway Engagement
– American Idiot: Chicago Tour Stop
– Anything Goes: Chicago Tour Stop
– Village Theatre Guild’s A Hatful of Rain
– Denver Performance Center’s Sense and Sensibility (Musical)
TRIPS:
– Fabletown and Beyond Convention in Rochester, Minnesota
– Disneyland / Disney’s California Adventure (from February)
Yeeeeeaaaaaah, I am a wee busy. Not to mention that I am also in another theatre production (on and off stage work) and have other blogging duties to catch up on….
At least you all will know why I’m a wee slow at the moment. đ Hopefully I’ll start picking at that mountain before it becomes too high.
Why is this particular panel getting its own post? Simple, because it was funny, crazy and entertaining… and I have a bad habit of heckling to the point that it is borderline flirting.
*sighs*
Story of my life.
So what happened? Well I am not sure… first there was some back and forth with a few people in the audience (myself included since I don’t really know when to keep my mouth shut sometimes). Then the creators asked if someone would be interested in joining them on the panel to which someone (RyanSainio) jumped up and joined them on the panel.
It came out that he has only read the first volume, and that he had already interacted with them the night before so he had trouble with coming up with a few questions…
Along the way it all came out that there is some obscure law in the Canadian Constitution that it is illegal to kill Will Shatner…
WHAT?!?!?!
And that plus a bunch of other things caused this to be one of the best panel discussions EVER!
Then the heckling continued.
*sighs*
Oh did I mention that Conor McCreery did the voice of Bane from Batman? And did an excerpt from the Bane Rap? Don’t know what the Bane Rap is? Let me rectify that for you:
A few things that I was interested in:
– stage adaptation of Kill Shakespeare
– expansion of the universe to include (more) characters from some of Shakespeare’s comedies
However, I am not going to provide the questions and answers because I didn’t keep any notes… I know silly me… instead just head on over to Ryan Sainio’s podcast and get his thoughts on that part of the panel discussion… Continue reading →
In early December of 2012, I was fortunate to have a show that I was originally in rehearsals for… to be postponed until spring of 2013. Why fortunate? Because it gave me a chance to see a concert celebration for the music from Final Fantasy… and I have yet to miss a concert since the tour began five years ago and have come through Chicago how many times since then?
The Final Fantasy Concert holds a special place in my heart… it is where I met one of the first people that I knew from the online world and were friends with (well before the internet became littered with predators and crazies). So naturally it became a habit for me to want to see the concert every time it comes through Chicago… there is a bit of nostalgia that comes into play.
So I have been on a kind of corset kick lately… to the point that I have been putting together costume ideas for the next time I go to a convention or maybe even Halloween (shocker!). So why am I on this corset related kick?
Well to start, when I realized that my measurements were fairly proportional to one another (bustline and hips are within an inch of one another and my waist being around four to five inches smaller) the idea that a corset could squeeze that into an almost perfect hourglass shape (nine to ten inch difference between bust/hips to waist), it really emphasized the natural curves that most women seem to lack nowadays.
So now that I know the strength of my figure, the idea of putting together costumes that I know I could pull off well started to seep into my mind… below are just a few ideas…
LULU from FINAL FANTASY X
One of the costume ideas I have been staring at for years was the amazing costume from Final Fantasy X of Lulu. Now there are a lot of well done costumes out there already, but I am a little obsessed with the idea of having a corset as the primary piece and everything else would be rather simple to piece together from everything else.
In fact when Pendragon Costumes recently posted a picture of a new piece – via their Facebook Page – I knew I found my staple not just for Lulu but for a Steampunk costume should I desire it.
The irony of finding my base has led me to find other pieces online that I could use for my costume… most notably all the jewelry / hair pieces, the doll that Lulu uses… and even a YouTube video of someone showing how to use one’s hair to mimic that of Lulu’s without having to get a wig. Which for someone like me with long thick black hair… I prefer using it as much as possible.
I still have a few pieces to put together, namely the belted underskirt, the sleeves and the top fur trim, but I think for the most part I can get those done on my own as soon as the dress comes in. đ
Earlier in the summer I was introduced to the Bristol Renaissance Faire by close friends of mine and instead of going once… I went multiple times. Why? Because I was trying to put together a costume for an upcoming convention in Rochester, Minnesota called FablesCon.
After much deliberation, timeline, feasibility, etc… I have finally figured out who I am going as… and considering most of the piece are almost done all I have left are a couple of essential accessories… W00t! Let’s hope I get this done in time for March.
However… I digress. After the plans for the aforementioned costume were put in motion, my friends and I helped another friend in deciding what to do for his costume which in time turned over to “so when you go to the Ren Faire next year what are you going to dress up as?”
Well… I don’t know, I never really thought about it. Darn them for planting seeds so that I have to think about it now… grr. Continue reading →
Speakers:
Andrew Pepoy, Bill Willingham, John Cunningham, Matt Sturges, Phil Jimenez, Sean E. Williams, Shelly Bond
Description:
Come join in the party as Fables celebrates its 10th anniversary at New York Comic Con! Join Bill Willingham, creator of the multi-Eisner Award winning series Fables and Fairest, Group Editor Shelly Bond, Phil Jimenez (Fairest), Matt Sturges (Fairest) and others as they look back on 10 years of the amazing journey that is Fables, plus an in depth look into what the future holds! Donât miss this panel that is truly legendary.
Needless to say… there was a lot of information coming our way… and true to the Bill Willingham style, there were a lot of teases, diversions, and possible red herrings being thrown for the audience to see.
UPCOMING ISSUE OF FABLES
Coming up later in October we have a one-shot story called “The Destiny Game”. Since I didn’t take any notes about this particular issue other than Bill asking the audience if they felt that the Fables series did not do a good enough job when it comes to magic and destiny… below is the summary of the issue from the Vertigo Comics website:
How does fate work in the Fables fictional universe? Find out in this tale full of deadly chases, betrayals, sword fights and skulduggery, as superstar guest-artist Gene Ha guides us through âThe Destiny Game.â Also: Bufkin and his “girlfriend” sidekick continue their Ozian adventures in the backup feature painted by Shawn McManus.
An interesting quote that was spoke to the audience later in the panel… straight from the upcoming issue of Fables:
Your sons and daughters will become gods and monsters that lay waste on the world…
Between the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (aka as C2E2 in March / April) and the Wizard World Comic Con (in August) I typically prefer going to C2E2 by default. Wizard World always seem to strike me as a bit too chaotic and busy for my taste… which I suppose is odd considering that pretty much every convention is going to be just as crazy and chaotic.
Nevertheless… I went, and really my reasons for going was sound considering my motivation. In hindsight I kind of wished I spent more time at the convention, and not necessarily for the original reasons. Meeting new people is always a positive and this is no different.
The people I met on this trip to the convention may have given me a reason to look towards going on again next year should they be there, but I digress.
One of the things that is always a sight to see at these conventions are the costumes and below are some costumes that caught my attention in some capacity or another. All of these are already on my personal Facebook album that was posted over the weekend… but the ones below reminded me of one thing or another.
Looking through my original images it is of no wonder that my tastes are beyond eclectic… I can’t really determine my own primary interests when there are just so many of them.
Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I am not a fan of the Wizard World Comic Convention so what on Heaven’s good Earth would draw me to be at the one Chicago convention that I would much rather not go to? Generations of Art of course! Geez, it is as if you didn’t know me.
In any case… if you have read my previous post I was in love with the corseted dress that was made for me to the point that I was and am looking into having others made. In fact when I emailed Lisa Lindburg (the creator of all the designs and corsets from Generations of Art) about a few ideas for down the road she replied:
I’m planning to be in Chicago again at Wizards comicon. [You] could come be my slave and work into a corset.
Now remember how I just said that I was not a fan of the Wizard World Comic Con? Yeeeeaaaah… I was going to have to eat my words. Looking at my schedule we talked and eventually she found people to help her out. So since I wanted to see her stock regardless I decided to head to the convention for one day regardless and talk to her for an hour or so (depending on how busy she was) and that was it. Expensive for a $35 pre-show ticket, but for me in the end would be worth it… little did I know what I was getting myself into.
Taking a day off of the office I cleaned up, decided to toss on the dress she made for me originally (blue side out) and headed off to the Stephen Donaldson Convention Center in Rosemont. Continue reading →
Before recently, I never been to the Bristol Renaissance Faire or Ren Fair for short. There were a few shows that I ended up watching, a couple of musical groups that I did rather enjoy. However, what impressed me the most: the shopping. Who would have thunk.
Below are some of the shows that particularly caught my interest: 2 Merry Men
Spin the âWheel of Sinâ and join Robin Hood and Little John as they sing you all the songs that you love so well. Twisted comedy and music, definitely not for the kiddies. Laugh and sing along with songs of burning pubs, dock side floozies, and yesâŚeven a song about Moose. Just remember, what happens in the woods… STAYS in the woods!
Ok, I will grudgingly admit, they made me laugh… a lot. Granted I was a brat, a sarcastic brat, but a brat nonetheless. With so many songs dealing with one of the 7 Deadly Sins aka Lust… I got bored despite enjoying myself.
When “Robin” came out wearing a moose head over his… well… “Little Robin” (for lack of a better term) he made a crack comment of saying, “Look we come in 3D!!!” and proceeded to walk towards me jutting the moose head out right towards me. So what was a girl to do? Well I went and made a grab for the moose head.
The roar of bagpipes and the thunder of the drums can only mean one thing. Tartanic returns to thrill audiences with a show that truly defines âShock and Awe!â Taking tunes out of the session and into the sensational with their own brand of humor and theatrics. This is not just music… this is an interactive spectacle brought to you by… MEN WITHOUT PANTS!
Having been a fan of Celtic music I was drawn to this group. Seeing semi-decent looking guys running around in kilts just does something you know? Their female counterpart eye candy for the males danced here and there and a couple even belly danced. Belly dancing to Celtic music? Yes please!
I was glad to have had the chance to listen to them because the weekend I went was the last weekend that they would be at the Ren Fair. Continue reading →
A lover of fairytales, folklore, mythology, etc I found it rather interesting that I didn’t pick up this series sooner. In fact if you head on over to the Entertainment link in the upper right hand corner and on the drop down menu click on Literary you’ll see that the Fables series is one of the book series that I highly recommend reading.
Fables
For anyone that really enjoys fairytales and nursery rhymes and are open minded to the seeing them in a new light would really pick up this series. Taking many of the beloved fairytale characters and re-imaging them while staying true to their roots (roots as in the original Grimm stories and those from Hans Christian Anderson, etc… none of the Disnified versions).
A very strong example of this is the story of Snow White, while everyone knows of the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves the tale of Snow White and Rose Red. Bill Willingham masterfully combines the two “Snow Whites” and created a full and colorful backstory that not only is unique, colorful, and truthful.
While walking through the booths at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) this past April, I saw one particular booth full of corsets. However, it wasn’t the corsets that caught my attention but what was hanging on one of the mannequins:
Yup, it was a dress with a built in corset. I figured that it was just one hell of an impulse buy so I told myself that I would walk around the floor for a few hours more and if I can’t stop thinking about that dress, then I’ll go back and have a dress made, if not… well obviously it would be an impulse buy (the whole gut instinct vs logic thinking). I figured if I was still thinking about the dress after a few hours of walking around the floor and talking to friends, then I’ll go ahead and purchase the dress, otherwise… well you know.
Turns out it wasn’t an impulse buy, I still wanted that dress, or something similar to it. Two years earlier I purchased a corset for myself and loved it, but I rarely wore it, unable to bring myself to wear it outside of the comfort of my home. So I was wanting to find a piece that I could wear while out and about… then again, I think I would prefer wearing that kind of a dress around my theatre friends as opposed to anyone outside. But I digress…
Weekly I get an email from the “The Ripples Project“, an online project whose purpose is:
helping others get excited about work and school and life; […] and challeng[ing] people to explore their potential
Below is an example of a newsletter that I received this week. The Ripples was titled: Dancing with the Universe whileas the title of my website/blog is Dancing Through the Universe. So why not?
PEBBLE
You can dance with the Universe,
but you don’t get to lead.
-written and submitted by Catherine Julian in Olympia, WA
BOULDER
Cinderella may have been given
the dress, the shoes and the ride,
but she was the one who made
the choice to go to the ball.
You are given opportunities every day,
make your choice to do something with them.
-written and submitted by Jennifer from Cal Poly-SLO
PONDER
Plenty of teeny and huge stuff happens over which we have little or no control; unfortunately we are sometimes so busy fretting over these unscheduled interruptions that we ignore the choices we still have, the options that are still available to us. Just because we cannot control everything doesn’t mean we have to throw up our hands and fail to get busy on the things we CAN control.
So if you’re feeling stuck this week, I invite you look between the lines of the STUFF you are facing and seek the choices and options you still have. And then find a way to dance with them!
