Monthly Archives: May 2009

I’ve written on this before, but one of Neil Gaiman‘s latest blog posts brought the issue to mind again, and I very nearly missed the deadline to add my own thoughts to the open forum discussion on this topic.

You see, my grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease. She is at a very late, advanced stage. She is no longer easily able to form entire words, much less sentences, she does not recognize her daughters, grandchildren, or husband. She has to be fed, or she forgets to eat any food placed in front of her, and she has to wear diapers, for she has forgotten how to use a toilet or clean herself.  And yet, her body, such as it is, remains fairly healthy. She exists lost in a mind that has become so twisted and tangled that she cannot find her way out.

There is no hope that she will ever regain her memory, that she will ever be able to function normally again, that she will ever regain the dignity she has lost.

But Alzheimers is a hereditary disease. She was not the first in our family to have it, all of her sisters had it.  It’s probable that my aunt, my mother, my cousins, or myself will one day face this same thing.

Stem-cell research is the only research avenue offering hope for a real result, perhaps not a cure, perhaps only a stay-of-execution….but of a far better and more successful result than any of the current medicines can offer.

If you have anything to say on this topic, whatsoever…please visit the links mentioned here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd5vs2xt_0hkwp6xd8 and let your voice be heard.

With only about four months to go, and limited time in general, it’s time  to start seriously thinking about con costumes.

We’ve had some vague, general ideas. B is actually beginning to get into the costuming aspect this year, and seems excited about a steampunk costume.  I already have the elements of one pretty much intact.  I got a wonderful tweed skirt with a bit of a mermaid-tail flair to the bottom of it for Christmas, and of course I have my beautiful corset from last year’s con. The fabric is a canvas map that is absolutely beautiful.

Example Bustle Belt from LoopTangle Blog

I don’t want to alter the skirt itself, since I want to be able to continue to wear it as a non-costume, too, but it does need a little something extra to give it that perfect flair.  A suggestion from my wonderful costumer friend @marillawen over on Twitter/WoW was to use a bustle-belt of some sort. She suggested some brown leather, perhaps some complimentary tweed, and I was thinking of adding some brown lace and chiffon to help further fluff up the bustle.

Now, I wanted to incorporate some sort of leather tool-belt into my steampunk costume (after all, what self-respecting victorian engineering lady would be caught somewhere without her spanner?), so my plan now is to somehow combine the two, sewing the bustle onto the back of a tool-belt.

I’ve been working on making some aviator goggles, too, but I think those will likely end up in the possession of B, because I’ve become somewhat entranced with ladies’ top-hats.  It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable hat and spruce it up a bit.  I’d love it if I could find one of those miniature top-hats to pun on top of a nice big curly hairdo, but will likely make do with the full-sized sort.

Example of the sort of pants I'm thinking of making for B.

As far as B, he’s put forth the idea of being an aviator of some sort, a biologist, an engineer, etc. etc. etc.  He’s a pharmacist, so I rather thought the idea of a scientist would suit him well.  A belt with a suitable selection of sealed vials with little miniature plants in them would work nicely for a botanist of some sort, likewise with some “dubious” chemicals for a chemist.   A suitable pair of pants shouldn’t be too difficult to buy or make.   I already have a nice pattern for a tailcoat that will look phenomenal.

I likely have less actual sewing to do this year than I did for last . . . which may be a good thing, but gettng started much earlier will help to ensure that I’m not sitting there rushing to get things finished at the last minute again this year. I’ve also got a good, fairly clear picture of what it is I want to make. Now all I’ve got to do is aquire the materials and get to work.

The review in a single short burst:  Star Trek was Awesome. <Insert Geeky Fangirl Squee Here>

Spoiler Free Review:

We had here a new cast, playing old and very beloved characters. There were some very large, difficult shoes for them to fill and it would be extremely difficult to do so without making a parody of them, particularly the more, erm, unique qualities of, say, Bill Shatner.

So the new cast/writers/etc. had a lot to live up to.  I don’t exaggerate when I say that they did so in an absolutely phenomenal fashion.  Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban were, in particular, absolutely spot on as Spock and Bones, about as perfectly played as anyone could have asked for.  McCoy was appropriately grumpy and complaining about something every time you saw him.

Spock was as you would expect a very young Spock to be – still fighting the conflict between his human and vulcan self.  I particularly appreciated this treatment of the character, watching how he became what he became later on where he had resolved his two halves.  Quinto simply could not have done a better job even if he had been Nimoy himself.

There were plenty of nods to the originals that only a fan would notice, and those done with a respect for what had come before.

The real test of it was that it felt like the original Star Trek’s felt.  Not with sad nostalgia (a la Indy IV) or with some sort of vague imitation.  It felt like Star Trek, not something trying to pretend to be Star Trek.  Not only that…it felt like one of the best of the movies with the original cast. Wrath of Khan quality.

Even the most devoted Trekkie shouldn’t be disappointed with this movie.

And now come the Spoilers:

This is a complete reboot of the series, complete with alternate timeline.  I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, though I realize that this allows them the opportunity of creating sequels without worrying about stepping on the toes of the movies and shows that have come before.  Since it is an alternate timeline, the stuff that happened before has no relation to this timeline.

However…it rather means that the stuff that happened before, on the original timeline…didn’t happen, and likely will not. I think that this is where my uneasiness about it comes in.

Time travel stuff always gets a little wonky.  However, it didn’t seem like they were using it as a crutch here, it made sense and fit well into the universe they were creating. This isn’t the first time Star Trek’s gone time travelling, after all.

The sets were wonderful. The Enterprise actually looked like a battle-ready ship rather than a cruise liner, complete with independently firing gun turrets and defenses.  She was beautiful, as Scotty would proudly proclaim. His engine room, too, was huge – exactly the sort of scope you’d expect on a ship that size.  And that’s exactly the feeling you got from it – that feeling of size and scope, that this wasn’t a dinky little boat they were flying about in but an enormous fighting vessel.

You really could not have asked for a better cast of characters to replace the ones that had come before. They do a wonderful job and honor the people that had played these characters previously without making a parody of them.  No, Kirk doesn’t have his …. familiar …. and …. infamous …. Shatner-speak, but he is most undoubtedly James T. Kirk with all of his reckless rulebreaking and lack of respect for authority.  Though not as perfect in character as Quinto and Urban were, Chris Pine did a wonderful job in the role.

And yes, I’d use the word perfect for Quinto’s Spock, particularly.  He was, without any doubt whatsoever…Spock. Young and unsure and emotionally conflicted, yes, but Spock nonetheless. It would have been unrealistic to expect a Spock that young to have fully resolved his human and vulcan sides, to not be fighting his emotions.

That conflict is the real story of the movie.  Nero and his vendetta provide a vehicle, a villain to fight against, but it is Spock fighting with himself, and how his friendship develops with Kirk, that becomes the central plot.

It would be a lie to say that I didn’t get a little misty-eyed when Spock (Prime) reached out to Kirk and said, “I am, and always will be, your friend.”

I’ve gotten moved over to my own domain and gotten all of my posts imported, now all that needs doing is a little customization of my theme and to get all of my articles, stories, poems, and papers linked up for my writing portfolio page. For my faithful subscribers, thanks for hanging in there while I got everything moved and set up. You’ll be able to find me a little easier now!  For the new folks, welcome! Let me give you a bit of an introduction. I’m a writer, a gamer, and pretty much an all-around geek. I’m also a girl. Go figure.

You can follow the little link above for my writing portfolio (still in progress), if you’re interested in reading some of my fiction or articles.

You won’t find me claiming to be any sort of expert in anything. I’m still learning. Hopefully I always will be, and I’ll be able to take you on that trip with me as I do so.  What you will find here are my thoughts on things I come across in life, my opinions on the world around me and, of course, my favorite forms of entertainment. I try to be an objective critic, but when it comes to some things, I have the tendency to go completely rabid fangirl…

Especially if it involves Joss Whedon. You have been warned.

Thanks for coming, and if you like what you read, thanks for staying long enough to do so!