Monthly Archives: June 2010

So I’ve had my pattern (McCalls #6097) for a bit and have finally gotten my fabric from JoAnns. Though the pattern is for a full costume, I’m only making the skirt and bustle to go with my wonderful map-canvas corset and a bodice I already have to go under it.

There was a little bit of a hiccup when JoAnns turned out to be out of stock for the antique gold fabric I ordered for the bustle, but fortunately I always order an extra yard anyway, so I didn’t come up too short. I spent last night tracing out and cutting my pattern pieces to get ready to start sewing. I’m saving any significantly sized scraps, and it looks like I’ll probably have enough left over to make a matching Tiny Tophat and maybe add some extra embellishments here and there. I’ve dismantled an old wind-up clock I found to cannibalize the gears and such for some added personality to the dress. The costume satin is gorgeous for the price, and fairly lightweight, so it shouldn’t be too hot even in Georgia in late August. It also seems to hold up fairly well and not pull easily.

I still need to pick out a trim, probably something in black lace (my corset is an ivory/tan map with a black lining, so I’ll need some black in the skirt somewhere).

I haven’t decided yet if I’ll actually make the train. It is detachable, but walking around Con with a train is a bit impractical.  As far as shoes go, while I have some wonderful ladies boots that would fit the outfit extremely well, I’m probably going to wear my converse with some spats over them – Comfortable Shoes make Happy Con-Goers – and it’s not like anyone will really see my shoes anyway.

Related articles by Zemanta

• DIY Doctor Who Weeping Angel costume looks terrifyingly good (slashgear.com)
• Steampunk Star Wars costumes (boingboing.net)
• The Spark: More Fashionable Than Star Trek (dir.yahoo.com)
• Help me figure out a costume! What’s a costume? I have no idea… (ask.metafilter.com)

Steampunk Doll

All of my regular readers know me as a writer, but I’ve also always dabbled a bit in artwork, primarily digital.  Mind you, I do not consider this a real talent of mine, it’s certainly not something that comes as easily to me as writing a good story. It’s a hobby, nothing more. I’m finding that as I practice, and as I learn from some of my significantly more talented friends, I occasionally manage to produce something worthy of sharing.

Some of my artwork, as well as any photographs I decide I want to share, may start showing up in my RSS feed, because since I’ve switched to FeedBurner again, I can integrate a Flickr photostream into the feed. I’ve set up a dedicated Flickr stream just for this blog, so everything that’ll show up from flickr in my blog feed will be something relating to this blog – my artwork or something relating to my writing, generally.

I’m actually working on a little short drabble to go with the above picture – something that came to mind as I was working on it. I  suppose, in the end, everything I do just comes back to my writing.

It seems to me that reviewers don’t want to give this movie a chance – most can’t seem to get over the fact that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith bought the rights to put their kid in the movie.

Well no one (including myself) likes nepotism, but Karate Kid was a bundle of surprises.

First off, let me say that it was really good.  Jaden Smith was better than you’d expect any kid that age to be, and you can already see the potential there for him to become a serious actor as he grows up.

And let’s face it . . . none of us expected the Fresh Prince to become the actor that Will Smith has become. Everyone has to start somewhere, and Jaden Smith made a rather remarkable showing in this movie. The awkwardness and insecurity that was apparent fit the character that he was portraying – it was exactly the same awkwardness that all children that age possess, and made the character just that much more believable.

Jackie Chan was an absolute pleasure to watch.  I’ve always been a big fan of Jackie Chan, but many of his more recent American produced movies have seemed to focus far too much on the slapstick and silliness, and far too little on a good story or good characterization. It was nice to see him do so well in a serious role, and the story in this movie is as much Mr. Han’s as it is Dre’s. Both the teacher and the student have something to learn from each other.

This is one time I’ll tell you all to pay no attention to the negative reviews. I think anyone, even those who aren’t fond of “kung fu” movies, would appreciate this film. It’s only about kung fu on the surface, after all – the real story here is about relationships and family.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The New Karate Kid Gets A Sequel! (perezhilton.com)
• Jackie Chan A Hit In Karate Kid Remake (news.sky.com)
• Jackie Chan says Karate Kid role a nice break (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

My regular readers will probably have noticed that this blog has been sort of confused as to what it wants to look like lately, as I tried on various themes to try to find one that I really liked.

You see, I want the focus of this blog to be on the writing and content. But I wanted something a little more interesting than pure minimalist whitespace (as much as I do love the look of McSweeney’s).

My general aesthetic tendencies have always tended toward the Victorian/Steampunk/HappyGothic* , with a bit of PunkRockabilly** and Bollywood in there.  Yes, I know that’s quite a mix. What can I say, I’m complicated.***

So I tried on themes. Some I loved, but they didn’t play nice with my plugins or, once installed, proved hard to read (grey print on black, etc).  Eventually I gave up and installed this simple theme called Aesthete as a sort of placeholder until I could find something. It was sort of Steampunky, easy to read, and put more focus on my content than something with a big flashy header.

But today, my friend, the Librarian, presented me with a custom header that he that sold me on it completely. It’s not huge and distracting, but manages to distill the major point of this blog into one image. That is, writing.  It’s the history of the tools of writers from past to present, all in one image.

So, in thanks, I’m giving him a little free advertising.  The Librarian is quite a wonderful designer, and I’m sure he’d be happy to take your commissions. And stamp due dates on them.

I’ve also started using Feedburner again, so those of you using feed readers may need to update your subscriptions. This will allow me to keep track of you, among other neat things.

* HappyGothic as opposed to DepressedEmoGothic. Flying buttresses in bright colors?
**Clothes Marilyn Monroe would be proud of,  ink to rival a Russian Gangster, and Atomic Pink hair (or atomic blue, green, purple, red, you get the idea.) – Also, anything sold by Locher’s.
***As most people are, really. These label things, they don’t work right.

(Spoiler-free Review!)

Start out by imagining Elizabeth Bennett. Add a hefty amount of steampunk, a few vampires and werewolves, and a good dose of wonderful sounding food and tongue-in-cheek humor. You might come up with something somewhat like Soulless, by Gail Carriger.

I would’ve known nothing at all about this unassuming little book if not for word of mouth, but it was a wonderful discovery. In the current literary world where vampire stories are a dime a dozen, and the majority of them rather decidedly bad, I found myself having to put aside a certain amount of suspicion of any book involving the supernatural.  Once assured that none of the vampires in the book sparkle (with, perhaps, the exception of Lord Akeldama, and that only with sequins) I decided to give it a chance.

I’m glad I did. This book was one of the most fun reads I’ve had in quite a while, largely due to the humor of the novel.  It has no problems poking fun at the tropes of the genres it straddles, while at the same time presenting them in new and rather refreshing ways.  Alexia Tarabotti is a heroine Jane Austen would be proud of:  an unconventional and independent woman in a society where free-thinking women were rarely welcomed. Like Eliza Bennett, she looks upon the women of her own family with amused annoyance as they natter on about fashion and society gossip.  Her male counterpart is a good bit more Heathcliff than Darcy, but a fitting match for her wits and someone who can appreciate a woman who can think for herself.

I couldn’t help laughing out loud at places, but don’t think that this book is all about the giggles.  At its heart are characters you can’t help but fall a bit in love with, a tightly written mystery story that never did lay all its cards on the table until the end, and a romance that is anything but Victorian.

If you like a little steampunk Victoriana and can enjoy a good supernatural story, be sure to pick this book up.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger (nethspace.blogspot.com)
• Gargoyles, fonts, and anachronism, oh my! (tor.com)
• Pickles and Parasols: An interview with Gail Carriger (tor.com)