Clockwork Droid, Part 2

The costume is coming along quite nicely. I went back to the fabric store today to get the rest of my supplies, and now I can picture how the dress is going to look when everything is finished!

I sewed in the new front panel, but only on the bottom. I had to leave the sides undone so I could embellish the front. As I mentioned in the last post, I sewed the new fabric onto the edge of the existing fabric and then cut the old fabric away. You can tell from looking at the inside of the dress, but it's not noticeable at all from the outside.

I used the same fabric for the bottom of the sleeves...and then I was out of fabric. I also had no embellishments for the front. I tried playing around with the leftover lace, but as you can tell the results were not promising.

Not quite what I was looking for. So today I headed back to the fabric store to buy something for the sleeves and ribbon for the front. I brought a sample of the original fabric to try and match the color as much as possible.

None of the solids matched, but I did find a pattern that had a darker turquoise on a background that was darn near exactly the same color. Then I found a nice wide ribbon in the darker turquoise to tie everything together.

After playing around with different ways to attach the ribbon, I settled on gathering it just in the middle, with four lengths of ribbon across the front.

Next I added in the fabric for the sleeves, to see how everything looks together.

Right now it's all just laid out on the floor. Next comes sewing it all together! 

Of course, no clockwork droid costume would be complete without the mask. I'll do a quick post on that as well, so stay tuned.

Clockwork Droid, Part 1

As promised, here are some progress shots on my clockwork droid costume! We shall begin with the "before" picture: me in my $10 secondhand bridesmaid's dress.

I'm so glad I never had to wear this in public.

The tag says it was originally from JCPenney, but I found it at Goodwill. There are three main problems I had with it: the sleeves, the neckline, and the middle panel in the front (which includes the solid fabric under the lace). The sleeves are too puffy, obviously. I decided to replace the front panel with white fabric and a square neckline.

The first step was to take out the fabric I didn't want. I used a seam ripper to remove the stitches without cutting the fabric. I removed the sleeves first and then deconstructed the front of the dress:

I used a square-neck sweater to figure out how deep I wanted the new neckline to be, then I traced around the rest of the panel to create a pattern on tissue paper.

Yes, that's Christmas polka dot tissue paper. WHAT.

My initial thought was to sew the solid white fabric under the lace, so I started by cutting the lace. I also considered leaving the turquoise fabric in place, but ultimately decided it would be too distracting. You can tell from the second photo that everything is still attached to the skirt. There's no way to remove it without also undoing the gathers on the skirt, so I think I'm going to sew the white fabric onto the turquoise and then cut the turquoise off.

Here's the cut fabric for the replacement panel. I sewed around the neckline and turned it inside-out. I had to press it to make it lie flat, which I had never done before. My previous sewing experience is about equal parts repairs and doll clothes, with only a couple larger projects here and there. I kept the iron on its lowest setting because I was afraid of scorching the fabric. I probably could have turned it up a bit, though. The edges of the fabric were fraying like crazy, so I whip-stitched loosely around the very edge to try and curb it. It's an inherent problem with the fabric--the edges of the skirt are fraying too.

Before I sew it into the dress I'm going to embellish it with a ribbon or bows. I'll need to visit the fabric store for the ribbon and play around with it for a bit before I decide on the final design. I'm probably going to need more fabric for the sleeves, too. I bought an actual pattern to use for the sleeves (lower right). If I'm ever feeling really ambitious I may try making the whole dress, although that won't be for this Halloween.

In Defense of Casual Costuming

It's mid-September, which naturally means it's time to start planning for Halloween! I have this costume that I started working on a couple years ago. When I first started watching Doctor Who, one of the first episodes I saw was "Girl in the Fireplace." Aside from recognizing Sophia Myles (Reinette) from Moonlight, the most memorable part of the episode was the clockwork droids:

I've wanted to do a droid costume ever since. I got a plain mask from Michaels, which I decorated with Sharpie markers in a design similar to the ones seen in the show. I found a bridesmaid's dress at Goodwill which I thought would be good with some added lace at the neck and sleeves.

Yesterday I went looking for more pictures to figure out how I was going to modify the dress. Then I started looking for other people who had done cosplay droids, to see if they had any tutorials. In addition to some truly amazing costumes (see here and here and especially here) I kinda got the feeling that my idea wasn't good enough. It can be inspiring to look at other people's work, but it can be intimidating too.

There was one blog post in particular, which I will not link to, that left me feeling down. The guy who did the costume--which was honestly very good--was boasting about how his droid costume was better than all the others at the convention. He made a snide remark about someone else's costume, saying that her final mask was worse than his first attempt.

On the one hand, screw that guy.

On the other hand...well, screw that guy.

But at the same time, he's not the first person I've encountered to have that attitude, and he won't be the last. There are people in the cosplay community who feel a "casual attempt" at a costume is worse than no costume at all. "You think you can be the Eleventh Doctor with a just a suit jacket and a bowtie?" they sneer. "GTFO, noob. That's the wrong tweed fabric! Obviously! And your buttons are a quarter inch too small! And that shirt is all wrong! Don't know anything?" I won't even get into the problem of judging the person wearing the costume. That is another post for another day.

I have nothing against people who want to make their own costumes 100% screen-accurate. If that's what you want to do, more power to you. Just don't expect everyone to share your attitude. Most importantly, don't look down on those who take a different, more "casual" approach.

At its best, costuming is about showing off your talents and learning new ones along the way. The woman who decided to hide inside the dress and top it with a transparent head? Her costume is effing brilliant, and she deserves every bit of praise she gets for the hundreds of hours she put into it.

And the guy in the "wrong" jacket and bow tie? Maybe he's been too shy to cosplay before. Maybe this is his way of saying he's a fan of the show. Maybe he searched a dozen thrift stores to find that jacket because he can't afford the official replica.

Maybe he just wanted a costume he could put together in fifteen minutes. Is that so wrong? People cosplay for a million different reasons, and they're not always going to be the same as yours or mine.

In conclusion: If you can't say something nice about another person's costume, don't say anything at all.

I'll be posting progress pics soon on my own costume, so stay tuned!

Disney Princesses: Heroes or Villains?

I grew up in the 1990s, which meant that something I looked forward to every summer was the new Disney movie. The Little Mermaid was my first "favorite" movie, and I still have the often-watched VHS tape my parents bought for me as a tyke. As I grew older I started looking at different perspectives on the "Disney Princess" brand, and how they are supposedly ruining today's generation of girls.

I will say right off the bat that today's toys are being marketed in a manner that is far too gender-specific. Also, the "Disney Princess" brand takes a lot of liberties with the characters. There was a lot of noise back when Merida joined the official lineup and was made to look more "cute and feisty" than, well, brave. Oh, and apparently Disney princesses are contractually obligated to wear clothing that is 50% glitter by volume.

But what about the actual movies? What kind of messages are they sending to girls? As it turns out, there are two sides to every princess. I'll give my quick summary of each movie, from a positive and negative perspective.

Cinderella
Positive: This movie has more female characters than male; the plot is driven by a memorable villainess and the heroine has a literal fairy godmother looking out for her. It easily passes the Bechdel Test (Cinderella talks to her stepmother and fairy godmother about going to the ball).
Negative: The heroine and title character does NOTHING to save herself from her situation. Literally nothing. The birds and mice make her first dress (without her knowledge); fairy godmother makes the second. Even at the end, when she's locked in her room, she doesn't try to escape. The mice have to save her again.

Sleeping Beauty
Positive: Like Cinderella, this movie has a mostly female cast. Maleficent stands out as one of the most memorable villains, male or female, from the Disney animated canon. Can any of the other villains turn into a FREAKIN' DRAGON? I didn't think so. Also, in the final battle, the fairies are the ones leading the charge. Prince Philip would not have gotten nearly as far as he did without their help. This movie passes the Bechdel Test, as the fairies talk about Aurora often. As does Maleficent.
Negative: Once again, our heroine is completely passive. The only thing she does on her own is sneak out into the woods, where she winds up in Love At First Sight (R) with her prince.

The Little Mermaid
Positive: Ariel is the first princess who decides to go after what she wants--and originally, it's not "a man." Even before she lays eyes on Eric, she expresses a desire to be human and be free of her father's rule. Also, we have another strong female villain.
Negative: This movie fails the Bechdel Test; Ariel and Ursula have a long conversation, but it revolves around becoming human so she can be with her prince. She also needs to undergo a dramatic physical transformation so she can be with him.

Beauty and the Beast
Positive: Belle is smart, brave, and caring. She is a favorite among nerd girls for preferring books and the eccentric company of her mad scientist father over the all-looks-no-personality Gaston. She is not afraid to stand up for herself, first to the beast, and then to Gaston.
Negative: Belle stays with a man whose behavior borders on abusive, at least in the beginning. She believes that she can change him, and it works. Girls, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

Aladdin
Positive: Jasmine knows what she wants, and is not afraid to tell anyone. She is determined to marry someone she chooses, rather than let her father force her into an arranged marriage. She escapes from the palace to experience life as a commoner--without magical intervention.
Negative: Name one other female character in the movie. There isn't one...unless you count the genie in drag. Jasmine has to stand up for women's rights, because she could very well be the only female in all of Agrabah.

Mulan
Positive: Mulan is driven by a desire to save her father and prove her own worth. She goes undercover as a soldier and ends up saving the whole country. She is a definite action hero. Also, she is the first Disney Princess to have a mother and grandmother who are still alive and present at the beginning and end.
Negative: They just had to throw a romance in, didn't they?

Brave
Positive: Merida does not wait around for anyone to solve her problems. She is not afraid to try different solutions when she dislikes her options. The central plot of the movie revolves not around Merida and a love interest, but her changing relationship with her mother. Both Merida and Elinor come out of the movie as stronger, and their relationship has reached a new level of understanding. She is also determined, like Jasmine, to avoid arranged marriage...and unlike every other princess on this list, is happily single at the end of it all.
Negative: They just had to make her a princess, didn't they? Also, Pixar has been making movies for almost 20 years now (yup, Toy Story came out in '94) and it took them until 2012 to make a movie with a female protagonist.

I skipped over some of the movies because I'm not really familiar with them (Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Hercules). I also excluded Pocahontas, because even though she's included in the "princess" canon, I'm not sure if she qualifies (her father is a chieftain, not a king). Mulan is technically not a princess either, but she appears more often than Pocahontas in official Disney Princess merchandise. If anyone wants to offer their analysis of the movies I missed, or a new perspective on one I've covered already, please do!

In conclusion: Watch the movies with your kids. Ask them what they thought the moral of the story was. Talk about the messages they picked up on, and how those lessons apply (or don't apply) to the real world. Media literacy is an important skill for kids to learn, and how they watch is arguably more important than what they watch.

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness opened this weekend! Hubby and I saw it last night. We had wildly differing opinions about Star Trek (2009). I loved it; he hated it. I went into this one excited, and he went along, by his own admission, for my sake and because he wanted to point out all the flaws afterwards. Into Darkness does have some flaws, even big ones, but we both agreed that it is overall a good movie. Well, Jason said it was "okay," but he also said it was "way better than the 2009 movie."

I'm going to begin my review with my spoiler-free observations, and then head into a discussion of the plot.

First off, this movie is shot much better than ST09. The lens flare is toned down quite a bit, where it is no longer the main camera effect. The camera shots themselves are also much more stable. It's good to know J.J. Abrams can keep the camera still for longer than half a second. I also like the continuing nods to the original series (though I'll discuss that more in the spoiler section). We got mention of the Gorn, Tribbles, and Harry Mudd, as well as Section 31 from Deep Space 9.

The acting was excellent. Jason pointed out Noel Clarke in an early scene, also known as Mickey Smith from Doctor Who (side note--season 7 finale this weekend!). Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as John Harrison, the main villain. IMDB gives his character's real name, so go there if you want spoilers. Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus has some great scenes too. The main cast is just as good as they were in ST09. I especially enjoyed Chris Pine's performance. It was good to see Kirk get some actual character development. It was nice to see Nyota (Uhura) have some action scenes. Infinitely better than, say, dancing around in a skimpy costume to cause a distraction.

I'm looking at you, Star Trek V.

Oh, and this is a minor spoiler, but I was glad to see that someone at Starfleet finally decided the chairs on the bridge of the Federation flagship should include seat belts. Seriously, I know they have artificial gravity, but with all of the times we see people on the bridge getting knocked around, they needed seat belts badly.

Jason and I agreed that the opening scene was needlessly stupid. If a submarine can't go into space, why should a starship be able to go underwater? My other complaint about the movie was the way they handled things at the end, which will be discussed in the next section.

Overall, I'd give Star Trek Into Darkness 4 out of 5 stars.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

You have been warned.

I can understand why they decided to put Khan into the movie. He is the most iconic villain from the original movie continuity and, as Spock Prime points out, he was their biggest foe. They handled his character very well, both in terms of writing and acting. I can even buy that Kirk sacrifices himself to stop Khan and save the ship.

But did they really need to create the exact same circumstances from the end of Wrath of Khan? There were just way too many similarities. It went from feeling like a nod to the original movie to saying, "We couldn't think of anything original. Watch Wrath of Khan with Kirk dying instead."

And then they didn't even follow through with it! I'm still not sure whether I think this is good or bad. On the one hand, it undermines Kirk's sacrifice and shows that Abrams is still playing it safe. Plus, it would be very interesting to see how everyone goes on without Kirk. On the other hand, I didn't actually want to see him dead. Spock's death in Wrath of Khan is ultimately undone as well, so maybe they're combining the endings of II and III? I suppose what I would have wanted was for someone (probably Spock, to tie in with the opening) to save Kirk after he has shown he is willing to sacrifice himself. I would also have created an entirely different circumstance for Kirk to put himself in.

I am very intrigued by the idea of the militarized, possibly evil Starfleet. Admiral Marcus was such an evil slimeball that I almost wasn't sorry when Khan snapped his neck. I felt bad for Carol, though. Good to know she's made of tough stuff. I suppose the next movie will have to feature this "inevitable war" with the Klingons. Maybe they'll bring the Romulans in, too. I would love to see the Federation and the Romulans team up; ever since I read Diane Duane's Rihannsu series I thought it would be great to see some ties established. Maybe they can even bring in Ael. Wishful thinking, I know. I would love to know what Diane Duane thinks of the new movies.

Here is another unlikely prediction: the Borg. They have shown up in every series but TOS; they even appeared in the prequel series, although they were never named as such in order to preserve continuity.

Book Review: Dianne Duvall's Immortal Guardians series

I have been a fan of the vampire genre since I was in high school. It started out with Angel (and, shortly thereafter, reruns of Buffy) and quickly spread to encompass a wide array of books, movies and TV shows featuring the undead. Basically, if it's got fangs, I will read it. Or watch it. I may not like it, but I will give it a shot.

Dianne Duvall's Immortal Guardians series has three books so far, plus a novella included in a collection called Predatory. The fourth book comes out later this year. I picked up the first book on a whim and was immediately struck by the complex world created in this story. There are normal humans, obviously. There are also "gifted ones," or humans with supernatural abilities and "advanced" DNA. But vampirism is completely unrelated to the abilities of the "gifted ones." In fact, it comes from a virus that turns a human into a vampire and turns a "gifted one" into an immortal. The thing about the vampires is that they tend to go crazy after a few years. Crazy as in "homicidal." So the job of the immortals is to hunt down the vampires and stop them from killing people. The immortals, due to their already differing genetics, are protected from the insanity that eventually kills any human-turned-vampire.

Then we have Ami and Zach, who are...none of the above. We don't find out Ami's secret until halfway through book 2, and still don't have an explanation for Zach. Though to be fair, Zach has only shown up in a few scenes, and we don't even learn his name until the third book. Usually a world that starts out with vampires will add other supernatural elements, such as werewolves, demons, and magic. Duvall takes the scientific approach instead, which I find pretty cool. 

So we have complex characters. We also have tons of action. There is no shortage of fighting, death, and bloodshed. We get descriptions of all of the characters' weapons. The male main characters are all Immortal Guardians, so they have centuries of experience with fighting and killing vampires. But the women are no slackers, either. Sarah (from book 1) is a college professor who is thrown into the world of immortals and vampires by accident and is more than capable of holding her own. Ami (from book 2) kicks some serious vampire ass, despite being tiny and seemingly vulnerable. Think River Tam with Merida's red hair. And Dr. Melanie Lipton (from book 3) is smart and fearless. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to stand up for the vampires she's trying to save. Makes me wonder if Duvall is a fan of Buffy herself.

There is just so much I love about this series. The characters are well-rounded, and Duvall does a great job of dropping subtle world-building hints and raising questions that are left unanswered at the end of each book. At the same time, the main story itself in each book is resolved so that each novel stands on its own. And I'm not gonna lie, the steamy scenes are pretty good.

Oh, did I mention these are paranormal romance novels?

Nine times out of ten, you would not find me defending bodice rippers. Usually the plot is thin, the women need saving, and any "foreshadowing" is just setting up two minor characters for their own love story. If you remove the relationship between Alice and Bob, most romance novels fall apart completely. I've read a few Harlequins in the past, and they were all pretty forgettable. The Immortal Guardians books are the first romance novels I've read (primarily) for the plot, and actually cared about the overall story. 

Make no mistake, the Immortal Guardians books are romance novels, complete with naked torsos on the cover. If you removed all traces of romantic relationships, admittedly, the series would be a lot thinner. Still, that's true of nearly any series. If you have enough characters, eventually some of them are going to get together (in fanfiction if nowhere else). But you could remove all of the sex scenes and still have an exciting, compelling story in a complex world. Which makes me wonder why they were written and marketed as romance novels in the first place.

The one quibble I have with the series is a minor one: all of the immortals are literal vegetarian vampires. They need blood, but they also eat normal food, and they are all health food nuts. We get loving descriptions of vegetarian meals, prepared with organic ingredients. But it never rises to true Author Tract levels and the story is still definitely enjoyable even if you don't happen to share her passion for salads.

Overall, I would give the series 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you like action, supernatural creatures, and a dash of hot romance, definitely check it out.

C2E2 2013!

Convention season has begun! The Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as C2E2, was this weekend at McCormick Place. Jason went all three days; I was unable to get Friday off, so I went on Saturday and Sunday.

There was a lot more room devoted to the convention this year than in previous years, which made everything seem less crowded. I noticed a huge difference on Saturday--even with all of the crowds, I was still able to navigate pretty easily.

My brother and I went to a panel on Saturday. One of our favorite YouTubers debuted two new videos. If you are a fan of comic book movies, you should definitely check out ItsJustSomeRandomGuy. He makes videos with action figures, and they are HILARIOUS. He started out doing parodies of the Mac/PC ads, but he also does movie trailer parodies, song parodies, and a series of original stories with its own continuity (boom). The main event at the panel was the final episode in his "Zero Hour" series, which ended up being a rough cut without special effects. It's not online yet. RandomGuy opened the panel with this song parody, and he sang Superman's part live.

The "panel" was actually on a stage near the concessions, rather than in a room with rows of chairs. Johnny and I sat at a table with a bunch of strangers and started talking about our various interests as we were waiting. One of the things I love about conventions is how easy it is to find things in common with people.

I did all of my shopping on Saturday. I bought two t-shirts (Pinky and the Brain and Care Bears), some buttons for my convention backpack, and a "Live Long and Prosper" necklace. My favorite find was a booth selling vintage Care Bears (yes, I'm kind of Care Bear crazy). They were 20 bucks each, so I only bought one.

Sunday's highlight was meeting Felicia Day! She signed my "Doctor Horrible" DVD, and she was super nice.

I saw some great costumes both days. 

Jason spotted this female Third Doctor on Friday, and then we ran into her again on Sunday right as we were leaving.

Doctor Horrible was popular this year:

I saw a lot of families with kids on Sunday. It seemed to be the best day to bring them, because the crowds were smaller. I had never been to a convention on Sunday before. It was interesting to compare the crowd levels. 

Anyway, this girl had a great costume:

Whatever you do, DON'T BLINK.

And finally, someone at the convention on Saturday had the best car EVER.

It's a Volkswagen Ladybug! How cool is that?

That's it for my convention wrap-up. Hat-a-week should be returning shortly. I am close to finishing my sweater, and I already have my next hat commission. Jason has requested a Metroid hat, which my brother heartily seconded. For those of you unfamiliar with the monsters, this is a Metroid: 

I'm not entirely sure how well this will translate to hat form, but we shall see!