Advent Calendar, Day 22

Today's activity: Listen to Christmas music and wrap gifts.

We had quite a few things to wrap, because we're visiting my family on Christmas morning and Jason's family in the afternoon on Christmas day. 

There are a few tricks to wrapping gifts so they look neat. The first step is to measure how much paper you will need to fit around the box. Start by wrapping the whole roll over your gift, and cut it so it overlaps by an inch or two.

If you want to make sure you're cutting straight, it helps to have a wrapping paper with a checkerboard pattern, or one that has a grid on the underside. 

Measure the paper needed to fold down over the bottom. It should be about 2/3 of the height of the box, so the two ends overlap without causing too much bulk.

Once the gift is positioned, you can tape it along the long sides to form a tube. Next, fold in the corners along the bottom. Fold the top one down and the bottom one up. Tape them in place.

It is very hard to eyeball how much paper is needed to create the fold on top. If the ends are too short, there will be a gap in the package. If they are too long, the paper will get crumpled when you try to tape it. Here's how to get the perfect size every time. Stand the box up on its end. The extra paper will form a cone up into the air.

Now hold the paper right above the box and fold the cone outward. The edges of the paper will flatten outward:

Now cut straight across the top of the paper right after it flattens out.

Then fold in the ends on the top the same way as the bottom. Voila!

Of course, this only works if the package in question is a box. There is a secret to wrapping oddly-shaped packages, too:

Stick it in a gift bag. Done! Add some tissue paper to be fancy.

Jason and I wrapped our stocking stuffers for each other, most of which we bought at Dollar Tree. It turns out that strange minds think alike...

Yeah, we both picked out a set of cheapo plastic ninjas. Why did we get each other dollar-store Ninja Action Figures? Mostly because of this.

Ninja: The Mission Force was inspired by Godfrey Ho. His ninja movies seem to be written by a bunch of seven-year-olds who care more about making things look cool (without any budget) than little things like plot or continuity or sense. The "action" scenes are spliced together with footage from completely unrelated movies, to form one incoherent storyline. They are a wonder to behold.

Godfrey Ho Ho Ho says, "Merry Ninjamas!"

Advent Calendar, Days 18 and 19

Seasons' Greetings from our snowman!

December 18: Have peppermint ice cream for dessert.

It was originally supposed to be peppermint milkshakes, but we decided on regular ice cream because we were both pretty full after dinner. We plan on making them this weekend instead. The ice cream is delicious all by itself.

We got Edy's Peppermint, but you can make your own peppermint ice cream by softening a container of vanilla (or chocolate...mm, chocolate and peppermint) and stirring in crushed-up candy canes. My grandma always used to buy the boxes of broken candy canes because she got a discount, and they were going in the ice cream anyway.

To make the milkshakes, blend together 2 cups of ice cream with 1 cup of milk, and top it with whipped cream, sprinkles, or crushed-up candies.

December 19: Movie night.

I went with a new twist on an old "favorite." Cinematic Titanic is the spiritual successor to Mystery Science Theater 3000, with...basically all of the former cast members who aren't doing RiffTrax. This includes Joel, Frank Conniff (TV's Frank), Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl), and the original voices of Tom and Crow. They riffed on Santa Claus Conquers the Martians a couple years ago, and right now it's streaming on Amazon (free for Amazon Prime members).

Good stuff. Man, every time I watch this movie, I find something else about it that makes no sense whatsoever.

Advent Calendar, Day 15

Today's activity: Movie night.

It was Jason's turn to pick. He chose the Doctor Who Christmas special from 2011: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

We also did our usual pizza-and-Who on Friday after our shopping. We watched The Runaway Bride, with David Tennant as the Doctor. It's one of my favorites because it's Donna's first appearance. She and Tennant are just marvelous together.

Yesterday I went to a Christmas party at church. We do a grab bag every year, so I brought a snowman plate with two dozen of the cookies I made last week. My mom ended up with the cookie plate, and I got a gift bag with some hand towels and a box of peanut brittle.

Only ten days until Christmas! I'm quite excited.

Advent Calendar, Day 9

Today's activity: Movie night!

We popped up a big bowl of popcorn with our air popper to eat while we watched the movie. I like air-popped popcorn because it is cheaper than the microwave popcorn. It's also healthier...potentially. We topped it with seasoned salt and a couple tablespoons of butter. I'm not sure how it compares to microwave popcorn calorie-wise, but there were no artificial flavors or preservatives.

It was Jason's turn to pick the movie this time around, and he chose the TNT version of A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart.

I think A Christmas Carol is a story that works on many levels. I grew up watching the Disney version (with Mickey and the gang, not the CGI one from a few years back) and my favorite part was watching his transformation. Now I'm drawn to the idea that people who are unkind in life must make amends after they die. It's one of those things that makes sense from a moral standpoint, aside from fitting the narrative so well. And of course, I still love watching Scrooge find his redemption. 

And God bless us, every one.

Advent Calendar, Day 4

Today's activity: My turn to pick a movie! I went with Scrooged.

Jason introduced me to this movie a couple years ago, and it's become a holiday favorite.

In other news, we have been getting rain instead of snow. Captain Angryface is not pleased.

We still have three weeks. That's plenty of time for a white Christmas.

Advent Calendar, Day 2

Today's activity: Jason's turn to pick a holiday movie!

After debating between two different versions of A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott or Patrick Stewart), Jason decided to go a different route: Santa Claus. No, not the '90s movie with Tim Allen; that's The Santa Clause. This is one of two Christmas movies that were torn apart by the MST3K guys (the other one is Santa Claus Conquers the Martians). As TV's Frank so aptly describes it, "It's a stupid Mexican kids' movie!" Dubbed in English, and featuring a little girl, an inept devil, and the origin of the phrase "nightmare fuel."

Movie Review, Pac-Man Crochet, and Doctor Who Excitement

Today's post comes to you in three parts. Part one: Ender's Game review.

Jason and I went to see Ender's Game on Sunday. We had both read the book in the past, though Jason admitted he only remembered the basic plot. I remembered more of the details.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a teenage boy who is part of a military program to fight a war against the Formics, ant-like aliens who invaded Earth half a century ago. The Formics nearly wiped out the human race before a sound defeat that sent them back to their home planet. Ender is sent to the elite outer space Battle School to become a great military leader.

As a book-to-film translation, it works very well. The biggest change they made was to condense the story time-wise. Ender is older when he leaves for Battle School, and the entire course of events takes place over no more than a year or two. In the book, Ender is seven or eight when they ship him into space and the book takes place over four or five years. There are many reasons for making Ender older, and overall I think it makes the movie better.

I do think they could have either made the movie longer (it clocks in at just under two hours) or even broken it into two parts. The subplot between Ender's brother and sister, Peter and Valentine, is cut out entirely even though it is a significant part of the book. The other big omission, and my biggest disappointment with the film, was the most of the zero-G battles were cut out. We get to see a few scenes, and they look fantastic. I definitely would have wanted to see more, especially since they take up a good portion of the book as well.

Overall, I would give Ender's Game 4/5 stars.

Part two: My latest crochet project!

I found both of the patterns on Ravelry. The ghosts were originally a Halloween decoration in white. In addition to the color change, I eliminated the original bead eyes and the finishing mouth stitches. I attached the googly eyes with my trusty hot glue gun. Pac-Man was originally all in yellow, but I thought he would look better with a black mouth. This was a quick, easy project. The ghosts take about half an hour, and Pac-Man was probably an hour start to finish. You can find the (free!) ghost pattern here. If you're on Ravelry, you can find the (free!) Pac-Man pattern here.

Part three: OMG THE DOCTOR WHO 50TH ANNIVERSARY IS A WEEK AWAY!!!1!

The Day of the Doctor is coming, people. Next Saturday. And I am so. Flippin. Excited.

Can you tell?

Jason and I have plans to see it with the Chicago Nerd Social Club. They're having a meet-up for lunch and viewing. This is great, because we don't have cable. We don't even have an antenna--our big-screen TV is used exclusively for DVDs, video games, and Netflix. Of course, it makes no sense to get a cable subscription just for one show.

So since we're going to be out and about, in the lovely Chicago winter, I decided that I needed to knit myself a TARDIS hat. I started on it last night and I will post pics when it's all done!

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.

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!

Wizard World Update!

Jason and I were looking up the updated guest list for Wizard World yesterday. I was thrilled to see Charisma Carpenter on the list. There are going to be a ton of Buffy/Angel alumni there, but she definitely takes the top spot on my list (sorry, James Marsters!). I remember the first episode of Angel I ever watched was their 100th episode special. I had no idea who this "Cordy" girl was, but I liked her, and I was completely baffled when she died--off-screen, no less--at the end of the episode.

Like I said, this was my first experience with a Joss Whedon show. Seriously, if I ever meet him I will not know whether to shake his hand or punch him in the face.

Since then I have seen every episode of Angel at least once. It is still the only show where I own the entire run on DVD. Cordelia is still probably my favorite character. I love how much her character develops, especially considering her start on Buffy. I think I will have her sign one of my DVD sets...I will have to see if she is on the cover of any of them.

Morena Baccarin is going to be there as well. I would love to meet her, but I have a feeling that would involve waiting in line with an uncomfortable number of creepy middle-aged men. I went to a panel last year (at Cyphan) with Jewel Staite, and unfortunately sat next to someone who must have been the inspiration for Fanboy. I felt so bad for Jewel having to answer his questions, which showed that he knew more about the show than she did. He was also leaning forward in his seat and preventing me from getting a decent picture. So yeah, my goal is to avoid guys like him as much as possible.

I am also still completely psyched about meeting Patrick Stewart and Christopher Lloyd. I already know what I want C.L. to sign. Last week, I found this on clearance at Toys "R" Us.

I want him to sign the hood of the DeLorean. I thought about having him sign the back of the package, but that would mean I could never open it. Personally, I have never understood the appeal of leaving toys inside the box. I want to take it out and play with it! And Jason still wants his (Sega) Genesis Device signed. I still think that is a brilliantly hilarious idea.

Now I just need to figure out what I want Patrick Stewart to sign...Man, Wizard World is going to be awesome this year. So excited!

May the Fourth Be With You!

Yes, May 4th, the unofficial Star Wars Day. I am celebrating by wearing my Lego Star Wars shirt that says "Support Our Troops" along with a picture of Lego Stormtroopers. I also have a geeky countdown to share with you: my Top Ten Favorite Aliens from TV and Film.

10. The alien from Alien. When it comes to villainous extraterrestrials, ALIEN can't be beat! From suffocating you, to bursting out of your chest, to managing to single-handedly wipe out almost the entire crew of the Nostromo, this is one seriously dangerous creature. "Fun" fact: in the original ending, the Alien was going to bite off Ripley's head and record a mission log in her voice. I think if it had ended that way, I would still be afraid to go to sleep with the lights off. Brr.

9. Chewbacca from the Star Wars movies. Who doesn't love Chewie? Not only is he incredibly big and strong, he is loyal to his friends and smarter than he appears at first glance. He needs no further explanation.

8. Harry from Third Rock from the Sun. The absent-minded, lovably stupid member of the Solomon family. Probably knows more about Earth pop culture than the rest of the crew, because he spends all of his time watching television. Has hidden depths. And a transmitter in his head, to contact their leader, the Big Giant Head. The BGH made a few appearances in later seasons, played by none. Other. Than. William. Shatner!

7. The guy who turns out to be an alien at the end from UHF. If you have never seen Weird Al's movie, it is worth checking out (and, at least at the moment, it is up in its entirety on YouTube). During the ending scene, it is revealed that one of the characters is actually an alien, complete with a transformation sequence and "beaming up" to his space ship. I do not want to give away who it is, because the surprise gave my brother and me one of the biggest laughs in the entire movie. Johnny still says it is his favorite scene. I will say that his character was originally going to be played by a young comic named Joel Hodgson. Joel declined, because he had this idea for his own TV show where robot puppets make fun of old movies. He probably made a good call there.

6. Guinan from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The thing that I find so intriguing about Guinan is all of the mystery surrounding her. She is very old, and wise, and her people were taken over by the Borg. She and Picard apparently have a history, which is never fully explained. Also, I love her costume. It looks like an intergalactic graduation robe and cap, available in multiple metallic colors! Whoopi Goldberg wanted a part in Next Gen because she credits Nichelle Nichols' Uhura as her inspiration to become an actress. So the writers created a character for her. Because Whoopi Goldberg is that awesome.

5. Delenn from Babylon 5. Jason introduced me to B5, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. It has a complex, well-planned out storyline and includes multiple alien races. Delenn is a member of the Minbari, who were at war with Earth before the show took place. She is the Minbari ambassador, and actually turned down a chance to be the leader of the High Council because it would mean giving up her position on B5. At the beginning of the second season (where I am now) she actually transformed into a sort of human-Minbari hybrid. She is pretty badass. I have a feeling she might move even higher on the list once I get further along in the series.

4. Ranger Mira Nova from Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. This surprisingly good spin-off from Toy Story featured a host of original characters, including a butt-kicking blue-skinned princess from the planet Tangea. She joined the Space Rangers after Buzz Lightyear saved her planet, and ends up becoming part of his team. Her ability to walk through walls, referred to as "ghosting," comes in handy pretty often. She is also a skilled fighter and knows how to stand up for herself. You know, for kids! And for once, I do not mean that sarcastically.

3. Yoda from Star Wars. Ancient and wise, he is. Voiced by Frank Oz, who was recommended for the part by his good friend Jim Henson. Mentor, dispenser of wisdom, and far more powerful than his size would make him appear. Subject of a song by Weird Al Yankovic. The shiznit Yoda is.

2. Spock from Star Trek. He is my favorite character from the original Trek, bar none. Any other choice would be most illogical. I am not sure exactly what it is about Spock. The ears, for one thing. Beyond that...I think he is a great foil for Kirk and Bones. He is the straight man during the really campy scenes, the outside observer who is not (entirely) human but still finds the human race "fascinating." Leonard Nimoy was actually responsible for most of Spock's trademark actions. He came up with the idea for the Vulcan nerve pinch because he did not think his character should get into fistfights. The idea to say, "Live long and prosper" was his too. He also suggested the Vulcan salute, but actually borrowed the gesture from the rabbi's blessing at the end of Jewish services. Oh, and he looks good in a 1920's gangster suit. On the awesomeness scale of one to ten, Spock is a perfect ten. To top him, someone would have to take the awesomeness up to...eleven.

1. The Doctor from Doctor Who. Oh, snap. See what I did there? 'Cause the Doctor has been played by eleven different actors? Right, then. Moving on. Where to start? The Doctor has been around since 1963, and is still going strong today, which makes it both older and newer than Star Trek. Sure, there was a period of nearly 20 years where all we got was a crummy TV movie, but you cannot keep the good Doctor down. I fell in love with the show during David Tennant's run, so he will always be the definitive Doctor in my mind. Still, Matt Smith and Christopher Eccleston are both very good. From what I have seen of the other Doctors, there is not a bad actor in the lot. The brilliant thing about Doctor Who is that it has evolved to change with the times. Your main actor is not interested in doing another season? No problem. He gets a big, dramatic send-off where he literally changes into his replacement. I could go on and on all day, but this post is long enough already. If you are a fan of the show, you know what I am talking about.

Question for the comments: Who is on your list?

All Hail Svengoolie! 21-Chicken Salute!

I just found out over the weekend that Chicago's local horror host is going national. His name is Svengoolie, and he is played by Rich Koz. Sven has been a staple of the Chicago airwaves for over 30 years. His show currently airs on WCIU, which is a local Chicago station. But that station is owned by the same guy who owns Me-TV, which became an independent national station this past December. It took a bit longer to work out how to switch Svengoolie over, probably because they needed to work out the movie rights. It sounds like some exciting stuff is coming our way.

Here are ten things you should know about Svengoolie.
1. At the beginning and ending of each show, he is pelted with rubber chickens.
2. He makes lots of jokes about Chicago suburb Berwyn (BERRRRWYNNN!) because the name sounds funny, and because of the annual Berwyn mushroom parade.
3. He does not live, nor has he lived, in Berwyn.
4. He writes all of his own material and does all of the voices in his skits.
5. He pre-dates MST3K.
6. Rich Koz is not the original Svengoolie. That was Jerry G. Bishop, from 1970 to 1973, on WFLD.
7. Koz took over as "Son of Svengoolie" from 1979 to 1986 on the same station.
8. When WCIU started in 1995, Koz was brought back. He got permission from Bishop to become Svengoolie (rather than "Son of").
9. He writes all of the lyrics for the song parodies that appear in every show. The music is arranged by Doug Scharf, also known as "Doug Graves."
10. His show goes national this Saturday, April second! Thank goodness it runs on Saturday. If it was Friday night I would be worried it was an elaborate April Fool's prank.

I have actually gotten to meet Sven no less than three times, including once when I actually got to go on the set! Our next-door neighbor is a musician and long-time friend of Doug Scharf. So Doug took my brother and me to a taping of the show. It was incredibly cool. Rich is such a nice guy, and just as funny in person as he is on-screen (and yes, I mean that as a compliment!). He was at C2E2, only two tables away from the line for Eliza Dushku. Here he is in the background:

That's him with the top hat and eye makeup.

Jason and I met him last year at Cyphan. Here he is with the two of us (and the rubber chicken we had him sign).


Congratulations again to Svengoolie! May he rule the airwaves for many years to come.

Resolution: Jan 10-12

January 10: I made dinner on Monday night...my first time cooking without a recipe! Nothing too complicated, just chicken and pasta. When I am making something in the kitchen, it is usually baking, which you really need a recipe for. The combination of sugar and flour and leavener needs to be just right, or the texture is all wrong. But pasta is easy to do without a recipe (boil water, add pasta, cook until done, add seasonings and/or sauce) and I knew how to cook chicken from making Chicken Helper. Heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil, season the chicken, cook it for about 6 minutes on each side...I had to cook it a little longer because the chicken breasts were pretty thick. But it was good. Jason and Johnny agreed; we ate all the chicken up.

January 11: Jason and I were both off of work, which has not happened on a weekday in a very long time. We spent the whole day together. Our original plan was to go out somewhere, but it was snowing pretty hard all day, so we went out for brunch and then came home and had a snow fight. I say "snow fight" because it was too powdery for snowballs, so we ended up just throwing handfuls of snow at each other. It was hilarious. I'd never done that before.

In the afternoon, I learned how to jump-start a car. Fortunately, I was in the car providing the jump. My dad's car broke down in the parking lot a few blocks from our house, so Jason and I drove over to help him out. It took a few tries, but we got it working.

Jason and I watched Ninja in the Claw of the CIA. I had never seen a ninja movie before, and after that one I am not sure I would ever want to again. It was incomprehensible, plot-wise, not to mention that it was hard to go longer than a minute without someone attacking someone else. The main ninja (named John Liu, played by...John Liu) had a girlfriend. She was killed by a harpoon to the chest. In the very next scene, he has a completely different girlfriend who was never mentioned before. We kind of gave up on trying to follow the plot after that. Jason says that one was about on par with the other ninja movies he has.

January 12: I have been working on knitting myself a pair of "convertible" mittens--the kind that have a mitten top that you can flip off, with fingerless gloves underneath. Here is a pair in plain grey:


I need to take some pictures of mine. I have wanted for years to make mittens that match my favorite hat (which was handmade from fleece many years ago by a friend) so last week I went to the yarn shop and found yarn in the exact colors in the hat. I have been working on them off and on since I got the yarn, but yesterday I got to the fingers. I know I said I would not count knitting projects as something new, but this is my first pair of gloves. It is also my first time adding color work to a pattern for plain gloves, and I am working the mitten top without a pattern. I have a pattern for gloves, so I just changed the finger measurements so they end at about the first knuckle. I read some other convertible mitten patterns to get an idea for the general principle of how to create the top. I have been trying them on frequently to make sure they fit, so I am confident they will come out the way I want.

I can feel myself becoming a little more adventurous; before I made this resolution I probably would have stuck to something familiar. Time to make dinner? Open up a box of Chicken Helper. Need a mitten pattern? Search for someone else's. Now I am branching out to try things on my own.

Resolution: Jan 7-10

Movin' right along...in search of good times and good news, with good friends you can't lose, this could become a habit...

Sorry.

Note to self: Do not listen to the Muppets while blogging.

As I was going to say: I'm moving right along with my New Year's resolution!

January 7: Working at Mrs. F's daycare again. For the first time, got to bottle-feed a baby. I love working with young kids--I thought for a long time that I would be a good teacher--but actually have very little experience with infants. Up until now, all of the kids I took care of were toddlers or older. Anyway, the little boy I took care of was very good about drinking his bottle. I had to experiment a little bit with the angle and find a balance between enough milk that he wasn't sucking any air but not so much it started running down his chin because he couldn't drink fast enough. Also got to change some diapers, but I've done that before.

January 8: Working at the spice store again. Went to Breugger's Bagels for lunch. Instead of my usual PB&J bagel, I decided to try one of their salads. It was good: lots of leafy greens, grilled chicken, wonton noodles and sliced almonds. It was also expensive. I have noticed that there seems to be an inverse relationship between how much food costs and how good it is for you; my favorite place to go for lunch is the pizza place with $2.50 giant slices. By contrast, my salad was $7.99.

January 9: My birthday! The first time spending it with Jason. It was an excellent day. It was also the first time that he went to my favorite pizza place with us (which was another reason I went for salad on Saturday; I knew we'd be going for pizza the next day). I could tell he enjoyed it, and none of us had been there for a while, so it was really nice. Dessert was Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake (Oreo ice cream and chocolate cake). Another first; definitely something I would order again. I usually ask for vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, but since everyone else in the house prefers chocolate/chocolate, I decided to try for something everyone would like. It was a resounding success. Even my brother, who is not much of a cake person, loved it. As the final icing on the cake (LOL) I checked my email last night and saw that The Dark Crystal had been re-posted to SwapaDVD, which completely makes up for my missing it the other day.

January 10: First time filling out a "fraud packet." I found out last year that I had been a victim of identity theft. I thought it was all taken care of; long story short, this should solve the problem for real. Today I mailed the fraud packet and had it sent out certified. I have been going to the post office a lot lately, sending out DVDs and books (SwapaDVD has a sister site, Paperback Swap, that works on the same principle but with books). Today my first two DVDs from SwapaDVD arrived! I got Ninja in the Claw of the CIA and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The ninja one was Jason's idea; I have a feeling I will be sending that one out again real soon after we watch it. I also requested two books from Paperback Swap. I was incredibly surprised to find them; both books were pretty obscure, but they were available right away. It was nice to find the exact books I was looking for, especially after my disappointment with the DVD selection.

Resolution: Jan 3-4

Well, we are five days into the new year and I have not broken my resolution yet. Excellent! Here is what I have done in the past couple days.

January 3: I filed my "Estimated Taxes." Exciting, I know. Apparently I make enough money from my nannying job that I need to report my earnings to the IRS, but since I never filled out any forms to start my job it counts as self-employment, and I need to pay all of the money that an employer would deduct from my paycheck for taxes. I might get some of it back in April, which would count as the first time I get a tax refund instead of having to pay (although it usually works out fairly even).

This was also the first time I had to speak to a Fraud department (completely unrelated to the taxes). Also not fun, but the woman I talked to on the phone was very helpful and this means that we are one step closer to solving a problem, so I will count that as a good thing.

Also, about a week ago I joined a website called SwapaDVD, where you list DVDs you want to trade. I finally earned a free credit for posting 10 DVDs, so for the first time I got to request a movie instead of sending one out. The only caveat is that you are limited to what other people want to trade, so it gets kind of tricky predicting what is available. Jason and I finally decided on a ninja movie, based on the name alone: Ninja in the Claw of the CIA. I wish I hadn't been so eager to use my credit, because less than 12 hours after I requested that movie, The Dark Crystal became available and I lost my spot in line because I had no credit to pay for it. It must have gone to someone else, because the next day I started receiving credits for movies I sent out and Dark Crystal was no longer available.

January 4: I went to Caribou Coffee for breakfast and tried their oatmeal. It was all right, but a little bit more watery than I usually like it. I tried the Maple Brown Sugar; I think next time I will try something different, because that one was too sweet after a while. I also tried their dark chocolate hot cocoa, which was excellent. I don't go to Caribou that often because I don't drink coffee. I'm hyper enough without caffeine.

I also went somewhere new for lunch. Potbelly Sandwiches just opened up down the street from my other job (as a spice girl; no, seriously, I sell spices). I decided to get their pizza sandwich: marinara sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, and provolone cheese. It was very good. At the recommendation of my co-worker Daniel, I also decided to order a milkshake. It was delicious, but I don't think I will order another until it warms up a bit.

Finally, I got a call yesterday that will hopefully mean I have a new job soon! I know a woman who runs an in-home daycare center. We ran into each other a few weeks ago, and she mentioned that she was looking for someone to help out. I am going over there this evening to fill out an application, and then she wants me to start on Friday! Things are looking up all around. Time to move beyond the past and look forward.

Halloween Costumes and Cake

I had a marvelous Halloween. The only little snag was with the vampire fangs. They didn't stick like they were supposed to. Either the putty had an expiration date (it had been sitting around for a year) or it just wasn't that good to begin with. But I am still very proud of my cape.


Isn't the fabric awesome? And I've always wanted to have a cape. I sat outside with Emperor Palpatine (aka my boyfriend Jason) and we passed out candy for a couple hours. As usual, it was interesting to see the mix of costumes. Jason was a bit disappointed at the lack of Star Wars outfits; we saw one kid as a stormtrooper and one mom as a Jedi. The kids that I babysit came by with their parents. I couldn't get any pictures because they came at the same time as a bunch of other kids, but their costumes all came out great. Their mom was smart enough to make everything out of fleece (there was a tiger-in-a-football-jersey, a shark, and a lion). I say smart because as typically happens in Chicago, it was around 50 degrees. I saw more than one little fairy princess whose dress was covered by a winter jacket.

Jason couldn't wait to show off his Palpatine costume. He's working on getting in to the 501st Legion, where the members dress up as Star Wars characters for various charity events. The catch is that all of the costumes have to be movie-accurate, with literally pages of costume requirements. The robes were custom-made, but apparently he still needs shirring done on the sleeves. His brother does really good stage makeup and costume design, so he's going to do the mask. Right now, though, we have the awesome Palpatine robes:


So. Cool.

We followed up the candy distribution with a horror movie fest. We watched "Monster Squad" (a group of kids team up to take down Dracula & Co) followed by "Poltergeist." Jason and I started watching "Trick 'r Treat" but one of us (read: me) chickened out about ten minutes in. It wasn't exactly too scary; I just can't handle gore. Or a kid who eats poisoned candy and then projectile vomits blood all over the guy's porch. That was about when I decided I'd had enough. I did agree to give it another try, though. Apparently the giver of poisoned candy gets eaten by vampires at the end.

One more thing before I go: I promised you cake. And no, the cake is NOT a lie. Here is my Halloween pumpkin cake.


The cake was from a boxed cake mix and the frosting came in a can. I made it in two round pans and layered them (got the chance to use my cake leveler!) and smoothed out the frosting as best I could. The frosting was pale orange, so I covered the top with orange sugar.

I got the face by making a cake stencil. The process is fairly simple. First, trace around your cake pan onto thin cardboard (I used a flattened cereal box). Next, draw your design and cut it out with scissors or an X-Acto knife. Finally, place the stencil on top of the cake and cover the cut-out areas with sprinkles (in this case, black sugar).

To get the sprinkles on the sides, I tilted the cake (verrry carefully) and sprinkled them on. I worked on a small area and then turned it a little bit more to work on the next section. The cake was delicious, and everyone got enough sprinkles.