No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on September 19, 2013

Yesterday Stalin the alpha cat passed to the great beyond. He was 19 years old.

(For the VI this is a picture of Stalin next to the partially finish of the puppet of a Purple Dragon. Stalin is on the right looking to the right. He is a black and white cat with green eyes. His belly and paws are white as is his muzzle.)

Stalin was one of the softest cats I have ever had the pleasure to pet. He could be a stubborn cuss at times. He had been the alpha cat of the house and maintained the title his whole life, which took place in and around this house.

Stalin was the last of Pandora’s kittens that grew up in this house. Pinky passed on rather young after a disagreement with a truck. Treat Williams passed last month due to his kidneys shutting down. Stalin just went to sleep.

Stalin had a habit that if I was stretched out on the couch, he would hop up onto my stomach and go to sleep. This went on for years until I was pregnant with Caroline. She was just starting her inter-utero gymnastics to the point that I could feel her moving around and others were too. Stalin was on my stomach settling in for his nap when Caroline either kicked or punched and got him in the head. He bounced off of my stomach much to his surprise. He looked at my belly suspiciously and rarely tried to sleep there after that.

The other Stalin story which is a family favorite happened about the time we were integrating Milli and Vanilli into the house. They were two very rambunctious kittens at the time. They came tearing down the steps only to be stopped by Stalin who hissed and growled at them. They looked for a moment when Treat the cat came up next to Stalin and hunkered down. Peter was ready to intervene when Treat dashed passed the kittens and up the stairs. The kittens bounced down past Stalin and started playing with each other. A short time later Treat came slinking down the stair. When Stalin saw Treat he went over and read him the riot act for running away. The kittens were never scared of the big cats again.

Stalin knew when you were having a bad day and he would come over and put his head next or under your hand and have you pet him to feel better. He loved to fall asleep next to my hip. He would take naps with me. He had his spot which was the middle of my back. He could be very insistent in informing you that the food bowl or the water bowl was empty. In the spring and the fall he would try for the door but make it pretty easy to just scoop him up and put him back into the house.

He was a good cat and I will miss him a lot.

Caroline is doing as well as a kid that has lost three pets in the span of about a month that she grew up with. Milli and Fig are sticking close to me in fact Milli is sleep next to me in Stalin’s old position as I type this.

I am grateful that I had Stalin the Alpha Cat in my life.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 18, 2013

Last night after watching Face Off, we watched the last episode of Heroes of Cos-Play which was the second half of the costume contest at the Planet Comics convention in Kansas City. This was the group rather than the individual contest. This is the episode that Caroline has been waiting for since she saw the previews and knew somewhere along the line there was going to be an Astrid costume from How to Train Your Dragon.

Now this is a “reality” show where it is edited within an inch of its life to creates stories and drama that the audience will find interesting. Most of life can be pretty mundane and that doesn’t make for good television. I talked to both Yaya and Monika at this past Dragon Con and they were rather frank about the whole thing along with the editing process that either made them look good or bad.

In the first episode the Internet exploded because there seem to be an elitist attitude being portrayed. Only costume to your body type and the like. It was as I expected that choice lines were pulled out of context, which is was evident because they didn’t show the person talking but a reaction shot from another person. There was a lot more to that conversation than was portrayed.

Most of the other episodes were pretty much edited the same way. There was always a bit of drama some of which seemed pretty made-up and the music they were using wasn’t helping matters.

Then we came to this episode and the costume Caroline has been looking forward to since the show started. The drama was high. Costuming contacts were left in eyeballs overnight which begs the question of why she forgot to take them out. Another individual might have the flu or food poisoning. But the show must Go On!!!

This was bad enough but the capper to me was when the heckling started both by the audience and some of the costumers who were not part of the show. That was such bad form on so many levels.

One of the individuals did put up her version of events on the whole matter on her facebook page. You can read it here.

When Caroline saw it this morning she said, “They aren’t being nice. I always try to be nice even if I don’t win.” And a little later, “why are they being so mean to them?” We had a talk about reality TV and editing and the like but she still felt that the words shouldn’t have been said.

I understand being ticked because the rules have changed. I understand being peeved because the contest has been taken over by a reality show. I understand the hungry and tired after competing. That, in my book, does not forgive bad behavior. And the “they provoked us” defense just drives me crazy. As my mother would say, “Monitor your mouth.”

When you are in public or in the public’s eye like being in a costume contest or on a panel, for the love of glob think before you speak. These sorts of things do go around especially since the costuming community is not very large. Heck fandom maybe larger than it was but still it is a small group of people compared to some other groups.

I can remember way back in the mists of time that if people heard that the Stringers were competing then it was a lot of bellyaching and people complaining that now no one but them would win best in show. The Stringers turned their hobby into a business and have worked their hardest to make costumes that are wonderful to look at and easy to wear. But just because the Stringers were in the contest didn’t give them an automatic win. They were judged harder than everyone else because the judges knew what they could do. Eventually there was another group that came in and started winning various contests. It is almost the circle of cos-play that the vets cycle out and the newcomers become the vets. I competed against the Stringers. I participated in costumes with them. I won and lost against them and with them. All in all it was pretty even handed.

We have been fighting the elitist tag on costumers for years especially if you participated in the International Costuming Guild. I am a very inclusive person. I want to learn from others and teach what I know to others. I want to help people become better costumers and make some amazing costume that I couldn’t even contemplate making. The ICG is inclusive too. Marty Gear worked for years to convince people that the ICG was not just for those who made historical costumes, but for all costumers no matter what skill level. You just have to have a passion for costuming.

And maybe this “reality” show might encourage some new blood to join us. I am more concerned that it may have chased some of those who were about to dip their toe in to just forget the whole thing. Cos-play as a business is a very small group of individuals who have worked very hard to get where they are. A number of people I know have gone onto jobs in films, television, and theater along with numerous haunted houses that are staffed by fans. It just doesn’t help when they can make it look like we eat our young.

I am grateful for all the costumers and cos-players I have seen over the years that help each other rather than snipe.

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Tags: conventional wisdom, costuming, TV

Posted By Kathleen David on September 17, 2013

Welp I don’t have the puppet arm tutorial done like I planned. I am hoping by next week. It is just a matter of life getting in the way of creative process, which happens.

I once got a fortune cookie that said, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.” I have since seen it in various forms on posters and the like.

I am still working on creating the balance between creative aspects and the needs of real life. I have learned to give myself time to be creative or I will find myself in a spiral of just trying to keep things together at home. Post project it can look like a bomb hit around here and it takes sometime to get everything back to normal. I have learned to clean as I go and pick up at the end of the day. I also have learned to leave things out that I need for the next day rather than have them mysteriously vanished into a box or drawer to re-appear when I don’t need them.

This past time I could not remember where I put my second eyeball box. I knew I had to order some more eyeballs anyway but it was frustrating not finding it. I found it post Dragon Con in a bag with some other items on top of it. Just reminded me that I need to organize better than I am right now so I have a plethora of eyeballs for puppets and dolls. This is fine because eventually I will use all these eyeballs.

I am still searching for a good place for doll wigs for my puppets because I really don’t enjoy wefting wigs. But my puppets heads are on the large size for doll wigs so there is not a lot to choose from at this point. Anyone have any places to go look for them, I am all ears. I did find my wig box which was nice.

Also I am looking for the furry fleece that was all the rage about 5 years ago but now all the local stores have are red, brown, black, and white. I have a supply of it but it is not going to last forever.

NYCC is three weeks away. I have a couple of ideas for things for there. I am going to bring Rumpelstilskin and Mr. Gold but I have an idea or two for some others including a certain god of mischief and possible his brother. Also I want to finish my X-Men first class hoodie.

Next week I hope to have the tutorial up for those who want it. Then I am going to talk about what I am making for Dragon Con 2014 which I am starting this week.

I am grateful for finding things and resources that help me.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 16, 2013

I didn’t watch any football games yesterday because I was at the NY Ren Faire up in Tuxedo NY which you have to go through New Jersey to get to if you live on Long Island. We saw the Vixens En Guarde (Babes, Blades, and Shakespeare but only the good bits), Ded Bob (Hey Audience!), the Fairy Glen, the Chess Match, and a lot of Robin and Marian. We seem to be where ever they were interacting. Caroline “hid” them from both Friar Tuck, who was supposes to be chaperoning them, and the Sheriff with his gang. I swear every time I turned I had those two at my elbow. It was fun to see more of the story unfold.

We got there when the gates opened and left about 4:30 having been faired out. However we didn’t see everything like we usually do. Partially because there were so many people by the afternoon, it was hard to move around and partially because they have added once again a whole bunch of new buildings to the property so there is more to see. They have also increased the number of privies, which was a great idea.

Considering how banged up the Patriots were and how badly they were playing, it was amazing to see a game of who wants it less that the Jets were determined to play. Yes, there is a freshman quarterback in the mix but the defense was just horrible and that is usually the Jets strong point. So the fans are not happy or resigned to another same ol’ Jets season if not worse.

Eli Manning has to remember which color jerseys his team is wearing. I think he forgot half the time during the game. Giants defense did well the first half but showed all kinds of weaknesses the second half.

It is interesting that a number of teams that before the season had rated highly in the sport pundits’ polls aren’t doing so well. In the preseason, it could be written off as the preseason but now it is a little harder to dismiss things when the problems of the preseason rear their ugly head in the season. I know that injury has caused more than one team some serious grief but it isn’t all to injury.

Today is not going to be as productive as I hoped. I have either con crud or allergies and at this point I am leaning towards allergies. Either way the sneezing and the coughing is not fun and my ribs hurt. I might set a timer and work on one cleaning project and see how it goes. That and laundry are on my plate today.

All three cats are hovering around me. I know their litterboxes are clean, they have food in their dishes, and they have potable water. So I have no idea why they are being so clingy. They have formed the magic equilateral cat triangle with me in the middle.

I am grateful for being able to breath normally through my nose.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 14, 2013

Come over here. That’s right. * Twap * What is wrong with you? Seriously!?!?

The past month or so I can’t swing a sehlat without hitting some group of fans upset about something and swearing to “do something about it” including “never watching again”. And the perpetual “they are ruining our show” is echoing a lot right now too. I think part of it is that the new fall season is about to start and people are antsy about things that they have discussed/fantasized about all summer.

Most recently were the promo photos that ABC pulled from the third season of Once Upon a Time. Yes, they were a little rough but I was enjoying them. The group shot looked like the group shot they did last year and the year before for the show but it is being compared to LOST. Guess what kids, the guys who are running this show are the same guys who did LOST but the comparisons really stop there other than some really solid character arcs and storytelling. And frankly I was revamping Mr. Gold’s costume to reflect what I was seeing in the photo which I can’t do now because the photos got pulled because of a vocal minority.

Then there are the pitch and pitchforks that are going after “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. To the point where the actors are coming in to defend the film that they enjoyed working on. It is not the worse Star Trek film of all time. I am not saying it is the best but woe betide you if you admit that you liked it because apparently then you are wrong about everything in the world. And then there are the Star Wars fans that are in a sheer panic because JJ Abrams has been handed the keys to that kingdom as well. Original Star Trek isn’t vanishing off the planet because of the new franchise nor will original Star Wars.

There is the kerfuffle about Mr. Affleck and Batman. Which I heard back in 1988 when it was announced that Michael Keaton was tapped to play the cape crusader. That film and his performance changed the superhero movie forever. Like your dark superhero films? Thank Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. Interestingly Mr. Nicholson’s performance as the Joker was never questioned at the time. But Heath Ledger was bashed right out of the gate and for many his became the definitive Joker. Yes, these changes aren’t all gems but I would plea for people to give it a chance.

Supernatural has been a fan whining magnet. They always seem to complain that the creators don’t understand the characters. They don’t give them what they want and if they do, then the complaints about “that’s not what I meant” or “no I didn’t want this” fall from the lips of the same people who were clamoring for the thing that they got. I have to say that the writers have been very clever in the way they have responded to the fans with some rather tongue in cheek. I think Chuck is one of my favorite characters in the city with Charlie a close second.

I am not going to even get into X-men Days of Future Past.

I am not saying that I have never rolled my eye or said ‘oh come on’ from an announcement/spoiler from a show. However I have never started a petition to get someone fired from their job or get a show to do what I want. I have never boycotted or asked other to boycott a show because I don’t like what they did.

Give the creators a chance to tell their stories. If fans want to tell theirs, they have options to do so. Just don’t get upset when something that you wrote gets used in a show or movie and try to sue the creators of the show for using your idea. They aren’t reading your fanfic, you just happen to be thinking along the same lines that they are and they are the ones that laid the pipework that brought you to your conclusion.

The noise of a minority is causing a majority to go silent because they don’t want that sort of vitriol directed at them. And I find that a sad state of fandom.

I am grateful for fans that are willing to give things a chance and allow other fans to have different opinions.

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