Take Control of Your Weekend!

When one is looking at a really crappy few days of MRIs and invasive medical appointments... sometimes it helps to schedule some fun with a friend in between it all.

Rather than try to type it all out, I'm just going to link to the episode of his podcast we recorded. And I'll mention that the episode was recorded on my iPhone after my MacBook Pro suddenly acted up for the first time in the 7 years I've owned it. It took 40 minutes to open up Garage Band for some reason. And then as soon as I got home that evening, it was back to its typical self.

We did have a handful of bad luck moments- but never anything terrible. I somehow managed to print out only the confirmation and not the tickets for the Cubs game, but we solved that quickly. Driving out to House On The Rock took ridiculously longer than we thought it would, but we saw it all (rushing only through basically the dollhouse and doll sections of the third building). We were stuck behind a grandma driving way too slowly when we were pressed for time to get back to Milwaukee, but still got awesome seats for the second Cinematic Titanic show (which was ah-may-zing). We had a lot of trouble finding restaurants that were open after 10 pm on a Sunday night, but eventually found a Portillo's. So on. So forth.

Also, we're convinced there's some seedy underbelly situation with The House on the Rock. As mentioned in the podcast, you really get the feeling that there is more behind the little fake cobblestone streets and giant collections of self-playing instruments than just that the guy liked to collect things. The first area you walk through, before going into the living area of the house, is a museum dedicated to the guy that build the House on the Rock and it's so bizarrely propaganda-y that it doesn't make sense.

And I really don't know how to stress how amazing Cinematic Titanic was.

And how awesome Dave "Gruber" Allen was as a warm-up act (I will never forget him dancing to "Bye-Bye-Bye"). Special mention must go out to Mary Jo's impression of a West Wing background character and J. Elvis's amazing airport tribute band. As for the actual riffing... it was THE BEST. As much as I try to not pick favorites between Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax, the CT team does tend to be more natural and make the script seem more improvised. And being with a live audience just makes everything so much better. And it really makes a difference to have Mary Jo on the cast, as there's a definite benefit to having an actual woman to pretend to be the voice of the female character rather than the guys doing falsetto all the time. And Mary Jo tends to get the really sly joke that gets an overwhelming (and deserved) response.

The second night was Danger on Tiki Island, which they have done numerous times and were clearly having fun with it. Patrick noticed that the cast was looser with the f-bombs and general swearing. But there's also just the plain fact that the film is nuts and perfect for mocking. As that movie started and the first few lines were thrown out, the uncontrollable thought of "I want to do this every night." flooded my brain. Even with the drive to Milwaukee, the parking price, and the price of concessions... if I could go to Cinematic Titanic every night, I think I would until I went broke.

The Psyche of One Diana Barry

"It's extremely interesting," Anne told Marilla. "Each girl has to read her story out loud and then we talk it over. We are going to keep them all sacredly and have them to read to our descendants. We each write under a nom-de-plume. Mine is Rosamond Montmorency. All the girls do pretty well. Ruby Gillis is rather sentimental. She puts too much lovemaking into her stories and you know too much is worse than too little. Jane never puts any because she says it makes her feel so silly when she had to read it out loud. Jane's stories are extremely sensible. Then Diana puts too many murders into hers. She says most of the time she doesn't know what to do with the people so she kills them off to get rid of them." - Anne of Green Gables, Chapter 26: "The Story Club Is Formed"

This section really popped out at me during my most recent re-listen to the audio book. I've been convinced for years that Diana's mother is, by far, the most evil person in Avonlea (in all the books and movies)- so now I'm wondering how much of that has warped Diana and we the readers just don't see the worst of it. Did we miss out on scenes of Diana torturing small animals or lighting fires around the island? Is there a more devious reason for why Diana seemed to have such ease in adjusting to being a grown proper lady and wife after being Anne's partner in mischief for so long?


Also: Ruby Gillis, you minx you. Writing smut before anyone knew it would be popular.

I Still Can't Believe We Have a Network Show About S.H.I.E.L.D.

Best line in the show was delivered in this moment.

Man, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot was... kind of boring. Not even the constant Marvel Movie universe sly references (gamma radiation! Super soldier serum! Extremis!) and an amazing Cobie Smulders appearance could really keep me totally interested. This has to be the most mainstream middle-of-the-road show to ever have Joss Whedon's name connected to it, and I'm including Roseanne and the early 90s version of Parenthood to that equation.

I'm guessing the middle-of-the-road-ness might just be to ease in folks like my parents, who will tune into anything resembling a cop show and also just really like Ming-Na Wen (when did she stop being just Ming-Na?). And as the show goes on, it'll get more genre-friendly. Hopefully. That end was so super-cheesy that my side hurt.

And I have to admit to having total and complete nostalgia giddiness of seeing the Grr-Argh monster once more. I miss that little paper Mutant Enemy.

So, quick breakdown of the Good:

• Seeing old friends like Ron Glass and J. August Richards. Although, I'm a little freaked out by how Richards appears to be going grey. Remember when Gunn was, like, just slightly too old to still be considered a juvenile delinquent? I do. But he got a great role for the episode and I always feel like he should be much more famous than he really is. So, hopefully this episode will help him get more notice.

• Clark Gregg. Clark Gregg. Clark Gregg. I would not watch this show if Coulson was not in it. I do fear that he's actually a robot, but I'll take what I can get. It is a teeny bit weird to have Coulson as the central character, however, as he's a little... aloof. And it does feel like there might be a Doyle-esque situation in the making, if Clark doesn't want to hang around forever.

• Actors that can handle Whedon-style dialogue. It takes a special brand of actor to be able to wrap your tongue around the twisty-jokey dialogue of not just Joss Whedon but of Jed and Marissa as well. The cast handled it beautifully, much better than any other Whedon cast managed in a first episode. 

• Bear McCreary's scoring, which is suitably super-hero-y and lush. 

• Two main characters played by Asian-American actresses? And the characters aren't even related?! Again, it's a shame that something like that gets me this excited but... that's nice to see. 

The Not-So-Good:

• Whedon has this weird ability to cast really bland looking guys. Eventually, you do start to be able to remember which one is which, but right now I've got "Tech Guy" and "Poor Man's Sam Witwer".
• What the hell was that ending? Slow-mo? Bullet to the head that's not actually deadly? No follow-up with the character as to how they're going to help him pull his shitty life together? I don't understand how they thought that was a decent ending.
• Man, I wonder how much damage the set takes for all those heavy dropping anvils about the pasts of characters.
• 
  

Abbie Mills from Sleepy Hollow: Best New Female Character In Years

I'm writing about the same show twice in a row? A new show?

Weird.

Anyway, I just feel the need to talk a teeny bit more about Fox's Sleepy Hollow. 

And that's mostly to say that I already adore Abbie so so so much. 

She is the type of female character I have been yearning for all these years. She's tough, smart, emotional, and also cuts to the chase. She isn't out-right denying what's happening around her (anymore) but is going "Okay, I may not understand what's happening, but I still need to do something to stop it. So, get out of my way."

She has the potential to be the next Dana Scully. The next Sidney Bristow. The next Olivia Dunham.

Those last two aren't exactly a surprise, as Sleepy Hollow has Orci & Kurtzman's fingerprints all over it. And while I do have major issues with how those gentlemen write plots, they are damn good at creating great characters. And I have to give the show major props for not just creating a bland sidekick for the fish-out-of-water that is Ichabod Crane. Abbie is the heart and soul of this show, there is no doubt about that.

However, both of the episodes that have aired have had ridiculous and blah final acts to the episodic plot. They need to pull their shit together on those or get rid of them entirely. The second episode especially suffered from having a pretty damn weak and old-hat build-up for the contained plot. Which is a shame, as it started off strong with pulling an unexpected move very early in the episode and then never being able to top it, other than once again doing a quick spook at the end with the demon (which, if I'm reading the end credits correctly, they're calling "Blurry Man"? My eyes hurt from rolling) similar-but-lesser than how it was done in the first episode.

So Sleepy, So Hollow

At one point in the pilot episode of Sleepy Hollow (which you can watch on Hulu, here), the Headless Horseman gets a gun and starts shooting like crazy... and, because it is TV, he does not successfully hurt or kill anyone.

But, I realized, he was doing pretty good for a headless guy. At least he was aiming in the correct general area! And, of course, now I must bring up the beginning of David Sedaris's famous "6 to 8 Black Men" essay.

But back to Sleepy Hollow. It was... good-to-average? Great guest stars for a pilot- John Cho and Clancy Brown both bring a lot of credit to the show. And hopefully, the show will continue to play recordings of Clancy's amazing voice, as no one can read slightly-religious-end-of-days text like Clancy Brown can (except for maybe Kiff Vanden Heuvel from Bioshock Infinite). And it's kind of sad how nice it is to see a genre show with a black woman as the leading actress. It's really nice, actually.

And Orlando Jones doing dramatic acting! I've had a weird soft-spot for Orlando Jones for years, mostly from that two year period where he was almost famous- between The Replacements, Evolution, and the 7Up commercials (did he also do collect calling commercials? I think he did). So it's really nice to see him proving himself as being able to tone it down and be a stern authority figure.

I just wonder if the show will keep its momentum or slow to a deadly crawl. Fox really struggles with genre procedurals (that are not The X-Files) and I worry that it will fall into the same issues. Because it does really feel like a Fox show. Like Fringe and New Amsterdam had a baby. Maybe with a touch of Bones and John Doe.

Other Uses For Those Classy Halloween Decorations You Bought This Year...

Etched Antique Mercury Glass Pumpkins

Shaped and etched by "artisans" (much like your average funky loaf of bread), these pumpkins from Pottery Barn are an essentially for any home parties this fall. Classy enough to leave out through Thanksgiving, these "antique mercury washed" decorations may look like they can only be used in festive tableaus with dead leaves and shabby crate platforms, but your guests with gasp with delight when it comes time to turn out the lights and tell scary stories- as the hollow undersides of these glass pumpkins are ideal acoustics for getting a spooky deep echo to even the highest of voices. Just gently hold the pumpkin upside down to your face and let the pumpkin do its thing! A steal, starting at $34.50 for a medium pumpkin.

Buri Fiber "Spooky Creature" Black Owl

This season, West Elm has taken it's fondness for owls to a new level with the "Spooky Creatures" owl decoration. Made from durable buri palm fiber, these little guys may feel like a creepy taxidermy experiment- but you can rest assured that it's all artificial! Standing at an adorable 11 inches high, the owls can be popped into any space in your home that looks like it's just missing a touch of "Is that thing staring at me?"-ness. Or, buy a dozen of them and display them in parliaments to start your own in-home tribute installation to The Birds.

And Speaking of in-home tribute installations to The Birds...

Faux Crows in 3 Styles From Pottery Barn

... One wouldn't be complete without some crows! We all know that crows are a universal symbol for Halloween and you can never have enough faux crows around to celebrate appropriately! And, with the help of three different parts of the Williams-Sonoma family, you can make sure that there is no lack of variety to your crow decorations this fall.

At Pottery Barn alone, you can pick up three different styles of Faux Crows- all make with natural feathers and unnatural styrofoam. When not being used in film tributes, these birds can also be used to disturb the hell out of any child that comes to your house. Make sure to hide a couple in some drawers or in odd corners in your powder room. A warning The Flying Crow has taken off, and is not available online any more. Check with your local store for availability.

Buri Fiber West Elm Crow

In the mean time, though, make sure to check out the buri fiber owl's cousin product in the buri fiber crow that West Elm is selling for around the same price as the Pottery Barn birds. While not cheaper, it is more on the "adorable" side. Almost looks like someone dyed the bluebird that whistles "Spoonful of Sugar" for Mary Poppins, in fact. This little dude can remain out all year round in any decorative birdcages you may feel the need to display, as he may be a "spooky" color but he remains adorable overall.

Essential Crow Wreath From Williams-Sonoma

 And then, finally, there is the simple and classically beautiful crow wreath from Williams-Sonoma. All other faux crows will look utterly tacky if you don't tie them together with this amazing piece that takes wreaths to a new height of style. No longer must a Halloween wreath be a gaudy mixture of orange and black! This wreath can also be used to signal if your household is at war at the moment or not- face the bird left to signal that you are at war or face it right to signal that you are a house full of peaceful pacifist sissies (who like to decorate for fall).

"Would You Please Call Me Cordelia?" Terribly poetry based on Anne of Green Gables

Would you please call me Cordelia?
On the Lake of Shining Water.
The name Anne doesn't have the same allure.
Lady Fitzgerald- please call me Cordelia.

To despair is to turn your back on God
I'm in the deepest depths of that despair.
I've given myself pea green hair
This is all so tragical and odd.

Oh, Matthew. I'll never forget your kindness
Or stop missing your shyness
And when you bought me that puff-sleeved dress
It made me feel like not quite such a mess.

Is it raspberry cordial or current wine?
Now, Diana, we can't see each other again
Goodbye drunk bosom friend of mine.
Until I save the baby and my rep is on the mend.

Don't eat the plum pudding, Miss Stacy
I was pretending I was about to take vows,
The pudding sauce has a hint of mouse.
But I'm sure it would still be tasty.

Oh Matthew. I'll never forget your kindness.
How you taught me to confess,
And when you bought me that puff-sleeved dress,
It made me feel like not quite such a mess.

I'm sorry, Aunt Josephine, the fault is mine.
But soon you'll think me quite a lamb
You'll even host my stay for the big exam.
This Anne-Girl orphan gets by fine.


Elaine lay as though she smile.
My friends think they murdered me,
Gilbert, what's your water rescue fee?





*I found this among my hundreds of abandoned draft posts and was so amused (I clearly wrote this while heavily medicated and totally forgot it existed).

Bake-Off Mania

I love baking. However, I have not baked in years now. And as I can't actually eat most baked goods at the moment, you would think I wouldn't be up to watching baking shows.

You were wrong!

Last year, I got absolutely obsessed with The Great British Bake-Off. So, I'm very happy that it's now back (and on YouTube!) for a fourth run. I really am not usually a fan of these types of shows, but The Great British Bake-Off snagged me in a way I did not expect it to. Because it's not like other reality shows.



Everything about it is amazing- the hosts, Sue Perkins & Mel Giedroyc, were gentle, supportive (to the point of often trying to help the bakers), and banter-y. The judges were grandmotherly Mary Berry and the professorly Paul Hollywood. And the bakers were always a great mixture of young and old, "alternative" and traditional, schooled and self-taught, precise and wild. Each season, the stakes really were raised and the results got more impressive- they went from almost everyone in the first season struggling to make french macarons to french macarons being a "safe" choice for presentation accent to a big showcase bake.

Or, more accurately, I might've been able to get on the first season and get by for a couple episodes. There's no way I could've been on the show during third season.

The show was so sweet and loving to the art of baking. The opening credits were like a Martha Stewart Magazine come to life- bringing up sepia-toned images of children helping their mums in the kitchen while delicate whimsical music played.

Home footage of each baker is used, like any competitive show, but you start to realize that there are very few sob stories and that most of the bakers have either a house full of kids or a full-time job that they have no intention to leave. And, more importantly, the show doesn't shy away from the fact that a great amount of their competitors are gay. Yes, gay people love to bake, too!

The first bake of each episode is the Signature Bake. A vague type is declared (layer cake, fruit tart, ect) and each baker is to make their signature version of that item. It's the easiest challenge, as it should be something the baker has done before and can just pull from the mental vault on how to make something memorable and personal to present to the judges.

Before each judging, similar music plays as beauty shots of each presentation are shown with the pensive baker in the background, looking at the presented goods they have to show. Often with some voice over comments about how the baker feels about their finished product.

The technical bake, which is the second of the three bakes in each episode, is always my favorite because it shows what happens when everyone is working from the same recipe for the first time and it's usually when Mary and Paul would get playful or quippy as they were judging without any knowledge on who baked each item.

The final bake of each episode is the Showstopper. Big and impressive is necessary and most bakers should be putting themselves outside their comfort zone to do something that can help them recover from any missteps in the first two challenges. It also tends to appear that if you can't wow on the showstopper, it's going to hurt you more than messing up on the signature or technical bakes.

And, as this is a competitive show, at the end of each episode, someone goes home. There are tears and a giant group hug every time as they're all actually nice people that get along and help each other, despite it being a competition. But the person going home usually just says "I still love baking and I'm going to share that love with my kids/partner/dog now that I'm not on this show every week." and then comes back for the finale episode. It's all really sweet and humane.

Mary and Paul have a calming "mom and dad" energy and dynamic. They try to teasingly predict how the other person feels about what they're tasting at the same time. And if one person disagrees with the other, they will make sure the baker knows that they disagreed.

Most of the drama comes just from the nature of baking on a time limit. Things go wrong with only a half hour left and then the baker has to decide how they continue from there. Every once in a while, there's an injury that will stop someone in their tracks- but they're few and far between. Although, you will notice as the show goes on that more bakers have blue bandages covering small wounds.

The only thing that really baffled me about the show was that they make the poor people bake in a tent set up in some random estate's land. I know England has milder weather than the US, but I can't imagine how much baking outside must fuck with some of the recipes. I'm always amazed they don't have more electrical issues with the fridges and ovens. Well, and then there is the mostly pointless baking history lesson that's in every episode. But I think that's just so they can keep the actual competitive footage to roughly 40 minutes so that it can be repackaged for commercial television (as the BBC doesn't do mid-show commercial breaks). Other than those two things, the show is perfection and I love it.

This spring I nearly cried when I found out that there was going to be an American version of the show... lamely titled The American Baking Competition, due to a trademark issue with Pillsbury. And hosted by a dire Jeff Foxworthy. Oddly enough, Paul Hollywood was a judge on the American version as well.

After watching, I realized Jeff is a safe choice for a nice guy host, and clearly watched the original show to get his tone right and pretty close to Mel and Sue. I think the show would've really benefited from stealing Alton Brown, but I only really hated Jeff's presence when it started to seem like the bakers were contractually obligated to chuckle at his really lazy jokes. The show doesn't vary much from GBBO, shockingly. There's still a tent in the middle of no where, but decorated more in an Americana/Coca-Cola/Cracker Barrel style, of course. The music is slightly more/too dramatic at times. The editing removes too much. The pictures for the Technical Bake are now in frames on the table.

But, on the other hand, they're using even the same "recipe book" animations from GBBO and even using actual GBBO footage for examples of some of the bakes.

Paul is the same as on GBBO, but his co-judge is Marcela Valladolid who just doesn't seem to give enough input and lacks the wisdom of Mary Berry. I have to wonder if they wanted a "hot" female judge or if they originally offered it to Martha Stewart and then just worked their way through Food Network personalities before landing on Marcela. I do give the show major credit for going with a latina host (it's just a shame she's so bland), as the American version of the show seems to mysteriously have the most heterosexual crop of bakers.

Being an American reality show, they have found some bakers with big personalities (Francine is basically auditioning to be the next Paula Deen) that wouldn't end up on the British version. But the majority of bakers do appear to be the same variety of nice everyday people that dig baking.

The show has been re-created in most European countries in the past couple years. And Australia aired The Great Australian Bake-Off this summer.

I've only watched the first episode so far, but the hosts on the Australian version are terrible and have scripted banter that makes Oscar presenters look natural. And make Jeff Foxworthy look like a perfect choice of host. The judges are not my favorite either. Kerry Vincent is no Mary Berry. And their critiques just aren't as deep or as constructive as Paul and Mary would be. Paul especially is good about commenting on things that the average person wouldn't notice but that he is obsessive about- and trying to make sure that everyone knows what they should do for success in the future.

And they've done an odd combination of using the same whimsical music as GBBO but also mixed in a lot of short clips of pop music at random moments. It's really an odd mixture. And to just throw you off your game a little more, there are live tweets about the show randomly appearing on the screen. And while the tent set up for GBBO and The American Baking Competion have both gone for more shabby-chic looks, GABO has gone for a lot of candy colored pastels that are hard on the eyes.

Yes, I'll be watching more when I have time. It's a great way to learn more about baking techniques and you get to see a lot of creativity that even out-does Pinterest at times. And you can multi-task to it! It's better than Pinterest for that one fact!

What I'm saying is I think you should check it out.

Heroes of Cosplay?

This week, I've caught, via Hulu, up with the SyFy series Heroes of Cosplay.

As you might remember, I'm not a huge fan of conventions. I go to C2E2 in the spring and then don't feel up to going to another con until C2E2 is coming up again. I get overwhelmed by the amount of people and the amount of noise on the floor, I can't eat anything served, and I end up having weird feelings during some of the panels.

My roommate has a thing for causally cosplaying. Because she's a fun person and wants to get into the fun of any situation she in. And we usually find the cosplayers to be the most interesting and impressive part of C2E2- with the cosplayers tending to be really nice and creative people that are fun to interact with. But we never bother to pay attention to the competitive side of the situation and, to be honest, I have always been baffled at the mention of costume competitions.

So, I thought I would check out the show, despite not being a fan of reality TV and its way of skewing people's personalities for the sake of drama. I figured I could at least see some awesome costumes in motion.

And... yup, there's some skewing. But it is nice to see a show that's focused mostly on creative and skilled women (all but one of the followed cosplayers are female). But most of them come off a little... bitchy. Or, in some cases, super bitchy to the point of feeling bad for how poorly they're being presented just to up the drama and anticipation. It's not as bad as the girls on America's Next Top Model and I know most people say "Buyer Beware" when it comes to reality show casts at this point in the game, but I still worry about how this will negatively impact the lives of the cast.

The one I feel the worst for is Monika, as she's so young and the producers seem to love to include every catty comment that comes out of her mouth, especially if it's about one of the other cosplayers. While also portraying her as incredible naive at the same time. Even in the web exclusive segments where the cast critique each other's work, the clips of her rarely show her making constructive criticism  They also feel the need to make her mother interact with her every so often, just so Monika can sneer at someone while making her costume. I can understand feeling a little superior about being a teenager that can out-do most adults in competition, but I worry if the show will open her up to a lot of new harsh judgements coming her way.

Holly and Jessica from Crabcat Industries have the least to worry about with how they're portrayed and it shows that they're just there to have fun and get Crabcat exposure. They know the drill, as the show is basically taking the format of their part of Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con documentary. They are getting more and more actual work for their creature creations and are basically just trying to challenge their skills and comfort zones by doing the cosplay competitions. This especially shows in their hilarious (although, life threatening) decision to do "Cats: The Memesical" for an anime con where everyone else was doing an anime-themed costume.

Becky and Chloe definitely come across as the nicest two of the cast but also as the two that do least labor-intense costumes and seem to be in it more for just having fun. Becky does a lot of cartoon characters that she can act the part of on stage and can get carried away focusing on the wrong thing (going big with her Taffeta costume having a car rather than thinking of a costume that would just require more detail). Chloe has only competed in one episode, but anyone that has seen her Nerdist Channel work knows that Chloe just loves to celebrate other people being able to enjoy themselves with fun costumes- as shown when she gets mean girl'd over drinks at Emerald City because she's not drinking the koolaid. Becky and Chloe represent the type of cosplayers that I adore the most and it's easy to see why they are the two that get asked to host events and work for conventions- they're nice people.

Victoria is portrayed as intense, constantly leaving everything to the last moment, and relying too much on her boyfriend to do most of the work. And everyone keeps reminding her that she leaves everything to the last minute, which would make me be a little intense and have an inferiority complex, too.

Riki is mostly portrayed as pretty sweet and focused on perfecting her prop-making. But she is the one that was commenting that a 300 pound man shouldn't cosplay as Superman, which made me like her a lot less very quickly. However, it is important to also remember that she created Cosplay for a Cause and therefore is probably actually a really nice person who just said something stupid.

Yaya is basically the Tyra Banks of the show. She can do no wrong. She's very diplomatic with her phrasing. She is the wise elder stateswoman that scolds the less knowing. She is never shown struggling much to put a costume together. She always looks amazing. And she never seems to have a sense of humor or to be enjoying anything. Because she is one of the handful of professional cosplayers in the world.

Jesse, the one guy, is portrayed with a lot less inter-personal drama than all the women. His issues are usually with just trying to come up with a costume that will finally get him noticed and the struggle with creating the costume.

As for the costumes... the show is pretty disappointing when it comes to the actual costumes. I don't really care about how accurate the appliques and embroidery are on a costume. I just want to be surprised and impressed. I love out-of-the-box costumes a lot more than super-accurate re-creations. I like gender bending costumes. I like Riki's Rocketeer costume and Victoria's Tron costume. I love (from before the show existed) Chloe's GlaDOS costume. I love the dedication Holly put into her performance in her Galaxy Quest costume. I love how natural Jessica's Tank Girl costume came to her. and looked so amazing. Hell, I even love Becky's Pinkie Pie via the 80s outfit she wore while working at Anime Matsuri.

Also, not everyone has the equipment to vacuum form their own helmets and whatnot. I'd prefer to see some more inventive substitutions from what you can get ahold of rather than seeing people spend hundreds of dollars on a single costume that they'll compete with once.

I wish the show would focus more on cosplaying on the showfloor, as I feel that's more interesting. You'd get to see if they stay in character the whole time or only when asked for a picture, you'd get to see them interacting with people that might've written or portrayed the character they're dressed as. And it would be a more organic way to go about the details of how they created the costume.

However, that would make it, essentially, the show that Chloe (and Holly and Jessica) does for the Nerdist Channel. Just with more footage of the costumes being made before the convention.

And, you know what? I'm not going to put any pictures in this post. So... whatever. I just had to get my thoughts out about the show.

And So, Another Stressful Fall Season Begins...

Let's just do a mental dump, shall we?

1. Ugh. End of year reports make me cry. Especially when someone else keeps pulling me away from not doing EOY reports to help translate EOY reports, despite how I am not actually assigned to do them this year.

2. Stoic wrong-doer. That's what I am.

3. I think I have been slowly becoming more evil in effort to balance out the inherit beautiful goodness of the roommate.

4. THIRD JOB! Let's call this situation "Dutch Nile Sickness".

5. The topic of NaNoWriMo came up today and, well, let's look at that whole "you have three jobs" part of my life again. But I have some great ideas.

6. My apartment has been invaded by flies and I can't take it anymore. No more food in the apartment for humans and the cat has been moved back to dry food. I really hope my bed doesn't have poo on it when I get home tonight.

7. If I don't look at my bill calendar- nothing is really due, right?

8. I watched one little editorial review of the VMAs- I didn't even watch them myself, and got that terribly depressing Miley Cyrus song stuck in my head for days. Is she aware of the message that song sends? Is Billy Ray? I'm concerned. I want to give her a sandwich and a hug. And I'm still not convinced that Robin Thicke actually exists and is not some practical joke Alan Thicke is playing on the world.

9. I can't wait for Emma Approved to start on YouTube. It's by the LBD folks. And Emma is my favorite. Aaaand I've started the crazy "fall asleep listening to it on audio-book, keep revisiting the miniseries" thing all over again.

10. At least the Emma anticipation has marked a break in my obsession with shows from New Zealand for a while (seriously, Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons are amazing and you should be sad that you have not yet watched them).

11. I'm not allowed to buy new clothes until I first pay off my credit card and have also reached a weight loss milestone. Yes, I'm a ridiculous and cliched girl at times. Sue me.