I'll be back....

Yeah, I doubt anyone reads this anymore, much less expects me to post. However, I stumbled upon this blog again, and I realized that I missed it.

So, I'll be back soon. With some throwback/memory posts to start.

Comicpalooza (or, It's Kind of a Funny Story)

The golden idol, or holy grail, of just about any fandom is going to Comic Con in San Diego.  ("Throw me the idol, I throw you the tickets!")

However, sometimes you have to make do with what you got. I had heard about Comicpalooza around 2 years ago, but hadn't really had much of a desire to go- until this year. 

In April I found out that Norman Reedus was going to be at Comicpalooza. (Yes, I'm a Walking Dead fan) To make a long story short, I was able to go in the end. And meet Norman Reedus. And did I mention Lennie James? 

Someone went with me on Sunday, the 19th. This Someone didn't want to be in my picture with said actors, but the staff would let her have a quick fly-by in the photography area.  

After checking in, I looked around for a little bit then we headed over to the photo op section. We got in a good place in line. Good enough, in fact, to see the actors arrive.  I believe Michael Rooker arrived first, Lennie arrived shortly after. They said hi to everyone as they came. Norman came last; I think he was at an autograph session. He made up for it though. He stuck his head out of the curtained area a couple of times. And his foot. Everyone screamed.  

Then the staff started letting people in. We were arranged in lines according to photo types: Norman only, Lennie only, Michael and Norman, etc. You get the idea. I was trying not to freak out too much at this point. 

Finally it was my turn. I knew beforehand that I wouldn't have a lot of time in there. I went in the area. I may have passed by Michael; I think he was in the corner. Lennie was the first one I saw. My conscious thought was: "He's so tall." I said, "Hi, Lennie, it's nice to meet you." I shook his hand. He said, "It's nice to meet you." 

I saw Norman next (he's also tall). I shook his hand. Again, "Hi, Norman, it's nice to meet you." They were both really nice.

Then it was time for the photo. It was about this time, in front of that camera, that my brain ceased to function. 

I forgot to take off my glasses. The studio recommends you do.

I forgot to smile.  

In front of that camera, my brain goes, "Oh, wait--"  

But it was already done. The photographer must have checked to see if someone blinked, and nodded. Keep in mind, all of this took about thirty seconds.  I must have said thank you, and went out to collect the picture.  

I looked... Stunned. It wasn't quite my ideal picture. I just ended up, with some prodding from the Someone, just chalking it up to experience. And it was kind of funny. 

I went to explore for the rest of the day. It was shortly after the photo op and looking around the floor that I looked at my watch. "Shoot!" It was after one. I'd had a panel I'd wanted to go to.  So I went as fast as I could to the next floor, and got to see most of it. 

I also dropped in on the Boondock Saints panel, only because I thought Norman would be there. After a few minutes I left, only to learn later that he did stop by for a few minutes.  

Charlie Hunnam was there signing autographs, but I didn't see him. I did pass by Peter Mayhew's (Chewbacca) table. 

It was neat looking at all the vendors' booths. The big thing to buy there is fan art, and there is a lot of it. I stopped by one artist's booth; she had designed the art that went on the 3-day passes: Captain America and Iron Man. The larger prints were sold out, but she had smaller ones available and autographed one for me.  There was also a booth that sold photographs from TV and movies; they might have been reprints but it was okay.  We found some from Gotham (Someone's favorite), Homeland, and even Twilight.  We purchased a Walking Dead cast picture that had been taken last season with everyone in it. (On a related note: maybe next year, I'll go for an autograph instead of a picture.)  Someone also enjoyed the NASA booth. 

What not to buy: food.  Seriously, the food there is so overpriced.  You're better off going upstairs and eating at the Starbucks.  There was a good pretzel, though, if a bit overpriced. 

All in all, I had a great time. It was a good introduction to Comicpalooza, and I'd like to go again next year. 

My Mockingjay T-Shirt

I was eagerly awaiting merchandise release for Mockingjay pt. 2, but it's been really sparse, at least up until now. So I had to go with the option of making my own shirt. Hey, a fan's gotta do what a fan's gotta do.

At first, I was going to bleach a Mockingjay design, but that changed into using paint. In fact, a lot of this process is derived from the process of making a bleached shirt.

I used gold glitter fabric spray paint and gold fabric glitter, both from Tulip. I found a Mockingjay silhouette online and printed it out. You have to very careful in cutting it out. After I cut it out, I taped it to the shirt. (Rolled the tape back on itself, etc.)

Then, I sprayed the fabric paint around the design. The paint splattered once or twice, but it wasn't too bad. Next up came the glitter. I'm really glad I went with it. I sprinkled it on, and it really enhanced the paint. Let me just say that one has to have a very steady hand when putting on the glitter. It can't exactly be brushed off once it's on there. But I did okay.

To seal the glitter on the shirt, I just sprayed another light layer of fabric paint. I had to let it dry for four hours. After four hours, I very carefully removed the paper "stencil." I was concerned that the beak would be too small, but it came out fine.

I was really happy with my shirt! See you on Friday.... :)

Sent from my iPad 2

Mockingjay pt. 2's Samsung Event

Last weekend I went to Best Buy.  Lionsgate had announced that most Best Buys were osting the opportunity to watch the final trailer for Mockingjay pt. 2, as well as trying out a virtual reality device and app.  I had called my local Best Buy and they said they would have it available.  So, I went.

I showed up a little early, and was told I would have to wait for the Samsung representative to arrive. I waited somewhere else for about 45 minutes and went back.  I'd heard about some fans having trouble with the promotion, such as employees not knowing about it, etc.  I had a good experience.  The rep said she didn't have the VR equipment, and that was fine with me.  There was an app, but it didn't seem to do much.  I didn't mind that, either.  The rep showed me how to play the trailer.

The trailer was great.  There wasn't a whole lot of new footage, just small extensions to scenes we had watched before.  There were small moments that make you jump.  One small line stood out for me where Katniss says to some people, "Stop killing for him!", meaning President Snow.  Several of my Twitter friends loved the line, too, and we were dying to mention it to everyone else, but we waited.

I was able to watch it a few times, and I got two posters that they were giving away.

I'm so glad I got to do this.  And, I can't wait for the film.

PS: they released the trailer yesterday.

Jurassic Blood

This past Friday I had to get up really early to go on an errand with Mom. When she was done we had some time to kill before we had to be at our next destination. After a fruitless search of looking for a place to eat, we passed by a Gulf Coast Blood Center.

Mom had to talk me into donating for a minute; I didn't want to at first. But then I relented. She brought up the point that I had gotten 34 units of blood during my time in the NICU as a preemie. So, I changed my mind.

After a preliminary test and some questioning, I was allowed to donate. (They wouldn't let Mom donate; her iron was too low.) A technician/nurse got me situated and showed me how to work the TV. Each chair had a TV attached to it, that was pretty neat. I had it turned to the country music station. The nurse then explained what the needle was like. I guess it was a little bigger than your standard "injection"-type needle. I say "guess" because I never really wanted to get a up-close look at it. He said it would hurt for a couple of seconds.

Yeah, it did hurt for a couple of seconds, but then it was over. I had to squeeze the stress ball once a minute or so. The whole thing only took ten minutes. I was donating whole blood; there were a couple other guys who were donating platelets, I think, and that takes longer.

Afterwards, they want you to drink and eat something, so you don't feel quite so woozy. I must say, apple cranberry juice hit the spot for some reason. (I did feel slightly dizzy.)

-------

Your next meal is supposed to be a hearty one, but I kind of fudged on that. Mom and I went to go see Jurassic World. It was fun, and predictable- but in a good way. It's gratifying to finally see a fully-functioning park, and all of your favorite dinosaurs are back. Once again, people misjudged how frog DNA factors into the dinosaur cloning. One plot hole I thought about was why no one thought of having an override function on the gyrospheres so they could come back to the center automatically.

("How many times did I tell you we needed locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors?"....)

Strange as it may sound, I loved the raptors, probably because one of them was named Blue- ha. It's interesting to think that they could be somewhat trained.

There's a whole ton of nostalgia in this movie, one being the music. I had wanted the old theme to be in the film so bad, and it is. I wish more of the original cast could have been in it, but at least we got BD Wong back. He's in the film more than you would think at first.

The audience knows what the Indominus Rex is made of, so it was kind of surprising that the characters take so long to figure it out. Near the end of the film, it's right in their faces. Like, "Ohhhh... We get it now."

Fun trivia: Bryce and the actress who plays her sister in JW also played sisters in "The Village."

All in all, it was a fun movie. I'd love to see Inside Out, and Terminator Genisys next.

Currently reading: "Life is Short (No Pun Intended)" by Bill Klein and Dr. Jennifer Arnold. 😀

Sent from my iPad 2

Mockingjay pt. 2 Trailer Thoughts

It's been a week since we got the first "real" trailer for Mockingjay pt. 2. Everyone had been wanting it for a really long time; I think some people were starting to give up.

I watched it the morning it was released, and I liked it. I was a bit surprised that they put parts from the end (or at least close to it). But then again, there aren't any games to build up to.

So.... Here are my thoughts:

- It opens with Finnick and Annie's wedding in District 13. It's nice, everyone's happy.

- The next scene is with Effie, and Katniss in her Mockingjay uniform. They're not in 13. So, I think this part is much, much later than you might think.

- Here's Boggs, they're in the districts. Here's Plutarch. I was pleasantly surprised to find Egeria (AKA Mira from Homeland) in pt. 2. I assumed Snow would've had her killed off.

- Here's Commander Lyme, from district 2. I think. "Everyone" recognizes this actress from a different show.

- "Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol." That is all.

- Then, we see Snow in his final confrontation with Katniss. (trust me, it is.). Again, really close to the end.

- We finish with a line from Finnick, and the logo and mockingjay whistle.

I really liked it. It was really good, and I was surprised by all the elements that are close to the ending. I especially liked the shot of Katniss in the city circle with the people from the districts. It's said in the first book that you have to be invited to the Capitol. Or else go there as a tribute.

So, anyway, really solid. Can't wait for the film.


Sent from my iPad 2

Mockingjay Pt. 1 Review

[Sorry this took so long. I started writing this after I saw MJ for the first time.]

I got out of Mockingjay, and I really enjoyed it.  It was very close to the book, and they still kept with different perspectives in addition to Katniss', which I have really enjoyed throughout the whole series.

Mockingjay is really, stylistically speaking, a continuation of Catching Fire. You might think it's just part 1 of 2 of Mockingjay, but it has some similarities with Catching Fire. You get the sense that Katniss is isolated, her against the world, struggling with PTSD.

The sets and special effects are wonderful; to note, the ruins of District 12.  New characters are great. Jennifer is awesome. Love the dynamic between Katniss and Prim. Elizabeth is great. Julianne adds a complexity to Coin. Part of me loved her, and yet kind of hated her at the same time, because, well, I know how part 2 goes.  Plutarch got kind of annoying from all the propos. He's in full gamemaker mode here. 

[I totally missed that the actress who plays Mira on Homeland played Snow's speechwriter, until I took Mom to see it, and she pointed it out.]

The music.... I loved the music. It's basically taken from Catching Fire (someone else mentioned Hunger Games, too), so there's continuity in that respect. The Hanging Tree was really good, I liked it. The way the setting had been described in interviews didn't really make sense, but when you see it in context,  it does. It's pretty and haunting. Can't wait to get the score.

I wish Katniss had taken the time to explain the background of "The Hanging Tree," but that probably would have taken too much screen time, and anyway, you get the gist of it with the scenes of the other districts rioting.

One point I got stuck on was Finnick's story- really, the timing. I wondered at first why they put it during the rescue.  Then I figured it out. It was to distract everyone.

Ending. .. pretty much the way everyone thought it would end.
I loved the little tidbit at the end.

Overall feeling stark, dark, and grand. I can't wait for part 2.


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