Randomosity on Fridays: Comic Con Edition (4)

Hah, you thought this was over, but it's not! I took a long-ish break, but there is still more Comic Con recapping to be had. See, I told you a lot happened!

Anyway, I was going to just let this go, but both the Sister and Alz agree that I must finish this exhaustive Comic Con recap because I didn't even get to the really good stuff yet - which starts with Day 3: Saturday.

DAY 3 / Saturday (Part 1)

Saturday had an interesting start because we slept for about 4 hours in our room before dragging ourselves out of bed and down to the convention center at 3 in the morning. Yes, 3AM. That wasn't even that early, considering people had been camping out since 9pm Friday night.

The line for Hall H was - at 3AM - already down to the marina and PAST the Assassin's Creed pirate ship and into the park. This is hard to visualize if you've never been, but basically it was a REALLY LONG LINE, practically running from one end of the convention center to the other.

We settled in for sort of sleeping on the grass in the park, huddled in the towel I'd received as a wedding favor at G's gorgeous wedding in March. I was in galaxy tights, my Tokidoki THOR hoodie and freezing. That breeze coming off the marina water? COLD.

This is us at 3:30AM in the most intense line of our lives.

Anyway, at around 6am, the line started moving because SDCC staff was truncating the line. We moved up quite a bit and ended up sort of near the Hilton Bay Front Hotel. We briefly saw our cousin who was going to get coffee at Starbucks. We didn't see her again for another hour because the line at Starbucks was that long.

The Hall H lawn/tents when empty.

At some point, the line truncated more and we found ourselves under the tents on the lawn outside Hall H, which pretty much meant we were guaranteed to get in.

While we were waiting in line on the lawn, the Sister went back to napping. Her glasses left an imprint on her face because she was sleeping with her face on her knees. She was that tired. I was going to do the same thing, but I checked Twitter first to see if there were any line updates or whatever. That was when I was very fortunate to catch a tweet about bag swapping.

I have digress for a little bit to give you some background on the amazing bit of serendipity that is to come. So when you pick up your badges at the beginning of the con, you also get a free giant bag (provided by Warner Bros) to carry all your stuff. This year, the giant bags were actually backpacks (much better for carrying than totes) and they came with little capes you could unfurl. The bags had a bunch of different designs featuring TV shows and movie posters.

The Sister and I both got bags featuring The Big Bang Theory, and while we don't watch the show, we weren't disappointed at first because the design of the bag was cute. It was one of the better looking ones. What was disappointing was that we both got the SAME bag, and when there's 2 of us, it'd be nice to get 2 different bags. The only way to get a different bag is to trade with people. Soon after our bag pick-up we found out there were SUPERNATURAL bags, and of course, we kept seeing them all the time in the coming days. We even tried to trade once or twice, but it was impossible. My friend suggested I pay someone.

Then SATURDAY happened. As I was saying, I checked the Hall H hashtag and saw someone wanted to trade bags - and they wanted a BBT bag and were trading a SPN bag!! It was fate. So after much tweeting and exchanging of outfit info (she was wearing a Loki shirt; I was in a Thor hoodie - how freaking appropriate!), we managed to find each other and trade bags!


And I didn't have to pay anyone for it. :)

Inside Hall H

We made it inside and settled in for an entire day of big movie panels. We were kind of to the side and right under an AC vent, which was bad because I stayed wrapped in my towel all day but good because it kept me more awake. Once the panels started, it was seriously a stream of celebs and A-listers and exclusive footage. So awesome.

There were panels where I didn't take any pictures (Lego movie, Godzilla, etc.), so we'll be leaving that chronology out since from here on out, it'll just be pictures.

The Seventh Son panel (moderated by the hilarious Chris Hardwick/ the Nerdist):

Chris Hardwick fanboyed over Jeff Bridges (as one does).

Also, there were these handsome young men: Ben Barnes (I LOVE HIM) and Kit Harrington (Jon Snow knows nothing)


The Gravity panel with Sandra Bullock (ahhhh!)

The Edge of Tomorrow panel with Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise (his first SDCC)!

The Sis and I are ambivalent about Tom Cruise, but it was still kind of crazy cool that we were seeing him in real life. Chris Hardwick seemed to be of the same mind because he was fanboying like mad and even had an unreal sing-off with Tom Cruise because they both had played Stacee Jax in the musical Rock of Ages.

TC and CH also photo-bombed each other's pictures.

The Frankenstein panel. This movie honestly looked kind of terrible, but hey look Aaron Eckhart!

Exciting thing! The Hunger Games: Catching Fire panel!!

Jeffrey Wright and Jena Malone. Jena was wearing a Mockingjay pin.

We also have Willow Shields (Prim) and Lenny Kravitz and our leading men, Liam and Josh.


And of course, our District 12 Victors. As to be expected, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were hilarious together. I'm pretty sure this picture was taken when they were talking about a kissing scene and how J.Law got snot all over Josh because she was crying during the scene. This came about as an answer to a fan question about whether or not the romance would be steamier in Catching Fire. They told this story of snot-swapping and then said, "Yeah, it's real hot."

Pleasant surprise and super awesome panel - EW's Women Who Kick Ass panel.

Maggie Q, Danai Gurira, Tatiana Maslany, Katee Sackhoff, Michelle Rodriguez

I can't tell you how amazing it was to hear these talented, smart actresses talk about their work, the industry, and also about sexism and representation, feminism and male privilege to a room of 6500 people.

Of course, not all reactions were favorable (though thankfully people in my section were respectful), but I love that this discussion was given such a large audience and there were indeed cheers from the crowd. I was expecting a day full of geeking out and being starstruck brain fluff, so it was even more awesome that I actually got some intelligent and important topic discussion/ brain protein in there.

And I think here's a good place to stop for the first half of my Saturday recap. Before I go though, this last panel about Women Who Kick Ass leads nicely into recent discussions about "strong" female characters. The panelists made some great points about different kinds of female roles and about the need for more female stories. But something Katee Sackhoff said really ties into the recent discussion of "strong" female characters.

She talked about how she wanted to see more female characters like her mom, who she admired growing up - not because she was any kind of superwoman but because she was a loving mother and a great female role model. She wanted to see more female characters who were strong for their every day strength. And basically, the panelists agreed that there should just be a bigger variety of female characters - more nuanced, more developed, and just more of them.

For a great recent and on-going discussion of the above, check out Erin Bowman's blog post on Publishing Crawl "On Strong Female Characters."

It's a long weekend here in America, so I'll be having an extra day of fun. Happy weekend / Labor Day!

Q4U: What do you think of strong female characters? OR Who would you like to have seen at SDCC?


For more SDCC goodness, here are my previous related posts:

1) What's Up Wednesday (7) / RSW (6)
2) SDCC Recap No. 1
3) What's Up Wednesday (8) / Our Comic Con Fashion
4) SDCC Recap No. 2
5) SDCC Recap No. 3
6) What's Up Wednesday (10) / Our Comic Con Swag

What's Up Wednesday (12) / RSW (FINAL)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!

WHAT I'M READING

I'm slowly working my way through CONTROL still, but I've also started with Morgan Matson's SECOND CHANCE SUMMER. That's the YA Book Club's pick for August. It's not too late to join! I'm going to try to make the review/discussion date of SEP 3.


WHAT I'M WRITING

Is this really the last week of Ready.Set.Write! already?! I'm honestly kind of sad, but I think having it helped in that it's forcing me to be accountable and to set goals during these What's Up Wednesday posts. Thanks to the lovely ladies that came up with this and for hosting! I hope to continue seeing you all on Twitter for writing parties. :)

So I sort of accomplished my goal from last week. While I did NOT finish my second DEVIL poem, I did write a completely new one. I churned it out in a day on my phone during breaks at work! It's called THE HART & THE HUNTER.

This poetry kick I've been on is kind of insane because I honestly haven't had one like this since (probably) high school. Whether or not I'm any good is, of course, a matter of opinion. Hah.

I also mostly stitched together that scene I was talking about. All the handwritten bits have been combined and revised with the typed up bits. So yay!


Goal: Still finish that 2nd DEVIL poem, and actually work on LUCK like I'm supposed to be doing.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

Last week, I mentioned April Tucholke gave the prompt "DEVIL" for #twtpoem because her book came out last week, and then I wrote a full length poem based on that. That prompt and her gorgeous book cover kept on giving because I started a rhyming poem also inspired by those things. I'm not done with it yet because rhyming poems are ridiculously difficult. I always wonder why I put myself through the pain of writing them, haha.

THE HART & THE HUNTER while not directly inspired by the "devil" prompt was still a little bit inspired by it.

On top of that, Lydia Kang sent me this amazing poetry chapbook by her friend Lindsey Anne Baker. It's full of sonnets to medical personnel, and the poems are gorgeous. They are subtle and beautiful and visceral. Who knew something titled "Sonnet to a Neuro Ophthamologist" could be so poignant.


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

My friend had her annual summer BBQ, and it was as fun as usual. There was good company and such great food. We played badminton and roasted marshmallows over a fire when it got late enough. It was even better because one of my old college friends moved back to the Los Angeles area, and so she and her bf went with me to the BBQ. Yay for friends!

The hostess' dog Happy, after trying to steal kisses from Justine.

Also, a bunch of stuff went down at MTV's Video Music Awards this year, but I basically tuned in because ZOMG NSYNC REUNION, what?! I'm actually a BSB fangirl, but I'd be lying to say I wasn't excited for this to happen - especially since my friends and I had just had a discussion about how the odds of Justin Timberlake doing that ever again were very small.

GUESS WE WERE KINDA WRONG.

Mostly, I wish the NSYNC segment had been just a little longer, but JT did a LOT OF very on-point dancing. So I'm pretty happy. Hah.

It was National Dog Day on Monday.

Loki was playing with this box and it got stuck on his face.  (PHOTO/ Sister)

And I felt a pang of nostalgia when I saw some pictures of my college campus yesterday and today. School is starting up for them, and I do miss some of that college life.

This is Unit 2's Cunningham Hall - my former dorm. I lived on the 4th floor.  (PHOTO/ ucberkeley instagram)

Q4U: What's up with you? and Were you excited about NSYNC reuniting? (This is great timing too because I am literally seeing the Backstreet Boys in concert in like a week. FREAKING. OUT.)

Randomosity on Fridays: Pictures!

Hello all! I was going to continue the Comic Con recapping, but just thinking about trying to summarize that Saturday (now a over a month past!) made my brain hurt. So I'm taking it easy this week and just posting some random pictures from the past week or two.


You all remember my colorful unicorn hair?

This is what it looks like now! I'm going all pink, blonde, and copper.

I don't remember if I mentioned here, but I kept saying I had to stop buying geeky shirts/jewelry and no more galactic/cosmic anything (since I already have a shirt, a scarf, 2 skirts, and leggings). Well, I was weak...

I mean, an image-based Marauders shirt and a Van Gogh TARDIS skirt? How could I resist?!

Epic mash-up! This shirt combines my newer love of comic book superheroes (DC ones in this case) with my
much older love of the classical heroes of Greek myth. This shirt design is appropriately titled "Modern Myths 2."

Speaking of mash-ups, one of the books I bought for my birthday was William Shakespeare's Star Wars, which is literally a translation of the entire Star Wars IV script into a Shakespearean play. As in, it's written in iambic pentameter. When I saw this, the geek and the lit-geek in me HAD TO HAVE IT. The illustrations are super cool too.

Aaaand, a friend posted a picture that led me to this other delightfully geeky remix: Winnie the Pooh IN LATIN. Now, I didn't take Latin (ever), though I seriously considered it during college (because dead languages are so useful and all), but I kind of just LOVE this. (And I still want to learn Latin...)

LASTLY, some of the best things to come of my birthday weekend...

One of my oldest, bestest friends made me an amazing, blinged out birthday greeting:

I'm reasonably sure that's Tom Hiddleston under all that bling...
and Spongebob and is that Snoop?

Which prompted my newer, dear Twitter friend Sarah to share this similar gem her friend made her for her 16th birthday:

Pretty sure Jude Law is the "sexy lahvah." (SCAN/ @sarahgoldberg)

Needless to say, I think we would've been besties if we had known each other as 16-year-olds.


HAPPY FRIDAY!

What's Up Wednesday (11) / RSW (10)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

I finished reading Stephanie Kuehn's CHARM & STRANGE, and oh it was good. It's a short, tense read that explores a lot of dark, complicated things. The voice is what drew me in and held me captive. Very much recommended.

I think I will post an actual review in the future, but for now, if you were thinking about picking it up, DO IT.

(This is the UK cover, which I think is a little closer to the feel of the story - a bit scary, surreal, and haunting. But the US cover is lovely too. I love the use of silhouettes, the way the forest breaks up the image and the figures.)

I'm still reading Lydia Kang's CONTROL, and I'm enjoying it. Sci-fi lovers, you're going to want to look out for this one. There is definitely more SCI in this one than the other Sci-fi YA books I've read thus far.


WHAT I'M WRITING

I've been slowly pulling those random scenes I've written (in all these different places) together. It's kind of exciting since this is the most writing I've done in... let's just say a long while. It's also kind of challenging because it's a pretty intense set of scenes that involves a particular set of imagery. So I've been struggling to describe similar things in interesting and different ways. I know, vague.

Also exciting is that I wrote a poem - like a not #twtpoem. I haven't written any poetry since...even longer than the last time I really wrote, haha. It was nice to see that I could still do it. In any case, it was prompted by April, who asked me to write her a #twtpoem in celebration of her book release (BETWEEN THE DEVIL & THE DEEP BLUE SEA, which came out the day before my birthday!). Of course, I obliged and the prompt was DEVIL.

This spawned a much longer poem, and actually, I have another one in the works now too. I am quite SURPRISED with myself.

Goal: Finish the second Devil poem and hopefully get those scenes stitched together.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

Music! Parachute's new album is out, and while I'm still partial to their last one, I am loving this song HURRICANE.



And then the Sister stumbled upon this amazing (and appropriate) John Green quote from LOOKING FOR ALASKA.

People Rain Drizzle Hurricane Poster Art Print by Mei Lee

I'm also really into the song KING AND LIONHEART by Of Monsters & Men. I love the tune and the story-telling, folklore vibe of the lyrics.




WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Eating! Because it was my birthday last Friday. THANK YOU for your sweet birthday wishes (and Alz for blogging)! I ate a lot, which is to say, I was happy. So happy in fact I pretty much celebrated through the weekend. Oh and the Sister got me an amazing cake. Pictures below!

I was also productive this weekend by actually doing some house cleaning. The Sister and I even bought a new vacuum and we were super excited about it. Does this mean we're old? Getting excited about buying household appliances? (The vacuum is pretty badass though...)

The Sister took me to see The Neighborhood the night before my bday. (Photo/ Sister)

The Sister also bought me Sprinkles cupcakes: s'mores & raspberry flavored.

My gifts to myself. Yes, that's Star Wars written like a Shakespearean play.

My AWESOME cake. It's cookies & cream ice cream on the inside.

More cupcakes! My friend bought these for me, along with some cookies.

And that's all. So all in all, a good week. :)


Q4U: What is up with you?

Happy Birthday, Krispy!...TO THE GROUND

Greetings, folks! Alz interrupts your glorious weekly dose of Krispy's Comic-Con coverage with an important announcement:

Today is Krispy's birthday.  You know what that means!  It's doodle time--but more than that, it's storytime!  Aww yeah!  What better way to celebrate my love for my beloved Krispy than to abuse entertain her?

I bring you an illustrated tale that I like to call Krispy's Birthday TO THE GROUND.

(Yes, we did watch The Lonely Island's I Threw It On the Ground back when it first came out. Every now and then--particularly now--it comes back full-force into our lives.)

~*~*~*~

Krispy's Birthday TO THE GROUND

by Alz

Once upon a time, Krispy was born.

This is Krispy.

As things that are born tend to do, she grew up (as opposed to the opposite--growing down is both unconventional and unhealthy when you are a Krispy) and she wrote and went to school and Comic-Con and clubbed and helped raise a Loki and found herself afflicted by a mortal case of the Alz, but there are no helping some things.

Yet Krispy was a happy Krispy and soon enough, it was that special day again, the day that the universe was made that much more a kickass place by reason of her coming into existence.  Yes, it was Krispy's birthday again!

As Krispy was celebratory by nature whenever a promise of dessert was involved, she donned a party hat in preparation for the big day.  Like a creeper lurking in the shadows, Alz observed this phenomenon.  The wheels of machination, well-oiled by years of sadistic cunning, began to turn in Alz's head.

As Krispy was afflicted by a mortal case of the Alz, naturally Alz felt obliged to do something appropriate for the occasion.

She followed up on her action by wishing Krispy the appropriate birthday sentiment.

Krispy was a mite less than pleased by Alz's attempt at festivity but she restrained herself admirably from such catharses as tears, recrimination, or violence.  Krispy considered herself a paragon of courtesy and anyway, it was her birthday, so she thought she ought to be generous.  Alz was Alz, after all, and there was little enough that could be done to help her.

Instead of dwelling upon a minor damper on an otherwise spectacular day, Krispy instead turned her attention toward matters of utmost importance--namely, cake.

There are few things in this world that are more glorious than a triple chocolate mocha fudge espresso ice cream cake.  And there is nothing in this world more glorious than having a triple chocolate mocha fudge espresso ice cream cake all to yourself.

Alz, of course, was not yet done with her version of celebrating.

Krispy remained a saint.  She did not murder Alz in the face.  There was no helping now that the ground had taken and enjoyed the birthday cake all to itself.  The ground had partaken of the gloriousness that, by rights, ought to have been Krispy's, but Krispy put it from her mind.  She walked on the ground everyday and without the ground, life would be pretty hard, floating in space and all, so she supposed it was all right that the ground celebrated her birthday with her.  Krispy was a sharing person, though she rather wished Alz hadn't chosen to share her things for her.

Still, there was the other best part of birthdays for her to enjoy.  What birthday is complete without presents?

And yet somehow, despite her valiant effort to remain happy and chillaxed, Krispy couldn't help but feel a little, well, edgy.

Surely, though, Alz was done.  She couldn't ruin invite her way into every aspect of Krispy's birthday.  Surely it was all in Krispy's head, this niggling foreboding feeling that Alz was lurking somewhere nearby, just waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Paranoia is sometimes well-founded.

There are no helping some things Krispy told herself as Alz jumped off the flattened remains of the birthday present.  Really, Alz was no help at all, and there was no helping her.

It was at this point that Alz turned to Krispy and spread her arms wide.  Her smile was joyous, her demeanor demure, her eyes super swirly as she said to Krispy:

There are no helping some things, but sometimes you just have to help yourself.  Krispy had gotten exactly what she wanted from Alz for her birthday.  And it made this the best birthday ever.

THE END

~*~*~*~

Join me now, peeps, in wishing Krispy the happiest birthday ever TO THE GROUND!  Krispy, may your day be filled with food and frolicking!  HOORAY!