Snowpocalypse

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I’m a bad blogger. My apologies to my fangirls

Halloween (which was two weeks ago, I know) brought a nasty yet beautiful surprise for the New England: the first snowpocalypse of the year. Considering there were at least three last year, I expect more to come. I probably won’t witness any more this winter as I’ll be in Scotland from January to June, but that is a story for another day. And another block.

My friends and I were on our way to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight when the power in the entire region went out. What happens when you have a bunch of nerds all dressed up with no place to go and no internet to retreat to? A photo shoot, of course! We found a location with emergency lighting and no refugees and went to work. One of my friends made an amazing Celty (a character from Durarara!!) cosplay this last summer and she just happened to have some caution tape for just such emergencies.

The funny thing about caution tape is…

…it has a tendency to lead to chaos…

…which is a bit ironic, when you think about it.

I see you noticed our fabulous Pokemon group.

And we sort of had a Mindfang from “Homestuck”…

Except she was really there as part of the amazing Angelverse group.

Meet our lovely Angel Hunters! As you may know from my last blog post, previous Angelverse cosplays were so good, that I promised my friends I would base characters on their costumes.  From let to right we have: Trigger (cosplayed by me), a sadistic cutie who joined up for an excuse to kill things; Nyx (Mollie), the boss of the group who wants a a clean, glamorous life away from the dirt of the desert; Mel (Moo), the mechanic and only person who joined the Angel Hunters out of a desire to help humanity;  and the Unnamed Bounty Hunter (Magga), a mysterious women who may or may not be an demi-Angel and whom Nyx may or may not be blackmailing.
And we have our resident (self-declared) emo kid, Jet (Kiki), a demi-Angel who was given the choice between death or life as an Angel Hunter and is still sulking about it.

Kiki is a beautiful model, but she’s also the most talented photographer in our circle of friends, so pictures of her were tragically few.

I’m very excited to write about these new characters, who were made up over the course of evening, through the picking of outfits and the posing of photos.  And through the boundless imaginations of my friends. I wouldn’t say the characters came to life. It was more like the waltzed into my home,  grabbed a drink, settled on my couch, and pointed a gun in my face.

Although, admittedly, I did most of the gun pointing.

So don’t believe what the skeptics say, kids these days can live without the internet.  They just find analog ways of trolling each other.

And don’t forget the magic of friendship! Dear lord, did I make that the point of another post? Oh, just have a cuddle puddle and be happy, you nonbelievers!

Ain’t No Party Like A Nerd Party

This was my Friday night:

That’s me as Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with my friend/platonic wife Magga as Party Rock Gamzee from Homestuck.

Yeah, we’re cool.

This weekend was our annual nerd party. Costumes recommended, crazy dance moves a must. In the past, our costumes (especially mine) have been last minute affairs, but this year everyone looked amazing!

Magga got glitter EVERYWHERE

Mollie, our very sexy Rarity (Check out those heels!)

We also had a Fluttershy, but she was very, well, shy. Just take my word for it, she was adorable. During the costume contest (our Pony group came in second, much to the bronies’ dismay, to an amazing Doctor Who group cosplay some more of our friends put together), she hid her face in Rarity’s hair rather than introduce herself.

Every girl in the room went “Awwwwwwwww!” in that distinctive way that only fangirls can manage.

Finally (and, in some ways for me, most excitingly), two of my friends cosplayed Angelverse!

Gabby approves

They were originally just supposed to be in the style of Angelverse, but Maggie looked so cute in her green hair, and Gabby was just so generally awesome that I decided to base characters off them. So be on the look-out for a green-haired DJ and a scrounger with a fondness for Pokemon.

Pokemon (henna) tattoo of win

Oh, and another friend was there as Dave, another Homestuck character. I don’t know the series, but I though she was adorable.

My hair was a hot mess by this point in the evening, but Dave still looked cool. Ironically.

The next night we went out an partied like normal people, but we all thoroughly enjoyed our evening of geektastic fun. My Little Pony isn’t kidding about that “Friendship is Magic” thing. My outfit was entirely comprised of things my friends had given me or made for me, and even though I was covered in pink (not my most favorite color), I felt awesome. Thank you everyone for a wonderful night!

Alright, enough cheese.

To Hogwarts! (And Panem!)

Today I was handed a wand (acacia with dragon core, twelve and a half inches, quite bendy) and sent off to Hogwarts, where I was sorted into Slytherin. That’s right, my Pottermore account was activated today!

I always worried I’d end up in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, which is a shame because they’re very good houses. Ravenclaw is clever and Hufflepuff is everyone’s best friend (and they’re very good finders!) but neither seemed quite right for me even though I value cleverness and friendship very highly. In retrospect, Slytherin makes a lot of sense for me. I’m not saying I’m evil (it depends on who you ask) but I am very ambitious. Slytherin can help me on the way to greatness? Cool, I’m there.

In other news, it looks like the Hunger Games ARG (more info here) will be starting up soon! A friend of mine was selected to be a district recruiter today. What does that mean? We have no idea. But we’ll take it as a sign something’s about to happen!

 

I’m Different!

Sorry I haven’t posted in forever. Between moving back to school, starting classes, getting hopelessly stuck on a story, and rereading the Hunger Games Trilogy, updating Nerdflight didn’t have a very high spot on my To-Do list.  As a sort of peace offering, I’ll share with you some beautiful videos I found.

For those of you who haven’t noticed, this summer I feel in love with the video game Portal 2. Hidden in the game is a song by The National, a wonderful indie band you might know for the song “Blood Buzz Ohio”. Their song “Exile Vilify” could be heard playing in one of the test chambers in Portal 2 and the song’s lyrics decorated the walls in many Ratman dens throughout the game. Since the song had no music video of its own, Valve Software held a contest to see who could create the best music video for the song. To the victor went an autographed guitar and Valve swag.

Too bad no one thinks he (or she) deserved it.

See, the the official rules for the contest, Valve said,

Direct your video vision with live action, game assets, shots of the band, sock puppets, whatever you want. Just make sure you get it submitted with the tag PORTAL2NATIONALEXILE to YouTube by July 15th.

So what did they end up with? A video featuring the world’s most forlorn sock puppet. In case you think I’m joking, see it here.

Admittedly, the final decision on the winning video was very difficult for the folks at Valve, so they called in The National to help. And being an indie band, of course they went for the sock puppet. No surprises there.

The second (or rather 1.00000000001th) video actually pertained to Portal, and in my opinion is far superior to the sock puppet in terms of creativity. Unfortunately, unless viewers have read the “Lab Rat” comic it makes about as much sense as singing footwear.

To see the runners up, you can go to www.thinkwithportals.com/videocontest/, but I’d like to highlight two of my favorites from the honorable mention list. The Best Caroline Story video, while not technically perfect, is haunting in its use of hand animation over Portal footage, almost as if we are observing the ghosts of the past. The Best Turret Story is simply adorable. As it should be.

Attention Hunger Games Fans!

To promote the upcoming Hunger Games movie, Lionsgate has set up an alternate reality game (ARG) to let fans participate in the world of Panem. Go to www.thecapitol.pn to be assigned a district and follow your district’s updates on Twitter at @district#PN.

The only ARG I’ve ever followed before was the FLYNN LIVES game for Tron: Legacy, a fun ride through cyberspace and (in one memorable case) real space that ended concluded with participants frantically “hacking” a mainframe with their computers and cell phones. Little did we know, our actions set into motion the whole plot of the movie. Or so the game goes.

I’m quite looking forward to seeing what the Capitol has in store for us.

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be EVER in your favor!

(To find out more about the movie, see stills and a sneak preview, and download the Mockingjay call, check out the Facebook page)

One Can of Green Body Paint

“Here at the Renaissance Festival, we are one can of green body paint short of a con. I can not tell you how many shows I have looked out at a back row of Klingons. One time they were joined by a group of Stormtroopers, one of whom was wearing a kilt. Another show I looked out at the front row and was faced with Eleven Doctors Who. They kept shouting, ‘We’re in chronological order!’ Believe me, I know exactly who I’ve got in my audience.”

So said Zilch the Torysteller—a professional Renaissance fair entertainer—during a performance at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. The Festival is the largest in the United States and people come from all over to attend. Yet despite attendees’ far-flung origins, one quickly gets the sense that the Festival attracts a very specific clientele.

Maybe it’s the WoW-inspired weaponry in the sword shops.  Or maybe it’s the handmade Firebolts an Nimbus 2000s sold besides wizard staffs. The way the Danger Committee (as seen on America’s Got Talent) calls people to their show by blowing a horn and shouting, “It’s the Horn of Gondor! The hobbits are in danger!” The teenagers dressed in cloaks and tunics discussing which Assassin is coolest (“Al” beat out Ezio and Desmond).

Whatever the reason, one quickly gets the feeling that we’ve fallen in with the nerd herd.

Zilch and I can't imagine what gave you that impression

By comparison, the perfect Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike swaggering past the pub looks hopelessly mainstream.

Of course, a Renaissance fair cannot encompass all of nerdom, but as nerd gatherings go, only anime conventions and the internet can beat it for variety. After all, Vulcan ears double as elf ears, Hogwarts robes are always in style, and time travel is always an excuse. Even those dressed in Renaissance grab cover a wide spectrum. There are the guys who make “armor” our of duct tape and sports equipment, the guys who spend hundred if not thousands of dollars on leather or steel armor and enough swords, daggers, maces, etc. to defend a decent-sized keep . And then there are the guys who make a living jousting in full plate armor.

However, if we set spectrums and fandoms aside, Renaissance Festival nerds all have one thing in common: a love of escapism.

“But Lizy,” you may be thinking, “surely you can’t say all the nerds love escapism!”

Well, I just did. And I say it with some confidence. Because the people at the Festival that we would identify as nerds are the people who have put time, energy, or at least a great deal of thought into it. They put resources into getting away from what is apparently called the “real world,” a world which has little love for nerdery. But this brought up an interesting chicken-or-the-egg type paradox: is a person a nerd because they like escapism, or do they like escapism because they are a nerd?

Let me flesh out that question a bit. Does a love of stories/puzzles/other worlds/etc. draw a person away from the “real world?” Or is it wanting to be away from the real world that leads to a love of forms of escapism?

I’d be willing to accept both answers as true—I think they both explain different parts of my own experience—but I’d like to hear from other nerds. What has been you experience with the cycle of escapism? Or if you think my entire question is offensive to you as a nerd (who am I to say you shun the real world?) feel free to threaten me with a throwing ax or whack me over the head with a lance. Won’t be the first time either’s happened.

And if at all possible, check out the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Capes not required but highly encouraged.

Space Core Wallpaper

All this talk of space (and the Space Core) inspired me to make this:

Click to see full size image. Made with GIMP using stock images from night-fate-stock and character images copyright Valve. Took 2+ hours.  I listened to “Exile Vilify” and “Want you Gone” the whole time to put me in a Portal 2 mood. Feel free to use!

EDIT: Looks like uploading may have distorted the full-size version of the image. If you want a clean version, let me know.

Win a trip to SPACE!!!

In honor of its fiftieth anniversary, Seattle’s Space Needle is holding a contest, the grand prize of which is a ticket to SPACE.

There’s a lot of fine print, of course. One thousand people are chosen thorough a sweepstakes and must then participate in a competition to see who will finally get the ticket. I assume the “competition” is actually meant to see who is fit enough for the journey.  So the odds are high, the chances are slim, but I figure…why the hell not? It’s space, people. SPACE! At this point I could hand my argument off to Portal 2’s Space Core and still get my point across.

To enter the sweepstakes and potentially win a suborbital space flight, go to the Space Race 2012 page (http://www.spaceneedle.com/spacerace2012/index.html).

Now…play’em off, Space Core Cat!

The Sounds of the Universe

Ever wonder what a star sounds like? How about a black hole? If you’re more literal minded like me, probably not. After all, in the vacuum of space, no one can hear you scream. But NASA— in all its nerdy, pocket-protected glory—brought in the magic of science, converted radio waves to sound waves and viola! Earthlings can now enjoy the music of the spheres, ala Doctor Who (http://youtu.be/ju6fvkKlCn8).

Admittedly, I’m a bit behind the times with this one. NASA posted this page  of “Spooky Space Sounds” in 2007. But when you think about it, all space-generated music is out of date as most of it was released thousands of years ago.

Star sounds are oddly soothing. Here’s my favorite from YouTube. Just ignore the poster’s stupid comment about no sound in space. You know better than him.

And here’s our home sweet home, sounding remarkably like an old Star Trek sound effect.

This one’s going to keep me up at night waiting for a cosmic tornado to slurp up the solar system. It would probably leave Pluto, though. Nobody likes Pluto anymore.

Assassin’s Creed: Beautiful Lies

Unlike some video game developers (here’s looking at you, Square Enix) UbiSoft treats its followers remarkably well. Regular posts to the UbiWorkshop website; responsive tweets on UbiGabe’s Twitter account; informative posts to the Assassin’s Creed Facebook page: just some of the ways UbiSoft demonstrates the value it places on its fans.

Of course, that value is monetary; they do it all because they want our money. But who said we have to feel like the cash cows we are? UbiSoft does not treat customers as automatons ready to snap up whatever half-baked product they send out next. Instead, there is actually an effort to listen and respond to the fanbase. It’s also the one of the few companies out there that embraces fan-made content.

When hamps19 posted his astonishingly good video “Assassin’s Creed: Beautiful Lies” on YouTube eight months ago, UbiSoft didn’t move to ban it as so many animation and video game companies are wont to do. No, they publicized it. Then this past Tuesday they posted a link to the making-of video and cheerfully reminded us all of hamps19’s work (the first I had ever heard of it).

“Beautiful Lies” uses the distinctive digital-yet-ancient aesthetic of the Assassin’s Creed franchise to celebrate the uniting factor of the three major characters: simple, time-tested, disciplined, ingrained, hard-earned badassery.  Accept no substitutions.

UbiSoft has apparently grasped what other companies would do well to learn: there can be no better advertising than a fan’s genuine dedication. It screams the message, “This product is so wonderful, I will spend hours of my life creating something to express my love for it, without any prompting or payment from the company.” You can’t buy publicity like that.