Love It or Hate It: Heroes of Cosplay

The last couple weeks I've been hearing speculation about the show.  Will it be positive or negative for cosplayers/geeks, etc.  Then it aired and OMG my cosplay friends and cosplayers I love and follow EXPLODED with opinions.  Like whoa y'all, simmer down.  Though I get a little riled up in the following "review", lol. (Er, that means I cuss, I do that when I'm riled up, lol. Or just talking, haha!!)

Tonight I finally got a chance to watch it, no thanks to Hulu's ridiculous ads that don't load correctly so instead of a 102 second commercial break it ends up being more like 400-500 seconds despite the fact I pay these jerks for their service but I digress. #firstworldproblems  Now I feel like I need to preface this by saying that I have not read any online reviews short of a status here and there and after cosplayer Charmedseed mentioned something on facebook about a nasty article everyone seemed to be sharing, I avoided them because it sounds like this particular reviewer was downright NASTY and I don't need that shit.  In the world of cosplay there is entirely too much nerd on nerd hate and I'm sick of it.  We all love what we love and if we love it enough to dress up as a character then we should be able to.  /this particular rant. For now.

First of all I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I would have liked to have seen more of the costume making processes but this is reality TV so they're not going to focus on that despite that cosplayers, people who enjoy seeing others cosplay or want to start cosplaying are their audience.  They are going to focus on the DRAMA.  Which brings me to my first annoyance- people are judging these people on the show with "OMG she's such a bitch" blah-de-freaking BLAH.  Syfy hasn't been the same since they were Sci-Fi for one and two this is reality TV and drama is their priority.  Drama brings in viewers or the reality TV fad would have died when it should have years ago.  (Ok not ALL reality TV should die but crap like the Bachelor, Big Brother & Survivor? WHY IS THIS SHIT STILL ON??)  Someone had commented on a friend's fb status that they knew someone that actually knew one of the people on the show (or something along those lines) and said she really wasn't that nasty in real life.  Here's the thing you need to remember when watching reality TV: It needs to be taken with a grain of salt.  They're going for views.  The crazy lady who flips out on everyone around her is more interesting than the girl that calmly gets her cosplay together. 

Second:  Cosplay can be freaking stressful.  Anyone who has ever cosplayed knows this, so going on about how crazy someone is being is ridiculous.  These people are at the level where most are perfectionists.  I'm a perfectionist which is why I have so few completed cosplays because unless it's perfect I won't do it at all with few exceptions (ok, one exception).  Some people are like that.  If you can throw something together last minute and be cool with that?  Good for you, but don't judge someone for wanting their craftmanship to show how much they love what they're cosplaying as or to show just how hard they've worked on it.  This is also for competitions so there is an added level of stress and needing to be the best for some people.  Which again adds the the drama I discussed in the previous paragraph.

I've heard that people are upset with the show because they chose to follow "ugly" cosplayers.  Stop right freaking there.  This is bullshit and it makes me stabby.  As Becky says in the show, the internet is unforgiving.  Fat versions of characters, etc.  This is the kind of shit in the nerd/geek world that pisses me off the most.  Now I'm not comfortable cosplaying as say Winry from Fullmetal Alchemist with her stomach showing which is my choice. If you're a curvier gal and are comfortable with it?  Good for you!  This body shaming crap needs to stop.  As nerds we've all for the most part spent a pretty good chunk of time being bullied by non-geeks and the fact that we have so much nerd on nerd bullying is flat out sickening. Now I understand that some are upset that majority on the show is white females, which I can understand, but saying the people they're focusing on are ugly is beyond ridiculous.

All in all, I liked the show and I'm excited to see more.  I think it shows reality of cosplay.  Cosplay is hard and stressful when you're at the level where you're doing competitions and not just for fun.  Hell it can be stressful even when it's just for fun.  Things fall apart, plans fall through, bodies change shape and require costume alterations, and that one thing you thought was going to work could fall apart last second. *sniffles while thinking about her OC: Sailor Mimas' staff breaking in half*  Really as of this first episode it's real and also all in good fun so I honestly don't see what people are getting butthurt about. :D

Hey Strangers!

Well obviously my plan to update regularly fell apart.  Such is the life of a SAHM me.  LOL.

I fully intended to write up a nice post on so many things but by the time I have time I'm too tired, haha.  I'm not sure where these mommy bloggers get the time to write every single day.  Then I tend to put way too many irons on my little fire.  Damn me and my too many interests.  Seriously it's always a struggle when I need a bio for something and there's a character limit.  I'm like I can't fit everything!!  WTF am I supposed to sacrifice??  Haha!

One of my larger unnecessary time sucks is gone though.  I used to play SimsSocial and SimCity Social a LOT.  Now the game is being closed come June 14th and I decided to stop wasting time on it.  It wasn't until then that I realized exactly how much time I was spending on those games.  And for what?  Fake stuff that won't exist past the 14th of June.  Now that's not to say I won't spend time playing the new SimCity game, which I love, but I have honestly disliked facebook games for a while now and played very few.  My husband told me to play Farmville, which I do but I refuse to let it turn into the time suck that SimsSocial and SimCity Social did.  It was ridiculous.  Plus I can't stand Zynga.  They're greedy pricks IMO.  Haha.  Though I know a lot of people feel that way about EA too.  In fact some people are flat out livid about SimsSocial and SimCity Social closing.  Why? Mostly because they spent hundreds of dollars on fake stuff.  Umm I think that's more of a personal problem.  I could go on and on about where I think they went wrong with stuff and lost money *cough* weekly updates *cough* but I think the most upsetting thing is all the people they had to lay off which is what closing these games was a result.

Then again..... I just wrote a huge paragraph about crap that doesn't matter... so uh, yeah.

I've started crocheting amigurumi and I LOVE it.  I'm obsessed and I started an etsy shop, but get this... I'm too busy with outside orders to add anything to it!  O.o  Hell of a problem, I know but I'm super excited.  I'm nearly caught up too, though so hopefully in the next few weeks I can get some things added soon.  In the meantime I have a whole two scarves in the shop, but I'm going to be adding my original creations the Gothique Girls, lots of nerdy and geeky themed cell phone charms, coffee cup coozies and custom dolls where you can pick out what you want!  The shop is Bitten Designs and I have a Facebook page where I'll be doing facebook exclusive giveaways so be sure to like the page so you don't miss the goodies!  And I promise I'll be changing the icon and banner to something less wintery soon because I don't know about any of you but I'm beyond over winter, haha!

On that note does anyone else go through redesigning kicks?  I meant to change my banners through the seasons for my shop but I've changed my mind but still I redid the family blog and put a different template on this one and I'm finally ready to get to work on Bitten Photography's layout too.  Talk about a wild hair, I guess, haha!

Well the boy is restless so I better wrap this up and make dinner before he throws something at my laptop. -_-  Hope you all are well.   Let me know what kind of games you've gotten addicted to in the comments.  Or even what kind of stuff you hope to see in my shop.  I'm always open for ideas and am currently working on a pattern for a Moogle from Final Fantasy. ^w~

素晴しい水曜日(Wonderful Wednesday) #5

First up is an amazing app I just discovered thanks to this post by Rowan Pendragon, called Evernote.  It's sooooo nice.  I'm terrible and have a ridiculous amount of blogs to comment on but then I forget and end up with a huge list.  Until now my phone has been covered in Sticky Notes and I lived in fear of losing them so this app is perfect. It's a pain to comment from my phone on blogs so now I have a notebook of what I wanted to comment on, what I'm saving to read later, blog ideas, etc.  Hopefully it'll help with these posts too!  I'm so in love with it already and you can use the Web Clipper to save pages.  Seriously if you need help staying organized this is awesome.  Rowan also has lots of good tips and I've started a journal and made two of the goal charts too. 

Second, I have this Timelapse of the Earth from the International Space Station.  I just... I love this video.  It's so beautiful I can't get over it.  Just... WOW. 

Third, Dina Goldstein's Dollhouse Series. She's the same one who did the Fallen Princesses Series which I'm sure you've seen as it's made it's rounds on the internet several times.

Fourth is this info-graphic of A Snapshot of the Photography Industry. It makes me a bit sad to see companies ceasing production of film types.  Traditional photography is what made me fall in love and it's so depressing to not have a dark room to continue to do it with.  The feeling of developing your own film and prints is unrivaled.  *sigh*  Okay so there are things I miss about college.

Lastly I have a theory that cute kids are a bajillion times cuter when dressed in geek gear or doing geek activities.  As proof of this theory I present the Cosplay Kids Tumblr.  I can't wait to send in pics of D at NDK.  I'm working on 2 cosplays for him. So excited.

I swear one of these days I'll post more than just links but I'm tired and meh.  Lol.  Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!! We're halfway to another weekend!

Just Create Something

I have a sticky note on my Droid that it is overflowing with blog post ideas and no time to do them now that the boy has decided to be clingy. Again. Just when I thought we were over it, it started up again. *sigh*  But I digress...

We read to D every night.  He has a fairly good collection of books (that will grow- we're a book family) and the other night for a little something different I started reading A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, one of my favorites.  The other night I read one of my favorites, PUT SOMETHING IN.  For those unfamiliar with the book or even just the poem here it is.

PUT SOMETHING IN

 Draw a crazy picture,

Write a nutty poem,

Sing a mumble-gumble song,

Whistle through your comb,

Do a loony-goony dance,

'Cross the kitchen floor,

Put something silly in the world

That ain't been there before.

It's fun and I always think that other than just silly stuff I feel like creating follows the same needs.  As an artist (Photography mainly though I do draw, paint, write, etc) I think it's important to encourage each other and ourselves to create.  It's good for not only our souls but others.  You never know when your painting, short story, photo, sculpture, song, dance, etc may move someone or even save their lives.

I read PostSecret every week and I can't count the times I've seen something about a book series (especially Harry Potter, a favorite of mine) is credited with saving someone's life and giving them hope and that's only the people sending in postcards!!  Imagine how many other people were saved by someone else's creative output.  It's important to put yourself out there.  Yes it can be terrifying too, I've been there a LOT but I also feel the most heartfelt creative works are the best received.

Sure, there are lots of things that you may think are terrible (I swear to cow if you use Twilight or 50 Shades as an example I will reach through this computer and punch you- stop beating a dead horse, you don't like it that's fine stop hating on those who enjoy it.) but it may have spoken to someone else and if it helped just one person isn't that what really matters?

This is one of the reasons I love NaNoWriMo.  Its "literary abandon" is the appeal.  Don't think (well not too hard anyway if you're a planner and not a pantser like myself), just create.  Go back later and refine.  Maybe it's a terrible draft but go back and edit it, make it great or even just good.  If nothing else it's a learning experience you can apply to your next work.

So go!  Take a chance.  Write that story you jotted down some notes for.  Paint it, draw it, dance, write those lyrics.  If you just inspire one person, even if it's just yourself, you've done something great and Put Something In.

^w~