hay sup

I didn't too much cosplay-wise this past year, but there were some memorable costumes I'd like to mention.

Dale Earndhart Gothic Lolita: Worn at Megacon. Probably the best costume I've ever made. Thanks to Jamie for being my sponsor, Diet Coke lolita. We owned that con.

Stella from Inter5tella 5555: 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem: Worn at AFO. This was sort of a personal achievement for me. The costume itself was easy to make, but painting myself blue was a venture I had not taken before, so that was new. And of course, I was cosplaying from the Daft Punk movie. It felt pretty awesome.

Nana O from NANA: Worn at AFO. By complete coincidence I ended up making another costume that consisted of a red fitted suit jacket for the second consecutive AFO. I didn't hate it any less than the first time. D: But I started watching Nana a few months prior to the con and wanted an excuse to own those rocking horse shoes, so I had to go for it.

Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHolic: Worn at Yasumicon. I actually originally made this costume for JACON, but it never got worn so I figured I might as well take it out of the closet and wear it to Yasumicon for pictures. Wasn't too happy with how the applique butterfly came out, but the wig covered most of it hahah.

Beatrix Kiddo: Worn at Moonfest. I've actually wanted to make this since 2004 but just never got around to it. I finally ended up making it because I had the right hair at that time, but then when Moonfest came around, I dyed my hair so it was inaccurate and weird. I'll be rewearing this to Megacon with more accuracy and some finishing touches completed.

And some plans for 2008 that I assure you will not be carried out:
-More Yuuko costumes!!111 :V At least three this year, I've been seriously slacking
-Alicia from Aria
-Coda from Ontamarama
-Revamped Gloomy Bear
-maybe some jrock stuff...?
-perhaps more ridiculous gothic lolita costumes

Just finished Beautiful Katamari, and since this is a game I've noticed people have been really undecisive about, I'll talk about it. 8D

One of the most important things to note is that I got the game on Monday and have been playing it for about an hour each day. So yeah, it's short. REALLY short, compared to the other two games. There's also a lot less worlds and they're not that original (there's a plant/flower level just like in We Love Katamari).

Also, the soundtrack is totally lacking in creativity. Some of the songs don't even seem like they fit for the game, they're just very generic. And some other songs are pretty much carbon copies of previous songs. But there are a couple gems. I can't get enough of the song that plays when you stand by the gramophone/jukebox. The dance that all the cousins do for that is really adorable, too.

And I dunno if it's just me, but it seems like they made the game so much simpler. I had a much easier time finding cousins and presents than I did in the previous games. Maybe it's because there's a bigger amount to get, but still. Even the ones that are supposed to be difficult to find aren't that hard. I guess that's a good thing, since this game has been a lot less frustrating compared to the other two, but it's also lost it's challenging qualities. Or maybe I'm just THAT good. Who knows. :>

But it's not all bad. I'd say it's worth getting to the end of the game just for the supergiant level, because I had a blast rolling up all the countries and continents. And there was something about the Pyramids of Giza flying away into space that made me LOL. And the side scroller during the credits is also totally awesome. They need to seriously make that an arcade game.

And another plus to the game are all the seemingly pointless and quirky extras. Like the train that just takes you around the map, or the cloud that you can hop on and just... move around and do nothing with. And the pool mini-game that you can play when you fail at a world is pretty entertaining, too. And even playing around with the text on the loading screens is fun at first. More games need to get pointlessly interactive like this one, srsly.

As for online play, that's also pretty cool. I haven't played too many times, but I've enjoyed it so far. Even though I'm not that good. >:

So in conclusion, I'd say that $40 is a little much to pay for what basically is a rehashed combination of Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari, but the differences, little extras, and online play make this definitely worth renting. Hopefully it'll go down to $20 or something eventually so I can buy it then. But for now I can't really justifying spending that much when I can just play the original and have more fun.

(Oh yeah, and it's totally lame that the only way you can get all of the achievements is if you buy the downloadable content. D:< So if you wanna REALLY finish the game, it's going to end up costing you slightly more than $40. BOOO.)

PS:
THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS.

Today I finished my secret AFO costume, hooray! Here's a sneak peek just for Vox (since barely anyone reads it, hahah):

This is actually one of the first costumes that I'm actually pleased with. Even the wig, which was a major headache for me. I bought it on eBay for $8, and it came to me totally frizzy and messed up (I got what I paid for :p). Plus it was way too long. So I cut off about half of it and gave it layers. Then I bought two packs of extensions from Doctored Locks and turned those into a clip-on ponytail to add to the wig. I was worried that it would turn out like crap since I had never done so much alteration to a wig before, but I'm pretty happy with it! I'd post a picture, but then I might give it away. :p

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And on Sunday, I'm wearing my Nana O costume, which I've been extremely lazy on and not finishing. All that's left to do is the heart on the jacket, but I've been putting that off for over a week now since it's the hardest part. Baaaaah. D:

But at least I've got my rocking horse shoes. <333 I got them off of Ling Lam on eBay and they're SO light. Seriously, most comfortable lolita shoes I've ever owned. I'm probably going to make some random outfits just so I can have an excuse to wear them more often.

Anyway, I guess I should be off to finish that damn jacket. Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

I keep forgetting this exists. And it's such a shame, because Vox is sooo much cooler than LJ (I am only saying this because I can make the navigation bar pink).

So anywho. Metrocon is a no-go for me because I'd rather not waste the gas money. :p But AFO is totally a definite since I wouldn't miss it for the world. Planning three costumes, I have two almost finished (Nana Osaki from NANA and a secret one), and then I'm gonna try and squeeze in a Yuuko from xxxHolic one, maybe even for the costume contest.

And I'm also going to be sporting a brand new telephoto lens, so I hope to get tons and tons of pictures. I kinda wanna try out doing a whole photoshoot, actually, since I've never really worked with a cosplayer one on one. Would anyone like to humor me and do a little shoot? :D I own the Sony a100 D-SLR, so I promise the pictures will be worth it, hahah.

How the hell has JACON managed to be only a month away? Aughhh, this is ridiculous! Luckily I'm pretty much done with one of my costumes, but as for the other two.. I don't know if I can muster up enough energy and motivation to get them both done in just one month. I really need to start getting my priorities straight here, or else 2007 is going to be a very dissapointing cosplay year.

Well, Megacon has come and gone, and unfortunately, it's been another dissapointing one. Not the con's actual fault, it's more of my tastes changing and not being able to find a comfortable niche for them yet. What I really dislike about it is how so disconnected everything is. Everyone's in different hotels, for starters, so that makes it pretty annoying to hang out after the con ends. The con itself is so big that finding a specific person is almost impossible, especially if they're in the dealer's room. And personally, I'm not that big into fantasy or sci-fi, so I don't always have something to do. I doubt I'm going to come back next year; I'll just save my money for JACON, AFO, maybe Metrocon, and the little ones that spring up now and then.

Me1

But anywho.

Jamieme8

For JACON, I'm planning on making three of Yuuko's outfits from xxxHolic. And to make sure I actually get them done, I've already started. :D

In other news, after almost two months of owning an XBox 360, I finally got a game for it yesterday: Viva Pinata. I never thought raising pinatas could be this fun.

Holy crap, I can't believe Megacon managed to creep up on me again this year. And after so much planning, too!

Unfortunately, since I rear-ended a brand new Cadillac a few weeks ago, and had to pay for the bumper replacement (who knew they were so expensive? :<), my costume plans for Megacon fell through. I have one outfit done, and I'm only wearing it if my friend Jamie finishes her counterpart outfit for it. And it's more of a joke than a real costume, anyway. But I just can't afford to finish what I had planned. Elizabeth Blanctorche is sitting in the sewing room, all cut up and no where to go. So sad.

But how weird! I haven't not cosplayed at Megacon since 2004. Since it's the kick-off con for the season and such a big one, I'm really surprised that I've slacked so much. Oh well, I suppose to this just gives me all the more motivation to step up to the plate at JACON. And I'm definitely planning on working my ass off for that. I won't be competing, mainly because the grand prize is so hueg leik xbox and I know people much much MUCH more talented than me are gonna enter, but I still want to challenge myself.

I'm hoping I can make this con season as xxxHolic oriented as possible, cosplay-wise. Yuuko is probably my favorite character out of any anime, manga, or video game, and all her outfits are amazing. The fact that I've only made one is depressing, so I'm hoping to make as many as possible, and as well as possible.

All in all, I still can't wait for Megacon. While the events and panels might not interest me (I'm not too much of a sci-fi fan...), and while the dealer's room just isn't as enticing as it used to be, I still want to see all my Central Florida friends. <3 I miss them so much!

I am going to be designing for a fashion show! :D

There is going to be an art gallery opening in Miami (..I think) on March 30th, and the guy organizing it is putting on a concert and a fashion show. He approached me to be one of the designers! All I have to do is provide models (and make some pieces of course, lol), which is a piece of cake seeing as how I already have a few people in mind.

I'm super excited. I know this isn't anything huge, but it's my first time bringing my own, original designs to the public (because wearing them around doesn't count :p). I have to start somewhere, after all.

Wish me luck, guys! I already finished a top yesterday, and I have sketches for about three or four pieces complete, so I'm hoping this can all be done in time.

Vogue patterns are crazy. Darts on a sleeve? That just screams needlessly complicated to me. D:

I love my job so much. Working for and with rich people really pays off (lolol pun). I've been enjoying the baskets full of Ghirardelli and Godiva chocolate that have been coming in lately from various banks and borrowers. And of course, I've been REALLY enjoying the $25 gift cards I've gotten from our loan officers to Borders, B&N, Express (!!), Chilli's, and Carabba's. Oh how they spoil me. :>

But in other news, looks like Megacon has crept up on me once again. =_= I remember after AFO, telling myself I was going to get a huge head start on costumes for Megacon this year and not have to slave away the week and night before like I've done for the past two years. But now it's only about three months away and I haven't even finished cutting out the pieces for Elizabeth Blanctorche. Obviously time management and I aren't on the best of terms. D: But luckily I'm on winter break now, so maybe I'll use these three weeks to my advantage and at least get one costume of the way. Maybe.