March progress and March progress

I had planned to be in good standing with my projects this week, but then my job totally crashed everything. Past few weeks have been pretty unstable. I've had to spend extra hours at work, which had an effect on my costumes. And it seems that the uncertainty is going to continue few more. I pushed our Jedi costumes in the back of the closet and tried to spend free hours I had finishing the backpacks for Snowtroopers. To be honest, they are really killing me. Tampere Kuplii is just weeks away and some parts that I thought would work on them didn't live up to expectations. Now I need to come up with a plan B and at the moment I have no idea what it could be... Nyaaa!

But something I was able to do considering Snowtroopers and their first public appearance. That thing was a flag. We are not going to have rifles or any sort of weaponry what so ever with us. The blasters we left to be nice crafting project for lazy summer days. Instead we are going to roll with Empire emblem on a stick. The base of the flag is just regular cotton and the paint is basic white wall paint. I tried to make the logo look worn out and messy, but didn't quite achieve the look I was going after. I need to wear out the emblem maybe by scraping it with something and washing the color out. Easily portable stick has been found and is waiting for minor alterations. I'm going to paint collapsible fissing rod black and make some security attachments.

Somehow I squeezed sewing in my schedule, so I was able to do something with March also. The jacket is fully appliquéd and the pants are finally done. Last year I already worked with the accessories; the pendant and the “bell” on the tip of the hood. Even if they are almost done, I think I’ll redo the pendant. I don’t know what I was thinking back then, but now that I compare the proportions of the jacket to the pendant, it’s just way too small! Gladly it’s pretty fast to build, so that is least of my worries. Bigger one is the hood, for which I have made nothing more than a trial pattern.

I still need to check that the tips of the silhouettes are sharp.

Super-skinny pants. I haven't had courage to test if I can sit on them or not...

I think that it will be safest to leave the hood construction after Tampere Kuplii, if we anyhow manage to survive it. I was happy to notice that the weather could be quite nice! We might not look like we actually have crawled through a slushy battlefield afterwards.

Edit: Things happen, so I'm back to business with the backpacks! Esa took the parts I was hesitant about and made them work. Now I'm sure there is a chance that the costumes will be ready in time, hopefully even before the eve of Kuplii!

Kebun Belakang Rumah

Assalammualaikum...
Halo Hola Heloooo...

Apa kabar teman-temanku semuaaaa?

Maaf jarang BW, abisnya seminggu kemarin aku pulang kampung karena sahabatku nikah.

Tapi kali ini aku mau cerita tentang kebun belakang rumahku dulu nih, ntar postingan selanjutnya baru deh aku ceritain tentang acara nikahannya sahabatku ok!!

Sebenarnya aku bukanlah tipe orang yang suka berkebun, nggak bisa malah, hehe... padahal orang tuaku itu jelas-jelas petani loh

*minta dilempar 

 Gaya Petani Amatir

Jadi dari kecil dulu, karena tanganku ini bukan tipe tangan dingin (istilah buat orang yang kalo nanam sesuatu selalu hidup tuh yang ditanem) jadi tugasku di rumah adalah nyiram taneman plus membersihkan daun-daun yang berguguran doank. Jadi aku sedikit ahli lah dalem mencabuti rumput, haha.. 
*malah bangga

Walau nggak bakat berkebun, tapi aku suka banget ama suasana kebun. Adem ayem gitu deeeh, tapi malesnya ya ama populasi nyamuk yang juga bejibun disana, bikin ogah juga sering-sering nongkrong di kebun. 
*lagian nongkrong kok di kebun ya? Hihihi...

Hihihi sebenarnya postingan ini cuma ajang pamer-pamer isi kebun belakang rumahku doank sih

*lebih tepatnya kebun kecilnya mama dan papaku di rumah

Yuk kita lihat beberapa koleksi taneman mama papaku

Ayo ayooo metik strawberry duluuu

Ini koleksi tanemannya

Rame ya isi kebun belakang rumah orang tuaku...
Itu belum semua loh, tapi karena kebun mungil itu kalo lagi di rumah itu kami selalu ngerasa adem, ditambah dengan udara pegunungan yang juga udah dari sononya adem, fufu.. what a perfect house... Yipiiii....

Apa kamu punya kebun belakang rumah atau malah di depan rumah juga?
Kadang suka heran, kenapa bakat berkebunnya mama papa itu nggak ada nurun dikit aja ke aku? Secara aku itu males banget kalau disuruh ngurus taneman, hihi...

Ayooo tunjuk tangan siapa yang hobi berkebuuuun.... 

Cosmetics and the Con

I want to take a second to talk about make-up.




Now, those of you who wear make-up on a daily basis, don’t shake your heads and run off just yet, because this one’s for you, too. And to those who don’t wear a lot of make-up but plan to slap some on for con, well, this is really for you.




Because I’m, y’know, me, I’ve once again organized this post into a series of simple, crucial questions.




What kind of make-up does my character wear?
If the answer is “none”, then my work here is done. Seriously, if you’re going as, like, an SGA gate team (thanks to Sabine for the example) then dust on some powder and call it a day. If your character is a generally normal person in the “real” world, it’s probably best to just go with your regular look (plus special provisions for con). If, on the other hand, your character wears distinctive or complicated make-up, you’ll want to plan ahead.




Do I need to buy new stuff?
That depends largely on whether you’re a hardcore style nerd, like me, or a slightly more reasonable person. Regardless, there are a few things you definitely want to have.
-Good foundation. You want something with good coverage, because those flurescent lights are unforgiving, and something that’s going to stay on well throughout the day. Remember that you’ll be walking, sweating, and laughing til you cry, and you need a foundation that can keep up.
-Eye lid primer. What this does is: you apply a light coating on your eyelid, and it brightens the color of your eyeshadow and helps your eye make-up last longer. You should be able to find this at your local supermarket/pharmacy, as well as at a general cosmetics store. My roommate uses Maybelline Cooling Eyeshadow and Liner, I use e.l.f. Essentials Eyelid Primer, and I know N.Y.X also makes one. So you’re looking at $5 or less for this, and it’s worth having in your regular bag of tricks, anyway.

-Lipliner and lip brush. I realize this might seem a little obvious, but hear me out. If you apply your lipstick in a three-step process (lip liner. blot. apply lipstick with brush. blot. apply lipstick directly. blot.) it’ll last about five times longer than it would normally. And, for the love of Brian Molko, use chapstick and creme lip liner.

What if I need to do something complicated?
First of all, don’t get in over your head. Unless you or someone you know has professional or theatre make-up experience, it’s probably best to avoid things like full-body paint or prosthetics. If you do have access to those skills, then have it, and you can probably disregard this post entirely. Otherwise, it’s best to work with the skills you have. If you need to do complicated eye make-up and aren’t comfortable with (or have never used) liquid eyeliner, Palladio Eye Inks are felt-tip liner pens that are easy to use and great for precision work. I first used them when I cosplayed Death at SDCC, and it worked great. You should be able to find them at the supermarket, but Sally’s also carries them.

...Just a tiny bit smudged.

Should I practice my make-up before the con?
YES. You should always do at least one dry run of your costume before you leave for the con, including hair and make-up, just to iron out any unexpected kinks.


Should I carry some make-up with me at the con?
Definitely. Even the best make-up is going to wear a little as the day goes on, especially lipstick, so you definitely want to keep some things on hand for emergency touch-ups. Keep a tube of lipstick or lip gloss in your bag, and, if you’re worried about your eyeliner smudging or your foundation getting shiny, you’d be well advised to bring those, too. You don’t want to be toting around your entire make-up bag, though, so use your best judgment. 

Obviously, these are just basic tips to help your con experience run a little more smoothly. Because when you run into Joe Flannigan on the floor and ask for a picture, you don’t want to be worrying about lipstick on your teeth.


As always, if you have any questions, email us at frenemycosplay@gmail.com, and we will happily share our wisdom.

-shadowen

'Report Suspicious Activity' Signs on Highways

What creates and feeds paranoia, fear, stress, lynch-mentality, prejudice, anxiety and over-all negativity better than another lame US 'security' campaign?

I went through some pics I took two months ago and found these. These signs were up for months all over the highways in the Maryland/Washington DC area, maybe they still are. Sometimes the last four digits of the phone number are substituted with their corresponding letters: TIPS. (800-492-TIPS)

I've heard about Nazi-Germany's 'report-a-Jew' program. This reminds me of it.

"Honey, I don't like the new neighbors."

"Oh really, why?"

"I dunno, I just don't like them. I'm going to report them for something."

"Ok, that should get them out of the neighborhood."

Anyhow, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Otherwise I'm no better than, like, the book. So I figured I'll call them and ask what's up. But they will ask for your name, address, phone number, and I just don't want to volunteer any of that...

If you google the phenomena, the search suggestions come up pretty aptly:

Yeah it looks like we the people do not want this tyranny bullsh*t. What's next, I wonder? 

On that note, I almost fell of my chair when I just found out that Bonnaroo, the famous big huge music festival in Tennessee every summer with 100 000 people camping out for 4 days and nights, will introduce a new policy this year: all their wristbands will have RFID chips in them. (I talked about this type of stuff before in the post on how to destroy the chip in the driver's license) I'm just not a fan of this chipping business.

Boo! Coachella festival in California will have chips in their wristbands too, as well as Austin City Limits (as in the picture above). Well I think I'm done whining now.

UNTUK YG TELAH BERKUNJUNG DI BLOGKU THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Costumes I Have Known: The Question

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, I thought I would regale you with a story of my greatest, easiest, most unexpected cosplay triumph: Renee Montoya as The Question (II).

The whole crux of this costume, for obvious reasons, is the mask. Now, there are lots of different ways to make the mask. One of the most successful techniques involves cheesecloth, as you can see here. The advantage of this technique is that it gives a really smooth look from far away, though the illusion breaks down as you get closer.


But, my children, living as I was in a tiny apartment in the woods on the edge of nowhere, I did not have the requisite supplies. I also wanted something that would look good from close up and from far away. What I found was bathing suit lining. It's available from any good fabric store, it's relatively cheap, it's super stretchy, it's breathable and translucent, all of which make it a perfect material for this kind of application.

I tried a number of different techniques, including piecing the mask on, applying makeup over it, etc.

They all had one glaring design flaw: I couldn't eat while wearing them. And, my children, if you learn only one thing from me, learn that you cannot get through a whole day of con without eating unless you want to pass out. 


So in the end, what I did was cut out a piece of fabric roughly the same size and shape as my face, with enough to go around to the back of my neck, like so.

As you can see, I attached it around my hairline and around my ears, but left the bottom hanging. Because I had long enough hair to cover it, I stretched the fabric to the back of my neck and fastened it with a hair tie. I used eyelash glue to attach it to my face; if I had it to do again, I'd do it with spirit gum, but, again, I was in the middle of nowhere, and there was none to be had (and no time to order it by the time I decided to make this costume).


Since I took this shot at the end of the day, you can also see in this picture where I got mustard on it while trying to eat a hot dog. Whoops.


This method was not without its problems. Since the tie holding the bottom of the mask had to be undone and redone every time I wanted to eat or drink anything, it led to some problems of gapping and stretching.

Fortunately these were easily fixed, and I learned quickly not to adjust my mask without looking in the mirror. The mask also became easier to wear throughout the day, as the material became stretchier and more transparent.


At the time, Renee had just become The Question, so there was nothing particularly iconic about the rest of her costume. Accordingly, I wore what I had at hand (including the tie from my work uniform). I actually screwed up and forgot gloves, but the Rorschach who was travelling with us saved me.

NB: I don't know who this dude was, but isn't his expression priceless?


So that's pretty much how I did it. I think I paid less than 20 USD for the entire costume, because most of it came straight from my closet.

It was, I discovered, an easy costume to mistake, apparently. During the course of the day, I was mistaken for both the Invisible Man (several times) and Anonymous. Also, I learned that when you wear a full face mask, people assume that you can't see them, and they will gawk at you openly. I did freak a person or two out by waving at them as they stared intently at my face.


Would I do it again? Probably not, especially not for Comic-Con. Was it totally badass? Yes, it was.

-Sabine

Giorgia Vecchini Video

Me encantó este video XD ... cuenta Giorgia que fue un spot benéfico no entendí bien la causa pero bueno lo unico que se es que es por una buena causa XD

[Créditos a Giorgia]

«Todos los cosplayers son geniales, recuérdalo y respétalos~

KOIZUMI UTHENA 2011~

Giorgia Vecchini Video

Me encantó este video XD ... cuenta Giorgia que fue un spot benéfico no entendí bien la causa pero bueno lo unico que se es que es por una buena causa XD

[Créditos a Giorgia]

«Todos los cosplayers son geniales, recuérdalo y respétalos~

KOIZUMI UTHENA 2011~

Third moment uploaded

After a long silence Sasori & Deidara moments number 3 is finally out and viewable on Youtube. I will also announce that there will be less ninjas in the future. We have few ideas for the moments but the Akatsuki interviews have been shelved, for now.

-yoki out

Comic relief!

Nadia Baiardi

Cosplayer:Nadia Baiardi (NadiaSK)

Country:Italy

Character:Lightning

Videogame:Final Fantasy XIII

Debut:1st February [TNT Mexico]

Photo session by:Cato Kusanagi [1st February 2009]

Photos:4

All Credits to:NadiaSK

____________

«Todos los cosplayers son geniales, recuérdalo y respétalos~

KOIZUMI UTHENA 2011~

Nadia Baiardi

Cosplayer:Nadia Baiardi (NadiaSK)

Country:Italy

Character:Lightning

Videogame:Final Fantasy XIII

Debut:1st February [TNT Mexico]

Photo session by:Cato Kusanagi [1st February 2009]

Photos:4

All Credits to:NadiaSK

____________

«Todos los cosplayers son geniales, recuérdalo y respétalos~

KOIZUMI UTHENA 2011~

LSD vs. Kirtan

I came across this interesting and kind of amusingly delightful talk from 1969 about LSD and kirtan, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the poet Allen Ginsberg. (I assume you've heard of LSD before, kirtan is Sanskrit for devotional music/chanting of mantras.) Towards the end they go a bit deeper into the topic of spiritual sound and what is it that makes meditation transcendental.
.

.
Allen: Do you remember a man named Richard Alpert?
Prabhupada: No.
Allen: He used to work with Timothy Leary in Harvard many years ago. Then he worked in India and found a teacher and is now a disciple of Hanumanji, a devotee of Hanuman. We were talking about maya [illusion] and the present condition of America and he said that his teacher in India told him that LSD was a Christ of the Kali-Yuga [the current age, 'Age of Quarrel'] for Westerners in that as the Kali-Yuga got thicker and thicker that also salvation would have to be easier and easier and --
Prabhupada: That is a very nice testament, that in the Kali-Yuga salvation is very easier. That is the version of Srimad-Bhagavatam [a Vedic text] also. But that process is this kirtan, not LSD.
.

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Allen: Well, the reasoning there was that for those who would only accept salvation in purely material form, in chemical form finally, completely material form, Krishna had the humor to emerge as a pill.
Prabhupada: The thing is that when it is material form, then where is the salvation? It is illusion.
Allen: The subjective affect is to cut out attachment. During the --
Prabhupada: If you have attachment for something material, then where is this cutting attachment? LSD is a material chemical. So if you have to take shelter of LSD, then you take help from matter. So how are you free from matter?
Allen: The subjective experience is that while in the state of intoxication of LSD, you realize that LSD is a material pill, and that it does not really matter.
Prabhupada: That is risky. That is risky.
Allen: So, if LSD is a material attachment, which it is, I think, then is not the sound, the sabda [sound vibration], also a material attachment?
Prabhupada: No. Sabda is spiritual. Originally, just like in Bible it is said, "Let there be creation." This is sound. This is spiritual sound. Creation was not there. The sound produced the creation. Therefore sound is originally spiritual. And from sound, sky developed, from sky air developed, from air fire developed, from fire water developed, from water land developed.
.

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Allen: Sound is the first element?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Allen: What was the first sound, traditionally?
Prabhupada: The Vedas say OM. So, at least we can understand from your Bible that God said, "Let there be creation," so this is sound, and there is creation. God and His sound are nondifferent ... Absolute. I say, "Mr. Ginsberg." This sound and you are a little different. But God is not different from His energy. Sakti saktimatorabheda. Shakti [energy] and shaktimat [the energetic] are nondifferent. Just like fire and heat. They are nondifferent, but heat is not fire. You cannot differentiate heat from fire or fire from heat. But fire is not heat.
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Chanting in a group, definition of kirtan! Soulful peeps from NYC, photo by William Covintree.

Allen: Well, the sound Krishna --
Prabhupada: Yes, is not different from Krishna.
Allen: Under all circumstances?
Prabhupada: All circumstances, yes. But it is a question of my appreciation, of my realization. That depends on my purity. Otherwise this Krishna sound and Krishna are nondifferent. Therefore, if we vibrate the sound Krishna, then immediately we are in contact with Krishna, and Krishna is pure spirit and immediately I become spiritualized, just like if you touch electricity, immediately you are electrified. And the more you become electrified, the more you become Krishnized. So when you are fully Krishnized, then you are on the Krishna platform. Tvaktadeham punarjanma naiti mameti kaunteya. Then when you are fully Krishnized, you no more come back to this material existence. You remain with Krishna. The impersonalists say "merging." That is less intelligent. Merging does not mean losing individuality. Just like a green bird enters a green tree. It appears to be merging, but the bird has not lost his individuality. There is still individuality.