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Oct
31stOh My Satire! Harassment at Austin ComicCon
Oh my glob. At Austin Comic Con this past weekend, I went as Lumpy Space Princess. Lumpy Space Princess is fairly lumpy (compared to many other female cartoon characters) and I was MUCH lumpier than I am used to being! So I guess I wasn’t surprised when a bunch of strangers asked to pose with me and then did some doofy “WHOA LOOK AT THOSE LUMPS” poses. I just made a really ugly face when I saw that they were doing it. One guy with the social graces of a LEMUR was all “Oh my glob, I was totally going to wear that because my lumps are SO LARGE AND SUPPLE.” What the stuff? No. Stop talking, smooth poser. Most of these losers were just doofy and awkward, but then I had my first truly sleazy experience. But it was so totally empowering, too. Like that time I lived with the wolves. But like this guy who was really fat started interviewing me and I totally thought he was gonna interview me about Austin Comic Con. Him: I’m here with Me: Duuhh, LSP! Like whatever, I’m the lumpiest space princess ever. Him: And are you LUMPY or WHAT? Do you think you could bite me and make me lumpy too? Me: NO! If you want these lumps, you gotta put a ring on it. WHERE’S MY RING? Him: What size are your lumps? Crowd: They’re so big! So LUMPY! Me: GET THE LUMP OUTTA HERE! I know that I […]
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Oct
21stMaking Mead in NYC
October 21, 2012 Rosehips in water Most people only drink mead at Renaissance Faires. Unless they’re Ethiopian, in which case they drink their honey wine with delicious food. APK had never had mead, and I’d just come from the Maryland Renaissance Faire where the Bee Folks sell delicious honey and also, MEAD MAKING KITS! Things you need: Gallon of spring water 2 jars of honey (~2 pounds/3 cups) spices and things like yeast (could be from a kit) Simmering pot with lid, 2 quarts+ Funnel & tiny strainer & cup measure Bottles or somewhere else exciting to put your finished mead Making mead is not all that dissimilar from making beer. It just involves yeast, honey, and flavorings. Because the items that bees collect influences the flavor of honey so much, making mead gives you the opportunity to mix and match flavors of spices with the flavor of honey you choose. Here were the herbs and spices in our mead! Rosehips, Woodruff Herb, Meadowsweet Herb, Hawthorn Herb & Flower, and Red Clover Flower. To complement this flowery mix, I picked Wildflower honey. Wildflower honey probably has the sweetest, floweriest taste so I hoped that the mead would be extra sweet! You start off with a gallon of spring water. It makes your life easier to just “shell out” the money for a gallon, because it then gives you a place for your mead to ferment. While you’re reading this, fill your sink with warm water and […]
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Sep
21stMaryland Renaissance Festival 2012
Maryland Renaissance Faire is one of my favorite Faires of all time. Here I am performing with Wolgemut, my favorite band. Outfit is by Moresca. The dress is the HotCotte and the top is a Khadija. Thanks to John Bafford for taking these photos.
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May
26thMacabre Indulgence (Dark Shadows)
I’m Tim Burton, and I have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS! WHAT WILL I DO WITH IT?? Johnny Depp: Dude, let’s make a movie where I get to wear makeup and be fucking eccentric. Tim Burton: Okay! ************************************* Spoilers ahead! No one can deny that Tim Burton films are fun romps through the land of Over the Top™. He’s got an eye for cinematic beauty, though in an admittedly non-traditional way. This film, like a lot of his recent fare, is definitely “fun,” and has some of the best and most seamless effects that I must assume were a combination of physical makeup effects and really top-notch CG. Tim Burton has amazing attention to most of the details in this film. It takes place in 1972, and every little detail in the town of Collinsport, Maine, the film’s setting, just screams “We’re in the 70s!” I laughed out loud when they passed by the movie theatre of the town and it proclaimed DELIVERANCE: with Burt Reynolds! The costumes are so supremely well-done. I hope that Michelle Pfeiffer got to keep her outfits and jewelry. I would have written it into my contract fo’ sho’. Of course Danny Elfman did the music, but they’ve also clearly paid a LOT for the soundtrack, which is AMAZING! I wouldn’t be surprised if the music budget alone was $3M, but, like Mad Men’s usage of “Lady Lazarus,” the money was well-spent. There were some funny jokes in the film, too, but if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve […]
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May
23rdSnakes on a Cross!
Andrew Lloyd Webber hates musicals. I don’t say this because he’s a hateful man, but he writes impossible musicals. After seeing Jesus Christ Superstar for the first time live last month on Broadway, my thoughts on ALW are only confirmed. This musical has suffered some scathing reviews (New Yorker, New York Times) but I wonder if the complaints about this musical are really not more a reflection of the musical itself, instead of this production? I don’t know who decides to write a musical about Jesus. Let alone the days that lead up to Jesus’ famous demise. Of course not all musicals are full of happiness and singing and dancing… lots of famous musicals have brutal third acts … but as a subject matter, it’s a difficult one. Then factor in the era in which it was made, and that 70’s flash doesn’t really go with Jesustime leprosy and brutalism. So just as a musical CONCEPT it starts off extremely strained. The idea of Disco Jesus Death is ridiculous, so when you’re putting on its musical representation, you might as well go WAY over the top. À la Samuel L Jackson in Snakes on a Plane! If no one thinks you’re taking yourself seriously, they’ll be less judgmental. That must have been the rationale for this production. But does it pay off? From the top, the post-Apocalyptic wardrobes, news ticker informing the audience of the Crucifixion Countdown, and video screen backdrop, the production team lets you know RIGHT AWAY that you are in for a DISCO CRUCIFIXION […]
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May
10thFelt Owl Measuring Tape
You can find the directions on how to make this cuteypie owl here at Tiny Apartment Crafts!
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Mar
5thWoman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe
MEGA SPOILERS AHEAD. BEWAREZ. I should preface this by saying that I am not a connoisseur of scary movies. I nearly leap out of my skin at your average Doctor Who episode, and I consider “Silence of the Lambs” to be nearly too scary. But I love Harry Potter, and I was curious to see what Daniel Radcliffe could do since I “missed out” on seeing him <s>naked</s> in Equus while it was in New York, and I’m not a big enough masochist to go to see How to Succeed in Business without really Trying. Then I see the previews for “Woman in Black” and hey, I can tolerate a scary movie for DRad, right? Until my best friend Lauren told me that she’d seen the play version of Woman in Black in London, and that it haunted her, even 13 years after viewing. I asked her what could have been so bad: did everyone die? And she said that the ending was WORSE than death. What could be worse than death? I know it isn’t cake! Her chilling tale gave me pause — what, exactly, had I signed up for? I decided to go to a 10pm showing at the local Alamo Drafthouse, because they sell you tasty food and drink, and how scary can a movie be if I’m getting to eat fried pickles during it? The previews should have been warning enough. Previews are built around expected target audiences, so they’re a good portent for whether you’re going to enjoy a movie because […]
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Feb
10thJohn Gabriel Borkman at BAM
I will admit that my original motivation in buying tickets to see this play was to placate Adam’s mother, who is an unabashedly huge fan of Alan Rickman. Once we realized that, on account of the impending storm, that Adam’s mother wouldn’t even be able to attend the show, I will admit too that we nearly didn’t go at all. But money is money, and money is tight, and if it meant that I might get to MEET Snape, Alan Rickman, then dammit we’d be the only people in the theatre on a snowy evening. Except that we weren’t! Amazingly, despite the abysmal forecast, there was little actual snowfall by the time we attended the 7:30pm show in Brooklyn, and the house was completely packed. Not an empty seat anywhere, New Yorkers refused to stay home. In lieu of Mrs Singh, David Gcame with us, and the three of us packed into our obstructed view seats. The set design seemed particularly funny considering the environment outside. It was sparse, and punctuated by huge white snow drifts that were the only dressing on the stage, which shone like black volcanic glass and echoed back little reflections of the white of the snow. There were three pieces of furniture as well, Victorian-style, in an otherwise colorless design, but the colors were still pretty muted. I really liked the sparseness. It ended up giving the sense that the whole cast of characters were always cold, and colorless, and that their footing was on a […]
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Mar
10thJean-Luc Macbeth – BAM 2008
We went out to see Patrick Stewart as Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It’s been so popular that they’re actually moving it to Broadway. Who could resist? Jean-Luc Piccard playing Macbeth!? A lot of people that I’ve spoken with have complained about the fact that this is yet another Shakespeare play with a contemporary setting. People like their traditional Renaissance settings, and their swords and funnypuffy velvet pants. Honestly, it’s not ever a change that keeps me from the Shakespeare itself. Shakespeare is about words, and the words are what’s important, not the setting. And if the “hip” setting and costumes brings a new audience? Sure! I’m all for it! Trick those tweens into appreciating some Shakespeare! Fo’ Sho’. (It does, sometimes, pull away from the story, which I’ll mention later.) I’ll start off by saying that Patrick Stewart was everything I’d hoped. His presence is amazing, and his acting is superb and never once did I expect him to say “ENGAGE!” Very in character, and very consuming as that character. For me, the real heart of the story of Macbeth is the interplay between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They have, in my opinion, a very dark, seductive relationship where Macbeth is entwined by her lust (for power as much as for him) and he is thereby seduced into killing Duncan to seize the throne. The text between them is rife with double entendres. She implies that he’s less manly, or impotent if he doesn’t kill Duncan. But it’s still […]
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Oct
31stAbout MeLaura lives out of a suitcase. She consumes technology, media, cheese, and scientific articles. Once full, she exudes knowledge effervescently and callously. She is a primatologist, a geek, and a bonne vivante. These are her thoughts. Feel free to peruse me on the internet!