From the Corner of the Park

Tired of Sewing

7 days ago
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I've spent so much time on this coin belt, and I'm just crushed by the results. The beads are all pulling out slowly and I constructed it poorly. :( I'm so sad. I feel even worse as I deconstructed the scarf I got from Rob on our anniversary last year for this. Ugh. Hopefully the flaws won't be that noticeable....if the belt stays together that is. Double Ugh.

It doesn't help that my wrist is killing me and while I can do a lot of things with my left hand, beading is not one of them.

It is time for some serious Matthew McFayden footage, (i.e. a Pride and Prejudice loop until I leave for CT) Mrow. That usually gets me through disheartening sewing projects.

Costume Help

Jun 24, 2008
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Hmm, okay. So as I was going through my box of costumes last night, I got the urge to once again make another bellydancing outfit for upcoming possible ren-faires. The problems:

1. No money, blargh. If I do anything, I can spend 10 dollars total, which will buy me some fabric and thread.

2. I don't need another bellydancing outfit. I don't dance anymore because I can't afford it, at least at the moment.

3. It may be too cold in September to wear the gypsy garb when I go to the NY Faire, though there is the Southern Conneticut Faire this July.

I love my pirate/tribal styled outfit I wore for hanging out with the Rum Runners, but I really want more jingle on the hips. Only I'm fetching a blank as far how to stretch my remaining twenty Afghani coins into something. I'm considering hanging some shells & wood beads off the belt, but my worry is that they'll chip and destroy themselves in less time than it took to sew them onto a belt.

Coinbra

A reference photo from last year of the coin bra. Look! There I am with the lovely Miss Vivian! In glasses!?! OMG! It's so strange to see myself in glasses now, but I digress.

Another thought I had was cut off the cheap plastic coins and beads and add those with the twenty coins to a belt, and add a few to my existing coin bra to make the ensemble more uniform, only I'm worried about making that coin bra look cheap and tacky. I worked really hard on that and am darn proud of that thing. (Though the second bra I made for Ber that same season I think actually looks much better.)

Now, I can also go an entirely different route with this. I also have a beautiful white/iridescent sequined bra with loops of plastics beads hanging off it, which I have also never worn before. Travesty! It doesn't have a sound, but it does have a nice look. Again though, I have to come up with something for a belt. I can get a hold of iridescent sequins to match, and always hack up a hip scarf to get the cheap coins and beads. I feel really guilty about that though, even though to be honest I hate both of the hip scarves. The first has gold coins and is navy blue (which I thought was black when I bought it). The second has silver coins and is blackish (which I thought was blue). I don't have many silver hip ornamentations to with my outfits, which makes me lean to that. But then again, I have more jewelry to accent a white and gold outfit.

Opinions too towards sequined outfits at festivals would also be appreciated. I feel like I have to make myself a set of fairy wings if I go this route as the bra is very much a Cabaret item. I'm not a complete "It's not a period piece! Shun!" -nazi, but at the same time I do think you need to have a story behind the character if you step beyond the traditional medieval/fantasy aesthetic. I love steampunk time travelers at these events for that reason. I'm just worried about expense.

Anyway discuss. And because both girl and outfit are just so stunning, here is a shot of Ber from last year. Love you chica!

Ber at 2007 Ren Fest

QotD: Summer Solstice

Jun 21, 2008
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Yesterday was the summer solstice for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. How did you celebrate the arrival of summer and the longest day of the year?

Oh holy crap...I missed the summer solstice. T_T Or rather, it seems I forgot about it what with company over. The passing of the seasons are some of my favorite holidays. Regardless I had an outdoor adventure yesterday, whether I was celebrating the solstice or not. My brother and went with a few of my friends to see the first fireworks at Coney Island. It's a shame they'll be tearing most of it down this year. Granted the area is more than a bit dirty, but I'd say no more than the street fairs of Panama City.

Something Forgotten Now Recovered

Jun 20, 2008
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St. Croix Hook

So my Aunt gave me a whole bunch of brochures to send home to my dad from St. Croix. While flipping through them, I kept seeing this same horseshoe type design that I remember frequently from my childhood. I remembered that they were signifigant but not the why of it.

Anyway, the story behind the hook jewlery is that if you wear the hook facing towards your heart shows that your heart is taken and you are sharing your love with one special person. If you wear the hook away from your heart it means you are searching and willing to share your good luck with others.

It was a neat little story. I thought perhaps maybe some of you would find it similarly interesting. Now if only I had 85 dollars.

Vox Hunt: Architectural Digest

Jun 18, 2008
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Show us an example of architecture you find interesting or inspiring.

Woolworth building

The photo is of the Woolworth Building in downtown Manhattan. The architecture is beautiful, and my family has a more personal connection to it that makes it all that more inspiring. My father worked in the Woolworth Corporation for over 40 years; starting off as janitor and working his way up to one of the highest paid managers in the history of the corporation. It reminds me that I have a lot to live up to.

Ironically enough it overlooks our downtown campus.

Vox Hunt: Favorite Font

Jun 12, 2008
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Show us your favorite font.
Submitted by [this is connie].

The wheel of time turns and memories come and go,
leaving memories that fade to legend, legend fades to
myth and even myth is long forgotten, until the age
that gave it birth comes again. in one age, called the
third age by some. an age long past, an age yet to come.
a wind arose among the trees of the westwood. the wind
was not the beginning, for there are neither beginning
nor endings to the turning of the wheel, but it was a
beginning....

seriously, the opening invocation of the wheel of time
looks damn skippy in a star wars font.

Updates

Jun 10, 2008
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It has been a while, but that's just how it is. Anyway, as far as things go, they are going well. My parents came for a visit, followed by Rob, to be followed by Tyler in a couple of days.

It is terribly hot in NYC, and that says something coming from me. I begin to miss the good old days of AC. On the other hand, as it is just as hot indoors as it is outdoors, I've been spending a lot of time in the park. Work is going well. My writing and sewing projects are not.

Free events rock though. Rob and I went to see an outdoor performance of the Alice Farraly Dance Troup at Stuvesyant Cove park which was interesting if a little slow moving, to begin with when he came up two weeks ago. Since then I've seen a Polynesian Dance Troupe, an Columbian Jazz Ensemble, and a few random theater groups performing the the park. And like an idiot, I've left my camera behind for all these occasion.

Except for the steampunk meetup at the Telectroscope. I had a blast that day, if any of you old-fashioned folk stumble upon this blog drop me a line or something. Hopefully one day I'll get around to completing my summer garb. Black is a little too steamy for the season I fear.

Pictures From The Event

I'm really feeling good about things. I love my apartment and my neighborhood. I really think I've finally found my place in NYC. Now if I could only get my super to fix my oven, life would be "green and blossoms" as the germans might say.

Reports, Rants, and How I Celebrated Earth Day

Apr 25, 2008
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So the trees are out to get me this spring. Apparently, while not majorly allergic to the flowering trees down in Georgia, the pollen capital of the world, the trees growing in Central Park are like Kryptonite to me. Oh but I struck back at the bastards. I think I went through a whole box of tissues on Earth Day. Blargh. I didn't need this shit right before finals. None of the allergy medicine has been working. The headache from my clogged up sinuses extends past my shoulders. I just feel so miserable and weak, which sucks because I was in such good spirits at the beginning of the week.

I can't wait for this semester to be over. I'm feeling utterly numb about school at this point....and some of my classmates. No, I take that back, Annoying Guy from Pearson, makes me want break things every time he opens his mouth. I don't care if you think the professor should have stuck around to answer questions about the grade you received on your paper. No one was happy with his feedback, and I sure as hell didn't want to waste my night listening to each and every one of you pick a fight with him about it. Do it on your own damn time. Oh whats that you say? Your time is too precious to waste an evening or Saturday afternoon to come to campus and sit down with him? Then e-mail him you prick! There you can rant and whine at your leisure, but don't make me listen to you. I'm sure you weren't thinking about how precious everyone else's time was when you went off on that dumb tangent about how your mom ruined a microwave once by melting metal-tone crayons in it last week. Argh.

I need to shrug it off, let go of some of this negativity. Maybe I'll start feeling better.

With happier news to report, the U.S. Postal service approved my claim for my lost PS2. Now I am just waiting for the insurance check. Originally, I was going to buy a 360...but I don't know. Nanette just bought a kindle last night, and holding it last night made me really...really....really...want on. Its every bit as glorious as I had hoped. Argh, I don't know what to do. Murr Fuck.

Comic Con was great. I met Jim Butcher! He's hilarious. Apparently Storm Front was written back when he was still in college. In fact, the whole of the Dresden Files began as a school project which I find just so cool. I really want to pick up the rest of his books now. I enjoyed Storm Front, but I just have never had the money to buy the rest. There is something special though about meeting an author that kick starts ones appetites for their other work. That is of course, only if they make an impression on you. As I said, Jim Butcher was a whoot. He was funny, confident, and exposed himself as a true literary nerd at several points in the panel discussion.

I also got an autograph from Naomi Novik who writes the Black Powder War series. I've talked about this series before, its the one taking place during the Napoleonic wars supposing that dragons existed in our timeline. The main character's dragon is the Chinese Imperial, Temaire, whom has always reminded me of Bart: feisty, smart, and addicted to all things shiny. When I met her, I asked if she would autograph it to Laura and Bartleby to memorialize the little guy. She's a nice lady. I'm hoping that one day I get to see her in a panel discussion perhaps. I have so many questions for her, but at the time I totally blanked. I was sort of just walking around and -bam- there was Naomi Novik signing books at a table.

I pretty much got my money back for the ticket in free books. The con itself was much smaller than I expected. There's so much hype around the two Comic Cons that in my mind I expected it to be as large as D*C. I will say though, that the exhibitors who came went to much greater lengths with the space they had on the show room floor than I've seen at Dragon*Con. Another thing I noticed was that northern con-goers don't seem to do the badge collection thing like they do in the southern conventions.

Comic Con!

Apr 17, 2008
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OMG, I can't believe I forgot about Comic Con this weekend. I can't wait. I'm hoping it will be the pick-me-up I need.

My bloody desktop is once again broken. It no longer fully boots. I've checked everything to make sure nothing came loose and all appears to be in order. I'm not even sure if its worth it to take the damn thing in to the shop. I think the processor is bad. After the diagnostic, cost of the replacement part, and installation, the charges will likely come to around 300 dollars (that I don't have) and I don't think the machine is even worth it. I could buy a basic Gateway with 2 gigs of ram, and plenty of hardrive space for $500; swap out the video cards and I'm good to go. I'd even get a three year service plan for another 70 bucks. It makes me so sad to think that my beautiful computer is just going to become scrap, but I think that I'm just going to have to give up on it and start saving up money. Maybe I can turn the case into a bookshelf. :(

QotD: Dream Job

Apr 14, 2008
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What's holding you back from your dream job?
Submitted by Question of the Day.

Ugh.....wrong day to ask this question. I just registered for classes. What's holding me back? My stupid degree, from my stupid university, or I'd be off and running.

The way they schedule their classes is retarded. Most of the required courses are offered in the fall, in addition to a bunch of electives that all sound really interesting. Few of these courses are repeated in the spring semester which seems to center around magazine publishing. There are about 18 actual classes scheduled for the fall, in the spring...that number drops down to 12!!! I really feel that if a class is required to graduate, it should be offered or at the very least, an alternative substitution should be offered every semester. The Finance class and its substitution equivalent are -only- offered in the fall for instance. Blargh.