anotheranon: (insanity)
I've often mused out loud that sometime in this lifetime I'm going to have to make it to what I consider to be the 3* geek/alternative/genre events on the calendar year: 1) DragonCon 2) ComicCon 3) Pennsic War.

All of these look interesting for various reasons (Classes! Costumes! Nerdery!) but also HUGE and intimidating to the uninitiated/introverts, which is why I've never made much effort to do anything about my curiosity.

But in the spirit of "new things are how we grow", how does one manage potential sensory overload at an event of multiple thousands of people/hotels/events? And how does one prepare (because all require costumes, and some camping equipment)?

Veterans of any of these events (particularly if social is fun but sucks the air out of you), I ask for your wisdom/advice.

*I have a passing curiosity about Burning Man but given that I've never camped before I think desert endurance camping is beyond my physical capabilities. I have no interest in heatstroke/dehydration, etc.
anotheranon: (cool)
From lo these many weeks past:


  • The Star Trek: Into Darkness Spoiler FAQ: Explains the plot holes you can drive a semi through in a very amusing way. Warning: sweary language (the FAQ answerer is clearly of strong opinions). Spoilerage abounds, so I'm declaring comments to this post to be a SPOILER FRIENDLY ZONE for ST:ID.


  • First clip from "Only Lovers Left Alive" features Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton hot un-kissing/making out [YouTube]. VampireLoki + VampireTildaSwinton = how do I get an invite to this party?? 'Cos I need one. For... research.


  • Why do men keep putting me in the girlfriend zone? (Hat tip [livejournal.com profile] glitter_femme). I've only been in this situation once and the guy got verbally abusive when I told him I wasn't interested. Full disclosure: when I was a stupid teenager I "boyfriend-zoned" a good bit. Then I grew up and learned that the 'verse doesn't owe me boy/girlfriends.


  • Club veteran Princess Julia's piece on the attractions of club life and the role of the DJ. This quote especially resonated with me:

    Mark Moore dj, music producer and frontman of seminal band S-Express began his career as a dj and continues to involve himself in the spirit of it, 'My experience of djing is similar to when friends come round your house and you play music to them. Every record that brings joy to them and blows their mind also brings joy to you so it's really a way of bonding and sharing - communion! The DJ experience is just a bigger version of this with more people and more energy.


    I was the kid ever making mixtapes for my friends to evangelize my taste in music, and that urge to share is part of what got me into radio in college. Even when I was trying to learn to mix, I don't think I ever really wanted to be a club dj - I always wanted to be John Peel, introducing people to sounds they've never heard before.

  • And 'cos the quote is from Mark Moore: Enjoy this trip. And it is a trip. Countdown is progressing... [YouTube]. Oldie but goodie.


  • Remittance Girl's blog post on feeling like an exile stuck in my head: "There have been times in my life, I’ve masqueraded inclusion. I’ve pretended to join, I’ve faked communion, I’ve partaken of the flesh, without swallowing. There is almost always a thin membrane, a wrap of impenetrable film that keeps me in exile." For good or ill, I kinda get that. Even when I've tried I've always felt a bit "off-center", and with age I'm (slowly, oh so very slowly) starting to accept that. (FYI this entry is worksafe but the rest of Remittance Girl's site emphatically is not; having said this if you're looking for quality erotica of all sorts go here).

anotheranon: (neat)
Starting off with the crunchiest and most worth reading: [livejournal.com profile] hrj's Sex Between Women in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a worthy followup to her Essay on Cross Dressing in the SCA, which I also highly recommend. It is thorough, somber research but given the subject matter it might be NSFW. Writers and RPGers might find these very useful.

A thoughtful article on privilege and losing it, via @Mactavish.

Will rap music change the face of enterprise IT? "RapGenius is a site that lets users upload lyrics. Then it lets other users annotate and explain the meaning of the words for each song.”

Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, and Billy Connolly sit down for a podcast - no really! Recommended with one caveat - I had never heard of Sophie Winkleman before, and lamentably didn’t learn much about her from this podcast, as it’s illustrative of the unfortunate fact that women speak drastically less when they’re surrounded by dudes.

An old article on the winning mindset via Fencing.net. “Being an effective competitor in martial arts (or doing any challenging task for that matter) requires that you develop faith in yourself and in your ability” - no kidding! I think this is one of my main stumbling blocks - no matter how much awesome I can pull out, I still don’t quite believe I can do it again.

"Held", Jane Fradgley, Guy’s Hospital, London, Through March 2013 - exhibit of “strong clothing” (19th century strait jackets). Sobering but fascinating, I’ve never even heard of such things being exhibited before.

How to start a hackerspace - parts 1 and 2 of a total of 7 are already up. [livejournal.com profile] dustdaughter, might hackerspaces be the “salons” of the 21st century?

Edited 11/15/2012: Fixed links - I won't be using that editor again!
anotheranon: (neat)
Because cruising the internet is more fun than packing/waiting for Olympic fencing to grace my tv screen:

  • Christian Bale's physical transformation - I've always been in awe of Bale's ability and willingness to turn himself physically inside out in order to vanish into his various roles, but hawtness aside: it can't possibly be healthy to go through cycles of such extreme weight loss/muscle re-buildup.* I echo the commenter who would like to see him live long enough to get more Oscars.


  • The Geek Zodiac - I'm a wizard, which is alright, but is it possible to be a wizard/ninja hybrid (wizard with ninja ascendant)? 'Cos ninjas are cool.


  • Henry 8.0, in which Bluff Prince Hal discovers the internet and Top Gear, featuring BRIAN BLESSED in the role he was born to play (and his name must always be in all caps, because he TALKS LIKE THIS).


  • More Henry VIII weirdness in Henry the Superstar [YouTube] put out by the UK's Royal Palaces. Right up there with CDC's Zombie Preparedness Guide for Best Educational Use of Pop Culture by a Government Entity.


*While repelled I'm simultaneously fascinated by the willpower it must take to control food/exercise to the extent that it gets these kinds of results. But then, Bale has the resources to get trainers/nutritionists etc. to keep his nose to the grindstone - he's like Bruce Wayne that way.
anotheranon: (neat)
So you'll have something to look at while I work myself up to original content:

A L'allure Garconniere tumblr - some posts NSFW but all are awesome. Favorite: Romaine Brooks self-portrait; link to "Queer Enough": "My woman- self is a lusty warrior. Grace Jones in a James Bond film, power-lifting a full-grown man over her head in haute couture and heels. French novelist, burlesque dancer and body builder Colette, dressed in a 19th century men’s suit."

Apochronaut (FYI, music upon opening), "travel & fashion for the pre/post-apocalyptic nomad". Favorites: Anything by Gareth Pugh.

G. D. Falksen's tumblr fashion posts, hat tip [livejournal.com profile] danabren, almost as good as OMGThatDress.

In honor of the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress just past, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives in their entirety [YouTube]. Actually, just all of BBC Worldwide's channel.

wiggle room

May. 6th, 2011 07:54 pm
anotheranon: (busy)
Now that I've managed to loosen my schedule enough to breathe, I've given some thought to what to do with the free(er) time I've got:

  • More reading, especially of the "dense academic tome" variety that requires sustained attention to make sense of. Gonna make a dent in the fashion history library I've managed to accumulate.

  • Following up on Fortuny. I want to know how the sleeves go on, if they were pleated separately or together, and what is this "drawstring" I keep seeing mentioned in the literature and how does it work? So:


  • Get out of the house for something other than fencing practice/competition. Wear funny clothes if possible. Reviewing the local SCA calendar, and [livejournal.com profile] ladyaelfwynn, you mentioned a Regency shindig? I'd like to try and make Pride this year as well.

  • See friends more often.

  • Rest. Much as I hate it I need to forgive myself when I just need to sit my ass down.
anotheranon: (busy)
In my abundant free time [snerk] I've been establishing myself on other sites:

Dreamwidth, HT [livejournal.com profile] dustdaughter, same id as here. I'm not sure whether I'll use it yet as LJ backup, something completely different, or some combination of the two.

14Meters, which is less a social site and more a fencing scores graphing/analysis tool plus journaling. I'm intrigued because it's a 2nd party project using publicly available tournament attendance/results data from AskFred, itself an open-source service, and I like to see how specialist communities build for themselves and use the tools they need.

Finally I set myself as Fashionrrd at MySewingCircle per [livejournal.com profile] jlsjlsjls suggestion. Nothing in there yet, but I may try it out with the petticoat project once I start.

linkage

Mar. 28th, 2011 09:49 pm
anotheranon: (neat)
FIT's Vivienne Westwood, 1980-89 online exhibit for those who can't make it in person. Charts her start dressing punks and new wavers through her establishment as fully-fledged designer. Don't miss the extras section that includes interviews and music videos of her early work.

TechieStyle, the owner of which cosplays Senator Leia while throwing down feminist critique of Slave Leia when she's not putting together smart outfits for everyday.

Paul Gorman is... mostly rock/pop fashion/history, including Blokes of Britain men's style and the story behind a famous photo shoot of Westwood/McLaren's "Sex" shop.

"Contemporary Wardrobe is a specialist hire company which supplies vintage street fashion, couture items and accessories to the Film, TV and Fashion industries." You've probably seen bands and movies wearing some of their collection. They had a 30-year anniversary exhibit back in 2008.
anotheranon: (Default)

  • 10:23:32: RT @WiredFeed: Stained Fabrics Reveal Death's Mess: Sarah Sudhoff takes portraits of material collected at death-site cleanups ... http: ...
  • 10:57:54: Historical photos of science fiction #fandom from Andy Porter's collection: http://tinyurl.com/4nupxbn #scifi #cosplay #costume via @io9
  • 11:50:54: RT @Ecouterre: Sarah Scaturro, Cooper-Hewitt's textile conservator, discusses the eco-merits of...wait for it...polyester. http://bit.ly ...
  • 11:53:33: RT @Kevin_Church: Not a dream. Not a hoax. The return of THE RACK. http://t.co/yR75fQc
  • 13:35:42: Is anyone using NVDA screen reader? If so, any pros/cons to share? #a11y
  • 17:36:43: RT @otdiFASHION: Great perspective on Galliano and fascinating bit of fashion history! @RaquelLaneri Why Dior did the right thing http:/ ...

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  • 13:23:43: RT @joyomama: Planned Parenthood was my *only* source of health care until I was 27, and still is for millions. Support: http://www.plan ...
  • 13:24:51: RT @stcaccess: By the way, #a11y is popular acronym for #accessibility, esp. on Twitter. #AxS is also used and favored. #tcchat
  • 14:02:21: RT @Jennison: #tcchat remember that accessibility is not only about the web, but documents too, such as PDFs, Word & other file formats; ...
  • 14:55:51: RT @sbearbergman: RT @cmpriest: Feeling a lot of love for people guarding books in Alexandria right now. May the gods smile upon combat ...
  • 14:57:04: I just love the idea of "combat librarians". Reminds me of Mieville's "bookaneers" in Un Lun Dun.
  • 17:06:47: RT @jhameia: Reminder: #steampunkchat this Friday 9EST/6PST Queer Steampunk, with STEAM-POWERED editor @JoVanderhooft, hosted by me and ...

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  • 11:38:25: RT @whitehouse: "it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair" #SOTU
  • 13:28:19: RT @mactavish: RT @greenskeptic: BBC News - Flash mob celebrates Robert Burns' birthday http://is.gd/DW05GZ

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anotheranon: (fasthardfandom)
I'm enjoying True Blood more than I ought.

I've only read a couple of the books and last season didn't quite "grab" me, but this season scratches the same "silly-sexy-gory-scary-ohmygodtheydidn't" itch that Lexx used to. It's camp and horror but not quite either, perhaps because it's so firmly planted in the real world (let's face it, if vampires did exist, there would totally be ads like this cluttering up our screen margins. The viral marketing for this show has been fantastic).

For example, the King of Mississippi manages to be both menacing and hilarious during his scene-stealing speechifying (how does a 3,000 year old vampire have a Cajun accent? Who knows? Who cares?):



I know some of y'all watch ;) Please share your criticisms, witticisms, fan art/fic/whatever, more aca-fannery in the comments, 'cos I'm sure I'm missing something.
anotheranon: (neat)
What do Elizabethan fencing treatises have to do with programming? Rather a lot, surprisingly - or not, as the discipline of of naming and organizing knowledge to make it easier to understand and use wasn't the invention of Victorian-age librarians.

I admit a particular affection for the link above (swords AND software!) but it's just an extension of my nascent interest in information organization/retrieval beyond the web/digital realm. I've been working with the latter for years but only of late have I started investigating the history of how people get data and organize it into something meaningful/useful. My latest reading on this is Alex Wright's Glut which demonstrates that there have always been ways and means, even when they aren't obvious to modern observers.

Food for thought...
anotheranon: (Default)
  • 12:37 Strangest phrase I've read today: "bolero parka". I mean, what's the point? #
  • 13:21 Wow, so it IS the solsice today! Happy 1st day of summer to them what's celebrating! #
  • 21:19 Pulp Muppets: youtu.be/mSvJwUFI_es #
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sillies

Jun. 19th, 2010 03:33 pm
anotheranon: (humor)
Funny images from 'round and about

snipped so they won't eat your Friends page )
anotheranon: (Default)
  • 09:19 RT @MargoEve: One does not simply walk into Mordor, there's an app for that. appft.com/350 #appft #
  • 11:44 RT @FashionHistoria: The Fashion Culturist: Brief Course of Events CSA National Symposium 2010 #csa10 @costumesociety bit.ly/cCrEsJ #
  • 19:34 Coupling UK's "Scary Jeff" + Terry Pratchett = very, very promising: bit.ly/c4rRSn #
  • 23:00 @daudi_g - He DOES play Moist! #
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