EQUALITY FOR ALL

Whether or not you think America is an equal place, I believe in equality and hope that one day everything is equal. I personally believe America is semi-equal, but, with the cosplay world, it is very unequal. Let's face it, in a hobby about "looks", people and their different perceptions of beauty oftentimes come into play. There is some over arching ideal of what is beautiful in cosplay that I do not necessarily agree with. Everyone is beautiful and should be allowed to do what they want (for fun) without being judged and mocked. We are all in this subculture - all in it for the fun of running around in our costumes. We do not (purposely) put our looks out there to be judged. Hell, we just want you to like our COSTUMES. But put a pretty person in a shitty costume in everyone goes absolutely nuts. Or a rather thin person. Or a person of an "acceptable race". It just infuriates me to no ends that people rarely judge on skill level anymore. It's making a way for those "cosplay models" who do not make their costumes to gain large fan bases for doing nothing, but looking attractive.

I would hope that, one day, all manners of people will be accepted to do this hobby without getting ridiculed within the fandom. Because that is driving people away. If solace can not be found in the fandom then where can it be found!?

Now, I am glad more people are becoming active in providing equal rights for different types of cosplayers. Because we are all human and all humans are not going to look the same.

http://plussizecosplay.blogspot.com/
Amazing blog that just started. I can not wait to see it grow a bit more to showcase the plus size cosplayers out there.

http://www.facebook.com/projectkaleidoscope1?sk=info
Project K is devoted to bringing ALL cosplayers together - no matter race, size, etc!

Nashicon TOMORROW

I will be attending my fourth Nashicon tomorrow. It's an anime convention in Columbia, South Carolina on the campus of the University of South Carolina. It's hard to believe that this con is four years old! I remember the first year it ever was held. It was tiny then, but I knew that it would only get better. Now the word seems to be out and I'm expecting a decent sized crowd tomorrow.

I will be roaming around out-of-costume at first. Taking pictures and videos for youtube! I will change into my costume around 3:30 so that I can prepare for my panel, which is at six.


PANEL: Cosplay On A Budget - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Probably will leave shortly after that to drive back home. Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

AWA costume reveal!

I've found my Anime Weekend Atlanta costume! Although I did not enjoy the convention last year (not because of the con itself), I may return this year depending on funds and such. Not 100% sure of course! I think I have enough time to make this costume if I did choose to go to the convention - depending on, of course finances. I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy in the meantime before starting this monster.

I have always wanted to do something a little more detailed. After having been working on Litchi (Blazblue) for going on two months, I really do not know if it is ideal for me to work on very detailed and strangely constructed things. It is time that I learn to buckle down and get things done - but in actuality I just want to get things done quickly so I can wear it! If costumes could arrive ready made at my door then I would certainly put them on and wear them to conventions.

A lot of people enjoy the journey of making their costumes from start to finish. They love perusing the fabric stores, picking what fabric will work perfectly with their costume. They enjoy sitting at the sewing machine and grinding for hours. They love packing their costumes carefully in their luggage as they head off to the con.

Personally, I only love that some of the time. I have had the most fun in costumes that took little to make or that I just brought to modify (I never tend to buy a costume and never do any modifications to it...) To my pessimistic brain I think working very hard on something can oftentimes lead to little pay off from the convention crowds. Either no one pays you attention or you get a lot of attention. There is the grey area of finding those few sole people that absolutely love your costumes. I have had that happen to me once or twice.

Some enjoy making their own costumes to have a feeling of accomplishment. Attention and Pictures are some of the payoffs. A lot of the times it is also good networking that allows for those pictures. The attention, however, is all based on whether the convention crowd gives a flying hoot about your costume.

Even still, we should love our costumes no matter what. It is something I am slowly learning. Challenging myself as I have started to do has allowed me to learn new techniques and I can only continue to do so, improving with each new challenge I take on. The sky is the limit!

Road to Dragon*con

I have always described my first convention trip as an "Otaku Pilgrimage". It was 2003 and I was only fifteen. The convention was Animazement, only two hours from my house. My best friend and I had somehow convinced our mothers to take us.

It was incredible.

I had never been at anything like it. That weekend cemented in my mind that I would continue to take these various treks across the country to visit these large gatherings of like-minded geeks.

Of course obstacles have jumped in the way during these years of convention going. Whether it be financial, unsupportive parents, or just be a moment in time when I am completely unwillinging to submit myself to be around those people; there have been so many things that have hindered me from getting to a lot of conventions or even just the ones I really want to be at.

This year I am going to try something a bit different. I am going to potentially ditch all conventions just so I can go to what is presumably the mecca of geekdom in the South East: Dragon*Con.

For the past five years I have been trying to get to this convention. At first, I was a bit wary about attending - especially before I was 21. It did not seem like the convention would be for me if I was not of age, but also I did not want to be surrounded by a large crowd of drunk and naked people (and by no means am I a prude).

Now, I'm 23 - will be 24 before Dragon*Con - and being around drunk and naked people just seems FUN. Maybe I will be one of those drunk and/or naked people. Anime conventions are becoming a bit juvenile in my opinion. The young crowd runs around yelling their heads off while shouting out of date internet memes while the older crowd backstabs each other at costume contests and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I can not completely give up on anime conventions. Dragon*Con does not seem a welcoming place for anime and gaming. Anime will always be something I enjoy watching and going to the conventions is one of the few places I can share that love with others, wearing costumes from the series that I love so much.

But I am still an adult now. I still want to do adult things at conventions. I want to have fun and I want to party. I want conventions to be my escape from my existence in my small, rural town in the South. I want to make up for the years in college when I did not really party.

Dragon*Con seems the perfect place to do that.
It seems like some four day costume party for adults and that is exactly what I need in my life.

Getting to Dragon*Con is not easy for me. With the adult crowd comes the adult prices. The pass is incredibly expensive in my opinion and so are the hotels which, by the way, sell out as soon as the reservations open. Also, I would pretty much be alone at Dragon*Con as I would probably drive the six hours to Atlanta alone and do not typically have one friend and/or significant other that I can spend countless hours with during the convention.

Despite all those little setbacks, I have to get to the convention this year. I would kick myself if I went another year without going - especially with the looming doom of 2012 and the end of the world coming.

I am, also, very very tired of hearing everyone talk about how awesome the convention is. I would rather experience it for myself so that I can make my own assessment of it.

So, here I am again. Planning yet another Dragon*Con. Hopefully this year I will go through with attending. Here is my potential costume list:

Baby Doll from Sucker Punch, a movie which will possibly prove to be very popular amongst the female population of conventions this year. And rightly so. The designs for the movie are spectacular. The trailers are visual orgasms of all kinds of action motifs that movie goers want to see. Now, lets hope the movie does not suck.

Robin from the line of Ame Comi DC statues. Ame Comi is not becoming as popular as I wish it would, but there have been several cosplayers that have created some Ame Comi statue costumes - mostly Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The Robin version not only has the Boy Wonder genderbended into the Girl Wonder, but is also a very flirty and ridiculously cute costume design


Sally from SyFy's Being Human. The costume is remarkably easy if I could find a sweater exactly like the one she is wearing. I basically want something comfortable to run around it and see how many people notice me. Maybe even crash some Twilight related shoots looking for Aiden.

So, as I prepare for this convention I can only hope that everything pans out. It seems that I am having a difficult time this year and I can only chalk it up to finally crossing over in the adult world.

A BOOK! ITS GOING TO BE A BOOK

In my head I was always a writer. For my entire life I have written things - imagined things different from everyone else. I never hought of myself as person that would self publish my book.

Until now.

After seeing the dedication and hardworking of Ejen, the photographer and creator of a fabulous book of cosplayers called Cosplay in America, I have decided that I could probably write a book about cosplay.

Having been at this hobby for ten years, it is from sheer observation that I think I an capable of performing a social study of the cosplay community.

Right now, the book is in its rawest form: an outline. As I generate interest from willing participants to give interviews for the book, I see the potential in this book. Not only will this book allow outsiders into out world, it will also be a shining testament of the community we all love so much - something that can stand for many years.

I do not know how long it will take me to write the book nor how long it will be. I just know that this is something I WANT to do and hopefully have the backing of American cosplayers to allow me to represent this scene as accurately as I possibly can.

So I am pleased to announce yet another project I have given myself - Stitches: The Sociology of Cosplay.

If there is anyone that would like more info on the book or to be involved more, please email me at jessgreen99@gmail.com

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I Am Number Four [review] slight spoilers

With all the remakes and reimaginings and sequels and prequels, the industry is becoming saturated with original content that has existed in some form or another.

And with that, I recently saw I Am Number Four, a movie adapted from a book written by Pittacus Lore. I went into this movie blind as sometimes I do on purpose, having not read its source material.

Number Four was, in short, a well-rounded movie that could potentially appeal to all different age groups - as many young adult movies and novels tend to do.

The story is quite simple. John Smith (played by Alex Pettyfer who also stars in next months Beastly as, er, the "Beast") moves around a lot with his guardian Henri who is played by The Crazies Timothy Olyphant. Basically, hunky John is an alien. Him and nine others are being hunted down by an alien species and being murdered, in order. John is, obviously, number four.

There was not much that bothered me at all about the movie as it was highly enjoyable and kept me invested the entire time. There was something for everyone whether it be John without his shirt on (which happened very often and could have happened way more in my opinion) or the crazy action sequences that were intense. The movie had its heartwarming moments that made you Aww and the heartwrenching moments that made you cringe.

The one fault in the movie, despite how rounded it indeed was, was how apparent it seemed that the book needed to read. The movie glosses over something that were probably expanded on in book form. The key thing that bugged me was the reconciliation of John and his rival, football star Mark. Out of nowhere, at the end of the movie, Mark helps John and it was so jarring and made no sense, especially where we last saw Mark. Anything that can pull me out of a movie that I had been so into for the entire running time is certainly not good. Apparently, from what I know of the book, there was something that led to them making amends, but the movie did not even hint at that.

Despite that, the movie was pretty good and has me excited to read the book. It is definently worth checking out if you like young adult action mixed with drama but there was a certain lack of "sci fi" in it except for the glossed over alien parts.

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Coming Up on Cosplay Stitches!

Sucker Punch is an upcoming movie that releases March 25th. I will be cosplaying one of the characters from that movie, Baby Doll.

From the stock of her gun, she has charms hanging from it. I think this little detail adds such a feminine and cute aspect to the character - especially since she seems like a bad ass.

I have decided to make the charms using clay. There are always three different class that a lot of cosplayers decide between when choosing a costume: Crayola's Model Magic, Paperclay, and Scupley. I have used the first two on projects but have yet to use Scupley.

I have decided to do a clay, product test and review. I will be getting all three clays and making some of the charms out of them. Afterwards I will record my results! :) from past experience I loved working with model magic but it remained a bit fragile. Paperclay was a bit more sturdy, but I could never get it smooth even with sandpaper.

I'm excited about doing this and can't wait to tell you all which one I think is the best!

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