Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

Otakon 2007 Aftermath Part II

On the whole, the fun I had at Otakon this year is still resonating within me days after the event ended. Friday was a good start, but little did I know the hotel horrors that awaited me the rest of the weekend! This year I stayed at the Sheraton Baltimore Inner Harbor, formerly the Wyndham. When I checked in, I wasn’t surprised that with the convention crowd and what looked like a family reunion group, the elevators were slow and I had to wait a long time for one. But I definitely wasn’t prepared for hookers and being locked out of my room.

I left the BCC around 1:30am after over an hour of dancing in shoes that were too small. Needless to say, my feet hurt and I was really looking forward to getting back to the hotel to rest. I was heading back along with a group of other convention goers and the walk was largely uneventful, until I was about a block from the hotel. At that point I noticed a blonde woman in a white tube top, shorts, and boots approaching me from the hotel. Sorry, but in my experience, I was pretty sure I was looking at a hooker. I was still in my Kaname outfit, so I’m not really sure what she thought she was looking at as we passed. But the women in similarly provocative dress closer to the hotel definitely had some opinions and let out what I’ll describe as derisive sounds as I passed them. All I could think of was the irony that I was being judged by hookers. My vanity let the brief thought that they were worried by a little competition cross my mind. It takes all kinds you know!

After talking to some other Otakon attendees, I reached my room and discovered that my key card didn’t work. Ugh! I really wasn’t looking forward to going down to the desk. So I used the hall phone to call down and about 10 minutes or so later a hotel staffer came up. I suppose a hotel full of anime fans had already prepared him for anything because my outfit didn’t seem to phase him a bit, nor did he ask any questions about it for which I was grateful. A few minutes later I was happily in my room. It had been a fun day indeed!

Saturday:

I woke up Saturday feeling a lot more confidence and looking forward to another fun day. The only real challenge was very sore feet. Fortunately I didn’t have to go down 16 flights of stairs as I had done the day before. Today I was going out in my favorite crossplay, Kagome Higurashi from Inuyasha. This particular outfit would also garner the most compliments, including that of a UPS lady who said I had nice legs!

Last year I had been lucky enough to get a number of autographs, but this year I totally struck out. No worries though, the panels I went to for Vic Mignogna and Steve Blum, and manga-ka Maki Murakami were a lot of fun. Murakami-san is probably best known as the author of Gravitation and we were all warned, numerous times, that photography would not be allowed. She’s very camera shy, but I was lucky enough to be sitting near the door where she came in and could see that she was also very cute!<3<3<3 Later, when I hit dealers room, I was quite happy to find the Gravitation thinpack DVD set which I'd been wanting to get for a long time anyway. These days, I don't usually want to bother with buying individual volumes. I just wait for the complete set to come out. The cost per episode is usually lower that way. I've learned that the dealers room is also another great place to take cosplay pictures, and I got a few requests as well. Particular memorable was a conversation I had with an older man who made a reference to Flip Wilson’s Geraldine as I passed by. Amused, I turned to him and said that I was actually old enough to know the reference. So we spent a couple of minutes chatting about Flip Wilson. LOL

Later I’d go to the Masquerade and get a lot more cosplayer pictures, but I think I had to most fun doing karaoke. I love singing my favorite songs, and I’d been really looking forward to doing it in costume. And in particular, I was hoping to see Alissa (see photo below) sing again this year. She didn’t make it as far in Otaku Idol this time around, but I guess there’s always next year. In any case, seeing her perform was a real treat!

Alissa as Sailor V

Once again, I didn’t get back to the hotel until very late. And once again my key card didn’t work and I was locked out of my room…ugh… This time the phone in the hall didn’t work either. So I had to use my cell phone to call for some help. I don’t even remember if it was the same person who helped me before, I just thought later on that the scene must have looked really weird.

Sunday:

The last day of a con is usually pretty quiet for me, but this year a major event was scheduled, the Eminence concert. To put it simply, they totally rocked! I’ve been wanting so long to see anime and game music performed by classically trained musicians, but every time I made plans and bought tickets something would happen. It was like I was cursed! But after hearing Eminence, it was more like I’d been blessed to hear the music I love played by the very best! It was truly worth the wait, and a great way to end the convention, this is especially true after having had to carry luggage down 16 flights of steps, cross the street, go down 3 more flights to the car, all on very sore feet! I certainly won’t be going to that hotel again, if I can avoid it!

Before the concert, I made my traditional dealers room run to get gifts for the wife and kids. I got a bell ribbon for my goth grrl, Sonic, Shadow, and Kirara caps for the younger kids, and a “Your kung fu is weak” t-shirt for my wife who always kicks ass. I love what has become my annual solo vacation trip, but I’m always very happy to get back home. Guys like me aren’t supposed to have pretty wives and kids. I’m supposed to be living at home in my mother’s basement! With all of the difficulty of getting to Otakon this year, perhaps someone upstairs just wanted to remind me of how far I’ve come and who I have to thank for it. Right now I can’t wait until next year’s Otakon, but in the meantime, I’ve got 3 months to prepare for Youmacon!

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

Otakon 2007 Aftermath Part I

This year getting to Otakon seemed to be fraught with peril. The washer and dryer broke and nearly caught fire. I had to fix brakes and air conditioning in the car, and of course the AC broke again before I left promising a potentially very hot 700 mile drive to Baltimore. And on the morning that I was already late leaving and feeling awful, I discovered that the wheel lock bolt had not be replaced by the repairman, meaning that if I needed to change the tires on the highway, it would be impossible. So instead of hitting the road on Thursday morning, I was sitting in the Firestone parking lot waiting for it to open.

Things seemed pretty dark that morning, then some miracles started happening. The first one was when the shop owner/manager suggested replacing the lock bolts with regular bolts until we could address the issue after I got back. Yay! I was finally on my way. I was so happy at the realization that I nearly had tears in my eyes when I hit the Chicago Skyway. I still felt awful, but at last I was on the way.

The next miracle was the weather. Somehow, for 700 miles I had mostly overcast skies and nice cool air. It was awesome! Not only was it cool, I had virtually no traffic delays. The worst I had was a scary rain storm that lasted for maybe 10 minutes.

Finally, the car performed well and I settled down enough to get some food down and started to feel much better. I felt like my old self and really began to enjoy the drive. There’s something scary and beautiful about being out on the open road which keeps bringing me back year after year.

So even arriving much later than I had wanted, I was able to pick up my badge and meetup with some cool people from the MegaTokyo forums. The first thing I did though, upon entering my room, was fall to my knees and thank God that I made it in one piece after so much drama.

Friday:

My first challenge after waking up was to get cleaned up and into costume. This ended up taking me about an hour more than I had hoped. I was planning to wear my Kaname Chidori costume the first day (blue wig yay!) and while I had worn it at ACen months earlier, I was a bit nervous about going out in it because I hadn’t had to walk on the street that way with “normal” people around. Luckily, I was rooming next door to three young ladies (see photo) who were leaving at the same time as I, so I tagged along with them part of the way to the convention center. After that, I was good to go!

My Otakon Neighbors

Friday was a lot of fun! I got to see my AMV in the AMV Overflow and it was well received and I also got to do karaoke in costume, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Best of all was the rave later that night where Kaname got a chance to really shake her groove thang! I scored some bonus points by making sure to send a few extra shakes in the direction of some BCC staff who probably didn’t really know what to make of me. Personally, I don’t think my features are delicate enough for me to pass as a woman under normal conditions, but I’m not really sure what the staff people, who kept passing nearby, thought. So I decided to mess with them a little, lol! ^_^ My dancing was good enough to attract a female partner for a little while, yay!

All of this fun though, would come at a high price. The shoes for my Kaname outfit are about a half size too small for me. They were the best I could get at the time, and I’d been able to endure them at ACen, so I didn’t think much about getting bigger shoes. Big mistake! I only had the Kaname outfit on a few hours at ACen. I had it on 17 hours at Otakon which included an hour or more of dancing. So by the time I left the rave to return to the hotel, my feet were on fire with pain and they still hurt even as I write this! I will never again wear shoes that are too small, but I will also never forget how much fun I had! :3

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

Otakon! Go!

Otakon starts in a few days, and I’m starting to get all of those crazy feelings I get when it’s go time! The last week has consisted of fixing cars and broken appliances, including, most sadly, the washer-dryer unit! But I anticipate/hope/pray for success. This year promises to be my busiest Otakon ever because I’m doing two cosplays (maybe a third if not too hot) and I’m hoping to meet up with a bunch of people too. And of course there’s karaoke!^_^

The latest drama is the now broken AC in the car and the still broken washing machine. The replacement washer arrived broken too! *deep breaths* I can still operate the washer on manual override, so to speak. It’s a hassle, but works. So now I need to do some costume checks and pray that the road from Chicago to Baltimore won’t be too hot for 270 AC (2 windows down at 70 miles per hour). Nothing like teh dr4m4.

Categories
cosplay

Boys Will Be Girls…*Ahem*

Here are a couple of jewels that midori-chan on Crossplay.net found on YouTube. These are from a Japanese game show in which the guy who becomes the best girl wins. In a media market starved for new show ideas, I wouldn’t be too surprised if a US adaptation of something like this showed up in the near future. Admittedly, there may be an outcry from some more conservative corners, but in the end, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I just think of it as a makeover show with a twist!

Now be honest, both of these guys make pretty cute girls. Nothing wrong with recognizing that! Riiiight?

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

ACen 2007 Aftermath Part II: Pictures Pictures Pictures!

Since the convention ended, I’ve been browsing a buttload of picture galleries of photos people took at the convention. These are from this Anime Central Forum thread. So I figured I’d start a link list here for easy reference. These links may or may not work for long, so enjoy while you can! Thanks to everyone who has posted pictures!^_^

  1. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v691/FaramirFancier/ACen%202007/
  2. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v482/NeoLupeLvr911/Anime%20Central/
  3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8273031@N06/
  4. http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb35/wildcat83_talon
  5. http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z12/Piroglith/
  6. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v186/Norumu/ACen%202007/
  7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dslrninja/tags/acen2007/
  8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26721269@N00/…57594475724760/
  9. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/CandyRobot1/Fiona.jpg
  10. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Can…sexyKakashi.jpg
  11. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Can…1/GaiSensei.jpg
  12. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Can…1/Prettttty.jpg
  13. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Can…1/OnePiece1.jpg
  14. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Shasi/ACen%2007/
  15. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/NTD59NTD/KyoandKyo.jpg
  16. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kozinu/sets/72157600212248555/
  17. http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/c…y%20vs%20Lucci/
  18. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebidebi/tags/acen/
  19. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/att…05120722001.jpg
  20. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/att…05120722061.jpg
  21. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v691/Far…rrent=Wakka.jpg
  22. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dslrninja/497058597/
  23. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/DgtlDrmStation/Anime%20Central%202007/?start=all
  24. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v284/bmkiita/ACEN%202007/
  25. http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h55/JLW428/Acen%2007/
  26. http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/fura…07/DSC01422.jpg
  27. http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x104/tr…s/ACen07007.jpg
  28. http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y211/MetalGravy/ACen%202K7/
  29. http://www.genericdreamers.com/board/album_cat.php?cat_id=35
  30. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92161664@N00/collections/72157600205928997/
  31. http://www.tfcreations.net/acen/index.php
  32. http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/RomanHoliday666/Anime%20Central%202007/
  33. http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w313/cr…/kakashi_vegas/
  34. http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w313/crizlaura/acen_2007/
  35. http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb138/n…Central%202007/
  36. http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/eli…2007/?start=all
  37. http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z109/sclevine/
  38. http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?BRSR=0&cat=74491&member=47507
  39. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8273031@N06/
  40. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152…amp;id=14828357
  41. http://iowa.facebook.com/album.php?aid=215…amp;id=14828357
  42. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v232/kymbo23/ACen%202007/
  43. http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b37/Drag…Central%202007/
  44. http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a112/Mew…convention2007/
  45. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2177…mp;id=501883703
  46. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2182…mp;id=501883703
  47. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v200/Swo…n%20Convention/
  48. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v726/Caf…tors/ACEN%2007/
  49. http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=…mp;member=43230
  50. http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/aiowyn/Acen%2007/
  51. http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o165/MelMel_2007/ACEN07
  52. http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb71/maniacalkyo/?start=0
  53. http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a112/Mew…er%20the%20con/
  54. http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/ceb42585/Acen%202007/
  55. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048…amp;id=38504781
  56. http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/minako25/ACEN%2007/
  57. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/suga…oxo/ACEN%202007
  58. http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/ai…2007/?start=all
  59. http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y211/Meta…K7/IMG_0315.jpg
  60. http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/man…oname/acen2007/
  61. http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z288/Space_Halo/
  62. http://www.dead-pixel.net/html/photos/Anim…007/gallery.php
  63. http://uwosh.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20…p;id=1606410153
  64. http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x160/Th…ja/ACen%202007/
  65. http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z119/RDS_Vicious/
  66. http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=1083041
  67. http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=502485218
  68. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7219095@N03/s…57600217793644/
  69. http://www.flickr.com/gp/59814712@N00/Uc7m3N
  70. http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z308/cloudynekoo/
  71. http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/364/meandobscurekyoro2.jpg
  72. http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2216/meandanotherobscurekyogc5.jpg
  73. http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5574/meandkyowithhidedd9.jpg
  74. http://jjcccil.facebook.com/album.php?aid=…mp;id=748045021
  75. http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=…mp;member=57371
  76. http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/lilrabwolf/Acen%202007/
  77. http://depaul.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2…amp;id=22001670
  78. http://www.nbc5.com/slideshow/entertainmen…513/detail.html
  79. http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j66/riku…=1179201066.pbw
  80. http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y202/Amunet0/Anime%20Conventions/ACen2007/
  81. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v519/ACDragonMaster/Convention/ACen%202007/
  82. http://www.flickr.com/photos/55498589@N00/
  83. http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/Pyro_01/Acen%202007/
  84. http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/Missyeru/Acen%2007/
  85. http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/dan…rk/ACen%202007/
  86. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2093…mp;id=617330240
  87. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092…mp;id=617330240
  88. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2092…mp;id=617330240
  89. http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o111/Ka…Central%202007/
  90. http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/ainokaku/ACen%2007/
  91. http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w267/ai…07/Naruto%2007/
  92. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/Akar…da/DSCF6081.jpg
  93. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Eoko
  94. http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20021…p;id=1598010176
  95. http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20021…p;id=1598010176
  96. http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=…mp;member=12360
  97. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v355/lin…er/Acen%202007/
  98. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/Dese…os/ACEN%202007/
  99. http://www.sephphotography.com/acen/
  100. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v413/Per…202007/?start=0
  101. http://www.flickr.com/gp/59814712@N00/qgf063
  102. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8296918@N07/500179230/
  103. http://pics.livejournal.com/rae_vynn/gallery/000481pg
  104. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/guu_…na/ACen%202007/
  105. http://red-mage-jerry.livejournal.com/437989.html
  106. http://www.flickr.com/photos/58272604@N00/
  107. http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/Dr…Envy/?start=all
  108. http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3606&…mp;id=575006509
  109. http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/mateika/acen%202007/
  110. http://acen07.under-the-gun.org/
  111. http://flickr.com/photos/14628745@N00/sets/72157600223044677/
  112. http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/congoblin/ACEN%202007/?start=0
  113. http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f4/inuyasha399/ACEN%2007
  114. http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/iguanajon/
  115. http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n211/obsessiveForever/
  116. http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n211/ob…iafilter=images
  117. http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z257/yellow_ranger_85/Anime%20Central%202007%20Pics/
  118. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v166/snu…oo/ACEN%202007/
  119. http://www.piratemonkeypress.com/gallery/
  120. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8384512@N03/s…57600233508808/
  121. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8377484@N04/s…57600233157001/
  122. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8377484@N04/s…57600233037495/
  123. http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x133/Aleamus/
  124. http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n165/La…ss/ACEN%202007/
  125. http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/Sigils/Acen%2007/
  126. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ7PfZAXLY4

Wow! That’s a lot of links! I feel like I’m spamming my own blog!

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

Inuyasha Deserves A Proper Ending

I watched the last episode of Inuyasha again last night on Adult Swim. I really hope that someday Rumiko Takahashi will write a proper ending to the story. I really love these characters and they deserve a proper ending to their stories! Yeah, just silly fanboy ranting, a fanboy who still doesn’t have any ACen pictures of his Kagome cosplay, waaaah! Oh well, I did have one woman come up to me and tell me I looked cute, so that’ll have to do. I was joking with my mom that women only seem to notice me when I’m in drag! That happened to me in costume at Reactor last year too so I’ll just take it as a plus.

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

ACen 2007 Aftermath Part I

The 10th Anime Central has come and gone, and I have the usual post convention let down as I ease back into normal life. ACen had a lot of problems this year, beginning with the mailed badges fiasco which led to my waiting in line for over 2 hours and paying an additional $5 for the privilege. But I won’t get into that because it has been beaten to death in the ACen forums and elsewhere already. The con also seemed more disorganized than previous ones I’ve attended. But on the whole, we had a good time. It was a busy busy con for me because the whole family cosplayed, except for my oldest daughter who wears gothic dress everyday!

I made costumes and music videos. All 7 costumes were worn, including my two crossplays as Kagome and Kaname. But my AMVs did not make the competition cut. No worries, I just uploaded them to YouTube. So here are links to my cosplay pics and the AMV’s.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/59814712@N00/Uc7m3N

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIlcN3KYwLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4yQuJYAsRo

Categories
cosplay

The Shoes Fit!

I got the shoes for the R Dorothy costume project yesterday and they fit! Women’s shoe sizes can be such a pain to get right sometimes because of inconsistency from style to style. But now over that hump, the real fun of finding a dress pattern to use as a base for Dorothy’s dress. I can almost create my own pattern, but since I have to get a few more supplies anyway, I might as well get a pattern while I’m at it.

Categories
cosplay

R Dorothy Comes Calling

At last I have gotten the go ahead to create an R Dorothy Wayneright costume for my wife for the upcoming Anime Central. That is, she agreed to wear it if I make it! ^_^ I just got the shoes today! Willowbrow is not a big anime fan, but she does like Dorothy, so I’ll have to do my very best. And if I’m lucky and don’t run out of time, I hope to have a Roger Smith ready to go with her!

I’m really very happy to get a chance at this because for all I know I’ll never get the chance again. This is going to be a lot of fun! I’d better get a wig order in soon too, because I’m sure that dying her hair is right out! Don’t want to push my luck…

Categories
cosplay

Mature Sewing Revelation

I was home sick today, damn damn DAMN! Despite the pain and suffering, during some more lucid moments I did manage to get some work done on my second costume for the upcoming Anime Central convention. It was during this work that I had a revelation.

If I’m going to be home all day, I usually don’t bother to put in my contact lenses. I just wear my glasses around the house (yes, I’m a vain man, and admit it) which I learned comes in handy for sewing. Why? Because focusing on nearby objects is getting more difficult as I *ahem* age. With my contacts in, it is nearly impossible now to thread a needle. In that situation, I’m usually doing it by feel and luck! But with my glasses on, usually I can thread the needle without too much trouble. And in a worst case scenario, it is easy enough to just take the darn things off and stick my face right up against needle. Can’t miss at point blank range!

So from now on, the contacts come out for sewing. One of these days maybe I’ll get some reading glasses, but vanity simply won’t allow it yet! >.<

Categories
cosplay

Blue Wig Day

The Kaname Chidori cosplay project is officially underway! I just ordered the long blue wig, and the shoe painting last night went pretty well. And on an unrelated matter, I finally got my chocobo whistle in FFXI! ^_^ I love these costume projects, it usually takes a while to get started, but once underway, I can usually really go at it. I had originally intended to debut Chidori at Otakon, but if I can get it done soon enough, I’ll debut it at Anime Central. I didn’t make the ACEN Idol cut 🙁 , so I’ll have more time to work on cosplay projects.

Categories
cosplay

Too Old To Cosplay?

Getting older cannot be avoided. It’s a universal law, the arrow of time points in one direction only. But does that mean that we have to give up all of the things that we have fun doing? Maybe not. An informal poll is being conducted on Cosplay.com in a thread entitled, “Average Cosplayer’s Age?“, and while it is no surprise that the bulk of responders are in their teen years, the majority are in their twenties or older. At the time of this writing, almost 13% of responders are in the 26 years and older bracket, number of whom have posted claiming to be in their 30’s and older. So it’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who feels that age has nothing to do with doing what you enjoy!

Categories
cosplay General

Vanity Trumps Logic

Once again it was nice to get out for my 2 mile lunch time walk. The weather was a lot warmer than I had expected, so I was a little overdressed. On the way back it struck me that even though I generally try to behave in a logical fashion (Mr. Spock is my hero!), the reason for my recent success concerning diet and exercise has its origins in my personal vanity. Health concerns alone probably wouldn’t be enough for me to get off my butt and get some real results. It was my concern about looking good in various costumes that ignited my most recent successes. I became concerned about my weight about two years ago when I was approaching 200lbs, and since that time I’ve got it down to 175lbs on my way to the targeted 165lbs. More than half of that loss has come in the last 4 months, only after I got hooked on cosplay.

So health care professionals take note! Appealing to people’s vanity is likely to be a more effective way of changing unhealthy behaviors than logical arguments about improving the quality of life. Convince people, preferably at a young age, that good habits will make them more attractive, and more than half the battle may already be won.

Then on the return leg of my journey, I ducked into a Payless to look for shoes for my next costume! XD

Categories
cosplay

Mah New Do!

Right now I’m as happy as a little girl! My new costume wig arrived today from Cosworx and it’s a big improvement over the old one. Anime Central is still 5 months away, but I love making things so much that I’m still tweaking my main costume in addition to working on Sasuke Uchiha for my youngest daughter. I still need to rebuild the collar on my outfit, but of all of the elements, the wig was the one that gave me the most trouble, but that’s all over now! W00T! With only 5 months to go, there’s no time to waste! LOL 😀

Categories
cosplay

Lolita Diversions

Bumping about the forums on Cosplay.com I ran across this Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) thread, which, among other things had a link to the Lolita Handbook. Being a sucker for all things cute, I had to check it out. Very nice, and the illustrations are soooo kawaii! I make no apologies for liking cute things!