Obsession Confession: Project Runway

I admit, when it comes to TV shows, I'm not easily hooked. I will often start watching a show at the beginning of a season thinking 'this is great!' and then easily slip away from it and retain not even the barest hint of interest. However, from the moment I first heard of Project Runway, I was stolen away into a world of 24-hour couture dresses, and bizarre personalities.

After tonight's episode with the winner being the self-aggrandizing, self-referential Suede, and poor Kenley sadly taking 2nd place, I got myself ready for bed and was wafted off into a crazy dream-world. Although I've agreed that many of the past challenges have been interesting or fun (except for season 4. WTF, Bravo?), I think Bravo, (soon Lifetime) needs to make bank on my newest idea. Basic scripting concept:

The designers are gathered on the edge of the runway, silently awaiting word from Heidi about the next challenge. Heidi appears on the runway in yet another scant cocktail dress that makes her breasts look fabulous. Also, her legs. Sighs are heard from the female designers. And also from the male designers who wish they had her legs.

Heidi welcomes the designers to the Runway and inquires teasingly if they are ready for their next challenge. There's some muttering in response, a couple of roaring 'Yes!' s and a few designers who merely jump up and down. Heidi continues with her spiel.

"Alright designers, now that we're on the third challenge in and you've gotten to know the models, we're getting rid of them. We're so much more lenient this time than last season, when we got rid of your models for the second episode. Better, ja? Anyway, you're due for an interesting time ahead, would you like to meet your models?"

The designers give a half-hearted agreement. The lights on the runway turn on and a series of teenage girls of various sizes saunter into the room. There seem to be a lot of glasses and frizzy hair going on. This could be a horrible reenactment of Season 4's prom challenge. They're partway right.

Heidi announces, "Designers, these are to be your models for this challenge. We found these interesting characters at the Javitz Center across the city. Each of these girls was found at a various convention and is a Cosplayer; a person who dresses up as other characters from popular media. They all have a favorite genre or interest and it will be your job to dress them for their senior proms according to their themes! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

The designers groan. Cut to solo interview of generic bad-ass designer. "I hope one of them likes leather. I don't work with anything other than leather."

Cut to solo interview of sweet, naive designer, "I'm really confused."

Cut to solo interview of brash, egotistical designer, "Oh man, I already know what I'm going to do. There's going to be this huge collar, like Fwoosh! and the color is going to be a-maze-ing. There's no way I'm going to lose this one."

Heidi speaks again (in case you forgot she was there), "So now the girls are going to tell you their styles. Let's start at that end, shall we? Connie?"

Connie is a short, slightly chubby Asian girl with chin length hair. "I love Aliens. Not cute ones. Scary ones."

Cut to designer who lives in fear, "oh my god. We're doomed."

The next girl steps forward, "I'm Marie. I'm a furry. Rawr." Marie claws the air with one hand full of pointed nails.

Girl #3 waves, "I'm Lilliane. I'm all about steampunk."

Cut to interview with sweet, naive designer #2, "I've never heard of any of these things. I'm so confused!"

Heidi motions to the fourth girl on the runway. She's tiny. "I'm Alexis and I am into Gothic Lolita." She curtsies. Some of the designers look as if they're about to throw up.

The fifth girl is tall and black with gorgeous skin. "I'm Danni. I love going to Ren Faires. I guess you could say my style is very medieval."

Cut to interview with sweet, naive designer #3, "Oh gosh, I want Danni for real. I mean, not only do I actually know what her genre is, but it's so easy to imagine a Renaissance style dress for a prom. I could totally do that!"

The sixth person on the runway has long hair but it's suddenly apparent due to his voice that he is, in fact, male. "Will. I cross-dress/dress in drag. The real challenge here is to incorporate my favorite film, Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Cut to flamboyantly gay designer, "Oh dear god. Where the heck do they find these people? I mean, Rocky Horror was like, this amazing movie, but you want a prom dress out of that??? Are you freakin' kidding me?"

Model #7 steps forward. "My name is Geena, and I always dress as a magical girl. My dress has gotta have a transformation sequence." The designers look aghast. Some roll their eyes.

The eighth model is muscular and athletic. She could probably soundly beat the designers into submission. "I'm Wendy. I'm into superheroes and comic books. If it's out there in ink, I've probably read at least one issue of it."

The last girl has long bangs that fall into her eyes and block half her face. She smiles eerily. She rocks back and forth from her heels to the balls of her feet. "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn..."

The designers look at each other in total confusion. Heidi looks proud of herself. "So now you all have to choose the model you'll work with. Afterwards, you'll have 30 minutes to talk to your model and then you'll all have a budget of $150 dollars with which to buy fabrics and other assorted items at Mood. However, we also have a fun new game. Here's the button bag. It's full of buttons! Oh, and the buttons have your names on them. Now, we're going to pick a button, and the person whose button comes out first gets to not only pick their model first, but they also only get to have $75. Woohoo! Messing with your brains is fun! Let's go!"

So here's the question, readers. If you were a designer on Project Runway, and you were faced with those choices, which would you choose, and what would you do with it? I've already had a lot of ideas about all of them and I think this would be an intriguing challenge (though I wouldn't appreciate getting half-budget. That would suck. But I think Heidi really would be that mean if meant higher ratings). So what would you do?

Upcoming Films: Prince of Persia

Ay, Me! It's been a whole month and it's just flown by. Life's been pretty busy and I've moved out to Sacramento for my job, for a little bit. Getting an internet connection has been a trial in and of itself, but relax, dear readers! Here I sit, able to communicate once again!

Recently, I was scrolling through an Upcoming Disney Films webpage (as I am often wont to do), and found ... "Oh my gosh, they're making a Prince of Persia movie!!! With Day After Tomorrow hottie Jake Gyllenhall as the prince!" To say that I'm intrigued and excited is a bit of an understatement.

So we'll add that to the list of awesome movies I simply MUST see. Everyone knows that summer is a great time for all the action block busters, and this summer has been no exception.

Indiana Jones was great, and having just seen Pixar's WALL-E, and priming myself to see Will Smith in Hancock, and yet another Benicio Del Toro take on Hell Boy, well, I have to say, this summer has not let me down. But it's of course never to soon to start prepping for next year and the list of upcoming films is a joy. Along with PoP, Disney is also working on it's first 2D film since 2004, The Princess and the Frog with a nicely rounded ethnically diverse cast. I miss the good old days of 2D Disney, so I'll be looking forward to that one. In the meantime, I'll have to wait for the next round of exciting releases.

misti's link of the month: Mars Rover Twitter

With the increased social networking available these days through mobile phones, the most surprising thing is that we're not using it more. Studies have found that teen and college-aged kids in Japan and Finland use their mobile phones almost as an extension of themselves. Here in the US, we're just beginning to delve into the creation of products that utilize our phones as a remote control to the world, but Twitter is a start.

What better way to learn more about NASA and the mission of the Mars Rover than to subscribe to the Rover's Twitter feed and read about it contemplating drilling and ice pockets?

http://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix
It's geeky x2!

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I regret, dear readers, that I in fact have little at all to say about this movie. It was assuredly as epic as one could hope from an Indiana Jones movie (at least in terms of fight scenes), but the film was precariously lite fare when it came to actual fact and legend. I've always found that the premise of Indiana Jones movies were appealing because they were based on legends and facts that people already knew about. There was a sense of mystery, of solving a case along with the Jones' which made the discovery of some ancient artifact so enthralling.

This movie poster suffers from a case of the RANDOM.
A little less Shia LaBoeuf, a little more Harrison Ford naked, please.
This is not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

I have my doubts that anyone would consider a giant magnetic crystal skull to be part of anyone's local mythology. I won't spoil the plot for you, but there's alternate dimensions involved. I think alternate dimensions are better left for Star Trek plots to grapple with than dear Dr. Jones.

I present to you now, a list of ridiculous things some of which may be included in this movie. See if you can pick out which are actually plot points, and which are not in the movie at all. Then go see for yourself. Because a strange movie is best shared with friends afterall.

What the hell is all THAT doing in my movie?!
Jeez, do I at least get to make out with a hottie??
She's 50?!? What did I ever do to you, Mr. Lucas? Go throw yourself to the ants.

Do try to determine which of these are ACTUALLY IN IJatKotCS (that is one messed up title):

Man-eating ants, capoeira, improbably-hidden Mayans, book-learning, motorcycles, submarines, the invention of the computer, annoying prodigies, the KGB, Psychics, Psychos, magnetic gunpowder, interdimensional portals, combinatorics, death-waterfalls, crazy old men, crazy old women, color-coded sea anemones, swarms of killer bees, Bea Arthur being killed, non-quick sand/lightning sand?, a Sicilian when death is on the line, public humiliation of the educational system, Roswell, Yale, Maui, poetry no one's ever heard of, ponchos, fencing, tarzan-like tree-swinging, monkey connections, atomic bombs, Harrison Ford . . . nekkid, fierce enjoyment of sexual relations with a woman.

(Note: I'll give you a sad truth here which partially answers the above question. The truth of the matter is that the film does not imply any sort of current sexual relation between Indy and any other character. I suppose in his old age, Indy just stopped gettin' it on.)

You Go Girl! Lauren Wolfe

I was pleased to read in my alumnae newsletter from my alma mater that the woman who was my 'big sib' in college is now one of Michigan's 28 superdelegates. And at 25, she's one of the youngest in the country.

While in college, she made a name for herself, heading up the Democrats club (with a campus membership of over 500 students), and becoming more and more involved in the politics of both our college town's community and that of her hometown. Once she graduated from college, she became a strong voice for the democratic party and a leader for students throughout the nation. In 2005, she was elected the president of College Democrats of Massachusetts. Now, she holds a position as the president of College Democrats of America.

AND she's studying law. AND she has a blog with the Huffington Post which allows her to air her views.

Congratulations, Lauren Wolfe! You've worked hard and you earned it! For Lauren's take on politics and the current presidential candidates check out her blog at The Huffington Post

Tetris for Winners

I have a lot of friends who LOVE Tetris. And even "love" is not quite expressive enough for how much they adore the game. As a member of the generation who were in their prime shape-identification years when Tetris came out (I still refer to certain phone numbers on keypad phones as tetris shapes), I have a certain love-affair with the game myself. I even made myself a rarely-seen Tetris choker out of shrinky-dinks (a post on shrinky-dink jewelry sometime in the future).

And who isn't always up for a great arm-wrestle? So when I saw this video on Youtube about arm-wrestling controlled Tetris, I thought this was just about the best thing ever.



Sweet!

5 Scientific Reasons Why the Zombie Apocolypse Could Actually Happen.

This link helpfully gleaned from my friend E. Please read the link before continuing onward in this post.

5 Reasons on 5 consecutive pages.

I have some arguments concerning these. Particularly number five which suggests that toxoplasmosa would turn us into zombies. It only makes rats into 'zombies' because the organism is trying to get into a cat. What would be eating us that the toxoplasmosa would want to be inside?

And the article has a whole bunch of this "...Yet." stuff in it.

Also, because it's apparently innevitable, you'll want to send a card to all your loved ones before they turn and you can't say you care anymore.
If you were a zombie...

Iron Man, Redux!

So I saw the 8pm west coast release of Iron Man, and I have little to say except, "GO SEE IT, NOW" and "MAKE SURE YOU SEE IT IN A THEATER WITH FANTASTIC SOUND!" That's really about all there is to it. Robert Downey Jr. was even better than I'd expected, the villains were truly villainous, and it's just a great plot that although it's fairly obvious, does not fail to deliver in clever puns, visual fireworks, and subtle humor. The cast does a tremendous job keeping their performances grounded in reality.

One thing though. Rhodes? Is he in the army AND the airforce AND the special forces AND the marines? Throughout the movie, he's constantly changing uniforms, and he's apparently superior to EVERY other officer. Where did he find the time?

Five stars for this one folks. Go see it, ASAP.

Misti's Link of the Month: GoodReads.com

One of my coworkers today introduced me to the site GoodReads.com which I've found to be a great site to share and learn about new books that you find interesting. With my voraciousness of the written word greatly increasing weekly, this site has become an unexpected boon for my dwindling list of interesting reads.

In addition to reviewing and keeping track of your current obsession, you can also keep a running tally of all the great books you want to read in the future, see what your friends are up to (you can even link up via facebook), and recommend books to others.

You can add me as a friend there and learn more about what I'm reading, my profile is www.goodreads.com/profile/misti

Don't leave me now!

The Christmas before I commenced that fabulous 4-year journey to college, my parents did what thousands of parents do for their education-bound children every year. They bought me my first computer. It was a laptop; a Dell Latitude D600 and it was the first computer that was my very own, that I didn't have to share with anybody. It came with a wireless card, and a full suite of Microsoft Office programs, and really, not too much else, save a few music-playing programs. The computer was to be my constant companion through college and beyond. I don't think I realized until very recently how much I have come to rely on my computer for the many aspects of my life.

Aside from my own acute internet addiction, I installed games and Photoshop, Flash and Javascript, Firefox and an interminable parade of various design programs. I downloaded music. I designed posters. I chatted with friends.

My computer was only really a problem in one way - it seemed to HATE peripherals or anything that might become attached to itself by wire. Not too soon after I received my computer in December of 2002, my computer earned itself the name of The iPod Assassin, brutally freezing 4 iPods within minutes of linking up to them, and slowly poisoning the 5th over the course of a year, 'til the poor thing wouldn't hold a battery charge longer than 10 seconds. All this within 3 months of my gleeful unwrapping of my new computer confidant. There were other incidents too, more about those later.

In a way, I invested so much of my love and personna into my comptuer, that it became a part of me, even despite its ocassional angry whirring and amidst it's uppity denials.

But today, it finally happened. The iPod Assassin, my worthy adversary, workspace, and noble trickster of a computer has completely given up on life.

Yesterday he was fine. Today, attempts to restart left only an insidious black screen which claimed that the original set-up file was corrupt and that I needed to install the "original CD-Rom". Dells haven't come with a CD-Rom for yeeeears. Having already transferred all my music to my mac, I'm not too terribly concerned about my media files, but I AM fairly worried about my Adobe Photoshop and CS1 which I only have installed on the PC.

A new copy for my mac will run me about $999. Money I'm not prepared to spend. Also, my Mac has NO internet connection to speak of when I'm at home, which means I'm writing personal thoughts utilizing my work computer. It's bad form. Plus, my work laptop (eerily, the same model as the Assassin) has no AIM to speak of, no firefox and only an old (old, old, old) version of internet explorer. And I'm not allowed to install new programs on it.

Part of me worries that The Assassin somehow knew I'd brought a computer home of the same exact model and decided in its crotchety old way to make me pay for my indecent two-facedness. By finally committing the greatest of all computer sins, suicide.

Be warned: this computer looks normal enough. But actually, it's quite evil.
It has a propensity to overheat to the temperature of a hell-mouth, and attempts to restart
lead to a sad, half-hearted series of whirrs and clicks. Also, it will eat your soul.

I'd always frowned and then laughed it off when it sent it's electronic brethren into the deep electronics void. Killing off iPods left and right; annhialating digital cameras and printers with wild abandon; dooming yet another USB hub to the garbage (3, so far), and growing crankier and crankier in its old age. It even incapacitated the USB-powered lavalamp Techkat gave me for my 20th birthday.

The Assassin is fully 6 years old now, practically ancient for a computer, and I probably should have realized that it was getting on in years, but still, I'd hoped we'd have a bit more time together than this! I'll be bringing him to a friend who's a computer expert tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to get him back on his feet. What will I do without him? Is it time to start my search for a new Windows-based laptop? What a terrifying thought.

Upcoming Film: Iron Man

Iron Man enjoys lurking, long flights to the beach,
and staring menacingly through to your soul

Having already seen Forbidden Kingdom, it's time to look ahead and see what else is out there. With much trumpeting and fanfare, Marvel announced it's live action attraction of Iron Man, the story of wealthy billionaire Tony Stark as he develops a technological army-of-one and eventually decides to utilize that power for good.

I haven't really read any of the Iron Man comics, but I've always been a fan of Marvel and their movies so far have all been nothing short of stunning and all have been stuffed with fabulous plot. And frankly, if anyone can play Tony Stark's willfully destructive and highly alcoholic personality, it would be Robert Downey Jr. And, lucky us, that's exactly who's playing him.

I really have nothing else to add here, except that I'm excited to see how they handle some of the physics of having a suit made of metal. Comic-book explanation only does so much, and it's much more impressive to see something of that sort of mass on the move.

With Iron Man coming out on May 2nd, I desperately want to see it on opening night with my friends, but my work schedule doesn't really allow that (getting up at 4am does not interact well with midnight showings... ouch). So I won't be seeing Iron Man opening day, but perhaps on the following Sunday. If you get a chance to see it before I post my reactions, why not leave a comment here and let me know what you thought!

Misti's Link of the Month: Consumerist

I've decided that from now on, in addition to the normal links we'll offer on the side bar, Techkat and I will each have the option of choosing a "link of the month" which will allow our readers to see some of the websites we spend a lot of time viewing.

Even though we're almost done with April, my own link for April 2008 is Consumerist.com, a wonderful site devoted to being a crafty, thrifty, and well-informed consumer. Along with all the usual stories of how to avoid getting ripped off, check out their extensive Flickr pool, and great tips and suggestions on how to save yourself a hefty bundle.

And who doesn't like having more money for themselves???

April's Reading List and a love note to the library

April's been a great month for reading, what with my starting to take public transportation to work and the ample free time I have on my Mondays and Tuesdays off. I figured that in addition to my other geeky pursuits, I could share with you a list of what I've been reading and what I plan to read in upcoming months (which will be covered in my next post... I don't want to overwhelm you).

I have already created a "request" list at the Berkeley Public Library (note to self: get Oakland membership! You don't live in Berkeley anymore!) of all the books I saw at Barnes and Noble that enthralled me in one way or another. The best part of a library is that it's free (mostly. My taxes go there) and they're willing to provide nifty services like creating a waiting list for popular books and holding onto those you want until you get there.

A love note to the library:
Dear Library,

I know it's been a while since I visited you. When last I went, I took full advantage of your freeinternet (which I didn't have available at home because I'd just moved to California) and cheap printing and copying. You have an awesome selection of foreign films and world musiccds. Although your selection of science fiction books is lacking, you make up for it with enthusiasm. All my love,
Misti

Ok, also, get a look at the adorable branch library near me! It's a cottage. Sandwiched between 2 other cottages. It's tiny!


Reading List!

Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs
An urban werewolf/vampire fantasy. The third in a series. I read it without putting it down and it was amazing. The book only gets better after you've met Ms. Briggs whose sweetness is tempered by an absolute excitement for everything she writes. Exciting and a good story!


Teach with Your Heart - Erin Gruwell
A memoir and dissection of the formative years of the Freedom Writers program started by Erin Gruwell. In many ways it's wonderful and heartbreaking and moving. It's also very disturbing to enter the lives of these inner city kids who have never heard of the holocaust but are living in their own sort of war-zone every day.


Everything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson
An essay (or maybe a thesis) on the expanding nature of pop culture and an interesting hypothesis of how Pop Culture is becoming increasingly complex and forcing us to think more; not less as so many critics have suggested. The book has some good arguments but some points seem to have weak support and portions seem more like a truncated college thesis.


The Kids are Alright: How the Gamer Generation is Changing the Workplace - John Beck & Mitchell Wade
Pretty much as described by the title, this book attempts to discern the way the gamer generation will interact with their peers and bosses when they enter the work-place. The authors use actual studies to back up their assertions. This book also has a keen window into the potential benefits of playing games. At least I don't feel as much that I'm wasting my time when I play games!


Intern: A Doctor's Initiation - Sandeep Jauhar
My work at the hospital has increased my interest in how doctors think and what sort of experiences change the way they view thier profession. In that vein, this book was the perfect descriptor of the formative years of a doctor as Sandeep Jauhar recounts his long and winding journey towards becoming a cardiologist. The book presents a lot of interesting anecdotes but also ends a bit too quickly for my taste.

Forbidden Kingdom, Redux!

So several things. I know it's been a bit of a while since I updated last. My main issue is that my job at the hospital, while not particularly exciting or helpful, is extremely exhausting and I often find myself collapsing into bed upon my arrival at home. With my energy so low, it's difficult to induce myself to get anything done at all!

But hey there, I have managed to enjoy myself a little. Today I headed out to see "Forbidden Kingdom" which I had earlier been raving about going to see. I can recommend it to you all now. Although there are some plot holes, it doesn't stop the movie from being enjoyable and Jackie Chan is downright lovable. The main character, played by Michael Angarano is uh... well, he's a hottie.

There. I've said it. I always loved him in Will&Grace as Jack's son, and he's definitely grown up. Although according to his profile on IMDB he's 20, he plays a fairly believable highschool student overwhelmed by a sudden bout of destiny.

(Quick note here: his profile places him in some of my favorite shows and movies, including Will&Grace, The Pretender, Sky High, Almost Famous... There's a training montage in Forbidden Kingdom where he's shirtless. It's awesome. My attempts to recreate the event for you all by scouring the internet have failed, however, and you're either just going to have to see the movie or use your imagination to get the full effect.)

The movie also nicely features a solid jibe at the disconnect between staged martial arts movies of the 60s and 70s and the actual process of learning the martial arts. Though, it's still highly romanticized here.

Really, there's a lot to recommend here, even though the plot is not particularly sophisticated. Here's a thought though; Jet Li has the dorkiest laugh ever, and I don't think anyone's ever really seen Jet Li laugh until this movie.

Go because: Jet Li laughing, Jackie Chan drunk, Michael Angarano shirtless, hair whips, pretty pretty special effects, gang retribution, sweeping landscapes.

Avoid if: You hate monkeys, you dislike montages, martial arts aren't your thing, you dislike the concept of someone getting their throat cut with their own sword.

Reupholstering chairs 101

Today I managed to teach myself to reupholster chairs! My mother and I had these really horribly ugly metal chairs from our old house with vinyl seats.

Well, I guess it could be worse, but it's still a darn ugly chair.

Mom and I picked up some gorgeous fabric in a black and red batik from a local fabric store which carries some beautiful patterns. The real trouble was finding a fabric thick enough to be up to the challenge of accepting our bodacious bottoms for years to come. The truth was, we didn't go to a decorators' fabric store. The fabric we finally chose was just a regular old cotton, but we discovered we could make it thicker by ironing black Pellon backing onto one side of it.

I prepped the chair by unscrewing the cushion from the frame, and getting all my tools ready.

Tools!: Thick fabric, fabric scissors, screwdriver, pliers, and a staple gun.
And a healthy sense of respect for the kind of damage a staple gun can do to your fingers.

I laid the cushion upside down on my fabric, and trimmed the fabric around the cushion so that when I stapled the fabric on, it wouldn't overlap the screw holes to reattach the cushion. Then I started stapling, starting with the straight edge, then working my way out to the sides towards the back.

My first use of the staplegun. It takes more stregnth that it would seem.
More imporantly, You can kill someone by stapling them in the throat.

Using the staple gun took some practice, as I'd never used one before and I did the whole project on my own so I didn't really have any instruction. It's good to note that poorly applied staples can be removed by using your screwdriver as a lever, and using a pair of pliers to yank the offender out. The rest of the fabric should be stapled to the cushion, trying to keep the pleats that come from rounded edges symmetrical. And mostly towards the back where they'll be hidden by the slats of the chair.

The finished cushion from both sides. Much nicer than that hideous blue vinyl,
Amirite?

The last step was to reattach the cushion to the metal frame. Which was actually harder than it sounds, since the screws have a tendency to not want to go in straight. If you ever do a similar project, I highly recommend trying to put in all the screws just a little bit at a time and tightening them all by hitting them all in order. Ultimately, this is a much better plan of attack than my original attempt of trying to screw in one whole screw at a time.

This fabric looks so much better on the chair than it did on the floor.
And the chair looks so much better than it did in blue vinyl. No lie.

So, there you have it! Reupholstering chairs in awesome! Sorry this wasn't more entertaining... it's late and I've been doing my taxes!