I’ve finished my round with the muslin for my most recent costume!  Now finally moving on to the real fabric!  That always feels nice.  :)  Because every time you make a costume and do a toile first, you’re actually making two costumes every time.  Pain in the ass… I know, but worth it!

I don’t want to jinx myself, but working with this pattern was pretty smooth going.  Meaning I was able to go from step to step without any trouble for the most part.  I still don’t understand why when i pulled the string on the top of the skirt to make the gathers, the gathers where very tight on the back side of the skirt but not in the front.  I would have rather had it even all the way around instead of just on the back side.  But that is how the gathers fit into the pattern.  Ehh.  Maybe the mystery will be solved when I do it again.  :)

This will be debuted at Connooga this year!  I’m excited to head back to the Choo Choo hotel and enjoy the atmosphere of the con.   It’s a small con with a nice relaxed atmosphere.  Plus I’m excited to see some of my good friends!

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Now that you can see some more finished photos, you should be able to tell what it is, no?  I’ve given some hints on Facebook and asked a few times for people to guess what costume I’m making, but I received only one response.  Maybe I need to offer a cookie prize or something.  ;)

Night, night,

-Neko

The reason I wrote this post is because I want to speak my peace about JoePa and it’s been a struggle.  First of all I’m not always well spoken.  Secondly there are those who are “hating” on Joe Paterno for his involvement in the Sandusky Scandal.  It’s understandable that people would feel conflicted.  I get that.  There was a horrendous crime committed and it turned out to be covered up for some time by a large number of people.  People who had much authority.  I could recap the entire scandal piece by piece, but I’m not going to do that.

My view is the same as it was when JoePa was alive and will be now that he’s gone from our world.  Things can’t be summed up so quickly, but I feel that him going to someone of higher authority and reporting what he heard second hand was what he should have done.   Through different media sources I read that he had reported the issue to his boss and the head of police.  He is not one to run and hide or blame others.  He simply said he wish he could have done more.  I could go back and forth about the matter and all the haters throwing stones who still thinks he did nothing will never understand my feelings.  That’s fine.

To quote an online news source who interviewed him for the last time: ”Joe reported the matter to the head of police and his boss. He reported a matter on which he received very few details and for which he was not a witness. God bless the many of you who insist you would have done so much more when presented with an unclear account.”

A candle light vigil was held at Old Main tonight and this was my little vigil to honor JoePa

Now to move on, I want to share the bit of personal info with you.  I am a PSU alumni and have always been proud to say so.  I loved being there even though I was a shy kid and didn’t have many friends.  I loved doing everything there was to offer in State College, including going to the football games.  The times I had were some of the best in my life and you’ll find that many other PSU alumni feel the same way.  JoePa was a huge part of Penn State.  In my eyes he held values that are rare to find these days: honor, determination, modesty, class & a strong heart.  He always held onto his values and traditions despite what others did.  He was much more to the students & staff than just a coach.  He was like a grandfather who shared hints of wisdom.   Despite his successes he always lived modestly.  His address & his phone number were always publicly listed in the phone books and it is the same home he purchased back in 1966.  A friend and I would always take walks in Joe’s neighborhood to see the beautiful foilage and to visit the small park that was there.  Of course we got a little star struck seeing his home and knowing he lived right there, just like everyone else.

The one time I met Joe Paterno was probably an unusual moment.  :)  Another friend and I would ride our bikes around town for fun.  We decided to head behind the agriculture area of the school and go down some dirt roads.  There were fields here for research and study.  I remember it being sunny and hot out.  We had stopped for a minute to take a drink of water and suddenly see a figure in the distance.  It was down the dirt road we had just taken and the heat was doing that thing on the horizon where it looks there are invisible waves making the road blurry.

My friend said, “That’s coach Paterno.”  In disbelief I said, “No it’s not.”  He said, “Yes it is!”  I said, “No, it’s not!”   After a few moments the person gets closer and I’m shocked to see it’s him!  It’s freakin’ Joe Paterno, jogging down the road in 87 degree heat , wearing no shirt!  The only thing we thought to say was, “Hello Coach!”  He says, “Beautiful morning isn’t it?”  and just keeps jogging.

It was such a quick, but nice moment with him and I’ll never forget it.

I don’t believe in my heart of hearts that after 85 years of positively impacting everyone around him and all he gave back to Penn State that he should be dishonored like he was in the end.  Just knowing his character that’s only grown over time… I don’t see that this scandal defines him or that he was the face of it like the media has painted.  Be careful what you take away from the media.  I myself can’t claim to know everything.  Since I don’t work for the FBI or the police department and since this is my personal site.  I will tell you that at this point I have to go with my heart and my instinct.

I thank you Joe for making Penn State a better place for me to be and for all of the inspiration.  In fact, when I was unemployed and feeling down, my boyfriend printed out your quotes and put them up all over the house to help motivate me.  I loved those quotes.  I left my favorite one up on my work bench:

To me Joe Paterno IS and always will be Penn State!

-Kat

Check this story out -> Link

A comic book shop (called “A Comic Shop”) in Orlando is behind a “Buy American” push.  No, not for cars, clothes, or consumer electronics.  It’s a push for readers to buy American comics, as opposed to Japanese manga.  Here’s the full print ad (click to enlarge):

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Often I’m torn on issues, trying to see the good points on both sides.  But in this case, the idea is stupid, out-of-touch, and jingoistic.  If this comic shop was trying to drum up new customers, I’m afraid they failed.  Let’s examine why:

1. Whether it was their goal or not, they have likely offended manga fans.  While the advert doesn’t directly say anything rude about their readers, it would be easy to see why a manga reader would feel like they’re being talked down to because of what they choose to enjoy. “Am I being Un-American because the comics I read come from Japan?”  Adding insult to injury, this shop is offering a new DC comic for any first volume of manga traded in.  Like a broken-down used car, toss it to get the fancy new American product!
2. So you’re manga audience is upset…what about comic readers?  They might enjoy this ad, but aren’t you just preaching to the choir?  Comic book fans that don’t read/like manga are already at your shop, buying the comics they want.  You aren’t getting any new readers, unless there are really people that start buying more comics to kill the “menace from the Far East” (hilariously unlikely).
3. They are going to pass these flyers out…at Megacon.  It’s a huge anime convention in Orlando.  Really?  See point one above, but I’m afraid you won’t get many converts to your cause.  Anime con-goers are fervent admirers of anime and manga.  Some anime fans feel like they can’t truly enjoy their hobby in their everyday lives, fearful of ridicule and judgement.  It’s at a convention that they really show their full love of anime, cosplay, and culture.  So when someone steps onto “their” turf, with not a request, but a provocation, they’re bound to get pushed back.  Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of their ads ripped up and trashed.  A closed-minded ad creates a closed-minded response.
4. Speaking of people at the convention, what about Japanese or non-American attendees that see these ads?  How are they supposed to feel, seeing a sign that tells them their products are seen as invasive?  Also, check the small print at the bottom of the advertisement.  *Limit one per American citizen!  Wow, that’s not uncomfortable…foreigners need not apply.

Just in case you care about my personal opinion on the manga vs. comics discussion…Yes, I do prefer manga by a wide margin.  I do have several comic books, but they are far and few between.  I just happen to enjoy the stories in manga more, due to the storytelling style and longer books. But I don’t hate comic books by any stretch of the imagination.

So it looks like all they’ve done is widen the divide between comic and manga readers, fueling fanboyism along the way.  Awesome job!  In a world where reading paper products is declining, let’s try to shrink the market.

If they had thought a little harder about what they were doing, they could have created a positive promotion that actually might have got them some business.  Instead of the “Buy American” stance, they could have asked people to try comic books, leaving in the trade-in offer, saying they would give submitted manga to charity.  You drum up goodwill, and possibly pick up a few converts.

Anime fans may not read as many comic books, but many of them love the Spiderman, Thor, and Captain America films.  They love Batman: Arkham Asylum. Show them the works that created (or continue) these stories, and do it in a way where they feel invited, not threatened.

If they needed some help coming up with positive ideas, they should have went back to something they already are a part of…Free Comic  Book Day.

Bye for now!

Got some sad news yesterday in my e-mail:

GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE!

It is with great sadness that Happy Japan is going out of business. We wanted to thank our customers for their years of patronage by have a final sale!

Starting Saturday, January 6, all merchandise will be 50% off!!!!

All merchandise must go! Sale will end at the end of January or when everything is sold, whichever comes first.

For those not in the know, Happy Japan is (was?) a great little boutique shop in the middle of Nashville that offered an array of Japanese bento accessories, anime and manga merchandise, and a bit of cosplay items like wigs and dresses.  They also carried Japanese snacks and had cold Ramune in stock.  Sadly, these are the final days of this unique store.

Knowing that their time was short, my girlfriend and I made the trip today to see Happy Japan one last time.  I’m usually not a fan of going to stores that are closing, as it often feels like you’re in a kettle of vultures circling soon-to-be-deceased prey.  But we wanted to at least find out the reason they were closing, and also see if there were any final items we could buy before being forced to purchase everything Japanese from the Internet.

Sure enough, the parking lot (which is admittedly small) was packed, and inside was about the same.  I’m sure most people that work in a closing store see these clearance crowds and ask themselves where these people were when they needed business.  Most everything is up for sale, minus some of the one-of-a-kind signage and artwork of Happy Japan’s mascot  Yuki:

What will happen to Yuki now?

Sure enough, much of the fashion items have been purchased, and it looks like a sizable chunk of the anime merchandise and snacks were being picked up as well.  But there was still quite a large selection of Pokemon and bento items available.  Everything is 50% off, so it’s likely to go quick.

We took the liberty of taking a couple parting photos of Happy Japan:

This shelf used to house jewelry and hairpieces for ladies.  Now so empty…

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Still quite a bit of food prep accessories are in stock but going fast.

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Her final purchase from Happy Japan!  Framed Japanese patterned fabric, hair ties, and a Miku Hatsune sticker set.

I did take a moment to ask the clerk why they were closing, because it was never made abundantly clear in the email.  The clerk told me that some the items they sold were available for less at big-box stores and they just couldn’t compete financially.  That’s really sad to hear, of course.  But I guess I’ve personally not seen many of the items here in any local store.  If she was talking about the Internet, then I guess it makes a little more sense.  Anime fans are unique in that they are accustomed to purchasing their  items almost exclusively online.  But then again one reason anime conventions are so popular are the dealer rooms, where people can purchase items right over the counter.  But unfortunately it looks like Happy Japan just wasn’t able to survive running a full-time store.

As for the “Happy Eating” truck, I have no idea what the status is.  I do remember that they had some issues with the truck several months ago, but since then the Twitter feed has gone dark.  I’d be even more sad to see this go, as the super-cool truck had awesome snacks that even my out-of-town friends would try to hunt down when in Nashville.

It’s depressing to see this business shut down, as it seemed to be filling a niche with a lot of spending power.  But we’ll always have the memories…

Be sure to stop by if you are close to wish them well during their final days:

Happy Japan
2817 Bransford Avenue
Nashville, TN 37204
615-457-2906

Goodbye and thanks for everything!

This isn’t a big corporate retail business so I don’t have to say “Happy Holidays”.  ;)

I hope everyone has been having a great time this season.  I know for me and my friends it’s a bit of a resting period for costuming, but get ready!   It’s about to start up again and I’ll be back to stressin’ over getting things done in time.  So is life!

We made our way to another Santa Rampage this year and it was fun like always.  I rewore Christmas Kitty and got a few more nice pictures so I added them to the cosplay section: http://littleneko.com/catagories/my-cosplay/christmas-kitty/  I apologize that some of my thumbnails are blurring.  I’m trying to figure out why and will fix them soon.  If you click on the images they will be clear.  :)

The same day as Santa Rampage my boyfriend and I stopped in one of my favorite little shops, Happy Japan in Nashville!  I decided to show up in my Kitty outfit thinking it was appropriate and they have probably seen people come in in costume before.  Funny thing is, I got absolutely no reaction from anyone in there.   So I guess I was right!  Lol.  I had to get a few pictures with the giant cat bus they have!

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I know it’s not cash or the winning lottery ticket, but here are some of my favorite wallpapers that I’ve found randomly on the internet.  I did not make these myself.  I wish I was talented enough to make one.  I’m still a bit of a novice in Photoshop.  So I hope you enjoy!  I figured if I posted all Christmas wallpaper you wouldn’t be able to use them since Christmas is over.  So no Holiday wallpapers this time around.  :)

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Just in case you don’t know how to save:   You can click on the image you want to enlarge it and then right click it, then choose Save As to save it to your computer.  When you click an image to see it, the preview will look smaller than the image actually is.  When you view the file on your computer you will see it’s bigger.  All of the images are not the same size.  Enjoy!

Have a Happy and Warm Holiday Season,

-Little Kat

F4

Jan Di ends up saving the boys life as he’s ready to jump off the school roof because he’s had enough.  To save face the school asks Jan Di to enroll there off of a swimming scholarship.  Through all of this Jan Di ends up becoming a target herself and getting into it with the leader and rich kid, pretty boy of F4, Gu Jun Pyo.  Needless to say romantic adventures ensue thereafter.  With who, I can’t say yet seeing as I’m only a few episodes in.

Now, you say, why would you keep watching this crazy show if the acting is so over the top?  If there are very unrealistic features: a rich school where you never see any teachers, no adults to be found, the students just seem to do whatever they want and constantly torment whom they please to ridiculous extents.  When you find yourself laughing at the scenes where the hot F4 guys come walking into school and there’s rays of sunlight coming down from the heavens as they come through the doors,.. literally.

The lead cast of Boys Over Flowers

Well…, I just love it and I can not wait to see what happens next!  I can’t stop thinking about the show when I’m not watching it.  Dangerous, I know!

When I watched the first episode I didn’t like all of the over acting at first, but then I realized it’s over the top on purpose.  Once I reached the end of the first episode, I was already wanting more.  It’s suppose to be dramatic and light hearted so I believe they can get away with it and still be successful.  The characters are so likable and yes, those guys are hot.  ;)  I actually enjoy making fun of some it at times, but I can still get deep into the story and really feel for/or against the characters.

So you ladies or guys out there, you NEED to start watching Boys Over Flowers with me!!  It would be so much fun to rave over it together!!

Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo

(My little girl self talkin’, “I’m totally crushing on Kim Hyun Joong!!  Hot!”)

So you may think I sound like a lame old woman talking about her soaps, but I have a feeling if you gave Korean Dramas a chance, you would get sucked right in with me.  I think it’s much better than the American soaps your mom used to watch before Opera came on.  It typically has a younger cast and it’s more of a really long movie than how soaps have a lot of different characters with mediocre stories that seem to move along forever and ever.

Boys Over Flowers is based on a Manga (after my own heart) and it was a huge hit in South Korea.  Many of the cast became extremely popular after the show and men in Korean actually started dressing differently because of influence of the F4 gang!  I mean, they are hot so…  ;)

Na joong ae bo ja (See you later),

-Kat

Just in case you didn’t see this on the Facebook page or Twitter, I have recently added Elina from Queen’s Blade to the “My Cosplay” section of the site!  I have a full description and lots of photos so you can me in all my big boobed glory!!

Here is the link: http://littleneko.com/catagories/my-cosplay/elina-queens-blade-series/

What?  I had to get the character as accurate as possible?!  ;)

Enjoy!

Happy Weekend!

- Neko 

Hey Everyone!  I want to introduce a new writer for LittleNeko.com,.. Mr. ChinkyD!  He is a fellow geek himself, enjoying gaming, computer technology, sci-fi & conventions.  Even a little costuming from time to time.  ;)  I decided that more, excellent content could definitely not hurt the site and ChinkyD has great thoughts and incite on the topics we like to chat about.  So without further ado, here is his first Post!  Enjoy and feel free to leave your comments here on the website or on our Facebook page!  Enjoy.    -Little Neko

It’s the most important time of year for anyone that owns an Xbox 360, PS3, PC…and YES, EVEN A WII!

Blow the dust off the box you use to play Mario games and show off bowling to your non-gaming relatives. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword hit stores on Sunday, November 20th. To celebrate the release and the 25th anniversary of the franchise, Nintendo offered a pretty amazing pre-order limited edition that included the game, a CD of the music, and a special gold Wiimote with built-in Wii Motion Plus. Cool, right?

Nintendo special editions pre-orders always sell out, but fortunately I was able to order a copy online to be picked up at a Best Buy in Nashville. It was about an hour drive, but totally worth it (in my mind). My local Best Buy wasn’t offering this edition, but I still felt fortunate to snag a copy somewhere semi-local.

So a week later the day arrives and I fight the Bellevue area Sunday traffic on my way to the prize. Pre-Black Friday mobs have already started gathering at your soccer mom-friendly stores like Target. But finally I pulled in and walked up to the pick-up counter. First thing I notice is that there are 5 cashiers gathered around the register, conversing and not helping anyone. Resilient enough economy to hire too many people, perhaps?

Anyway, the first cashier gets my info, my credit card, and my ID and slides open the doors or their online pick-up area. It’s a friggin’ mess, basically 8 to 10 wire racks with random electronics. It looks like an episode of Hoarders if they were at the CEO of Best Buy’s house. She goes through shelves 1-5, then 6-10…not too nervous…yet. She looks confused, but then she pulls out a game! Hey, that looks like Link! Here she comes, hells yeah!

Wait. That’s a normal-sized box. Yep, it’s the regular edition. The “20 dollars cheaper non-special edition”.

Politely, I ask if that’s the special edition with the extra controller, etc. She realizes her mistake, then she makes “the walk”. I’ve worked in retail, and “the walk” is the trip the low level cashier takes to find a manager. A few minutes later she is timidly following a twenty-something guy with a goatee, and at this point I notice a slight crowd has gathered around. There are two additional cashiers and two additional customers with printed sheets of paper. I heard one of the customers saying “I ordered online a looooonnng time ago and I don’t understand how you could screw this up!”

Sure enough, they were all there for the same thing. They had pre-ordered Zelda and were there to claim their rightful prize. The manager had that half-frustrated, half-apathetic face that most people making 8 dollars an hour get sometimes. The cashier pointed me out, and then the speech came.

“Sir (always a bad sign when this starts a conversation) the way our system works, it allows you to order an item even if we don’t have it and it picked the order at the warehouse and BLAH BLAH BLAH MY MOUTH WILL RUN UNTIL YOU GET BORED…” He then heads off to some magical land, presumably returning again when hell freezes over.

Before I can say anything, the grumpy other customer jumps in with “I ORDERED THIS WAY BACK AND I WANT MY GAME NOW.” The other customer was your quiet gamer that was obviously pissed, but not wanting to rip out the manager’s throat (yet). I talked to him a moment and found out that not only did his pre-order get screwed, but that he had been going all over Nashville trying to find another copy since that morning. Wow…dedication.

The angry gamer talked to me for a few moments about how he wanted his game, but now he wanted it free with some extra money for his trouble. Good luck. Best Buy is notorious for screwing over customers and finding a way to force you out.

So about 20 minutes pass and the three defeated customers finally see the big boss (apparently he’s like the Wizard of Oz and it’s very difficult to get a conference with him). I really didn’t want to see him. I just wanted my game and to get the hell on out. But I get the same speech as before, and after they look up my order a third time, ask for my contact info…

They ask me to come back tomorrow when they will probably have the game in stock. This seems to calm the other two gamers, as they were both local. The quieter one seemed to happy just to find any way to get his special edition. The other still looked pissed, but somewhat defeated and ready to accept anyway to get his Zelda fix. Of course, I have to explain that I live an hour away and I wasn’t ready to drive 2 more hours because of their screw-up. I get the “Me so sorry” speech again and then an awkward silence takes over the Best Buy.

Then I get a look from him that says “Well, that’s all we’re going to do…what are you gonna do about it?” I’ll keep it PG, saying that I asked for my money back and requested that they give up on ever being a successful chain again.

“Wait. If you wanted this game so badly, why did I give up on it now?”

It’s because I had an ace in the hole. While BB was fumbling my pre-order and further crapping on their reputation, I was calling Gamestop stores in my hometown. Sure enough, a shop in my local mall had 3 copies! But they wouldn’t hold them and they were going fast. I made a quick call to a friend who just so happened to be heading to the mall for some early Xmas shopping. So a hero stepped in and saved the princess (OK, a little melodramatic there…) I get my money back from the fail whale known as Best Buy and make my way the hell out.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the manager gave me a $10 gift card for my trouble. Thanks jackass, that covers a little over half of my fuel costs and NONE of my time wasted costs! I think maybe we’ll just have a LittleNeko.com giveaway at some point for this card, because I really don’t want to shop there again.

Best Buy totally FUBAR’ed this pre-order and felt little obligation to make it right. As a customer, I felt like a thrown out piece of garbage. I made the choice to trust them with this purchase and they jacked up every piece of the puzzle. Obviously I’m making a point to never purchase a video game there again. Likely this will bleed over to all of my electronics purchases as well. Amazon, NewEgg, and a slew of other (better) retailers sell the products I want at a cheaper price with better customer service.

Of course they are all online, but I will actually give credit where it’s due to Gamestop. They had the special edition of the game, even after fulfilling all their pre-orders. Pretty remarkable. The next time they ask me if I want to pre-order “SUPER SECRET EDITION GEARS OF HALO FIGHTER VS. 3″, I might just try them.

But seriously people, if you love games, don’t shop at Best Buy. I’ve read so many horror stories, and yet I jumped right into the cesspool. I won’t be making that mistake again.

Gotta love the fact that there are no big games coming out for months now and then all of a sudden three major titles come out within 10 days of each other!  You would think the game companies who create these games would keep an eye out for each others releases, but ehh.  :)  Maybe Skyrim creators picked the best date releasing first on November 11th.  Halo Anniversary will be next on November 15th, then Zelda: Skyward Sword on November 20th, which is a Sunday.  Weird day of the week Nintendo!!  Although perfect for me since I’m off on Mondays.  ;)   Personally I am interested in all three of these games and I may have to be locked down like a hermit!  I’ll be inside so long the sun will hurt my eyes when I peek out for the first time and realize it’s 2012.  My friends won’t even recognize me with the new facial hair I’ve gro….. WAIT A MINUTE!!

heh, heh… Just kidding.

I’ve never ever been that bad!  But it sure is fun to get engulfed in a game for a while.  Of course my boyfriend being all knowing of everything related to gaming culture, he has informed me of the ever popular poop sock.  Yes,.. it’s the sock that you poop in!  No, WE have never used the poop sock.  Click here for the ever wonderful Urban Dictionary to explain it all!!  Not to be confused with this version of being Poopsocked: http://youtu.be/2bqcjQRzkeQ.    :)

Moving on…..  These games are getting mad reviews by sites such as IGN.com.  They gave Skyrim a 9.5 which is listed as “amazing” on their review.  I have not played the previous installments of this game, but I watched the video review and it looks like something I could see myself getting into!  They talk about how engulfing it is having a large world packed with so much content, an amazing sound track, every detail in the scenery in extremely well done and thought out.  Also players have the freedom to do what they want when they want.  So if I want to explore around I can or if I want to go to Burger King with my dragon I can.

Well, you might not be able to do that last part.  I might be heading out to purchase this tonight.  Now the only decision is do I play on PC or XBox?  I love playing on Xbox, but I keep hearing how PC gaming can be a better experience.  I am still not using to PC gaming and need to set up the computer I have to play to be more comfortable.  Lets just say I’m using a small office chair that is falling apart in our guest bedroom.

I can not wait for Halo Anniversary since I have been a huge fan of the franchise since Halo 2!  So this is perfect for me since I never played the first Halo game: Combat Evolved.  Shame on me, I know!  The anniversary game will be fully remastered and players will be able to toggle between the original style of play and the new style of play(with armor effects, etc.) There will be a bunch of multi-player maps included, plus hidden areas throughout the campaign where you can learn about untold parts of the story line that foreshadow Halo 4.  Hmmmmm, Halo…….  :)

Funny thing about Zelda: Skyward Sword is I had no idea it was coming out so soon.  I watched it being talked about on E3 coverage months ago and then it left my mind because it seemed so far away at that time.  It looks amazing like the last few Zelda games that came out and apparently this time we get a lot more story and I’m sure this means more character development!  The motion controls are even better in this game and really demonstrate how motion control redefines game play overall.  I’ve said in the past that Zelda: Twilight Princess was the only reason to buy a Wii and now there is a second reason.  ;)  As an early birthday present, my boyfriend has pre-ordered me the Skyward Sword Bundle with Gold Wii Remote Plus!!  Guys, if you wanna give your lovely gaming ladies a wonderful treat, better order yours now!  :)  The Zelda games have been very popular among the ladies.  It comes with the game, the Music CD Soundtrack and Gold Wii Remote Plus w/Triforce Symbol Accessory.

Well, I’m outta here!  Gotta finish cleaning up the mess that was my craft room, all left over from the costuming over the last few months.  I will be going through all of my loads of crud to organize it and try to find a place for it.  I plan on ordering a small desk to become my sewing desk.  Whoo-hoo!

Night night,

-Kitty

One of the most important aspects of a con for me is to hang out with good friends whom I don’t get to see as often as I would like! This definitely held true at GMX. Plus I love seeing people who use their intelligence, creativity and ingenuity to build amazing costumes, props, digital media, robotics, etc. I saw some amazing creations from the Apparition Abolishers! They worked non-stop for the last two months working on variety of steampunk items and creatures! In addition they also put together one of the best burlesque shows I’ve ever seen!  Our friend who is creator of Bar2D2 has made himself this amazing(almost life size) dinosaur skeleton that he wears as a costume!

Plus we were able to meet some guys from MTRAS(Middle TN Robotic Arts Society) & meet one of their robots!  Now if I would have been keener on the schedule and was able to wake up early on Sunday(HA), I would have loved to see the panel they did on Ruben’s Tube.  I saw a video of it this week and was thinking,…. WHERE WAS I??  :)

Some of my favorite moments of GMX: The 501st party & the dancing that ensued! The burlesque show was freakin’ amazing and we hung out afterwards for some post show partying!

Least favorite moments: Still being in the mood to party late, late Saturday night when everyone else was ready to go to bed & seeing how sad all of my friends were from the loss of Ryan Jones.

If you attend any of the conventions in the area or in surrounding states, you might have know of a costumer named Ryan Jones. Unfortunately he passed away the week of the convention. This was of course extremely shocking for all of those that knew him & even those who only knew him in passing as an amazing Dr. Who cosplayer. I mean, he looked just like the guy. He was also an amazing musician in the band Lo-Cash Cowboys. Besides all of that Ryan seem to shine most as a good person, great friend and fiance. I unfortunately didn’t really know Ryan that well, but I wish I did. I have many close friends who did know him well, for years now. To see how he has inspired them and to see how many people came together at the memorial this weekend to honor him was amazing and so touching. It’s wonderful to know there are people in the world like Ryan. Of course this was a very emotional time during the convention. Not a dry eye in the house. Here is the link to the tribute video for Ryan friends: http://youtu.be/GHSVCZ4QvtI

GMX found its way this year to the Millenium Maxwell House hotel in Nashville.  Sad thing is, I wasn’t super fond of the old hotel, but not that fond of the new one either! lol. This wasn’t problem enough to keep me from enjoying GMX! Oh no!! I thought the GMX staff were cool and the hotel staff were very helpful and friendly. I loved having the patio and grassy area in the back of the hotel for events & photos. The hotel restaurant was expensive, but the food was decent and I enjoyed the buffets they set up.

I feel bad reporting about GMX with not having attended many panels, but I still have a blast at the convention and there are many ways to experience the con!

Why the hotel sucked? Well, if you would like to know:  the events being on multiple floors so you had to fight for the elevators or you might not know something is going on, they wouldn’t let us check in early(if the Marriott Marquis for Dragon Con can do it??), there was little sink space & no full length mirrors in the room. You laugh, but for someone trying to see if their costume is looking good before heading out, this is important and usually standard in a hotel room. The heating/cooling unit in our room wouldn’t heat! They actually came and put in a completely new unit. The gentleman who came to fix the unit was super nice and he actually has been to a convention in San Diego. We had a little chat while my friend & I were getting ready. Well, after the unit was replaced, it would work some of the time and make a loud clicking noise. Lol.

So that’s my dig on this year’s GMX!  I’m glad it’s growing and I look forward to seeing it get better & better every year!   Till next time.

And I just like these two pics.  hehe…  You know,.. I don’t have enough pictures of my Black Rock Shooter costume!!

To see all of our photos from GMX please see them on my Conventions page or click here!  And all of the photos in this post can be seen in larger format by simply clicking on them!  :)

Love ya’s!

-Kat