Cosplay USA

My blog seems to be becoming a horror movie blog lately. What can I say, they appeal to me and I think they appeal to many costumers. This is the DVD I picked up for $2 brand new at Big Lots. It’s the remake version from 2005 and I think it was worth well worth it. Some movies I’ve been getting lately I regret even renting for a dollar, so this is a good grab.

The story is pretty much your average haunted house possession movie. My boyfriend compared it to The Shining. The graphics were really good. A few parts were really suspenseful, scary, and/or made me cringe. It wasn’t a nonstop panic attack like some movies I’ve been seeing lately; Vacancy, Mirrors, etc. Come to think of it I didn’t finish Mirrors. I’m seeing so many movies lately I’m getting confused. I recommend The Amityville Horror (2005). This movie was pretty good, cheap, not too long or boring… As a comparison, I kinda liked House better. No, not House MD the show. The horror movie House.

Amusement Points 7.5/10

While most costumes are completed, there are always a few that slip between the cracks and are never finished. Most times, the ones left unfinished are never finished. I’m not sure why that is. I would think the biggest reason is loss of inspiration and a higher desire to make a different costume. Also it’s hard to pick up where I left off. Other times I hit a road block and there was a defined reason why I stopped.

Now that I’ve been cleaning up around the house and putting things in storage, I’m uncovering some of these unfinished costumes. I guess you could call it spring cleaning since I started in spring and hope to end around spring. Insert corny “ha-ha” here.

I will start listing them from oldest to newest with short descriptions.

Chibi Usa - I started this one and never finished. I can’t put an exact reason on why. Oh yes, the boots I ordered were stolen in the mail and the seller would not refund me. I reversed the charge, then they reversed the charge reversal overdrawing my bank account. I can’t think of much other than that except underlying negative feelings about the boot situation. Also, this costume has been done many times and I also had trouble finding a good wig.

Maria Renard (adult version) - I have a beautiful wig for this that needs retouching. That’s about all I have for this. Someone already made a wonderful costume of this so I feel it’s sorta been done already.

Dangaizer 3 - Awesome costumes! I was going to help create the 3 costumes for the group. The idea fell through when I realized I was going to be doing 80% of the work and fronting some costs. I wouldn’t have minded except the costumes were very intricate and 1 alone is an accomplishment let alone making nearly all 3. We had the boots, wigs, materials; I just didn’t have the heart. The girls didn’t have the heart to learn the routine either even if I was to do all that sewing. Craptacular.

Flonne - I love Flonne. I sewed the bloomers and my butt wouldn’t fit in them. I ignored that for a while and went to order the shoes. As simple as my desires are for the shoes, I couldn’t find what I was looking for and moved on. Completing the costume meant buying more material because I underestimated my ass size. So in a wierd way it means admitting my ass is too big. D:

Plenair - I still wanted a Disgaea costume and once had a crush on someone who loved this character. In a bid to look cute and impress, I started to make this costume. Then he announced he is moving away. That sucks. I also tried to bribe the perfect wig from my friend from the Dangaizer project. No cigar.

Chibi Usa - Yes again! This time I decided to spoil myself and order one of those picture perfect pre-made costumes of the net from asia. Bad idea. The first one never showed up after about a month of waiting. I ordered another one, waited another month, and MAN! That looks nothing like the picture. Maybe it will look better once it’s on, but yuck. Unbelievable. I still have to worry about the wig. The point of this whole thing is to look really good without all the fuss. All it was is fuss and doesn’t look very good, so at this point I can get a crappy wig and it will match the crappy costume. I just wouldn’t want to leave the house in it.

Lillith - I have everything I need on this one; the wig, materials, boots, and all. I stopped mainly because I never have enough time to finish it before the next upcoming convention. Then there are so many great Lilliths that every time I go to make this, another great Lillith cosplay shows up. I will complete this one though because I truly love Lillith and she is so me when it comes to body type. 

Rachel Summers - Yep, the child of Jean Grey and Cyclops. Why? Because her statue looks cool. I ordered the wig and all the materials. The material came in and it’s dark green, not a true green like she wears. *bad gameshow buzzer* Then the wig came in and its a bit too short. I’d look like a bad 80’s punk rocker. It’s Rachel Summers, not Dazzler! *longer bad gameshow buzzer*

Yoko - This one still has hope. I just need more time. I have the long red hair with nice chopsticks; what a gorgeous wig! I have the white cowboy boots and stockings. The black shorts came in. Yet again I underestimated the size of the mighty ass. The lady let me exchange them for a bigger size. They’re Paris Hilton brand so go figure there’s no ass. I’m still deciding if I want to use those or if I’d rather order some pvc (vinyl) shorts. Vinyl is easier to match for the top. I also still need the belt and the gun seems overwhelming to me right now. All this hope… then I see online that everyone and their momma made this costume already. Dammit.

Mileena - I almost finished!!!!! But no!!!! The sewing machine decided to start sewing in irregular tension. I’ll have to rip it apart and start again. I wish I were Kitana instead, but the fabric I have is Mileena’s color. Such is the price to pay when you’re poor as I. It would be nice someday to buy whatever I need, not do with what I’ve got. I hope to get there someday. :]

For now, I don’t think I’ll be starting any new costumes. I’ll have to finish up on one of these!

Yep, we know me… I don’t pick up what the typical girl would pick up from the DVD bargain bin. I must say I was tempted to pick up Legally Blonde 2 because people always called me that when I was blonde and wore a business dress suit and I thought the dog looked cute. I haven’t seen #1 though so that made my decision for me.

The bargain bin at Big Lots had many good finds. I picked up Final Destination 2 or $3. Also, I found 2 versions of the Amityville Horror; the 2005 remake and “Amityville 3D”. Amityville Horror 2005 was $2 so that was a no-brainer.

I got some non-horror movies as well. Wedding Singer for $3 will replace the one I scratched up to the point only one side works (fullscreen I believe). Bubba Hotep Special Edition, Chapelle’s Block Party, and Animatrix were also $3. You can’t beat that on new DVDs. My boyfriend splurged $5 on the classic tv Frosty the Snowman. I also see now it includes Frosty Returns. Good times.

My Friday the 13th box set came in. :} I now have enough Freddy to last me days. I also got my Ed Wood dvd in. For some reason I thought I ordered one with more films on it, but this one has 6 of his movies including Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride of the Monster, Glen or Glenda, Jail Bait, The Violent Years, and Night of the Ghouls.

My guilty pleasure, 7th Heaven Season 7, also just arrived last week. Sadly the 2nd disk is defective. :( I’ll have to see if I can get it exchanged. What a pain. Go figure I wait 6 months for the next season - when the show has been finished for years - then it comes in defective. I tried it on my X-Box which is always questionable and also my laptop; no cigar. Total bummer. Now the X-Box is crapping out. So many DVDs but I have to take a break. Thank god for youtube and foreign television programming. :O

I got home from a long day of working at a football game, kicked off my shoes, and put on some 2″ heels to relax. That’s right. My household shoes are heels. I’m tired of everyone at jobs telling me I’m going to be uncomfortable in heels when I’m actually most comfortable in heels.

Heels come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and structures. Your basic heels have height measurements to tell you the height/slope of the heel in distance from the heel to the floor. 1-2″ are pumps, 3-4″ are heels, 5″+ are extreme/fetish. The 1-2″ heels are comfortable. Once you reach 3-4″ you’re going to feel it. Don’t even think about walking around in 5″.

The heel itself can also vary in shape. There are spike shaped heels, chunky heels, and other shaped heels. They can also vary in color and material such as plastic, wood, or metal. With costumes durability isn’t as much of a factor, but the shape can set the style and appearance of even the simplest costume. Choose wisely! 

Platforms make it possible to acheive height with more comfort. There is a measurement for the heel and the platform. If the platform is 2″ and the heel is 5″, it is actually only a 3″ heel. The platform size is subtracted from the heel size to figure out the slope for comfort.

There are also wedge shoes and platforms. These look like they’re easier to walk in because the heel and the toe are attached with continuous structure. There is no gap between heel and ball of the foot. The tricky part is that this attaching piece is usually slimmer than a heel is and it’s usually placed further forward. You may think cool! The heel won’t get stuck on anything, but you’re more likely to fall on uneven ground.

Hats off to heels on!

That’s right, a list. It may sound simple, but if you forgo it, you will likely regret it. Thanks to lists, I can sucessfully accomplish last minute packing.

I’ve actually had dreams about forgetting things. In my dreams I’m usually far away or about to go on stage when I realize there is a part of a costume missing. Practical items are just as inconvenient to go missing. If you aren’t driving, it’s nearly impossible to get some things in some tourist areas. If you are driving, you can usually go outside of town to pick up odds and ends.

I make a list of everything I could possibly need on the trip. If I’m not using it daily, I throw it in the bag/pack it ahead of time. Nothing is left out from this list and I go over it a final time before I leave the house. It also takes away some of the pre-trip panic in the days before the journey. The list lets me know visually that I’ve got it all under control.

Another big “duh” is check your hotel room before you leave. Don’t forget the bathroom, drawers, and under beds. Beds are commonly known to eat objects.

I also left a phone charger in the bathroom of my hotel room once. I did a visual check, but for some reason the charger registered as coffee maker/hair dryer/shaver/random electronics cord that didn’t belong to me. That sucks but I have several phone chargers to misplace at my convenience. I also thought I left a wig or two behind on the same trip. I found them though; just another case of paranoia. Hey, but better safe than sorry! - Or in this case - Better packed than lost!