Thbpt.

I feel like I'm turning this into the land of the cyber-poll, so I won't put up another one, but... should I dye my hair? I am horribly sick of its eternal sameness at the moment.

And I can't decide what to do, although first off, I'd need a good haircut (pricey). I certainly don't want to bleach my head (savings account draining, time consuming, and rather stupid), so I thought perhaps while I was getting my (pricey) haircut, maybe I'd try an (expensive) professional tint that would turn the whole thing a dark reddish, so I'd still look like me, but with super-dark auburny red hair. Option # 3 is a head full of highlights (mega-expensive).

We shall see, but I'm taking suggestions.



On another note, make sure you're out at Nophest this Friday. There's a surprise in store =)

And by the way, nobody leaves the KGB.

Kat's U-Pick-It

And no, not your nose. =P


I can't pick what I'm going to do for DragonCon, so I entreat (re: beg) the public to help me decide. If you would, take a moment to hit up my Cosplay polls =>

For the Georgia Renaissance Festival in April, Jackie and I will be dressing as elves, complete with latex ears from Woochie. I'm going to make our gowns in matching forest green crushed velvet, I think, w/sheer sleeve overlay. I actually managed to find a couple of patterns that were fairly identical, too.

Mine, the light blue one in the upper right:


Jackie's, the pink one in the bottom right:

And for Halloween, I'm going easy on myself. I will be tapping the wide world of the Brothers Grimm, horror-style. I already picked it, but guess which one?

I'm totally hopeless, I know.

Hi, my name is Kat, and I'm a relapsed cosplay addict. Pleased ta meetcha… oh crap, that's Harley Quinn. See what I mean?!

I realized yesterday that I am having Halloween withdrawals. Real bad.

First off, I loved costuming Stevie. Loved. Altering my own costume in many hidden/impossible ways was thrilling and challenging and had a 'damn I'm good' vibe to it, but the entire experience of sewing that Jedi thing was positively unexplainable; I haven't felt that good about my ability to create anything in a really long time. And it's really, really cool to be proud of yourself. As a lifelong perfectionist, it's something I don't experience a whole lot.

But I got the disease, now… again.

Two years ago, I bought a costume - priestess robes - for the first time since junior high. Bellatrix last year was what awoke the sleeping beast inside, but she was kind of a joke. I didn't have a sewing machine, and only made a mock-costume. This year I went a step further and made sure I had the best cheap costume money could buy. Oh, it was glorious. My kid said I didn't look like her mother. =)

And then I went out. And before I even got to the bar, I had people telling me I'd better work it if I was dressed like that. And that was the defining moment of my evening; the moment where everything clicked and my brain said, "OHHHH.. I remember now!"

I had a positive ball being Harley Quinn. I used to watch the cartoon, and I can do the voice, the accent, the mannerisms pretty well. For the couple of people who recognized my character, I really laid it on, and they were quite pleased. Not that it's hard… You just talk like a ditzy valley girl, keep looking around for your Puddin', Mistah J, and if anyone asks you about the Bat Man, you ask if they're working for him or trying to ruin your good time. Yep, that's me: shy Kat who usually can't think of a thing to say in a social situation is the same girl who sang crazy songs a cappella while playing the lead female role in Hamlet on a stage in front of a packed house, and memorized/performed a different skit each day for little kid's summer camp programs, not to mention the bazillion other things I've had bits in. I love drama and running around in a costume. I love costuming. And I miss acting. I have that wonderful ability to totally lose myself in becoming a character instead of just playing a role. It's bliss.

And it's been a LONG time. I missed it badly, and I didn't realize it before. I was absolutely right when I thought 30 would be a year of coming back into myself. It was.

Now I feel like I've come to the end of a journey - I spent the six weeks before Halloween researching, plotting, planning, ordering, shopping, and then sewing like a kid in a sweatshop. It wasn’t because Halloween needed to be a big deal, either, but purely out of love. I realized anew that I can sew well and I am still the same kid who used to make amazing doll clothes out of scrap fabric, except now I've finally learned how to sew stretchy seams, do fits like a tailor, and adjust the finer settings on my new sewing machine to work with any fabric and any stitch. But I've got a whole year before I get to think about Halloween again (sob! - although my family is probably breathing an ENORMOUS sigh of relief, hah)… and I'm having withdrawals. Now I wander around my house, staring at the sewing machine, wanting to stitch up something so badly that I've taken to making a Jedi costume for one of Jackie's Ken dolls out of the Halloween scrap pile.

So I've decided that in addition to Halloween 2009 (affectionately known in my brain as the elusive 'How Do I Top Last Year?') I'm going to start having some fun in my life next year, like going to the Georgia Ren Fest, DragonCon and maybe doing some photos for the Peachtree Cosplay Society if I'm feeling saucy. There are more Cons, but I'm not an anime fan/gamer and I wouldn't feel right cosplaying something I knew nothing about.

And I'm going to take advantage of the time I've got between now and then to properly design my own costumes, and really do everything right. I will potentially need six costumes, if I go to all four days of DragonCon. Hurrah for sewing machines and reasonable skill!

I've got some ideas, but I'm totally open to anyone's! I run into a unique problem, in that I've got this incredible giant mop of wig-worthy curly hair, but 99% of the chicks worth dressing up as are straight-haired and BLONDE! You all know what I look like; if you can think of any characters I might be able to do wigless - and preferably not half-dressed characters, if possible… is that even possible?? - I welcome your suggestions! (I'm not opposed to a wig as a last resort, but we really don't want to get into what it was like to try to cram all my hair under that small Harley Quinn hood.)

FYI: No, I am never doing Bellatrix again unless I can find a really perfect or extremely similar dress pattern. I love her, but that's nearly as complicated (and expensive) as a full medieval/Renaissance gown.

Next post will be a list of potential ideas and commissions I've been asked about. I must say, I'm more excited about those commissions than anything else!

My name's Kat, and I'm a renewed cosplay addict. And I'm damn pleased ta meetcha, Puddin'.

My President

Full text of Barack Obama's victory speech as the 44th Presidential Elect of the United States of America, Grant Park, Chicago, at approximately 11:50pm, November 4, 2008:

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states; we are and always will be the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin for all they've achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton, and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama.Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given to me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign who built the best political campaign I think in the history of the United States of America. To my chief strategist, David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me every step of the way, to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics... you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington; it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy. Who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth. This is your victory.

Now, I know you didn't do this just to win an election, and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime: two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know the government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek; it is only the chance for us to make that change.

And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.

Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House -- a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity. Those are values we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends -- though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear the world down: we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals -- democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She is a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons, because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America: the heartache and the hope, the struggle and the progress, the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We shall overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there's so much more to do. So tonight let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century, if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

Nerd Parade @ Hank's Garage 10/18

They're up in the gallery; get 'em while they're hot...

Do I look like a Republican to you?

Barack the vote, ya'll.

Halloween 2008

Click on 'em - they get bigger.

I look pretty good for an old lady.

She always looks good.

Da boys.

Lightsaber accident.

My next assignment is to take real photos of Stevie in the Jedi getup.