Elections, Dresses, and Parades
I am very pleased with the outcome of the election. Obama is poised to be President, and we voted down the imbicilic decrease in income tax for Massachusetts by a landslide, which were the two issues I particularly cared about. For the second year in a row, I timed my visit to the polls perfectly: right after work, 4:10 PM, only 2 people in line ahead of me which shot up to 10 people in line as I was turning in my ballot. Yay :)
I started draping fabric for my evening gown last night, and it becomes increasingly apparent that I'm going to have to modify my design, because fabric - or, at any rate, the fabric I chose - just simply will not drape into a skirt like that in my inexperienced hands. I know someone out there has the expertise to make that exact design (paging Rami Kashou!), but in the meantime, I'm making some changes. It's very similar, but I'm simplifying it. I may resketch tonight and post up my new drawings.
In the meantime, I finally have some photos from the Woburn Halloween Parade from 26 October. This was a fabulous parade, aside from the parade part ahead of us going WAY too fast. We were marching as fast as we could, and still could not keep up. We ended up putting our Jawas (two kids about 6 or 7), our self-propelled R2D2, and Chewbacca (Mark was starting to pass out from the effort and heat) into the back of the pickup to help keep our speed up, but just that short pause to do that caused us to end up nearly 4 blocks behind the rest of the parade - and then the parade organizers would come out in front of us, stop, and ask why we were so far behind. Um... get out of our way so we can try to catch up, plzthx. Anyway, aside from that, we frakking ROCKED.
A few group shots:
This parade was the grand debut of Luke's Tatooine Landspeeder (RL) and the Imperial Stormtrooper's Dewback (501st). Both were still getting finished the night before the parade - the landspeeder crew finished up at something like 4 or 5 AM. Unfortunately, the plexiglass they were heating for the windwhield was too thick and it shattered, but there are plans to make a new one. I was at Six Flags that day, and then trying to keep from getting sick, so I most unfortunately didn't get to take part in the painting. Bummer.
It's shorter than the one used in the movie - we had bad measurements, but it still looks damn good.
He's trying to do a chinup. Or something.
We put Drew's C3P0 armor in the speeder - he can't walk with it on - and he wore Greedo.
The NEG's Dewback gets unloaded - it is motorized, so it doesn't have to be towed like the landspeeder.
Mark and I were still finishing up the last of his Wookie on the morning of the parade. Then we had to trim out a LOT of the underfur and brush it because it was still so insanely poofy. We left huge wads of fur all over the parking lot.
A bunch of preparation candids: Steve, aka Luke, tries out the speeder while Drew gets C3P0 in position; the 501st's XO's 11-year-old daughter gets made up as Ahsoka Tano, Han and the Walking Carpet, the Wookie's got a little Captain in him, and Han and Greedo try to settle the matter once and for all.
[EDIT: I just noticed that Mark's makeup tray, in this photo, is an "ArtBin" that someone - probably he - has tacked an "F" in front of. I approve. And snicker.]
I love this photo. :)
Getting ready. Jill as Leia, Steve as Luke, and there I am, a proud Rebel Fleet Trooper. Holding Chewbacca's bowcaster. RFTs would have been so much more badass if they'd been able to use those instead.
Luke and C3P0 are heading out to look for R2. The weather report threatened horrible rain and cold, and the sleeves of Steve's Luke tunic were too short, so I was asked to make the poncho. The weather was, instead, beautiful and almost unseasonably warm, so the poncho turned out not to be strictly necessary, but it still looked awesome, AND I churned that out in 2 hours two nights before the parade.
We found R2! Dana's R2 unit is completely remote controlled, has full mobility, plays music, and has programmed in every conversation R2 is in from the movies. R2 made about half the parade under his own power, then we put him in the truck.
Clone Wars:
She was SUCH a good Ahsoka - always running along with Anakin!
And holding her own against Ventriss...
Almost ready:
Bob (Ahsoka's Dad) is the lucky trooper to ride the Dewback. Dion, however, sits at the business end and is the one who actually drives it.
Our parade lineup was astonishingly long. It was awesome.
We had 4 RFTs and one pilot to escort Leia at the front of the parade line. Woohoo for the Fighting Mushrooms! First In, First Down! As for the sign I'm holding: Seriously, this is true. RFTs shoot WAY before Greedo or Han ever do.
And at last, the parade starts! Leia with her RFTs and pilot, then R2, with the truck behind so Dana could drive the R2 unit.
The truck towed the speeder with Luke and C3P0, flanked with Jawas and Jim as Old Ben Kenobi (dizzykungfu).
Then came Han and Chewie, then Greedo and a pair of Twi'lek dancers.
Next were the Stormtroopers with the Dewback, plus Sandtroopers, Snowtroopers, and Biker Scouts.
They were followed by the Imperial pilots, officers, the Emperor's Guard, and Darth Vader.
And finally, bringing up the finale, our Clone Wars group, with Anakin, Ahsoka, Ventriss, General Grievous, Rex, and other clone troopers.
Aside from the issues with the parade speed - most of the parade participants were on floats or truck beds; we were the largest group on foot, and this really underscored the need for a better pace vehicle at the front of the parade - this was AWESOME. There was stress and drama to get there - we had decided on a "A New Hope" theme only to have people increasingly bail in the weeks leading to the parade in favor of Clone Wars, and I ended up swearing I would never agree to doing a theme again - but in spite of all of that (or because of?), we still managed to pull together and send out an amazing show. We had every major character from the original Star Wars movie: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Ben Kenobi, R2D2, C3P0, Vader, and even Greedo, plus supporting characters of pilots, RFTs, and Stormtroopers, and on top of that, we even simultaneously debuted two major props from the movie as well. Really? We rocked. Hardcore. Nerds represent!
I started draping fabric for my evening gown last night, and it becomes increasingly apparent that I'm going to have to modify my design, because fabric - or, at any rate, the fabric I chose - just simply will not drape into a skirt like that in my inexperienced hands. I know someone out there has the expertise to make that exact design (paging Rami Kashou!), but in the meantime, I'm making some changes. It's very similar, but I'm simplifying it. I may resketch tonight and post up my new drawings.
In the meantime, I finally have some photos from the Woburn Halloween Parade from 26 October. This was a fabulous parade, aside from the parade part ahead of us going WAY too fast. We were marching as fast as we could, and still could not keep up. We ended up putting our Jawas (two kids about 6 or 7), our self-propelled R2D2, and Chewbacca (Mark was starting to pass out from the effort and heat) into the back of the pickup to help keep our speed up, but just that short pause to do that caused us to end up nearly 4 blocks behind the rest of the parade - and then the parade organizers would come out in front of us, stop, and ask why we were so far behind. Um... get out of our way so we can try to catch up, plzthx. Anyway, aside from that, we frakking ROCKED.
A few group shots:
This parade was the grand debut of Luke's Tatooine Landspeeder (RL) and the Imperial Stormtrooper's Dewback (501st). Both were still getting finished the night before the parade - the landspeeder crew finished up at something like 4 or 5 AM. Unfortunately, the plexiglass they were heating for the windwhield was too thick and it shattered, but there are plans to make a new one. I was at Six Flags that day, and then trying to keep from getting sick, so I most unfortunately didn't get to take part in the painting. Bummer.
It's shorter than the one used in the movie - we had bad measurements, but it still looks damn good.
He's trying to do a chinup. Or something.
We put Drew's C3P0 armor in the speeder - he can't walk with it on - and he wore Greedo.
The NEG's Dewback gets unloaded - it is motorized, so it doesn't have to be towed like the landspeeder.
Mark and I were still finishing up the last of his Wookie on the morning of the parade. Then we had to trim out a LOT of the underfur and brush it because it was still so insanely poofy. We left huge wads of fur all over the parking lot.
A bunch of preparation candids: Steve, aka Luke, tries out the speeder while Drew gets C3P0 in position; the 501st's XO's 11-year-old daughter gets made up as Ahsoka Tano, Han and the Walking Carpet, the Wookie's got a little Captain in him, and Han and Greedo try to settle the matter once and for all.
[EDIT: I just noticed that Mark's makeup tray, in this photo, is an "ArtBin" that someone - probably he - has tacked an "F" in front of. I approve. And snicker.]
I love this photo. :)
Getting ready. Jill as Leia, Steve as Luke, and there I am, a proud Rebel Fleet Trooper. Holding Chewbacca's bowcaster. RFTs would have been so much more badass if they'd been able to use those instead.
Luke and C3P0 are heading out to look for R2. The weather report threatened horrible rain and cold, and the sleeves of Steve's Luke tunic were too short, so I was asked to make the poncho. The weather was, instead, beautiful and almost unseasonably warm, so the poncho turned out not to be strictly necessary, but it still looked awesome, AND I churned that out in 2 hours two nights before the parade.
We found R2! Dana's R2 unit is completely remote controlled, has full mobility, plays music, and has programmed in every conversation R2 is in from the movies. R2 made about half the parade under his own power, then we put him in the truck.
Clone Wars:
She was SUCH a good Ahsoka - always running along with Anakin!
And holding her own against Ventriss...
Almost ready:
Bob (Ahsoka's Dad) is the lucky trooper to ride the Dewback. Dion, however, sits at the business end and is the one who actually drives it.
Our parade lineup was astonishingly long. It was awesome.
We had 4 RFTs and one pilot to escort Leia at the front of the parade line. Woohoo for the Fighting Mushrooms! First In, First Down! As for the sign I'm holding: Seriously, this is true. RFTs shoot WAY before Greedo or Han ever do.
And at last, the parade starts! Leia with her RFTs and pilot, then R2, with the truck behind so Dana could drive the R2 unit.
The truck towed the speeder with Luke and C3P0, flanked with Jawas and Jim as Old Ben Kenobi (dizzykungfu).
Then came Han and Chewie, then Greedo and a pair of Twi'lek dancers.
Next were the Stormtroopers with the Dewback, plus Sandtroopers, Snowtroopers, and Biker Scouts.
They were followed by the Imperial pilots, officers, the Emperor's Guard, and Darth Vader.
And finally, bringing up the finale, our Clone Wars group, with Anakin, Ahsoka, Ventriss, General Grievous, Rex, and other clone troopers.
Aside from the issues with the parade speed - most of the parade participants were on floats or truck beds; we were the largest group on foot, and this really underscored the need for a better pace vehicle at the front of the parade - this was AWESOME. There was stress and drama to get there - we had decided on a "A New Hope" theme only to have people increasingly bail in the weeks leading to the parade in favor of Clone Wars, and I ended up swearing I would never agree to doing a theme again - but in spite of all of that (or because of?), we still managed to pull together and send out an amazing show. We had every major character from the original Star Wars movie: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Ben Kenobi, R2D2, C3P0, Vader, and even Greedo, plus supporting characters of pilots, RFTs, and Stormtroopers, and on top of that, we even simultaneously debuted two major props from the movie as well. Really? We rocked. Hardcore. Nerds represent!