Stuff and Moonshine

Last week I read The Aosawa Murders. I have Thoughts about it but haven’t yet processed them fully enough to post.

Friday my workplace held their annual customer-appreciation BBQ, which involved the most people I’ve ever seen at that location. I also learnt that the cemetery next door is home to a turkey that chases visitors. My benefits have/are about to kick in, so next week we can go to the dentist, yay.

Yesterday was our (me/Andrew) seventeenth anniversary. Rain kept being forecast so we stayed in, but I got us some chocolate.

A client at the medical centre Saturday morning was insisting they couldn’t tell him to wear a mask because ”the government dropped the mandate,” and threatening to call building security on them if they insisted he wear one. AFAIK Life Labs is technically a private company even if what they do is still covered by OHIP, so they can have mask requirements for their own premises, but I don’t know if they stood on this one.

Later I offered some pumpkin seeds to a pigeon, but she (?) didn’t seem interested. Kept hanging around though, and at one point jumped on my purse but it wasn’t a stable platform. Suspect she was hoping if she held out long enough I’d give her crumbs.

For Pride month, a comic by/about Kevin Conroy and his Batman performance.

A lot of Tumblr users reference old-time radio drama as a genre/aesthetic, so today I posted a link to an episode of the Nero Wolfe series with Sydney Greenstreet (and various Archies, but Harry Bartell is the one I like). I even spent $10 on the new “blaze” function to show it to more users.

It’s blatant corporate branding, but I couldn’t resist buying a No Name™ mug.

My writing continues to consist of short Team Fortress 2 fanfics; I got some comments today. Meanwhile, found this video of some TF2 cosplayers doing a photoshoot back in 2012, and it made me feel so happy to watch it. It reminded me of set-painting for university theatre productions, that kind of people getting together and doing some crazy performing-art projects. I miss that.

I’m positive that when I went to bed last night I had on my grey cardigan over my nightgown, but when I woke up I couldn’t find it. So I must have taken it off in my sleep, but where did I put it?

 After months of lag, my brain went off in a particular direction back in March, and it still won’t stop. And there’s nothing to do but travel with it, but it’s a fandom-of-one (or at least a very small fandom) situation, and even when it crosses over with other things, well that just tightens the Venn diagram. 

And I’ve also been reading King Lear, and I can’t find a vid of any productions that I really like (i.e., ones that satisfy my Feels about Kent).

Impressed by the Mars landing, but more amazed by how fast the internet has embraced Flight Director Bobak "Mohawk Guy" Ferdowsi -- I mean, within a few hours, there was fanart.

Apparently he has noticed, and simply tweeted "You win this round, Internet."

I currently work for a company that does third-party insurance administration. On Friday someone at work had asked if I'd any plans for the weekend.
"My spouse and I are going to an SF Convention. Just for the Saturday."

"S.F. ...State Farm?"

Um, yes. I've got my hall costume all ready - I'm going as an insurance rider.

"Science Fiction," a better-informed co-worker said drily.

Lloyd and Yvonne gave us a lift to and from the convention hotel, saving us around 100$ in taxi fare, so this was the least expensive Saturday at Polaris we've ever had. Also got to spend more time hanging out with green_trilobite's friend Larry than usual, although poor Larry wasn't enjoying the weekend as much as he'd hoped because his boss had come into work with a cold the week before and he was now coming down with a sore throat (and he was there to host various events and do a lot of talking). We did hear him read an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with great flair to a roomful of people, before he had to stop.

Attended a 2-hour demo of a costume-construction/special effects technique that involved carving shapes from foam rubber (or anything else lightweight and porous) and then painting it over with layers of silicon; the woman giving the demo had made a really convincing simulacrum of the Witch-King's headgear that was actually quite soft.

Also went to a panel on John Carter with handful_ofdust and others (green_trilobite got pulled up onto the panel dais because he knows about Edgar Rice Burroughs). Hung out with handful_ofdust for a little while after.

The Ad Astra room party was great - they plied us with blender drinks and green_trilobite won one of the Ad Astra 2012 shirts in a draw. It's a really nice shirt too - I can't find a picture of it online but it's got an image done in the style of Rockwell or Leyendecker, of what appear to be John Carter and Deja Thoris in a circular frame, which is evidently the thought balloon of the kid in the foreground who is reading with an enrapt look on his face.

Saw Steve and Cal just as we were leaving - I guess they'd come to pick up handful_ofdust. Steve prompted Cal to say "Hi Sarah," but he said it with believable enthusiasm.

Off to Polaris for the day. Expect to return late, to grumpy cats.

I transcribed the hotel address from a Polaris email and took us 30-40$ of cab fare out of our way before we got to the Don Mills Plaza.

I remembered too late that the Don Mills Plaza is the reason we'd stopped going to Ad Astra a few years back: It's a terrible building, inconveniently laid out even for the completely able-bodied, which a lot of fans aren't; I think the building's architect must have actively feared an attack by armed force in wheelchairs, or something. Perhaps Daleks.
At any rate it made me feel I was causing green_trilobite undue pain every time I wanted to change locations,and for this reason we only went to one panel, though we did see several of handful_ofdust's and kelpqueen's readings, and I finally met their excellent book-cover artist, Erik Mohr.

Also, the dealer's room, though small, did have a booth selling charming little puppets that perch on your shoulder - I bought a baby griffin, now christened Whatsit.

There were many steampunk costumes - so many that more than one person joked that the event should have been called "GoggleCon." The steampunk Ghostbusters were particularly memorable.
As regards the field test of my own outfit, I have determined that most of it is comfortable enough to wear for 15 hours, but that the corset and the goggles both start to chafe a bit after 13 hours, and the knitted shrug starts to get sweaty after only about 5 hours - must work on that. Also I need a button hook for the gloves. The boots and the bustle performed well throughout. Pictures when I get them.


ETA - Also I hereby resolve that next time I go to a convention w/o staying at the hotel, I will just pay for the overpriced drinks in the hotel bar rather than try to be clever and bring my own booze for the room parties, which I will then have to lug around all day and which no one drinks until after I go home.


Further ETA - Overheard Rob Sawyer talking about his trilogy Wake, Watch and Wonder, and misheard it as Weight-Watch Wonder: I thought he'd written a book about his experiences with the Atkins diet.....