Happy Halloween

May

Your

Halloween

Be A

Peaceful

One!

Oh No Sulu!

Sadly I just found out that Sulu (George Takei) will not be attending the New England Fan Experience Convention in November. It sounds like he was offered a role on a new TV show and will be filming during Nov & Dec and thus unable to attend the convention.

I wish him the best of luck with the new show and I hear that NEFE may be announcing another guest soon so stay tuned!

Forget Jumpcon - Try a Real Con - NEFE!

Okay all you folks like me who were rooked out of money by Jumpcon and are a bit gun shy of trying other cons - let me tell you about a real con!

The New England Fan Experience is coming up in November and it is run by a very reputable fan based broup that has been doing cons for many, many years now. I attended one of their cons 2 years ago, got to see William Shatner and had a great time. The con is reasonably priced, well run and I promise they won't disappoint!

Here are the details;

The New England Fan Experience is coming to The Hyatt Regency –Cambridge (across the river from Boston)FIVE conventions in one!!!
One ticket / membership gets you intoeverything. Weekend advanced tickets only $49 / teens ½ price, under 10 free(with adult purchases). To purchase tickets log on to www.nefe.us
Mail in cut off is November 7th. Or register online before November17th.

Sci-Fi Experience Guests:
Peter Davison (Doctor Who)
Robert Picardo (Stargate: SG1, Stargate: Atlantis, Star Trek Voyager)
Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Stargate: SG1)
Mark Goddard (Lost in Space)
James Cowley (Star Trek: New Voyages / Phase II)
Andrew Probert (production designer, artist, illustrator also videogame artist)
Clifford Bowyer (author)
Marc Vun Kannon (author)
Mark Lund (writer producer First World film)

Pop Culture guests:
Kellen Lutz (Twilight, the new 90210)
George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes also Kaiju & video game voice actor)
Gary Sohmers (King of Pop culture / Appraiser)
Clive Young (Author / independent film producer)

Anime Kaju Experience Guests:
Johnny Yong Bosch (anime & video game voice actor, and the BlackPower Ranger)
Vic Mignogna (Anime, kaiju & video game voice actor)
Don Frye (Star of Godzilla: Final Wars and UFC champion)
Bob Eggleton (Godzilla Artist, Hugo Award winning SF artist & cardgame artist)
Ikeda Katsu (J-pop band)
The Slant (J-pop Band)
Sid Narged (Author)
Steve Horton (techniques of manga writer)
Sam Ramero (manga & webcomics creator)

Gaming Guests:
Rob Balder (Game designer & webcomic creator)
Mecha Software (Anime and SF gaming designers)

Science & Technology guest:
Jeffery Hoffman (Astronaut) – Friday only
Story Musgrave (Astronaut)
Don McCasland (Director of the Blue Hills Observatory)
Dr. James Prego (Holistic Medicine)

Please help spread the word about the show to other fans through anyand all related websites and boards! I hope to see you all there! I will be set up as a vendor in the dealer room on Saturday and Sunday.

Geek of the Week # 5 - Spamberly

Geek of the Week #5 – Spamberly

My mother taught me how to cross stitch when I was a young girl and I remember getting very bored very quickly doing samplers so I stopped doing cross stitch. Well, I found someone who makes such fun funky cross stitches that it makes me want to pick up my needles and give it another try. Let me introduce you to Spamberly!

1. Who are you, where are you from and how long have you been crafting?I’m an Upstate New York girl who moved to Boston in 1997 for college and I decided to stick around awhile. My mom was a quilter and always encouraged creativity, so I’ve been crafting since I had hand-eye coordination. Cross stitch was probably one of the first needle/thread crafts I did seriously as a youngster. I began with pre-packaged cross stitched kits but they got so boring. I wanted to make stuff for my friends that pushed the envelope a little. So I began designing my own patterns with a pencil and graph paper. I got super serious about designing work to sell when I broke my leg and had a few months to sit on my ass and think about stuff.


2. Do you craft for a specific genre of geek (ie. sci-fi, gaming, horror, math, fantasy, music, etc…)Yeah, I’ll watch Star Trek if it’s on. I don’t, like, seriously plan it out or anything. I get that Uhura is hot. I don’t dress up like her on weekends or anything. I get that Bones is always trying to get in on Kirk and Spock’s friendship. Poor Bones. He’ll never infiltrate that shit!My work probably attracts people who are a lot like me because if I don’t get some kind of personal satisfaction from a particular piece, I would never have made it in the first place. My work is a reflection of my life and interests and if another person taps into the same, that’s cool. If not, please don’t send me hate mail. It’s getting old.I managed to land a great job at the geekiest university in the Western hemisphere. It is vibrant and youthful and full of socially awkward people who get off on math equations like the one Matt Damon solved in that movie. It’s a diverse and supportive place to be and gives me a lot of ideas for new stitcheries.


3. What was the first “geekey” craft you ever made?This question is impossible for me to answer. Too many years of weirdness coupled with too many odd crafts. There’s just no way to know the true answer and I cannot consciously lie to you by giving a cutesy tale of my very first oddity.

4. What inspires you to craft?Cross stitch is a very old, traditional craft and I like the idea of giving it a new voice. Although I don’t deliberately focus on it too much, there is a political aspect to what I do. Cross stitch has been fused to femininity for a long, long time. I really enjoy putting little cracks in that traditional image. I want to stitch words or pictures that are provocative in some way. I’m looking for a reaction from the viewer – from giggles to utter disgust.But, in a more general sense, my own everyday life is what inspires me most. Conversations with friends. Rock Operas. Water. Connections. Rejection. Fear. Protest. The Golden Girls. Anger. Legislation. Gleaming the Cube. Europe. Yard sales. Love. Jim Henson. Dark alleys. Hunter S. Thompson. Guilt. The woods. Neil Young. Honesty. Bombs. Victimless crimes. Moods. Sex. Silence.


5. Where can we find your crafts (website, shows, blogs, etc.) (Please note some of Spamberly's creations do contain mature content)
Etsy: http://spamberly.etsy.com/
Flickr: http://flickr.com/spamberly


6. Anything else you'd like to share?The most accomplished feeling I can think of is to begin with a small idea and make it into a tangible, physical object that expresses me in some way. The reason I am so passionate about cross stitch is because it is a marriage of my skills and my opinions. It goes from idea to pattern to finished piece to its home on a wall or tabletop or Christmas tree. An idea becomes a physical object that will most likely last several lifetimes. Whether many crafters are conscious of it or not, their work is probably going to be part of this world long after they have left it. There is something morbid, beautiful and strange about that that keeps me doing what I do.

Cemetary Geeks - The Gravestone Girls

Hello Everyone,
I don’t have a geek of the week interview this week but instead I wanted to introduce you to some “cemetery geeks.” The Gravestone Girls!

http://www.gravestonegirls.com/

The Sutton Historical Society invited the Gravestone Girls to give a talk and cemetery tour of one of Sutton’s many graveyards. I went and had a great time. I learned about the different types of stones that gravestones are made of. I learned about some of the symbology on the stones and I never knew that there were headstones and footstones. Literally just like a bed – or as the Gravestone Girls said, “your bed for eternity.”

I learned a lot more than just that, but I’ll let you go check out their website to get the info yourself.

Oh yes, the GG also make some incredible artwork from the stones - Check them out!

Geek of the Week # 4 - Jordan Alexander

Yeah, it’s Geek of the Week time again and today I have some robot love for you! I’d like to introduce you to Jordan Alexander who is the creator of a world of wonderful robots.

1. Who are you, where are you from and how long have you been crafting?

I'm Jordan Alexander, I work at an art supply store in downtown phoenix. I've been crafting on and off for the past 5 years, and have been designing my robots for the past three years.

2. Do you craft for a specific genre of geek (ie. sci-fi, gaming, horror, math, fantasy, music, etc…)

I try to peak the interest of the etsy sci fi geeks, but I have learned that robot love reaches beyond the geek realm.

3. What was the first “geekey” craft you ever made?

I've always been mad crazy about robots. The idea for making my robots came from collecting wood scraps from construction sites and buying wooden blocks from the craft store. I started gluing pieces together and it's been a marriage made in robot heaven ever since!

4. What inspires you to craft?

Pretty much everything. I listen to David Bowie a lot and read a shit load of sci fi books. David Bowie is all the inspiration anyone needs.

5. Where can we find your crafts (website, shows, blogs, etc.)

my etsy page: spaceboyjordo.etsy.com ; and at some local shops in Phoenix, most importantly: Red Hot Robot, a store that sells vinyl toys and sells a lot of art work by local Phoenician artists.

6. Anything else you'd like to share?

I'm addicted to the book series DUNE by Frank Herbert. I get a lot of inspiration from those books. I've literally read every book. Twice. Also, the best times of my life have been spent sitting at the kitchen table and watching my mother draw in her sketch book. To this day my mom still sketches. I live across the country from her and every once in a while I get a letter or a post card from her with a sketch that she's drawn. Half of them are robots!

Tagged - I'm it!

So, I’ve been tagged by the wonderful Melissa of Hobocampcrafts whom I haven’t seen in much too long! She’s having a baby in just a few months (or is it less now). Congrats!

Anyway, she’s radiant and she tagged me, so here are the rules:

7 Random things about me.

1. I love Christmas music all year long. I start playing it in my car where no one else can hear (and tease me) around July and then by October I can’t hide it anymore and I start playing it everywhere (aren’t you glad you don’t have to share an office with me). Jingle Bells, jingle bells…
2. I hate the smell of wet peanut butter (like when you wash your knife after making a PB sandwich) – and yes it does smell different then when it’s dry (if you can call peanut butter dry).

3. I’m an introvert who loves to act. I love being in theater. I haven’t done it in about 10 years now but I’m an introvert who has a hidden streak of “ham” in her.

4. I can’t sing, not a note, not a tune – I’m horrible (think injured dog howling and you might come close to what I sound like) – to those of you who know me, this is no surprise and bless you for loving me anyway.

5. My favorite Atari game is Circus

6. I’m addicted to Project Runway

7. I own a naked cat

Now it’s my turn. I’m going to tag Fruitcake, dollfacedesign, Girl called Ric, The Devil’s Wallpaper – and that’s all I can think of for now.