http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/05/kit_silver_people_2012.php
Tallest Silver & Kit Quinn in LA Weekly
This one is long overdue.
Follow Friday: Tallest Silver and Kit Quinn
I’m struggling to find something to say about these two wonderful ladies because it feels kind of redundant. Believe me when I say that I am not the first person to write an appreciation post for them. They have more than enough followers, and even so, it’s not like they need my help for other people to discover them. I mean, they got a freaking article in the LA Weekly. And a totally badass photo to go with it. Look’t how badass they look up there! Still, I guess I wanted to write an appreciation post for them, cuz I appreciate them. That is the point after all.
For those of you who don’t know, Kit and Silver are female costumers who have created a name for themselves in the world of cosplay. They did so by excelling in a very key aspect of it; a genuine love of cosplay. As the article mentions, they don’t feel the need to sexy up a costume (not that there’s anything wrong with that), I’ve never seen them promote themselves (not that I wouldn’t do that myself), and the photos of them which circulate the interwebs are pretty much all from convention goers who just wanted their photo. From what I can tell, they pretty much became notable figures at conventions by accident. They’re recognized because they’re good at it, and they know their fan-lores enough to back it up and really do the characters justice.
Still, them being great cosplayers is only one aspect to their awesomeness. Keeping in mind I want to respect their secret identities, I wanna let you know they are wonderful people even when not in character. As a novice costumer I find them to be very supportive and encouraging, which is nice for me cuz I still feel like I’m catching up to everyone and everything whenever I’m at a con. And as someone who appreciates genuinely cool individuals… Let me put it this way, if some cable network ever decided they wanted to do a reality show spot-lighting someone in the cosplay community, I’d pick them. They are creative entertainers who like to have fun when they’re donning the garb. They have a YouTube, it’s nothing fancy, it’s most just them being themselves. But because themselves happen to be entertaining as heck, they’ve made me laugh out loud during mundane announcements and goofing off in the kitchen. They have uniquely loveable personalities that it almost seems like a sitcom setup. They’re kind of the perfect duo. (Dare I say… a dynamic duo?)
Of course, both Silver and Kit stand on their own as individuals, but I’ve already written enough here today. So I’ll close by also letting you know that they are down-to-earth fans of costuming, comics and everything related who also appreciate other costumers and people who are genuinely good at it. I think another reason it’s kind of odd for me to write about how great these pseudo-celebrities are is because above everything else they’re two fans like myself and every person who gets excited as hell when they make it to a convention. A lot of people are fans of them and their cosplay, but just the same, they are huge fans of other costumers and their cosplay. And I’m a fan of fans of fans.
SDCC or Bust or Best Offer
Last week it finally sank in that San Diego Comic-Con had been pushed up two weeks from their usual dates. Then I realized I had completely mismanaged my time. Had they stuck with the last weekend of July like they usually do, my costumes would be ready, my hair would be the right length, I’d have money… heck, maybe I would even be in the shape I want for con season. But no, I had a week. What to do, what to do. Lucky for me, I planned costumes that I, Kevin Allen non-sewer, could put together fairly easy. Trouble is, as quick and painless as these costumes are in comparison with most of the stuff people wear at SDCC, they each required one troublesome item to make it work. So now I had to figure out what to do about each of these items. It would be hard, but I think I could pull it off. So long as I keep in mind I’ve come down to the last minute every other year, and there’s no reason this year should be different. I’d have just enough money to pull it off, so that. And I made plans with friends on where to stay, what to wear, who to hang out with… I could do this.
Thursday night. One week to SDCC. While at rehearsal with Pirates For Hire, my car gets towed. I’m out $280some dollars. So much for everything. Now I don’t have the money to go Comic-Con, let alone dress up for it. The event I’ve been rehearsing for is no longer to get some extra income, it’s to break even. The days I pushed to get off work will now be wasted. Just my luck. A week ‘til Comic-Con.
The next day I got a pay check, that puts me just over broke. And with my foolhardy determination and refusal to let life get the better of me, the thought is now in my head about how I can pull this off. I’m well aware it’s a bad idea. That there’s so much more I could use money for instead. That there’s more important things I could use my time for. But I really wanna go. And my unwavering determination to follow through with my goals tells me that afford the last pieces for my costumes if I skip out on paying for a room and instead sleep in my car. Then again, at this point I can’t even do the two costumes I was most excited for. The ones which are perfectly relevant this summer. But there’s still the last two I can do. And it’d still be fun to be there. And I have a variant cover I need to get artists to draw on. It would still be worth it, right?
I have been dwelling on this non-stop, and I still can’t make up my mind. I know what my logical, rational mind is telling me. But then there’s the rest of me, the adventurous spirit who sees all these dilemmas as mere challenges, who believes it can be done. And if it can be done, why not let it be done. Then it says “don’t answer that rational side.”
Honestly the biggest reason for me to want to go is simply just to not be thwarted. I know people says “there’s always next year.” But I said that last year. And this I got a pro pass. And this year I was putting my own costumes together. And this year I was gonna do my own thing. Granted two of those things are now on infinite hiatus. But still! I won’t get a second chance with Dragon*Con because I’ll be away with Pirates For Hire. And after getting my car towed for them I’m certainly gonna stick with them until something positive comes out if it again.
I’m just so… disappointed that I can’t do those two outfits. If there ever was a right time to do them, it would be now. Personally I’d prefer two weeks from now, but now. And as far as the other two, they’re still awesome! I just don’t mind waiting for them. I mind waiting for the first two. And regardless, I still want to go away and have fun for a few days. I want to hang out with friends. I want to see sights and get my picture taken. I want to not be defeated, still be involved, and continue having that adventurous summer I continue to strive for.
I’m so used to being the “all or nothing” type. And I’m trying to work on that and remind myself that just cuz I don’t have all four outfits, and that each one of them is not perfect, is no reason to scrap everything. But as long as I keep that in mind, I’ll want to do as much as humanly possible to take part in SDCC as much as humanly possible. Which is why I can’t pick a simple “yes I will” or “no I won’t. maybe next time.”
I’ve got a few days, give or take to figure this out, maybe get those last pieces, and clean out my car.
If you had ta change yer general outcome from day ta day, wouljou?
I’ve been looking forward to Brave since I first saw the teaser poster, as I do for pretty much every Pixar movie. Just like with Wall-E and Up, I stopped in my tracks, and lightly gasped at the possibilities of another wondrous adventure as only Pixar can provide. And then someone showed me the character of Young MacIntosh. I was already excited to see the movie plenty, but now there was this character who looked enough like me I could go costuming as. I could costume as a character for a Pixar movie! I’ve been waiting for that!
I like to go see movies in costume. And I don’t mean midnight Star Wars premieres. I saw Corpse Bride dressed as Victor, Clerks 2 dressed as Randall, I’ve been a pirate for each Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I even convinced a friend of mine to dress up as Bill & Ted with me for the third Matrix movie, just for the fun of it. Since getting involved in the realm of cosplay, the bar has been raised and I look forward to dressing up for movies even more. I don’t do it as often as I want to, cuz costuming takes a lot of time and effort. And money. And all this has never been more prevalent to me than for Brave.
Young MacIntosh’s costume should be the simplest thing to put together. It’s pretty much a plaid wrap and leather. I should be able to just put two ends together and shout “Costume!”, and it’d be done. Unfortunately for me though, as quick and painless as this costume should be, I still didn’t have the time or money to make it happen. It’s been rough. I’ve been busy. I set aside time this week for last minute trips to the fashion district and fabrication for any last minute emergencies so I could have it ready by the premiere. But here’s what happened:
I started up a new job last week, and being brand new and in need of training, I didn’t really get to request time off so I could go shopping.
Sunday I actually had the day off, but the district is closed.
Monday I spent the morning at work, and my afternoon moving giant kitchen appliances out of a storage unit. I volunteered to help a friend cuz she couldn’t keep the storage unit anymore, and it needed to be done. Complications arose, the move ran long and bled into Tuesday.
Tuesday I once again worked all morning and moved appliances all afternoon. By the time I was done, the district was closed and I had other things in my schedule to run off and do.
Wednesday morning I coulda gone. And I shoulda gone. I blew it. I had work that afternoon, but it’s possible I could have found what I needed and been back in time to not be late for the new job. And for this reason I will be kicking myself. But then again, I don’t know when I’d find the time to build cuz
Today I had to drop my roommate off at the airport. I have a half hour of time in my schedule to rest up and vent on this blog. Then I’m off to work ‘til 3:30. I got an email last night reminding me I have a rehearsal for a show I volunteered my time to a couple weeks ago. That starts at 7 that runs til 10. The movie starts at 12, but it’s opening night so I’d need to arrive early. And frankly, as much as it pains me to say, I’m not sure even seeing the movie is a good idea cuz
Friday I have an opening shift at work starting at 5am, which means I’d only get two hours of sleep before a six hour work shift followed by however long the film event I volunteered to help work is. So it may be a couple days and a lot of workplace mishaps before I get the chance to catch up on the rest I’m already in need of. Considering I’m already quite weary from earlier this week, I may need to finally admit I’m just one person and sit this one out.
As much as I hate doing that.
I’ve gotten an offer of help from that friend with the appliances to run down, get the materials, and even build the costume for me. But another reason I was looking forward to making this outfit was because it’s simple enough I can actually make it. I’m not a costumer in the sense that I can sew and fabricate costumes, I’m just good at putting together things I find. Which usually means I can’t do specific characters from a time period when I was alive. This one is a good starter costume for someone like me to build; it’s easy. And truth be told, I don’t want this person’s help on this one for reasons. I wanna learn how to sew and be my own man! And while I’ve finally learned to swallow my pride and accept help when I need it, I think I’m gonna stay stubborn in that I want to do this costume on my own. Which means I’m going to need a LOT of time.
Which brings us to the moral of the story: I really should have planned this out better. Or at the very least, I shouldn’t have volunteered all my time away without taking my own plans into consideration. I really gotta stop doing that. And while I’m at it, I gotta stop overbooking myself in general. I always try to do as much as possible, but in the end I just end up missing out on something. Usually the something I was looking forward to the most.
To think I was going to take a second job this week. How could I ever have thought that was going to work out well.
Alright, time’s up. Gotta go.
I Am The Dreamer You Are The Dream: Costuming Rant: Traitors Within
Unfortunately this year I was unable to attend SDCC because one of my best friends from high school was getting married to his girlfriend of 10+ years. I’m pretty sure I threatened his life about it… but it’s all gravy :-p
I ended up coming home from the West Coast to see my fellow geeks and…
Has a geek prophet come to save us? I hope so!
FINALLY someone sees the important issue here. FINALLY someone is coming forth to remind us what geekdom is really all about. And FINALLY someone is being a genuine and good person about it.
On a side note, FINALLY there’s a girl who supports true gender equality.
