The Blog to Nowhere

Snowstorm stopped sometime overnight, but there was still a ton of snow everywhere. I think this deterred a lot of cosplayers today. Hell, they had to cancel a lot of the outdoor activities that the expo usual has going on. Thankfully, the sun came out later, so the melt is on, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have another snowstorm before the Victoria Day long weekend next month.

I didn't get up to much today. Maybe the snow sucked away some of my energy. I did wear my Jessica Jones Defenders cosplay, which is surprisingly effective outfit for after a snowstorm. So warm and comfy.

( Sunday details behind the cut )

Well, that's it for another year. I say this every year, but I'd really love it if the expo got David Tennant as a guest. Him or Christopher Eccleston. Hell, both would be awesome.

I don't know if someone at the expo made a sacrifice to the weather gods, but it didn't snow! By some miracle, the weather held. It was damn cold but no one had to walk in the rain and/or snow.

( Friday details behind the cut )

Tomorrow I have to grab Catherine's autograph and get a photo-op with her. I also knitted a Shazam doll for Zachary Levi, so I need to give that to him. Here's hoping he accepts gifts from fans.

It was rainy all day but that didn't seem to put a damper on things. It kind of messed up people's cosplays, though. I didn't see as many costumes as yesterday.

( Sunday details behind the cut )

Well, that's another expo done for the year. Now I need to find time to go see Avengers: Infinity War. I've been living in fear of spoilers since Thursday night.

Whoo, parade day! Perfect weather today. I wish I had a group shot of the Doctor Who cosplayers, but I didn't think to grab one. There were these cute kids (twin siblings) dressed up as Twelve and Thirteen. Oh my god, they had so many people taking their picture. The parents are big Whovians themselves and they've been dressing up their kids since they were born.

( Friday details behind the cut )

Saturday is going to be a little more packed schedule wise. I need to grab Wil Wheaton's autograph and potentially give him a knitted Wesley Crusher doll that I made him. Here's hoping he's accepting gifts.

- Sigh. Catherine Tate had to cancel her appearance at the comic book expo. So no Doctor Who guests this year. Consequently, this means no photo op for me, either. I do believe this will be the first year that I don't have a photo op booked with any of the guests. I mean, I could take the money I was going to spend on Catherine and put it towards another guest, but at the same time I feel like I should be more frugal. We'll see. I will probably get Wil Wheaton's autograph, since he's a guest and I have something for him to sign plus I knitted a Wesley Crusher doll so I'm hopeful he'll accept it as a gift.

The only annoying this about this is, and it's a very minor annoyance, is that I actually put together a femme!Ten cosplay. I'm still going to wear it, of course, but the main reason I put the costume together was for the photo op with Catherine. Oh well. It's a costume I can wear again and again so it's not like it's going to go to waste.

- A friend organized a game of archery tag for her birthday party this weekend. It's basically like dodge ball, only you shoot each other with padded arrows rather than hurl balls at each other. The only archery I've done is in video games so I had zero experience to draw from going in. In theory, I like the idea of shooting things, whether they be targets or moving people, but in practice, it's damn hard and probably only really fun if you're in shape and/or are good with a bow and arrow. Not to say that I hated the experience, but I doubt I will do it again.

Also, ow. My knees and thighs are so sore from ducking and kneeling behind cover. Thank god I don't have to climb any stairs at work. I also have some wicked bruises all along my arm from snap back from the bow string. I think I got off fairly easy, though; many of my friends were seriously black and blue and swollen. The place had arm guards, but some of my friends said it didn't really help since the bow string would get caught on the guard. No wonder Ollie wears leather and Clint has arm protection.

 Axe throwing is much more fun. Your arms and abs hurt the day after, but you don't have to worry about going into work with big bruises.

- Saw A Quiet Place as well. Horror movies generally aren't my thing - I think the last "horror" movie I saw in the theatre was The Village - but the movie was getting good reviews so I thought I would check it out. I actually quite enjoyed it. There are some logistical things you wonder about, but they are minor quibbles. The tense atmosphere the movie creates was amazing and the sound design was incredible. Seriously. The use of sound in this movie is so good. It's not that there's a lack of sound, but the sound that is there is so amped up because you are so aware of it.

There are jump scares, but those are a given in a horror movie. At one point, a lady in the theatre cried out, but she quickly apologized. I don't know why she did. It's a horror movie; there's nothing wrong with gasping loudly or a quick cry. I guess it's because Canadians are so polite. :-)

Whew, made it to the end! Four fantastic days of geeking out. I need a Time Turner or a TARDIS; there weren't enough hours in the day to see all of the awesomeness.

( Last day of the expo behind the cut )

Sigh, it's back to work and reality tomorrow. At least now I can rest my feet. Whoo, sensible shoes and not shoes for cosplay!

Met the man himself today. God, he's amazing. I'm so glad he decided to do some cons before the end of his tenure. Apparently this was only his third con (I guess they don't count San Diego Comic Con or New York Comic Con since that's work related).

( The awesomeness that is Peter Capaldi behind the cut )

Oh, and randomly, I had two media types take my picture while I was waiting around for stuff. One from Blogtor Who and one from Space (the channel that airs Doctor Who in Canada). I'm on the Blogtor Who Twitter if you want to see. I was surprised people wanted to take my photo. My costume is nothing special; it's still a work in progress. Maybe they were impressed with my homemade scarf?

So that was day two. I feel like I just did a Saturday. Man, I'm getting old. Tomorrow is my photo op with Jeremy Renner. I'm still debating whether I should get his autograph or not. We'll see. But much sitting tomorrow! Yay!

- Aw yeah. The Doctor Who Experience is offering TARDIS set tours for the summer. I did the tour last time when I was there in 2013, but hey, why not do it again. I'm going for my birthday, dang it! I'm going to treat myself. Maybe this time I'll remember to look at more of the details than just generally gawk at the whole set.

- So my supervisor asked me this week if I needed April 28 off since that's the first full day of the comic book expo. I kind of laughed in the back of my mind. See, that's a supervisor who cares. She's also a geek, too, so that helps as well. Another co-worker, the other big geek at work, is also going so that's probably what prompted my supervisor to ask. Good thing it's kind of slow right now. I'm not going to miss much (beyond a pay day) if I'm away for a day.

- I think I have my cosplays sorted out. I'm not going to bother with Thursday night this year. I'm going straight to the grounds from work, and while the dress code is fairly laid back, I don't have anything that would double for both work and the expo. So:

• Friday: Femme!Four from Doctor Who. A repeat from last year. It's parade day and my photo op day with Peter Capaldi. I settled on a Classic Who Doctor because I thought Capaldi might notice it more. There will be an endless amount of Tens and Elevens and Twelves and Claras, but there probably won't be too many Fours. If anything, Capaldi will notice the scarf and maybe that will spark a conversation. Fingers crossed that he's involved in the parade. Hey, last year our Doctor Who cosplay group ended up walking behind John Barrowman's car. It could happen, right?


• Saturday: Jessica Jones from Jessica Jones. I considered breaking out my Melinda May cosplay for Saturday, since that's the day of my Jeremy Renner photo op, but then I remembered that I had another Marvel cosplay. Melinda would make more sense, since she's S.H.I.E.L.D. and Clint was S.H.I.E.L.D., but my gosh, my Jessica Jones outfit is so comfy. I'm also considering bringing a toy bow for Renner to hold. He seems like a chill guy so hopefully he's not going to mind holding a cheap prop for laughs.


• Sunday: Ace from Doctor Who. This might be subject to change. My Seven cosplayer mentioned he might be doing Seven on Sunday so this would be a great opportunity to match him and snap some photos. If he changes his mind, maybe I can break out my Kaylee cosplay in honour of Nathan Fillion.

- Still pounding away at Mass Effect: Andromeda. There are just so many side missions to do; I don't know when to stop. I should probably focus on the main storyline and finish up the game that way, but I'm so easily distracted.

- And I thought I would mention that I do have a Dreamwidth account under the same username. I'm not using it right now, but it's there if needed.

- Hmm, I haven't been very chatty here lately. It's more a lack of anything exciting to talk about rather than general laziness.

- So the local comic book expo somehow managed to get Jeremy Renner as a guest. Yeah, I don't know how they did it. I can picture him doing Comic Con or a Wizard World con, but not our modest expo. Okay, okay 90,000 to 100,000 attendees is not modest, but we're not exactly a hot spot like Toronto or San Diego or New York City. Also, shouldn't he be busy filming Avengers: Infinity Wars Part 1? Or does this mean that Clint's not in it? If Renner suddenly cancels, then that's probably a sign he's in the movie.

I'm debating whether to resurrect my Melinda May cosplay for a photo-op. It's the only Marvel/S.H.I.E.L.D. related thing I have. Though, it would be fun to bring a prop/toy bow and arrow but I don't know if Renner allows props in his photo-ops.

- Speaking of unexpected guests to the city, it turns out that Maisie Williams is also here. A friend of a guy at work ran into her at a karaoke bar. Apparently she's filming Game of Thrones here. I laughed at the thought - I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to film snow and mountains back in Europe? - but apparently the guy who supplies the dire wolves to the show lives outside the city. So it's not completely improbable that the show would bring some of the actors here. On top of that, Ewan McGregor is here filming season three of Fargo. If I actually cared, I could try to track them down, but that just seems weird to me.

- A vacation in Cardiff in May is looking very likely. I haven't been back since November 2013, and that was just for a day, so it'd be nice to spend more time there. I mainly just want to go before the Doctor Who Experience shuts down, but I'm sure there are other things to see in the city. A side trip to Portmeirion, where The Prisoner was filmed, is also in the cards. I mean, why not. The two aren't near each other, but it's my best opportunity to visit the place. Plus, it's The Prisoner's 50th anniversary this year, so now seems like an excellent time to go.

Last day of the expo. Last appearance ever of Stan Lee at the expo. Last day to hang out with a horde of geeks.

As much as I complain about how tired I am, I do love this weekend. It's the best time of the year. It's the only comic book expo or con that I know I will be attending every year since it's right in the city. Not everyone has a big convention in their own backyard.

( Last day of the expo details behind the cut )

Well, until next year. I actually think I'm running out of people that I want to see. The expo is getting that good at booking the actors that I love. Just get David Tennant and all will be right with the world.