The Blog to Nowhere

- I get a lot of good books from my book club, but there aren't a lot of books I rave about. I recently finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and it was so good. I had wanted to read this book for a while now and I finally had some time to get it out of the library. If you love Firefly and Mass Effect, this is a book series for you. It has a rag tag crew of a cargo ship just trying to make a living set against the backdrop of this galactic community that includes a lot of neat aliens. The book is a bit info dump-y at times, but you just plough through it to get back to the good stuff, which is scenes with the crew. The plot is basically a series of vignettes as the crew makes the trip to the small angry planet of the title, but they're great character moments. There's no big political conspiracy, well, there is, but the crew isn't involved with it for most of the story, so that's a nice change from these sprawling and complicated space operas.

And I totally pictured Nathan Fillion as the captain of the ship. He probably doesn't match the actual description of the character, but when I think of gruff but lovable captains in charge of a oft repaired cargo ship, I can't picture anyone else.

There's a second book in the series, but I'm annoyed that it doesn't follow the crew. It's still set in the same universe and it picks up on a plot thread from the first book, but I'd rather the author spend more time with these characters she has crafted. Oh well. I'll still read the second book, but the third book better be about the crew or at least feature them in some capacity.

- After watching The Defenders, I wanted to upgrade my Jessica Jones cosplay to include her black hoodie and somehow that led me back to looking at pictures of her infinity scarf. Now, when Jessica Jones first came out, no one had identified the screen used scarf, so I had winged a pattern when knitting my own scarf. Well, to my great delight I saw that fans had identified the scarf in the interim and I was finally able to track down some reference pictures of the SA scarf. Needless to say, my scarf was a decent attempt, but it's not a good match.

Now, I'd usually be content to just leave the scarf as is, I'm a "good enough" cosplayer at heart, but this is knitting. This is a skill I'm actually good at. If I can knit a better scarf, then dang it, I want to knit a better scarf. So I've been looking at stitch patterns that will closely resemble the actual stitch pattern of the SA scarf. It's some weird stockinette seed pattern that also creates a honeycomb look on the wrong side. I think I've found a stitch pattern that would recreate most of the elements, but I still want to see if I can refine it a bit further before I start looking for wool.

(I really should be focused on my Christmas knitting, but I just can't help myself.)

- Alex Kingston and Charlie Cox are guests at Edmonton Expo this year. I keep meaning to head up to Edmonton to check out their comic expo, but the time and money factors always get in the way. Alex is the last person I need to finish off the autographs for November, aka Eleven's month, on my Doctor Who calendar, so that's part of the reason I'd like to meet her. With Charlie Cox, I just want to ask him if he's still knitting. :-D Though, perhaps this means they will come back to the province next year for CCEE since the expos sometimes carry over guests from one city to the next.

- And damn we've been busy at work. Can't wait for the long weekend.

- A friend on Facebook posted a link to this: https://www.omaze.com/experiences/Dr_who

A chance to have breakfast with 7 Doctors! In London!

I can't argue with that, especially if the donations are for charity (Red Nose Day). I typically don't pay attention to contests, but this one is hard to ignore. Though, I can barely say things to one celebrity at a con at the best of times. Having a private meal with seven celebrities? I'd probably go mute and it'd all be very awkward.

- Finally got my copy of Mass Effect: Andromeda today. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but it got delayed. I won't get a chance to start playing it until tomorrow, but thankfully I only have a half day of work tomorrow. Though, I'm sure I'll waste a good hour trying to customizing the main character. I mean, I'm going to be staring at this version of Ryder for countless hours, so she better look good. ;-)

- The Flash's crossover musical episode was yesterday. I'm going to write up my thoughts later, but I was endlessly amused by the fact that the soundtrack was up on iTunes and YouTube after the episode aired. Back in the days of Buffy's musical, you were forced to pirate the tracks from, I dunno, Napster or wherever. Even then, the tracks still had the background audio. Oh, look how far technology has come.

- GUYS THE COMIC BOOK EXPO ANNOUNCED PETER CAPALDI AS A GUEST!!! I was totally not expecting this. I thought he'd be busy finishing up the Christmas special or something. You should have seen me at work. I was practically vibrating I was so excited.

I think this is his first Canadian con. I always thought that Toronto Fan Expo would get him as a guest first, but clearly the Expo people are magic. Now I actually have to plan my weekend. Before this I didn't have much of a schedule. And cosplay plans! I don't have the funds or the time to come up with a Twelfth Doctor cosplay, as much as I'd like to, but I can always use one of my other ones. But which one? Fourth Doctor? Eleventh Doctor? Ace?

I'm so stoked that I get to see Capaldi before he bows out as the Doctor. I can attempt to tell him how much I've enjoyed his run as the Doctor, though I'm very certain that I'll just end up rambling and saying something ridiculous.

- I also got news that my temp job is extended to the end of June. No more month to month speculation. It's not a permanent job, but it's a little more security than I had last week. Considering the comic book expo keeps announcing awesome guests, I'm going to need the extra funds. ;-)

- So I had ordered some stuff from ThinkGeek for upcoming birthdays and much to my surprise, the package that showed up last week didn't contain anything I had ordered. Suddenly I was stuck with this box of stuff and who knows where my stuff was. Thankfully, ThinkGeek has a helpful return form for cases like this and they've shipped out my order again. But here's the really great thing. I was dismayed at the thought of shipping the wrong items back on my own dime so I phoned their help line today. After explaining my situation (that I'm in Canada, that this isn't a refund), the lady informed me that I could keep the wrong items at no cost to me. I was actually quite floored that they would let the items go, but I guess it's just easier in the long run. I don't have to pay to ship it back, they don't have to pay to generate a shipping label for me, and they end up with a happy customer. So as often as I grumble about shipping to Canada, ThinkGeek does do right by their customers.

As for the items I received in error, I'm going to give them away. It doesn't feel right to sell the items on eBay or wherever.

- 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.

- I had some free time so I decided to watch the first episode of season three of Star Trek: the infamous "Spock's Brain". People always say it's the worst episode of TOS, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Granted, I haven't seen every episode of the series yet, but when compared to what I've seen so far, I can say that there are worst episodes than "Spock's Brain".

Yes, the main point of the plot involves an alien race removing Spock's brain so they can use it to run the systems of their underground city, and yes, Spock's body lurches around with a fetching motor control device on his head, but it's not the weirdest plot ever. How often do we see stories where humans are used like batteries to power something? I think the episode gets a bad rap because everyone just giggles when they hear the words "Spock's Brain" and it's hard to be objective. Seriously, I wanted to laugh each time the phrase "Spock's brain" was used in dialogue.

This episode definitely falls into the category of "so bad it's good" rather than "oh my god, that was so boring I wanted to rip my eyes out".

- I finally got around to finishing my Jessica Jones infinity scarf, so I'll be going as her to my friend's Halloween party. Such an easy costume; I love it. I'll definitely have to wear it again during one of the days of the comic book expo.

- I've been working a temp job for the past couple of weeks and my manager said people totally dress up on Halloween, so I get to go into work in costume on Monday. That'll be fun. This will be the first time I've worn a costume to work. I'm thinking I'll go with my Fourth Doctor cosplay, since it's quirky enough that it doesn't look like my usual work clothes, but it's also comfortable to sit in. My co-workers and I have chatted about Doctor Who, so they will totally recognize the outfit.

- I've been so busy, I never got around to writing about the rest of Luke Cage. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as much as Jessica Jones or season one of Daredevil. It was definitely a slow burner. Even towards the end, I didn't feel a huge sense of urgency.

( Spoilers for Luke Cage season one )

Iron Fist is up next and then The Defenders. I'm really looking forward to The Defenders. DC has had some great success teaming up the Berlantiverse superheroes, so it's about time Marvel got in on that action.

- Wha? A friend on Facebook posted that Doctor Who will be filming in Vancouver in October. Awesome news or ridiculous rumour? Until I hear something official from the BBC, I'm taking this with a grain of salt. Why fly all the way over here for forests or mountains or snow when there's plenty of that in the UK and Europe? But it would be great if Doctor Who came back to Vancouver to shoot an episode. I would totally make an effort to visit Vancouver to catch a glimpse of them filming stuff. Okay, and potentially meet Peter Capaldi.

- I had to add buttons to a knitting commission, but since Home-Ec was a very long time ago, I turned to the Internet for help. In a couple of minutes, I had a handy guide on how to sew a button and the button shank. Man, what did we do before we had complete strangers posting how-to videos on YouTube?

- I spent the past weekend at a literary convention/book festival (that's two cons in two weekends for those playing at home). It's billed as a festival for readers and writers, but I feel like most of the panels are for writers. It's still a fun con either way, but I always come back feeling like I suck as a writer. There's a series of panels where manuscripts are submitted anonymously and then read aloud and there's some good stuff in there. I don't feel the need to write a novel with all of my free time, but I do feel like I should step up my game or something.

Oh, and I ran into a former co-worker at the con. She was manning the registration table and I totally didn't recognize her right away. She, though, recognized me, and I was momentarily thrown as to why this lady was greeting me so warmly. I felt kind of stupid that it took me a few seconds to remember she was a fellow admin. Placing names and faces together is not one of my strong suits (unless it's related to trivia, then I totally rock).

- And for no apparent reason, I have started looking at Halloween costumes even though Halloween is over two months away. It's always fun looking at what's new for the year. Obviously the big costumes for 2016 are Suicide Squad related, so there'll be lots of Harleys, Jokers, Katanas, Deadshots, Killer Crocs, and Diablos. There's actually a cool temporary face tattoo thing for Diablo, so if you don't have make-up skills, that's a cheap and easy way to cosplay Diablo.

I'm thinking I'll piece something together from stuff I already have. I'm finally making some progress on my Jessica Jones inspired infinity scarf, so if I can get that done by Halloween, then the rest of the costume will be a cinch. I also love the idea of doing a femme!Rip Hunter or a Rip Huntress if you will. ;-) I have my Ten brown coat; I could easily fake the rest of the outfit. It's Halloween, so it doesn't have to be super accurate.

- I tried out axe throwing over the weekend and I'm still sore. God, I need to get into shape. But axe throwing was super fun. It took me a while to get into it, but I did manage two bull's-eye towards the end. I do have photographic proof, just not on my phone; my friend was taking pictures on her very nice camera. I do have pictures of me throwing the big axe they use to settle ties. That thing is heavy. The head itself is two pounds. Oh, and I managed to get the big axe to stick to the board. It didn't hit the target, but hey, I was just happy to get in the vicinity of the target. :-)

- I saw this neat write-up about Bill's outfit from her introduction video. I'm always amazed at how fast the fans are able to ID items.

The other cool thing about the article is that it points out some details that I didn't notice. Turns out that there are a few more patches on Bill's jacket than just the "Wow!" one. Gives the outfit a bit of an Ace vibe. I'm wondering if the jean jacket will be a staple of Bill's wardrobe. You wouldn't customize something that much without intending to use it a lot.

And only five patches total, if you include the writing on the back corner as one patch, so you won't go completely broke trying to find everything.

- Weather forecast for the comic book expo keeps changing. Sun, clouds, rain; no one can make up their mind. No rain on Friday is preferable, since that's parade day, but no rain all weekend would be even nicer. You have to walk to another building to get to the photo-ops area and no one wants to get their costume or nice outfit wet. Alas, this is Canada, where it can snow at any time of the year.

But if it does, god forbid, snow, then at least the guests have an amusing story to bring home. I still remember the year Matt Smith was here. It snowed on the Saturday and he was totally thrown off by the sight of people walking outside in the snow in only t-shirts and jeans. Canadians; we're made of hearty stuff. :-D

- Speaking of the parade, I managed to borrow a small Bluetooth speaker so we'll have music playing while we walk. We didn't have music last year and, I don't know, it just wasn't the same. I have about an hour's worth of music, which includes every variation of the theme song (including my favourite, the guitar remix from "Before the Flood"), Doctor specific tracks (like "I Am the Doctor"), every original song Murray Gold has written for the show (excluding "Silence is All You Know" since the tempo is a little slow), and everyone's favourite "Who is the Doctor" as "sung" by Jon Pertwee. Oh, and the disco version of the theme song by Ron Grainger. Still can't believe it was actually arranged by him and it wasn't a fan remix. All of this is on my phone so no bulky CD player to haul around this time. Yay for technology!

I'm sure by the end of parade we'll be sick and tired of listening to the Doctor Who theme song over and over. ;-) It's kind of amazing how many times it has been re-imagined.

- Three weeks out from the comic book expo and now is the time that I decide to start working on my cosplays? Okay, so it's not like I'm starting costumes from scratch with only 21 days to go, but you think I would have done this sooner. Good thing it's only minor additions to cosplays that are pretty much done anyway, but the pieces still need to ship from their various locations. I do have about a week wiggle room if things do arrive later than the estimate, but it'll be close.

( Boring details behind the cut )

I suppose that's the nice thing about cosplays. They're never just "done". You can always change them and update them as your skill level and your budget improve.

- Well, after all of that teasing, Arrow finally answered the mystery that's been hanging over the entire season.

( Spoilers for Arrow 4x18, "Eleven-Fifty-Nine" )

I assume the mystery is solved, unless this entire thing is a red herring, but that seems kind of cruel.

- The trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped today. I had completely forgot that the movie was coming out in December. Maybe I'm just in denial that there's going to be new Star Wars content like every year. *in crotchety old person voice* In my day, all we had to look forward to were the special editions and the prequels.

Kidding aside, it does look interesting and there's another new female lead we can admire. :-)

- Had to cancel my cruise for this year. It's been planned since last year, but I just don't have the funds right now for a vacation overseas. I'm bummed, sure, but I have the Star Trek 50th anniversary con in Las Vegas to look forward to and I think that'll be more fun. Ronald D. Moore, Star Trek writer extraordinaire and creator of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, is one of the guests and I'm super excited to see him. Most cons don't bother to have writers as guests so it'll be a great chance to hear him talk about the process. I really want him to sign something but I don't know what yet. Hopefully he is doing autographs.

- I'm still watching Legends of Tomorrow. I love the characters, but logistics is not the show's strong suit. It feels like the writers have no idea what to do with all of the characters or how to work their powers and skill sets organically into the plot. So we get a lot of scenarios where half of the team is back on the Waverider twiddling their thumbs and it makes no sense. Oh sure, the writers try their best to explain it away, but in the end, Rip just ends up looking like an idiot. I really hope they learn how to balance everyone as the show progresses.

( Spoilers for Legends of Tomorrow 1x06, "Star City 2046" )

- Still knitting away at my friend's season 16/17 Fourth Doctor scarf. I've started the "Duplicate" half, so I'm at least 50% done. I get so bored doing endless rows of garter stitch that I started a bunch of side projects to keep my sanity. I'm nearly done Rose's wrist warmers from "Doomsday" and I came up with a pattern that replicates Jessica's infinity scarf from Jessica Jones. It's not a super accurate design, but it's good enough for my liking.

- Agent Carter is done for the season tomorrow. :-( I hope the show gets renewed for a third season. Maybe Netflix can pick it up if ABC decides to drop it? I mean, if Full House can get a revival, then surely Agent Carter can find a good home there.

- I saw this on io9.com the other day. They introduced a female Captain America in the Spider-Gwen universe and her origins were laid out in the latest issue. What really caught my eye, though, was the fact that on Earth-65, there's a eye patch wearing Peggy Carter that's basically a stand in for Nick Fury. I totally love this idea. This makes Peggy even more bad ass. I really want to read the Spider-Gwen series now, if only to see more of Eye Patch!Peggy. Ooh, maybe this female Cap will get her own series.

- I'm 95% finished on my first ever Jayne hat. It knitted up pretty quick thanks to the fact that it uses bulky yarn. I love bulky yarn. It's not too thick, but it's thick enough that you can knock out projects in a couple of days. I think I have enough yarn left over to make another hat and I would love to make one for myself. The one that was gifted to me is a bit tight; apparently I have a large noggin. We'll see. I'm knitting a few things for Christmas this year and I don't have a lot of time. A Jayne hat for me will probably have to wait until after the holidays.

- I finished reading Armada, the second book by Ernest Cline. He wrote Ready Player One, which I loved, so I thought Armada would be just as good. Sadly, I was disappointed. Armada is okay, but it doesn't have the same spark as Ready Player One. All of the geek references in Ready Player One made sense within the context of the world. In Armada, all of the geek references seemed tacked on, like it was in Cline's contract that he had to have geeky references so he just threw them in wherever. And he actually explains some of the geeky references! Wha? You shouldn't have to do that. Just reference it and the reader can Google is later if it doesn't make sense.

- The big crossover for The Flash and Arrow is at the end of the month. I think I saw a thing saying that Mark Hamill is back as the Trickster for the crossover. That would rock. Mark Hamill and set up for Legends of Tomorrow? Yes please. :-D I'm so excited for Legends of Tomorrow. Both shows have been busy setting everything up. All of the players are in place. Now we just need to meet Rip Hunter. I still can't help but think of him as a time displaced Rory who was recruited to sort out the timelines. Hmm, maybe there's a fic idea in there...