Fuse the Sky

USB device not recognized...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:21:28 GMT

Well....fuck.

Yeah. So, my old flash drive? The one that holds less than half a gig and is, my all modern standards, a joke? Yeah, through an unfortunate turn of events, it became...bent. And now no longer functions.

This also happened to hold all the most recent, finalized, and in-progress copies of all my stories. All of them. ALL OF THEM.

The part that bent is the USB connector...the chip itself appears undamaged. So everything's probably still saved on there.

So...anyone have any idea as to how I can get this thing working again, if only for long enough to pull all that off?

Closer still.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:36:54 GMT

Ordered Bert's gift. Finally scored some wrapping paper.

Eight names to go.

Well, seven names, one of them twice. How DOES the girl date someone with the same name as her father? Doesn't it feel weird shouting THAT particular name in bed?

Anyway. One last round of shopping to go. Scraping the bottom of the money barrel now.

Also, I heard back from that lawyer regarding my speeding ticket. They say they can keep my record spotless, no points on the lisence (a word I can never seem to spell and am too tired to bother trying right now), and no driving school, for a fee of 99$.
Sounds like a sweet deal, if not for the little addendum of "...the most you'll have to pay are some court fees.".

Yeeeeah....Mr. Lawyer Person? We're gonna have to talk some more about that. 'Some court fees' is just a little too vague for my liking. Could be anything from 50$ to 500$. And if it's going to be more, combined with your 99$, than the ticket fine, then I should just pay the ticket and not even bother.

Someone remind me to give them a call on Monday, hmm?

Ahem.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:10:53 GMT

IT'S THE 21ST CENTURY AND IT HAS BEEN FOR TEN FREAKING YEARS.

We're living in the goddamned future, people! Where the HEL are the flying cars?! The anti-gravity boots? The robot butlers? Hoverboards? Sentient computers? Holographic billboards? Cyborg limbs? Projected-energy weapons? Force fields? Food synthesizers? Teleportation pods? ANYTHING?

I've said it before, the only piece of technology that's actually kept up with the hype has been the cellphones. Everything else? Pathetic! Cars? Pfft. Not a one can drive itself. Computers? Please. The stupid things were supposed to be able to think and talk and have psychotic episodes by now. I can't even find a stupid space heater that works! 21st century technology is a total rip. I swear, I want to sue every single piece of media that's been made in the last fifty years for false fucking advertising!

Japan! I'm looking at you! YOU were supposed to be taking care of all this! What have you been doing all this time, feeding your goldfish? Get on it! I want a mechanical dog that can turn into a plasma rifle and also make me a caramel latte, and I want him NOW!

It was only a matter of time...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:01:03 GMT

I am reading Glee fanfiction.

I'm trying to decide if this is a step up from when I was hooked on LazyTown fanfic, or a step down. I'm thinking it may be a lateral move.

What's really worrying about this is the fact that a fanfic has no sound, and that therefore Glee's kickass soundtrack can't possibly factor into my desire to read this, which implies that I actually give a shit about these characters.

Now THAT is a scary thought.

Also, the Phineas and ferb Christmas special was pretty good. I especially like Dr. Doofenshmutz's 'I Really Don't Hate Christmas'.

Oh, and by the way...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:52:27 GMT

The new blades are too long for my hacksaw and the titanium drillbits are too small for my dremel.

So fuck this shit, at least for a while. Maybe when I can be buggered, I'll get my hands on an actual drill and a longer...

Hey, wait. I think my hacksaw can actually extend to accommodate a longer blade. Let me check...

Good news! I am slightly less inclined to brutally murder the next living thing to cross my path with a useless hacksaw blade. Now I just need to borrow somebody's drill and we'll see how well this works.

Sigh.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:21:58 GMT

Just to prove that I CAN make a journal entry that's NOT about Glee...

I'm really sick of not having written anything. GTD's in need of some major revisions and won't be going anywhere for a while, but the same needn't hold true for PRN. At the very least, until Zenny gets her act together, I can work on a few interim chapters.
What Never Happened is a good choice for this. But it keeps running into the same snag. There's one little plot device that doesn't want to jump out at me. So...I'm asking for help with this one.

Okay. So. Suppose you're a six-year-old girl. You just saw two people get brutally murdered. A mean scary man chased you through the streets and threw magic at you.
The spell was supposed to ensure that no one would believe you, by forcing you speak only lies, but it didn't quite work out that way. You're now cursed, so that whatever you say becomes untrue, but you don't understand that. All you know is that the horrible, terrible thing that just happened, happened because of your voice, and it's traumatized you to the point that you haven't said a word in the ten years since.

The question: What did you say?

cackles

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:47:36 GMT

Santana: "Why would I do that?"
Tina: "To get back at Puck. Aren't you guys dating?"
Santana: "Sex is NOT dating."
Brittany: "If it were, Santana and I would be dating."
*Awkward pause. Everyone looks stunned. Santana gives Brittany an OMG-you-just-outed-us-and-you-don't-even-realize-it look, followed by an eyeroll*

Pure. Fucking. Gold. I swear, when she said that, you could hear the needle scratch. And then the conversation just picks right back up again, like it never happened. Priceless. ^_^

Pity this is the last ep of the season. I am SO hooked.

Quote of the Moment...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:15:36 GMT

"What are you doing Friday night?"
"The usual. Stand outside the 7-11 looking depressed until someone offers to buy me beer."

Claire and Puck, Glee

blinks

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:35:48 GMT

Rachel just informed us all that Defying Gravity is her ringtone.

All right, it's official, this whole Glee thing is hitting just a little too close to home. :P

Incidentally, this might come as a surprise...might not...but I don't really like the Glee rendition of Defying Gravity. Nothin' on Idina Menzel.

(Why the fuck does Kurt bother with an iPod shuffle of songs from Wicked? There are all of ten songs, just play the damn soundtrack!)

Getting there...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:59:30 GMT

~~Mom~~
~~Elf~~
~~Skitty~~
~~Grin~~
~~Anne~~
Echo
Jared
Alex
Bert
Ken
Sprinkles
~~Roger~~
Kaust
Kevin
Kevin II
Kim

Not off to a phenomenal start, but at least I've made a dent.
Kim and the Kevins will be receiving token items, as I am really fucking poor. I can probably get away with making Kim a chain-jewelry item. My out-of-town friends, none of whom I will see prior to Christmas, will be receiving gifts purchased AFTER Christmas, seeing as my next paycheck comes Christmas day.
No idea what to get Alex, and my darling little brother will get a great big box of FUCKALL if he doesn't post a bloody Christmas list in the next few days.
Hot Topic no longer has the item I was planning to get Kaust, so I shall improvisisize.

Oh!

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:02:31 GMT

That mash-up of Walkin' On Sunshine and Halo was from Glee! I wondered why the girl singing Halo suddenly didn't suck.

Different girl. Actually talented girl. Makes all the difference.

Of course, the fact that throwing in Sunshine actually adds, you know, lyrics to Halo helped a lot, too. Gods, what hack wrote that, anyway? Who seriously thought that just saying the word 'halo' 59 times would make for a decent song?

No, seriously, I feel less bad about actually liking that mix knowing that whatever pathetic being was responsible for Halo (Beyonce, I think? Whoever, she's terrible.) didn't actually sing it. Because I actually felt guilty about in any way sending the slightest positive vibrations into the world regarding that song.

Hey, Glee people? If you can work this sort of magic with Halo, then I've got a long list of songs for you to make not suck. Let's start with The Climb, then move on to Battlefield, Lady Marmalade, and Mr. Mom.

Lady Marmalade's not a priority, it's already been somewhat redeemed by that mix with Teen Spirit.

Mmmm.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:08:48 GMT

Yummy yummy....two week old KFC.

Mmmmm.

Did I mention free? Yay free!

Also, all that love for kittens that Mom's Horrible Kitten Epidemic brutally crushed out of me and replaced with complete and utter revulsion? I found out where it went.

Rabbits.

Kes brought her new bunny, Mr. Nose, to G!M!N! and he was cutest thing in the history of cute and rabbits are now the most adorable thing. Period.

I have about 100$ to buy Christmas gifts for about seventeen people. I either need more money, or fewer friends. I am about to place another chainmail order, so if anyone wants to commission a gift for someone, speak up now. You'll save a lot on shipping costs if I can just bundle your materials in with the stuff I'm already ordering.

Also, I finally got around to watching that first episode of Glee.
As I predicted, it is typical high school-level dramasauce, most of the plot points directly ripped from Popular (In fact...Hang on a sec. Oh, Wikipedia? Reference please? *typity type type* Aha! Same creator. I knew I recognized the style! Finn Hudson is really nothing more than Josh Ford II, the Return of Josh Ford. If anyone was still watching who remembered Popular, I bet he'd be catching all sorts of Hel for that.), with the notable difference that Glee is a musical series, and a damn good one, instead of a Let's-All-Pretend-The-Stepsisters-Aren't-Gay-For-Each-Other series.

Yeah...I'm sold. More eps downloading now.

You know, Elf walked in on me listening to Don't Stop Believing (AKA Small Town Girl), and began drawing comparisons to the original. I said I liked the new version better because it had better vocals; he replied that I only thought it had better vocals because I like musicals.

I kinda think he has his cause and effect reversed...I enjoy musicals BECAUSE they tend to have kickass vocals.

*SNERK*

"Rachel, did you just make yourself throw up?"
"I tried, but I guess I just don't have much of a gag reflex."
"One day when you're older, that'll turn out to be a gift."

Well.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:12:19 GMT

Just saw Ben Ten: Alien Swarm.

The plot was...not original in any sense of the word, but not horrible. Dialogue was amusing at its best, and at its worst no worse than your average moralistic Disney movie.

Two gripes. Gripe the first: One of these days, cartoon network will realize that the show is called Ben TEN, and stop making installments wherein he doesn't use his alternate forms. In the video games, we never get more than seven or so. In the last movie, we got four, including the one-shot never-seen-again form (Eon). This time, we got two, plus another one-shot never-seen-again form (Nanomech). It also bugs me that the entire cast was mystified by the notion of a nanotech-based life form, when Ben had one of those at the very start of the series (Upgrade).
While I'm picking nits, what's the point in becoming a creature whose primary strength was in its ability to reproduce rapidly? Okay, fine, they were also hyper-adaptoids, and as Nanomech, Ben DID have that. But there was still only one of him. The swarm should have overpowered him easily. For Nanomech to really be much use, he needs to have Ditto/Echo Echo's ability to replicate himself.
Hel, maybe he does and it just wasn't pictured. It's pretty well established that Ben's bad at this.

Edit: Now I think about it, they were pretty clear about he fact that only the Queen of that species could reproduce, and that Ben was a drone. So no. Completely useless form.

Gripe the second: Who the fuck casted this movie? The guy playing Kevin was the only one who could act, and the girl playing Gwen didn't even remotely look the part. It's like the casting director stuck his head out the studio, pointed to a random girl and yelled, "You! You're a girl with red hair! You're in!".

Sigh.

Oh, well. All in all, not a painful experience. And I still want an Omnitrix.

Meme!

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:04:11 GMT

The Basics
How old are you?: 27
Whats your lucky number?: 13, cliche as that sounds. Also 308. Sometimes I combine them into 1308. It's fun.
How tall are you?: 5'11"
How many pairs of shoes do you own?: 5, not counting my in-lines.
Are you a good dancer?: Not especially, but I occasionally enjoy it.

My Favorites
favorite artist?: Vargo. Also Geiger and Clive Barker.
political figure?: Let's go with Benjamin Franklin. Dude had the balls to bait lightning.
90's band?: Savage Garden
90's solo artist?: Umm...Gods, was I even there for the 90's?
Def Leppard song?: Who?

This or That
Couch or bed?: It's both, actually.
Brush or comb?: Uh, razor?
Smile or frown?: Smile.
Top or bottom?: Top, so far. Find me a girl who'll top, and we'll see how I like the bottom.
Tears of joy or sorrow?: Neither. Only tears I stock are grief and maniacal laughter.

Do You?
want a church wedding?: Infernis naga.
prefer baths or showers?: Showers. Quick ones. May have something to do with there not being any tubs in the world big enough to lay down in.
towel drying or blow drying your hair?: Not applicable.
own a flat screen television?: Naga. But Elf does, so there's one in my house. Does that count?
like scary movies?: Yes. Both of them.

Have You Ever
been to Legoland?: Don't recall.
been on tv?: Not that I know of.
done something heroic?: *laughs*
been the recipient of a practical joke?: Not really.
been in the newspaper?: I was mentioned in my grandfather's obituary. Does that count?

Misc.
Would you like to be a celebrity?: Fame, fortune, fun, the ability to do all the drugs in LA without consequence? Sure!
Whats the longest you've gone without sleep?: 29 hours.
How long can you balance on one foot?: Until I get sick of it.
How many pillows do you sleep with?: Two, and a teddy bear. When I had a bed, there were many more.
How big is your house?: Two bedrooms, one bath, one study-turned-bedroom for the Kaust-creature.

Personal
do you ever go "commando": Only when I'm completely out of clean underwear and the last ones have gotten particularly crusty. Hey, you asked.
do you hold grudges?: Oh yes.
are you reliable?: Despite my best efforts, yes, usually.
do you have a high self esteem?: Depends on whether I'm currently aware that I even exist.
are you a good liar?: I never lie. I'm great at deceiving people, though. ^_^

Firsts
whats your favorite celebrity with the same first name as you?: The only one that comes to mind is Jordan Sparks, and I fucking hate the whiny bitch. So N/A.
what was your first job?: Short-order cook.
have you ever flown first class?: No
do you like your first name?: No.
what is the meaning of your first name?: It means 'Descending'. Something about God's grace unto mankind, I dunno.

As of Now
did you shave today?: No.
are you tired?: Yes.
are you pregnant?: Gods, I hope not.
are you hungry?: Chronically.
are you thirsty?: Yes.

Okay.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:47:34 GMT

Paycheck was a bit heftier than expected (all that yummy holiday pay from Thanksgiving), so, I've decided to give this protoform one last chance. In addition to my first round of Christmas shopping (got gifts for Skitty and Michelle), I picked up a few more hacksaw blades and a titanium drillbit. Total value, about six bucks. Kilning a new protoform would have cost eight...and still will, if this fails, meaning I'm gambling six bucks to save two, but oh well. it's worth it if it means I don't have to start COMPLETELY over.
Also grabbed the velcro and elastic to attach the back half, should I manage to get it off, and the glue to repair the damage I did to the protoform when I tried to chisel it apart last night. (still need more Mighty Putty to finish patching this...that's another ten bucks. Damn. I really should have just started over. Although I suppose I could always just patch it with clay. Less stable, but it only has to last long enough to vacuform. I'd just have to re-patch it each time.)

This afternoon, I plan on grabbing gifts for a couple more people...the few for whom I know what I'm getting.

Mom, will you be at Kevin's Monday evening? That's the day I'm out and about anyway, so if I could swing by and A) use the printer again, and B) drop off this month's cellphone bill, that'd be great.
Yes, I still plan to pay that. :p I may not be able to pay everything back just yet, but the least I can do is refrain from building up any MORE debt.

Also, mother, MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST. And get your brat of a son to do the same. Did Anne email you the infor for the dummy account? If not, maybe she didn't get My email, and I should resend.

Also, butternuts. The materials I ordered for CENSORED's gift weren't enough. I'ma need to order more and hope it gets here in time. Then again, I don't even know if I'll be seeing CENSORED before Christmas, so maybe I needn't rush.
Oooh....amybe while I'm at it, I can order some CENSORED and finish that CENSORED that I was making for CENSORED while I'm at it.

Gotta love all this holiday secrecy. Wish I knew a way to make LJ blank out words with black bars. :P

Hmm. On that note, do you think there's a Fallout 3 mod that'll turn Med-X back into morphine? Can't be too hard, right?
Honestly, all the shit that's in that game, and they pick that to censor. Although I am amused that they just labeled it 'medication X' and didn't bother to come up with a bullshit name for it.

Also, having done the in-game research and learned where Jet comes from, I am less inclined to use it no matter HOW useful it may be. Eugh.

EPIC FAIL.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:09:01 GMT

So, tonight I thought I'd take the next step towards completing a vacuform helmet, and finish sawing the back half off the helmet, so that both pieces would be able to lay flat on the vacuforming surface. And, while I did not succeed, and, in fact, managed to completely shatter everything I had sculpted onto the protoform, I did learn something from this experience.

I learned that nothing I possess is capable of cutting through kilned clay. Ceramic material, it seems, while extremely susceptible to blunt force trauma, is nearly indestructible otherwise. I have now destroyed ten dremel wheels, two hacksaws, and a drillbit attempting to penetrate this thing. (I had to abandon the chisel, lest the whole protoform shatter.)

As it can neither be cut nor penetrated via drill, the protoform is useless to me. Without the strategically placed airholes, there would not be sufficient air flow for the plastic to hug all the sculpted contours of the mold, and without a removable back half, it would not be possible to vacuform both halves of a helmet at once.

I could, conceivably, throw good money after bad at this point, and attempt to procure tools that could cut this...diamond-tipped drillbits and the like...but it will probably be cheaper just to sculpt, and have kilned, a fresh protoform and start over, this time drilling the appropriate holes and removing the back half BEFORE the piece is fired.

Skitty sculpted the original protoform, not I, but I watched, and I can usually replicate any process I see with a decent success rate.
I suppose I should get started. I'll probably have to scrap the work I started on the Jagun Shield mold, so as to have enough clay.

The protoform itself probably cost about ten bucks worth of clay and eight to have fired, so I'm out somewhere between fifteen and twenty bucks. Annoying, but not critical.

The goodnews is that my final products will almost definitely be better for this experience. I'm now fairly certain I can do a much better job, having had so much practice. A few failsauce versions almost always mean a better end result.

Still. I hate starting over. :(

EDIT: Jagun Shield mold clay and Silver Ranger helmet shards have been dumped into the cooler to soften for re-use. I'm too fed up to create right now, and I work for the next few days, so work is scheduled to continue on Monday.

Elf suggested saving the shards to be used as movie props (say, on a shelf, as momentos of the time Deacon's helmet shattered after the Serpentera incident that I haven't yet written), but I need the clay too badly. Perhaps I can make a second vacuform of the Silver Ranger helmet and shatter that, if neccesary.

Gods.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:08:53 GMT

Okay, so I'm at the movies with Echo...and by the way, The Amazing Mr. Fox kicked ass and everyone should go see it...and before the previews, they have this public service ad/announcement thing, soliciting for donations to medical research. Typical, really, but what hit me was their pitch. Various supposedly famous people, taking it in turns to say things like, "Thanks to you, he'll be a grandfather", or "Thanks to you, she'll walk down the aisle", as they showed pictures of unhealthy babies.

And all I can think is..."Oh my fucking gods, what a HORRIBLE sentiment! Donate to our cause, and thanks to you, these horrific hereditary illnesses will continue to thrive so that future children can suffer, just like the ones pictured here! Don't let these diseases die with them! Help to keep excruciating tumors and debilitating blood conditions going by ensuring that these poor children suffer long enough to pass them on to future generations!"

It occurs to me that some of you, those who may not know me very well, may think I'm just being perverse or witty or sarcastic or whatever, but no. That was my genuine first impression. I was actually sickened and horrified by the idea.

It took me a few moments of reflection before it clicked that that wasn't what they were going for. The basic line of thought went something along these lines:

Why would anyone would be sadistic enough to donate to, or solicit for, such a cause? I mean, sadism in the immediate term, I can understand, perhaps even sympathize with. The idea of getting enjoyment out of causing suffering isn't completely alien...really, I can understand, without much effort, the idea of someone doing just about anything for their own personal gain. Even, if not one's own gain, the long-term gain of future generations. But the idea of deliberately perpetuating the sickness of the entire human race? Of inflicting that kind of harm on future generations? Potentially thousands of people? To what end? How does this benefit you? How does this benefit anyone?

Oh. Ohhhhh.

These people were trying to make life better for this batch of children, and either didn't realize the greater implications of what they were saying/doing, or didn't care. (which is just as bad, really, because it means that disastrously naive, ignorant people have entirely too much sway in this society. Not that that comes as a surprise at all).

It made a lot more sense to me after that....after all, if forced with the choice, I'd probably doom thousands I didn't know to a painful lingering death to save a handful of people I knew well. I just wonder if the people making this ad would. Probably not.
I wonder if they realize that that's exactly what they're doing.

I guess it's just refreshing to realize that I CAN still be shocked by how insane the people running this civilization are. I'm not completely jaded after all.

Yet.

Hehehe.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:24:53 GMT

I've decided that, not only is there a much simpler cosplay I can do, for a lot cheaper than Geno, but there is an awesome reference we can make in Sky Pirates. Loren already wears a blue jumpsuit. I own two of them. All I need is to print out the appropriate iron-ons, and we're good to go.

At some point in the series, Loren, for one reason or another, takes off the vest he wears over his suit, and, lo and behold, underneath, in big yellow letters, it reads VAULT 77. When asked about it, Loren replies that it's somewhere he visited once, and that while there wasn't much there, he did walk away with a bunch of really comfy jumpsuits and a monkey puppet (It also occurs to me that E.L.P.H.I.E. might actually be a modified PIP-Boy 3000).

(Backstory for the non-Fallout fans in the audience: As part of a vast sociological experiment, a number of post-apocalyptic fallout shelters were designed with fatal flaws. Vault 77, as a psychological test on the effects of prolonged isolation (and proof that the good people at Vault-Tec had a sense of humor), was populated by only one man and a crate full of puppets.)

Loren's not from the Fallout universe, of course (which is a pity, because it's one of those games that has enough detail and backstory that I feel it makes for a viable universe, and, given the post-apocalyptic feel of the show and the fact that every one of our characters comes from a different fandom, a Fallout character really would be appropriate), but we can throw in the reference anyway, since Sky Pirates has a running theme of referencing video games. On that note, we really do need to throw together a Weighted Companion Cube, just to have lying around the ship as a piece of random furniture.

Minstrel will make a passable PIP-Boy 3000. If I've managed to procure (and modify) a Droid by the time of the next con, that'll work even better. That and the jumpsuit are really all I need to make a Vault Dweller costume. If I have the time and a little extra cash, I could get fancy and add that cable that runs down one arm and around the neck, and possibly even make myself a Vault Boy puppet.
(Come to think of it, pulling around a crate full of puppets would really complete the costume. Pity the only one I own is Guido.)

PRN dialogue segment...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:36:25 GMT

The two broke off their conversation as the doors slid open, watching with some interest as Lolli walked in and sat down at the table with a dejected slump. Jareth, knowing her, immediately grabbed a bottle of scotch and a shot glass from the shelf and set them down before her.
"Uh...something wrong, Jess?" Mara asked.
"You know how they say homosexuality is genetic?" Lolli mumbled, pouring herself a shot.
"Yeah?" Jareth prompted.
"Well, it's bullshit." The Green Ranger knocked back the drink and immediately poured herself another.
There was a pause.
"You don't mean...," Mara began.
"You tried to hit on your clone?" Jareth asked, oddly delighted.
Lolli nodded, staring glumly at her glass.
"That's sick!" the Pink Ranger opined. "I mean, sicker than the girl-girl thing. I'm getting used to that. But your clone? That's like, incest or something."
"Closer to masturbation, really," Jareth argued.
"Don't you think it's a little narcissistic?" Terina inquired.
"No," Lolli replied. "I think it's extremely narcissistic. But I had to try."
"But she's straight?" Mara asked.
"Yeah. Guess I'll keep hitting the bars." A third shot followed the last two, and the glass was again refilled.
Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Just out of curiosity," he asked. "Before you tried this, did someone suggest that you go fuck yourself?"
"No," Lolli replied. "But ironically enough, my clone did afterward." She peered quizzically at her glass before emptying it for a fourth time. "I think," she said finally, "that she thought it was funny."

Good news, better news, other news.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:23:55 GMT

Good news: Grin donated fully half the cash for the ABS order, meaning I will almost definitely be able to afford it by next payday. Which means, gods willing, I should have at least one helmet vacuformed by year's end. Woot. It's kinda fitting that Grin shelled out so much...his costumes have the most plastic parts of the entire cast. This means he gets to keep the Jagun Shield, of course, but that's fine by me, as long as he tells people who made it. :)

Better news: Button is going to be a much better Terina than Chelsea. She looks the part, fits the costume perfectly, and is not a moron. These factors place her many, many steps above the prior choice. She also claims that she can do the accent, and not only run in the heels, but do cartwheels and the like.(The yellow chainshirt fits like it was made for her. SUCH a good choice.)

Other news: Tonight's G!M!!N! had to come to an early close due to mechanical failure. The movie was a repeat anyway, so this wasn't critical. But still, suckage. :(

I picked up the spray paint from Mom's. Well....some of it. I neglected to take into account just how much of the stuff I'd accumulated. Next time, I'll grab more. But I got the white, and that's what important for the moment.

Silver Ranger helmet mold is almost done.

You know, I talk about this thing so often, I think perhaps it's time you folks got to see it. Let's see...

There we go. As always, I took these with my phone, so the image quality's not the best, sincerest apologies, yaddayaddayadda. You can still see the big chunk missing where the protoform exploded in the kiln...it's the white patch behind the elephant's eye in the left-side view. I plan to patch that after I saw the back off, or as soon as I get my hands on some more Mighty Putty. At any rate, it'll be filled in before the back half gets vacuformed. (Given how the front half of the protoform is completely covered in unkilned clay anyway, I really should have puttied in the missing chunk on the BACK of the thing first. Ah, well. Hindsight, yeah?)

It is absurd how much work has gone into this thing. And to think...I have nearly twenty of these things to make.

Of course, I've learned a lot from this one. I think the rest'll go a lot more smoothly.

Oh...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:48:40 GMT

And last night, I dreamed that I slept with Demi Lovato. And Selena Gomez. Not at the same time, sadly. Oh, and I was a hot chick. So...bonus.

I'll go ahead and interpret this one myself: I'd really like to boff Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, and also to be a hot chick. :P

(Interestingly, Demi was sweet and gentle, and stayed the night, and I made her breakfast the next morning. Selena and I tore each other up, and she left me in the middle of the night, lying in a pile of bloody sheets.)

Notes to self...

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:40:23 GMT

En route to G!M!N! tonight, swing by Claridge and ransack garage for all the spray paint I left there.

Especially need white. Planning to turn my wooden gladius into the White Ranger weapon. Tentative premise being that Stephen's powers compensated for his loss of Saba by giving him a new sword. (Working title: 'Brachio Blade'.)

Sand down blunted point into a proper edge, so as to make weapon less lame. Don't think it'll matter much on film, but it bugs ME. Do this before painting.

Hmm. I wonder if Kaust can grind wood. Would be a Hel of a lot quicker than sanding.

As all it needs is sharpening and painting, this'll make the Brachio Blade the first Ranger Weapon to actually be completed. (Staff of Aquarius is done-ish, but needs some fine-tuning...the head still wobbles too much, I need to find a decent way to secure it to the shaft.)

Also, I really really really want to get some plastic so I can vacuform the Silver helmet so I can get to sculpting some of the other helmet molds. I think I'll do Purple next, it's one of the more challenging designs, and therefore, more fun.
(Hey! This orange jawbreaker next to my elbow is just about perfect! I needed a decent-sized, hard sphere for pressing the elephant-eyes into the clay! I just need to water-soften it first.)
Silver Ranger helmet note: Do not attempt to etch engravings into mold, fine details will not come through on vacuform. Engrave and/or paint them onto the vacuformed helmet directly instead.

(Experiment to try: Cut piece of clear plastic from 2-liter soda bottle. Tint with black Sharpie. Borrow Elf's heat gun and attempt to seal another piece of clear plastic over tinted side. If this method can seal the ink between the plastic without causing the plastic to distort, then we've got our helmet visors.)

PRN segment

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:21:30 GMT

With a flash of amber light, Jareth appeared nearby, shivering and shaking snow from his hair.
"I am NOT going back in there," he said flatly.
"How cold is it?" Tommy asked.
"Too damn cold."
"How cold is too damn cold?" Deacon inquired, smirking.
"When you can spit on the ground, and your saliva shatters, it's too damn cold," the Gold Ranger replied flatly.
"Wow, seriously?" Mara asked.
Jareth held out his hand, in the palm of which were a few frozen fragments.
"You...you saved it?" Tommy asked incredulously.
"Uh, hello? Of course I saved it! It's a shattered loogie. How many of these can there possibly be in the world?"
"What are you gonna do when it melts?" Deacon inquired.
That," Jareth said, pointing at his friend, "is a very good point. I gotta go put this in the freezer. Be right back!" And he was off.
There was a long pause.
"Damn," Mara said. "My last ice cream bar was in that freezer."

Today's poll....

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:24:42 GMT

If you could choose but one, which of the following fantasy realms would you prefer to visit?

A) Wonderland
B) Neverland
C) Oz
D) Fantastica
E) Narnia
F) The Abarat
G) UnLondon
H) Danny

Ooooh.

stellar_raven@hotmail.com — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:32:51 GMT

Who's ever heard of Glee?

I just discovered it. Apparently, it's a new musical/comedy drama series that just started on Fox back in September. Also apparently, it's the source of that cover of Small Town Girl that I keep falling in love with every time I hear it on Radio Disney. (It's about time someone covered that. I hate it when an awesome song gets stuck in its original crappy classic rock format. Not even the shitty songs deserve that. And this song was good before, so once you strip away the monotonous tone and the lackluster vocals that define 'classic rock', it's excellent.)

A lot of this seems to be your standard recycled high school dramasauce, and it IS on Fox, but nothing with the word 'musical' in it is ever ALL bad, so methinks this warrants further research.

But not now. Now, I have to go stand in a vacant lot for a while.