a tad bit obsessive

ever since last year's fabulous tour de fat extravaganza, the thought that i should have an amazing costume for the next one has been living in the back of my head. i mean, i liked the costume i had...(see exhibit a) but i felt that if i spent any actual effort on it this year, i could be a freaky force to be reckoned with!



exhibit a

i have therefore decided to be a steampunk this year. for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, wikipedia has a fairly decent definition living
here. however, i feel that the only way to truly understand a movement is to read things by people who are actually a part of said movement. therefore, i would like to direct your attention to exhibits b (the steampunk workshop) and c (the steampunk section of gizmodo.com)

sites like these have managed to peak my interest at an alarming rate! after spending the greater part of my time on the internet lately researching this fascinating style, i came up with a design for the bike...(even though i don't have a bike yet...details details!)



i also have a list of things i need to acquire for my costume. the list grows longer every day!


goggles: very important to keep bugs out of your eyes when operating a steam powered avibicycle.


an antimatter gun. i personally am considering assembling one of the "water-dispensing" varieties of this device...however, if i decide to build one from semi-scratch, i feel that this sand-blasting-gun would make an excellent starting point.




an aviator helmet isn't entirely necessary, i suppose...but they just look so darn cool! if i can't find one, i plan on just adding some decorations to my top hat and calling it good.

yesterday, emily and i went to thrift stores in search of various treasures to be used in steampunkifying our tour de fat experience...here are the spoils of our journey


a power supply canister for my antimatter gun...or whatever else i need to supply power to (actually a metal cookie press)


an aquarium lightbulb...that happened to fit perfectly into this pipe-splitter-thingy...


a clock...which i promptly broke down into its relative parts...with some interesting results!


i think the face of it wants to become some sort of framed art shadow box thingy...


i really like the gears with the springs on them...it will be a shame to have to tear them apart!


and lastly, a belt...with all sorts of handy pouches and places for hanging my tools! because as a steampunk inventor, it is necessary to have a cool toolbelt!


anywho, i have to go get ready for work now...ick...i plan on doing some sketches of my actual costume when i get home tonight, so stay tuned!

seriously, dude...

SERIOUSLY!
ok...so i am doomed to a semester of slacking from this point onwards, as my dear mother decided to inform me yesterday that we have unlimited downloads from our netflix account to our computers...gave me the password and whatnot...BAD IDEA.

i totally stayed up until 2:30 am watching the first season of Xena. oh em gee. i feel like i missed out on so much having not watched this show growing up. i just never had any interest in it. it has the perfect cross between awesome and so-crappy-it-makes-it-awesome! swear to god every time she does her yell i bust up laughing...lemme see if i can find a video for those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about...(what, have you lived in a box your whole life?)




right...so that's at a convention, but you get the point...anywho, i've been thoroughly enjoying myself watching this show...until just now. i actually had to pause the episode i'm on just so that i could rant about it. the episode in question is called "girls just wanna have fun" and it is essentially a vampire episode. seriously...don't believe me? here you go...vampire Gabrielle and vampire Xena being all...sexy? i suppose so...


Vampire Gabrielle looks disgusted by something...maybe Xena doesn't taste as good as she'd hoped?

i mean, don't get me wrong...Xena? good! Vampires? good! well, usually at least. these are seriously the crappiest vampires ever to grace the small screen. (the preceding may be a slight exaggeration...) all they did was throw in some fake teeth and yellow contacts. i don't even think they had the actors practice talking with the teeth in before shooting the episode. if you ever get a chance to watch this one, do it. it is awful! and yet...i can't tear myself away...it is calling me back...




...alright, screw you guys...i'm watching more Xena.