Good grief, I'm terrible at SIFF this year. Here's what I got coming up. Press screenings are already narrowed down by interest but are still all kind of maybes, depending upon my ability to wake up and randomness. ;)

Sunday:
? - The Monk - Uptown - 12:30
Xingu - Uptown - 3:00
Mexican Suitcase - Pac Place - 9:00

Monday:
Press Screenings: Wuthering Heights - 10:00 (?), Chasing Ice - 12:00
Romancing in Thin Air - Egyptian - 4:00pm
? - Overheard 2 - Egyptian - 6:30 (might go see a non-SIFF movie here)
Rent a Cat - Egyptian - 9:30

Tuesday:
Press Screenings: Hunky Dory - 10:00, Unit 7 - 12:00 (?)
? - Lost in Paradise - Uptown - 3:00
? - Mirage - Harvard Exit - 6:00
The Sorcerer and The White Snake - Egyptian - 9:15

Wednesday:
I Wish - Egyptian - 4:00
? - Gayby - Egyptian - 7:00 (Gayla, so may not be able to get in)
? - Coteau Rouge - Uptown - 8:30 (might go see a non-SIFF movie(s))

Thursday:
Dragon - Egyptian - 4:00
Earthbound - Pac Place - 6:30
4 Days in May - Harvard Exit - 9:00
Or, possibly....
Starbuck - Egyptian - 9:00 (I've already seen it, but so much fun I might see it again)

Tuesday:
How to Steal 2 Million - UPTOWN - 3:30
Tatsumi - UPTOWN - 9:00

Wednesday:
A Checkout Girl's Big Adventure - EGYPTIAN - 4:00
? - The Art of Love - UPTOWN - 7:00
Madrid, 1987 - HARVARD EXIT - 9:00

Thursday:
The British Guide to Showing Off - EGYPTIAN - 4:00
Beasts of the Southern Wild - EGYPTIAN - 6:30
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake - EGYPTIAN - 9:00

So um, yeah. Not really here any more. But today I bumped into Tiggy at a screening of Wrinkles and was reminded that I haven't told anyone where I'm going to be this year during SIFF or what I'm seeing. Last year I found writing reviews a real chore so this year I gave up on the idea entirely. Just not enough time and energy. But I will try to make an effort to post something about what I'm up to for those who might be interested in hooking up for a screening. :) So that said, here is what I know so far! May change and likely will get more films added.

FRIDAY:
11:00 - Wrinkles - Pac Place
1:30 - El Gusto - Pac Place
6:30 - Paul Williams Still Alive - Egyptian (was going to see Lola Versus, but it's now on Standby)
9:30 - Extraterrestrial - Pac Place
Midnight - Game of Werewolves - Egyptian

SATURDAY:
7:00 - Take This Waltz - Egyptian
9:46 - King Curling - Egyptian

SUNDAY:
11:00 - Bol - Uptown

MONDAY:
11:00 - ELIMINATE: Archie Cookson - Egyptian
1:30 - The Painting - Egyptian
4:00 - 360 - Egyptian (?)

So as some of you have probably noticed, I'm not really on or checking LiveJournal much these days. The only posting I've been doing is to my fic LJ and my new obsession tumblr which at first I hated and now I love. Go figure. I still post occasionally on Facebook, but only because I have a set of friends there that were probably born after LiveJournal came out and as such don't even know such an ancient and antiquated system could still possibly exist. Didn't LJ die along with the dinosaurs?" is frequently asked question amongst them.

But! I'm going to try to post here occasionally. If nothing else, I've discovered that tumblr is not really a place for posting personal life stuff. No one gives a crap about that. It's all about the stuff you're into, like fandom and books and art and shit. Post about that, and people are interested. Post about what you did today and no one gives a fuck. ;)

So guess what?! I'm going to post here about what I did today because I was crazy productive for a change!

I had a HUGELY productive day! Cleaned my bedroom this morning, wrote my Mom a card, had lunch with spazzkat (yay sushi! yay spazzkat!) and we took a walk around the nearby park, went shopping and bought a garden stand and a squirrel-proof (or in my case, rat proof) bird feeder, came home and cleared out a giant yard waste bin’s worth of evil vines and ivy from the side of the house to clear a path to the back, installed the garden stand, filled and put out the bird feeder, took all the screens out of the windows, thoroughly washed all of the windows so they are now all nice and lovely and clean so I can see out them, had a nice long chat with my Mom on the phone, put together a large multi-picture frame with postcards (which I’ve been meaning to do forever) from the International Kite Festival in Long Beach WA which I’ve been going to for over 15 years now without fail, hung said multi-picture frame along with other framed artwork that’s been waiting to go up on the walls since I returned from the east coast, pulled some art that needs to be framed so I’m ready to for my trip to the frame store tomorrow, and finished preparing some hummingbird solution which I've taken outside and hung on my new garden stand in the pretty blownglass feeder I bought, made meatballs for the first time in my life (fun!) and am currently waiting for my baked spaghetti to be done baking. MmmMMMMMMmmm.

Left on my list to do is to eat dinner, clean the kitchen and the studio, write a thank you card, call and catch up with a friend over the phone, and (hopefully) work on Chapter 14 of Invisible Bonds. But that all might be a bit ambitious, seeing as how it's now nearly 10pm. Still, I'll do some of it.

What the hell happened to me? Why can't I always be like this instead of lying in a lump not doing anything all day? Bizarre. I don't understand my brain AT ALL!

Once again, Norwescon was most excellent. I had SUCH a good time there this year! Yay!

4th year now for the Monster Mash and it was still a HUGE hit! 62 people came over a 2 hour period to make Monsters. Many more wanted to come and couldn't get in. Crazy!

Next year I think I'm going to stretch it into a four hour panel - half hour to set up, half hour to clean up, solid 3 hours for people to make monsters. I'm also thinking that I want to have ribbons to give out to all the mad scientists! :) Con-ribbons is finally becoming a 'thing' at Norwescon, and I want ON that bandwagon. ;)

So the question now is, what should the ribbons say? Monster Mash? Monster Mash Maker? Monster Masher? Opinions and suggestions requested! :)

I also need to find a place that makes good, but inexpensive ribbons. The cheapest I've found so far are these guys (http://www.pcnametag.com/detail2.aspx?ID=2151) but if anyone knows of a better place to go, please let me know. :)

At some point I'll write up the con experience for those who are interested. :)

It's no joke! Throwing a Monster Mash party this coming Sunday, April 1st! Don't know what a Monster Mash is? Well, check out this bad boy and the other pics available under my Monster Mash tag!



So here's the deal, per usual. Monster Mashing starts at 1pm at Casa de Mamishka and goes till whenever. If you need the address or directions, just reply below with an email address.

Please bring either 3-5 stuffed animals to share or $5 to cover for the cost of supplies.

We will hack and slash and then re-sew together said fluffy critters to make adorable (or not so adorable) monsters!

Awesomesauce.

Hope to see you there!

zomg, I'm back in Seattle. What a strange long trip it's been. It's so weird, how different things are when I'm back east with my Mom and when I'm here. Two totally different worlds and mindsets. o.O

Anywho, spending today and tomorrow getting settled back in and then will have to see what my work schedule is like (they're still only getting the schedule out a few days in advance of when we are working - totally insane!) and then I need to get with my peeps!

I just ruthlessly wasted a day doing absolutely NOTHING!

Okay, well, not NOTHING, but as close to that as a person can get. I spent the whole day:

1. In my pajamas - check!
2. Lying in bed - check!
3. Unshowered - check!
4. Napping - check!
5. Snacking on naughty food - check!
6. Reading tumblr obsessively - check!
7. Watching anime on Crunchyroll - check!

Now comes the shame...

Spontaneous Monster Mash is spontaneous! :D

When: Tomorrow! Saturday, January 28th at 3pm!
Where?! Andor (lyonesse's house) in Somerville - leave me a message if you need directions!
What?: We'll be making monsters! Bring stuffed animals to share if you like, but we also have plenty of animals here. Donations to cover the cost of stuffed animals is greatly appreciated but not necessary. :)

Let us know if you can come! We hope to see you there! :D

Hello again! So as mentioned before, I had three panels back to back today, one of which I was very worried about as I felt that I was woefully unprepared for it.

At times like these I should always remind myself that I a) am a perfectionist and b) am generally a great deal more entertaining and informational than I give myself credit for. As it was, I ended up having lots of stuff to recommend to people during said panel and deftly held my own along with my illustrious and knowledgable company. Huzzah! That was the "What Anime is New Now?" panel. :) After that was the "Movie Year in Review" panel which is always a blast. I had to watch a lot of really bad movies for this panel! Guh! But I always enjoy being on it. I do find it interesting that in most media panels that I'm a speaker on (my credentials are working for Scarecrow Video for the past 15 years, probably the largest video store in the country, and working for the Seattle International Film Festival for 9 years, along with being a published movie reviewer) I am the ONLY woman on the panel. I always wonder if it's because the conventions have more male panelists invited than female panelists, or if it's just that the film business is mostly dominated by men. It certainly is on the creation/production side of things, and certainly seems that way on the movie reviewer side of it as well. Curious. Anywho, moving on!

The Monster Mash (which is a panel of my invention) went VERY well, with at least 40 people in attendance who made monsters. I took many pictures of monsters made, but alas do not have the proper cable with me to upload them. Poop! I shall have to make photo postings later. :)

In the land of good news, I've had much more time today to wander around, socializing and checking out other stuff going on. There was an awesome concert by Sassafrass (incredible and funny acappella group) and Stranger Ways that I thoroughly enjoyed. I briefly checked out the Napoleonic Fantasy Ball. They do these dances every year, with different themes, where people come decked out in costume and are taught various traditional court and line dances. Most amazing of all is they have LIVE musicians that play the music! :D Always a treat! This year I was sadly late in arriving (had to rest and then clean up after the 6 hours of paneling) so by the time I got there things were relatively quiet and empty.

I have work in the art show, but it wasn't until tonight that I was finally able to take a walk through the show to see what else is on display! There isn't a whole lot that I want to buy, but I'm getting really picky in my old age. ;) There are some really incredible artists in there though and an utterly adorable fox scarf that I'm definitely going to have to bid on. ;)

Mostly I wandered the halls, chatting with people and catching up with folks I haven't seen in a year or more and taking lots and lots of photographs. On the sad side, my rather elderly camera seems to have given up the ghost, or at least the flash on it has. Whaaaa-aaaaaa! As a result all of my pictures are miserably dark. I'm still going to take pictures, do my best to get people to stand in bright lights when I do so and hope that I can fix them in photoshop later. Sometimes, though, if a picture is too dark there's nothing you can do to make it look right again. *sniffles* It's really killing me, because I almost bought myself a new camera before the con but then thought, "Nyaaaaaaah, it'll be fine. I'll get one later." Argh!! Well, at least I got a few good pictures! Like I said, I'll post them when I can. :)

That's all for now. Taking a little break and then going back out again to see what there is to see. :)