Alien Hunters by Daniel Arenson

Alien Hunters by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh Captain, my captain

What a riot this book turned out to be. Much more fun than I expected. And yes, very much a nod to various fandoms, particularly Firefly - there are plenty of easter eggs to satisfy the most ardent fan, without letting the nods take over the story.

Quirky, weird crew, reminiscent of Firefly and the Wayfarer? Check. The Dragon Huntress is certainly a home, like Serenity, with nods to the best ship in the 'verse in her design. And let's not forget the sky references to LotR, Princess Bride, Star Trek, and others.

Riff can be a bit annoying, but thankfully the story isn't always told from his point of view. Yes, it's more a novella than a novel, but entertaining despite its length.

Is it going to win awards? No. Is it going to choke you up, make you worry about the crew, entertain you with quips and space battles and David vs Goliath scenes, make you chuckle and grin? Indeed.

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Spread the word - Part 2

Following on yesterday's post, a bit of background:

It was a bit weird having the photos taken and trying to get the info across to Elizabeth Sejeke, who wrote the piece. There was so much left out. So here's what I said to her before the publication:

"I waited 12 years to get my first tattoo, because I was never satisfied with the imagery I found and couldn't see it on myself for the rest of my life. I'm glad I waited, because now there are so many different styles that are more suitable for what I have in mind for my art.

I got my first tattoo for my 39th birthday, when I was on holiday in Umhlanga. I went to Electric Eye Tattoo in Gateway Mall with a picture of the Grim Squeaker from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I love the Squeaker, this little Death of Rats, and I found the perfect picture - I'm so besotted with it that I made sure the original artist's signature (Hanie Mohd) was added to the tattoo. Abigail, who did my tattoo, was friendly, accommodating and informative, and really put me at ease during the session.

Most of the rest of my tattoos were done by Ryan "Busta" Boltoon of The Golden Tiki. He started with my sci-fi back piece, which is about a third finished. It will eventually be a collage of my favourite spaceships and space travel devices. These are from some of my favourite series and movies, and all of them represent the family that you make yourself. The saying is not actually "blood is thicker than water" - it's "The blood of the sword is thicker than the water of the womb", and means that your brothers and sisters in war can sometimes form stronger bonds than those with whom you share genes. I love my family, but there are things only your best friends can understand. 

My spaceships are also about the joy of exploration - since I will never be an astronaut, I have these on my skin to remind myself that there is joy and wonder to be found in exploring space and nature, even vicariously.

The Grim Squeaker on my left ankle is joined by The Librarian - also from Discworld - on my right. I love books, I love magic and fantasy, and Terry Pratchett's wizardly orangutan just nails the frustration of being interrupted while reading. 

Busta also tattooed my Krakenlet on my left shoulder and happy spider on my right. These represent my husband and myself - he's the spider, I'm the octopus. We think of these as our spirit animals, and I had them done in a style that's cute and colourful and makes me smile when I look in the mirror. 

Finally, I have another spaceship on my left wrist, tattooed by Jinx of Fallen Heroes, who has since left for Portugal. I designed the original tattoo, using my favourite quote from my favourite series, Firefly - "You can't take the sky from me". Says it all, really. 

So why do I, a 43-year-old woman working for a big corporate, have tattoos? Why do I plan on getting more? Well, I've never been particularly good-looking and I've always had self-esteem issues. But ever since the needles first bit into my skin, I've realised that I'm pretty darn fantastic. I love the way the colours and designs make me feel. I'm more confident with them on my skin, and I'm always looking for chances to show them off. Thankfully it's not an issue at my place of work, but of course they can be covered up quite easily. I have no intention of getting "job-stoppers", because I'm not in the kind of industry that would allow for those. I do admire people who have beautiful tattoos on their hands or neck, but they're not for me. 

I have very specific ideas about the kind of tattoos I want, and as I'm not much into flowers, skulls, birds or butterflies, I'll stick to the things that bring me pleasure. I want swathes of colour and cheer across my skin, so I'm glad that I only got into it much later than my young self wanted. I'm glad I never found that elusive "perfect" wolf picture, because I'd never have had my spaceships if I'd gone with that. It would have been a loss. 

As for what my family says, my mother was shocked at first, but she has grown to like them. I think she'd be more against them if they were skulls or demonic, but she sees how much joy I take in them, and she has never criticised them to me. Not that it matters; the only person whose opinion is important to me in this regard is my husband, and even he would never dream of telling me what to do with my own body. He's quite chuffed to be married to "that tattooed chick", in any event. All he asks is that I don't tattoo my face, neck or hands, or have anything gross or freaky, and I'm perfectly satisfied with that. 

I hope to encourage young people - specifically, young women - that tattoos are not scary or a sign of a bad upbringing. They're an art. And as they're on you for life, respect yourself and the art, and think before you get that first one. Don't just go for the first bit of flash you see just because you feel pressured. Take the time to think about what's important to you, and I don't mean your significant other's name, or the lyrics of that song you like. Research, consult, look around, and be prepared to pay for an artist who is not only good with the tattoo machine (it's not a "tattoo gun"), but will also advise you on what will work and what won't. Listen to them. They've been doing this for years and want you to be happy with your art. It's good for business. And please, don't go for someone cheap. I promise, it's not worth it. "

My friends Lauren and Cashe got their pics taken, too. Pretty cool, no?

Spread the word

My tattoos made it into a national newspaper - today's City Press. Just a tiny piece, but aimed at breaking down the #tattoo taboo. #inkundermyskin #southafricaink
Posted by Sue-Ann Cooper on Sunday, 6 September 2015

Sci-fi/fantasy Pi Day rainbow celebration with tanks!

Want to know about our amazing, stupendous, super-awesome wedding? So do I!

Was there a theme to your wedding? What was the general gist?We love sci-fi, so it was a no-brainer for us to make that the theme of our wedding. And because we love Pi, too, the date of official Pi Day (3.14.15) was serendipitous!

We asked our guests to dress in sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk/comic gear, and prepare themselves for something not quite run-of-the-mill. It worked out just as we envisaged - about half our guests came in costume, including Kratos, God of War, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Stargate, Firefly and Robotech played a huge role in all our designs and planning and informed the type of venues we chose. We’re also weapon lovers, so right from the start we knew we wanted to have the ceremony and photographs at the SA Museum of Military History, surrounded by tanks and big guns.

We used rainbow colours to signify our belief in marriage equality, and my sister and parents, who flew up from Cape Town, made rainbow ribbon wands and table runners.

Michael's favourite sci-fi is Babylon 5, so we had Sin Bin make him an Army of Light uniform. I wanted a corset to show off my tattoos, and had always wanted one from Arwen Garmentry. She made me an orange halter-neck with a Serenity spaceship hand-painted in gold, while Sin Bin also made my (brown) skirts (out of curtain material), along with my utility belt - I wanted to be a Browncoat somehow!We also designed our own rings - mine is Stargate and his is Robotech - so we started the sci-fi way before the wedding!Unfortunately we couldn’t get married in front of the mighty G6, but we still had tanks and guns surrounding us. We’d decided that we wanted someone we knew and loved to be our officiant, so to overcome the legalities we had a civil ceremony in the morning (which worked out perfectly as we were officially married at 9:26:53 like Pi Day bosses!). My ex-husband was our henchman and his wife had herself ordained as a Jedi Knight to perform our “real” ceremony. She brought a light-saber in lieu of a wand to perform an Unbreakable Vow!We made sure to do our our photos before the ceremony, which allowed us to greet guests as they arrived, calming our nerves and giving the sensation of a wave of joy as we entered, instead of the nerves a sea of faces would have created.

We had our henchparty walk in to the theme music from Angel, and then we walked in together to the Stargate SG-1 theme and walked out to Robotech.

As we are atheists and were adamant that we wanted no religion, we wrote our entire ceremony and vows, incorporating Klingon vows, the tale of how we met, and as many sci-fi and fantasy references as we could manage! Because Michael was afraid he'd break down if he read his own vows, we had Lauren read them out so that we responded individually or together. A big part of the vows was about how we were making our own family, like the characters on our favourite sci-fi fandoms. 

We got a laugh from the crowd when Michael started off by promising to stick around so he could see how my tattoos looked as I aged, and I promised to help him in his plans of world domination. 

Initially we were going to do a volcano unity ceremony, but in the end we settled for kitchen science and mixed clear vinegar water with purple red cabbage water, which mixed to form a bright red.

Instead of a first kiss, we fist-bumped, which is much more our style!

If you had a reception, what was it like?We held our reception at a sports bar, because the Military Museum wouldn’t allow us to play music after hours (since they’re right next to the zoo). Our wedding planner, my sister and my best friend went all out setting up and making sure everything was perfect - to be honest we had only the vaguest idea of how everything would look so it was a pleasant surprise to walk in to a beautiful set-up that evening.  

My mom and aunt sewed the table runners - my sister bought the fabric in Cape Town based on my requirements of rainbow colours and “something spacey”; I didn’t even see it before it arrived. We originally planned on having 3D-printed spaceships at each table - as the tables were named after our favourite fandoms - but the printer broke down exactly four weeks to the day and we had to scramble for something else. In the end, Michael suggested that we set up photo frames, so the last week was spent printing A4 images and having frames cut from wood, adding glass, and spray-painting them black. We decided to let people take those home and added a photo booth so they could also take home pics of themselves and have a second strip to put into the guest book.As it was Pi Day, it made sense to have pies as part of the meal. Since I'm allergic to wheat, we had wheat-free pies made from coconut flour with our favourite fruit and chocolate fillings, and Pi cutouts. We had a spitbraai (BBQ) for the main meal, and the caterer even provided for our vegan guests and made sure everything was Halaal so our Muslim friends could enjoy it too. 

Oh, and you know how food is often the most talked-about aspect of a wedding, and people complain about how they had to wait too long? Because we did our photos early, no one had to wait, we ate at a reasonable hour, and we provided takeaway boxes for everyone to help us finish off the food, since we abhor waste.

We walked in to the metal version of the Pacific Rim theme, and had nerdy music playing during dinner, while we provided sci-fi movies for the TV screens at the venue.

My sister read Scientific Romance by Tim Pratt as her speech, and I did the only other speech, as we wanted to keep these to a minimum. Our first dance was to the theme song from Firefly, and then everyone came together on the dance floor, where our mothers danced their hearts out!

We had a photo booth with lots of sci-fi and fantasy props, and our guests got to stick the photo strips in our guest book (which Lauren had made by hand) and take home a set for fridge magnets.

What was the most important lesson you learned?
Things happen when least expected, and it's easier to just accept it and move along. At the same time, when you make plans, try to envisage all possibilities and eventualities. We made lists of the type of photos we liked, and passed these on to our photographers. But in the excitement of doing our photos, we completely forgot to have our henchparty with us, so we don’t have any decent pics of them in our professional shots. It also took months to get our venue(s) - we'd wanted to do everything at the Military Museum, but they wouldn't let us play music at the reception, so we had to find an alternative.

Our wedding planner was worth her weight in gold on the day of the wedding. There is no way we would have been able to set up while having a civil ceremony and getting ready before rushing through for photos.

The main thing I found was to trust the people who'd offered to help - they were outstanding. We couldn't have achieved what we did without them.

It was also important to have Michael help me in the planning. I mistakenly said in my speech that it was his idea to do the sci-fi, but it was actually mine, and his support and encouragement made it possible and helped us craft a wedding that was true to us and what we love.

Photographer: Perfect Photographic  http://www.perfectps.co.za/
Corset: Arwen Garmentry https://www.facebook.com/ArwenGarmentry
Skirts, utility belt and Army of Light uniform: Sin Bin http://www.sin-bin.co.za/
Rings: Chris Winspear Jewellery http://www.chriswinspear.co.za/
Wedding planner: Stacy of A Bowtique Touch http://www.abowtiquetouch.co.za/
Pies: Thirteen13 Events https://www.facebook.com/thirteen13events
Caterer: Spitbraai Masters www.spitbraaimasters.co.za
Venue (ceremony): South African Museum of Military History http://www.ditsong.org.za/militaryhistory.htm
Venue (reception): Pirates Sports Club http://piratesclub.co.za/
Photo Booth: Funky Photo Booth www.funkyphotobooth.co.za
Music: Cream Cheese Professional Discos http://www.creamcheese.co.za

Check out the pics and ceremony wording at our wedsite, www.wormholewedding.com!

Via dcwomenkickingass

Via dcwomenkickingass:

I’ve just learned the Renae De Liz, the mastermind behind the wonderful Womanthology project, is very ill and in the hospital. You can read the details here. As happens with many freelance artists she and her family do not have insurance.
If you have time to send Renae good wishes they will…

Please read, and if you can, wish Renae well. She did one of the most amazing things to happen to comics in a decade, with many skeptics and doubters and detractors, and she held that dream and succeeded beyond anyone’s imagination. For that alone, she’d be a hero of mine. But she is also a lovely person and a gifted artist. She lit a candle instead of cursing he darkness. Hell, she lit a bonfire. Get well, lady.

Prometheus - a first look

I won tickets (via Popular mechanics) to watch the Prometheus in 3D. Exciting! So off we went last night, to The Zone at Rosebank (getting lost in The Mall along the way). Just as an aside - friendly people, but not particularly adept at running an event - lots of frantic scurrying around at the last minute when we asked about the free popcorn and Coke (by which time half the people had already gone and bought their own snacks).

I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, so I'm going to try spoiler tags. Just in case they don't work, beware: SPOILERS! Seriously, this entire list is basically one long spoiler fest. You have been warned.

It's a visual feast, breathtaking in scope and with a myriad special effects that blow the mind. Ultimately, though, i think it could well be appreciated in 2D without the annoyance of 3D glasses - eventually I simply stopped seeing the 3D and everything went flat. I'd have taken off the glasses if the screen wasn't blurred.

Mouse over the next few paragraphs, as I've written them in white to avoid spoilers.

So here are my questions, having had time to think about it, and also the parts I enjoyed:

1. I still don't understand why the Engineer at the beginning of the film killed himself, to essentially create life (or that's how we were supposed to see it, which was confusing because the DNA was degrading so how did it make us?). Not to mention why the ship in the beginning was so vastly different from the half-moon Engineer ships.

2. Okay, LV-224. No, I still don't think it was meant to be LV-426. It looks like a very different planet, and as I've said before, if that were the planet where Nostromo landed, there would still be human remains, parts of Prometheus, etc - so I really don't think this is meant to be the Alien prequel (and Ridley Scott has said it's not meant to be, either). It's just not feasible, when looking at the evidence, that this could possibly be LV-426 or the planet where the Xenomorphs originated.

3. I was a bit concerned about all the awesome technology they have on this ship. If this is set years before Ripley and the Space Jockey, then why would Nostromo, Sulaco and the other ships be so far behind in technology when they would have come years later and benefitted from all that superior technology? Like the surgical unit - they could have used that to remove the xenobaby from Kane instead of rudimentary human surgical techniques.

4. Speaking of the surgical bay, that was awesome. Damn, I was impressed by that scene! It was amazing. On the downside, what the hell? She somehow gets away from the other two doctors, makes it down the corridors while stopping every few metres in agony (and they can't catch up to her?), no ship-wide broadcast to tell people to watch out for her, gets into Vickers' personal quarters unopposed, uses the machine (still a great scene), then gets out and wanders around the ship half-naked and bloody, and no one says a damn thing about her condition when she runs into Weyland and David? And she doesn't feel the need to tell them what she took out of herself? And they're all okay with travelling back into the Engineer ship without ever discussing what the hell happened to her and why she looks like shit and keeps clutching at herself? Really?

5. I thought David was fantastic. Just freaking fabulous. Michael Fassbender rocks my world. He's a great actor. BUT, if he was some advanced form of android, then what the hell did they end up with when they got basic androids Kane and Bishop? Surely these should have been more advanced?

6. Also, Weyland says David is his only son. Vickers is his daughter. So what the hell? How did Weyland-Yutani get started? Or did some other offshoot of the family take over and build it into the Corporation? (On a sidenote: Bishop was created by Charles Bishop, who shows up in Alien 3. But in AvP, set years before Alien, there's a Charles Bishop Weyland. What, did the family tree diverge?)

7. I'm still confused as to the pile of dead Engineers. If they died due to the disease, okay. But they were chest-bursted. So where the hell are the things that came out of their chests?

8. The Engineers needed their space suits to walk around on LV-224, apparently. They could breathe in Earth's atmosphere - which is why the inside of their ship had breathable air - but needed suits elsewhere. So how in the hell did that Engineer make it from the alien ship to the crashed shuttle without his helmet? Could he just hold his breath that long?

9. The running. Always in a straight line under the massive fucking ship that's rolling down to crush them. WHAT THE FUCK. I thought these were super-smart people. RUN TO THE SIDE, MORON! Gah!

10. The xeonomorph at the end is not the Alien we have come to know and fear. Its face and teeth are too human, for one thing, and its skull is pointed and very different from the dome shape. Yet another reason I don't think this is the proper Alien prequel; that's not where the xenomorphs come from, at least not the ones that Ripley et al encounter. Also, Ridley Scott has said his prequel will have two parts, so chances are somewhere in there will be those two who blasted off in the other Engineer ship. It's entirely possible that one of the ships carrying the bio-agent had a spot of bother, ended up with a form of xenomorph roaming the ship, and crash-landed on LV-426, providing the weirdness of the Space Jockey being completely out of place.

11. What the hell happened to the biologist's body? (Which, hello, STUPID MAN, what the hell kind of biologist is he to try and pet an obviously aggressive alien creature? NUMBNUTS! He deserved what he got.) There was zombie-geologist, which was completely out of place and made no sense - just there for shooting and explosions and shit; but he wasn't infected, just killed. But biologist-dude was impregnated. So where is his body, and where's his alien? Ooh, SUSPENSE.



I loved, loved the Prometheus; one of the sexiest ships I've seen in a while (it's the space-pod engines; I think they remind me of Serenity. Serenity's big brother!). The cinematography was incredible, the world-building was amazing, I enjoyed the acting for the most part, and I liked the special effects. Still, there is something missing; I'm not completely satisfied. But I'd watch it again, and probably buy it for my collection.

Demon Possession (Shadow Quest, #1) by Kiersten Fay

Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A sweet little story (if sweet can be appended to a book in which several protagonists are demons). I enjoyed the banter between the characters; it's obvious that some of the main characters will be getting their own spin-offs in the future.

Although the writing needed some serious editing (knowing how to spell words doesn't mean they're being used in the correct context - e.g. 'culminate' instead of 'ruminate'), the story sped along quite nicely.

Initially i thought Analia/Anya was just a little wimp and I was prepared to sigh at the thought of yet another Barbara Cartland-style heroine. However, she turned into quite the little kick-ass fighter. Could have done without the angst, but I suppose it was necessary to the development of the characters. The sex scenes were also quite sweet (there's that word again!), albeit hot.

My favourite aspect of this book was the little world Kiersten Fay created. Being on the ship felt like a larger version of Serenity, and the variety of aliens on board was quite satisfying (although all of them were humanoid). There was a sense of security and family, which I really enjoyed.

Looking forward to reading the next in the series.



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Play on

As an avid reader and an equally avid gamer, I've never really wondered why it should be so and why i am attracted to some games and not others. Then a thread on the Geek Girls Book Club on Goodreads got me thinking - am I really attracted to games that tie in to my love of reading?

Quite honestly, yes.

I've never been a fan of fighting games because as far as I'm concerned, there's just no interest in beating the snot out of someone. Sure, I'm a violent person with violent daydreams, but even then my mind-fights have relationships at their core. And so it is that Tekken, Mortal Kombat and the like have never held much appeal for me.

Ditto with racing games. I don't see the appeal in trying to get a car around the track as quickly as possible. Okay, so there was that time I played against MadCat while using Guttermind's racing seat, but that was more for the geeky fun of using a force-feedback seat with actual foot pedals and a gear lever to hurl the vehicle around the track. Otherwise - no fun.

Puzzle games are out for me, mainly because, well, I'm a lazy thinker. I don't want to be figuring out how to get the glowy ball in the hole or what pattern to use when trying to align the chakras. Here's when I'd rathe rbe hacking and slashing my way through foes.

On the other hand, many of the other female gamer-readers seem to be huge fans of MMPORGs (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) like World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic or Guild Wars, to name but a few. Here's where I fail again: I don't play well with others. Even in my Diablo II days, I was never very good at teaming up with someone - not even MadCat. When I played with Moosquared, she'd get so irked with me running around collecting everything (even though we shared!) she'd stop playing.  So, I'm a one-person player.

I started playing Dragon  Age: Origins a few months ago and fell in love. Here's a game that's brutal, gory and unforgiving - but one with realistic female characters who run like warriors would when weighed down with armour, and who actually WEAR armour and not the ubiquitous metal bikini. Women who are strong and independent in their own right. A storyline that includes romancing your fellow characters as part of the advancement of the plot, and affects how other characters perceive yours. One that allows for a variety of gendered relationships, even bisexual. okay, so no transgendered, but certainly much more inclusive than any other game out there on the market.

Bioware has rocked my little world. And I've decided I need to experience more of their magic, so I've bought myself Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Yes, I'm late to the party, but suddenly I realised it was Bioware attached to the game and that it wasn't simply a first-person shooter and BOOM! Lights going off, that kind of thing.

Of course, I've just received my new copy of Diablo III, so I'm heavily into that at the moment. Going to try and finish off Dragon Age Origins so I can get started on DA2. Got Sims 2 to reinstall and start building. And considering buying Torchlight 2 and dipping my toe into the SWtoR pool to see if I can actually play an MMPORG.

Basically, what I'm looking for is something that actually involves me as a character. It needs to catch my interest and make me care about my fellow characters and NPCs. I need to be so invested in them that I shed a tear when one of them dies, that I worry about sending Alistair into the firefight first, that Morrigan has me feeling a little sheepish with her sarcasm, that Leliana makes me feel protective and Dog has me grinning goofily at his antics.
I love my games, and I love my books. And now I know why my love of fantasy and science fiction translates into my love of hack and slash and RPGs.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Still not sure what I ultimately thought about this book ... I enjoyed it, but at the same time, wish I hadn't read it. I didn't want what happened to have happened, for Katniss to have been an unwitting pawn so many times to so many people, even those she trusted with her life. I didn't want the ending to have been that way, although I can see how and why it was necessary for the unfolding of secrets to have come to fruition. What she went through was unconscionable, what Peeta suffered was horrific, and frankly, I don't get the almost hysterical love some people have for Gale - I wanted to smack him so many times.

Still, despite what sounds like a negative review, I couldn't stop reading it. I needed to find out what happened, as I was so invested in these characters by now. Buttercup the cat made me choke up, that's how involved I became in their lives. And that's despite the first-person method Collins employs. I really wanted everything to work out well for them all.

But don't expect that this book will end with happily-ever-after tales; that's not how Panem works.



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Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this one far more than The Hunger Games, likely because there was far more motivation for Katniss do carry on as she has been doing. We gain more insight into why she doesn't want to get married and have a family, which works powerfully throughout as influencing her reason for wanting to keep Peeta alive.

As Katniss explained more fully her reasoning and motivations, I was drawn closer to her. I felt a kinship with her in her declarations of tomboyishness, lack of interest in 'girlish' pursuits and her avoidance of people.

Suzanne Collins does well in creating an underlying sense of dread throughout the book, particularly in the scenes where one would expect Katniss to feel somewhat more secure. Simple, effective writing.



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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While I didn't fall all over myself for this book the way I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Suzanne Collins' writing is solid but not stolid, engaging and drawing one into the story and working well at making one care about the characters.

I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of Katniss in the beginning, as she felt quite abrasive and, yes, selfish - as she admitted even to herself. I think that's when I started warming up to her.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the action throughout the book - it's wonderful to have a female protagonist who really doesn't want to be involved in a relationship - or even think about one - as opposed to someone wanting to ensnare the boy right from the get-go.

Collins' descriptions are sparse but she managed to build a whole, believable world for her characters that drew me in and captured my imagination.



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Bring the pain part 1: Serenity

We finally, FINALLY got started on my sci-fi back piece yesterday.

Golden Tiki Tattoo Parlour has moved from its original spot in Linden to Greenside - opposite the iconic Odd Café. We'd already had breakfast to prepare me for the coming ordeal, but we didn't realise Odd Café was so close, so we went to Doppio Zero instead. Next time ... which should be in two weeks.

Fortunately, I'd already printed out the full piece in colour, on A3. Ryan Busta Bolton (or Boltoon, depending on his preference) is my artist, and owner of Golden Tiki. His normal style is quite cartoony (hence his preferred nickname) but his colour skills are phenomenal. And I'd seen some of his realism pieces before, so I knew he was good. I just didn't realise how good.

Serenity is flying in from my left shoulder, pointing towards the centre of my back, with the bridge just to the right of my spine and the crew area and part of the port engine crossing the spin. Tthe SG-1 Stargate looms in on my right shoulder. We didn't get to that part as we ran out of time, unfortunately. 

First, though, let me talk about the pain. It was completely unlike my first tattoo, which I'd expected to be more painful as it was over the bone. Well, Ryan started on my spine area and I wanted to scream within the first five minutes. It felt like torture, dragging on forever but, in reality, was probably only an hour.

He completed Serenity's bridge within about 20 minutes, then moved on to the crew area and the port engine, at about 20 minutes per section. I'd expected that he would first do the outline and then colour in, but as Serenity is a modular ship, it was easier for him to do the colouring at the same time - pain I wasn't expecting. I had to stop myself from screaming several times and I'm afraid I was a real wimp. But no one thought that of me, except me. In fact, people were quite impressed that I did my best to joke throughout the session, which ended up lasting about three hours, excluding a total of 20 minutes in breaks.

By the last half an hour, when he was working on the living quarters, I was starting to jiggle and move around, on the verge of crying. It felt like now he was hitting nerves (yes, I know the back is full of nerves, I guess I should have expected the pain given that the back is so sensitive to the lightest touch). He got to the section where the muscles generally knot up from stress and I don't know how I didn't leap up from my chair and start beating him about the head. That was around the time he figured we should rather call it quits, as he'd finished most of the ship except for the hyper drive.

I'd managed to spend most of the intervening time either reading on my phone, talking to MadCat or engaging Ryan in conversation, or even talking to the people who kept coming over to check out what he was doing (did I mention that this was the first real starship that's been done in the parlour?) and comment on its awesomeness. I don't know if that was due to the concept or his phenomenal work, although I'm leaning mostly towards the latter, with a bit of the former thrown in.

And boy did he outdo himself on the colour. She looks battered, beaten, but proud. A home, a ship with a life, a real work of art. She's bronzed and glowing and glorious. She's my Serenity. I still get goosebumps at the thought, and I can't stop grinning. She's freaking fantastic, and she's not even finished.

Next session is in two weeks' time. He finishes the hyperdrive and may start on the SG-1 Stargate - which we've decided can actually be a lot bigger, because there's so much space available on my right shoulder.

One of the things we discussed was how much more likely I am to start exposing my skin now that I'm having my back tattooed. I'm always covering up because I hate the way my back looks - my hereditary bad skin, which both my dad and Mama Jo have and had. As Ryan said, what many people don't understand about tattoos is that they make people more comfortable in their own skin. It's a side effect I'm planning to embrace. 

I'm terrified of the coming pain, but in the end? It'll be totally worth it.

So many ways

I've been wondering what kind of geek I am, and whether I even qualify. Well, I think I do, but these days there's fierce debate about whether or not someone deserves the term 'geek' if they're not fully invested in the subject matter at hand. Therein lies my problem! 

First off, there's Firefly. I adore Firefly and Serenity, so much so that Serenity will be the main focus of my back tattoo.  But I don't know every line, or the names of the episodes, or the order in which they should be viewed, or any of the Mandarin they use on the show. I love it for the sense that your true family is the one you make, but do I qualify as a Firefly geek? Well, I like to think so.

Stargate: The other main focus of my back tattoo, Stargate means so much to me in terms of the ability to travel through space (and, occasionally, time) and view other worlds, experience new places and people, and retain the sense of family. Still, once again I don't know the intricacies of the show, or the myriad details that are to be found on any of the Stargate fan pages and wikis. Does that mean I'm not allowed to enjoy it? Hell no!

Star Wars: I love Star Wars - who doesn't? The Millenium Falcon will play a prominent role in my tattoo. I know that Han shot first, and I'm a Vader girl through and through. Still, I don't know all the planets, the types of aliens, the intricacies of midichlorians, and I don't dress up as a Stormtrooper (in fact, I don't even know the differences between the types of Stormtrooper!) ... hope that doesn't disqualify me! I'm a huge fan of the 501st Legion and I'd love to have them at my wedding as an honour guard - but somehow I still feel like I don't know enough to consider that as an option.

I grew up watching Star Trek - particularly The Next Generation (Wesley Crusher ain't getting no dissing from me!) - and the Enterprise D is - surprise! - going to be in my tattoo, too. I'm also a huge fan of Voyager - Janeway really rocks my boat as a strong female character - captain of a starship, to boot! But I'm no real Trekkie, I don't dress up as them, I don't know all the details of the universe or even canon ... I guess I'm more of a fan than a geek? No way! I'm a Trek girl and I love it equally as much as Star Wars! It would be hard for me to choose between the two. (P.S. I don't understand all the controversy about Star Trek: Enterprise. It's got Scott Bakula! He's such a brilliant sci-fi actor. Then again, I haven't watched it - but surely the fans should have been happier that there was actually a continuation of the series?)

Who can forget Harry Potter? I'm deeply in love with this 'verse and all the fantastical creatures, life and loves to be found there. I'm crazier about the books than the movies, but I love them all. But what do I know about Harry Potter? Am I a real HP fangirl? Not when taking into account how crazy some people can get about HP. Sometimes it's a bit scary. Still, one thing is true: Harry Potter in no way compares to Twilight. Because Harry Potter outshines the sparkly. 

Then there's Lord of the Rings. Okay, I read The Hobbit when I was 8 years old, and it's one of my favourite books of all time. I only read LotR when I hit my 20s, and then I reread it several times (in fact, it's on my reading list at the moment). I now own the movies (extended versions) as a box set. However, I can't speak Elvish and I don't want to get married in Arwen's dress; I'm more of an Eowyn fan, and here's where I just want to mini-rant about the fact that almost all hr battle scenes were cut from the final version - only two were actually shown. A travesty! I don't know much about dwarves and as for hobbits, well, yeah. 

Come to think of it, while I love fantasy, it's not like anyone could call me an expert on fantasy worlds, LARPing or Ren Faires. I really don't know all that much about jousting or plate armour or lords and ladies. That doesn't stop me from enjoying reading about it. 

And that ties in to my love of gaming - RPGs, specifically. I really enjoy gaming, when I get around to it. But I couldn't be part of a conversation about which is the best weapon to use, whether night-elves are a more useful class than gnomes, or the virtues of the Hunter vs the Druid. I just enjoy playing my games - my Dragon Age, Torchlight, Diablo II - and I don't play well with others. Maybe that's my problem? 

And then, of course, there's language. I love English, but what I know about grammar - or at least the technical terms - could fit on the head of a pin. My Afrikaans manager often rewrites articles better than I can. I can spell decently, but my sentence structure and writing are abominable. And this for someone who consistently received As in English! It's a real let-down, a major disappointment. Still, incorrect grammar and txtspk make my heart hurt. I guess there's hope for me yet! 

All in all, I guess I'm not much of a geek, more of a nerd. But I feel that geek certainly fits me in many ways. I often feel like I'm the only one in my circle of friends who understands. Well, that's not entirely true; Adventure Girl can talk about games, although she doesn't really care about the rest; and then there's Nessie, with whom I had a wonderful, geeky-reference-filled brunch just last week. At least there's someone with whom I can bond over TV shows and games!

Dr Who?

A month or so ago we got an HD PVR, because I hardly ever watch TV and MadCat was missing all his shows (mainly on Discovery). The advantage of the PVR is that you can set it to record all sorts of shows and catch up when you have time.

I'd been reading about Dr Who and Torchwood, and thought i should add them to my list. Initially, I started out with Torchwood, and boy, am I glad I did! Captain Jack Harkness is a super-hottie, and cute to boot. It helped that the very first episode of Torchwood that I watched included Spike, and a rather steamy kiss between him and Captain Jack. "Oh, it's that kind of show!" I thought, as I settled in more comfortably.

Seems Captain Jack is what's known as omni-sexual - yep, he'll take on man, woman or alien (as long as said alien is humanoid), as I've been seeing through most of the episodes. Currently he's involved in a relationship with one of his team members, Ianto - don't you know you should never get involved with someone at work, Jack?

After about six eps of Torchwood, I thought it time to start watch Dr Who and see what the fuss is all about. Luckily for me, the PVR had recorded three episodes of a trilogy (and what I suspect was a season finale, though it didn't say so on the write-up). Fortuitously, not only were they three eps that ran consecutively, but they contained Captain Jack! Nice to see a familiar face. then it was back to Torchwood, and hey! Three eps that contained Martha Jones! Someone was watching out for me in TV-viewing heaven, I think.

I don't know what it is that's pulled me into Dr Who. International House of Geek recently wrote a dissection of Dr Who, to try and find out what the attraction could be. I said I think it's that I'm invested in the characters (already!) and I'm also concerned with the fun, fear and adventure. You never know when someone important is going to die! Or leave, actually, as Martha did at the end of the Dr Who trilogy.

I've placed the Dr Who box set on hold at Amazon, all five seasons, because I'm pretty sure it's going to become a set that needs a prominent place in my collection. I'm not a huge Tardis freak - not as yet - but I can see that the day is coming when I'll become a Whovian and start Pinning Tardis pics willy-nilly. Just thinking about the two series makes me happy and feel goofy (and that's even though Torchwood is a lot more adult and serious in many of its themes).

I'm off for the next week and a half, and I can already see that it's going to contain a substantial amount of Torchwood-watching. Sadly, Dr Who is off the air in South Africa at the moment - yet another reason that box set is going to be so important ...

To be written in skin

I've been planning my 'books in my blood' tattoo for several months now, and it's just not working out. Although Adventure Girl is working on the artwork, I keep making changes and I'm never 100% sure whether it's going to work out. (I'd initially wanted my Buddy's daughter to do the artwork but she's busy with architecture exams and just hasn't had the time.)

Anyway, I decided to take off on a few Friday afternoons so that I could meet the tattoo artist and start work on the ink itself. I visited Golden Tiki on Saturday, 15 October, and ended up not speaking to Sean - whom I'd initially envisaged, as his style is more realistic and therefore close to what I want - as he was busy inking someone at the time. Actually, none of the others were there, either, so I spoke to Chelsea-Rae, who advised me to go with her husband, Busta (Ryan) Boltoon. Unfortunately, he was in Cape Town so I couldn't speak to him personally.

During the week, I wrote to him and explained my concept, but I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he wasn't the right person for this particular ink, as his style is more cartoony than I wanted. Then on Friday morning, MadCat came home early and we had a chance to sit and takl about it - and he convinced me that I was rushing into the book tattoo and should rather go for my sci-fi back piece - the one with the Stargates.

Bing! And a light went on.

I visited Busta that afternoon and he was uber-cool about it! He gave me some fantastic ideas and also advised that if I want to get in as much detail as possible, I should go for a full back piece and not just the top of my back. So my ideas have undergone a complete 360 and my Stargates aren't going to be linked anymore, but scattered, so that they can be varying sizes and locations, and we can have ships passing by and casting flame or energy highlights on them, or passing behind them, etc.

I also had to give Busta a motivation, and here's what I eventually figured:

So, the Stargates are the gateways to new worlds, new experiences and new challenges; the SG-1 Stargate is the most important since that's where I'm based - the Milky Way galaxy. The Pegasus galaxy (SG Atlantis) is one place I'd like to go and the series is also pretty important to me. The SG Universe gate would be nice to have because that rounds out the trinity of gates, but it's not vital.

Then there's Serenity; she's a major part of my piece because she represents freedom and the family you make yourself. Serenity is equally as important to me as the SG-1 gate and I'd like them both to play a prominent role in the piece, up at the top.

Star Trek and Star Wars are self-explanatory; I grew up with these and they're my full-on geek loves.

I'm a huge Han Solo fan, so the Millenium Falcon is MY ship (I even had one as a kid, but my mom threw it away, more's the pity).

I've chosen the Enterprise-D for my Star Trek piece because my favourite series is The Next Generation, and besides, she was the first ship to reach the end of the universe and to go faster than Warp 10.

I watched Robotech as a kid, and it was one of my first loves for sci-fi. I'd have included Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, but I'm not crazy about that ship, or the Battle of the Planets ship, so I'll use Robotech and its battleoid fighter forms to encapsulate the childhood memories. The VF-1Js is the actual mecha I need, and must be in red, with white markings, as it will be one used by the character Miriya (I don't have any shots of her in action with her battloid, unfortunately - very hard to find).

Farscape is another series - like Serenity - that was cancelled too early. I am keen on Talyn, the red and black ship, although I think he could also be used in conjunction with his mother, Moya.

Talyn is a VERY SEXY ship, with markings that are almost tribal. Moya is lovely and serene and so a juxtaposition between her and her son would be brilliant, if it were possible.

I'm really excited about this piece because I want to get in as much ink as I can before we get married. Okay, so that's only happening in 2015, but that still doesn't leave much time to get my tattoos AND save for an awesome wedding (and, of course, design an outfit that will show off all this lovely work!).

So, there you have it. I'm getting my sci-fi back piece! It's going to take about a year of monthly work, and I'm trying not to think about the pain and the cost, but damn! I'm jonesing for that first prick of the needle and I absolutely cannot WAIT for my ink to start!

San Diego ComicCon: Oh You Sexy Geek panel

Well, obviously I wasn't at the SDCC - I wish! - but I've been following the OYSG panel info with some interest. I haven't watched all the videos - there are too many! - and sadly it wasn't professionally recorded, like it was meant to be, so they're all cellphone videos. Pity.

Still, this has garnered much discussion about the "role" of women - sexy or not - in geekdom. One of the best critiques I've read yet comes from Ink-Stained Amazon - a well-thought-out, beautifully written piece on what feminism actually means in the geek girl subset.

Then, over at Blag Hag, is a discussion of the "women being mean to each other" phenomenon (which, frankly, disappoints me coming from Bonnie Burton, of all people - as one commenter pointed out, she actually published a book about girls bullying each other, so she really should have known better).

Not so much about the actual panel, but about strong superheroines in general, and linking to Ink-Stained Amazon's entry, is Kalilily - a 71-year-old geek who's been blogging for the past 10 years.  Read the comment she posted on Ink-Stained Amazon's post - it's quite thought-provoking, given the idea that superheroines are meant to be some sort of 'role model' for girls (geeky or not).

Feminist Fatale focused on what seemed to be the truly cringe-worthy moment at the panel, when Chris Gore of GT4 fame (a programme we don't get in South Africa, somewhat fortunately, it seems) made a horrifyingly inappropriate remark that was met with nervous laughter and Jennifer Stuller of Ink-Stained Amazon literally turning her back on him. Seems he's still riding his wave of "they must be suffering penis envy", though, since he showed up in the comments on this post to berate those who didn't appreciate his sense of humour. (Side-note to Chris Gore: so if a woman responded to your offer of sticking your penis into her with a desire to kick your balls into the back of your throat, would you take it as an appropriately satirical response?)

Shel of Re-orientation: Sex and gender in a modern world weighed in on the Chris Gore faux pas too, as well as the "girls are bitchy" crap (which I am SO OVER, really).


Parenting Geekly looked at the panel from an inclusiveness point of view, and wondered why there weren't any plus-sized women or women of colour on the panel. As a plus-size myself, I do tend to notice these things, but I'm not too sure about this take on it. Still, I do agree that the notion of "sexy" geeks bothers me,; why can't we just be geeks and leave it at that? Does it have to be about looks?


iFanboy gave a basic overview of the panel, but didn't go into great detail. The comments, though, are worth a read.

Disney princesses with attitude

How awesome are these? I've never been a huge Disney fan, especially when it comes to the princesses - I'm just not princess material! I'm more likely to want to punch someone on the nose than offer them tea and biscuits - and that's just what these ladies seem capable of doing.

Snow White's my favourite. Maybe it's the black hair? Or the usefully folded fists.

Although I have a thing for redheads, like Ariel. Not crazy about the costume, but it *is* sexy.

And Pocahontas in those jeans - my kind of gal.

See the rest at The Mary Sue, via Buzzfeed

Clicky da linky!

I've been wanting to post several links to things I found particularly awesome recently, but wanted to add pics and embed videos, too. Unfortunately, Blogger broke down and I couldn't even reach my blog, let alone add links. Not that anyone was missing me, right?

Anyhoo, and without further ado (and I don't care how old some of these may be, they're still awesome!):

By now you should have heard of Sith Girl. If you haven't, check her out, she's AWESOME. The Dark Side didn't even have to bribe her with cookies.

Some amazing (no, I'm not even kidding) FIREFLY tattoos. Oh, man. The more I think about my latest tattoo design, the more inspired I am by things I see around me! Like these. The first one is my absolute fave, but they all have something special goin' on. Now how am I going to work Serenity into my spaceship collage? I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SPACE ON MY BACK, is what I'm sayin'.

I ordered my own inner unicorn. Because why wouldn't I? You should, too. Support independent artists!

I also bought some Marian Call, and some Molly Lewis. Trust me, it's worth it.

Finally, I want this shirt. I NEED me some Firefly. It's a burnin' yearnin'. (And thus, enough with the apostrophe endings.)

Pixar Wars

This is just the cutest! I'm particularly taken with the crazy-eyed Death Star.



Found at Geek Tyrant

So lame it needs crutches

SMS conversation between @SureTyab (Deafboy) and I today: 

ST: When Gandal found Merry and Pippin they had an entourage. They'd had hours of entertainment ... boom tish ... courtesy of Adventure Girl. 

ST: Merry and Pippin didn't realise that the forest was sentient.

Y: We're going to have to rip out her entrails for that.

ST: Woo-hoo! Shall I stop her entirely? 

Y: Man. That doozy just gave M enteritis.

ST: Glad we could peak his enterest.

Y: Hey! 'Peek' not peak. The prospect of rapping you both over the knuckles is quite enticing.

ST: well after their harrowing flight through the 'peak' I thought it pertinent.
Y: Your last joke was almost piquant. Actually, it was the quintessential essence of L-squared lameness. 

ST: That you would mock our importent entitity with such an indifferent answer makes me wonder if its a portent to our victory.

Y: Do not be so blatent in your grasping for the attainment of victory. You have not yet presented a means of circumventing our triumph. To us your victory would be abhorrent and quite likely inspire resentment were we to be put in a position to have to rent our clothes. 

ST: We laugh in the face of your lamentable attempt to dwarf the word wizardry that we have orchestrated. Only out of hobit would one such as you think to entice victory from the maw of defeat. 

ST: Not that we are being pedentic or anything. 

Y: As entertaining as it might be for you to imagine that you could spin a web of dissent and rout our fellowship, you are merely proving your aragorns. Shirely it is obvious that there is precious little you can do to dent our enthusiasm for this engagement. 

ST: While the content of this tournament has been a testament to your will it is clear that the little folk are not entirely certain of the route that will lead to mt doom, and release them from this predicament. But come samwise I'm sure it will all work out. 

Y: It is clear that we need to call in a ranger to deal with the extent of your tomfoolery, e'en whilst we have been running rings around your wordplay. Were we to present a call to battle from the hilltop, yeah, the sting of our entanglement would surely pierce you to the quick, for our all-seeing eye is everywhere and we are able to undermine you at every step of the way. 

ST: Considering the word 'lameness' was used in your defence earlier this dark eve, I would say that rings would not be the word I would use, since short cuts and corners are not commonly found in things that are round. Now as to the matter of fairies and flights of fancy we are ardent that whilst you rush around barefooted in the woods, we will soar over and above thine heads to peck at your evil eye and send you screaming from the top of your tower.

Y: Ah, I see, now you must resort to tearing asunder the bonds of friendship with insinuations and accusations. Do no be so intransigent, but seek guidance in the grey, Belike, the web of your own tanglefooted journey through the darkness has been the result of too much brandywine, causing these wormtongued pursuits. Forsooth, fairies? The fae are not to be found in the deep or the middle.  

Y. And now we must entreat your patience to the last, for slumber beckons and we must away to the shadows. 
ST: Go forth to the shadows, you knights of darkness, for we know where we stand in the light and glow that is the eternal sanctuary of those that have slain those that seem self assured, but in actual fact are sipping from the bottle which they choose to accuse us of. So slumber sweetly, you silly Tooks. 

I love my nutball friends, f'reals.