Since I find myself locking more than I unlock, I might as well make it official. Fannish things (mixes, fic, ep reactions, picspams, general flailing), plus occasional photgraphy: unlocked. Anything else might end up locked.

I'm pretty friendly, so add as desired, and I'll likely add you right back. Always looking for new people with whom to be needlessly enthusiastic about television shows!

1. Due to some presale snafu in my favor, I HAVE TICKETS TO THE PORTLAND FALL OUT BOY CONCERT. There have been a lot of feelings over the past few days!

2. Which coincides nicely with my project for pennyplainknits's fannish craft fest over at I Made a Thing

Because I MADE A PETE WENTZ THING. Which was completed on the final day of the hiatus!

In the interest of keeping everything in one place, I'm duplicating my thingfest entry here.

I seem to have gotten myself on a "I learned stranded knitting" and "I CAN PUT A PICTURE ON A MITTEN" kick, so fannish colorwork fingerless gloves! In two fandoms!

1. Clandestine Batheart Houndstooth Mitts. And, in a delightful twist of fate, they are done just in time for the band to come of hiatus :D


( Details and 3 more, oddly large picturesCollapse )

AND, since I had the colorwork charts all laid out in excel already, I made/ published a pattern! You can check it out

On Ravelry

or just

download on Mediafire

2. And since I had spare yarn, some time before the deadline, and everything open in Excel, Stargate Atlantis Mitts!
( PicsCollapse )

Oh, LJ posting app, you are faily. But this seems to be all over twitter, and is a really beautiful portrait of my adopted home:

 http://vimeo.com/41011190

Which makes today MORE JOY DAY! It is a day of joy. More of it, even!

My little contribution to sdwolfpup's More Joy Day 2012 , I give you music! A collection of songs from bands that fall pretty far out of the "bandom" spectrum, featuring a lot of Pacific NW musicians and indie / folk artists, people I've seen playing basement clubs, afternoon patio shows, hipster lounges, and converted funeral parlors over the past year. These are my favorite tracks from some amazing shows I went into with a $5 cover and no expectations, collected from low-budget, often self-recorded albums that hold their own next to my favorite shiny headlining pop bands.




Yes, that is indeed a hipstamatic pic of my guitar. Art fail?

DOWNLOAD
( TracklistCollapse )

As I have no deep thoughts on the year nor the desire to place awesome and enjoyable things into a "best of" list, or discuss things I am looking forward to in the next year, I give you instead some completely random pencil graffiti from the wall of my garage!






"Sorry for the ax
And the irresponsible irresponsible
Afterward"


It's quite a good lyric, actually. And, also, I really love my house! It's oddness knows no bounds!

( and anotherCollapse )

AND ALSO! Did we know that Google has REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH!!!!!!! In which you upload an image and google identifies it and gives you relevant links! (thank you fleurdeliser)

REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH !

(and, yes, yes it does work to locate the source of random tumblr porn. The future it awesome)

oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

So, this week, me_maneuver and I drove 1,000 miles to see Panic! at the Disco in Sacramento. And it was TOTALLY WORTH IT.


( WORDSCollapse )

( PICTURES! And VIDEOS! OH MYCollapse )

In case you were wondering

Panic! at the Disco are REALLY AWESOME.

REALLY. AWESOME.

More on this topic when I'm not typing on my phone in a Sacramento hotel room.

me_maneuver: *watching A Bug's Life on ABC family*

ME: (from different room) Bug's Life ? Are the stickbug and the ladybug still boyfriends?

me_maneuver: OH, TOTALLY!

MOVIE: *is really homoerotic, right on cue*

US: WE'RE SO GOING TO HELL.

ION: Spencer Smith, why are you not in my bed? . DANCING SPENCER = BEST EVER. IJS.

IO,ON: MCR countdown - 4 days!

- PANIC! AT THE DISCO'S FALL TOUR! I'm insane. I think I can manage the Sacramento date without cleaning out my savings, missing any bill payments, or getting in trouble with my job. Therefore, I think I'm going! Still waiting to see what the ticket packages look like before I book flights and hotel, but I've never been to Sacramento and the venue looks pretty AWESOME.

We considered flying back to AZ for the Tucson date at the Rialto, but it would be about twice as expensive. But it would be such a COOL STORY: Back in 2006, a friend invited us to the VERY FIRST SHOW of the Nothing Rhymes With Circus tour, at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Since I had been very sick, very broke, and we were moving to Portland a few weeks later, we passed on the show and didn't get around to seeing Panic until June of this year. Maybe SOMEDAY, as I am such a fan of symmetry.


- My computer is VERY UNHAPPY. And no longer able to CHARGE. I am told it is an easy and affordable repair which will fix some of the other problems I've been having, but the burnt-out part is going to take a week to get to me :(. In the meantime, I'm on M's old laptop, which is temperamental and occasionally faily. And I can't update my iPod or add anything to my ebook reader (OTOH, my fic backlog, over 20 million words. It could use a new material break!)

- So, we've been rewatching SG-1 for the last month or so, leading to the following thoughts:

. I never actually got around to READING in this fandom! I tend hold off on fic until I finish with canon, and we went right from SG-1 to Due South, and I was so enamored with Benton Fraiser that I never managed to double back to DANIEL JACKSON FIC. Anyone have any "must reads"?

. At some point, the baddies show up, and they are all "aliens will attack, we need space fighters", and I had HONESTLY FORGOTTEN that the real world does not have space-ready battle ships! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE IF THE ACTUAL ALIENS ACTUALLY ATTACK.

I watch too much sci-fi.

Someone please go make space fighters so that the snarky pilots can improbably save the world when the aliens attack!

- Also watching Suits. Harvey reminds me a lot of Nathan Petrelli. Mike is occasionally a wide-eyed emo puppy who wants to help ALL THE PEOPLE. Sometimes, I am amused that our fannish patterns seem to be programed to repeat themselves.


- KNITTING PICS. I have them. The best light in our house is down in the music room, so we ran a bit amok with artsy pics of music and knitting!


( All sorts of strings!Collapse )

Things making me happy this fine evening:

♥

The best fannish collision EVER - Panic! at the Disco covering Kansas's "Carry On My Wayward Son". In professional video. THANK YOU, SHANE VALDEZ.

It's a GREAT cover, even if you aren't a Panic fan (yet....ahahahahaha), and IAN CRAWFORD, TINY LITTLE GUITAR GOD. HELLO THERE. Even the very serious business venue security guys in Seattle were obviously enjoying this.

♥ me_maneuver's ridiculously adorable My Little Killjoys project. Yep, My Chemical Romance Killjoys 'verse My Little Ponies! TOO CUTE!

additional pics at her LJ post

♥ Eric Herr of Gold Motel being an AU version of Ray Kowalski (and also PRETTY). There's fic where Ray bought a guitar and joined a band, y?

♥ WILLIAM BECKETT. For many reasons, but especially the acoustic covers project on his blog. this week's is especially charming, though that could be the wardrobe and the candlelight talking?

♥ WEEKEND.

This is mostly just a collected picspam of flail, because seriously. Panic! at the Disco. Wearing things I gave them. ♥_♥

( Bow Ties! at the Disco!Collapse )

And then there's the bracelet I designed and knit for Spencer Smith! PATTERN INCLUDED!

( knitting designs for band boys. It's my fandom of one!Collapse )

In summary:



This is Brendon Urie. On stage. Wearing the bow tie I gave him.

BEST. EVER.

In FAR less summary: ( Can I mention that they are AWESOME?Collapse )


IN CONCLUSION: THIS BAND. I SORT OF LOVE THEM A LOT!

ALSO: I HAVE PICTURES!!!!!

Mine, from the barricade in Seattle

a mix of mine and M's - barricade and balcony - in Portland

We're so spoiled up here in Portland - Kane shows all summer long. Last night me_maneuver and I caught the first Kane show of 2011 out at Duke's bar. (I think they are the official "new home" for Chris's band. It's WAY out on the east side, and I think we stick out like a sore thumb at an actual country bar, but the place is BIGGER and the sound is better, so I'm going to call it a win?)

We were treated to a visit from the entire cast of Leverage, as well as Angel producer David Greenwalt (prompting Chris to sing "LA Song"), along with the usual Kane shenanigans (;P). I think a winter out on the road as a touring band has done them a lot of good - they sound better than ever.

We ended up a few rows back way off to the left, so it's a bit heavy on photos of Steve (always a plus?)

Since LJ scrapbook is still being faily for me, I'm just going to give flickr a try...



And the rest of the set, on flickr .

( Video of LA SongCollapse )

As always, feel free to use these for whatever you might wish - no permission or credit required

"And die with your mask on if you've got to"

SO, my darling dearest me_maneuver has been making Killjoys masks for the upcoming My Chemical Romance shows (and because they are AWESOME!), and she finished mine last night!

( SO PRETTY!Collapse )

HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!?! It's even better in person - a little bit darker and richer, with blue-ish purple sunset colors and shimmery silver

I know, I accidentally....Ryan Ross, circa Nothing Rhymes With Circus ( like so ), but, eh, people already ask me if he's my brother, might as well go with it?

There MIGHT end up being a second one, depending on TIME and CLOTHING DECISIONS and our plans for the weekend, but I'm not sure if she can outdo herself on amount of PRETTY!

(to pimp again - you can get your own over here .)

- I find myself oddly saddened by the completely expected and not in the least bit sudden demise of The Young Veins. Sure, there really is no market for 60's pop, and they were likely going nowhere at all, but I've had a lot of emotional investment in them this year. They were sort of the first bandom band I got out and went to see, and sure, they were just openers in smaller clubs, but I was always impressed. I'm not sure I'd be so very FOND of Ryan Ross had I not gotten the chance to stand 10 feet away and see him be awkwardly, decorously polite to the venue's sound woman, or watch him be hilarious with hecklers, or hear the way his voice got stronger and more confident as the year went on. Basically, I love Ryan Ross a whole lot, I'll miss that faily little band, and I look forward to whatever bizarre and endearing thing he ends up working on next.


(I'm holding out hope for a Ryan Ross & Alex Greenwald band. SO MUCH STRANGE, ALL AT THE SAME TIME)

- In HAPPY! NEW! And NOT DEFUNCT! band news, you should all go download the Stamps album! It's ADORABLE. And sunny and warm, and pretty damn good, considering it's more or less a demo. Kids might go somewhere - they are all solid musicians, and Ren's voice has got something memorable and haunting to it.

More importantly, they don't require you to pay them for it at all!

Digital Download: free from their site. (or you can pay for it if you want to)

I think they need an email address, so they might email you on occasion with other stuff they don't want you to pay them for, but they don't seem spammy?

DO IT! :D!

- SO, like everyone else on the internet, I've been pimped into Hawaii Five O. Wow, that's a lot of pretty and gay. It's like John Sheppard and Ray Kowalski teamed up to fight crime in Hawaii, with added Boomer and Jin! There's bickering, and wackiness, and more bickering! Talking about feelings! Driving really fast! Stuff what goes boom! Watching the sunset! Even more bickering! I think they made this show just for fandom, is what I'm saying.

Also, hi! Steve McGarret! I do have such a thing for the pretty, emotionally unavailable, slightly psychotic boys with epic daddy issues. (see also: John Sheppard, Benton Fraser, Dean Winchester, Ryan Ross) Now with bonus tattoos!


- weather has been wonky. WARM, and endless deluge of rain, and now TORNADO just south of Portland. WHUT? I think I'd welcome the global warming apocalypse if I could just happily wear my flipflops until the end of the world.

- 8 days to the solstice. SUN. I miss you! It's so much easier to deal with the cold when I know every day is longer and brighter, if not actually warmer, than the one before.

So, Empires. EMPIRES. AKA - that random, unsigned, Chicago-based bandom band that people get all capslocky about because they are an actualfax REALLY GOOD BAND who make REALLY GOOD MUSIC and are total faily dorks. You should check them out. Try their website , where they will give you their first album, HOWL FOR FREE, and their second album, BANG (which is AMAZING) for rather cheap. There's a fandom primer Over here for more info that isn't on their website.

They recently did a great big sale at their webstore, with a free B-side and everything 50% off, so I went and ordered their hoodie. Sure, it's white, and I generally avoid light colored clothing, but 50% off, and the band needs cash to come out to the west coast (PLEASE), so I figured Tom Conrad and co. could help me avoid invisible pedestrian syndrome this winter?

My hoodie arrived in the mail today. In a hand addressed envelope. With TOM CONRAD'S apartment as the return address (same as when I ordered a photo print, but I figured that wasn't really band-related, and there's only 10 of them going out, so there's less danger of stalker fangirls?). It smells a little like cigarettes - which is actually a smell I LOVE and miss a lot, to the extent that I will walk near smokers for a tiny bit of secondhand smoke from time to time.

see:


Okay, you are thinking "Bang hoodie. COOL ENOUGH". And then I UNZIP it, and find:



A personal THANK YOU NOTE! On a post-it! From Tom Conrad! HIDDEN INSIDE MY CLOTHES!

CANNOT STOP SMILING. BOYS! How are you so EARNEST and DEDICATED and working SO VERY HARD when you really should be VERY famous! I AM CHARMED FOREVER! I totally forgive the misspelling (no "H", Tomrad!) Please raise enough money to come to my city so I can go smile at you in a tiny little club!

Went to the beach today. Met Stormtroopers. Like you do.

( No, reallyCollapse )

ION: Dear buzznet, what the actual fuck is this picture, why have you been keeping it secret, and where on earth can I find a better copy!?!?!?!?



( You do realize there is an audience there, Ryan?Collapse )

When last we spoke , me_maneuver and I had just impulse purchased a piano. On Tuesday, they dropped off said piano, and spent some time on Wednesday (I had the day off for M's birthday!) setting up her music studio. It's sort of RIDICULOUS? It wasn't until we got everything out and set up that I began to realize just how many instruments M's collected over the years.

Also of note, I can play nothing but my Ipod. I'm far to hopelessly left-handed for even basic piano, and I've never managed to pick up anything at all beyond intro clarinet in elementary school orchestra. But, if I ever get around to it, there's lots of things I could pick up?

( some pics under the cutCollapse )

We're still lacking a bass and a drum kit, but otherwise, you could totally play a concert/ record an album from my living room. Plus, our acoustics are FANTASTIC. \HOUSE/

While I'm at it, VASTLY BELATED KNITTING POST!

For an MCR-themed birthday present and because I was knitting like crazy to deal with final house-closing nerves, I made a pair of Evangeline Mitts (Ravelry link) with some stashed yarn (black acrylic). I figured Gerard would approve of the mix of slightly punkish DIY handmade fingerless glove-ness, and the somewhat ornate, old fashioned styling of them being cabled and elbow-length.

( some pics of those, as wellCollapse )

All in all, I was REALLY happy with them. I'm not quite sure why I went with opera-length, as this was the most complicated cable pattern I'd ever attempted more than a single repeat on (and I didn't miscross them once!), and I was working last minute (whole project in less than a week)

As for the pattern, I always find it awkward when it asks me to purl the first stitch at the beginning of a row, especially on double-pointed needles. I think it's just a personal failing (dude, it's STRANGE, and that first stitch never feels right, and I always worry that it will be saggy!), and cabling that close to the end of such a short row led to my needle sliding right out all the time - thankfully, I keep a very small steel needle on hand to pick them back up and put them back where they belong. If I ever make them again (which, maybe, as they are PRETTY!), I might rearrange the suggested stitch division to fix those little quibbles, but it was a free pattern when I downloaded, so I'm not one to complain.

ION: happy Sunday, everyone? It seems to be August now? Where did this summer go?

Found, while packing, pressed into my copy of the Oxford English Dictionary :




A remnant of our first autumn in the Pacific NW - a desert native, I'd never seen leaves change before, and M and I wandered about our apartment complex, gathering DOZENS of specimens and pressing them into the largest of out books. I can't image the Canadian flag imagery was intentional, as this was years before I encountered due South, and C6D fandom.

Dear flist,

I seem to have developed an odd social networking mutism, in which I am ALWAYS HERE, and yet, totally incapable of communication. Now, if only we could develop some internet charades, I'd be better at letting you all I still exist!

And, in things that happen while I am existing news, I WENT TO SEE THE YOUNG VEINS \o/ My new "going to shows" plan is pretty awesome, it turns out. Sure, my bad feet always hurt and I'm always more than a little freaked out by the crowds, but I've yet to come anywhere near wishing I'd just stayed home. Especially when I get to stand mere feet from Ryan Ross and Jon Walker.

( my delayed and likely faily recapCollapse )

( Or you can just see picturesCollapse )

ION: Um, American Idol. Covering TAI's "Big Mess" for their commercially video thing. Badly. I am sorry, AI peeps, but none of you are William Beckett.

- Went to the Leverage CON Con . 'Twas awesome.

I'm VASTLY belated for recapping purposes, and shall instead direct you to our wonderful con-buddy, pennyplainknits Post on the topic , as it would be much the same pics and squee ANYWAY.

Additional highlight: So, the Mark Sheppard panel turned into an impromptu SPN discussion, complete with John Rogers geeking out about the "mytharc" and Mark talking about working with Danneel Harris a few weeks before he flew out to shoot SPN; Danneel told Mark to be sure to say high to her fiance. When Mark asked which one he was, she replied "Mine's the little one". Awwww, Danny! :D

- Went to the Kane concert. 'Twas VERY VERY GAY. I think Chris was so drunk he forgot that he and Steve aren't out of the closet.

Once again, see Penny's post on the topic for extra details Also, at one point during the con, someone inquired about the necklace Chris wears, both on and off the show. It's a silver guitar pick made from a Mexican Peso. Chris sort of dodged the question, explaining that he "just likes it". However, once can note that STEVE has an identical necklace, which you can see in This pic . BOYFRIENDS. IJS.

- Put in an offer on a house. 'Twas scarily GROWN UP!

However, we signed this VERY IMPORTANT paperwork while sitting in a hole-in-the-wall pizza place, listening to "Rock You Like a Hurricane". There was a Spider Man pinball machine. It all balances out?

The house is a short sale, so it might be a while before we hear back, and we're still looking in the meantime. DUDE, I did not realize that many houses were SO VERY STRANGE inside! We are having ADVENTURES. I'm 80% sure one place had a haunted attic. A SECRET haunted attic with 3 rooms accessible only through a back bedroom's closet.

- We had some lovely weather for a while. I like spring:

( So I took picturesCollapse )

- SPN this week, VERY GOOD! I don't have much to add, but I LOVE MY SHOW!

- My computer had a memory freakout while trying to burn a DVD, and ATE NEARLY ALL OF MY FILES. Everything I had saved in desktop folders! Over 30 GB of videos and pictures! Whole runs of TV shows! All of my photoshop files (thankfully, my personal photography was tucked elsewhere)

OH NOES! I now need to rebuild my ABSURD, STALKERY collection of pictures of William Beckett. Also, Panic Boys. And the MCR boys. Oh, the hardship of staring at thousands of picures of Frank Iero or Spencer Smith again....

- Went to the AP Spring tour on Friday night. Saw The Summer Set, Every Avenue, THE CAB, Hey Monday, and NeverShoutNever. DUDE, I was in my very first mosh pit! WHAT IS MY LIFE?

( Some pics, some detailsCollapse )

- THIS WEEK. BITCHIN' PARTY. OMG WTF GOING TO MORE CONS.

Um, if no one else steps up to host it, anyone interested in a Vampire Diaries and SPN viewing party?

It has been ILLOGICALLY WARM ALL WEEK! There has even been SUN. And, occasionally, SUNSHINE. And its light outside when I leave work! THIS IS UNEXPECTED AND AWESOME! (though I am starting to be accidentally convinced it's March or something....we've even got flower buds on very confused little trees!)

Firstly, my Jensen Ackles Google Alert informs me that Supernatural is a go for season 6 !!!!!

Secondly, MCR comms are relaying that this article lists the release date of the as-yet-untitled MCR 4th album as March 30th!!!!!! Barely two months away! Oh my actual god! New MCR music please now?

Thirdly, various sources are telling me that Jason Momoa has been cast in the lead of The Conan The Barbarian Movie. On one hand, "oh dear, this is likely going to fail SO VERY HARD". On the other hand, "Wow, Jason is going to look very nice on a gigantic movie screen!" (I wonder what this means for the promised SGA movie? Which was likely never going to happen anyways, but still...)

/linkspam.....


So....I seem to have signed up for bandombigbang. As a WRITER. And am in the initial phases of a Panic(!) fic. I have no idea what is going on with my brain! My initial outline is 3x's longer than the ONLY fic I've ever posted in any fandom. I will likely get scared and fail and never talk about it again, but I apologize in advance for my sudden inability to not talk about Brendon Urie? I AM SO SORRY, OKAY?

(Bandomishly: Am SLOWLY making my way through TAI TV and the AP podcasts. William Beckett How are you so impossibly hot? But also enchantingly dorky . Hi! I respect you as a person! Also, porn please? Call me! I promise to actually answer the phone, for once.)

BUT ALSO, I HAVE A POLL! Dear bitchinparty attendees, please to advise on travel plans:

note: I am on vacation for the entire week leading up to the Con, and the Monday after. Plus, M and I are driving up, so we've got more flexibility than those coming by air.



(Basically, is there any logical reason at all for me to show up Thursday? Or am I just going to end up holed up in the hotel waiting for all the people who are flying in Friday night?)

Well, knitting AND bandom. Both at the same time. Because bandom-knitwear seems to be what my brain wants to do.

SO, about a month and a half ago, I had an (absurdly G rated) dream in which I met Frank Iero. He dream-admired the pair of fingerless gloves I was wearing, and I dream-gifted them to him (I know, right? This, all of one week after a dream in which Adam Lambert and Ray Vecchio conversed about tie tacks. My brain, apparently shipping fandom/ accessories). Being strange, I since decided to design and knit a very similar pair of fingerless gloves.

So, IERO MITTS!

This, my very fist sort-of original pattern!

( \Knitting/Collapse )

The red pair seem to be MINE, and the purple pair are destined for zabira, as she has encouraged this madness since its inception (and convinced me to start a third pair to be mailed to their namesake, because I seem to be the sort of fangirl who SENDS KNITTING PROJECTS TO BAND MEMBERS, WTF.)

I can put together an actualfax pattern if anyone cares?

(erm, there seems to be a Gerard Way inspired scarf knocking around my brain. Suddenly, I am designing a line of MCR handknits. This is the strangest fannish offshoot ever, y?)

ION: Smart phones. AWESOME. I've had a Droid Eris for Verizon since Wednesday, and I'm already wondering why I held out so long. I HATE the telephone, but I clearly adore the internet and email, and would much rather spend the money on a gadget that tracks bus arrivals and twitter updates and shows me youtube vids of, say, William Beckett writhing around onstage (THANK YOU, Z! *dies*). It's much better than paying for a shiny pocket watch that calls my wife.