Pen Pals and Envelope Art by Marisha Goodman

I never realized how interesting having a pen pal could be - especially when they share some of the same interests. I got my first pen pal a while ago (since elementary school, at least), and she is really wonderful. For Christmas she sent me some Star Trek cards, a book, a pin, and a comic - all of which by some miracle I did not yet own, and I recently sent her a package as well. I look forward to reading her letters, but she often also adds something special which I admire when I pick up my mail and later when I pin it on my wall. She gave me permission to share these drawings.

On one of the envelope flaps she drew me a Dalek (which caused me to burst out laughing in the drugstore):

I'm not sure what it wanted me to obey, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with orders to wipe out the human race.

On the front of that same envelope was a beautiful drawing of myself in my Vulcan Priestess robes as I appeared at the 2013 Central Canada Comic Con. It is now one of my favorite drawings - everything about it looks so graceful and serene:

On another envelope she drew what I assume is her own Vulcan self, looking equally as beautiful and stoic:

I would like to sincerely thank everybody who has sent me a letter, package, or drawing. If you have sent me something and have not yet received a reply, I finally got to send out my letters the other day and they are on their way.

If you are interested in exchanging letters with me, please contact me at vibrant.oxymoron@gmail.com and I will give you my mailing address.

Star Trek, Vulcan Language, and Doctor Who Cookies

Today I finally got around to making some cookies, and decided to make them Star Trek and Doctor Who themed. 

First I decorated the Dalek cookie, and then brought it around to the members on my family squeaking "exterminate" in a cute little voice:

I then decorated my little Spock cookie. He is blushing because his body looks like a potato, and I even made the phaser hanging on his belt:

I also made a large square cookie and wrote "slor vel" (sweet thing) in traditional Vulcan calligraphy. Sarek approved:

Making cookies is fun.

C4 Comic Con Adventures Day Two and Three

Day One

For the last three days, I have been spending my days at C4 - Central Canada Comic Con 2012. It was - as usual - an amazing experience with beautiful people, intricate costumes, and great displays and exhibitions.

Day Two

I got up early in the morning to get my costume ready - Robes, ears, a headdress, six inch heels, my dress, tights, makeup... I decided to do my makeup and ears before I left the house, and to bring the rest of my costume with me on the bus. Luckily I had my amazing mother to accompany me, and she helped me carry my stuff when I was in costume later in the day.

After going through the same process as Friday in order to get my mother into the convention (with the additional steps of getting into costume and posing with people for pictures), we got in line for Nichelle Nichols' Q&A. The Q&A was absolutely amazing, and she ended up singing for us at the end. I got her singing on video and took pictures, which I will be posting later.

After that I got professional photos taken with Marina Sirtis and Sir Patrick Stewart (separately) and walked around the convention, having my photo taken and talking to people. One person came up to me and asked what Legend Of Zelda character I was.

A friend of mine dresses as a Klingon every year, and volunteers at the Con. We happened to both be dressed up at the same time for once, and I got a photo:

I also came across this wonderful young lady who came as the Borg Queen, and she agreed to have her picture taken with me. I neglected to ask her for her name, but she was wonderful:

Finally it was time for the Q&A session with Sir Patrick Stewart which I had gotten passes for the day before. He was absolutely amazing - intelligent, down to earth, and hilarious. I also got my photo taken with him professionally. I will be posting photos from the photo-op and Q&A in a later post.

Here is a photo of me waiting patiently in the conference room for Patrick Stewart to come on stage. Whenever I sat down, the layers of my costume separated and had to be reset:

On the way back upstairs, I saw the most amazingly adorable family. The father was the Eleventh Doctor, the mother was Amy Pond, and their three children were dressed as Daleks. One of the little girls was in a stroller, and instead of a Dalek skirt and hat they actually dressed the stroller.

Here is a closer look at the skirts:

Finally, it was time for the costume contest. After being in six inch heels for ten hours already, my feet were so sore that I never wanted to stand or walk again. Unfortunately, I had to stand in line for another few hours.

I had never entered any kind of costume contest before - I had worn a Vulcan Priestess costume before, but after fixing it up and adding embellishments (Ozhika in traditional vulcan script, red lined with black instead of plain holes in the chest, ribboned edges, etc.) I decided that this would be the year - I even brought along my hand-sculpted Vulcan meditation lamp. I entered Miss C4, which was a great experience, and the Sci-fi/Movies/Fantasy category  which I won. I honestly did not expect to win at all - when they called second place, I though I knew for sure that I would not win because her costume was so much better than mine, and so were others! As my prize, I received a trophy and 75 dollars in gift certificates for comic and costume stores.

I met a husband and wife who were dressed as a Klingon and Borg. Her husband had made her bat'leth with materials like aluminum foil and either duct or electrical tape (I can't remember which). He also had a mouth piece which made everything he said sound like it was actually being said by a borg drone. Their costumes were both amazing, and they were really nice people:

Oh, and remember I said there was a second place winner who I thought had a better costume than me?   Here we are after the contest (she is dressed as the Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element, one of my favorite movies):

I also had my picture taken with the Best of Show Costume winner - by far the most impressive costume I had seen all day. I forget what character she was, if it was a character, but I do know that it was from World of Warcraft.

Finally, after more photos and waiting, I got to take off my hot costume and painful heels. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring anther pair of footwear so I had to put my heels back on to go home. I was so exhausted by that time that I kept falling asleep on the bus. It took an hour to get home on the bus, and so my mother and I were playing games on our phones and taking pictures.

I spent the rest of the night watching Canada's Worst Driver and taking photos of myself in my costume (because this was probably the last time I will ever wear it... probably) before collapsing into bed.

In this photo you can see the bulletin board in my room, and I am holding the trophy I received for my costume:

Day Three

I woke up today (Sunday), ready for the last day of Comic Con. I had to do a couple of things today - first the Marina Sirtis Q&A session (which was amazing and, once again, will be posted about with photos in a later post), and then a photo-op with Nichelle Nichols. I was supposed to have had my photo taken with her yesterday, but I was (along with hundreds of other people) kept downstairs because the main exhibition room was filled to capacity. Because of this, I missed her completely and they asked her to come in today. She is absolutely adorable, and I am so glad the photo-op ended up working out.

I didn't wear a costume today, just a sweater, jeans, and chucks (along with my new Tom Baker scarf). I also re-bleached my eyebrows this morning because the marker I used for my Vulcan brows dyed parts of them brown. I spent most of the day in the conference hall:

I had some extra time after the photos and Q&A, so I decided to walk around one last time to look over the merchandise. I'm glad I did, because I just so happened to find an Ambassador Sarek action figure:

I also ended up purchasing an Andorian action figure (wearing a fuzzy pink jacket for some reason), a small Spock in the environmental suit from The Tholian Web, the Star Trek Chronology, Star Trek TNG SkyBox Episode Collection Cards Seasons three and seven (the full sets), and the 200th issue of Starlog.

All in all, this year's Central Canada Comic Con was absolutely amazing. It was not organized very well, but that is a difficult job - I don't blame anybody for that. Everything worked out (for most people), I met some amazing people (and some of my heros), I entered my first costume contest, and I have added some amazing items to my collection.

If you have never attended a convention, I would highly recommend that you consider involving yourself in and upcoming con in your area. They can be a lot of work and running around, but I feel that it is all worth it in the end.

Doctor Who Talking Soft Toy - Red Dalek

The other day, I went on a grand quest for fabric and materials for the Vulcan robes, necklace and headdress that I was going to create for Comic Con. Unfortunately, after hours of searching I found that the materials I would have needed came to more that 600 dollars. I walked home, defeated, drinking orange juice and singing Roses in the Hospital.

But then I decided to stop in at the mall to cool off. I walked in, and saw that the Hallmark shop had the new Star Trek ornaments in - my day got ten times better with that sight. Walking through the mall to get to the bus loop, I also decided to look inside HMV. My day then got 100 times better.

This talking Dalek plush is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. Not only does it look adorable, but it sounds adorable as well. When pressed upon, it says one of two things: "Exterminate! Exterminate!" or "You would make a good Dalek". There are only three sense globes in each row around the lower casing, but it makes up for this inaccuracy with it's clear sounding phrases and charm.

The next day, I brought the Dalek with me everywhere - to work, across the street for a Monster, and around the city in general. I also took pictures while we were out (see above) and made a video about it, with which I will conclude this post:

Vlog #3 - Doctor Who and Star Trek Stuff

My darling mice, a TARDIS piggy bank, an animated Dalek, a Hallmark Star Trek ornament from "Mirror, Mirror" and... stuff.

Doctor Who Crafts - Felt 1964 Dalek Plush

I started on this felt plush a few months back when I was obsessed with making them, but really only finished yesterday because I got lazy and wasn't bothered to attach the last few dots. It is, to the best of my ability, modeled after the 1964 Dalek as seen in The Dead Planet (also shown in the photos).

I took them outside today for an autumn photoshoot:

In all honesty, it looks completely derpy compared to the actual Dalek figure. It has a giant head, and wibbly-wobbly appendages. For a first try, however, I am quite happy with how it turned out.

I have bags of felt lying around my room now, but I don't have the motivation to do anything with it as of yet.

Doctor Who Magazine Tenth Anniversary Issue - Photos

Right now I am going through a few of my Doctor Who magazines - I had posted photos of this issue's included poster before (here), but it has so much more to offer - vicariously through my blog and I.

I original chose to buy this issue (1989) because of the front image. Sylvester McCoy was one of my favorite doctors, and I loved having a photo of him yelling at a Dalek, face to... eye stalk.

On the back cover, is an advertisement and order form for "The Silver Fist Collection" including audio tapes on the history of the Cybermen , an interview with Colin Baker and David Banks (the Cyberleader), and a Cybermen fiction/non fiction combination book (written by David Banks and illustrated by Andrew Skilleter).

PS. To enlarge, right click and open in a new tab or window.

There is also a wee note stating that "due to circumstances beyond it's control there will be no 1990 edition of the calendar".

Inside, there are a couple of full page, color publicity photos. The first photo features the fabulous Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and a Dalek.

Next we have a vibrant photo of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, and Patrick Troughton as the Second (another of my favorites!) in front of the TARDIS. The second Doctor was such a persnickety old man (much like this first), and that absolutely shows in this picture.

Because I don't want to damage this magazine, I am going to go down to the library with a dollar and make some color copies to put on my wall. Feel free to do the same, but using these scans if you don't have the actual magazine.

More scans to come, including some old Doctor Who comics and interviews.

Doodle Story Time - Destructive Dalek and Giant Spock

I do a lot of drawing, practically every hour of the day. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess) on the one day when I was supposed to do a "sketchbook assignment" I didn't want to draw. I didn't want to do anything, but I had to hand something in. So I drew like a five year old and created a story that only barely made sense if you were hit in the head.  

To read it, start at the Dalek and go counter-clockwise. To enlarge, right click and open in a new tab/window.

I drew it in ink, and decided today that I would color it using Sumo Paint. I actually love how derpy everything looks, especially the Dalek and Spock. Maybe I should draw like a five year old more often.

But probably not.

International Cosplay Day Part Two - Whovian Chalk Art

This post is a continuation of Part One - Vulcan Priestess.

While the cosplay crew and I were leaving the park, we crossed a walking-bridge that was perfect for drawing on. Luckily, we had some chalk with us. Only two of us ended up drawing on the bridge, because the others got embaressed when we wrote "Let's Kill Hitler" on the railing and entrance in celebration of the new Doctor Who season.

I drew a Dalek (very badly):

While I was drawing the Dalek (and trying not to drag my robes through the chalk), my friend was busy drawing the TARDIS and a chibi Eleventh Doctor and Amy (which she is known for):

I forget exactly how I got started, I believe we were talking about cracks in walls when I began up running up and down the bridge yelling "Prisoner Zero has escaped!". I wrote the phrase on the bridge right before some children showed up and asked if they could draw a dog. It ended up turning into a kangaroo/dinosaur, but it was incredibly cute.

We hope that there were at least a few Whovians who walked over the bridge that day - because we know that if we found this on a bridge, we would be ecstatic.

Next segment: International Cosplay Day - McCoy's adventures. McCoy is captured by a giant race on a parallel earth.

I was just minding my own buisness when the Supreme Dalek came and destroyed the city.

I was sitting on the couch watching Star Trek (Deep Space 9) when my mother came in with news of a fire. Immediately intrigued, I grabbed my camera and went to investigate (wearing X-men pajamas and big black rubber boots, like a boss).

It took about fifteen minutes to get there, and the frame of the building had fallen. Standing beside the charred remains, I watched the smoke and small fires that remained - taking pictures the entire time.

Dramatic realization time: upon further investigation, I got a strange sense that I had seen this before... somewhere. Suddenly from behind the road I was approached by a destructive force unmatched on this planet - this was the work of the Supreme Dalek.

The supreme Dalek had destroyed a large section of land, a vehicle, and a building before being lured away by The Doctor and his TARDIS. I cannot tell you what happened next, as I was on earth.

Finally, satisfied with my pyro-photo-taking-adventure and coming face to face with a Dalek (I guess it didn't see me as a threat, for I remained unscathed), I returned home to watch more Star Trek. Such is my exciting life.

Doctor Who Glass - Drinking Water in Style with a Dalek, a Cyberman, and Tom Baker as The Doctor.

A few days ago I was (as usual) wandering and busing around the city in search of unique and affordable collectables. A glass may not exactly be unique, but it was sure affordable, there was only one of them, and it had COOL THINGS on it. First of all, it has a Cyberman and a Dalek on it. Second of all, it has Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor on the front under the Doctor Who logo. Third... it's a glass. And I can drink from it.

The thing is, though, I have only used it to drink water once. I am too paranoid about the color coming off of the glass, so it sits on my shelf with my Doctor Who DVDs and will probably never get used again. Oh, the woes of a collector. (And yet I take my action figures out of the packaging to act out episodes and do other "cool things". Go figure.)

Drawing on One's Hand When One is Bored at Work.

I work as a cashier a couple minutes away from my house about four times a week. I wish I could get more hours than four or five at a time - expanding collections get's expensive - but for now I take what I can get. More to the point, when there are no customers around and I have already tidied every shelf around, things get boring. Severely boring. So boring, in fact, that I take to drawing Daleks on my hand and sneaking up on some of my fellow employees - thrusting out my arm and whispering "eexxterminaaate".

Unfortunately, none of them have watched Doctor Who, and one of them thought it was a bird. I may have drawn it with a crappy pen in thirty seconds, but it still loks like a Dalek - I'm not sure how she saw a bird. Maybe a borg bird at a quick glance...

One customer actually saw my hand as I was scanning some items, and asked me if I like Doctor Who. Obviously I do, and we started talking about different episodes and reincarnations/regenerations of The Doctor. Disappointingly, however, when I told him that one of my favorite Doctors was the seventh as played by Sylvester McCoy, he said "oh yes, one of the new ones". I told him, "no, the seventh - the one with the cool umbrella - traveled around with Ace." World, I am disappoint.

On another note, I got a new digital SLR camera the other day - that means better quality pictures and a higher variety of posts. Life. Is. Good.

Doctor Who: Classic Dalek 3-Pack Info Scan - Shortest Post Ever!

Remember when I was talking (and by talking I mean typing) about my Doctor Who: Classic Dalek 3-Pack? Well, I spent hours and hours cleaning my room yesterday and when I pulled out a dusty stack of papers and pieces of cardboard, I found this:

Click to enlarge for reading/copying/gawking purposes. Unfortunately though, I can't make it large enough to be comfortably readable.

This snazzy piece of paper came with my Dalek 3-Pack, and contains a brief history of each of the Daleks whose figures you would find inside. Now if only I could find the next sets...

Now if don't wake up, I am EXTERMINATEd.

I managed to get a hold of a couple hundred dollars the other day, and took a bus down to the comic and collectables shop down the street. I walked away proudly in the rain, clutching recycled bags filled with all of the Tankgirl comics, some Star Trek comics, a classic science tricorder, and a Dalek alarm clock:

I plan on finally getting it working tonight (I haven't figured out how to set the time!), so that I can wake up in fear of an incoming invasion tomorrow morning. I have, however, seen it working in demo mode. When the alarm goes off, lights flash and you hear either the dalek gun, hovering noises, or (my favorite) EXTERMINATE!

But say you want to know the time in the middle of the night. By pushing down on the head you can read the time projected on to the ceiling, or on the small screen.

 

Only two things would make this better: if it were easier to program, and if it were one of the more classic Daleks instead of one of the ones that remind me of Power Rangers.

Still, I'm certainly looking forward to waking up tomorrow!