Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all our veterans.

Here's my favorite veteran, my dad.  20yrs in the USAF.

Semper Fi

Happy Birthday Marines.

I'll be attending the Marine Corps Ball @ the National Museum of the Marine Corps tonight.  I'm a volunteer docent there and I have free tickets.  It's fun to get all dolled up and have fun celebrating our US Armed Forces.  I'm not a Marine brat, but the Marine Corps entered into my family when I started boarding at the Quantico Marine Corps Base stables for several years.  I met some great men and women who represent our country.

I went to two balls before, one with my best friend and another with my ex.  They were both fun, but it's going to be really neat to see how the Museum does thing.

NaNoWriMo

I'm an awful writer.

But it's fun!

Bob & Willie

Bob & Willie @ SW Celebration  hotel room

In addition to the horse, these will be my buddies in the nerdism journey.  Willie and I first met at Otakon 2010.  I wanted his blue brother, but alas when I returned at the artist booth, his blue brother was gone.  Willie hasn’t been on very many adventures in the past two years.  He like I have been working.  Willie made people smile for two years in the Security Office whenever people took their badge photos.  Now he’s retired from that job.  They had a lousy 401k, and he’s enjoying his retirement and going on adventures with his new buddy Bob.

Willie & Bob, Inky & Cthulhu @ Air & Scare

Willie, Rancor, Bob @ SW Celebration

                Stormtrooper Bob is well an Imperial Stormtrooper.  He’s quite popular with the ladies and the gentlemen as well.  He’s always ready for trouble with his blaster in hand.  But so far he hasn’t had to use it on anyone.  Currently he’s protecting my desk from an intruders.  But whenever I come to my desk more work seems to be there, so I think he’s slacking on his duties. 

Lilly tries to figure out if Bob is edible.

Zombie Walk Adventures

I'm not huge into the zombie craze.  Nothing really sexy about zombies to me.  I love the movie Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, but that's about it.

But I have a few friends who are all about some Zombies.  And when I got a Facebook event add to the Zombie Walk in Fredericksburg, VA I let them know.  I decided to be a social person and head to the event.

Pre-Event Planning
If you watch the movie Zombieland Woody Harrelson's character Tallahassee is searching for an illusive box of unexpired Twinkies.
I had no idea that it would take me FOUR stores to find a box of Twinkies.  Kind of humorous in a way.

We all met at my friend's parents house in Fred'burg.  She made fabulous cupcakes and we got prepped and ready for the event.

Nicola had a great idea to show up as Zombie Hunters.  Which I liked that idea better.  I wasn't really keen on the idea of fake blood and looking like a zombie.  I sure walked like one because somehow I injured my left ankle.

I based my look on Wichita from the movie.  Eating the Twinkie after eating a cupcake made me a little sugar crazed.

Eric Tank

The event was a charity event of course.  They were doing a canned food drive and I brought like 5 cans of goods.  There were so many great zombie costumes.  My favorite was the dad who dressed his baby as a pretty flower and he was a zombie.  If you play Plants vs. Zombies you would get this.  It was too cute.  There were a few other Zombies from the game.


I met up with Lori and her husband Eric Tank who are in the 501st.  I can't escape Star Wars even for a day.  :)

Lori & Eric

At first we followed the group of zombies, but Nicola's husband was like eh this is boring let's go hunt zombies.  So we ran around in alleys in Fredericksburg popping on zombies.

The zombies loved this.  A few folks really played their zombies well.  All in all it was a fun time.  Mid-way through the stretch though we all saw Capital Ale House and figured it was a good day of zombie hunting and we all shuffled in for some food and ale.

FYI: All the photos except cupcake one (mine) are taken by Alan Nguyen.

Plant vs. Zombie 

Air & Scare 2012

Every year the Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, VA hosts the Air & Scare.  It's a trick or treating event held for the kids.  This was my second year going to the event as a "squire" for the 501st.

Now what is the 501st you ask?

501st is a costuming group of Star Wars villains.  http://www.501st.com/  They go around helping non-profit and charity events, go to kids hospitals, and do good in the universe.  I heard about this in high school.  Ever since then I wanted to join.  Now my costume was ordered last Sept and I'm still waiting on it.  The lady I commissioned from apparently had a huge back order.  I'm patient, but I really hope to join soon.

But it was so fun to squire.  I got there at 2 and I immediately was sent to help the group of stormtroopers that was wandering around the facility.  The funniest moment came when a little boy dressed as Hawkeye looked at me and one of the Stormtroopers and shot his 3 arrows at us.  I saw later they took them away from him.

I also helped with the Tatooine set up.  It's really funny seeing not only the children's reaction but the adults.  Not everyone loves Star Wars, but it's amazing how much a simple movie can affect someone's life.

After the event we all crowd into Red Robins for dinner.  It was very tasty.  A very good troop.  I can't wait to actually start trooping.  Fingers crossed she'll have it done soon.    

The Shot that was Heard Around the World

I'm a huge Star Wars fan. 

Hurricane Sandy had largely bypassed Northern Virginia, so Tuesday I had a free day to work on the novel.  I was plucking away when I check facebook and see "Disney Buys Lucasfilm" posts going crazy.  First I'm thinking this is a prank.

Then slowly I realize it's not.  George Lucas sold to Disney for $4 billion dollars.  Which you figure if Disney releases one movie they'll probably make a good chunk of that back in movie revenues alone. 

Another thing that started going around was that there will be a new Star Wars movie in 2015.  Of course my fangirl self was going GRAND AMDIRAL THRAWN BABY!!!!

Then of course those hopes were dashed immediately.  Disney said no, we're not going to do any of the books for SW 7. 

For those Star Wars fans who haven't read the books, Heir to the Empire featured three books written by Timothy Zahn.  Zahn is an amazing sci-fi author.  He created a villian that you kind of routed for and he also created the stunning Mara Jade.  She's tough like Princess Leia, but she's a bad girl.  Plus I mean red heads are awesome. 

I think Disney really should consider creating Zahn's books into movies.  The amount of fans that love these books and these characters is evident in how Timothy Zahn's facebook page blew up after the news. 

If I were a casting director I'd cast Michael Fassbender as Thrawn.  I love that man and seeing him in blue makeup and red glowing eyes, woooo.  Wow that'd be hot.  As for Mara Jade.  I don't know.  Someone joked and said Scarlett Johansen and I nearly gagged.  Maybe Emma Stone, but nah I don't like that either.  Or that chick from Hunger Games. 

I'm happy there will be more Star Wars movies.  I just hope the movies don't kill some of the better novels.  I could live without the Youghan Vahn plotline. I hated it.  I hate it so much I'm not going to google the correct spelling.  That's what killed my reading desire was those books. 

::dreams of Thrawn live action::