akoya, posts by tag: 30 days - LiveJournal

The 30 Days of Awesome Challenge is to express how fantastic things are and create a giant smoozing love fest.

I like outfits that scream supehero but not spandex douchebag. Basically a clean, neat design, two or three solid colours, and a spice of individuality make for a great costume. I love the symmetry of Northstar & Aurora's and the flow of Ice's (Tora Olafsdotter)costume.


Northstar & Aurora
I really love the symmetry of their outfits, accenting they are twins. Also, it’s a sleek, simple design that’s very unique. The little bursts on on the hip and at the white/black lines keep the costume from being too boring, yet it does not cloud it and make it muddled in details.

I kinda want to cosplay as Aurora, too. Anybody wanna be my Northstar?


Ice (Tora Olafsdotter)
Again, simplicity in shape and pattern, and great colours. The layered, loose 80s-esque top is really nice because it breaks up the slim and sleek shape of her cosstume and give it a little more volume. The gloves are a nice touch, too, adding to the wintery aspect of her costume.
There are, however, a few things I would change. Fingerless gloves are really cold and isolating so I would either go with whole fingers or cut off the gloves at the knuckles and have her four main fingers out of a single hole (kinda like a chopped off mitten). Second, and most importantly, I would get rid of those fucking fuzzy boots. I hate them. Yay for flat soles, major nay for fur. I find it really distracting fomr the overall flow of costume. The sleek lines are already distrupted by the loose sweaterish top, so I would actually take the shape and loose fit of the top and apply it to her boots. Kinda like this in this post.

The 30 Days of Awesome Challenge is to express how fantastic things are and create a giant smoozing love fest.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
This show is beautiful. Culturally it is totally respectful and pays attention to all the little details. Thematically, it's uplifting and powerful. It's about unity, not revenge (bascially don't listen to the film becasue it is crap). Musically? WOW. Story and characters? You don't have any one-off flat characters, and the depth behind the interactions is impressive for a Saturday morning cartoon.


Chuck
Funny, cute, and it's got great music. The pace between Chuck & Sarah is good through out the show. There's a lot of won't they will they action, but right now it's really nice to see them taking action and sticking with it.


Castle
Man, I love the dynamic between Castle & Beckett. It's a pretty solid 'case of the week' show, but it's never boring. And the cases themselves don't make you wanna break plates over being too stupid, solved too quickly, or just plain boring.


Doctor Who
Combine the best parts of Superman and Batman, add a time machine, a plucky young girl and you've got Doctor Who. I strongly suggest you start with the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). He is the least angsty out of the three current doctors, a true bad ass, and the writing is top notch.


Fringe
crazy WHAT IF science that doesn't make me want to break plates.
Brilliant acting by John Noble and Anna Torv (guys, wait till the third season. THERE IS TWO OF HER AND SHE IS AMAZINGLY DIFFERENT).
PACEY!


Sherlock
It's a modern take on Sherlock Holmes and completely strips away the pipes and tweed. I really like the fast pace, brilliant deductions and, again, brilliant acting from Cumberbatch and Freeman.

The 30 Days of Awesome Challenge is to express how fantastic things are and create a giant smoozing love fest.
These four artists have become staples in my music library (there are others, really, but these are the best). I love their entire discography, and in the case of Beirut (aka Zach Condon) I love his side projects just as much. From each of them I'll share a track off each album. Because I can describe music all I want, but it's meant to be heard.

The Arcade Fire
I love the large, orchestral sound of The Arcade Fire while still being a 'rock band.' Funeral was named so because during the recording year every bandmate suffered the loss of a family member. It's an album about rememberance more than grief and it really showcases the power they have as an orchestral band.
"Rebellion (Lies)" | The Arcade Fire

Neon Bible is more of a coherent album. For me, it's an interesting snap shot of rural life - Church and being bound by responsibility, while being very rooted and constant. I love the ocean imagery bringing power and stability, yet also it is unmovable. The organs and choir really add to the album musically, enforcing the connection to the Church. And I am convinced 'Neon Bible' has SOMETHING to do with the current Green Lantern mythos. It fits in so well.
"My Body Is A Cage" | The Arcade Fire

Which makes The Suburbs a perfect companion album. This is literally about the suburbs, but instead of sleepy, boring suburbia portrayed by Hollywood, this is exciting, volatile and abrasive. See, Neon Bible for the most part had a constant sound. The ocean, the organs - they added a grandous sound to the album and is present in almost every song. Here, every song has it's own sound. Arcade Fire pars down the orchestral aspect of it and begins to sound more like a 'rock band.' And it's bloody perfect, too. Every subset of culture comes from the suburbs. When you're a teen you find that niche, that 'clique' and there's always a soundtrack or two to go with it and this album exemplifies it.
"Month Of May"| The Arcade Fire

Beirut
This is the brain child of Zach Condon. He records the album solely by himself (yes, he plays every damn instrument) and then finds folks to tour with him because as amusing as it would be I doubt one man can play the violin, the trumpet, sing, and drum at once. And that's probably less than half the instruments. What I love about this is how you can tell where he was while writing the albums. Gulag Orkestar has a strong East Europe vibe full of brass instruments and marching tempos, while The Flying Club Cup is more melodic and features strings more prominently (he was touring Paris at the time).
I personally love his side project, RealPeople, which is a more electronic variation to his sound.
"Rhineland (Heartland)" | Beirut

"A Sunday Smile" | Beirut

Florence + the Machine
Man, has she been making waves. Her debut album, Lungs is literally a hodpodge of genres and sounds and I bet there will be at least one song on it you'll like. Despite dabbling in punk rock, orchestral composistions, and pure pop, it's her vocals you don't forget. She covers a lot of bases, lyrically, with this album so it's no doubt you've probably heard a song or two from her somewhere. Most likely a BBC advert or The Vampire Diaries.
"Cosmic Love" | Florence + The Machine

Adam WarRock
Described as being 'nerdcore' (nerdy hip hop), Adam isn't exclusive to comic books or superheroes. In fact, it's his non-nerdy tunes I like the most. Yes it's rap and it can be pretty off-putting, but he's the Silver Age of Hip-Hop, guys. He's good, he's unconventional and you should seriously listen to his stuff. His TrackLog is full of free samplings, and if you like that buy his album. It's completely worth it.

"Ira Glass" (this is the non-single version) | Adam WarRock

"PBR" | Adam WarRock

"Potemkin Villages" | Adam WarRock

The 30 Days of Awesome Challenge is to express how fantastic things are and create a giant smoozing love fest.

Of course I pick the stories I DON'T HAVE scans of. And I'm way to lazy tonight to go d/l them and fish for the best ones. But these are some truly amazing stories.

DC: The New Frontier
I think only Morrison's All Star Superman is a greater love letter to the Silver Age than this. Darwyn Cook's gorgeous masterpiece introduces and streamlines DC's Silver Age comics in a historical context while adding emotional depth to the characters. This made me fall in love with Barry & Iris, one my favourite couples in comics. Other stand out story is that of John Henry. The New Frontier beautifully balances the major heroes and the minor ones while never missing a beat. I swear, spending student's union money on the Absolute Edition was the greatest gift I could give my high school.

JLA: Golden Perfect
I love Joe Kelly's run on JLA. This, the Obsidian Age? Plastic Man's kid? SO. MUCH. LOVE. But this is a stand out for two reasons. One, it delves into Wonder woman and 'what is the truth?' Second, the truth breaks (I am not shitting you this is where it gets so superhero-y and fantastic) raising the question 'what happens if there was no truth?' I'll tell you what happens, things run on belief and whatever has the strongest belief (longest, even) becomes true. So the earth? It becomes flat because we believed that for centuries. The JLA? They become icons, ideas. Batman a shadow who's existence is questionable. Plastic Man a goof, Superman a pompous, over-inflated idea of 'Truth, Justice, and the American Way!' (and yes, he get's an even bigger chin). I think this is a brilliant perception of Wonder Woman, her lasso, and the truth.

Rucka's entire run on Wonder Woman
Do you know why Zeus ate Metis and a then-fetal Athena? Because it was foretold she would take his throne. And over the course of Rucka's run Athena did exactly that. And it wasn't a simple matter, either. She's the Godess of Wisdom, after all, and the giant chess board she set up and won? Fucking brilliant.

Red Robin
Yost did an excellent job setting up Tim as a more independent hero, but it's Nicieza's brilliant planning and nods to continuity that make this a joy to read every month. Oh, and Mr. Fanservice himself, Marcus To provides EXCELLENT pencils.

Knight & Squire
Fact 1 - I am a huge-ass Anglophile.
Fact 2 - I love Paul Cornell.
Fact 3 - He makes this as British as possible.
Fact 4 - This is his 'light-hearted' take on British superheroes. And for reference, his 'serious' take had Dracula living on the moon and invade the UK using giant, flying, space pirate ships that shot vampires out of the canons.

The 30 Days of Awesome Challenge is to express how fantastic things are and create a giant smoozing love fest.
GUYS, THIS IS AN AWESOME ONE. I love to eat so I've got loads of specific foods and recipies, but I'll try to be as general as possible here and limit it to three main types of snacks/study foods.


GARLIC BREAD
I prefer to add cheddar cheese and sometimes bacon.


COOKIES
I typically eat PC's Decadant cookies, but I'll go for oatmeal & peanut butter ones, too!


PIE
OMFG I LOVE PIE. LIKE, BEST STUDY SNACK FOOD EVER. ADD WHIPPED CREAM, ADD ICE CREAM. AND THE FLAVOURS ARE SO DELISH. I think the best one I've had was a strawberry rhubarb. So tart and so sweet. MMMMMM.