Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tokidoki... at Target????

Simone Legno at Target

What is this world coming to? You can now buy Tokidoki (or Simone Legno) designs at, of all places, Target! Good thing it's not that other store that starts with a "W", or I'd start crying. Not sure what to make of this, but I'll reserve judgment until I got to Target and check out the goods. In the meantime, you can click here and shop online. :D

The bag to the left is only $20! Very cute, but I'm sure it's not of as good construction as the Le Sportsac bags are. And the price tag is right. It looks like this whole line is for school kids... but... I likey!

~Allie

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Day 4 of ComicCon, and I'm exhausted!

Comic Con 2009


This year's ComicCon has been a wild rollercoaster ride. I got to meet my girlhood idol, Richard Hatch aka Apollo on the original Battlestar Galactica. (Yes, I'm old!!) And I got to meet the creator of Dr. Who and Torchwood, Russell T. Davies and the cast of the new BBC drama Being Human (cast photo to the left), and get all of their autographs. Yes, I'm a sci-fi nerd. I didn't to upstairs to the panel rooms. There were just WAAAAYY too many people there! This year's attendance topped 125,000 attendees, and I think at least half of them were trying to get into the ballrooms where the panels were being held. 

A lot of the vendors thought that this year's ComicCon was a lot more sedate that last year's convention. I think that due to the economy, people were spending a lot less money. Most of the lines were for the limited edition ComicCon exclusive merchandise. You know all of this stuff is already up on eBay!! One thing I did notice about this year compared to last, is that a lot of vendors set up shop outside of the convention hall. The majority of the freebies were being given out along 5th street, which is right across the street (across the trolley tracks). Heroes set up a mini-carnival, where you could win Heroes keychains and raffle tickets for autographed scripts and t-shirts. SyFy turned a small cafe in the Hard Rock Hotel into "CafĂ© Diem," the cafe on the show Eureka. They had their "Street Team" handing out SyFy bags, t-shirts and buttons all weekend long. EA games set up a Gamers Lounge in the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel right of 5th street. They were previewing 4 unreleased games: Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, and 2 Battlefield games. I also got Mythbuster bags, True Blood t-shirts, Amp drinks, and "9" movie cards just by walking up and down the street. 


ComicCon is a lot less about comics, and more about movies, video games, and tv shows this year. Comic creators are taking a back seat to movie stars like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. I heard rumors that the organizers of SDCC want to take the convention to Vegas, but that would make it a bigger circus that it already is. The SD convention center wants to keep the convention in San Diego, and are trying to purchase more land in order to expand the halls. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm finding that the bigger ComicCon gets, the less "fun" it is. You now have to pick and choose what you want to do. It's not longer possible to just walk into a panel. Now, you have to line up at least 4 hours before 
the doors open. SDCC has turned into another Disneyland ride, where you line up with the masses for just one attraction.
(Leonard Nemoy to the left).

The up side to this convention, however, is for me to see all the wonderful friends that I've made over the years. It's amazing that even though there are 125,000 people here, I'm managed to run into just about everyone I know! There's one last day of ComicCon, and I hope to grab a few more freebies before I leave. I'll post more pictures when I get back home. 

~Allie

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bite-me!!

Vampires are all the rage now. They're no longer the worm eaten, decaying, reanimated undead blood-suckers that they once were. Now they're hot, sexy, and well, to die for! Tweens (and some older adults... you know who you are!) drool over Edward Cullen. And really, who would complain if Eric or Bill from True Blood wanted to nibble on their neck. It seems like drool-worthy vampires are coming out of the woodwork lately.

I guess maybe that's why there will be the first ever Vampire-Con on August 14-14, 2009 in Hollywood, California devoted to Vamp-Pop culture. There will be a film festival, panel discussions, and a danse macabre ball. Burlesque and go-go girls and boys. Hmmm... it's sounding to me like... Yaoi-Con! I'd consider going, but to tell the truth, vampire fans scare me! But I think the point of all this is that vampire fans are not just your typical goth wanna-be vampires anymore. Everyone seems to have jumped on the vampire bandwagon.

Vampires have come a long way since the first Dracula movies. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were pretty hot in Interview with a Vampire, but I didn't want to jump their bones. Buffy the Vampire Slayer got her share of slayer on vampire action. And if I have to choose between team Edward or team Jacob... I choose team Edward.

Luckily we have Twilight: New Moon, True Blood Season 2, and The Vampire Diaries to look foward to on TV and in the movie theaters, and more of Charlain Harris' Southern Vampire series, and Kresley Cole's Immortal Series in novels. There's even a ton of vampire yaoi out now: Necratoholic, Vampire's Portrait, and Pathos just to name a few.

So, to all the hot and hunky vampires out there, I only have one thing to say. "Bite me."

~Allie

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

More Twilight Manwha


In the Entertainment Weekly I got yesterday, there are more images of the new Twilight manwha. While Edward looks a bit more like a vampire and not a surfer boy in this image, I'm still reserving judgment on this graphic novel until the book is published. I think the wolves on Jacob's shirt is a teeny tiny bit much...

In the EW article, it goes on to say, "The graphic novel is essentially Meyer's brain on paper. 'Stephenie is reviewing every page, every panel,' says Kurt Hassler, publishing director for Yen Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. 'People should feel like they are getting a rare glimpse insider her vision of the property.'"

Who knew Bella was so pretty?

~Allie

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Amateur Detective Work

I've been having a lot of bad luck with my banking institutions lately. The free checking account which I've had since 1983 is no longer free. It's now being assessed a $8.95 monthly fee! My ATM card was "compromised" and a replacement sent. And on Monday I got a call from my credit card company, asking me if I had charged an airline ticket for $220. The order was placed in Barcelona, Spain. Unless I magically teleported to Spain, then, that would be a "no"!!

So, being the whiner that I am, I posted about the fraudulent charges on my Facebook status. Tissie and another friend replied that they too had had airline tickets charged on their accounts. Then, yesterday, yet another friend told me that she found a fake airline ticket charge on her account.

What do the four of us have in common? We all used our credit cards to guarantee hotel reservations with Travel Planners for ComicCon. Tissie and another friend used their credit cards last year, and the fake charges to their accounts occurred within the last 2 weeks. The charges on my card and my other friend's card happened this week. And guess what? Next week is ComicCon! I'm betting more people will find charges on their cards while they're away.

My friend alerted Heidi MacDonald, and she's posted the info on her blog: The Beat.
So far, 4 other people have had problems with their credit cards.
Update: Travel Planners has responded to Heidi's blog, saying that there was no breach in their security.

Coincidence? Or fraud? The scary thing is, the credit card companies can't trace the fraud because Travel Planners doesn't always place the charges. They send the information directly to the hotels. And, if someone cancels a reservation, Travel Planners still has their credit card information. I'd totally forgotten that I had used my credit card to guarantee my hotel reservation since I made the reservations back in February.

~Allie

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Frustration and Happiness: Twilight becomes a graphic novel

Yen Press is creating the graphic novel version of Twilight. This comes as no surprise since both Little Brown and Yen Press are a subsidiary of Hatchette.

I'm happy but also frustrated. I've been waiting for the graphic novel for almost 3 years now. I won't expand on why I'm frustrated. For those that know why, they will understand. And maybe it will be a story for another time. (Or you can go bug Tissie and Allie and try to force them to tell you.)

~Meg

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

ComicCon is coming!!!

For those of you who have never been to ComicCon in San Diego, CA, you're missing the biggest, busiest, most crowded comic convention in the US!! I've been busy helping my husband and friends make promotional materials. So far, I've made 750 buttons and slapped stickers on 1000 postcards. And I'm not done yet! ComicCon starts on Wednesday, July 23rd, so I have a little bit of time yet to finish everything. But here are a few things that I'm looking forward to:

• Swag!! Yes, I am the Queen of Swag. Put out something free, and I'm there! Last year, my swag haul included about a dozen bags, 10 t-shirts, tons of buttons, postcards, bookmarks, bobble heads, posters and 3 pen drives. (Don't ask me where I store it all).

• Sneak Previews! Warner Bros. is previewing 3 pilot episodes of three new series: Human Target, V, and The Vampire Diaries. I'm especially looking forward to the Vampire Diaries. Vampires are COOL! I *might* fight the crowds for Twilight: New Moon. I'll have to remember to bring my earplugs, because the high pitch shrieks of the fans might render me deaf.


• Chasing Celebs! Last year, I got to squeeze Sci-Fi channel star Colin Ferguson, who plays the sheriff in Eureka. He was hanging out at the Sci-Fi booth, so I snuck in for a quick pic with him. He's so adorable! Hopefully they'll be a lot more celebs running around the convention room floor. I bought a new camera, so I'll be sure to post pics when I get back. :D

• Hot guys in skimpy costumes!! Well, OK, the really hot guys are the ones who get paid to dress up and entertain guests, but who's complaining? Last year, Tissie and I got to get squeezed between two hot firemen. With no shirts. Oooh la la! Drool much?

• Seeing all my industry friends! The best part of conventions is getting together with friends in the biz. It's amazing how many people I've gotten to know over the years. I'm hoping to find time to bake some cookies before I leave so that I can drop off some care packages around the convention hall. :D

• Sleeping in a haunted hotel. Maybe I'm not looking forward to this as much as my husband is, but it should be an adventure. We're staying one night at the Horten Grand Hotel. The hotel is built on the spot where a brothel used to stand. Hopefully the ghosts won't bother me while I'm trying to sleep. Hmmm... I wonder if the Ghost Hunters will be at ComicCon!! LOL

If any of you are going to be at ComicCon, let me know. I'd love to meet up!!

~Allie.

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Shu Uemura Oils - Tokyo Kamon Girls

Shu Uemura has a regular line of cleansing oils, but they have just released some limited edition ones that are from the manga-ka Moyoco Anno, who's works include Happy Mania and Sugar Sugar Rune. However, she's also the wife of Hideaki Anno, the founder of one of our favorite anime studios, Gainax, of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame.

"in collaboration with renowned manga artist and beauty expert Moyoco Anno, shu uemura introduces playful new packaging. the oils remain the same; the bottles are more beautiful than ever. these new presentations are available for a limited time only, while supplies last."

The limited edition cleansing oils are pricy running from $65 to $75.

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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Things that make you go *squee* 4

Rolly Polly Kitty Phone Straps
Hmmm... why do I always have dog and cat things in my *squee* posts? I guess you can't go wrong with cuddly critters.
Available at Strapya World.





Snoopy Jewelry!
This one's for Meg. She loves Snoopy stuff! Cell phone straps, bracelets, pendants, and rings are available at Strapya World . Production limited to Japan.







Adorable lazy pandas!
These cute little pandas decorate your cell phone. They're picked for your randomly and there are 18 different poses. Personally, I want them all!

You can purchase these at Strapya World.







Baby Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.
I don't have any babies, but these critters sure are cute! Step by step instructions on how to make these adorable baby (or adult) toys!
Published by: Vertical (2/17/09)
MSRP: $14.95
Available at: Amazon.com.




Tokidoki does cosmetics!
The beautiful compacts come with four different color eye shadows. The new cosmetics line also includes lip gloss. If I had this compact, I wouldn't want to throw it out once I'd used the eye shadow. I wonder if it's refillable? Purchase these directly through Tokidoki.

OK, that's it for now. More soon!

~Allie

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Monday, July 6, 2009

Anime Catchup Review: Skip Beat


I remember reading Skip Beat several years ago and figured I should finally catch up with my anime - especially shojo anime. I caught up with the 25 episodes on Crunchy Roll.

The Good: Skip Beat is free on Crunchy Roll with limited advertisements and since the series was completely out, I was able to watch the 25 episodes in 2 days. The story follows a normal girl named Kyoko who follows her boyfriend Sho to Tokyo so that he can become a star. Once he becomes a star, he backstabs her and she's all about REVENGE!!! The show is cute, funny, and the revenge plot is very entertaining.

The Bad: There's 3 things that bother me about the show, 2 of them related to Crunchy Roll's presentation. The least annoying thing are the ads. I was surprised they didn't show up every episode and there was no interruption unlike Hulu. The other thing that bugged me about the presentation was that some of the subtitles did not fit so I had to guess what the remainder subtitles were. It wasn't too bad since most of it did show up on screen. Keep in mind, that I only watched the SD version since I didn't want to be heavily streaming and draining bandwidth. Other than that, the only other issue I had was with the end of the series. The end of the series did not resolve the story arc and makes you wanting more episodes. Hopefully, we'll soon be able to see a 2nd series.

Overall, I recommend waiting on seeing Skip Beat. The ending's dissapointment level was equal to that of Kare Kano. With Kare Kano, the studio ran out of money and it was never really finished. Hopefully, that's not the case with Skip Beat. If it is, you might as well just read the manga
from Viz.

~Meg

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