Next Steps

Have you ever told yourself that this thing you love is just a side thing, a hobby, something you will only love amateurly? And then one day you woke up and realized that all along it was the thing?

Well, I have.

If you've read much of anything I post on here, you know I can boil down quite a few of my favorite things to stories, narrative, adaptations, novels, films, that sort of thing...  Last fall, I began really wrestling with what these passions are for and how they might all fit together.  Graduate school had been weighing on my mind for some time - but grad school for what exactly?  Somehow, I didn't think, "I just really love stories - will you let me back in?" was going to cut it for a personal statement. But, there were times sitting at an office desk when I couldn't help but whisper to myself, "I don't belong here..."

When I finally did allow myself to believe that maybe I could actually pursue this thing I love so deeply, it became clear that going back to school was the necessary step.  So I entered this marathon of applications, I put a label on what I want to research - "transmuted adaptation" - and I started asking for a lot of help.  After a very grueling application process, a lot of prayer, too many vague posts, and anxiously waiting...

I am very excited to announce that I am returning to school this September. I will be pursuing a Master's in English and Film at Oregon State University and, thanks to their generous funding package, I'll also be teaching English composition.

Thinking about graduate school makes me feel like I'm returning home and that I'm venturing into some wilderness all at the same time.  And I'm so excited!  Though I try again and again, stories matter more to me than I can articulate.  So for the next two years, I'm going to give myself to stories, to the power of a classic novel told in a new way, and to inspiring others why we need to keep reading these narratives.

I am going back to school.

Funniest thing you'll watch today:

Jack Bauer presenting Sherlock Holmes with an award and, per usual, "he forgets his pants*."

*American transliteration of "pants" ;)

[Cos]Playin' it Up

Ok... as previous posts show... I really like costumes.
Alice, Hobbits, Sherlock, Moonrise Kingdom, Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

 But I thought I should give you an update of some costumes and cosplay lately.

For Halloween, some friends and I decided on going as Fantastic Mr. Fox characters.
Even despite the "What does the fox say?" craze, this Wes Anderson inspired look was a fun one to pull together. 

[Foxy - mask, tie, vest, blazer, tail]

[Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, Ash Fox]

[Inspiration: Foxes on the right]

A few weeks later was the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special (extensive post here).
For the house party with friends, I went as Amy Pond from "The Impossible Astronaut"

[Amy: plaid, denim, sharpie necklace]

[inspiration]

The next night, Rebekah and I went to a showing in Seattle.
She rocked it as Rose from "The Idiot's Lantern" (1950's ;) and I went as the 11th Doctor.

[11 & Rose]

 I even found myself an Amy from "The Impossible Astronaut" episode - perfect!

[11 & Amy]

December brought with it the Hobbit and, being that Bob wanted to see my costume, I threw an "Unexpected Party" at work.

[Hobbit: ears, vest, green blazer, cloak, Lothlorien Leaf, handkerchief.]

[The ears :]

And then, this past Sunday, Sherlock returned to PBS.  So, my flatmate and I hosted a costumed premiere party.
I knew right away, I wanted to go as "The Woman."  And no, not because of that.

[Irene Adler - dress: black, eyeliner: blue, lips: blood, earrings: diamond, hair: classic twist.]

[Irene Inspiration]

Somewhat last minute, not only did my brothers come, they brought their A-game as Moriarty and Sherlock - the gents in Irene's life.

[Moriarty: Westwood, Irene: Azagury, Sherlock: Belstaff]

So... those have been my costume adventures the last few months.
I'm looking forward to more soon.  Any reason for a costume. :)

Which are some of your favorite characters or costumes?  Who do you like to dress up as?

Oh, Brothers.

[Josiah as Moriarty, Me as Irene, and Jeremiah as Sherlock]

 So... I just really like these gents a lot.

And, last night, we got to cosplay as some of my favorite characters.

It was **such** a blast!

Birth-order wise, I'm sandwiched between these two and I feel pretty lucky.

Some girls with brothers talk about how they toughened them up

or wrestled a lot or whatever.

Well, I stayed out of their wrestling.

[Instead, we spent a lot more time playing playmobile -

I always got to be the princess to their knight, soldier, pirate, etc.]

But we did grow up arguing discussing a lot

and I felt like I got toughened up mentally because of them.

And though they made me fight the hardest,

they also made me laugh the longest.

Now that we're all adults, pursuing different dreams and paths...

it makes me really grateful for all those heated debates, N64 games,

playmobile-filled Saturday mornings, nerdy jokes, 

YouTube marathons of HISHE and good music,

and lots and lots of laughter.

Plus, I think they are smashingly dapper!

Thank God for brothers.

Sherlock

***Absolutely no spoilers***

I just wanted to say,
I waited exactly 1 year, 11 months and 14 days,
but I have seen it.
And it was worth it.

 Sherlock Season 3, Episode 1 - "The Empty Hearse" premieres on PBS, January 19th.

On despair

Lately I've been thinking on despair. Delightful, I know. But it keeps coming up.

Call it seasonal vitamin-D deficiency. Blame it on other circumstances in my life. Settle it as the result of too much melancholy viewing or reading. But, whatever the case, despair has been knocking on my door. 

I'm becoming convinced that despair is the greatest evil. Not the greatest sin - but the end-result & effect of sin. 

Despair is so much more than sadness. I've been thinking on the pinpoint moments in some of my favorite stories when despair enters the picture. 

It's when Peeta doesn't love Katniss. 
It's when Ron leaves Harry. 
Or John fails to find Sherlock's pulse. 
Rose gets separated from the Doctor. 
Frodo Baggins forgets the taste of strawberries. 

Failure. Rejection. Goodbyes. These are always the stories' worst moments. 

But the road to resurrection runs through the grave. 

The greatest stories - both in life & in fiction - force the protagonist to walk a mile or more with despair. I've run up against it a few times. We all have in different ways. 

But there are two conclusions I've come to regarding Despair. 

The first is my prayer in the midst of my despair or any loved one's is that I'd be faithful. A faithful friend. A faithful person. "Frodo wouldn't have got very far without Sam." In fact, according to Tolkien, Sam was the hero of Lord of the Rings… and I can see why. The greatest courage isn't in brandishing glittering swords, but in traversing pain our souls were never designed for. "For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point--and does not break."  - GK Chesterton.

The other conclusion is one I came to after talking with my dentist, truly great fellow. The thing is, if despair is the greatest evil, joy must be the greatest good. And I'm not speaking of anything akin to humanist happiness. Many classic philosophers got close to this truth, that joy was the aim, but they all lacked something. Until Christ, "for the joy set before Him, endured the cross," they had no response to despair, and no true reason for joy. But we have. 

My friend, Esther, shared with me today, "Hope is the ability to look the past & present squarely in the face and say, 'I know that my future will make beautiful and light these harsh and dark moments.'" That's what I'm holding onto. 

I look to the stories again and again, not for happy endings, but for hopeful ones. They serve to remind that the truest stories don't end in despair. "When the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer." Until then, "never cruel or cowardly; never give up, never give in." No, now is the time to take another step through the valley, trusting the mountain is still there. All we can do in the meantime is to hold onto the promises, to wait and to hope. 

1/19/14

They're back...

[via]

Two years and four days after this--

Sherlock Series 3 will air on PBS 1/19/14

[via]

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I just found this post from 1.16.12.  The day after the fall.

It's been nearly 2 years and it still hurts.

costume dilemma

You guys... I'm so ready to throw myself into choosing a costume, piecing it together... but I just cannot decide!

Star Wars?  Super heroes?  Disney?  Doctor Who? They're done every year.

Sherlock?  Always an option.  A friend and I had talked about doing a Femlock cosplay (fandom translator: she and I were going as male Sherlock characters).  But I will be doing a costume for the premiere party (just waiting on a date, Moffat!) - so I'm not sure that's "it."

Alice in wonderland?  Done it.

Lord of the Rings?  Did it last year.

Grumpy Cat?  Seriously tempting

A different Lizzie Bennet Diaries character would be "totes supes adorbs" ...but I have done it twice already this year.

Perfecting my Suzie Bishop look (from Moonrise Kingdom) would be a blast for sure... but I kinda want to tackle something new.

Would it be considered cheating to dress up like Zooey Deschanel?  [I was afraid people might stop commenting both when I went red and especially after I chopped my hair off... there has been no letting up, which is fine with me]

So then I look at books I've read or re-read this year.

Half of the are from the Enderverse.  Not really any impressive or indicative costumes from the enderverse.

Gatsby?  Everyone's going to do Gatsby this year.  [I'm afraid I've turned into a hipster cosplayer... sorry]

Hazel Grace?  Augustus Waters?  I think Augustus would actually be more fun... but with TFioS film coming out next year... 

Name of the Wind character?  Could be super fun, but very few people would recognize it.

TV shows?  

One of my coworkers seriously suggested I dress up as Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad.  That would be... intriguing.

I guess there are a bunch of Once Upon a Time costumes... comme ci comme ça.

I might be perusing classic Hollywood next.  Hmmm...

Pretty much... I need a man in my life so we can go as a couple :)

Got suggestions for me?  Leave a comment ;)

31 Days of Books: Study in Scarlet

Title: A Study in Scarlet

Author:  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Published:  1887

Year I read it:  2011

One sentence summary:  Holmes & Watson's first ever case is about a series of mysterious deaths, told in a novella from Watson's perspective.

Three reasons to read it:

• It's where it all began for Sherlock & Watson - it's quite remarkable, knowing what follows, to read John's (and by extension, Doyle's) first impression of Sherlock. 
• This case (along with a handful of others like Sign of Four, Scandal in Bohemia, and The Final Problem) allows some of the most space for its characters. Nearly every Holmes mystery interesting, but some draw you closer to the characters than others. 
• I find Doyle's perspective on Americans - especially specific communities - most intriguing. This case of London murders is connected to Mormonism, while The Five Orange Pips delves into the KKK. Fascinating (even if flawed) commentary on both. 

One reason you maybe shouldn't:

• It's the beginning, but it's not the most famous Sherlock story. It's also one of 3 Holmes novellas, while the rest of the cases are found within collections of short stories. If you want something shorter, go with The Adventure of Sherlock Holme & it's first story, "Scandal of Bohemia."

Great quotes:

“To a great mind, nothing is little,' remarked Holmes, sententiously.” 

“Once you have ruled out the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” [Yes, he said it first!  Spock quoted him.] 

“A summary list of Sherlock Holmes's strengths and weaknesses:

1. Knowledge of Literature: Nil. 
2. Knowledge of Philosophy: Nil. 
3. Knowledge of Astronomy: Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics: Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany: Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 
6. Knowledge of Geology: Practical but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 
7. Knowledge of Chemistry: Profound. 
8. Knowledge of Anatomy: Accurate but unsystematic. 
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature: Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 
10. Plays the violin well. 
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. 
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law."

Many Happy Returns!!

Well, today we celebrate an absolute favorite of mine!  Yes, Benedict Cumberbatch turns 37 today!

My faithful readers already know that I like him and many reasons why.  If you're new or have been living on a desert island and haven't heard of Mr. C or his merits, start with my post for his birthday last year or check out his tag on my blog.  Or read my favorite interview with him to-date (thank you, Caitlin Moran!)

But yes, there is no denying I'm rather fond of the man and his work.  Even were I to try to deny it... the evidence suggests otherwise.

[to be fair... all but one of those was  a gift!]

Yep, I think he's pretty amazing. "Absolutely amazing!  Brilliant!"

[Benedict at 4 days old with parents Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, July 1976]

[Benedict at Star Trek premiere, May 2013]

36 has been a busy and breakthrough year for him!  The year began (literally on his birthday) with his first Emmy nomination (Sherlock, Season 2); it ended yesterday with another Emmy nomination (Parade's End).  As far as TV goes, he had the aforementioned release of Parade's End, a guest role on The Simpson's, and had a bit of fun just the other week on Top Gear.  He also appeared on several late-night shows including David Letterman's, Jimmy Fallon's, and (my personal favorite) Graham Norton's.  His radio work this year included Season 4 of Cabin Pressure as well as a star-studded production of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (which will be available later this year - and Gaiman has hopes to make a film version with the same cast ;).  He's been slightly too busy to pursue any serious stage-work this year.  But, of course, the big event of the year was Star Trek: Into Darkness.  It served as a lot of people's introduction to him and he got rather better reviews than the film did.  As a personal aside, I thought he did quite fine - but it wasn't even near his top works.  However, it is just wonderful that he got into his first leading role in a blockbuster.

The past few weeks have served as a fantastic set-up for his 37th year as the final 2 trailers for his 2013 films were released.  This fall, 4 films in which Cumberbatch stars will be hitting the big screen.  A brief rundown:

October 18 - 12 Years a Slave

October 18 - The Fifth Estate

December 13 - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

[221B convention]

And, on Christmas Day - August: Osage County

Hopefully we'll also be viewing Sherlock Season 3 before the end of the year (or at least by January 2014).  He did help play a little joke on the Comic-Con panel yesterday - explaining how Sherlock survived the fall:




Ah... cheeky!

As busy and successful and brilliant as he is... my wish for his 37th is actually that he'd be able to take a breather and settle down.  Here's hoping he finds "the right one" - and that this would become a reality:

[Benedict with a friend's newborn... and one of my favorite pics of him ever!]

I'll keep hoping for that.  But in all his ventures and doings I do wish him luck and many happy returns!

via

Gifts in print

So spoiled by my friends yesterday.  I received the gifts that show how well they know me.  Things I wouldn't have even thought to ask for - but was so happy to receive!!

A few items:

This amaaaazing Sherlock Typography poster from Cami.  You guys... I kinda almost cried.

Obviously I'm a huge fan of Sherlock... but I'm also a huge fan of quotes and typography. So this is an instant winner! 

Honestly, unikoideas has some fabulous stuff on etsy!  But did Cami get it off Etsy?  No.  She actually ran into the guy when we were in Portland a few weeks ago.  How great is that!

And the Nerd-quote from John Green?  Thank you Melissa!!  I shared this quote with her a few weeks back and yesterday I opened her (2nd) gift and unwrapped a framed print.

This is me.

Completely me.

And then, as just part of her present, I received a particular vogue issue I'd been eyeing from Kayla.

We're all just a bit psyched for Gatsby coming out and the Grace Coddington/Mario Testino shoot with Carey Mulligan is ravishing!!  As a bonus, there's also a shoot with Tom Hiddleston (woot-woot!).

I received several other lovely presents accompanied by beautiful, sincere cards.  These were just a few of the tangible gifts.  A few of which have found their way onto my wall :)

Also, for a sneak preview of the costumes, check out the adorable Kayla JANE-ine ;)

#ProudToBeAFanOf

#ProudToBeAFanOf was trending today... and I had to chip in.

Of course, you all know what I'm proud to be a fan of.  Lucky for me, today provided some adorable [what's known in the fandom world] "crack."  Little morsels shared with fans, just enough to provide a temporary high.

And so... meet #Setlock [the tag assigned to the current filming of Sherlock Season 3].

I have to start with the "totes supes adorbs" (thank you, Lydia Bennet).

After spending the majority of the last 2 years in New Zealand and away from his family, Martin-the-Hedgehog-Freeman is back in London.  What's more, his wife, Amanda Abingdon, has been cast in Sherlock in a role we can only assume to be "Miss Mary Morstan" - who, after hiring Sherlock in "A Sign of Four," became John Watson's wife! :)

Isn't that precious?

Well, the cuteness gets better when the Freeman children come to visit 221B for the day!!

Seriously, his kids look like Hobbits!

And they reportedly enjoyed visiting Dad, Mum, and "Uncle Ben" [Ah!] at work :D



[Back to 221B - er...187 N Gower.  Martin's face!!]



[The hat. The coat. The smile. The man. The character. Sherlock's alive!!]



[Martin totally is a hedgehog!]

Annnd... in another favorite fandom - the LBD got a proper photoshoot!

Make the cuteness stop!

["Jing" + "Dizzie"]

Except, wait, don't ;)

Love and miss you, Lizzie B.



Proud to be a fangirl ;)

Guess what??

I've never grown out of playing dress up.

"No really, Samara. We couldn't tell. Sherlockian cubicle parties weren't like a tip off or anything."

Yah, but seriously. Thanks to be homeschooled through 2nd grade, I got to spend a majority of my formative years dressed for a part with a wild imagination to match.

I've been made aware, recently, that not a lot has changed in that department.

So yah, I love dress up. And being such a fangirl, I love dressing up as favorite characters! Which apparently is called cosplay. [When did "dress up" get replaced with "cosplay"? Oh wait...just looked it up. "The term cosplay is a portmanteau of the English words costume and play. The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of the Japanese studio Studio Hard while attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon." Thank you, Wikipedia! Well, portmanteaus are cool...because Lewis Carol made up portmanteau, which is itself a portmanteau. But that leads back to me cosplaying ;]

So...yes. I get off on cosplaying. As demonstrated on my blog. Several times.

[Alice]

[White Rabbit]

[Hobbit]

[Sherlock]

I also (as demonstrated on my blog several times) L O V E the LBD, which relies heavily on costume theatre, which is quite similar to cosplay. And since its given characters specific costumes, it makes cosplaying those characters especially fun. I had actually been hoping to cosplay a particular character at some point.

All that to say, guess what happened today???

I had a newsies cap bequeathed to me!! Ok. Not exactly bequeathed... It was up for grabs & I took it.

And once I owned the hat, I just had to look into finding a red bow tie. One thing led to another and...well, the bow tie is on its way :D

And - even more exciting - I'm hoping to have a reason or two to cosplay soon. Details to come.

[It really is :]

Props to Fandom

So... one of the best things about being a fangirl is the community of other fan-girls + boys that gather around that piece of art.  With Lizzie Bennet Diaries wrapping up - can you believe it? - a week from tomorrow, I am sad to be losing not only it's new episodes at least twice a week, but also the community that goes with it.  It's been such a joy to watch and then jump on to several different platforms to discuss what we've seen.  There are texts from friends and sisters (both of the biological and "Crawley" variety) and then fan-reactions and fan-sites.  And being that the material is rather nerdy - so are many of its viewers.  

So with fandoms such as the Lizzie Bennet Diaries or Sherlock or whatnot, there are some pretty creative people in those communities.  And today I found one of my favorite "fan-made" pieces yet.  It's a Sherlock parody by the props of Sherlock.  What I believe to be 1, maybe 2 fans, have created twitter accounts personifying different key props in the show - and they are hilarious!!  So far, they've only included the floor, the staircase, the wall, the smiley face, and the skull (who they've named billy, but who I've always thought of as a Yorick ;) but each has quite the personality!

Here are a few examples of prop interactions:

Is it just me or are those hilarious??  

Whichever fan(s) out there made these - thank you!  Made my day :)

You can continue to follow the adventures "Props of Sherlock" here.