February 9

Girly Gone Geek: Batman Princess, plus Star Wars Princess

Though we’re months away from Halloween, what’s Valentine’s Day without a little sweetness?  Behold, the Batman Princess.

Batman Princess

As spotted on Comics Alliance, this post comes from Donkey’s tumblr page. Alas, with no commentary. I would love to know the backstory behind the costume, and the neighbors’ reactions.

Donkey’s tumblr page also links to her flickr album, where I found this little beauty – not quite Princess Leia, but a Star Wars princess, nonetheless.

Star Wars princess

I love how the little girl is allowed to embrace both her geeky and girly selves. How have you helped young girls feel empowered about their love of geeky things?

February 1

Fan-tab-stic Chain Mail


I own a purse made from soda pop tops (or pull tabs or whatever you want to call them). It’s somewhere between this Socorro design (it’s a shoulder bag) and the Masha design (not a messenger bag, but it has a flap closure). I did not, however, pay upwards of $100—I lucked out and bought it at Goodwill for a mere $8. Best. Purchase. Ever.

So I’ve been thinking about other things one might make out of soda tabs, and it appears I’m not alone. There are projects galore (complete with handy tutorials) geared toward both fashion plates and Ren Faire nerds. Thought it’d be worth posting a roundup of some of the more interesting projects and different techniques I’ve come across thus far. Oh, and they all seem quite manageable, as long as you have patience and access to a vast quantity of pop tops. Here are a few of my favorites:

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August 25

The Doctor Who Experience

i kissed a dalekHave you ever wanted to lay a big smooch on a cute little Dalek? Anyone? …Just me? Well, just in case I am not the only one, I thought I’d tell you guys about The Doctor Who Experience in London‘s Olympia, where I got to lay one on this little guy (make love, not extermination).

A couple years ago, I wrote about my trip to the Coventry Travel Museums Doctor Who Experience, and that was amazing. I thought this would be a larger scale version of all the awesome I experienced there–hanging out with the Ood and K-9, taking pictures next to the TARDIS, that kind of stuff…

K niiiiiiineAnd was I ever wrong. The Doctor Who Experience is truly an experience. Buy your tickets in advance and show up early, because you will join a group, and walk into what is basically an episode of Doctor Who, written for you to play in. Matt Smith (as The Doctor) appears on screen through out, to guide you through Daleks, Weeping Angels, and tons more while you help him get his TARDIS back and defeat the Daleks. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say the two children in attendance were not the only ones having a blast. When you come out the other end of the interactive portion, there are more displays, including all of the Doctor’s costumes, and most of his enemies.

I took a picture of The Silence, because…well, you know. The Silence

There was also a great space set aside to show what the Doctor Who writers’ office looks like, and perhaps geekiest of all, an entire display on how the theme music and sound effects are done (and have been done) throughout the series.

There is no shortage of things to make a Whovian go “squee”. I spent at least an hour snapping pictures of all the displays, which include life sized models of four different TARDIS incarnations, a ton of villains, and many of your favorite companions. I can’t recommend The Doctor Who Experience enough. As we were going in, there was a boy about seven years old, dancing in circles and chanting about how excited he was for the exhibition–when we left, goodie bags full from the gift shop, I admit, I was behaving similarly.

 

Matt Smith

 

 

It is a running exhibition with dates through (at least) November, so no reason to miss it, The Doctor is counting on you!

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July 7

READER SUBMISSION: Nyan Cat Costume

Kitty Meme CostumeI am not the hippest kid at the LOLCat convention by any stretch, so it is fair to say there are “internet memes” I miss completely, and plenty I just do not understand. Nyan Cat is some odd mix of both. I stumbled on Nyan Cat a few days ago, only to discover that Nyan Cat was in the process of actually taking over the world, using a rainbow shooting out of it’s bum, and wearing what appears to be a pop tart.

Nyan Cat Video*

The upside to Nyan Cat, I suppose, is that it is kind of cute. Craftasaurus Rex (but seriously, how cool is that name?)  sent me this picture of her cat, in the Nyan Cat Costume she made for her. Apparently, this is only a prototype, I look forward to seeing the 2.0!

 

*Warning to viewer: nothing changes. It’s the same for the whole 3+ minutes.

January 28

Battlestar Galactica Viper Flight Suit

My friend Barbara Shaurette has put a few of her costumes up for sale in her Etsy shop — including this phenomenal Battlestar Galactica flight suit modeled after Starbuck’s!

Barbara says,

The suit itself is highly detailed, with exactly placed pockets on the legs and chest, and on the sleeves. Both sleeves include the appropriate patches – “Viper” on the right, and the Galactica insignia on the left. The left sleeve also includes a reflective red panel that extends from forearm to wrist. The wrists and ankles are finished with narrow PVC bands and snap closures. The front of the suit closes with a full-length zipper.

Along with her flight suit, you can check out her Poison Ivy and Barberella costumes, too!

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