Fan Expo Vancouver 2013

April 23, 2013September 6, 20154 Comments

This year, I decided to go to the Fan Expo in Vancouver. I am not sure if it was the wisest choice, as it was sandwiched between two final exams (I actually could not go on the first day because it was ON the day and time of one of my exams), but it was definitely fun and I am excited to see how the expo will grow in the future! Vancouver’s Fan Expo is quite new, and has a while to go before it can catch up with many of the other conventions out there, but it was very promising.

I cosplayed as Amelia Pond from Doctor Who, and my friend cosplayed as the 11th Doctor. At one point, we met several other Doctor Who cosplayers who told us that they were going to do a Doctor Who photoshoot at two o’clock, and invited us. The photos were fun, and around thirty of us showed up–all doing a bunch of silly poses.

The expo’s floor was not too big, taking up Halls B and C at the Vancouver Convention Center–if I am not mistaken, but it was packed with vendors and there was an artist alley. Celebrity guests included Stan Lee, Michael Rooker (from The Walking Dead”), Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), Sean Astin (from Lord of the Rings), and the whole cast of Continuum.

I really like conventions because I love looking at cosplays. I admire how you can see how much effort people put into their costumes, and when they stay in character during the whole con, it makes things that much better. At the Fan Expo, I would say around 50% of the people there were in costumes? Not a bad turnout!

Here are some random pictures from my adventures that day!

My friend and I who cosplayed characters from Doctor Who

Sauron! Amazing costume!

Pics from the Doctor Who photo shoot from my camera– which explains why no one’s looking at the camera.

A picture of the companions

Tardis!

And of course, all the doctors!

A cosplayer cosplaying a nurse from Silent Hill. She limped around the whole con the whole day. Props to her for her dedication!!

If you live in Vancouver, keep an eye out for the Fan Expo next year! You may want to check this out!

– Karen

“42”: A Movie Review

April 23, 2013September 6, 20151 Comment

I just came back from watching 42 from the cinemas.

Honestly, when asked to choose a movie, I opted for this one because Harrison Ford was in it. I was not entirely sure what it was going to be about, but I ended up crying through the whole movie because it was very touching and motivating. The man next to me gave me a high-fived for weeping through the whole thing. Props to him for putting up with my sniffling.

“42” is a movie about Jackie Robinson and how he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers despite being black. The story in itself is inspiring, but seeing those around Jackie willing to find acceptance and change was the most amazing part of the film. The end credits also explain how different members of the team went on to achieve great things. They also explained that the number 42– Jackie’s jersey number– was retired by the major baseball leagues to honour him. Like my friend said, it was a bit cheesy at times, but overall, I would defintely recommend this. Especially if you liked movies such as The Help. It really shows how far we have come in society.

I do not want to spoil too much (though it may be a bit obvious how it will end), but I suggest that if you wanted something good to watch, especially at a time like this when the movies seem to be lacklustre (at least in my parts of town), go watch 42.

– Karen

This Came Across My Attention…

April 14, 2013September 6, 20156 Comments

And I usually do not get too huffy over stuff like this, because society is changing, albeit slowly. I cannot possibly comment on everything that seems sexist on the internet.

But because the Avengers is something I am really into and love…

Here’s some T-shirts that can be found in the Disney Store online

For boys

For girls

Another one for girls

I went on the site myself to see if people were being selective in what they chose to display to other people– just to get them riled up. Turns out they were not. I went through all the Avengers merchandise selection and saw that this was truly the only tees for women there.

So while little boys get to be heroes, little girls are told that they need a hero. I think we need a little bit of Black Widow spicing things up in here. Excuse me while I go find a hero to kiss because I cannot possibly do any ass kicking on my own.

-Karen

*Edit: This is the petition that came with the post I read http://www.change.org/sexismavengers

Marketing Post #6: Assignment 3 Reflective Post

April 8, 2013September 6, 2015Leave a comment

My last marketing post for my COMM 296 course is a reflective piece, and I now choose to do it on our last team assignment: Assignment 3.

For the project, our team of five had to analyze our chosen company’s (BlackBerry) marketing mix, and then see if it matches the target market we suggest for the company. It was also a video assignment, so we had to find some way to make all our info into a video.

This assignment also required very little new research, as it builds on our two previous assignments. The challenge was to find a suitable way to display our info into a video, while making it interesting to the viewer. We did consider doing the very popular drawing/writing on a board idea, but we thought too many other groups would want to do that. So instead, we decided to film ourselves in a variety of scenarios that mimicked BlackBerry’s Keep Moving ads–except in a negative light. The video making process was a great bonding experience for the team, and became one of the funnest meetings we had together. We went around campus doing silly things (e.g. pretending to hit a group member with a car as he talked on his BlackBerry device), and we had a lot of laughs. It was definitely an unforgettable experience.

A problem we ran into was the fact that none of us were very skilled video editors. We had a basic idea of what we wanted to do: we’ll first show the spoof of our ad, followed by a Prezi presentation with a voiceover describing the slides. To go on from there, we realized we would have to learn how to use Prezi, as well as record voiceovers and piece everything together into a nice video. However, we did have a member who was semi-competent at video editing, and his help on the last part of putting together the whole thing was invaluable (thanks Jordan!).

Overall, although this project took a long time to complete, it was not an unpleasant experience. It did bring us out of comfort zone and ultimately, I think my team and I can all agree that we learned a lot more about BlackBerry as a company.

Blackberry’s Keep Moving ad that we mimicked.
Our idea: To display a variety of individuals who kept moving with their BlackBerry device, but end up running into a lot of dangerous or negative scenarios as they kept moving forward ignoring the consequences. This suggested that we believe that if BlackBerry was to continue targeting the general public (instead of Business and organizations as they formerly did), it was going to be a dangerous move on their part, as they have relatively little market share in the casual smartphone consumer market.

My First Award!! What Do I Do!?!?

March 28, 2013September 6, 201513 Comments

I logged on to WordPress today and saw that little notifications alert was orange. I pressed on it and saw that Ash nominated me for the Sunshine Award! I am super excited so I am going to do the post now! (Despite being neck deep in assignments and final exam woes–but hey, this is a good distraction). Thank you Ash! I must say– I am probably just as surprised as her when she found out someone nominated her. The first thought that popped into my head was “Wow, someone’s actually reading my blog!!” So thank you for that Ash! 🙂 You brightened up what otherwise was a wet and dreary month, that bogged me down with midterm exams and projects! I would recommend checking her blog out, especially if you want to learn (or if you already do) how to appreciate manga and Japanese culture. She may not be Japanese, but she knows her stuff! 😀

This award has two parts to it. I first answer ten questions about myself, and then pass the award on and nominate my favourite bloggers! So without further ado, here are my responses!

1. Who is your favourite philosopher?

It would have to be Confucius (unless if I am allowed to choose John Green. Then I choose YA author John Green. Go watch his videos on Youtube, you will see why.) Have you heard the amazing things this guy says? He is not only a philosopher, but he is so encouraging. I also find it amazing that a Chinese scholar’s influence can be found so significantly in Western culture.

“Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.”

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”

-Confucius

2. What is your favourite number?

I actually do not have one. Here is a funny story though. When I was young, I thought you had to have a favourite number, and that it would bring you luck as long as you try to incorporate it into as many things of the things you do as possible. I chose the number 3. I would try to line up as the third person in line, take the third box of cereal in the supermarket, and would sleep with three stuffed animals. Glad I did not choose the number 97 or something. I would have suffocated from all the stuffed teddies.

3. What is your favourite animal?

My favourite animal…would have to be dogs. I love how loyal they are to their owners, and I also find a lot of them adorable. I have recently really taken a liking to pit bulls. They are the cutest thing ever. Sadly, I am allergic to most dogs, and I doubt I can persuade my family to allow me to keep a dog in the house.

NOPE, I am changing my answer. I love direwolves from Game of Thrones. They are huge, which will probably scare me in real life, but does not take away from the fact that I love them. The few direwolves that the reader encounters in the books show that they are very loyal to their owners. They also look pretty badass. I guess I liked regular wolves before I was introduced to direwolves, but once I found out about these larger and stronger wolves, I became a bit obsessed.

So that would account for my favourite type of animal. But I must say that if I had to pick one particular animal, it would have to be my late hamster. She was the only pet I have ever had (if you do not count the poor insects I trapped in plastic containers when I was young, foolishly claiming that they were my pets), and it is starting to look like she will be the last. This is mostly because my heart broke when she passed away. The worst part was not her actual death, but the days leading up to it. I cannot deal with loss, so I probably should stay away from pets.

4. What are your Facebook and Twitter?

My Twitter is fairly easy to find. I use the same username as my WordPress account: Kalyrical. I am not comfortable with sharing my Facebook, so this is all you guys get. 😛

5. What is your favourite time of day?

My favourite time of day is when the sun starts setting, and the world is right between being bathed in darkness and flooded with light. It feels like I am watching the world restart itself. Of course, this only rings true when we can actually see the sun in Vancouver. Otherwise, the whole day just feels like a lump of cloudy and grey sadness, and you really cannot differentiate between different times of the day.

6. What is your favourite holiday?

Definitely Christmas. Sure, my family may not be Christian or Catholic, but I see it as more than a religious holiday. The atmosphere around Christmas time is amazing. I wish it was like that everyday. People are packed in malls, and everything is decorated beautifully. Families come together and everyone has a reason to catch up. There are also presents. Yes, presents are nice.

7. What is your favourite physical activity?

I like cycling. I hate that feeling you get when you get off your bike and start wondering why everything is moving past you so slowly, and then you have to adjust to the fact that you are no longer on a speedy bike. I like feeling the wind on my face as I race by the world on a warm summer’s day.

But other than cycling, I hate physical activity. I cannot run for more than a block or two before I start wheezing. Of course, that is probably due to my lack of regular physical activity, but still.

8. What is your favourite non-alcoholic drink?

Either chocolate milk or Coca Cola (not Pepsi). I love chocolate milk–usually accompanied with a good novel. Of course, I like its hot counterpart equally, so depending on whether its hot or cold outside, I would either drink hot chocolate or chocolate milk.

Coca Cola is my go to drink when I am not sure what I want. Not Coke Zero. Or diet Coke. Or Coke light. And definitely not Pepsi. I like my regular Coca Cola thank you very much.

9. What is your favourite flower?

Classic red roses. I think that the world has reached perfection in flowers when it created the rose. All roses look nice, but I really love those deep red velvety petals on a classic red rose. I am pretty sure the roses I am referring to has a name, but I am not sure what they are actually called. You know which kind I am talking about. The ones that the guy always gets the girl when he tries to win her heart in movies?

10. What is your passion?

I have struggled in finding my passion for quite some time. I have always thought it would magically appear to me, and I would just know. Then came the first year of university when I had to start making decisions on what I wanted to do with my life. I started panicking because I did not know what my passion was, and had no idea which road I wanted to take on my academic journey. I believe I have found my passion in creative writing. I love writing fiction– always have, always will. I just did not think it would be an appropriate career choice. It seems so ambiguous and lacking in security to declare “I am going to be a writer.” I started taking Creative Writing courses this year at UBC and will be doing my minor in it.

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Now for the second part of my duties, I will now nominate several other blogs I want to pass this award on to! These are in no particular order.

1. http://nhanfiction.com
He frequently makes posts on one of my addictions: League of Legends. He also posts interesting pictures of quotes and bits of wisdom, most of which are motivating and just wonderful to see on your reader! Check him out!

2. http://nosajnawk.wordpress.com
I love the way he writes. It can be pretty sarcastic, but he hits the message home. This is a journal blog, and he explores topics that you can probably relate to, but was never brave enough to put it down in words. I say follow him, because he has interesting things to say 🙂

3. http://quieterelephant.wordpress.com
You never know what you’ll find on his blog. Some days, he may touch on serious topics, but a lot of the times he’s got some lighthearted reads that are pretty informative and fun to read! A lot of his posts also spark my imagination and gives me a boost of creativity.

4. http://dragoneystory.wordpress.com
He takes so really great pictures, and along with them, he will add a line or two of thoughts that we can take away. He is also super nice. Frequently, he reblogs interesting posts on other blogs, so he also provides a great hub for you to discover other bloggers!

5. http://itsthecookiemonster.wordpress.com
This girl is my real life friend, and her blog is filled with all these amazing pictures of baked goods that you can never have. But still, I would definitely recommend going to her page and drool all over your keyboard. Then you can attempt to recreate her cakes/cupcakes/cookies, fail miserably and cry.

I hope you guys accept the nomination! I found the questions fun to answer, and hopefully you guys will too!