Bolt of Blue

Where do I begin?

For months now, I’ve been helping my husband and two friends build an epic LEGO recreation of the The Last March of the Ents from The Lord of the Rings movie. We unleashed the photos online on September 28, and then displayed it for a public exhibit that very weekend in Seattle at BrickCon. BrickCon was an insanely fun and exhausting time hanging with new and old friends. The drive up to Seattle and back was long… but surprisingly nice to just spend time with my husband and little Baxter, who came along for the trip. And our creation won Best in Show. Really amazed!

It’s been a smashing success and one of the most fun creative projects I’ve ever been a small part of. I hoped people would like it after all the hard work put into it, but never expected the reception to be as enthusiastic as it’s been. We’ve been interviewed for a podcast, made CNN and a ton of blogs, and we’re getting close to a million views on the photos.

We got the crazy idea after watching a marathon screening of the trilogy at the Egyptian Theatre earlier this year. One thing I will always love about Los Angeles is that there so many amazing revival movie theatres. Any night of any week, you can pop into theatres all over town to check out classic, cult, weird, obscure, popular, indie or new movies…

The idea was just to build one Ent. This snowballed. Quickly. It’s been a real labor of love though and came together so seamlessly. We’re pretty proud. And it’ll be on display again at a local event in Pasadena called Designer Con.

What else have I’ve been doing since my last ages ago post? Took a week long road trip exploring the California coast as well as attended several events celebrating the opening of the new Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum. Still going to shows including Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, and the members of Nickelcreek put on one of the best I’ve ever been to in my entire life! Oh, and in between all the LEGO madness, I still managed to see Duran Duran at Nokia Theatre. It always comes back to Duran Duran in the end…

Zoe is back with a spiffy new domain. So pretty.

The more I hear about Coachella and the possible line up, the more I feel meh about the whole thing. Part of me wants to go. And seeing New Order live would make a dream come true. However, a lot of the bands supposedly playing I’ve seen plenty of times before. And it’s a lot of money. And it’s in the middle of the desert and super dooper ridiculously hot. And it’s during the Star Wars line. So I don’t know. Monday they announce the line up. Maybe I’ll finally get excited when I hear the full details.

One thing I’m extremely jumping around excited about is seeing Ash in March. I’ll be going to at least 3 shows. San Diego on March 25 and here at the Troub on March 26 and 27. The Bravery are opening for them so double the fun. CAN’T FRICKIN’ WAIT!

Oh… ORC! It was one crazy, busy, and fun weekend! I worked almost the entire time, which I was expecting, and didn’t see any of the actor panels, not that I cared. Just 5 minutes of being near all the fan girls that attended the convention and I was more than glad I spent the majority of my time in the sanctity of the art show. It was quiet and festive and filled with gorgeous Tolkien inspired artwork. And I got to meet Daniel Falconer, Ted Nasmith, Colleen Doran, and Tim Kirk along with many other amazing artists. I got two amazingly rad prints by Colleen and 1 amazing piece of art by an incredible amateur artist Olga Bosserdt.

I tried reading a lot of live journal accounts of ORC to get some idea what people thought of it and maybe see if anyone had comments about the art show itself. But I had to give up. The fan girl gushing was really giving me a headache. And the whole slash nonsense. If I only posted the things I know and have experienced, a lot of people’s fantasy worlds would dissolve. I wanted to read more Tolkien fan responses not just gushing about how cute Billy and Dom were when they hugged on stage. I think in time, the types of fans who come to ORC are going to change because we’re doing this next year and want to make it a big annual convention. There was a strong fan community for Tolkien before the movies and after the movie hype dies down, there will continue to be fans of all ages who are not just there to scream over a cute actor. Ok, enough ranting on that.

All in all, I think we did a great job running the art show and certainly learned a lot of what to do and not do for next time. I did get to enjoy a few things like the Women in Middle Earth panel (next time they need to talk about Ent-wives!). There was certainly an intimacy at this event that a big one like Comic Con does not allow for. And I’m actually quite happy and proud with my part in the event. It was great to see the entire convention turn out to be so successful!

Oh… one more oh! My wedding dress is now in at the shop. I think I’m going tomorrow to pick it up with my mom. Happy day!

More photos coming. More details too. I met Fiona Apple. I helped Elijah Wood get to a bathroom. I cut up my heel. I walked ten miles up and down stairs. I’m quite floored we managed to pull off such a fabulous party for fans. Oh yeah… CLEAN SWEEP!

I had planned to write up a more detailed entry but I just got some really not so good news so trying to deal right now. Posting this is helping me get my mind off things. And since I can’t hug Remi because he’s a thousand miles away, I’m going to see my mom and get the hug I really need right now.

Can life get any sweeter? Not only are more friends now able to go to Coachella but now my boy is flying down for it too. We didn’t think it would be possible, but we managed to find a great flight for the cheapest price we’ve seen yet. I’m so giddy.

Plus, according to Peter Jackson, the extended edition of The Two Towers will have 43 minutes of additional material! (Ignore the part where he mentions they’ve already cut 25 minutes from Return of the King or my mood will turn sour.)

Clay was simply wonderful last night on AI. Gave me much giddiness and smiles.

There’s a new episode of That 70′s Show on tonight. (Don’t think about spoilers and it’s all good.) Plus more AI.

Ash are going to do a headlining tour starting next month. Not only will I see them in Los Angeles, but there’s a good chance I’ll see them in Seattle now too.

I just bought the new Harry Potter DVD. And the new Roger Rabbit DVD.

I finally ordered new glasses. And computer glasses too. So my eyes will feel much better soon I hope. (I’ve been getting massive headaches lately and my eyes have been seriously bugging out.)

I saw The Datsuns last Saturday night. They blew all the hype out of the water by rocking so hard. Amazing. Incredible. Definitely one of the top shows of the year so far. I had a smile on my face almost the entire time. (Minus the drunk leech trying to molest me for half the night.)

I’m going see Moulin Rouge Friday night with all kinds of buddies to sing along at the top of my lungs.

I’m sure there’s more goodness… but I’m already rambling on far too long.

Even though my DSL at home is crap and not working cause my phone lines apparently suck ass and there’s all the woes going on in the world (if I stop my selfishness for a second and reflect), the sun is shining. The sky is blue. And I’m breathing. I’m safe. I’m happy. I’m looking forward to things. Today is a good day.

Sunday Seven, 2 days late…

My seven favorite book characters in order:
1. Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
2. Andry (Dragon Prince trilogy by Melanie Rawn)
3. Peekay (The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay)
4. Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
5. Legolas Greenleaf (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
6. Scout Fitch (To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
7. Harry Potter (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

I feel like I have a lot to write about but I’m just feeling very lazy at the moment.

Forgot to mention how I saw Colin Hanks at the Gap the other day. Of course I didn’t go up to him even though it would have been the perfect moment to do so as he was by himself and just leaving the store, waiting to cross the street. It didn’t even cross my mind until later that I should have said hello. Oh well. I’m bound to see him again.

Because I’m a nerd and my friend is to, we are going to this celebrity hockey game at the Staples Center at the end of the month. Not only is Donnie Wahlberg going to be there but so is Brendan Fehr. I would not be going if it was not for Sue. I think we will have a blast cause we are dorks.

Tonight I’ll be hopefully seeing Starsailor. I guess it’s also a signing too. Then tomorrow I’ll see them again. And then Saturday I’ll be seeing LOTR for the 7th time. And hopefully going to this art gallery that is having an exhibition of LOTR photographs.

Aside from all that… I’m trying to set up a new domain. Should be interesting…